#interlude quest 5.6

[eddiesketti]

patron sketch req

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[sora-genshin]

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

[invisiblesketches]

I'm impatient to see human!durin so I'm saying it now and it'll probably be wrong but it'd be so cool if he showed up/released in 5.8, paralleling mini durin's intro as a tiny dragon during last year's summer event...

[godoflazziness]

inspired by this art.

the tiny Durin was born in his nation - the nation of freedom - which makes him a child of Monstadt. A child of Barbatos. It goes without saying that Venti loves his new precious baby boy already~

" I want to see my little boy~" he playfully mused in a sing-song tone as he slowly enters the room, hoping to see his little boy in question.

" here he comes!" Albedo holds the newly turned-human baby Durin in his arms, wrapped with his jacket, watching as the bard approached.

" I want to see my little boy~"

[awake-my-oceans]

…Considering how it took four IRL years for us to learn that Albedo for-sure killed Susbedo, I think Albedo makes a really good point.

[Genshin 5.6 quest]

ik albedo's sassy ass is slightly pissed off with how they think so lowly of him

[yakshaxiao]

dahila — 5.6 interlude archon quest 'paralogism' cutscene

[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."

[colatheblacksheep]

interesting little things in 5.6 archon quest that i HAVE to talk about

I'M ON EXTREMELY HIGH ADRENALINE AFTER COMPLETING THE QUEST AND I DEFINITELY NEED TO GET IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM.

it felt too short and i just can't get enough of it. even though considering this is an interlude chapter, it's jam-packed with a LOT of things.

SPOILERS INCOMING!!! if you haven't played the quest, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND you play and experience it youself, it's worth it i promise

Mondstadt genuinely feels like family and home to me. that part where people from all over the city talked over the wind current during the fight? they feel real and alive, friendly and united. the emphasis of family throughout the quest too, with Diluc and Kaeya, Jean and Barbara and even Albedo with his...uhh...unique family, i love it.

i don't know why but seeing Sucrose speaks up in the trial is so satisfying to me that i freaking cheered when i saw her dialogue lol. she deserves more screentime.

now that we know more people who are aware of Venti's identity, i sort of want to see more teasing towards Venti from these people. that whole conversation with Dahlia and Venti? absolutely hilarious. and we get to see Venti being embarrassed or flustered.

Venti and Varka's interaction is also absolute gold. jokester for jokester dynamics. what do you mean Varka says he is being chased around by enemies and Venti replies with 'have fun with that'???

i love how when Alice mentions that she is going to be 'here right away', Jean's immediate reaction is like 'no wait, right here?? right now?? my office???'.

i didn't have much thought on Venti and Albedo interacting before but when it actually happens with them knowing each other's identity, it tickled something in my brain. watch as i write 2 more long posts on each of them separately cause they are the heaviest lore carry (which should have included Kaeya given his background, but it isn't relevant in this quest so...) in Mondstadt and probably the entire story really. i just love my mysterious and powerful boys ok?

speaking of mysterious and powerful boys, while his name was only brought up once, we all love seeing Wanderer being involved in another important archon quest.

now to the climax...

HUMAN DURIN??? like i was already hella shocked when Albedo said that he is going to 'replace Dragonspine Durin with Mini Durin' but that whole cutscene where he utilised the entire Mondstadt city as his alchemy site??? the rune running across the entire city??? (with Timaeus and Sucrose rushing to investigate the work of their master which is so wholesome) his chant??? the peek at human Durin form at the end??? HOLY SHIT OF BARBATOS this whole thing is so cool and beautiful.

like like, the 2 shot where it zooms out on the entire Mondstadt city with golden light so bright even the fireworks cannot compare??? i am so in love with this cutscene i'm gonna rewatch it so many time and freaking laser beam it into my brain.

[tthelady]

Genshin Impact 5.6 Spoilers

I finally had some time to digest the 5.6 archon quest, and I'm kinda loving and hating it. Overall, my opinion is that it was rushed.

