Hi! This is Welshoot. This account here is my analysis writing one that I (unfortunately) don't post to very often. I occasionally also make things like aesthetics and post them here. In all honesty, I'm more active on my fic-writing blog @it-happened-one-fic. You can message me at either of these blogs, though, and feel free to ask questions! Currently I'm only really active in the Twisted Wonderland and Genshin Impact fandoms, but that is liable to change!
Twisted Wonderland Analysis and Theory Master-List
you and your lover live in a shared space, and oftentimes, you hear and experience things that you aren’t supposed to, however annoying, entertaining, and distressing it can be; so basically, dealing with annoying neighbours, couple break-ups, or unusual occurrences.
CONTENT TAGS — established relationship, you're both adults, fluff, you either live in a house or an apartment, cursing, scenarios, possibly ooc, kind of crack | wc: 3.1k
DIRECTOR NOTES — have this random silly idea i had while i was waiting for the train anyways i dont know how this got so long i swear i was just fucking around and writing and im also running out of titles ARGGGSHHHSH
what's next? navigation | masterlist
CAELUS
Your neighbours were arguing. Again. It’s something that you have already grown used to. So what do you and Caelus do? Of course, listen to it. It has become part of your nightly ritual, after all. You have both of your ears pressed against the wall, hushing one another, scolding for even breathing too loud because you cannot hear shit clearly. Tonight’s episode seems to be titled, “WHOSE LASHES IS THIS IN YOUR CAR?”, purely based on what you’ve been hearing behind the wall.
The pieces of information that you got from yesterday’s together connect to each other like missing dots—that girl you’ve seen enter the apartment last time when the girlfriend had already left for work, which is the same girl you’ve seen in the highlights of the girlfriend’s account with the name, ‘4lyf’. You are wide-eyed staring at one another, sending telepathic messages, hoping that the both of you are on the same wavelength. You had your hopes up when he repeatedly nodded to your hushed question of “Do you know what this means?”
However, when your debriefing came later on, hours after the bickering of the couple next door had ended, the both of you had come to different conclusions, making you wonder how did he even get there.
“He’s clearly cheating on her with her best friend." You say.
He then replies: “Or maybe homeboy just likes collecting lashes. You know those people who keep their fingernails clippings?”
“What, Caelus, that’s disgusting. Don’t tell me you do that?”
“What kind of image do you even have of me in your head?”
DAN HENG
Dan Heng sees you camping by the hallway like the nosy person you are as soon as he gets home, hiding behind the slightly open door, eavesdropping on the couple, ex-lovers, or a pair with a romantic history (a gut-wrenching situationship) bickering.
You immediately beckon him over, placing a finger against your lips to silence any of his questions, and by the time he arrives by your side you pull him aside: “They’ve been at it for hours.” You say, completely focused on a pair of a couple of strangers, eyes gleaming with the fervor as if you’re watching your favorite show on TV.
“And you’ve been here for hours?” He replies, which you immediately hush him. It’s rather painful to admit, but there’s this feeling that boils in his chest, and he can’t help but be upset. Something sharp and unwelcome twists in his chest at how utterly captivated you are by this strangers' mess when he's standing right here, when he could be giving you his full attention. Why are you paying so much attention to someone that isn’t him?
“I don’t really know what’s going on but it looks so interesting, so I can’t help it.” You utter, still not sparing a glance at him. Clearly, you weren’t the only one as the others are doing the same thing—even the ones from a different floor are lingering by the stairs.
With a long-suffering sigh that doesn't quite mask his irritation, he hooks a finger in your collar and bodily drags you away from your makeshift opera show, ignoring your indignant squawks as he herds you back inside, effectively distracting you with something else.
PHAINON
There are some pretty loud sounds and creaking that has been going on in the apartment next door.
At first, Phainon and you dismissed it. I mean, it’s not like those kinds of things are not normal and both of you weren’t the purest beings out there in this world. Besides, that was just the only time it’s going to happen, right?
Wrong.
You are completely and utterly wrong because for DAYS you have been enduring those damn sounds and for days you are losing sleep over it. It haunts you every single night for hours as soon as the clock strikes nine as if it was a damn routine of theirs. You tried knocking back against the wall, a signal, but they didn't stop. Matter of fact, they get louder.
By the time a week has passed by, or banged by, both you and Phainon have reached a level of zen-like resignation that would concern even the most seasoned monks.
Night comes once more, his eyes are glazed over as the headboard next door pounds rhythmically against the wall in what can only be described as architectural assault. He’s long since given up on subtlety, muttering, “Good for them,” with the hollow cheer of a man who has accepted his fate. You, on the other hand, are biting your lip to keep from laughing at the way his eye twitches every time a particularly enthusiastic moan pierces the air.
