#character analysis kaveh

[chaosplatypus]

Kaveh is the saddest character in genshin impact.

while there are characters with objectively more tragic and dramatic backstories (Scaramouche/Wanderer, Collei, Furina, etc.) Kaveh is tragic on such a human level. His story is one that could happen, HAS happened, to real people. The loss of a parent and then responsibility for the other, intense debt, turning to alcoholism to get rid of those worries, homelessness and having to rely on an old friend with whom he has had a big falling out for housing, seemingly unachievable aspirations, pressure for perfection and yet staying positive through it all. he has human problems and deals with them, just as badly, as a human would.

Kaveh is the most human character in this game. One where you will find something to relate to. Because he feels human.

[followerofmercy]

I think Freminet has some of the most interesting dissonance in his self perception of any Genshin character.

Like, of the Hearthlings we know, he's one of the most emotionally mature and intelligent. Lynette might still have him beat, but after playing her hangout... I dunno. I think they're tied. Lyney is Crumbling, Alrecchino is. Well. Arlecchino. Everyone else is a deeply traumatized child or adult and Freminet seems to pretty regularly be people's emotional support. His character stories talk about getting his vision by saving a bunch of other kids on a dive that went bad. The Selkie event literally had him being a therapist for a grownass woman, citing his past experiences with all the other Hearthlings that have died or killed themselves. And he handled that situation WELL. Yeah, he seems to live in a fantasy, but goddamn he's alive and a lot of people in his position aren't so clearly something is working.

Either his or Lyney's character story talks about the time Freminet had reached out to Lyney to try to ease his burdens, which resulted in Lyney blowing up at him. That probably contributed to Freminet thinking he's not good at it, but I think the reason Lyney reacted so badly was BECAUSE Freminet is actually a good support. He can't allow himself that from the little brother he's supposed to protect.

Freminet seems to both cry and dissociate often, but like... Kiddo you are in fact the only person in this family actually processing your emotions. Lynette dissociates 24/7. Arlecchino. Lyney lies and tells everyone he's fine and would literally rather die than admit otherwise. In comparison, Freminet is doing FANTASTIC

Freminet also gets a lot out of helping people! Like anyone, he needs to feel useful and needed. He seems to be an excellent mentor to the younger Hearthlings and perfectly competent on his own, but when you put him in a room with Lyney and Lynette who baby him and insist that THEY take care of HIM, he withdraws into himself.

Like, Freminet by himself feels like a young man and Freminet with the magician twins feels like a teenager. I have no idea how old he actually is. Logically, he would be OLDER than them! He's been with the House much, much longer and his experience shows. I think it's fascinating that they love him SO MUCH and yet, they just Cannot let him help them. Which is hurting him.

(Lynette is much better about not babying him and that is probably why their relationship is so much better than Freminet and Lyney's. Also why she keeps having to mediate between them. Because Lyney charges off trying to Fix Everything and that just makes Freminet feel useless and he doesn't want to get in the way and- you get the point)

Idk. It's hard to tell what things the previous director said to him vs what Arlecchino has said to him. I'm inclined to think our Arlecchino was the one that said he cries too much, but in a "crying in front of your enemies will get you killed" way and she herself is too fucked up to realize how "you cry too much" could be damaging.

Also I try not to consider gameplay stuff when it comes to story, but Freminet also has some of the most BRUTAL animations. He SMASHES HIS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT METAL PENGUIN INTO HIS ENEMY'S FACE. He doesn't think he's the most amazing fighter, and by Fatui standards he probably isn't, but he is winning fights against most grown men.

Tldr Freminet thinks he cries too much and is a burden and isn't good at helping people when he's actually the most mentally stable Hearthling send tweet

[mothspore]

thinking about the way kaveh mourns the loss of a relationship with someone he sees every day

he has haitham in his life. he sees him every day. he LIVES with him for fucks sake, and yet his opinions of haitham are all thinly veiled guilt and mourning. he constantly talks about how close they were during school, how different their relationship was during school, etc, and then when that starts coming off a bit too sad, he starts going on about how much haitham has changed, and how he would never give him the satisfaction of thanks now

but that’s not true. it’s obvious that it’s not. he won’t thank haitham because he feels ashamed of the help he has received, he feels he is undeserving, especially after their fallout, after he said those words that were strong and hurtful enough to tear them apart completely. it’s not that he doesn’t want to thank haitham. he is afraid to.