The quest was about 2 hours long, and in it, we got so many insane lore drops yet never got the chance to digest them properly before we moved on to the next big thing. I think they should have made Paralogism into two archon quests (5.6 & 5.7) or made 5.6 longer (like using those two time skips).

One of the things I wished they did was expand the lore more, especially the Gold devouring the Shade of Life.

Dropping this bombshell of a lore drop on us and then saying "thank you for your help" and ending the conversation is crazy.

Another thing I wished we had was the chance to explore the the court room and see Albedo in jail ourselves. This should have been a new area for us to explore instead of us just teleporting in and put of it.

And Dahlia introduction to the scene was low-key, really disappointing. This is the first time we see him in the game, and he barely gets any time to shine, and considering his position, he definitely should have gotten more screen time.

Also, there's og Durin, I did not like how he was handled at all. How are you gonna call him a child in one breath, then say that he needs to be killed in the next, and his pure and nicer version on him will live and take over.

I thought og Durin and mini Durin would be merging together and that we'd get the chance to atleast talk with og Durin. Lowkey hoping that og Durin and mini Durin ended up merging together instead of one of them dying.

On another note, mini Durins human design already looks so good.

Some of the things I absolutely loved about this quest though was the lore drops (I'm still screaming about them like HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH MY GODD), the hexenzirkel, seeing them again and doing their trial was so much absolutely loved it. I so loved the fact that the trials were the plans from the Knights of Favonius, this should their unity and teamwork so well. Seeing the ragbros fighting alongside each other had me kicking and screaming. Also loved the part where we went around helping different characters and talking with character throughout the fight on mondstadt it reminded me of Natlan during the fight against the abyss (one of my favorite parts). Also that cutscene of Albedo doing alchemy that was so fucking good!

We got two time skips where we could have been getting information and doing more things. The first time skip was between Albedo's first and second trail. In those two days, we could have spent gathering more information, actually meeting talking to Albedo ourselves, going to see all the locations marked on his map, expanding the new lore more. Maybe even learning through meeting Albedo that he didn't trust everyone and kept talking in code (since no knew yet who was under Durin's control).

The next time skip happened between getting Durin's core and the start of the Windblume festival. Between these two days we could have spent seeing about Albedo put things together and since we barely got anything for the festival this time we could have altleat used those two days to help put the festival together after the fight.

They either should have done this Interlude chapter in two archon quests with 5.6 focusing planning and gathering information about the situation at hand and expanding our knowledge of the new lore. We should have used the time between Albedo's first and second trial for that. While 5.7 would have started on his second trial focused on the execution and aftermath. Either this or they should have made 5.6 a bit longer instead of skipping two days ahead on two different occasions. We should have used those two days to expand our knowledge.

Overall, I liked the new archon quest. It had so many amazing lore drops. But I do think its pacing could have been much better. I also think my expectations for this quest were a bit different and high, and I got a bit disappointed with how quickly things ended. But other than this, it was great.

[genshinimpactresources]

Genshin Impact | Cutscenes from Paralogism

(5.6 Archon Quest, Interlude)

Download Link (Google Drive)

[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???????

[neros-w]

What element is your Vision? (and how do you guess)

(ao3 version, with bonus in the end notes!)

!!!SPOILER WARNINGS FOR ALL QUESTS (event, character story, Archon, and Interlude Archon) PRIOR TO 5.6!!!

A Vision (or a god’s eye or gaze, in the original CN text) has no proper origin within the game’s lore.

The people of Teyvat are unsure whether Vision bearers are natural elemental beings (see: Volume 1 of Breeze Amidst the Forests) or those deemed worthy by the Seven. But, upon a quick analysis, one may be able to pinpoint what element a character will be able to get within their given region.

There are jokes among fans in the community about the loss commonly experienced by Anemo Vision holders, some going so far as to claim that the loss is usually the death of a sibling figure with an Electro Vision (this is… circumstantial). But there is some truth to this!

