Harbinger names and the Commedia dell’arte Analysis (Part 11: Tartaglia)
This will be the last post for this series. So I did an analysis a long time ago regarding this very subject which can be read here, but since then more information has come out, so I wanted to revisit this topic. This analysis will be more in-depth than my previous one, and I’m going to take this Harbinger by Harbinger, starting with Pierro and going down the list in order of rank (Please note: I know Pierro is probably not actually ranked save if you say he fills the role of 0). This series will also contain a fair bit of theorizing due to the fact we haven’t actually met a fair number of the Harbingers in the Genshin Impact storyline yet. Each post will also start with a brief explanation of the Commedia dell’arte and the role the harbinger’s title usually fills. As such, due to length and fears of potential spoilers, the rest will be under the cut. I hope you enjoy.
So, real quick, the commedia dell’arte is a very early form of professional theatre, that involved specific stock character roles which are largely reflected by the Fatui harbingers via their titles/codenames. Notably, the story of these plays always revolves around two actors that are not reflected by the Harbingers, the Innamorati (lovers), whom the story follows. Our Harbingers are found within the other three classes of actors though. The Zanni, which are the lower class (the harbingers from this group are Pierro, Pulcinella, Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Arlecchino, and Columbina); the Vecchi, which are often wealth and/or older characters (Pantalone and Dottore); and the Il Capitano, who are self-styled captains and braggarts (Capitano himself, La Signora, and sometimes the Scaramouche character).
Our Tartaglia, also known as Childe or by his actual name, Ajax, is Rank 11 within the Fatui Harbingers. Within the commedia dell’arte the Tartaglia character is typically placed in the same area as the characters who have a higher high social status (The Vecchi) along with Pantalone and Dottore, or as a variant of the Innamorato (male lover) of the story. His precise social status can range from low, middle, to high income with his occupation and role within the story, though he is frequently a salesman. The Tartaglia character is also often far-sighted and has a minor stutter. This stutter often results in him being quick to anger as he also often has a large number of lines arranged so that he is frequently giving long speeches that he stumbles through. One of his primary emotions, in his most basic role, is that of frustration. Interestingly, the Tartaglia character is often put in a group with the Scaramouche and Pulcinella characters as being notably Neapolitan in terms of his character’s mask style.
In regards to other levels of characterization, when placed in a more important role such as the Innamorato, the Tartaglia character is often socially awkward and may even have a lack of confidence. He is also sometimes a bumbling character and, in some cases, his bumbling serves to get in the way of the Innamorati in some way whether he is the Innamorato or a side character.
It is worth noting that, for the most part, the Tartaglia character appears to fill roles as he is needed. Sometimes replacing the Il Dottore, as a secondary older man to Pantalone’s Vecchi role, the male Innamorato to the female Innamorata, or simply as a bit of a gag character for added comedy to the story.
The Genshin Impact Tartaglia is probably the Harbinger that differs the most from his commedia dell’arte stock character, though this is not to say that he doesn’t share some similarities. Our Tartaglia doesn’t really have a stutter, which is arguably the most notable aspect of the stock character. He does, however, feign being a salesman and can be somewhat bumbling, as noted in the way he has created some messes for the Fatui (i.e. his behavior in the Liyue and even the Fontaine archon quests). Similarly, he has quite the temper when things do not go according to plan for him, as shown in the Liyue archon quest.
It is feasible that he is filling a more Innamorato (male lover) role, but this is rather doubtful due to the notable lack of any Innamorata (female lover) character to go with him. As such, it is difficult to make any predictions about our Tartaglia’s storyline or place within the Fatui or overarching plot of the game based on his corresponding stock character. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that he could be acting as somewhat of a gag/side character in the way he keeps showing up all over Teyvat and is arguably the reason most of the Harbingers know so much about Traveler since he seemingly won’t stop talking about them. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that he is largely portrayed to be sympathetic, if mildly problematic, within the Genshin storyline in regard to the Traveler and thereby the audience’s perspective.
I would love to hear other’s thoughts on this entire situation with Genshin Harbingers vs. their Commedia Dell’Arte counterparts, and where Genshin writers might take these characters in the future, so feel free to comment and share!
Royal Sword Academy (RSA) Theory and Analysis: Plot points and Questions
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done any analysis/theory work for Twisted Wonderland, but here I am in the wake of the teaser for the Royal Sword Academy (RSA) characters. I’ve got several thoughts and curiosities regarding upcoming writing/overall plot themes and how they’ll be handled that go beyond the potential inspiration behind the teased character that I’ve already discussed here. I’m going to put the rest under the cut for the sake of length and any potential spoilers, so be warned.
Alright, so Twisted Wonderland has always dealt with our villain-inspired guys at Night Raven College (NRC) with the RSA characters only being mentioned or appearing in reference to varying NRC characters (i.e,. Rielle and the Octavinelle trio and/or Neige with Vil and Rook). Due to this, I expect that stepping into dealing more heavily with RSA characters is quite likely going to require at least a slight pivot in regard to themes. And, to make a long story short, I really wonder how the writer(s) are going to handle this. Please note: I’m not saying I don’t have faith in them. I am curious, though. After all, there is a lot to juggle here. I’m going to divide the rest of this into sections based on thoughts I’ve had with regard to this expansion to the Twisted Wonderland cast and plot. And, while I’ve already said it, fair warning: This is probably going to be fairly long because I’ve been rolling this around in my brain for a little bit now from the perspectives of a character analysis fan, a writer (if only a fanfic one), and a fan.
Characterization:
Firstly, there’s the matter of what Disney characters are going to be twisted into varying Twisted Wonderland characters for the RSA cast and what that will look like in regard to world-building and characterization. My primary curiosity here is how the writing is going to differentiate them from the NRC boys as strong characters in and of their own right without relying on associations to pre-existing characters as a crutch. For instance, Neige has thus far been almost intrinsically tied to Vil and Rook as the antagonist (note: NOT villain) to Vil’s scenarios regarding acting and fame.