he’s also trying to protect himself. he tries to keep haitham at an arm’s length, arguing instead of acknowledging conflicts as what they are, in order to protect himself from what he sees as an inevitable outcome of haitham kicking him out, removing him from his life. kaveh wouldn’t blame him, it was only fair. after all, that’s all he had ever known, as well.

kaveh is so used to loss. this situation with haitham is such dangerous uncharted territory for him, and that scares him. kaveh is used to losing and losing without any possibility for gain. his father passed, he will never come back. it’s not possible. his mother left for fontaine, and he stopped writing to her out of his own perceived responsibility for his father’s passing. she never reached out to him, either. he knows faranak will never return to sumeru.

what he said to haitham, he never expected for him to come back into his life. the arguments on the message boards and in annotations and such were just petty insults to him, haitham’s way of taking things out on him. he never expected haitham to offer his home up to help kaveh. the whole thing is so different that it scares him. he knows what to expect from loss, and he knows when to expect loss. but he has no idea how to cope with this. he spends all his time mourning the friendship they once had, skirting around acknowledging the help that haitham has extended to him, and waiting for the other shoe to drop, because he cannot comprehend that this could end in anything other than another loss, another hurt to add to his baggage. and he does not want to truly lose haitham again.

the only way he can ensure this for himself is to not allow the possibility of closeness again. he has flown too close to that before, felt that warmth, and been burned. he has watched those wax wings melt once before. he will not allow himself to fall again. he will not invite the sun in again, because he knows he won’t be able to resist the urge to fly too close once more, even knowing the perceived threat.

acknowledging the help haitham has provided would directly acknowledge that they are no longer enemies. it would invite some of that warmth, something that kaveh does not believe he deserves, and something he cannot afford. he does not want to lose again, so he pretends there is no chance to fix things, despite haitham’s clear attempts to prove otherwise.

[kitty-meowskers]

idk but a part of me gets annoyed whenever people compare dr ratio and alhaitham.

like yeah ok... hot buff autistic nerdy men

but their whole ideologies are completelyyy different

would alhaitham ask you to give him a 'stimulating quiz' in his free time and then proceed to design a weapon for the express even though he didnt need to? no.

would dr ratio complain about becoming the (acting) grand sage and lead sumeru? no??

alhaitham is a 'live and let live' kind of guy. he justs wants to chill and have an easy life. like be for real, he's so worried about the akademiya finding out about his true talents and power because he hates the idea of working more. the only reason he's the scribe is because it's easy and it pays well. he's not particularly interested in helping others out unless its beneficial to him or the other really needs it. as kaveh said(i think he did??? idk i dont play genshin anymore), alhaitham is a nihilist

dr ratio on the other hand? he craves being able to fix things. all he wants to do fix things. although yeah he's not gonna do everything for you, he literally said to your face that if somethings bothering you deal with it yourself BUT he did literally go out of his way to scheme that entire thing in his quest to bring the people on the space station to there senses and get them thinking for themselves instead of obsessing over those geniuses. and that whole speech he gave to screwlum after? bro was INVESTED AND INTENSELY PASSIONATE. hes extremely passionate about getting people do use and develop their talents to the best of their ability. hes a fucking doctor who somehow has 52 courses and any of the people who actually make it through all get far in their lives. alhaitham would never put in that effort even with all his talent and ngl dr ratio would hate him for that (maybe not hate but dislike).

Another difference? alhaitham isnt a bitch about what his talents although its easy to assume he is while ratio low key kind of is and since the game itself describes him as 'narcisistic' so i think its pretty safe to assume he acts a bitch and he kind of is one too (cant blame him if i did all he did i would be the same)

[aha-chuu]

Kaveh Backstory Summary

Taken from the character stories recently leaked on project ambr.

Childhood:

When Kaveh was young, he was the only child of his parents, who were both accomplished scholars. Kaveh encouraged his father to take part in the inter-darshan championships - the same ones we see in the 3.6 trailer. His father ends up doing well and Kaveh is so so proud, tells his father to compete further.

He loses the championship by just a hair. Somehow, this leads to him going into the desert... Where he goes missing. Some time later, his body is recovered and he's announced officially dead.

From that point forward, Kaveh's home becomes a cold, lonely place full of sadness. He believes that if he hadn't encouraged his father, he never would have died. Kaveh desperately holds onto this idea that, so long as he never inflicts pain on anyone, he'll somehow rediscover the warmth of his childhood.

