Me when Childe & Scaramouche described Columbina as an unsettling woman to be avoided
Commentaires
The_Bough_Keeper2026-01-29 20:03
Me when Dainsleif
RubApprehensive25122026-01-29 21:05
r/flairchecksout
PokeTrainerSpyro2026-01-29 21:08
real omg are you my long lost twin
Organic-Army-90462026-01-30 02:26
and now they are once again long lost…
Letwen2026-01-29 22:08
Rerir: I listened to the rulers, did terrible things and suffered for it. Now I just want to save my lover.
Surtalogi: These mfs took my arm and leg just because I was born in prison. I still don't give a shit and just want to become stronger.
Vedrfolnir: I already tried to save the nation, but was blinded as a result. Now I exist as a timeless being.
Dain: You stabbed me in the back. How could you turn your back to our prosperous nation :(
Fair enough, I'll give it to him. Hroptatyr and Rhinedottir probably did betray him. But it would still be Dain's fault to not know how selfish they are given they should be best friends.
EDIT: Bro's account got smited by Celestia o7
Ze_AwEsOmE_Hobo2026-01-29 22:14
Rhinedottir: 👁👄👁
The_New_Overlord2026-01-29 22:44
Slightly related, but why was Rerir angry at Rhinedottir when he first respawned? I don't think he ever interacted with her, he went right to the dungeon to get Ved, then went to Tholindis.
KendiArtista12026-01-29 22:54
It might have been because her rifthound monsters got in his way of saving Tholindis before she jumped into the moon gate (since you fight several of them in his memory before the cutscene), but idk if theres more to it or it's just that.
The_New_Overlord2026-01-29 23:00
Ah that makes sense.
kingofallbandits2026-01-30 00:23
To be fair, every person in Teyvat probably has a reason to be pissed at Rhinedottir
TheUltraGuy1012026-01-30 06:12
Weirdly enough, Rhinedottir is the only Genshin villain I want to see getting a brutal and miserable end.
Healthy_Call_30732026-01-30 17:47
There may be since, rhinedottir was the one who welcomed him saying "you made it" When rerir came to the palace. I don't think it's thier first interaction since rerir was instantly able to recognize rhines work from albedo
Emperor-Nerd2026-01-30 04:35
I feel like the very fact she's rhinedottir is enough to justify his hate twords her XD
MaJuV2026-01-30 13:48
First up, Rerir's actions were influenced by Dottore. Who knows what poison he whispered into his ears.
Second and most importantly... It's Rhinedottir. Gold. The person responsibl for the rifthounds, Durin and a lot of other abyss-related monsters that ended up ruining Teyvat for the next few hundred years. Worst part is: we don't even know the entire list of all the BS she's done - only the things currently on the map.
So you know... probably a valid crashout.
Lord_Kumatetsu2026-01-29 22:52
May I ask how you got a gif as your pfp?
Letwen2026-01-29 23:20
Google reddit gif pfp tutorial. There are tons of posts.
Sacriven2026-01-29 23:32
A Sinner apologist? How rare.
Its_Altair2026-01-30 08:48
THAT'S MY GOAT SURTALOGI RIGHT THERE NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD HE JUST WANTS TO GET STRONGER LETS GOOOOO
DaveTheDolphin2026-01-30 05:19
Seriously, how does he keep his skin so nice and not decay
*Suspicious*
spartaman642026-01-29 20:20
when childe is getting all his information from a politician and scaramouche is getting it from dottore
Pastrami-on-Rye2026-01-29 21:38
If Pulcinella turns out to be a sweetheart who actually genuinely loves Childe and his family, what you said would be so interesting from Scaramouche’s perspective considering how Dottore doesn’t seem to properly understand love and family
PotentialBiscotti3832026-01-29 22:18
I think i missed some important lore who is Pulcinella
Edit: ty for the replies
Asobimo2026-01-29 22:22
The rooster, the midget fea that is the mayor of Snezhnaya
Pastrami-on-Rye2026-01-29 22:25
The tiny old man harbinger with the long nose. He’s the mayor and is called The Rooster. He often goes to Childe’s house and hangs out with/takes care of his family and gives them gifts and such while Childe is away. Childe adores him, but Scaramouche believes Pulcinella only hangs around the family so that he can have leverage to control Childe if he goes rogue
Chris0403022026-01-29 22:29
One of the Harbingers, mayor of what I assume is the main city of Snezhnaya (since its made up of multiple cities). Apparently he takes care of Childe's family while he's away but many assume he has other motives
Aume10432026-01-29 23:42
I think hoyo might make him evil because his appearance isn't marketable.
That, or Pulcinella's actually a puppet controlled by a girl.
