1, 4, and 21 for dainluc for the ship ask please <3
thank you for the ask, and sorry for the delay in responding!
What do they see in each other that they see in no one else?
fallen knights! the crowd cheers!
seriously though i really like that they're both in a sense failed protectors of their respective nations: dain, who turned his back on khaenri'ah and now roams restlessly seeking revenge, and diluc, who turned his back on mondstadt and now roams restlessly seeking revenge. i think they both have this strong sense of misplaced duty and an all-consuming love gone sour
i like to think that dainsleif sees himself in diluc - with some jealousy because diluc's country is still standing, and some admiration because despite it all diluc still holds hope. and i like to think that diluc sees himself in dain - with some distaste because dainsleif let his country fall, and a very strong sense of unease because he knows that if anything had happened to mondstadt/his family in his absence, the grief and guilt would have made him exactly like dain
4. Do they get over each other? Or never let go?
i think they are both very good at pretending to let go and very bad at actually letting go LOL
diluc has a better chance of getting over dain, for the simple reason that diluc has other people in his life and dainsleif doesn't. that said, i do firmly believe that diluc is a yearner and that he dwells on what could have been, so i do think it would take him a while to let go (whether or not they actually had what could be classified as a relationship)
dainsleif, on the other hand, is the master of peacing out without a word leaving his attachments behind. over the last few years we've seen him warm up significantly to the traveler and paimon, but he still likes to drop lore bombs on us and disappear. i think he'd probably try the same modus operandi on diluc (to varying degrees of success depending on what level of angst you're going for) - but i don't think that man has ever gotten over a single thing in his life, so i think the memory of diluc becomes to him the emotional equivalent of a memento that you carry beside your heart until you die
21. How much of the issues are external vs. internal?
admittedly these two have real external issues (namely: The Curse). but they also have so many things wrong with them that i don't even know where to start LOL
i think they both have attachment issues and pride issues, plus a frankly concerning amount of self-inflicted isolation. they probably need to get over that. also there's The Curse - but that's more of a dainsleif problem. so i'd say 70% internal for diluc, 50/50 for dain
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