Once again, I will hide all text under a cut so nobody has to see my lovely yapping if they haven't done the quest.
Warning: THIS IS A LOT OF YAPPING.
I usually ramble immediately, but this quest was such a big "HOLY SHIT INFORMATION" that I had to let myself relax and recount information??? It took me days + I was working and I was really tired, too.
I also had to take time and rewatch several parts of the quests to ensure I understood everything.
And after a lot of watching and analysing, I can guarantee that: "Yes, I loved the quest. Peak Nod-Krai."
A lot of this will mostly be Wanderer and Columbina talk! Since they're both my favourites <3 This even has a bit of Wanderer character analysis and a bit of comparison with other characters, too.
UPDATE: I AM WRITING THIS PART AFTER FINISHING WRITING. THIS TOOK ME 2 HOURS.
If anyone wishes to talk about the quest, feel free to DM me or send an Ask, I will happily ramble. Although a friend I have here hasn't completed the quest yet so I'd rather you DM it so they don't get spoiled by notifications ♡
Oh, where do I even start?
Act 7 was such a good set up for Act 8, and the pacing was really good despite the lack, or should I say... ZERO cutscenes.
Fighting Dottore immediately was quite the surprise, but it was a welcomed one. OH, ARLECCHINO SWOOPING IN? Oh my god, incredible.
The amount of anxiety I went through when Traveler got yoinked was a big "Oh god..."
Hell, I felt bad for Paimon which doesn't happen often! The emotion in her voice was amazing, and I think her new VA has done an amazing job. Full of emotion and it wasn't overly annoying! I'm really liking Paimon more than ever.
Everyone working together to warn all nations was such a treat! And the fear of people being cursed was also not a nice one...
I was also right in saying that it would be similar to Act 3 + 4, where everyone is split into groups and we get to see all perspectives! I really liked that last time and I still do!
My only complaint is the lack of a pause. Usually I do things in a large session, I completed Act 7 + 8 in 12 hours, but my power went out in the beginning of Act 8 where Wanderer and Traveller were talking and I got sent back quite a lot to the start of Columbina and Rerir's conversation... Oh, I wasn't happy. I wished there was more of an auto save there or just freedom to walk.
Oh, speaking of Columbina... SHE'S OKAY! I am so happy she is okay (of course she is, she's playable lol). I did have a theory she would travel through time and holy shit she did. I'm so surprised she was the one who did EVERYTHING when it came to the golden energy. I thought it was *Nicole* that did some of the things. She gave the death/rebirth card, she tapped Traveler which let them indirectly convincing the disappearing Columbina to follow them... Aaugh <3
I will admit, the cutscene manipulation with her using Kuuvahki to write words got confusing, but I understood well enough. Nefer and Flins were not there when Columbina was writing words. It was sort of switching between the past and present. Very clever and very confusing!
Playing as Pulonia was not on my 2026 Bingo Card (not even written out) but it was a TREAT! He's such a good bot <3 I read all that lore in that section. All of it. And I barely remember it... T^T
I loved watching Sandrone's sanity dwindle and even break the 4th wall. "You may think I'm going crazy." Girl, I've seen your co-workers, you're surprisingly one of the most normal ones outside of being mechanical.
I loved watching Wanderer's character development throughout the quest. At first, I was terrified for him. Especially when Albedo said: "Oh he's alone."
ALONE?! Like... SIR. The Traveler got usurped and he's alone??? Like I have no doubt he can handle himself but at the same time, it's scary not knowing where he is! Thank God he was okay when we got to the energy fields section! Ohh, him not interrupting Albedo, even though I'm sure 3 years ago he would have done that with no guilt. But he waited!! And I could feel the anger radiating off him... Hooooo... Him saying how *vile* the experiments are... I'm sure in the past, he became probably numb to experiments on himself and others due to frequency and being by Dottore's side. However, he spent some time apart, gained some humanity and morality and realised how fucked up it really is.
Also, this felt very off screen, but combined with Nefer's Knowledge and the Research Trio Knowledge of Traveler and Energy Fields, they probably came to a conclusion of where Traveler is and devised a plan to attack. I'm sure Nefer probably told them that Traveler was in no trouble, playing along or something, so that's why Wanderer had the "KILL KILL KILL" mindset.
