#impact analysis

[garymdm]

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[starcurtain]

I know you mentioned Kavetham in your essay and how ppl mistake them as toxic. I think the issue is that their banter at the start does not sound friendly at all. Kaveh sounded so incensed every time he’s with Alhaitham I wonder how’s his blood pressure. I know Kaveh gives back as good as he got, but most of Kaveh’s jabs doesn’t come close to hitting Alhaitham, whereas Alhaitham’s snipes seems always to hit Kaveh right at the jugular. It’s only until the Parade of Providence event and Cyno story quest 2 did I see any possibility with them.

I'm really sorry to say this, but unfortunately I think this is a case of misreading.

Although Kaveh was definitely more incensed in their early scenes and way more likely to fly off the handle, I think the game went out of its way right from the beginning to make it clear that that's Kaveh's personality.

Kaveh's a sensitive and temperamental person who gets worked up easily, and it's not just at Alhaitham but with virtually everyone, from his own clients to the Traveler. One of the first things he does when meeting the Traveler in Alhaitham's story quest is be such a poor host to them that Paimon of all people starts giving him shit.

Rest under the Read More:

According to Alhaitham's voice line about him, which was available long before Kaveh became playable:

Kaveh gets worked up about everything and is constantly making a fuss. Putting his blood pressure at risk is just what Kaveh does on the daily, whether Alhaitham is involved or not.

Right from the start, we were supposed to understand that Kaveh is a dramatic person. It goes hand-in-hand with his status as an idealist, as someone who pursues his beliefs ardently and believes in beauty and the human spirit, rather than in cold, pragmatic rationality. Just as he's passionate and uncompromising on his ideals, he's passionate when it comes to disagreements too.

From his very first appearance, the point of Kaveh's over-the-top responses to Alhaitham is to establish Kaveh's character as Alhaitham's opposite. Alhaitham is quiet, so of course Kaveh is loud. Alhaitham is discreet, so Kaveh must be conspicuous (charging into the room, arguing publicly). Alhaitham is cool-headed and seemingly unemotional, so Kaveh's first scene will show him as easily worked up, with a quick temper. The whole point of their first scene together was to emphasize these extreme differences in their personalities, so that the "Kaveh is Alhaitham's mirror" plot point would be as obvious to players as it was supposed to be.

Furthermore, we were also given an indication right away that Kaveh and Alhaitham do not fight all the time. In Alhaitham's story quest, the first thing Kaveh does when hearing Alhaitham get home is react happily and ask him to come help with the task he was working on. If they fought all the time and had genuine hatred for each other, would Kaveh have reacted this way to Alhaitham's homecoming at all?

Then, during the follow-up scene to this, Kaveh insists that Alhaitham has to bring him shopping and buy him drinks at the end of the day. If you have a toxic hate-hate relationship where the other person legitimately makes you miserable, would you really be asking to spend a whole day together shopping and going out for drinks, a popular friend activity?

The face of a man who just goaded his "toxic" situationship into taking him on an all-expenses-paid date.

Even the OG message board and NPC interactions for Alhaitham and Kaveh tell us that their relationship isn't one-sided and that Kaveh benefits plenty from being close to Alhaitham. First, we learn that Alhaitham pays Kaveh's tabs regularly, enabling Kaveh to have a lifestyle literally labelled in-game as "like a noble," and then we learn that Alhaitham apologizes to Kaveh by gifting him wine, presumably to make up for times where his comments actually do go too far:

I'll go into the scene where Kaveh is introduced more in a second, but in the meantime, I also strongly push back on the idea that Alhaitham's insults to Kaveh are more hurtful than Kaveh's are to Alhaitham's.

In Alhaitham's story quest, Kaveh flat out asks the Traveler and Paimon if they are paid actors because he doesn't believe that Alhaitham can make other friends. That's pretty damn rude by itself, but coupled with what we learned when Kaveh's character stories were released, what Kaveh said to drive the final spike into their original friendship...

Kaveh was Alhaitham's only friend, and the insult he used to get back at Alhaitham was "I regret ever befriending you." Do you know how devastating it would be to hear that from the only friend you've ever made? Frankly, Kaveh is pretty lucky that Alhaitham is a rational person who can grasp that Kaveh was just lashing out, because while Alhaitham's insult to Kaveh during this argument was born out of concern for Kaveh's well-being ("Your altruism is actually self-harm"), Kaveh's was just a straight-up retaliation meant to cause pain after Alhaitham came too close to the truth.

I think this is far from Kaveh never managing to land an insult, especially since Alhaitham--as far as we are shown--went on to never form another friendship throughout his entire youth.

Anyway, regarding their first scene together, which I'm assuming is the basis for people believing they're toxic... I actually think this scene represents the only time we've ever seen Alhaitham genuinely upset. This scene was meant to highlight the differences between the two characters very deliberately--while also establishing that Alhaitham's behavior around Kaveh is enormously different from his behavior around everyone else.

Alhaitham spends the entire Archon Quest completely unbothered. Even when attacked by Cyno, he gives little more than annoyed noises and cold remarks. He keeps so much distance from the others in the group that all the way to the end, the Traveler isn't 100% convinced they can trust Alhaitham. Although he puts on a very convincing act for Azar, that's the most emotion we players see out of him for the entire Sumeru plot line. He is not presented as an immature person nor depicted as someone who would usually stoop to petty arguments.

Then, suddenly... this.

The moment Kaveh appears on the scene, Alhaitham's maturity just goes straight out the window. Suddenly he's full of snappy comebacks and aggressively getting in someone's face--because he can't be objective and aloof around Kaveh. He can't distance himself from the situation where his roommate is involved.

This scene is actually the one example we have of Alhaitham being upset enough for the mask to come off. We have never seen him this worked up ever again in the entire game.

He deliberately provokes this fight because he was worried for Kaveh--worried enough for the most famously unshakeable man in Sumeru to actually get angry.

First, Alhaitham intentionally stalls, riling Kaveh up by refusing to answer his question about what happened in Sumeru, instead going on a tangent about physical books. Kaveh redirects (with an insult claiming that Alhaitham frequently abuses his position of authority, for good measure), which prompts Alhaitham to remark, oddly:

This is actually the first sign that something is wrong. Alhaitham doesn't usually make incorrect logical leaps, so if he's claiming that Kaveh, who just came back that day, should already know the inside story, what he's actually saying is that he expected Kaveh to be much more in-the-know about the situation than Kaveh actually was. Alhaitham is saying here that Kaveh should have known what was going on in Sumeru, and that idea--Kaveh should have known, should have been there--is the turning point of this entire argument.