Pastrami-on-Rye2026-01-29 23:56
LOL I hope Hoyo releases him and doubles down by making him the most on-field character who ever existed. Like having him on field triggers all elemental skills and ults of your off field units with increased ER and CD and a dmg buff. The longer you look at his nose, the higher the buffs become
kingofallbandits2026-01-30 00:27
Make him the same size as Klee as well
Pastrami-on-Rye2026-01-30 00:39
Bonus if he is revealed to be Klee’s father and Alice’s husband
FreudIsWatching2026-01-30 01:09
Leave in the child running animation too
caucassius2026-01-30 00:07
what if he's rosalyne all along tho
wait who're you guys??? where are you taking me, stop staaaahp
LesserTierArchon2026-01-30 02:02
pulcinella has the same fae eyes as flins, there's a solid chance he's a shapeshifting fae
I want og pulcinella to be playable the way he is but it can always be a madame ping situation where he just becomes younger in his playable form
_DFG3_2026-01-29 23:50
When Columbina said she always sides with him when he argues with Regrator that's what I started wondering, if maybe he's just an honest mayor who actually has people's best interests in mind
Weaponmaster4702026-01-30 02:18
Pulc is rough around the edges but seems to actually be fairly decent. They wouldn't make a Travail playable actually irredeemable like Choppedtorre.
Conversely, Bina has nothing good to say about Reggie.
We'll get male Dori, basically.
HorribleDat2026-01-29 22:01
With hindsight, I read Childe's line as more of his monke instinct and his mind clashing on opinions of her.
His conscious mind think she's rank 3 so she must be a worthy opponent and they'll have fun throwing hands.
But his monke instinct regard her as part of the 'innocent' that should be left alone, no hands throwing.
Popular-Bid2026-01-30 03:05
It's definitely monke instinct. It helps in understanding Childe that he only cares for 3 things: the Tsaritsa, Combat, and Family. His entire perspective and understanding of everyone revolves around those 3 things, which is why he classifies the harbingers according to either their strength, how they follow the Tsartitsa, or how they treat his family.
Maniacal-Blueberry2026-01-29 20:21
Did scaramouche really describe her as all that unsettling? Childe did but scara just said that the traveler would struggle to fight her due to a conscience thing.
poolman7822026-01-29 20:32
he did say beware of her, if i were you i would not fight her so yeah.. he did describe her as unsettling and creepy
Maniacal-Blueberry2026-01-29 20:38
I mean he says that if it were him, *he* could challenge her to a fight. I was assuming it was more towards her being a very damsel in distress kind of person and traveler with their conscience wouldn't be able to fight her.
UltraPhoenix952026-01-29 21:01
>If it were me, I could at least challenge her to a fight. But if it were you... with your conscience, I would stay away from her.
It's not "stay away she's creepy" but "stay away you are too much of a good person to fight her", which goes in the same direction as the "oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation" that came just before
IlliasTallin2026-01-29 21:31
He told the Traveler that they would have a hard time fighting her because they are a good person, nothing about her being creepy and unsettling.
ExpiredExasperation2026-01-29 21:39
That is a leap in terms of interpretation.
HorribleDat2026-01-29 21:59
No he did not, not any of those.
>Let me ask: what should you do if you were to encounter a "damsel" who is oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation? If it were me, I could at least challenge her to a fight. But if it were you... with your conscience, I would stay away from her.
andrewjpf2026-01-29 22:06
Genuine question since I see this take a lot, why would your conscience stop you from fighting someone unsettling or creepy?
frostN0VA2026-01-30 00:30
What he says in Chinese:
>Let me ask you a question. When you run into a "girl" who’s absent-minded and a bit slow no matter the situation and indifferent in everything she does, how do you think you should react?
I could fight her without hesitation. But you… your conscience would bother you, wouldn’t it? So it’s probably best that you stay away from her after all.
Where exactly does he describe her as creepy and unsettling? Absent-minded and indifferent is literally how she is throughout the first half of Nod Krai.
If he describes her like that in some official supplementary material (manga, trailers etc) then fair enough, but in game he doesn't say anything of sort? People and their headcanon man...
And same goes for Childe's description, which people often like to refer to as well, that goes something like:
>Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I don’t understand why she’s Number Three. If I get the chance, I’d like to test myself against every Harbinger ranked above me, but for some reason I don’t want to test my strength against her. Anyway, you should be careful too.
Which again says nothing concrete about her with the interpretation being left to your imagination. Like, combine it with Scara's description and he may be saying that he doesn't get why she's N3 with that kind of personality so he's naturally wary of her.
Martian_on_the_Moon2026-01-30 01:39
Slight offtopic. Does Columbina's voiceline about Capitano differs in CN?
greenarcher022026-01-30 00:49
Not beating the "can't read" allegations I see.