What I really want to see here is for Neige and any other characters tied to already pre-existing NRC cast members to have characterization that separates them from their corresponding NRC cast so that they can stand on their own two feet as characters. And I want this not because I have beef with the NRC cast or the idea of an RSA cast, but because I want them to be able to believably oppose yet not outright crush our already existing characters. Simply put, I like the NRC guys, but I think it would make for a compelling plot point for the RSA cast to be just as vibrant and strong of characters as those we’ve already met.
Now, there are several ways this can be handled, and I certainly don’t think I can cover all of the options here. Nonetheless, one of the things that comes to my mind here is that argument can be, and has been, made for the idea that our villain boys have already drawn inspirationally from the heroic characters in their associated Disney film a little bit. And in many ways, this isn’t surprising considering there is a certain basis for heroes and villains mirroring one another. Anyhow, perhaps the easiest example of a character that is twisted from a villain but draws from heroic characters is Jamil. Jamil is, obviously, twisted from Jafar, but his situation regarding being trapped in a situation that keeps him from living out his dreams/reaching his full potential is reminiscent of both Jasmine and the Genie’s stories. Vil can also be taken as an example since the trait of being hardworking really goes more with Snow White than the Evil Queen (though I will admit this can be debated a bit). Another good example is Malleus. The whole matter of him being isolated from the world for his ‘protection’ in a manner similar to that of Aurora’s situation living in the woods with Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather at the start of the Sleeping Beauty film. And that isn’t even getting into the connections between Silver and both Aurora and Philip.
My expectation for them balancing this characterization point is that the RSA characters will draw more heavily from the heroic characters than any of the NRC boys have. And that’s fair. The NRC cast pulls most heavily from the characters they are most directly twisted from. The characterization features and plot points they share with heroic characters from their Disney film largely pad the character already present to add depth, and they were obviously selected carefully if not being wholly accidental since some of these character notes are highly common. Keeping with this idea, I do think it would be interesting if the RSA characters similarly pull from the villain characters they aren’t directly inspired by.
Overblots:
Beyond this matter of characterization is the plot point of the overblots. Thus far, we’ve seen one of our villain guys from each NRC dorm overblot and do some truly horrible things that include, but are not limited to, almost killing other students/individuals, taking over the world, and endangering everyone in a variety of new and exciting ways. And this keeps very well with the idea of them being villains even despite the fact that they were arguably not themselves at the time due to the nature of the overblot being a highly unique occurrence that seems akin to a magically-fueled psychotic break under varying pressures. (Note: What might not stress one person can utterly destroy another. Even if the reasons may not make sense to any other given individual, it is evident that they were distressed. Potentially due to information we may not be privy to, such as in the case of Riddle and Idia’s trauma having a hand in their overblots. This does not excuse their actions but does indicate a deeper issue reminiscent of a psychotic break under pressure.) Simply put, I cannot see the writers abandoning the overblot plot point. Not when so much effort has been put into it, and with the overblot having been a hallmark scene for each individual book. After all, a lot of fans look forward to seeing what each character’s overblot design looks like, and now there’s the overblot card series. My question is, if the writing takes a pivot as we start exploring the stories of the RSA cast, how will the writers handle the overblot plot point for characters inspired by heroes, though? Having these characters break under stress makes sense, of course. That can happen to anyone, whether hero or villain. But what are the writers going to do about the typically horrific acts committed during the overblots with regard to ensuring the character remains perceived as a hero?
In this matter, it's possible that the plot could subvert expectations and show us a darker side of the heroes. With the NRC boys, the writers took pains to show that the Disney villains have some traits that might be regarded as positive but can still be used for nefarious purposes (i.e., Azul with hardwork and tenacity in the form of the raw amount of effort Azul puts into putting together his study guides and tricking people into contracts.) The same could be done for the hero characters. Great harm can be done even when one has good intentions, and there is the proverb: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In this way it could be framed as the hero/RSA characters genuinely trying to do good, but when their good intentions eventually do harm, they crack, crumble, or break in the form of an overblot. Notably, this isn’t an odd plot point in any story. Typically a hero has to stumble at least once and make a mistake before saving the day or reaching the finish line. Similarly, there is the option that these characters might exhibit a certain unpleasantness that stems from being too good. I’m going to use Kalim as an example here. Kalim is a great and truly sweet guy who frankly shouldn’t be at a school for villains. But, there is no denying that he did worsen Jamil’s situation by being blind to the negative possibilities in Jamil’s life. Floyd even highlighted it. For all of Kalim’s innate goodness, Kalim can be kind of annoying depending on the perspective you're using. “Goody-two-shoes” would be the line of emphasis here. The idea of the hero characters being blind to the plights faced by villains is a fair one. And, assuming these heroes are genuinely good, the idea of them being horrified and overblotting under the realization that they might have made the situation worse or fundamentally misunderstood the situation is completely fair. After all, loss of faith in others after learning how someone else has suffered in some way can truly hurt a person. But those are just a few options for how overblots with heroic characters could be handled without losing the heroic quality of the character. And there is of course the option that these characters won’t be strictly heroic and can do bad things just like out the NRC boys can do good things (i.e. Deuce and Ace rushing to Prefect's aid and bussing their way across who knows how far during the Scarabia episode).
Balancing respect for RSA writing and the pre-existing work:
Now, a final, third point I’m very curious about is how the plot is going to get us (i.e., Prefect/Yuu) involved with RSA. The obvious opening is the spelldrive competition, but are they going to pick up Prefect and shift them to RSA, or what? Bluntly put, I can’t see that going over too well with the notably competitive boys at NRC. Furthermore, keeping with this same matter, how is Grim going to be handled as we deal with these RSA? Will he somehow end up being the introducing factor, or will something else happen? I will be honest and say I don’t have too many thoughts on how this might play out, but I am very intrigued to see how this little plot point will be handled.