Alhaitham continues the conversation by complimenting Kaveh. His tone is sarcastic, causing Kaveh to doubt the meaning, but we players know already from Alhaitham's character stories that Alhaitham actually means this compliment honestly--he sees Kaveh as an intelligent and gifted artist who is his equal in every way. This is a genuine statement cloaked in a sarcastic tone to intentionally escalate the situation.

Then Alhaitham uses Kaveh's exaggerated response as a spring-board to actually snap at Kaveh, specifically stating that Kaveh is unkind to him. This is the only time that we've ever seen Alhaitham express direct and serious displeasure with the way Kaveh treats him.

In many of their early scenes, Kaveh would levy an insult at Alhaitham and Alhaitham would return a snappy one-liner ("If humans aren't humans without their humanity, you'll probably evolve into some other species in another decade" -> "What about you, will you devolve into a fungus?"), or Alhaitham will nitpick at Kaveh's bad habits and Kaveh will clap back with a one-liner of his own ("I hope you are aware of your lack of conversational skills" -> "Oh, so the pot's calling the kettle black, is he?"), but the bickering almost never starts with Alhaitham, and in no other scene does their arguing ever rise above the level of sarcastic and petty complaints.

This is the only time we ever see Alhaitham upset enough to confront Kaveh aggressively, to the extent that he actually stands up to get in Kaveh's space, and then makes a statement that he never, ever makes again:

After this point, Alhaitham will continue to tease and annoy Kaveh by bringing up the rent money, but he will never again suggest seriously that Kaveh should leave. If it wasn't clear yet, it should have been clear from this line: Alhaitham is flat out furious in this scene.

And why? What's got his feathers so ruffled that he completely abandons his aloof demeanor and engages in a public argument?

He didn't know where Kaveh was. The world was basically ending in Sumeru, and Alhaitham couldn't find Kaveh.

In fact, Alhaitham probably even had reason to be worried directly for Kaveh's safety (although he later tries to blow it off): Kaveh was sent out into the desert specifically by the Kshahrewar Sage, who was colluding with Azar, possibly to get Kaveh out of the way. As the Scribe who would be the one approving the paperwork for all the scheming that was going on, Alhaitham would have known that Kaveh had been sent out to desert--a favorite tool for the Akademiya to "disappear" other people in the past.

Actually, if you want to say that any element of Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship is toxic, you would have better luck with the claim that Alhaitham is kind of a stalker. It's not stalking if the other person wants you there. Being all up in Kaveh's business is basically Alhaitham's actual full-time job. Kaveh's in Port Ormos? Well, what do you know, so is Alhaitham! Kaveh is out on a trip in the desert? Dang, what a coincidence that Alhaitham just so happened to want to explore that exact ruin at that exact moment, out of the entire thousand square mile desert...

Whatever reasoning you want to ascribe to this, Alhaitham goes where Kaveh goes. He dips out mid-conversation the moment Kaveh returns home. He serves as an announcer on an event strictly because it relates to Kaveh. He constantly intervenes when Kaveh is in trouble, appearing conveniently the moment Kaveh needs him for anything.

Remember that, at this point in the story, he literally had no one else. At the start of the Archon Quest, Alhaitham had no family. He had no friends. He only, only had Kaveh. So when the entire city started going mad, a plague that was relatively rare suddenly began raging out of control and killing people, the sages started plotting some kind of insane uprising, Forbidden Knowledge was released on the black market, the arts in Sumeru came under serious attack, important people like Tighnari were targeted, Cyno was sent to oppress him, and public figures in Sumeru started actively disappearing...

For Alhaitham to not know where his one person was?

For Alhaitham to have gone from Sumeru City to Port Ormos to the literal wastes of the desert and still not find Kaveh?

Alhaitham actively glosses over a summary of what happened in Sumeru's Archon Quest because it doesn't matter to him in comparison to what he wants to know, the matter of Kaveh's safety.

He has no issue talking to anyone else about what happened with the Sages, and he's plenty talkative about the events and the Akademiya's status the moment the Traveler comes up right after Kaveh. It's only with Kaveh that he downplays and refuses to share the information about what actually occurred, because he was worried and upset that Kaveh disappeared. Kaveh could have been involved and wasn't. He wasn't there when Sumeru needed him--he wasn't there when Alhaitham needed him.

In a situation where disappeared people were turning up dead in the desert, Kaveh wasn't anywhere to be found at all.

Alhaitham provoked this entire fight and the only point he focuses on, harping on it repeatedly, is: Where were you?

This scene hammers home two messages incredibly well:

Kaveh is the polar opposite of Alhaitham.

Alhaitham cannot emotionally distance himself from Kaveh the same way he's able to be disengaged from everyone else.

This is definitely not the most pleasant of scenes, and starting out with the characters in a bad mood with each other was a very specific choice (one fueled mostly by the need to create plausible deniability so that they could get "my god they were roommates" past the censors, if you ask me), but just because two people have a fight does not make them "toxic."

Both Kaveh and Alhaitham had valid reasons to be worked up in this scene, and considering this is the only scene in which we ever see Alhaitham act so aggressively and with such seemingly genuine anger, it should have been obvious that this was out-of-character for him, highlighting the fact that his relationship with Kaveh is not the same as his dispassionate, cool-tempered reaction to everyone else in the story so far.

Alhaitham got mad and his temper came out, but it turns out that Alhaitham's temper (which Kaveh loves to point out) is connected canonically to his frustrating failures to protect Kaveh--sometimes from Kaveh's own self. Their first fight happened because Alhaitham was too honest and popped off about Kaveh not taking care of himself, and the first fight we get to see from them on-screen is Alhaitham once again genuinely frustrated by Kaveh potentially being in a dangerous situation.

(The humor of this moment is that just like Alhaitham is reluctant to tell Kaveh the truth about what he did in Sumeru, Kaveh conveniently side-steps the reason that he was nowhere to found: He was trapped in a magical bottle fairyland at the time, so Alhaitham couldn't have found him even if he had searched high and low.)

Kaveh, predictably, meets Alhaitham's temper with a full blast of his own over-the-top reactions, including suggesting that he's going to start a rumor that Alhaitham staged a political coup on purpose--something which Kaveh, who knows Alhaitham perfectly well and knows Alhaitham is just flat out too unambitious to ever do, obviously doesn't honestly think. Neither Kaveh's insults nor Alhaitham's hold any particular weight in this conversation, and out of the two of them, Alhaitham actually has far more complimentary things to say about Kaveh than Kaveh ever has to say about him, still to this day.

