I LOVE LORE AND ANALYSIS OF GENSHIN!!!!
when I played Caribert, I was pretty disappointed about the lack of impact Dain seemed to have on Kaeya, honestly. during Kaeya's hangout, he didn't mention the weird cryptic blond dude who just dropped family lore once, which I thought would have been pretty important?
but in truth, I think Dain actually had a HUGE impact on Kaeya.
we can all know that from Kaeya's personal lore and former events that Kaeya had very conflicted feelings over his duty to Khaenri'ah and his love for Mondstadt, even with his estranged relationship with Diluc (which now seems partly fixed?), but in the performance route of Kaeya's hangout, Kaeya makes his choice.
The story of Prince Qubad is a very, very thinly veiled metaphor for Khaenri'ah all throughout, and then we finally get to the end scene of the play:
Kaeya: When I departed my beloved home to fight in a foreign land, I did so to honor his (my father's) wishes and for my duty to our people. Kaeya: alas, is this fate's grand design… that I should spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, till I am laid to rest in a grave far from home? K: Must it be so…? K: my dear audience, I ask you this: do you believe in fate? if fate decreed that your life was to end in tragedy, what would you do? Traveler: I would challenge my fate, and rise above it. / I would bravely face my fate. K: then so must it be! I shall discard this intaglio, and rid myself of the shackles of fate. G: my dear prince, do you intend to betray your father, and abandon your heritage? K: fate means to send the machinations of war to every corner of the land, to fan the flames of conflict til they engulf the entire world…
K: fate would see my sword tainted with the blood of innocents, that the bright banner of my homeland might fly in every nation known to mankind. K: but I shall not bow to the will of fate. I am no pawn in heaven's plan. K: I, Kaeya Qubad, will spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, til I breathe my last in a place far from home. K: but I must walk this path, or freedom dies by my hand. goodbye, my tribe and kin. farewell, sweet land of my birth.
after a lifetime of questioning his role, Kaeya makes his choice for Mondstadt. and I think this happening after meeting Dain isn't a coincidence. (and no, not in a soulmate way or shipping way- this is Kaeya's moment of choice, not infatuation.)
after not only learning the history of his origins, Kaeya meets a Khaenri'ahn who... doesn't want to return Khaenri'ah to its glory days? who is more focused on helping others and minimizing damage than causing more for his own gain? who chose his path and has not budged since, even through loss?
Kaeya gets to see someone who is so Khaenri'ahn, so human at his core, someone who cares not for the fate and tragedy of their nation. Kaeya gets to meet someone from his homeland who tells him to leave it all behind, who tells him he should take the chance he has been given at his own life; who actively discourages the idea of Kaeya being a fated "prince" or being indebted to Khaenri'ah.
even though he never said it, I think meeting Dainsleif helped Kaeya choose his own path, which is all Dain ever truly asked of him, anyway.
good for Kaeya.
(i understand that i used "ship" tags but those are more for visibility and duo name than anything else. idm if you ship them, i just request that your tags do not turn my analysis post into a ship post, pls! :)
No because how is Hoyoverse gonna make twins that have no synergy.
Like- we didn't need their kits to be paired together, but the fact that they really shouldn't be used on the same team? Unforgivable.
It coulda been something so general like boosting a stat that Lyney uses or something like that. Nope! Absolutely nothing.
Aether and Lumine even have this cute little animation easter egg where they help each other's blind spots. I love it so much.
Lyney and Lynette have matching names, look similar, and then have totally different kits.
It makes me so sad. They're like twins in looks and lore but not in kits.
If you look at most of the siblings, they at least somewhat work together. Even Kaveh and Alhaitham are more connected and they're just roommates.
So you're telling me the twins who spend every moment they can together (Because Lyney is a codependent weenie at heart) don't have complimenting kits?
It annoys me even more because things like that can be such a good story telling device. Things like abilities and kits can to easily help establish the relationships between people outside of their lore. It was a major missed opportunity to establish just how close the twins are.
I'ma use them on the same team along with the rest of the House of Hearth but dang the lack of synergy is amazing.
SPOILER ALERT: GENSHIN 4.0 ARCHON QUEST
(Technically, I'm pretty vague about it.)
AN: I've been working on this entirely too long-
Status: Unedited
Headcannons of the reactions during 4.0 and after the trial.
The initial reaction
Lyney: Stressed out of his mind. He's freaking out and feels super guilty. He thought the trick was safe and his mind could only think about how it could have been Lynette. The sounds and sights are burned into his mind.
