#raiden gokaden

[genshins1mpact]

✨️ The Five Kasen / Raiden Gokaden are now complete! ✨️

[cry-oculus]

Its wild to me people shipped kazuscara before we got scara’s backstory but now that we know about niwa and the raiden gokaden they just feel so Fated

[genshinnrambles]

We Have the Raiden Gokaden Downfall All Wrong, Part 2

I was gonna write about Xamaran, but then Kazuha pulled up in the Mystery Machine and told me it was Raiden Gokaden lore time again. Let’s talk about what happened in that story quest, specifically as it relates to the Raiden Gokaden and Scaramouche.

SPOILERS: Acer Palmatum Chapter, Act I: A Strange and Friendless Road (he’s just like me fr), the new Cursed Blade lore, the new Fatui reveal teaser (A Winter Night’s Lazzo), a little bit of the Summer Islands event, Raiden’s Story Quest Part 2, the Irodori Festival event quest, all the Raiden Gokaden lore in existence, and all the Scaramouche lore in existence. You have been warned!

Previous Scaramouche Analyses:

Character Analysis: Scaramouche’s Transient Dream [jan 2022]

The Kamisatos, Scaramouche, and the Rather Aged Notes: A Theory [march 2022]

On Kuronushi, Kunikuzushi, and the Lessons of Irodori [april 2022]

We Have the Raiden Gokaden Downfall All Wrong (the Part 1 of this post) [may 2022]

***EDIT***: in light of ~the 3.1 archon quest~, I’m happy to say I have more clear language to articulate what I was trying to get at here — basically, my argument here or in the previous post was not so much about arguing that Katsuragi could not have been a member of the Niwa Clan, but rather that this fact could not be true at the same time as the theory that the Raiden Gokaden operation being about avenging his death at the hands of Nagamasa. Things are still abundantly unclear in 3.1, but assuming that the illustration and narration of Scaramouche’s back story from 3.1 was not intentionally misleading (which Mhy has done before…….within this same patch, to boot), then I feel vindicated by that cutscene that at the very very least, the Raiden Gokaden operation was in fact not a mission to avenge Katsuragi’s death. Until further information is revealed, I stand by this theory. Also I am so ridiculously happy and heart-broken over Niwa Katsuragi and his resemblance to Kazuha ;___;

DISCLAIMERS:

Despite this post’s heavy focus on Kazuha’s story quest, it will not contain analysis of Kazuha or Kazuha’s character. I have already discussed and analyzed him at length in two other posts (here and here), and those opinions are unchanged based on the content of his quest. I am more interested in the quest’s additions to the Raiden Gokaden lore, its foreshadowing of Scaramouche’s Third Act, and its implications regarding both his past and his future.

My goals are to:

Revisit the arguments made in this post and to a lesser extent this post. As this is a follow-up, it may not make sense without the context of part 1.

Revise some of those arguments with the information presented in “A Strange and Friendless Road.”

Further theorize in new directions by putting this quest in conversation with other lore bits, both new to this version and old.

While this quest was very heavy-handed with its parallels between Scaramouche and Kagotsurube Isshin and the contrast between Scaramouche (or rather, his ideals) and Kazuha, I think there are still ideas worth restating and discussing here, given that these two have been a hot topic since the Irodori Festival.

Because it was so heavy-handed, I feel this quest may serve a few narrative purposes regarding the continuation of the Irodori plot: first, this quest turns Kazuha’s character development and ideas expressed in the Irodori event into permanent content. Therefore, its secondary purpose is also to make Kazuha’s conclusions regarding the story of Kuronushi Kunikuzushi permanent, albeit divorced from the original context of the fall of the Kaedehara Clan. Despite this, his takeaways are largely the same. In the Irodori quest, he decides not to pursue Kunikuzushi, in accordance with his great-grandpa Kaedehara Yoshinori’s wishes, and he also reminds the group of the importance of the present over the past. Rather than pursue a path of vengeance like Kunikuzushi did, Kazuha once again chooses freedom for his heart. 

Ultimately, I interpret this quest as a substitute for a Talk no Jutsu scene between Kazuha and Scaramouche, which many anticipated after Irodori’s conclusions. Personally, I am extremely doubtful that these two will interact in any capacity before Scaramouche gets his head out of his ass, though it would be fun for them to meet in the future. Not everyone will be satisfied with this, but I think this makes the most sense narratively and allows Hoyoverse the creative freedom to conclude Scaramouche’s major character arc in a much more impactful way that is tied to the upcoming Archon Quests in Sumeru, and therefore also tied to the worldbuilding we need to establish as we move into the second half of the game. Maybe that way we get some follow-up to that blasted “the sky is a lie” one-liner nearly *checks watch* 2 years later??? Just a thought :)

Unity Between Blade (Body) and Mind (Heart)

This may sound far-fetched at first, but in fact a very early piece of Inazuma lore that alluded to the story of the Raiden “family” actually likened their story to the traditions of ancient Inazuman blades and their forging arts. This can be found an enemy drop, called the Kageuchi Handguard:

A handguard mounded upon a sword of some distinction.

Inazuma has a long tradition of sword-making. When making swords, smiths will often make several different weapons at once, before choosing from among them the "shinuchi," or the best weapon, while the others are known as "kageuchi."

I wrote a twitter thread about this, which you may read here, but the tl;dr is that within the context of Ei’s puppets, the “shinuchi,” or true blade, is like the Raiden Shogun, while the “kageuchi,” her shadow, is Scaramouche, and this metaphor is further reflected in the history of Makoto (in this case, the “shinuchi”) and her kagemusha Ei (the “kageuchi”). If the handguard alone feels like too much of a stretch, it is more directly addressed in Treasured Tales of the Chouken Shinkageuchi, which tells the story of Makoto and Ei as twin gods of Inazuma:

“No famous craftsman merely forges one blade in one sitting. The greatest of their works are known as "Shinuchi," and are given a lovely name before being offered to the craftsman's lord or deity. These are not built for taking lives and are to remain pure. The others are known as "Kageuchi" and will be given to retainers for them to use as weapons. These will often be used to shed blood and will thus be stained with impurity and filth.

From the day Narukami Gongen, the First Shogun, began her dominion over the land of Inazuma, she was accompanied by her younger twin sister. "Shin" and "Kage," light and dark they were, mediating and holding court, ordering and giving battle. The younger of the two was named "Ei," and if her name were to be written plainly, it would likely be the word for "shadow," which she was in relation to the first Shogun, to whom she would become the successor.”

What is most interesting about this book, other than its contradictory nature regarding the public’s knowledge of Ei and Makoto’s deception, is the fact that it adds a surprising twist to the story we were told by Miko at the end of the Archon Quest: in fact, Ei died in the Archon War to help Makoto ascend to her celestial throne, but then Makoto “reforged her body,” bringing her back to Teyvat as her kagemusha, which is an interesting choice of words to use when we’re talking about recreating an animate being’s body. Though the story itself sounds outlandish compared to Miko’s story, Ei herself confirms its veracity in her own voicelines:

“The account given in the book "Treasured Tales" is largely an accurate one. At that time, she was preoccupied with various domestic matters within the island, so as her kagemusha, I assumed her identity and joined the troops dispatched to pacify Watatsumi. After this point, however, the story turns into mere wishful thinking. Back then, I was just a martial artist wrapped up in all the fighting, not a social reformer or moral leader.” -More About Ei: III

I find this blade-as-body metaphor unsettling given Albedo’s account of his own creation, using the term “pontil mark” to refer to the star on his neck where energy was “blown into” his body:

Albedo: Have you ever seen an intricate glass ornament and wondered how it was made? Well, one method for crafting with glass is a technique known as "glassblowing."

Albedo: Glassblowing is not a widely known art in Teyvat. For this reason, glassware made in this way is usually very expensive.

Albedo: As the name implies, glassblowing involves blowing air into a hole, much like blowing up a balloon.

Albedo: This type of glassware is known for having a "pontil mark" at the point where the blowpipe was inserted, where the hole was sealed at the very end. This mark is a sign that the item was crafted by a human hand.

If creating a synthetic being like Albedo can be compared to a craft like glassblowing, could we not also wonder if the technology Ei used to create her puppets can be compared to blade forging? Note that I don’t mean to equate the blade forging that the Raiden Gokaden performed to the “technology lost to time” that Ei used for her puppets, but only to raise questions about the nature of that technology itself. But regardless of whether this metaphor truly makes sense or not, we can also turn to the story of Musou Isshin itself to further tease it out.

