Diluc

yes, of course, he's loyal to mondstadt. that's his home, he loves it and it's people very much. of course.

that does not mean he doesn't care about khaenri'ah at all. like, come on, he has khaenri'ahn symbols all over his official captain uniform. his uniform in general is not unlike say, thrain's. and he designed it himself. do you think he did all that for shits and giggles?

there's also the vision on his sailwind shadow outfit which really summarizes my entire rationale on it's own.*

some people use kaeya's hang-out event "all the world's a stage" ending as an argument, because kaeya does not improvise the ending, and in the end qubad chooses not to return to his homeland. and i say, exactly! it's the canonical ending to the play, outside the improvisation. it's the script! qubad's fate!

kaeya's fate is that he'll be forced to choose someday. that it'll be either this or that. that's the fate he REJECTS, that he declares he will resist!

i believe that ultimately, kaeya's goal is to find a solution that saves both nations; so that he never has to choose at all.

to say that he will definitelly choose mondstadt when we don't even know his exact connection and relationship with khaenri'ah is just biased.

I feel insane every time someone says they were both EQUALLY wrong because like??

Flaming claymore? To the face? Kaeya literally had to gain a vision else he DIES.

Kaeya didn't choose the way he lived. It was taught to him by people he thought he shouldn't disobey. And when he realized that it isn't what he wanted, he was already knee deep in lies.

"Kaeya picked a terrible timing" Completely true. Pretty stupid of him. Best case scenario where he reveals it not knowing the outcome, he was inconsiderate. Worst case scenario where he wanted to trick Diluc into punishing him, really selfish.

However are we also forgetting that he was also grieving and carrying crushing guilt for nearly an entire decade

In Kaeya's best case scenario, Diluc lost his temper and nearly killed his brother because of his grief, feeling betrayed and in turn betraying Kaeya by saying (in the heat of the moment) that he doesn't accept him.

In Kaeya's WORST case scenario, he never felt safe around Diluc in the first place and fully believed that Diluc would turn his blade on him given the right incentive. Though this might be more of a Kaeya problem with his trust issues. Unfortunately those issues were absolutely reinforced when he was proven right and Diluc DID end up attacking him

TDLR; I saw one too many comments about

"Why did Kaeya pick the worst time"

"Kaeya saw Diluc having the worst day of his life and thought "how could I make it worse""

""How do I make it about me?" -Kaeya probably"

that I was starting to believe people actually think that Kaeya confiding in Diluc at a pretty bad time was a worse offense than a CLAYMORE to the FACE infused with FIRE.

Diluc who has just witnessed multiple people die,probably thought he was going to as well I mean in the manga Ursa gets incredibly close to him while chained,then got a brief moment where he though he and Crepus made it out only for the delusion to have backfired leading to him having to kill his own father + all the questions Crepus using the delusion leaves him with

Then you have Kaeya who had to arrived and saw Diluc holding a dead crepus surrounded by other dead people with no context, who feels guilty for the reaction his grief manifested into something he can’t even control,who is now also confronting about all the things he has struggled with internally for years and years while in a terrible mental state and having to deal with the questions Crepus’s death leaves like Diluc

Like discussing those aspects and how they affected their mindsets going into the fight could be really great but nope we’re just gonna fight about who was sadder when Crepus died instead 😪pleaseeeeee people talk about how Diluc is realising his father has left him in the dark when Kaeya informs him that he too is keeping secrets , pleaseeeee talk about Kaeya doesn’t tell Diluc expecting comfort but because of guilt pleaseeeeee

But moving on to my main , I do think there is a bit more to discussions about their fight than what you’ve said because simply put we don’t know that much about it. Do want to preface with my opinions on the fault of the fight cause I feel like they give a good idea of what biases I could have :3

I don’t there’s any world was kaeya is worse and with the information we have saying Diluc was worse is entirely fair and I think it is possible for details we don’t have to push the situation to them both being equally at fault (what did kaeya say, what were Diluc’s intentions when he started the fight and what attacks were made)

But I think some assumptions are being treated as canon information here mainly the idea that Kaeya almost died in their fight / Diluc tried to kill him.I am not saying this is definitely not the case but as much as it gets said in talks about their fight it has been confirmed nowhere.