Akademiya:

Kaveh joins the Akademiya as part of Ksharewar darshan, the same as his mother. His mother, who has been depressed since his father died and unable to create art, receives a job offer from Fontaine. While Kaveh says it's fine and she should go, he's in fact consumed by loneliness.

He's an excellent student, the best from his darshan in many years. Alhaitham enters the Akademiya two years his junior, and makes a less positive name for himself - while they are very different and do butt heads, Kaveh gets to know him out of curiosity. He meets Alhaitham right as his mother leaves him to live alone for the first time in his life, and they become close.

Kaveh considers him his best friend, at the time.

Together, alongside several other students, Kaveh and Alhaitham embark on a group project. But they are geniuses and the other members of their group struggle to keep up, dropping out one by one. Alhaitham sees no issue; he and Kaveh can complete the project alone, they should not slow down to artificially uplift the others.

Kaveh, meanwhile, is too kind hearted. He stretches himself thin in order to take up everyone else's workload on top of his own, slowing down and burning out.

Alhaitham tells him not to, that it's not good for him or for the project. Kaveh says he's heartless, that he should be more willing to help others. It becomes heated, then, Alhaitham pointing out that Kaveh needs to stop feeling guilty for everyone else's problems - that he's only so focused on other people because he can't bear to look inward at himself. His altruism is not a symptom of selflessness but of overwhelming guilt.

It's the first time someone has read him so perfectly. Kaveh finds himself exposed, upset and angry in front of the person he considered his closest friend. The reality Alhaitham described is one that he cannot face. So Kaveh strikes back, tells Alhaitham that he should have never befriended him - that he regrets their entire relationship.

They part ways immediately afterwards. Their joint research is never completed, but the research space is offered to them both. Kaveh writes it off, unwilling to stay in contact with Alhaitham. In addition, Alhaitham removes his name from the thesis and Kaveh tears up his copy - only to put it back together some time later.

Career:

Over time, Sumeru becomes more and more radical. The arts are seen as completely useless, senseless decoration. Kaveh's vision of design is the combination of aesthetics and practicality, but all the jobs he receives ask for a completely rational approach. He's stunted, realising that he can't realise his dream like this. Kaveh can't help but become more and more depressed over the state of Sumeru.

Then, like a shining light, he's offered the perfect commission: a huge mansion with near complete creative control over the design. It's Dori's commission and she is mostly uninterested in the process - simply asking that it be beautiful, extravagant and secluded in location. Kaveh convinces Dori to go out of her way for the mountainside view, and she finally agrees.

Disaster strikes halfway through construction. A withering zone overcomes the building site, destroying the materials and leaving the progress completely impossible to recover. Dori is incensed - if Kaveh hadn't persuaded her to change the building site, it would never have happened. She wants him off the project.

Kaveh sits on the ruins of the mansion overnight, considering. He's desperate to finish the project - certain it will sate the desire for fulfillment he's had for so long now. But Dori has lost so much money and she's so displeased with him, all he can do to get back on her side is to recompense her for all the materials so that she no longer sees the whole thing as one huge financial loss. Kaveh has savings, but not nearly enough... His mother's house is under his name though, and that would get him up to 70% of the cost.

The next day, Kaveh sells off all his assets and gives everything to Dori. She allows him back onto the project, unpaid. Kaveh makes further additions that are over budget, and by the time the palace is completed he's heavily in debt and homeless.

He feels fulfilled by the project's completion at first, but quickly falls into despair at his life circumstances.

The circumstances:

Kaveh turns to alcohol to drown his sorrows, camping out at Lambad's tavern day and night. When his old associates visit, Kaveh pretends that he's just in between jobs, on break. Out of sympathy, Lambad gives him free drinks and keeps his table reserved. For two weeks, he stays in the tavern in this way, paying Lambad's kindness back by redesigning the booths for him. He's completely penniless, and so he can do nothing else.

Then, by chance, Alhaitham visits the tavern for a drink, finding Kaveh. He immediately sees he's in a bad way, and Kaveh can't help but unload all of his troubles onto the man he once considered his best friend.

At this, Alhaitham asks a difficult question: "how has realising your ideals gone for you?". It asks Kaveh to face the reality of his life again, harsh and cold, but it comes from a genuine place that tells Kaveh to engage in some self reflection.

