siamesefightingpiano

[siamesefightingpiano]

Every time I see this scene I feel like I'm going crazy.

We all know that Capitano sacrificed himself and merged with the Lord of the Night in order to change Natlan's ley lines and finally lay his comrades' souls to rest. But the way this was framed? Why??

So in order to be sacrificed he has to sit on the Throne of the Primal Fire. And then we get the slow shot of him walking up to the throne with his soldiers and Natlanese souls saluting him. Note how they're lining the staircase like it's a procession. The Khaenriah'n soldier even congratulates him on a job well done.

And then. AND THEN.

YOU HAVE.

GUTHRED. Who is standing closest to the throne. He's basically at the top of the stairs before you reach the dais on which the throne is located. And nobody else is there. He is the only one. Why. Sure you can say that Guthred's his second-in-command so he's at the top of the stairs but if that's the case the animators could've just placed him near the top with the rest of the souls? But instead he's at the verrrrry top with a sizeable distance from the others. So already there's already a visual difference.

And there's the dialogue. He could've congratulated Capitano like the other soldier. But no, his line is "This time, let's go together." And Capitano replies with "Yes, let's go together." You don't understand when I experienced this for the first time in game my heart was in so much pain. "This time", meaning they did it wrong last time because Guthred died and left Thrain all by himself. But this time, they're going together. And the softness of his voice compared to when he was a crazy yandere trying to kill Ororon? omg? Anyway, when he says that line you get a closeup of him with the Throne in the background. Yes it's because both him and the Throne are in the same line of sight. But they could've framed his closeup like the other souls - camera angle from Capitano's side, therefore no throne.

So now we have this association of Guthred with the Throne, which is symbolic of Capitano's sacrifice. Through this association, we can say that when Capitano takes the throne, he will also get Guthred. And as Guthred offered and Capitano agreed, this time, they're going to the afterlife, together. Guthred is the "reward" Capitano gets when he reaches his goal of self-sacrifice upon the Throne of the Primal Fire.

Also another thing? When the camera switches to the closeup of Guthred the music transitions into this soft, gentle thing??? Like wow??? Also I checked the CN dub because I'm crazy and CN Capitano sounded so... gentle??? Ughhh these twooooo.

Also you know what the whole thing reminded me of? Aragorn's coronation in Return of the King where he finally gets to marry Arwen because he finally became King of Gondor.

If you managed to get all the way to the end, thank you for reading and witnessing my madness.

Source

[siamesefightingpiano]

Thrain coming across "Guthred" in the Night Kingdom one day, just him wandering about with no particular destination in mind when he sees a familiar figure in the distance.

Drawing closer, he recognizes that distinctive hairstyle and the particular uniform. Even the stance is as familiar as the back of his hand, but... something is off. It isn't until the soul turns around that he realizes why.

"Commander." Guthred salutes, a faint smile playing about his lips. His eyes softer than they should be, a touch too gentle. The lack of tension in his shoulders and fingers. And most damning, the expression on his face, one of recognition, but the wrong kind. The faintest hint of detachment and none of the depth that comes with years of knowing each other.

Thrain stops in his tracks. His boots are soundless against the rock and grit of the Night Kingdom. "You are not Guthred. Who are you?"

"Guthred" relaxes out of his salute. "Very astute, Commander. As expected." "He" smiles and the wrongness of it raises all the incorporeal hairs on Thrain's arms. "I am not the real Guthred that you know. I am a creation borne of the woven scrolls of the Masters of the Night-Wind. A collection of heroic deeds and none of the bad. A story personified, if you will." He studies Thrain's face briefly. "Your reaction tells me you're not pleased."

"You are not him." Thrain watches the... thing in front of him, cataloguing every single detail that didn't match.

The personification shakes his head. "No, I am not."

Thrain does not feel alarmed, for he now understands how the Night Kingdom works. But...

"Why are you here?"

"Guthred" crosses his arms. "Why? Do you mean, why are we meeting each other now, in this manner?" A head tilt and those familiar-unfamiliar eyes blink. "I could say the same for you, Commander. Why have you come out this way?"

Thrain frowns, just the faintest lowering of his eyebrows. "I was out for a walk."

"Then you could say that I too, am out for a walk. What does any soul, real or not, do in the Night Kingdom anyway?" The Guthred made from stories pauses. "Why are you not pleased?"

Thrain takes a moment to collect his thoughts. "A person cannot be completely good. Guthred would not be himself if he was missing all his character flaws. He and I would not have worked so well together for so long otherwise. I wouldn't have... He would not be my trusted second-in-command. He would be a stranger."

