#happy birthday to my favouritest weirdo cat !!!

[birbleafs]

Still laughing at Alhaitham's birthday letter and how he actually enrolled Paimon in a course at the Akademiya jjxjsjsjsjgjjsjkffdn Alhaitham continues to be the FUNNIEST man in Teyvat lmfaoo he is so invested in Paimon's reading progress, and gifted her the gold Talent book too as we all correctly predicted that he would.

And since he mentioned Vahumana here, I guess he believes it's the Darshan best suited to Paimon’s capabilities and interest? I really love how he even says she has potential as a future research assistant for the sages if she passes the course hhsjsjjsf they're too cute!! Like sure, one could argue he may simply just be teasing… I mean, he is kind of doing that too, but it’s more like playful, good-natured jesting in the same vein as him teasing Kaveh just to rile him up because Alhaitham finds his reactions amusing. At the same time, I do think he's actually being earnest/serious enough if ever Paimon decides to take his offer. She'd probably hesitate to though, because the course material would scare her. Lol.

At this rate, I think it's almost indisputable that Alhaitham’s three favouritest people in the world are Grandma, Kaveh, and Paimon loooooool.

It's also murdering me inside to realise that Alhaitham did for Paimon what his Grandmother did for him when she’d enrolled him into other cross-faculty courses so that he could later gain knowledge and wider perspectives beyond his Darshan too. He is truly his Grandmother's child hhjfkdjss......... Feels…. :__)

Oh, JP fans pointed out this one other thing which I’d wondered abt it too while reading his letter—but Alhaitham only gave Paimon one gold Talent book this time, instead of all three. And it's the same type of Talent book he uses (Ingenuity). Did he come to feel such affinity for Paimon over time after observing her reading progress that he'd decided and believes she too possesses a similar kind of ingenuity and wisdom like Kaveh and himself?

It just cracks me up to imagine a scenario where Alhaitham makes Paimon fight alongside him in the Steeple of Ignorance to farm gold Talent books for her own ascension as per course requirements XD 🥧: But why does Paimon have to fight monsters now!? Isn't this just supposed to be a lecture?? 🌱: Hands-on field experience builds character. 🥧: AAAAAAAAAAA

On the last note, I'm also really loving the way Kavetham are mirrored in their birthday web arts above: - Kaveh inside their house, thinking his friends don’t know it’s his birthday even though they planned a surprise for him; Alhaitham outside the tavern, waiting to go in because he already knows his friends have planned a surprise for his birthday.

[birbleafs]

Work has been eating up my brain/energy and I didn't have time to finish up a proper fic for Al-Haitham's birthday. So have a silly meme for the lulz instead lol. Partly inspired by Liz's tweet about kvthm emotional v0re and absolutely, fully enabled by @frandulent. Joke is also based on this post and that one Kate Beaton comic. Happy birthday, Al-Haitham! :'')

[birbleafs]

[fic] Stasis

Series: Genshin Impact Rating: T Characters/Pairing: Kavetham. Al-Haitham, Kaveh, Cyno and Tighnari. Also, very brief mentions of Al-Haitham’s grandmother and parents. Additional Tags: Canon Divergent, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild/Bittersweet Angst (but there's a happy ending I promise), essentially a what-if scenario with the Divine Knowledge capsules. Summary: Al-Haitham and Kaveh run into several anomalies, and are trapped in a cyclic stasis. A/N: I lied, I do have a short birthday ficlet lol. Inspired mostly by that one hauntingly gorgeous fanart on twitter. The idea wouldn't leave my brain for weeks, so I had to keysmash out some feels :'') Also, happy birthday to my favouritest weirdo cat, Al-Haitham ❤︎ Fic can also be read on AO3. _______

It’s the seventh time they have walked down this narrow path through the dimly-lit underpass. The seventh time they have passed by too-familiar faces, too-cherished voices; ghostly whispers and distorted laughter that creep closer at every turn, at every flicker between shadow and light. The ceramic tiles lining the walls of the underpass are a polished bone-white, void of any pixel or colour. The overhead lamps are humming with a persistently piercing drone that crawls down his spine, prickling glass shards beneath his skin. Nonetheless, Al-Haitham doesn’t cease from stepping in just as Kaveh reaches an arm out towards the beckoning silhouettes; never hesitates to prevent Kaveh from pursuing guilt and being ensnared by long-dead memories that only mimic fleeting shadows of happiness without the warmth, always dragging Kaveh away to safety, again and again and again… even if it means both of them remain trapped in a cyclic stasis, in this repetitious melancholy of despondency.

He may not have realised it yet— (He does; he always does) Or perhaps he can’t quite bring himself to steady the tremulous disquiet within his heart. To accept and acquiesce to reason, to the unfaltering truth— (He must; this… this isn’t like him at all!) Al-Haitham trudges on, his brow creased into a barely imperceptible frown as he tightens his hold around Kaveh; presses his fingers against the pulse thrumming brightly along Kaveh’s left wrist. He’s not letting go of Kaveh again (Al-Haitham's already lost him once before; already lost Teyta… lost far too many too soon, these little pieces of his own, of home). He can’t, he won’t… “—isten, Al-Haitham! Haitham!” Kaveh’s troubled voice startles him then, breaking through the fog of nebulous thoughts, the rising surge of emotion and memories. He flicks a furtive gaze over his shoulder, head angled in confusion. Kaveh is heaving, inhaling deep breaths as though he had been running miles within the labyrinthine twist of tunnels, even though Al-Haitham is certain they had only walked less than thirty paces ahead on this one straight path. “I’m sorry, Haitham,” Kaveh says as he lifts his head; meets Al-Haitham’s perplexed teal gaze with a wry and near-despondent smile. “But I have to save you too.” The knife is already buried deep within his chest, the bitter surprise only a lingering aftertaste when Kaveh closes the distance between them in a whirl of crimson, gold and blue. “Kaveh…?” Al-Haitham chokes at the wrenching pain, unresisting as Kaveh pulls him into a stifling embrace. His vision is already flickering with dark spots, pain searing beneath his skin when Kaveh drives the sharp blade further into his flesh. Blood trails bright and crimson beneath the jewelled piercing in Al-Haitham’s chest and he relents completely, giving into the darkness.