By happenstance, Kaveh moves into Alhaitham's home. Believing that Alhaitham would never perform a good deed unconditionally, he is plagued once again by his guilty conscience. Despite this, "the most unshakable part of one's past is a friend that will never change". Alhaitham is Kaveh's stability, it seems, and for the first time in years, "home" no longer translates to loneliness for Kaveh.

[aurae-rori]

Not a question and idk if your asks are open are not so I'm sorry if I'm not doing this right I don't interact much on Tumblr 😭

But finding your blog has been an absolute blessing cause Ratio always frustrated me as a character cause I couldn't sort out thoughts about him or entirely figure him about but reading your posts about him is scratching the itch on my brain that's been there for a while now and I absolutely adore it. He's such a well written character and reading what you have to say about him constantly is so much fun and let's me gobble up the information in a way my brain can process it.

Your blog is so much fun and I love reading your stuff!!

Also, what are your thoughts on the comparison between Ratio + Aventurine and Alhaitham + Kaveh? (Not sure if you've been asked that before so I apologize if you have!)

No worries, you did it perfectly fine!

Aww, dude, I'm so glad that my blog has brought you some joy. I'm happy to help deconstruct characters so that their inherent workings, motives, desires, and philosophies are seen. I try to keep my stuff easily edible(tm) so I'm so glad that it's working!! Thanks for the support, I saw you in my notifs a lot and it means the world.

And no worries, I actually haven't gotten this question yet.

There's a whole youtube vide on why Alhaitham & Ratio are not similar, and I wouldn't say that Kaveh & Aventurine are similar either. Alhaitham is generally a self-focused guy who doesn't want excitement and literally wants a normal life, while Dr. Ratio is reaching for the stars and wants to better the lives of literally everyone in the universe. Also, Kaveh and Aventurine share traits of being overworking (and they have dead desert dads), but I would consider Aventurine far more reserved than Kaveh is. They deal with business differently - Aventurine drives a hard bargain and takes deals that benefit him, while Kaveh's goodwill usually wins out on him and he gives into his empathy far more often. Honestly? The theories about Ratio being Kavehtham's love child is so fucking real, because he has the Autism from Alhaitham and his love for maths and his inner kindness from Kaveh.

Thanks for dropping by! <3

[twintravelers]

goodbye my danish sweetheart is a kaveh-centric hkvh song !!!!!!!! listen to me

alhaitham falling for kaveh first, since the academia days. there was always something between them, but it was never addressed before the project destroyed whatever they had. and after alhaitham opening up his home to kaveh, after they start falling back into their old routine, after he notices alhaitham taking care of him every time he gets drunk, it finally dawns on him. it's always been them.

in his room, thinking about what to say. wondering if alhaitham would give him the time of day so they could talk about it all, if every unspoken word could finally see the light of day, everything laid bare between them. wondering if maybe he might’ve already given up on him, it’s been so long. maybe they’re too different now. (continued below cut)

kaveh overthinking that maybe, actually, alhaitham just wants him out of his life, out of his home soon, and that he doesn't deserve the love that he might have had before now because of how far they’ve diverged from each other since they’ve met, with the underlying fear of not just being good enough.

his ideals. his ideals are what keep him alive, but also could be considered his greatest demise. and alhaitham sees it, he knows what it does, but he can't stop kaveh from it. it's something he will forever hold on to, because it is what keeps him from falling apart. the guilt, pain, and memories that threaten to shatter kaveh completely are what fuel him, his ideals always pushing him forward.

and there he is, thinking about alhaitham. he’s never listened to his junior, but now all he wants is for him to tell him what to do w his feelings, the rational part to his emotional self. after so many years, after he finally realized his feelings, is it too late? did he miss his chance?

yet again the overthinking presenting itself again, with guilt and shame of how he is right now, and how he probably doesn’t deserve the love alhaitham might give him, because he's so preoccupied of ruining everything again.

kaveh doesn’t know what this unresolved tension is going to lead to, but god forbid he hurts alhaitham with his feelings, which might not even be reciprocated anymore. but again, it’s been them, right? kaveh & alhaitham. the sun & the moon. together. he couldn’t bear to be without him, even if it’s unrequited. he can only hope alhaitham still has good memories of them together in the past. maybe he can hold on to that. to him. because, to kaveh, there’s no one better than alhaitham.

there we go!! i feel like i'm not great at putting my thoughts into words but i hope that this makes at least a bit of sense <3 i love them

[kaveh-therapist]

Just a suggestion for haikaveh fic writers :

How about writing about the way stagnancy affects Kaveh ?

