#interlude chapter: act IV

[sora-genshin]

Dahlia!! (It was surprising that he was also venti's ambassador)

[evandore]

having a shower and then getting back into rewriting [REDACTED] after nearly a year of hiatus. dear lord.

[phoenixglacier]

5.6 Paralogism Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV

This quest has single-handedly made me happier than anything.

Spoilers for literally everything below.

The 5.6 update has just come out, and with it came the new Archon Quest in Mondstadt!

I’ll start by saying I super super enjoyed it and was also super super looking forward to it. (This is not an unbiased review)

Some notes before we begin:

I play CN dub and EN sub. Always have and always will. It’s a personal preference, but also because mandarin is my second language so I can understand quite a bit. (Fun fact: the dub and sub have quite a bit of difference even in the basic meaning.)

I’ve been in and out of genshin, but I first started back in 1.6.

It’s completely possible that anyone might not have enjoyed this quest for any reason — rather than a review, these are just thoughts I need to get out of my head.

Thoughts in no particular order:

It took just under 3 hours for me to finish the whole thing. There are enough opportunities to pause and take breaks, and most of the fighting isn’t intensive, and the dialogue doesn’t just infodump on you. All in all nice pacing for me!

Dahlia’s relationship with Venti was surprisingly exactly what I was fantasising; he’s close friends with Venti and fully aware of his silly little personality, and it only makes his faith in Barbatos all the more stronger. I think lots of people (Jean, Diluc, Kaeya) love their archon even more when they can see him as a person, so it’s so fun that Dahlia is in the same boat while having an even stronger faith.

The way they kept locking eyes really sold how close of a relationship they have. And then their silly little conversation where both of them danced around Venti’s true identity and teased each other was also super adorable. I look forward to learning more about Dahlia – he seems so professional and also cheeky.

Dahlia running messages for Venti was also something predicted beforehand, but I was so excited to see it come true!

They jumped straight into the trial, which was pretty awesome! That way I wasn’t anxiously waiting through gameplay for something to go wrong out of nowhere. I think putting it at the beginning also showed they teased the right part, since that way we pretty much all started out with similar information whether we watched the trailer or not.

Kaeya did a great job as the defence. Earlier when the trailer dropped, I found it interesting that he was the one taking on that role, since it’s not really his thing? Kaeya’s job usually involves intel, infiltration, negotiation… in particular, I thought he might be up there to buy time, like maybe the whole trial was a diversion. So when it was revealed that Kaeya was performing an elaborate façade the entire time, it was really personally satisfying because it matched up with my thoughts. It was the same with Albedo: the trailer seemed like it was leaning fully into him being evil, so I did guess he was putting on some sort of performance too — he does like to act a little evil sometimes. For enrichment.

While I listened to Hertha and her evidence, I kept thinking “The evidence looks really bad for Albedo, but also isn’t conclusive evidence at all.” Her behaviour and the behaviour of the rest of the knights really made me feel that it was strange she was so set on persecuting him. I was already imagining that maybe it wasn’t really her, because she was acting so dramatically. The payoff was super sweet!

Knowing that this update was coming, I rewatched Act I of Albedo’s story quest, 1.2’s The Chalk Prince and the Dragon, and 2.3’s Shadows Amidst Snowstorms to be updated on the whole story beforehand. As a result, my understanding of everything they said during the quest was pretty smooth — I can’t be objective about how smooth it would’ve been otherwise. That being said, I like how they explained things as they came up too!

Pacing felt pretty good for me! I preferred this style of going back and forth between objectives and dialogue in shorter intervals. I personally hope they do this more in the future!

They brought in absolutely all the characters, which made me so happy! I play Genshin for the characters after all! Of course we had our major cast, but I was super happy that characters like Bennett also had their moments. It also felt super appropriate since it was a Mondstadt-wide situation. It was also really fun to see them mixing up the pairings a bit, with Lisa teaching Razor, Eula going with Klee, Amber teaming with Mika, and so on. It really sold the idea that our characters have lives and connections outside of what we are privy to, instead of just convenient pairs. It also seemed like a way to show that these characters aren’t isolated anymore and are becoming a tight community of people.

Speaking of community! Mondstadt has grown so much closer and trusting than way back in the Prologue. From Diluc working together with the knights, to Albedo freely trusting them with his biggest secret, to everyone knowing about the personal lives of NPCs, it really seemed like they’d become so much stronger than before by strengthening their trust. 

