Thread by @windflowerlia

one of my favorite things about venti is simply that he's an immortal fairy - for fun lore reasons!

headcanon time:
the book "heart of clear springs" describes the differences between fairies & humans, stating that fairies are "tender, sensitive beings beyond the ken of humans."

fairies are incredibly empathetic. they can read body language, and, at many times, may understand people's feelings better than humans know their own feelings.

in the book, this deep empathy causes the spring fairy to grow afraid of commitment in fear of parting with the boy.

however, venti has already experienced parting. nameless bard was ripped from him unexpectedly... venti threw himself head first into the "fleeting passion" of humanity and took part in their revolution for freedom.

he believes in humanity's spirit despite their short lifespans.

so while many immortals like xiao fear interacting with humanity similarly (this same concept is talked about in xiao's dev blog), venti, to me, is almost the opposite. he has over-committed himself to helping humanity because he refuses to part with his friend's legacy.

talks of commitment aside, this ability the spring fairy had (to read the human boy's body language & know what he was going to say or do before he did it) - this is something venti also seems to possess.

i think this is one reason why venti always seems to be one step ahead.

he can read social situations with ease and manipulate them as he wants. during the windblume festival, for example, he knew our #1 question was "what is the original windblume?" - even confronting us directly at stormterror's lair about it, saying what was on our mind for us.

but it took until the entire festival was over for him to address it. this is because he wanted us to experience the festival for what it was, and become further acquainted with mondstadt's culture & customs... as well as give us enjoyable memories with everyone (& himself).

from start to finish, we were roped into being his assistants, and magically wound up as the windblume star ... we had to go through all of this just to get our answer from him!

(because, to venti, what we learn from the journey itself matters more than the end result.)

this similar pattern repeats itself quite often when venti's involved. so, i think, not much throws him off guard. especially if you buy into the theory that he's a bit of a prophet and weaves the traveler's fate in his spare time... he predicts events as well as shapes outcomes.

to me, this is why his line to traveler from his story quest about them being "too smart" to the point it makes him uncomfortable is so important to me.

i don't think venti is used to anyone matching this ability to read situations. but traveler can. traveler is his equal.

from knowing to ask paimon to go fetch them a couple of apples so venti could have a moment of privacy, to all the times during various quests where traveler makes silent observations in their head about a character/situation -

traveler *isn't* mortal. they're an old noble soul!

this... leads to what is probably one of my favorite dynamics, which is when two characters can engage in nonverbal communication and have mini conversations through body language/sharing glances ...!!!

one of my favorite examples of this is also from windblume 🥺

venti alludes vaguely to ~a person~ ... traveler reads his body language, thinks internally they know who it is while sharing a glance with venti, but doesn't speak up ... venti sees in traveler's expression that they figured it out, and tells them to keep it a secret...!!

and this dynamic is why venti's teapot lines are so good.

venti can probably tell traveler is tired, that they miss their sibling. he knows traveler trusts him, and he wants to help. so he asks traveler if there's anything they want to willingly tell him, or open up about.

sure enough, traveler is more than willing to speak frankly with venti when asked like this... our two dialogue options aren't very positive.

and venti shows genuine worry for traveler, even offering to lend them his shoulder to rest on.

but this isn't a one-sided conversation. while traveler did open up to venti about how they feel, they're also the first to point out his serious expression. they can tell his concern is genuine... to the point they would rather comment on it being unusual than blindly accept it.

and how does venti react? of course, he deflects! because traveler is too smart & too curious about the god of freedom, barbatos, who hides behind this cheery facade.

he visibly lightens up and directs the focus of the conversation back onto us.

their dynamic is give & take.

and, well... this back and forth dynamic they have is pretty common, even in their voicelines.

traveler shows an active interest in venti's "true divinity" and also knows venti dodges topics that are too on the nose (at least, if he's not the one directing the conversation).

and... even in venti's voicelines. "about venti: I" and "about venti: V" shows that traveler rebounds this question about their "greatest wish" right back at him, and he answers truthfully, at higher friendship levels.

i'll stop this thread here, but ah wow i love their dynamic so much 😭 they tiptoe around each other, revealing as little about themselves as possible, while also trying to get to know the other as much as they can...

unfortunately for traveler, i think venti knows too much !!

hi guys this blew up and i just want to say i'll be posting a cover of rubia for venti's birthday, so come give it a listen if you'd like 👉👈