Let me explain : as we have all pretty much surmised, Kaveh has a strong tendency to self-sabotage which led him to his current situation. This tendency is being managed by Alhaitham : in terms of work, emotion management and money spending.

This leads to a very stagnant situation in their lives : Kaveh earns money but then spends it in rather dubious ways - which has no consequences other than Alhaitham making the occasional remark as he settles the debt or tab. They go back and forth emotionally with bits of care immediately hidden behind layers and layers of pretend bickering. It’s a careful balance they maintain because any change may send the situation spiraling downwards like it did when they had their fallout.

However, there is one thing that can’t remain stagnant : time. While Alhaitham is content with a routine (doesn’t mean he’s fully stagnant, research, study and observation do bring him novelty and so does Kaveh), Kaveh would be likely to become increasingly bothered by this. Because Kaveh dreams big and is constantly unsatisfied, he would need change and evolution. He would want to steer himself into a new direction at some point regardless of where it leads - just to change and feel like he’s moving with the world and thus actually exists, to feel alive.

So, I’d really want to see a story written about how Kaveh would react to a few years of complete stillness in his life with Alhaitham - no big sudden change but rather a “how did I let so many years of my life go without doing anything ?” Because that’s how I think Kaveh would consider it

[thormanick]

Me back in January: writes a fanfic where Kaveh becomes a “mad scholar” bc his accidental (Traveler-esque if you would) experience with Irminsul goes wrong and so he is sent to Aaru village (with Alhaitham trying to find the solution to his problem)

Kaveh’s canon lore from the event: so yep basically his dad at some point got messed up mentally by a diadem and lost his life in the desert

Me, viewing the said fic from a new angle now:

Someone at Mihoyo really woke up one day looked at Kaveh and chose all possible kinds of violence didn’t they

[voidcat]

Kaveh of Kshahrewar Darshan, the brilliant architect, always wears his heart on his sleeve.

always acting out of the good of his heart, of his conscience, putting everyone else before him, his ideals before basic necessities, heart on his sleeve, cards on the table– an open book and an enigma at the same time; many knows of the sufferings he goes through deep inside.

a genius, an artisan spirit and a good man above all, Kaveh's priorities always lie to a fault. to the point of burning down, perishing into nothing but dust, a moth to a flame, and him, to his ideals, to good deeds, to those he calls friends, those he wants to fit into, those he wants to believe in the good of–

such a sentimental character as he, even if his heart burned from upside down, he would cast it all away, were it to result in your happiness, even at the cost of your love becoming someone else's.

he would actively reside in the shadows if it meant for your smile to last longer, people's happiness to burn brighter– he would help pave that road himself, in fact, even as much as to be the wingman, break down the boulders and place down the carefully crafted stones; creating the most beautiful road of them all, one he had to crawl and slither for, not minding the cuts and scratches he had obtained along the way.

burning down in the process to keep the lantern lit, to maintain the flame bright and fit; the sun burns bright at the cost of kshahrewar's light.

[followerofmercyart]

Just some thoughts on some of my favorite Sumeru characters

I’d like to reiterate that low empathy is not an insult. It just means that recognizing and/or feeling other people’s emotions doesn’t come naturally. 

When people say ‘oh they’re so empathetic and nice,’ they usually mean compassionate. Compassion is the conscious decision to act and care for others. There’s a feeling element to it, too, but unlike empathy, it’s not nearly as much an innate thing. You can have next to no empathy and be the most compassionate person on earth, or you can be extremely empathetic but still decide to fuck with people. It’s not a morality thing. 

The Wanderer probably started with higher than average compassion and had it beaten out of him. I think it’s still there? But he’s intentionally suppressing it to protect himself/make himself feel better/a host of other unhealthy things. The man’s got issues.

I just think it’s neat that my three faves are all extremes and the other fave Alhaitham is on the low end for both (unless you’re Kaveh or another friend, then he’s average compassion, WHICH IS NOT AN INSULT. AVERAGE IS NOT BAD. It’s just, like, less prone to self destruction/sacrifice lol)

Shoutout to Casey for some insight into Alhaitham’s character! 

