Scaraether

Scarather is the slash ship between Scaramouche and Aether from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Scaramouche and Aether first meet in Mondstadt, during the events of Unreconciled Stars. In their first meeting, Scaramouche is pretending to be a simple traveller from Inazuma, and has a cordial but brief interaction with Aether and Fischl. However, when they meet him again later, Mona senses he's a dangerous individual, and teleports herself, Aether, and Fischl to safety. The two's last meeting takes place on a Mondstadt beach, where Scaramouche reveals his identity as a Harbinger and who had sent him there.

The two do not cross paths again until Aether becomes involved in the civil war in Inazuma, and heads to the delusion factory to put an end to Fatui intervention in the war. Scaramouche is overlooking the distribution of delusions, and upon seeing Aether, he mocks his strength (or lack thereof) and tries to rile him up by mentioning the many deaths the delusions have caused. Overcome by anger and what seems to be toxic gas, Aether attempts to fight the Harbinger, but passes out before making a single move.

Their third meeting takes place in Sumeru, where the Sages of the Akademiya and Dottore are trying to creating an artificial god, using Scaramouche and the Electro Gnosis as a power source. After connecting with Haypasia's consciousness, Aether is able to talk directly to Scaramouche: during their conversation, the Harbinger fails to recognize his wrongdoings and doubles down on his plan to become a man-made god. Because of Scaramouche's lack of remorse for his own actions, Aether shows no hesitation when it's finally time to confront him directly. Thanks to Nahida's pawer, the two battle within Scaramouche's consciousness for 168 times, all of which resulted in Scaramouche's victory. When they fight in reality, however, Aether is able to defeat him thanks to the experience he gained and to the advice of the people of Sumeru. After Scaramouche's defeat, he falls to the ground and loses consciousness, but Aether shows no interest in his enemy's wellbeing.

After the events of the Sumeru Archon Quest, Aether is summoned by Nahida at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where he finds a now-awake Scaramouche waiting for him. Nahida reveals that she needs both of their help to investigate Irminsul, and the two are forced to collaborate despite Aether's disapproval. Surprisingly, during the investigation, Scaramouche collaborates without much opposition, resorting instead to his usual snarky and rude comments to show his annoyance. However, after the revelation of the truth of Tatarasuna's Incident, an event that scarred The Balladeer permantly 400 years prior, he shields Aether and himself from Nahida's control. Holding his hands, he connects telepathically with the Traveler to ask him if the past could be changed. Because Aether neither denies of confirms it, Scaramouche interprets his answer as positive, and ventures in the Irminsul to delete Kabukimono, his first identity, and The Balladeer. In this altered timeline, Aether is able to meet with Scaramouche, now nameless, as he would've acted before experiencing betrayal and becoming a Harbinger, and gains a new perspective on his former enemy. During this time, the Wanderer does not recognize Aether, but he trusts him when he's asked to follow him to meet the Dendro Archon and try to find a solution to his missing memories. Because the Traveler mentions he wasn't "particularly agreeable" in his past incarnation, the Wanderer asks him why he's helping him, but Aether has no answer. The two then proceed to uncover the entirety of Scaramouche's life, from his days as Kabukimono to his time as a Harbinger. In the end, the Wanderer wishes to get his memories back, and regains his previous personality. The two are then attacked by Shouki no Kami, and Aether proceeds to protect the Wanderer as best he can, while the other is reliving through the trauma of his entire life once again. Before Shouki no Kami can defeat Aether, However, the Wanderer gains his Anemo vision and defeats what was supposed to be his body as a god. Once they leave the Wanderer's consiousness, he asks Aether to give him a new name, rejecting his past identities and showing trust in the Traveller's judgement. It is implied that going forward, the two will collaborate more often, and do not consider each other as an enemy anymore.

Quotes
"Per my agreement with Lesser Lord Kusanali, I’ll be at the front. It’s my job to lead the way and get rid of any obstacles in our path. All you have to do is keep your pretty eyes open and try not to fall behind."

- Scaramouche to Aether, during "Inversion of Genesis". "I'm trying to figure out a way to get rid of you so I can go commit atrocities. ...Wait, did you think I was being serious?"

- Wanderer's voiceline "(Wanderer)'s Troubles".

Fanon
The ship has been around since the Unreconciled Stars event back in patch 1.1, but has always been quite niche. It has experienced a sudden burst in popularity after the events of the Sumeru Archon Quests, and is considered to be a textbook Enemies-to-Lovers ship.

Another reason why the shippers are drawn to the pair is their differences in both design and personality. Aether is considered to be outgoing, kind, and friendly, and is often associated to sun imagery and light. Scaramouche, on the other hand, is aggressive, snarky, and pessimistic, and is associated to moon imagery and shadows. Furthermore, Aether sports a warm palette, using yellow, gold and brown, while Wanderer wears blue, teal, and white. Scaramouche's Harbinger design, on the other hand, is defined by the use of purple, black, and red, which creates a palette that is visually more similar to Aether's outfit.

After the Wanderer's teaser trailer dropped, many fans began to depict the two as the soldier (Scaramouche) and the ballerina (Aether) from the story.

It has reached 380+ works on AO3.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TWITTER

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * If the player attempts to name the Wanderer the same as the Traveler, he appears quite content to share a name.
 * The symbols used to represent the pair are usually ☂️☀️ or ☂️✨.