#cyno’s second story quest

[justsome-stars]

Haikaveh - Coffee

Author’s notes: heyyo! Its been a bit since I’ve posted some of my writing, but I’ve been playing genshin a lot lately. And since Cyno’s second story quest came out, with all the silly 4ggravate interactions, it’s reignited my haikaveh brainrot. So I decided to write what had happened with them while Cyno and Co were out in the desert!

Not proof read or spell checked, sorry ;-;

Just some basic fluff! Story below the cut

“I am. Kaveh, I’ll be ok. You stay behind to help Master Naphis and Alhaitham.”

Kaveh grimaced at Tighnari’s decision, but knew full well that there was little chance he could change his friend’s mind when it was made up.

“Well, if you’re sure… Okay, but be careful” Please.. He wanted to add, brows knitting together with concern.

He could feel Alhaitham’s hand brush against his reassuringly at his side, just out of sight. Kaveh sighs, nodding dejectedly.

“You better get moving.” Alhaitham spoke up from beside him, “Don’t forget to ask for help when you need it.”

Kaveh nodded in agreement, placing his hands firmly on his hips. The Traveler would be there with Tighnari, and Cyno, so why should he be so worried? His friend will be in good hands.

“Will do!” Paimon declared, “Lets go, Tighnari. Hopefully we can catch up with Cyno before it’s too late.”

With that, the Traveler, Paimon, and Tighnari departed from The House of Dena, and the Akademiya all together. Even if he knew they would be careful, Kaveh couldn’t quite untie that knot in his chest.

“Kaveh.” Alhaitham called to him, sensing his bubbling anxiety.

“Hmm?” Kaveh hummed, beginning to turn, but keeping his eyes on the door for a moment before looking to Alhaitham.

“He’ll be ok. Don’t you trust a word he says?” Alhaitham teased, trying to lighten his mood.

“I do, I do…just—“

“Kaveh.” Alhaitham repeated, grasping his senior’s hand and pulling him closer.

Kaveh sighs, thankful for the gentle gesture. Alhaitham leans into him, free hand wandered up to cup the side of Kaveh’s face. They stay like that for a moment, close, looking at one another. There wasn’t many people within the House of Dena at this hour, being so late, that they didn’t mind the proximity even in a public space. Kaveh swore he felt Alhaitham move even closer, tilting his head just a little.

“We have some work to do, Senior.” He whispered, that annoying smirk on his lips as he pulled away quickly. He still kept Kaveh’s hand tightly wrapped in his.

“Oh, you tease!”

-

Book after book, pages of writing seemed to blur all into one and Kaveh could barely take it anymore. How the hell does Alhaitham do this every day? Blueprints and sketches are one thing, but this? This was enough to make him want to claw out his eyes.

His back ached from being slouched over the table for two days, surviving off of coffee and takeout from Lambads’s tavern. Alhaitham sat across the table from him, lamp illuminating his features as he sat in the chair, deeply invested in scouring the book he had taken from the pile. Even when he was sleep deprived, doing whatever research he could to help their friends, he still looked handsome. Kaveh doubts he ever looked anything less than handsome, and that wasn’t just flattery.

Back in their Akademiya days, when they spent any waking hour studying, Kaveh always found Alhaitham to be quite the sight, easy on the eyes, just not the brain. Kaveh never seemed to be able to handle his bluntness, despite them being so close. He really didn’t see any point in trying to understand him fully, anyways.

“Kaveh, you’re staring.” Alhaitham said pointedly, not even looking away from the book he was nose deep in.

The blonde startled, looking down quickly to the book that sat discarded on the table. Heat creeps up his neck, settling on his cheeks. He hadn’t meant to be looking at Alhaitham for so long.

“Take a break then,” The younger man suggested, looking up and across the dark wooden table. “We both can, if you’d like.”