[timely-kavefaru]

spoilers for Faruzan hangout quest///

I feel like Kaveh and Faruzan could relate to how the Akademia treat their field of study similarly to how Kaveh and Nilou might relate to the struggles of being an artist in Sumeru.

In her hangout quest, she explains that the Akademia looks down on her research in current day as they think it's too niche and outdated for Haravatat's research. Therefore, the Akademia considers it "useless". She disagrees with said terminology as she believes there's no right or wrong to knowledge.

It's similar to how the Akademia might have looked down upon the arts in more recent times, opting for only what they consider to be "useful knowledge" and trying to remove anything that they might not consider as academic pursuits.

Though Faruzan might not relate to Nilou and Kaveh's struggles as artists or necessarily understands Kaveh's values in art and beauty, I think she would agree that any sort of knowledge shouldn't be censored or restricted, and things like art and beauty have their own place in Sumeru.

kavefaru rambling incoming

She is pretty open minded, so I think she'd be willing to learn more about his ideals and what art means to him, as she does value the importance of conversation. She might not completely understand it, but her interest in learning more about him and his values is more than enough in his eyes. I think it would be a nice reminder for him that people outside of the art world are able to appreciate his works, which he'd find touching on her part.

[paimonial-rage]

alhaitham analysis

When you first meet Alhaitham, he comes across as someone that has a negative EQ. He's curt, rude, and critical. And yet the truth is surprising? Like looking at his character quest and how he basically emotionally manipulated the whole hive into revolting, this man is very emotionally intelligent. You can honestly see it in a lot of his lines too. When he speaks about people, yes, he may sound like he's simplifying or trivializing things too much, but he's not wrong. He understands people. He knows how they work. It's just that he views emotional labor as too much of a hassle majority of the time.

Spoilers below the cut

You can gather a lot about Alhaitham through Kaveh's character stories. Like while it may not seem like it, Alhaitham is genuinely trying to help Kaveh. He points out to Kaveh that the source of his problems isn't luck, but his sense of impractical idealism and inescapable guilt. Some may say Alhaitham lacked tact when saying this, but it was kindness on Alhaitham's part. Once someone can acknowledge the truth, no matter how hurtful, they can then make the needed changes for the better. When they met up again years later, Alhaitham asked him, "How has realizing your ideals gone for you?" This wasn't done out of a sense of pettiness, but to solidify the truth once more. It was to help.

I think if you don't know someone that operates in this way, Alhaitham's love language may be difficult to decipher. His words may seem cruel. It may seem like he's trivializing your problems. But to speak truth is to show that you're not a lost cause. He has proven he won't abandon you along the way. After all, to speak truth, no matter how hurtful, is to show love.

[dire-sire]

I find that a lot of people are kinda miffed at how AlHaitham is portrayed to be openly critical towards Kaveh & I get how people can see their relationship as unhealthy and much less any kind of romantic— but you do know that you can love someone while still being frustrated by their choices right.

As kind as Kaveh is, I can see why Haitham can get so frustrated by his constant need to put his own well-being at the bottom of his priorities. I think many people can emphasize with the frustration that comes with trying to care for a person who (seemingly) don’t care for themselves. It almost feels like you’re enabling them, which hurts when you see them suffering from— in Kaveh’s case— their own ideals.

In a painfully ironic way, this also makes Kaveh selfish (though I’m sure this would give him an aneurysm if you told him this) because he doesn’t see how his pained state hurts all those who care about him.

This also ties back to how Haitham treats him. As clearly shown through his character stories and general behavior— he doesn’t like sacrificing his own comfort for people and even just straight up doesn’t care how others think of him. Despite that, he readily invites Kaveh as his roommate no matter how inconvenient it is to his own comfort— Kaveh is, to put it bluntly, is a burden he’s willing to have.

Of course, if he were to tell Kaveh this, the miscommunication trope might as well be dubbed “The Kaveh-Haitham Conundrum” because their own perceptions of each other and standards for themselves would go frankly rather terribly if they were to ‘just be honest.’ The truth isn’t the problem here, the problem is who they are as clashing people— and that’s the tragic thing about them.