※

When he blinks awake once more, Kaveh is brushing grime and the smudged kohl from the corner of his eyes, trembling but warm hands still cupping at his face. “We’ve confiscated all the lost Capsules and shut them off. That should've severed the link completely. There might still be some residuals, but there shouldn’t be any serious effects remaining from these forgeries.” The… General Mahamatra’s voice drifts from somewhere behind Kaveh. Another figure glances over him briefly, long furry ears twitching in concern—someone that Al-Haitham thinks he should recognise easily but he can’t quite sieve the exact name from the dregs of this mental fog. “His heart rate is a little elevated, but his breathing looks to be normal. We should still get him checked at the Bimarstan, however, just as a precaution. But it’s all right, Kaveh; he should be relatively fine.” “Kaveh,” Al-Haitham says hoarsely, when the mist gradually recedes from his mind and he finally remembers. He presses Kaveh’s trembling left hand closer against his cheek, and exhales a slow, deep sigh. “You fool.” Kaveh’s voice is low and strained, raw with the conflicting meld of emotions, even if he doesn't recoil from Al-Haitham’s touch; doesn’t release his hold. His fingers curl tight into the dishevelled strands of Al-Haitham’s matted hair, drawing Al-Haitham close to his chest once more. “You arrogant, reckless fool. It could have been worse. You could have been trapped in a coma, your mind broken forever… You could have died, Haitham, and I would have lost yo—! I—Ugh—Don’t you ever go off without me again!” For once, he doesn’t refute Kaveh’s flurry of accusations; doesn’t brush away the stray tears that drip from Kaveh’s crumbling expression to his forehead as the clouds of worry and apprehension finally burst and solace washes over both of them. “Thank you,” Al-Haitham huffs a soft, ragged laugh instead as he returns the embrace, grounding himself once more in the warmth of Kaveh’s hold. “For coming back for me. For saving me.” —End— _______ End Notes:

- Teyta/Teta [ تِيتا ] = Arabic for "grandmother". The formal way of addressing your grandmother in standard Arabic is jaddah [ جَدَّ ] but there are many variations depending on the region and dialect used. Also iirc, teyta is informal and commonly used by children. I like the headcanon that Al-Haitham likely still addresses Grandma (in his head anyway) the way he did as a child.

- I had actually planned to write and post a longer AU oneshot for Al-Haitham's birthday. But work has been eating my brain/energy and keeping me too busy, so I've decided to let this other WIP percolate and simmer a little longer. Hopefully it'll be ready for posting by Kaveh's birthday? Then they can both share a birthday gift fic - they’re already joined at the hip anyway lol.

- When I wrote this short fic, I didn't know anything about The Exit 8 game and have only seen different fanart versions of the redraw meme. So I wrote this from the perspective of Al-Haitham not being aware that his mind was slowly being corrupted by (seemingly) forged Divine Knowledge capsules which turned out to have residuals of Forbidden Knowledge. And of course, the plot-twist of him being saved by Kaveh instead (you save the ones you care for and are saved in return)...

- Sorry but also not sorry lol about the (literal) knife of feels to the heart :") Something something, the symbolism of Kaveh being the one to sever the grasps of Forbidden Knowledge from completely overwhelming and breaking Al-Haitham's mind. Yeah.

- Comments are always lovely; if you've enjoyed this, I'd love to hear what you think. Thank you for reading!

[birbleafs]

"We usually keep a few packs of coffee beans at home" They are so disgustingly domestic, they don't even bother hiding it anymore lmfao

and AAJJSJAKDJSHS KAVETHAM COFFEE BEAN SHOPPING ROSTER... I guess that's a shopping list while Alhaitham is holding while he buys the coffee beans from Puspa Cafe. I imagine Kaveh must have made a loooooooong list of requirements of the beans he thinks they would enjoy based on taste, smell, etc. He'd probably also included some other extra groceries he wants Haitham to buy from the bazaar too. The fact that it's somewhat implied they now take turns buying necessities for the house, and possibly also share the house work together (as opposed to Kaveh wanting to shoulder all of it at first because he'd felt guilty and that he'd owed Alhaitham for taking him in at his lowest point in life).... Something about these minute details of routine mundanity and the subtle shifting of their dynamics to something more balanced and equal, that speaks volumes of their shared comfort and companionship really rejuvenates my dead fossil heart. I HATE/LOVE them lol.

And I absolutely love how Alhaitham can sass Kaveh for his late-night workaholic over-reliance on coffee while still being point-blank about their mundane domesticity and shared grocery-shopping duties in a single breath like it's NO big deal..... Just the Sumeroommies roommating....

I haven't really checked, so I'm not too sure how the lines are written in CN/JP/KR since those languages can skip (obvious) pronouns altogether and the context would still be understood. But it's nice to see the EN translators going with "We" and "home" here because it gives us yet another sense of the subtle shift in Kaveh and Alhaitham's companionship now. Alhaitham is very strong-willed person who tends to favour the use of "I" and people's individuality first, so seeing him explicitly use "We" and "home" now—which aligns with how Kaveh uses it often too when he refers to both of them together—just feels so heartwarming and so earned :")