HoYoVerse, through their recent Twitter post regarding the Curatorium of Secrets, just divulged incredible Genshin Impact lore, and one particular aspect, the cat Ashru is so overworked that she has been given the responsibility to assist the commission backlog, is driving the players crazy. The official Genshin Impact account also informed that the Curatorium of Secrets had been flooded with commissions after the last major crisis and even Ashru was involved in what they called the “Ashru’s After-Hours.”
But what exactly is the Curatorium of Secrets? If you are one of those who are not very much aware of Genshin lore (to be honest, that is most of us), it is simply a secretive body that handles, well, secrets. The tweet does not provide significant details but it does offer a peek into the behind-the-scenes activities since the last significant story arc has been closed. It appears that the place has been in such chaos that even the cat employees of the organization are getting assigned tasks.
The community response has been nothing less than craziness with the player community quickly catching the Ashru revelation. One player @ALKMapache openly declared “I love Ashru. ❤️😺” while another @brokuroos called her “a working kitty” – which to be honest, practically. The cat love was indeed across the board, with @Ecydis simply spamming “Cat. Cat cat cat cat cat.” because sometimes you do not need sophisticated analysis when you have a cute cat character doing the paperwork.
However, not everyone was here just for the fluffy fun. The replies section quickly turned into a mix of excitement and… well, some of the well-known complaints that Genshin players have been voicing forever. @gametijdnl1 did not wait long and popped the question “still not listening to your players add a skip button now” – a feeling that definitely resonated with others in the community who are looking for quicker ways to get past the dialogue. Nevertheless, @berouzxz replied to this remark by saying that “half of you don’t understand the story in a story-based game” which… okay, that is actually a fair point.
The timing of this announcement is particularly noteworthy since it coincides with players who are trying to cope with the ever-expanding Genshin story. @Vorpalsoul42 admitted “i need to play again more and catch up with the story!” which to be honest same – the content in this game can be quite overwhelming sometimes. And then there was @ManongBoompi who was asking the really deep questions: “Is teyvat round like globe and a sphere or flat like yggdrasil???” Like, dude, we are just trying to understand why the cat has an office job now.
It is very fascinating that HoYoVerse continues to shape their world through these minor character moments. Ashru had not been a major character before this but now she has her own mini-arc of workplace struggles? This is the kind of detail that brings the world of Genshin to life. But then again, @YuChronos raised a question and asked “Who edited this promotional image????” because let’s face it sometimes the marketing team is a bit… creative with their Photoshop skills.
The whole “after-hours” thing suggests that we might get some night content or maybe a new gameplay feature that involves time cycles. Or maybe it’s just flavor text – with Genshin you never really know until the update shows up. @OpTiMiSt_CaT39’s mysterious “Jst drop durin drip bruv” could be hinting at something big coming or it might just be someone who is very eager for the Fontaine drip marketing to hurry up already.
Then we had @Coliflor___ who, while all this Ashru hype was going on, decided to ask for something: “Beautiful cat, but can you add Xingqiu’s Brother on the game please? I need him! ☺️😚❤️” because why not ask for new characters when we are talking about cats with office jobs?
The main idea here is that Genshin Impact is still expanding its world in ways that are more or less organic and sometimes delightfully absurd. We have moved on from battling gods and exploring ancient ruins to… whether the feline assistant of the secret-keeping organization is getting enough overtime pay. It is these little human (and animal) moments that make the world of Teyvat feel really alive even if the stakes are cosmic.
What does this imply in terms of actual gameplay? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps new commissions with the Curatorium will be introduced, it could be that Ashru will become a playable character (please?), or it is just paving the way for something much bigger coming up. One thing is for sure – when Genshin starts talking about secret organizations and overworked cats, players certainly pay attention. Now if you would please excuse me, I need to check if my own cat can help with my commission backlog. PlayStation and Xbox gamers might appreciate these character-driven stories too.
