and then i didn’t really answer because i spent the next hour and a half pretending to be narrating a nature documentary about genshin impact characters
this is the fruit of my labors
kokomi, a descendant of the ancient species ‘barbara,’ is set apart from her predecessor by a variety of specialized abilities that allow her to more effectively fill the exact same niche
kokomi has many evolutionary advantages over the barbara, such as a symbiotic relationship with a specific species of jellyfish known as the ‘bake-kurage’ and the ability to secrete a protective, jelly-like coating. even so, kokomis remain on the brink of extinction, due to their low reproductive rate in comparison to the barbara
the barbara is a primitive species, first appearing in the fossil record over 400 million years ago. the barbara most commonly fills the role of ‘healer’ in which she will provide a valuable source of nutrients to other, stronger characters in exchange for protection.
fascinatingly, the barbara has also split into two more groups, that, while not considered by scientists to be separate species, fill their own, entirely unique roles within a party of characters. the older of the two is known as the ‘main-dps barbara’ and sacrifices her ability to entice other characters to protect her in order to protect herself. this barbara uses the water she filters to create nutrients and expels it through her ‘catalyst,’ which is, in truth, a modified blowhole, violently enough to tear through flesh. the newer group, the ‘sub-dps barbara’ or, as it is more commonly known, the ‘clam barbara’, was evolved only recently, with the first population explosion of the ‘kokomi,’ a relative of the barbara. the ‘clam barbara’ is in fact a misnomer, as the ‘clam barbara’ is not in fact a clam. rather, the barbara exploited the very same niche opened by the kokomi for her own benefit, and was able to do so due to their incredibly similar morphology. the clam barbara, like the kokomi, consumes an explosive clam that evolved deep in the inazuman sea, allowing the clam barbara to preform her duty of creating nutrients while occasionally using her highly developed forelimbs to create pressurized bubbles of shrapnel using the pieces of the clam she has not been able to digest.
the ‘thoma’ has often been described as a variant of the ‘tartaglia’ due to their incredibly similar appearance, but this is a misconception. in reality, the ‘thoma’ and ‘tartaglia’ are from completely different branches of the genshin impact evolutionary tree, and can be described as an excellent example of convergent evolution, which is the phenomena of two separate species evolving to share a common trait that did not exist in their last common ancestor, often because the trait has proved evolutionarily successful.
the ‘tartaglia’ can be described as a ‘false sword user’ given that he operates as if he had the short, sharp appendages colloquially called ‘swords’ when he in fact does not, and only creates the same effect using a strange technique scientists have yet to fully understand. the tartaglia instead possesses a largely vestigial ‘bow’ or flexible bone lined with sturdy tendons used to propel projectiles. many tartaglias have been observed attempting to use this bow for its intended purpose, but none of them seem particularly good at it. whether their skills with a bow have deteriorated with the creation of the false swords, or if it is this lack of skill that pressured them to create an alternative method, it is still unknown.
the ‘beidou’ is an ambush predator originating from the seas of liyue. this unique organism will cloak herself in a lining of electricity and sit in wait for hours, often going days or weeks without food, waiting for her prey to approach. the beidou is unlike many other ambush predators in that she exclusively preys on her own predators, using a powerful swipe of her heavy claymore bone to simultaneously electrocute and slash at the approaching predator.
the anemo family is perhaps one of the most overlooked due to its ’primitive’ and ‘neutral’ nature, but it also contains some of the best examples of organisms who have stretched their biology to its absolute limit. one example is an ancient species known as the ‘sucrose.’ the sucrose usually fulfills a supportive, mutualistic role, providing the chemical known as ‘elemental mastery’ in large quantities to her hosts in exchange for nutrients and protection. the sucrose also defined another niche within the ecosystem, that of the ‘anemo driver’ where, in addition to providing elemental mastery to the other members of her party, the sucrose will also actively use her own supply of elemental mastery to create powerful reactions with other elements when exposed to air. another one of the oldest anemo characters, thought extinct until recent sightings, is the ‘venti.’ the venti is a relative of the sucrose, and because of this the sucrose’s catalyst shaped lungs can be seen mirrored in the venti’s ‘bow,’ an external lung covered in a thin layer of bone. the venti uses these incredibly powerful lungs to exhale strong air currents on which he can use to fly, and uses them to inhale and create a vacuum-like vortex that can trap predators. the venti commonly also possesses a filter within his external lung that infuses the air with elemental mastery, increasing both his own potential for danger as well as other members of his party.
often considered to fill the same niche as the venti, the ‘kazuha’ is descended from a branch of ‘jeans’ that migrated to inazuma. the jean and the kazuha are set apart from the sucrose and the venti by their use of a sword as their main offensive strategy, which is made entirely of tough bones and does not contain a lung. instead, the jean and kazuha possess special pores which they can use to expel air, though the pores are less effective and thus they are able to do this less frequently than the sucrose and venti. the kazuha, while similar to the venti in his ability to use blasts of air to pull objects in like a vacuum and propel himself into the air, possesses a unique adaptation that allows him to temporarily absorb elements from his environment and use them to attack. the kazuha also possesses the ability to create a large swirl of wind around himself using a single, incredibly powerful current expelled from the forelimb from which his sword protrudes.