Before I get into it, this is what’s gonna happen:

I’ll point out several factors that might go into what element a character’s Vision is going to be based on my observations,

These parameters are entirely characterization-based, meaning that little to no information about a character will usually result in a toss-up or an unclear assignment.

These parameters ignore aesthetics/color palettes, positions of power, or their reputation from outsiders’ perspective.

This is all based on my understanding of the story elements as a whole and are subject to inconsistencies due to lack of information or being debunked by Hoyoverse moving forward (it is Version 5.6 at time of writing).

Spoiler warnings have been tagged, this is your last chance!

Section I: The Aspects of a Vision

From what I’ve gathered, there are three (3) main aspects that a character’s element will depend on: where they live/came from, how they deal with their hardships, and where on their journeys they are.

1. Regional ideals

This is the oft-ignored aspect of Vision assignments because, generally speaking, these seem to be a little vague and wishy-washy and rarely ever tackled explicitly within the narrative. I’ll explain their involvement in Section II in full detail.

Mondstadt: Freedom

Poetry/ballad

Freedom

Resistance

There is an emphasis here on Freedom, but the guiding principles’ idea of freedom differs from the Archon’s, which is a holistic freedom that involves the fight for freedom (resistance) and the desire to speak about these fights and ideas of freedom (poetry/ballad).

Liyue: Contracts/commerce

Prosperity

Diligence

Gold

Liyue’s understanding of commerce is not wholly business-oriented. The prosperity found in the exchange of diligently made goods and diligently enacted services is the ‘commerce’ Morax speaks of.

The understanding between an exchange, the connection made between one or more individuals, unspoken or explicitly discussed. Gold is not Mora, moreso the hearts of each Liyuen, their pride in their occupation and craft.

Inazuma: Eternity

Transience/the fleeting world

Elegance

Light

The irony of Inazuma’s national ideal is that it is at odds with the nation’s principles, showing the thematic conflict between the Archon and her people. Everything changes (transience), so one must make the continued decision between base wants and needs (elegance), to always pursue the higher purpose instead of stagnating or settling for less (light).

“A sealed eternity may, perhaps, look magnificent, but its essence is death,” so says the Philosophies of Light (like, the talent book), the so-called ‘yearning’ of the land of thunder.

Sumeru: Wisdom

Ingenuity

Admonition

Praxis

Sumeru’s wisdom lies in enacting knowledge (praxis), embodying and teaching it (admonition), and synthesizing it with your own lived experiences (ingenuity). A want and willingness to learn and grow is at the heart of every Sumeran’s goals, even if they don’t know it.

Fontaine: Justice

Fairness/equity

Justice

Order

Justice is blind, in Fontaine, but only in the way that morality plays a large part in enacting the law (equity). Serving this appeal to morals (justice) brings order to all.

This is the most wishy washy of all the national/regional ideals thus far (it gets worse from here on), as it fails to be properly emphasized within the Archon Quest. It’s properly represented by individual character stories, but fails to be synthesized as a whole, a common problem to the region’s writing and characterization.

Natlan: War

Rivalry/contention

Kindling

Conflict

Natlan’s alleged ideal is one of war but what it really means is a meek difference in opinion.

The name of the region’s base principles are misleading as well. Upon reading each, the principles mostly point at a ‘confidence in victory and learning in failure’ (rivalry/contention), the ‘espoused benefit of sacrifice’ (kindling), and ‘sincerity and being true to one’s motivations’ (conflict). A far cry from the more aggressive actual meaning of the words war, contention, kindling, and conflict.

Snezhnaya, Nod-Krai, and Khaenri’ah are still up for debate, as we have little-to-no verifiable or consistent information on each region’s ideals, whoever in the region has Elemental Authority, etc.

(Our only case for Snezhnaya is Tartaglia, as Arlecchino received her Vision as Peruere (see: Arlecchino Character Stories, Vision), and Wanderer received his Vision after erasing Scaramouche. That’s not really a big enough sample size for any theorizing.)

