Hey all.
Author here. :)
After a long, long time, (8 months, I believe?), the Inazuma arc is concluded!
It was a long journey, fraught with my utter inability to find motivation to get up and pour some fire into this little passion project of mine.
Jobs were worked, university was attended, and video games were played for egregious hours.
But alas, I finally delivered.
As you guys could probably (at least I hope) tell, I sunk quite a lot of energy into this arc, perhaps a little more than the other two.
It's a bit of personal bias on my end, considering that I consider this arc of Genshin to be my favorite. In fact, if you'd believe me, this was the arc that made me want to make a story like mine, just so I could write a Saiyan's revolt against Ei's tyranny.
Considering this arc's importance to me, I wanted to write a little reflection about my choices and creative inspirations for certain aspects of this arc. They're as follows.
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Subject 1: Wu and Kuzushi/Scaramouche
I saw in Scaramouche a sort of narrative foil to Wu. The scorned kin of a god, cast down and forced to find his own path to power after being rejected by divinity. As such, I wanted to put them into positions where they would be able to interact freely and have that chemistry occur naturally. As such, I did a little rewrite of Scara's position in the arc, placing him as a spy within the Watatsumi insurgency under the false name "Kuzushi". Less of a retcon, and more of a change caused by Wu's existence, as Scaramouche's intentions were to infiltrate the insurgency so he could get closer to Wu. I had so much fun writing Wu and Scaramouche's/Kuzushi's interactions. Starting from a joyful mask to disarm Wu, slowly peeling back the layers to reveal his bitterness within, to the unexpected, intense heart to heart and connection the two make when they start to realize that they're more alike than they thought they were.
As the arc progressed, Scaramouche began to see himself in Wu, so much so that he considered Wu both a true friend and a "failed" version of himself, one that couldn't quite let go, chained down by kindness and dependance on the rabble he calls the mortals of Teyvat. I tried to convey that in their final battle. Despite how much Scara wanted Wu dead, he wanted to be the one doing it, calling it his privilege, when perhaps the truth is that he wanted to honor the one who had touched his heart. As a man who had rarely ever had a true friend, he wanted to own Wu in the only way he thought he could, by being the one to kill him.
Also, fun fact: I based Wu and Scaramouche's interactions/relationship loosely off of Dexter Morgan and Miguel Prado from the Dexter Series.
But in the end, Wu killed Scaramouche in revenge, crying as he punched his thumbs through his former friend's throat. And it is such a shame that we'll have to close the book on Scaramouche's story. Permanently. Forever. To never be examined again,
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Subject 2: Wu and Ei
Raiden Ei, the Raiden Shogun and Narukami Ogosho of Inazuma Island. In a way, she's the closes to thing to Vegeta that Wu has seen since he landed in Teyvat. And because of that, they were bound to clash at some point. Ei exists as a huge story mover, with multiple roles in Wu's legend. She exists as an unsurmountable threat, a higher plateau than anything he's met in Teyvat. She existed as a catalyst for Wu's development, slicing off his tail and forcing him to realize how little there exists within him besides the mythology and pride of the Saiyans. Finally, she serves as a foil for Wu, a stubborn, hyper-idealized warrior who seeks change through brute force, as stong in their wills as they are unchanging.
The inherent difference existed in the very ideals they embodied. Ei exists as a divine authority, preaching her ideals of Eternity as a way to preserve the sanctity of her Nation. While Wu values the moments shared by those in life. Joy, conflict, hatred, love, all of it is sacred to Wu. He exists as a champion of all things mortal, the embodiment of evolution and change, where Ei is the champion of frozen greatness. Their connection lies in their truest selves. Wu has chosen to cherish every moment he has with those he meets, because he failed to do so on Earth, a place and a people that he may never see again. While Ei, in her heart of hearts, clings to the ideal of Eternity to preserve what is left of what she's lost, of the countless friends and loved ones that have come and gone in her long life.
A little fun note: Their final clash is a reference to the Baki series, but I'm omitting the exact scene it emulates because the anime adaptation will be covering it soon.
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Subject 3: Wu and Miko
Hoo boy...
Wu and Miko were a riot to write. In their little fling I tried to distill the essence of Vegeta and Bulma's romance, a brash, prideful bastard met with a woman that refused to go along with his bullshit, slowly peeled away until a hurting soul was all that remained. In their time together, Miko became many things for Wu. She was a caretaker, a threat, an "owner", a mentor, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on, and finally... a lover. She was the ignition for Wu's massive development in the arc. Both the boot in the ass to get him to shed his brute force, power focused mindset, and the one to give him strength when hy crystalized into a selfless hero.
Of course, Miko wasn't pure good herself. She was flawed in her own right. In the beginning, she kept him around for a passing interest, seeing in Wu the perfect weapon to point at Ei. As she grew closer to this man, seeing him broken down again and again, only to valiantly and pathetically rise again and again, she became enraptured in Wu's legend. As a nigh immortal yokai, Miko had gotten used to losing folk, and had grown depressed and detached with the world. Seeing Wu, so vibrant and full of life, willing to waste it so easily for those he cared about, for her, something began to change in Miko, or perhaps something that had been lost to her was returned.
But alas, it could not be. Wu must journey on, and Miko's left to hold onto the memory of the man who taught her how to live again. That, and the little piece of him he left with her.
Fun fact, I had originally planned to make Miko and Wu's romance much more toxic, inspired by Lila and Dexter from the Dexter series, but I deviated to a more innocent romance to preserve Miko's character.
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Subject 4: Teppei
The goated nobody. The everyman! He was one of my favorites int he Inazuma arc, but even I felt like it was a bit of a waste to see how quickly he was disposed of as a character. So I decided to give him much more time int he Lyme light, and a bit more oomph to his final scenes. Rest in peace, you glorious bastard, thanks to you, the legend endures.
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If you'd like to see more reflections in later arcs, feel free to comment your support here!
Have a great whatevertimeofdayitisyou'rereadingthis, readers! :)
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Fury (Saiyan OC x Genshin Impact)
Action"I don't exactly have the best history with gods..."