And with that, I'll go onto Act 8.
Well, the in between was AMAZING!
Like I said, Wanderer had the Kill Mindset. He probably thought Traveler was okay and in that instance he probably thought he could kill Dottore since Traveler isn't in danger, but upon realising Traveler was being *CRUSHED* by gravity, he made that switch decision. It really shows how long he's come, he went from being selfish to willing to put others before his own wants and needs. I think that's amazing. Genuinely.
Also, he did get hurt when fleeing. It is hard to notice but when I slowed down the cutscene on YouTube, you can see him get struck on the shoulder by Dottore. I saw it during my first watch but I thought it was his anemo flying thingys that got hit.
The fact he downplayed it makes me sad. I think, just because you're used to pain, doesn't mean you have to be okay with it.
Alsooo... Rerir and Columbina TALKED! I was almost scared that he would fight her. I was shocked when Rerir was genuinely... Nice. And I admit, it was nice, but at the same time, I do not feel any remorse. There is some character development that is deserved (imo, Wanderer's was deserved and done to absolute perfection). Rerir can definitely learn to be regretful. Admittedly, I won't fault him for when he was corrupted nearly entirely by the abyss. HOWEVER. Before that, he did not have any influence from it. He willingly went genocidal on people, including CHILDREN, for something they had no control in.
Was he threatened? Yes. But there is an issue. He only saw an issue with it when Tholindis was involved and tried to flee then. Why did he not flee when it was anyone else? He even said he was good at it.
There is a saying I like to use to determine someone's good part of them. If you are doing something or not doing something because of a single faction and not morality, that does not make you a good person. If you don't want to kill someone because you're scared of consequences then you're not a good person. You shouldn't want to kill someone because it's a bad thing to do.
With Rerir, he killed people yet stopped at Tholindis. Is it harsh to say he only did it because he loved her? Yes. It is the truth. He shouldn't want to kill her because nobody should lose their lives. He shouldn't have killed anyone.
Rerir had multiple choices.
Die, kill or flee. Fleeing was clearly always an option if he decided to try that with Tholindis (of course he was too late).
With Wanderer, it feels different. Albeit, he still did fucked up things, things that I can't forgive him for, only the victims have the right to do that. And Kazuha seems to be one of those people, if he knew what happened, he would genuinely forgive Wanderer or at least understand his actions.
Wanderer didn't really have a choice in his situation and I will go into depth why since I did the same with Rerir.
Wanderer was a victim of being manipulated and groomed by Dottore before even properly meeting him. Dottore has had his eyes on Wanderer for a long time. From Tatarasuna to all the way meeting him properly in the Fatui. He pushed Wanderer along to that. Causing 2 of the 3 betrayls (the young boy was indirectly caused by Dottore due to Tatarasuna killing the Boy's parents and causing his sickness). Wanderer told himself to not let himself feel emotion, and while in that weakened mental state, Pierro recruited him. In which Dottore experimented on him. We saw how Dottore mentally manipulated and I would say nearly groomed traveler while in thise energy fields. Traveler was getting hesitant and genuinely thinking about those words Dottore said. The Alien part especially seemed to click and we can even assume Dottore said similar things to Wanderer such as being a "thing" or just flat out saying he's just a puppet.
The manipulation worked which I assume Dottore pushed him to killing off the Raiden Gokuden.
And we can even know that Wanderer had no choice in fleeing. Dottore has threatened Wanderer before. We know this from Inversion of Genesis. "If he is not useful, lets turn him to dust." And "The mere fact of your utility does not make you indestructible."
AND with what we know about the Palestar Edic, Dottore had control over sending out a warrant for Columbina's arrest after she fled. Who's to say Dottore wouldn't do the same thing with Wanderer? I don't think Rerir would have been found if he fled Khaenr'ia, but I bet Wanderer would have if he ever fled from Dottore. And I think we can assume he would have gotten destroyed or hurt if he said no.
And in the end, Wanderer felt so *bad* for the things he had done or things caused by his mere existence that he thought killing HIMSELF was the only answer.
Do I personally forgive Wanderer for some of the things he has done? No. But he is trying to make that all right. He was originally such a gentle soul, empathetic and full of love for people. And just like humans, a true personality will always stick, even if overshadowed by pain and change. The only people who are allowed to forgive him are the people who were personally effected by him.
