Scaramouche

Before the "three betrayals" had come to weigh on him, the puppet was amicable and curious about the world, willing to entertain the idea of being a human after his divine powers were sealed. Still, the puppet was nonetheless sensitive to the notion of being betrayed or abandoned due to his first betrayal and craved purpose above all else, especially in the realm of utility. The cruelties of the world came to embitter the puppet's personality after long enough, filling his heart with resentment and hatred, and leading to him the development of a misanthropic worldview and a sadistic personality. Scaramouche is an eccentric arrogant, cunning, and manipulative character. and He had an strong animosity and contempt towards others, carrying himself with arrogance due to his divine nature. Based on gossip and his previous behavior, Scaramouche was feared or hated by many Fatui and even agitated some of his fellow Harbingers. However, Scaramouche was also a schemer and capable of adept manipulation. The puppet was able to hide his motives effectively, as he initially appeared friendly towards Mona, Fischl, and the Traveler in the event Unreconciled Stars despite his intent to eliminate them. When the Traveler next encountered him in the Delusion factory in Inazuma's Archon Quest, he was much more playful and displayed a much more truthful side to himself than his appearance in Unreconciled Stars, illustrating his indifference and cruelty (especially towards humanity). Scaramouche believed that human life was worthless, and that they were all fated to die anyway. He also displayed pleasure in observing Traveler's suffering when they were incapacitated by the effects of the Tatarigami and took pleasure inflicting pain on his subordinates.

Scaramouche is described as having a slender figure and a beautiful face. He has been described to be attractive numerous times within text, short in height with indigo hair that covers his ears, as well as indigo eyes with bold red eyeliner. In Snezhnaya, Scaramouche wore a formal Harbinger winter coat over his regular attire, subbing his hat out in favor of his coat's hood and replacing his sandals with winter boots. His coat has a white and purple string that can be seen on his usual outfit. As The Wanderer, the puppet dons a large conical blue kasa hat with golden details with the top part resembling a lotus. A pair of light cyan fabric dangles from the back of the hat (matching its underside), attached with a pair of diamond-shaped trinkets. Accessories resembling the finials of a shakujo staff hang from these strips of light cyan fabric alongsife purple tassels. He sports a tight black turtleneck bodysuit with long detached sleeves, over which he wears a loose white tunic with large furisode-like sleeves in cyan coloration, and a inner cyan tunic. He sports a pair of fingerless gloves on each arm. Around his waist, the Wanderer sports a thick black obi belt with indigo lining, decorated at the front with a large black bow with indigo tassels that dangle off it, their color paling at the ends. This is worn over a pair of short black golden-decorated hakama, paired with high white gaiters with both legs secured around the top with indigo rope held together with a gold ornament with a singular tassel pinned to it, and black geta sandals. He wears a patterned blue half-cape with various tones that hangs off his left shoulder, where a large gold ornament containing his Anemo Vision is pinned along with a singular gold feather resembling the Plume of Luxury.

The Raiden Shogun sought to create a puppet body who could inherit her power and rule over Inazuma in her stead, as she desired to retreat into her own mind and meditate on the true meaning of "eternity” while escaping erosion. But before the Raiden Shogun (Ei) managed to create a finalized puppet of her own godly form, she took it up herself to create prototype puppets, with Scaramouche being one of them. This nameless puppet was meant to be a proof of the concept, and its appearance and intellect were not directly based on Ei. After observing the puppet shed tears during his sleep, Ei thought it would be too cruel to interfere with his fate or end his existence, deciding to “free him” instead. Rather than disposing of her prototype, Ei instead opted to seal away his divine power, placing him into stasis in a hidden mansion on Inazuma's Yashiori Island called Shakkei Pavilion. Later on, the puppet came to believe that she had deemed him a failure and for that, abandoned him. For a long time the puppet, whose sole possession was a golden feather given to him by the Electro Archon, was only capable of observing his surroundings as his perception of reality slowly slipped away from him. Eventually, he was discovered and freed by Inspector Mikoshi Nagamasa's yoriki Katsuragi, who had come across the hidden pavilion after a landslide. In order to hide the puppet's noble origins, Katsuragi claimed to have found him wandering by the shore instead. Nagamasa's group referred to him as the Kabukimono (wandering eccentric),as he had no name at the time. The Kabukimono grew close with Katsuragi and, after the forging of the Daitatara Nagamasa, performed a sword dance with him.