And, even beyond the point of how they are going to adjust to focus on/include the RSA cast, I dearly hope that they don’t harm or disrespect the already pre-existing cast or writing. Unfortunately, there is no denying that RSA and NRC have a competitive relationship, and we know that at least a good portion of the NRC boys do not like RSA. My concern here is that writing for one or the other will damage the other one. Even now, I can say I am biased towards NRC simply because I know those characters and have been with them since the start of the game. From the perspective of someone who plays the game, is part of the fandom, and enjoys the already existing characters, I do not want the NRC cast to abandon it. In fact, I’m even wary of the idea of Prefect going to another school at this point. Simply put, Prefect has made a life for themselves at NRC and has found a group of friends. Moving now would involve uprooting them from that fragile life and disrespecting all the effort put in throughout the plot thus far to make Ramshackle liveable and to find a place in Twisted Wonderland, to just name a few plot points.
In this case, I think an exchange program could be really interesting where a few RSA characters (i.e., the silhouettes and possibly some friends) are sent to NRC while a few NRC students (playable or NPCs) are sent to RSA. It wouldn’t disrespect the pre-existing plot, would pay respect to the typically difficult position Disney heroes are put into with villains in at least one scene (i.e., Simba surrounded by the hyenas and having to flee or Jasmine being held hostage at least briefly by Jafar), and would allow the NRC characters to remain current in the plot.
With all that said, though, there are a myriad of plot and writing choices that can be taken going forward with Twisted Wonderland. My biggest hope is that everyone enjoys the writing, and, for me, that would involve not relocating Prefect and separating us from our pre-existing characters, along with the RSA character being given the same depth and some solution for the matter of the overblot plot point that doesn’t leave it forgotten or abandoned with no explanation. I imagine what each person in the fandom wants is different in at least minor ways, though. Either way, it’ll be really interesting to see how this expansion to the game will be handled. And for now, I’ll just sit with my fingers crossed and with interest in seeing how all this goes.
Royal Sword Academy (RSA) Theory and Analysis: Designs and Possible Characters
So we have our teaser with the silhouettes, and after browsing tumblr a bit, I thought I might try out guessing a few tidbits about these characters. I will preface all of this with the statement that I fully suspect that RSA will be an all boys school. For one thing, Twisted Wonderland is a Josei game that has marketed itself as using a primarily male cast since the very start of the game. Notably, twst being Josei means its targeted at adult women (Similarly, shoujo is for girls). As such, a co-ed school would possibly require a fundamental marketing shift for the game which could be highly problematic from a business perspective. Furthermore, beyond all this, Leona describe the students at RSA being snotty, rich princes, with no mention of princesses. Backpacking off of this admittedly biased description, I’m also expecting at least a good portion of these characters to be more well-off to being specifically rich.
Anyhow, the rest of this post is going to deal with who these RSA characters might be twisted from (with some already canon twst names being used where appropriate), and whom other characters in RSA might be twisted from. The rest of this post will be below the cut due to lengths
So first up we have our character that is likely going to be from the dorm associated with Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. I won’t lie, my first thought was that this silhouette looks kind of like Epel in a dress, but I digress. I figure this character will be twisted from the titular Alice herself. As such, I would expect a blue color palette, and possibly blond hair (notably another hair color is certainly possible, it's just that Disney’s Alice is blond). Beyond this character, we know there is Chenya, who is our Cheshire Cat, so I would suspect he’ll be in this dorm as well. Other options for character inspiration might be the Mad Hatter and possibly the White Rabbit and/or March Hare.
So I’m really not as certain about this character. Simba is already present in Twisted Wonderland as Cheka, which makes things sticky. There is, of course, Nala as another notable character from The Lion King, but the problem there is Nala and Simba are supposed to be the same age, and Cheka (i.e. Simba) is a child. Conversely though, while we know Falena (i.e. Mufasa) exists, I suspect that he would be too old. There are also Kovu and Kiara, from The Lion King 2 as well, but Kiara is Simba’s daughter and Kovu is her age, which makes me feel like it isn’t them. I have seen some people mention Zira, Vitani and Nuka as well. Vitani does fit the age range with regard to Scar, but she is a villain/antagonist, as are Vitani and Nuka, who are younger, and this is supposed to be a hero school. It is of course true that we have Kalim, Rook, and Silver at NRC who are twisted from more heroic/positive characters, but are still part of the villain school. If we say the character isn’t from The Lion King and is instead just a beastman, our possibilities increase. Personally, I think a character twisted from The Jungle Book’s Bagheera would be a lot of fun. All told, though, I really don't have any strong thoughts about who this might be.
I’ll be honest, I really don’t feel like there is much debating to this one. I feel like it's probably safe to say that this is the infamous Rielle mentioned in Azul, Floyd, and Jade’s shared backstory. Other characters in this dorm might be inspired by Flounder, Sebasatian, and Eric, among others. As a side note: I am very interested to see if we get into any mer-shenanigans with Rielle and any companions, simply because we got to see Azul, Jade, and Floyd’s mer-forms.
Much like Rielle and due to other teasers, I feel like it's probably safe to say that this character is twisted from Jasmine. In light of that, it’ll be interesting to see if this character is going to be related to Kalim and how they interact with Jamil. Other characters in this dorm might be twisted from Aladdin, Jasmine’s Tiger, and Abu. I would love for Carpet to show up, but I fear Carpet’s inclusion in Twst has already come as none other than Carpet.
So for this one I know a lot of people are suggesting Neige, but I really don’t think it is Neige. For one thing, I can’t figure out why they would put in a Neige silhouette teaser since we’ve already met Neige. Secondly, this just does not look like Neige to me. Of course, I could be wrong, but if I had to make a guess I would say this character is twisted from Prince Florian. (Extra points since at least in one appearance Florian had a feather in his hat!). Other characters in this dorm might include Neige and the Seven Dwarves characters. Beyond that, I can’t really think of any other possible characters for this one.
I’m reasonably certain this character is twisted from Megara, but I could be wrong and it actually might be twisted from Hercules since Hercules did have a habit of rubbing the back of his neck. Also, I kind of hope for a character twisted from Phil, though another option might be Pegasus. Other characters could feasibly include someone (or numerous someones) twisted from The Muses as well.
