u/Educational-Ear-3290

(here i am with another longggg thread of the rooster, i hope this is helpful for anyone who wants to know more about him)

Just like how pantalone is the snezhnaya's economy icon, pulcinella is the military icon (as he should be) and sometimes being the biggest snezhnaya's city mayor, is something you can definitely take advantage of, a little grandpa who looks "weak" of course need some people around him for... the "protection" professional. The military running out of supplies? Oh "That darn pantalone" ! Make sense he hates and blame that rich man so much. "do you have a problem, Snezhnograd citizens? Better call pulcinella" and when you call, the grandpa is ready to bless you, no wonder people love him over there.

Okay, so what "proofs" we have that confirms he is the military man? I cheeked wiki websites for information and here are the things :

First of all, he commands the ninth company (Data from genshin impact wiki)

This is the clearest evidence we have. The company was sent into the chasm as part of an agreement between signora and the liyue qixing. After tartaglia's attack on liyue, diplomatic relations soured. The qixing pulled their support, and the supply lines were cut. The ninth company, "some of pulcinella's men", was left stranded deep underground with no orders, no supplies, and no way out. The company's original 64 members were reduced to half its number, their captain was missing, and their chain of command had collapsed. Pulcinella never issued a rescue order. In his "great gains at a small price" calculus, the risk of a diplomatic incident with liyue was not worth the "less valuable asset" of an entire company of his own soldiers. Anton, his direct subordinate, explicitly states that "dispensing with 'less valuable assets'" is the harbinger's modus operandi.

Second, he recruits and nurtures soldiers personally (Namuwiki)

Pulcinella didn't just hire tartaglia, he personally inducted a young ajax into the fatui. He saw the boy's chaotic potential and nurtured him into the eleventh Harbinger. This shows he has an "outstanding eye" for a soldier's talent, a key trait for any military commander. He isn't just a bureaucrat, he's actively shaping the fatui's military personnel.

Third, he has "nigh-unlimited executive authority" (found from breeze wiki)

As the fifth harbinger, pulcinella was "invested with nigh-unlimited executive authority by the tsaritsa". This isn't just about running a city. He could "command the authority of any fatuus who weren't themselves harbingers, and presumably wielded unquestionable authority in snezhnaya" . So i think he is one of the highest-ranking officials in the entire nation, with direct authority over the fatui's military forces.

Fourth, he leads his own division (ign and breeze wiki)

The fatui Harbingers are not figureheads.They each manage their own divisions. Pulcinella is no exception. He commands his own soldiers, as evidenced by the ninth Company and by him reassigning subordinates like viktor to different posts. He is a field commander, not just a desk jockey.

Fifth, he is a generalist in a "special forces" organization

I remember an analysis from a leaker in 2022 and it was like this as i remember, "the fatui are the tsaritsa's special forces. But someone has to run the regular army, the soldiers who guard snezhnaya, patrol its borders, and maintain order. That's pulcinella. While other Harbingers are specialists (mad scientist, spy master, assassin), the rooster is the one in charge of the entire military apparatus of the nation."

The entire commedia dell'arte framework positions him as a survivor. He doesn't survive by raw power (like commedia capitano). He survives by strategy. He makes hard choices, like abandoning the ninth company, to preserve his more "valuable assets" the nation...

And once again, the domovoy race being mentioned in genshin, a domovoy is the "master of the home" who ensures the "normal life of the family, fertility, and health of people and animals". But it is also ambivalent, both benevolent and malevolent. It helps the family, but it punishes the lazy, the disrespectful, and the unworthy. The "less valuable asset" mentality is not a corruption of the domovoy. It is its dark side. The Domovoy's duty is to the survival of the household, not the survival of every individual within it. And when a member of the household, a soldier, a servant, a family member, becomes a burden, the domovoy discards them. The Domovoy does not "abandon" his family. He protects it, even if that means sacrificing a few. The same logic applies to pulcinella. He did not abandon the ninth company out of malice. He made a calculation. The supply line was cut. The political situation had changed. Rescuing them would have cost more than they were worth.

And in travail teyvat chapter, genshin wiki :

"Pulcinella and his followers" are the featured character(s) for Act VI, Snezhnaya"

Not "Pulcinella and his friends", Not "Pulcinella and his bodyguards" Simply, Followers...

In a military dictatorship like snezhnaya, the "followers" of a high ranking official are his troops. His command. His army.

The ninth company was "some of pulcinella's men". They were not special forces. They were regular army. And they were his. And the four npcs in travail basically stand near that throne looking like any regular fatui npc soldier to prove one thing, this little grandpa on the throne is really the military man.

(This thread is going to be longggg)

I think many fatui believers or comrades if not all absolutely know that he is based on Commedia dell'arte, Pulcinella, specially the beak nose, the old appearance, the codename, everything is so obvious! But I want to bring something here that makes the rooster what you can say "different" from other harbingers and it is not to say that other harbingers are bad or anything, it is just leaning on original sources and comparing because I want people to know how rooster is really in fact one of the most harbinger loyal to the "original" sources if not the first (I honestly think he is the first though). He really IS the original pulcinella from 400 years ago theater being bring back to genshin impact.

