sorry i’ve become a kaveh blog a little bit (despite also rarely posting lol). it’s not even that i like him THAT much (…i do though. maybe) but that i am a person largely propelled by spite and frustration and i can’t remember the last time i’ve been driven this insane over the mass mischaracterization of a character so… here we are
utterly appalled that i have not seen a single person talk about alhaitham's philosophies & humanity and how, despite being a rational person, acknowledges that there are many grey areas that could all simultaneously be the answer. have not seen a single person talk about how kaveh's artistic and romantic personality play into his work that requires in-depth calculations that oftentimes only have one answer. have not seen anyone speak about so many things regarding foils and why alhaitham obviously values kaveh's perspective and. and. aaaaaaaaaaaaaa
me: idk no character in genshin really stands out to me that much which is good because i don’t need another character to get invested i-
tartaglia: hi!
me, who has always been a sucker for the ‘morally dubious chaotic neutral cunning ambitious over-confident pretty boy semi-antagonist that gets a (partial) redemption arc based on his loyalty and love for those close to him even though he hides that soft spot under layers of calculated charm and casual spite’ trope: well fuck
me: i haven’t played genshin in six months which is good because i’d rather invest my time and energy into media i actually think is good with characters/dynamics that interest me-
kaveh and alhaitham: hi
me, whose academic research often centers on the hegemony of ‘rationality’ in society/the value dichotomy of logic vs emotion (and how it’s ‘perfectly analogous’ to masculinity vs femininity & strength vs weakness)/our inability to understand that logic and emotion are not actually inherently opposed and should not be dichotomized at all; who also happens to be an insufferably pretentious and argumentative ex-debate-captain and political theory major whose love and hate languages are both banter’: well fuck.
the narrative of kaveh being an idiot is so baffling to me because he is, quite literally, canonically considered a genius…? why is the popular consensus “6000 IQ alhaitham and his lovably stupid roommate kaveh” when every npc commenting on kaveh refers to his intellect & talent, the literal god of wisdom says kaveh has an “almost-perfect grasp of what it truly means for sumeru to be a nation of wisdom” (whereas she questions alhaitham’s wisdom in her line about him), and alhaitham’s own story profile calls kaveh a genius multiple times??? like the whole point is that he’s alhaitham’s intellectual equal despite having entirely separate worldviews and demeanors, which frustrates alhaitham to no end — ‘how can someone so smart do all of these things that, to me, are so evidently stupid?’ the takeaway from their dynamic should NOT be kaveh is dumb, but rather that empathy and emotion aren’t actually the opposites of logic and intelligence, but sadly both alhaitham and the realm of academia as a whole are too blinded by their own definitions of logic to fully realize that.
tl;dr kaveh is not dumb by any standards and i will prove it
(under the cut: quotes/screenshots/etc proving this + more. please spread the gospel and dispel ignorance. amen)
some npc voicelines (there are more but i’m lazy):
these are pretty self-explanatory — kaveh is a widely-renowned scholar, architect, and engineer throughout sumeru. he graduated from the akademiya with flying colors, students were desperate to take his classes, etc.
nahida’s voicelines:
both are intelligent but only one is wise: kaveh. alhaitham is too restricted by his narrow definition of wisdom (read: what he deems ‘logical’) to look beyond himself and grasp that there’s more to intellect and knowledge than pure cold rationality. he can’t comprehend that empathy and intellect aren’t fundamentally incompatible — in fact, they’re best when put hand in hand. kaveh is one of the few scholars capable of valuing emotions, empathy, and artistic endeavors, while the rest of the akademiya closes themselves off to that entire realm of knowledge from the get-go. this is what makes kaveh uniquely wise, and what alhaitham lacks. until you understand that emotions and logic can and should coexist, you won’t be successful in the true pursuit of knowledge.
