Entry tags:
- arknights: midnight,
- cobra kai: daniel larusso,
- cobra kai: robby keene,
- genshin impact: alhaitham,
- genshin impact: cyno,
- genshin impact: kaveh,
- genshin impact: tighnari,
- genshin impact: wanderer,
- library of ruina: chesed,
- library of ruina: netzach,
- library of ruina: yesod,
- limbus company: don quixote,
- limbus company: vergilius,
- magia record: tsuruno yui,
- original: ghost
[ open ] kaveh's permanent catch-all
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
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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
SEPTEMBER 2023
(frozen comment) notes.
- at the fair, testing out mechanisms, taking apart and putting things back together, and getting nibbled on by a vampire
- with robby, renovating a building for the new diner
- at his workshop, tinkering with a bandsaw
- painting a mural of welt at the end of the month
closed. @yesod
that's the thing, with the bank vaults and the malls and the carnivals. the city is an ever-changing mire that kaveh hadn't thought he'd need to characterise as such until the worst of it had washed over all of them. beyond the architectural marvels is the core of a city that took the sacred and dragged it free of its mooring to be flayed alive beneath the broad reaming light of the sun, and what did that do for its soul, if it had one? kaveh didn't have the answer to that question. but it had been a long time reckoning for the workshop proper, and without the clutter of the cars, it had been smooth going after that.
it's midday when kaveh has looked up from the bandsaw he'd been cobbling together, carefully feeding two equally-sanded iron blocks into their wooden mooring for the quick-release lever, at the sound of the silver bell chiming from the front. it hadn't been midday when he'd started his work, however, and the owlish blinking he takes on suggests as much. time, kaveh thinks. what a funny thing. ]
I'll be right there! [ he calls out, with the absent-minded tone affected by anyone half-way buried in a thought and not quite ready to be unearthed from it just yet.
... anyway, it's a long thought, or rather, a long set of rivets that need to be fixed. and after that, doesn't the lever need testing? a rapid set of clicks follow. yesod, give him a very, very long minute... ]
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All of it beckons. The workshop appears to be open to the public, so Yesod assumes — otherwise, he imagines that measures would have been taken to forestall curious visitors. Recognizing the distracted note in the acknowledgement offered in response to the bell announcing his presence, he is content to wait. It is enough, for now, to take in the existence of a place that breathes life into a corner of this city, defying soulless convenience. ]
My visit isn't urgent. I haven't come to interrupt your work.
[ And he stays where he is, quiet, arms crossed as if to indicate that he won't touch anything. He listens to the sounds of the craftsman absorbed in his task. He lets his gaze roam, noting the diagrams on the walls, the works in progress awaiting their creator's attention. These are glimpses of a gradual process, and the workshop is staffed by a single person, it seems.
It also defies the discouraging circumstances that people face in this city, Yesod thinks. ]
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i haven't come to interrupt your work, something from the general void had said, in the quiet tones of something studious and gentle. kaveh shoots up from his chair. the mad scramble goes a little like this - sawdust raining from a sweep of his heavy-duty work apron like summer snow, a hand haphazardously tugging at the red clips that have slipped their way down his neck from the wild bird's nest of his hair, a muffled curse as he walks into the edge of a table for his troubles, and the sound of something metallic being put down onto a workbench because kaveh belatedly realises that he ought not greet someone with a screwdriver in hand, lest they think he's about to fix them into the wall.
kaveh emerges from the doorway with much the verve of a waterlogged bird. there's apology there tucked away in the pinch of his lips as he spots the man still waiting in the front room. ]
I apologise for the wait; I really am! I was working on a quick-release lever, and one thing just led to another - no, that's no excuse. [ apparently it's possible to cringe with your entire body. kaveh wipes his hand nervously along the lining of his apron, sending down another shower of sawdust. ] Um. I am sorry, you must've waited for some time, even though I quite honestly have very little idea as to how long that must've been.
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In the wake of the workshop owner's anxious movements, Yesod watches specks of sawdust drift to the floor. He lifts his gaze again, all the way up to the man's crimson eyes. These are unnecessary apologies — besides, he hasn't kept track of the time himself. Simply stopping here to study the space around him for a while was not unlike watching Netzach paint, he realizes suddenly. His own mind, preoccupied with dead ends, feels calmer for it. ]
You had no reason to expect me. Why should you adjust your plans at such short notice?
