To reach this point, I’ve written and cut and sliced and edited my own words—though surely not nearly as much as the author in question has done for their story.  With an analysis, it’s easier to write about the things that are rather than the things that were.  The parts of the fic that the writer trimmed off with their editing scissors (or, more dramatically, cut off with the unwieldy editing knife black with ink never to be spilled on the page) are meant to be invisible to the reader.  Without that previous version, it’s tough to write an analysis that says: this is why every part of the story we see is important, yes, even that throwaway line, and not a word more.

Regardless, we’ll have to make do with the only version of the story we’ve got.  How do we analyze how concise a fic is, anyway?

I’ve picked a fic (~40k) that was published over a year ago.  Time and talking with others will give new insights on just what’s written between the lines, and reading the earlier chapters with the latter chapters in mind will pay off in noticing things that were hidden in clear sight.  You will find a summary below that transcends the structure per scene to get a good overview of just what I considered important to this story so that in a reread, we’ll be able to look at any given scene and go: so this is lurking in the narrative of this funny scene! Wow!

(Before you go read it, I advise you read the fic and come back here, because it is an attempt at analysing the complete fic with half still missing.  If you haven’t yet, go read:)

Now Accepting Members by lulu42

The themes I’ve picked to focus on are, hopefully, enough to completely check off all scenes of the fic as important to the overall story it’s trying to tell.  Through the lens of a character as flagbearer for the theme, I summarized the core of their part of the story.  There are plenty of characters that are supporting characters for a theme, and there are of course characters fighting over the flag as one wants to plant the flag in the far left (protagonist; the theme) and others in the far right (antagonist; the anti-theme).  There will be overlap, there will be a few tangents.  I hope that at the end of it, you have your own opinion on the themes I’ve picked as my champions for the fic and will yell them at me.

Without further ado, follow with me as I give a summary of overarching themes at the core of a character’s presence in the story.

Lumine

I’ve sectioned off quite a bit for Lumine.  The summary of overarching themes at the core of other characters present in the story will inform more of Lumine’s journey as the main character.  For now, this is the most important part that won’t work if Lumine is taken out of the story.

Lumine is her own person, of course, but she is also ancient.  Lumine can pay attention and have patience and above all, she knows duty must come before personal goals, endeavours, and gains.  Because Lumine is so powerful, and as a lesson she learned from Inazuma as well, she knows that the people of the nation rely on her to have their best interest at heart when no one else does.  Often, though, it doesn’t get in the way of her goal of finding answers about her brother.

Lumine was off-kilter in the beginning, because she couldn’t connect with the people of Fontaine.  She got kicked, ignored, and shunned, with the exception of Eloise welcoming her as the helper of her brother Xavier.  When Lumine got a rank, people were still treating her best friend Paimon as no person at all.  After that, Pantalone isolated her to the point of her considering leaving Fontaine altogether because he stood in the way of her personal goal and there was nothing left for her in this nation for the next hundred years as she would wait for everyone to have died.

Only after Lumine got an ally in Childe, and Childe linked up Alain with Lumine, does Lumine learn there are good people left in Fontaine—Alain, and because he got her to think about whom she really met in Fontaine.  Afterwards, Lumine does what she always does: do the nation’s long World Quest that has been gathering dust for ages because no adventurer was brave enough to tackle it and gain a deeper understanding of the nation.

After doing the World Quest, Lumine has seen the people outside of Petrichor—including the first person she met, a kid who kicked her instead of thanking her for saving him from a Hilichurl—and found her roots again.  Despite punching Pantalone being a personal goal, she has a duty to the people of Fontaine to meet with the Archon because there’s something deeply wrong with Fontaine and she is the only one brave enough to step up and kickstart a change. (Though she is not alone. She is never alone when fighting the root issue of any past Nation, and she’s not starting now.)

Besides that, Lumine has made friends all over the world.  As the Danse au Jugement creeps near, more and more familiar faces pop up as Rank Six and as silent allies to Lumine even as they are unaware of the Punches for Pantalone club.  How the allies come into play is still a mystery, but Pantalone needs to be prepared for Lumine’s allies to outnumber the people Pantalone has under his control.

