Electro and the Concept of Eternity [Genshin Impact Analysis and Lore]

Hello Aster, love your content!!! I was wondering if you could continue with this series, maybe in shorts form, I enjoy it so much, your understanding of each ideal and how it connects to each character! Thanks!

I have as of late been having thoughts regarding the elements and have come to a conclusion about Electro: it's actually two elements forced into one slot. Electro is both Eternity and an Instant [or Transience as another commenter mentioned] and this can relate to the various vision wielders for electro. eternity in the unchanging, the steadfast, and the consistent vs transience in the turning point that sparked that vision, that point where a character's previous stasis was thrown out and had to be adapted and a new baseline had to be put forth. this also works with how Electro is lightning in my mind. on the one hand lightning is essentially pure energy [it's plasma but electro is used as an energy stand-in so it's fiiiiiiiine] but lightning strikes are things that are only there for a moment.

(there was supposed to be a bunch of "Enter" keys here but then the first paragraph ended up being too long and making a read-more all on its own...)


I... also have developed an idea of how visions are "sparked" in the first place and if i could see/hear/etc your thoughts on it that'd be great? I'll just.... include that mini-theory in short-form here: the idea is that a vision is sparked when one both actualizes and seeks the appropriate element. so in the case of electro/eternity[+transience] it could be realizing who oneself truly is and wanting to live by that code or ideal even when it might be difficult, potentially in addition to realizing who oneself truly wishes they could be.

Maybe that's how the people with visions were selected for which element, if a person is for example really ambitious and that person's ambition is for example War against rules they might get a pyro vision? i am aware this is weird since archon could die or possibly change ideals but when transience died transience was her definition of eternity, eternity in Transience so it technically is still eternity but there is still a hole which is why would gods care about an archons ideal? maybe because these ideals ARE part of the heavenly priniciples or heavenly rules? Idk this all is very fasinating and genshin has such a good magic system. This type of videos are so good i hope you can make some more of this for the other 2 nations and maybe for sneznaya when it actually comes out

I wonder something how cyno fits in eternity with him being based around justice more

I loved this series can’t wait for more!! Also have you thought of cryo’s love ideal being twisted into obsession. I feel a lot of creo characters better fit this than love

Damn Fischl's story hit too close to home.

Cryo next pls

Is Cyno eternity in Justice?

dude why was the last sentence so ominous??????????????

Is that senbonzakura playing in the background

To me Cryo seems to represent defiance

This reminds me in that Tagalog's word for forever or eternity is hambambuhay which literally means "as long as it's alive"

I don’t know about the idea of eternity as the bases of the electro visions in my opinion.

For me I always saw it as the desire/ambition to protect something.

Fischl and her fantasies.
Lisa and knowledge
Razor and his lupicas
Kujou Sara and her strength or something like that.

Ya know, things like that. I interpret the idea of electro as a way to protect one’s self or others.

Can u do Geo or Cryo Next

Can't wait for more of this series if you ever plan on it.

You put it really good but I think you missed a part. You put eternity as a view of Raiden Shogun vessel or puppet which shared her own outdated ideas. She saw the puppet raiden as a tool to bring rules that would never change so the never changing region could be true but it wasn't. No matter what the puppet shogun did change was unstopable. The eternity is in change. Their world and same for ours is changing no matter what are our decisions. But our impact to it is defined by our dreams as Ei talks about it in her (second quest) Transient Dreams in Cleansing Light. She understood Makoto after it as Makoto's philosophy was "Makoto was concerned with the force that drives humans to constantly generate new ambitions in the first place. It is something innate, rooted in instinct - in other words it is something eternal". "An ambition is yearning for something material, or a concrete outcome. It is finite by nature, and will be replace by a new ambition due course." So I think in Makoto's (and now Ei) definiton was the infinite humans drive/dreams that allows people to constantly yearn for concrete ambition and replacing the ambitions constantly. Cause the drive or dream is more abstract and imaginary so people can't really yearn for the outcome or material thing. But that''s what makes them take action. And it's a cycle. There are few cycles that are infinite like "something ends, something begins" - change. And with Yae's holding memory it is a cycle too. The trend for something in books or fashion comes and goes. Same for Keqing's traditions. There is always change. Even tho change isn't still it's infinite cycle. Kinda abstract but their definiton of eternity is abstract. Past, present and future is also infinite. There will be always something from past during present moment and in the future. The three are infinite. Every holder of an electro vision has a drive that makes them take action. (Sorry for my bad grammar or spelling, this isn't an attack just my personal opinion, didn't mean to be rude.)

