drained sundrop

If you want to understand what's wrong with how Scaramouche/Wanderer is treated, look no further than one word: ableism.

Ableism isn't just present - it is the driving force behind almost every major decision regarding "problematic" or traumatized characters in Genshin Impact.

Ableist "Cures" and the Erasure of Illness: The most blatant example is how the game treats trauma and chronic conditions. They didn't just "heal" Scaramouche - they fixed him. His rage, bitterness, and emotional damage were pathologized as something that needed to be completely erased so he could become a socially acceptable "good boy."

The same thing happened with Collei. She was one of the strongest and most important representations of chronically ill and traumatized people in the game - someone whose body and mind were permanently damaged by experiments. Many fans with chronic illnesses saw themselves in her. But Hoyoverse couldn't leave her like that. They fully "cured" her too. Now she's mostly fine, energetic, and no longer carries the visible weight of her condition. This is ableism in action: the idea that a character (or person) is only worthy of screen time and sympathy if their illness or trauma is neatly resolved. Unhealed, chronically suffering characters are apparently too uncomfortable to exist.

Ableist Redemption and Selective Forgiveness: Scaramouche's entire redemption arc is built on ableism. His very real, justified rage and sadism were treated as a sickness that needed curing. The fandom celebrates "he is healed now!" because an angry, unpalatable, "defective" version of him is unacceptable. Only the soft, friendly, productive Wanderer deserves love. Meanwhile, other characters with equal or worse crimes walk around freely and are even celebrated. This leads us to another glaring example of hypocrisy and ableism:

Dottore The Perfect Scapegoat Dottore is hated by almost everyone in the game. The entire cast acts like he is the worst criminal in Teyvat. But let's be real - he is the ultimate scapegoat. There are over 30 playable characters and major NPCs who have committed war crimes, mass murder, betrayal, and horrific experiments. Many of them are still praised, loved, or at least accepted by the protagonists. Yet all the hatred and moral superiority is concentrated on one Dottore. This is not justice. This is ableist scapegoating. They need one clear "monster" to point at so they can feel morally superior while happily teaming up with dozens of other monsters. It's easier to hate one mad scientist than to admit that the entire system and half the cast are just as rotten.

Selective Ableism Across the Board:

Evil Scaramouche? Must be cured. His darkness is sickness. Collei's chronic illness? Better cure her completely so she's "normal." Dottore's atrocities? Make him the ultimate villain so everyone else looks better.

The pattern is obvious: the narrative and fandom only accept "acceptable" versions of trauma and evil. Anything too raw, too permanent, too angry, or too complicated must be fixed, erased, or turned into a scapegoat. Every time someone cheers "Collei is fully healed!" or "Wanderer has changed and is good now!", they are reinforcing the ableist belief that:

If you're chronically ill or severely traumatized, you are broken.

You only become worthy once you're "cured" and palatable.

Your unhealed self is shameful and should be erased.

The release of the character Lohen has exposed deep structural tensions within the Genshin Impact fandom, particularly among those invested in Scaramouche/Wanderer. At its core, the issue is not mere preference for one design over another, but a clear pattern of narrative double standards by the developers (Hoyoverse) combined with predictable psychological responses from the audience.

Archetypal Overlap and Resulting Fan Division When a new character shares a highly specific archetype with an established favorite traumatized pretty male with sharp tongue, sadistic undertones, elegant design, and tragic backstory two distinct audience segments emerge: Expansionist segment: Individuals with high openness to experience treat the new character as additional reinforcement of the archetype. Their attachment is to the type rather than a singular instance. Exclusivist segment: Those with stronger anxious or possessive attachment perceive the newcomer as a threat to the uniqueness and emotional ownership of their original favorite. This division is not irrational. It follows directly from parasocial attachment theory: heavy emotional investment in a character creates a sense of personal territory. When that territory is infringed upon by a near-clone who receives different narrative treatment, conflict is inevitable.

