[ open ] kaveh's permanent catch-all

[fussiest]

WHO: kaveh (fussiest) & y'all!
WHAT: this is a perpetual catch-all for kaveh because i'm too lazy to make a new one every month. this is for closed starters, tag-ins, visits to kaveh's workshop and the like! be wild! be bold! be free!
WHERE: all around the city, and especially at kaveh's workshop, the pairidaeza architectural design studio in district 1
WHEN: everywhere! everywhen! all at once!
WARNINGS: bickering, probably - everything else will be warned for on a thread-by-thread basis

Comments

[immortalpoet]

[Red. All he's ever seen was red. Even before these eyes glowed so unnaturally, they saw red. Red from blood. Red from worn skin wet with tears. That's the color of the core of the City, he thinks. There may be multiple Colors, so to speak, but he feels like red is the one above all.]

[And red is what comes from his eyes now, with every ounce of pain, anger, sorrow, and despair that it has always carried with it.]

...Two hands.

[He repeats, still turning the idea over in his head. That Daan would want to have it. That at least this man has his own idea to stop him from doing so. And yet...he knows Daan.]

[He knows the lengths Daan will go to.]

It's an admirable thought. [He finally says, voice rumbling like a growl.] But you know he'd find alternatives if he was determined enough to do so.

[fussiest]

[ a soft, humourless laugh. kaveh cants his head. ]

Of course he will. There's strength to his will, and I mean that in the fondest and most vexatious way possible. If he wanted to sling around that kitchen knife of his, he would.

But that's hardly any reason not to do something. If I chose to do nothing in the face of an unwelcome probability, then Daan will only ever choose the unwelcome probability. We only know how to act as befitting of the tools we have on hand. Now, Daan will have a choice. I've given him a better one, a safer one, and I hope that he looks at it every day with the knowledge that I could have made this one-handed but I chose to make it two.

Besides - [ kaveh looks. the red-rimmed curve of kaveh's gaze meets the red-bleeding line of vergilius', red to red - ] you'll be the one to convince him that he doesn't have to go so far in the first place.

[immortalpoet]

[As much as he's stubborn enough to always at least consider a chance at arguing, Kaveh...raises a good point. To not do anything at all would be akin to giving Daan a license to do whatever he pleased. Not that he, of all people, would want to deny Daan even that, but when it came down to self-sacrifice in all its forms...]

[Well. He now knows he's not the only one here who's going to be reminded of what happened in the past every time he sees a two-handed bonesaw. Thanks, Kaveh.]

[Whatever answer he has in reply to the other's Good Point dies in his throat, however. Not many people meet his gaze. He tends to notice that those who do have spirits that stand strong in spite of everything.]

[He grits his teeth a little, now self-conscious.]

I will? What makes you so sure of that?

[fussiest]

[ you're welcome, vergilius ✨

kaveh looks. ]

Because he listens to you. He trusts you. [ says kaveh, gently. the other reasons - they aren't for kaveh to say. this is what he can: ] I think you ought to use that power for good, is all.

[immortalpoet]

[.......He closes his eyes, then. Lets out a low, haggard sigh for good measure.]

[For good, huh.]


[...]


[In the driest tone he can manage:]


Maybe I should use that power to tell him to jump off a cliff when he entertains such ideas. What do you think? Yes? No?

[fussiest]

[ kaveh grins. ]

Yes, actually. And then tell me what his face looks like in the aftermath. I suspect I'll have to paint it to commemorate.

[immortalpoet]

Oh, you paint? That's useful, in addition to...

[He looks down at the wire in his hands, partially untwisted, looking pathetic all the same.]

Making bonesaws in your spare time.

[fussiest]

I also build custom furniture, and cook. What can I say? I'm a man of many talents. [ said, however, with a rueful quirk of his lips. he is, after all, an architect without much to build.

kaveh's head cants. ] Now that you know their purpose, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to help with the wires. I was going to tell you about the bonesaws regardless, for what it's worth, even if you hadn't been here today. It simply seemed like something that you would have wanted to know.

[immortalpoet]

...Thanks. I guess.

["Something you would have wanted to know", he says, like its the most matter-of-fact thing in the world.]

[Vergilius doesn't say anything for a moment. Of course, he could've been one of the people Daan told. Which is fine, he supposes, he told the good doctor as such. But still, when this all happened suddenly, and there's already people like this making note of it as if its unavoidably seen as the color of blue in the sky, he feels all the more awkward for it.]

[He's never been an open person. Even to Daan, there's still things he's learning about being direct about his feelings. Here, its like a spotlight on his back, and he's trying in vain to not acknowledge it.]

[So he sighs, instead, which seems an all-around good reaction to most of his life at this point.]

...What do you think about us? Since it seems you're all in the know about it in some fashion.

