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Behold, the most queer-coded pairing in Genshin Impact - You know it's legit when I came back from the ashes just to make this for them, despite not editing in months, and having so little footage to work with.

First, I'd like to give credits to both @Tamaya and @Sujikan for their incredibly fluid animations of these two. Hoyoverse didn't have a lot of in-game cutscenes for them together (despite their lore being expansive as hell), so those few additional animations really helped bring out the angsty vibe that I was aiming for in this edit. Fantastic work as always :D go subscribe to them if you haven't already:

Tamaya: https://youtube.com/@TamayaYT?si=7m_5CrLCag4ZUjyJ
Sujikan: https://youtube.com/@Su_jikan?si=vhhC0KeNzXfRGwDf

And now, to the subject of this little edit... Oh boy, where do I even begin? I think out of all the dynamic we've seen so far in this game, Kaveh/Alhaitham are undoubtedly the most interesting and complex. At first they gave out the typical married couple vibe, but as you get to know each of their stories more... you realized that this is, at the core, a tale of fractured friendship, opposite ideals, and, in some way, one of the most profound depictions of intimacy/relationship I've ever seen in a media. Alhaitham and Kaveh's friendship is strained by their old wounds, and they bicker a lot due to their differences in perspective, with Alhaitham favouring senses over sensibility; and Kaveh, the other way around. However, while it's easy to equate their quarrelling and current landlord-tenant status to toxicity and control-- I'd say to look beyond the face value of each character's words and actions, and understand that there are nuances of how they show their care and concerns for each other.

Alhaitham, in particular, who’s also becoming one of my favourite character ever, is a very flawed but intriguing case of tough/silent love: he knows about Kaveh's martyr character, and essentially provide an outlet of anger, where tells him to pay rent, and sometimes deliberately setting him off so that Kaveh could always vent to him, and be angry with him without feeling any guilt. He is also established as a rational, mostly self-serving person, but goes out of his way and invites Kaveh to live with him, which goes against his character. He rarely ever voiced out his concerns for his well being (at least in the same vocal way that Kaveh does), but he is perceptive to Kaveh's mood (hangout), and perceptive to those who may attempt to hurt and use him (Parade of Providence event). He may not be sweet with his words, but he tries to comforts him, in the only way he knows he's best at--with truths and action, and even presents them in a manner that shouldn't obligate Kaveh to simple gratitude (which, Kaveh does anyway, in the event, since he is too sweet lol). Though there are cracks and imperfections in their relationship, Alhaitham holds a deep understanding of Kaveh's vulnerability, and wishes to give him selfless acts of services--and dare I say, love--something that Kaveh denies himself of.

I could go on and on about how nuanced and well-written their dynamic is, and an examination of Kaveh's familiarity and bond with Alhaitham too deserve a paragraph of its own-- but unfortunately, I think that'll be too long for my yt description. In any case, it's as Screen Rant puts it, they really are an "inseparable pair, that each would not be nearly as strong of a character when examined individually." Kaveh's presence brings out the more emotionally-insightful parts of Alhaitham's character that would've went unnoticed if he weren't there-- and Alhaitham's presence brings out the often undermined beauty of Kaveh's strength and ideal --that there is power in being kind, and emotions or compassionate can be sometimes triumph pure logic in a cruel and confusing world.

I def got too passionate writing all of this though 😂 Blame it on Hoyoverse for coming up with such an incredible pairing. The writing is indisputable, but I will say that the in-game cutscenes do not do them enough justice. I desperately need more cinematic visuals for these two if I'm ever going to edit them again.

As always, enjoy!

Fandom: Genshin Impact
Editing Program: Sony Vegas Pro 15
Coloring: My own
Song: Friends - Chase Atlantic