I can't get this question out of my head: if Pierro was supposedly taking care of Paimon, then... why did we fish her out of the water? And how many years did she spend in that endless sea? Why didn't she die? Why doesn't she remember anything? Like, did Pierro decide to teach her to swim by just tossing her into the water, as your average dad would? And when she didn't resurface, he just forgot about her and left?

The scattered leaks about her really did seem somewhat rude and insulting toward Signora, but in the end, everything fell into place. When you play through the story in the right order, hear the context, and see what's happening along with the words, you can form quite a positive picture, especially in the finale.

I'll also say something I've wanted to say for a long time — leaks are a real problem for the fandom. So many problems and whining really do arise out of nowhere because of random, unverified leaks from sketchy sources (for example, the situation with Vodyanitsa, Signora, and Odette). Sometimes it feels like this premature information genuinely ruins the game experience. And avoiding leaks is incredibly hard because they can appear under any comment, in any video, on any social network related to Genshin.

Caution, spoilers for 7.0!

Well, I played through 7.0 completely sober, deciding that everything related to Rosalyne must be read and processed with a clear head. And that was the right call, because right now I want to down the entire bottle of vodka in one go straight from the bottle.

I always held onto hope and stayed positive even through the worst years: her death, the silence, and the total information vacuum. But today, after finishing the Archon Quest, the emptiness inside me has consumed everything good that was there. I want to believe that it's just my misinterpretations, strange coincidences, and awkward translations.

Absolutely everything I pinned my hopes on was thrown away:

1. Odette resolved her inner conflict and let go of Rosalyne and her resentment toward her. On top of that, she broke the Cor Ignis, which was a sign of Signora's favor.
2. The Cor Ignis itself turned out to be fake (as I understood it). The power that helped us travel between worlds was actually Arlecchino's power and her Cinder of the Fire of Two Worlds.
3. I found only one moth — it flies toward the mausoleum and disappears, after which an achievement pops up (with a very tragic meaning) along with a chest.

I have nothing left to hold on to in order to keep believing in Rosalyne's return. If you have strength, thoughts, or dreams left, please share them. The fire inside me has gone out.

Ave, Rosalyne.

UPD: Thank you so much, comrades. I adore you all! You gave me exactly what I was hoping for when I sat down to write that post. The fire inside me is raging stronger than ever!

Comrades, I understand that many of you are left today with a heavy sense of injustice, stupidity, or disappointment. But I'm asking you to pull yourselves together, gather your thoughts, and let it go.

I'm really lacking Russian swear words right now, but I urge you to forget about Odette. Screw her. She appeared out of nowhere in leaks and just one update ago. Our whole lives before that, we lived peacefully without any information about her. There's no need to poison yourselves over her words. We got carried away with our own fantasies, built up theories, and they didn't pan out. That happens, unfortunately.

Better to focus on Rosalyne herself rather than on what others say about her. Everyone has always trashed Signora. Even Arlecchino's voice line about her, I consider rather negative (is she really so cold and unpleasant that even orphaned children are willing to pretend they love her just for the gifts?). Yes, Odette didn't say what we wanted to hear about her, but so be it. Instead, we were told about something INCREDIBLY interesting — Cor Ignis. Understanding it, and the thing itself, might bring us closer to Rosalyne's return. First and foremost, it's HER we love, not the characters connected to her. Better to exhale and find the positive sides in what happened today — because there were some.

Rosalyne has always been strong, despite being hated and having nasty things said about her. We should follow her example. We've endured far worse events. Be strong and resilient, just like Signora.

I'll be picking up the first wave of official merch from the post office soon, and after that I'll order the rest and put together a shrine.

With only a few days left until 7.0, the copium/anxiety levels in our blood seem to have reached an all-time high. For years, we've been piecing together lore bit by bit, writing theories, arguing with haters, and waiting. Over that time, many of us have accumulated not only love for Rosalyne, but also a fair share of exhaustion and tilt.

Share how you've been coping all this time. What helped you survive the years of Hoyo's silence and the content drought? Do you have any "rituals" of your own (art, merch, logging into the game every day just to stand in the spot where we saw her last)?

And the main question: with what feeling are you standing at the doorstep of Snezhnaya? What do you fear most, and what do you hope for the most?

After Odette's trailer, I developed a headcanon that Signora can't stand Odette's biological mother. Signora would love to put Odette before a clear-cut choice: either me or your mother. But she can't bring herself to do it, because she knows it's far too immoral and cruel to do to her beloved girl. So she simply prefers to pretend the mother doesn't exist at all and tries never to mention or think of her. Rosalyne only ever crosses paths with the mother at Odette's performances, because the ballerina begs her to come — and it's simply impossible to say no when those puppy-dog eyes are staring at you.

With only a few days left until 7.0, I suggest we pass the time with some reflections. Let's put our thoughts in order a bit, so that on the first day of the update we can fully soak in all the new content, especially anything related to Rosalyne.

Why do you think you like Signora? What made you fall for her so deeply? What is it about those tiny crumbs of her story that we know that hooked you so strongly? What did you especially love about her design?

Eating ice cream in complete silence, I once again found myself lost in Signora's hypnotic gaze on her portrait, and a question raced through my mind: "Why have I never liked anyone else as strongly as I like you?" Could it be that the secret lies precisely in how her story is presented? This air of mystery, the secrecy, the enormous share of unspoken yet critically important details, the endless room for theorizing — perhaps that's what sparks this interest and love. Even in the two worst years of Fontaine and Natlan, when there wasn't a single word about Rosalyne (except for Arlecchino's voice line), I still didn't let this woman out of my head for a single day. It's as if, on some random night, one of her moths landed on my chest and crept inside as a tiny flame, forever smoldering with faith in Signora's return, her resurrection, the chance to finally, fully revel in this incomparable woman.

It's hard not to notice how, despite all the years that have passed, every appearance of Rosalyne still stirs the fandom's interest. The moment she shows up somewhere, so many people — even those who normally don't think about her — start speaking up, creating their own content. It's especially noticeable with Odette's release. On Hoyolab, the top comments under the trailer and character videos are often about Signora and her heels. In my native language, every other video about Odette is specifically about her connection to Rosalyne, and every top-liked comment is either poking fun at how Hoyo ignores the elephant in the room regarding the MC's involvement in her death, or some interesting thoughts about their bond.

Which brings me to my last point: what if this was the developers' plan from the very beginning? To create an intentionally beautiful and intriguing character, to show just enough of her so that she'd be loved by a sizable number of people, but just little enough to keep you feeling teased. Like a cat endlessly chasing the ever-elusive beam of a laser pointer. You're just about to catch it with your little paw, you see it for a fleeting moment on your fur, but Rosalyne slips away again, remaining a mystery in the shadows. Is this a seven-year-long buildup toward something... Or is Hoyo simply not that clever.

UPD: art: https://x.com/guyaabano/status/2083369007843778796?s=46

If you think about the meaning behind what's happening, you can notice: 1. Odette is asked to show emotions (her real mother?), she starts dancing, but she is stopped and asked to start again, this time showing her true self. 2. Odette begins to dance, and scenes with Signora start playing in the background. Rosalyne gives her the Fatui insignia, and then walks toward the frozen mausoleum. I think this is a metaphor for her "entering" the tomb after her death. And over these scenes, Odette speaks of disgust and hatred in this country.

What do you think: is this a hint about Rosalyne and feelings toward her? Or the feelings after her death? I think we should discuss this.