2. Elemental ideals

The one thing to note here, before everything, is that it’s easy to pinpoint the element of a character when considering who holds (or held) Elemental Authority.

So, consider the beliefs, motivations, and ideologies of every being that held onto a Gnosis that still had its Authority when it comes to that element.

(The only exception for Hydro is Furina, who accepted her Vision from Neuvillette fairly recently after Focalors gave him his Authority back. Every Archon thus far (barring Ei) has been holding onto their Gnoses since the Archon War.)

With that out of the way…

Anemo. Choosing freedom in spite of loss.

Yes, it is still ‘losing someone makes them Anemo,’ but the overgeneralization of a death of a close friend or relative harms interpretations. Wouldn’t that make Diluc Anemo instead of Pyro? Or Kaveh? Or, god forbid, Dori?

A loss so substantial that it changes and almost engulfs one’s entire life is the key. This is why we can still include Sayu whose master left her, Sucrose whose friends abandoned her, and Lynette whose equal standing with Lyney was severed when he became her protector when joining the Hearth.

It is their choice to commit to continue living freely (as much as they can) to tell the tale that makes them Anemo.

Examples being: Kazuha choosing to venture further instead of clinging stubbornly to revenge. Xiao choosing to be part of Liyue’s peaceful modern day in spite of the losses he’d accrued during its time of strife. Jean choosing to fight for Mondstadt despite her loss of self as she continues on Vennessa’s and the Gunnhildr legacy. And well, the guy himself, Venti choosing to live on and tell the tales his friend lived through and look up at the sky he always yearned to see despite his overwhelming grief.

Geo. Pride in one’s experience/niche/passion.

Every Geo character is proud of what they do and how they do it, almost boasting and arrogant in their pride. Ningguang in her position as Liyue’s wealthiest and the Qixing’s Tianquan. Arataki Itto with his oni heritage. Albedo as an alchemist and/or Khemia practitioner.

This pride is the driving force of their character, the core to all their choices. Other aspects remain secondary, almost trivial. It’s why Noelle who is proud of her position as maid is Geo but Bennett who is proud of his adventuring is not.

This is exemplified, really, by the way Zhongli is in constant awe of the minutiae of regular everyday Liyuens, of the legends, songs, crafts, strategies, weapons, etc. that his hardwork as a warmonger had produced. Yes, it makes him seem a little self-centered but hey… he helped make all that.

Dendro. Letting one’s past guide every future.

Dendro characters are shaped by their learned beliefs.

Often they gain their Visions when paying forward an act of kindness, letting it shape their motivations (Collei, Kirara) or finally eliminating any room for doubt or uncertainty that once plagued them earlier on in their lives (Baizhu, Tighnari, Kinich).

Often their motivations are in service of higher purposes, altruistic in spite of their perceived self-benefit (Alhaitham, for example, whose egoism leads him to believe his acts of pursuing correctness and truth are only in service of himself. He is [often] incorrect [or outright lying]).

It’s difficult to properly pinpoint their oh moments, because you have to dig through every single bit of their stories to properly pin down why what they did earned them their Vision.

Our best example is Rana, who received her Dendro Vision when finally remembering all she’d forgotten from Arana, whose teachings from childhood she still espoused and embodied in her adult life despite the memory wipe.

The other best example being, well, Nahida herself, whose literal accumulated knowledge becomes so powerful it can power cities and timeloop experiments and fortify rocks from earthquakes, etc. That’s on top of [gestures vaguely at Greater Lord Rukkhadevata] that. I think you get it.

Pyro. Forging one’s own legacy.

Pyro has to be the easiest because of the veritable deluge of Pyro characters in the game.

Often Pyro characters are passionately pursuing a goal to reckless abandon, motivated by parental figures or mentors who are either gone or otherwise preoccupied.

Amber wants to be an Outrider because her missing grandfather was an Outrider.

Bennett wants to be an adventurer because all his dads are adventurers.