Lynette: Her tail immediately puffed up and she was startled. It took all of her effort to stayed in character. She's also stressed as an accident happening at a show doesn't mean anything good for their reputation.
Revealing the trick
Lyney: Would honestly rather cut if his hand or die before he'd reveal one of his tricks. They're all his sacred brain babies and a product of his creation. He never wants anyone to know such details. If it weren't for Lynette telling him to, he probably wouldn't have cooperated. Then again, he'd prefer if people knew nothing about him in general.
Lynette: Contemplated pretending to be a puppet. She was honestly surprised that they were being tried for a case that they were even old enough to ask on when it initially started but she wasn't going to say anything. She just wished Lyney would cooperate so it would go fast but that was just the way he is and she doesn't blame him.
Detainment
Lyney: He spiraled hard. Initial they'd put them in different rooms but he'd manage to convince the guards they needed to be together. Even then, Lyney struggled to stay present. He knew he wasn't a serial killer, but he felt so guilty. All the bad habits he suppressed we on full display. He should have known better and it was his show, so it was his fault. No matter how he looked at it, he should have known better.
Lynette: Agitated. Not only where they framed and it caused someone's death, but they were being tried over a bogus claim. She was tired it was a performance day and she normal spent the time after relaxing and here she was being watched constantly. It put her a little on edge, but her main concern was her currently pacing twin. She'd tried to get him to calm down but nothing seemed to work. At some point she had to physically intervene to prevent him from hurting himself on accident from clenching his fist to hard. Even now, some older anxious habits were showing.
Trial
Lyney: He was an internal mess. He didn't want to be in the court room in the slightest. In fact, he never wanted to go there ever again. He could feel all of their eyes and the way they look at him makes him feel dirty. He tries to distract himself with the case and making sure nothing happens to Lynette.
Lynette: She wanted to go home and take a nice nap in her nice bed and have the fastest slice of cake she could possibly have. She wants nothing more than to enter standby mode and space tf out. She didn't because she needed to watch her brother and pay attention to what they're saying but it's tempting. The people are giving her the ick and this entire situation is just absurd.
Confession
Lyney: He's so stressed, man is barley keeping it together. One of his closest guarded secrets just revealed in court to be used against him. What made it worse, is everyone believed that because he was Fatui, he was automatically guilty. Internally he's pacing up a storm but he makes sure to keep this mask up. What the Traveler said only made him feel worse. He said awful things about himself, but when other's said it just hurt way worse. He couldn't stop thinking about what he would do if the Traveler decided to leave. He was determined to not drag Lynette down with him.
Lynette: Didn't really want to be there. People aren't her thing, she good at sneaking around and listening. Talking in slightly emotionally charged situations? Not unless she has to. She did feel a little bad for not tell them earlier but in her defense when would she have time to say something.
Acquittal
Lyney: He's relieved that he's not going to the Fortress of Meropide but the damage is done. Cowell, no matter how awful he secretly was, is still dead by his prop at his performance. No matter how he looked at it, it was his responsibility for him to go through and make sure any assistance were reliable people. If it slipped past him, it meant that things weren't as safe as his thought. An agent of someone else's manage to infiltrated his staff and almost got away with a crime under his nose. What was stopping the victim from being Lynette? Absolutely nothing but dumb luck. They could have really hit him where it hurts and if he wasn't careful, someone else could in the future.
Lynette: She was relieved that she can go home. This was too much peopling for her today. Listening to people talk bad about her and believe the shoddy reasoning if the Archon only annoyed her. It was just the way it was, but she could still be mad about it. The whole thing was an unpleasant reminder that they needed to be more careful but she couldn't fix it now, it was over.
Afterwards
Lyney: His confidence has been destroyed. Cowell was closer to him, so his feelings of safety have been destroyed. His self image was in shambles. He's closed up more emotionally then he was originally. He's absolutely shaken up but pretends everything is fine. Mentally, it's done nothing good for him. His paranoia is through the roof.
Lynette: Concerned. On her end, she was just glad it was over and she could finally go home and recharged. She needed sometime to do things she enjoys and process her emotions. However, he brother simply went to pretending like it'd had never happened despite how much it was effecting him. She could physically see the effects but he refused to talk about it.
Lyney Headcannons
Lyney Character Analysis
Okay- headcannon time~ This is really just an excuse for me to write angst about him. He just had so much free real estate. I feel like if I don't talk about this somewhere that I'm going to explode.
