#archonquest

I stayed up til 2 am to finish this quest and I loved it! ❤

Staying up til 2 am on version release dates is just a tradition at this point... I will not be spoilered. This is a difficult endeavor, seeing as how spoilers even come out before the version's story is officially released, but I try. ;o;

(At least I'm no longer on east coast time!! Staying up til 4 am was fun in college, it is not fun now. T___T)

// 3.2 ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED //

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One of the first things that happens in this quest is Alhaitham saying he's not like the other girls. In fact, he's in the top 1% of girls. This man has such a superiority complex (though if I'm being honest, it's not completely unfounded...)

Initially, I didn't really like his character because of this (among other things), but it's grown on me after seeing his interactions with Kaveh. He's just so... needlessly antagonistic. xD

Throughout the archon quest, Alhaitham has played the role of the cold, logical brain of the team. He's almost like a robot in that sense, so seeing him take what a robot would deem "unnecessary actions" to torment poor Kaveh is hilarious. (It seems like Kaveh might do his fair share of the tormenting as well though LMAO)

Alhaitham: happiness is an emotion alien to the sages smh

Alhaitham: y'know who else won't experience happiness today

Alhaitham: my roommate bc I took both keys while leaving the house today heheheh

I can't wait to see more of their interactions in the future.

(Also, Kaveh's hair?? Hello???

I wonder if the "IXIX" pins mean anything... nine-nine?)

Another character that grew on me a bit this archon quest is Dehya!! Miss Anime-Hair-Vents-Girl. She got to shine the most the previous chapter, but she has her moments here too. Protecting the traveler as their bodyguard, wanting a "smile" as payment... big sister vibes.

She's a big ol' tsundere in some regards though. She doesn't have any big ambitions, and she admits herself to only wanting to enjoy the days with good food and drink, and only working when she has to.

And yet, despite this... she's trekked halfway across Sumeru and back with the gang, even though she could just leave?? at any point she wanted to. Dehya's very individualistic, and doesn't compromise on her own ideals or interests. But in the end, she'll always have your back, both physically and emotionally.

I already had a high opinion of Tighnari before this archon quest so not much changed here. He's sensible and rational without being cold. It was nice seeing how protective he was towards Haypasia as his patient.

He's the perfect person to watch over the sages who went to the Avidya Forest at the end, too. Even if they deserve it, I can't see Tighnari being needlessly cruel to any of them. He'll definitely keep them under a watchful eye, though...

And of course, I can't talk about Tighnari without talking about Cyno! I'm not a Cynonari shipper myself, but there was sooo much food this chapter -- from Cyno asking who was behind Tighnari's injury, to Tighnari trusting Dehya and the Traveler as soon as they brought up Cyno's name, to Tighnari's affirmation that he and Cyno have been working together behind the scenes from the very beginning.

I wasn't really a fan of certain parts of Cyno's story quest, but for better or worse, the writers are sticking to their guns in portraying Cyno's personal brand of justice. Everything played out really nicely in his scenes. My personal favorite is when he ordered Azar to "plead guilty in front of the archon herself."

Another thing I wanted to mention was how well done the Scaramouche scene at Pardis Dhyai was. I legitimately got spooked when I saw him pop up. He too says he's not like the other girls and then a bunch of other stuff about rejecting his past.

The traveler notes that "he's become milder but somehow even more deranged" lollllll

One thing I didn't expect from him was to actually be concerned about Haypasia and to treat her as his "first follower." I guess all gods need followers though, so it wasn't real concern so much as it was just his own superiority complex.

Also, I did not expect him to crash head first into a concrete floor at the end of the archon quest LMAO

One of the first things I saw today though was (3.3 leaks) his signature dish, where he orders the traveler to wash the dishes. 😭 Honestly, I have to admire his sheer tenacity... he becomes god, gets his ass beat, suffers what I assume has to be terminal brain damage, and STILL has apparently done zero self-reflection LOL. Whatever happens in the 3.3 interlude quest, he's evidently still the vertically-challenged gremlin we know (and maybe love I haven't decided yet)

Nilou was an unexpected appearance in this quest. I really enjoyed all the different perspectives this quest had to offer, including the segment where we played as Nilou. It's a good way of showcasing things that the traveler wouldn't personally be there to experience.