He suddenly rolls over, pulls you in his arms, and squeezes you tightly like you were a life-sized stress ball, “You’re laughing, we’re both miserable, and you’re laughing.” Perhaps it was better to bang at your neighbor's door tomorrow to give them a change of pace, or a new definition of pounding.
ANAXAGORAS
Anaxa is not one to be able to tolerate such things. I mean, how many times has this been already? Every single time there is a damn delivery addressed to your door, it’s not really addressed to you nor him, but to the person who lives next to you. You wouldn’t mind it if it was just a one-time occurrence, but no, because nearly every single day you’ll always have someone knocking and yelling: “Delivery for (insert name of your neighbour who is pissing you off and inconveniencing you with this thing)!”
From food, to jewelry, to clothes, to shoes, to flowers, you name it all. It feels like you had the entire mall fall into your entire doorstep already. It gets annoying especially when it overlaps with some of your expected deliveries. Imagine being so excited for your parcel to arrive that you’d run to your door, abandoning whatever you are doing, only to discover that it wasn’t even yours?!?
“This is getting annoying.” You grumble, invading Anaxa’s personal space as he reads from his book, resting your head against his shoulder.
“I agree.”
So what does Anaxa propose to do instead? Accepting the deliveries before his neighbour could open the door and tell the guy that it’s theirs. From then on, you are enjoying the luxuries of free food and items. Though it only lasted for five days because your lovely neighbor didn’t put your address as the delivery place anymore after your small squabble with them. Bummer.
Why were they even putting your address for deliveries anyway? Turns out your neighbour was scamming people left and right online and putting your address as to not get in trouble in case authorities get involved. Well, they did get involved and they also did end up at your door but you simply redirected them to the right place.
MYDEIMOS
As a great philosopher has once said, for one to arrange their furniture, one must do it in the morning. Not during the ass fucking crack of dawn when you’re already wandering and skipping in your dreamland, talking to a purple dinosaur. As soon as he hears that loud banging, screeching, and scraping of something coming from the place above, Mydei does not waste a single second.
“What the fuck.” You say, groggy and having just woken up from your sleep when a loud sound of something crashing is heard from above. You would have thought someone broke into your place until you saw Mydei right beside you, leaning against the headboard, arms crossed across his chest.
“What was that? Did you hear that?” You’re already bombarding him with questions, trying to make sense of what’s happening until you hear another sound of something scraping just above your ceiling and it doesn’t stop for a minute. If you were in a cartoon, your whole place would already be shaking just for the effect of it.
“I’m going to talk to them.”
“Huh?” You say, confused, watching as your lover gets out of bed. “Who?” Your eyes follow him as he randomly picks a shirt from his closet.
Before he completely leaves, he crosses the room until he’s leaning over you, one hand cradling your cheek as if you’re something sacred. His thumb brushes beneath your eye and before you realize it, he’s already tilting your face up, pressing a lingering kiss on your forehead.
When he finally pulls back, he murmurs, “Stay here.” And then you never see him again.
Just kidding, you do. Just a few minutes later when he slips back into bed and tells you to go back to sleep, while he embraces you. You don’t question him or what he did, and surely enough, your sleep was peaceful and quiet.
BOOTHILL
ASSERT DOMINANCE, Boothill claims as he’s already rolling his sleeves and preparing to take out the speaker system.
He was already not having it. Months of having to deal with his so-called neighbours, also so-called ‘friends’, and their never-ending parties that disturb your sleep to which they’ll compensate with a half-assed apology the next morning only to do the same thing again during the night. In addition to that nuisance too is how some of these dumbasses would occasionally stumble into your door, mistaking it for the party venue. Clearly, they don’t see the loud ass house with disco lights just behind them.
After another intoxicated fool ends up at your doorstep again, his already-broken composure falters as he swings the door open with a rather pissed off grin, gaze burning with so much intensity. "Lost, darling?" he purrs, voice dripping saccharine venom as the stranger blinks blearily at him. One glance at you who bore a tired look on your face and back to Boothill who's still hovering by the doorway, glaring, and the poor soul suddenly remembers they have somewhere else to be. That was it, that was the last straw.
So here you are, trying to stop him as he drags the speakers to the porch, firing up a playlist exclusively consisting of a guy imitating how Hugh Jackman would sing certain songs (please get the reference) and Mariah Carey’s entire discography.
Not long after, the neighbour’s party stops dead. Although a verbal argument did break out, with your lover’s amazing vocabulary and machine-gun like mouth, he won.
