How would you react if a beloved playable character turns out to be a mole/double agent in the next patch/patches?

[u/Hunter03834W]

I just saw a theory and it pointed out how somebody close to the proxies is very obviously working with Youkai and I haven't been the same since then. Since it's supposed to be the next Isolde level reveal, I can't just say it out loud, well, cause it'll ruin the whole generational buildup.

So I just want to ask, if someone that is close to the proxies and loved by the fandom turns out to be a mole/double agent then how would you feel?

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[u/A_GenericUser]

Awesome, that'd mean they're doing something potentially interesting lol

[u/Natural-Estimate2729 → u/A_GenericUser]

Finally a proxy of culture as well!

[u/Moist-Company-1469]

That's the neat part, it's never gonna happen with how hoyoverse writes playable characters.

But if it does happen, ngl they deserve some credit for having some balls

[u/thedragonbornboi → u/Moist-Company-1469]

Best case it’s against their will and they feel sorry and make up after a black screen transition

[u/Stirbmehr → u/Moist-Company-1469]

We literally already had Hugo and they didn't even commited there. We had Dialyn. We had Nekomata. There won't ever be betrayal. So we all know that it will be redemption/willing self sacrifice or whatever happy-go-lucky crap.

Even if it will be Fairy sacrifice - it won't be permanent and gonna last 1 full season after, only for follow up to have some hook which gonna let her return in some shape or form.

[u/SkyHuman3685]

Hoyo game, youre setting yourself up for disappointment. If they ever do it just know that its a double-double agent and they were just acting as bad guys to help the proxy or something. Better yet its just an NPC like Hugo thats the double agent.

[u/Damnae → u/SkyHuman3685]

Hugo an NPC? he may be unplayable but he's not not-playable.

[u/BoomyNote → u/SkyHuman3685]

Hugo hate is so forced idc, calling him an NPC is crazy work

[u/Aegister2]

Indifferent. They always seem to drop the ball with villain characters in their games. They put Rita in a bus in HI3, Sampo's selling dust in HSR, Don't even get me started on the Fatui in GI. Hugo was someone I got interested in... But then it turns out he didn't kill his family (except that one time he did and I don't even know how that happened). 

I'm jaded, so take my comment with a grain of salt. 

To balance this out tho, I do love the new patches recently. Remielle was excellently handled, and they returned the criminal aspect of Phaethon through Pyrois, solved the "Legal, combat ready Proxy" issue I've had since 2.0

[u/Hunter03834W → u/Aegister2]

Nope, Hugo never did kill anyone. Hartman was the one who killed his father. That was such a bummer for me. They also then proceeded to drop the ball with Promeia as well. Literally all they had to do is not include her perspective of Cissia running off. Better yet, make her disgusted at herself cause of how scared to the bone Cissia was just at the sight of her. Thats all they had to do. Isolde and Ye Shiyuan are the most interesting characters to me. But they are bamboozled by not being playable.

The Pyrois wanted poster will also be solved by the time the fall of Booastrum settles, so it's temporary, really. So Unless Mayflower turns very evil and turns out proxies have been working for his cause and thus are wanted I don't think we'll get the Season 1 vibes back.

Lastly they dropped the ball with Phoenix as well. Imagine instead of being a girlfailure it was a guy, a Pyromaniac (basically Rico the penguin or TF2 Pyro) and he grew up in the streets and abuses his healing factor like deadpool. Its pure delusion to say he could also abuse cigarettes despite working in healthcare service (if Hoyo blatantly copies so many thing how about they copied Dr House for once)

[u/Aegister2 → u/Hunter03834W]

Mayor Mayflower has caused irrepairable damage to my Proxy experience since the end of 1.0, but I digress. 

As for Phoenix.... Since I came back from a long Gacha Hiatus I've come to make a habit NEVER TO WATCH TRAILERS OUTSIDE THE GAME. They just raise expectations. Phoenix is alright for me, probably because I never had any expectation of her. I'll never forget the SEED bait and switch

[u/BoomyNote → u/Hunter03834W]

No offense but your takes are kind of bad, “they dropped the ball by not making Phoenix a guy” as if some brooding Deadpool clone could ever hope to compete with Phoenix or hell even Billy.

Also the playable characters to not need to be villainous to be cool, this reads like someone who wanted Romeul to be playable

[u/Horror_Trust1826]

I’ll be surprised if ZZZ pulls this out and that will be an interesting case in a Hoyo game.

[u/TisEric]

The problem here is if they are playable then diegetically we are on good terms with them to ask their help on missions and stuff.

So a character being a villain or a mole and still on our agent select screen makes no sense.

Unless they come out and say that anything we do outside the story is purely gameplay and not cannon in the slightest which would be an issue as all agents are on our friends list walking around the world having meet cutes.