[ Particularly when the quick-release lever is a definite objective to achieve, already underway with a clear outcome in sight, making it a perfectly valid excuse, whereas nothing about this unplanned visit demands immediate attention. It could easily be postponed. ]
In any case, how much free time do you have at the moment?
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kaveh, who is looking at the prim, tucked, well-dressed countenance of a man who looks like he's walked fresh off the pages of a magazine advertising the latest line of fontainian suits, allows his look to morph into an outright, startled stare, because that is possibly the most alhaitham thing kaveh's heard from someone who evidently isn't alhaitham. ]
Um. [ wait a minute, something in kaveh's expression says. this isn't a test, is it? alhaitham hasn't body-swapped into someone and this is the gotcha moment that's supposed to reveal it, is it? then, the rest of kaveh's brain catches up, and he is met with the knowledge that if this were truly alhaitham in a weird body-swap scenario, he wouldn't have asked if kaveh had free time, he would have just assumed all of kaveh's time could be made into free time on his whim.
comparing this man to alhaitham is doing this man a disservice, kaveh decides. his shoulders relax imperceptibly as this thought settles into place. ] Oh! Well, I've a tendency to fill that free time with whatever projects I can get my hands on. If there's something I can help you with, I'll gladly make the time for it. Sorry for the delayed introduction - welcome to the Pairidaeza Architectural Studio. I'm Kaveh.
[ the pat of his hands together dusts them, and kaveh holds out with hopeful verve his callused, lumber-scarred hands for a craftsman's handshake. ] Who are you? And what can I do for you?
cw: minor vague past self-harm and hallucination mentions... projmoons.....
Yesod remembers his own conversation with Netzach, too, on Netzach's birthday. Without a doubt, Kaveh has made a lasting impression, illuminating a bleak world, brightening it with color. They knew someone similar, long ago, but one can only hope that the similarities end there, not in tragedy.
Yesod's eyes lower to Kaveh's proffered hands. The man's scars and calluses are like lines of text filling the pages of a book: the stories they tell speak of perseverance, determined efforts. Kaveh, Yesod surmises, generously gives of himself and only himself.
There are many things that Yesod might like to ask, but now isn't the time. He accepts the handshake, though these gestures are still rare. They make him too aware of his body at times, flesh and blood again instead of metal, but entirely unblemished; there are never traces of the battles in the Library, nor does anything reveal what he (no, Gabriel) did to himself in the distant past. Nothing reflects what his mind once conjured into existence, the true source of anything festering. It's an ordinary human body, but it perceives some experiences too acutely — his inexpert attempts to reassure Netzach in the mall, for instance. Most direct sensations, different textures against bare skin, only leave faint imprints in his thoughts, at least.
His palm presses against Kaveh's. He adjusts his grip to complete the handshake. ]
I am Yesod, one of Netzach's colleagues. He has spoken of you.
[ When the handshake ends, Yesod returns his arms to their former position, folded across his chest. An idea's outline has begun to grow more distinct. ]
I appreciate your making the time, then. Truthfully, I was primarily interested in learning of your projects first, completed or in progress. However, if you're accepting clients and have a form of compensation in mind, there was some recent discussion to address the need for a print shop.
catching up after moving an entire house this month... ty for the patience ;u;
the moment lingers. the man offers his hand in return. kaveh brightens the way of a wayward sunbeam: ]
Oh, Netzach. [ the warmth in kaveh's tone seeps. ] You're Netzach's colleague. It's a pleasure, Yesod. You must also be from the library, then.
[ yesod's hand is light in kaveh's. his grip adjusts. kaveh adjusts with him, and completes the handshake. it strikes kaveh as someone who isn't used to shaking hands, or at least not used to this sort of handshake, and it reminds kaveh a little of the things netzach has said. for a moment, kaveh's expression is thoughtful as he looks to yesod. if netzach and yesod are from the same place, then it follows that yesod must have experienced similar things. but that isn't his place to say, even if the echo of it has kaveh's heart suddenly ache for it.
his expression gentles. kaveh lets yesod's hand go, and bobs his head with a grin. ]
Well, I'd be happy to walk you through some of things I've been working on. It's not much, and it's not the usual work I take on - but I find myself to be an architect in a city where very little needs building, and I've idle hands that need to be kept busy lest I forget how to use them at all.
