#but there are feelings involved too

[buzzcutlip]

W9nndering if you'd be into writing #1 / I with Carmen. 🩷

Hi, thank you for the request 💗🎅

Prompts from my seasonal prompt list: Watching Christmas movies & Falling asleep together Carmen x Fem!Reader Explicit! with fluff!! Words: 2500

The hum of the central heating, neighbors' voices, the sound of the cars on the street drifting in through the single-glazed windows—all of it lulls both Carmen and you into a deep slumber, despite The Elf playing on the small screen of Carmen’s TV. Carmen's couch isn't the most comfortable, but exhaustion blunts any discomfort.

You’re both exhausted from the dinner rush, as it seems that the restaurant’s busier in December than ever before. Carmy never leaves before the end of the service, and you stay to help with whatever you can. You started as a waiter—a terrible one, needing the money for your last year of college. By some accident, or miracle, perhaps, Carmen never fired you. You ended up being in charge of the tedious administration at The Bear, alongside Natalie. You order and pick up fresh flower arrangements in Richie’s beat-up car, managing to escape any fines despite your dubious driving skills.

You wake up when Carmen shifts, his shoulder brushing yours. You’re positioned side by side, with your back slightly leaning against Carmy’s chest. His breathing is deep and slow, his hand resting near yours, close enough that the warmth of his skin seems to seep across the small gap. You yawn and then let your eyes roam over Carm’s handsome face. The furrow between his eyebrows is ever-present; he’s frowning slightly even in his sleep. Over the prominent slope of his nose, your eyes land on his lips. The warmth of the apartment wraps around the two of you like a cocoon, a fleeting reprieve from the whirlwind of the restaurant. You don’t remember being this warm and comfortable, and you indulge yourself, letting your eyes flutter shut again and silently enjoying Carmy’s immediate nearness, your temple leaning against his shoulder.

When Carmen stirs again, there’s a faint touch of his knuckles against your bare side, where your sweater’s ridden up. The touch sends a small shiver through your body, delicate but impossible to ignore. Your heart stumbles in your chest, and before you can second-guess yourself, you shift your hand just slightly, letting your fingertips graze his. It’s enough to make him move more fully. His breathing changes—slower, more measured—and you know he’s awake now. Somehow, he gets bolder—his hand trailing along your skin, his palm sweeping down to your hip and up under your breast. You have to bite your lip to keep from making a noise.

Carmen shifts his weight, all pretense of sleeping left behind, as he wraps his arms around your waist from behind, burying his face into the point where your shoulder meets your neck. His nose is cold and his lips hot, creating a deadly combination.

“Sorry,” he speaks up at last, his voice rough from sleep. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” “That’s okay,” you shake your head softly, glancing down at where his arms cross on your stomach, holding you. Your heart stumbles in your chest, and before you can second-guess yourself, you move your hand to cover his, acknowledging what’s going on. Carmen hums contently into your skin, tilting his head to lay close-mouthed kisses on the side of your neck. Automatically, your hand goes up and slightly behind to bury into his curls, and this time you let out a deep, shallow sigh. Needing to ground yourself, your other hand travels up, to lightly grip Carmy’s thick, tattooed forearm.

He shifts just slightly, moving so you face each other fully on the couch, hands lingering on your waist. You tilt your face up toward him, your breaths mingling in the small space between you. Carmen moves one of his hands up hesitantly, brushing against your jaw. His thumb skims your cheekbone, the touch so tender it nearly undoes you. He leans in slowly, but it’s you who closes the distance instead, your lips meeting his in a kiss.

And you love kissing Carmen. He does it with intent and a clear intention to please. He always cups your jaw and cheek in his large palm, and you love it. You love when he touches your face. It makes you feel even closer to him. You’ve only kissed him a handful of times, fleeting moments when the chaos quieted enough for vulnerability to peek through. Like the night you and Natalie realized The Bear was finally in the green, your shared relief spilling into celebration. Or the time you’d dared to ask him about Michael, the weight of his loss shared in silence.

That night, you knew he wanted to fuck you. You wanted it too, desperately. But instead of giving in, you’d pulled back, cheeks flaming, retreating with a nervous laugh and a hurried excuse. Since then, things have been... steady. Careful.

Carmen’s tongue is insistent yet gentle, as he licks into your mouth, and you tilt your face just so to give him better access. The Elf flickers on the TV, Buddy's chaotic cheer dimly illuminating the room. Neither of you is paying attention.