Even the idea that Kaeya got a claymore to the face in unconfirmed right now,which I know might seem like I’m a Diluc fan trying to argue semantics here , I did think that the scar thing could only mean that Diluc hit Kaeya’s eye for a while and I still think it’s a likely option but someone pointed out that the injury could be caused by an explosion due to the high heat and cold of their weapons touching, which is an idea I personally like as Kaeya’s injury being an entirely circumstantial accident that was a result of him receiving a gift from the gods/celestia right after he tells someone about his khaenri’ahn origins is just so tragic to me but canon could really go in any direction. iirc en says the two elements meeting caused a swirl of wind and cn says something like a hurricane? So it is canon that a big burst of elements did happen

But as of right now (I think) the only canon info we have about there fight is that they drew their blades and pointed them at each other +Kaeya felt like this was a punishment for a lifetime of lies+Kaeya’s vision manifested while their blades were crossing,the power surging through his sword+ Kaeya’s left eye got injured leaving it scarring but not blinded

Also want to mention the fact that Kaeya’s character stories to say he anticipated Diluc’s anger though a letter in hidden strife says he didn’t expect conflict so the meaning there is a bit more interpretative , personally think he expected an angry discussion and not a duel but that is just guessing on my part

I'm not denying they were both wrong nor am I placing blame on who's at fault here. Every part of that fight was contributed by then both in some way with Kaeya instigating and Diluc reacting, I'm just pointing out that it frustrates me that people go and blame Kaeya for his timing and defend Diluc's actions as justified.

Actually if you read my other reblog, I go more in depth on how it adds to Diluc's character and how his grief is a big part of his story.

You're right about the lack of knowledge we have of that fight however, that was my bad. But even at its core, Diluc was definitely (at least at the moment) aiming to harm. Kaeya had to fight back and meet his flames head on with a newly gained vision which meant that he was within the direct hit of said flames.

The tragedy of that fight was that it wasn't justified. Kaeya didn't deserve that blade turned on him that night. And while Diluc's actions were understandable due to... so many factors my god was it a just a universally terrible day for him, but it still doesn't justify him attacking Kaeya, regardless of how it went down, claymore to the face or just his pyro heading towards Kaeya. It explains his actions, it doesn't justify it.

This goes for Kaeya too, his timing leaves a lot to be desired and it's understandable why he shattered that night. It was really inconsiderate of him to drop that bombshell on Diluc while they were both grieving. But the difference between these actions ARE staggering, one caused a shattered worldview, and the other was basically disownment and bodily harm.

They both went through such different conflicts on that night.

I'm just genuinely baffled at how many people like to pin the blame on Kaeya and his horrendous timing.

I do agree that more people should tackle the general betrayal that Diluc experienced not just from Kaeya's confessions, but from Crepus's delusion and the Knight's cover-up and how more people should acknowledge that Crepus's death wasn't Kaeya's breaking point, it was his own reaction that finally broke him (The laugh, the relief, etc)

This was kind of a rant after reaching a boiling point with how genshin treats Kaeya and his conflict with the Ragnvindrs in general and how it affects the fandom's perception of The Fight.

Every time we get more information on Crepus, it's always related to Diluc and never ONCE Kaeya despite how much Crepus clearly meant to him. The only info we ever get outside of his character stories is from Varka's one voiceline.

Every comfort, every sympathy, everything that relates to Crepus in general was FULLY placed on Diluc and while I'm not against Diluc getting the spotlight (especially since it's his main conflict), the complete lack of his brother makes it seem like Kaeya cares less. It makes Kaeya's actions during the fight a lot less understandable. In turn, the fandom seems more content in babying Diluc and blaming Kaeya for it, which led to my post in the first place.

There are more frustrations I have in how Genshin treats Kaeya's story in general

(seriously, they often sideline him from his own lore sometimes that I have to just stand there like 🧍. Why does the traveler not tell Kaeya about Caribert despite it literally being connected to his family name. Why is he haunting the narrative UNKNOWINGLY as he babysits Klee. Why is his conflict with Diluc always used to further Diluc's lore rather than his own, it feels like he's more of an accessory recently. Last time we ever got to hear how he actually feels about stuff was in his hangout quest. That was 3 years ago. The recent Mondstadt event used him as the face of the event but he had ONE line. And it wasn't even in the mandatory story, you had to walk up to him. Ugh)

The way Kaeya is treated by both game and fandom genuinely so bad . To add something that will hopefully be more in line with something you’ve said this time. One of the biggest examples I’ve found of Kaeya being treated more like a plot device than a character is actually how the fandom treats the whole Mondstadt or khaenri’ah choice and the things that surround it like his feeling towards the people of Mondstadt or his feelings about his father(bio in this case)