Speaking of Nilou... I absolutely love her. She's a little clumsy and forgetful, but her story quest really showed that she's willing and able to fight for what she loves. She's not a revolutionary (this is the exception, as the opportunity basically landed in her lap!), but in her own way, she's been fighting for change all this time.

Nilou's story quest also touched me for a different reason, too... Recently, a server for a game I really like and was a member of the community for shut down. I wish we could have come together to extend its lifespan the way Nilou and the people at the bazaar did for their dance troupe, even though it would have been impossible in our case.

That's a rabbit hole I'll go down some other time, though!

(The OST when Nilou was dancing was also fantastic. And when the Performance Prohibition Act text was overlaid with the fake order to arrest Kusanali? Chills. ❤❤)

...Speaking of that fake order, I couldn't let this go by without mentioning Isak, that kid who literally dressed as Kusanali to lead the guards away. 😭 Of all the things I expected in this chapter, this was not one of them.

I also chose to hide in the field instead of behind the house when it came to the first decision b/c I thought he might be able to camouflage himself among the vegetables and I WAS RIGHT LMAO (unless hiding behind the house led to the same result. then idk lol)

Last but not least, I need to talk with everyone about Nahida. She's my pfp (at the time of writing this, anyway) and just. Look at her. LOOK AT HER. I loved her ever since her design was first leaked (yes I'm gatekeeping don't @ me /s) and I'm so glad her story has played out so beautifully.

One thing I really liked is that Nahida was never infantilized this chapter -- even though literally all of us were willing to go to war for her and to coddle the radish after her teaser, Nahida really held her own. The first scene we get of her in this quest is of her doing self-reflection. She wallows in doubt for a bit, then comes to the realization of what her true emotions are. Not what she "should" be feeling or thinking as an archon, but what she is feeling.

(I'm also a bit confused here, after re-reading her wiki entry -- could Nahida have escaped the Sanctuary beforehand? The archon quest implies she couldn't, as it gives an explanation as to how the Sanctuary could contain a god. Nahida's own voicelines also talk about being in a birdcage. Yet, the wiki says that she (was essentially gaslit, first of all) took a step back on her own and let the sages run things.)

Anyways, the self-reflection was a scene that I hadn't realized I needed -- Nahida getting past her own mental block, and taking strides forward to act as Sumeru's archon. Not trying to gather information or help out behind the scenes -- nope, the radish is out for blood this time.

Fun fact: I tried to challenge Scaramouche's domain with just the Nahida and Lumine in my party! (I also did the same earlier, playing through most of the archon quest with Cyno/Lumine/Nilou/Nahida. I would've used Tighnari in place of Nahida if I had him...)

Not-so-fun fact: I failed miserably and got Nahida killed in the very first fight (I forgot how hard electro skirmishers can hit...) and had to bring Zhongli along too for his shield.

Nahida really shined during the fight with Scaramouche -- forcing him to go through 168 samsara cycles; poetic justice at its finest. It's also quite fitting that Nahida drew upon the people's wisdom using the Akasha to help the traveler. Honestly, I'm not too sure how that worked (would regular people even know how to beat a giant mecha god robot...?) but Nahida's always been an archon for the people, and it's nice to see that theme being carried through. It's even in her kit! The most powerful part of her kit (Tri-Karma Purification) doesn't activate unless a reaction with dendro is triggered.

My heart definitely sunk though when I first saw Scaramouche try to take Nahida's Gnosis (the way he picked her up too???? 😭). Another thing this quest did well was hide information from the player. Initially, I thought the whole strategy session at the beginning of the quest was kind of odd, given that it we just skipped through the actual meeting. Everything was revealed in due time though. ❤

(And this way, Paimon got to be useful too! Instead of repeating information that we just heard, she got to be the "person who wasn't listening during the meeting" to catch the players up to speed, haha.)

The third-to-last segment with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was also incredibly beautiful. Nahida's self-realization that she is the Dendro Archon, and essentially has been all along was affirmed.