I’d also like to add that it’s unknown whether Yae got her vision before or after Makoto passed, so she could have received her vision while transience was still the Electro Archon’s ideal. She can fit under both, but she does seem to agree a lot more with the ideal of transience

Ig if sumuru is the nation of wisdom, everyone in the game is stupid except for Baizhu. He’s too smart for him to be under our control

Fischl/Amy is really sad, all she wanted was to be accepted, so she just made a friend, I'm really happy that Aether/Lumine, Paimon and Bennett all became friends with her
I headcannon that Fischl, Bennett and Razor all became friends due them all wanted to be accepted in some way and Fischl and Razor gotten used to Bennett's bad luck

🤍💜💜🤍

I always thought that Beidou getting her vision through slaying the sea monster was a manifestation of eternity via leaving something behind once you're gone. The memory of her challenging Haishan will outlive her thus making Beidou somewhat eternal.

Out of all the variants of eternity, I relate to loyalty the most

what is the song that plays in the background when you talk about lisa?

A little fact. Yae doesn't have a vision. Her vision is fake like Xiao.

Keqing also came to admire and appreciate Rex Lapis and his contribution to Liyue in the end.

WOOO YEAHHH I LOVE THIS SERIES

Bennett is eternal...eternally picked in spiral abyss

Depending on the story, eternity is just a slightly longer personal story. “We are all transitory guests.” -D

why did you abandon the video you made about pyro and the concept of war?

Electro is my favourite element. Way before starting to play Genshin, the first tattoo I got was a lightning, because I LOVE storms and all the cultural meanings they have.

Kinda thought Kequins was gonna be defiance but yeah yours make more sense 😂
So I guess so far with the ones you’ve done, geo is gonna be the easiest one to do after right ?
I mean… they all have something to do with upholding a contract.
Itto and the red and blue oni for example.

ASTERRR U ALSO DID PRYO AND THE CONCEPT OF JUSTICEEE THIS IS PART 4 i just wanted to tell uuu great videoooo love ur workkk <3

I feel like there is something makes Inazuma different from Monstadt and Liyue, i thought it was inazumans God still existing + they knowing who she is but no,its something deeper

I'm excited for Geo

That violet room bgm is really good for these kinds of videoss nice workk

Another amazing video, this series is one of my favorite and i am very excited to see your take on Geo, Cryo and in the future Dendro.
I also like that take on Ei, Makoto and the Shogun and how they don't have a version of Eternity, THEY are Eternity

This was such a good watch, very cool concepts, I wouldnt have been able to put half of this together, you are seriously well spoken :O
I mainly play Genshin for the story, I love huge overarching narratives with a lot of mystery, playing the long game with setup and payoff and this is what makes it worth it, analysees and theories, ideas that may or may not come true but are great to experience regardless.
Anyways, thanks for the video, great work.

I'm curious what Ei & Raiden Shogun would think of Qiqi, who's also stuck in a state of eternity.