Like Kagotsurube Isshin, Musou Isshin is an Isshin blade, though it precedes Masagomaru and his formal teachings of the Isshin Art to Akame Mitsunaga, Kaedehara Kagemitsu, and Niwa Nagamitsu. Unlike Kagotsurube Isshin, Musou Isshin was “born from Makoto’s divine might,” though the former Electro Archon never used the blade as a weapon. Only upon her death and its change of hands to Ei did Musou Isshin become tainted with the blood of Narukami’s enemies. Shortly after Makoto’s death, Ei would use Musou Isshin as a vessel for her consciousness, and her newly created puppet the Raiden Shogun would serve as a vessel for the blade itself, and therefore also for Ei.

When she connects with Ei, the Shogun’s eyes take on a similar hue to Kazuha’s when he was possessed by Kagotsurube Isshin

The Isshin Art’s central dogma is that the mind must harmonize with the blade from the moment it is forged in order to draw its true strength as “an extension of its wielder’s will.” The Shogun is an extension of Ei’s will to rule Inazuma as an immovable God, and she is the physical manifestation of her dream of stasis. And while the Shogun is no slouch on her own, the two undoubtedly reach a higher plane of strength (that is, not necessarily limited to physical strength) when they harmonize at the end of “Transient Dreams.” Ei achieves a similar harmony with Mussou Isshin during their duel as well, with Ei’s will to change and atone for her mistakes awakening Makoto’s will within Mussou Isshin, thereby fully unleashing the power of that blade. I find this concept interesting to explore in the context of these three characters because the role they play (whether a “blade” or the “mind”) changes depending on which relationship is being examined - Ei as Makoto’s blade, Mussou Isshin as Ei’s blade, the Shogun as Ei’s blade, etc. etc.

With these comparisons established, let’s examine how Scaramouche’s story also reflects the discordance between his artificial body and the Electro Archon’s Gnosis.

Scaramouche, the Sentient Sword

“I do not wish for forgiveness. I only hope that you will see my transgressions as mine alone, and not let them stain the legacy of Isshin Art.”

Nowhere in this quest do the allusions towards “the Case of the Eccentric” become more clear than in our second meeting with Kagotsurube Isshin, who has possessed Amenoma Yuuya’s body. Like in Part 1, I think parts of these scenes with Kagotsurube Isshin deserve a close reading to demonstrate this blade’s parallels with Scaramouche and his ideals so that we can try to understand Scaramouche’s intentions better:

Prized Isshin Blade: Many, many years ago, I was forged by a famed bladesmith of the Isshin tradition. I was his pride and joy, in me, he placed all his hopes and dreams.

Prized Isshin Blade: As a descendant of the Kaedehara Clan, you should be able to guess our greatest regret.

Kaedehara Kazuha: I presume it has something to do with the Raiden Gokaden.

Prized Isshin Blade: Indeed. At that point in time, he failed to live up to the Raiden Shogun's expectations. In the end, all he could do was to flee the nation by sea, on a ship bound for Snezhnaya.

Prized Isshin Blade: He was a bladesmith of great renown, a master of his craft! There was nothing that he could not accomplish! All he needed was more time, and a little faith.

Prized Isshin Blade: And sure enough, in the end, he achieved what he had set out to do. All of his life's work — his wisdom, his skill — it culminated in his creation of me.

Some initial analysis housekeeping: Kagotsurube Isshin is representative of two things here, both Scaramouche and Scaramouche’s delusion. When I say delusion, I do not mean the things the Fatui manufactures, but delusional thoughts. Likewise, Kagotsurube Isshin’s creator, Akame Kanenaga, can represent both Scaramouche and Ei. I will focus on how the creator represents Scaramouche and the blade represents his twisted world view, but just know there is at least one other layer of meaning beneath that.

When Ei created Scaramouche, a prototype of the Raiden Shogun puppet, she likely initially intended her puppet to have the ability to store the Gnosis. However, Scaramouche shed tears in his sleep and could not perform the task Ei had in mind. She sealed his power and let him sleep in Shakkei Pavillion, abandoning this design idea altogether and left the Gnosis with Miko at the Grand Narukami Shrine.

Admittedly, we know very little about what actually transpired in Shakkei Pavillion that is not from Scaramouche’s perspective, but it is commonly inferred from the Husk of Opulent Dreams artifact lore and the Surpassing Cup lore that Scaramouche 1) views the Gnosis, and his ability to hold it, as the reason for his existence, 2) that he views Ei with contempt for abandoning him, and 3) continued to pursue the Gnosis to fulfill that purpose. It’s still difficult to say with any confidence what his motives truly are besides his desire to feel emotions, but the text lends itself to the interpretation that he also wants to show Ei that he is capable of holding the Gnosis as intended - that he is not “weak.” 

Prized Isshin Blade: He not only bestowed upon me the greatest of strength, but also endowed me with a consciousness of my own.

Prized Isshin Blade: In her conceit, the Raiden Shogun lost not only the single most perfect blade in the entire world, but also an irreplaceable achievement in the art of blade-forging!

Prized Isshin Blade: The people of the time in which I was born never believed I had that kind of power. They saw me as a mere blade – a sharp and well-crafted one, but in all other respects an ordinary weapon. Hmph, but that gave me the opportunity to take action.

Prized Isshin Blade: After the death of my creator, I decided to leave Snezhnaya, and began my long quest to return to the distant land of Inazuma. Moving from one person to the next, I controlled the minds of countless hosts along the way, each bringing me one step closer to my ancestral home.

Prized Isshin Blade: I seek but one thing: to face the full force of the Raiden Shogun’s blade, and prove my power, the might of Isshin Art!

I find this recurring theme of Isshin blades having space for consciousness rather fascinating, particularly in the context of the previous section’s analysis of the Raiden family, but let’s not go there for now. The first portion of this passage gestures towards the Surpassing Cup, where Scaramouche laments that he is a divine creation cast aside like “worthless dross.” One interpretation of the final sentence could be that Scaramouche’s goal in eradicating the Raiden Gokaden was primarily to demonstrate his worth to Ei through power, and maybe also to face off against her, though I doubt it’s meant to be taken literally.

If Kagotsurube Isshin represents Scaramouche’s delusions, then this passage also makes clear that it is Scaramouche who had to buy into them and give them a life of their own. He cannot think rationally about his life, and he cannot face reality. He can only focus on his single-minded, selfish, destructive goal: attaining the “heart” he was born to hold. In a later passage, Kagotsurube Isshin says as much: “Facing reality offers me nothing! I have no need of anything that would stand in my way. Not hesitation, not reflection, and certainly not your so-called-reality!”

Kaedehara Kazuha: Tell me, what happens to those you've possessed when you've finished using them?

Prized Isshin Blade: My hosts? Who cares what happens to them. They are but tools that serve my mission.

Prized Isshin Blade: When they got tired, or injured, or unusable, I hopped to the next one in line. All I needed them for was to take me back to Inazuma.

...

Prized Isshin Blade: After I returned to Inazuma, I decided to bide my time in Nagato's warehouse, until Amenoma Yuuya handed himself over to me on a silver platter.

Prized Isshin Blade: At long last, I am approaching my journey's destination. By Amenoma Yuuya's body I have found you, and by your hand I shall defeat the Raiden Shogun!

Prized Isshin Blade: Kaedehara Kazuha, you stood against the Raiden Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi. There can be no other to serve as my host for what is to come.

It can be difficult to tell with Scaramouche when he is a puppet in a given situation and when he is a puppet master. Perhaps the key here is honoring that he is often both, though I feel his role as a puppet master is often overemphasized to the detriment of seeing how he also allows himself to be used by others. Both must be appreciated at the same time to recognize the extent of his folly.

Kaedehara Kazuha: You wanted to reach a state of harmony with me. For perhaps then, you would still be able to wield commendable power.

Here it must be stated that Kazuha represents two things in this metaphor as well - the Gnosis, and the ideal of true freedom. What Scaramouche believes he needs to prove himself is to obtain and master the Gnosis, and he seems absolutely hellbent on doing so. Indeed, there is no room for failure where this is concerned. Even after obtaining it, even after he realizes it is not what he truly desires, he insists on keeping it - or he “would no longer be able to feel anything at all.” What Kazuha points out, however, is that this has no basis in reality, and ignores the context in which these events have come to pass. Kagotsurube Isshin is not truly in control of the situation - he is exhausted, he is broken, and he is backed into a corner.