One important thing to note is that prior to this, Lumine’s friends were unaware of her friendship with Eleventh Fatui Harbinger Tartaglia and she had been anxious about what her other friends would think.  As the story continues, that worry has ebbed away.  There is no need for performance when among friends; genuineness at one’s core is important.  Since Childe has many parallels to Lumine and has also kept Lumine a secret from his co-workers (her skill in battle at least), it will be interesting to follow along as Childe is more open about his relationship (friendship? Courtship?) with Lumine later down the line.  As for Lumine, this means repairing the false image she had and becoming known as who she truly is: she is brawns and brains, and her friendship can be earned regardless of one’s former reputation.

Paimon

Because Paimon is THE friend.  That’s her function in the role, as well as being a showcase that everyone has their role in the Punches for Pantalone club.

Lumine loves friendship and fighting.  That means Paimon is the friendship half.  Every scene Paimon helps Lumine or Lumine helps Paimon or they think of the other’s interest regardless of their own, the theme fostering relationships and friendships is important vs the antitheme of control over people is all you need is written between the lines.  Paimon isn’t just a friend to Lumine: she is a friend to Eloise by helping her, she is considered a friend by Childe though he was hesitant for a bit on if Paimon considered him a friend.  Alain or the designer crew designed a dress for Paimon so they must consider her a friend or important enough for the effort that will have no influence on the night’s outcome.  Lumine loves friendship, but it would ring hollow if Paimon is taken out of the fic.

No man is an island, and so Lumine can’t fight Pantalone on her own and I’d wager she can’t fight Pantalone at all without Paimon.  If you look, it was Paimon’s idea for Lumine to ask Childe to the ball.  Paimon is giving Childe and Lumine time alone to connect.  Paimon has her first solo boss battle against Pantalone, escalated because Paimon wanted to be a good friend to Viktor, a fatui grunt!

Pantalone will regret calling Paimon “flying vermin” when she has rightfully earned the role of the Traveler’s best friend.

Pantalone

Of course he ranks high. He is the main antagonist.

Pantalone is an accumulation of practically all that is bad in Fontaine and more.  He is introduced in a beautiful garden with a beautiful smile and greed that can’t be hidden in his eyes.  He underestimated the Traveler’s smarts because Pantalone doesn’t make his own conclusions, and once the easy way is out, he defaults to controlling people; it’s all he knows anyway, because reaching out to people through genuine interest, what’s that?  Even though Lumine says no to him, Pantalone strongarms Lumine into complying to be his date by having her date-candidates back off, having her measurements bought out, stationing Fatui agents (who surely have better things to do to serve the Tsaritsa!) at the neighbours, and sending threatening letters with food to her doorstep.

He won’t nurture an up and coming designer, but will go out of his way to intimidate the best designer.  He doesn’t anticipate trends, he follows them.  For five years, Pantalone has brought the whole Fatui Harbinger entourage to try and intimidate Alain into making a ball gown for his date, and each time, Alain refuses, because Alain’s art needs to be earned, not bought.

The general populace of Fontaine knows Pantalone is not to be trifled with and that what Pantalone says goes.

At the end of the day, Pantalone returns to the mansion that once housed the people caring for the Lochfolk.  We later learn that Pantalone has done more to the Lochfolk, though not exactly what.  A Rank Null member that had three adventurers (including an unranked Alain) search for the Lochfolk that had fled Fontaine and report back.  After all the research, this Rank Null member started a fight with and accused Pantalone with their findings.  At the end of that day, the Rank Null got executed by the Hydro Archon and Pantalone remained smiling and lonely at the top with a new enemy: Alain.

As the common ground for all who wish to join the Punches for Pantalone club, Pantalone has made many enemies over the years without finding retribution for his misdeeds.  It’s because Pantalone has no allies himself that he is unaware of the club’s forming and its main goal of humiliating Pantalone at the Danse au Jugement and so is unaware as his kingdom is crumbling right where he stands after years of isolating people into thinking they are alone.  The biggest question is who all gets to punch Pantalone.

Pantalone is the Ninth Harbinger of the Fatui.  He does not hail from Snezhnaya and hasn’t served in the Fatui as a grunt.  Pantalone is a Rank Null in the court of Fontaine.  He does not hail from Fontaine and has gotten his position through underhanded methods.  Pantalone is an invasive species endangering Fontaine’s ecosystem.  By an extent, he is also polluting the Fatui’s goals by not embodying it well and trying to have Lumine as his date to garner favour from the Tsaritsa for a higher position—Pantalone surely covets his Rank Null and wishes for his Harbinger position to be higher too.

Pantalone is the big bad.  So who are the characters besides Lumine that act in opposition to his tyranny?