If I had to give my own interpretation, I think electro users represent eccentricity rather than eternity. Based on the chapter preview trailer, eternity was Ei's personal goal, not something that was to represent the element. Each of the individuals holding an electro vision are different than the peers around them. Miko is a grand priestess yet focuses on her own amusement rather than her followers needs like kokomi. Sara is a very stern individual that can't quite seem to personally connect with her fellow soldiers describing herself as hard to talk to unlike gorou. Lisa is seemingly a lazy genius, every character from Mondstand has a high opinion of her and what duties she does have she takes seriously like going so far just for a missing book. Doing Beidou's hangouts and listening to Ganyu's voiceline about her, some people in Liyue have a negative opinion of her based the way she lives her life as a captain. Beidou would be described as eccentric among the people of Liyue. The same for Keqing. The people of Liyue would dedicate an entire year's economic road map based on the words of Rex Lapis, yet someone of Keqing's station speaks against it. She comments herself her views are unshared by all her peers. Razor is a human among wolves, quite straightforward. Fischl's entire character can be described as eccentric as well. She is a highly regarded scout for the adventurer's guild, but others find it hard to relate to her or even understanding her without Oz. At times Amy does pop out, followed by a burst of embarrassment, just to be covered up by more Fischl's persona. Then there is Ei, an archon they deemed it acceptable to strip vision bearers of their ambition's. The very reason the vision manifested in the first place. Ei's idea of eternity is much less flexible than Venti's idea of freedom or Zhongli's dedication to keeping contracts. Eccentric is defined as unconventional or slightly strange, it is broad but fits the electro characters well.

Ok, this sounds like an awesome video to play in the background while grinding or doing something else. Thanks to this video, I am reminded of why the electrio element is probably my favorite. Yeah when it comes to meta, it is all either not good or broken like pyro and blah blah blah, I at least like the cast within that element and Ei has some soild people who have that power. This video was an awesome look into how each characters version of eternity is to them and overall, this was an in depth and amazing video! Oh and electric has all the top tier women lol but seriously, great job!

Man, I remember really wanting to write an essay about this too (but wasn't sure if anyone would care, lol). Before watching the video, my own conclusions to comes down to comparing how Ei's philosophy differs from her sister Makoto on what "eternity" means. While Ei looked at eternity as trying to keep things constant so no change would occur (via isolationism and the Sakoku decree taking away people's visions and ambition), she later realizes in later quests that Makoto's philosophy of "eternity" is much more encompassing and true. While not explicitly said in the game, her philosophy aligns with that well known phrase "change is the only constant in life." After this, I'll admit to feeling much more at ease with that explanation since "eternity" at first seemed like such a weird theme to represent something so ephemeral and transient like bolts of lightning. Rather, "eternity" was probably referring to something like an electric field that influences the electric currents.

cringe

Regarding Ei, it is now spelt as "Aethernity".

Your points about Fischl are interesting. Out of all the characters in Genshin, I find Fischl the most relatable. Her experiences with lonliness remind me of my own experiences growing up with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome and being unable to make and keep friends. From experience, I know that failing over and over again to make friends and constantly being rejected by your peers really ruins your self esteem and your ability to trust people.
Her connection to and reliance on fantasy as a constant in her life, even when others reject her for it, reminds me of how I used to immerse myself into fantasy novels and video games because I know that human friendships were confusing, unpredictable, and nearly impossible to obtain. I was lonely and depressed, but it was my unique, solitary, special interests that served as a constant in my life that helped me, not relying on other people or something as unpredictable as friendship. And its great that she has Oz to confide in, because who wouldn't want a magical raven best friend who can emotionally support and protect you?
Yae may be my main character to use in battle, but Fischl will always be Best Girl and a relatable comfort character to me.

I find Lisa's form as the most interesting one while Yae's form of eternity as something I totally agrees on. I love electro characters no matter how much metaslaves sht on them, they are all so interesting both in design and writing.

When you think about it, eternity is transient. Energy in this universe has always been the same, but constantly changes form. Within the many forms it takes, the total amount of energy is maintained

Still, you’re reading the comment of some guy who doesn’t know much about physics, and I might have spoken nonsense there.

Wasn't there also a pyro video, not just hydro and anemo?

Now this is information about vision holders and its element that I looking for...

Yes yes yes yes I've been looking forward to another one of these for MONTHS I'm so happy you're still doing the element videos <3 <3 <3