Diluc wanted to be a knight because his father had always wanted to be a knight.

Gaming chose his own path because Yip Tak had chosen his own path as well.

I could go on and on, but you can see how easy to verify it is. I think you get the picture.

The keypoint, as always, is reckless abandon. It doesn’t matter when they receive their Vision, but often Pyro characters will be in dogged pursuit of their passions that they’d end up in significant danger one way or another.

These aspects are also present in Mavuika. As disappointed as I am with the trajectory of her arc, I can’t deny that her reckless desire to save Natlan by turning herself into a battery like Xbalanque did all those centuries ago is what shapes Pyro as an element.

Hydro. Salvation in sacrifice.

Because Focalors had held Authority for so long, it is very easy to understand why sacrifice ended up defining Hydro characters.

Many Hydro characters have a facade to uphold, one they choose out of necessity. And often, they use these facades to enact their own means of justice, sacrificing their true selves to save everyone else.

Ayato’s story quest is the best example of this outside of Fontaine’s fifth act. Ironically considered the worst character story quest, it showcases a young man who has to play into a facade stuck on so well, it’s impossible to see where the Inazuman politician starts and Ayaka’s brother ends.

Electro. Choosing duty over love/the self.

Similar to Hydro, because Yae Miko held onto the Electro Gnosis for so long, it’s hard not to see why Electro characters have to choose their duties over their love or passion or selves.

Often this choice of duty is an act of love, like Yae Miko choosing to maintain Ei’s wishes in spite of the solitude.

Lisa gave up her spot as the Akademiya’s best and brightest to be a librarian in Mondstadt. Cyno chose to be the General Mahamatra to keep his oath with Hermanubis rather than raising Collei at home. Kujou Sara chose to protect her home within an inch of her life.

Fischl is an interesting asterisk to this, choosing to be the Prinzessin out of love for the craft, but also out of love for poor lonely Amy. Without the Prinzessin, there is no Oz, and Amy would be all alone.

Probably the most interesting outlier.

Cryo. Solitude and yearning.

We don’t know enough about whoever is holding Cryo Authority or Snezhnaya. But one thing Cryo characters do have in common is a gaping yearning in themselves. For belongingness (Kaeya, Shenhe, Ayaka, and yes, Aloy), for the correct, best version of one’s self (Chongyun, Layla), for a lost future (Qiqi, Wriothesley).

I’ll keep an eye moving forward for this one, but I hope this makes sense.

3. Constellations and fates

This is really less of a factor and more of a consideration with regards to how the elemental assignments are justified within the game’s lore.

What does that mean?

Plainly put, every character’s constellation is a point in their development that coincides with when or how they were chosen by the element they have (given that they weren’t born an elemental, like some of the Archons and dragons).

This is what solidified my theory that characterization is one of the primary bases for how elements are chosen for each character. A character’s dreams (their Vision) have a clear trajectory based on a plot (their fate). Their goal is self-actualization.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Vision bearers lose their Visions (their dreams) when they finally reach their goals. But it does explain why many Vision bearers are able to live as though nothing’s wrong when they’re apart from their little Vision baubles.

Examples being:

Kuki Shinobu

Arataki Itto

Diluc Ragnvindr

Jiangxue (from Wangshu Inn)

(Apparently, this should include a lot of unnamed characters that joined the Watatsumi Army during the Vision Hunt but… we don’t know any of them and honestly that’s such a thematic and ideological hot mess that I don’t even wanna touch it.)

A recent example of a Vision bearer conquering their fate, so to speak, would be Hu Tao, whose fate was actually achieved in the Lantern Rite event for 5.3.

There’s even a scene between her and Zhongli (clip below; timestamp: 20:28) in the quest that recited all of her constellations in sequential order. My friend Alina made a wonderful breakdown of this scene and the sentiments it lost in translation.

Hu Tao achieving her C6 in this cutscene (clip below) means that she’s achieved her fate.