Personally, I think that seeing Kaveh as the "victim" of Alhaitham's barbs in their early scenes is a misread on Kaveh's character. A massive point of Kaveh's character is that he's literally the architect of his own suffering. He blamed himself for his father's death and his mother's decline, which crippled his ability to form healthy relationships with others in his childhood. His self-sacrificial behavior and--explicitly, in the canon text--his own inability to confront reality led to the collapse of his original friendship with Alhaitham.

He bankrupted himself for the Palace of Alcazarzaray, martyring himself on the altar of his own ideals. He gets into fights with his clients because he isn't good at drawing boundaries, isolates himself from his friends because he feels like a burden (even though they all clearly love him) and then laments feeling lonely, and constantly bickers with Alhaitham even in moments when Alhaitham really hasn't done anything to start a fight, like when Alhaitham brought the Traveler and Paimon home and Kaveh spent half of his first conversation with the Traveler bad-mouthing Alhaitham, who wasn't even in the room to provoke his ire.

While Alhaitham is absolutely not a saint and is a nitpicking champion, the bulk of their bickering comes from Kaveh's tendency to anger easily, his helplessness and lack of control over his financial situation, and from his internalized assumption that Alhaitham is incapable of altruism.

Even realizing that Alhaitham's words in the past came from a place of honest reflection on Kaveh's well-being, at the beginning of their scenes in-game, Kaveh still can't bring himself to let bygones be bygones, still can't accept a freely offered hand, and ultimately ends up taking out a lot of frustration about his personal situation on Alhaitham, the symbolic lightning rod for all of Kaveh's woes. Kaveh isn't comfortable with himself, so he's interpreting every thing Alhaitham says and does in the least charitable way possible--and Alhaitham is, in part, letting him do that (actively encouraging it even), because that's what Kaveh needs. If Kaveh is incensed and railing at Alhaitham for this or that petty disagreement, then he isn't withdrawing into depression and off making rash decisions that will ruin his own life again.

The alternative to Alhaitham taking "snipes" at Kaveh is this:

So I think we can all agree which one is less toxic, lol.

Kaveh also believes that Alhaitham is his mirror--but in a negative way, with Alhaitham being the strawman Kaveh repeatedly builds up to fight against in his quest to justify his idealism, even when that idealism brings him pain. If Kaveh's ideals are just and righteous and good, then Alhaitham--who represents the dead opposite of Kaveh's idealism--must automatically be bad. Alhaitham's selfish, he's egotistical, he'd "let people drown" (said without the self-awareness to note that Alhaitham never let Kaveh drown)... At least when we first started seeing them in game, Kaveh has created an image of Alhaitham that has little to do with the actual reality of their situation.

Kaveh could have had peace from Day 1 in Alhaitham's house if he could keep his own temper in check and stop rising to Alhaitham's bait--but that's not who Kaveh is. He isn't actually a peaceful person by nature. He's kind and generous to a fault; he believes in doing right by others and in putting his heart and soul into every project he brings into the world, but he's also just kind of quarrelsome. Even if he doesn't actually like to argue, he can't help himself because he is passionate about the things he feels and believes. He's impulsive, doing what he feels is right in the moment far more than reasoning rationally about his circumstances (another point of opposition with Alhaitham), and, despite having cripplingly low self-esteem, he's also a proud person, trying overly hard to protect his reputation, so that even just being in Alhaitham's house puts him constantly on edge, fearing that people will find out about his bankruptcy.

Kaveh's tense situation with Alhaitham in their early scenes is, in large part, Kaveh's fault, stemming more from his internal issues and wounded principles than from what is actually going on between himself and Alhaitham in that moment. He's carrying so much emotional baggage into their home that nothing Alhaitham is doing could ever be considered more toxic than the weight Kaveh came into the relationship already bearing--and clearly, as we've seen their character development continue, Alhaitham's methods are working.

Kaveh is much better off now than he used to be.

This isn't to say that Alhaitham is the victim instead, just casually bearing the brunt of Kaveh's personal issues--Alhaitham has issues of his own that he's also working through! Alhaitham is a flawed character whose lack of social skills caused him to experience extreme isolation throughout his youth and into adulthood. Alhaitham claims he prefers this isolation, and yet abandons it instantly the moment he actually manages to form friendships during Sumeru's Archon Quest, now going out of his way to attend social gatherings and even feeling attached enough to Paimon to enroll her in school.

Alhaitham did cause Kaveh pain in the past by being too honest. He had to undergo character development to get to the point where he could understand that "being correct isn't the same as being right." He did have to learn to apologize and to rein in his temper, to "save the bickering for later," because he simply wasn't good at--and still clearly struggles with--communicating his actual feelings about a given situation. We're told this is such a ubiquitous flaw of his that basically everyone who has actually met him thinks Alhaitham is a heartless person, despite Alhaitham generally being laid-back, surprisingly nonjudgmental, and respectful of people even when they come from wildly different backgrounds, like his attempts to get Dehya to join the Akademiya.

To this day, it's obvious that Alhaitham still hasn't managed to make his actual care for Kaveh clear to Kaveh--and he seems mostly content to just wait for Kaveh to figure it out, rather than putting himself out there and (hilarious for the character who knows twenty languages) just using his words. Alhaitham is a little allergic to being forthright, and his relationship with Kaveh moves a glacial pace in part because of that.

So no, their banter didn't sound friendly at first because it wasn't friendly at first. It wasn't supposed to be! They're two flawed people whose personal hang-ups are very difficult for them to overcome, making it extremely hard for them to connect and communicate. They both hurt each other badly in the past, and they're still not over that pain because they've never managed to confront and properly address it. Both them are carrying some intense emotional baggage into their house and struggling to make life together work despite those weights they're carrying. They don't really know how to even be friends because the way they were close before was exactly what fell apart on them in the first place.

But making mistakes in the past, even if those mistakes caused pain, doesn't make a relationship toxic--it just makes it human.

(Okay, just a real world side note here that you can entirely skip if you don't want to hear me rambling... Maybe this is coming from the fact that I'm old, your local fandom mom for real for real, but I sometimes find myself genuinely concerned that younger people seem to really struggle with the concept of conflict. There seems to be this sentiment that relationships should be entirely free of fights, that you shouldn't have to reason with and critically examine your stances on conflicting moral perspectives, that you shouldn't be confronted with criticism--I think this extreme avoidance of conflict is at the heart of a lot of issues we're facing in fandom today, such as fans' inability to handle characters who do bad things or the war over whether shipping reflects people's morality. We operate on black-and-white instead of seeking dialogue and accepting nuance.

