inbox; duocaeli

[ohthehumanities]

DUONET ID: Artchitect

"You've reached Kaveh! Leave a message and I'll call you back in a--HEY, DON'T TOUCH THAT I JUST GOT IT IN THE RIGHT SP--"

✉️ ☎️ 📷

Comments

[ohthehumanities]

[After a long delay because Kaveh is presumably neck-deep in working on something]

what???
why in god's name would I do that

[I think about Ben going "I can't believe they let me say 'oh my god']

[diffract]

[ my dreams of having them say "lesser lord kusanali help me" when they're cursing.... dashed ]

You certainly took your time.
Perhaps this was a prime opportunity for you to stoke friendships between myself and the other residents.
That, and only two other others here know of me at all.

[ohthehumanities]

[I'd say you could make Alhaitham say it anyway but would he use that many syllables...]

first of all, I would never inflict your terrible personality on an unsuspecting person without being there myself to act as a buffer
second, a prank like that would be an utter waste of time because you don't even foster relationships with the people you like, let alone purely accidental ones
and third, I don't have any spending money because of this bird

[...]

and I had to go wash the glue off my hands before I could answer you!! so impatient

[diffract]

You were able to get a commission then?

I've said it before. Your own stubbornness is the only reason why you insist on keeping this bird when it does nothing but burden you.

[ohthehumanities]

[well you see

the thing is

Kaveh is currently building a birdhouse for this demon bird so he's not going to respond to any of this message]

stay on topic
what's this about flowers being sent out in your name?

[diffract]

[ SEE? stubborn. alhaitham could be annoying and point this out, but they did stray from the original topic. ]

Several residents either messaged me or visited the suite claiming that I sent them flower arrangements.
The cards they received were signed with my name and Duonet ID.

[ohthehumanities]

sounds like petty revenge to me
who'd you piss off, I'm sure there's a list already

[Is Kaveh projecting. Maybe.]

[diffract]

Some of the bouquets arrived before I spoke to anyone who lives in this house.
There's only one culprit that I can surmise would have done this.

[ it's kaveh. ]

[ohthehumanities]

[Very graciously, he does not make any comments about Alhaitham projecting such a terrible aura that his suitemates psychically sensed his impending presence. Praise him.]

Well you surmised incorrectly, so you'll have to do better research. Did you talk to the florist already?

[diffract]

[ kaveh can say whatever he wants and alhaitham will still be "idc" and he knows it ]

The Traveler received one of these bouquets.
She was unable to contact with the delivery-person by the time she messaged me about the bouquet. We could only check the card she received, and there was no florist listed.
I contacted several shops in the area. None seem to recall sending bouquets of that nature.

[ohthehumanities]

[PRAISE HIM!!!!]

The traveler? Wait, she's here?

[WHO IS THIS TRAVELER??? ALHAITHAM!!!! Ugh... but that's--actually legitimately a bit strange, so now he's frowning at his phone. Hmmm.]

Were you charged money for it? Maybe you can trace it that way.

[diffract]

She is. The two of us were also assigned to live together along with another stranger.
Thankfully nothing was charged. Whichever individual was responsible for sending them must have done so out of a strange sense of charity.

[ohthehumanities]

[Oh... hunh. Briefly, he considers asking if the flowers were just sent to the apartment at large--but no, it's not like Alhaitham to make assumptions, and he already mentioned a card.

If it were Kaveh, he'd brush it off as an odd but pleasant mistake and go about his day, but he knows how much Alhaitham hates possible threats to his peace. And if Alhaitham and the Traveler know each other, it does seem less like a straight error and more like a purposeful gesture.]

Have you ever spoken to Roxana Agrece?

[diffract]

[ fast forwarding this to after he meets roxana, for the added spice

because it'll take alhaitham a moment to let the name register with him again. his memory is too unforgivingly precise for him to forget what happened under the jasmine trees. he wasn't in his right mind when he was beside her, holding her hand and engaging in small talk, his senses attuned to her every move, her gaze shining on him like a slant of warm light.

all familiar feelings, dating far back into his past. he's only able to identify them because he's felt them before. they were just briefly shared with an unexpected person who, honestly, had done nothing to deserve them but share the same color palette as someone he knows. he'd have to meet roxana again to deduce if there was any real meaning behind it—and he highly doubts that there was.

after that pause: ]

I have.

[ohthehumanities]

[I'm so glad Alhaitham got to experience the joys of being in love with Roxana

Kaveh, of course, is completely oblivious to everything going on in Alhaitham's head. The pause is something he notices, but without context, it's easy to brush off.]

Apparently, she and my other self were relatives--distant, mind you, but close enough that it was easy to recognize her here. Anyway, the point is that she's a florist--she might have some ideas on how to get to the bottom of this, if it really bothers you that much.

[diffract]

[ thanks, he's not!

oh no. alhaitham had a feeling, of course, but ever since the jasmine tree debacle happened, he had some sliver of hope that it was just a coincidence. he pinches between his eyes and breathes in deeply. ]

She's your relative.
Have you spoken to her lately?

[ohthehumanities]

We went shopping the other day. Why?

[Immediately after--]

I'm not sorting this bouquet debacle out for you just because you hate socializing.

[That is not even close to the issue here, Kaveh]

[diffract]

I didn't ask for you to sort this out. Are you so engrossed in your project that it's interfering with your reading comprehension skills?
I only mean to say that she and I had a strange first encounter. I may as well tell you about it now before you hear about it later.

[ohthehumanities]

I'm just saying it preemptively! I know you hate going out of your way.

[He would help sort it out if he thought it was a genuine problem more than a nuisance for Alhaitham, but don't point that out or he'll get mad]

Strange how? What did you do? [stop assuming Alhaitham did things, Kaveh]

[diffract]

[ he wants to point it out so bad... because if alhaitham really asked for his help, kaveh would eventually give it to him (after asking if he's feeling all right first).

alhaitham's every move is carefully calculated, never executed until the outcome worked in his favor. in the pause before his next message, he carefully crafts his next words—even though there's no reason for him to do so at all. normally, alhaitham wouldn't hesitate to tell him the truth. however kaveh reacted to it and interpreted it was of no consequence to him, temper tantrums aside. it was more important to be impartial and honest.

but this. alhaitham could deal with their existing history, but the memories supplanted by the alhaitham of crane city makes honesty more difficult. telling kaveh about the entirety of what happened feels strange, like he's asking for something he can't have. ]

Have you visited the Jasmine trees?

[ohthehumanities]

[The pause would've caught his attention even without the preemptive warning. It's unlike Alhaitham to be hesitant and indirect--the first pause he brushed off, but two in close succession is enough to put him on alert. He's not... worried, per se, but Alhaitham's clearly bothered by whatever happened, so he drops the teasing and the bickering for a quick, serious reply.]

No, I haven't. The ones near the nightlife district, right?

[diffract]

Right. Did you happen to witness anything between the people that were under the blossoms?

[ohthehumanities]

I haven't been in the area. [The only reason he'd go is for the bars, but he's been caught up in making this birdhouse and hasn't been drinking lately.] What were you doing over there?

[Alhaitham goes out for drinks sometimes, sure, but Kaveh doubts he'd be in the mood for that this soon after arriving here, and he can't think of anything else over there that would be a draw for Alhaitham.]

[diffract]

Sightseeing, in accordance with the instructions we were given when we obtained the cards.

[ohthehumanities]

[Hmm... makes sense...]

So what happened?