Kaveh’s aching neck practically begged him to agree to the idea of a break, but he knew they needed to keep going on their search for any speck of information on the Temple of Silence. Anything at all would give them some sort of relief, that they really did try to help. Having to wake up their friends in the middle of the night over this was worrying at it is, but the added pressure of it being such a mysterious phenomenon, even mingling with danger was enough for worry to boil in the pits of his stomach.

Alhaitham took his lack of answer as a yes either way, standing from his seat to reach for the book Kaveh had spread open in front of him. He closed it, knowing all that they had to do to find the page Kaveh had been on was to utilize it’s table of contents, the sliding it into the middle of the table. The one he had been reading is placed on top of it, closed as well.

He rounds the table, pulling out the chair next to Kaveh, sitting down and picking up Kaveh’s coffee cup. He takes a drink from it, which makes Kaveh groan.

“That was the last of my coffee, you know!” Kaveh looked over to Alhaitham, only to be answered with a smirk.

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” He says, words seeped in playful sarcasm.

“Don’t get smart with me, Haitham!” Kaveh glared at him, nose crinkling and brows furrowed.

“I don’t have any either. Looks like we’ll have to go take a walk to get more.” Alhaitham replied, an irritatingly prideful smile on his lips. He stands, pulling out Kaveh’s chair and offering his hand.

Kaveh rolls his eyes, but takes Alhaitham’s hand nonetheless. “Don’t act like you are some gentleman. You stole the last of my coffee!”

“Relax. I’ll make you more when we get home, Senior.” Alhaitham laughs, rolling his eyes at Kaveh’s behavior.

“You better.”

[calmbigdipper]

Kaveh’s endearing habit

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

who yearns harder, alhaitham or kaveh?

this is the second part of the ask i received! the first part discussing alhaitham's yearning is here!

Before moving onto their current relationship in-game, kaveh’s yearning will be explored. I think kaveh’s ‘yearning’ was more his hurt and his mourning over one of the most substantial relationships in his life, as alhaitham effectively filled in the familial role kaveh was missing after the passing of his father and his mother leaving to Fontaine, additionally kaveh also considered alhaitham to be his 'best friend' before their argument

in his voice line kaveh mentions that if they were as close as they used to be he would thank alhaitham for helping him out, meaning that he would have no hesitation in being open with and trusting of alhaitham

Additionally, there’s a romanticism in kaveh using the idea of ‘the universe’ in relation to him and alhaitham, as it seems that fate has led them back together, which for kaveh, is both a negative and a positive due to their differences and the issues these differences have caused, where they were once the cause for the deepness of their bond

Kaveh appears uncertain of why alhaitham would want him around, as alhaitham has seemingly rejected him in the past, so there is nothing he can conceivably offer, and this question is left unanswered

This uncertainty in their relationship can be seen in how kaveh consistently complains about alhaitham, all the while acknowledging that alhaitham has helped him. this creates a parallel in his hangout where kaveh states if he didn’t care about his work, he wouldn’t be so torn up all the time, which can be linked to his treatment of alhaitham (especially as this is from the same route as the talk with alhaitham in the library), which kaveh equates to loving something

Direct parallel or not, I think that alhaitham is equally as important to kaveh as kaveh is to alhaitham, only that due to kaveh’s misconception of alhaitham’s motives, past and present, this regard of alhaitham manifests in a way that can be misinterpreted as dislike, but kaveh’s care is explicit where he asks twice if alhaitham is okay after the encounter with Siraj, in him bringing takeout home for alhaitham, and in him worrying that alhaitham isn’t getting the interaction he deems as necessary when alhaitham misses the group dinner

post-parade of providence, they now stand as equals, and kaveh is open with and trusting of alhaitham, enjoying their conversation in actively telling alhaitham about his day, and offering to help alhaitham research, rectifying their past thesis in cyno's second story quest (which i explore more here and here)

kaveh now actively seeks alhaitham out, which is shown in an odd textual mystery,  where the first thing he wanted to do is inform alhaitham of what happened, which contrasts with kaveh’s claims previous that he doesn’t care what alhaitham does with his spare time, so long as it’s away from him

now kaveh serendipitously bumps into alhaitham in port ormos in nahida’s birthday event, and says that he’s glad they did since he was meaning to talk to alhaitham about his plans, even though he believes they’re completed and 'foolproof' - simply because he wanted alhaitham’s opinion

