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marionette (left to rot)

Summary:

In the valley of the dolls we sleep, we sleep
Got a hole inside of me, of me
Born with a void, hard to destroy
With love or hope
Built with a heart, broken from the start
And now, I die slow

 

"The void—the emptiness every person in their life at some point...though some people feel it more than others."

 

Notes:

hi! this is my first genshin fic, sorry if any part of the lore is incorrect. english is also not my first language so im sorry for any bad grammar, esp since i wrote this at night

funfact: i wrote this during church

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

 

In the valley of the dolls we sleep, we sleep

 

In the midst of broken parts and bodies, one awakened.

As Raiden Ei observed the prototype's doll-like face, a single tear was shed by the puppet during its sleep.

Just from that alone, it became clear to her that while it's only a prototype, it have its own emotions and thoughts.

 

In the end, instead of dismantling or even destroying it, she chose to seal the power within it and kept it inside the Shakkei Pavilion.

 

Got a hole inside of me, of me

 

When the nameless puppet awakened from its stasis in the Shakkei Pavilion, it knew there was something missing inside of it.

(Did its creator deemed it a failure? For shedding tears? For having emotions?)

 

Born with a void, hard to destroy

With love or hope

 

A puzzle would not be complete if a single piece was missing, much like the puppet and its heart.

Katsuragi said that they are human because they can feel but how can a puppet be one when they don't even have a heart?

As they grew closer into the family that is the residents of Tatarasuna. How they, despite the Kabukimono's true identity, still treated them as a friend and taught them basic life skills.

 


 

With the Mikage Furnace being impossible to stop, Kabukimono knew he had to help. None of those who had gone out to sea had returned with help from the Tenshukaku. 

Despite still feeling betrayed by his creator, Kabukimono knew he was Tatarasuna's best bet on getting help, what with his connection to the Raiden Shogun.

 

Built with a heart, broken from the start

And now, I die slow

In the valley of the dolls, we sleep

Got a hole inside of me

 

("I wish I had never been born at all.")

 

Sometimes, Scaramouche wonders.

Why did his creator not destroy him instead? Wouldn't death be a kinder fate to an emotional puppet? How was he any different to the many she had killed before him?

Death would be a kinder fate than enduring Dottore's experiments. If it wasn't for him being a creation of a divine being or his end goal of achieving divinity, Scaramouche would've been long gone from that surgical table.

 

Before, he was trapped in a cycle of betrayal. Now, it's a cycle of pain and abuse.

A fool does the same thing over and over again.

 

Living with identities

That do not belong to me

 

Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, Scaramouche, Shouki no Kami, and now Wanderer.

All of it is merely a title, none of which is a name. None felt like it truly belong to him.

 

(Why did you throw me away on the fifth night? Why did you throw me away before giving me a name?)

 

In my life, I got this far

Now I'm ready for the last hoorah

Dying like a shooting star

In the valley, in the valley, in the valley

 

("Anything but the gnosis!")

 

As Shouki no Kami was defeated by the Traveller and the Dendro Archon, the one controlling the giant machinery fell.

 


 

Back to zero, here we go again, again

 

("From this day on, the Balladeer and Kabukimono will cease to exist.")

 

Despite his efforts of erasing himself from Irminsul, nothing was changed. 

("When a small animal runs into a tree trunk, though the tree may sway, it is not displaced. The same is true of fate.")

The tragedies that happened still occurred 

with seemingly different actors and causes, as the altered memories and records convey.

 


 

Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, Scaramouche,

Shouki no Kami, and Wanderer. A tale of betrayal, tragedy, and redemption.

 

 

 

Notes:

i like to imagine that wanderer think of himself as a puppet after being found by katsuragi (at first) and discovered more abt gender after spending more time with tatarasuna gang.