People pointed out the presence of Donna way back in the trailer and joked that she was only here to watch Diluc — another awesome payoff! I also liked that they brought up her crush enough that it was okay if you didn’t really know her before. The same with Beatrice and Quinn. It was made so special because we’ve known their stories for so long, but the story was understandable without it too.

In terms of more characters I didn’t expect, all that Durin talk definitely made me think about Mini Durin. I figured they had decided not to bring him up, so seeing Mini Durin show up really blew my expectations out of the water.

I will say that unlike all the Shadows Amidst Snowstorms references, I can’t imagine anyone would understand Mini Durin’s situation without having visited Simulanka (4.8 Summertide Scales and Tales). I really hope they decide to bring back all the events someday. 

The tease of Durin’s human form completely caught me off-guard! I’m so excited to see what they’ll do with him. Maybe when he comes out as a playable character, they’ll make Simulanka a proper permanent quest in some form..?

I love Venti so much. So much. And this quest did him so much justice. It was established way back in the Archon Quest Prologue and his Story Quest that Venti constantly switches between “Venti mode” and “Archon mode”. Miaojiang’s voice acting makes that difference really beautiful. In “Venti mode”, Venti purposefully plays up his weakness, ego, love for drinks, and all-round puts on a face as a bard of no particular threat. It’s an act, one that Venti really likes playing, but an act nonetheless. This quest showcased this really well! Venti was involving himself so much and using his godly powers, and then putting on an act to hide his identity when he thought he needed it.

The extent of Venti’s involvement also felt really warranted. The knights clearly felt they had it handled, so all he did was give them support in specific ways and make sure to keep an eye on everything going on. It’s a type of archonly oversight that just feels so comforting. It’s also funny that between Venti and Jean, Venti can’t possibly succeed in teasing her.

I imagine both Albedo and Kaeya would have felt really happy that they officially have the blessing of Barbatos (per the wind communication spell)

More gameplay things: I really like setting up the story so that Lumine doesn’t always have to be involved in every little thing, such as when Diluc and Kaeya were on the bridge. The trial characters were a neat bridge to achieve that, but I do wish they let us choose to use our own characters too if we had them built!

That beautiful still art of Venti, Varka, and the Hexenzirkel really struck me because they used Venti’s modern outfit instead of his archon look. And it felt like it all just kept teasing more and more information. Albedo navigating the Hexenzirkel like a big, complicated extended family was awesome. Just listening to him negotiate with Alice while calling her Āyí made me feel things. Him ultimate referring to the whole situation as “just another day for his family” and calling Durin his brother were perfect.

More bits and pieces here, but I like the angle they took for Albedo’s pursuit of science. To my understanding, he believes in “Knowledge for the sake of knowledge”, while at the same time, being conscious of the consequences of acting carelessly. In other words, he doesn’t inherently aim to better the world with his science, nor does he believe there are inherent consequences to doing drastic things like creation. But he also doesn’t ignore the possibility of causing harm. It’s not my personal approach to science, but it’s very reasonable and very congruent with his character.

I can’t possibly cover absolutely everything, but Eula deserves a mention. I was wondering why she wasn’t speaking up about our experience in Shadows Amidst Snowstorms during the trial, and thought it might be because she’s worried her reputation as a Lawrence would just cast further suspicion, but it turns out she was part of the plan all along. I love how panicked she was when she lost Klee. I love how she happily played along with Klee after that. I love how a subtle signal from her was all Amber needed to know exactly what she wanted. I love how when Amber heard Eula kept it all a secret, she was so proud of her secret-keeping abilities instead of being upset. Also shout-out to Diluc saying that he could tell Kaeya wasn’t acting right, and continuing the trend of protecting him. They clearly still have a ways to go, but it feels like young adult awkward distance to me.

Bringing up pacing again, but I really liked the pace that they gave us info. Nothing is in a huge chunk, and everything is enough to understand what’s happening, and Paimon validates us when we’re not supposed to know something. We’re told as soon as it’s revealed that all of this was a setup and now we have to defend the city, and then between fights and dialogues they explain the details of the plan to us, which made all of it way more enjoyable. Later when Albedo mentioned that Gold devoured Naberius, Paimon’s reaction let me know I was supposed to feel confused, which immediately made the experience comfortable.

Also what do you mean Gold ate the Ruler of Life. Albedo. What is wrong with your family.