[ kaveh smoothes his apron one last time, and gestures for yesod to follow. ] But I'm far more interested, of course, in your proposal. I always have time, or can make time. This city is good at dispensing it. I'm happy to take on your request. When you say print shop, do you mean one with a printing press? I was thinking that could be a good alternative to relying on the technology of this city, but I haven't any concrete thoughts on it. Please, sit - [ the little sitting area has a pair of couches that have been reworked to resemble divans. cushions hand-sewing with a cheery sunflower pattern have been added to the seat. on the low coffee table, kaveh pushes forward a bowl of oranges and pomegranates, and takes a seat across from yesod. ] what were your thoughts on your print shop? Let's start there.
wow look, a place to plop a starter (kaveh, robby keene, daniel larusso)
If Kaveh needs further directions, he can receive them, but the spot is easy to find from the north side of the City Hall train station, the park consuming most of the west side, and leaving a tucked space of buildings dictated by the roads that keep them together. Robby, a young man not yet eighteen, stands with his hands in his pockets with another, very obviously older man with him; and while he's keeping an eye on for their approaching company, he's also interested in this apparent work they have coming, too. It's a good distraction.
He's pointing the corner shop that pokes out directly opposite the station (a mens' boutique), takes his finger along to the next (a clock store). Chatting with Mister LaRusso while they wait. ]
We don't wanna make it cramped--we can take over that building too if we need it.
[ Robby is ready for Kaveh to bash in ALL the walls, you see. ]
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Besides, the older, middle-aged-looking man is definitely paying much more attention to the things the boy is pointing out to him, slowly nodding along. It sounds like a good idea, and Daniel agrees they don't want a space that's too small, especially if they're going to have to install a kitchen, but-- ]
Getting the wall down might be a lot of effort though. [ He tells Robby - perhaps when Kaveh is already close enough to hear it.
Daniel clearly has no idea what speciality their extra helper has. ]
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flat shoes take kaveh right up to the curb, where he takes the red clip he'd been clenching between out of his mouth so that he can put it up into his hair. this apparently the cue for the words to come: ]
Ah, and there's the two of you. Hello! I apologise for being late; I had a bit of a tussle with a mint plant. [ the final clip in place, kaveh holds out his hand first for the older gentleman on the scene, and then for robby. ] I'm Kaveh - I think this is our first meeting, and a second one with you, Robby. It's good to see you, and thank you for inviting me here.
Now, what's this about knocking down walls? Which building is it, and how many of them do you want down?
[ because kaveh, apparently, is ready to knock down all the walls. ]
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As you do.
But he doesn't actually get to speak up before a third voice does, and Robby turns his head, and that will leave the reassurances in his throat for now. A small pinch of his brows at a mint tussle, but nevermind that; if Mister LaRusso wants to go first for the handshake, then he can, but Robby will go in at whatever place.
(Let's be real, Mister LaRusso is a businessman -- he has the quicker urge, surely.) ]
Hey, good to see you. [ Nevertheless, his voice is bright upon their additional company--and his smile is a pinch brighter at the leading question. ] I'll leave the wall knocking decisions to you and Mister LaRusso, but what do you think about taking this building for the diner?
[ He points to the corner store -- not an actual corner store as most know it, but a mens' boutique with the mannequins posed by the windows with faces dotted with eyes. Because this is creepy city central. ]
We don't know how much room that one shop has, so I was thinking we could always move into that store there.
[ And leading on with a finger again, he points to the...actual more 'corner store' store. ]
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Especially when he knows the other is here to help. Then it doesn't even mind that he's a stranger - to him, anyway, and Daniel trusts Robby's ability to vet people on top of it. The moment Kaveh offers that hand, Daniel is indeed already instinctively reaching back to give it a firm handshake, a friendly yet polite smile on his face.
He's done this often enough. ]
Daniel LaRusso. [ Daniel offers, as a way of introduction, before adding-- ] It's nice to meet you.
[ Is this a business meeting? It's suddenly sounding a whole lot like one, right.. Especially since Daniel is definitely a dress shirt over here. ]
And it's exactly as Robby was saying. I was wondering about the difficulties of knocking down a wall here, but.. [ His voice momentarily trails off, and Daniel lets out an not unfriendly huff, shaking his head a little. ] You're making it sound real easy all of a sudden.
[ Does Kaveh look like a guy who'd knock down walls?
Not really, but Daniel is willing to believe anything at this point. ]
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still - kaveh smiles. he offers in turn the firm handshake of a man whose callused and scarred hands are used to wresting dreams kicking and screaming into a reality where dreams go to die. ]
The pleasure's mine, Mister LaRusso. [ and then, because this is kaveh, he rolls his wrist by means of a cue. ] And the knocking down of walls isn't much of an issue. The walls here are mostly plaster and wood lath. All it takes is a crowbar and time, though the annoying part is levering out all the nails. The only thing we'd have to pay attention to is which walls are load-bearing and which ones aren't, lest the entire building gives in over our heads.
