the more i dig into the rhinedottir plotline in genshin the more im like. damn. that’s pretty messed up, actually, i would

the more i dig into the rhinedottir plotline in genshin the more im like. damn. that’s pretty messed up, actually, i would love to see the ramifications of that explored.

but then i remember how baal was handled so i then lay my expectations to rest six feet under.

(spoiler rambling under the cut)

so like. thru combining info given by albedo regarding his relationship with his master, who he reveals as Rhinedottir/Gold, and details relating to both riftwolf drop items and weapons related to Durin, it’s kind of apparent that she is flippant about creating life. where albedo looks to her as a mother figure, it’s pretty self-evident that this was one-sided and she did not actually care for him as a child. after all, we learn in the shadows amidst snowstorms questline that she fed the prototype albedo to durin, likely intending to destroy him, and then proceeded to make another. a do-over for her primordial human project. her attachment was not to the beings she was making and instead to the ideal they represented for her.

the description for the riftwolf whelps is pretty telling too, as it relates them to being like a series of carelessly made and abandoned sketches, unfinished, like they weren’t even intended to stay. albedo uses art as both a means of making blueprints for creation and for preserving memories, so the riftwolf whelps description having a connection to art is deliberate. he kind of has the same bad habit too, his character trailer shows him getting ahead of himself and creating a vishap from an unfinished drawing. it’s played off as humorous but it is concerningly parallel to behavior Rhinedottir is implied to have.

it doesn’t help that every other “birth” relative we know albedo has, the venomous dragon Durin, the Prototype, and the various Riftwolves, are all destructive entities that cannot mesh well with life on Teyvat. the riftwolves inflict corrosion, contact with them is painful, and going by the visual presence of the golden riftwolf lord, they seem to be disintegrating. the prototype is attempting to integrate himself but is caught up in this unachievable image of “perfection”, likely instilled into him by Rhinedottir who tried to kill him for not meeting her standards. Durin, possibly the most tragic among these, seems to have wished to be loved, possibly was in love with Dvalin, but was toxic to the touch and could only bring destruction with his presence.

Rhinedottir made living being after living being that was, ultimately, incompatible with the world and, rather than take responsibility, abandoned them and left them to wreak havoc on the people of Teyvat. it really shouldn’t come as any surprise tho that she is like this, this is the same alchemist who, as Gold, pursued knowledge with such single-minded blindness that it resulted in the destruction of her entire home nation, Khaenri’ah, and even with that burden on her name she continued regardless. There’s a running theme in a few stories throughout the game that people pursuing a “truth” are only rewarded with destruction.

funnily, Rhinedottir’s most kind action we’ve seen yet was her abandoning albedo and sending him to her old colleague, alice, who swiftly adopted him and encouraged him to think of her and klee as his family. but choosing to send him to mondstadt of all places, where durin’s corpse lies, doesn’t seem like it was really meant to offer him respite…

there are some parallels to be drawn too between Rhinedottir and Ei making artificial life and then abandoning it, not taking proper care or responsibility for their actions and what they have done to these newly living beings. a lot of people have started to point out how scaramouche and albedo share some themes, of being made for some purpose but then left on their own. where albedo was fortunate enough to be adopted by a community that respects and cares for him, scaramouche experienced grievous loss and was taken in by more vengeful sorts. interesting too is that, where albedo still expresses a one-sided attachment to Rhinedottir, scaramouche seems to only hold contempt for Ei and gods in general.

but, with how horribly things have been handled regarding Ei/Baal and her involvement in devastating her people (the writing tells us things like children starving and hundreds dying in the war due to her decisions but then, because she’s a playable character, backpedals and insists she’s cute and friendly) i don’t think i’ll like how Rhinedottir is handled whenever we finally actually get to meet her in game. what i want is a dive into the tragedy of albedo seeking not just recognition from her but to feel like he was a wanted child, of Rhinedottir’s careless actions causing harm to thousands of people and how her hatred of Celestia has blinded her to that fact, etc. what i think i’ll actually get tho is a pretty bad “oh but i did always care” shitty parent handwave where we’re then expected to sympathize with Rhinedottir cuz she’s pretty and made big puppy eyes about it.

there is a divide i feel between the story/setting writing that wants to explore these deeper themes with morally dark grey characters and then the unfortunate reality that the company wants to sell these same characters as playables and to do that they put foam caps on all their edges. i honestly preferred Ei/Baal when she was an unrepentant asshole who wanted the Traveler dead and was so self-assured in her ideal of eternity that she was willing to let her people continue to slice eachother’s throats. the schism between the raiden shogun who informs us she created and honed a special killing art that she has used on her own citizens, which we KNOW because it’s the driving force behind kazuha’s story, and the bs saccharine cutesy ei they have us accompany in her hangout quest is… augh.