Overall, I think they’ve both yearned although in different ways, but I am a firm believer that alhaitham fell first, and kaveh fell harder. I think kaveh’s actions of seeking alhaitham out are explicit in this new arc for them, and this highlights alhaitham’s initial pursuit of kaveh in earlier story beats.

They’ve both finally reached the stage where they can reach out to the other, and have this be reciprocated, and they’re just as intolerable as ever <3333

[starcurtain]

Everyone out here going crazy over Kaveh sitting on a table, meanwhile, I'm like "Okay, but imagine how absolutely feral Alhaitham will go with the information that Cyno and Tighnari have discovered an entire enormous library of physical books Alhaitham's never, ever read before, focused on exactly his research hyperfixation."

Like, could Alhaitham be living a better life???

The wedding is back on, His roommate is finally warming up to him, he was able to successfully resign from his stressful job back into his cushy scribe role, and now he gets to experience the nerd equivalent of a lifetime of birthdays coming early.

My dude's crops are watered, his skin is clear--

[nepenthendline]

cyno can't help but watch you sleep sometimes, you often go to bed before he does since he's so busy with his work and when he comes home he likes to kneel by your side of the bed and observe you for a while, its one of the only things that helps fim shift from his alert general mahamatra mode to cyno, your loving partner, mode

its rare he gets to be fully unguarded so seeing you sleep so peacefully, without a care in the world, makes it feel worth it, gently he'll brush his knuckles over your cheeks or brush the hair away from your fave while whispering to you, and himself, about how he vows to protect and love you for as long as he shall live

[sparkmoth]

(spoilers for cyno's second story quest ahead!)

okay this is kind of a red-string insane connect the dots theory, but bear with me here. i was going through collei's voicelines today, and in her "about kaveh" line, she says, "The General Mahamatra once brought him to our place for a meal. From the moment the fruit arrived on the table, he ranted non-stop about his difficult and stubborn roommate for the entire meal. We didn't get a single word in the whole time. We just nodded along and tried to stifle our laughter. It took a lot of effort."

i've heard that line before, but i was thinking about it through a kavetham lense, so it only now occurred to me- why did cyno bring kaveh to tighnari's for a meal?

i've marked both tighnari's house and haikaveh's in red, plus the yellow line to demonstrate the route between their houses. i've done that walk manually at walking speed for fic purposes, and it's about fifteen and a half hours in-game- 6 am to 9:30 pm.

so, with this information, this raises the question: why on earth would cyno bring kaveh to tighnari's house, when it's a goodly distance away, when presumably he has a house of his own?

admittedly, he's not home much since he's off doing general mahamatra-ey stuff, but it's established in his second story quest that he doesn't live with cyrus anymore, so he lives somewhere when he's not busy, and it'd be logical to assume that he has an akademiya-regulated house yknow, nearby the akademiya, but if that was the case he'd just bring kaveh there?

and if he didn't have a house at all to bring guests to, they'd probably go to kaveh's place, or if they really needed to avoid alhaitham, they could go to lambad's or another local resturant?

which brings me to my conclusion- cyno does have a house- he just lives with tighnari.

[nilouandnarimylove]

I feel like we collectively moved on from the fact that Cyno's parents literally sold him to some random temple for mora a bit too fast.

On that note, might be a hot take, but both Bamoun and Cyrus suck as people. Bamoun more than Cyrus obviously, but it really irked me how Cyrus was more worried about "oh that power is yours you can't let anyone else have it" then. Idk. His adoptive son?? (I know that wasn't exactly what he was saying but like damn).