"See, darlin’? Sometimes the best way to shut a party down is to throw a better one."
In the end, both you and the neighbours got a noise complaint.
JING YUAN
There’s a couple breaking up across the street and they were yelling loud enough to wake up even the neighbourhood’s deepest sleeper. So like the chad Jing Yuan and you are, of course, you sit by your porch on the pretense that you are… simply sightseeing. Yes, sightseeing.
That’s why you have your chairs out with glasses of juice along with some leftover popcorn that you made last night. Oh, and also, your binoculars. If only you could read lips to complete your experience, but it’s alright, because this couple (or not to be) is screaming and hollering loudly, as the lady throws into the streets what you assume to be his belongings.
The spectacle escalates to something like you would see from a telenovela, shame there are no grand reveals and slapping involved. But the girl did fling a ceramic vase at him, to which the man dodges, unfortunately.
“I wonder what the guy did.” You mumble, taking a mouthful of popcorn. Your bucket was nearly empty now and at the same time, it seems like your show is coming to an end as the woman stomps back inside and leaves the guy behind. With that, Jing Yuan rises from his chair, stretching languidly before offering you his arm.
"Shall we retire for intermission, my dear? I believe Act Two will involve either tearful reconciliation or a round two of their fight. Either way, we'll want fresh snacks." It’s no lie that your lover is positively radiant with amusement despite the disruption it created for your usually peaceful, warm afternoon.
SUNDAY
Sunday deals with the neighbours’ drunken chaos the way a saint tolerates blasphemy. Despite the nuisance it has brought with the loud bass that seem to shake the whole place awake, he’s still formal and proper in handling the situation.
The door opens after a few minutes of knocking and waiting and a lady greets him.
“My apologies for interrupting your revelry, but I’m afraid you’re disturbing everyone with your enthusiastic celebration.” Specifically you. The thought of you being weary and troubled as you lose sleep over this terrible disturbance is making his chest tighten. He doesn’t wish to see you suffer, so he ignores your insistence of just leaving the neighbours alone. “Some of us have work in the morning.”
The woman blinks slowly and cries, “I’M NOT READY TO DIE YET!”
Hell is quieter than their playlist, that’s for sure.
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Please, it is clear that you are not of sober mind,” he forces a smile, “so allow me to make this simple for you. We would appreciate it if you were to immediately comply with local noise ordinance, lest we escalate this to the authorities. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”
That seemed to have sobered her up, and though annoyed, the lady apologized and went back inside. Soon, the music comes to a halt and everything is embraced by silence. Relieved, he returns to your side after accomplishing what he was here for, bringing you a warm cup of tea to drink as he tells you of how his conversation went down, saying something about how some people wouldn't recognize peace if it bit them.
BLADE
You’ve just moved into the neighborhood, hoping to have a fresh, warm start together with your beloved. But life seems to have different plans for you.
There’s this group of teenagers making a commotion every day by the front of your house, coinciding at the same time that he’s away. From lighting up fireworks which resulted in burning off a few of your plants as it flew off the wrong direction, to laughing and playing loudly that you often find your afternoon nap being disturbed, and to even throwing eggs at your window as they compete with one another on who’ll get to hit the highest. It’s annoying, especially when you have already told them off many times before but they never listen. These brats.
Eventually, you’ve resorted to telling Blade about it, nearly breaking down in the process. I mean, it was stressing you out so much and although it could just be a small thing for others—reasoning it with how they’re just children and having fun—, it was making you frustrated.
Blade makes an effort to comfort you, even reassuring you that he’ll deal with the problem. You just nod and accept it, knowing that he won’t be able to do anything against these young, wild, and free teenagers.
You didn’t know that doubting Blade was a big mistake because somehow, when the next day comes, he had managed to bring them over to you and had them apologize, swearing that they’ll never bother you again.
“We’re so sorry!”
“We’re never going to do it again!”
“Please forgive us!”
You did scold them, kindly, before forgiving them and oddly enough, it was satisfying. It feels like a heavy weight was lifted off your shoulders.
“What did you do?” You ask him as soon as the kids leave.
“Stared at them.”
AVENTURINE
In all honesty, it’s rare for you to hear anything scandalous or experience something frustrating, so things can get a little boring. But when drama does strike, you and Aventurine are front-row spectators, dissecting every juicy detail.
This time, however, the gossip seems to involve you. There is a girl, a stranger, standing in front of you, yelling and accusing you of things that you don’t even remember doing. Your confusion and silence, however, prompts the stranger to hesitate and stop.
“Wait, you’re not [Name]?”
“I am…?”
