I think we as Mondstadt lovers need to acknowledge that the Knights of Favonius are a fucked up organization.
I don’t even mean that in a “Diluc is right” way.
I mean it in a we only see them as good guys because we’re A) on their side B) they’re our OG’s way
This applies to the majority of the knights we know too. If Mondstadt was a rival nation we’d all agree their members are genuinely fucked up.
Omfg as a huge KoF and Mondstadt fan freaking tHANK YOU SO MUCH LIKE????
Don't get me wrong, I love my blorbos, but all of them have insane issues. Friendly reminder that so far Mondstadt is the only actual theocracy in all of Tevyat, where the whole of the state is controlled by a STATE RELIGION and their DEDICATED KNIGHT ORDER. They let very very young kids join and rise to insane positions as well as having no issues just. Ordering hits on other people (see: Lohen). There's a very very strong sense of morality and pressure to be loyal to the nation too. Yk how everyone just collectively gave up/switched up on Eroch after that betrayal? Dude was genuinely a senior member of the knights and good friend of Varka's, and while he deffos did some huge mistakes....there are some weird implications still that no one had ANY sort of bad feelings just cutting the dude out of their lives completely. Not even a mention of "oh yeah I wish my good friend didn't betray us" or "ik he's evil but I still feel sad about all that happened." Just immediate condemnation and hatred. Dying for Mondstadt and laying down your life for the nation + god? Honourable and seen as good. Sending out an expedition to meddle with the business of other nations while trying to collect info (even with good intentions)? Perfectly fine. Following up on Diluc who did a killing spree in Snez, or Durin with his everything, or Lohen's whole experiments, or just any other shady past or action of one of their members? Nahhh, not as long as they are loyal to Mondstadt at least.
Which, by the way, doesn't even go into the character specifics of the individual knights???
Varka: Insanely dedicated to the point of mentioning Mondstadt like every third sentence in his character stories + voicelines. Genuinely in love with his home to the point of complete and utter self-sacrifice. Half of his personality is literally just "Mondstadt Mondstadt Mondstadt".
Kaeya: Khaenri'ahn spy placed in a nation in particular with a talent for tricks and lying. Straight up raised and planted to betray all of them. Openly willing to use dirty play to get what he wants. May end up betraying his birth nation in favour of Mondstadt.
Albedo: Humonculus experiment of Rhindottir trying to find the meaning of life. Does some really weird experimental stuff. Has had a Doppelgänger incident two separate times somehow. Semi-created new life via Durin. And all in all, just in an odd mental space.
Jean: Overworking herself out of sheer duty. Almost as bad as Varka in terms of self-sacrifice, only marginally better because for her it was more of a thing of her just being raised that way. Very responsible but also got the issue of her self-worth being extremely reliant on her nation.
Mika: Literal. Child.
And I could go on. Like seriously again I love my Knights but they are a cesspool of borderline indoctrination and concerning levels of blind devotion to Venti and Mondstadt. They're chill 'cause they're following the Archon of Freedom and because they're more of a defensive typa military who mostly wanna focus on keeping their nation happy and content.....but they're most certainly not as cute or harmless as some would like to assume.
Don’t forget the fact that Kaeya intentionally leaves some treasure horder hideouts alone so he has something to hunt down when he’s bored.
Sucrose has made multiple unethical biological experiments and weapons.
Klee is a child but still has the knowledge and capability to create and handle bombs strong enough to level mountains.
Jean allowed an abyssal creature to take over the lives of multiple Mondstadt citizens to enact a plan to capture and subdue it.
Lisa is the most brilliant mind of a generation but uses her abilities to track down missing library books instead of revolutionizing her entire field of study that she’s clearly capable of doing.
Mika was able to chart Draginspine and invented a device that aids in espionage of enemy camps.
