part iii

about diluc…

originally discussed 29 october 2023.

okay, so this was basically the part where i started showing navi some of the things i was talking about w/luna and getting his feedback on it.

this is the part i showed him that that particular discussion originally jumped off of:

  • okay listen to my weird vision of diluc being rival
  • So diluc has loser-core energy and also has the drama queen personality (his voicelines are so funny. LIKE DUDE ITS JSUT RAIN) he kind of perfectly foils xiaos character
  • love rival diluc……
  • they are both so similar that they can't get along
  • and so venti becomes a perfect point of conflict
  • that's so funny bc depending on where they are in the rlshp xiao might just be like "ofc everyone's in love w/venti… why wouldn't they be…… why would he choose me then…"
  • Ofc the (perceived) love interest harem
  • Xiao's thinking that venti ofc can have anyone
  • oh lmao xiao hallucinating venti harem (not real)
  • how would love rival diluc get resolved
  • it's pretty easy. diluc sees venti making heart eyes at conquerer of demons and realised both he and xiao are losing and gives up
  • diluc shows up, sees one (1) xv interaction and is like
  • Diluc: "i'm dropping out to become a bartender"
  • diluc in the other class when they change grades… he never had a chance
  • he becomes a chronic juice drinker
  • OKAY BUT IF IT'S A MAGICAL GIRL AU THEN DILUC ALSO NEEDS A HAPPY ENDING
  • uhhh I don't know??? he can go have that lady in mind who likes darknight

okay now remember what i said earlier about doing some editing around to make sure these pages read more coherently?

this is the point where the editing gets a bit more involved, mostly bc i tend Not to talk to both navi and luna At The Same Time.

mostly, though, this just means cutting back and forth between two conversations that did Not happen at the same time to weave the relevant conversations together lol

  • Love Rival Diluc is a compelling take but I probably wouldn't vouch for it because I don't really like love rivalries
  • the diluc thing seems to not terribly matter all that much bc i was like
  • "ok. we can't just leave that plot thread hanging there. it's a magical girl au he legally has to have a happy ending."
  • n luna was like "idk he can end up with donna or smth"
  • Okay I change my answer to "Diluc shouldn't be a love rival" because I'm the only one who actually cares about giving Diluc an ending he actually deserves
  • but then what Would diluc even be up to in a magical girl setting
  • i honestly kind of can't fathom it
  • to me he's always chillin in angel's share or smth
  • if he was a schoolboy then he wouldn't be Traumatized yet
  • I mean, I could see Diluc as like a recurring background character who works at a place that the main characters hang out at a lot
  • It's like how in Sailor Moon they always go to the arcade
  • angel's share arcade
  • xiao going ham on the ddr machines
  • So maybe the subplot is actually that Venti and Diluc are really good friends, but Xiao looks at them and invents the idea that Venti has a thing for him
  • But the reality is that Venti is just a very physically affectionate person, especially with his close friends
  • i love that this means xiao is just Making Up Guys venti has a crush on in his head
  • xiao ur so judgemental
  • You say that like he totally wouldn't do that
  • true if they're not together yet he has like 0 security in his rlshp to venti
  • He'd make up any excuse to think Venti likes someone else to make himself feel better about his other made up idea that Venti could never love him
  • this is why venti going "yeah i already knew" has him out for the count for like 24 hours
  • he's gotta unpack a lot of now REALLY EMBARRASSING ASSUMPTIONS he was making about other people
  • he wastes a whole day leading into the apocalypse about this lol
  • And also, because I'm of the opinion that Xiao and Diluc would get along swimmingly because they have similar demeanors but I see Diluc as being more secure in his insecurity. As in, he's kind of a mess but functions pretty well in life as long as he ignores that fact. So after Xiao figures out that actually Venti isn't into Diluc (which happens before he confesses and realizes Venti knew) they become at the very least confidants. So Xiao will go to Diluc and talk about Venti like he hung the moon (but he isn't into him he swears) and Diluc just gets to be like "Uhuh." because he's also had to deal with Venti talking to him endlessly about how down bad he is for Xiao
  • Even though Diluc rarely bartends in the game he is funniest when serving the role of the proverbial Bartender, and is burdened with Knowledge of whatever interpersonal bs is happening
  • DILUC AS THE GUY WITH ALL THE TEA THAT HE NEVER SHARES……
  • you're right abt that it's disapproving and uninvolved third wheel behavior of him
  • Exactly
  • When the focus isn't on him, Diluc plays the ideal uninvolved straight man
  • I think he could also be the occasional provider of advice to Xiao based on experience from his own past failures. Mostly because Xiao is less obnoxious than Venti so he's more inclined to take pity on him lol
  • this seems to be implying that diluc is going to be somewhat of an adult figure to xv
  • or at least a senpai figure to xiao of sorts
  • If they're in high school, then I would say yes to that
  • this is kind of funny to me bc while i Understand making diluc older in modern aus n stuff it doesn't feel like an Ideal parallel to how they are in canon
  • Because when I think about Diluc and Venti in particular, I think their roles as who's more of a mature adult can actually change depending on the context
  • So I don't see it as too strange that Diluc is kind of a senpai figure in this particular context
  • yeah i think that like
  • in canon diluc n venti's rlshp can be kind of complicated bc like on one hand that's god; on the other hand he's got a tab a mile long and will dance on tables for wine if someone asked
  • so i think your assessment of them taking turns being he adult makes sense
  • extending that to xiao feels a bit odd to me mostly bc i don't rlly have any canon foundations to build a dynamic for them
  • I'll put it this way, I'm also flattening Diluc in a way that he probably would be in show like Sailor Moon, so his full existence and nuance as a character and his relationships to other characters Doesn't Actually Matter that much. It's taking the aspect of his dynamic with Venti in which he is taking his turn as an adult and making that his role in the narrative, so he exists to Xiao as an impartial listener and senpai figure because that is his role with everyone aside form his peers
  • it Would be funny however if diluc got tired of listening to venti talk all the time abt xiao so that when he finally sees xiao for once he's like
  • Diluc: "i need to put an end to this nonsense"
  • and approaches xiao first → hence unlikely friendship
  • I do actually think your idea is very good
  • Because he's Just nosy enough to at least want to talk to the guy that Venti keeps talking his ear off about
  • he's like tuxedo mask in that he comes in gives one piece of correct advice that has 0 context for how he knows it whatsoever to the person receiving it and then either leaves or refuses to elaborate
  • And the context is eventually revealed that everyone just tells him their juicy secrets because he looks the same amount of vaguely judgemental everyone
  • he has the "don't talk to me abt your pointless gossip" face that makes everyone want to tell him their pointless gossip bc being a hater of pointless gossip means he won't initiate spreading it
  • And he won't tell if asked either because he doesn't want to get involved
  • he injects himself into Particular situations in small amounts but refuses to actually get involved
  • Yep