#i feel crazy HEHEH

[minjimunji]

"I played dumb"

"Was it hard?"

Bonus:

[shovson]

OUUUAAAGGHHHH OUUUAGGGHHHHH OH MARK this was so sweet. im-OUUAAGGGHHHHHH JDJSFJSJFDKGFKDFLKKKtthank yyou for thhe kind words.....i gotta hold them close to my heart.....also thank you for being my friend and such a wonderful listener and supporter of my crazy. i love u so mch i cant even find the right words ..... LOVE LOOVEE LOVEE tthank u so much.....

💌💌 for ur mr. synthy?

Synth describing everything I love about you would be a Herculean event- it’s going to be true for many of the mutual on my list but it is especially true for you that I hold you so closely to my heart it’s hard to talk about because it feels so intimately exposing- it’s not just peeling open one layer of my heart it’s pealing all of them- and as someone raised in a conceal don’t feel house I want to hide under a table rather than try and figure out how to condense my emotions to a readable form while also telling you how much you mean to me.

You Mr Checo Synth are genuinely part of about four or five people I would consider to be like my sibling in all forms that matter. You are my brother, family, a confidant for the petty, salty feelings we both know you should never confess online but need someone to share with or you’ll go insane. You’re always the guy I know I can go to to talk about how tiring it can feel to be in a minority group online, with just the right amount of both laughter and comfort to make you come out the other side smiling.

You always know where to draw the line on the right amount of driving me crazy, and you are the only guy I can tease back knowing you enjoy it but also you’ll tell me to stop if I ever get it wrong, without making me feel horrible for it. You are also more Ernest than you’ll ever let yourself admit and able to cheerlead anyone without it ever feeling like you don’t mean it. I know if I post anything, you’ll be right upfront to cheer me on every time, it means the world.

It’s been my favourite thing to watch you love something with the intensity you love shovson, not just because I get to tell you I told you so, but because it makes you happy, and I love that, cause I love you

[skitskatdacat63]

sobbing at how happy they all look

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

Alhaitham and Kaveh - not 'friends' but 'roommates'

(This is a reworked excerpt taken from my Haikaveh essay! If you're interested you can check it out here or as a pdf <3)

Due to Chinese game restrictions, explicit mentions of homosexuality or overt queer references have resulted in less implicit ways of conveying queer relationships or characters. Therefore, same-sex characters in romantic relationships are assigned the platonic status of “best friend” or “friends”.

As such, these restrictions can be used as guidelines in establishing queercoding within Genshin Impact. It is of note, however, that this rule does not mean that all characters who are canonically “friends” are in a romantic same-sex relationship. Differentiating between same-sex couples and platonic friends (who have all been assigned the label ‘friends’) can be done by identifying particular care undertaken to ‘style’ characters. This is done so by queercoding, as in, using taboos linked to queerness; references which point to romantic connotation; or omitting certain details which casts obscurity on the nature of their ‘friendship’.

Alhaitham and Kaveh’s relationship has been styled in this way, as although various titles have been given to their relationship status, there has been no definitive term supplied overall. Alhaitham tells the Traveller that the two are “roommates”, with Kaveh confirming this, although stating that they “used to be friend(s), but not anymore”.

Within Kaveh’s Character Stories, their history as “best friends” is a painful one of separation, which can be seen as akin to a break-up, and despite their lack of status as ‘friends’, the two share an intimate knowledge of the other that no other character is privy too.

Condensing their relationship down to ‘roommates’ is an oversimplification that the narrative challenges the player to question.