The man in front of him hums. "Ah." He nods. "I understand now. Thank you for the clarification. These memories make much more sense now." He plants his hands on his hips in thought before looking to Thrain. "Then, Commander, why are you still here? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

✦✦✦

"Back so soon, Commander?"

Even before he hears the question, Thrain can already feel the essence of the other man's soul. That familiarity, the feeling of knowing someone inside and out. He looks over and indeed it is his most trusted second-in-command. "Yes, I have returned."

With hands on hips, Guthred, his Guthred, casts a critical eye over him. "What happened?"

Ah, good old reliable Guthred. Thrain hesitates briefly. "I came across someone."

Guthred's sharp eyes cut across his face. "And? Hesitation doesn't become you, Commander."

"After you died," Thrain pauses, "the Masters of the Night-Wind recorded your deeds on woven scrolls." He holds up a hand to stop the impending interruption. "I've seen them myself. You were a heroic figure in the stories, flawless and noble."

His second snorts a derisive laugh. "How kind of them."

Thrain frowns at him. "That's who I came across earlier. He was a soul manifested from your stories. He exists in the Night Kingdom."

Guthred's face does something unpleasant. "So what, you decided to go shopping for a new second-in-command? You can finally have a doctor with the appropriate bedside manner."

Thrain sighs deeply. "You are always like this. All we did was talk."

"Get to the point." Guthred has crossed his arms by this point, tension running tight in the lines of his body.

"The point is," Thrain says after holding back another sigh, "he is not you. I said the same thing to him as well. If you were only noble and heroic, you would not be... Guthred. You would be a caricature, a stranger to me." He exhales. "And I don't want a stranger. I want you."

Guthred scrutinizes him for a long moment before finally unfolding his arms and letting them drop to his side. "It seems your mental faculties are still intact. For that, I'll give you a pass." He accepts the hand held out to him in supplication. "Good thing you didn't bring him back with you."

Thrain pulls his second-in-command closer. "My doctor wouldn't have approved."

Guthred lets out a disgruntled snort. "That's right." He peers up at the taller man. "Still, I'm surprised you weren't more taken with him. A glorious hero, noble and stalwart? Sounds like the kind of person you'd get along with very well."

Thrain looks into the face of his most trusted person and smiles. "Because I already have you."

[siamesefightingpiano]

Somewhere in the Night Kingdom:

Guthred: *long winded lecture*

Thrain: ...Hmph.

Guthred: ... What's with that laugh? Why are you smiling like that?

Thrain: I've missed this. I've... missed you.

Guthred: ...I missed you, too. But if you think that gets you off the hook you're sorely mistaken.

Thrain: Of course.

Guthred: Holding my hand won't help you either.

Thrain: I understand.

[siamesefightingpiano]

Random thoughts/conjecture/HCs about Thrain and Guthred because i haven't stopped thinking about them since Capitano's story teaser came out yes I am obsessed:

Per Guthred, they used to argue a lot due to their differences. You know what this reminds me of? Alhaitham and Kaveh, who also argued a lot due to their opposing views.

Thrain fully trusting Guthred to shield and watch his back so he can go all out in battle

I finished typing the (very serious) above and my brain immediately went "height difference" omg

If Thrain is part of the highly respected Alberich clan, then meeting Guthred must've been refreshing because it seems like Guthred was the only one/ one of the very few people??? who were willing to stand up to him???

Thrain and Guthred staying together all the way to the bitter end even though they never saw eye to eye and never settled their differences

Guthred being the very first soul Thrain takes into his heart you don't understand Thrain's fingers reaching toward Guthred's chest did things to me.

"This time, let's go together." "Yes, let's go together. " MY HEART

Natlan: the land of tragic yaoi

Thrain your dead second-in-command just possessed the dude that was working with you and lectured you on your weakness/bad habit, why is your first reaction a sigh???????

Guthred is totally the one that lectures and nags Thrain

I bet they were infamous in their branch of the khaenri'ahn military. They were probably "those two guys", always arguing and spending time together

Guthred being the one to greet Thrain at the top of the throne of primal fire

Every time they argue their platoon's probably like "there they go again"

[siamesefightingpiano]

Guthred uses a flag in battle and can take down Void Wards

We have Shadowy Husk: Standard Bearer that can shield

-> Guthred is a Standard Bearer -> Guthred is a shielder/support

Thrain is most likely a DPS because Harbinger

-> In battle, Guthred would be the support/shielder for Thrain and their platoon.