Apekecik20712026-01-29 21:35
Scara basically said he would kick a puppy but traveler will have hard time kicking a puppy
CoconutxKitten2026-01-30 08:09
This is exactly it lol
People keep saying it’s because he was scared of her but no. Scara just has less morals
Popular-Bid2026-01-30 03:07
It requires a lot of context before understanding. Wanderer (or Scaramouche) is the type of person to fight anyone for no reason at all. He will not hesitate to antagonize anyone who looked at him badly. This is the reason why he can muster a reason to fight Columbina.
The traveler on the other hand never actually started fights. Even in his World Quest mode (where they basically kill anyone who fights them), they are content to just do the quests unless the enemy decided to provoke them. This means that Columbina, who has no attachment or will to fight the Traveler, is not someone that the latter can fight.
Maniacal-Blueberry2026-01-30 03:40
I was asking more of a rhetorical question since I already knew all of that. I was trying to see what OP meant but OP never answered me.
Flair862026-01-29 20:48
It’s important to keep in mind that when we meet her, she barely hanging on, but when they new her, she still had power. Obviously shes less scary to us, she was dying.
japanese_artist2026-01-29 20:53
Confession: When Bina told us she needed to go back to the Moon and reclaim her lost full power, I was still holding on to hope that her full power would be rekated to Seraphim and Cherubim. I don't mind what she is now but I still think to this day that it would have been a sick way to reveal her real powers. You know something like how Naruto used to be silly kid but would transform into a terrifying demon the moment Kyubi took over
LesserTierArchon2026-01-30 02:13
when nod krai was first teased I thought the wild hunt were a fragment of columbina of some sort since they have the same color palette as her hair
and the whole creepy unsettling thing was something like, when she is asleep with her eyes closed she's a peaceful angelic presence but when she wakes up and opens her eyes, the wild hunt rise from their graves and ravage the lands
like a "dead cthulhu lies dreaming" kind of thing
LeKebabGeek2026-01-29 20:55
She's at her prime against Dottore but even then she's not really scary, just more determined.
Flair862026-01-29 20:56
I’m talking about pre nod krai bina, she’s a totally different person.
LeKebabGeek2026-01-29 21:03
Idk I didn't get much scary vibes from the flashbacks we got from her time in the Fatui either. All things considered, she didn't seem THAT different from start of nod-krai bina.
Flair862026-01-29 21:14
It’s not about us finding her scary, it’s why scara/childe would find her scary. She was the 3rd harbinger (which we know is a strength based ranking), but all she did was sing a lullaby.
Admirable_Register892026-01-29 23:17
Except scara never found her scary. He straight up calls her innocent at all times and unconcerned
Grand_Protector_Dark2026-01-29 22:53
>Idk I didn't get much scary vibes from the flashbacks we got from her time in the Fatui either.
It's something deeply understood by either side of the argument.
She isn't "scary" in the way a horror movie is supposed to be scary. She's "scary" in the sense of being "unsettling".
People saw her as this distant, strangely "innocent" looking girl who never really seems to do anything, yet she's been given rank 3 amongst the harbingers, meaning there must be some reason she's regarded as worthy of that title.
It's the dissonance that creates a feeling of unease in childe and others.
WastelandPioneer2026-01-29 21:01
Not even unreliable narrator. They're people in the world like anyone else, with their own biases and perceptions. Neither claim to be narrators
FrancMaconXV2026-01-29 21:23
I see that term misused allll the time
xiastrr2026-01-29 21:29
no fr i dont get why people think they’re unreliable narrators when they’ve never been such in the first place😭
eggysleepyhead2026-01-29 21:46
Don't be mean redditors are learning their first big words
ExpiredExasperation2026-01-29 21:52
For one thing, they never even called her unsettling in the first place.
astasli2026-01-29 23:37
Because unreliable narrator doesn't refer explicitly to just the narrator of a story. A first-person perspective on the story through a biased lens (or intentionally filtered information) is the quintessential unreliable narrator, but you can have unreliable narrators in a story that aren't *just* the narrator.
Hatarakumaou2026-01-30 04:23
“Unreliable narrators” is a name of a trope, the “narrator” part isn’t literal.
toucanlost2026-01-29 22:12
Their biases are not even that extreme. Some of fandom were having nothingburger discourse for 2 weeks and have to portray the other side as unreasonable, while those on the sidelines or in between are looking on in confusion.
smilowl2026-01-29 22:51
... yes, a person who gives off information colored by their biases and perceptions is in fact an unreliable narrator, or in this case an unreliable expositor.
That- thats the definition.
sopunny2026-01-30 01:53
But that's the point, they're not "narrators" because this story doesn't have one
fhota12026-01-30 03:19
Also lets be real, Columbina would be creepy af until you got to know her better. She looks human, except shes covered her eyes which already is gonna bother most people, but everything else about her screams shes very much not a human.