Alain

HE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT NPC OKAY.

(And that is why he deserves extra attention.  Alain would be proud, because he pays extra attention to the minute details as well.)

A preface: If Pantalone is the villainous dragon of this story, then Alain is the chosen one to pick up his sword to slay the dragon.  Many of Alain’s qualities are in direct opposition to Pantalone.  Alain, frankly speaking, is everything Pantalone wishes to be and because Pantalone didn’t adapt to his new environment and instead stuck to his destructive ways, justice is coming for him.  Hopefully with more than just one punch, but also hopefully with a satisfying punch to his face.

(All right! Time for a rundown of where Alain was at the beginning of the story and where we are now, with themes along the way!)  

Five years ago, Alain lost hope because the Rank Null he earned through effort and luck was not what he’d thought it would be. Pantalone’s presence on the court has polluted what Fontaine strives to be and Alain has been desperate to find someone to help him repair Fontaine’s court to what it should be.  When Childe waltzes in with a proposition for a club—something silly that cannot hope to match the prestige of Fontaine’s court—he has to quiet his hope of this being the opportunity he waited for, but he didn’t have to fear that a silly goal would mean having silly convictions. Lumine is all he’d hoped to be for an ally as he glimpses divinity in Lumine the same way he saw divinity in the Hydro Archon.

This gives way to the true structure of the Punches for Pantalone club in juxtaposition to the Court of Fontaine and the Fatui organization.  If the Court of Fontaine has the Hydro Archon above it but never participating, and her tone-setter Rank Null is Pantalone, then the Punches for Pantalone club has the Traveler Lumine shining in their midst, and her tone-setter member is Alain.  The Court of Fontaine has closed its doors to many of the people in Fontaine, with the Rank Null not basing their judgement of future members’ ranks on merit but on personal gains and the wishes of Pantalone. The Punches for Pantalone club is open to all and even though it’s silly and might not live to see the end of the year, it matters that there’s no strong hierarchy and everyone gets to contribute in whatever way they can.  With Alain’s addition, it went from silly dreams to feasible goals while keeping a hold of the silly nature it got started with.  The first step Alain takes with Lumine as ally in the fight against Pantalone?  It’s simply dress Lumine for the Danse au Jugement to strip Pantalone of his pride (for years, Alain refused to dress Pantalone’s date) and standing (because he is without a date when EVERYONE should have a date).

(As for the Fatui organization being in a failing state compared to the thriving state of the Punches for Pantalone club…  There’s not enough info yet .  I do think that the Fatui Organization has the Tsaritsa overseeing it and meeting with all her Harbingers, and her tone-setter Harbinger is…  Childe.  It’s not definitive, but the reason Pantalone wanted to bring Lumine was because he wanted to climb the ranks quickly after the gaps left by the Doctor, the Balladeer, and the Fair Lady.  The Fatui have shown to exclude Childe from their endeavours and since that’s the same thing the Rank Nulls have done to Lumine and they are going to pay for it, it would only be poignant if the same happens to the Fatui and Childe ends up taking the gnosis and honour home to the Tsaritsa, being rewarded as her most beloved Harbinger.  The one the other Harbingers should strive to embody.)

And still, the Punches for Pantalone club can soar even beyond the already high dream of “feasible goals of making Pantalone the laughing stock for an evening” straight to “nation-rocking project to serve justice to the parties guilty of poisoning Fontaine years ago” because two factors fall into place.  The first: Alain has been waiting for this opportunity to make Pantalone pay for his crime for years, because again, Alain is everything that Pantalone is not.  Alain is classy, honourable, and though he is a Rank Null, he treats those below him (and that’s everyone but his fellow Rank Nulls) with respect and grace.  It’s clear he has grown up in Fontain’s court system and that it doesn’t even need to be abolished if it follows the etiquette Alain holds himself to.  On top of that, Alain climbed the ranks with luck and skill as he hails from a small fisherman’s town far away from Petrichor.  This small fisherman’s town used to play an important part in Fontaine’s ecosystem for the Oceanids that have abandoned Fontaine and thus are an indication of the ongoing water crisis.  Alain has historic and cultural ties to Fontaine and respects them, whereas Pantalone is an outsider with no historic or cultural ties to Fontaine and no wish to immerse himself in it.  Worse, Pantalone seems to have had a clear hand in chasing away the oceanids or preventing their return.  Now, back to those two factors: what is the second factor that inspired the Punches for Pantalone club to elevate their goals?