-> They complement each other in every aspect: abilities, personalities, appearance

[siamesefightingpiano]

Capitano about Guthred:

"He was a respected military doctor as well as my trusted second-in-command."

"That's who he was - unrelenting in his pursuits, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice... in the end, he even gave himself up for a chance of success."

Story!Guthred about himself:

"Unlike my righteous commander, I was obsessive and cruel, an approach I believed to be more efficient. Our differences caused many an argument between us."

"..."I" will stop at nothing to protect my commander's interests."

Sources: 1, 2

[siamesefightingpiano]

Can't believe we were given Guthred/Capitano.

Just. Dang.

Amazing.

[siamesefightingpiano]

Teyvat's "Most Down Bad" Award Goes to Alhaitham for a Second Year Running

Seeing everyone making fun of Alhaitham for his "stalkerish" tendencies in this event is funny, because I feel like a lot of people missed that "Be literally everywhere Kaveh is" has been Alhaitham's MO from the day Kaveh appeared in the game.

From only grabbing his house keys after Kaveh returned from the desert (he couldn't have had both sets of keys at the end of the Archon Quest unless he went home and got Kaveh's copy) to ditching conversations to get back to his house only after Kaveh came home, to showing up without any warning or explanation in Kaveh's hangout with some ridiculous excuse about hearing his voice through noise-cancelling headphones... Refusing to offer any other help in the Temple of Silence story quest other than staying in the library with Kaveh...

Since when does Alhaitham willingly cover anyone else's duties?

But this trend of "Be everywhere Kaveh is" didn't start when they were adults. It was already in place when they were still Akademiya students--and it's a trend that didn't end even when they had their fight.

Even when they weren't speaking, Alhaitham dogged Kaveh's every step through published responses to Kaveh's research articles in academic journals. He insisted on keeping a line of communication between himself and Kaveh open, even if the only way to do that was through very public ideological clashes. Pulling Kaveh's pigtails to get his attention lolol. It's implied that, for at least the few years between their fight and Kaveh moving in, this was the only communication between them--Alhaitham's refusal to allow their connection to entirely fade away. (And the fact that this is revealed in Kaveh's character stories--through his precious journal that records the moments of his life that had the most impact on him--shows just how deeply he values the fact that Alhaitham didn't give up.)

Another relevant side note: Alhaitham never asked Kaveh to give up his half of their house. Knowing half of it belonged to Kaveh, knowing that Kaveh may one day want to reclaim his part of it, knowing that it was listed as theirs, Alhaitham moved into the house and made zero effort to change its ownership. He was completely fine with living in "his and Kaveh's house." The stories suggest it was only months later (or even longer) that Kaveh even noticed he had the house, and he transferred away ownership of his portion without Alhaitham ever asking him (or even seemingly wanting him) to do so.

Please, let that sink in. Alhaitham actively left his grandmother's (presumably comfortable) house to move into "his and Kaveh's house," with no apparent explanation for why, and after doing so, he made no attempt to change that "his and Kaveh's" label. He moved into the house with no promise that Kaveh wouldn't show up on the doorstep the very next day and move in too. It almost feels like another deliberate provocation--I've moved into our house, are you going to come stop me? LBR, if Alhaitham had had his way, Kaveh would have been living there with him from Day 1...

There's also the fact that Kaveh literally can't write on a single message board anywhere in the entire nation of Sumeru without Alhaitham hunting his messages down and responding to them (which absolutely no one else does, by the way).

"NUH-UH!" "UH-HUH." "NUH-UH!"

Alhaitham's own character stories tell us explicitly that one of Alhaitham's defining character traits is "He is never where you need him to be," yet somehow...

Shot, and chaser:

Any time Kaveh is in the slightest bit of need or danger or just wants Alhaitham near, Alhaitham is "coincidentally" exactly where Kaveh needs him to be, whenever Kaveh needs him to be there.

Alhaitham didn't just "happen" to run into Kaveh in Port Ormos, an entirely different city from where he was supposed to be working. He didn't just "happen" to read the same terrible book as Kaveh when we know he otherwise would not waste a moment of his time on poorly-written literature...

He didn't just "happen" to appear when Kaveh was upset and needed a distraction in the House of Daena during Kaveh's hangout. He didn't just "happen" to be sitting around waiting when Kaveh needed answers after the Archon Quest. He didn't just "happen" to find Kaveh's academic publications and every single message board posting and respond to them at length and in public.

The only person for whom Alhaitham just "happens" to be available is Kaveh, over and over and over again--because he is very deliberately making himself a constant presence in Kaveh's life.