Section II: The Case Study

Though predictable to many, I will be doing a case study of the one character who everyone knew was going to be playable but whose element no one really expected: Wanderer.

Prior to Inversion of Genesis, when Scaramouche was defeated at the end of the Archon Quest, there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that he was going to end up playable. And true to everyone’s expectations, he was.

But due to a) his aesthetics, b) origins, and c) general vibe, people were convinced he was going to be Electro.

So, let’s play devil’s advocate.

Name(s): Kabukimono/Kunikuzushi/Scaramouche/Wanderer Place of Origin: Inazuma Current home: Sumeru Species: Puppet

Information from

Yae Miko (the end of the Inazuma Archon Quest);

Raiden Ei (voicelines);

The Husk of Opulent Dreams artifact set;

Scattered notes around Tatarasuna;

Katsuragikiri Nagamasa

The description from Shakkei Pavilion; and,

Scaramouche’s own monologue about his own past (Sumeru Archon Quest)

(OPTIONAL) Unreconciled Stars event story quest;

(OPTIONAL) Kaedehara Kazuha’s story quest;

(OPTIONAL) Hues of the Violet Evergarden event story quest;

Scaramouche was a vindictive guy seemingly shaped by his lack of heart.

He was abandoned by his mother, rejected by the first few people he felt he belonged with, and was still actively hurting in his grief for his first family.

His first community, though initially accepting, had rejected him after his pleas for his mother’s assistance during Tatarasuna’s time of need were turned down (at least, in his perspective). After a misunderstanding about whoever killed Katsuragi, then-Kabukimono adopted the name Kunikuzushi and massacred the families of the five gokaden related to Niwa Hisahide (and also in an effort to attract his mother’s attention).

What happens after these historical events is already known to most players– his involvement with La Signora in Inazuma’s civil war, his escape to Sumeru with Il Dottore, and becoming the Shouki no Kami.

From these events and from his own admission, there are no traces of him choosing duty out of love.

If the argument is for his demeanor after being defeated by Sumeru, Traveler, and Nahida, then I would have understood. Let’s say, maybe he chooses his role as Nahida’s prisoner to be repentant with grace, but then… for who? For love of what?

On the other hand, from his version of the events, he is a person whose grief has been fueling his rage against the gods (his mother) for centuries. His grief for his relationship with his mother, his loss of innocence, first friend, first little brother.

By his own admission, it would be easy to verify that he’s Anemo.

So let’s fast forward because, yes, that does mean he’s Anemo, but how does that prove that he has a Sumeru Vision?

Well, consider the conditions under which he got it.

Scaramouche deletes himself when he finds out that the anger that had fueled him for centuries was based on nothing but a lie. Kunikuzushi had massacred all those people for no reason, had ripped his companion’s heart out of himself because of his ignorance.

It’s a cowardly decision to choose to try repairing everything by erasing yourself.

And when Scaramouche comes back as the Wanderer— just as lost and listless as he had been the day his mother abandoned him– he wants to learn all of it, his bitter platitudes, his vindictive anger, his massacres, his crimes. He repents, wanting to learn more, by paying his actions forward.

So, he receives a Sumeru Anemo Vision. His talent books, his guiding principle? Praxis. Embodying his knowledge of an erased past for the betterment of the future of his victims and (more importantly) himself.

Section III: Thought Experiments

To round this out, let’s try out some ideas on some characters whose backgrounds we do know about.

Let’s say… Durin.

Name(s): (Mini)/(OG) Durin Place of Origin: ??? / Simulanka Species: (Toy) Dragon* Current home: Sumeru/Mondstadt

Information from

The Skyward weapon series;

Festering Desire;

Albedo’s story quest;

Summertide Scales and Tales event story quest;

Interlude Archon quest Paralogism; and,

The Shadows Amidst Snowstorms event story quest

(OG) Durin was created by Rhinedottir and, due to unforseen circumstances, released to Mondstadt during the fall of Khaenri’ah 500 years pre-canon. This was a time when the Abyss was encroaching on all corners of Teyvat similar to the Natlan Abyssal Invasion.

