[ 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

cw: minor vague past self-harm and hallucination mentions... projmoons.....

[wordchain]

[ It's a rather odd reaction to observe, initially — as this is their first meeting, that bewilderment naturally isn't brought on by the expectation that Yesod has some rebuke at the ready. He concludes that it may be the reflexive contrite trepidation of a man accustomed to unreasonable clients. But when it passes, and every piece to connect clicks into place with the workshop owner's identity confirmed, something in Yesod's expression softens subtly, smoothing away its sharper edges. A great deal has happened in the weeks since he awoke on the train here, but he has some recollection of the exchanges he came across while reading through the network not long after his arrival. Kaveh the architect contributed to the discussion regarding hobbies and other interests. A conversation about art took place between him and Netzach. He encouraged Netzach's aspirations, Netzach's freedom away from their City and the shadow of their responsibilities, like concentrated light radiating from a single person's soul.

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;

[fussiest]

[ the man looks at kaveh. the amurta reference would go like this: it is like a sprout pushing its minute green from loam. the kshahrewar reference would go like this: it is like a single mosaic tile catching the light at an oblique angle, the flutter of a change in colour the rippling quality of a shifting tide. but the haravatat reference would go like this: it is like the shift in dialect, a moment where the spoken word of a culture becomes communication to another. kaveh looks. this man and alhaitham, kaveh thinks, would have been cut from a similar cloth, or derived from the same branch of root languages. his expression shifts in increments, and from there, the entire contour of his face seems to shift with it. the sharp lines of the man's face softens. it changes it, the shape of him. for a moment, kaveh gets the distinct and instinctive impression that the man is smiling.

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.