Khaenri'ah, The Crimson Moon, and The Eye of Fate (Genshin Impact 4.5 Lore, Theory, & Speculation) 

Edit: CC subtitles are up! Any retrospective notes, comments, etc, will go here. - Some people have noted that Perinheri's pronouns change in different languages. I have checked this and this is ONLY true for Chinese TRADITIONAL. Not even Chinese simplified. I usually try to check for any language discrepancies in CHS, not CHT. Also, the pronoun change ALSO applies to the line with the king addressing the advisor - so it's not unique to Perinheri. Because of these observations I'm inclined to think this was more of an error or unintentional (or the developers had different ideas originally, and it was not fixed for the update).

“boss everyone is calling the next patch filler and boring what do we do????” “drop before sun and moon 2”

i love how perinheri just came out of nowhere in one of the most filler patches ever

maybe the real khaenri’ah is the theories we made along the way

All of genshin is a Kaeya reference, at this point I hope that when we arrive to Celestia we will find Kaeya just chillin'

Us next time we see Kaeya: what do you know about the Crimson Moon Dynasty? Kaeya: nooo don’t ask me about the history of my homeland’s monarchy and changes that happened across centuries that puts my seemingly normal existence into renewed question traveller youre soo sexy aha let’s talk about wine instead

It's funny because, in the part where you mentioned Kaeya, I noticed something peculiar. Moonstad is a place where many Orphan children come. First there is Razor who was adopted by the Spirit of a God. Then there is Bennett who was found by some explorers. Then there is Rosaria who was abandoned and raised by thieves. I don't know if I consider Albedo an Orphan but basically he is a foreigner who arrived in those lands with Alice and Klee. Then there is Kaeya who was left there by his father. And if we take into account the traveler... Is Moonstad a kind of parallel to the orphanage mentioned in the book?🤔🤔

Elynas was a creature that originally came from what can only be assumed to be this "sea of stars". Rhinedottir transformed him, an abyss creature, into an entity that can exist in Teyvat. If Perinheri was "created" by the Khaenriahns as an artificial person, then it could make thematic sense. The difference here is Elynas knew he originated from the abyss, while Perinheri's first memory was his trial as a child. Either way, this book reinforced my believe that the abyss, aka sea of stars, is actually space, where aliens and spaceships alike can get to Khaenriah but cannot get to Teyvat directly.

Why does everything that starts with "In Liyue ,once there was a god/king/demon" and ends with "killed by Rex Lapis/Morax/Deus Auri"?

I have a different interpretation of why Perinheri can't remember before that fire. The description of that tunnel is strange. He says it's like it was made for children, there is no other entrance, yet he's on the far end of it when his memory begins, there is coal ash everywhere and specifically 'there are no cobwebs'. They asked 'did you die' because he did. He burned in the fire, and using some kind of alchemical magic he was brought back as a 'glitch' or 'error code'. Like they forced a rebirth in the same samsara, which makes him no longer connected to any past gods, and no longer a child of the world. This is similar in the way that delusions seem to be messing with or burning up your future/future lives. Arlecchino most likely also went through this process.

Arlecchino: 🤫🧏

I'm just a simple girl, thinking about a character who also: has red (ish) eyes is an orphan with unknown lineage was cared for by a seemingly very important and misterious figure of authority is bonded, through adoption, to someone who fights the good fight against rift wolves whose destiny is marked by revelations, Sin and Divine Retribution in the stars/constellation is tied to Mondstadt That's right! I'm talking about Rosaria once more!

That end bit with Kaeya... SAME. And it actually recontextualizes what his 'Father' had told him last: "You are our last hope." With this theory, it stands to reason that Kaeya is their last hope of breaking the shackles of Fate. Even now for those who weren't cursed or killed during the Cataclysm, they're still yearning for Freedom. Hence why he's left In Mondstadt of all places.

The sheer joy roozevelt has for talking our ears off about Kaeya is something I wish I had

OH one more thing, obviously theres some connections we already know about the curse of the wilderness but i think we should especially rethink about Clothars child specifically saying he felt like he was stuck in a small black room or something. I feel like this might be relevant and connected to like the chimney and stuff. He literally then asks "am i dead" LIKE BRO....