It’s Lumine.  Lumine showed up in Alain’s fisherman’s town and picked up a commission that has been gathering dust for years.  For years, the Hydro Archon hasn’t addressed the problem plaguing this town and so all of Fontaine.  For years, the Hydro Archon has casted people out of the noble system for even critiquing the ongoing water crisis in daylight.  And here Lumine showed up, helping where she can instead of shoving it under the table.  This action with no ulterior motive is what cemented Lumine’s position as the truly golden opportunity for Alain to put his full faith in his new ally to address Fontaine’s problems by the root.  They are working together to fight everything wrong with Fontaine: on a personal level with Pantalone, on a management level with the Hydro Archon, and the overarching level with Fontaine’s ongoing water crisis which, I might add, might very well find its root in Pantalone’s arrival in Fontaine and chasing the oceanid’s caretakers out of their beautiful mansion.  That brings us full circle from the starting point: Alain hates Pantalone!  Not just because of Pantalone being a meany.  Alain is born and raised in a fisherman’s town in Fontaine while Pantalone is an invasive species who makes the environment adapt to him instead of the other way around.  Pantalone is the poison in the water and if it remains unaddressed too long, there’s no saving the life and culture in Fontaine.

Just like Paimon is important because there is no theme of friendship in the story without Paimon at the heart of it, Alain is important because there is no theme of Pantalone being an invasive species in Fontaine without Alain present as the roots to Fontaine’s class in the past, their links to their mythology (the general populace didn’t consider Paimon to be a living being because they don’t remember the Lochfolk!) and the role model for everyone to inspire to go from unranked to Rank Null.  Without Alain, Pantalone is more of a mean villain to Lumine personally instead of being the enemy of everything Fontaine stands for.  Though Lumine still wants to punch Pantalone, she has her sights on the Hydro Archon which means that Pantalone is for the taking for Alain (regarding Fontaine’s Court) and Childe (regarding the status of Fatui Harbinger).  I for one am looking forward to seeing if Alain gets to punch Pantalone as elegantly as Mr. Henderson punched that mean teacher Swan in Spy x Family.

Eloise

Because Eloise is a future Alain.  Or, right now, she’s who Alain was in the past.

Eloise is actually our first introduction to the values Alain has, as well as how people in Fontaine should conduct themselves to others.  Eloise has not the rank or standing to go up against a Rank Null and still has the illusion that going to the Danse au Jugement with Rank Null Pantalone is a good thing—the same way it took Alain becoming a Rank Null himself to see the corruption that happened with them.

Let’s hope the sparkle in Eloise’s eyes doesn’t get taken away and she can remain her joyful self.  Alain lost himself for a couple of years, but if his actions pay off, the rest of Fontaine will not have to suffer from the same fate.

Besides her link to Alain in sharing the same values most of Fontaine has left behind in the past, Eloise is important to the friendship theme.  Though Paimon can try carrying it on her own, the fact that Eloise as Xavier’s sister repays the favour and befriends the two she has heard much of in letters shows how friendship isn’t something Fontainers scorn as a rule.  If Eloise was not present in the story, it would be more difficult to convince the reader that the people of Fontaine are worth saving.  If the only interactions we saw with the people of Fontaine were them kicking Lumine in the shins and wanting to dissect Paimon to recreate the toy for their kid, would you want Lumine to stay and save them?

That’s why Eloise and Alain are very important.  They keep the door open for the possibility of the readers caring about everyone in Fontaine (with the exception of Pantalone of course).

One final thing Eloise’s character brings to the table: her endeavours in her house and the work of her brother (the brother far from home, just like Lumine’s brother is far from “home”, where they are together) could be swift and a money-grab, but Eloise focuses on sustainability and quality.  Because the pure water needed to develop photos is scarce, the amount of Kameras sold is adjusted so they won’t overdraw on demand.  Instead of renovating all the rooms in her house in one go, she takes it slow and follows her instincts on what the next trends will be instead of blindly following what’s current.  Her fashion sense is complimented by Alain, which is a stamp of approval.

Instead of being a drain on the ecosystem, Eloise works with it.

Cosette

She is linked to Alain’s character.  Not as an extension per se, but she likely won’t show up on her own.

Cosette shows up only a handful of times, but it is with a smile on her face.  Despite making long hours, she and the rest of Alain’s staff are not exploited.  They care for this project but while Alain works around the clock, the staff is working in shifts.  With the way Cosette holds herself, we can feel the respect she has for Alain and the respect Alain has for his staff.