Burntoastedbutter2026-01-30 07:25
I don't even think he's unreliable because it is somewhat true. Did everybody forget how hostile and unsettling Columbina was when she didn't know she could trust us upon the first meeting?? She wanted to moon blast us because we mentioned fatui and she thought we were gonna capture her 😭
And idk about others, but it is somewhat unsettling when someone is so overly chill and nonchalant about serious things happening *to them*
The only thing I think is unreliable is ironically him saying he wouldn't fight her - which is a 180° from HIS personality, not hers! lol
toucanlost2026-01-30 07:55
I didn’t forget. She turned the cave of flowers red!
Cocogoat_Main2026-01-29 21:01
Columbina was pretty much friendly and cordial with us the entire time.
Disturbing_Cheeto2026-01-29 22:29
I almost enjoy the community reaction to her because it's so realistic to how people treat you when you don't act like they think "you're supposed to".
ApocaSCP_0012026-01-29 21:15
As if Scaramouche and Childe don’t have their own biases
And btw little theory but I’m definitely sure the whole “scary Columbina” thing only came about because of that wildly inaccurate myth of “biblically accurate angels” being abominations H.P Lovecraft would be jealous of (she has Seraph imagery)
1ll1der2026-01-30 00:13
She is named Columbina and oh look at that what’s that on her head? An ornament made out of dove wings? Man could this have a link to her name? You know the name that in italian litteraly f*cking means "LITTLE DOVE".
The 6 wings probably is here to hit the themes of an angel at the same time.
And like you implied the "trend"/concept of Biblically accurate angel is dumb anyway. It implies all angel are like that when it’s only certain ranks (plus it’s mostly jewish misticysm). And seraphim are "human" in their description it said that one set of wings hide their face, another their feet and the last one? To fly of course.
The classic BAA from trends are Ophanim.
ApocaSCP_0012026-01-30 00:18
If I remember correctly, the ranks of angels was a catholic idea. But none of them look like that, Cheribum just look… weird, thrones are just wheels with eyes (I personally interpret them as atom shaped) and Seraphs are different, definitely serpentine and not human in anyway, but also fiery and bright, covered by their wings.
And, question, what were you trying to say in the first half?
1ll1der2026-01-30 01:32
It was kinda a tangent to say that the main inspiration for the wing ornament isn’t angel or seraphim but an inspiration from her litteral name. That being columbina meaning "Little dove".
Chaoswind22026-01-29 21:17
Childe is literally Goku... a social tard that likes to fight and somewhat loves his family even if he unintentionally hurts them.
Koekelbag2026-01-29 21:33
Was this mentioned far back enough that it could have been planned for a different kind of Columbina?
With what we know Columbina to be today, I'm not sure that either Childe or Hat Guy would have feared her enough to warn us about her. Unsettling, sure, but actively avoiding feels like a different level entirely.
ExpiredExasperation2026-01-29 21:49
They never said anything about fearing her, though. It's all a matter of interpretation. Scara said she was "oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation." Childe only said that he had no idea why she was ranked so high and that something didn't feel right (reminder: if anyone gives *any* indication of being stronger than he is, he wants to try fighting them). People jumping to immediately saying they "feared her" for being "creepy and disturbing" are looking at it from that angle in particular. Meanwhile, Arlecchino, who was closer to her, had said:
>She is a very special Harbinger. Pose her a question, and the answer you receive will be entirely unpredictable, if she sees fit to give a proper answer at all. Regardless, any answer you do receive is sure to be an interesting one.
The only other scraps we had were her singing over Rosalynd's coffin, and casually asking Dottore a question, which irritated him. Those things hardly clash with what we've come to learn of her.
Melantha_Hoang2026-01-29 22:21
>asking Dottore a question, which irritated him
Dottore also reveal that they used to have a good relationship, so this is like a banter
GDOverlorder2026-01-29 22:55
You are forgetting that these lines came out years apart, which is important to remember when interpreting them. The biblical angel Bina headcanon did not get popular out of nowhere, even if it went further than what the game implied.
I have no idea how anyone can read just Childe's line in a vacuum and not see it as ominous, and frankly the majority back when the line first got added absolutely did see it as ominous. He talks about how he'd love to fight every other Harbinger, but Bina feels off to him? He would not give a crap if she was just secretly strong, he would still want to fight her and find out why she is rank 3, but he apparently feels something is more off here, to the point where even his battle maniac brain stops him from wanting to try himself against her. Add to this him warning us about being careful around her, it absolutely makes his line sound ominous and sets an unsettling image for Bina.
