featheradrift: (Default)
Wanderer ([personal profile] featheradrift) wrote in [community profile] citylogs2023-11-14 06:14 pm

[closed]

WHO: Wanderer ([personal profile] featheradrift) & Various
WHAT: November Catch-all for random threads!
WHERE: Anywhere and everywhere???
WHEN: All of November
WARNINGS: Marked in threads
fussiest: (pic#16494336)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh brightens. the presentation, kaveh thinks, is much in the way of a grand unveiling. it's food for the eyes - it's food for the soul. this young man has a gentle touch. it becomes clearer and clearer why nahida trusts him so much - because she can see it too, that gentleness.

kaveh smiles.
]

Oh, I'm certainly not eating alone, though. [ kaveh pulls up a seat. and then, because he's kaveh, he pulls up a seat next to him. pats it with the glint of something expectant: ] You'll be joining, yes?
fussiest: (pic#16494258)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh's brow rises into the blond of his hairline. ]

That isn't the same as sitting down and having a meal. Besides, you were eating alone, then.

Eat with me.
fussiest: (pic#16494340)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ huh. kaveh considers this, he reaches for the fatteh first, distributing it onto his dish. the scent of spices and the mix of yoghurt and rice is lovely. rich, kaveh thinks, warm. ]

You don't? Why? Is it that you don't need sustenance, or do you need another kind of sustenance?
fussiest: (pic#16494291)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh considers this. then, because he is kaveh, he begins to think aloud: ]

I think you can eat. You just mentioned that you had some of the food yourself, and just from smell alone, I can tell you that you've used the right composition of spices and ingredients, which means your sense of taste must be at least somewhat intact. Which leads me to think that you are capable of eating. But capability and need are not always paired.

If it's another type of sustenance you need, you may have brought it to this table. But then, why would you know how to cook as well as you do? Perhaps there was someone else you had to cook for, for long periods of time. That avenue holds no clues. You could have imbibed what you needed, like blood or sunlight, and then started cooking for everyone else.

[ kaveh considers this. ] Either way, however, I assert that you are not human. That is the baseline. As to what you are... Hm.

[ kaveh looks. then, he motions for the young man to stand up. ] This is going to sound a bit odd, but. Can I pick you up?
fussiest: (pic#16494261)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 09:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh grins. he carefully stands. his hands, scarred from wresting dreams into a reality where dreams go to die, gently clasps the young man under his arms. he lifts him.

hm. kaveh sets him down again, gently as gently does it. absently, his hand goes to his chin in thought.
]

Fascinating. You're the right weight for your height and your perceived age. Either you are inhuman in a way that adheres to the general body mass index of regular humans, or you are a mechanical creature whose parts have been carefully balanced to be the weight of your appearance. Which says a lot about the skill of your creator. I couldn't design that level of accuracy with the current technology on hand.

[ kaveh looks. and then, because he's kaveh, he holds up his hands. ]

That is as far as I can get, I'm afraid. I don't have enough information to go further with this train of thought. Would you like to tell me, or would you like to wait until I have more information to glean and basis for an estimate?
fussiest: (pic#16494314)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh pauses. and then, he looks. the look reflected in his eyes is oddly somber. ]

I don't. [ kaveh says, resounding and clear, ] Because the only information I want to work with is the information you've provided, not the secrets of the heart that this city pries from us unwillingly, like a claw reaching in for the deepest oyster. I do not give this city permission to do so. So unless it's something you're alright with me knowing, I'd rather not use it at all.
fussiest: (pic#16494282)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-19 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh looks. and then, finally, he allows his head to dip. because this, too, is pride, kaveh thinks. there is dignity to acquiescence. this young man, kaveh thinks, must choose honesty because there has not been enough honesty given to him. his heart aches for it. ]

Alright. [ kaveh's gaze lingers on the young man. then: ] I once roomed with a Haravatat who went on a six month exchange to Inazuma to study ancient Inazuma typology. He brought back with him a pair of Inazuman dolls, amongst other things. Your joints remind me of Inazuman puppetry. You are a mechanical creature; you were likely created to mimic humans down to the last elemental particle, weight included, but that would explain why you don't need food. You sustain yourself on something else entirely. I'd hazard elemental energy, or you may be a rare example of a near-perpetual machine. Either way, food doesn't help sustain you.

