ToT spoiler in Luke's personal story (you have been warned):
WHY YOU GOTTA HURT ME MORE THAN BEFORE LUKE????
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Honkai's retconning of Self-Sacrifice
Can we talk about something that's been bothering me?
It's the complete retcon of Mei's character - and by proxy Kiana's - and the overturning of nearly all the buildup to this current arc.
When Kiamei find out that they can beat the Honkai by taking the power of Finality, but that it comes at the cost of one of them becoming the HoFi, why are they completely okay with that? There isn't a single protest from Mei when Kiana - unprompted, by the way - says that she's okay with it, and that she has resigned herself to her fate as the HoFi. And that's so disappointing.
The entire plot up to this point, if you think about it, really hinges on one thing. Himeko's sacrifice. Or, at the very least, everything from Diane's Sojourn (Ch. XI-1) to Thunders over Nagazora (Ch. XVII). That's a good solid chunk of the plot.
Kiana only goes to Arc City because of her guilt. Fu Hua had to stop her from putting a bullet through her skull because of that guilt, and even though Himeko's sacrifice is the catalyst for Kiana's eventual character growth and development (that was completely destroyed by the recent story), it has never been a good thing!
Mei only joins World Serpent because ultimately, she fails to show Kiana that there are other people who care about her and want the best for her. She only goes down this path of self-hatred and darkness and destruction because she couldn't save both the world and Kiana, and she chose Kiana over the world in the end.
"Kiana, you're always like this. Even when you're battered, you still force a smile. You saved me. You saved us all. Yet you shoulder everything alone, at the cost of your life."
Remember this line? Mei was so against Kiana's "mission" of self-sacrifice and attempt to atone for Himeko's death with her own life that she beat Kiana until she had to resort to her Herrscher form. She was absolutely serious about stopping her! You know, Ms.
"You're the most important person in my life. If rescuing you is a sin, I'll gladly become a sinner."
But I suppose that's been retconned now that Mei is "completely like Elysia." Which brings me to another topic. Mei's character building after meeting Elysia.
I'm not saying the destruction of the ER was a bad move - it was a completely fine plot point. But why, when Mei is said to care about Elysia so much, is she okay with how Elysia died? Why is she so positive about her experience in the ER and EE when she watched thirteen of her friends, who meant literally everything to her when she was there, die painfully and almost for nothing in front of her? She was absolutely devastated when Pardo died in her arms, and yet she's completely okay with it now?
The whole point of the ER and EE stories, to me, was that cold logic and keeping to oneself is what made the PE fail. The ER was never meant to be a hall for achievements and happiness. It was a place where the successors could learn where their predecessors failed! It was literally a collection of souls who were so fragmented in life and so cut off from each other that even though they were the "13 Flamechasers", they couldn't work together to muster a single attack against Finality. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE ROLE MODELS.
And Elysia's story was never about "being happy all the time", it was about how she was so loving and determined that she literally changed fate. She wasn't a perfect being from the get go. And neither should Mei be, now.
Finally, Even Kiana's willingness to be self-sacrificial and turn into the HoFi is absolutely insane to me. She punched a hole in space and time to get Fu Hua back.
"Why is it always like this? Trading sacrifices for so-called victories. It's unacceptable. Give Fu Hua back to me!"
So in the end, this meant nothing, too? All the lessons the girls learned about relying on each other and not sacrificing one for the other, and Kiamei's entire arc from Thunders over Nagazora to them reuniting on the Moon Base? And for what?
The Power of Friendship? Ely/Mei parallels? Kiana HoFi? It's just all so badly done that it's almost laughable.
(big thanks goes to my babu @rainmarginals for ranting with me,,)
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Re-reading some of the earlier fanfictions does make me realize how far we've come regarding Diluc & Kaeya. Earlier fics showed them as colder and more ruthless, which I think I recall that being the consensus in the fandom at the time.
I might be alone in saying I miss that characterization. Perhaps it's not canon anymore, but it's what made me love them. There was so much to dissect there, so many thorns that hurt them and others. They both sacrificed themselves for others often and were messed up while they were at it. In my opinion, that characterization was so much more fun.
Nevertheless, characterization marches on. I still love these two with all my heart. Difficult not to.
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