Each touch feels deliberate, like he’s memorizing you with his hands. Unbidden, you shift closer, your knee brushing his, your chest pressing against his as the kiss grows more heated. There’s something both unhurried and desperate about it, and you hesitate over how to let him know what you really want this time. You tilt his face up, revealing his long neck, kissing down the column of his throat just to buy some time.  Just a little bit, to clear your head.

You’re both breathless when you pause, wide-eyed and staring into each other. There’s so much in his gaze that you feel like you’re going to burn with need—for this man, for the most talented chef in the world, for the scared boy inside, for the man you’ve been falling for.

“Carmen—” you say urgently, not knowing how to continue. There’s confusion written on Carm’s face, and he takes your hand in his, bringing it to his mouth. He kisses the top of it repeatedly, making your heart ache as he waits for you to say what’s so urgent.

But you can’t make yourself. Instead, you take off your sweater, and your t-shirt too, yanking the material over your head, which leaves you in your simple black sports bra.

Your hair must be a mess, but you don’t care, any traces of shame long gone. Carmen seems to think the same, sensing the shift in the air as it grows thicker, filled with electricity. The undeniable pull between the two of you is finally materializing.

You dive back into the kiss at the same time, teeth and lips and tongues meeting, hands scrambling to grip something—anything. And soon, Carmy has you on your back beneath him. He’s busy discovering the new territory under him, while you push up his white t-shirt to get to more hot skin. It’s been a long time since you stopped lying to yourself about how attractive you find the chef. You run your nails blindly along his happy trail, enjoying the choked-out moans and quiet groans he makes.

“Fu—ck,” he stutters when you reach the root of his dick, teasing him before circling the girth of it. Pleased by his reaction, you give him a cheeky smile.

“Is this okay?”

“It—it's okay,” Carmy gets out, watching with rapture as you pull him out of his boxer briefs and sweatpants. You stroke him until precum bubbles out of the tip, a couple of beads dribbling down the length of his cock. Mesmerized, you watch the clear liquid until it connects with the ring of your fingers, then bring them to your lips, licking it off.

Carmen trembles above you. “Jesus fucking Christ,” he mutters, and you pull him into a dirty kiss, letting him taste both you and himself. He lets you jerk him off while he kisses your breasts—first over the fabric of the bra, then pulling it down to reveal their fullness and sensitive nipples. He sucks on one, then the other, completely lost in it, making so much unabashed noise you can’t quite believe this is the same Carmy you know from the kitchen. Or maybe he just can’t help himself.

Seeing him indulge in so much apparent pleasure affects you more than anything. And as much as you want to appear unbothered and in control, it’s slipping steadily from your hands. When Carmen sits back on his haunches after what feels like forever of kissing and licking, his face and neck are flushed red, sweat clinging to his hairline. You can’t believe he hasn’t come yet.

“How are you still going on?” you wonder out loud, watching his face, hand stroking his dick slowly.

“I’m pretty good at—at holding it off,” Carmy explains, his hands roaming your sides absently—your tummy, your arms—never stopping.

“Hmm, I see.” Deciding to move things along, you let go of Carm for a second to shed your leggings, with Carmy’s eager help, of course. When you settle back down, you beckon him playfully.

“Come back here.”

And he does, shuffling until he’s kneeling between your spread legs, dick out. You reach for it and rub the length against the seam of your pussy through the damp fabric of your cotton panties, making Carmy jerk and hiss, the fabric rough against his sensitive dick.

You watch him closely, cataloging every twitch of his abdominal muscles, every tick of his jaw.

“It’s okay,” you murmur sweetly, and Carmen nods, his quiet but fervent “Yeah, fuck” filling the room, his eyes never leaving where you’re holding him against your cunt.

Perhaps it was a silly decision, wanting to torture yourself like this, rubbing your clit through your panties instead of getting Carmy’s dick in you. You’re both suffering—Carmen’s mouth slack, his hips ticking forward involuntarily, completely undone. And you, moaning each time the flushed head catches on your clit or the opening, are just as wrecked.

Thankfully, at some point—before you both lose your minds—Carmen decides to take off his own underwear and pants. Then, rummaging in the drawer of his bedside table for a good minute, he turns back to you with a condom in hand.

You just nod, already pulling down your soaked panties, as Carmen puts on the condom and returns to his space between your thighs.

“You’re okay?” he checks, low and careful, which you find just outrageously sweet, before he kisses you deeply and starts pushing in.