I think it’s very fitting that Albedo looks a little crazed and perfect trailer bait when he’s creating a new body for Durin — it’s when he most resembles his mother, after all. Also, he is very unrepentant about killing several whoppers. Mondstadt is lucky he’s one of them.

Also Venti in his sniper's nest never happened, trailer blatantly lied to us. But something I thought about when I saw him up there with his bow was that Venti actually gets involved in his people's business super quickly, but rarely through combat. At the time, I thought him showing up in public in combat mode showed how dire the situation was. But instead, the threat was so adequately contained by the knights that Venti didn't have to bust out combat mode at all, and instead helped out in his usual Barbatos way (and a little more!)

Closing thoughts:

I was so excited leading up to this update that it nearly scared me. A part of me thought, if I have such high expectations, what if it can’t meet my expectations anymore? I even speedran the whole Natlan quest over the course of four days so that I would be ready for anything in this quest, and I had a lot of issues with it. I had built the Mondstadt quest up in my mind to be this huge thing — thankfully, it delivered with flying colours. The singular only thing that would have made it better is if Venti sang a song.

Based on the recent behind the scenes where the developers talked about Nod-Krai but also a lot about their process in general, I feel like returning to Mondstadt was likely part of their plan to wrap up all the plot threads they’ve put out from the beginning. They seem to be listening to things that the players have said about missing pieces of information or certain technologies being too jarring. The return to Mondstadt was handled beautifully, and felt like coming home to see everyone stronger together.

I wrote this because I’m still bursting with excitement from the quest and need to speak to someone about this, so into the void it goes.

[genshin-impact-updates]

New Story Unlocked - Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV

Greatness, created in the moment where miracles met life.

Neither mundane knowledge nor earthly compassion could hope to reach that light.

The arrogant slither forth from the darkness, hypocrisy draped in virtue and reason.

Their gnashing maws devour all — brothers and mothers alike.

After reaching the corresponding Adventure Rank and completing the prerequisite quests, the Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV "Paralogism" will appear in the Quest Menu.

〓Quest Start Time〓

Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV "Paralogism" will be permanently available after the Version 5.6 update

〓Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV "Paralogism" Unlock Criteria〓

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act III "Inversion of Genesis"

• Complete Story Quest "Princeps Cretaceus Chapter: Act I - Traveler Observation Report"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

After the Version 5.6 update and before the Version 6.0 update, once you reach Adventure Rank 28 and complete Archon Quest Chapter I: Act III "A New Star Approaches," you can use the "Quick Start" function to unlock Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act IV "Paralogism."

[eulaties]

INTERLUDE CHAPTER, ACT IV: Paralogism ✶ The Hunger of Many

[ailean67]

Interlude Chapter : Act IV

"Paralogism"

Such a great quest ! I was so good to go back to Mondstadt and spend some time with all the Mondstadt characters ! I missed them so much !

[baeshijima]

5.6 notes

REDEEM CODES

GI56Paralogism

ChefEscoffier0507

IfaCacucu0507

BANNERS

phase one : escoffier + navia (5*s) + ifa (4*)

phase two : kinich + raiden shogun (5*s)

inazuma chronicled banner

QUESTS

new archon interlude chapter: act iv

escoffier story quest

EVENTS

whirling waltz

chronicle of shifting stratagems

operation downpour simulation

legends ablaze: cross-border brawl

leyline overflow

ENEMIES

new overworld boss

new weekly boss

MISC

new tcg cards

new card skin

automatic artistry

optimisations

offline/irl collab event with charlotte tilbury

new natlan ost album

song of the welkin moon -> april 30

DAHLIA REVEAL WAHOOO???

AND VARKA MENTION LETSGHO WE GOT HIS VOICE WE ARE GOING TO SEE HIM SOOON AORJKDFS

UR TELLING ME VARKA KNOWS VENTI IS BARBATOS???????

[yelade]

just started act IV of the interlude chapter

what do you mean i can finally go to the second floor of the knights of favonius headquarters after like 4 years just to discover a secret third floor that i’m not allowed to go to

LET ME GO UPSTAIRS JEAN PLSSS

[ao3feed-dilucnkaeya]

To Mix Fire & Ice

Read on AO3

by chaoticsnowflake

“Ah.” Diluc hands a tall glass of Dandelion Wine to a woman waiting nearby. “I meant to ask you about him, actually.”

“Oh?” Now it’s Kaeya’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “What about him?” Kaeya raises his glass to his lips, peering at Diluc over the rim. A warning delivered with a diamond-pupiled eye. Careful what you say next.