Last one! This is probably one of the 3 good fairies. Thus far, the current popular vote seems to be Flora. However, I imagine characters twisted from all 3 of the good fairies would put in an appearance in this dorm. Philip has been another suggestion I’ve seen, which is possible, but there is also the argument that Silver is twisted from both Aurora and Philip (sleepy from Aurora, Prince and sword from Philip).
As a final note for all of these, there is the possibility they’ll split Disney characters in two for further inspiration (i.e. two characters inspired by Aurora or Mufasa). However, I’m a little wary of this so I steered pretty much clear of those for my guesses. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see who’s who, what they’re like, and how this plot is going to be handled!
This will be the seventh part of my analysis series on the Twisted Wonderland’s overblot character songs. As a small disclaimer, I do not actually speak or read Japanese so I will be primarily using translations by @mysteryshoptls as well as a Japanese to English dictionary website called Jisho to help me along. This post will be covering Malleus’s “Blessing” song. The rest of the analysis will be under the cut due to length. Please read at your own risk because there will likely be spoilers within the song with regard to the character’s development and story.
Now, “Blessing” is a fun name for Malleus’s overblot song since it is somewhat implied that a lot of Malleus’s troubles with his incredible amounts of power come not only from his heritage as a draconic fae, but also because of a ‘blessing’ received at his birth. Naturally, these blessings were well-meaning, but since they were being given by fae, they could’ve have been far too potent and, on top of his already inborn power due to this family and heritage, may have resulted in him being too-powerful. Which brings up the question of: When does a ‘blessing’ become a ‘curse’?
Ah―
UNDER MY REIGN
So, with a level of drama characteristic to Malleus the song starts with something akin to a pained cry followed by the words “under my reign.” This is notable as something that repeats at the end of the song, meaning this can be viewed as a theme at both the beginning and end of Malleus’s overblot. His people are under his reign. And, as shown several times within the Twisted Wonderland story, Malleus wonders if he is truly ready to rule. And, bluntly put, he’s not. Now, I would like to say here that he does have a lot of good traits for a ruler! But he isn’t ready to rule. Not yet. And his overblot fully shows why this is.
Within a pristine private garden,
Countless voices cry out.
What plays there is the song of prayer you composed.
So we have voices crying out in a private garden while a song of prayer someone composed plays. So, with reference to Twisted Wonderland’s Diasomnia chapter plot, the private garden is probably discussing the seclusion Malleus dealt with while growing up and there are countless voices crying out. Based on his overblot backstory, some of these voices are in fear, some are in awe, and some are filled with unfair hopes placed on the young prince. The song of prayer mentioned here is probably the tune hummed by Meleanor for Malleus. It was a prayer of hopes for Malleus. There is the question of precisely what those hopes were and whether they were entirely fair to place on him, but no matter the contents of this prayer, it is still a mother’s prayer of hopes for her yet unhatched son during a time of war between humans and fae.
Does time simply pass? Or does it disappear?
All I ever wanted was to have fun for a little while longer.
These lyrics have more to do directly with Malleus than people’s hopes for him. And it is juxtaposed with people’s hopes for him. While so many expect and want great things from him, Malleus himself just wanted to play for a bit longer even as he ponders what happens to time. Whether it passes, or disappears.
Malleus has an odd relationship with time in a great many ways due to both his long-lived nature as a fae and the fact that he has been isolated for so long. But Malleus is shown to have, in many ways, a largely innocent and childlike view of his own wishes. It’s almost like he stagnated in terms of growth and maturing due to the seclusion he experienced as he grew up until he went to NRC. There is no talk of greatness or ruling over others here. He just wants to play for a bit longer. But what has happened to the time he’s already spent playing? Has it just moved on, or is it gone forever?
Ah,
This is all for your beautiful future.
You're simply unaccustomed to benedictions,
With your fleeting existence.
It can be an illusion, or even a memory.
Now, take in as much as you'd like.
Simply be in bliss forever.
And here we have a Malleus who has overblotted. He’s pushing his wishes on everyone else and claiming it's for their own good. Just like how he received blessings, hopes, and prayers that he may not have actually wanted, he’s forcing his so-called ‘benedictions’ or blessings, upon others.
In Malleus’s mind, everyone will have a beautiful future so long as they sleep. He knows they won’t live as long as he does, so wouldn’t it be best to simply for them to be in bliss for eternity before their fleeting existence disappears or passes on?
This chorus is no doubt largely posed towards the Diasomnia family, I imagine, but Malleus also bestows this so-called blessing on the Prefect and the rest of the school. This indicates that, in his own strange way, Malleus has come to love all of NRC. Which isn’t really surprising. Prefect is his first real friend who isn’t afraid, subservient, or worshipping towards him. Meanwhile NRC, for its part, is the first place he’s been free of the fae senate and all those who lay unfair hopes about his future on him. So he wants to thank everyone in his own, largely misguided, way.
Even the slightest bit of pain,
Cannot cause harm behind those closed eyes.
No matter what, stay fast asleep.
Here Malleus is explaining what he is giving those he is blessing with his gift of eternal sleep and happiness. They won’t be hurt. So they should just stay asleep. That way they’re safe.
In some ways this is lovely imagery, if somewhat twisted. So long as they sleep in Malleus’s magic, and if you want to stretch it symbolically, his embrace, they’re safe. He won’t let anything hurt them, because they are dear to him. So long as they are asleep and, dare I say it, under his reign, they are safe.
Ah ―
See for yourself that it is foolish to resist.
Everything you try will simply be a meaningless struggle.
And here it is. The obligatory statement of how struggling is meaningless due to how overwhelmingly powerful Malleus is. This is a theme that really appears to crop up in all of the overblot songs and/or scenes. Struggling against them is futile because of how powerful they are while they are overblotted, and they mean well, so why fight? It’s a powerful theme, because it shows how absorbed the overblot characters truly are in the moment, but also how drunk they are on their own power to the point where they actively underestimate those around them. Because, as we have seen in each chapter, the overblotted character does not win. Ever.