Embracing conflict as a core part of life involves recognizing the person facing you on the other side of the conflict, accepting that others' perspectives may differ from your own, making peace with the idea that people may say things you don't want to hear...

Somewhat hilariously, I think that the inclination to view Alhaitham and Kaveh's early relationship as toxic perfectly aligns with the core issue that Alhaitham and Kaveh themselves had--neither one of them could tolerate the discomfort brought on by an opposing ideology, the same way many people nowadays struggle to accept situations that are not perfect from the start, where mistakes are made and truths are sometimes spoken too harshly.

Just sayin'!)

[breadandlottery]

One man. Three personas. Each one a foil to the protagonist in a different way.

[magicaii]

One thing about alhaitham that I don’t see brought up a lot is that when he truly cares about someone, he respects their wishes, a lot. When his grandma’s last request to him was that he live a peaceful life, he took that to heart and still lives by it two decades later. He vowed to adopt a certain life philosophy that would make his grandma happy because that’s how much he respected her opinion and judgment. And when kaveh tells alhaitham that he regrets becoming friends with him, alhaitham completely stops talking to him for the next decade. It might seem like alhaitham did this because he stopped caring about kaveh the moment he denounced their friendship, but I think this was just his way of respecting kaveh’s wishes. If he truly believed a friendship with alhaitham ended up being regretful, he would no longer force him into one. I think it says a lot about alhaitham that he cares so deeply about what his loved ones want that he’ll simply listen to them without question.

But it’s so much more than that too. People like to paint those ten years as kaveh suffering and alhaitham being indifferent to their break up, but I don’t think that’s really the case. I truly think alhaitham is very sensitive when it comes to his loved ones. I think he took it to heart when kaveh berated him, and the rejection warded him away indefinitely. Imagine how alhaitham, for the first time in his life, found a genuine connection with another person, only to be brutally reminded of why he didn’t fit in with people- when he was just trying to show concern for kaveh’s life decisions. Honestly? I think it stung, and I believe he withdrew to protect his own feelings and that aforementioned peace. That no matter how much he cared, kaveh’s words were too much of a slap in the face for them to go back. I think he was so fearful that his emotional state would be disrupted that he had no choice but to pull away and force himself to stop caring. Gotta live a peaceful life, right?

I think alhaitham is the type of person who would’ve opened his heart up to his first true friend, the only person he could trust to understand him, and be scared off when said friend refused to understand. And again, I think it says a lot about alhaitham that an entire decade later, after being completely rejected by kaveh once before, he once again allowed him into his life- no, directly offered him a position. He lowered his guard and took kaveh in, knowing his peace would be disrupted and those old feelings would possibly be shaken up once again. Knowing he could get hurt. Just because kaveh needed alhaitham more than alhaitham needed to protect himself.

And I think it’s very interesting how the two most important people in his life are almost at odds in this regard. His grandma, who wants nothing but peace and serenity for him, and Kaveh, whose mere presence seems to disturb all that. I mean, what an interesting dilemma.

[crystaljellie]

Kaeya who is the younger brother and acts like the younger brother but behind closed doors he's the only one willing to look after Diluc and has a kind and nurturing side, smart and calculating and not as immature as he looks Diluc who is the older brother, who acts like the older brother, and because of this, everyone thinks hes fine standing tall that he doesn't need anyone to lean on, that hes fine. he's better than fine. he has everything anyone could ever ask for, but behind closed doors, he's both too trusting and too suspicious, he's stuck with his torment and he twists and toils with it every night and behind closed doors Kaeya sees him as the child he still is, and holds his hand Kaeya never got the chance to be a child but he grew into it, he grew into freedom and had it ripped away from him again, and because of that glimpse he vows to shed that same light to others Diluc who was given a happy childhood, whose father fought for it, but forfeited it himself with his own crushing guilt, his own need for approval that his father could have never predicted his recklessness and need to show that he's noticed, who snatched his childhood away from himself growing into someone bitter and cold and out of reach of all the hands by his side

[seaglassdinosaur]

The most brilliant and impressive thing Ryan Coogler did in my opinion was figure out how to communicate to the audience the actual tangible power of Sammie’s music, so we could truly conceptualize what it was that Remmick wanted and what he threatened to take away.

[callingofstars]

Hey so. Kaeya canonically loves romance novels right.

[unnecessarily detailed elaboration] : during the first Mondstadt archon quest, the riddle he gives us to follow reads like a poem. One of the clues is to “find the heart of clear springs”, and he makes up some line about passion coming from the people bathing in the river.

During Noelle’s hangout event, she mentions reading romance novels to understand the concept of love, quoting a few of the books. and like. those are things Kaeya has said before.

Has he been quoting these books at us the whole time because i would Not be surprised.

AND THERE’S MORE !! Heart of Clear Springs is a readable item, as well as one or two other romance novels (did i mention all these books are in the Knights of Favonius library) (he has easy access to them). The story is that a boy falls in love with a fairy of the river and promises to wait for her forever, but she hides from him because she couldn’t bear falling in love only to lose him.

^ a few excerpts <3 the second one is romance/fantasy about a magical antique shop.

Also just aside from the fact that Kaeya is a perfect flirty nerd, some of the titles for his talents/constellations do mirror lines from Heart of Clear Springs.

Anyways Kaeya is a huge dork <33

[secriden]

Just going to cry again (see: my previous post about the parallels between the storage room scene and the abandoned factory scene) about parallels and juxtapositions in the store room scene vs the one in Styles bedroom:

Both these scenes have such a tone of desperation and are characterised by an overflowing of emotions, but in drastically opposite directions.

(Note, some of what I say in this post directly relates to concepts and themes I talked about here, so it may not wholly make sense without that context.)

The scene in the storeroom is filled with frustrated desire. Fadel kisses Style because he wants Style's body and also wants to take his frustrations at Style out on his body. He doesn't need to look Style in the eye (and in fact very intentionally only does so only in small snatches) because this isn't about a connection as much as it is about a release. Fadel's kisses come fast, hard, and are intended to bruise more than to adore.

