aventurine holds ratio at arm's length (hand on shoulder, like he's holding him apart but also like in a dance) but their foreheads are still pressed together... ratio's hand covering like 50% of aventurine's entire figure here... the eye contact that ratio had to bend down to his level to do...
fingers sliding into his hair possessively and aventurine letting him like the little selfish creature he is internally... a serious little promise and affirmation... the side of him that has the slave mark is not even in the image it's on the other side, and ratio's laurel is front and center
it's funny because aventurine doesn't mind showing it, he has it on display, but in here it's not just missing, it's on the side you can't see deliberately AND you can't even see his leather collar accessory ingame. it's like for this one single panel he is ratio's alone.
oh also additional note: they both look like they haven't slept (tired eyebags? tired of staying away?). this is kind of giving I love you most ardently.
ok now I'm looking at it in daylight and it's the WRITING. the fact that it's *you* in italics. he loves /him/ not anyone else, encompassing everything he is and pretends to be. he Loves him. not any other emotion he can conjure.
Indeed such selfish creatures they are 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 they yearn so much its going to be their undoing, i like to think that when under Ratio’s gaze and love, he doesn’t feel anything less than a human. he knows he shouldn’t yet aventurine yearns for him anyway
ahhhh this makes me feel sm emotions? aven, despondent, unable to accept something meant for him, even if he wants to, and veritas, ardent, dare i say almost desperate, for him to believe him. i love /you/. you - beyond the mask, beyond the front & the sparkling intellect, kakavasha, the man.
also just. the press of their foreheads together, ven's posture - eyes downcast but hands still outstretched. the conflict in that vs the certainty in veritas' body lang. it comes across so well. idk if it's bc i'm writing smth w a similar theme that i use this lens to see it? but yea. ty for this ❤️🔥
ratio's laurel pin has 8 leaves, four are light colored and four are dark colored. perhaps symbolizing how ratio, who is often portrayed with laurel leaves in more abstract works, sees aventurine as his equal. everyone else's comments too tho
It’s hard to convince Aventurine that he is loved for who he is, without his stratagem title. And even so, I don’t think he believes he is a capable of love or to be loved
Ratio's looking straight into Aventurine's eyes, looking like he just cried. His body is drawn even outside of the square line (?) as well, while aventurine remains stuck within. It feels as if ratio's trying his best to break down aventurine's walls and make him understand that he loves *him*,
Aventurine, Kakavasha, the person. but Aventurine doesn't believe him.
Also at first I thought this is all just Ratio's delusion ngl! As in ratio wishes he can say "I love *you*" to aven and be all pathetic which is why his body outside of the square is a bit transparent? :p
i hope you dont mind if i get kinda lengthy, i love this. aventurines eyes are tired and not focusing, hes not in a good state of mind (and the title "pathetic" is potentially him referring to himself, perhaps this is reoccurring/he feels no progress?)
hes limited to the frame, feeling stuck/trapped/unable to escape (from himself/his mind/his situation?)
ratio extends outside of the frame, hes not limited in the ways aventurine is (in more ways than one), grasping his face to get him to focus and really listen to him,
he Loves him (not any other adjective, not like/hate/etc, he Loves), he loves Him (not who hes pretending to be, not who he thinks he is, just Him) whether it really hits aventurine is unclear but he Wants to believe it, he holds onto ratio too. beautiful to me 🦚🌿
Comments
Also at first I thought this is all just Ratio's delusion ngl! As in ratio wishes he can say "I love *you*" to aven and be all pathetic which is why his body outside of the square is a bit transparent? :p
I think it is a sincere moment, with Aventurine not expecting Ratio outright spelling out his affection.
ratio extends outside of the frame, hes not limited in the ways aventurine is (in more ways than one), grasping his face to get him to focus and really listen to him,