This is how you should treat those with a lower standing than yourself.  It’s a strong contrast with the way Pantalone treats his “staff”.  Cosette is as good as the first character that shows her trust in and deep respect for Alain after we keep seeing how people bow out and make way for Pantalone to the point that he’s regarded as the king of the court (no one says it, but you can feel it. You don’t say no to Pantalone).  Because of Cosette, we absolutely believe when Alain’s reputation and few words with the guards is enough to override Pantalone’s order to close the doors to the Danse au Jugement early.

Childe

The love interest.  The man himself.  The one speaking the Punches for Pantalone club in existence yet doesn’t demand he lead it.

In the beginning chapters, Childe was mostly a means to an end.  He was hiding himself in the narrative instead of leading it the way Alain, Lumine, and Pantalone were doing.  Childe started a club, but isn’t the one running it.  The club is the most central thing of the story, in diametrical opposition to the corrupt Rank Null club Pantalone has fostered and even in opposition to the way the fellow Harbingers keep Childe out of the loop of important (or maybe less important) Fatui business despite Childe having earned his place at the table.  Without Childe, there would be no Punches for Pantalone club and so no Now Accepting Members story.  Without Childe, Lumine would never have met Alain and really shake Fontaine’s Court’s foundations, yet Childe takes no credit for it all.  It’s just a fun side-quest for him and he is fine with Lumine and Paimon recruiting more like-minded members while he remains a silent benefactor; something Pantalone would never do, as he needs to flaunt his possessions and status in everyone’s face.

Childe is going directly opposed to Pantalone, but doesn’t speak of his distaste for him until one of the later chapters.  While Pantalone has the ambition to climb the Fatui ranks, Childe is content where he is.

This veers into speculation territory, but just like Alain is going to shake up the Court of Fontaine’s foundations, Childe will cause ripples in the Fatui organization with his actions and behaviour at the Danse au Jugement and the weeks after.  Remember, Childe was kept out of the loop by the rest of the Fatui in Liyue where he decided Lumine was an enemy (who “got the gnosis before him”).  Right now, Lumine is his ally and Childe is aware that he is being kept out of the loop and so has free reign over his own plans.  Lumine’s goal is to be noticed by the Hydro Archon—as Lumine’s partner, surely that means that Childe will be welcomed to that meeting as well, even if it wasn’t his goal?  Good things happen to people who do good deeds without expecting a reward in return, and that’s Childe here.

There’s also a clear reason why I think Childe will cause ripples in the Fatui organization while Alain is shaking up the Court of Fontaine’s foundations: they are strikingly similar despite being born miles and decades apart.  At first glance, Alain and Childe appear mere acquaintances, with Alain being in opposition to Pantalone and Childe being in opposition to boredom, but if we take a closer look, Childe’s role in the story might be unveiled because of the role Alain plays in the story.  Here’s my hail mary to convince you of the parallels between these two and thus, the end game for Childe:

• Hydro vision bow users!
• Climbing the ranks on their own merit after being taken under the wing of a senior (Alain’s commissioner and Pulcinella)
• (no rank, Rank Nine, Rank Null)
• (no rank, grunt under Pulcinella, 11th Harbinger, and perhaps in the future, filling a higher spot after his accomplishments in Fontaine in maybe securing the gnosis)
• Both having caught the eye of their respective Archons and having knelt for them
• Kneeling for Lumine upon seeing her completely in her element
• A distaste for Pantalone
• Invasive in Fontaine’s court as a Rank Null, as he’s not from Fontaine and never worked for his rank
• Invasive in Snezhnaya’s Fatui organization as a Harbinger, as he’s not from Snezhnaya and never worked for his rank
• Both are from a fishertown
• Both travelled the world, though since Childe is younger, heis still travelling a lot
• Both treat those of a lower rank in their “organization” with class and respect
• Eloise, Lumine
• Viktor
• Both treat Paimon as a person
• Alain I think made Paimon’s outfit
• Childe noticed Paimon’s absence almost immediately and will treat her to meals!
• At the Danse au Jugement, both are dressed as the guilty party

I’m getting off-track.  It’s about the themes, not the exact plot lines. Pantalone wants to climb the Fatui ranks with a shortcut and backhanded tactics, while Childe isn’t going about his day thinking What can I do so the Tsaritsa will notice me?  He simply serves his Tsaritsa and if he remains as Eleventh Harbinger, so be it.  That’s why it would be a final nail in Pantalone’s coffin if Childe gets promoted by the Tsaritsa to a higher rank than Pantalone.  It would mean by neglecting his duties to the Tsaritsa by building a kingdom in Fontaine, Pantalone loses his standing in the Fatui organization right after his kingdom crumbles.  That everything he did was for nothing.  The same thing happened to the Doctor in Sumeru, after all; he fucked around and found out, after all of his unethical experiments done “just because”—it was another (former) Harbinger that had the integrity to stop the hellish actions of this one man and erase the blight plaguing Sumeru’s health.

