Chapter Text
Some may wonder who the Tsarista really is. To her people, she is a cold leader who protects them like bears with their cubs. To the Harbingers, she is ruthless, a mastermind who will lead all of Teyvat to glory as she will singlehandedly face Celestia and topple the thrones that have been binding her and her fellow Archons for eons. To those from other nations besides Snezhnaya, she is a tyrant oppressing others through the Fatui.
While all of these were indeed true, they often forgot who the Tsarista truly was on the inside. A woman with a mission, a grieving widow, a hardened heart….
And a woman very much in need of entertainment.
The Tsarista is bored, despite her duties. She leads the Fatui, rules over her land, and handles international issues. But that doesn’t allow her a lot of time to reflect, to enjoy herself. The Tsarista, or rather how she goes by close confidants, Vasilia, was once a mortal before she became an Archon. She was the Archon of Love, though that ideal had been thrown away after the horrors she witnessed firsthand at the destruction of Khaenri’ah.
Despite how she threw away her ideal, Vasilia still held onto that love she once embraced in a small corner of her heart. Unfortunately, that corner happened to overlap with her care of her Harbingers, much to their chagrin. Though she may not care much about them personally, she could still enjoy meddling in their affairs from afar.
This results in the Tsarista being too invested for her own good in their love lives.
This is her entertainment. This is their torture.