Next is Sandrone's issues and Wanderer helping solve it.
I was so so fucking proud of Wanderer during this whole process. He trusted an old co-worker with... Pretty much his LIFE. His character development was so amazing during these acts and we know he'll return for even more. I'm so happy for him. Learning what his core looks like was certainly interesting. I'm all for aroace Wanderer, but that core design looks so sus, I'm sorry.
When I first saw him in a meditating position, I immediately freaked out and clocked in: "IRMINSU?!" Kind of right! I thought he somehow got permission from Nahida to enter Irminsul, but no, more like Sandrone got the Irminsul permission granted from Wanderer himself.
Of course, when I realised he had the potential to *die* I almost lost it. Except this time it would have been permanent or until someone fixed him, but I don't think anyone would have that capability except Dottore and Ei, who have both pretty much... Uh. Yk. One made him and one experimented on him and made other segments. Maybe Sandrone could have done something, but she seemed too concerned to know how to fix him, especially since she was shocked at how he functioned.
Also, Dottore does not remember Wanderer! I was a little surprised at this, but at the same time, makes sense. Irminsul. However, Wanderer did point out something I have been saying. He built his segments from Wanderer. Meaning he should recognise him based on that. Or have some ideas on what happened due to Dottore's intelligence.
I am a little salty that he didn't get to do the big kill, but I am going to go through Wanderer's mindset, and not our wants.
Wanderer probably realised that due to Dottore having a chance of knowing who he is, there was a potential that he could have been endangered. And he realised that Sandrone needed help with saving Columbina. And realising he is technically part of Irminsul, he had to make that choice.
Does nobody realise how difficult this choice must have been? He definitely had to think about this. He said he wanted to kill him with his own hands, and then when talking to Traveler, he changed the wording to: "I am going to destroy Dottore, no matter what it takes." AND "I can't do this by acting alone."
1. Character development. Loved that. He knows he needs to think. He knows he needs help. No more alone time.
2. He realised that Dottore being just dead in general is more important than him doing it with his own two hands...
I was so proud of him. After thinking about it for so long, I went from "I wish he killed him" to "I appreciate him thinking of others."
Wanderer probably knew this from experience. Since he used himself an example of becoming a God. He realised Columbina needed to be there (from what Sandrone said) and he was the ONLY solution. Nobody else could have done it.
When Wanderer was a false God of Wisdom, who defeated him? Nahida, the TRUE God of Wisdom.
When Dottore was a false Moon God, who defeated him? Columbina, the TRUE Moon Goddess.
It makes sense that a real God can counter a false God. Wanderer himself knows that from experience and had to make that decision. Without him, Columbina would have never came back.
He was saying to Traveler how he didn't need to do anything for Nod-Krai, that he was being greedy and such. However, Wanderer did so much more. He pretty much sacrificed himself for Nod-Krai and the entirety of Teyvat to defeat Dottore. And thankfully he came out of it alive.
And if you think about it, Wanderer was technically at the battle! His core was in Pulonia! There in spirit!
So, if you ever feel a little sad that Wanderer never got his true revenge, just think back to this! His support was necessary and it's part of his character development. He even said: "My past self was a stubborn fool who misunderstood not only the point in revenge, but how to achieve it."
He achieved it, not in the way he wanted to, but he did achieve it.
He says he regrets not doing it with his own hands, but I think he absolutely feels some form of relief knowing Dottore is dead and he did get to *help.*
I am also glad he is getting along with Alrecchino, Sandrone and Columbina. I am convinced he was at their tea parties. He seemed to tolerate them a lot, not even giving some glares. He was snarky, but that's just Wanderer being himself.
Anyway... That's enough Wanderer yapping... For now.
Next is Columbina and Moon Goddesses. OH MY GOD THEY ARE PRETTY??? I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE THEM LOOK GOOD. HOYO YOU COOKED.
Sonnet was my favourite. Her voice was so pretty. On a bonus, apparently she shares Dunyarzad's VA! I felt so bad because she was saying she was going to be brave and stay by her sister's, but we know from Act 3 that she didn't. "I'm sorry, I lied to you. I still couldn't let go the fear in my heart, as death drew near." And that fear allowed the abyss to tempt her. And she experienced so much pain for... What? Thousands of years? Horrible.