Ah,
The dream will continue, repeating over and over.
Dawn will never break,
There will never be an end.
The start of this chorus is, bluntly put, deeply disturbing. Malleus claims nothing will change. Dawn will never break and the dream he has placed everyone in will never end.
Now, the real reason this section is so disturbing is the link that is always placed between Silver and dawn. Silver’s father was, of course, the dawn knight, and Silver himself is linked with dawn via his largely implied pseudo inspiration from Sleeping Beauty (i.e. Aurora), with Aurora being the name of the Roman goddess of dawn as well as a word for dawn. The question here is whether Malleus is asserting that Silver will never break, despite how close he came in the course of Malleus’s overblot, or that Silver will never beat him? After all, Silver is one of the first people to actively take a stand against Malleus in the course of the overblot as he started breaking people out of their dreams.
Do not be afraid, just take my hand.
Now, from here until eternity,
Within an endless dream,
Simply be in bliss forever.
Now these lyrics are fun. The ‘take my hand’ line strikes me as a bit of a callback to the very start of the game to mind where players are asked to choose a character and take their hand. So this can be taken as very meaningful if the player chose to take Malleus’s hand. However, Malleus could also be telling those he has cursed to take his hand, trust him, and not fear any of this. He’s going to take care of everything, so just rest blissfully in the endless dream he has crafted.
Ah―
UNDER MY REIGN
And, finally, we’re back where we started. The question here, though, is how has Malleus’s view changed regarding those under his reign? He has been outright beaten and, after his overblot, he is definitely weaker than he was at the start. So what comes next? Will he grow into the ruler he wants to be? Will he flounder under others' wishes for him? Or will he become the tyrannical, totalistic ruler we saw in his overblot? Either way, people are under his reign.
Harbinger names and the Commedia dell’arte Analysis (Part 10: The Unnamed Possible 10th Harbinger)
So I did an analysis a long time ago regarding this very subject which can be read here, but since then more information has come out, so I wanted to revisit this topic. This analysis will be more in-depth than my previous one, and I’m going to take this Harbinger by Harbinger, starting with Pierro and going down the list in order of rank (Please note: I know Pierro is probably not actually ranked save if you say he fills the role of 0). This series will also contain a fair bit of theorizing due to the fact we haven’t actually met a fair number of the Harbingers in the Genshin Impact storyline yet. Each post will also start with a brief explanation of the Commedia dell’arte and the role the harbinger’s title usually fills. As such, due to length and fears of potential spoilers, the rest will be under the cut. I hope you enjoy.
So, real quick, the commedia dell’arte is a very early form of professional theatre, that involved specific stock character roles which are largely reflected by the Fatui harbingers via their titles/codenames. Notably, the story of these plays always revolves around two actors that are not reflected by the Harbingers, the Innamorati (lovers), whom the story follows. Our Harbingers are found within the other three classes of actors though. The Zanni, which are the lower class (the harbingers from this group are Pierro, Pulcinella, Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Arlecchino, and Columbina); the Vecchi, which are often wealth and/or older characters (Pantalone and Dottore); and the Il Capitano, who are self-styled captains and braggarts (Capitano himself, La Signora, and sometimes the Scaramouche character).
So, there is one Harbinger who has not been identified within Genshin Impact and that is the individual who falls in the rank 10 slot. Notably, the only primary and important character(s) from the commedia dell’arte cast that are not represented within the Harbinger group are the Innamorati (The Lovers). These two characters are the lead roles of the commedia dell’arte, so I thought for this analysis, since there isn’t a known rank #10 character, I would consider who might fill the role of the Innamorati. But first, just as with the other analyses, I’ll discuss the stock characters themselves.
So within the plot of the commedia dell’arte, everything revolved around the Innamorati and, notably, there were two actors for this, one for each lover. Importantly, the female lover (the innamorata) was one of the only actresses actually allowed within the cast as most roles were played by men, though Columbine was an incredibly notable secondary actress who often served as a helper for the Innamorata specifically. However, this was not always the case as there were times that the entire cast, including the female lover, was played by male actors.
The Innamorati characters were, uniquely, not masked within the play and their purpose was to be in love with each other and, often, with themselves. The primary plot of the play was other characters either assisting, or getting in the way of the Innamorati’s romance. Notably, these two characters were either played ridiculous and over the top about everything or completely played straight depending on the play in question. The troubles the Innamorati face ranged from financial interests of their parents or their own personal interests. Importantly, their relationship cannot progress without the help (and often hindrance) of others characters due to the Innamorati’s own stupidity, naivety to the mysteries of love, the emotions involved in falling in love, or the fact they simply cannot figure out that they are in love with each other. The servant characters often act as a sort of go between for the Innamorati, either because they cannot figure out how to communicate, are too shy, or their parents keep getting in the way. However, the play usually ends with the two Innamoarti reconciling any differences and winding up together. Though, sometimes, the Innamorata (female lover) in particular may end up married to one of the male Vecchi (i.e. Pantalone or Dottore) [Note: This is only when the Pantalone or Dottore character(s) were not the parent of the Innamorata and were younger than most variants of the character] or Zanni (i.e. Tartaglia or Arlecchino) characters. Furthermore, there are some occasions that the innamorata role is filled by a different, lower ranking female character (sometimes referred to as the Marinetta) though this was less common and only appeared in late iterations of the Commedia dell’Arte storylines. Similarly, there were times that the Arlecchino or Tartaglia character, or even younger variants of the Pantalone and/or Dottore characters might fill the role of the male lover (In this case there was no Innamorato. Just the Innamorata and their love interest who didn’t follow the Innamorato plot points).
Both of the Innamorati are highly educated and are typically of high social status, but very naive. They can sometimes be selfish and even conceited, however they are also fairly courteous in nature. Importantly, they are not just in love with each other, but also in love with the idea of love.