1. Lyney doesn't talk about his problems because he feels he hasn't suffered enough too.
He just seems like the type of person to be super empathetic towards everyone but himself. When his siblings have something bad happen to them, they don't deserve it. When something bad happens to him? He should have done better, it's all his fault, it's what he should have expected. They should feel free to talk about their pain whenever they're ready. He thinks that compared to his siblings, he's just hasn't had it bad enough to talk about it.
2. Lyney doesn't remember how to talk to people authentically.
I like to think with how much he tends to put on a front he doesn't know how to properly talk to people. He's so good at playing the part that there is not such thing as a normal conversation without all the bravado and sugary words.
3. Lyney refused to eat unless he knows Lynette has.
It was a habit he developed while they were living in the street, but since he was so young it kinda just stayed with age. In fact, he gets incredibly anxious if he ever gets food without knowing of Lynette has had anything. Unless he sees her eat, he'll adamantly refuse food.
4. Lyney is the quiet anxiety type.
He holds all of his emotions in and has had several anxiety attacks in public. If it's just him and Lynette, he'll start pacing and occasionally he'll follow his anxious trian of thought. He's prone to harm scratch at his skin or pull his hair so they keep his nails short.
5. Lyney has a dissociation problem.
The habit was worse when he was younger, especially when they were under the abusive nobel. He would just space out if he wasn't actively performing or Lynette wasn't there. He'd either spiral or his mind would be absolutely blank. Occasionally, he'll slip from reality, especially when Lynette isn't around to keep him grounded.
6. Lyney has cat-like eyes.
I literally cannot explain it. It's just what he inherited and I will stand by it for the rest of my life. It's especially prominent in the sun. He's got slits instead of the round pupils and when they lived on the streets people wouldn't look him in the eyes because they thought he was creepy.
7. Lyney was locked in a closet as a kid but he has no memory of it.
My brain came up with this and I can't even explain it. Under the abusive nobel, there was an incident that resulted in him spending the night in a closet, neither twin really remembers it. Lyney was dissociated the whole time and the dark doesn't help. It's remember on a subconscious level but Lyney's just ignores it until he can't anymore.
8. Lyney does card tricks when he's nervous
When he's nervous and alone, he'll pace back and fourth and do card tricks to try and calm him down. They're like his fidget and it was an idea that Lynette came up with instead of him putting his hands in his hair. When around other people, he does the tricks but doesn't let his nervousness show on his face.
This is the second part of this post:
Lyney's Character Analysis
Courtroom Headcannons
Edited: Links
Edit: So I figured out how to change text color :D
So I was combing though the Twins voicelines and story again because they're one my mind 24/7 and I've noticed some things. So now I have part of an analyst. This is actually a series of headcannons too because of I don't share my mind will explode.
1. Lyney only answers your questions half the time.
When looking through the interactions and voicelines, I noticed that for certain questions he won't answer and instead will just distract the Traveler or answers it in a roundabout way. I guess it's because he doesn't want you to know about it or it makes him uncomfortable to talk about. He doesn't really lie, but he doesn't answer either. He doesn't like to give information about himself unless absolutely necessary.
2. Lyney has a tendency to say some weird things.
Lyney says nothing about it, but Lynette has an idle line about it. What type of strange is unknown, but Lynette is worried about what he says. It also seems to be a pretty normal occurrence.
3. Lyney's chattiness is a front.
This one is actually talked about by both the twins. Lynette says that he's just more quiet when they're alone and Lyney says that he only uses "verbal" magic to get closer to other people. I have more to say about this but I'll wait until my headcannons.
4. Lyney isn't his happy or cheery as he initially seems.
This one is confirmed in his voicelines and story quest. He explicitly says that he believes Traveler would feel sorry for him if they knew his real personality. Then at the end of his story quest when you talk to him. He's a lot more subdued than he had been for most of the quest. He also says some questionable things and it leads to my next point.
5. Lyney doesn't really have friends.
He actually admits this himself at the end of his story quest with the empty auditorium analogy. He comments how the way he acts only pushes people away and after Cesar he doesn't really have anyone beyond family left.
6. Lyney hates how he lies.
In his character story quest and his actual Character story in part 4, he mentions how much is lying bothers him. It's practically effortless but by this point it comes so easy that it gives him an identity crisis. Lyney has lied so much and played the part so often, he isn't sure what his actual personality is anymore.