But episode 5's scene is filled with much more quiet and tender sort of desire. Style is kissing Fadel so much more slowly and purposefully. He keeps looking back at Fadel, checking in to see how he feels and whether Fadel is enjoying it. Everything Style wanted in Episode 3, he now gives to Fadel here, pours the secrets of his knowing and choosing Fadel anyway into the way he presses his lips onto Fadel's skin. His kisses linger, they carry a weight but are somehow infinitely gentle still; Style's kisses contain a purpose that Fadel's kisses couldn't in Episode 3 because in all honesty they were relative strangers back then.

There's also the way there's such a ferocity and carelessness in the way Fadel starts the encounter in episode 3 that is juxtaposed beautifully by the slow, tender, almost hesitant way Style slides his lips onto Fadel's. Both of them are in such different headspaces, between these episodes and its especially evident in the way they care so much more about the other person's comfort and how intentionally they showed that to the audience.

There's hunger present in both scenes but what this hunger is focused on is so drastically different. In the storeroom, they're both mainly focused on a physical release; its primal and visceral but lacked emotional resonance. Fadel gives Style what he knows Style wants (that hint of danger, with the hand on his neck), but its not because he really cares about what Style wants on anything more than a physical level. In Style's bedroom, however, Fadel is drunk (intentionally and by his own design) and desperate to open himself up to Style on an emotional level. Meanwhile, Style wants that desperately too, but knows that Fadel shouldn't because of his own terrible secret. So this kiss is what they both will allow themselves - an honesty and a hunger for this deeper connection they can only share in act but not in words.

In the storeroom, Style wants Fadel to want more than his body but knows (or thinks) he can't push for it yet, so he remains passive, lets Fadel do whatever he wants, lets him turn and shove and place Style how he wants because at this point, this is all Fadel will give him. Here, Style is passive in spite of what he wants. But in the bedroom, Fadel is passive because it's what he wants; he wants to let Style do whatever he desires to and with Fadel's body. He wants to lay himself as bare as he possibly can, which is only physical, and so he does.

And because the encounter in Episode 3 lacked that emotional connection, the focus is merely their respective releases. There's a sense of two people trying to find pleasure and 'finish' while remaining emotionally disconnected despite actively having sex with each other. Because in some ways, they didn't really need each other in that moment to get there (there's actually a lot of truth in what Fadel says about it being easier to just jerk off alone). In sharp contrast, the scene in Episode 5 isn't focused on the destination but on the journey. Style is taking his time and Fadel is letting him - Style is choosing to worship Fadel's body, with his fingers, with his lips, to respond to his vulnerability with gentleness and tenderness and adoration. The goal has stopped being about finding a release, it's about allowing both these men to revel in the giving and receiving of pleasure.

The point of these scenes is to show to us the ways in which Fadel and Style have grown to care for and, dare I say it, love each other in ways that are so purposefully portrayed by showing the nature of their physical connection. Because the ways in which these scenes are the same and yet so wholly different showcases how their touches are now no longer merely tied to their senses any longer, but also to their hearts as well.

[finisnihil]

Zhongli is interesting to me because he’s very much an outlier among the other Archons.

All the Archons have some sort of “twin” except Zhongli. Ei and Makoto, Venti and the Nameless Bard, Nahida and Rukkadevata, and Furina and Focalors. One could argue Guizhong is his “twin” but I heavily disagree because the Archon “twin” is directly related to the identity of the Archon. Ei and Makoto were twins, Nahida was a new iteration of Rukkadevata, Focalors and Furina are the divine and the human sides of the same person, and Venti directly took on the identity of the Bard. Adding on, the “twin” usually dies. All this implies two possibilities. Zhongli either never had a “twin” or his “twin” was already rendered deceased long ago. Either way both of these imply he’s different from the others on a level we don’t know.

Next: his draconic motifs. His Exuvia form was a dragon (some translations I’ve seen Half-Dragon, Half-Qilin) and his character design is very heavily based in this draconic identity. Further still, no other Archon so far has this motif. They are associated WITH dragons sure, Venti and Dvalin, Nahida and Apep, Furina and Neuvillette, but no other Archon is depicted with both divine and draconic motifs. There’s theories about Zhongli being or related to the Geo Dragon Sovereign for a reason. In his ascension voicelines he comments on his power growing stronger which isn’t unusual that’s the point of them but the giving up of his Gnosis makes his odd because it almost seems like the removal of the Gnosis was suppressing an aspect of his power, possibly a draconic power. Even when his divine identity was mostly shed his draconic aspects remain.

Finally, the cubes. All the other Archons in their statues have a circle motif. Venti and Rukkadevata/Nahida old some sort of orb, Makoto/Ei has her circle behind her and Focalors/Furina holds a sword with circular designs. Zhongli, however, holds a cube. Not just any cube either, a cube that is reminiscent of the Heavenly Principles who kidnap the Traveler’s Sibling at the start of the game. Add to this Zhongli weird connections to Celestia/The Heavenly Principles, his weird motif with the sun and the whole sun chariot lore, his Archaic nature and unknown origins, it’s extremely odd.

Zhongli is one of my favorites because he definitely knows more than he’s able to tell and he’s so different in the pattern of the Archons. Anyways feel free to give thoughts, have a great day, mwah!

[lemon-shark-kat]

The Genshin Impact fandom is fascinating to me when it comes to fanfics, because I feel like I struggle to find any fics that really *get* the characterization of certain characters and I'm loathed to write my own because dammit I just want to read the specific itch I crave without resorting to creating it. Give me three more months and I'll cave in.

For example, Diluc is one of my favorites and I find his backstory fascinating in terms of his father Crepus possibly being more morally ambiguous than most fans are willing to admit and how little we know of Diluc's murder spree in Snezhnaya.

For example which Harbinger(s) did he have a run-in with? Will we find out more about the secret intelligence network that took him in, that he apparently had a high position in? Did he ever find the answers he was searching for? The list goes on.

It's hard for me to find the specific characterization of him I crave for in fics because I think his platonic relationship with Kaeya is incredibly nuanced and complex but I feel like his character often gets assassinated for Kaeya angst but like, the man had the worst birthday ever?

Imagine being Diluc, living through a literal worst nightmare. Your dad is dead after you failed to protect him yourself. Not only is your dad dead but he died after wielding a delusion--you dont even know what a delusion is but its clearly bad news. Why the fuck did your father have it and how?

On top of this, the Favonius Knights--the organization you proudly served and the very organization that your father heavily encouraged you to serve--insists on covering up the truth because it makes them look bad. The Favonius Knights, who are supposed to be honorable and uphold integrity, are anything but that.