Wow Perinheri, the book, as an allegory about how only a being coming from the abyss can escape from the shackles of fate, is not why I envisioned starting my day with. This makes Venti look so suspicious, though. How can he, a Heavenly Principles contracted God, be the representation of Freedom? He doesn't have a Vision, so he can't be tied to the fate of this world or something along those lines, in René's words. Maybe his famous "What is freedom if demanded by a God" line doesn't refer to himself and his people, but the heavenly principles and their subjects. Angelica gives me the creeps. At first, I thought she was some kind of Hexenzirkel witch or a Visionary of some kind. Now, she could be an allegory within an allegory and represent from the Heavenly Principles to the Old Order of the world. Perhaps a heavenly envoy, a Seelie, Istaroth herself or just a fragment of hers, a close follower of an unknown God-King... But why name-drop Deus Auri in all of this, WHAT DO YOU KNOW MORAX??!!

I honestly would not be surprised if Kaeya has already given us all the spoilers in the game.

About final section of the video - what if Irmin isn’t Crimson Moon, but just his eye is? In myths Odin gave away his eye for wisdom. What if this was some sort of a deal - Irmin gets knowledge and as an exchange whatever has that knowledge gets to use his eye

also the curse of the wilderness is so insane because if betrayal of the gods turns one into hilichurls, i am reminded of the BSaM line about the early humans signing a covenant with the PO, and how Deus Auri is all about contracts and betrayal of contracts will be punished in this land where gods walked (summit shaper). Prithiva Topaz talking about mora being symbolic of morax's blood (hey eucharist myth) coupled with citrinitas and golden mora being at the core of the quid pro quo of any contract that made liyue the flourishing harbour it is today...I digress for now HOWEVER the hilichurl cultural customs book talks about a tribe in dadaupa gorge (called the Eclipse tribe btw) that worships an eclipsed sun.interestingly, the TRAVELLER has a voiceline about the eclipse tribe, where paimon asks the traveller why they are pondering about the eclipse symbol used by the hilichurl tribe, and we CHANGE the subject.

This book is seriously driving me crazy. Of course there is the probable arlechino connection but we should also not forget that we’re due for a dain quest

11:25 crimson moon is also depicted weirdly enough in the solar pearl description >Just as Kunwu finished polishing the Solar Pearl, the splendor of the heavens shone down and a crimson moon filled the sky. But did this phenomenon mean that Kunwu had indeed received divine assistance in his craft? Or was it a measure of his own accomplishment that his lofty ambitions had sufficed to send waves through the firmament and even elicit a response from the heavenly bodies?

Me not being able to sleep and watching my 3rd perinheri video this week. Why the hell not 😅

20:05 OKAY BUT the weird EYE in a four-pointed STAR on the board??? jesus this creeped me out so much

Me: anticipating Venti during the Arle bit You: Kaeya ❤💙 No but the part about Perinheri, Angelique and freedom made me think about the fact that Venti became the God of Freedom around the same time period and now this book has given me my 10 headache because the more I read and watch vids about it, the more interesting it seems

everyone making theories about kaeya meanwhile Pierro who not only has a covered eye, tear symbolism, knew whatever the Khaenri'ahns did will bring destruction, and never even speaks like a normal human being

whenever I miss Kaeya, I'll revisit your videos

Kaeya could be older than he looks - he could have been literally "frozen in time" ala Faruzan or Diona's ancestor in the Cryo Regusvine

This was such a good video!! Also ik its just a silly theory but your notes abt Kaeya maybe being from the orphanage and the ppl there being connected to the sea symbolism due to the abyss... it reminded me that during Kaeya's hangout when he talks to Venti, they are both metaphorically referring to Kaeya as someone who is in a boat, in a rumultuous sea, sailing towards the dawn with the wind as a guide... it feels rlly sus now... I just aaaa rlly recommend revisiting that interaction again haha

Knave talking about the Crimson Moon Bloodline is crazy. and she also talked about the moon being a eye gazing down upon the mortal plane.

It’s interesting to note that Kaenri’ah has star eyes. Looking back from Arlecchino/Peruere’s origins, her ancestors must have made a pact with the Crimson Moon, morphing their eyes to Crimson X’s as a sign that they made a pact with an entity. Which is why Arlecchino has X’s in her pupils, stating that she is a direct descendant from that blood lineage.

Deus Auri strikes again. He was such a monster in Archon War.