The Innamorati are usually the son and daughter of the Dottore and/or Pantalone characters, though sometimes only one of those was a parent character (Pantalone in particular usually goes with the Innamorata). Furthermore, the Innamorati were always wholly aware of the audience’s involvement in the story. In fact, they will sometimes even call on the audience for assistance. Additionally, there are a few commedia dell’arte plays where the male Innamorato was in fact of a lower social class for extra drama and interest to his character. This notably emerged as the audience appeared to be growing bored with Innamorato character not receiving the same character growth that was seen in the Innamorata as she evolved to have a bit more personality/attitude (This is possibly due to the subplots specific to the Innamorata’s character which will be discussed below)
There are some common names for each of the Innamorati characters (male and female), but due to the length of this list I will not be supplying that here. However, this list can be easily found on the Innamorati wikipedia page.
It is worth noting in regard to the character growth/evolution that is seen in the Innamorata (the female lover) may be due to that fact that she had some interesting sub-plots that grew more and more popular as the commedia dell’arte plays progressed. For instance, there were times when the Capitano and/or the Arlecchino characters would pursue the innamorata, thereby getting in the way of her romance with the Innamorato (the male lover) character. However, it is also worth noting that the Arlecchino character might also have been a servant to the Innamorato character that mirrored the way the Columbine character often served the Innamorata.
Rank #10 of the Harbingers may or may not fill a role related to the Innamorati. Indeed, the Rank #10 harbinger may actually be long dead or someone else entirely. Furthermore, the Innamorati roles may be filled by some other character(s) that are adjacent to the harbingers, be it other members of the Fatui, important characters in Snezhnaya, or even roles we’ve already been introduced to. For instance, it could be argued that the Tsaritsa could fill one of these roles, or the Traveler. Perhaps the Innamorati are also historical characters.
Another option outside of the Innamorati that I would like to note really quickly is the stock character known as ‘Brighella.’ The Brighella character is sometimes, or was at least once, considered a principal character much like the Innamorata, Pantalone, Dottore, Il Capitano. To explain further, generally speaking within a commedia dell’arte play,each of the four classes (Vecchi, Zanni, Innamorati, and Il Capitano) character will be represented by one to two characters. Early on, the Brighella character was a popular choice to represent a Zanni, or servant/store-owner, character. Notably, the Brighella character was your token cunning servant and can be best understood as the harlequin (Or Arlecchino’s) smarter, more vindictive brother. Now, early on in the span of commedia dell’arte, the Brighella character was a bit of a must have, but as things went one and the Arlecchino/Harlequin’s character became more popular it also developed aspects of the Brighella’s characterization (i.e. the cunning, vindictive, and sometimes generally lusty nature). As such, the Brighella character eventually went from being a must have to being eclipsed by the Arlecchino character. As such, due to the fact we have Alrecchino in Genshin impact as well as other Zanni characters, I’m not holding out a lot of hope for a Brighella character, though it is still a possibility for our mystery 10th Harbinger.
As a jump back into the Innamorati discussion, it’s worth mentioning here that there is a fan theory that Crepus, Diluc’s father, once filled with the rank of the tenth Harbinger and he could have also been the male Innamorati with Diluc’s mother being the female. It is possible, if that were to be the case, that Diluc’s father may have fled the Fatui to be with Diluc’s unnamed mother as a large number of the harbingers get their code names from commedia dell’arte characters that get in the way of the Innamorati’s love story and relationship, though not all of them.
However, with respect to the admittedly compelling Crepus theory, if I were to select just one of the Innamorati to fill the role of the tenth Harbinger, I would actually select the Innamorata (female lover) and the reason behind this is actually quite simple. It’s because as the commedia dell’arte plays progressed, it became somewhat common for the Innamorato (male lover) to be played or even replaced by an already pre-existing character. Indeed, in the case of a younger Dottore or Pantalone, it might be one of those characters. The Tartaglia character was another popular choice as well, and sometimes even Arlecchino got in on the act of filling the role of the Innamorato.
The Innamorata, however, were less likely to be played by any other role, which is why I feel like if the 10th Harbinger was to be an Inamorati, it would be more likely to be the lady, rather than the man. Furthermore, the Innamorata role is noted to have received more growth through the years than that of the innamorato role, as the innamorata shifted from more tender and loving to a more flirtatious, strong-willed, or witty character, though her tender and loving characteristics were often kept, making for a more complex character that balanced her tenderness with her attitude.
I would love to hear other’s thoughts on this entire situation with Genshin Harbingers vs. their Commedia Dell’Arte counterparts, and where Genshin writers might take these characters in the future, so feel free to comment and share!
Harbinger names and the Commedia dell’arte Analysis (Part 6: Scaramouche)
So I did an analysis a long time ago regarding this very subject which can be read here, but since then more information has come out, so I wanted to revisit this topic. This analysis will be more in-depth than my previous one, and I’m going to take this Harbinger by Harbinger, starting with Pierro and going down the list in order of rank (Please note: I know Pierro is probably not actually ranked save if you say he fills the role of 0). This series will also contain a fair bit of theorizing due to the fact we haven’t actually met a fair number of the Harbingers in the Genshin Impact storyline yet. Each post will also start with a brief explanation of the Commedia dell’arte and the role the harbinger’s title usually fills. As such, due to length and fears of potential spoilers, the rest will be under the cut. I hope you enjoy.
So, real quick, the commedia dell’arte is a very early form of professional theatre, that involved specific stock character roles which are largely reflected by the Fatui harbingers via their titles/codenames. Notably, the story of these plays always revolves around two actors that are not reflected by the Harbingers, the Innamorati (lovers), whom the story follows. Our Harbingers are found within the other three classes of actors though. The Zanni, which are the lower class (the harbingers from this group are Pierro, Pulcinella, Scaramouche, Tartaglia [sometimes], Arlecchino, and Columbina); the Vecchi, which are often wealth and/or older characters (Pantalone and Dottore); and the Il Capitano, who are self-styled captains and braggarts (Capitano himself, La Signora, and sometimes the Scaramouche character).