Then your adoptive brother, who you've known for years and trust with your life, shows up and tells you he's been spying for a foreign nation since you were kids with the intent of harming Mondstadt and everything about your relationship is possibly all one big lie and well--how do you not snap??

Now, I'm also incredibly fond of Kaeya and he was just as traumatized by Crepus's death. He was wracked with guilt for *feeling* relieved that he didn't have to worry about betraying his birth father for his adoptive father since Crepus was dead. He anticipated Diluc's anger and felt like their duel was a punishment for his lies.

To me, it hints that Kaeya probably didn't reveal the truth expecting Diluc's understanding, but rather he knew how he would react and perhaps he wanted Diluc to strike him down in that duel. Or at the very least, he wanted to distance himself from Diluc and cut off ties in order to avoid emotional attachment stopping him from his mission.

I personally head-canon that Diluc withdrew upon seeing Kaeya's vision because well--why would the gods bless Kaeya with a vision if he truly had the intent to harm Mondstadt? So in spite of what Kaeya revealed, he isn't a threat. But there's still a lot of hurt there to navigate through.

I think it's fascinating seeing where they stand in present game because Kaeya obviously has the ideology of working the system from within. He stayed in the knights (even taking over his brother's position) and with Jean rooted out the Inspector and his cronies.

Meanwhile Diluc just isn't that type of person. He doesn't settle, he refuses to work in a system he views corrupt, he rather accomplish what he can outside of it. Curiously, he doesn't challenge the status quo beyond being vocal of his distaste of the Knights.

This is head-canon fantasyland, but I like to envision Kaeya and Diluc do use a lot of the same informants and collaborate on intel relating to the safety of Mondstadt (especially since Diluc can move in ways against the Fatui that the Knights can't due to political reasons) but they struggle to have the same connection as before.

For example, Diluc's story quest--Kaeya was essentially giving Diluc an alibi with the Knights. Even if Jean damn well knows who it is, they still have to have official documentation stating otherwise.

Kaeya is good at reading people, he has to be given how he was raised to be a child spy. But I like to think he struggles to read Diluc like before. Diluc is much more jaded, pessimistic, quieter than before. He prefers to work on his own as much as possible. From Kaeya's pov, the only person he's seen Diluc willing to fully trust enough to work alongside with is the Traveler, and he states as much.

The opposite is true of Diluc. Kaeya was his shadow, a quiet but inquisitive, witty observer. Cavalry Captain Kaeya is much more outgoing and friendly, his charm on full display. Did he ever really truly know Kaeya or did he only show Diluc what he wanted him to see? Is Kaeya happier this way?

Fanon often depicts Kaeya as essentially being barred from the dawn winery from the duel by Diluc himself, but I don't think that's quite the case. Much rather, given the reason he told Diluc that night, I think he views himself as undeserving due to unresolved guilt.

Canon seems to hint at all of this through his hangout and Hidden Strife, the latter of which is unfortunately a time-limited event that occurred before I even played (hoyo please stop having heavy lore drops occur in time limited events).

I think the two want to trust each other again, but both are afraid of destroying the tentative truce they have so they leave all of it unaddressed. Kaeya refuses to be completely truthful ever again and Diluc acknowledges the past but refuses to discuss it. The tragedy in their relationship that neither is at fault for what happened--it's a twisted emotional mess of grief and heartbreak.

The last point I'd like to touch on is the parallels between Kaeya and Diluc both being essentially child soldiers for their fathers' causes.

For Kaeya, being abandoned in Mondstadt to be a child spy is the most overt. For Diluc? Despite Crepus's strong ambition to be a Favonius Knight and to have a vision--neither happened for him. In Diluc's vision story, it states that he views his vision being a result of their "shared" ambition, hinting that his vision was granted after Diluc's strong resolve to achieve his father's dreams for him.

We know Crepus heavily encouraged Diluc down this path at very young age, given Diluc received his vision at age 10 and became the youngest Captain at age 14. In some ways, I'm sure Kaeya was a bit jealous of Diluc for having a loving father present in his life that was overtly proud of him.

I am not saying Crepus wasn't a good father, I think he cared immensely for Kaeya and Diluc both, but I do think he did some morally grey shit.

Diluc abandoning his vision is fascinating and it's almost never explored in fics. He is the only vision holder we know of (aside from the Inazumauns whose visions were taken by force) that had their ambition for their vision shaken in such a way that they voluntarily discarded their vision for a time and only took it back after reigniting a new ambition to have it (and as far we know the only allogene that faced no negative setbacks from using a delusion long-term without their vision present).

I don't know where to end all of this, except if you have ragbros fic recommendations that you believe cover it in a more nuanced way, let me know!

[ellitx]

Hot take: i will never, ever, like friends with benefit and/or one night stand trope. And i hated this trope since entering the fanfic world. Like why tf would you have sex with someone you dont even like at all or someone you just met?

Honestly venti’s not the type to offer or accept such things. He takes relationship and commitments seriously and ffs mondstadt is a romantic nation. But that doesnt mean he’ll pave such path just for the “fun” of it. It will be a big turn off for him if someone just randomly approaches him one night at a tavern while drinking and invites him if they wanna hook up or what.

And dont get me started with those fanarts of venti surrendering his body to drunken patrons because he’s broke. Okay, yes, it’s just porn art and it’s fictional but don’t reduce venti’s character to such filthy convenience.

And the friends with benefits? If he’s going to be friends with someone, then just be friends. If he likes someone romantically, then he’ll confess. He’s not going to take advantage of his friendship and have it reduce to a casual fling that’ll ruin their friendship.

That’s not how he loves. That’s not how he treats people he cares about.

You dont just tiptoe around under the guise of "no strings attached." Ffs if i read or hear that again, i will not hesitate to throw a glass at you and venti will do the same to his dear mondstadter children.

Venti values honesty, clarity, and intention. If there’s affection, he’ll voice it. If there’s desire, he’ll be honest about what it means.

He believes the people he loves deserve sincerity, not half truths behind closed doors.

Because no matter what fwb situations there are in the world, it will never end well.

Venti’s not a vending machine for pleasure nor some desperate pitiful bard who trades his dignity for coin or company. That completely erases who he is at his core. He’s free spirited, yes, but not careless. Loving, but never shallow.

Venti is the archon of freedom, NOT abandonment of self-respect.