Alternatively: After the threat against Mondstadt is defeated, the citizenry flocks to the taverns to celebrate. Among them are Kaeya and Diluc, being remarkably civil to one another, and between them passes a discussion regarding a certain alchemist and a battle on a bridge.

Words: 1289, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Kaeya (Genshin Impact), Diluc (Genshin Impact)

Relationships: Diluc & Kaeya (Genshin Impact)

Additional Tags: Light Angst, Windblume Festival (Genshin Impact), Angst with a Happy Ending, Spoilers, 5.6 Update Spoilers (Genshin Impact), Post-Interlude Chapter Act IV: Paralogism (Genshin Impact), Reconciliation, Diluc and Kaeya Reconciliation (Genshin Impact), sort of??, I suppose you could call it that, Canon-Typical Alcoholism, kaebedo crumbs if you squint, no beta we die like the "kaeya would be a bad lawyer" allegations, which shouldn't have existed in the first place but that's not the point here

[sora-genshin]

paralogism interlude chapter act IV archon quest 5.6

★traveler reactions☆

[trebledcrow]

“Is Dainsleif a Red Herring..?”

Warning: Do not proceed if you haven’t finished this year’s Dain quest Chapter IV: Act VI Bedtime Story. I will be yapping about it and one of my longtime suspicions!

This could very well be out of copium, but is anyone else under the impression that Dainsleif is an intentional red herring in the Traveler stories of Genshin?

Hoyo seems to guide us in the direction of the traveler’s sibling. To make us trust the sibling. They are Traveler’s twin, after all.

They seem to intentionally make Dainsleif mysterious, secretive, and.. suspicious. He comes once a year to drop a lore bomb on us, to remind us of his existence and determination to eradicate the Abyss Order, and to leave as quickly as he appeared.

That aside, in the Interlude Quest Bedtime Story, Dainsleif and the Abyss Twin do have a confrontation with each other in those ruins after Dain sends the traveler out and back to the village.

Although I am an Abyss Princess Lumine truther, I’ll just speak vaguely for whichever interpretation.

Both of them speak accusingly towards the other of a trap.

“Hmph. I knew going along with your trap would be the only way to meet with you face to face.” — From Dainsleif.

“You risked your safety… and that of the eye… That’s quite the gamble, Dainsleif… But I believe that I am the one walking into a trap laid by the Twilight Sword.” —Abyss Twin

Dainsleif had possessed the Eye of the First Field tiller, which was highly important to the plans of the Abyss Order. Caribert notes that due to Dain’s memory alteration that he contributed to, they have obtained the eye, and thus the Loom of Fate has been completed.

Shouldn’t the Abyss Twin know that? They ARE the Prince/Princess of the Abyss after all. They should, and yet in this scene alone, it is not explicitly revealed by the Abyss Twin to Dain. It had been revealed to us, as the traveler, when we met with Caribert, only after that cutscene with Dain and the Abyss Twin.

So, I feel that this was the Twin’s trap, involving the Eye and Loom of Fate, yet Dain seems to have begrudgingly walked into it. Though, Caribert did predict his plan… So he only lost rather than gained here. I mean, he did get his ass handed to him… and we don’t know if he ever got to have his conversation with the Abyss Twin, and in my preferred case, Lumine.

Throughout the story, we keep seeming to gloss over the Traveler’s twin being the Abyss Twin. Dainsleif did ask if we believed our sibling to have betrayed us. One could perceive it as Dain being shady, but there seems to be more to it than that.

It feels like foreshadowing in the face of the intended distraction: Dainsleif, our possible redherring.

There were discussions of betrayal within this scene as well, particularly that of Dainsleif’s brother, Vedrfolnir. That in itself was another huge lore bomb.

Maybe this ramble was a little disorganized, it is 4:33am after all. But well...

All of that to say… I’m currently not as suspicious towards Dainsleif than I am towards the Abyss Twin. He is strange indeed… but the Abyss Twin is even stranger.

