text; an important survey

[indispensable]

Type: Text
Sender ID: indispensable (Alhaitham)
To: Public. So, so public.
Subject: A Survey on Romantic Relationships
Warnings: Potential discussions about sex? I guess?? But mostly this is just Alhaitham being the most obliviously shameless man alive.

This is Alhaitham.

I have a survey that I would like people to fill. There are no restrictions or stipulations to the nature of the responder. The only request is for you to be honest when filling it up.

1) Are you currently in a romantic relationship or have been in one? (yes/no)
2) If yes, does your current or previous relationship involve sex? (yes/no)
3) List down 5 to 10 words that describe what your significant other (past or present) makes you feel.
4) What is your main priority when you are with your significant other (past or present)?
5) How do you measure or recognize your feelings as love? What separates them infatuation or sexual attraction? Describe in 100 words or less.

You are free to leave your answers in this post or direct them to my inbox. I will be following up on whatever answers I feel are necessary.

Thank you for your time.

[OOC: ICly, this network post comes up about five minutes after the one Kaveh makes.]

Comments

text

[netherese]

I see. You're asking for yourself, then.

[Nailed it.]

[indispensable]

[There is a somewhat significant pause here.]

He works himself to the bone for clients who do not understand his value. He does his best to please everyone even though he knows that he doesn't have to. He always wants to see the best in people, despite the fact that he of all people has all the reason to distrust them and keep them at arms' length. He has experienced setbacks and has lost in a way few others can claim, but none of those instances have broken him. And even though he knows better than most about the worst of people, still makes the conscious choice to believe in them regardless.

[Kaveh burns and burns and burns—and continues to burn, to the point where he uses himself as kindling. It is as terrible as it is brilliant, and Alhaitham wants nothing more than to find a way for Kaveh to continue to shine without sacrificing himself in the process.

He glances back to Dehya then, and this time his gaze is steady and unwavering as he continues to speak.]

People only see him as one or the other—that he is kind, or that he is the genius who built the Palace of Alcazarzaray—but none of them ever see the cost and sacrifice that goes behind them because Kaveh never talks about it. They say he is gentle, but the truth is that he is the fiercest person you'll ever meet. They call him a genius, but they do not see the countless sleepless nights where he pours all of his heart and soul into every single thing that he creates, even the ones where he does not ask for a single Mora. Even if impulsive, everything that he chooses to do has ultimately been a deliberate choice, and he doesn't let himself give up halfway even when it is the wiser option.

He is everything that I am not—a perfect mirror to my own existence. He has shown me the half of the world I would have never touched upon otherwise, and I can recognize that my life is ultimately made better because of it, even with the troubles that it brings. I would be half the person I am now if it were not for him.

[Once the words come they'd really just come out without any real pause, honestly. Talking about Kaveh has never been especially hard, per se, but to voice it all out like this is... different, and this time he can't even say its from the effects of Norhpip.]

text

[indispensable]

Is most research not conducted for the sake of satiating one's personal curiosity?

[indispensable]

I have my own, but I wish to verify it against the answers here.

[Because he wants to understand...]

[spectacleofphantasmagoria]

[He can't stop the Fontainian flair that his words take on, but he can at least lessen them a bit and make them vague. He hopes.]

[Really, Lyney could leave the answer there and walk away... but he can't help but be a little curious.]

What is the purpose of this survey?

[indispensable]

To gather information about the emotion that people tend to call 'love'.

[Considering how this person is unknown on the other end (and lacks an identifier) Alhaitham is less willing to get personal, but he has said this much in here already, so. This is fine for now.]

[spectacleofphantasmagoria]

And why would you want to learn about something like that?

[legendofthelion]

[This is the most Dehya's heard Alhaitham talk... ever. Even more than when they were planning their coup. She didn't even know he could go on this long.

He's also, clearly, monologuing with no expectation of her input, so Dehya keeps her mouth shut and simply listens with awe and bewilderment.

It's the end, though, that a grin splits across her face.]