Kaedehara Kazuha: Your fighting style... it is indeed the forms of Isshin Art.

Kaedehara Kazuha: But from your movements, I sense only hatred and arrogance, as well as a thinly veiled mania and despair.

…

Kaedehara Kazuha: If you ask me, the mania is probably due to your desperate, single-minded ambition. You believe I am your only hope.

Prized Isshin Blade: Are you trying to claim that I am helpless without you?

Prized Isshin Blade: On his deathbed, he passed to me all of Isshin Art's secrets. The little that you know barely scratches the surface.

Prized Isshin Blade: In that regard, why would I ever need your help?

Kaedehara Kazuha: Because all of that is in the past.

Kaedehara Kazuha: I've been wondering why you've not caused more trouble in all the years that you've been in Inazuma, if you are indeed a cursed blade that can possess its owner.

Kaedehara Kazuha: Now that I've seen inside your mind, everything finally makes sense. You weren't biding your time... you were trapped.

Prized Isshin Blade: Hmph...

Kaedehara Kazuha: After all the time that's passed, you have grown weak, to the point that you are now unable to acquire a new host without making physical contact.

…

Prized Isshin Blade: Hmph, what of it!

Kaedehara Kazuha: Well, that brings me to my second point. There's a despair in you that is so strong, it threatens to overwhelm you.

…

Kaedehara Kazuha: You returned to Inazuma to prove the unparalleled brilliance of Isshin Art. But to make this arduous journey, you committed countless atrocities, and showed a blatant disregard for human life.

Kaedehara Kazuha: Even if you were to sever that divine light... is this truly the outcome that your maker would have desired?

…

Kaedehara Kazuha: How could you possibly unleash the full potential of Isshin Art, when you act in perfect discordance with the principle of harmony between a blade and its bearer?

You get my drift, lots of Talk no Jutsu. I won’t repeat myself here, but if you’re interested in reading some power analysis of Scaramouche and his relationship to the Fatui, I did so in a character analysis and in a close reading of the delusion factory cutscene.

Paimon: Is this the same blade as before!? It looks like a piece of junk!

Traveler: The wear and tear is severe. It really looks like it’s about to break.

The Raiden Gokaden Downfall, Revisited

Regardless of the true role Scaramouche played in the Raiden Gokaden’s downfall, whether he was the mastermind or a puppet or some combination of both, the Fatui’s involvement as a whole is confirmed by Kujou Kamaji and further solidified by the Cursed Blade weapon lore. Those bladesmiths who heeded Kunikuzushi’s warning and abandoned their forging arts later fled to Snezhnaya to avoid judgment from the Shogunate, suggesting that this operation did indeed run deeper than Scaramouche’s personal revenge mission. Why would the Fatui offer asylum to these bladesmiths in the first place? What did they have to gain here? It certainly would not be out of the goodness of their hearts. 

“We later learned that the whole misadventure had been secretly orchestrated by the Fatui. Attributing all of the blame to the Kamisato and Kaedehara Clans was neither proper nor just.”

My only guess at this moment is largely the same as what I proposed in part 1: the Fatui wanted to destabilize Inazuma and get their hands on Jade Steel, which would allow them to study Tatarigami as an energy source and material for the massive manufacturing of delusions, which would later be put into place as a part of the Vision Hunt Decree operation. Alternatively, maybe they just planned to recruit them as soldiers, similar to what they did with dismissed Shogunate officials after the Vision Hunt Decree was repealed, but I also find this explanation too small for our favorite antagonists.

As for Scaramouche’s personal investment in this part of the plan, I find it only questionable at best. Knowing that he had the entirety of the Fatui behind him in this operation, I still find it improbable that he was not being used.

Katsuragi and the Niwa Clan, Revisited

Through it all, I am still not convinced that Katsuragi was the main reason for Scaramouche’s decision to end the Raiden Gokaden schools, and therefore I do not think that, if the Katsuragi = Niwa Clan theory holds true, he ended the mission because he was confronted with someone of that lineage. That is, he did not end the operation because of who is in the Niwa clan, but because of what that clan represents to Scaramouche. I will explain more in just a bit. I do think that Katsuragi’s death was “the final straw” for his younger self, making him prioritize power and cruelty over kindness, and that this is what made him susceptible to joining an organization like the Fatui. 

Presuming that I’m correct in saying the main motivation for the Raiden Gokaden’s downfall was not Katsuragi’s death, but in fact Scaramouche’s single-minded ambition to demonstrate his power and worth to Ei, then I have to wonder once again what the significance of the Niwa Clan is to him to end such a grandiose scheme, especially since he was not acting alone. I still don’t have any solid answers for this or the Kaedehara Yoshinori scene, however I do have further speculation based on a throwaway lore bit from the quest. The Niwa Clan specialized in a practice called clay tempering, a Japanese forging technique for “tempering” the overly-sharp parts of a katana by coating these parts in clay before performing the heat treating and quenching steps of the blade forging process (I am no expert on this, so please read here for more details c: ). If the blade is too sharp, it will be too brittle and break easily. The idea of clay tempering, therefore, is that a blade requires a fine balance of sharpness and flexibility in order to be a truly great sword. Sound a little familiar by now?

If his body can be compared to a blade, then Scaramouche would be an overly sharp blade, as he has prioritized strength (anger) and his reason for existence (the gnosis) over his psyche for nearly 500 years. Scaramouche is among the least emotionally flexible characters in the game - he lacks resilience in the way that Kazuha is overflowing with it. Rather than giving him the strength he desired, his choices have hurt him over and over again, and now that he has acquired the heart he has always wanted, I would wager that if the metaphor holds true, then he is nearing that physical breaking point. So, I wonder if encountering Kaedehara Yoshinori, a descendant of the Niwa Clan, was a reminder of temperance as a form of strength?

And if that is the case, maybe it was the reminder of those principles that stopped him in his tracks and made him hesitate, if only briefly. And if he was initially taught those principles by “the kind young deputy,” I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

The Warehouse Thief, Briefly Revisited

Another mystery from before was the ambiguity surrounding the warehouse thief’s identity in the Irodori Festival. While the warehouse thief’s identity being anyone other than Scaramouche didn’t really make any sense to me, it’s undeniable that descriptions of this thief left room for interpretation:

Kuronushi's Likeness: (The way Ayato puts it, it seems that the person who tried to furtively search for the secret was a Fatui spy. But "who" would want to hide Kunikuzushi's past?)

The other issue is that this thief was quite clumsy compared to how we’ve previously encountered Scaramouche. In Unreconciled Stars, he concealed his true intentions from the party and was only thwarted by Mona’s foresight. He is chillingly deceptive, and capable of switching seamlessly between personas depending on the situation. But in Kazuha’s story quest, Kagotsurube Isshin is only growing weaker and weaker, even after Kazuha wields him in battle. I wonder if the Gnosis is weakening Scaramouche too, and that his carelessness in raiding the warehouse reflects that. But, this is largely baseless speculation for now.

Final Thoughts

Considering we’ve been given Scaramouche crumbs for damn near every patch since his last actual in-game appearance in September 2021 (totally not bitter), I would be seriously shocked if his arc is not nearing its end. This is further supported by the lore dump that was A Winter Night’s Lazzo. Though the focus of the teaser is Signora’s funeral, the issue of Scaramouche and the Gnosis is also raised by Capitano, to which Dottore cooly replies: “Conventional wisdom holds that Divine Knowledge cannot rationally be comprehended. After conquering the divine gaze, he will make his next move.” Several things stick out to me about this remark: first, this teaser is very clearly meant to not only drip market the Harbingers, but also give the players a taste of what is to come in the Sumeru patches and beyond. The fact that Scaramouche is mentioned here, I think, is no coincidence at all and indicates he will be highly involved in the upcoming Archon Quest in Sumeru. Second, Dottore’s comment seems to foreshadow that if Scaramouche will indeed conquer the divine gaze of the Gnosis, it will be a major breaking point in what sanity he has left. What will he learn from that amiable husk? This is where the Traveler and Paimon come in.