Arlecchino lore theories: I slep KAEYA lore theories: 🤩🤩🤩

I just realized something. If you look really closely at the cover of Perinheri, if you study the eye closely, you'll realize that it's not the eye of someone from Khaenri'ah. The most destiguishible thing about people from Khaenri'ah, besides their flashy clothes, is the pupils of their eyes. I don't know if this is a stylistic choice or if it means that, whoever is crying, is a character in the book that isn't from Khaenri'ah. If Perinheri isn't cursed for leaving, then that could mean that he, himself, isn't genetically Khaenri'an or he has something in his blood that Kaeya might have as well that keeps him from being cursed. Okay, you mention about King Irmin being THE crimson moon, but I really thought about it and while you said it as a joke, you might not be too far off even metaphorically speaking. When I saw that image you put on the screen, the first thing I thought of was the "Dwarf in the Flask" (or "Father") from Fullmetal Alchemist. (He was also called "homunculus," but I won't call him that because there were a lot of those and they'll come up as I'm writing this.) "Father" was a being created by an ancient people who studied alchemy and created him, a being with even greater knowledge on the subject. They kept him in a flask to gather his knowledge. All he really was was a small black cloud with a single eye. He became more powerful by killing most of the people of that ancient civilization, giving him enough power to take a human form and make him and his friend, a slave of the people in this civilization, into immortal beings/breathing philosopher stones. He then created seven homonculus from himself with human forms, each one one of the traditional deadly sins. His goal was to become the perfect being and to do that, he tried to fuse and become one with God. However, God did not join him and, in his own words, he had to pay a "steep price" for "playing God." With this in mind, I wonder if the story of the "Dwarf in the Flask" is anything like Irmin's. Considering both Khaenri'ah and FMA are stories about alchemy and the act of playing God, I honestly wouldn't be surprised.

9:35 That gate behind Kaeya leads to the abyss... and it's near Mondstadt and Snezhnaya... i remember Varka saying that Mondstadt and Snezhnaya both have a common enemy, and that's why he is on an expedition. I think we could get a map expansion near the Abyss gate since Dornman port is also close to that area too

watching this made me recall an achievement in sumeru desert called "la luna rossa", you get it for completing the chessboard at safhe shatranji and it says "across this vast chessboard, what horrors have been enacted under the light of blood-red moon?" and i think it might be related to this so i thought i share it with you guys good video btw

What if this whole time we thought keaya’s “real father” was a man, but he’s actually just been an orphan from the house of the hearth this whole time, and the previous knave put him in mondstat as a sleeper agent.

I like how genshin has a character cosplaying a very powerful being

"IMMERNACKTREISCH" A place where everyone is always naked!!!! 😂😂 I understand that the ch sounds are hard to pronounce, especially because this word has both. The one in Reich is the same sound as in Alberich. It's not Reisch. The first one... is really hard to do for an English speaker. But "nackt" (what you pronounced) means "naked" and "Nacht" means "night". Also, it should be stressed on the first syllable if you want to be correct. IMmernachtreich. It's just... as a German, Fischl pronunciations rub me the wrong way. 😅 (I do say Monstatt though, not Mond shtutt, because Stadt means town and Mondstadt is a region and it would confuse me).

So that would make the Crimson Moon the third Fate, the one that snips the thread of life. Based on how the eye looks horrified maybe it doesn't like its job of ending mortal lives, or maybe doesn't like that it's ordered to _not_ end mortal lives i.e. inflict the curse of immortality upon those who defy Fate. Ooorrr, maybe it's horrified because as one that can see all Truth, it can _see_ when a mortal is escaping Fate, but can't do anything about it, knowing that by crawling through the hearth away from its reach of death, the mortal in question is cursing itself to immortality, and because the Crimson Moon knows that is a terrible curse, it cries.

This is my favorite lore channel, and I'm sorry to all the other lore channels. Your sense of humor delights me. Yes, my smoke detector batteries are good, the red blinky light tells me it's all good. Also, I will not be looking directly at the solar eclipse because unlike Kaeya and Fischl, I do not have protective eyepatches nor magical vision. I will tolerate this channel indefinitely and look forward to all the tinfoil hats.

The section about a new kind of wild birds unchained from fate being created really reminds me of the story of barbartos teaching the first birds to fly, It makes me wonder if there were any venti shenanigans going on way back in khaenriah :D

NEW ROOSEVELT VIDEO JUST DROPPED WOOOOH ❤

30:30 “Silver-haired banshee” is Arlecchino. Signora has blonde hair

The Princess of Sal Vindagnyr had foresight.

oh no oh god this one’s EVEN LONGER THAN THE KHEMIA ONE *grabs kaeya by the shoulders and shakes him aggressively* KAEYA WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO

My favourite part of the video was 28:33 when she said _"It's Kaeya time!"_ and then she Kaeya'd all over those guys.

don't post genshin theories at 3 AM 💀(gone CRACK)

31:16 reminding me of my baseless idea that that popped into my head for a fic that I would never write that Kaeya is a clone of Irmin lol.