Core Narrative Asymmetry: Forced Redemption vs. Permitted Darkness The central logical inconsistency lies in how Hoyoverse handles morally dark traits across similar characters: Scaramouche was introduced as a genuine antagonist with active sadism, betrayal, and manipulative behavior. His arc culminated in a heavy redemption process involving amnesia, loss of status, public atonement, and gradual softening. While some sadistic traits remain, they are significantly diluted and framed through self-deprecation or comedy. Lohen occupies the same aesthetic and personality space but is permitted to retain bloodthirst, arrogance, and sadistic combat enjoyment from the outset. His darkness is contextualized as culturally acceptable (Knights of Favonius) rather than something requiring correction. Logical problem: This creates an observable double standard. The developers demonstrated they are capable of writing an unapologetically sharp, cruel character within the game's moral framework. The decision to force Scaramouche through sanitization while granting Lohen narrative permission reveals a selective application of redemption mandates. This is not creative evolution - it is inconsistent authorship. One character is punished narratively for his nature; the other is rewarded for it.

Ableism and the Myth of Mandatory Healing A particularly insidious element is the fandom rhetoric surrounding Wanderer's "healing." Common celebratory statements - "He has changed," "He is healed," "He is good now," "He has friends" - contain an implicit ableist framework: Pre-redemption traits (rage, sadism, vengeance, social alienation) are pathologized as illness. Post-redemption traits (helpfulness, social integration, reduced aggression) are presented as the only valid form of existence. This reflects saneism - the belief that certain emotional states and personality structures are inherently defective and must be cured for the character to deserve sympathy or love. By celebrating the erasure of Scaramouche's darker authenticity, parts of the fandom unconsciously endorse the idea that complexity and moral grayness are lesser states. Lohen's existence makes this worse: he proves that darkness can be integrated without mandatory "fixing." The contrast highlights that Scaramouche's sanitization was a deliberate choice, not an inevitability of the medium.

Double Standards in Shipping and Relational Dynamics The inconsistency extends into romantic interpretations, most notably in Dottore pairings: Dottore × Scaramouche: Framed as clear, long-term abuse. The power imbalance and experimental trauma are emphasized, positioning Scaramouche as eternal victim. Dottore × Pantalone: Frequently romanticized as "pure love," mutual understanding, or a sophisticated power couple. The same abusive traits in Dottore are reframed as compatible or even attractive when paired with an equal-status character. This reveals a selective morality based on perceived vulnerability. When the partner is coded as "fragile" (Scaramouche), toxicity must be condemned. When the partner is coded as "equal" (Pantalone), toxicity becomes romanticizable. Such patterns further invalidate the original dark version of Scaramouche: his abusive dynamics are preserved only as trauma porn, while other characters get to explore similar darkness with narrative approval.

Validation Deficit and Emotional Investment Loss Fans who connected with Scaramouche precisely because of his unfiltered rage, pride, and refusal to conform experience a legitimate loss of validation. The character represented a symbolic rejection of "you must become palatable to be worthy." His arc instead reinforced the opposite message: even ancient trauma-driven darkness must eventually submit to social integration.

hello hi i got too serious about my crack fic where dottoscara are veritas ratio's horrible no good parents

Finally I can show my doodles with Dottore's False Moon Godness form. Can't wait to see their meeting 🙏

This near perfect sweet creature he created.

He feels ready to devour this hat wearing thing.

Panting, he clutches his split shoulder. The flesh reaches out and stitches back together while the wanderer hovers over him. His red eyes leer up those shorts, those thighs. Dottore breathes in, deeply.

"Ah," he purrs, stretching his healed shoulder before standing back up to his full height. He could lean over to rub his cheek to the synthetic skin he must have touched thousands of times over, in a past he does not remember. "All of this, just to tell me you've come back to me?"

The Wanderer's eyes glow in the turquoise of elemental energy before he slashes at him with blades of anemo. They tear apart Dottore's flesh and he rejoices in it.

"Yeah, sure," the voice of the freed puppet is rich and haughty as he cedes attacking, for now, "came back to finish the job."

Dottore chuckles, brushes the bloody strands of his hair back, leaving stripes of pink across it.

"Oh, puppet," he taunts, "I am not done with us yet."