Childe mentioned that his personal goal at the Danse au Jugement is to not be lonely in a corner; no one told him you had to bring a partner to the Danse au Jugement.  No one told him of the contract for the Geo gnosis in Liyue.  This year Childe will make everyone go Wow! over his dance skills and amazing partner.  This year Childe will be the one to obtain the Hydro gnosis in Fontaine.  Lumine even adds that she was supposed to be Childe’s date last year but couldn’t make it. Last year, Lumine couldn’t be Childe’s ally in obtaining the gnosis; she was an enemy.  This year, Lumine is his date and everyone is going wild.  This year, Lumine might become Childe’s ally in obtaining the gnosis.

Something I’ve not mentioned: Lumine loves friendship and fighting.  Childe loves comradery and battle.  Yet we see that Childe in Fontaine believes duty to his Tsaritsa must come before his personal endeavours.  He declines Lumine’s request to go with the Danse au Jugement with her because it would risk his diplomatic status in Fontaine (until he learns it would not and then it’s fine!).  He joins the Fatui entourage to Alain because Pantalone requests them all to intimidate him (and he does it without complaint!).  He seeks out his fellow Harbingers for mandatory socializing time (and then learns they don’t want to socialize with him).  If Lumine has a duty to the people of Fontaine, then Childe has a duty to the Fatui organization; while Lumine has found a way to connect with the people, Childe is actively being kept away from the important stuff and it hurts.  And that’s why Childe is drawn more and more to the Punches for Pantalone club, because doing shenanigans together is more fun than standing in the corner of a ballroom alone when you’re a fantastic dancer.

Let’s hope that the Tsaritsa pays attention to our favourite Harbinger…  Because the author has a lot more in store for him.

Viktor

Because Viktor is what Childe was in the past.

And what did you think of the Fatui prior to Viktor and Childe’s talk in the garden?  What did you think of the people in Fontaine prior to Lumine talking to Ayato?  It’s easy for readers to get a mob mentality and condemn all characters for the (in)actions of a few named and unnamed characters.  Likewise, all it takes is one (1) character to sway our hearts.  That’s what Viktor is for, because while Lumine’s and Alain’s arc has been clear as day, Lulu has likely been scheming so Childe won’t have to for what his arc will lead up to.  For that, the Fatui might need to be put in a good light after the darkness Pantalone flung them in.

Childe pointed out himself that Viktor and Childe have more in common, having served under Pulcinella and hailing from Snezhnaya when so many of the Harbingers are from other nations, and because we think well of Viktor, we should think well of Childe as a Fatui Harbinger too.  It’s easier of course because we loathe Fatui Harbinger Pantalone, and we want a hero in contrast.

In the scene between Childe and Viktor, Childe embodied the ideals Alain carries by being graceful to those lower on the ladder and genuinely interested in the answers to his questions, and the contrast is clear when Viktor is snatched up by Pantalone to fetch Lumine for the preparations for the Danse au Jugement and not caring for the answers Viktor gave Pantalone.

Viktor is here to show that Childe is good, Pantalone is bad, and the Fatui grunts are also just people without the ability to stand up to the corrupt Pantalone drunk on power.  Don’t judge people too soon, lest your prejudices make you condemn a whole group of people just trying to live their lives.

Hydro Archon

Though she has not made an appearance in the fic yet, she is always watching over us.

For Lumine, the Hydro Archon is the main goal.  The Hydro Archon is also the main goal for the Fatui, because they need the gnosis.  Alain and Pantalone are playing chess on a different field, and it’s a good endeavour (because Alain can do no wrong and Pantalone is the source of most things wrong with Fontaine).

