Scaramouche (Genshin Impact)

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Character
Name: Scaramouche, Wanderer, Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, the Balladeer
Occupation: Fatui Harbinger, Wanderer
Relationships: Raiden Ei (creator)
Fandom: Genshin Impact
Other:
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Scaramouche, also known as Wanderer, Kabukimono, The Balladeer and Kunikuzushi, is a character from the video game Genshin Impact. He was first introduced as an antagonist under the name Scaramouche, the Balladeer, until later on in the game's lore becoming a 5-star playable Anemo character under the name Wanderer.

His fandom is often called "Scaramouche Nation" or "Scaranation". His fans, the "scara simps", are known to be especially enthusiastic.

Scaranation is real.

Scaramouche's voice actor Patrick Pedraza, January 22, 2023.[1]

Fandom

Fanwork of the character usually takes place in one of the three times: Scaramouche's past, Scaramouche as an antagonistic Fatui Harbinger, and Scaramouche after turning a new leaf and trying to live a better life (typically with the help of Nahida). These eras of his life were revealed to players progressively over time, so a lot of fanworks are working with only a subset of information and building theories off of that. The earliest fanworks were based off of only his appearance and the fact that he is a Fatui Harbinger, revealed during the Unreconciled Stars event in version 1.1.

The major events that gave the fandom more to work with after that were the release of the Pale Flame artifact set in version 1.5 (the lore in the cup artifact was widely speculated to refer to Scaramouche), the Inazuma archon quest finale in version 2.1, the Sumeru archon quest finale in version 3.2, and the Archon quest interlude chapter Inversion of Genesis in version 3.3, where he becomes his playable incarnation, the Wanderer.

Name

Scaramouche has had multiple names during his 500-year long lifespan. The one used the most by fandom is Scaramouche, as that is the name he was introduced with. Some fanfics also call him Kunikuzushi ("Country Destroyer") or "Kuni" for short, the name he picked for himself when killing swordsmiths in Inazuma. When he became playable, a quest was also released in which the player is asked to give him a new name. He won't accept any of his old names for this. While fans have come up with all kinds of names for him in their games, a common meme name to give him is "babygirl".

Release

The tweet announcement of him becoming a playable character gained so many likes it became the most liked character announcement for the game.[2] The term "SCARAMOUCHE NATION HAVE WON" surged on Twitter.

Bohemian Rhapsody

As soon as his name was revealed, people started making jokes and memes about him regarding Queen's song "Bohemian Rhapsody"[3]. The song has the lines "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me." It is common for fanworks to include characters asking Scaramouche to do the fandango. What's more, Scaramouche actually had electro powers, so the thunder part of the song is often his response to this request. A common wishing ritual for the character is to play the song and pull during the song.

As it turns out, the developers were also in on it: Scaramouche's backstory seems to be, in fact, based on the song. The game itself also includes many references to it, such as Scaramouche having a theme called "Ominous Fandango", and him stating he is not "a fan of dango".

Controversy and Criticism

Scaramouche is a polarizing character, hated or loved but hardly indifferent, especially in the Chinese-speaking fandom. Some of the dislike for him there is sometimes directed towards Nahida, who helped Scaramouche get a spot in the Akademiya, as this is seen as favoritism. Some people think it's unfair because the Eremites (Sumeru citizens from less privileged backgrounds) don't get these kind of opportunities from their Archon, similar to how some regions in China face challenges in accessing education. However, there are still people who like Scaramouche, and they form a separate group of fans. These differing opinions also exist in other communities, leading to divided views on the character.[4][5]

Scaramouche July 2023 Rerun

In his last banner rerun, Scaramouche has found himself at the center of a heated wank, initiated in the 和裕茶馆(里) subforum on NGA Chinese gaming forum.

Pairings

Popular pairings for Scaramouche are:

Example Fanworks

Fanart

Scaramouche Strip game fanart by matemi

Fanvids

Fatui-only

Post-Inazuma Act III

Post-Sumeru Act V

Post-Inversion of Genesis

Other

Zines

Archives and Communities

References

Genshin Impact
Characters DilucChildeKaeyaZhongliXiaoTravelerVentiScaramouchePaimonmore
Ships Childe/ZhongliAlhaitham/KavehDiluc/KaeyaVenti/XiaoAlbedo/KaeyaChilde/LumineChongyun/XingqiuRaiden Ei/Yae MikoCyno/TighnariBeidou/NingguangJean/Lisamore
Locations MondstadtLiyueInazumaSumeruFontaineNatlanSnezhnayamore
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