Am I close?
fussiest: (pic#16842590)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-23 10:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh looks. it sometimes is so, that knowledge is fuel for the mind and a burden on the heart. isn't it so, that forbidden knowledge once brought down the minds of so many? i wasn't created to mimic a human, the young man says, and kaveh's heart sinks to the soles of his shoes, where they remain, amongst the shrapnel of what was lost. there are so few other existences in teyvat who resemble humans but who are not human. not really, no matter how much they yearn for it. and kaveh has always known: that the archon of inazuma has purple hair.

kaveh breathes in. he offers a wan smile. he sits once more, and then, because he's kaveh, once again gestures for the young man to sit with him.
]

It is, isn't it? You'll still eat with me though, right? Food tastes better with company, and food tastes better when shared. [ kaveh's smile softens around its edges, ] Let me have a selfish moment and enjoy the flavours you've prepared in the best light possible.
fussiest: (pic#16842595)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-11-26 09:26 am (UTC)(link)
I do, sometimes. [ kaveh says, with a glint of rue, because it's not always true. kaveh has always believed that eventually, he will see something truly impossible in this world, something that the limited reach of his hands cannot wrap themselves around and bend to his will. when that day comes, he would like to think that his experience will allow him to concede with some level of grace. but that day has yet to come. perhaps that's what it means to not know when to give up - when others would have. kaveh simply has never met anything he ought to have given up on.

he shakes his head.
] But this is not something that I am willing to give up on. After all, the food is good, and the company is promising.

[ kaveh takes a bite of the fatteh. he beams. ] Ah, this takes me back. It's delicious. You soaked the chickpeas for just the right amount of time. Even Alhaitham has trouble with it, though that's because he's as impatient as they come.
fussiest: (pic#16494210)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-12-02 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ kaveh smiles, because perhaps there is something correct in what the young man says, because kaveh has never found a challenge that he did not wish to see through to the end. if you start something, should you not finish it? in what world could you bear not to?

so of course, kaveh laughs.
]

You are as difficult to get along with as chickpeas is to soak, I suppose. Each person has their own preferences, strengths and weaknesses. And really, some people hardly try. Alhaitham is one of them.

Tell me, did you find Alhaitham difficult to get along with when you spoke with him?
fussiest: (pic#16494242)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-12-03 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ the young man's lips curl. it's a little thing, much in the way of a flower at dawn, canting towards a distant sun. who is the sun for this young man, kaveh suddenly thinks. there must be. you would only smile like that for someone like that.

a pepper, however. kaveh considers this moment. of course, he begins to laugh.
]

Oh, I rather like that analogy. He's a pepper alright - perfectly benign so long as you don't poke at him too hard, an explosive temper when put anywhere near a heat source or oil, the overwhelming taste in any dish you put him in, and near-impossible to get rid of once he's decided he wants to be on your hands. I'd choose a pepper that's of a greener shade, however. You never know that's the one that will strip your tastebuds from your tongue until you bit into it, and realise that it has bitten you back in the throat.

How about it? Did you find yourself bitten?
fussiest: (pic#16842585)

[personal profile] fussiest 2023-12-10 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ straightforward and easy to understand, the young man says. kaveh brightens with something like wonder. of course he does. it is, after all, the first time he's heard someone describe alhaitham like such, in a way that kaveh has always found intuitive. ]

Yes. [ kaveh says, and brightly too. ] You know, you really are the first person that I've met who's understood him. I'm glad that the time you spent with him up until now has giving you an accurate impression of who he is. At the core of his character, Alhaitham is simple. You let him go off and explore his own interests, give him enough space to be himself, and he will inevitably think up something brilliant and unique. You can attempt to bully him into eating his metaphorical vegetables once in a while, but let it go if it doesn't work the first time around, and when he thinks he needs to, he'll loop back in time. His work is also impeccable, but only because if he doesn't do it right the first time around, someone's bound to complain and he'll waste more time having to correct it.

[ then, kaveh gives this young man a strange look. ] Now, exactly what sort of trouble have the two of you been through together for you to have such an accurate impression of Alhaitham? Were you a part of the government coup as well? He's never mentioned you, but Alhaitham never mentions anything unless you know what to ask - and I didn't know to ask about you.

(no subject)

[personal profile] fussiest - 2023-12-10 15:03 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] fussiest - 2023-12-10 15:50 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] fussiest - 2023-12-10 16:01 (UTC) - Expand