[dkniade]

Casual analysis of graphic design and composition (ft. a bit of colour theory) since I’m a bit rusty and haven’t thought about them in a while

Hm? Some shots in Al-Haitham’s and Kaveh’s demos share a similar composition…

But it’s interesting that the more logical one uses informal symmetry in his character title card and the more emotional one uses formal symmetry… So many rectangles in Kaveh’s card (‘course it helps that hanzi characters are in squares)… It’s kinda surprising, but still it brings out the flow of the illustration well. (Of course, Chinese hanzi can be read horizontally or vertically, so they’ve more freedom in typography, but I bet they changed the graphic layout a bit for the English demo…)

hah, yeah, I thought so. See how Kaveh’s cape can’t frame the center boxes anymore, and how there’s no space to the right of the synopsis in the upper right, and most of all how the two squares on the bottom left is now a quarter of the original size, leaving an empty space there (though if they rotated the words vertically it could fit into the rectangular space well).

Al-Haitham’s English title card isn’t bad, per se, but they could’ve put some shadow on the left side of the illustration so the text could stand out, and move the three green lines to the right side a bit more, so not everything is slightly to the left side when there’s no reason to. (The negative space on the two sides in the Chinese version is roughly the same size.)

These two shots are both long shots that show the character’s full body, but Al-Haitham is in a slightly low angle, and Kaveh is eye-level with the “camera”

This one’s another low angle full shot with Al-Haitham’s lower body, with a bunch of analogous colours. Also this one’s background uses formal symmetry again (even reflecting off the ground) while the placement of the characters are in informal symmetry (the large image of Al-Haitham balances out the small figures near the fountain)

[mmmaruda]

I already wrote one post about kavetham but it was rushed, and also, I think some of the things I mentioned weren't canon. So I'm here again writing a short analysis about fictional men. Actually, it will be mostly calling out the genshin fandom out on infantilisation and feminisation of gay men or not stereotypically masculine men. (I might link down below some fanfics that I think do kaveh and haitham justice, so bear with me)

Before I even begin I have to mention that I don't play genshin so my perception of kavetham could be flawed. But at the same time when I look what the fandom did to them I can proudly say that I have a better grasp on their characters. Also English is not my first language, so if you see any mistakes please point them out.

Kaveh is a well-known architect who graduated Kashahewar with honors. Sumeru NPC'S describe him as talented and a genius. Many people wish to meet him in person. After all, he singlehandedly brought back pride to Kashahewar.

Fandom loves to diminish Kaveh's accomplishments and effords only to turn him into a loving housewife or an incapable baby man who needs a strong leader. To the people who think Kaveh would be stay at home spouse and would stop designing architecture, with full offence you are stupid. If he was hooled up in one place he would eat through the bricks like a rat just to get out.

To add to the stereotypes of gay men, Alhaitham is perceived as some short of cold sugar daddy. Mind you, he is very much autistic coded. Also just because he doesn't need help from others doesn't make him any less autistic. He is constantly dehumanised because he 'doesn't show emotions', many people on spectrum struggle with showing emotions or controling them.

Fucking albeism.

People love to antagonise Alhaitham in order to make Kaveh a victim which he is not. Kaveh fights just as ugly and viciously as Alhaitham. They are both to blame for the state of their relationship, too proud to apologise and finally talk.

I like to think of them as predatory cats because of the way they fight, claws, teeth. All that.

How many times a gay ship falls victim of toxic heteronormativity. Making one guy hyper feminine and the other masculine. If a man is slightly feminine that doesn't make him weak, dependent on others or not capable. Stop treating typically feminine traits or things associated with women as worse. Yes, Kaveh worries about his reputation, his looks, aesthetics and generally how people perceive him. It's not very "alpha male"of him but does that make him less of a man? Gender roles and heteronormativity is fucking sexist, linked to clasism and racism. So stop with this shit, do you really support lgbt or do you have some weird fethishes? Are you an ally or is it all for show.

Most of kavetham shippers are girls who insert themselves in Kaveh's place and in order to relate to him they make him ooc. Most of you have this fantasy of having an older man taking care of you which is fine but just because you have daddy issues you don't have to take it out on gay people.

Another thing I see people talk about is how weak and helpless Kaveh is. Mehrak weilds his claymore for him but that doesn't mean he's feeble. Why would he chose this type of weapon if he couldn't weild it? Also he works as a architect whose job is to design as in to draw on paper. He needs his hands to be in top condition. But Alhaitham is a scribe and fights with swords, well he also does the bare minimum when it comes to his job. Unlike Kaveh who puts 100% in every single project of his.