Our Scaramouche, also known as The Balladeer, Hat Guy, and/or Wanderer depending on the point of time in the Genshin plot, was Rank #6 within the Fatui Harbingers before he left their ranks. Within the commedia dell’arte the Scaramouche (scaramucci) character held an interesting role. It combined a lot of the characteristics of the Zanni roles, with characteristics from Il Capitano roles, along with some villainous traits for interest.
Generally speaking, the Scaramouche character would influence the audience to assist him in his plots in a variety of ways. Furthermore, he was often filled with a certain degree of boasting and cowardice as characteristics. However, the Scaramouche character is usually defeated or beaten in some way by the Arlecchino (Harlequin) character. Meaning he is not a victor in the overarching plot of a commedia dell’arte play. However, the Scaramouche character does spend a large portion of the play getting himself into trouble caused by his own love of intrigue, though he gets off scot-free while someone else gets punished for his crimes instead. In this way, he is regarded as an unscrupulous character, as well as being noted as an unreliable servant, when he fills that role within the play.
Finally, it is worth noting that the Scaramouche stock character doesn’t actually appear to be that important to the overarching plot of the commedia dell’arte plays and may not even make an appearance. It is worth mentioning here, though, that the Scaramouche stock character was rather popular.
In regard to the Genshin Impact Scaramouche, he does somewhat manipulate the audience (i.e. the players and even Traveler themselves to a certain degree). This is best seen in the Inazuma archon quest where he causes Traveler to lose their temper and thereby manages to get the gnosis from Yae Miko by making an exchange: Traveler for the gnosis. However, he receives no punishment for this as it is La Signora, instead, who gets the short end of the stick in the Inazuma archon quest.
We also see the Genshin Impact Scaramouche get himself into trouble with his own behavior in the Sumeru archon quest where he gets largely used by both Dottore and the Akademiya. However, again, he mirrors the commedia dell’ arte character in the way he receives very little punishment for attempting to become a god. In fact, Nahida even takes him in and he ends up getting a vision.
Furthermore it is worth noting that while he is defeated in the Sumeru archon quest, his defeat has absolutely nothing to do with Arlecchino, who does not appear in the main storyline until the Fontaine archon quest.
Finally, we have whatever is going to occur within the Nod-Krai update set. It can be argued that whatever happens with Scaramouche post his becoming Wanderer does not have to adhere to the Scaramouche stock character. However, it is also true that we see him in his Harbinger outfit and, therefore, as Scaramouche in his reflection in the water under the bridge he’s on in the Nod-Krai teaser. As such it will be interesting to see if he has a conflict where he ends up defeated by Arlecchino in some way. However, it should be noted that even if this does occur, none of the Harbingers will recognize him as a past Harbinger due to the events of the Inversion of Genesis archon quest. It could be a situation where, once Genshin’s Scaramouche/Wanderer does appear in the Nod-Krai archon quest, he will find himself haunted in some way by his past role as a harbinger.
All told, the Genshin Impact Scaramouche is actually a fairly decent match for the stock character he’s based on. Though it is worth mentioning that his characterization also aligns rather nicely with the lyrics of the band Queen's song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” However, his story is apparently not yet complete, so we’ll have to wait and see what occurs within the Nod-Krai update sets to see what they do with him.
For my part, I think a shift away from the vengeance narrative would be a very interesting direction for him. This is partially due to personal taste, but also because I think watching him grow from a variant of the Scaramouche stock character and into something more could be nice.
I would love to hear other’s thoughts on this entire situation with Genshin Harbingers vs. their Commedia Dell’Arte counterparts, and where Genshin writers might take these characters in the future, so feel free to comment and share!
Overblot Character Song Analysis #5: “Still Infallible, Until Tangible”
So I thought it might be fun to do an analysis series of Twisted Wonderland’s overblot character songs, just to see what the songs might say about the characters in question. As a small disclaimer, I do not actually speak or read Japanese so I will be primarily using fantranslations, though I should note that I didn’t actually end up using @mysteryshoptls translation very much this time, though I did still use the Japanese to English dictionary website called Jisho to help me along. Leona’s “Still Infallible, Until Tangible” is the fifth song up for analysis. The rest of the analysis will be under the cut due to length. Please read at your own risk because there will likely be spoilers within the song with regard to the character’s development and story.
So, first off we have the title which really caught my attention very quickly. The ‘Still Infallible’ part indicates that either he, Leona, or the individual(s) the song is directed at are ‘still’ incapable of making mistakes and/or being wrong. However, this is followed directly by the words ‘until tangible’ which implies that Leona or, again the audience of this song, are incapable of making mistakes until he or they are suddenly perceptible by touch. Now this can be taken a few different ways. If you go with the Leona interpretation, then Leona himself comes across as infallible, until you get close and realize exactly how messed up he is. This would reflect Jack’s initial hero-worship that he has until he starts getting a closer look at Leona. A second interpretation of the title could be that Leona himself is keeping his distance from others so that he won’t fall apart, because he recognizes the moment someone gets too close and he is touched (i.e. he becomes ‘tangible’ to them) he’ll fall apart. Finally, there’s a third interpretation if this title reflects the audience of the song which would mean Leona finds the audience infallible until he gets closer to them (i.e. they become tangible) and he realizes they too can make mistakes.
Now, I would like to note, before we go any further, that this is a very somber song and drives home the point (which I will note here has been contested within the fandom in the past, though I’m not going to point any fingers) that Leona is depressed. In fact, it has been implied in certain areas (i.e. the light novel version of the Savanaclaw dorm story) that Leona is even suicidal. So please be prepared for a downer of a song and exercise caution if any of these things are overly upsetting for you.