Note: I realized I have way more to say than I anticipated so now this is gonna be a series of posts.
Lyney Headcannons
Courtroom Headcannons
saw your Diluc thoughts and his shady organization and huge network and here's some thoughts bc Diluc 💖💖💖
honestly if you think about it, is it really just tragic parent death + brother betrayal that caused him to be so... closed off and determined? like it makes you wonder how much more did he witness/experience in his travel to turn him into what he is now.
friendly reminder that this was a daddy's boy, raised in a noble household. Pure, sappy, diligent Diluc who wanted to be a knight for his father and for Mondstadt! But in one of his first game appearances, we see that he's perfectly capable of torture interrogation and other shady things.
How fast did things go downhill for him in the past 4 years? what else did he experience and what else did he had to resort on doing for his personality to change into that? (Ive been reading a lot of corruption plots where iconic heros turn dark lately and it shows 😩 but fr, there's a lot and personalities can't change that quick)
bonus but how did Kaeya feel witnessing this immediate change? Sure they fought before he left but remember, to Kaeya, his brother was still this very image of an idealistic son wearing white. All of a sudden he comes back and he's nothing like he was before (on the surface).
I mean ya, there were a lot of things that piled on top of each other to cause Diluc to leave and to shift / alter his entire personality -- spoilers under the cut
traumatic event that happened days between one another:
Event 1: the death of his father by his own hands (diluc killed his own father)
Event 2: finding out Kaeya was sent as a 1. spy or 2. destroy Mondstadt
Event 3: Eroch, Knight of Favonious Inspector, telling Diluc to cover up Crepus’s death so the knights weren’t seen as failures because (A. they didn’t kill the dragon, and B. it was killed by Diluc’s father who sacrificed his life to save the city and his son from dying but who was never a knight, was never given that right, and was shunned by them)
After those all happened within days of his birthday, he basically learned that nothing mattered and went off on a suicide mission to find the answers himself, torture means nothing when you literally don’t care about life anymore - which brought him to the mysterious organization that’s not really mentioned much in his story
when he returns he isn’t like himself, even in the Manga (which seems to take place directly before the appearance of the traveler so - 3/4 years after his 18th birthday (Varka is gone, Jean is the headmaster)) - Diluc hasn’t given up his secretive, underground ways of dealing with things and not only straight up murders people but is seen to carry the delusion his father once used (it’s speculated he fusses with his left glove because of the weight of the delusion he once wore - (edit: he left it behind!) when the game starts he no longer carries it but I’m sure it’s still around if he needs it)
We only know a little bit about his behaviors before from flashbacks, but other than him being generally happier, he still has a lot of the same characteristics
Diligent: he learned how to wield a bunch of weapons and can also fight openly and in secret like an assassin (look at baby boy in the manga T.T)
Capable: business oriented, fighting oriented, communication oriented (he grew up as a noble yes, so he has a lot of skill talking to people and dealing with things), can talk himself out of a situation or just kill them - either or
Dedicated: he became the youngest Calvary captain and also shot up in the ranks of the organization who rescued him, runs a global wide wine industry
Considers / Compassionate: cares deeply for Kaeya even still, considered him family, will help the traveler without questioning it, fights for a city he still loves because his father loved it so much
sensitive: he worries about people not liking him (Klee, Diona, even Kaeya in some way), just listen to his line about Diona and learning she just doesn’t like alcohol that it’s not him she dislikes -- he’s so relieved and shocked
impatient: boy gots himself into trouble time and time again, fight me
His personality didn’t change, the characteristics of each one adapted to what he needed them to be at the time -- Diluc might not be the happy, inspired boy he ways but it’s mainly because he’s traumatized and doesn’t trust people anymore -- he’s still Diluc deep down and I think Kaeya sees that when he looks at him.
I have a lot of thoughts that I outlined in my character analysis - but he didn’t change over night, he had a traumatic tri-fecta happen to him in the span of a few days, went out on a murder spree of Fatui, almost died, joined an organization that shared his insight on the Fatui (like minds and all) and learned more from them and then just --- came home (this is where we don’t have a lot of reasons why he came home but his post in Mondstadt on Cat’s Tail is very telling that he learned being reckless and holding onto hate was not the way to live his life anymore)
hardships wear on everyone and while he doesn’t show it on the surface you’ll find his pain all over his skin and inside the heart no one can get in -- he is very guarded and does things on his own -- after everything he’s went through, I am impressed he came back at all