It’s been a HOT second since the last time genshin dropped something that compelled me to open a google document and jot down everything that came to my mind in that second, I swear to god I can’t believe they hid all this lore in a book many people might not even notice. Actually, thank you for pointing it out on twitter - I would have been completely clueless otherwise 🫡 Honestly I’ve lost all hope of reconciling the actual timeline of events with the legends, mostly because there is a LOT that especially in Liyue mythology just doesn’t fit. In this case in particular though I am inclined to believe that perinheri takes place sometime when the shift between the crimson moon and the eclipse dynasty happened, mostly because the story begins in “days [where] a crimson moon shone down upon the subterranean realm, and not the dark sun of latter days” and it later says that “Though the crimson moon set, and the dark sun descended into a yet darker dusk, that transcendental person […] never arrived”. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that machinery wasn’t super advanced yet, and alchemy still was prevalent during that time; not that this makes the timeline any less wobbly, though. There is SO much that can be said about this book, it’s kinda insane. The callback to the Universitas Magistrorum that we saw in the “Achievement: Orbits” namecard, the one mentioning “two star having been captured by world’s gravity”? The fact that at some point at least one Alberich in history DID have horses? The references to the Orlando Innamorato/Furioso, a novel where THE MOON is seen as the big basement in the sky where all vanity, folly and dreams and ambitions end up - you know, ambitions? Those pesky little things that award people with visions? KARL INGOLD MENTIONED?? HI KARL!! I MISSED YOU!! All jokes (jokes?) aside, i was definitely shocked to see no mention of kaeya - until there was, of course, it CAN’T be a roozevelt video without a good dose of Kaeya conspiracy. And while YES, I do agree that has to be some sort of foreshadowing for Arlecchino’s origin story or whatever (I still hold on to the conviction that she cannot be human, not when you are rank 4 among all harbingers), I DO think that Perinheri's story has to do something with Kaeya. I really struggle to put my finger on it, I guess it’s mostly the overall themes of freedom (“I shall not bow to the will of fate. I am no pawn in heaven's plan”) and the very direct very clear parallel to the fact that neither Perinheri nor Kaeya are affected by the hilichurl curse. Angelica, though, it’s such a puzzling character in this story… this is where I really struggle to separate legends from facts; how much of what she says is real? If she is just an ideal of freedom, was her backstory needed at all? What is this implication that Morax quite literally caused freedom to run underground? Am I going insane? I might be going insane. I apologise for the ramble-y comment that barely touched upon any of the points you brought up in your video, but I do think you did a very good job connecting all the instances where a red moon was mentioned in game or outside - I completely forgot about the blurb on Dain’s profile, for example. The fact that the blood mon is not just a literal blood moon in the sky, but something that goes much deeper… I’m so curious to see how much more they will push this imagery. The next dain quest can’t come soon enough. EDIT: Also oh my god, extreme tinfoil moment: if perinheri and kaeya are supposed to be somewhat connected to eachother, and if your brilliant analysis on the bird motif is true, I wonder if it was actually purposeful to start Kaeya's hangout on him just hanging out with a bird (also his constellation being of a bird... actually, specifically the "Pavo ocellus", the 'eye' of the peacock that might be its actual eye or the many eyes on his tails; tails that are associated to elementalism and ley lines as the spantamad symbol suggest... I am not sure where I am trying to go with this, but man there is a lot of eye and birds related symbolism out there)

Ok so, for the longest time I thought Kaeya's eyepatch was weird, because if it was actually hiding his pupil shape, that would make no sense because the other eye has it too. I figured if there was any significance to it and it wasn't just a normal blinded eye, that the eyepatch might have been sort of a misdirection, to make you think what's beneath it instead of thinking about the weird eye pupil he has on his other eye. But if he actually has a second, even weirder eyeball in there that makes it much more practical.

I think you’ve misread, they left the kingdom in a chase, meaning Perrin was after Angelica to probably try and kill her but leobrandt didn’t want that so he was also chasing them or maybe even ran with Angelica at first until he inevitably fell from the curse. I’m soooooo curious as to who Angelica was tho my first thought was “angel” so columbina?