Which is exactly what Kaveh's mother told Kaveh he needed.

(Like, out of all things, I think people really underestimate the devs deliberately paralleling the romantic relationship between Kaveh's mother and father with Kaveh and Alhaitham's relationship. If you want to point to one thing that says "These two characters are intentionally queer-coded," it doesn't get anymore obvious than this.)

Alhaitham, are you not embarrassed to be this transparent??? 🫣

[siamesefightingpiano]

Is Capitano Anfortas Alberich?

Hiii, I have been losing my mind over this for months, and I needed to share my findings all in one place.

This might get debunked in a few weeks but until then there is actually a very high chance Capitano is Anfortas. …And not just because his constellation is a giant arrow pointing straight at him.

WARNING: This contains spoilers for the World Quest Shadows of the Mountains.

As a refresher, Anfortas was the Knight Marshal of the Schwannenritter (German for Swan Knights), a Khaenri'ahn warrior band who went on to protect Sumeru from the onslaught of the "Dark Beasts" during the Cataclysm. The giant Ruin Golems scattered in the forest and desert of Sumeru were piloted by them.

Barely-Legible Bulletin In view of King Irmin's present indisposed state and the current unknown threats facing the Kingdom……Knight Marshal Anfortas has proclaimed that he will temporarily take up the post of Regent and lead the Regnum Concilium Ultimum until the Kingdom returns to a state of normalcy…

At some point, King Irmin became indisposed (unable to rule), which made Anfortas step in as a temporary regent until the Kingdom returned to a state of normalcy. (Didn't age well.)

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: The writings are as follows: "Remember always that it was the Alberich Clan, who did not have royal blood, who stepped in as regents when the strength of the one-eyed king Irmin failed."

This is further confirmed in Kaeya's secret notes from the Hidden Strife event which implies Anfortas is part of the Alberich clan.

Later, Anfortas was betrayed by his comrade Hadura. He fought and executed them, losing his left eye in the process. With Hadura, the last of his comrades, gone, the Schwanenritter are no more.

The ultimate fate of Anfortas is currently unknown as is his exact relation to Kaeya and Chlothar. Whether or not Anfortas is Kaeya's father/uncle/grandfather/secret older brother is not the point of this post.

This is specifically about the connection between Capitano and Anfortas.

I will start by listing the reasons why he could be Capitano and then consider the reasons why he's not.

THE THREE NAILS

Capitano's constellation is likely the three nails which is a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Triclavianism is the belief that three nails were used to crucify Jesus Christ.

I do believe it belongs to Capitano, since he said he would pick up the mantle of "salvation" and is in the nation where people can be resurrected. …Needless to say, we can assume there's not going to be 50 plot twists behind this.

The three nails symbolize salvation and redemption, as well as the suffering of Jesus. You can also think of it as a symbol of martyrdom.

Anfortas is named after the Fisher King from Arthurian legends, who guarded the Holy Grail. The Fisher King was cursed by an incurable wound, stuck between life and death, doomed to suffer for eternity. There are several versions of the legend, with differing names for the Fisher King, "Anfortas" being one of them.

As it happens, the Fisher King is likened to Jesus on the cross quite prominently, both in art and on stage.

Carman explores the use of Christian symbolism in Perlesvaus. He connects the Fisher King with Christ himself, noting his name, Messios, his function as a sufferer, and his death symbolizing the Crucifixion.

In the version of Wagner, he even gets stabbed by the Holy Spear in the same side as Jesus while he was crucified!

Parzival became the primary source for Richard Wagner's 1882 opera Parsifal, in which the Fisher King is wounded by the spear that pierced Jesus's side.

As if that wasn't enough, one of Anfortas' knights left a note inside a Ruin Golem. They state they don't know whether they will be seen as sinners or heroes but believe Anfortas will find a way to save them.

An Abandoned Letter ...I often think lately about how future generations will tell my story. Will I be a sinner? Or a hero......The situation here is dire, but I believe that our Marshal will find a way. I believe... We once fought bravely here, doing our best to prevent this inglorious war. I believe that when it is all over... we shall recover our past splendor...Glory evermore... to Khaenri'ah...

This thematically fits the three nails. Unfortunately for this knight, Anfortas was unable to save Khaenri'ah and his comrades...

At the time of writing, Capitano says something curious in the trailer for 5.1:

Humanity's survival is worth any price If I could go back I would do whatever it took to ensure their survival. You've experienced something similar, Mavuika. You should know exactly what I mean.