Aria had probably the best design, she was so gorgeous... And I loved Sonnet's maturity! Learning about the War was amazing for my lore loving brain.
And after watching the scenes again and again, I could finally understand everything. She *is* Kuuvahki, and by allowing herself to spread it over Nod-Krai, she could use that in the future to be connected. Luonnotar being her soul, which is HER. Literally. And the Moon where she his the entirety of the authority. And like she said, once the Moon was officially in Teyvat, the Kuuvahki and her soul could reach it, they were all reunited which pretty much opened a... Moon Gate, I suppose or it just full on summoned her into existence.
It was such a beautiful cutscene and I enjoyed her interactions with the Moon Goddesses. It was so heart-wrenching. I don't think people realised that Columbina walked for a long time. It's similar to how Furina lived 500 years as a human. I think Columbina walked for what felt like thousands of years in the past. She said she felt like she was walking forever to Sonnet. SHE LITERALLY WAS. She was pretty much collapsing.
And yeah, interacting with the Moon Sisters. They were calling her a sister! Like Columbina said she didn't feel accepted or even felt like a God. Or she just didn't want to be a God, however her sisters were treating her like one of them, even if she is a confirmation of their deaths (ESPECIALLY CANON). This is how Nahida should have been treated by Sumeru when she was first found, but she wasn't.
Columbina always said she didn't really like being a Goddess, however we see her during the Archon Quest being so concerned for her people and doing everything she can, like how she protected Hiisi Isle. She has that natural instinct to want to protect her people, her friends and family. She is similar to Nahida and Furina in that regard where despite going through so much pain, they don't deserve their people for the amount of suffering they've been through, yet they do it anyways.
It was so beautiful and these Archons(I say Columbina deserves Honorary Archon Status) deserve so much love and recognition.
Uhm... Anyway. Next up...
Sandrone's death I have to talk about now. She always had death flags since the poster dropped. It's a damn shame, but she looked ready to sacrifice herself. And she did. She sacrificed herself for Traveler and technically Columbina. It was a BRUTAL death. Being stabbed once and then fully through. And the BLOOD? Oh my god.
People will say she and Wanderer aren't human and while I agree, biologically, they are not human. They can't do anything about that. However what I've seen is that they act and they have more humanity than some people (AHEM DOTTORE AHEM). And the sign of blood and being able to make difficult choices... It is certain that she is human. Wanderer is human. Human is your experiences and how kind you can truly be.
I nearly cried when Sandrone died, mainly because I thought it was a double whammy. I fully believed that Sandrone had Wanderer's core. So I thought when she got stabbed, his core completely got destroyed. I was saying for so long: "They would not kill a playable character." Should have seen my relief when Wanderer was safe at the docks.
Hidden inside Pulonia was so smart, didn't even consider it.
I am also heavily coping right now. Please Sandrone have a back up plan so you are playable. Don't be geo and I will pull for you. Actually scratch that. I will pull for you regardless of your element. You just might never get used.
My final talk is about the ending of the quest. Varka is confirmed going back to Mondstadt, and I assume 6.4 is going to be our Dornman Port patch with him playable.
Anyway... Glitch at the end, hm? Interesting. It has the same particle effects as Dottore. I think this confirms he is not dead. He has segments, probably. And also the original Dottore is probably still alive.
Also may I say Wanderer and Columbina have so many similarities??? It's crazy. I love them both. They deserve to go to therapy and talk about issues and how to deal with them. Especially with how they seemed to have gotten manipulated by Dottore quite equally. I wonder if they ever talked while both were still in the Fatui?
I am now going to talk about... Sumeru.
I have stated before, whether it be with people privately or even in a previous post. I am fucking terrified for Sumeru. The entire Archon Quests, they were like: "We need to warn other nations." Sumeru was brought up more so than others. Even though that could have been because of Dori and Wanderer, but it's still... Worrying. My potential theory right now. Is that we are getting an Archon Quets in Sumeru near the end of the 6. Era. And I believe Irminsul is going to burn. Devs have confirmed it will happen. And with Dottore still being a threat, I believe it is only a matter of time.