"You bitch! Are you trying to confuse me or what?!" Furious, her hand flies up—only for Aventurine to catch her wrist with ease, letting go of it soon after.
“Perhaps there is a small misunderstanding. If I remember correctly, there are two [Name]’s in here.” he shields you behind him, holding your hand as if to reassure you, “I believe that the person you are looking for is them.” He says, directing her attention to somewhere else.
And funnily enough, there is another girl a few steps away, attempting to cover their face with their purse, trying to run away before they get caught. But it’s too late as the girl finally realizes who her target truly is.
“YOU!” She storms over, heels clanking loudly against the floor. “I knew it was you!” You beg to differ.
The scene immediately escalated into a catfight accompanied with yelling and spilling the most atrocious things like how this paramour was also sleeping with the man’s sister. Wow, messy.
“Should we call the security?”
“I already did.” Aventurine casually says, squeezing your hand as he tugs you away from the spectacle. Walking back to your home and away from the mess, he takes this moment to tease you:
“Babe, you should have told me you had another man.”
“I do not!”
GALLAGHER
“And what’s troubling my beloved?” Gallagher asks as soon as he sees your rather stressed state—bags heavy under your eyes, hair disheveled, and the demeanor of someone who’s been pushed to their limit. You groan, flopping face-first onto the couch with a muffled scream into the cushion.
Gallagher hums, already pouring you a glass of water before settling beside you. His calloused fingers card through your hair, listening patiently, as you rant about the latest neighborhood nuisance: there is this constant thump-thump-thump noise that happens at exactly 3 AM.
You’ll find yourself waking up to it often, cursing at that repeated sound that’s making your head explode. It lasts for an hour, sometimes less than it, but it occurs at the same time of dawn. You’ve adapted to it now by covering your ears with some plugs you bought from the store after days of having it happen to you.
“It’s just so annoying! Does it not bother you?” You say, rolling over to your back and staring at the ceiling.
“I don’t recall ever waking up to anything with that sound.” Right, you forgot how this man can be such a heavy sleeper at times.
“Lucky you.” You groan. “It sounded like someone's bouncing a basketball? Or maybe hammering nails? I don't even know anymore."
He brushes a strand of hair away from your face, gazing at you affectionately as he caresses your cheek. “Maybe we can talk to them tomorrow.”
“Yeah, we could, they’re just next door anyway.” You mutter, sitting up slightly to rub your tired eyes.
Gallagher’s hand stills against your skin. “What do you mean next door?”
“You know, unit 305. The one right next to us.”
“My love.”
“What? You’re scaring me, Gallagher.” You whisper, pulse quickening as his gaze flicks toward the wall.
“Nobody lives there.”
i procrastinated on this for days then as soon as i finished i got informed i have a 150-page reading due
"From Far Away (Kanata Kara)" TV Anime officially announced
Air Date: 2026
Walking home from school one day, Noriko is innocently caught up in a terrorist bombing. Rather than being blown to bits, she finds herself transported to another world; a world in which darkness seems on the rise, as its powers desperately search for a being known as the Awakening whom it is said will awaken the Sky Demon. She finds this new world to be dangerous and overwhelming, and Noriko has little choice but to throw her lot in with the mysteriously powerful man she encounters upon her arrival. The enigma of this world and her role in it will gradually unfold, but first things first: Noriko must learn their language!
This is one of my FAVORITE stories like ever. I don't care if its not super-edgy or groundbreaking or anything, this is MY JAM and I never thought it would get a reprint where I could actually own the copies much less an anime
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!
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!
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 9: Pantalone)
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 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 (as of the start of the game’s plot). 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 Pantalone, also known by his codename: Regrator, is Rank #9 within the Fatui Harbingers. Within the commedia dell’arte the Pantalone character (sometimes called Pantaloon) is one of the four primary stock characters, is often a pivotal character for the plot of the story, and is almost entirely based upon currency and ego. Mirroring this, he represents money within the world of the commedia dell’arte plot. While he has a very high opinion of his intelligence, he often ends up being made a fool. One of Pantalone's chief drives with the plotline was to ensure that he had enough status to meddle in the affairs of others. Pantalone’s primary characterizations are that he loves his money and that he has emotional extremes. Furthermore, he is usually quite sinister and treats others rather cruelly to downright inhumanely. Indeed, the Pantalone character frequently starves his servants as a way of saving money and, if he were to let go of a servant, it would always be before dinner was served so that he didn’t have to feed them (He was just that petty and penny-pinching).