last but not least:
alhaitham’s profile (worth noting that profile stories are pretty much the most reliable source of information on characters’ true beliefs and opinions — their voicelines are still them putting on acts in front of the traveler, but these stories are told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator and are likely closer to the truth):
“two geniuses.” and even after their falling out, “neither of them will deny the other party’s exceptional brilliance” — meaning alhaitham considers kaveh to be exceptionally brilliant. point blank. in the text bro
hilarious line — it’s basically alhaitham saying he doesn’t understand how someone with kaveh’s talent and intellect could have a personality/worldview so different from haitham’s. ‘how can someone that smart be so annoying!!!!!’ and ofc by values we know it’s referring to kaveh’s idealism, empathy, and affinity for the arts
alhaitham considers kaveh to be “another genius,” someone who is so much his intellectual equal that he’s “an excellent mirror” for alhaitham. it’s like an experiment for him — the initial question is “how can someone as smart as me care about all of these things i’ve always believed to be worthless,” the subjects are kaveh and alhaitham, the controlled variable is their intellect. because their intellect is the same, alhaitham is able to study their differences (can’t attribute said differences to varying intellect). alhaitham would never say it out loud — and luckily he doesn’t need to bc his character story tells us — but he’s deeply fascinated by kaveh bc kaveh’s very existence is a threat to haitham’s worldview, & he’s letting kaveh stay with him bc through kaveh, alhaitham learns about not just himself but the outside world and humanity as a whole, and as a scholar, there’s nothing more valuable. (also because he feels comfortable with kaveh [“he’s a familiar face”] and they’re both lonely [“similarly lacks familial attachments”] lol these two are never beating the We Know You Don’t Actually Hate Each Other allegations but that’s a different point so i digress)
IN CONCLUSION:
this is all just the TEXTUAL evidence — people saying “kaveh is smart” — and doesn’t even include all of the obvious implicit signs of kaveh’s intellect (no one who graduates from the akademiya w honors and teaches classes there could be anything other than incredibly intelligent, al “i don’t do anything that i don’t want to do” “i’m not going to bother explaining it to you because you won’t understand” haitham not only puts up with but actively seeks out debates with kaveh which he absolutely would not do if he didn’t respect him or consider him to be of roughly equal intellect, look at the debates he has w alhaitham on sumeru messageboards and TELL ME those messages sound like they were written by an idiot or itto or something [you cant], etc etc etc).
and also this is all from 3.3 (+ 3.4 alhaitham leaks)! we don’t even know kaveh’s rarity yet, that’s how far he is from being playable, but there’s already this much information on just how smart he is! it’s the main thing we know about him — 1) he’s smart, 2) he’s passionate/driven by what he feels is right! why does that keep turning into “LOL HOTHEADED HIMBO”??!
okay look. this is all so extra i know. BUT. i must set the record straight now (god knows it’ll only get worse the closer we get to kaveh’s release) because this sudden-onset mass illiteracy within genshin players is going to send me to an early grave. feel free to use as a resource and educate the ignorant so kaveh does not end up reduced to a one-note meme dumb guy when literally that’s just… not even in the game. i mean at least other annoying OOC fandom interpretations have basis in the game but genshin literally tells u every time it gets the opportunity that Kaveh Is Just As Smart As Alhaitham Because Cold Rationality Does Not Equal Wisdom/Intelligence and losing that would be such a crime because it is by far the most interesting n promising thing hoyo has done with new characters in ages! like, not only are they funny and entertaining, not only are they fascinating incredible foils for one another, but they’re used to make a much-needed argument against the prevalent hegemony of mindless rationality and our “logical” society’s illogical fear of emotion/empathy. but yeah sure, theyre just itto & ayato 2.0, i guess. god. the lack of reading comprehension among genshin players is literally an epidemic
“kaveh is literally itto 2.0. he’s so stupid i love my brainless babygirl” sorry WHAT?? kaveh is canonically a genius! just because a character is funny and has a personality doesn’t make them itto and just because he argues with his other smart friend doesn’t make him stupid — the reason why alhaitham even bothers arguing w him in the first place is because he acknowledges kaveh as his sole peer of equal intellect!!! kaveh is not stupid! he just has vastly different values than haitham and they’re ones that are less stereotypically aligned with intelligence WHICH IS WHY THEIR DYNAMIC EXISTS !!! kaveh makes haitham question his worldview deep down because how can someone so smart wholeheartedly believe in ideals that are so clearly impractical and illogical?! saying kaveh is stupid ruins his whole character deadass. the whole point of him is to show that alhaitham is WRONG about wisdom — cold ruthless logic is not more wise than empathy and beauty! you lose all of that the second you dumb kaveh down!!!!!! he’s a bleeding heart yes he’s hot headed yes but he is NOT STUPID
“kaveh is literally itto 2.0. he’s so stupid i love my brainless babygirl” sorry WHAT?? kaveh is canonically a genius! just because a character is funny and has a personality doesn’t make them itto and just because he argues with his other smart friend doesn’t make him stupid — the reason why alhaitham even bothers arguing w him in the first place is because he acknowledges kaveh as his sole peer of equal intellect!!! kaveh is not stupid! he just has vastly different values than haitham and they’re ones that are less stereotypically aligned with intelligence WHICH IS WHY THEIR DYNAMIC EXISTS !!! kaveh makes haitham question his worldview deep down because how can someone so smart wholeheartedly believe in ideals that are so clearly impractical and illogical?! saying kaveh is stupid ruins his whole character deadass. the whole point of him is to show that alhaitham is WRONG about wisdom — cold ruthless logic is not more wise than empathy and beauty! you lose all of that the second you dumb kaveh down!!!!!! he’s a bleeding heart yes he’s hot headed yes but he is NOT STUPID
