My most favorite NeuviFuri works are the ones where Furina is not treated like she's so fragile — where she has agency and the author properly protrays her as Neuvillette's equal as a ruler. Lbr if Furina was so incompetent, she wouldn't have stayed in power for so long, nor would Neuvillette have put up with it. We even see her qualities as a leader in her story quest and the latest event. That must've come from *somewhere* and it's definitely not only from her passion for the performing arts, but also from being an Archon for so long.
My theory is that while Neuvillette handles the day-to-day governing and making sure everything runs like a well-oiled machine, Furina handles diplomatic relations, negotiations in public-private partnerships, and *politics*. Neuvillette himself admitted that interacting with people outside court is not his forte, so Furina most definitely navigated delicate political scenarios for the both of them. That's also probably why Neuvillette got suspicious when Furina wanted his company when dealing with the Knave, because she would normally handle it on her own.
EternalBerry Animatic || Love in Paradise
Too many beds
Accidentally kidnapping a mafia boss
Really nice guy who hates only you
Academic rivals except it’s two teachers who compete to have the best class
Divorce of convenience
Too much communication
True hate’s kiss (only kissing your enemy can break a curse)
Dating your enemy’s sibling
Lovers to enemies
Hate at first sight
Love triangle where the two love interests get together instead
Fake amnesia
Soulmates who are fated to kill each other
Strangers to enemies
Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren’t actually dating
Too hot to cuddle
Love interest CEO is a himbo/bimbo who runs their company into the ground
Nursing home au
blue
(genshin impact spoilers incoming)
one aspect of furina's characterization that's pretty understated but that i really really really love is her intelligence and curiosity. usually in genshin, when a character's intelligence is an important trait of theirs, there are aspects of their design, writing, voice acting, etc, that very clearly tell you "hey this character is smart." albedo, for example, wears a labcoat, is always saying big sciency words in a calm, rational tone of voice, and other characters are always talking about how smart he is
but furina? nothing about her on the surface suggests that she's a "smart" character - quite the opposite, in fact. superficially, she's introduced as a bratty, conceited, overconfident person who actually has no idea what she's doing. we eventually learn in the archon quest that that was all an act, but even after she regains her freedom, nothing about her really seems archetypically intelligent, at least at face value
instead, furina's intelligence is always shown rather than told (the only exception being nahida's voiceline about her). she had an intelligence network across teyvat feeding her information, and we saw in the flashback how she directed researchers to study the prophecy and potential ways of stopping it. before things like lyney's trial or directing the two musketeers, she'd stay up all night planning and piecing things together all on her own. she loves learning new things, she has lines in the teapot about how, when she's interested in something, she wants to become the most knowledgeable person in the topic, and also how she'd like to disassemble the teapot itself to learn how it works, and she's quick to learn new skills (like surfing). and, of course, she's well read, and quite possibly teyvat's foremost expert on the performing arts
i like how furina sort of defies the concept of character archetypes. she's initially presented as an archetypical bratty, dramatic, spoiled popular girl, but that was a role she forced herself into because it's what people expected of her. but the real furina, while still retaining some of the flamboyance from her archon persona, doesn't really fit into a clear mold. she's smart without being a super-genius, and she's kind without being a soft-spoken doormat. it makes her feel multifaceted and real, and i really love that!
anyway, this is why it makes me mad whenever i see people calling furina stupid, cuz she's not!
I love french people i wish they were real
Old furina demo art!
Okay, everyone... It's time to talk- really talk- about Furina.
I cannot be the only one who is angry at the people of Fontaine for their treatment of her.
I mean, they loved Furina. She was their mascot- the true representation of justice in Fontaine. And we all know how it goes- Furina was placed in the role of the new archon, and then had to pretend to be haughty and self-important to gain her nation's approval. That's bad enough.
But Fontaine wasn't exactly at fault for that. They couldn't have known how painful it would be for her to act the part of their archon. They didn't even know it was just an act. So what made me so furious about their treatment of Furina? Not that. Though that certainly added onto the mess that played out during the archon quest.
No, what got to me was the humiliation they put Furina through, followed by their abandonment of her.
The trial was bad enough. Furina was ripped apart, put on the spot, and unable to defend herself without risking the safety of Fontaine (which I have a few questions about the validity of that statement, but I digress). And then the truth was revealed.
Except it wasn't.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Neuvillette keep what he found out about Furina and Focalors to himself? Fontaine never learned about the pain she went through over those 500 years. They only learned that Furina was a "fraud" and a mere human. All they saw was a human who pretended to be a god in place of their true archon, and they probably even believed Furina had done something to their true god so she could pretend to be the vessel of justice. I'd believe that if I found out my idol was a fake. But that's just speculation on my part.
The point is, Fontaine doesn't know that Furina is the human counterpart to Focalors. They don't know that the divine part of Focalors is already dead. They don't even know the truth about the prophecy or why Furina had to pretend to be their archon.
All they know is that their perceived deity was a fraud all along and their real god is nowhere to be seen.
And that leaves a lot to the imagination, a lot that can be filled in with lies and delusions...
...delusions that say Furina is the reason why their real god is gone.
No one knew how hard Furina tried to prevent anyone from dissolving. No one knows how important it was that Furina told no one who she really was and pretended to be their god for so long. No one knew how much it tormented Furina to isolate herself and pretend to be someone she wasn't. No one knew that the entire reason why Furina did this was because she loved her people and wanted Fontaine to be safe.
No, all the people of Fontaine knew was that their "god" was a fraud and presumably had done nothing to protect the nation from the rising waters. All they knew was that Furina had failed to save Poisson before the disaster struck.
The people of Fontaine only see Furina as a failure and a fraud, nothing more.
The real tragedy though? It's that Neuvillette knew what Furina had gone through for so long.
Yet he said nothing when Furina was cast aside post-flood. He said nothing when the people of Poisson shunned her for her failure to act.
But worst of all, he failed to make sure Furina was okay when all was said and done.
For all the remorse Neuvillette seemed to show upon learning of Furina's story, he barely seemed to care about her after the flood.
He, just like the rest of Fontaine, forgot about her and left her behind.
Furina was left to rot by her people, her other half, and even the closest thing she ever had to a friend.
That's the true irony of Fontaine.
The mascot of justice, unjustly humiliated and forgotten in front of and by her own nation.
I've never heard of a crueler fate.
And don't forget- Furina doesn't even know who she is anymore. How much harder do you think that is for someone who has nothing and no one to turn to?
Even the Traveler mocked her and only cared about her for answers about their sibling.
Furina has no one, is no one, and will be remembered as no one. Except as a fraud, a failure, and an egomaniac. Because that is the role she was forced into.
Focalors was deluding herself. Furina could never be free to act as whoever she wanted. Furina was always doomed to play the same part, and she was always doomed to be hated and ultimately forgotten by her own people.
And all we, the Traveler, did to "help" her, was to force her to take the stage again.
Also, do you really, honestly believe that Furina started acting again during her story quest solely because she has a passion for it?
No. It's familiar. And it's all she has left.
Furina only took to acting again because we forced her into it, and she only chose to continue because it's all she knows how to do.
Furina is truly the most tragic character in all of Genshin.
post-mouseter pearl??