Though we don't know the full context yet, this is not a surprising revelation if Capitano is Anfortas; he lost his homeland Khaenri'ah, "the pride of humankind," after all. Furthermore, he compares his suffering to that of the Pyro Archon, the ruler of Natlan. Anfortas was also briefly responsible for the survival of a nation, acting as the KING regent of Khaenri'ah.

Another incredible parallel to the Three Nails can be found in the influential poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot which is about the Fisher King.

The Man with Three Staves (an authentic member of the Tarot pack) I associate, quite arbitrarily, with the Fisher King himself.

In the poem Eliot associates the Fisher King with the tarot card the Three Staves.

(The Three of Wands/Staves in Thoth and Rider Waite decks.)

The poem is actually important enough to be referenced in the game a bunch of times. If you recall, in the Veluriyam Mirage event, we ran into three brothers, two of which argued in front of Kaeya and Klee. Turns out the names of these two brothers are in the poem. You can read more about it here in a separate post.

My point is, since the poem is a source of inspiration, it can be assumed the writers are aware of the association of the Three Staves with the Fisher King, aka Anfortas.

If true, I think they did something really clever here by combining the Three Staves with the Three Nails.

THE BLACK SERPENT

I think most people have noticed the dragonic/serpent imagery on Capitano's outfit. He has black scales, makeshift claws and a bunch of infinity symbols.

It is curious then that Capitano is essentially dressed as a black serpent/dragon.

Dainsleif: Black Serpent Knights. They once belonged to the Royal Guard of Khaenri'ah.

(...Yet unlike Capitano, the Black Serpent Knights don't look anything like black serpents.)

Little known fact is that even though Anfortas was the leader of the Schwanenritter, his knights still used the Black Serpent armour. Ynghildr, one of the Swan Knights, turned into a Shadowy Husk that used the Windcutter Black Serpent model.

Mysterious Chronicles: "…Ynghildr, Schwanenritter, 'Damsel of the Dale' …Went missing in the battle against the Onslaught of Dark Beasts. Only her … and signet ring were recovered. A proper knight's funeral was arranged for her…"

(We even end up fighting her during the WQ Vimana Agama 💔.)

In the Shadows of the Mountains WQ, we find out two Khaenri'ahn knights, also using Black Serpent armour, went forth to Natlan to stop the Abyss; their sacrifice turned them into statues for 500 years. I think it's highly likely they were sent there on Anfortas' orders.

This is because one of the knights has interesting lines before and after you bring him peace:

"Irizar": "Leave! Go… I don't want him to see me— like this—" (The voice seems to come from the very depths of the unmoving statue. There is a hint of respect toward someone remaining within…)

Irizar: Did you see? Your orders have been carried out… You… won't be disappointed…

The thing is one of Anfortas' Ruin Golems is right next to Natlan.

This is also where you find the note written by the knight who worries if they'll be seen as sinners or heroes. I do not think they were ordered by Dainsleif, as his last order before he returned to the palace was "to protect the people of Khaenri'ah" while the last will of the Schwanenritter was to destroy the Cataclysm, which is an interesting contrast in itself…

Dainsleif: To this day, I still remember the final orders I, the Twilight Sword, gave to Halfdan on the day of disaster in Khaenri'ah, before I made haste back to the palace... "Inform all Black Serpent Knights to protect the people of Khaenri'ah at all costs." Zurvan: They said that those heroes (Schwanenritter) had walked their path despite the ill repute they had garnered… And that it was to carry the will those heroes had borne, and to completely destroy the disaster from the dark depths that they had followed the heroes' path to this place.

My personal speculation is that the Schwanenritter was a special division from the Black Serpent Knights. From the book Perinheri, we know there was an Alberich who was "commander of half the knights". As stated by old man Pierro himself, the reliability of this book is a bit dodgy, but this might give us a clearer vision on who was in charge.

Anyway, if those knights were sent by Anfortas, there's a chance he might have ended up in Natlan himself as they were heavily affected by the Abyss. Perhaps something funky happened to him there amidst all the chaos… who knows?

One other thing: on either side of the door to Khaenri'ah, there are two reliefs that show a guardian holding a sword. As it happens, their helmets are flat and have a huge 8-pointed star in the middle... just like Capitano.

OTHER SIMILARITIES AND SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR 🤨

–Both Anfortas and Capitano are commanders of an army. To paraphrase @kaeyacollection, if I was Pierro, I would want someone with experience to lead my army and not some random bloodstained guy from Mondstadt, right? Pierro and Anfortas would have undoubtedly known each other as Pierro was a Royal Mage and Anfortas was part of the Royal Guard, so it wouldn't be strange for Pierro to recruit someone who he's already familiar with and can depend on.