Despite how pent up you are from the foreplay and the endless teasing, you relax the second Carmy’s in, letting out a sigh and one pretty moan just for him.

Carmen fucks like he does everything—with focus, with care. His hand cups your cheek, his thumb tracing slow circles on your skin, anchoring you to him. Each thrust is deliberate, and you can’t escape his intense, wondrous gaze, as his eyes flick between your face and the place where his cock is repeatedly disappearing into you.

Oh, the sight of you—him in his stupidly little t-shirt all rucked up, ass naked. And you—with the sports bra the only piece of clothing still on, tits spilling out of it. It doesn’t take long before Carmy finds the perfect angle and hits your sweet spot with every single forward movement of his hips.

“Tell me how it feels.” It’s Carmen’s voice that pulls you out of the bliss.

You blink up at him, confused, your brain too foggy with pleasure.

“How does it feel?” he repeats, and you barely recognize his voice—unusually deep and choked.

'Oh god, he wants a review,' runs through your mind, thinking about how serious his possible praise kink might be. Before you come up with a reply, he touches his thumb to your clit, stroking tight circles against it with the rough pad.

“Really good,” you confess hurriedly, back arching.

Carmy’s gaze softens. “Good.” The intensity of his focus doesn’t waver; his eyes stay locked on yours even as his hand moves with deliberate precision.

“Carmy,” you breathe, barely recognizing your own voice. “Hmm?” His voice is low, rough, but there’s no mistaking the tenderness beneath it. You can’t find the words, your head tilting back against the couch as he leans down to kiss the curve of your neck. His mouth is warm, his lips soft, and the contrast between his relentless movement and gentle kisses has your breath catching. His other hand finds yours, and you let your fingers slide into his, threading them together.

“You’ll tell me if it’s too much, yeah?”

The care in his words has your chest tightening, a wave of affection mixing with the heat pooling low in your belly. You nod hurriedly, threading your fingers into his curls for something to hold onto. “It’s not—Carmy, it’s perfect.”

The approval seems to spur him on, his movements growing just slightly bolder, more confident. You can feel his breath on your skin as he trails kisses along your collarbone, murmuring something you don’t catch but that sends a shiver down your spine nonetheless.

“Good,” he repeats, his voice a little steadier now, but still tinged with something achingly raw.

You arch into him, a broken sound slipping from your lips as the hold on his hand tightens and you come, eyes squeezing shut, thighs trembling against Carm’s sides.

“That’s it,” he murmurs against your ear, the encouragement sending another rush of heat through you, making the walls of your pussy clench again. Through the sharp and consuming pleasure, you feel Carmen let go too, crying out hoarsely, his hips stuttering, rhythm faltering until he stops moving completely.

When you catch your breath, you fix your bra and reach down to the floor, feeling for your underwear—or at least leggings. By accident, you catch a glimpse of a scene with colorful fairy lights on the screen, and you pause.

“When I was a kid, I was afraid of the dark,” you start while putting on your clothes, still lying on the sofa next to Carmen. “For Christmas, my parents would put the tree in my room, leaving the strings of lights on even at night. They had this specific foggy—or frosty—dimmed glow. I didn’t need to sleep with the open door to the hall during the holidays. It’s been so long, but the memory of that particular light—I always remember home and Christmas,” you finish dreamily, turning to look at Carmy for the first time with a smile, feeling oddly content and relaxed.

He’s still naked from the waist down, but you don’t study that overly.

“We could try to get you the same lights. Would be nice. Would feel like home,” Carmy suggests softly, sincerely, pressing a brief, tender kiss to your shoulder.

It makes your chest tighten, and for a second, you fight back tears. You look at him for a long moment—at his rumpled t-shirt and messy hair. “You feel like home,” you whisper.

[draculings]

an incredibly sensitive instrument.

[somewhereincairparavel]

"jason is a knockoff watered down percy" NO hear me out, jason actually parallels annabeth immensely, sharing SO many similarities with her personality, not percy, in this essay I will-

edit: my full analysis is out now! here

[logicpng]

so, i have some thoughts. i feel like the game doesn't explore doey much, so i'm gonna take that as an opportunity to stretch him a lil.

in short, i see him as neither one whole nor 3 kids in a trench coat, but something in the middle of the two: a grown up who never really got to experience a proper childhood, the 3 originals in a blend with each other.

the time between creation and game events likely is enough for them to learn how to cooperate (up until. yknow). collectively or individually though, goddamn they need therapy

[ Description in ALT, text transcribed under cut ]

1st image:

point at head with teeth peeking: teeth may show more subtly, particularly when mischevious

point at hat: hat always at an angle

point at hand: stubby hands omg <3

point at neck: neck constantly bent in some fashion

Generally friendly and curious, may be more closed off and bitter if kevin is more dominant.

