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#bc when we first learn the sages have imprisoned nahida nahida herself basically says it’s fine bc her existence has
stardustdiiving · 4 months
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Me explaining in terms of strictly how I read canon I think Nahida not severely punishing the Sages is just meant to convey that Nahida, even when wronged, is not a very vengeful or harsh person and makes the choice to be kind instead, but in my mind I have this idea of a Nahida interpretation which elaborates on that where her self punishing tendencies extend to her being someone who internally downplays her own experiences constantly, and as a result has a hard time feeling she’s allowed or justified in placing a lot of blame on the Sages for what they did to her So while she is following her own philosophies regarding teaching lessons/wisdom/etc in how to handle the Sages and genuinely doesn’t want to be really angry or punishing because of who she is as a person, her decision is also influenced by the fact she’s basically blocked herself out of grappling with how to handle people who hurt her by blaming herself for said hurt instead as a coping mechanism. And like this is all just me being insane about Nahida Trauma and not something explicitly implied in canon but also I really do think this isn’t a far stretch from her canon characterization especially when my vision isn’t to conclude that Nahida needs to be angry and vengeful but she should extend the kindness she shows others to herself and also every day I get tormented thinking about she was the mental equivalent of an average human child when the Sages found her and how they basically specifically discarded her for being a child and the idea of how Nahida would pick up on + internalize that and eventually need time to unlearn it
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#nahida#genshin#fern.txt#fandomferns#fictional child abuse cw#anyways is anyone else here normal#see I think a sentiment most ppl get from nahdia’s character is correctly that she is kind despite being treated so poorly#but I want to explore her grappling with Why she does that bc she is genuinely kind#and I don’t think she’s struggling with moving on from things#but based off things she says word for word I feel it’s established nahida is very distressed by not being able to rationalize or#understand things that upset her#this is clear in both her SQs & her voicelines even down to her not liking seafood bc the unknown of the ocean#intimidates her. so I’d imagine she’s someone who responds to being mistreated by concluding#there must be a reason for it. and I actually have dialogue that backs me up here#bc when we first learn the sages have imprisoned nahida nahida herself basically says it’s fine bc her existence has#little meaning and she’s not good enough to be an archon. even as paimon is remarking how awful#the sages are for it and prompting nahida on if she’s upset w them#it’s not that Nahida isn’t insightful enough to acknowledge something as mistreatment#but rather she finds more comfort and a sense of control in having explanations for things#heck the reason she gives up her gnosis to Dottore is states in her char stories to be bc#she doesn’t want the lack of control that comes from a lack of information#nahida leaning on knowledge for a sense of control makes me esp sad when I think abt how#she does not have autonomy or agency for a majority of her life bc of her imprisonment n had fo rely on her#mind n ability to learn n gain knowledge#anyways to reiterate ks anyone else normal
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stardustdiiving · 9 days
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Hi!! Hello!! I've just been passively listening to your blog for a bit and I just have to say. auauua you actually giving Nahida the spotlight she deserves is so refreshing! I love Wanderer in all his forms, but the lack of character studies/general brainworms about Nahida is so sad to me D: She's an archon!! You'd think people would talk about her more in the general fandom... Idk, personally, she's a pretty relatable character in the way of having to become an adult for the people around her (in her case, becoming a knowledgeable god despite having the mind of a child for the sages) like!! She is smart, but she is a KID. Haven't a fair number of people experienced that? And justifying the behavior too- like I (personally) think that Nahida tries to make the horrendous behavior of generations of sages seem Less Bad bc 'oh, they were probably so lost without the Greater Lord.. and I wasn't what they were looking for' Because admitting that you were hurt for a reason that was entirely NOT YOUR FAULT actually feels Really Bad. LOCAL BABY GOD IS RELATABLE TO THE MASSES!! (Could be a bad take, I do need to rewatch the Sumeru quests.. it's been so long.. my little guys..) BEFORE I GET TOO SIDETRACKED UH. yeah. Thank you for the Radish Thoughts they are really really appreciated by someone who also thinks Nahida is Pretty Neat!
WTF UR GONNA MAKE ME CRY IM SO GLAD. I love Nahida I’m glad it resonates. Tbh i think that take isn’t bad at all bc I actually also had a similar interpretation of her downplaying her neglect in the same way she downplays her worth as an Archon bc obviously there’s overlap between the two
Assortment of screenshots I feel go along with this , starting with how the Sages’ treatment of her is discussed textually:
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When we learn she’s being imprisoned for the first time in the AQ, Nahida’s response is quite literally her justifying why the Sages’ decision makes “rational” sense because (like u said!) she’s not Rukkhadevata and by extension isn’t a “real enough archon”
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Nahida internalizes the “my existence has little meaning” to the point she justifies beating herself up as an inferior archon over Dunyazard’s presumed death as “rationally observing the distance between herself and a real archon”:
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And also the first thing she does when we set her free is apologize for letting the Sages neglect her. We also get her basically saying she was never angry about what was done to her until she was being rescued:
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She goes onto say she’s going to punish the sages harshly, but then it’s noted by multiple characters they think she wasn’t harsh enough with her punishment. Which is a haha aww Nahida doesn’t have it in her to be harsh. But it’s also like haha aww. Nahida doesn’t have it in her to be harsh even to the people who dehumanized her and kept her in a cage for generations Zjsjmxkxjnsj
Nahida as a person seems to be someone who clings to a sense of personal control , my main reasoning for this is it’s directly stated in her character stories the reason she gives up her Gnosis to Dottore for information would be to have more knowledge and therefore control over a situation:
With one Gnosis still in her hands, Nahida could not help but hesitate. She barely knew more about the Gnoses than she knew the "truth" of the world. […] Shaking hands in bargain means an equal compromise for both sides, a far cry from any victory. On the other hand, turning down the bargain indicates a certain type of "ignorance," which, obviously, would more easily invite a loss of control. Thus did the "God of Wisdom" instantly find her answer...
So her rationalizing her own neglect or Anything Bad That Is Done to Her to me is a way of asserting a sense of control over her situation when she has none, just as u said!
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