The Hydro Archon picked Pantalone’s side over the Lochfolk’s fate all those years ago.  The theme of the Danse au Jugement is the guilty and the innocent, and since the Hydro Archon executed someone, I’m inclined to believe she is guilty of something.  She strips people of their rank if they so much as whisper about the ongoing water crisis.  She allows Pantalone to do as he pleases.

The Hydro Archon is either colluding with Pantalone and has chosen her champion or Pantalone has blackmail material on the Hydro Archon who is lonely at the top and just like Lumine at the start of the story, feeling hopeless in getting out of this situation.

It spirals into wild speculation time, but Pantalone and the Doctor are allies and the Doctor is dead, so perhaps the Doctor had a hand in the disappearance of the Lochfolk and with the Doctor gone, there is hope for the source of the Hydro Archon’s trouble to be addressed (and for the Lochfolk to, perhaps, return).  Regardless, Lumine has an open mind and can reserve her judgement until after hearing the whole story.  We readers should too.  The next batch of chapters will be the most interesting for this part of the story, as I’ve mostly speculated over Childe succeeding in getting the gnosis for the Tsaritsa and Lumine putting her duty for the people of Fontaine before her personal wants, yet I’ve remained silent on what the Hydro Archon does.

In the theme, she’s a person with seemingly enough power to get rid of the problems in the nation who does nothing to help those below her and instead exacerbates the problem by letting the pollution run rampant.  Alain didn’t see a solution until Lumine showed up, so perhaps, the Hydro Archon doesn’t see a solution until Lumine shines her light on her corner.

Diluc

Diluc is the first of Lumine’s friends to come rushing to her aid.  I won’t bore you with all the canon parallels between Diluc and Childe and instead, I’ll point towards Diluc being necessary to show Lumine chooses her duty to the people of Fontaine over her personal wants to blend in at the Danse au Jugement.

Lumine has a clear choice between Harbinger Tartaglia and Gentleman Diluc, and she decides—amidst the World Quest, of seeing the crisis on Fontaine first-hand—that Childe is the choice while Diluc remains a good ally at the Danse au Jugement and the weeks afterwards.

Speaking of the weeks afterwards.  There has been a focus on “brawns being useless at Fontaine muahaha” by Pantalone.  Despite that, there have been plenty of people with their weapons—Childe fighting a Lawachurl, Lumine fighting a Hilichurl, Alain aiming a bow, Childe drawing attention to Diluc’s skills in battle and Diluc promising he will come to Lumine’s aid in battle if she needs it.  Though it’s perhaps more my own hope for the slow burn of Childe and Diluc’s future battle to combust in the next few chapters that convinces me that there will be a battle, I’m convinced something is brewing.  It’s just a question if Childe and Diluc will be on opposite sides.  Considering the club is called Punches for Pantalone, fighting must be inevitable.  If Pantalone is truly behind the disappearance of the Lochfolk, and Childe is continually kept out of the loop by the Fatui, it’s feasible that it’s Punches for Pantalone (including Childe lurking in the background) vs the Fatui. Not inevitable, but feasible.

Regardless—Diluc is here to show that Lumine has friends all over the world and share the burden weighing on Paimon’s shoulders.  His shaky truce with Harbinger Tartaglia also points towards the fatui not being outright bad guys, so to keep an open mind instead of judging a whole group because of the distasteful actions of one person.

Dunyarzad

Dunyarzad!  We love Dunyarzad in this house!

Obviously Dunyarzad emphasizes that Lumine has friends from all over the world.  Still, there’s more lurking in as good as a single throwaway line that obviously didn’t get cut because it fits with the theme of Punches for Pantalone club: accepting members.  (Instead of gatekeeping the way Pantalone does with his corrupt Rank Null club.)

Because Diluc decided to offer more than only alcohol as beverages, Dunyarzad felt part of a group at the celebrations that asked for people to raise their glass.  Because you need to accept people, whether they can actually drink alcohol (punch Pantalone) or just want to hang out with that group (receive a picture of the punching event), and as club owner you have to be fine with it.  The only-alcohol club is elitist the way the Rank Nulls currently are, and so Petrichor is missing out on so many amazing people who are in positions similar to Dunyarzad.  There is a reason Paimon enunciates a true Gentleman so clearly, and that’s because all it takes is for one gentleman to make a change high-up to make the lives of the people below him much more pleasant.  (Diluc did it years ago; Pantalone made the lives of people worse years ago; Alain and by an extent Childe are going to make the lives of people much more pleasant by making a change this year.)