This choice is something that is fundamentally cruel,a decision that would force Kaeya to give up happiness or truth and most importantly a decision Kaeya does not want to make . Mona’s voice line tells us that when fate catches up Kaeya will have a choice to make and Kaeya’s hangout has him practically screaming at players “I want to defy fate” and yet so many discussions are still about him picking one or the other and how it would affect literally everyone other than him, which admittedly might be because the game makes it pretty clear that making a choice between the two would make him miserable because he wants both and that really isn’t a good thing to acknowledge when we’re talking about the far more important topic of how Diluc would feel if Kaeya didn’t give up all ties to his homeland so he can finally be a real Mondstadter (because still loving his homeland that he had to leave because of horrible circumstances shows that he actually hates everyone in Mondstadt and is working with the abyss order). Like that’s just a horrible narrative to perpetuate especially if you listen to people people who are immigrants talk about their experiences and the expectations placed on them by society it just makes it so clear how gross these ideas of having to pick once place are but people just won’t let it go 😑

Then you have the constant demonisation of Kaeya’s biological father to uplift the ragnvindrs and frame Mondstadt as this place with no faults that saved Kaeya from evil khaenri’ah, which like I’m not going to say Kaeya’s dad is a great guy we really don’t know that much about him but I’m not going to say be sucks either when things like caribert have Kaeya saying that his father left him to simply keep him alive , which clearly implies that whatever situation they were in is clearly not an easy one.

Which to speak more on the Alberichs you are once again so right because why has the traveler not talked to Kaeya about caribert and clothar like can they not atleast be like “hey Kaeya you know how dain said you were a descendant of the abyss orders founder Well he’s called clothar btw” Like say something????? Everyday I sit hoping that the game will clarify how exactly those guys are related and how on earth anfortas comes into it like is he pirate grandpa?? Who is pirate grandpa and where is he, I need confirmation that Kaeya is inspired by that man

And to talk about Kaeya’s other family the way he is erased from almost all narratives about crepus is horrible and I wish he was involved in crepus stuff as Diluc is but what make so much worse is that he should atleast have just as many moments talking or being involved in situation about crepus as varka is,like varka was his friend I understand it’s a good perspective to hear and having both would be the best situation but if I had to prioritise one over the other there is no world where I pick varka. Why on earth is he not the one with Diluc in lohens quest when it seems like this will be a conclusion to the drake incident . Let the boys be involved with crepus storylines together , let Kaeya talk about him outside of the context of Diluc he probably has so much to say about that Crepus when he meant so so much to him

I feel insane every time someone says they were both EQUALLY wrong because like??

Flaming claymore? To the face? Kaeya literally had to gain a vision else he DIES.

Kaeya didn't choose the way he lived. It was taught to him by people he thought he shouldn't disobey. And when he realized that it isn't what he wanted, he was already knee deep in lies.

"Kaeya picked a terrible timing" Completely true. Pretty stupid of him. Best case scenario where he reveals it not knowing the outcome, he was inconsiderate. Worst case scenario where he wanted to trick Diluc into punishing him, really selfish.

However are we also forgetting that he was also grieving and carrying crushing guilt for nearly an entire decade

In Kaeya's best case scenario, Diluc lost his temper and nearly killed his brother because of his grief, feeling betrayed and in turn betraying Kaeya by saying (in the heat of the moment) that he doesn't accept him.

In Kaeya's WORST case scenario, he never felt safe around Diluc in the first place and fully believed that Diluc would turn his blade on him given the right incentive. Though this might be more of a Kaeya problem with his trust issues. Unfortunately those issues were absolutely reinforced when he was proven right and Diluc DID end up attacking him

TDLR; I saw one too many comments about

"Why did Kaeya pick the worst time"

"Kaeya saw Diluc having the worst day of his life and thought "how could I make it worse""

""How do I make it about me?" -Kaeya probably"

that I was starting to believe people actually think that Kaeya confiding in Diluc at a pretty bad time was a worse offense than a CLAYMORE to the FACE infused with FIRE.