Pantalone usually serves as a parent or guardian to one of the Innamorati (often the female innamorata) and is very driven to keep his child and their lover apart for a variety of reasons. In the case where he is the parent/guardian to the female lover (which he usually is) he typically tries to marry her off to some rich, possibly older man, in an attempt to avoid having to pay a hefty dowry and part with his money (extra points if the marriage improves his personal financial status as well). When he is not married to the La Signora character (sometimes due to a complete absence of her character) or a similar character he is a widow or bachelor who is constantly making passes at the varying women he encounters, though he is always rejected. In fact the younger female characters would often outright mock him. (It is worth noting here that the Pantalone character usually is into, and flirts with, or is married to a younger woman, though there is very little explanation for this. It seems to just been a facet to his character. However, this facet was downplayed some in regard to the Pantalone’s costuming as time went on, though never entirely lost.). Furthermore, Pantalone's internal view of himself as a muscular, fit young man typically does not match his outside appearance.
Interestingly, the Pantalone character never forgets a deal nor any slight. His merits are described as being based on his actions, rather than his words.
Finally, it is worth noting that the Dottore character serves as foil to the Pantalone character, connecting the two. While Pantalone is your decadent wealthy merchant who is typically the father to one of the Innamorati while Dottore is a (often) wealthy erudite/scholar who may or may not be the father of one of the Innmorati (usually the girl) or the Columbine character. Furthermore, the Dottore character is often a friend, mentor, or competitor to Pantalone.
When not foiling Dottore, the Pantalone would sometimes foil varying female characters or, at the very least, give them a character to bounce off of in regards to their own characterization.
As a curious but notable sub-type for this character that is also found mirrored in Dottore characters, there is a younger variant of the Pantalone character that has made some appearances. Oddly enough, rather than filling a parental role to one of the Innamorati or that of any other normal Vecchi role, this younger version serves as an opponent for the Innamorato (male lover) as a secondary love interest to the innamorata (female lover) or may in fact fill the role of the male lead in some cases. This is a plot point that appears to have come up later in the span of commedia dell’arte works, but is nonetheless an intriguing one in that we suddenly have a worthy adversary of the same age for the innamorato that comes in the form of either a young version of the Pantalone or Dottore character. Even in more intriguing though is the fact that some commedia dell’arte adjacent plays (which could also be viewed as evolutions and/or subversions of the general commedia dell’arte plotline) is that this young pantalone or dottore character might actually fill the role of the Innamorato and as such be the male lead for the play. (This appears to have occurred as the audience got bored with the typical innamorato (male lover) character which does not appear to have received the same gradual growth as the innamorata (female lover) character for unclear reasons.)
Within Genshin, Pantalone is another one of the Harbingers we do not know very much about. We know he was born into poverty, was never able to gain a Vision, and has an obsession with fair exchange as well as a grudge against the gods (implied to primarily be against Morax) based on their control of Mora flow. To this end he works with Dottore, which mirrors his stock character's connection to the Dottore character. We also know that Genshin’s Pantalone is working with Pulchinella on something referred to as Project Stuzha, though this does not appear to have a Commedia dell’arte basis.
Mirroring his stock character’s connection to wealth, Pantalone is noted to be in charge of Snezhnaya’s economic policies and is the wealthiest of all the Harbingers. Furthermore, we know his ambition is to make Snezhnaya the “heart that pumps money around the world” and to replace Mora. Indeed, he supposedly has a connection to the installation of Credit Coupons in the Fortress of Meropide, which were in circulation before Wriothesley, which suggests that Pantalone may very well be older than his design suggests. An intriguing plot point in and of itself considering his stock character’s position as an older man who acts like someone much younger. Nonetheless, all of this, paired with the way Childe and Wanderer describe him in their respective voicelines, suggests that Genshin’s Pantalone has an impressive ego much like his corresponding stock character. Indeed, it is possible that Pantalone intends to outright challenge Morax’s control of finances. However, any solid information for his character will likely have to wait until Snezhnaya’s release since Arlecchino stated that Pantalone never leaves Snezhnaya. However, it is worth noting that his presence has been felt in several nations now in the form of varying world quests, and that Pantalone’s underlings do seem to fear him. As such, it is possible that Genshin’s Pantalone may be just as hard on his ‘servants’ as the commedia dell’arte stock character.
It will be interesting to see how Pantalone connects with any possible Innamorati character since the stock character often serves as the father to one of them, though also sometimes fills the role of competition for the male Innamorato. Furthermore, due to the stock character’s importance to the overarching plot of the Commedia dell’arte it will be interesting to see how important Pantalone is to the overarching Fatui scheme. Indeed, he may have a very large role within the Snezhnaya archon quest. Supporting this idea is the fact that Pantalone’s name has been consistently appearing throughout other nations, either in minor quests or more major ones.
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!