The second-to-last segment was less beautiful. After all our hard work! Dottore shows up to snatch the two Gnoses. I don't feel like Nahida got a good deal with Raiden's Gnosis, to be honest... I guess it had less value to her as a Gnosis from a foreign land, though.

As for her own Gnosis... I really want to know what information she got in exchange for it!!! D:

I guess Nahida did the best she could though. She was at a huge disadvantage in the situation.

And the last, but certainly not least segment of our heroes celebrating? *chef kiss*

An epilogue like this was exactly what we needed to tie up the archon quest. It would have been too weird just asking some questions to Nahida at the end of everything, and not seeing everyone again and see how things were going.

The huge upheaval at the Akademiya, the fates of the sages, Dunyarzard!!!, were all discussed. The Sumeru Archon quest had also addressed the huge inequality between the citizens of the desert and the rainforest, and I'm so happy to see Cyno spearheading the efforts to revitalize Aaru Village. Even Setaria showed up!

One thing I will definitely take away from Sumeru is the persistent theme of how everyone coming together can solve seemingly insurmountable problems. It's a rather obvious thing to take away (the power of teamwork, yay!) but it was really hammered in throughout the archon quest. Every part of Alhaitham's plan relied on its individual members, and the use of the Akasha to save Sumeru not only once, but twice was a result of using the knowledge gathered from its citizens' combined experiences. Sumeru is the land of wisdom, and a part of wisdom is cooperation and knowing when and how to rely on others.

There's plenty of room to expand Sumeru's story from here, and I'm excited to see where the story takes us next.

(And of course, the lore bombs at the end... I can't wait to find out the answers to those questions!!)

P.S. As of right now this is unedited and might remain unedited bc it's 12:30 am, I wrote this all in one shot, and I wanna chill now lmao

My heart is broken because of Archon Quest 😭 This is my response for the pain

Archon Quest Luna II

This man took 140 pulls to come home fml

// 3.3 ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED //

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Overall thoughts, I liked it a lot!! I went into this expecting the Therapy Arc (tm) and while we did get that, I did not expect things to play out the way they did. I really enjoyed it though, and I think there's a lot to be said in the execution about how trauma affects people (but more on that later).

Starting off, it seems like Scaramouche has chilled tf out considerably from the end of the 3.2 quest, probably a side effect from dropping 50 feet headfirst into concrete and then waking up to find out he's been fired. Nahida once again proves she's best girl in the first five minutes of the quest -- she's kind yet pragmatic, harboring Scaramouche while also putting him to use, and giving him a huge piece of a puzzle he's been missing.

I do wish we could have seen more of Niwa and Nagamasa's relationship with Scaramouche, though. It would've made the subsequent scenes hit so much harder.

Dottore putting Niwa's actual heart into the device was really surprising. I guess it served to further convince Scaramouche of Niwa's betrayal?

Scaramouche's info about our sibling is also very interesting. 👀 We know beforehand that after crash landing on Teyvat, the abyss twin woke up and saw Khaenri'ah being destroyed. This tracks with what Scaramouche tells us, that Khaenri'ah was our twin's "first destination after arriving to this world." I thought that that meant our twin just saw the destruction and chaos raining down immediately and left, but I guess they must have stayed in Khaenri'ah for a while if Pierro remembers them. (Gee, thanks for leaving us at the crash zone for days?? Weeks? 💀)

I'm not sure what is meant by "Plus, [the Abyss Twin] only came to this world because the heavens responded to the summoning." The twins "crash landed" on Teyvat twice -- is Scaramouche talking about the first time, or the second? I guess the second would make more sense, since the "heavens responding" could be the Unknown God trapping us, but in that case, what about the first time we crash landed? Also, what summoning are they talking about? Nahida mentioned that if she destroyed a Gnosis, the Heavenly Principles might respond... was the Cataclysm the result of something similar happening?