If he ever gives his body to someone, it’s because he trusts his partner. He’s willing to show his vulnerable self to them. He sees sex as an intimate act in a relationship— he’s showing how much he loves them, how he seriously takes this relationship, and how deeply he's willing to commit!!!!!

To venti, intimacy isn’t something you just do—it’s something you share.

So to offer that to just anyone? To treat it like a some sort of distraction or a meaningless exchange? That would cheapen everything he believes in. That’s not love.

Venven deserves better. Hell, he demands better. If you can’t see that, then maybe you never truly understood him in the first place.

Alright thank you for coming to my ted talk

[synchodai]

Arcane S2 wasn't as good because it wasn't about air

The common critique of Arcane season two was that "it didn't let the story breathe." I'm going to one-up that and state that season one set up an entire story about breathing and forgot that in season two.

Yes, yes, Arcane was a story about Piltover oppressing the undercity, but unlike a lot of other stories about social stratification, Arcane was very explicit about the methods Piltover uses to disenfranchise Zaun. Season one was clearly a story about eco-apartheid maintained through extractivist practices.

WHAT IS ECO-APARTHEID?

Ecological apartheid (also known as enviromental racism) is a form of disenfranchising and spatially separating a class of people through pollution, exploitation, and abuse of their local environment.

[E]nvironmental apartheid was largely instituted through rural marginalization, the use of rural space as an environmental means of marginalization... - Environmental apartheid: Eco-health and rural marginalization in South Africa

Topside and the undercity are basically one nation state with a blindingly stark fence between them. Piltover and Zaun are simultaneously connected and separated by the Bridge of Progress. Progress unites them and alienates them from one another. Progress is why Piltover is wealthy and clean, and it is why Zaun is impoverished and polluted. It is was on the Bridge of Progress that Silco incited the riot that led to Vi and Powder's orphaning and Vander's betrayal. It's where Ekko and Jinx have their standoff, and where the Hextech core is exchanged. In other words, progress is a border.

WHAT IS EXTRACTIVISM?

Prior to the proliferation of shimmer and the chembarons, industry in the undercity appears to be heavily centralized around one thing — fissure mining. Vi and Powder's parents used to be miners along with Vander and Silco. Jayce and Vi visit one of these mines and she explains the masks the workers use. Oh, and let's not forget the children don't have to yearn for the mines when they're dying in the mines!

The Zaunites' livelihood being dependant on the extraction of natural resources for the benefit of the Piltovans is what is known as extractivism — the exploitation of a resource-rich land and its people by a separate "global North."

In practice, extractivism has been a mechanism of colonial and neocolonial plunder and appropriation. This extractivism, which has appeared in different guises over time, was forged in the exploitation of the raw materials essential for the industrial development and prosperity of the global North. - Extractivism and neoextractivism: two sides of the same curse

The "North," in this case, clearly being Piltover. The resources being abused and exploited here aren't only the fissure mines, but also the bodies of the workers and those born around them. Viktor's illness, for example, is a product of growing up around the gaseous waste of the fissure mines. The Zaunites take the brunt of the side-effects of the pollution so that the topsiders don't have to. The "dregs" are kept below while materials, both people and things, that are deemed useful get to rise to the top. The processing of raw materials and shipping happens in Piltover, so it's the Piltovans who get a final say on the profits.

Silco and the chembarons establish their power by creating an industry that operates outside of fissure mining that doesn't rely on the patronage of the global North. Needless to say, drug dealing isn't exactly a noble trade, but extraction, processing, and distribution are mainly controlled and operated by Zaunites, which allows them a source of wealth and power that they can leverage against Piltover. To use a more recognizable phrase, they own the means of shimmer production.

I find it fascinating that shimmer is made by killing innocent underground creatures. Cannibalizing your own kind for a temporary boost of strength that eventually turns the user into a monster? It's a poignant metaphor about the infighting of not just the chembarons' gangs but of oppressed groups in general. And while shimmer offers power and brings in wealth, that's not what the undercity truly needs and only corrupts it even further.

Nah, the show has been very clear that what Zaun needs is breathable air.

SEASON 2 FORGOT ABOUT AIR

Even outside of the air pollution caused by fissure mining, the theme of breathing and air is everywhere in season one. Ekko and the Firelights' community is built around a tree — the clean air it provides is the reason they've been able to sustain themselves. It is considered an oasis in polluted Zaun. Jinx's is often heralded by brightly colored smoke, and the way she signals to Violet is through a flare that emits it. Silco's altercation with Vander involves him almost drowning — Vander literally choking the air out of him. Silco, in reponse to this traumatic event, teaches Jinx to willingly submerge herself in a place without air by baptizing her in the same filthy water he was choked in.

In other words, air is life and purpose. Zaun's aesthetics are defined by gas masks and smoke. Meanwhile, the scenes in Piltover are clean and clear. Ekko and the Firelights' tree represented hope and the possibility of clean air in Zaun. Viktor was similarly associated to flowers that grew in the underground, symbolizing how beautiful things can live even in the harshest circumstances.

Environmental degradation, more specifically air pollution, is the raison d'être of topside-undercity conflict. Silco says as much when he threatens the other chembarons and reminds them of why he's in charge.

Have you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in? Air so thick it clogs your throat — stuck in your eyes. I pulled you all up from the depths, offered you a taste of topside and fresh air. I gave you life. Purpose. But you've grown fat and complacent, too much time in the sun. We came from a world where there was never enough to go around. That is why we fight. Do you remember? - The Boy Savior, Arcane S01E07

But by the second and third acts of season two, pollution may not as well exist in Zaun. How does Viktor's commune plant its flowers and grow its fruits? Does the Firelights' tree ever get cured of its corruption? Did everyone forget that the undercity is literally suffocating? Seriously, why is Ekko's storyline with the tree never resolved? Why give Jinx that monologue about a wispy goddess of air the fissurefolk pray to and never go anywhere with it?

JINX SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED TO JANNA

The Grey presented an opportunity for Jinx to be the revolutionary hero Arcane wanted her to be. The enforcers have clearly aligned themselves with pollution and poison, and Jinx could have been the herald of their wind goddess come to answer the people's prayers for relief. But the people don't rally behind Jinx because of her association to Janna, clean air, or her repelling the invading cops using bioweapons.

I firmly believe that Jinx being a symbol of the revolution because she blew up a government building is missing a few steps. She'll get radicals who already hated Piltover behind her, sure, but the everyday Zaunite would more likely blame her for causing chaos and bringing trouble to their streets. Because the average person doesn't really care who's on the council or if a politician so far from them dies. But they do care if the cops are suddenly at their door with tear gas because an extremist junkie decided to commit arson.

