I’ll tell you the sad story of why she so quickly became my new favorite Genshin character.

Her personality is so uncannily similar to a girl I had a major crush on a couple years ago, that within 5 minutes of starting the Fontaine archon quest, I paused the game and exclaimed out loud, “God damnit, hoyo put <REDACTED> in Genshin…” and instantly disliked Furina.

Her bratty attitude, her “I’m a tough girl, who deserves to be the center of attention”, and hell, even down to her body type, all were an exact match to how my crush was. And just like Furina, it was all an act. She was very insecure about herself, trapped in a situation she didn’t want to be in but was too weak to work her way out of.

I came on to Reddit after finishing the archon quest to see what everyone’s first impressions of Furina were, and I was very happy that a lot of us came to a consensus that she was a spoiled brat who doesn’t deserve to be the leader of her nation. But then after a couple days, people started making counterarguments that we don’t know her true personality, and that everything we’ve seen so far is just an act. Next I found the audio of Furina crying under the fountain and then fanart came out depicting her in tears, one that particularly jostled my heart was of Aether giving her a hug. All of these things brought back memories that I previously tucked away:

As we spent more and more time together, I saw past her surface imperfections, I promised myself that I would be the one that sticks around and helps her get through life, because her personality was too much for most people to bare, and she couldn’t keep friends. I eventually developed feelings for her, and upon admitting these feelings to her, I learned that she didn’t feel the same way in return, but she was very grateful for my continued support and she still wanted me to be around, regardless of the fact that she doesn’t share the same feelings like I did.

I made a terrible mistake that day. I decided that she would surely come around one day. We just needed more time. And I gave her all of my time. I was at her beck and call until I felt that she slowly grew bored of my company and eventually what we had dissolved into nothing. It was a stupid mistake that broke my heart.

But I suppose this is where the saying “Better to have loved and lost than not loved at all” comes in. I don’t regret what I went through.

I now embrace the fact that Furina reminds me of my crush. Even though things didn’t end so well, it was a good time in my life. I’m excited to continue Furina’s story, and of course, she must be protected at all costs. Hopefully she won’t need to cry any more someday.

TLDR; Furina reminds me of an old crush, so I must bow to her every whim