INCOMING SPOILERS FOR THE I & II ACTS OF THE SNEZHNAYA ARCHON QUEST!!
Okay, so this genshin update left me reeling. THE THINGS I CAN DO WITH THIS CAST. OH MY GOODNESS.
What my brain has been getting fried over this past hour is Valeriy and Il Capitano. The moment I saw him, I immediately got a soft spot for him because the resemblance between him and Capitano came to mind so quickly. The quest has strenghened that by a lot. The seriousness with which he handles even an operation like retrieving Mitya (with whom his relation is so freaking endearing), his commanding presence and the way he remains calm and takes charge in dire situations, his meticulous timeliness. He's a man of few words, clearly a military man through and through. He's always thinking about the rules, about the protocol he abides by himself and which he uses to view the world, respectful and clearly noble. I have absolutely no doubt that he and Capitano got along, held mutual respect for each other, and appreciated each other's clear morals and straightforwardness. And, well, you can go further from there. (I will definitely ramble more about them in a separate post)
Then, you have the most unexpected duo of all: Paimon and Pierro. First of all, let me just say that I love the direction Hoyo took with the Fatui. The attitude of "Everything that has happened between us is naught but petty squabble compared with what we're facing. We must band together if we want to have a fighting chance against Death itself". So far, hat I've seen of Pierro greatly pleases me; it's exactly how I imagined he'd be. His relationship with Paimon, however, was completely unexpected. It's not something I knew I needed until it was placed in my hands. It's so unbelievably endearing. Pierro summoning down this little child-like creature and letting her stay in his palace when the Vinster King showed no interest in her, yet, despite almost completely ignoring her existence, Paimon had felt close enough to him that that lingered even with the loss of her memories, clearly having thought of him in a good light. Now, centuries later, he regrets his neglect and worries so much for her well-being. He remembers that infant-like little girl, so sane and innocent even after the chaos and insanity brought forth by the Cataclysm, and feels the need to protect her from everything else. He, from what I've seen, is clearly fond of little Paimon, and clearly affected by the fact that she remained the same despite everything.
To a bit of a lesser extent (which isn't to say much because I am FERAL over the previous two), there's Mitya, both with Valeriy and Vodyanitsa. Funnily enough, he manages to get on both of their nerves, though with Valeriy it's far more frequent. Despite that, though, he and Vodyanitsa are such a sweet pair to watch interact because they're both so expressive, it's almost as if they feed into each other's energy by reciprocation. The harmony in their interaction was so adorable. With Valeriy, it's moreso a dynamic where they balance each other out. Valeriy is very serious, Mitya is far more relaxed. One is always at work and fullfills every moment of duty, the other slips away at the first opportunity. In a way, Valeriy is always keeping Mitya in check, while Mitya's always trying to pull Valeriy into relaxing and, well, slacking off a little bit for his own good. It's very entertaining.
