yanqing and yunli: thematic parallels, foils, similarities and differences
yanqing's design is primarily light blue while yunli's design has a wider variety of colors (teal, orange, white)
yanqing has ice themes (literally his combat type) and yunli has fire themes (splash art, smelting)
in combat (lore), yanqing focuses on speed, form, and evasiveness, while yunli favors strength, power, and direct attacks
in-game combat, they both utilize follow-up attacks. also yunli *wants* to get hit (so she can counter) while yanqing *doesn't* want to get hit (because taking dmg will make his self-buff disappear)
yanqing wields multiple swords, while yunli uses only one comically large sword
both are exceptionally skilled despite their youth
both have a sword-related hobby/profession: yanqing collects swords, yunli smelts them
both have animal motifs: swallows for yanqing, cats for yunli
yanqing is in a solitary position of leadership (cloud knight lieutenant) while yunli is in a group with her fellow students/peers (flamewheel octet)
both are disciples of their respective generals. yunli is confirmed to be huaiyan's granddaughter. but although yanqing and jing yuan appear to have a father-son dynamic, it's never really acknowledged.
both are orphans: yanqing never knew his birth parents, but yunli knew hers and vividly remembers the day they died
they both feel a sense of responsibility towards their parent/parental figure: yunli wants to destroy all the cursed swords her father made, and yanqing wants to help shoulder jing yuan's burdens
yanqing seems to be *slightly* more mature than yunli: he handles diplomatic affairs (the cargo dispute with skott), hunts down dangerous criminals on his own, and worries about jy's burdens. meanwhile yunli is depicted as more carefree (her trailer is literally just her running around the rooftops after the skewer jy tossed her), more unpredictable, and very blunt/even impolite in diplomatic situations.
(yunli also does vigilante stuff, but that's related to hunting down cursed swords, not cloud knight criminal arrest)
yanqing has dreams and ambitions of swordfighting. yunli doesn't have a dream, but instead, a duty to atone for her father's sins.
yunli can hear the voices of swords, while yanqing cannot
both had never taught anyone until march 7th came along
adding on to this: according to march's voice lines, yanqing has a "vigorous" teaching style, while yunli has a "freestyle" teaching style lol
not rlly important, but they quote each other in the saga of primaveral blade event and it's really cute to see them finally getting along :')
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