Throughout the entire quest they kept bringing up Hermanubis and all that stuff while almost never acknowledging that both Cyno and Sethos were forced into a quite frankly cruel ritual as children, and had to deal with their superior's beef and issues as they grew up.

[protect-namine]

you are so beloved nahida... it took two years, but you finally woke up in a flower carriage, surrounded by friends. the happy birthday trailer from 2022 has finally come full circle

[ace-dodo]

Something something

The traveler having self image issues and not being able to fully relax cuz "something *might* happen" "I can't just stay here doing nothing" "how can I rest when there's people who need my help", always putting themselves before others, always risking their life

Something something

[electric-plants]

ahsjfkglhjhsh having an INSANE moment because i play genshin with the chinese audio and what do you MEAN that’s alhaitham talking in the trailer for cyno’s second story quest what do you MEAN

[catgirlsp0ck]

finally been playing the quests i haven't done since coming back to genshin after like 3 yrs of not playing,, and i love how sumeru gave us not just one married couple but THREE (cyonari, candehya and kavetham)

[thunderslighthouse]

THANK YOU CYNO FOR BRINGING BACK SUMERU

[caluupin]

throws a class doodle at you

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

I have no other place to yap this to so I apologise in advance.

I find it interesting in Alhaitham and Kaveh’s voicelines they tend to talk about each other A LOT in a way of complaining. Such as in Alhaitham’s Good night voiceline where he says that he’d prefer that Kaveh wouldn’t be home at all because all the chaos and noise he makes in the dead of the night. Or in Kaveh’s Good Morning voiceline where he says that he hopes that you don't run into someone who ruins your day first thing in the morning.

I guess it’s what makes other people think that they despise each other’s company. Yet they’re always viewed as a pair and Alhaitham could’ve kicked Kaveh out of the house ages ago. But what’s your opinion on that?

Hiya! there's no need to apologise, this is a safe space for all haikaveh! When I tell you your ask is scratching my brain I mean ITCHING, I have so many thoughts about this part of their dynamic so thank you for enabling me <3 This turned out to be rather long, so I hope it’s helpful to you!

The contention in both Alhaitham and Kaveh’s character stories and voice lines seems to be to create intrigue about the two as individuals, and, in turn, their relationship.

Alhaitham’s ‘good night’ voice line instantly serves as a contradiction to his character. It’s interesting, and telling, that Alhaitham, who is essentially Kaveh’s landlord, and mentions this within his fourth character story, alludes to Kaveh by using ‘roommate’ rather than ‘tenant’. ‘Landlord’ evokes a position of authority over the tenant, whereas ‘roommate’ indicates an equality between two people sharing a house – since it’s Alhaitham who advocates for the term ‘roommate’, it’s telling that, as opposed to what Kaveh believes, Alhaitham wants to establish equality between them.

In terms of what Alhaitham says in this voice line, it explicitly raises a contradiction in the form of a question: if Alhaitham is truly bothered by his roommate’s antics, why doesn’t he simply evict Kaveh?

This is relevant as this question is also posed when we initially meet Kaveh within the Archon Quest, as Kaveh states he dislikes Alhaitham’s personality, to which Alhaitham responds by saying if he bothers Kaveh so much, Kaveh always has the option to move out of the house – to which Kaveh perceives as a threat, only to then dismiss this as Alhaitham ‘changing the subject’, which seems to mean that this ‘threat’ is taken as baseless. As this isn’t called back to, this seems to be the case.

There is no real threat of eviction, and regardless of their disputes, Alhaitham ultimately gives Kaveh no ultimatum to move out. In fact, as discussed here (page 27), as we are meeting Alhaitham and Kaveh for the first time, Alhaitham allowing Kaveh to live with him contradicts his established character of living a life free of inconvenience. This instantly creates intrigue around his and Kaveh’s dynamic – who is Kaveh to Alhaitham for this exception to be made to Alhaitham’s peaceful way of life?