The Kaeya theory is exactly in line with some of the things I've speculated myself! So cool to see it all get tied together in this way ahh

Is Arlecchino related to the crimson moon? Like, if we link the crimson moon to the three moons of teyvat, which are based on the moirai, it seems like it is the moon of death/destruction. Arlecchino has literaly a scythe and is called "Dire Balemoon". She has links to orphanages and that would explain why she is ranked bellow colimbina (who is teorized to be the shade of death). Idk, just feels like too much coincidence. We can even relate her other codename "The Knave", which is another word for "jack", which is one of the three figures in the deck of cards. Also in her ult we can see something like a moon behind her. Maybe I'm thinking too much of her... Great video btw

A nice glass of wine and theories make my night. Thank you for your amazing theories!

i love MOTHER roozeveltfox whispers crack theoy in my ear at night, so i can dream about the foundings of khaenri'ah and maybe get to see my dad in there too (kaeya)

I love everything about this but also when you mentioned that Kaeya put “Father” in quotes, like Lyney and Lynette, I went “Huh that’s kinda funny that they both do that AND they’re spies tasked by said ‘Father’ I wonder if every nation is supposed to have crazy kaeya lore or kaeya parallels’

thanks for inviting me to your TED talk, i liked it loads. Only improvement would be to serve refreshments.

Damn, who if not Odinn should represent the concept of fate, dude lives knowing how he will die

I LOVE YOU FOR THIS. yes. THIS IS PERFECT! PRINCE KAEYA LIVES ON!!! THERE IS HOPE!!!

I just want to add that Traveler can use the Elemental Sight, the icon is.... A four pointed eye. Dunno what this means but seems fitting lol

yet another classic roozevelt banger, what a great video reading the books I was immediately intrigued by the arle connections more than anything, but I'm always so impressed by how well the writers manage to tie multiple threads into the lore books

Ah a great theory vid for my birthday! Perinheri is truly mindbreaking and I'm obsessed with it. Hope that with the release of Arlecchino the info from the book gets referenced and explained more in depth. Got to the kaeya part: I'm taking this as fact now. Nothing else matters Kaeya is Genshin Impact

I forgot how much I loved hearing you speak about lore c: Miss you

Nice! I knew you'd make a video about this book🎉

This is so freakin good, new subscriber👏

18:51 love the reference sm, good going!

I mean the last part does make sense since peacocks are also alchemical symbols and that's Kaeya's constellation

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO SINCE THE BOOK CAME OUT. been stanning since the shattered halberd analysis thank u for the food

You know, Fischl's name card mentions that Oz can block the sun with his wings. Also, she has a couple voice lines where she asks Oz to block the sun with his wings. Look at the golden raven emblem dropped by treasure hoarders, and notice how it's a raven blocking the sun with it's wings. Then take that emblem and put it next to the most refined deathly statuette. It's the same picture.

I'm so here for that Kaeya theory oooh boy I feel like you're definitely onto something

And after doing The Knaves Story quest & Boss fight this theory sounds very Interesting

Busted out laughing at the cut to Kaeya. Also, as nuts as it is, I think it's an incredibly fun and tasty theory that I would absolutely love to see bear out in reality. We have a precedent for characters being vessels, explicitly or in spirit, of entities we've encountered before--Nahida is the Rukkha of the new samsara, for example; Cyno is straight up possessed by Hermanubis (whatever that means) (there's probably a reason we got Perinheri now and we're getting his SQ2 with 4.6); and so on (I guess Kun Jun getting possessed by a fragment of Azhdaha's will counts??)

I always love your videos. Even if kaeya=irmin doesn't amount to much, it's hella fun to consider.

oh yeah and like kaeya not being full blooded but not turning into a hillichurl... the last hope being something related to the fact he is somewhat immune to the curse,

this is my first time watching one of your videos... when you said Kaeya instead of Arlecchino, you had my grattitude. when you linked Kaeya to Irminsul, you got my sub 👍👍👍👍👍👍

As soon as i saw the book in game i knew I would see a video on it from someone soon

I'm Really happy that find your Channel XD U addicted to Kaeya just like ME!!!!

Its Kaeya, my beloved, its always him. Also lmao laughing at the song at the end 😂😂

Stargate... Actually, what is the spiral abyss gate if not stargate, huh?

Rooze is back - just in time for the madness

i barely understood what was going in but i really like the vibes of this channel.