Ayato

Lumine showcased how well she knew her friends by differentiating between the smiles.  By going to Inazuma, it opens up the world to all the other nations so even if Fontaine is hostile to her, she can recharge with other allies.

Ayato is, however, the first to be invited by Lumine and Paimon to join the Punches for Pantalone club even after Ayato said that he would not attend the Danse au Jugement but it would be Hiiragi.  It shows that Punches for Pantalone is truly open to all and that plenty of people will want to join.  It’s a stark contrast to the gatekeep-y Court of Fontaine and the picture painted of Pantalone being the king of Fontaine.

Enjou

Enjou looks forward to the food so he is a good cookie.

Though we see more of Aether so psyche!  This isn’t Enjou, it’s Aether in disguise!

Even after CENTURIES, Aether’s read on Lumine’s choice of going with someone lowkey is top notch.  While I had been worrying about what Lumine thought of Teyvat (the people of Fontaine) after her unsavoury introduction to them, the Abyss order *cough* AETHER *cough* considers it important to figure out what Teyvat thinks of Lumine.

*cries over Aether*  Lumine wanting to punch Pantalone started because he tried to keep her away from her brother.  Aether has trouble calling her by name but cares so much about her and knows her.  What they have goes beyond friendship but the fact remains: the relationships we form, foster, and forge are what will keep us from falling during the hard times.  Controlling people, what Pantalone is doing, is not enough.  Even when we don’t see the people, they can help us from afar.

…And that’s where Enjou comes in.  He’s an ally, a friend, who will pick Lumine’s side in case sides need to be picked.

Ningguang

She is a queen who is richer than Pantalone.

I’m not there yet in my reread but since she is untouchable by Pantalone, she is ready for the front row seat of seeing the scumbag fall from false grace.  She is among the people who want to punch Pantalone and will pick Lumine’s side.

Kokomi and Gorou

More allies who pick Lumine’s side!

To summarize the theme summary of the literal summary of the story written by an author priding themselves on being concise:

On all levels of the story, something toxic has slipped into a formerly thriving environment.  Our heroes want to repair the state that has been lost (Fontaine’s water crisis; the Court’s corruption conundrum; the Fatui’s Harbinger hacks; the Hydro Archon’s passive presence) even if not everyone is as aware of it.  Though it’s not clear yet (as the water is still cloudy pre-purification), it seems that Pantalone is at the heart of every single one of those problems and Lumine is at the core of every single one of the solutions to them.

A summary less brief

Pantalone is corporational greed that costs us our society, our environment, and our peace of mind.  The only way to stop him is through collective action or with a really good punch to shut him up.  Lumine is the spark everyone will rally around and though she sees that Pantalone is a big part of what’s wrong with Fontaine, the question still lingers why a being with nearly as much power as Lumine hasn’t put a stop to this and the other crises decades ago–Lumine got drawn in active protest by her personal fight against Pantalone and has shifted to a fight for the people of Fontaine against the standard of living to plead with the Hydro Archon to do better.  Lumine will grant people their peace of mind since Pantalone (and the Hydro Archon) have robbed them of it with all the environmental crises lacking action from the higher ups and abuse of power from the said people to exploit those below them.  Lumine will make sure there will be no abuse of power and inaction from those higher up, so every single person can thrive and walk Fontaine without fear.

Alain is an older fellow who knows his history and since the misdeeds have happened in his homeland, it’s his right and duty more than anyone else’s in the story to claim the throne Pantalone is occupying for someone in Fontaine.  Alain will set the society back to rights by leading through example and those less brave can follow in his footsteps so Fontaine has a chance of addressing all the other problems through collective effort.  

The greed that cost them the environment, I don’t know who will be the great champion for it, but Alain and Lumine won’t rest until they have done everything necessary.  

As for Childe…  Pantalone’s focus on personal gains would cost the Tsaritsa the opportunity of making the Hydro gnosis her own, and I fully believe that Childe will make a name for himself for all the fatui agents in Fontaine and beyond by succeeding in one “season” while Pantalone has been failing for a decade to obtain the prize for the Tsaritsa.  Childe will bring victory to the Fatui after Pantalone lost sight of the duty he has to the Tsaritsa.

Bonus

It hurts me in my heart that I have said nothing about food even though that is the MOST TANGIBLE part of this fic.  Food tells its own story here that it could warrant its own essay.  Trust.  (It’s just that I will not be writing it as it has been scattered across all my comments on the fic.  Go find my comments on AO3 if you’re interested!)