Durin, like Elynas, was not aware that he was trampling on humans and rampaging like a mindless beast. Dvalin and Barbatos subdued him, the fight ending with Dvalin injured and Barbatos exhausted. He has since been buried beneath the snow of what is now called Dragonspine.

But dragons don’t die.

Enter: Mini Durin, a fictional character a witch from the Hexenzirkel created to give Durin a satisfying conclusion, even if it is fictional.

Mini Durin has much of the same arc– being born with no knowledge that he’s behaving like a mindless beast, tearing up the landscape, and trampling all over the place. But there is no Barbatos or Dvalin in Simulanka. He ends up becoming Simulanka’s villain, fearful, embittered, and lonely.

So instead, Andersdotter gives him a king, a fairy, and a hero, all of whom hear his hearts desire to be with the people who are so scared of him. These people give him the body he wants and now we have Mini Durin, who has not only self-actualized but also has become a real being that exists in Teyvat.

So fast forward, in Teyvat, after absorbing the negative emotions of a scorned fellow Rhinedottir creation, Subject Two, the still-not-dead Durin begins creating copies of Mondstadters in an effort to do what Subjecet Two couldn’t do: kill Albedo.

In order to remedy this, Albedo asks for a grant the means with which to give Mini Durin a humanoid body, have him absorb OG Durin’s essence, and make it so that Mini and OG Durin’s want to exist (and coexist) with humanity balances out Subject Two’s scorn for Albedo.

In summary, Durin is a being full of yearning to coexist with humanity– Mondstadters specifically. To share that his birthplace and mother are all beautiful, that he was created with love and consideration, and that he himself is a beautiful soul.

I have two options, all under the assumption that Neo Durin is going to absorb everything that previous Durin remembers (+ Subject Two’s Albedo hatred):

Cryo (Solitude and yearning) - Mondstadt (Ballads)

This was already my initial bet because it was most likely. I know, we have like 5 or so Cryo units in Mondstadt already, but since much of his past is shaped by his yearning for connection, it’s hard not to see why he isn’t going to be Cryo.

Him being a(nother) Ballads user is because of the whole “spread the word,” idea they added from his POV in Festering Desire’s description.

Electro (Choosing duty over love/the self) - Mondstadt (Freedom)

Guess two is kind of a cope take (I really want an Aggravate buffer). But not for nothing!

Choosing to atone even as an entirely new and separate being from Durin, as Mini Durin did in Simulanka, is a freedom he’d willingly choose so long as he can coexist with humans, make friends, etc. He’ll forever be bound to the Durin of the past, but there will be people who love him as he is and that, itself, is freedom.

But those are my guesses. What are yours and what are the justifications? I’d love to know what you thought of these parameters and what your personal theories are!

[fourthandforth]

Spoilers for Genshin 5.6 Mond AQ (Interlude...? I can't keep track.)

So Naberius is the Shade of Life. Okay. Wow.

I've been obsessing over that "Heart of Naberius" mention since I learned that Naberius is also Cerberus in Ars Goetia (Wriothesley mention yippee 🥳). I kept thinking I was kind of reaching, maybe the devs just liked the name and didn't bother with the double meaning, but the oddities piled up:

Meropide is a "a nation within a nation with minimal interference from the divine" (Pantalone's words, from Cashflow Supervision); the biggest supplier of clockwork meka; underground (or underwater, same difference); a gathering place of "exiles"; and thematically/philosophically embodies the concept of rebirth. The similarities to Khaenri'ah had to be deliberate...right? Or does any underground society in Teyvat evolve to Khaenri'ah references the same way animals evolves into crabs 🤔😂

Darkgold Wolfbite. The self-corrosion. Is Wriothesley is a rifthound?!?! If you squint his burst kinda makes a weird spatial rift... okay even that is too far for me. Lol. But where there are rifthound references, there is Gold. Rhinedottir. THE woman of the hour.

