Jean || Diluc is happy for them, he really is. He knew Kae had a crush on her ever since they were kids, and they're perfect for each other. He just... never realized how distanced he became from his two best friends. They didn't even tell him, his informant casually mentioned it one day and it was clear they hadn't meant to let it slip. One day the two come into his bar and hang around until most of the patrons leave. Kae had hardly been drinking all night and was clearly a little fidgety. By the end of the night Jean just puts a hand on Kaeya's shoulder and they tell him together. It was the happiest night of Diluc's life.
Dottore || ...Maybe he should've gotten Kaeya into therapy when their dad died. Or maybe Crepus should've put him in therapy when he was first abandoned. Either way Diluc's dragging him to therapy now and refusing to let him leave until he agrees to break up with that thing he calls a boyfriend.
Thoma || A normal reasonable person. He's fine with this, maybe a little jealous, but the first time he catches them kissing (making out) he gets over it and Thoma gets a very long, very thorough, talking to. No, he does not look traumatized Kaeya what are you talking about-
Hilichurl || He's trying to connect with Kaeya and respect his culture, he really is. And yes, he understands what hilichurls are but... But why?? WHYY???
Aether/Lumine || Thank the Archons he chose someone normal and reliable. Maybe a little weird, sure, but normal. ...okay actually he doesn't get it, and maybe now the traveler is lower on the list of people he actually likes
Neuvillette || How did they even meet? There is no way Kaeya is moving all the way to Fontaine for this guy! He doesn't even seem good enough for his baby brother. Sure, he's rich and has high status and his kind or whatever, but the answer is no. (Jean: He's just insecure that if someone comes into Kaeya's life with wealth and status, he won't be important anymore. Diluc: I am not.)
Bonus:
Kaebedo adopting Klee: He's excited, more excited than Kaeya and Albedo actually. Whenever Diluc babysits Klee is turns up the rich cool uncle vibes and spoils her. Or at least tries to, it's been a while since he's been a kid and Klee still thinks he's a little weird but they're slowly trying to understand each other and that maybe ends up with Diluc agreeing with her spontaneous whims and them both ending up in solitary confinement
Were there any moments where you think Kaeya was treated well by other characters? If so why did you think they worked while many of them didn't?
I can think of a few. For these, I’ll be taking into account how Kaeya’s pov can make him navigate interactions because I feel like he gets judged by an omniscient audience’s standpoint most of the time and that leads to some unfair expectations of him. For example, just because someone’s nice to the Traveler doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be nice or even civil towards him, and their biases need to be taken into account. And also, just because we as the audience know/can guess something doesn’t mean he’s an idiot for not getting it (ex. I’ve seen him be called an idiot over not trusting the Mond characters because “they love him”, but when you look at it purely from Kaeya’s pov, he mainly gets jabbed about or appreciated for how much he can service others, especially alongside seeing other people actually receiving that patience and decency. So not only is he being distrustful from a logical standpoint, but if that love they have for him is isolated to their heads and never acted on/shown in a way that isn’t peppered with sarcasm, it won’t do anything to convince him because he can’t fucking read minds.) Anyways, enough about that, let’s get to the interactions that did work out.
Collei: This is going to focus on the game, after Collei feels more comfortable pursuing Kaeya’s friendship. First off, I do like how Collei isn’t forced to like or befriend Kaeya right away - even if he has good intentions when he fought her, that still didn’t erase her anxiety that stemmed from that experience (and it shouldn’t), as shown by her quote about him and her fear in the teapot that he might’ve told the Traveler about her past. Even so, she feels bad about how she acted towards everyone in Mond, including him, and gradually goes from asking Lisa how he’s doing, to musing about some of his flaws, to being the one to approach him and initiate their interactions on her own terms every time they’re on screen together (the long time skip between the manga and Sumeru’s release helped too). Kaeya also doesn’t force anything on her or feel entitled to her opening up quickly, and I feel like that helped move things along a lot. This might’ve stemmed from her own experiences, but Collei’s one of the very few characters who shows concern about how Kaeya might feel about being stuck with a bad label or whether he’s genuinely doing well, something I haven’t even seen from the “nicest” Mond characters or the Traveler at that point, who kind of just go “not my problem”, joke about it or even add to it. Kaeya does tell her that he’ll be okay, but he probably really appreciated that, especially when it came from someone who didn’t have the greatest first impression of him. Kaeya himself has been shown to be able to see someone else’s side easily and even change his initial perception if he’s proven wrong (including with Collei), and with how painful it gets at times to see so many “good and moral” characters still stick to their one-track view or jokes about him when proven otherwise, it was nice to see someone do that for him for once. With the development they’ve both had, I can believe these two grew to genuinely care for each other without pressure from the storytellers.