Dottore, disguised himself as Escher and revolutionized the forging process in the Mikage Furnace to help smith weapons by using Crystal Marrow. However, the people did not know that the marrow was the remains of Orobashi and that it contained malevolent energy, which began to kill the people over time. Kabukimono went to the Shogun to request an audience, while Niwa Hisahide was murdered by Dottore. The Kabukimono was unsuccessful in getting the Shogun's aid and, when he returned, was told by Dottore that Niwa had fled and left the people to his fate. The Kabukimono proceeded to enter the heart of the furnace with a mysterious box that Dottore gave him and purged the furnace of its filth, which he survived in spite of the load being extreme. When Dottore told him to open the box, he found a withered human heart, which Dottore claimed was from a subordinate that Niwa had killed. The idea that Niwa gave him the heart he so desired through an act of immense cruelty horrified the Kabukimono, and overwhelmed with anger and sorrow, he threw the heart away and left Tatarasuna. He would come to regard Niwa's presumed actions as the second of his life's betrayals. At some point after this, he befriended a young boy plagued with an illness, who was a child of Tatarasuna crafts-people.The boy made a promise to live together with him as family, but later died, breaking his promise. The Kabukimono considered this his life's third and final betrayal, and he began wandering across Inazuma.

• Scaramouche's own chosen name "Kunikuzushi" translates to "country destroyer" in Japanese. Husk of Opulent Dreams suggests that Scaramouche was inspired by the name of a villain from traditional Inazuman theater (Kabuki).
• Like the other Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche's name and alias were derived from a stock character in Commedia Dell'arte, a form of traditional Italian pantomime theater characterized by its masked characters and representation of fixed social types. In commedia dell'arte, Scaramouche was a sly and clever villain sometimes beaten by Harlequin for his cowardice and boastfulness.
• According to Viktor, Scaramouche is not liked amongst the Fatui, even by some of the other Harbingers.
• Scaramouche and his characterization make several references to the lyrics of the 1975 song Bohemian Rhapsody by the British rock band Queen.
  • The opening lyrics "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?" may be referenced in Scaramouche's discovery of a "gigantic hoax" surrounding the stars of Teyvat.
  • The lyrics "Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me" likely references Scaramouche's homeland of Inazuma and his creator, the Raiden Shogun, both of which were associated with the Electro element. It’s also possibly a reference to his previous powers that were unlocked.
  • "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?" directly references the name Scaramouche. Additionally, the musical theme played during the Balladeer's appearance in Inazuma was titled "Ominous Fandango."
  • The demon Beelzebub, the namesake for Beelzebul, is mentioned several times throughout the song. Additionally, the lyrics frequently refer to a "mama" which may be interpreted as a reference to the God of Eternity being Kunikuzushi's mother.

• God-Like Physiology: Scaramouche is a divine puppet, created by Ei as a test. Just like the puppet known as the "Raiden Shogun", he bore the same natural physiological advantages that gods such as an Archon had over mortals, although he couldn't necessarily be classified as a true god himself. The strength afforded to him by his lineage allowed him to be counted among the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, each of which were legendary for their combative prowess
• Immortality: A trait of he possess for being a puppet, which is an artificial lifeform with inorganic physiology, therefore, he does not possess the same traits of an common organic lifeform, therefore, he does not age, get ill, and is completely self-sustaining.

• Political Influence (formerly): As one of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche was invested with nigh-unlimited executive authority by the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya. With the political and economical power invested in him, the Balladeer could call upon almost any resource in furtherance of the goal of the Fatui. He could command the authority of any Fatuus who weren't themselves Harbingers, and presumably wielded unquestionable authority in Snezhnaya. Additionally, his official position as a Snezhnayan diplomat meant that he couldn't be prosecuted in foreign nations without significant political tension being caused. However, upon severing ties with the Fatui, Kunikuzushi presumably lost all of the political levity his position afforded him with.
• Swordsmanship: Scaramouche has also proven to be a master swordsman and being an extremely dangerous individual in combat. When he was confronted by Kaedehara Yoshinori along with the Yashiro Commission, he managed to defeat multiple opponents in the "blink of an eye" as well as fatally wounding the head of the Yashiro commission and nearly killing Yoshinori, who only survived because his hat blocked a fatal strike to his head.

Wandering Writing political/historical essays
Sword dancing
Reading
Forging weapons
Observing humans.

Mass murder Assault Attempted deicide Attempted usurpation Attempted genocide Conspiracy Forgery Aiding and abetting Heresy Sabotage Theft War crimes Treason Desertion Trafficking Abuse of power Conspiracy Crimes against humanity Organized crime Arson Maleficium Distortion on history.