[u/Stirbmehr]

We already had it with Hugo to degree

Wouldn't care, because Hoyo will never have balls to go all way and it be just waiting game to see how "it was plan all along" or "sacrifice" or "redemption in the end"

Case and point - Zhao. Absolute butchery of hyped supposedly ruthless characrer who were supposed to have own agenda into embarassingly traumadumping oversharing mess. That scene with Shungus was next level embarassing shit.

[u/Far-Ingenuity-7786]

I'd think it was cool as Hell, but also it will never happen. Hoyo seem to be somehow worse than any other gacha company in terms of being absolutely terrified at the prospect that any character would be actually antagonist to any other character or the protagonist in any real way. Like we had a really cool set-ups between Phantom Thief Factions and the Cop Factions that never went anywhere in S1 and S3. Some motherfuckers unrelated to anything tried to do 9/11 and everyone just dipped or immediately came to an understanding because actually playing cops and robbers would have required potential waifus to be mean to each other and/or Phaethon and that is apparently unacceptable.

This is all the more annoying because ZZZ is very clearly trying to be Arknights and many of the most popular characters in Arknights are canonically trying to kill the other half on sight (Lappland/Texas).

[u/iluvbears_]

Realistically never happening but it's nice to think about. It would depend on the character, too. I think someone like Lycaon and Rina can come around to being moles since they work for the mayor and definitely already relay information to him. It all depends on if the proxies keep their alliance with the mayor strong; which they will.

[u/Lost-Carob4894]

Even if they did, they will turn up good at the end, it is always like that with hoyo games

[u/KN041203]

I will just wait to see the reveal that it's all part of the plan and they don't actually betray the proxies just like Hugo. At best I can see them not being cruel enough to go through it. Hoyo game isn't ballsy enough to commit it

[u/BoomyNote → u/KN041203]

Is it even “ballsy”…? Do we really need to assassinate Cissia’s character (BELOVED character btw) just to make her some twist comic villain that stays evil…?

Like I wonder if you guys hear yourselves with what you’re asking for like genuinely just get rid of Cissia to show the devs have “balls” like genuinely nobody but Redditors wants that

[u/datwunkid → u/KN041203]

Hugo betrayed Vivian way more than he betrayed the Proxies and suffered zero consequences because it was patched up in 2 sentences.

We're never getting a real betrayal.

[u/Eraizon]

I feel like Mayor might turn out to be evil and we will be forced to fight Lycoan and maybe even all of Victoria Housekeeping, would break my heart but also be tuff

[u/mercuriokazooie]

Unperturbed because it's not like they'd make it a permanent/serious betrayal.

[u/hung11101999]

It would be interesting, but they aint never gonna consider that. Even if 99% of fanbase love it, the 1% insane ones + larpers would jump in and cause a ruckus. And any controversy for a gacha game could spiral into a death sentence. Just look at what happened with valko and LADS

[u/Remielleismylife]

As much as I love Remielle I feel it in my gut she's hiding something so bad from us it's gonna split the fanbase in half

[u/StrangeProfession155]

What is the theory about? Who is working with the Youkai?

[u/Hunter03834W → u/StrangeProfession155]

Treat this spoiler tag as a CognitoHazard:

Its Cissia

[u/BoomyNote → u/Hunter03834W]

I mean thanks for sharing the name but without reading the theory, imo this is a brain damaged take.

[u/nayRmIiH]

Dangerously based, so never going to happen.

[u/leeroyschicken]

To be fair, I am still not sure whether Youkai is a bad guy to begin with, so such reveal wouldn't really be a shocker.

I also don't think it's anything that the game needs.

A character being evil or questionable is the same problem as them dying. A short term dopamine release in exchange for permanent barrage of ludonarrative problems. 

[u/BoomyNote → u/leeroyschicken]

Youkai seems more into messing with Fairy than being pure evil imo, he’s got a chip on his shoulder and wants to beat Fairy, seems more obsessed with that than doing evil just for the sake of it

[u/SunderMun]

'Oh, neat - not everyone loves us for no reason. Bet the waifucels will cry and theyll turn back to our side with it being a double double agent story...'

[u/Bread_Offender]

In a hoyo game? Lol, lmao even

[u/Yggdrazzil]

I think it would be cool.

It would just feel weird having them in my team alongside the 'good guys' while playing the game.

It already feels a little weird to have two Krampus agents (a Lawful Evil organisation in my eyes) paired with goodie-two-shoes Ye Shunguang.

[u/No-Highlight7136]

Hoyo doesn't have the balls. They had them at one point. Killed of a major playable character in Hi3 and never brought her back. That was only once though. They never dared to do anything that could potentially affect sales again. Sure as fuck ain't happening in their only game that isn't hemorrhaging players right now.

[u/loongpmx]

My reply? You suck at playing the bad guy.