(An additional note of interest is that Alhaitham’s solution to the noise problem seems to be more uncomfortable than calling on Kaveh and telling him to stop his work. Alhaitham says that he’d rather not wear his noise-cancelling earpieces to bed, implying that he does so when noise is a problem at night. However, there’s no mention of Kaveh being stubborn when confronting this issue, which is why he takes to wearing his ear pieces, or any mention of confrontation at all. From this voice-line, it seems that Alhaitham avoids interaction by opting for the least comfortable option, which can be a contradiction to his character. As this is a rather brief voice-line, it’s difficult to ascertain why, but I like the idea that Kaveh is productive at night, and Alhaitham prefers not to impose on Kaveh’s work process – but this is more a headcanon than evidenced interpretation.)

Returning back to the contradiction within this voice-line, at a surface glance, this does appear to be a general complaint about Kaveh, and this can be found in Alhaitham’s lines about Kaveh, and also when discussing Tighnari. Alhaitham refers to Kaveh as ‘overly sensitive’, and ‘constantly making a fuss’.

These can easily read solely as complaints, but when looking to the original CN translation, another interpretation can be found here. Alhaitham describes Kaveh as ‘caring’ or ‘tender’, which is exactly how Kaveh is described within the 3.6 special program (as per minimushiroom on twt), which can allude to how Kaveh is considerate to a fault, in that this serves as a detriment to himself.

This can be seen in Alhaitham’s other Kaveh-centred voice-line, in which he describes Kaveh buying keychains in order to provide meals for sick children, even though healthcare is free in Sumeru. Alhaitham clearly holds the view that this was a redundant action, as Kaveh, being in debt, most likely doesn’t have the money to spend on such investments that are, evidently, dubious.

As Alhaitham provides a rational view here, this contrasts with Kaveh’s act of generosity fuelled by emotion – which highlights the contention Alhaitham has with Kaveh, in that Kaveh places himself in dangerous situations for the sake of others. However, as this can be perceived as a solely derisive line, this essential context is lacking, and can be easily misconstrued. (I think the EN translation here also coincides with this narrative, as minimushiroom notes that the original CN has Alhaitham refer to Kaveh’s sensitivity in a positive way, rather than contemptuously, as the English can be interpreted as.)

Kaveh, similarly, can be seen to complain about Alhaitham in his own voice-lines. This can be seen in the 'Good Morning' voice-line you've mentioned, where Kaveh complains about having to see Alhaitham in the morning, which 'ruins' his day. Additionally, Kaveh's voice-lines discussing Alhaitham refer to Alhaitham as ‘infuriating’ and not wanting to give Alhaitham the satisfaction of thanking him, despite Alhaitham helping him out. However, there is more nuance in these voice-lines than Kaveh simply ‘disliking’ Alhaitham, as this dislike is never stated - rather that he and Alhaitham have a difficult relationship in comparison to the ‘close’ friendship of their past.

Kaveh describes their relationship being a ‘mixed bag’, of both negatives and positives, as well as establishing a thorough understanding of Alhaitham, where other people may misinterpret Alhaitham as they ‘don’t know him well enough’. Additionally, Kaveh notes that he knows that Alhaitham can present himself in a more ‘likeable’ manner, but that Alhaitham refuses to do so, which refers to Kaveh’s contention with Alhaitham discussed within his character stories. This, in turn, generates curiosity, as it appears that Kaveh holds an in-depth knowledge of Alhaitham that the player isn’t privy to.

Referring back to Alhaitham’s ‘Good Night’ voiceline, the question raised is, if Alhaitham has a problem with Kaveh, why doesn’t he just evict Kaveh? And the answer can be found by digging further into Alhaitham’s character stories. Looking to Alhaitham’s fourth character story, it states that he is aware of the dissatisfaction Kaveh may have with their living arrangement but  that ‘it matters not to him’.

This means that he is aware that Kaveh may be unhappy with having to rely on someone else for a stable livelihood, something which his pride doesn’t naturally allow, but that this is also exacerbated due to their previous falling out and the current contentions Kaveh has with him.