Rather than foreshadowing an ideological or physical showdown between Kazuha and Scaramouche, I believe the Raiden Gokaden subplot was foreshadowing the more likely route of the Traveler vs. Scaramouche. I’m neutral to the Traveler overall, but I do think there is no person better suited to this task than them.

Kaedehara Kazuha: If a blade built for Isshin Art cannot enter a state of harmony between blade and bearer, it cannot unleash its true power.

Kaedehara Kazuha: If he wants to avoid reality, then we need to fight until he has no choice but to face it. He shouldn’t last long in an intense combat situation.

But, I don’t think his boss fight will disappoint. I’m expecting something truly epic.

Lastly, Kazuha’s story quest concludes with Kagotsurube Isshin possessing Kazuha’s body to reforge the blade, so that it may shine again. If this metaphor does extend to the physical condition of Scaramouche’s body, I wonder if he’ll need some similar “repairs”? 

Kaedehara Kazuha: When the heart is clear, the world is too. And when the heart is unladen, the same is true.

….And that’s all I got. To be honest, this is probably the last if not the second-to-last analysis I will ever do of Scaramouche because 1) I’ve said all I need to say, 2) writing analysis for him is very stressful because I care a lot about his character and don’t want to get him wrong, and 3) I truly do think that his lore is winding down and is going to conclude with major worldbuilding information such as the nature of the false sky and the Gnosis, and to be totally real, that stuff is not my forte. Gonna leave those to the experts. So, assuming this is the end of the Mouchey posts, thank you for reading and coming on the journey with me :) I am very excited to see how this all pans out.

[raspberrymint-is-mint]

Dottore indirectly gave a sword generational trauma.

Someone dare me to explain this, please.

[venticuliao]

the raiden gokaden and the worship of power

or: why scaramouche targeted the raiden gokaden

(contains spoilers for his 3.1 cinematic)

inazuma's chapter left a lot of people unsatisfied with raiden ei's character (which is a whole different discussion and, if ur interested, i made a post analyzing the storyline), one of the reasons being that she didn't face much consequences for her actions. it felt like some acknowledgement was missing, especially because when the war is over everything goes back to normal. it isn't really necessary for the chapter, but it is relevant for ei's character (the same way zhongli facing the consequences of the archon war through the salt god quest and his own actions through azhdaha is).

i believe scaramouche is meant to be the vehicle that allows the writing to explore this missing part, in a way that concentrates the most important issues rather than just tackling them one by one.

and the raiden gokaden is the perfect (conceptual) target for this.

1. the gokaden as a symbol of military power

ei's method for progress (which in the context of inazuma means both accomplishments and survival) was through her blade, she herself acted as a tool/weapon for makoto's ideals (until she herself had to step into the role of head of state). among the many victories the shogunate owes to their raiden shogun there's the protection of inazuma against the cataclysm, the battle against chiyo after becoming corrupted, the sealing of kapatcir's resentment in amakumo peak, and the slaying of orobashi when he and the watatsumi warriors attacked narukami territory.

the raiden gokaden are an extension of that military power.

first betrayal: being cast aside due to weakness in design, because he couldn't host the gnosis (funny enough, a weakness in design, by tampering with the blueprint and taking away a core part of the swords, is what caused the fall of the gokaden)

2. the ingredient for swords is jade steel

jade steel is made in the mikage furnace by smelting crystal marrow, which is produced by the tatarigami radiating from orobashi's remains.

second betrayal: something related to katsuragi, which resulted in his death at the hands of a sword forged in the mikage furnace.

3. the tatarigami causes a mysterious illness

inhabitants of yashiori island succumbed to physical as well as psychological effects when they were corrupted by its energy (with exceptions such as chouji's mother, who let it "flow freely within her")

third betrayal: the death of a child scara was looking after, allegedly due to the tatarigami illness

so in order, the events that resulted in the two last betrayals are:

ei kills orobashi in yashiori and his remains produce the tatarigami

the mikage furnace is built by the tenryou commission in kannazuka to forge swords with jade steel

the tatarigami causes workers and inhabitants to fall ill

the delusion factory

you have to wonder then, if scaramouche's low value of human life truly comes from himself or from what he witnessed.

the people of tatarasuna and the miners of yashiori were manpower used to forge weapons, they were more or less human sacrifices for power. was the fatui any different when they used the members of the resistance to test delusions, which are made of the same material (dead god juice) as the blades forged by the gokaden?

the worship of power

in inazuma's act III, we find out the tenryou commission was in cahoots with the fatui and were the ones hiding the war from the puppet. the leader of the clan is exposed to have the wrong kind of worshipping for their archon, as opposed to kujou sara whose belief is genuine. paimon says he "worships her power as a warrior" instead.

since the gokaden is the symbol of the raiden shogun's power, perhaps what's being explored through scaramouche's character arc is the consequences of this mistaken worship.

[ho-who]

marionette || prologue || kaedahara kazuha ||

•MASTERLIST•MARIONETTE•

——————————————————————————

this suffering world, the flowers will blossom, even at that.

———————————————

In the eyes of the Inazuman, they believe their Archon is the noble of them all. Her eternal excellency. The Almighty Shogun. God of Thunder. Who are they to rebel against a god? After all, she has watched over Inazuma ever since the Archon War. To make sure her people save from danger. That's her priority responsibility.

But to those who lived more than 500 years, her background was entirely different. Three strings were made, but one had already been cut. The new perfect puppet has to rule regarding of the state. The second was made to carry the memories and strength. The first string that had been cut was for being the vessel of gnosis.

All for one God. Raiden Ei.

Those who are close to her will be able to see her commitment will soon bring calamity if not stopped. But what prove they have to voice their thoughts? None of her actions for now has affected anyone. If did, how did a mere mortal want to oppose a God? It's foolish though without a doubt.

But, one already had their plan out. The first marionette.

He who cried every night. The nightmare that no one can describe. Weak as a kitten. Ran away after countless horrifying nights. He is no doubt wanting revenge. However, will he be brave enough to see her?

Masako the warrior is well known across Inazuma and beyond, she the conqueror of The Dark Sea has made sure the humans were always safe when they travel across the sea. Still, how will she react when she realized how the worst of the action of her God?

Shogun the ideal is far from humans compared to the two. There is no word about emotion in her system, thus she is perfect to deal with strategy. All for eternity. Yet, can she understand what eternity means after the Raiden Makoto?

———————————————

that lonely thing, silent lightning, on the prairie.

——————————————————————————

[platoniccereal]

meet your newborn god, the everlasting lord of arcane wisdom.

[the-psychotic-blueberry]

Tempted to just literally write an entire Isekai story that divulges from canon so much it's illegal-

Basically you, yes you, the reader. Get brought into Teyvat about exactly 501 years before our current timeline.

And then I, G O D, put you through the most shit situations.

Also somewhere along the lines you accidentally meet kunikuzushi right after his friend betrayed him and the two of you find the child and decide to take care of it together xkshdjsheid-

[abyssruler]

Does that person know what 'Fanfiction' means? Cause why are they trying to prove that your simple brainrot makes no sense 💀 You know what makes no sense? How we cook food in genshin (like wdym I boiled eggs but it turns out fried??? 🤨)

it’s a fantasy game where people can harness the elements and they’re saying it makes no sense for the reader (the traveler) to be aether and lumine’s sibling XD anyway, gonna be deleting the comments in a few minutes cuz i don’t wanna deal with that sort of negativity on here

[monogatcri]

Is there a part of you still upset with Ren over all the events that transpired?

━━ ˟ ⊰🍁THAT'S JUST AN UNFAIR QUESTION -- ❝ ...yes, ❞ his answer is small, hidden beneath a layer of a whisper.

⊰🍁SEND A YES OR NO QUESTION .

[momijiba]

ittorou and kazuhei peeps are feasting in this event.