Anyways, after that lore drop, Scaramouche tries to undo his existence to give his old friends a second chance at life. ;-; All of his anger at the world was a result of the "betrayals" he lived through, so to find out that Niwa never betrayed him at all... I wonder how much of his decision was him wanting to do right by Niwa and the others, and how much of it was him wanting to just disappear from the world. D:

It's a little strange that Nahida tells us to wait things out in a random hotel after all that, but I guess she wants to make sure we're set up with accommodations...? xD

I really am starting to like the traveler and Paimon's interactions more and more. Honestly, I don't remember much of them prior to the 3.0 archon quest, but I appreciate how much the traveler thinks of Paimon's well being ("the truth might be very distressing for Paimon...") and how much Paimon tries to cheer us up, or change the topic when she senses the traveler is feeling down. :D

(It's also pretty cute, and classic Paimon how she lists off her favorite foods to try and take her mind off things LOL)

The next couple of scenes take place in Inazuma -- I can't remember if we've traveled to different nations during archon quests before, but it's a nice change of pace, and makes complete sense with what's going on. I appreciate the knowledge that the "new Kazuha" is the same one we've known ;u;

I was really excited when I saw that the prerequisite for this archon quest was Kazuha's story quest, because I thought that he might appear here. Oh well. 😔

Nahida's way of storing information in an abstract fairytale was very clever. I wonder if she does this with other things as well?

The fairytale itself is very cute, but I did find myself laughing at the last scene with Scara's angry kitten eyes lol.

The most interesting thing about the fairy tale, however, is the monster that represents "Dottore." Since Dottore was "Zandik" before, I guess the "monster" part is Dottore seeing himself as different/worse than other people? Anyways, if we take the fairytale at face value it means that he tried to live amongst other people for a while, but still hated himself for being a monster, and hated others for not being able to see it.

In the fairytale's version of events, Dottore sees Scaramouche getting along with the foxes, and gets pissed off. In reality, Dottore had already joined the Fatui at that point. Did something similar happen to Dottore in the past, though? The Feather of the Pale Flame set mentions that he was chased away from his hometown, which doesn't really give enough detail.

I doubt we'll get these answers for a long time, probably not until Dottore becomes playable.

In the next couple of scenes, we see Wanderer! Throughout this archon quest so far, I'm thinking that we'll undo the damage Scaramouche caused and give him proper therapy (tm) or something that kickstarts the costume change. It was after our conversation with Nahida, seeing that she wasn't aware of Scaramouche before we told her that I realized that this change would be permanent. I have mixed feelings about this, although most of them are positive (but more on this later!!)

Wanderer is... really good-natured. He works without pay, just because the shopkeeper let him shelter from the rain once. At some point though, when we're trying to convince him to come with us, it seems like he has a flash of insight? It wasn't brought up again, but after that, it seemed like his personality changed a bit... I'm still confused about what that was, lol.

After that, we journey through memory lane. I really like the change in direction when it comes to trial combat in stories. Before, it felt a bit contrived, like the story was just finding reasons for us to enter a dungeon with that story character. (Don't even get me started on Eula's dumbass story quest.)

This felt really natural, though, and IIRC Nilou's story quest didn't even have a real dungeon (just a small scene where she beat off some enemies). I prefer this vastly to having a mediocre or poor story + a proper dungeon.

Back to the fight, Paimon's "Hey! Are you done yet!?" to Wanderer as he was having a mental breakdown had me in tears 💀💀

I loved the scene of him grabbing his past self's hand, as well as his past self holding onto his hand. He speedran Fischl's whole Persona 4 sequence and did it in the nick of time 🥇

He wasn't able to reach that distant light he saw, but in the end, by accepting his past self -- Scaramouche's anger and grief and wrongdoings, he created his own light, and in turn, received an Anemo vision. (Does that mean, then, that Anemo visions are given out when people are able to accept their circumstances? Or is it still something else? Vision discourse has been a thing since the start of this game and all of the explanations I've seen or come up with have felt "sort of right, but missing something still." I can't wait til we get the answers to these questions, if ever)

And after all that, at journey's end... our gremlin (tm) has returned. 🎉

...He even lets us choose his new name! I like how for certain names, he rejects them outright lol. (His reaction was kind of muted though lol, I was expecting a little more than "You can't be serious 😑")

After I spent 140 pulls on him to bring him home, I was all for calling him Scaradouche, but in the end I settled on... Tsutsuji.