Again, The Fatui Harbingers are named after commedia dell'arte masks, yes, but here is some different. And I explain why in fact, Most of them are loosely inspired at best :

begining : (it is just a simple summary of the characters of course not their full story! if I said something wrong, please correct me in the comments)

I compare each fatui harbinger to the source their names and nicknames comes from (commedia dell'arte) and also some references. I later explain why I said 🐔 is really special

First one is commedia dell'arte, second is how they appeared in genshin

Tartaglia (zanni) : A stutterer, often a cowardly or bumbling servant → A battle-hungry, confident, reckless warrior. (Only the name remains.)

Scaramouche (zanni) : A boastful, cowardly soldier, a braggart who gets beaten. → A powerful, bitter puppet who seeks to become a god. (kept arrogance, lost cowardice.)

Arlecchino (zanni) : Mischievous, acrobatic, gluttonous trickster servant → cold, calculating, runs an orphanage. (The opposite of the original, also gender has changed to female)

Columbina (zanni) : A sweet, clever maidservant, the sensible one. → An ethereal, god-like "angel" a Moon Goddess. (Kept the name, but completely reimagined)

Signora (vecchi) : braggart captain or a lady, often arrogant → The Crimson Witch, a proud, tragic figure consumed by grief. (Kept pride, but her backstory is original to genshin)

Sandrone (zanni) : Peasant, often simple or naive and a gardener. → A reclusive genius inventor who commands robots. (A complete reimagining but it might be differently on 6.7, don't know, also gender change)

Il Dottore (vecchi) : pompous, pseudo-intellectual, comically incompetent doctor → brilliant, ruthless, terrifying mad scientist. (Inverted from fool to "monster".)

Pantalone (vecchi) : greedy, wealthy merchant. → greedy, wealthy, dignified, really does give a vecchi (master) vibes (Kept the core, honestly design wise and personality wise, ate)

Capitano (vecchi) : A braggart soldier, a coward who claims great deeds → An honorable, powerful, respected warrior who sacrificed himself. (Literally the opposite of the original)

Pierro (vecchi) : Sad clown, pining for columbina, often lovesick. →stern, serious, speaks in riddles, never smiles (Name only. His personality is the opposite.)

Pulcinella (zanni) : hunchbacked, pot-bellied, beak-nosed servant, originally old, a "social chameleon" who can be master or servant "middle" morality. → elderly, short, mustachioed, beak-nosed, pointed ears, harbinger number 5 (middle)(Appearance, personality, and "middle" role are all faithful to the original.)

Also the horn like symbol on his hat is connected to shamanism, and his constellation (a shaman hand) which is literally has been contacted to commedia dell'arte pulcinella's hundred of years ago BEFORE this character even arrive at theaters. The informations I find from some websites :

The horn on his hat In Neapolitan tradition, the "corno" is an ancient amulet against the "evil eye." It dates back to Neolithic fertility cults (3500 BCE). Its shape The horn is phallic, a symbol of fertility, prosperity, and protection. Its function It wards off malocchio (evil eye) and bad luck. Shamans use charms to protect the community. →the rooster's crow at dawn marks the transition from night to day, from death to rebirth. Also Mentions in ancient Greek, the rooster is sacred to Persephone (Queen of the Underworld). It guides souls between worlds. → Pulcinella's name Derived from pulcino (chick) – linking him to Persephone and the cycle of death and rebirth. → masks are used in rituals to channel spirits, to transform the wearer into a different being.

Pulcinella's most famous act is killing death itself. He beats the personification of death with a stick. This is not just comedy, it is a ritual triumph over mortality! The shaman's role is to mediate between the living and the dead. Pulcinella does not just visit the underworld, he conquers it!

Also the connection to domovoy which is a type of fae mentioned in genshin impact officially, proves it more

A domovoy (an old dwarf man, grandpa appearance, protective of his homeland)

Original pulcinella (he can take on many forms but most sources and official sources are mentioned him as an old, short man with grandpa appearance, (Lies Of P pulcinella stayed loyal to this), connected to shamanism health and protection of the homeland)

Genshin pulcinella (grandpa appearance, old age, protective of his homeland snezhnaya, mayor for this reason I think)

Original commedia dell'arte pulcinella is "gray". That's what I meant by "middle". He can be rightful he can be jealous he can be the good guy he can be the bad guy literally everything. I think from how pulcinella Is described in genshin, maybe close? And with all of this, he is a servant at the end, a servant even in the highest position can't appear as a master (pulcinella vs pantalone) But at the end, both pulcinella want one think, protecting their homeland, their people and their nation.

Genshin used domovoy to make it more make sense for a Italian theater character to suddenly show up in Russia, and they picked an excellent close choice!

I honestly think they picked pulcinella a literally originally grandpa in all sources to not change his appearance! And domovoy fae race being "old man" hmmm, there are beautiful fae races in snezhnaya but domovoy being simply described as "grandpas"...make sense for his original fae appearance to be what we see!

So yes, when I said genshin's pulcinella is really in fact an incredible comparison to his original, I wasn't kidding. I'm really thankful of the designers or writers or researchers inside mihoyo (ahem not the company) who bring such a beautiful character to the genshin, I really hope they continue this and don't ruin him!

Okay so end of the thread, glory to the rooster 🐔 (I later will make a thread about pantalone as well since he is my second favorite harbinger)