There’s still much we don’t know, and we’ll just have to wait til next year for more information…

Currently rambling while listening to…

[rpfofficial]

little summaries of the kentucky route zero chapters ive played so far to try and convince more people to play this game:

act I: a man pulls up to a gas station where the power is out. there's an old dog wearing a straw hat that you either get to name or declare you don't know it. there's a glow in the dark 20 sided dice. an old television with ghosts in it. a mine where you have to turn all the lights off to listen to a 20+ year old tape recording of miners singing. and more!

limits & demonstrations: a brief interlude where you get to look around a gallery exhibition of impossible art installations that defy the laws of physics

act II: an application to the gaston trust of imagined architecture. a ghost highway that is an endless ring road that changes every time you switch direction. the bureau of reclaimed spaces is an old cathedral repurposed multi story office building, but the organ is still there, and you get to listen to a performance. one of the offices just has bears in it. a museum with no exhibitions in it, just dwellings. and a giant fucking eagle.

the entertainment: another interlude, this time a student production that combines two plays into one. you play a character who has no lines. you get to witness the action between the characters as well as watch the audience, read the script notes, the lighting cues, the playwright's foreword, and more. debt is out to get us all.

act III: a truck. a motorcycle with a sidecar. a two person band that has no people in it. a beautiful performance of a keytar love song "whisperwave" ballad that literally blows the roof off the building. a cave inhabited by a burning computer. the dog and the keytar player become kindred souls. someone gets employed against their will. there's whiskey.

here & there along the echo: dial the information hotline for the bureau of secret tourism so that a dry-humoured, deadpan but earnest man can tell you about the sites of interest and cultural history of the river echo. learn about subterranean birds and the iron pariah and underwater islands.

that's how far in i am at the moment... there's 10 acts and an interlude between each one! i never want this to end.

[genshin-impact-updates]

New Story Unlocked: Archon Quest Chapter V: Interlude "All Fires Fuel the Flame"

After the black sun hanging high in its sky was routed, Natlan finally won brief respite.

Each tribe is taking the opportunity to rebuild, helping each other through these shared hardships.

Iansan and the caravan travel together to the Flower-Feather Clan, but there discover a kind of rare "disease"...

Fate is cruel, and all things must change. Yet as long as we unite and stand together, we have nothing to fear.

After reaching the corresponding Adventure Rank and completing the prerequisite quests, the Archon Quest Chapter V: Interlude "All Fires Fuel the Flame" will appear in the Quest Menu.

〓Quest Start Time〓

After the Version 5.2 update, Archon Quest Chapter V: Interlude "All Fires Fuel the Flame" will be permanently available.

〓Archon Quest Chapter V: Interlude "All Fires Fuel the Flame" Unlock Criteria〓

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act IV "The Rainbow Destined to Burn"

You can use the "Quick Start" function to accept and progress through Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" while maintaining your current progress in the existing Archon Quests. After using the "Quick Start" function to complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I, you can continue to accept and complete the subsequent Acts of Chapter V until you unlock the latest Archon Quest introduced in the current version update.

[eulaties]

INTERLUDE CHAPTER, ACT IV: Paralogism ✶ The Gardener

[heathenkweer]

THE HARDEST PART OF LIVING || masterpost

Fandom: Detroit: Become Human Characters/Relationship(s): Hank Anderson & Connor, Original Characters, Connor/Original Female Character ADDITIONAL TAGS: Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Or: Connor learns that Hank can also be a MENACE, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution, Asexual characters, no betas we die like connor, picking and choosing from canon like a candy store, exploration of asexual relationships/characters, exploration of a romantic android/human relationship

Summary: Connor learns how to live. He might just teach Hank a thing or two along the way as well.

(Or: Connor tries to find a new mission in life and decides fixing Hank’s loneliness might be it. He doesn’t realize he might be trying to fix his own, too.)

CONTENT WARNINGS: Acephobia, internalized acephobia, queerphobia, canon-level bigotry towards androids, scenes of physical and sexual abuse of a female android, gore, mentions of off-page animal death (Sumo is fine), racism, sexism and misogyny, mentions of violent acts STATUS: ongoing

CHAPTER ONE: How to Navigate Awkward Social Interactions CHAPTER TWO: On Pitbulls and Androids CHAPTER THREE: Gummy Bear INTERLUDE I: LIBBY I CHAPTER FIVE: How to Apologize INTERLUDE II: UNKNOWN INTERLUDE III: THE ENGINEER CHAPTER EIGHT: SCENT CHAPTER NINE: Want CHAPTER TEN: Hysteria CHAPTER ELEVEN: Heartbeat CHAPTER TWELVE: See Me in the Dark INTERLUDE IV: LIBBY II CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn INTERMISSION: In the News

playlist || pinterest board

Elias might well be a faerie, or part of one, she thought. But his heart sounds just the same as anyone else’s.  -HALF A SOUL, Olivia Waite