I had the biggest theory that would plan the Irminsul Burning at a Subzeruz Festival. Aka Nahida's Birthday - October 27th. However with how Genshin is with time, I think Snezhnaya would be then. Unless they do a schedule change.
It would be so fucked up if they actually did that on Nahida's birthday. But it also makes sense for Dottore. Attack something on what should be a perfect day.
I worry for Nahida and partially Wanderer because of this. Nahida's consciousness is directly connected to Irminsul. Wanderer is somewhat made from it. Wanderer should be fine unless Dottore finds out who he is (which considering Wanderer's words... It is likely). Arlecchino and Sandrone were already suspicious (Arlecchino outright says it, and Sandrone wrote it in her notebook which I recommend reading in The Flagship - it made me tear up).
But NAHIDA? Remember Sumeru Archon Quest? She could feel Rukkha-who's pain through her consciousness due to Irminsul. So if the tree burns, would that be the equivalent to her being... Burnt alive?
Aaaaaa I can't help but worry...
I hope everything works out. The first playable character they kill surely won't be an Archon, right? Right...?
Anyway! I am ranking this quest an 8/10. My only peeve was that the pauses were far too short. I admit, I also wished there was more cutscenes, Act 8 made up for Act 7 for sure.
But also my power went out and I got sent back quite far so I have a right to complain about the pauses 💀
So last year I wrote about Act 7 for a film class, and in the process of researching it lots of things about the epilogues and HS2 made a lot more sense to me. Fundamentally, canon ended with the Green Sun and the birth of the Green Hole, not when our players stepped through the door.
There is no way Hussie was not giggling to themselves about this sweet Tolkien own.
that was so beautiful holy shit???? like it's been years since the last time i watched it and WOW that animation is so so so so gorgeous
all the full circle moments, finally connecting the last pieces of lord english's timeline, and then smashing the whole loop to bits as the kids watch their tadpole become a universe and enter the door as vriska drops the weapon and alt callie creates the black hole that destroys the green sun, MWAH CINEMA
and the accompanying music of course is stellar as well, like it hit the peak of the crescendo with the thanks for playing sign in the sky and i started tearing up like damn they've come so far they really did do all that ;o; i've been around the block so many times that nothing else made me tear up during this reread but that shit got me bad
it's so beautiful and such a great ending and why was everyone so fucking angry about this?????? lmao like watching this now i'm like that was fantastic what more could you want why did so many people want to set hussie's house on fire over this
secondary thought to that. maybe we should have just left it here maybe all that other shit shouldn't have happened LDIHFUODGS i mean y'all know i'm a post-canon enjoyer but i will admit soaking that all in again has kinda got me thinking you know i think it would have been more than okay if that was where it ended LMAO
i think that's also influenced by how my feelings about media in general have changed over the last ten FUCKING years since homestuck ended. hey in april of this very year it will be ten years since homestuck ended. GUH
anyway over that time i've become pretty jaded towards the general tendency to drag everything out past its proper ending just for the sake of Having More. like sometimes things should just end. sometimes a thing reaches completion and fulfills its purpose and it's satisfying and it doesn't need any more. and sometimes to keep piling more on top is a disservice to the goals and purpose of the original work and diminishes it. i don't think that's what post-canon is doing necessarily and again i am a post-canon enjoyer but i do think that homestuck would have a fine and satisfying ending without all that lol
anyway. act 7 is beautiful and homestuck is good actually. happy end of homestuck rerelease to all who celebrate
Album: Act 7
Composers: Clark Powell and Toby Fox
Leitmotifs: Endless Climb, Crystal, Atomyk Ebonpyre, Sburban Jungle, Doctor, Three in the Morning, Flare, Explore, Upward Movement, Even in Death, Overture, Black Rose / Green Sun
Characters: Alt!Calliope, LoFaF, Wayward Vagabond, Peregrine Mendicant, June Egbert, Skaia, Green Sun, Karkat Vantas, Dirk Strider, Rose Lalonde, Kanaya Maryam, Terezi Pyrope, Dave Strider, Jade Harley, Jake English, Roxy Lalonde, Jane Crocker, Dad Crocker, Lord English, Vriska Serket, Caliborn, Aradia Megido, Calliope, Serenity
You may know this from:
[S] ACT 7
[S] CODA (From MSPFA "Double Death of the Author")