[ with a red glint in his eyes, kaveh continues: ] Now, on the topic of which store to take over. [ robby's fingers draw a map across a stucco-bricked building. kaveh hums as he considers it. ] Both are corners, which allows for maximum window or wall seating. The clothing store has the advantage of already having wall-to-wall windows to work with, whereas if you take over the other store, if you wanted large windows, we would have to open up the wall and source the glass from some of the office buildings. [ hm. ] You'd also want to consider the things that can't be moved - for example, where is the bathroom in each of those stores, and is it in the place where you want it to be? They say with a big enough lever you can move heaven and earth, but moving the plumbing here sounds like a nightmare even the biggest of levers ought not touch.
[ the roll of kaveh's shoulder. he is already removing a heavy-duty drafting pad from his tote bag, still shimmering with the colours of an untenable sea. his fingers flip to a blank page. a pen materialises from the crow's nest of his hair, spinning across his knuckles at a clip. kaveh looks up, first to daniel, and then to robby, and grins. ]
Shall we go inside and take a look? I find these sorts of things are much easier to suss out once you're inside and you've a feel for the space.
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But look at this guy go: that is, listen to him talk. The subject of plumbing is what Robby pays a closer attention to, his hands in the pockets of his jeans without anywhere else for them to be. If Kaveh's literally materialising items from heads and bags
I don't know Genshin, I don't if that's a bigger on the inside bag, then Robby isn't aware, not exactly taking notes of pens or to watch closely at items being retrieved. He just gives Mister LaRusso a look, to take note of any he might think to give back to him (but doubting it will be anything meaningful either, right in front of Kaveh's salad), then looks back to Kaveh. ]Sure. [ Sure. A boy of few words, but he's stepping forward to walk for the front door, so they can take that better look inside. Saying along the way, ] The toilets are gonna be around the back -- stores like these only have toilets for the staff.
[ Robby's contribution to this consideration. But once inside, there's more space that stretches down into the boutique than across from where they enter, though there's enough walking space to make a split aisle, items showcased in the centre and then the walls being used to hang up clothing, as well as legless mannequins.
Robby walks to a spot that allows the other two in, and more, to let Kaveh see the interior as he might like--freedom of movement, and all that. ]
We have room going that way-- [ gesturing down the aisle ] --but having more that way would be cool.
[ Coming from the guy who isn't thinking anything at all about where things are going to go. He's working on vibes here. ]
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Because that's sure what this is rapidly feeling like. Does it kind of seem like Kaveh is pulling stuff out of nowhere? Sure. Does he seem a little dramatic? That too.
But this sounds like a guy who knows what he's doing. Daniel almost feels like he's back home again, honestly. Like he's discussing an expansion of the dealership, rather than a non-profit business in another world entirely.
He follows the two into the store though, his look returning to something more neutral again as he looks around. It's kind of hard to envision a store like this turning into a diner, but that's why he tries to look at the big picture. The walls, the windows..
The windows are kind of nice, he thinks.
But Daniel turns away from where he was looking at the windows, glancing over at the other two, and piping back up with: ]
I imagine kitchen placement is going to be the most important part.
[ Since he definitely shares Kaveh's sentiment of messing with plumping and power is going to be a pain.. And you need both of those for the kitchen. ]
If we can find a good spot for that, we can kind of just plan everything else around it.
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the salad: the storefront stretches past. kaveh observes robby's foray across the floor, and daniel's quiet footfalls as he follows. he begins to make observations. robby seems to enjoy the expansiveness of the space. daniel, kaveh thinks, has his gaze lingering on the windows. you could tell a lot about clients from where their eyes linger. kaveh, who is a perpetual people pleaser, considers these two facts. ]
That's where the fact that this city is empty and the stores are equally so comes to our advantage. If this were a job in a thriving city, we'd have to work with what the space we have. It's a little different when you can cannibalise the space from the building next door, even if it still makes me feel a little guilty doing it. [ it feels a little like cheating, when rather than working within the box, you are literally making your box roomier. but sometimes your vision needs to be born into this world, and sometimes you had to do anything you could to give it life. sometimes that includes knocking down walls. ] That's where knocking down walls come in. See here?