Then we get to Scara's line, which in itself is not as unsettling, but when Childe's is the only other info it gets interpreted darker than it normally would be. Innocent, oblivious, unfeeling, it is not like this isn't a blatant antagonist trope, and we are still at a point (Sumeru, reminder we just had our encounter with Dottore too, who is the most blatantly evil character in the story) where we'd expect all Harbingers to be antagonist for at least some portion of the AQ.
It is clear by Arle they had a clearer idea on what Bina would be like (or rather, they started softening the Harbingers with Arle/Fontaine, but that is a different topic), so the line is also more clear about how Bina is just "weird and quirky". Issue is, they already built a more unsettling image around her, and Arle's line is not specific enough to suddenly reset that if someone already had that image of Bina. If anything, it might even further enforce the whole "she is the weirdo airheaded and innocent anime psycho girl that does not understand what murder is" image.
Just because current Bina still can fit the lines if they are interpreted differently, does not mean that interpretation was the only one, or even the most natural one. And Bina is hardly the only such situation, so I think it is very understandable that some of us aren't exactly happy how our expectations got "subverted" yet again.
plasma_soda2026-01-30 00:28
This exactly. If Columbina didn't turn out to be who she is now, but instead, happens to be closer to the theory/hc, would people like op still interpret Scara & Childe's lines the same way? Would they still think ArIecchino's line which they use to prove canon Columbina now holds more weight than the former's? It's easy to call the hc/theory wrong now since canon has been established, but has it always been the case? I've never even believed in the theory (though I think the inspirations are interesting), but it'd take mental gymnastics to read Scara & Childe's lines in any context that isn't ominous. Clearly their original plan for Columbina vs. their progress with her by Fontaine changed. It's not a bad thing, but people are also allowed to be disappointed & voice their disappointment.
rajine1052026-01-29 21:37
Was the phrasing actually "unsettling"? Because no one really understood her and no one knew what she was doing (since she had no actual role at the time). Unsettling is pretty accurate
ExpiredExasperation2026-01-29 21:50
No one called her unsettling.
Crymsyn_Moon2026-01-29 21:37
To be fair for both Childe and Scaramouche, a genuinely peaceful kindhearted person probably would be unsettling and to be avoided.
LesserTierArchon2026-01-30 02:08
there's been tons of abyss enemies like the natlan weekly boss that mimic people's voices, papillas that can shapeshift into the form of loved ones
childe most likely fought a fair share of these when he fell into the abyss, like for example an abyss mimic in the form of a young lost girl asking him for help and immediately ambushes him when he drops his guard
childe of all people has all the reasons in the world to be wary of powerful entities that appear innocent and kindhearted
taidell2026-01-29 21:47
I mean, she's a mysterious, aloof, clearly powerful being, part of an organization that recruited extremely dangerous individuals with motivations neither knew at the time.
It makes sense.
Mana_Croissant2026-01-29 21:52
People do not even attempt to understand Scara’s line and fits it into their perspective. He straight up calls her innocent and oblivious and he only warns the Traveller because Traveller being a good person would not be able to fight an innocent person like Columbina if they face each other. He never called her creepy, the only negative things he said about her is unfeeling and unconcerned which doesn’t negate him straight up calling her innocent
Weaponmaster4702026-01-30 02:23
Amusingly she *was* unfeeling and unconcerned while with the Fatui, as a coping mechanism for her situation and her previous experience with the old Frostmoon Scions. She didn't care about the overall cause, kept her colleagues mostly at arms length, found politics boring and deliberately closed her eyes against what she saw as a fake world.
Even Arle and Sandy note her change from indifferent to empathetic in the AQ. So Scara was right going off old interactions and a lack of actually getting to know her because of his own foibles at the time.
BikeSeatMaster2026-01-29 21:53
They weren't even wrong though lol.
Brown_Truffle8902026-01-29 22:04
Not unusual for an introvert to be labelled as strange 🥲
EngineeringBrave43982026-01-29 22:20
the canon: she was always unsettling biblically accurate angel with kill count in hundreds BUT then she became softer after she started weakening due to "Teyvat not accepting on" + Traveler changed her
japanese_artist2026-01-29 22:27
Kinda sounds like how Kratos (God of War) used to be this terrifying killing machine but wisened up with age and experience, though not because he weakened in his own case
-AnythingGoes-2026-01-29 22:58
I feel like the AQ itself debunks the unreliable narrator argument and just confirms rewrites. They make it abundantly clear that Wanderer was intimately familiar with his ex-coworkers to the point where Arle finds it suspicious, but then his lines about the ones that get notable screen time *after* his release are completely off the mark outside Dottore. I really don't understand why people are in such denial about it tbh.
Kronman5902026-01-29 23:22
Yall remember how columbina was when we first met her?? We said one thing about the fatui and the whole fkn garden turned red. Her first impression is unsettling af.