Collectively an adult due to passage of time and gaining experience, but still retains some more childish traits due to isolation from outside world and trauma, both collective and individual (holy shit do they need therapy).

Parts operate more or less seamlessly, but depending on situation some may show more or less of their traits.

When stressed, cooperation between parts may break down.

2nd image:

Kevin

present strongest when angry, most of anger processing goes through him.

not actually angry/cranky all of the time though, just a bit more gruff/edgy compared to the other two. tends to show teeth when talking.

over the years learned to control his rage better, can redirect it into being a bit of a troll w/ the others

understandably, safe haven's destruction made him revert and lose all restraint, resulting in lashing out, mixed with extreme emotions from others.

Jack

loved doey strongest before conversion (rip), as such expressions tend to default to his

learned to cope with constantly fighting for survival by cracking jokes and being more optimistic

present strongest when happy, may speak more childishly when in distress or comfortable

reverts into reliving trauma of death and family loss with safe haven's destruction

Matt

present strongest when focused on the leader role, strikes a balance between kevin and jack

through time learned to focus more on necessary action rather than allowing to succumb to past guilt

definitely still very stressed out from responsibility, especially after poppy leaving, learned not to show it through cooperation with kevin and jack

safe haven's destruction just plunges him straight into a guilt spiral

Note pointing at bottom notes for each: safe haven's destruction is a massively traumatic event for them, resulting in the three regressing into child selves from distress, mixed in with emotions from individual traumatic memories

[rillils]

not me casually leafing through some screencaps and randomly realizing that the bartender in catfa also happens to be pre-serum steve's body double, thus making this shot:

the perfect rendition of what steve's before/after pics would have looked like side by side (and steve's leaning over a little, so he's actually slightly taller than that)

and it truly sinking in how fucking nuts it must have been for bucky to see THAT when steve found him lying on that table

[iwoulddieforienzo]

Personally I think percabeth is at its best when Grover is in it. I don’t necessarily mean in a polycule way I just think it’s great when he’s around

[monkie-see-monkie-do]

DO NOT HARRASS THE ANIMATION STAFF/STUDIO

In light of recent events, I decided to go check out Wildbrain's website for more information on what their 2D works are usually like.

These are the same people involved in the making of Carmen Sandiego

A show that, like some of their other 2D works, actually benefits from a choppier, more puppet-like animation style.

It's safe to say that it's the type that's worked well for them up to this point, with a couple exceptions. (See: The Snoopy Show)

And much as I'm disappointed with the quality downgrade of the new LMK season, well...

...Keep in mind that this studio has loads of talented people who are trying their best to fill the big shoes left behind by Flying Bark.

LEGO made the decision of what studio should step in next, and attacking the actual studio for it just makes you an asshole.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Jayce and the fallacy of the butterfly effect in Arcane's narrative

If Jayce's symbol is the butterfly, then my theory is that we're going into a full "butterfly effect" narrative in Act 2. Either we'll watch it happen, or we'll only see Jayce come out the other side of it changed by the experience, knowing - or more importantly, THINKING he knows - what to do to change the future. Literally, to "defend tomorrow."

tl;dr: Jayce will encounter the butterfly effect in season 2. Viktor and Mel both foreshadowed this in season 1. I think Jayce will fixate on Viktor and will believe that stopping or changing Viktor either in the past or the present - most likely the present - will mean he can save the future. I believe this will lead to an even worse tragedy and may have the same effect as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ekko's approach to changing the future by sticking closer to the present - considering only tiny increments of time to alter more immediate future outcomes - will be the superior approach. I also think that Jayce attempting to change the future will create the conditions that push Viktor to become the Machine Herald.

One of the most common reactions even the casual viewer had to Arcane season 1 was this: "If [character] had just done this one small thing a little differently, [tragic event] wouldn't have happened!"

Arcane has been called a Greek tragedy for the main reason that because of how well built up the characters' personalities and reasonings are, there's no other way season 1 could have gone. There was no stopping the multiple tragedies that occurred, because with one event leading to another, the chain of seemingly inevitable events goes too far back to identify what one singular event caused everything, what one character made what one decision to put our characters on the terrible paths they walked.