[silkjade]

SPARKS AMIDST THE SNOW

scaramouche x reader ⤀ warnings: gn!reader, second chance romance ⤀ synopsis: he meets you again for the first time since erasing himself from irminsul, and new hope flickers in the barren cold. a/n: for the best reading experience, pls think of the outro to all too well (10 min version) while u read this !

when scaramouche inevitably accompanies the golden haired traveller on their journey to snezhnaya, the last thing he expected was a pit stop in your little village on the outskirts of the capital. and although his puppet body does not shrink in the face of this nation's biting cold, his skin burns under the curious, yet cautious, gaze of those once familiar to him.

he keeps his head down, dipping his hat so that its large brim might hide his visage, eager to avoid any unwarranted attention. still, his eyes cannot help but wander and his heart, imaginary as it may be, cannot help but wonder.

were you well? the last he'd seen of you, he had promised to return a god—one who would whisk you away from the barren cold of snezhnaya to live out your days in glory as his mortal consort. but for all that had transpired, and then that fateful traipse beneath the irminsul, he's now no more than just another stranger passing through—fleeting as the falling snow, just another memory to be buried in the desolate stillness of winter.

he cares not for the stars in the sky, yet somehow they still dictate that his traveling companions would task him with purchasing commodities, of course from your family's stall. he's long grown out of his naivety; knows that in this infinite realm of possibilities, there’d always be the chance of meeting you again, slim as it may be. if it really came to, he had been prepared to let you live your life, free of him this time around, but it seems this world has its own twisted sense of humor, for he cannot tear his eyes from the ring that sits upon your finger.

"that ring. where did you get it?" he's never been one for small talk, but the biting curiosity rivals that of the wind, as it chips away at his exterior. he keeps his tone even, ignoring the multitude of emotions whirring in his head, though irritation clearly seems to buzz the loudest.

it should have been impossible that a ring he'd forged with his own hands should still exist, but as the fate of this world has yet to reflect that… if he hadn't given you the ring, then how? or perhaps even who... the cold, gunmetal glint laughs in his face as your swift fingers wrap up his purchase.

the stranger's question takes you by surprise, and you look up, taken aback by the intensity of his indigo gaze—beautiful, and bitter, and so blatantly familiar, yet you cannot quite figure out why.

your village is nowhere near the main road, so it isn't often that you'd host any foreign guests; even if you did, you're sure you'd remember if someone like that were to ever have passed through. nevertheless, you flex your fingers, pulled out of your thoughts by his impatient sigh.

"I'm not sure. I've had it ever since I could remember."

you're the same as he remembers, he thinks. a rose amidst the snow, with frost resting in your hair and on the curls of your lashes. out of habit, he takes your hand, inspecting the ring at a closer proximity.

'how rude,' you think. and yet your hand in his, feels comfortable, and warm, and right. like an electric charge drawing two magnets home to the other. it’d be blasphemy to pull away, but you manage to do so anyway, furrowing your brows at his boldness, the frown on your lips more so a reflection of your confusion, rather than displeasure.

“if you wanted to look, you could’ve just asked,” you mumble, as you slip the ring off your finger, offering it to him in the palm of your hand.

the detailed metalwork, the particular branding imprinted in the iron… there’s no denying the influence of the raiden gokaden, though it was perhaps, a subconscious decision made from muscle memory. in hindsight, he thinks that, in the moment, he must have felt—still feels—that same overwhelming affection that came as second nature to kabukimono. after all, it was forged as a promise of his love, and there’s no question about it when, hidden beneath his clothes, its pair hangs on a chain around his neck.

"it’s made with excellent craftsmanship," he boasts, "any merchant worth their weight, would give you a good price for it." he figures you might as well get something out of it, and a piece like this, though meaningless now, is still sure to last you until at least the next winter.

but a stubborn pout is painted across your snow-kissed features. "absolutely not! it’s actually quite dear to me, you know..."

scaramouche scoffs at the irony. ‘why?’ he wants to ask. he is not foolish enough to believe himself an exception from the rules of this world; not when he's already convinced himself to give up on chasing the impossible. still, here you are, turning destiny on its head—his heart, right within reach.

“it can’t be that dear, if you’d so willingly hand it off to a stranger.” his face reveals nothing, though he cannot say the same for the bile that rises in his throat. he crosses his arms, a brow raised in skepticism. "how do you know I won't run off with it right now?"

“I don’t,” you start, “so I suppose you could call it a leap of faith.”

“or a doomed attempt at flight,” he counters. “you’d leave something so precious up to fate?”

you ponder for a moment as to why you feel so drawn to this stranger, why this back and forth comes so easily, why you seem to somehow just trust him.

"we don’t get many visitors here,” you start, “and as fate should have it, the day we do, it happens to be someone as interesting as you. that must count for something, no?”

the realist he’s learned to embody rolls his eyes at such ridiculous notions: your blind optimism… putting such faith in these false stars…. but the tenderness he had buried begs to differ, planting roots between the cavities of his chest, sprouting until it breaks through the surface.

he takes a further study of the intricate details, the careful inazuman script engraved on its body. ‘my heart,’ he had wrote.

scaramouche dips his head as his fingers close a fist around the piece, the large brim of his hat hiding the fondness glimmering in his eyes, and the ghostly smile settling on his lips. he does not cringe as he recalls the lingering remnants of kabukimono's innocence: stubbornly deluding himself to believe that his hollowed chest was naught for his natural lack of a heart, but because fate had dictated you to be its keeper.

perhaps the warmth of sumeru had indeed rubbed off on him—melted the frost that crawled upon and tore his skin, whilst teaching him to hope again, not for anyone else’s sake, but for his own. what was that vahumana saying? it’s difficult for people to truly understand themselves—and as much as he’d like to disagree, judging by his current predicament, he knows he cannot.

“have you ever considered that this ring might be one half of a pair?” he tosses it in the air, nonchalantly, as if he were merely flipping a coin, catching it mid-way before you have the chance to swipe it back.

“what do you suppose fate would have to say about that?”

it’s almost impossible to tell whether he’s truly genuine in his queries, but the mischievous gleam in his bright eyes, and the smug look on his face, seem to nullify any regards you may have had. your brows twitch in vexation. was he not just here to buy provisions? and yet he toys with you so…

“well if that were the case, then it would be between me and whoever owns the other half,” you huff, reaching over once again in an attempt to snatch back your belonging, only to miss by mere seconds thanks to a quick slight of his hand.

breathing out something between a chuckle and a scoff, scaramouche tugs at the thin chain around his neck, hard enough for it to snap right off, and toss in your direction.

"a leap of faith," he says plainly. it lands in the palms of your hands: a ring, near identical. 'my soul' it reads. if he lacked a heart, then it could only have been forged from his soul.

a flurry of questions swarm in your head, as you stare at his ring. you want to ask him why and how, but he's already pivoted away, the tassels of his hat barely missing you by inches, as he quickly grabs his purchase.

“who are you,” you manage to blurt out, calling out to him, and asking him to wait, so he might answer these questions he’s planted in your heart, but he only bids you farewell with a lazy wave of his hand.

though there's nothing he'd like more than to hear the sweet song of his name falling from your lips, he's learned it best to leave the past where it belongs. once he's settled his scores... then he'll get his second chance with you—he'll make sure of it, vowing to come back for you, not as kunikuzushi who you had once known him, but he hopes you might one day be able to love him as he is, as well.

‘my soul.’ your new ring reads. you shake your head, pursing your lips at the mysterious wanderer, wondering if you’d ever see him again, but a gust of wind blows your way—not a prickling cold as you’re used to, but a warm summer breeze that seems to caress your cheeks oh so sweetly.

perhaps it's only in your head, but you swear the wind seems to carry the whisper of a name in its flurry. 'and don't you forget it,' it seems to say.

a/n2: pleaseeee associate this with the outro of all too well (10 min version) like imagine the camera slow panning out amidst the falling snow, to the hopes of another chance together (⸝⸝o̴̶̷᷄‸o̴̶̷̥᷅⸝⸝) anyways, tysm for reading, reblogs/feedback vry much appreciated ♡

© silkjade — do not steal, plagiarize, translate or repost any content onto any other platform

[genshinnrambles]

[3.2] Haypasia, the Irodori Warehouse Thief, and the Rather Aged Notes

or, We Have the Raiden Gokaden Downfall All Wrong Part 3 AND a Part 2 to this post.

Hello. I have returned. Here is a quick and dirty theory of how the plundered Rather Aged Notes of Tatarasuna, the attempted robbery of the warehouse containing the Kaedehara Clan’s belongings, and the “secret” Haypasia saw through her connection to Scaramouche’s consciousness are all related incidents pertaining to the same secret.

SPOILERS: The latest Sumeru Archon Quest! MAJORLY! Please don’t read before you finish it in its entirety!

DISCLAIMER: “Quick and dirty” does not mean quick, but rather: half-baked. Still thinking. Feedback welcome, thoughts and contradictions more than appreciated.