Popular-Bid2026-01-30 03:08
Wasn't that because she thought we are going to capture her? After learning that we are not related to the Fatui, she went back to not caring.
Kronman5902026-01-30 03:30
Shows she has a silent threatening aura to her if you trigger her in some way. Combine that with random singing alone and god powers and yeah id say shes crazy too
friedandfrogged2026-01-29 23:49
i feel like scara's line implies she was manipulative more then she was unsettling(? admittedly i haven't checked it in a while) like someone else said, he basically said he'd have no problem kicking a dog and we would - but obviously we'd struggle to kick a dog if we have no reason to, and scaramouche wouldn't kick a dog for no reason either. we also HAVE killed people, so it only makes sense for us to struggle with killing someone we were previously friends with.
i always saw it as she was manipulative and would get us to trust her(like a dog acting gentle and harmless) before betraying us (dog turning aggressive) at which point we'd struggle to hurt her, while scaramouche in the same situation wouldn't.
Dense-Decision91502026-01-29 23:50
right like everything Tartaglia says is 100% true to me I’ll believe anything he says
diabeetus642026-01-29 23:57
I mean, isn’t her demeanor unsettling if you don’t really know her? She’s mostly quiet, her eyes are under a mask all the time(we still don’t know what the fuck that’s about), she sings creepy ass lullabies at 3am, and she basically glides around like a ghost all the time. Plus her dogs are out.
I’d call that unsettling if I knew nothing about her.
LesserTierArchon2026-01-30 02:25
a lot of characters can seem somewhat unsettling from the perspective of a complete outsider
fontaine has a "reptilians secretly run the government" thing going on
liyue has the suspicious snake doctor who's obsessed with immortality
mizuki defeats a demon that's haunting people's dreams, in the next few days an urban legend spreads in inazuma about everyone collectively seeing this mysterious woman in their dreams overnight
JohnnyRocks9992026-01-30 00:02
Honestly, even if the reasoning for the Columbina voicelines is “unreliable narrator” I still don’t think it was done well.
I think an example of how it should be done are their views on the Rooster. Childe says that he’s nice to his family and seems genuine. Later, we hear from Scaramouche, who views it as threatening. Not only do we gain info on the Rooster, we learn about Childe and Scara’s different perspectives. I don’t feel like this happened for Columbina. They were both just wrong or mistaken, and that doesn’t feel very satisfying.
Even though the biblically accurate angel stuff might’ve taken it a bit too far, I feel like the people who are just writing off what they said as “unreliable narrator” or that’s it’s just “personal interpretation” feels disingenuous. The ominous vibes were definitely there and it feels like they kinda just gave up on it.
BluHor1zon2026-01-30 00:37
I find it funny because there is an extra layer of unreliable narrators which are some players of the community itself and their biases.
jisooed2026-01-30 00:39
let's also learn reading comprehension
ashnsnow_2026-01-30 01:29
Unreliable writer
SignificanceIcy78212026-01-30 02:03
columbina is not a harbinger now.
SleepySera2026-01-30 02:31
Neither really called her that anyway??
It's not even a case of unreliable narrator, it's just fans interpreting their words with EXTREME bias because they had those stupid yandere angel fan theories in mind while reading their comments.
Childe was basically like "she must be strong if she's ranked that high, right? but idk how someone like her could be that strong, feels too weird to fight her" and Scara went "she's innocent and detached, you are too nice to fight someone like that".
With the knowledge we have now of how she behaved as a Harbinger (emotionally distant, aimless, just singing in the flower garden everyday, waiting for her purpose) it fits Scaramouche's description of her to a T, and it also makes sense why an ambitious fighter like Childe would find her weird and someone he struggles to invite for a fight.
Zestyclose_Comment962026-01-30 02:41
schrodinger's narrator.
Everything a character says should be trusted until they say something that doesn't align with my viewpoints. Then they're a unreliable narrator
Living_Thunder2026-01-30 04:27
"Unreliable narrator-!" SHUT UP. The voicelines are not like this except for the harbingers and only after they started with retconning Arlechinno. You can admit they were retconned and still like them
Acceptable-Career-622026-01-30 04:59
But that's the point nothing was retconned lmao their voicelines are their own opinion and biases theres been more voicelines that havent been entirely correct in wjat was said
Orangelemonyyyy2026-01-30 04:35
I'm just happy the writers didn't go forward with the tired anime trope of a creepy little girl.
Viscaz2026-01-30 05:03
Anyone remember Dori telling us NOT to interact with the Curatorium of Secrets? See how that turned out?