A cryo wolf guy. Okay Andrius "Wolf of the North" reference.

But seriously even the Wingalet is related to Mondstadt. Or at least the Mondstadt weapon series the Widsith. (Which was apparently also referenced in a veryyy obscure hidden dialogue in the quest?)

AND THEN. This!!!!! It makes so much sense in hindsight. I keep thinking of Meropide and Cerberus/Naberius separately. I forgot about Egeria!!! Miss who was specifically crafted by the Shade of Life to replace the Heart of the Primordial Sea (aka the Hydro Dragon). Who then went on to create Meropide, specifically to watch over the Primordial Sea. Of course it makes sense that Meropide's symbol directly references Naberius!

I still don't think Wriothesley himself has much to do with most of this, except in the sense that he is literally fated for Meropide. This makes me sad to think about, but everything about this guy was shaped from the ground up to be the Warden, maybe even specifically to be the Warden during the Flood. So since he's a walking Meropide reference, which through Egeria is a Naberius reference... he just kind of inadvertently becomes a walking Naberius reference by proxy? Maybe it's over-complicated but I just feel like there's probably other stuff we can compare with his backstory and with Meropide itself to figure out what's the deal with Naberius and the Shades. Genshin likes to do this thing where they tell the same story over and over, just in different forms, to drive the cyclical narrative theme going on home. It wouldn't be too farfetched.

Now as a Neuviwrio shipper. OH BOY. As above so below right??? 😭😭😭 I specifically have this obsession with them, the way they always seem to be directly contrasting each other only oops! It turns out they're the same thing, only slightly different. You'd think they'd be at odds about their interpretation of Justice, only it seems like they get along well and Neuvillette specifically considers him trustworthy. You'd think the Palais and the Fortress would have some political tension, only the Palais is actually the Fortress's best business partner. You'd think Neuvillette, the Hydro Sovereign, would have nothing thematically similar to Wriothesley (mortal, Duke of the underworld)... except, as it turns out, both of their themes strongly reference Life!!

[sora-genshin]

Paralogism Interlude Chapter Act 4 Archon Quest 5.6

[the-babygirl-polls]

genshin 5.6 archon quest interlude spoilers below cut

okay I gotta be like, entirely honest. I feel a little disappointed with the update. I definitely think that's partially because it was hyped up so much cuz everyone was excited and expecting the most, with us coming back to Mondstadt and hearing all this hype around Nod Krai (I'm not immune to propaganda lol)

still, I finished it like an hour ago and it only took around an hour and a half to complete, and I feel like it's a little...lacking. particularly in the lore department.

don't get me wrong, we got some juicy lore. Durin now has an outworld influence now ever since eating Albedo's brother (don't ask me if it's the whooperflower or the other one, I never played the event and i don't know what's going on) and I thought that was interesting, Mini Durin is now getting a human form that I'm excited to see

my main problem is that some of the biggest lore was just. namedropped with no payoff. the name of the Shade of Life was revealed and Albedo said Naberius (Shade) and Rhinedottir were now 'one?' whatever the hell that's supposed to mean??? and he gives us no explanation and is basically like 'yeah my mother is essentially more powerful than the Archons. anyways go enjoy Windblume' like no sir I will not, get the fuck back here and explain yourself.

I was genuinely so excited to see Dragonspine explode and now I'm never gonna get that lol

and Varka's involvement was literally like a minute of mistaken dialogue. like that was hyped up so much at the end of the trailer. we did get a possible design for him though so that's exciting, I guess

I don't know. it feels like this update has been hit with nostalgia hype and the remnants of Nod Krai and it feels like the archon quest underdelivered and underperformed. though I do like the implementation of the special story quest mode, the review mechanic like HSR is doing now, and there was a cinematic sequence that was a great improvement that I enjoyed a lot. it just. I don't know if I'm articulating my feelings about it well enough

just give me Navia and Ifa and all will be forgiven lol