Arcane is about to investigate this idea in its own narrative, and I think that Jayce will be the character to stumble into the flawed idea that you can change one event, or stop one character, and change the future for the better. This is because Jayce struggles with a few very interesting character flaws, one of them being that he believes himself to be the main character, and it is therefore his responsibility to intervene, be a hero, and fix things.

Viktor and Mel both foreshadow Jayce's future encounter with the butterfly effect.

Recall that Viktor said: "There is always a choice."

Jayce sees choices in black and white, believes that he has no other options but to go along with what he's persuaded and pushed into, and acts too boldly with too much power multiple times.

Recall that Mel said: "We can't change what fate has in store for us, but we don't have to face it alone."

Jayce tries to solve big problems on his own, and though he delegates to Enforcers and the like, Jayce relies on his reasoning and his alone to make important decisions if he doesn't simply become persuaded - usually through strong emotions like fear - by other characters. In addition, since Mel is specifically talking about Viktor's plight here, it's worth mentioning that while Jayce did say that he would help Viktor in acts 2 and 3 of season 1, Jayce does wind up leaving Viktor to face his fate alone. When Jayce tries to change that fate in s2 ep1, ep2 shows that only tragedy can come of this as well.

Viktor and Mel's statements here are not contradictory. Viktor makes the point that you can always make a choice. In context, he's literally referring to the classic "secret third option," because given a choice between aggression and passivity, war and surrender, Viktor chooses to defuse the bomb instead. Mel, interestingly, seems to believe that destiny is fixed in a broad sense, and she operates as a politician and diplomat and investor who navigates that line of destiny in the most optimal way possible. In reality, in context, she is referring to the fact that Viktor can't change the way he was born and so he has no way to change his fate and therefore must face it, which is true - she's only missing the information that Viktor actually does have the means to change his illness and his body. Her wisdom still applies however, because he'll have to accept the hand that fate deals him after he makes that choice. Will he face it alone, or not?

There is always a choice, there's even secret third options, because having a fate doesn't mean that you are doomed to make only one possible series of choices. What it does mean is that each choice comes with a hand that fate deals you. It is impossible to know what all of these branching choices and consequences are in advance, and it is just as impossible in hindsight - the branches are too complex and the end outcomes are all equally meaningful, just different. If Arcane season 2 is to be a tragedy, it may show us that each possible outcome is still tragic if you fall for the fallacy of the butterfly effect.

Jayce is counseled by some of the wisest, cleverest characters with the deepest life experiences in Arcane, but he hardly ever takes that counsel to heart. If he does, he still acts on that counsel in flawed ways that have unintended consequences. This will come to a head in season 2.

Viktor and Jayce both have a butterfly following them around in season 1. The butterfly effect refers to one small seemingly insignificant event changing the course of history, and changing that event therefore changes history. Viktor bled over the railing of a Hexgate in season 1:

And Heimerdinger sees what we can only assume is Viktor's blood contaminating (?) the Hexgate in s2 ep3:

This might be the seemingly unimportant "inciting incident" that Jayce (and Heimerdinger and Ekko) settle on as something that should be avoided or erased by changing the past (if they time-travel with Ekko, for example).

I doubt that, if this is what this crew chooses to fixate on, it will be the only event that is considered as something to change. But let's take this and run with it for the sake of discussion.

As silly as it sounds, how do you stop Viktor from allowing his blood to come into contact with the arcane? Stop Viktor's involvement with the Academy entirely? Don't invent Hextech at all? But what if someone else invents Hextech besides Jayce? What if future tragedy befalls Piltover because it didn't invent Hextech?

The possibilities and what-ifs could branch on forever. But because Jayce is who he is, and because his tragedy with Viktor is still raw and recent and frightening, I think Jayce's butterfly effect experience will have to do with Viktor.

My personal prediction is that the timeskip between s2 ep3 and ep4 will be Jayce experiencing a timeline where Viktor, taken over by the Hexcore, brings about an apocalyptic event similar to what Heimerdinger experienced in his past. Either Jayce and co. can't go into the past to change the present, or Heimerdinger and/or Ekko advise strongly against it to avoid a paradox. This will lead to them re-entering the canon Arcane timeline before this apocalypse, but still after the timeskip. Jayce, believing that destroying Viktor and his cult will save the future, and believing that resurrecting Viktor was Jayce's mistake to fix, attacks him. But the consequences don't unfold the way he hopes, because trying to change fate once the cards have already been dealt has led to tragedy before.