He may be nice but he has his own opinions and is not afraid to voice them. He is a very opinionated person. Who fights what he thinks is right. Kaveh would not cry if Haitham was mean to him, he would be offended. Because he is angry, he's frustrated with his work, his life, and past.

Kaveh is a selfish man. It's painfully ironic how by being selfless he is actively being selfish. His acts of kindness are a way for him to stop from feeling guilty, he's punishing himself by sacrificing things for the better of others. Of course it's not always but often enough, he does this without even knowing it. It's something Kaveh doesn't realise or doesn't want to admit. By being extremely selfless he hurts not only himself but also his close ones. Image seeing someone you consider family self-destruct. That's why Alhaitham is so frustrated with Kaveh. He does throw occasionally some jabs at Kaveh about the way he lives but it's never too serious. He does that because Kaveh doesn't accept help, he feels as if he was undeserving of it. Alhaitham is frustrated but never angry at him. He deeply cares for Kaveh, otherwise he wouldn't offer to live with him. Althaitam is very patient and emotionally intelligent person, he just doesnt bother with social norms and anything that is a waste of time. He wants for Kaveh to admit that all of his problems don't come from his misfortune but rather his idealism and guilt. By Alhaitham's logic if Kaveh accepted the truth his life would drastically get better. No matter how hurtful and hard to accept it, truth is the truth. Telling yourself kind lies isn't hoing to change anything. That's why it's so hard for Kaveh to pay off his debt. Giving away his money because he's such a 'good' person. It's hard for him, he doesn't have a support system. I'm pretty sure he never had one. His mother too busy working, rasing him and dealing with her own depression.

Kaveh is a renowed architect with years of practice and experience. Whenever I see people think he only desings decorative buldings that aren't practical my blood boils. He is master architect, he knows how to desingn buildings that are practical yet beautiful. Of course his clients pay him well. He is the Light of Kashahewar, people fight to get their commission done by him. He's probably very picky about them and the clients he works with and I can see him redirecting his potential clients to other architects from the goodness of his heart. That's a very Kaveh thing to do. He earns money buy spends it in dubious ways.

Also people froget he's batshit insane.

He's probably out there licking walls and bricks. From our perspective he would be architecture major. Those people are weird and depressed, spoiler alert they are as bad after graduation. Btw to people who make those tiktok vids where two characters pass each other notes in class, Kaveh would not ask Alhaitham what is the answer to a match question. Wake the fuck up. Kaveh is a walking calculator, literally. So what if in your au he's not an architect, then he is in STEM or just really good at match. Why? Because you cannot change all the traits of the characters in your au or it's becoming an oc.

Besides Kavehs isn't interested only in architecture but also in mechanics. He didnt make Mehrak but repaired it, which makes him knowledgeable in many fields other than architecture.

This is the type of a genius who doesn't drink or eat until they complete this one specific task. Thinking about styles of windowsills probably turns him on. He's brilliant but he's also a loser and self-destructive. He's smart but naive. Istg if i see another person making him unintelligent, I'm this close to blocking half of the fandom. One of Kaveh's most important character traits is kindness, guilt, altruism, and intelligence. He is the type to strive for knowledge to be well rounded, just because. Kaveh would read all the books about launguistics just to argue with Alhaitham. Hes petty like that. Also I feel like he wouldn't stop at designing buildings. This guy probably has atomic bomb plans casually stored in his room. A big part of what shaped Kaveh's character while growing up is not only his father death but his mother's misery. I actually think but his mother's misery. I actually think his mother emotional state affected him more than his father death. Lots of peopel make Fahrnak some antagonist that abandoned Kaveh because he reminds her of his father. Y'all just love to vilanize women, to add character depth to male characters you make female characters evil. You know who makes this type of shit content? Vivziepop. Shit ass content, do better. This is the same thing as the cheating trope in mlm when one male character cheats with a woman. Bifobia, sexism and fethishsacion.

I will add something ab alhaitham and more haikaveh all that mirror shit later. Actually if someone will remind to me to move my ass and end this I would be thankful really.

but his mother's misery. I actually think his mother emotional state affected him more than his father death. Lots of peopel make Fahrnak some antagonist that abandoned Kaveh because he reminds her of his father. Y'all just love to vilanize women, to add character depth to male characters you make female characters evil. You know who makes this type of shit content? Vivziepop. Shit ass content, do better. This is the same thing as the cheating trope in mlm when one male character cheats with a woman. Bifobia, sexism and fethishsacion.