Mocking Mask (Pierro): Since my level of learning could not compare with the sages, I failed to earn the favor of the previous ruler.

Furthermore, Pierro refers to King Irmin as the "previous ruler" which is an odd choice of words as it could either imply there is still a current ruler out there or Pierro simply acknowledged Anfortas as the last one, which has some interesting implications seeing as he only took up the position temporarily.

–Anfortas is highly respected, as shown by the note written by the knight who believed in him until the end. Someone even tried to write a letter to him begging him to petition the king. And if that knight who was sent to Natlan was referring to the Marshal, it means his main concern was that he would fail Anfortas.

Furthermore, there's a message left scattered across Ruin Guards with the encryption key being Anfortas' name…

Decoded message: We Schwanenritters have fought to the last one

We don't know who left it there, and hell it might be Anfortas himself, but whoever it was certainly valued the name. Fun fact: the achievement you get when you interact with all the Ruin Guards is called In the Name of Anfortas. This is similar to the achievement In the Name of Favonius, which you can get after completing a daily commission that indirectly involves Kaeya!

As far as we can tell, Capitano is also highly admired. Viktor would rather work for him, Varka wrote an entire love letter about him and the voicelines of the Harbingers confirm he's respectable man. (Although Wanderer and those of us who have run into Cap's animal lava farm may have some questions 🤨)

About The Captain "The ever-righteous Captain," "the brave and fearless Captain," "the nigh-invincible Captain"... Even my mechanical ears demand maintenance after listening to so many compliments from the members of the Fatui. Don't you think that possessing absolute righteousness is actually a latent danger? And that's without taking his great personal strength into account.

According to Wanderer, Capitano is seen as extremely righteous. We don't know enough about Anfortas to compare his morals with Capitano's but we do know that he executed his own comrade after a betrayal yet still gave them a proper knight's funeral since they were the last one left. This could allign with Cap's extreme righteousness and honor.

–Capitano proclaimed to the Pyro Archon that someone needs to pick up the mantle of salvation during a crisis…. which is exactly what Anfortas did. He stepped in when Irmin was busy poking holes in the veilussy of sin. Who knows? Perhaps Capitano doesn't want history to repeat itself.

–There could be another reason, though. You see, The Schwanenritter is named after the legend of the Swan Knight. These were an order of Grail Knights who would be sent out in secret to provide a ruler to a kingdom if there was none.

Members of this order are sent out in secret to provide lords to kingdoms that have lost their protectors

Furthermore, the Swan Knight had to hide his origins and name; same thing Capitano is doing.

The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name.

Varka: The man hides everything under the mask he wears, so no one can know his past or his origins.

–Speaking of which, when Capitano was first mentioned in Varka's letter, guess who was there to witness it?

What's funny is he doesn't even speak during this entire scene. They just forced him to stand there for seemingly no reason.

–Capitano is in Natlan. In Kaeya's hidden letters, there is a lot of fire imagery. Kaeya's father takes this even further by quoting Natlan's rule of resurrection. They even use the same term for ashes/embers in the original CN.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: A piece of it has been burned away, and the remaining parts show signs of having been rescued from that same flame.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya's father): "Though we could not restore Khaenri'ah to life, we of the Alberich Clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers." Dainsleif (Travail trailer, Natlan): The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash.

Mysterious Box in a Secret Compartment: (Kaeya): "Now that I look at it, his handwriting was as grieving as a smoking ash pile."

I don't know what to make of it and perhaps there's no deeper connection, but you have to admit, it is a little odd…

–The name Anfortas is speculated to be derived from french "enfertez" which means infirmity or weakness/illness. This is a very interesting contrast to Capitano's strong man persona. Not to mention, Capitano's commedia dell'arte counterpart is a braggart who only boasted about his strength. Who knows, perhaps Anfortano is suffering from an ailment/curse and is using whatever means he can to make himself stronger. (Such as the "presence" inside him.)

That being said, in the book Perinheri, the Alberich who was commander of half the knights was part of the "mightiest figures in Khaenri'ah".

–For some reason, Kaeya has what looks like snakeheads with a split tongue on his pants. You can also find a version of this on Capitano's outfit. …Yeah, I don't know either.

Jokes aside, Kaeya is wearing the top half of Capitano's modified Fatui coat complete with weird double flaps and fur boa. (There was a Hoyofair fananimation a year ago where the artist portrayed Anfortas with black fur which is pretty funny in hindsight.)

If Capitano isn't related to Kaeya, I'm going to need a very good explanation for why they share the same terrible fashion sense.