The butterfly is a symbol of something other than just the butterfly effect - change, evolution, and rebirth. If the butterfly symbolizes the butterfly effect for Jayce, then I think it has a different meaning for Viktor - the change and rebirth meaning.

I've always found it very interesting that we see a similar-looking butterfly on Progress Day... but made of metal.

Every time Viktor's situation changes, he adapts and evolves. If Jayce attacks him, if his cult is destroyed, if the Hexcore is causing Viktor to decay, if all of these things happen at once - he'll just evolve again, and I think the Machine Herald is the next step. And the Machine Herald will be a triumph for Viktor, but Jayce will believe that he's created something even worse. The resulting feud will be a personal nightmare for both of them.

I think this still allows Viktor to use his own agency to choose to become the Machine Herald (the MH will probably be the "secret third option" that saves Viktor, or there will be a secret third option that ends the feud) while still allowing Jayce to be offended and horrified at whatever the Machine Herald represents or is trying to do in the undercity. Introducing the element of time travel allows Arcane to explore the meta concept of tragedy and fate that season 1 was built on while showing that you can't "solve" a tragedy, because there are other terrible possibilities lurking behind alternate choices. Especially if what you're trying to change is singular people or events and not systems of power.

This is why Ekko's approach with his Z-drive will be superior to Jayce's sweeping attempt at changing the future. Ekko's goal has always been societal change. He creates his own punk society in the undercity, more progressive and successful than anything Vander or Silco ever created, and a better bastion of safety, hope, and progress than what Heimerdinger founded in Piltover. Trying to change systems by going back in time is most likely futile. But taking what Ekko has already built in the Firelights, curing his tree, and fighting for the Firelights' survival bit by bit by optimizing the present with the Z-drive shows that:

It's more worth it to focus on becoming wise (Ekko's mask is an owl) and making choices you won't regret

It's best if you don't face your fate alone (act as a collective and take care of each other)

Consider every option, not just the obvious black and white choices

Maintain and fix what you've already built instead of abandoning it once things get difficult

Adapt as needed if the choices you made lead to dark consequences, and once again, stick together and take care of each other when the bad times do come

That's my Act 2 but, ultimately, my season 2 prediction based on the butterfly symbolism we've already seen. Ekko's involvement is what will give the series the at least partial happy ending that the creators have referred to. I personally don't think that the Viktor/Jayce feud will end quite so well, but maybe, they will still survive.

[fascinationstreetmp3]

something i thought would be interesting... the 'lestat call' from 2.05 but with the main audio channel isolated so you can't hear lestat's voice. so what it was like from louis' POV really

[fisherrprince]

Instead of writing a fanfic like a normal person this oneshot turned into two separate, contextless things,

[groovygrub]

[lovesickeros]

zhongli and neuvillette fighting over their reader 🤭🤭

scary dog privilege wherever you go, draconic courting gestures that would scare any regular person, they send each other deadly glares the moment you turn away,

stealing your clothes to just get a whiff of your scent, marking their territory all over your house - making it a battlefield basically, neuvillette (in my hc) is cooler and zhongli is warm so the cuddles are always so comfy ☺️😍,

they give you anything you want - you don't even have to lift a finger, they make you travel between the nations a lot though 😒 sooo clingyyy, extra gentle in their dragon forms as to not squish you, don't even get me started on the size difference 😍😍

just a little thought 🤭☺️

- 🐈‍⬛

Neuvi being colder is so real and canon. I see him as being colder + a lot more lithe, kinda lanky with smaller but sharper canines versus Zhongli who's warmer and a bit shorter then Neuvi + bulkier with bigger but not as sharp canines.

They've also got very different habits – Zhongli is very prideful not just of himself but his nation. He'll personally give your a tour and purposely drag it out as long as he can. Complimenting Liyue is basically complimenting him, checkmate Neuvi. Especially if he convinces you to try on some local Liyue fashion. Harmless and just a nice gift to anyone else but Neuvi sees it for what it is (since your wearing something from Liyue, technically wearing something of his. He loves his technicalities when it comes to staking a claim over you). Adds salt to the wound by touching you in totally innocent ways like to adjust you towards something he wants to show you or accidently brushing against you when he takes the bags of spoils he's practically drowning you in but really he's just making sure his scent sticks. He's just a sweet, nice gentleman with absolutely no ulterior motives trust.