At first, this can seem rather abrasive, which does fall in line with Alhaitham’s egoism as this doesn’t directly impact ‘the self’ (discussed further here), however, what immediately follows is Alhaitham’s belief that he and Kaveh are mirrors, in that his own perspective of the world will be enhanced - in the og CN, ‘completed’ -by Kaveh’s own world view.

The implication generated here with the explicit term ‘mirror’, is that, just as Alhaitham benefits from Kaveh, Kaveh, in turn, can benefit from Alhaitham. (As a side note, it is interesting then that the voice-lines in question can be seen to mirror each other – Kaveh mentions Alhaitham in ‘Good Morning’ whereas Alhaitham mentions Kaveh in ‘Good Night’.)

Returning back to Alhaitham’s character story, rather than merely reflecting each other philosophically speaking, I’d say that this also points to their respective progression as people, not just scholars.

To me, this is reminiscent of what Alhaitham says to Kaveh in A Parade of Providence – being ‘correct’, ultimately, doesn’t matter, as there is no ‘correct’ path in life, meaning that there is no ‘correct’ philosophy to shape and guide a person. Rather, Alhaitham asserts that, ultimately, their opposing philosophies are not the issue that exists between them.

The issue that does exist, then, can be surmised from Alhaitham’s actions during the event (discussed further here), in which he researches into Sachin to gauge his influence over Kaveh’s father journeying into the desert, with implicit hopes of providing closure for Kaveh, and potentially assuaging Kaveh’s guilt. This is a personal act with a personal motive; the underlying motive being concern, as opposed to an assertion of ‘correctness’.

In my opinion, I think Alhaitham’s actions during A Parade of Providence are a direct reference, and fulfilment, of Kaveh’s fifth character story. I’ve discussed here that the main reason for the ending of their friendship was them asserting the correctness of a philosophy over the other, and proposing one philosophy as the ‘solution’ to the other’s perceived flaws.

Here Alhaitham can be seen to use Kaveh’s past as the reason for his excessive altruism, implicitly referring to Kaveh’s guilt over being the supposed catalyst for his father’s demise. This final comment of Alhaitham’s appears to be the first time this has been mentioned between them, and it’s enough to be perceived as weaponisation – leading to Kaveh severing their friendship.

In A Parade of Providence, Alhaitham is shown to only have taken the role of commentator to research into Sachin, whose research we are told (by Kaveh), he has no explicit interest in, and it is heavily implied that the only reason he looked further into Sachin, was to prove to link between Sachin and Kaveh’s father. Alhaitham seems to want to absolve Kaveh of this past guilt in hopes that Kaveh will stop placing himself in the cycle of self-sabotage.

For me, when viewing this as a parallel, it highlights that Alhaitham’s motivation in speaking out during their days as students was out of concern for Kaveh, although while holding egoism as ultimately beneficial, and therefore perceivably ‘correct’. The ‘issue’ they’re currently debating is not expressly stated, and although it is unclear if Kaveh understands the implication (as discussed here), as ‘correctness’ has been overturned, there seems to be little left than the personal.

Relating this back to Alhaitham’s fourth character story, for me, Alhaitham referring to Kaveh as a mirror isn’t just referring to Kaveh as a scholar, but a person as a whole. As Alhaitham seeks to improve himself, personally, through Kaveh, it seems that he hopes to be able to benefit Kaveh in turn.

As for Kaveh’s complaints regarding Alhaitham, these can be contextualised within his own character stories. As Kaveh ultimately severed the friendship between him and Alhaitham, Alhaitham offering Kaveh to live with him, despite Kaveh revoking his previous understanding of Alhaitham (as discussed here, page 67), causes Kaveh to be overtly suspicious.

In Kaveh’s Old Sketchbook, it is mentioned that Kaveh believes there to be an ulterior motive for Alhaitham inviting him to share a house, as he believes that Alhaitham wouldn’t do something for someone else without an exchange.

