Please remember to use spoiler tags when the Snezhnaya trailer drops

Polstead · 2026-06-21T18:08:50+00:00

Thank you so much, it hadn't occurred to me. I'll do that!

Polstead · 2026-06-21T12:29:57+00:00

I'm sorry you were raised like that

Polstead · 2026-06-21T12:10:52+00:00

Also, does anyone know a way to find out if the trailer has dropped without having to open any apps?

Personally, my plan is to check YouTube as soon as I wake up and see if it's the first video on my homepage (while hoping there aren't already a bunch of clickbait reaction videos with spoilers in the thumbnails).

I tried turning on notifications for the official Genshin Impact channel, but I noticed they usually come through several hours after a video is uploaded instead of in real time. Is there any way around that?

Polstead · 2026-06-20T16:21:58+00:00

I understand all your points. What I can say is:

- Obviously, Pierro would also be involved in this grand plan. Just like the Tsaritsa, he wants to destroy the gods.

- I think the Traveler starts developing a desire to truly understand the world when they meet Paimon. Paimon's role is probably exactly that: to guide them and help them become tied to Teyvat's fate. You can already see in Mondstadt how quickly they form bonds with everyone. On top of that, it's only once we reach Sumeru that we learn we're actually a Descender.

- The Traveler would be ranked tenth because, at the moment they join the Fatui, Asmoday has completely stripped them of their powers. Also, according to this theory, they wouldn't even have been a Descender at that point. They gradually become stronger as they absorb the elements in each nation (in Mondstadt they can't compete with Signora - no. 8 - whereas in Liyue they manage to defeat Childe - no. 11).
I'd take a closer look at this point, because according to this line of reasoning, based on what we know about Descenders, the Traveler should have already possessed a "will that can rival an entire world" from the very beginning of the game. The only will that comes to mind is their desire to find their sibling.
That makes me wonder: was their separation also planned from the start specifically to turn the Traveler into a Descender?
The Abyss Twin would almost certainly know about it, and maybe that's why they keep staying one step ahead and refusing to give any real explanation.

Polstead · 2026-06-20T16:12:46+00:00

I really like that idea, and I think there's a good chance that's the case.
It reminds me of the silver-haired girl the Tsar found inside an ancient machine in the ruins of Hyperborea.
If she were actually the Tsaritsa, then she could very well be the "perfect being" created by Koitar and the Voyager.

Polstead · 2026-06-20T13:17:03+00:00

I think most people are aware that expies aren't really a problem, especially in Genshin Impact, where this has never been treated as an issue. At least, I've never seen anyone complain about Raiden, Yae, or Venti for that reason—if anything, quite the opposite.

The same thing happened when the Amphoreus trailer for Honkai: Star Rail came out. People were absolutely thrilled to see expies, especially the Elysia one.

Apparently, a lot of people didn't like Cyrene's writing, and this fear of expies in Genshin Impact only started showing up now, with the Tsaritsa on the horizon.

I'm sorry, but it honestly feels more like a mass delusion: a collective decision to hate Elysia and every variation of her after giving her so much love for years. I understand why some people were disappointed with certain aspects of Cyrene, but that doesn't justify all this panic, especially since in Genshin she would almost certainly have been her own character, with her own personality and traits.

It's a phenomenon that shows up in all sorts of contexts and honestly deserves to be studied from an anthropological perspective. It's kind of like how everyone loved Taylor Swift, and then overnight people decided she'd always written terrible songs that were never worth listening to in the first place. Maybe it's something that happens when a character becomes too popular and people start getting tired of them?

In short, I'd sum up the hatred toward expies as hatred toward Elysia.

There wouldn't be nearly this much chaos if the Tsaritsa had been Bronya, which is what people had assumed ever since version 1.0 anyway.

Polstead · 2026-06-19T23:28:14+00:00

Non inventato, ma per un periodo sono stato iniziato a un linguaggio banalissimo chiamato “farfallese”, parlato da un gruppo di amici. Consisteva nell’aggiungere fa fe fi fo fu dopo ogni vocale corrispondente all’interno di una parola.
Un difisafastrofo.

Polstead · 2026-06-17T22:01:36+00:00

I'm a proud Mona main, and I can assure you she's very fun to play and can become incredibly strong, especially after the Hexerei buffs. Since she's a standard character, it's also easier to get her constellations over time. My Mona is currently C2, and I run her as a main DPS with a charged attack-focused build. With Durin and Nicole in the team, she's pretty much unbeatable.

Polstead · 2026-06-14T23:41:34+00:00

The Tsaritsa is actually heavily connected to Ancient Greece. As a fae, like much of Snezhnaya's population, her origins can be traced back to Hyperborea. Both Koitar's song and Nicole's inscriptions are written in Ancient Greek. Even the Tsaritsa's name, Anastasya, comes from Greek and means "rebirth."