[In the resigned tone of someone who is like "get it on, already".]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh looks. vergilius sighs. it's a sigh that suggests the weight of the world has already draped itself on his shoulders and refuses to slide. it's a sigh that suggest vergilius will carry that weight whether it pleases him or not to do so, because it is there, and it must be carried, and it is his. it's a sigh, kaveh thinks, that reminds him very much of daan's. they are similar in ways that perhaps even kaveh has difficulty verbalising. and birds, didn't they flock, if they were of a feather?

here, the burden is that of love. kaveh wishes it weren't so, because that is something that he isn't equipped to navigate. not as of himself. the question has him pause as he looks at vergilius, really looks at him. ]

... before I answer that - I suppose I must ask you. Why would my opinion on you and Daan matter to you? Or rather, why should it?

[immortalpoet]

It doesn't matter one bit.

[The answer comes out as blunt as a hammer hitting a nail, without any hesitation. A pause, and he continues, knowing he needs to elaborate.]

I guess you could say one of my pet peeves is when people dance around a topic. They try to be polite. They bite on their tongue to the point it could fall off. It annoys me like nothing else. Here I could have a perfectly normal conversation with someone, and they've decided to come in on an elephant and pretend it's not there in the room at all.

[Maybe its odd for him to be a fan of poetry, in all its twisting meaning and language, but want people to be as direct as possible. Ah. well, he's always been a hypocrite.]

So yell at me, deride me, celebrate me, I don't care. I'd rather it just be out and dealt with. I'm not as patient as one may think. If you don't really have an opinion, then sure, fine. Great. Regardless of your answer, I'll continue to make the decisions I want to make. That's all.

[fussiest]

[ the answer is unsurprising in every way possible. kaveh nearly laughs for it. what happens is the slow crawl of a smile. it's fond along its edges. it's softer for it. of course, kaveh thinks, that ought to be the answer.

it's the only one that keeps both heart and integrity, and of course vergilius would have both. this is the man that daan trusted with his heart. ]

Good. [ kaveh says, and means it: good. ] Then I will say it to you honestly, and simply: whatever you are doing, you are doing it right. And not only are you doing it right, but you're doing it in a way that's good.

Other than that, my only other opinion is that I want Daan to realise that sandwiches are more than just slapping some meat between slices of bread. But that's an uphill struggle that I've taken on all on my own, so this is just my venting.

[immortalpoet]

[Vergilius has half a mind to snap at him to stop smiling like that, damn you, but it doesn't come. He's more awkward than annoyed, shifting in place.]

[Good? He thinks its good?]

[He's far too used to it being the opposite.]

Look, I'll agree with him on the sandwich issue there, so you're on your own. [And a pause - he's trying to find words, here.] Anyways. Sure. I'll take your opinion. Thanks.

[HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.]

[fussiest]

[ kaveh grins. ]

Oh, then I suppose I'll have to change both your minds on the issue. That's good as well. I'm up for a challenge. I've changed the shape of a port's skyline before, surely I can handle two stubborn men who haven't had a proper sandwich before. You're very welcome, Vergilius.

Now - have you eaten today?

[immortalpoet]

I don't need you to take any kind of challenge, there. No one is asking you to.

[Leave them alone to their PISSPOOR SANDWICHES]

[And...hm.]

[He is very focused on the wires here suddenly what a good worker....]

[fussiest]

[ what a good worker... such a good worker. kaveh looks.

then, because he's kaveh, he begins to menacingly reach for his tote. ]

I am taking that as a 'no'.

[immortalpoet]

[He's instantly letting out one hell of an exhausted groan.]

What am I, a stray dog? Stop.

[fussiest]

[ kaveh grins. ]

Shan't. [ with a pleased hum: ] You sound tired regardless. I was going to let you off with a sandwich all on its own, but you've just earned yourself a drink as well.

[immortalpoet]

[NOT THE DRINK.]

Do you do this to all people, or are you just mean to me in particular.

[fussiest]

[ NOW IT'S TWO DRINKS. ]

When you see a man who so evidently can't take care of himself, don't you also get the impetus to shove food his way? If it makes you feel any better, though, I find Daan equally offensive regarding his ability to take care of himself. [ ah, that's a good idea. kaveh fishes out a container, and then a water bottle so he can wash his hands. the container is cracked open. he begins to put together a sandwich. ] You'll have a sandwich now, and I'll send you back with another one for Daan. I suspect if you haven't eaten, neither has he.

[immortalpoet]

[NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

No, I don't, actually.

[He's sincere about that.]

[And......................he's really making a sandwich. He really is. Here and now.]

You do realize we're adult men, right?

[fussiest]

Well, yes. But even adult men can be hopeless.

[immortalpoet]

Such astounding faith you have in us. Truly. We've survived this long without your help.

[fussiest]

I know, I know. And you will long after I've passed on from this mortal coil. But it doesn't cost me to care and bully you a little, and it gets you some better food in the end. If nothing matters, then it's little things like these that matter.

And put it all aside, it makes me feel better that I'm doing this. So let me, hm?

[immortalpoet]

...

[He actually has to stand here and think for a long moment. he doesn't know what to feel. What does it mean, that it makes Kaveh feel better?]

[He finally speaks, voice quiet:]

I haven't even done anything for you.