Beyond the closed door, I hear a festive song
The wavering voice sounds distant as even shadows scatter from it
Heading to the other side of the night, I yearn endlessly
For a pride that will shield me
So, Leona’s song isn’t pulling its punches. Right from the get go, it is already sad. The image being painted here is Leona on his own, listening to cheerful sounds of others through a door, and even though it's just right through a door, it all sounds so distant and gets scattered by the shadows (i.e. dark thoughts and depression) that Leona has surrounded himself with. So off he goes, to something poetically called ‘the other side of the night,’ yearning all the while for someone to shield him. This is particularly notable since in the JP version of Twisted Wonderland it is very clear that Leona is the hated second prince, with the emphasis being placed on ‘hated’ rather than ‘second.’ Due to this, it’s quite possible that Leona feels like there is no one who ever loved him or cared about him enough to shield him from others who hate him for possibly no other reason than the fact that he has such a terrifying signature spell and his habit of being moody. In this case, it is quite possible he is thinking of his family the entire time, but since they failed him he longs for a family, or Pride, that won’t.
Now I should note here that there is another translation for the lines: “I yearn endlessly for a pride that will shield me” which does somewhat change the meaning. This other translation is: “After constant insatiable longing, even arrogance becomes my shield.” Arrogance of course is very similar to pride, with pride typically being used because of its dualistic meaning of pride (the feeling vs. the group of lions). Anyway, this other translation has the pride being Leona’s shield, indicating he uses others as a shield against his own longing. This is an interesting interpretation to, as it indicates that the few relationships Leona does have, serve as a shield against his longing.
The light fades away, leaving the world unchanged, still colored in infallibility.
No matter how many times I reach out
These hands grasped nothing but air
If that’s how it is, let it turn to sand.
Moving forward, the first line of the chorus here is very interesting as it talks about how the light is fading, despite the fact that in the first verse it was described as being nighttime. However, the world remains unchanged even now. But here is where it gets interesting, with the words ‘Still colored in infallibility’ being tied to his description of the world being unchanged. So here, rather than infallible referring to Leona, infallible refers to the world itself. A world that Leona appears to feel has rejected him. The description of such a world being infallible indicates that Leona feels that this rejection is justified though. If we read into this, it can feasibly be inferred that being hated for so long has led to Leona hating himself and thereby viewing a world’s rejection of him as entirely reasonable. From Leona's persepective it is possibly a situation where he’s hated because he is unpleasant and generally hate-able, so obviously he’ll be rejected.
From that first line we flow into the rest of the chorus. Despite accepting that he has been rejected, and even viewing that as the right choice, Leona is still reaching out. He probably can’t even help it. However, he can’t reach anything or anyone. He’s still all alone, right where he started. This possibly references how misunderstood Leona is implied to be by the Savanaclaw dorm. Indeed, the light novel and manga both suggest that a big causal part of Leona’s overblot was the way the Savanaclaw dorm viewed him and placed all their hopes and dreams on him despite the fact that he feels like everything he does is ruined from the start. In other words, Leona views the Savanaclaw dorm's bright hope and nigh-idolatry of his own power as weighty. Possibly even to the point where it is crushing him under the weight of their expectations of him.
Either way, the chorus ends with the summation that, if Leona is going to be rejected, then everything might as well be sand. Which is what we see in Leona’s overblot. Even Ruggie, who didn’t reject him, but has been implied to have fundamentally misunderstood Leona and thus mischaracterized and rejected who Leona truly is and what his problems actually are, is attacked by this apathetic attack wrought by Leona’s depression and view that no one truly cares about him. In the end, this entire chorus is one big, very poetic, ‘what’s the use?’ Because everything Leona has tried, has failed.
Even the playful illusions are too dazzling, too bothersome
If I remain insincere as I am
Well, perhaps it's fine after all, I laugh bitterly at that.
Now we’re back to Leona in a more resting, less overblotted state, and it is still pretty bad in terms of mental state. Because at this point, even illusions of what might could be, are too much for him. He writes them all off as bothersome because he’s been hurt enough. Getting his hopes up again would just lead to tragedy. So he resolved to remain insincere and not show how he truly feels. Because if he’s insincere, then isn’t it fine if he’s hated? Isn’t it justified? It’s a bitter thought, as noted within the line ‘I laugh bitterly at that,’ but it’s one that Leona has bought into because he can’t come up with any other conclusion for how to handle this situation.
It’s here that we clearly see how depressed and self-loathing Leona truly is, and the idea of him being potentially suicidal is a palpable one as, in the first chorus, the final line of ‘If that’s how it is, let it turn to sand’ could also be referring to himself, which is truly horrifying thought that unfortunately aligns with his self-view. Bluntly put, he has a low opinion of himself and thereby, does not really care about his own well-being or future, which is why he doesn’t put any effort in. This is an intensive mental low, to say the least, and shows how serious Leona’s depression really is.
An elusive light, a twisted gaze, are all colored in infallibility.
Even if I list out all the reasons to blame someone
No one cares for the reasons behind, and if that is all I am able to grasp
Let it all crumble to sand.
And here we are at the end of Leona’s song. The light is fading away this time, but it is still elusive, and rather than an unchanging world, we have a twisted gaze. A twisted gaze, that may even be Leona’s as his mood and mental state steadily worsen. Or, perhaps, this twisted gaze is others views of him, since Savanaclaw's and other individual's perceptions of him has been suggested to be rather weighty for Leona due to their inaccuracies. Everything is still colored in infallibility, though, and is thereby deemed correct. The light eludes him, but it is justified in doing so.
This is followed by Leona mentioning that even if he did list out all the reasons he could blame someone for all this (those who abandoned him, his family, his country, or some other unnamed person) no one would listen. Why would they? He’s hated. Leona no doubt feels like there is no reason he could ever give to make anyone listen. So why bother?
So Leona’s decision is a simple one at this point. If this is all he can grasp and hold onto, then it can all crumble to sand. Because being the hated second prince who’s never given a chance or, even when he is, bungles it and remains perpetually misunderstood, is not worth it. So let it all crumble to sand.
It's worth noting here that Leona’s emphasis on sand implies that he may view his signature spell very negatively, which has been suggested before in-game with the way he mocks it in that it only destroys. This, paired with his negative self-view, may have caused him to make a connection between the two (i.e. that he’s as worthless as sand).