Silent-Paramedic2026-01-30 05:46
they aren't wrong. inside she might be soft uwu but outside she's pretty creepy
walaxometrobixinodri2026-01-30 12:45
they didn't even describe her as an unsettling woman to be avoided. Scaramouche quite literally tells she's "a damsel in distress". Him saying traveller shouldn't be agressive to her is because she's too nice and innocent, not because she's scary. He however can be mean to her because he's a dick and he knows it
Commentaires
Surtalogi: These mfs took my arm and leg just because I was born in prison. I still don't give a shit and just want to become stronger.
Vedrfolnir: I already tried to save the nation, but was blinded as a result. Now I exist as a timeless being.
Dain: You stabbed me in the back. How could you turn your back to our prosperous nation :(
Fair enough, I'll give it to him. Hroptatyr and Rhinedottir probably did betray him. But it would still be Dain's fault to not know how selfish they are given they should be best friends.
EDIT: Bro's account got smited by Celestia o7
Second and most importantly... It's Rhinedottir. Gold. The person responsibl for the rifthounds, Durin and a lot of other abyss-related monsters that ended up ruining Teyvat for the next few hundred years. Worst part is: we don't even know the entire list of all the BS she's done - only the things currently on the map.
So you know... probably a valid crashout.
*Suspicious*
Edit: ty for the replies
That, or Pulcinella's actually a puppet controlled by a girl.
wait who're you guys??? where are you taking me, stop staaaahp
I want og pulcinella to be playable the way he is but it can always be a madame ping situation where he just becomes younger in his playable form
Conversely, Bina has nothing good to say about Reggie.
We'll get male Dori, basically.
His conscious mind think she's rank 3 so she must be a worthy opponent and they'll have fun throwing hands.
But his monke instinct regard her as part of the 'innocent' that should be left alone, no hands throwing.
It's not "stay away she's creepy" but "stay away you are too much of a good person to fight her", which goes in the same direction as the "oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation" that came just before
>Let me ask: what should you do if you were to encounter a "damsel" who is oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation? If it were me, I could at least challenge her to a fight. But if it were you... with your conscience, I would stay away from her.
>Let me ask you a question. When you run into a "girl" who’s absent-minded and a bit slow no matter the situation and indifferent in everything she does, how do you think you should react?
I could fight her without hesitation. But you… your conscience would bother you, wouldn’t it? So it’s probably best that you stay away from her after all.
Where exactly does he describe her as creepy and unsettling? Absent-minded and indifferent is literally how she is throughout the first half of Nod Krai.
If he describes her like that in some official supplementary material (manga, trailers etc) then fair enough, but in game he doesn't say anything of sort? People and their headcanon man...
And same goes for Childe's description, which people often like to refer to as well, that goes something like:
>Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I don’t understand why she’s Number Three. If I get the chance, I’d like to test myself against every Harbinger ranked above me, but for some reason I don’t want to test my strength against her. Anyway, you should be careful too.
Which again says nothing concrete about her with the interpretation being left to your imagination. Like, combine it with Scara's description and he may be saying that he doesn't get why she's N3 with that kind of personality so he's naturally wary of her.
People keep saying it’s because he was scared of her but no. Scara just has less morals
The traveler on the other hand never actually started fights. Even in his World Quest mode (where they basically kill anyone who fights them), they are content to just do the quests unless the enemy decided to provoke them. This means that Columbina, who has no attachment or will to fight the Traveler, is not someone that the latter can fight.
and the whole creepy unsettling thing was something like, when she is asleep with her eyes closed she's a peaceful angelic presence but when she wakes up and opens her eyes, the wild hunt rise from their graves and ravage the lands
like a "dead cthulhu lies dreaming" kind of thing
It's something deeply understood by either side of the argument.
She isn't "scary" in the way a horror movie is supposed to be scary. She's "scary" in the sense of being "unsettling".
People saw her as this distant, strangely "innocent" looking girl who never really seems to do anything, yet she's been given rank 3 amongst the harbingers, meaning there must be some reason she's regarded as worthy of that title.
It's the dissonance that creates a feeling of unease in childe and others.
That- thats the definition.
And idk about others, but it is somewhat unsettling when someone is so overly chill and nonchalant about serious things happening *to them*
The only thing I think is unreliable is ironically him saying he wouldn't fight her - which is a 180° from HIS personality, not hers! lol
And btw little theory but I’m definitely sure the whole “scary Columbina” thing only came about because of that wildly inaccurate myth of “biblically accurate angels” being abominations H.P Lovecraft would be jealous of (she has Seraph imagery)
The 6 wings probably is here to hit the themes of an angel at the same time.
And like you implied the "trend"/concept of Biblically accurate angel is dumb anyway. It implies all angel are like that when it’s only certain ranks (plus it’s mostly jewish misticysm). And seraphim are "human" in their description it said that one set of wings hide their face, another their feet and the last one? To fly of course.