☆

The Wanderer lays motionless under Dottore, paralyzed from the neck down.

"You are mine," Dottore breathes out, marveled at the raw power the wanderer wields with so much grace. So much rage. But when you have so many clones who could and likely would turn against you, you keep secret safeguards. A precise hit on the back of the head and his opponent's struggling stopped so suddenly, Dottore found himself pressing closely into that sternum he must have opened and closed time and again.

Is there anything as intimate as having your hands caress a beating heart? He pictures it now. The wanderer laying on the operation table, chest open down to his stomach, exposed and vulnerable in the truest sense of the word. When Dottore gasps, he's breathing in the scent that wafts from the wanderer's clothes, and registers the growl coming from the ribcage directly pressed to his own, sending vibrations that make him want to purr in response.

"Hush now," the reprimand holds no ground with the playful tone the doctor uses, "here, allow me."

Readjusting a vertebrae, he allows the feeling of touch to return to the wanderer's body because for this to work he needs the other to feel it. Feel this ravenous hunger Scaramouche left him with after erasing his name from Irminsul. These thick blankets of fog around vital information he should know, memories that have become unnaturally blurry.

Dottore obsessed over the voids, unable to dismiss the constant absence of something akin to joy. Entertainment. Research.

Results that now lay under him.

It was easy to fill in the blanks, for the most part, but how truly close had he been to the creature under him, before?

Did they tolerate each other? Dottore often finds himself having a hard time doing that for most common people. But they had been closer than that. Fellow Harbingers, laboratory peers and conspirators?

Wanted criminals in Inazuma, certainly.

Using the pads of his long fingers, Dottore pops another cervical on the back of the wanderer's neck and temporarily allows him agency over his facial features and voice.

"There we go," Dottore sits up, straddling Wanderer's hips with his full weight. He sits heavy as the other glares and curses at him. "Did you always give me this much trouble?"

"Hah?"

"It simply occurred to me that we must have spent a considerate amount of time together at different points of our lives." He thinks about the clones, their stages of development. "I was wondering how fond I must have been of you, to dedicate something so precious to you."

Wanderer's cheeks flush with anger. "You dare mock me? I will cut you down, permanently this time, Zandik!"

Something dark shifts behind his red eyes, he can tell by the reflection of intense wariness betraying Wanderer's gaze. He looks as though he knew he'd get a reaction, just not quite like this one. Dottore tilts his head to the side and wraps a hand around the delicate neck.

"I can and will break you, puppet, so I suggest you cooperate and tell me who told you that name?"

Dark, long eyelashes flutter with the incredulous blink of Wanderer's eyes as he looks up to him with apprehension for a tense moment before clicking his tongue and admitting- "You did."

Dottore removes his hand as though he'd just been burned and quickly stands up. Lies. It must be lies, all of it, because there is no chance Dottore told that to just an experiment. Information is a weapon, secrets the sharpeners.

"Hey! Where are you going?! If you leave me here I am going to murder you-"

"Brutally, yes, you've made your point." Dottore hisses back, stepping on Wanderer's wrist in a warning to be quiet.

Wracking his brain for a logical answer, Dottore tries to find the reason why he would have shared something so private with anybody. Affection? No. Trust? He hasn't been able to trust his shadow since he noticed the missing parts in his memories.

Looking down at Wanderer now, Dottore thinks that if he had to manipulate someone, to feed them enough truth for them to not see the lies... well, he would do so. It makes him wonder just how naive had the puppet been when he first came into the Doctor's care. Was he sweeter? Softer? Dottore already feels a fondness for Wanderer blooming from deep seated roots that had gone without water for what felt like ages.

"Did you love me?" He asks, surprising the both of them with his question.

Scara: Uh-huh.

Childe: How could you not be sweating?

Scara: I don’t sweat.

Childe: Everybody sweats.

Signora: Not him.

Sandrone: Scaramouche never sweats.

Childe: What do you mean he never sweats?

Scara: Sweating is gross, so I don’t do it.

Childe: So what, you’re just like...cold-blooded?