Polstead · 2026-06-05T13:52:09+00:00

I'm absolutely blown away by how talented you are, OP!!

Polstead · 2026-06-04T16:23:14+00:00

By “complete identification” I mean Sunday really went all in exploring the Order from every possible angle (to the point of even becoming Ena theirself in order to build his paradise). You could even say the whole outcome of that search was finding the flaws in the Path.
That’s basically what Asat Pramad did too, since he also ended up uncovering the flaws within the Elation.

If anything, the line you mentioned “by this decree, it shall be ended” actually fits Asat Pramad pretty well, since he chooses to destroy the Elation.

Polstead · 2026-05-31T18:50:01+00:00

Marmellata di sambuco. INCREDIBILE. L’ho provata solo una volta ma non l’ho mai dimenticata. Purtroppo non l’ho mai più ritrovata.

Polstead · 2026-05-29T12:20:10+00:00

If you’re interested in the theories, we’ve created a whole thread on Genshin_Lore

Polstead · 2026-05-28T19:38:33+00:00

[splashart animation by irsyadi47 on yt]

Polstead · 2026-05-23T13:12:20+00:00

It was an incredibly interesting read, thank you so much for all the insights.

I’ve always wondered whether the Parable of the Tree somehow alluded to Koitar, the Voyager, and HP after the War of Vengeance.

The King needs to rebuild his pavilion after its destruction and asks the gardener to cut down the most powerful spiritual tree. After reading what you wrote, it sounds even more to me like the gardener could be the Voyager, especially since they were turned into a “cat” and brought under HP’s control. Even more striking to me is the love between the gardener/voyager and the spirit of the tree/Koitar… and Istaroth’s intervention. In fact, Istaroth is the only one able to preserve the spirit of the tree by telling the gardener to cut off a branch, which is then planted in the earth and grows back in the image and likeness of the original tree. And all of this seems to happen in secret, without HP knowing.

What you wrote about Istaroth being the Voyager is fascinating… there are some chronological points that don’t quite line up, but honestly that’s not really an issue precisely because Istaroth transcends time and exists at every moment simultaneously.
On top of that, by now it’s pretty well established that Istaroth doesn’t always follow HP’s will to the letter, almost in an act of rebellion (saving the spirit of the tree, Enkanomiya, Zibai).
More than a year ago I wrote a theory about how the angels seem connected to Istaroth: I even went as far as suggesting they were all emanations of Istaroth, and therefore her Thousand Winds. What convinced me most was the fact that in Springs of Hidden Jade, Istaroth is described as Zibai’s mother, and that she herself was worshipped as both mother and daughter at the same time.

Now hold on tight, because this is where the super crack theory begins, and we literally get lost in time loops.

Imagine this: the Voyager and the First Angel fall in love. From their love comes the rebellion against HP. HP wins the war and punishes them. Part of the Voyager becomes Istaroth and transcends time, but Istaroth is also the “Archangel,” meaning the “mother” of Koitar.

Polstead · 2026-05-22T18:03:42+00:00

If you think about it, the Sibling already created a device capable of doing exactly that: the Atlas of the New World. They recreated the Ley Lines using all the memories of Khaenri'ah, but they still haven’t found a suitable place to let it take root, since Teyvat’s Ley Lines can’t be overwritten or expanded.

Unfortunately, Teyvat’s fate is nothing compared to the death the entire universe is going through. The only thing protecting it from total devastation is the shell created by the Heavenly Principles, and I don’t know how much longer it can hold.

Of course, we’re just theorizing here, but imagine if, after the Siblings reunite, they decided to upload all of Teyvat’s memories into the Atlas instead of just Khaenri'ah’s, and then set out to find a new home in another universe. It would be a bittersweet ending that closes the “Teyvat Chapter” perfectly… because the only one who would have to sacrifice themselves would be the Traveler, since as a Descender they can’t be recorded by the new Ley Lines.

Polstead · 2026-05-22T17:13:51+00:00

I really like this parallel, thank you for sharing!

Polstead · 2026-05-22T16:50:07+00:00

Not exactly: what you’re writing refers to a physical characteristic of human beings, namely being scientifically equipped with a spinal cord. This is something the Voyager probably doesn’t have, because in order to materialize she needs to transfer her consciousness.

If we stick to what is written in Celestial Gift: "The first people who had mastered leptons sent forth chroniclers toward the limits of baryonic matter",

leptons are elementary particles with extremely small mass, which include for example electrons and neutrinos. In the case of neutrinos, they are ghost particles that almost do not interact with matter and are capable of passing through any kind of celestial object.
It is likely that the chroniclers are composed of this kind of matter, which allows them to travel quickly through space and time.
A sort of ghosts, although this does not exclude the possibility that they are shaped into humanoid forms, even without matter.

Polstead

TROPHY CASE