The classic BAA from trends are Ophanim.
And, question, what were you trying to say in the first half?
With what we know Columbina to be today, I'm not sure that either Childe or Hat Guy would have feared her enough to warn us about her. Unsettling, sure, but actively avoiding feels like a different level entirely.
>She is a very special Harbinger. Pose her a question, and the answer you receive will be entirely unpredictable, if she sees fit to give a proper answer at all. Regardless, any answer you do receive is sure to be an interesting one.
The only other scraps we had were her singing over Rosalynd's coffin, and casually asking Dottore a question, which irritated him. Those things hardly clash with what we've come to learn of her.
Dottore also reveal that they used to have a good relationship, so this is like a banter
I have no idea how anyone can read just Childe's line in a vacuum and not see it as ominous, and frankly the majority back when the line first got added absolutely did see it as ominous. He talks about how he'd love to fight every other Harbinger, but Bina feels off to him? He would not give a crap if she was just secretly strong, he would still want to fight her and find out why she is rank 3, but he apparently feels something is more off here, to the point where even his battle maniac brain stops him from wanting to try himself against her. Add to this him warning us about being careful around her, it absolutely makes his line sound ominous and sets an unsettling image for Bina.
Then we get to Scara's line, which in itself is not as unsettling, but when Childe's is the only other info it gets interpreted darker than it normally would be. Innocent, oblivious, unfeeling, it is not like this isn't a blatant antagonist trope, and we are still at a point (Sumeru, reminder we just had our encounter with Dottore too, who is the most blatantly evil character in the story) where we'd expect all Harbingers to be antagonist for at least some portion of the AQ.
It is clear by Arle they had a clearer idea on what Bina would be like (or rather, they started softening the Harbingers with Arle/Fontaine, but that is a different topic), so the line is also more clear about how Bina is just "weird and quirky". Issue is, they already built a more unsettling image around her, and Arle's line is not specific enough to suddenly reset that if someone already had that image of Bina. If anything, it might even further enforce the whole "she is the weirdo airheaded and innocent anime psycho girl that does not understand what murder is" image.
Just because current Bina still can fit the lines if they are interpreted differently, does not mean that interpretation was the only one, or even the most natural one. And Bina is hardly the only such situation, so I think it is very understandable that some of us aren't exactly happy how our expectations got "subverted" yet again.
childe most likely fought a fair share of these when he fell into the abyss, like for example an abyss mimic in the form of a young lost girl asking him for help and immediately ambushes him when he drops his guard
childe of all people has all the reasons in the world to be wary of powerful entities that appear innocent and kindhearted
It makes sense.
Even Arle and Sandy note her change from indifferent to empathetic in the AQ. So Scara was right going off old interactions and a lack of actually getting to know her because of his own foibles at the time.
i always saw it as she was manipulative and would get us to trust her(like a dog acting gentle and harmless) before betraying us (dog turning aggressive) at which point we'd struggle to hurt her, while scaramouche in the same situation wouldn't.
I’d call that unsettling if I knew nothing about her.
fontaine has a "reptilians secretly run the government" thing going on
liyue has the suspicious snake doctor who's obsessed with immortality
mizuki defeats a demon that's haunting people's dreams, in the next few days an urban legend spreads in inazuma about everyone collectively seeing this mysterious woman in their dreams overnight
I think an example of how it should be done are their views on the Rooster. Childe says that he’s nice to his family and seems genuine. Later, we hear from Scaramouche, who views it as threatening. Not only do we gain info on the Rooster, we learn about Childe and Scara’s different perspectives. I don’t feel like this happened for Columbina. They were both just wrong or mistaken, and that doesn’t feel very satisfying.
Even though the biblically accurate angel stuff might’ve taken it a bit too far, I feel like the people who are just writing off what they said as “unreliable narrator” or that’s it’s just “personal interpretation” feels disingenuous. The ominous vibes were definitely there and it feels like they kinda just gave up on it.
It's not even a case of unreliable narrator, it's just fans interpreting their words with EXTREME bias because they had those stupid yandere angel fan theories in mind while reading their comments.
Childe was basically like "she must be strong if she's ranked that high, right? but idk how someone like her could be that strong, feels too weird to fight her" and Scara went "she's innocent and detached, you are too nice to fight someone like that".
With the knowledge we have now of how she behaved as a Harbinger (emotionally distant, aimless, just singing in the flower garden everyday, waiting for her purpose) it fits Scaramouche's description of her to a T, and it also makes sense why an ambitious fighter like Childe would find her weird and someone he struggles to invite for a fight.
Everything a character says should be trusted until they say something that doesn't align with my viewpoints. Then they're a unreliable narrator