Diluc who has just witnessed multiple people die,probably thought he was going to as well I mean in the manga Ursa gets incredibly close to him while chained,then got a brief moment where he though he and Crepus made it out only for the delusion to have backfired leading to him having to kill his own father + all the questions Crepus using the delusion leaves him with

Then you have Kaeya who had to arrived and saw Diluc holding a dead crepus surrounded by other dead people with no context, who feels guilty for the reaction his grief manifested into something he can’t even control,who is now also confronting about all the things he has struggled with internally for years and years while in a terrible mental state and having to deal with the questions Crepus’s death leaves like Diluc

Like discussing those aspects and how they affected their mindsets going into the fight could be really great but nope we’re just gonna fight about who was sadder when Crepus died instead 😪pleaseeeeee people talk about how Diluc is realising his father has left him in the dark when Kaeya informs him that he too is keeping secrets , pleaseeeee talk about Kaeya doesn’t tell Diluc expecting comfort but because of guilt pleaseeeeee

But moving on to my main , I do think there is a bit more to discussions about their fight than what you’ve said because simply put we don’t know that much about it. Do want to preface with my opinions on the fault of the fight cause I feel like they give a good idea of what biases I could have :3

I don’t there’s any world was kaeya is worse and with the information we have saying Diluc was worse is entirely fair and I think it is possible for details we don’t have to push the situation to them both being equally at fault (what did kaeya say, what were Diluc’s intentions when he started the fight and what attacks were made)

But I think some assumptions are being treated as canon information here mainly the idea that Kaeya almost died in their fight / Diluc tried to kill him.I am not saying this is definitely not the case but as much as it gets said in talks about their fight it has been confirmed nowhere.

Even the idea that Kaeya got a claymore to the face in unconfirmed right now,which I know might seem like I’m a Diluc fan trying to argue semantics here , I did think that the scar thing could only mean that Diluc hit Kaeya’s eye for a while and I still think it’s a likely option but someone pointed out that the injury could be caused by an explosion due to the high heat and cold of their weapons touching, which is an idea I personally like as Kaeya’s injury being an entirely circumstantial accident that was a result of him receiving a gift from the gods/celestia right after he tells someone about his khaenri’ahn origins is just so tragic to me but canon could really go in any direction. iirc en says the two elements meeting caused a swirl of wind and cn says something like a hurricane? So it is canon that a big burst of elements did happen

But as of right now (I think) the only canon info we have about there fight is that they drew their blades and pointed them at each other +Kaeya felt like this was a punishment for a lifetime of lies+Kaeya’s vision manifested while their blades were crossing,the power surging through his sword+ Kaeya’s left eye got injured leaving it scarring but not blinded

Also want to mention the fact that Kaeya’s character stories to say he anticipated Diluc’s anger though a letter in hidden strife says he didn’t expect conflict so the meaning there is a bit more interpretative , personally think he expected an angry discussion and not a duel but that is just guessing on my part

so everybody knows Kaeya's the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius. this is brought up often, he's generally referred to as "Captain", and in the most recent AQ it was even clarified that the Cavalry is apparently the 9th company within the Knights. something that is pretty much always glossed over, however, is the fact that he is also the Quartermaster. this is both very strange and really interesting to me, tbh, bc Quartermaster is not an especially common rank you hear about in any military setting these days. in fact, previously i had really only ever heard it used to refer to the rank on a pirate vessel, where the Quartermaster [literally master of the quarterdeck] is essentially a side-grade to being the Captain of the whole damn ship.

so i ended up doing a lot more reading about military ranks and historical army setups than i really ever would have wanted to do otherwise, bc even tho Kaeya seems very proud of his job leading the Cavalry (despite the running gag of how there's no damn horses), he has never once explained or even really talked about the fact that he's also the Knights' Quartermaster. and i really wanted to know a.) what that entailed, and b.) why he would be compelled to never talk about it.

While we enjoy playing the overworked card with him, he has enough people working for him that he's probably not overworked at all. And he's said several times that he both enjoys and finds meaning in his work as Dawn Winery's boss.

Vigilantism is both a way to keep his promises to his late father and enrichment. He enjoys playing superhero games and out-thinking the knights.

(if you consider closure with Kaeya an important part of his life, do remember that Diluc is the one who tries to reach out and gets rebuffed.)

Nothing in his voice lines or stories imply he would rather go back to the knights, or give everything up to live in a cottage somewhere, or Get Married And Have Kids.

I've said this before, but Diluc isn't a character on the middle of his arc, his story happened between his father's death and his return to Mondstadt, when he went looking for meaning and found it in returning home to his legacy.

I know Kaeya is obviously one of the most lore important characters, we know that for sure now but before a lot of his stuff was confirmed it was speculation, similar to Diluc's position in theories right now, yet I notice the way evidence is treated is very different from Kaeya to Diluc. People will outright deny evidence that Diluc could be connected to the Hexenzirkel, or that his father may be connected to the Fatui. I've also seen Diluc theories treated as if they're a threat to Kaeya being special before.