Kaveh, then, openly distrusts Alhaitham due to this unspoken motive, and although he takes on chores to ease his sense of guilt of being a perceived burden, a contention arises here. Due to their previously ended friendship, and with how Alhaitham hurt Kaveh, and how Kaveh may believe he hurt Alhaitham (discussed here), Kaveh sees no reason for Alhaitham to want him around – he treats their relationship as an exchange, asking what Alhaitham could possibly want for him.

Although Alhaitham views Kaveh as a mirror, and therefore, respects Kaveh’s perspectives, Kaveh can potentially view their opposing philosophies as a negative rather than a positive as he had done in the past (as discussed here), as it, perceivably, was what led to the end of their friendship. In this, Kaveh views Alhaitham as disparaging him and his views. As mentioned in his character story, he has no reservations in telling Alhaitham of his debt as Alhaitham has already seen through him in the past, and yet again, upon meeting at the tavern.

Although Alhaitham perceivably views him unfavourably, and his comments and complaints appear to propagate this interpretation, Alhaitham also seems to have no issue with keeping Kaveh around, and interacting with Kaveh, regardless of the problems Kaveh expressly has with him.

To Kaveh, it could be that as Alhaitham has already seen the worst of him, and appears to have no real issue with their stilted rapport, there is no point in donning a front and using niceties. He is open with his issues with Alhaitham, and, in turn, Alhaitham is open with him.

This appears to be a dual negative and positive for Kaveh, as he describes Alhaitham’s constancy as ‘the most unshakable part of one's past is a friend that will never change’. In this sense, his unsteady rapport with Alhaitham is reliable, and therefore, has no reason to change.

Clearly, there is a large disconnect between Alhaitham’s view of Kaveh and how Kaveh perceives Alhaitham’s view of him. As previously mentioned in the discussion of A Parade of Providence, there is an unspoken ‘issue’ between them, and this can be interpreted as dire misconceptions borne from miscommunication.

As discussed, Kaveh and Alhaitham reference each other a lot in their respective voice-lines and their character stories. This alone is enough to connect them, regardless of the cruciality of their mirror motif, as they are key figures of each other’s past, present, and seemingly, future. Despite this, it’s as you say, there’s a common perception to view them as mutually disliking each other, and, to me, this is based upon their first initial interaction, and the way they refer to each other in their own character stories and voice-lines.

It’s notable that Alhaitham refers to Kaveh in his voice-lines when Kaveh is not explicitly relevant, such as in his Good Night voice-line, and, most interestingly, when Alhaitham discusses Tighnari.

This could be because Alhaitham knows of Tighnari through Kaveh, but as this connection isn’t stated, it reads as Alhaitham mentioning Kaveh for no other reason than to complain about his perceived naivety regarding relations with others. But as this is a voice-line designated to discussing Tighnari, it’s interesting, and incredibly noticeable, that Alhaitham then discusses Kaveh instead. It’s similar to what Kaveh can be seen to do, and is observed to do by others, in relation to discussing Alhaitham.

When it comes to Kaveh, however, his complaining of Alhaitham can be seen to link with his process of dealing with troubles in his work. In his Hangout, he states that he takes his work to heart because he cares about it, which is expressed in the same quest in which Kaveh and the Traveller run into Alhaitham in the House of Daena (discussed further here, page 219).

Drawing a parallel here can further contextualise Kaveh’s complaining of Alhaitham – if Kaveh truly disliked Alhaitham, there seems to be no reason for Alhaitham to remain so relevant to him, both in conversation, and in private thought. Additionally, Kaveh is described as an empathetic person, and when dealing with others, he is thusly seen to look for another perspective rather than act on his own subjective perspective.

Looking at his voice-line on Dori, for example, expresses his distaste for Dori pressuring him for Mora due to his debt, however, he also empathises with her, and states that he senses there must be a reason why Dori acts in such a way.