"The Sages think themselves to be all knowing, but we alone are wise to the virtue of those acts of folly" Does this imply that Pierro belonged to the Crimson Moon dynasty and the sages from the Eclipse one, the "acts of folly" being the heavy usage of forbidden knowledge (FB). Was he already aware of what FB was or what it could do, how the constitution of beings from Teyvat would not be able to properly process it. How old is he and why the fuck does he keep wearing a piece of a broken mask... Let me see that left eye Pierro, LET ME SEE THAT EYEBALL MR.KHAENRI'AHN ROYAL MAGE. Kaeya, Dainsleif and Pierro walk into a bar, Chlothar is the bartender and there is only Death in the Afternoon. Make it happen Mihoyo, i know John Hoyoverse is reading this 🧐

Ive been thinking if the Sinner is going to be similar to Angelica in the sense that he himseld (assumingly) is going to be representetive of a concept of... well.... Sin, compared to Angelicas 'Freedom'. You also point out that Angelicas claim of being from a nation dubious, im still skeptical and to some extent I think it might be a red herring. I think its a good point to raise, but I wonder whats the relevance of bringing up Zhongli in the first place. On the crimson moon, yeah, Asmodays cubes def feel strongly tied towards it, although i also think this is a bit of traveller lore because of them purifying durins 'Crimson Tear'. Tear... Crimson...Eyeballs.... great vid tho keep up the great work!

Can’t wait for you to play the new patch 🙏😭

It seems like Perinheri is the abyss sibling, and Hleobrant is probably Dainsleiff.

i wonder if ‘alberich’ was the surname assigned to khaenri’ah’s orphans - like how house of the hearthers are all surnamed ‘snezhevich’ or ‘snezhevna’. could also explain why kaeya talks about his “father” in hidden strife?

Oh my. This game is a bookworms dream. It has so much lore, tales, and mysteries.

I love your theories

31:36 Omg a Jarvis Johnson reference! I never would've expected that from you XD

These Hoyoverse and their giant eyeballs.

The ending was perfect 😂the theories have converged 🤝👏

'that's a weird first memory, right?' cue: 30 clips of albedo in the background

The way I can imagine the smile on your face when you said Kaeya😂😂😂

NO WAIT ONG IM CONVINCED. KAEYA KING IRMIN VESSEL CONFIRMED

"I" see you

the kaeya white night mmd at the end is FIRE

Haven't watched the video but I know it will be about Kaeya

I have subscribed for my 20 dollars >:) also the switch from elements to strictly machinery (running a kingdom of machinery) reminds me of a line in the Nymph's Monocle piece. The last paragraph I think

Ooh very interesting video! I love the idea that Kaeya's "father" might actually be an Arle equivalent, and Kaeya an orphan. I've always thought that the last interaction with his father was incredibly odd. Him being a product of a Khaenri'an House of the Hearth might explain some things (like why he was sent as a "spy," implying he's gathering intelligence). I'm thrilled that you touched on the connections between Fischl and Kaeya because I've been so intrigued about the parallels between them for years! However, I'm definitely in the minority because I think Fischl isn't merely some plot-irrelevant cosplayer. The fact that Oz actually exists and is an entity with his own thoughts, personality, words, and voice (which, as far as I know, is not something any other Vision is capable of) is enough to convince me she has real power. Also, there's the fact that they made her playable in HI3, and the fact that her musical theme is shockingly similar to the Fatui Harbinger motif. (Also, I think the Mondstadt library is hiding some possibly-important secrets, and that's where Fischl got her Vision... but I digress.) In any case, Fischl and Kaeya have another connection imo: they are both thematically linked to performance. There are a few other characters who similarly share this theme of playing a role, notably Childe and Furina (with Childe and Kaeya both connected to the phrase "never-ending performance"). Fischl's island in the summer fantasia event was very clearly based on theater and playing roles. In the end, the conclusion to her story was this: "Please be proud of all that is unreal. For we are greater than this world! For our magnificent kingdom is a small and forbidden paradise!" There's so much to explore about the idea of stories, even ones that are objectively false, having the power to transform people and the world (a theme also touched upon in the Thelxie event). As for the dark tunnel in Perinheri, it's definitely suspicious that it's his first memory. It almost seems to me like a twisted version of birth--the birth canal replaced by something like an oven or chimney, which is filled with ash and ends with "death" instead of birth. Perhaps bringing a being into existence this way is something that would allow them to subvert / be free of fate?

No no no keep cooking. Love hearing everything relate to Kaeya in some way!