yeah i do see the disparity of this situation with what haitham says! i would love to get clarity on the situation in-game, but desert people not being afforded the same privileges does sadly track with what we know... if kaveh thought about the suffering of desert children it would 100% make sense for him to be all the more willing to help.

for what it's worth i'd like to clarify that i am not as stubborn about believing NO ONE IN SUMERU SUFFERS EVER as my one tweet may have suggested & am certainly interested in learning further details about both the keychain story and the state of sumeru's healthcare! but i am very trusting of alhaitham's knowledge because he's had yet to lead us astray, so for him to state a fact about his own country's policies + be wrong about it, implying ignorance, seems inconsistent with his character and role. of course, the fact that sumeru offers free healthcare does not mean it's a well-managed system or that the vulnerable sector would even take what is given (we see this in real life all the time) so it's possible for him to be technically correct but also for kaveh to still seek alternative ways to help, and kaveh would not be wrong for that! but hmm, perhaps my dissatisfaction then lies with the way alhaitham simplifies such a complex issue when you'd assume him to be intelligent enough to address the nuances. perhaps his logical (and inherently privileged) brain does not understand why those in need would not seek help from official channels rather than seedy merchants?

there's definitely a lot to debate about, as this issue clearly proves, and i do wish to keep an open mind for further information when kaveh is released!

THERE ARE SO MANY STRONG CONTENDERS FOR BEST SHIP BUT THIS IS VERY VERY HIGH UP AND UNDERRATED zhongli and scara may not have ever met but their shared non-mortal existence vs their entirely different origins and outlooks and successes... scara probably feels no need to treat zhongli with any more respect than anyone else and may even instinctively rebel against it, but spending so much time together with childe as their lively firecracker of murder and sunshine... zhongli would feel very bad for scara too i think, maybe even sympathize with his desire to become a god, and maybe do his best to show him how enjoyable life can be on the ground. ahhh what potential!!! BITES THEM

i will enjoy a little zhongaechilde once in a while! i wouldn't say it's a fav ot3 because there are other characters i love shoving in with zhongchi more (like xiao or venti or even scara) but it largely depends on the premise and if i like the author and so on

tbh it took me a long time to appreciate traveler ships overall because while i do see a pretty distinct character for aether and lumine in the game now (moreso than i did early game) it's still hard for me to shake the special snowflake self-insert vibe? which is totally fine because even i indulge in a little special snowflake self-insert fantasy when the mood strikes but the mood DOES have to strike for me to maintain interest. it's not an aversion as much as it is boredom?? (I TRULY DON'T MEAN THAT OFFENSIVELY if you love and adore aether with all your heart i am sure this alone makes you write a good one)

THAT BEING SAID from a strictly canon perspective there's no denying that childe and zhongli are fond of aether, and when it comes to someone capable of keeping up with these two and managing their potential miscommunications, aether is ideal for the job. (i would love a scenario where aether is trying to matchmake them and accidentally ends up caught up in the mess LOL)

alternatively.... abyss prince aether roping the abyss side of childe to his side in a dubiously consensual kind of way is always sexy, and it's even more fun to imagine zhongli negotiating for childe's freedom except the only exchange aether is willing to take is zhongli himself 😳