Now, a lot happened in the final installment of the Archon Quest, but I want to focus on what was happening around Haypasia and attempt to connect her value to the Fatui (or at least, to Dottore) back to some events related to Scaramouche.

Some Archon Quest Recap

Dehya and the Traveler met up with Tighnari at Pardis Dhyai to discuss Dottore’s whereabouts so that they might successfully complete their objective of removing him from the larger equation of their plan to rescue Nahida. There, Tighnari divulges that Dottore requested that Haypasia’s care be transferred to him so that he might take her back to Snezhnaya:

Tighnari: Hmph... so you mean, you're leaving this place soon?

The Doctor: Indeed. Otherwise, we could have perhaps talked a little more.

The Doctor: I was just about to set out when I remembered something important. To that end, I made a final trip to Pardis Dhyai.

Tighnari refuses, and Dottore backs down - he give the illusion that he has abandoned this endeavor and leaves him with this chilling message:

The Doctor: Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't just let you off the hook like this, but unfortunately, I'm in a hurry today — what with Her most noble Majesty, the Tsaritsa, calling for our return.

The Doctor: Luckily, there is still some time left for me to take care of everything before I leave.

The Doctor: It's just as the Akademiya said — you're a responsible and gifted scholar. Sadly, even with all of that, you're still lacking a bit of shrewdness.

The Doctor: And that's also why people like you can never realize that sooner or later, everyone must pay the price for what they've learned.

After catching up to Dottore’s segment in Port Ormos, Dehya speculates as to why he’s taken an interest in Haypasia in the first place:

Dehya: They might be after Haypasia. Let's get back to Pardis Dhyai!

Paimon: Huh? What do you mean?

Traveler: I just remembered...

Traveler: Haypasia once connected her consciousness to The Balladeer...

Dehya: I'm afraid that she's seen something that she wasn't supposed to see. If I were the Fatui, I would also try to take her away. And if I couldn't...

Paimon: Oh no! Are you saying they're going to kill her!?

Dehya: Hmm. Maybe the Fatui want to cover up some secret of The Balladeer? Is that why they tried to seize Haypasia?

And as we see, the Fatui were serious about this pursuit. The seemingly endless waves of assault the Traveler met with back at Pardis Dhyai was only thwarted by Scaramouche’s thunderous temper tantrum. Though they were not able to make good on their intent, the risk Haypasia posed to them was an important loose end to tie before leaving Sumeru.

What exactly that risk is, I do not know. We can’t be sure that The “Divine” Will is a complete account of what Haypasia saw by connecting to Scaramouche’s consciousness - at first glance, there’s nothing about this cutscene that should implicate the Fatui at all. The question remains - why was Dottore concerned with Haypasia’s connection to Scaramouche’s consciousness? Why would he want to remove her from Sumeru because of it?

I am choosing to take Dehya’s and the Traveler’s speculations at face value here because I think there is sufficient previous evidence to suggest that this dialogue is not a red herring, but in fact a set up for what will be covered in patch 3.3 either in a story quest for Scaramouche (sorry, Wanderer) or in his character lore. Knock on wood, I am tired of the loose ends with this dude.

The Palace, Dyed in Black

Let’s back up a little bit, because this is not the first time that we’ve seen this behavior relating to Scaramouche’s past. You will recall if you played the Irodori Festival in patch 2.6 that Ayato disclosed to the Traveler something very peculiar - a “Fatui spy” attempted to rob the warehouse containing the Kaedehara Clan’s belongings, the very same warehouse where we found Kaedehara Yoshinori’s secret letter divulging the truth about the case of the Eccentric and the Raiden Gokaden’s demise less than one hundred years prior to the start of the game.

At the time, I was convinced that the attempted robbery had to have been Scaramouche’s doing, based on the flimsy evidence that he would be concerned with the contents of that letter - namely, that Kunikuzushi had shown weakness and spared someone, a member of the Niwa Clan. And no evidence could exist in this world that he had ever been weak. This doesn’t work for a few reasons, the most obvious being that there’s no way to know that he was aware of this letter’s existence at all. In fact, there’s no way to know that anyone else knew of its existence either, but there are two things that the attempted robbery and Haypasia’s attempted abduction have in common: they concern Scaramouche’s past, and they were both targeted by the Fatui.

What’s more, as Ashikai pointed out in her video on the matter, there is sufficient ambiguity regarding the identity of this thief to call into question the possibility of it being Scaramouche. The most important reason, in my opinion, is that Scaramouche had stopped corresponding with the Fatui by this time, and likely could not have left Inazuma by boat so brazenly in its port town Ritou. Therefore, my top contender for this warehouse thief is now one of Dottore’s segments.

Nothing but Ivy

Finally, we have the Rather Aged Notes, a key piece of lore pertaining to Scaramouche’s past that is also maddeningly incomplete and faded with age so that just enough information is missing. If you’re not aware of what these are, you can read about them on the Genshin Wiki:

Now, I speculated earlier this year that these notes had actually been plundered from the Fatui rather than by the Fatui because of what I now suspect is a translation error - the blurb that appears before each notes’ dialogue reads “These notes seem to have been plundered during a recent raid on the Fatui.”

But now I am wondering if the way my brain originally read it, which is that the Fatui were the ones who plundered the notes from Tatarasuna, was actually correct. Some weak supporting evidence for this is that two of the more easily reachable notes are actually near Fatui mobs in the open-world. A somewhat stronger piece of supporting evidence for this is the possibility that this would not be an isolated incident from them given the previous two examples.

So what about these notes? They are also indirectly about Scaramouche’s past, specifically about the time that he spent on Tatarasuna with Mikoshi Nagamasa and Niwa Katsuragi. The maddening part of these notes is that with age they now give an incomplete account of what exactly happened during that time. But they are still usable pieces of evidence, and here’s why:

There is something that all three of these examples have in common with each other beyond the fact that they concern Scaramouche’s past and were targeted by the Fatui: the Rather Aged Notes cover a crucial point in the manufacturing history of Inazuman blades, when Jade Steel was introduced as a smelting material, while Kaedehara Yoshinori’s letter covers the reason for the ending of sacred blade forging schools belonging to the Raiden Gokaden, though this is not the end of Inazuman blade forging overall. Haypasia has no doubt also seen from Scaramouche’s consciousness that one of his betrayals occurred on Tatarasuna, and it is highly implied by the cutscene narrative that he was betrayed specifically by Niwa Katsuragi.

And so, the other common denominators between these three examples are just that: Niwa Katsuragi, if not the Niwa Clan in general, and Inazuma bladesmithing. Again, we had the reasons for the Raiden Gokaden downfall all wrong.

Final Thoughts

Now, I am of the opinion that we have not yet seen whatever dangerous secret Haypasia has seen at all, and not that we just don’t recognize what that secret is at this time. But who knows? Maybe I will be laughing at myself in a month from now. Wouldn’t be the first time.

What I don’t understand is this - if I am right that these three incidents are all connected and related to the same secret, then why is this secret important enough to pursue, but not important enough to permanently subdue? I don’t believe the Rather Aged Notes were actually tampered with in any way, but if they really wanted to be thorough about the warehouse they might as well have burned it down. And yes, Dottore didn’t have any segments left by the time he high-tailed it out of Sumeru with two gnoses in-hand, but he really didn’t have time or the upper-hand to deal Haypasia one final blow? Really?

In fact, that may be it. But what do you think? Some pieces of lore I think are worth revisiting include Kagotsurube Isshin and the fact that the Fatui offered asylum to the exiled Raiden Gokaden bladesmiths in Snezhnaya, any lore pertaining to the Isshin Art in general (like in Haran Geppaku Futsu), and Tatarigami. I’m curious what other theories people have about this!

Sources

As by a God’s side

The Five Colors’ True Form

The Rather Aged Notes

[usa-chins]

Scara offers the remaining members of the Raiden Gokaden to think of a punishment for him but he regrets.

[ho-who]

marionette || kaedahara kazuha ||

•MASTERLIST•

——————————————————————————

—a puppet manipulated from above by strings attached to its jointed limbs—

——————————————

•prologue • chapter 1 • chapter 2 • coming soon •

——————————————

*will be a long story

*slow update

[gold-rhine]

Inazuma Rewrite part one

This is bullet points rewrite for Inazuma general plot structure, bc I think it had so much potential, but was horrifically scuffed in game. If I keep something from canon unchanged, I’ll just say so without retelling the entire thing to keep the length down, bc it’s gonna be A LOT already.