See, you can be genuine! [She reaches across the table to give his shoulder a playful nudge.] I bet if you took Kaveh out on a date and told him that last thing he'd be swooning over you.

[Like, she hasn't met the guy long, but he's apparently already confessed his love, which he's really obvious about, so she can make some educated guesses.]

[indispensable]

Recent events in my life have shown me the necessity of understanding it. Thus I am doing what I feel is necessary to achieve it.

[indispensable]

[Alhaitham blinks at Dehya's response, looking somewhere between perplexed and surprised—or at least as much as his face is showing it, anyway.]

I have already told him these things.

[...he just kind of says that, without any preamble, and staring at Dehya with an almost innocent kind of expectancy.

(Yes, Alhaitham did state those things, but not quite in those exact words, and also the fact that he'd stated them while under the influence that'd been going on in Norhpip. That's... probably more than one reason why Kaveh didn't exactly swoon there and then.)]

[netherese]

Oh, to a certain extent, of course, but you struck me as the sort to never do anything without an express purpose beyond curiosity. Perhaps I was mistaken!

[legendofthelion]

... So then what's the problem? [She blinks.] Seems like you two are on the same page. Did he not believe you or something?

[indispensable]

Considering the circumstances where I said those things to him, I do not see any reason for him to doubt my words.

[Wait for it...]

But I suppose I could tell it to him again, seeing as how the first time was under less than favorable circumstances.

[And also maybe the fact that it wasn't really meant to be a declaration of love...?]

[indispensable]

Even if I do have a purpose, it doesn't diminish the curiosity that drives these questions.

[netherese]

No, no, I'll concede to that; it most certainly does not.

I can likely offer some insight. While I'm not currently involved with anyone, strictly speaking, I've had my share of experience in the past, enough so to answer 'yes' to the second item on your list.

[indispensable]

Feel free to answer the rest of the questions on the survey, then.

[Give him data, Gale. Give him f a c t s.]

[afflatusexarch]

I see. So you are sorting yourself out, then?

[netherese]

[Right. Data. He, perhaps, should have thought ahead on this one, given how difficult it is to talk about such things openly, but he'd been blinded by the opportunity to poke fun at a peer.]

I suppose that's only fair, yes. Admittedly, what's to come may be rather grim.

3. The answer to this tends to vary from day-to-day. Then: exalted, adored. Now? Hurt. Dismissed. Used.
4. In the past, my priority was to serve their every need. I believe that if I were to be so fortunate to have another chance in the future, it my priorities might be different. Still to be generous of self, but as an equal partner, not a servant.
5. Love is different from infatuation or attraction in that it is able to weather compromise. When even on your darkest days, your feelings do not wane, and you are willing to consider their needs before your own ambitions. Love means desiring someone all the more because of their imperfections, not in spite of them, and embracing who they are rather than who you would have them be.

Is that satisfactory?

[gruffier]

Fair enough. Feelings are already somewhat difficult to describe, so learning from other's experiences may help.

I do hope you are able to discern for yourself what it all means.

[legendofthelion]

[Dehya nods.] You need to take him on a real date and say it again.

[A beat.] You've been on a date with him before, right?

[They're having sex and they act Like That, after all.]

[spectacleofphantasmagoria]

Have you never experienced love before?

[indispensable]

[See this blank look that Alhaitham is giving to here you now, Dehya? Do you see it?

Yeah there's your answer.]

[legendofthelion]

[Dehya stares back. The silence is foreboding.

She leans forward on her elbows.] Let me make sure I got this straight: you live with him, you've had sex with him, you two have feelings for each other, you've never taken him on a date.

[indispensable]

[There is another pause.]

Not with the particular context that you're suggesting, no.

[They've gone out together for things far too many times to count, but for a romantic occasion?? Yeah that's a negative.]

[legendofthelion]

[Dehya groans into her hand.] Least we know where to start. Okay, since you're so serious about responding to him let's make sure you do it right. [Because someone needs to save this man from himself if he's making public surveys instead of just telling Kaveh he loves him back.] What things does Kaveh like?