Kavetham - Blog Posts
k.... KAAAAVEEHHHHHH!!😳👹
✊😩😩
.... 'm quite late but who cares?? hsdjfvsdvfasdfkvzkjf--- myy gawdd wahh!!!! he's..... he's so.... 👌✨✨
https://twitter.com/timelykaveh
https://twitter.com/KavehHour
https://twitter.com/genshinBLANK
OMG....they were roommates..
It gets easier. ⊱ꕤ⊰ This was drawn for the hkvthm gotcha for gaza over on twitter!!!
Speedpaint under the cut!
𑁍 Post-celebration. 𑁍
Speedpaint under the cut!
Genshin yaoi has driven me places I'd previously never consider entering with a gun. I'm enjoying myself. Thus, take my Kaveh and Alhaitham HC designs… brownification city! As always!
Design reasoning under the cut.
Starting with Kaveh! My whole thing with him was keeping him feeling sharper compared to Alhaitham, with softer shapes coming to defined points. I think most of it is pretty self-explanatory from the picture, but y'know. Direction was also fun to consider with Kaveh, with the repetitive use of shapes going upwards and downwards in his face. :3 An angular guy! He's someone who cares about keeping up appearances a lot, so he's designed as someone who takes care to maintain clear skin and nice makeup. His eyes are also very deep set, especially compared to Alhaitham. Contrast between the two of them with mirrored elements was the main goal. I really couldn't think of much aside from that, especially since going for the outfits was an entirely different beast.
Next is Alhaitham! Alhaitham's meant to feel blunt, but less cutting compared to Kaveh, like the difference between a claymore and sword, I guess. I didn't think of this comparison at the time, but it's funny. Especially as the weapon comparisons are inverted from what they use. (PROBABLY! I HAVEN'T MET EITHER IN GAME YET!) His shapes are stronger and more square-ish compared to the Kaveh's triangular shit. Most of his features aren't nearly as upturned, and he's softer overall. Y'know when BL characters have absurd lips? Yeah, that was the justification there. He's kissable, and his tits are fat. What more could you want from a man? /j The moles and hyperpigmentation were just choices I thought were cute. I never see hyperpigmentation depicted in art! While it's minor here, it's the thought that counts.
Other notes are skin tone, of course. They're both brown. As a desi guy, I couldn't leave the [all that] of Sumeru alone. <3 Kaveh is darker than Alhaitham, and I thought a cooler skin tone contrasted with his hair and outfit nicely. (Same with warm-toned Alhaitham, it goes so nicely with the jewel blues and greens.) There's this weird dichotomy with Alhaitham as the burly brown guy top and. Kaveh white twink which I'm NOT subscribing to, thank you very much. Also why Kaveh got a larger nose! I think it suits him, and I'm also not a fan of the way I see artists draw exclusively hooked noses as the definitive nose that all brown people have. Honestly, I should have considered body hair for them as well, but I didn't want to think about the natural colours lol… Face HCs are my favourite thing to draw, and if you've gotten to reading this far, I thank you.
genshin impact rp are amazing. i honestly can't imagine where else i'd see a romantic trio of kaveh, alhaitham, and lisa
THISSS, because yeah the characters alone may have some similarities (not even that much tbh), their dynamics are veryyy different.
ppl trying to say aventio and kavetham are a different font like, no. that's a different lenguage, that's the equivalent of trying to write a roman alphabet word with the Cyrillic alphabet.
some components may be superficially similar but the inner workings are not
reflections of a feeble scholar
I know everyone sees Itto as Genshin's comedic relief, but I'm telling you all, Alhaitham is actually the funniest character in Genshin Impact.
According to the fandom, he's hot, he's famous, he's the one in charge of the house...
But according to the people of Sumeru? Dude became grand sage and not a single NPC around the city had a thing to say about that. Sachin's son got his ass beat and he didn't even know who Alhaitham was; it was just "some guy in green." People on the streets are said to not even notice Alhaitham, let alone be able to identify him by appearance. The only time we ever hear NPCs directly commenting on Alhaitham, it's Siraj's collective who hate Alhaitham's guts. Dori refuses to work with him. Random Eremites call him a lunatic within two minutes of meeting him.
Alhaitham's reputation in Sumeru is "Who? Ah, that guy? I heard he's weird," and then everyone moves on.
Meanwhile, Kaveh is literally famous enough to have an epithet ("the Light of Kshahrewar"), is the lead architect on entire city redesigns, and was trusted before Alhaitham's take over to do work on the Akademiya itself. He built the most famous landmark in the rainforest outside of the Divine Tree. He's well-known enough that people bank on his reputation to start scams; people send their children to take courses with him in the belief that it will bless them with successful future careers. He's known for philanthropic endeavors to help the poor and disadvantaged. He won the Interdarshan Championship. This is the Sumeru equivalent of winning an Olympic gold medal!!
Kaveh is the Taylor Swift to Alhaitham's Travis Kelce. They might have independent success, but in every measurement of public sentiment, Kaveh vastly outshines Alhaitham, and the fandom should really take a step back and think about how hilarious this makes everything about their situation in canon.
For the few in Sumeru who are actually paying attention, sure, Alhaitham is the (former) acting grand sage who makes a pretty penny and owns the house Kaveh lives in. For the average majority of Sumeru's citizens who are way more likely to know Kaveh? Alhaitham is literally just "that guy who is shacked up with the Light of Kshahrewar."