This is achieved through their rapport with each other, seen within Alhaitham purposefully goading Kaveh, something which he cannot be seen to do persistently with any other character, as well as Kaveh’s unique reactions to Alhaitham, which present a side to him unlike which can be observed in his interactions with others. Additionally, the two mention the other without them present, as Alhaitham mentions Kaveh unprompted twice within the Archon Quest and once within his Story Quest, and Kaveh is prone to discussing Alhaitham with those who are aware of them living together, as Collei observes: “Seems like you always include him in the conversation, even when he isn’t here…”

When the two confirm themselves to be roommates, this is immediately followed by Paimon asking Kaveh if they are friends, to which Kaveh does not give a definitive answer too. When Paimon asks Alhaitham the same question in the Archon Quest, Alhaitham evades the question, and turns it back on Paimon, who notes that “[she] doesn’t know. That’s why [she’s] asking,” to which Alhaitham then describes Kaveh as his roommate. Although, this still is an evasion of Paimon’s initial question, Alhaitham neither denies nor confirms their friendship status. The status of their relationship is constantly called into question, for the characters they interact with, and for the player.

This casts an ambiguity over their relationship which aligns with Chinese gaming regulations in regard to same-sex couples, which in turn, points to a certain ‘styling’ of relationship which differs from general platonic friendships within the game. Where both platonic friendships and same-sex relationships can only be openly dubbed as ‘friendship’, signifiers must be present in order to differentiate these platonic friendships from the non-platonic.

Obscurity of relationship status can be used to do so – where characters are not explicitly “friends”, but are evidently tied to each other in some way, more than their assigned platonic status. Here, Kaveh and Alhaitham are irrevocably connected beyond their “roommate” status, and although they are not currently described as “friends”, they used to be, “best friends” according to Kaveh’s Character Stories, which creates a gap for interpretation.

The player is encouraged to interpret the reason for the two’s parting of ways, along with the reason for their current rapport. Although Kaveh asserts that there is a mutual “disdain” between the two, Kaveh observably talks about Alhaitham enough for Tighnari to assert: “No dinner with Kaveh is complete without a few words about Alhaitham." Rather than out of disdain, it can be surmised that Kaveh talks about Alhaitham due to the fact that he cares, as he states that the reason he has so many troubles regarding his work is because he cares so much about it.

When paralleled with his troubles with Alhaitham, being that Alhaitham finds a way to “infuriate” him every time they talk, it can be inferred that Kaveh’s approach to dealing with his work is the same as to how he deals with Alhaitham.

If Kaveh’s assertation that the “disdain” between the two of them was true, then there is no basis for him to talk about Alhaitham as much as he does. This is due to his attitude in caring about something results in him verbally expounding the problem, the same behaviour he exhibits when dealing with Alhaitham. By his own reasoning, if Kaveh did not care about Alhaitham, he would not be so “infuriate[d]” by his words.

In turn, the player can see Alhaitham’s care of Kaveh manifest in his concern for Kaveh’s wellbeing within A Parade of Providence. In this sense, the rapport the two have currently which the narrative prompts the player to question can be explained. The two hold a mutual concern and care for the other, but due to elements in their past, they cannot address this, and thus it goes unspoken. The same can be said about the explicit status of their relationship, as no canon label applied to the two can truly explain their relationship, with ‘roommates’ being a clear oversimplification of their bond, and always followed up with the question of their friendship.

Alhaitham and Kaveh’s status as ‘friends’ is disrupted, not only due to the canon ending of their friendship in the past, but also in the current narrative of the game due to this refused label. Alhaitham and Kaveh do not adhere to the status of ‘friends’, either evading it (Alhaitham) or outright denying it (Kaveh), however, their bond remains central to each of their respective narratives, so much so that their differing viewpoints are integral to the other.

Alhaitham and Kaveh have been designed so that they are integral to each other, and the obscurity of their relationship acts as a signifier that their bond is not of a typical platonic friendship.

In Chinese gaming restrictions regulating platonic bonds and romantic bonds between same-sex characters as strictly ‘friendship’, Genshin Impact can be seen to subvert this in order to queercode. By creating an obscure bond between a same-sex relationship, a bond which the game constantly calls into question, a silence has been generated as to what the status of the relationship really is. The depth to Alhaitham and Kaveh’s relationship and the unspoken nature of it alludes to the queer taboo, in that its inability to be definitively labelled generates an otherness than that of an easily understood platonic bond.

[zerguette]

Oh god Madd took such a time to design...(Hours compared to Konrad, given this man has more lore than i intentes to give him ), hehe sunglasses boys deserve more love!!!

