this is a completely normal and nonchalant post about the camera angles used for alhaitham in the archon quest and his story quest
when we’re introduced to alhaitham the camera angles avoid allowing us a view of his eyes, which creates a mystery around alhaitham, his motives, and in turn causing us to question the validity of his words - is he a trustworthy ally or not?
Since this is a tactic used to reinforce the idea that alhaitham’s sincerity should potentially be questioned, i think it’s Interesting that this can be seen in the closing of the archon quest - after kaveh is introduced
the camera angle yet again reverts to concealing alhaitham’s eyes, which then acts as obscuring the truth of the matter - as well as alhaitham’s vagueness, which is an evasion tactic he uses often, and is even addressed in his character story 2. “It’s reason enough” is indicative that his stated motive - although actually, it is a presumed motive supplied by dehya - is enough of a motive to satiate everyone’s curiosity
the idea here is that there is an alternate reason he undertook the archon saving plan, rather than just to secure the job of the akademiya’s scribe. this points to another reason which couples into his “way of life” - so it’s telling that this is the same quest in which kaveh is introduced and is seen only in his interaction with alhaitham, in which alhaitham reveals that kaveh is his roommate
kaveh becomes inextricably linked with alhaitham’s “way of life”, and thus alhaitham’s contentment. This subtext created by the camera angle becomes surface text when interacting with alhaitham after the cutscene
Alhaitham attributes his enjoyment of the gathering to the genuine happiness that “the people” present in the grand bazaar feel - in this alhaitham indirectly links himself to “the people” feeling genuine happiness, as he, too, is present with the intention of celebrating
This discussion of happiness and overall contentment - first mentioned in alhaitham’s motive for maintaining his satisfactory “way of life” - is then immediately is followed by a mention of kaveh
Alhaitham mentions that he has taken “both” keys upon leaving the house, which references their living situation as roommates, but also refers back to alhaitham’s first mention of kaveh due to kaveh being missing from the archon quest, and therefore alhaitham had the house to himself
Kaveh returning to sumeru, back to alhaitham’s house, and therefore his key being present to take, is a premise explicitly linked with alhaitham’s happiness, and his general way of life - kaveh being present in alhaitham’s life IS the status quo which alhaitham wants to maintain, is the alternate reason behind “it’s reason enough”
Returning to camera angles, this is a little self-indulgent, but in alhaitham’s story quest, the deliberate choice to include kaveh in the frame when alhaitham mentions the importance of one keeping their priorities in check is interesting, not only in visual confirmation that, yes, kaveh IS one of alhaitham’s priorities, but also that it directly parallels the aforementioned scene in the archon quest with the frame “it’s reason enough”
In contrast to the “it’s reason enough” frame, alhaitham is outright expressing his multitude of priorities, which extends to beyond that of his job - with kaveh being explicitly in frame
This story quest scene ‘pride and prejudice’ literally mirrors the archon quest ‘a toast to victory’ in this regard, as in the latter, the camera angle focusses on the opposite side of alhaitham’s face, ensuring his eyes are covered as he makes allusions to more than one prospective motive, but in the former scene, the other side of alhaitham’s face is shown where his eyes are revealed and his words are less cryptic - solely because kaveh is in frame and can directly be linked to one of alhaitham’s motives, or priorities
Overall, kaveh is extremely important to alhaitham and the game tries every angle (literally) to convey this point. Alhaitham wants kaveh in his life, so much so that kaveh’s presence has become engrained with his “way of life” he seeks to maintain
(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)
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Hehe, just here to tell ya, aside from ur amazing and admirable art-- I REALLY REALLY LOVE YOUR KYOMA X CUPHEAD SHIP!! /verypos Theyre just so cussing adorable and sweet its gonna give me diabetes!/lh i really love seeing ur sona x canon ship :DD
Have a good day/night! ^v^
-purple anon
Hello Purple Anon!! Sorry but im about to make ur sweet tooth worse XD
I really appreciate your words of kindness, it makes me so happy and giddy to hear people like Kyo X Cuphead just as much as I do!!
Comments like these are making me wanna draw Cuphead and Kyo all the time… I have so many mini short chibi comics of them, maybe if enough people ask I’ll share em <3
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