Klee: I feel like Klee has one of the most reliable perspectives on Kaeya, because not only has he been with her during some good times, but he’s also seen her during many of her negative moments and always reacted in a way that made her feel safe. In return, Kaeya ends up being someone that Klee finds herself willing to listen to, rein her impulses in for and respect on her own terms, which is a lot when you consider how similar she is to her mother, Alice, but the latter isn’t exactly willing to put her destructive hobbies on hold for anyone even if she likes them. Klee mainly thinks about what she’s done because Kaeya explained to her exactly what’ll happen and why it’s bad, and she’ll even think about how her actions will affect others if he’s involved (she’s apologized/turned herself in to Jean because of him a few times, he walks her through not pushing Kokomi in the Veluriyam Mirage, etc.) While this is something she’ll eventually have to learn to do on her own, having someone she’s willing to do better for like this is a good start. She’s also one of the most vocal about how reliable he is, something that’s even shown in the description of the Kaeya Dodoco she made in a recent event.
Tunner: This is another person who specifically acknowledges Kaeya’s feelings, not just what he can do for them or what he could be. From the beginning, he felt that there was something bothering Kaeya deep down, and he wasn’t wrong. There’s also how he didn’t show a sense of entitlement to Kaeya spilling his darkest secrets to the winery staff, and acknowledging that maybe he didn’t want their involvement for one reason or another. As nice as most of the Mondstadters are, a lot of them don’t seem to think about the other party’s autonomy when it comes to being helpful or seeking out help, and for someone harboring dangerous secrets, that’s not flattering, it’s terrifying and can make them feel trapped (hmm…who do we know has felt trapped all his life either by being some “last hope”, harboring a secret from his adoptive family or the possibility of making a sadistic choice that affects Mondstadt and Khaenri’ah one day?). And when you take into account how much Kaeya tries to shy away from even low-stakes social situations at the first sign of pressure from another party, this is a huge deal for him (it’s not Kaeya being “stupid” or lacking in integrity - the person doing the pushing is, intentionally or not, reminding him of a time he didn’t feel safe and for some reason, fans treat this like it’s this stupid action he should apologize for when nothing ever gets done to push back against the pressuring behavior or people and show him things could go differently. He should not be forced to apologize for it, no matter how much the other party wants to center their own feelings over his well-being). Aside from that, Tunner acknowledges that he might not know Kaeya as well as some of the other staff at the winery, but at the end of the day he’s still willing to put a good word out for him and vouch for his kindness. He also asks the Traveler to take good care of Kaeya, even after they say that he’s strong enough to handle himself, because no matter how strong he gets he’ll still need the support of friends and family to get through the worst scenarios. This one’s important because unlike even characters like Jean and Diluc, who at the very least have people who are willing to lend actual support such as giving them multiple second chances and being extremely patient with them during their worst moments, Kaeya handles all his stuff and usually ends up with really surface-level glazing or jabs at his character, and is still expected to just take it like it’s nothing even if he explicitly shows hurt at it. This is a simple, heartfelt gesture of care from someone who’s known Kaeya since he was a child, and still acknowledges some of that vulnerability in him and wants to be a safe home he can return to when he’s tired, and there’s no weird punchline attached to it. Though this one gets discussed when Kaeya isn’t in the room, he does directly get that sentiment from Adelinde in another branch like this one telling him he always has a home at the winery.
Adelinde and other winery staff: This is mainly about Kaeya’s hangout, where he’s warmly welcomed even with Diluc’s disdain and gets to catch up with the people who practically raised him. Elzer and Connor are here because they don’t get that much focus compared to Tunner and Adelinde’s views of him, but they do get to talk about things that Kaeya’s actually interested in, like the intricacies of winemaking, and Elzer tries making Kaeya feel welcome even after Diluc’s being his usual self. Then there’s Adelinde, who treats Kaeya to a moment of respite by asking about his favorite meal and making it for him (these tiny joys in life that should never be overlooked). She also vouches for him when the Traveler doubts him again, acknowledging his flaws but also recognizing that they’re not the end of the world, and not impossible to work with, which is so much better than someone making a joke about said flaws, everyone else laughing along but him and moving on like nothing happened. And she reinforces that Kaeya’s a genuinely kind person whose friends have a special place in his heart, and that no matter how good he gets at hiding things about himself, he’s still terrible at hiding that side of him no matter how hard he tries. She then gets to confirm to him that he’s always part of the Dawn Winery family after all that. It’s the small things like this that go, Kaeya’s not just someone who lives to do things for others, be their punchline, someone to get info out of, or move some legacy along, he’s an actual person with things and people he likes and causes he truly cares about on his own terms. And it’s always nice to see people remembering that about him.