In contrast, this empathy can be perceived as missing in his treatment of Alhaitham, and therefore Kaveh complaining about Alhaitham can be perceived as blatant dislike – which contradicts Kaveh’s benevolence and empathy, which A Parade of Providence particularly stresses.

Kaveh’s treatment of Alhaitham can be seen as deliberately contradictory, as it can cause the player to question why Kaveh reacts in such a singular way to Alhaitham, just as why Alhaitham reacts in a singular way to Kaveh.

In reference to Alhaitham, whilst Alhaitham tends to complain about Kaveh in turn, his actions reveal him. He invites Kaveh to live with him, gives no eviction date, pays for Kaveh’s tabs willingly, (supposedly) buys wine as an apology, and goes out of his way to ensure dialogue with Kaveh – which contradicts his own character stories, in which he appears to favour solitude, and only greets those he considers his friends ‘with a nod or two’.

Moreover, Alhaitham is established as considering Kaveh a necessity to his ‘peaceful life’ he seeks to maintain (as discussed here), and can be seen to implicitly consider Kaveh one of his priorities within his Story Quest.

The idea that Alhaitham dislikes Kaveh seems to stem from Alhaitham being taken literally when voicing an opinion, or an issue, or simply joking, in reference to Kaveh – despite his character stories highlighting that Alhaitham often uses sarcasm in order to subvert expectations.

Alhaitham expressly states that he prefers to be seen as inscrutable, and unknown, by the general public, and uses subversion as a means to do so. In these character stories, Alhaitham openly encourages speculation of his own words.

Without this context, it seems easy to simplify Alhaitham to purely speaking factually when first addressing Kaveh in the Archon Quest – stating that having to explain things to Kaveh is ‘a nuisance’, and yet, it is overlooked that Alhaitham stays in the House of Daena, regardless, knowing Kaveh would find him again.

On the whole, in my opinion, Kaveh’s feelings towards Alhaitham cannot be simplified to ‘dislike’ as this is dually an inherent misunderstanding of his character, and of his and Alhaitham’s relationship, just as Alhaitham’s feelings towards Kaveh cannot be simplified to ‘dislike’ for this same reason.

In the beginning, Alhaitham and Kaveh are not supposed to be perceived as friendly, as Kaveh denies the association of ‘friends’, and Paimon describes them to the Traveller as ‘problematic’.

The reason for this is due to their character arcs being intertwined – the core issue is posed in Kaveh’s fifth character story, in that the question is raised if a compromise can be reached, if both sides of the mirror, can be balanced. At the beginning, they are entirely at odds, but even footing must be found.

I’ve noticed a shift in online discourse after Cyno’s second story quest, as the progression in Alhaitham and Kaveh’s relationship is noticeable – deliberately, due to the flashback scene within their house (which I’ve discussed in detail here, page 122). To me, it’s more common to form the assumption that Alhaitham and Kaveh dislike each other in the Archon Quest, but with recent developments, and, hopefully, future ones, this perception is being overturned in online communities. Perhaps that’s just wishful thinking, but I’m still hopeful!

[thespianinthebackcorner]

what are you doing in Imaginarium Theatre!!!!!!

Honey the Imaginarium Theatre is my home. Peek through the curtain, look behind before the show begins and you will see me dancing. You will see me twirling flags and spinning through hoops and flying through the air as I call for a lover that only exists when another actor is on the stage, or never existed at all. I will be singing, crying, laughing, all within a universe that only I can see. But if you are willing to reach out your hand and join me through the wardrobe and down the rabbit hole perhaps you, too, will suddenly no longer be on the stage but in another world entirely where the light comes from a thousand stars. And when the curtain falls I will take you backstage and laugh with you over the snacks that we brought and I will put Good Luck Glitter just above your eyes and I will give you a very very soft kiss on the cheek and someday, when the curtain whispers that it wishes to rise again someday, I will take your hand and we will perform again, in another world that only we can see.

[kaeyapilled]

i Will get through this story quest log