–Kaeya was adopted by Crepus, who owned a Delusion. Is it really a coincidence that Kaeya was taken in by a man with ties to the Fatui? If any of the Harbingers are connected to Kaeya, Pierro (Khaenri'ahn) and Capitano (identity unknown) would be the two biggest suspects, right?

WHY CAPITANO CAN'T BE ANFORTAS…HAHA UNLESS?

–As mentioned before, Anfortas lost his left eye. From Mika's character story, we know Capitano has glowing dark blue eyes plural. However, it's unclear whether he lost his eye in the literal sense or was only blinded. It's possible Anfortas simply grew the eye back but if that's the case I don't see the point in mentioning the loss in the first place, other than to draw a parallel to Kaeya (who didn't even lose his eye either…)

–Capitano uses a strange power that looks related to Nightsoul… …Whatever it is, it could point at him being from Natlan. However, the Traveler can use Phlogiston despite not being from Natlan. We don't have Pyro Traveler yet but I suspect they will be able to use Nightsoul as well.

Mavuika also says she sensed an "unsual presence" inside Capitano. This "presence" could explain his ability to use Walmart Nightsoul and why he has knowledge on a secret oath made 500 years ago (and why he has two eyes again).

–I think it's possible Anfortas is either Kaeya's "pirate" grandpa or his father and if that's the case the chances of Capitano being playable are abyssmal 💀. However, Arthurian Anfortas was famously saved by his nephew Parzival. If they go by the legend and Parzival is the equivalent of Kaeya, Anfortas could be his uncle instead.

In any case, we'll have to wait and see where the story goes from here. Even if Anfortas isn't Capitano, he still has major relevance that has yet to be revealed. Until then, much like Anfortas and Capitano, all we can do is suffer on the cross 👍🏽

[siamesefightingpiano]

shadows of the mountains wq spoilers

...there's a quest in natlan where you have to reinforce a seal that was placed on the abyss and we find out there were two khaenri'ahn soldiers who went there to trap the abyss underneath...along with themselves...

in the end, you have to defeat them to grant them peace and one of the knights says this, before and after he's freed:

(There is a hint of respect toward someone remaining within...)

"Your orders have been carried out. You won't be disappointed."

... HELLO!? HE WAS FOLLOWING SOMEONE'S ORDERS? IS HE TALKING ABOUT DAINSLEIF OR ANFORTAS THIS IS VITAL

yes those are the black serpent knights HOWEVER one of the knights of the schwanenritter, ynghildr, who turned into a husk, also used the SAME model as the windcutter dude seen above so all knights probably wear the same armor and belong to the royal guard (i think the schwanenritter was simply a division led by anfortas. remember they mentioned in perinheri that there was an alberich who was the commander of half the knights.)

also. ONE OF ANFORTAS' RUIN GOLEMS IS LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO NATLAN 💀

i don't think the knight meant irmin or dainsleif cause irmin was busy tearing up that veilussy and we actually know what dainsleif's last orders were: protect the people of khaenri'ah.

which is not what these knights were doing. they went to natlan to prevent the calamity from spreading, presumably on their superior's orders. anfortas.... ANFORTAS SPEAK TO ME I KNOW IT'S YOU

[siamesefightingpiano]

You know who also got introduced with the camera panning from the feet up with that exact angle?

Kaeya

Alberich

[siamesefightingpiano]

If Capitano starts playing 4D chess with everyone in Natlan then we'll have confirmation that he's an Alberich

[siamesefightingpiano]

Guys

Varka/Capitano exists

Crepus/Kaeya's Father exists

But if Capitano is Anfortas/Kaeya's father, then you have the possibility of

Varka/Capitano/Crepus????????????

[siamesefightingpiano]

passage about anfortas from parzival:

guy who is totally not anfortas:

[siamesefightingpiano]

IL CAPITANO | Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn

[siamesefightingpiano]

Stuck at the hospital with only my phone and rn the sickfic WIP isn't appealing, so why not start a new phone WIP? >> This concept originates from a longer idea @theabysscomeshome and I had once (wherein this episode feeds into a relationship shift), but rn I'm just focusing on baby Kaeya.

---

"This must be confusing for you," says the red-haired man crouching in front of Kaeya. It's the first sensible thing Kaeya has heard anyone say since he woke up under this terrible open sky.

He doesn't say that, of course. He only nods. Giving anything away to these people would be a bad idea.