The first act of season two had me very optimistic that the show was picking up where it left off with its enviromental themes. The enforcers use The Grey, polluted air, to surpress dissent and hunt down Jinx. Jinx fights back under a mural of Janna, the goddess of clean air. Her plan involves her using air to push back The Grey and send the gust up to Piltover. After being actively gassed by the enforcers, Jinx and her association to colorful wind becomes a symbol of hope and revolution to the people of the undercity.

Except that's not what happens. The Grey is only shown affecting targeted criminals with no collateral damage to civilians despite it being deployed all over the trenches. The gusts of wind Jinx pushes up to Piltover don't make topsiders experience the air pollution Zaunites suffer. Instead, it just midly inconveniences them with paint splatters. In the end, The Grey is forgotten and has nothing to do with their fight in front of Janna's mural. Caitlyn gets a promotion despite gassing the entire underground with nothing to show for it, and the undercity idolizes Jinx despite her being the reason they were gassed in the first place.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION IS INTERPERSONAL RESTORATION

Unlike in the game, Arcane chose topside and the undercity to be originally established as one city — and I don't think that was done without reason. The nation of Zaun and its identity is established as a reaction to the suffering of those underground. A community developed centered around helping one another cope and survive through the pollution. In short, Piltover created Zaun.

Thus, the interplay between Piltover and Zaun extended to all plotlines and the relationships they explored and developed. Jinx and Vi, Vi and Caitlynn, Viktor and Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger — these are all relationships that reflect the tension between Zaun and Piltover. Family torn apart by civil war, bitter ex lovers, different ideological approaches to scientific advancement, intuitive inventiveness and practiced genius. Their relationships are born from a common desire and degrade because of that looming border inflicted by the pursuit of progress.

Piltover and Zaun is a single house fractured because of how it threw all its detritus in the basement as it sought to build a tower that will reach the skies. The whole building is threatening to crumble, especially now that someone threw a bomb at it like in the finale of season one. The status quo Arcane and we as a globalized eco-apartheid have is extremely precarious as is any foundation built on abuse and exploitation. A lot of people will cheer on the Jinxes who don't care so much about fixing it than they do burning it all down to express their understandable rage and grief, but that doesn't really fix the problem of having breathable air, does it?

Unfortunately, we'll never know how the show will wrap up the Zaunite plight because it was all but forgotten in season 2. The problem of Zaun was never that they needed to evolve or be perfect — it's that their environment and the people by extension were being suffocated.

In my perfect world, the finale would have addressed the lack of light and clean air in the underground. It would have mirrored how some bodies and relationships can never truly fully recover the damage that has been done. As in real life, restoration is not a substitute for not doing harm in the first place. But it could have ended with a hopeful message that burning it down and running away isn't the answer either.

When Viktor was healing Vander and decided that, despite the unprecedented effort and time, his natural, non-weaponized humanity was worth saving because of how much he means to his local community, I thought that was what they were going for. Alas, they didn't let the show breathe.

[torusdove]

These men would happily watch any Barbie movie with you. Will they admit that? No, absolutely not. Will they, however, watch the film from beginning to end without missing even a single second? Yes, absolutely.

They might've been skeptical the first time you offered it, but overtime they didn't complain and instead.. fully enjoyed the new Friday tradition. In fact, if you get into bed and put something else on, they might ask you themselves to put on a Barbie film instead.

"You enjoy them wholeheartedly, sweetheart. I like spending time with you regardless of what we're doing."

They're full of crap, and you know this too. Still, they're your own little princesses which you'd do anything for to amuse them.

That includes "believing" them when they tell you they enjoy watching the films for you, and not themselves.

Satoru Gojo, Yuuji Itadori, Choso, Tetsurō Kurō, Tadashi Yamaguchi (he does admit it, though), Tōru Oikawa, Takahiro Hanamaki, Kōtarō Bokuto, Rintarō Suna, Atsumu Miya, Kazuha, Thoma, Childe, Kaeya, Itto, Rafayel (lnd) + your favourite.

[tainebot01]

The second investigations game being Fortunato'd by Capcom Japan for the past decade as the mainline games and TGAA duology got ported to the rest of the world while the spread of communications technology resulting in audience perspectives having a greater impact on the interpretation of foreign media has developed in addition to creator's awareness of cultural influences on storytelling decisions in adapting said media following a 13 year maturation period culminating in worldwide localization has given us the greatest line in ace attorney history:

[mystii-gur0]

the fact that it's implied Capitano DID notice Childe, and not only noticed him, but payed enough attention to what he was saying that he remembered Childe yapping about the traveler 24/7 and Childe only thinks he didn't notice him bc Capitano didn't want to spar with him fucks me in the head soooooo bad.

Especially since Childe's fall into the Abyss is SO easily read as a CSA allegory. Like he falls into the Abyss (sexual assualt), Skirk teaches him how to survive and defend himself from futher harm (no explanation needed, but could also be her passing on her own trauma responses in the form of Foul Legacy to protect him. I say Foul Legacy since it's incredibly strong and is a defense/survival mechanism but it actively causes him harm like a trauma response/unhealthy coping mechanism), then comes out obsessed with battle and seeking the power that was taken from him (hypersexuality in an attempt to feel in control again). Not to mention how he constantly objectifies himself by calling himself a weapon (do I even need to explain this??).

Like if you read it that way it comes across as Childe thinking Capitano didn't care because he didn't want to have sex with him/wanted him for more than his body. I mean tbf even without the allegory stuff going on it still reads as that since like- just at face value it's Capitano valuing Childe for reasons other than his battle abilities/being a weapon.

[amber-aura]

Y'all forever laughing at remmick only having 2-3 gold coins but I think you forget he technically doesn't need money anyway. He's no longer a part of society and hasn't been for several centuries. The only reason he would need money is to persuade his victims but in general he doesn't need it, because after he kills his victims he can just take everything he needs that money is required for.

That would be clothes, shoes, instruments, etc. He can just take that without money because again, he's not part of the working society.

Also I'm pretty sure he kept those coins as a memoir of his human life.

I think y'all are just used to the media portraying vampires as having a rich lifestyle. Think twilight and interview with a vampire. But remmick is forever traveling and I don't think he cares to have ONE specific place he can call home. He wants a community of traveling musicians. He doesn't care about riches. I think that's the ONLY humbling thing about him actually 💀