Some disclaimers: I’m not trying to fix every single problem, just what I see as major structural failures. I will reference my problems, but you can read my explanations on them more in depth in my “inazuma ranting” tag.

This is also not envisioned as free for all fanfic where I can write whatever I want, but aimed to be actually feasible to see in game, bc it’d be unfair and I want to show that Inazuma could be improved in the same constraints that hoyo writers had. So please don’t ask why I didn’t do wildly inconsistent thing that would be cool, but genshin would never actually do.

I’m aiming to retain all relevant lore and achieve basically same worldstate in the end, including character arcs, for the most part, because I presume them to be integral to the larger strategic plotline of the game. Which means I can’t drastically change characterization and major plot beats like the decrees, rebellion, Raiden has to be a sympathetic ally in the end, etc. I’m also trying to keep genshin’s general tone and modus operandi, bc like, target audience includes 13 yolds and I can’t just “make Inazuma good” by turning it into like, a gruesome and complex power struggle of political factions like Fallout New Vegas.

List of main issues I want to address: pacing in general, rebellion pacing especially, lack of impact and continuity of effects of vision loss on people, lack of setup for the stasis vs transience aka ei vs makoto conflict, character arcs: raiden, ayaka, kazuha, kokomi, yoimiya, kujou sara. And more! 

Initially I wanted to make a single post, but it’s already 3k and I’m only up to Raiden’s first duel and I plan to cover post-archon quest content too, like Raiden and Yoi story quests, so I decided to split it up instead of posting like 20k monstrosity. So remember, this is for now mostly a setup.

EDIT: Part 2

Raiden’s motivations\Reasons for vision hunt

Ok, so one of the biggest principal changes is that vision hunt and sakoku decree are active Raiden’s decisions, instead of Fatui’s plot that she’s just passively allowing to happen. Raiden closed the country, but she’s ok with Fatui starting a civil war and selling delusions, bc it doesn’t “affect eternity”, like??? I honestly think that the current plot of her people dying in a civil war meant nothing to her is much worse than her starting vision hunt decree out of misguided plan to ultimately do better for people.

I mean ok, we have to have closed borders to reference Japan’s history, sure, but like, the whole point of isolationist policies like this is to prevent the outsiders’ influence on the country. So she should not be ok with Fatui schemes at any point.  

I mean, if it was fallout new vegas AU, I’d keep it to show that dictator doesn’t not care about foreign powers exploiting it’s people as long as it profits the empire and helps to keep people subjugated, but like. Then raiden can’t be uwu waifu. So we gonna give her good intentions and integrity, but misunderstanding of humanity due to closing herself off instead.

Now to why would she close the country and institute sakoku decree. I want to tie this in with another plotline that is just. Kinda floating at sidelines at the moment, but I think could work nicely in tandem. The Scaramouche destroying Raiden Gokaden, the five schools of weapon smithing, which were canonically highly valued by Raiden.

I’m not gonna recount Scara’s entire plotline, but basically he went on a misguided crusade against Raiden Gokaden and managed to cause fall of 4 out of 5 weapon-smith schools.

Game says that he like, tampered with the schools and covertly led to their ruin, which like?? They never found anyone guilty, like the most prized weapon art smiths of your country fall apart and you’re like oh well, I guess Yashiro commission is just bad at it’s job?

There is a plot point in this story where Isshin weapon smiths, unable to replicate a faulty design that was Raiden’s commission tampered by Scara, were scared of Raiden’s wrath and decided to flee to Snezhnaya. I want to change it to be that there is an event, where ALL weapon schools receive same commission at the same time, and Scara tampers with it.

Just as in canon, scared smiths, but now from 4 schools, not one, are manipulated by Fatui to flee to Snezhnaya, But we add a new NPC, the most talented blade smith who had a vision. Fatui frame him as the ring leader, as if they were running not to save their lives because of the tampered design, impossible to fulfil, but that this was a betrayal because of his ambitions.

After this, Raiden has legitimate cause to feel like her eternity is threatened. She sees weapon art schools, one of the most prized country’s traditions being ruined in a moment because of what she thinks is ambitious hubris of one vision holder, who colluded with outsiders. So she closes Inazuma and declares a vision hunt, to prevent this from ever happening again.

But ironically, in truth it was the fault of not just Fatui, but specifically a puppet without a vision that she herself created and failed to supervise. This brings the main idea of the plotline from “Fatui evil, Raiden passive” to “Solipsist goddess who doesn’t understand humanity tries to protect her people by locking them in stasis and taking their ambitions, but the real case of tragedy was her negligence and lack of empathy all along, and this is what needs to be changed.”

Interlude and plot setup

We start with similar plotline. Traveler tries to go to Inazuma, learns that it’s closed, talks to Inazuman NPC to learn more. Here we’re introduced to the general idea that Inazuma was closed off due to one traitor blade smith with a vision who sold off Raiden Gokaden to Fatui.

We go to Beidou’s tournament, which goes basically the same, we meet Kazuha and watch a beautiful cutscene about his dead friend who challenged Raiden to a duel, and now Kazuha tries to find someone who can reignite his vision. I will actually add changes to Kazuha’s storyline, but it be will later.

then we arrive to Inazuma, go through the same bureaucracy loops with Thoma on Ritou, to show the barriers to outsiders and also to illustrate how Thoma is the best fixer when he manages to drop a fee from 1 mil to like 10 gold by promising to have a dinner with government official.

But we’re cutting the second part of Ritou, with the boring plot about like merchant from Mond scamming people with the local police and then Traveler delivering love letter or whatever. I mean, we can keep this as an optional side quest, if like hoyo thinks the lore about love letter is essential for the Ayato’s quest or smth, but not as an Archon quest.

Instead, we put a part of Yoimiya’s quest there. I think Yoi’s quest is relevant enough to stay in the Archon quest, unlike Ayaka’s, but it’s slapped into a place where it ruins pacing. So instead, we’re cutting it up in parts and inserting it into main storyline.

On Ritou, while doing bureaucracy bullshit, we meet Yoimiya, and play the part of her quest about her helping a guy with a vision to escape from his former best friend, who is now a guard hunting him. It helps to show the rift that vision hunt brings not only with the outsiders, but with inside of the country as well.

Ghost of Makoto\Transience setup

another key point that I think is integral to fixing Inazuma is planting seeds for Makoto’s reveal from the start. I really like the Stasis vs Transience conflict from raiden’s second story quest, where raiden believed in eternity as lack of change, a perfect state maintained until the rest of time, while her twin Makoto believed in eternity as never-ending change, where people’s dreams constantly evolve, nature of them chasing these dreams never changes.

but it feels like it came out of nowhere and raiden just speedruns character development in like an hour, so a lot of people ended up feeling like it was just about Raiden mourning her sister, instead of raiden coming to understand makoto’s belief system and through that unlocking makoto’s final connection and then being able to let go.

so we need to first of all, introduce makoto’s ideas of transience from the start, and also empathize the conflict of them with raiden’s stasis.

and it doesn’t mean we’ll spoil the reveal about the second raiden shogun! we don’t have to ever use makoto’s name, just her title as a raiden and sprinkle her ideas throughout the land. We know hoyo area designers can do that stuff really well (guizhong’s relics being scattered all over liyue, rukkhadevata’s shadow in the aranara quest).

like, it’s strange that Makoto primarily ruled and shaped country by herself while Ei was just a warrior, yet we do not have Makoto’s influence visible. We need to add ideas of transience into fundamentals of Inazuma,

“Transience is the dream of the nation of thunder. We find the greatest joys in mortal life in fleeting dreams, for is life itself not like the shadow of the thunder? Pursue your dreams into the clouds if you wish, and enjoy the unexpected silence of the dim lamp-lit nights.” - Guide to Transience talent book.

add these ideas all over the place, esp near sakura. And let’s draw player’s attention a couple of times specifically to the internal contradiction of these ideas of transience being integral to inazuma and raiden’s current hatred of change.

like, we need even 13 yolds and twitch streamers to remember this, so lets make paimon say like