It's a good thing, in a way, that he'd woken to see the woman standing behind him before anything else. Her, and the sky above her, and the symbol of the Ordo Favonius--their ancient enemies, the crusading scourge that followed the first disasters of the Cataclysm--emblazoned upon her armor. She had seemed to take both his scream and his frantic grab for the sword beside him in stride, though she had wrestled the weapon away. She'd claimed to *know* him.

Kaeya knows no Knight of Favonius, but as long as he goes along with her claim, she seems disinclined to kill him. So he can't do anything that will prove her wrong.

"I thought that he would be more comfortable here at the Dawn Winery," she's telling the red-haired man now. "He's been very shy, and I think being around so many armed knights is frightening for him."

"He was afraid of knights when he first came here," the man agrees. Which means he thinks he knows Kaeya, too. "We'll look after him until your alchemists come up with a solution."

"Thank you. I know he'll be happier with you."

Kaeya stiffens when she puts a hand on his shoulder, but all she does is squeeze. When he looks up, she's smiling at him.

"We will work tirelessly to repair this," she tells him. "For now, simply enjoy your time here at the Winery."

Then she turns and walks away, leaving Kaeya here in this softly-lit room with the man looming over him even crouched to his height. It's still better than being surrounded by Favonian knights.

"Has Jean explained the situation to you?" the man asks.

She'd told him that she knew him as an adult, that he was a captain under her, and that some Abyss Mage had ensorcelled him in a fight. She'd told him that he was her best friend. Kaeya doesn't believe any of it, of course. But *she* does.

His own best theory, right now, is that the Abyss Mage switched them somehow. Why, he doesn't know. How his name can match her friend's, and furthermore how he can look enough like the man she knows for her to believe it, he doesn't know either. But Mages are capricious; that one snatched him from where he slept at his father's side while he slept and substituted him for this Mondstadtian Kaeya seems more likely than becoming a Knight of Favonius. Or, worse, the *friend* of one of those butchers.

Kaeya just nods again.

"Then I won't try to pretend that I'm Father. Not that there would be any point in that. I am Diluc. I'm simply fifteen years older than I was when you arrived."

He seems to expect some kind of answer, so Kaeya nods a third time.

The man nods back. Then he stands, abruptly, to his full height. It takes all of Kaeya's efforts not to flinch. If the knight thought he would be happier here, then surely the person she thinks he is wouldn't.

Passing Kaeya, the man--Diluc--opens the door. "Let's go find Adelinde. She can get your room set up and feed you. I'm sure you're hungry."

That's the second sensible thing Kaeya has heard anyone say today, so he follows.

[siamesefightingpiano]

After much delay, I bring to you this fun lil game:

A silly game where you have five rounds to guess if Diluc SHOULD be there or if he's become a helicopter brother

Answers under the cut 🎉

Yes! Diluc keeps an eye out for abyss movements around Mondstadt, so it's completely reasonable for him to show up while following a lead! (Presumably why Kaeya mentions it being interesting now that Diluc showed up is because it confirms this is a bigger case than some hilichurls gathering)

Yes! He works there! Now if this was questioning ACTIONS, then the dialog it was posted with: "I’m busy today. This glass is my treat, so go home after you finish it." mayyyy have ended up with a different answer

No! If they're there gathering information, then they've gotten real off track 😮‍💨 While they could be genuine friends/informants of Diluc (since we know they've been inside the winery before), Diluc sits furthest away and keeps the conversation on Kaeya once the traveler enters the scene

No!! He's not even pretending here sjdjdjdjdj couldn't find a single beverage? No snack? Just saw Kaeya out day drinking and pulled up a seat?

Okay well now the customers are playing their own game of "where's the bartender?" Cause as you can see there's bottles faaaar in the background behind them, and where's Diluc? Following one patron around. 😤 Aka: No! Get back to the bar 😤😤 at least Rosaria knows where to find the hovering server 😮‍💨

Bonus Round:

You decide!

Points for Yay

He's been personally invited to come after he wrote a speech on their signboard

Diona is a bartender that hates alcohol (and him) while also mixing spectacular drinks, maybe he's there to chat with her

Could have been lured in by a cat

Points for Nay

He scoffed when asked if he had free time

He doesn't drink alcohol and this was (I believe) before the Cats Tail started introducing non-alcoholic beverages and tcg

We've seen this man spin on his heels and leave this exact bar to go chase Kaeya the second he found an excuse to

It always feels like it's Kaeya coming to pester Diluc, but perhaps seeing the ex-captain lingering around so often is the reason why the Knights push for Kaeya to go see him in the first place

(All these islands and dudes gotta stand that close behind his brother? 😮‍💨)