Noelle: Despite their interactions mainly being told to us through character stories, Noelle’s one of the few people who truly defends Kaeya against the weird stuff said about him in any way, and that’s rare enough for me to make note of it. It’s in her About Kaeya quote, where she says she appreciates Kaeya because he assigns her small tasks that she likes, and when the Traveler remarks that he’s turning her into an “errand runner” (yeeeahhh the Traveler’s been gross to Kaeya since that far back into the game, and behind his back no less), she says that she doesn’t see it that way and doesn’t change her positive view of him just because someone she held in high regard said so. Even in later content, like her second hangout, while she still doesn’t interact with him on-screen she’s shown to be able to understand why he acts the way he does without getting weirded out or defaulting to assuming the worst about him (which is something way too many of the Mond characters do, including the “all loving” ones). All that convinced me that she actually likes Kaeya more than many of the characters who do interact with him on-screen, and hopefully they do get an event where they finally get to hang out with each other, hopefully outside of a work setting too.
Thoma: One of Hoyoverse’s best moves was making the anecdotes permanent, which means you can randomly find one of Kaeya’s best interactions in the overworld without worrying about a time limit. Here, not only does he get to make a new friend, but the interaction lasts for at least a few hours (in-game, anyway, unlike him meeting Yun Jin and Charlotte) and doesn’t have an emergency looming in the background for most of it (like with Kokomi), so they’re able to build chemistry on their own terms. Thoma’s happy to have met someone like Kaeya in a city he’s still lost in due to having been away for the longest time, a kind person that made him feel at home even with all the changes Mond has gone through in the years he’s been away. They’re able to chat with each other about things like what they love most about living in Mondstadt and Inazuma, childhood experiences, how Thoma’s mom is doing, Kaeya getting to try the Inazuman snacks Thoma sent, and even tales about the youkai. Those small joys in life, and things that Kaeya doesn’t really get to share with many people besides the kiddos because of how much focus is placed on his job/possible legacy and what he can do for people. And even when he does make an effort to do so, something gets in the way, usually duty (as shown with him trying to play TCG with Jean, only for work to call her again, and in the teapot furnishing of the park square he can be invited to, he mentions that he appreciates the peace without the possibility of being called to duty at a moment’s notice). The two of them love chatting with each other so much that they exchange addresses so they can write to each other, and for Kaeya, who’s been abandoned multiple times in life, having someone like him enough to want to keep in contact even after they leave is a pretty big deal. Not only that, but Thoma invites Kaeya to take a trip to Inazuma as well so he can introduce him to the youkai, who he’s sure will like Kaeya. Thoma also never gets to a point where he pokes fun at Kaeya, even lightheartedly (it’s basic decency to not do that to someone you just met because you haven’t built trust yet and that can ruin any chance of that in seconds), appreciates the care that Kaeya shows for his low alcohol tolerance, and even trusts him enough to ask to switch to non-alcoholic cider without being judged in a wine-centered city (which of course goes without a hitch). Kaeya, in turn, doesn’t become defensive or sarcastic at all with Thoma, and it’s one of the few times he actually seemed to feel safe and relaxed around someone on-screen. He gets to start anew with someone who doesn’t know him, something he doesn’t get to do much due to practically knowing everyone in Mond for a long time, and gets treated with unconditional kindness and humanity that isn’t attached to his title or how he could be of service to someone. I really love this anecdote.
Writing this list actually put me in a good mood, thanks for sending the ask in 😄
i remembered thoma's bday letter and sharing how he invited kaeya but kae can't come as "he might not make it in time" (side eye) what if kaeya's avpd just making excuses
i think thomakae should be a little bit more popular. because like. It's so fucking cute man Thoma would be SO sweet to kaeya and that's what kaeya deserves. Like. I imagine that Thoma was Diluc's friend as a kid and Kaeya always really looked up to him, even had a small puppy love crush on him at one point. Then Thoma ends up leaving for inazuma and Kaeya moves on with his life. The whole fight happens between the ragbros and all that. Then like, idk Thoma comes back from inazuma and they bond or something idk this isn't very comprehensive I just think they deserve more love because it's such a fun ship man
This is what happened when Diluc found out another Pyro from Mondstadt was talking to Kaeya.
(Found some of my old photos with my wife from when we first started playing Genshin 2 years ago, am posting them to tumblr on account of twitter shutting down)