“Huh, this shrine to raiden shogun says that eternity is the pursuit of fleeting dreams, but doesn’t raiden shogun fucking hates dreams?? I wonder, what made her change her mind about them to the total opposite!“

this and more subtle puzzles\locations with focus on transience for people who pay more attention will add the much needed setup for makoto’s reveal

Kamisato siblings

ok, first things first, Ayato being absent without any explanation while his little sister is plotting treason and his malewife Thoma is about to be executed on the streets is unacceptable.

like I know it’s marketing or whatever and he’s not being released but we need his model, hoyo. If we 200% CAN’T have his model, we need to come up with solid excuse why he’s not here. Like idk, he’s helping the war refugees or smth

And we need hints at his presence\influence throughout the story. Like oh, here’s group of refugees who were helped by Yashiro commissioner, they are relocating to new homes, I guess Ayato is really busy. Oh, here is Fatui’s camp where everyone is slaughtered and boba tea cups are littered around, I wonder what is up with that.

and also, Ayaka is organizing resistance behind his back, and we never meet him bc Ayaka actively tries to hide traveler from him.

bc like, Ayaka doesn’t have a development arc in archon quest. She’s just kind of there, being perfect. Like in her story quest that hoyo makes you do at gun point, you like, go on a date, learn that she’s lonely and has trouble connecting with people due to the pressure of having to project an image of perfection and societal distance, do an investigation to uncover her late mother’s fox fursona roleplay diary which she used to cope her with own societal pressure. Which like. Ok, sure, but but this wet socks quest is not an archon quest material. It should be just a normal story quest.

no, Ayaka’s real conflict is wanting to prove herself to her brother, bring real difference to the world. This is her ambition, she literally gained her vision while fighting Ayato in a training, she wanted to show him that she’s strong enough to handle responsibility, he named her Shirasagi Himegimi after she won that fight

but during a civil war, watching people suffer, her role as a cultural figurehead is not enough. She wants to help, but she’s afraid to act, because this will undermine Yashiro Commission and her brother worked so hard to build it back up after Raiden Gokaden fall. so she organizes resistance behind her brother’s back in secret, to help, but without compromising Kamisato name

this basically tracks with what happens in game, but we spell it out and expand on this later.

Getting Traveler to help

next, let’s throw out the weird edging introduction where traveler is not allowed to see Ayaka the first time. like??? bro, we’re friends with 2 archons and heads of their governments, you’re not that important. and it can’t be to protect her identity, bc like. You go to Kamisato estate! You’re told who she is! If you wanted to betray her, that would be enough already.

another awkward thing is that Traveler, who agrees to do every stupid quest they meet, suddenly refuses to help the resistance.

I think we should reframe their convo a little, like Traveler says hey I’d love to help, but my primary goal is to get info about my sibling from an Archon, so I don’t want to go against her.

To which Ayaka says oh, I totally get you, you see, I am myself a culture figurehead and a nominal princess and I can’t speak up against the decree, bc that will hurt Yashiro Commission. But I’m not asking you to fight Raiden Shogun in a duel or smth, I’m just asking you to help people with the resistance, which we do totally in secret. No one will know! Also, how are you going to see Raiden? She’s locked up and doesn’t appear in public. But my big brother is a head of the Commission, if anyone can get you an audience, it’s him. So help me help people and I will ask him to help you see Shogun!

she secretly believes that after traveler sees ppl suffering, they will change their mind and help willingly, same as in canon, but she’s more subtle about it

Rebellion connection

my other problem with vision hunt is that the 3 quests they force you to do about meeting people who lost their visions are like. not good. The concept is interesting, but they are just kinda boring and meandering. They lack dramatic impact. They could do better. So we’re not doing these 3 quests rn, but don’t worry about it, we will get to the effects of vision loss

Instead, ayaka sends us to help Yoimiya and we do the same quest we do in archon quest - help her to free someone from prison dungeon. It goes the same, we get to the dude being mistreated by cops, Kujou Sara steps up and lets us go

But then it’s like, we need to get this dude out of Inazuma city. Cops know he escaped! They will just come for him again! There is only one place that will take him and it’s the watatsumi rebels.

Common complaint about Inazuma is that other countries feel like found families and Inazuma doesn’t, bc characters from resistance and rebellion basically don’t interact, and it’s true. And like, we can get them together! Thoma knows Kazuha, Kazuha knows Gorou, Gorou in canon went to recoinsanse missions to Narukami island.

So, Gorou visits the tea house to pick up the Vision Dude, and the gang has the hotpot meet up. Everyone is there (except Kokomi bc ok hoyo, we’re saving up for dramatic battle reveal, and i think her reveal would fuck up banner schedule). Ayaka, Thoma, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Gorou. and Teppei! Who is here bc he was recruited by Gorou. He’s actually from Narukami island, not Watatsumi, and he had nothing to do with visions, but he’s an idealist, he believes in freedom, so he joined rebellion. fun times are had, Ayaka tries to play srs bsns lady host, but breaks into giggling at The Shenanigans, Gorou is overly polite but adorable and apologizes to Ayaka about The Shenanigans in which everyone but him participates, Yoi is a life of party and the Shenanigans and later has to be bodily stopped by Kazuha from organizing fireworks right here, right now, Thoma and Teppei both get sick from eating Ayaka’s nasty cakes that she threw into soup, bc Thoma is just into oral stuff and Teppei is so earnest and eager to prove himself and impress ppl, haha comic relief, look how sweet and funny this guy is and all characters get along so great with him

bc like, I think Teppei has a problem of a) not having enough screen time b)not having any interesting characterization moments to make him stand out 3)not having other playable and already likeable characters interact with him

so this scene can serve not only to bring that “unlikely bunch of people becoming friends and working together” connection to life, but also to endear Teppei to the players

Vision Loss Effects\ Yoimiya and Thoma

ok, next Ayaka asks Traveler to do that one quest about martial arts master losing their vision. I think it’s the one quest from 3 about vision loss with most drama, but the real reason is that it introduces Yae Miko and we need to do this before leaving for the rebellion. Like, in theory, it could be switched to another, better quest that lets us meet Yae Miko, but honestly, this is not one of Inazuma archon quest problems so I can’t be arsed. Feel free to imagine a cooler intro instead.

when we go back to tea house, we learn that Yoimya’s vision has been taken away. She has been recognized in that last prison raid and the guards came for her later, and she didn’t fight bc there were kids and her old father around.

She’s completely changed. Her innate optimism, her belief in people and their dreams has been drained from her like a sunshine from a dark cellar. But she’s still Yoimiya!! She came here to warn you bc she still cares even if she had her own joy taken from her. She tries to smile and reassure you that it’s ok, she’s fine, but her smile is visibly strained, she’s never had to fake it before so she doesn’t know how. She wears a vision, but it’s a fake one, because her pops said that maybe having it here would help and she agreed, tried to pretend for him that it does help, bu. It very obviously doesn’t.

Ayaka is horrified. She apologizes to Yoimiya, tries to think of ways to help her, but Yoi just laughs humorlessly. “It won’t ever touch you, princess.”

She’s immediately disgusted at herself and apologizes, tries to take it back, this isn’t her, she would never say this, and not to her friend! But also, it’s so hard to care now and she can’t remember why it’s so important to care at all.

Ayaka is shaken. Bc it’s true! She is a privileged noble, vision hunt will not come for her! She is playing at the resistance from the safety of anonymity, while people like Yoimiya actually risk themselves and pay the price!

And this is when the news that Thoma was arrested and about to be 100th vision taken at the feet of the statue comes. Tenryou commission truly strikes back.

Ayaka is in uproar. She’s ready to go herself and fight for Thoma, especially after Yoi’s words. She’s sick and tired of being a perfect princess, she can’t allow any more of her friends, her family come to harm because they don’t have her protection. Clearly Thoma being a theatrical execution is a blow specifically against Yashiro commission and Kamisato family in particular, and if Shogun has beef with her, well, she can settle it with HER instead of going after her friends!

Traveler stops her. This is what they want. If Ayaka openly moves against the Shogun, the entire Yashiro commission falls. Even if Ayaka is in the right! No, it’s the Traveler who will go to save Thoma

But traveler needs raiden’s good will for the info, they can’t confront raiden openly, it was the deal from the start!

But at this point traveler has seen too much, the divide in the country, the change and suffering of their own friends, and they can’t allow all of Yashiro commission take the fall.

This is when the Traveler decides to take a stand.

ACT 2