I have a lot (tm) of feelings about Wanderer's story. I'm sad that Kazuha no longer has as strong of a reason to show up where Scaramouche does (more best boi content is always welcome thank u), I'm happy that Wanderer and Nahida are now canon buddies/coworkers, and I'm apprehensive and curious because WHAT WAS THAT ENDING WHO WAS THAT???

One of the more prominent feelings I have about Scara's story is a deep sense of sadness. Scaramouche could not accept who he was, and erased himself as a result. However, Wanderer, a completely different person at that point, was able to accept Scaramouche.

While it's definitely not a 1:1 comparison, I'm reminded of a story I read years ago, "Star Lover."

For such a short story, a lot of things happen in it -- but the part I'm most concerned with here is the idea that to truly recover from past trauma, it had to have never happened at all.

Tsutsuji, one of the main characters in "Star Lover," embodies this idea, which is where the name comes from.

Would things have been better for Scaramouche he sat down and worked through his issues, instead of "running away" to become a completely different person? It's hard to say. After all, it was only through Wanderer that he's eventually able to come to terms with his past.

In real life, people try to find meaning in their trials, purpose in their trauma. Weighed down by emotions, they push their way through creeping ivy and waist-high water. There's an ingrained philosophy that "trauma is an opportunity to come out stronger."

To be clear, this is not a bad philosophy. In fact, it's the only way many people have to move forward.

But... what if you never had to experience that past trauma at all? What if you could just undo it?

Neither Scaramouche nor Tsutsuji waded through a bog of their past trauma. In Scaramouche's case, Wanderer was able to do it for him. In Tsutsuji's case, it was like it had never happened at all.

If only we could do the same in real life.

Other Random Thoughts:

The "Inner Irminsul" area was beautiful. I remember thinking before that Sumeru was going to be very nature-focused, seeing as it was the land of dendro, but I am really really digging the added high-tech aspect as well, from the story to the landscapes.

After seeing Niwa's death, Scaramouche mockingly asks if we're actually worried about him. He says something similar in the previous archon quest ("hmph, those words make you sound like a friend who actually cares.") little shit

I counted three Lumine "wtf !!!" faces this quest

"The wisest leaders are fated to end up with the best helpers" ASDFGHJKL; INJECT THE SCARA NAHIDA FRIENDS/SIBLINGS CANON STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS

I really loved this quote as well: "The past is set in stone, but you can keep moving on. And the longer your future lasts, the shorter your past will become, until one day it is but a tiny fraction of your life." ;-; Nahida best girl

While the quote is uplifting, it's also quite bittersweet... what if you want to hold onto your past self? Plus something something passage of time becomes faster the longer you've lived. Someone like Zhongli would probably be pained when reminded of this quote/truth.

The last part of this story reminded me of No Way Home, a little bit. But while I hated No Way Home, I loved this. I think for NWH I was too sad about Peter losing literally everyone who knew and loved him?? For Scaramouche lmao it's not like anyone loved the Balladeer (except for Niwa and the others hrngggg). Poor Niwa, it's not like things really matter anyways because he's dead but there's something so sad about Wanderer feeling so guilty and sad about his friend's death, whereas Niwa in this new reality doesn't even know who he is.

Ik I mentioned this before but who ???? is the voice at the end? I'm so excited and curious to find out more about them, and about what it means for the story as a whole.

"Fate is called as such, for it cannot be changed, nor can it be reversed. It can only but be accepted." <- This quest really ended up being a textbook example of what Mona says, huh. I guess this is also related to what the mysterious voice said at the end? That things can't really be changed in Teyvat.

I wonder if that gives the Teyvat simulation theory more credit... aaaaa it's all so interesting

Also, what if information was rewritten in Irminsul before? Nothing enormous events-wise could have been changed (unless the people who make the "rules" that nothing big can be changed ARE the ones who rewrote something) but it's still interesting and kind of frightening to think about!