masterpost pt 4 of alhaitham being endeared by kaveh, the second-hand embarrassment is pungent
- alhaitham's story quest
congratulations! you managed to make it to the end of your own story quest before indirectly mentioning kaveh! the close up of his smile when doing so is horrendous
the fond expression whilst feigning annoyance, the contrast between this expression and the ruminative ones he dons during this quest needs to be studied, these pixels fascinate me - also this part of the quest serves as the divide between alhaitham's professional life and the personal, us being in his house, and kaveh being home... i wonder if this is trying to tell us something (and then the ending dialogue before alhaitham kicks the player out implicitly confirming that kaveh is one of alhaitham's priorities through framing...)
the Infamous expression, this is criminal, i've watched the transition of his expressions here and yeah this is not just because of the angle
he's so amused by their rapport it's sickening
kaveh asking (hesitantly) for the second time if alhaitham really is okay and alhaitham responding that he is fine, and diverts the conversation back to their goading rapport - alhaitham fulfils the initial comment that kaveh made to him upon alhaitham returning, that the painting apparently isn't actually straight. the care they have for each other is apparent although disguised through goading because they cannot be emotionally open with each other
he knows exactly what to say to wheedle kaveh and he's so proud of this fact (i want to compare this teasing rapport to that one instance in a parade of providence, where kaveh loses in drawing lots and alhaitham points out the conflict of interest due to kaveh having a streak of misfortune in his usual goading way, only for kaveh to express genuine dislike for this, which causes alhaitham to startle and back off due to realising the extent of kaveh's upset. it serves to highlight that these typical examples of them 'bickering' are mostly inconsequential, with kaveh initiating the goading or whole-heartedly reciprocating, yes these types of exchanges only serve to reinforce kaveh's image of alhaitham as someone who is critical of him so yeah that isnt good, but that exchange in a parade of providence as compared to this scene in alhaitham's story quest is that there a manageable level they are able to navigate without risking genuine hurt)
he only said that so kaveh would call him out for said furniture, he is petty and proud and endeared - that being said, we deserve a boring 'ugly' wood carving reveal. also am obsessed with the og chinese where instead of kaveh saying 'don't go off buying furniture without me' he states that alhaitham does not have 'permission' to do so without him (which then probably parallels the line in a parade of providence where kaveh asks where alhaitham was for dinner and instead of 'i wasn't aware i had to report my whereabouts to you' alhaitham says 'am i to report my whereabouts to you?', just these little nuances that the eng misses)
he's so... fond? of kaveh's antics? right in front of kaveh's face? and kaveh just... assumes that alhaitham is thinking 'terrible' thoughts about outing him as poor and homeless? it just goes to show that kaveh sees a completely different version of alhaitham than is actually true
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Lucid Dreamer (2/2)
part 1
Gepard stalls almost a week before he finally goes out to the safehouse, and it takes him a couple days to find it because Sampo didn't have the time left to be wasn't super specific about the location. But he does find it.
It's pretty bare bones, really. Gepard knows that was probably to be expected, but… It feels crushing, when he realizes there are so few personal things here. It's nothing specific to Sampo. Just some food, some medical supplies. A cot and a heater and a lot of mismatched blankets. Nothing to remember someone by.
But he does find the letters, in a metal box stashed away under the bed.
There are two for him. Three for Natasha, and two for Seele. One for Hook, one for Serval, one for Pela, one for Bronya.
Bronya's is mostly business. They knew each other from the whole Stellaron incident, but not much beyond that, and the incoming catastrophe is a more pressing matter. Seele's is actually two copies of the same letter, and Gepard realizes why when Seele is so angry she rips the first one up without reading it. He gives her the copy a couple days later, and she slinks off without a word.
Pela seems completely normal after hers is delivered, but Gepard knows better than to trust that. The next day, he finds her asleep in bed with Serval, bottles abandoned on the floor, both their eye makeup smeared and running and Pela's glasses horribly smudged and crooked on her face. Serval doesn't read hers in front of him, but she's clingy with Gepard, Pela, and Lynx for quite a while after. She throws herself into her work a lot. She insists the heater from the safehouse is busted and she needs to keep it. It's too dangerous for use by someone who's not an engineer. Might burn their house down or something. Gepard doesn't argue.
Hook's letter is short, with easy to read words. The rest of it is actually a treasure map, and she and the moles spend the next several days running through the Underground, finding hidden candy and toys. Hook asks them when Sampo is coming back, because one of the marbles she found from his map looks green, just like his eyes, and she wants to give it to him. Natasha shoos Gepard out of the clinic before he can even begin to think of an answer.
Natasha refuses to let him see what's in her letters, which ok, fine, he'll respect that. He hears from Bronya who heard from Seele who heard from Natasha herself though that one of the letters was a map and the other a catalogue, with all of Sampo's hidden "warehouses." Gepard promptly marches himself back out to the frontlines, where he can turn a blind eye. If a ton of stolen goods suddenly enters the black market, and if the orphanage and the clinic suddenly have new supplies, well, technically that's none of his business.
Gepard goes to bed, curls up under mismatched blankets and closes his eyes.
He doesn't dream.
One of Gepard's letters was also business, like Bronya's and Natasha's. He and Bronya follow everything meticulously, down to the letter, because there has to be some good to get out of all this, there has to be. Gepard can't let it all be for nothing, it would bury him.
And so the catastrophe passes. Not without casualties, and not without a lot of damage and destruction. But Belobog survives.
And after that, time just kind of…goes on. Gepard has been a part of the Silvermanes since he was old enough to enlist. The Fragmentum had gotten so much worse in the years before Welt sealed the Stellaron. He knows the statistics, it is literally his and Pela's jobs to keep track. He knows when he sees a face everyday in the camps and then it's suddenly gone. He's not unfamiliar with things like grief and loss.
He still catches himself checking the trashcans and the supply crates and soldiers' footprints sometimes, though.
But there comes a night where Gepard goes to bed, holding the mismatched blankets to his face, and he dreams. And it's strange, it's off, it sticks with him. Sampo doesn't look the same. He's thinner. His muscles have atrophied. He looks like how Gepard has seen soldiers after months in the hospital.
The most unsettling difference is there's a scar across the left side of his head, Gepard can see it over his ear, peeking out past his hairline, carving towards his cheek. Sampo is always careful about his face. Gepard once saw him dodge a Fragmentum monster and literally let it cut across his neck just to keep his face clear. He wouldn't let that happen for nothing.
Their actions in the dream itself aren't new. Sampo seems tired, run down and worn out, but he announces his presence with aplomb by lobbing a bunch of smoke bombs off the rooftops and sending his soldiers scrambling. Same shit, different day.
The new part is what he says when Gepard chases him out to the edges of the camp, tackles him into the snow. Gepard pins him to the frozen ground to detain him and Sampo doesn't even fight it, just looks up at him like he's seeing sunrise for the first time in months.
"I'll be home in one week."
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