Also a hc, Bukowski twins are 190cm tall (Calvin 190cm, Konrad 191cm) while Madd is 197cm-198cm, so they are part of the tallest soldiers.

(psss psss they like to mock on Rupert, tower over him, loom ominously bc Rupert is 173cm tall, Even Charles is 187cm tall. I'll write more in the tags as I die)

[bumblingbabooshka]

"Everything you went through was meaningless." [St Voyager S3 E7: 'Sacred Ground']

[ghxstkn1fe]

i just woke up in the middle of the night, started immediately like catastrophising because that’s just what my brain does. and then, not 30 seconds into it, the concept of Jay Ferin was inserted into my mind. i instantly felt better. she’s like my guardian angel <3

[kinokoshoujoart]

please post your rock collection

😳well, the thing is…

👉👈…tumblr has an image post limit….

but here’s a fairly stock standard example… i’ll slowly reveal my collection over time heh heh heh

[decoloraa]

I reached 100 followers here which means I can finally show this gem here too

Thanks a lot to everyone who’s interested in my ocs, your interactions mean the world to me and motivate me to show my ideas here <3

[prophecyofgray]

finished code of claw. The Underland Chronicles is the most series ever of all time and everyone needs to read it. i feel so crazy

[nosekiss]

hii little life update: im a (sexy) redhead now 😼 moved across the country, rlly rlly happy w my new job and therapy’s going well. still down bad for mingyu. oh and im single and sold my engagement ring. thats it <3

[pandoa]

happy new year everyone! i hope all of your celebrations went well and that you’re all having fun today in 2024!

god that felt weird to type 2024

thank you all so so much for staying around and giving us all an environment where we can all chill and just talk about the things we love <3 i’ve been on and off this site in the past year, but you guys have always given me a sense of comfort each time i came back to check in lol

to my mutuals, people who have commented, reblogged, or liked anything from me, thank you so much for bringing smiles and making my days 🫶 i adore everything

this blog and everyone here will always be important to me <3

sincerely yours, pando

[nervocat]

I was so productive today I'm so happy with myself.. dare I say even proud of myself!!

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

update!!

i have finished editing the essay!! i know for a fact i haven't included everything of relevance because the writing in this game is crazy intricate, but it's finally at a stage where i'm relatively happy with it. i started this months ago for my friend just to explain haikaveh's dynamic, and it's since snowballed out of control, so thank you to everyone who's shown interest and supported my lil passion project <3333

it's going to take a bit to upload and publish since i'll need to work a few things out!! hopefully i'll post everything sometime next week <3 i was planning on posting the excerpts below after i published the essay, but in the meantime if there's an excerpt that's of particular interest to you i'll post it on here for you to read ahead of time!

[bataranqs]

10 Happy Things

May 26, 2024

Sermon today was so good (as always, this pastor never misses!)

Got lunch with some other uni students from church <3

Got microwaveable mac and cheese for dinner and let me just say. Live is worth living.

Bought some Cheesecake Factory Brown Bread from my normal grocery store for only $5 and it's so insanely good. Ate two slices on the walk home and I am strongly religious so believe this is no exaggeration when I say it made me thank God that the science of bread and our tastebuds exist. It's divine tasting and if you have not tried it, I highly recommend and am very sorry I cannot give some to everyone through this screen.

Drank water today yayyy

Finished memorizing the first chapter of Ephesians let's gooooo!!!

The way the ITSV score is done so beautifully. Daniel Pemberton deserved all the awards

A random old lady at church was talking with me by chance and she was like "I watched this movie Friday in theatres called Sight" and I was like "WAIT I WATCHED THAT YESTERDAY WITH A FRIEND" let's talk about how small the world is and how easily community can be greater than you can imagine

My body is working super duper good today! I am able to breathe and eat and smell and walk and think with hardly any interference!!! Wow!!!

I have the hope of seeing everyone I miss and that's just a very great treasure to have. What luxury, to love and have loved ones within an arm's reach (see: girl misses her mum, literally gonna see her in 4 days)