#so i am BEGGING that we get an indirect reference to alhaitham again and the subject line being ‘!!!’

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

Mandatory rant about kaveh’s 2023 birthday letter incoming!!

Kaveh and Alhaitham’s birthday message subject lines are seen to mirror the other through their usage of punctuation, as Alhaitham’s subject line reads as: “…” as opposed to Kaveh’s: ‘!!!’.

A sense of familiarity evoked in their current living situation emanates from these mirrorings and within this message. Kaveh writes about him bringing coffee beans “home” in order to try, and then follows this with: “we compared the taste of each, we decided that this was the best”. Through Kaveh’s explicit usage of the word “home”, it is evident that the “we” refers to him and Alhaitham. This description establishes a sense of domesticity, only to be achieved in a mutually agreed ‘home’ as opposed to a ‘house’.

It is relevant to reference Kaveh’s understanding of “home”, as in a place in which words are not necessary and link it to the idea of companionship being more important than understanding. The latter idea consists of supporting a person, regardless of the ability to empathise with and relate to their particular struggles, should be valued over attempting to be understood by people who are not willing to listen in order to understand - established by Kaveh’s mother within his hangout.

In this, Alhaitham is offered as a companion to Kaveh, where he cannot empathise with Kaveh’s artistic and idealistic struggles, but he is willing to listen to him over offering empty words which cannot solve Kaveh’s particular problems.

Kaveh’s understanding of “home” as a place in which people are at ease with each other and support another regardless, can be seen within his relationship with Alhaitham.

Kaveh and Alhaitham split the chores according to Alhaitham’s character stories; they both make attempts to decorate the house; presumably they eat dinner together, according to Alhaitham’s Story Quest where he excuses himself in order to have dinner, only to talk to Kaveh; the two can be seen to share a study; when ordering out, Kaveh orders extra for Alhaitham – a common enough occurrence for Alhaitham to be confident in relying on this; and for Kaveh’s birthday they try coffee beans together to determine the best ones to send onto Kaveh’s friends - Kaveh’s close friends who are also Alhaitham’s.

Rather than the “cold” and “lonely” house which Kaveh was left with after the passing of his father and departure of his mother, this conjures the image of warmth and familiarity. In this, it can be inferred that the two have created a home together.

(Update: For more analyses like this, the essay this is taken from is now uploaded! It can be accessed here and here as as a pdf <3)