#leifythoughts

this is a guy who can afford to be sassy because he has powerful innate combat aptitude and the unimaginably massive ragnvindr estate behind him, both of which protect him from the consequences and considerations that someone like jean would have to navigate

and i actually think this is a very very important part of his character arc because it ups the ante on his tragic 18th birthday and his character arc beyond that

here's the arc as i see it:

diluc is born as the only child to the affluent ragnvindr line. from birth he is coddled and spoiled rotten - we're told that crepus "wasn't stern by nature," and in the one instance we know of where diluc was actually punished, kaeya and adelinde finished off the task for him

a passionate and rambunctious kid, diluc benefits from incredible combat aptitude from a young age. this nets him a vision at age 10 and a captaincy at age 14, the age when most kids are still squires. his ascent is made easier by his second-in-command, who ensured he got through every challenge he faced smoothly

and because of all this, diluc grows up believing in a world of kindness and fairness and justice. because, well, why wouldn't he? unlike his counterpart kaeya, he's gotten everything he's ever wanted. he's never known what it feels like to be afraid, to be wronged, to be hurt, to be poor, to be wanting. he's never had to imagine a world that ISN'T kind and fair and just

...until, of course, his 18th birthday. because on that day, diluc loses more than a father and a brother - he loses his entire worldview

all of a sudden, the world that was so good and kind to him is violently flipped onto its head. the father he idolized is revealed to wield a destructive power. the brother he loved is revealed to be a traitor. the institution he's dedicated his entire life to is revealed to be fundamentally corrupt. his wealth, power, aptitude, and charm cannot save him. it is the first and greatest injustice of his life

given all that, is it any surprise he drops everything and goes on a rampage? is it any wonder he sells off his father's mansion and discards his vision and abandons the knights?

i don't think this is some random fit that he's throwing. i think this is diluc, who has gotten everything he's ever wanted, discarding everything he's ever wanted: his wealth (the mansion), his strength (the vision), and his clout (the knights). this is diluc casting off the worldview that has betrayed him and reconstructing it from the ground up

and this has implications for his arc beyond the manga and into the game!

bc if you view diluc as someone who never let his wealth, good looks, and aptitude get to his head - or if you prefer to see his manga personality as out of character given his game personality - then his arc in-game is like "guy who was traumatized but already pretty nice gets nicer through the power of friendship." which is fine, i guess?

but if you, like me, prefer the trust-fund-baby-diluc narrative, then it becomes not only a story of a guy working through his trauma but the story of a guy fighting against every instinct he has

cause like. there are tons of examples in the game where we see diluc tempted to throw a hissy fit. and sometimes he does! in early game especially, he's very grumpy all the time - i'm thinking specifically of the midsummer island adventure event:

Barbara: So… maybe this type of fish only comes out after dark? Diluc: Or to put it another way, we're gonna be here all night… Hmph.

Kaeya: Captain Kaeya's on the case! Diluc: Ugh... Paimon: Master Diluc, aren't you interested in pirate treasure? Diluc: Hardly. I'm more interested in peace and quiet. Paimon: Paimon doesn't think you'll settle for nothing to do... Diluc: Amuse yourselves however you see fit. I'm taking my leave.

kaeya even points out to us that he's acting like a child (even though kaeya himself is not the most reliable of narrators):

Kaeya: What's the matter? Diluc's scowl still bothering you? Kaeya: He's has that expression on his face for years now. He internalizes a lot of his feelings. Kaeya: So I'm afraid that his face is stuck like that. Just treat him like a big kid.

but! throughout the game, as he gets more opportunities for character growth, we see him slowly start to overcome his tendencies towards... well, towards being a baby

the example that comes most readily to mind is the same example i started this post with: namely, The Vase

in the manga, when kaeya first offers to buy him the vase, he throws a little fit and orders his butler to buy him a new one:

Kaeya: Hah! Your bro Kaeya shall be back with a new vase. Diluc: You! Go buy a vase right now! I do not trust the taste of Sir Kaeya of Ordo Favonius.

