eeee I loved your headcannons for Xiao’s love interest!! Your writing never fails to make me smile, may I request for Diluc’s love interest?
:’) reading your message made me smile too anon 💛
diluc isn’t one to go out of his way to socialize. coupled with the fact that he prefers to work alone professionally, i can see him feeling the most comfortable with someone who isn’t loud or showy, and is instead level-headed.
however, someone with quick wit and sense of humor would catch his attention quickly – and in a good way!
diluc is dry™. he isn’t just brooding in a corner, complaining about the knights all the time. he’s snappy when he talks, with a tone so deadpan that you might not be even sure he’s joking; he has mirth in him, even if his perspective is cynical. so, someone who can catch his drift and even add onto his comedy? that'd be perfect.
he’s got some old wounds to heal that aren’t apparent in the current storyline. kaeya is a sore topic for him, or really anything that has to do with the knights – but if someone he’s interested in is affiliated or part of the knights, i can see him mentioning at least once that they shouldn’t.
he’ll respect your choice if you decide to stay, since you’re strong and capable enough to make your own choices. but if he can protect those he cares about, he’ll make his stance and opinions very clear.
but to the point – if they’re apart of the knights, that won’t deter his affections.
diluc, again dispite his portrayal, has been shown as very loyal and has the well-being of others in mind (see here if you’d like examples). so someone who is firm in their perosnal connections would also jive well with him!
oh how about Diluc and Zhongli for character analysis?
sure thing! i’ll answer this one and get back to working on other requests orz
diluc:
despite being known as a broody wine master and one of the few prominent characters that holds a negative opinions of the knights, he’s actually more sociable than the mondstadt storyline might imply.
diluc has multiple voicelines (if you get him through wishes) where he shows concern for traveler/mc, some being “all that matters is that you were safe last night,” “i’ll make sure you leave safely,” and “how about you take a rest while i go back [to the guild]?”
so, yeah. he’s not as distant or aloof as his initial appearance played him off to be imo. while he’s still on the professional side, he does readily show concern for traveler/mc, and presumably other people who work alongside him.
he knows he’s hot stuff – he evens says as much when clearing out hordes of hilichurls/abyss mages in the mondstadt storyline (”ah, there are you are. dealing with you will be the easy part.”) doesn’t openly flaunt his strength to other people, but, needless to say, is comfortable on the battlefield.
also, remember when traveler and venti try to steal the lyre? he says “for the record, i like your guts for trying to steal the holy lyre der himmel. even if you are fools . . . but we don’t often get to see people like you.”
aka he’s also a smart ass.
he knew that venti and traveler had something to do with the lyre, and dismissed the knights that came in either because a) he didn’t think they would handle the situation appropriately or b) wanted answers first.
while we (the player) knew that traveler and venti didn’t actually steal the lyre, diluc doesn’t seem threatened by either of them. he doesn’t rush to apprehend them, and from the quotes above, actually thinks the situation is entertaining.
the line “i like your guts for trying to steal the holy lyre” also reminds me of one of his quotes when he talks about jean (”her unparalleled sense of responsibility is the sole reason why she still hasn't found her true calling”).
while it’s not a call-back or anything obvious, diluc implies that rules/authority/strict codes have the potential to hold others back; therefore, i think he really meant it when he commended the traveler’s grit for trying to steal the lyre, because from the tone of how he talks about jean, he’s had his fair share of unorthodox behavior that’s gotten him to somewhere he actually wants to be.
overall a capable man and one who values effectiveness of method. while not one to uphold formalities (in a few of his voice lines, he says he’s “not interested in idle chit chat), he respects partnership and lets his dryness slip often. i can go further into his voicelines in a separate post if you want anon.
zhongli:
this is going to be a bit different than diluc’s analysis since, at the time i’m writing this, zhongli doesn’t have profile voicelines yet.
however i will be using voicelines from the liyue storyline plus the 1.1 update “a new star approaches,” so spoiler warning for 1.1 if you haven’t done the quests yet!
okay so
zhongli knows liyuen culture like the back of his hand because, well, he’s the god who created liyue to begin with.
when the traveler confronts zhongli, childe, and signora in the northland bank, zhongli explains his ploy calmly, which seems strange, since he had essentially traded his symbol of godhood for a ““vacation”” (i use this term sarcastically and will explain more below).
when the traveler first comes into a liyue, many of the citizens make a point to say that, in contrast to mondstadt, their nation isn’t “godless” and show disdain towards mondstadt’s ways.
they believe in rex lapis. yet it’s made clear throughout the storyline that, in actuality, there are large branches of people (see the liyue qixing) want to advance liyue further, often without the aid/overseeing of their deities. quote zhongli at the northland bank: liyue is about to begin its “next age.”
meaning that, even though he said he was tired, that he had been guarding and overseeing the nation for thousands of years, he was able to tell that liyue was moving past its need for him, essentially that he wasn’t needed in the same way as he was in the past.
while many players kinda sorta really did not like zhongli after he admitted to staging the fight against osial (the sea monster), ultimately endangering liyue, he not only did it as a “test” to see if the liyuen people really were as advanced as he believed them to be, but also so that the adepti could become closer to liyue’s citizens.
not saying that it wasn’t somewhat messed up, but his motivation behind such a scene was to make sure that, if he resigned as a god, then humans could take care of themselves from now on and he wouldn’t be putting them in more danger if he left.
the adept, although hesitant and somewhat troubled by being more involved with humans, show a change of heart following the conclusion of the fight against osial. so zhongli’s scheme makes the adepti see that humans are more capable than they give them credit for, revives their respect for one another, and leaves knowing that liyue is in capable hands.
as for trading the gnosis: it’s stated multiple times that zhongli doesn’t make unfair contracts. obviously, part of the benefit on his end is allowing liyue to grow into a new age, but that can’t be the only motivator for him to give it away.
tsaritsa wants to “burn away the old world,” and the story hasn’t been clear as to why yet. but in making the contract, zhongli should be aware of at least part of her ultimate intentions. my theory is that, in the end, the gnoses will actually prove useless to the tsaritsa’s plan (as in, they actually don’t help her achieve her goal despite their symbolism), or we’re going to receive the power equivalent to a gnosis in the future.
tldr: zhongli’s plan is layered. while we don’t have much more information at the moment, as can consider his character to be very thorough, resourceful, and self-aware.
again, i can write out more once he’s released. these are just my thoughts, so take and pick what you want. ^^