[ kaveh's hands wave over the wall shared between the clothing store and the corner store - ] This wall isn't loadbearing. I'd have to check where the bathrooms are on the other side of it, but theoretically we can knock down this one, adopt the bathroom from the other store into the floor plan, and erect a wall to block it off on the otherside. The bathroom would have the plumbing needed for the kitchen sinks.
However, if we want to expand the diner across two different stores, my suggestion is taking into account the length of your serving counter and how far you want your staff to walk as they deliver food around the space. Not all space has to be restaurant seating, and I've never run a restaurant before, but I'd imagine you don't want the kitchen to be too far away from the furthest set of seats. [ ... kaveh brightens. ] Unless, I've been toying with the idea of setting conveyor belts into a countertop so that food can be moved from one end of a counter to the other. I don't suppose you'd want a gimmick like that in your diner?
[ say no, please, because the glint in kaveh's eyes is a bad ideas dinosaur glint. save yourself. ]
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But anything Robby would have to add to this theorising of placements and where things might be, could go, is put aside to the latter suggestion that gets his eyebrows raised up before anything else. Raised, and eyes darting onto Mister LaRusso, who indeed is being left to answer this possible addition to his diner affair.
(Robby can think of an answer, but also? It's not as funny to have to watch Mister LaRusso answer it. You're also welcome for that, sensei.) ]
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It means that he's perfectly fine with the boy staying quiet, even if it's just to let Daniel have to handle the more.. ridiculous aspects of this...
And this ridiculous aspect sure seems to catch the man by surprise. His eyes visibly widen as he hears Kaveh's suggestion. ]
.. like conveyer belt sushi?
[ At least it's not unheard of
to this local weeb. Does that make it a good idea though?Probably not, judging by Daniel's instinctive reaction, though he quickly forces it to soften a little. He wants to make sure to let Kaveh down gently, especially when the guy is doing so much thinking and work for them already. ]
I.. was thinking we might want to keep things a little more simple than that. [ Smooth. ] Considering we mainly want to welcome new people here, I'd like for the space to not be too overwhelming, you know? The kind of place you can walk into and have a good overview of everything in it right away.
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closed. @netzach
on one had, the possibility of the carnival deciding to wake up tonight and inflict another bout of emotional nonsense on everyone is not zero. on the other hand, kaveh has only ever seen structures like these in the veluriyam mirage, and that had been cars on a rail going rather slowly, if safely. it had seemed at the time to kaveh as a marvelous way of entertaining children and getting from one end of a very large city to another in an efficient way, so long as they didn't include so many loops, but these - these were a marvel of engineering and physics rolled into one, and something in kaveh twinged with want, and then with guilt over said want.
in any case, that's where netzach finds kaveh - and where kaveh finds netzach. because when kaveh looks down again, netzach is there rounding a corner, and kaveh - well, it's impossible not to brighten to see him. ]
Oh, there's you. Good evening, Netzach; I didn't know you were here. Have you been here all evening?
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[netzach gives him a lazy little wave, brightening in turn; he's never exactly perky or anything, with his usual subdued demeanor, but his expression relaxes into an easy smile.]
I have, yeah. I've never been anywhere like this before.
[he's spent his time wandering, taking it all in-- even without the signs of life that come with a bustling city, he can imagine the crowds that might be here otherwise. the laughter that might ring in the background while people enjoy rides and food. not that's totally silent here, but of course it's... well, they don't really make a whole city's population.]
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there are paintings like those, kaveh thinks, the ones that have recently been unearthed from the akademiya vaults after the sages who were hellbent on quashing art and culture in sumeru city were formally deposed, vaults and vaults of paintings that were quietly sequestered and which allowed their light to be dimmed and silenced for the sake of creating a world without them. there had been an art galley opening dedicated to them. there had been one like so - lights playing upon light. kaveh smiles at netzach for it; it's impossible not to. ]
Well, then. That means you've a fresh perspective on it, especially compared to those who grew up with these sort of places as children. There are those who would say they're bored of it, even, but I suspect they're simply hiding a bit of their childish joy. [ is what kaveh says as he steps forward to join netzach beneath the awning of a stall light. ] What do you think so far?
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[he already said he's never been to one of these, but-- well. joy isn't really something he associates with childhood to begin with. not that there was anything wrong with his upbringing, he thinks, it was... it just was.
taking in the lights again, though, looking it all over...
maybe joy's not a bad way to put it.]
...I like it. It feels-- bright.
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kaveh likes the word. bright. ]
Bright in the heart, or bright in the eyes?