later, when kaeya references the vase, he denies ever seeing it:

Diluc: I see no reason to cling to things that have outlived their purpose. Kaeya: Is that so? Then I trust you were most swift indeed to part with a certain vase? Diluc: Sorry, I have no recollection.

but after he has the chance to work on himself a little more, he becomes able to receive kaeya's jibes without rising to the bait:

Kaeya: Here, this is for you. I bought it for you in Sumeru, and it cost a veritable mountain of Mora. Diluc: Thanks. Put it on the table. Kaeya: That's it? No comment whatsoever? Diluc: You want a comment? Okay then. This thing is very in line with your unique aesthetic tastes, much like that vase over there. Diluc: Elzer, fetch a bottle of this year's newest batch from the warehouse. Or else someone will keep blathering on with endless excuses.

we see him get better at responding to kaeya's barbs (or at least ignoring them):

Kaeya: Wonderful. Always eager to help, and never forgets to return a favor. That's the Master Diluc I know. Diluc: ...It's nearly dinner time. Would you care to stay for a meal?

he even gets kinder to his servants:

Diluc: Take some time off, Elzer. Don't put it off any longer. I'll handle the guild matters. Diluc: It's important to take care of your health. You have to take it seriously.

and again, you could read this as his innate personality - i think it's a fair read to say that diluc has always been warm and big-hearted and this is just an extension of that

but i think it's much more interesting if we say that no, he actually is a bit of a brat - prone to hissy fits, used to getting his own way - and this new, more tempered approach is the result of a lot of work and intentionality on his part

^ first things first! this is the diluc card. the diluc card is a hypercarry, which means you want him on the field as much as possible. there is nothing diluc wants more than to use his skill and use it often - and for good reason! if you use his skill 3 times in one round, it deals a total of 11 damage, which is insane if you consider that each character card only has 10 health. he can basically solo a character in one round!

there's just one problem. using diluc's skill 3 times requires a total of 9 dice... and you only get 8 dice per round

there are ways to get around this, and diluc's support cards are absolutely laser-focused on making sure he can use his skill. so much so, in fact, that he doesn't even have any cards that would let him heal himself?? more on that later

the point is: diluc needs all his dice to fuel his attacks. doing literally anything other than attacking (ex. swapping off or healing) would nerf his damage output. this deck is designed for one thing and one thing only: doing as much damage as possible in the shortest amount of time possible

okay now let's talk about his team comp. cause like *waves hands vaguely* what the heck is going on here, man.

^ diluc's teammates are razor (whom he's met like once in canon) and xiangling (whom he's met a grand total of zero times). most characters' tcg decks are comprised of other characters they at least vaguely know. but not diluc's

and this doesn't make sense from a gameplay perspective either. razor is also a hypercarry - he likes his field time as much as diluc does. and although xiangling is a sub-dps who does off-field damage with her burst, her element is the same as diluc's which means she can't trigger reactions with him. neither of them synergize very well with diluc

and i think that's intentional, because xiangling and razor synergize very well with each other. my theory is that these two cards are meant to serve as a kind of "second line of defense" and take over when diluc falls

because the one glaringly obvious issue with diluc's deck is this: he has no way to heal

there are a couple of different healing mechanics in tcg. the most obvious one is to have a healer (which diluc doesn't). the second most obvious one is to have food cards that heal (which diluc doesn't). the third most obvious one is to have location cards that heal (which diluc, you guessed it, doesn't)

if you play diluc as an on-field hypercarry, you'd probably want at least 1 of the above mechanics to, you know, keep him alive. but diluc doesn't have any. and i think that's intentional

because i think the diluc card in this deck is meant to burn brightly but very briefly. i think he's meant to do a ton of damage with his skill, tank the enemies' attacks without healing, and then die. and then xiangling and razor come along after him and finish off the remaining enemies - if there are any left standing

which... you know...

... is not a bad encapsulation of his character overall!