Kaveh's efforts to keep where he lives a secret just makes him come across like one of those reclusive types of artists who value their privacy. Half the public in Sumeru probably think he just prefers to keep himself and his lover out of the limelight. Kaveh was so busy pretending not to be poor, he forgot that every ounce of pretending he does just helps him keep his own celebrity status. The harder he attempts to act secretive about where he lives and with whom, the more it comes across as "Please respect this famous person's privacy and stop asking about the details of his relationship."
And Alhaitham, for whom being "that guy who is shacked up with the Light of Kshahrewar" is THE life goal? Everything is going according to keikaku. Kaveh has convinced the entirety of Sumeru that he and Alhaitham are in a relationship, all without Alhaitham having to lift a finger. The more determined Alhaitham gets to fly under the radar, the more it looks like he's Kaveh's kept man. If you aren't living with him because you're broke, then why are you living with him, Kaveh? There's simply no way for Alhaitham to lose.
It's just... so funny.
HAIKAVEH!1!1!1!1!1!1
I saw a theory (more of an idea, really) on Reddit that Kaveh might become the next Grand Sage, and I just wanted to squeal about that for a hot minute.
(And for clarity cos I feel like it'll come up: Kaveh doesn't have any reliable leaks relating to his kit nor his rarity (whether he's a five star or four star), and even if he is a four star he could very well still be super important to Sumeru's chain of authority (see Ningguang and Kujou Sara if you're doubtful)).
Anyway, my squealing:
It actually makes a surprising amount of sense for Kaveh to become the Grand Sage based on quest info alone - Alhaitham says at the end of Act 5 of the archon quest that he "wouldn't be surprised if Kaveh was appointed as a sage":
While his tone sounds sarcastic, Alhaitham is typically quite honest with his words. His deceits always come by omission, not by lying. Of course, Kaveh assumes Alhaitham is being mocking here, but then in Alhaitham's story quest Kaveh says himself that he should have been made Grand Sage over Alhaitham -
So we have examples in both of Kaveh's in game scenes that convey a desire (or, at the very least, a capacity) to be a Sage. These exchanges are rather comedic though, so I think we should take evidence from Nahida herself; specifically, her "About Kaveh" voiceline:
(sorry for the poor quality)
Nahida herself praises Kaveh's understanding of their Nation and of wisdom itself, whereas she admonishes Alhaitham's viewpoint in her corresponding voiceline about him. This implies that Nahida would choose Kaveh over Alhaitham as Grand Sage.
Lore wise we know that Kaveh is an accomplished graduate of the Ksharewar Darshan, widely known and well-liked. He built the Palace of Alcarazy(?) and the NPCs there sing his praises. While his interactions with Alhaitham are goofy, he can evidently keep up with him in debates and in Alhaitham's voicelines he says that Kaveh's intellect is equal to his own.
Also, there is a pattern in the game so far: each non-archon 'leader' or 'authority' has the vision matching their archon. Jean for Mondstadt, Ningguang for Liyue and Sara/Yae for Inazuma (depending on your perspective). It seemed that Alhaitham would fill this role in Sumeru, seeing as he's dendro and did take over as the Acting Grand Sage, similar to Jean's title. However, his time in that position is incredibly short-lived since he resigns at the end of his story quest (well, technically before it even starts). It is likely that "who will be the new Grand Sage?" will be an ongoing plot thread in Sumeru, much like "when will Varka return?" is in Mondstadt.
Since Kaveh is dendro, he would suit this pattern very well.
I also do just love the vibes of what it would mean for his character, and I think it would be very fun for Sumeru to be led by someone so wholeheartedly compassionate for everyone around them. Kaveh loves the arts and cares a lot about other people, so he matches Nahida's vision of Sumeru much better than Alhaitham does. Which isn't to say Alhaitham is cruel or uncaring, but that he is (as he says himself) not suited to the responsibility of leadership.
And, speaking of Alhaitham, the way this would develop their dynamic is actually rather funny. Technically Kaveh would become Alhaitham's boss, but everyone around them would be aware that Alhaitham saved the country and that Kaveh has only received the position because Alhaitham passed it over first. Can you imagine how frustrating that would be for Kaveh? Technically in charge, but with this information looming over everyone's heads?
Since Hoyo does like to keep a certain status quo, especially in voicelines, it's likely that Alhaitham and Kaveh will remain roommates. This still works even if Kaveh is promoted, with four possible explanations:
Kaveh's debt to Dori is so huge that he's financially screwed for life regardless of his salary
Kaveh is so bad with money that even once he's paid off his debt he still fails to save up for his own house
Because technically Alhaitham's house should also belong to him, Kaveh is stubborn and refuses to move out
Alhaitham and Kaveh reconcile/figure themselves out enough that they actually want to live together even if there's no financial incentive to
Also, I cannot overstate how amusing it would be for the Kavetham dynamic shift of Kaveh getting to fuck with Alhaitham a little as payback for all Alhaitham's trolling.
Anyways, this is a theory/hc that I really like, so I hope we don't get a mystery Sumeru character in 4.6 or something that we've never heard of before who gets to become Grand Sage.
Alhaitham🌱 fanart i did for his birthday but didn't have the chance to post here