Neuvillette does love Fontaine, but his habits are more about himself then the nation. He'll take you around if you ask or if the idea strikes him, but you'll probably stay around the making city area or the opera house specifically. He enjoys more personal time with just you and him then anything else. He values the immaterial to the material. Zhongli spoils you with gifts, but Neuvi tries to offer quality time irregardless of physical gifts (though he still gives them just not to the extent of Zhongli). He'll take you to see different operas if that's to your fancy, or leverage a bit of his authority to maybe see a few films since those seem to be hitting off in Fontaine recently. Bet that creaky old archon doesn't have those huh. He feels awkward if you want to watch a trial, but he'll reluctantly agree because. well. it's you. just don't wave or anything he's trying to work and he just Really wants to see you smile at him like that again and it makes him lose his train of thought. gets custom clothes designed by Chiori to replace your clothes from Liyue because they smell of Zhongli and it makes him sulky + he likes to match.

G-d forbid these two are in the same room as you because it's a war of attrition at that point. Constant accidental brush of the hand against your shoulder or elbow but it's just them trying to get rid of the others scent. they are side eyeing each other behind your back while being all smiles whenever your looking. If it's hot and you lean into Neuvi more he's practically GLOWING. not even smug he's just absolutely smitten and happy to be of service. immediately takes off his gloves and presses his hands to your face asking if your okay and if you want to go back with him. if it's cold out and you seek out Zhongli more hes smug as hell beneath the calm veneer. Offers you his coat and stay as physically close to you as he can under the pretense of being worried you'll catch a cold if he doesn't warm you up.

don't even get me started on your house either because you probably have tons of gifts from both of them accumulated everywhere. if Neuvi sees you use a tea set from Zhongli suddenly he had a fantastic gift idea he thought you'd like. he even got some tea included with it so why don't you let him make you some? Zhongli sees you using a goblet Neuvi gave you (totally a coincidence it's similar to his) and suddenly you have 27 square cups in your cabinets that you have no idea where they came from. if the goblet is mysteriously missing oh well. who knows :]

[kyouka-supremacy]

There's an exact page in the manga that signs the start of Akutagawa's character growth and it's this one, btw

[basket-of-loquats]

jealousy

[starcurtain]

Hear me out. I know it's unlikely that Ratio would ever have been foolish enough to directly get taken in by a scam, but considering that we know:

One of the groups specifically tricked by Kakavasha before he joined the IPC was the Intelligentsia Guild

What he tricked them about was Tayzzyronth's Swarm remnants, the exact same thing we see Ratio investigating in his very first appearance in the game, and

The researchers were described as "extremely cautious"

I am surprised that "Ratio was at least somehow connected to the Intelligentsia Guild team fooled by Kakavasha before he was ever even a Stoneheart" isn't more popular with the Ratio and Aventurine fandom.

Like imagine being Dr. Ratio. You tell your colleagues, "This seems like a scam. Are you sure you should trust this 'local guide' you've made contact with? Tell me about him. A picture? Does this even look like an Egyhazan native to you? I won't save you fools from making idiotic decisions." (You end up having to clean up the aftermath of their idiotic decisions anyway. There is sand in places on your body you didn't even know existed before this. How mortifying for the Guild. For you, by association.)

Then, next thing you know, you get a mission briefing slid across your desk from your IPC connections. They want you to work with their new Stoneheart. You open the packet to see... that little bastard with the enthralling eyes who had your moronic colleagues scrambling in the dirt on a backwater planet for months. Apparently he's made a career out of fooling you your supposedly competent guildmates.

You run off to confront him. You never met him personally back then, but you deserve compensation for the idiocy you were subjected to nonetheless. He deserves to know how much of a pain in the ass he's been in your life already without ever having met your eyes--

He proceeds to shove a gun into your hands and tries to make you an accomplice to a suicide. Apparently, this is normal behavior for the man now called Aventurine. Somehow, it's supposed to prove to you that he is a sane and reliable individual.

Absolutely nothing in your life has been normal since Egyhazo.

You would like to have mundane problems, sometimes.

How do you keep ending up in this beautiful manic clever conman's orbit, and why, like binary stars, can you not escape the gravitational pull?

[bizarrelittlemew]

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH — 2x1 | 2x2 | 2x3 ⌊ premiered October 5, 2023