#young kavetham

[cocrante]

Al-Haitham chose to become a strong man with a stable career solely for Kaveh.

In the past, when they were younger, it was Kaveh who provided him with the stability he needed, gradually accessing in his peculiar world and accepting him like no other child of their age had ever done. Kaveh demonstrated that Haitham was not alone, that he had someone who cared for him and loved him.

As the years and tragedies unfolded, Kaveh couldn't be strong for both of them anymore.

After a while, he couldn't bear the weight of all the emotions, as it was too heavy for one individual. Unfortunately, Haitham realized this too late, after Kaveh had already left.

However, during that period, he worked even harder because in his innocence, he thought Kaveh was invincible. Through his eyes, he saw a strong, stable and confident man, unaware of his hidden pains. Haitham mentally reproached himself for not understanding earlier, for not deciphering those tiny and imperceptible signs of breakdown.

If he had been in Kaveh's place, he believes Kaveh would have understood.

But the damage was done, and all he could do now was to show Kaveh that he would be there in the future, knowing that one day his Kaveh would return, and then he would given him all the support that over the years Haitham hadn't realized he needed to give to Kaveh

[portalmonsterrr]

Akademiya days

[gengwasted]

Nap time <3

[vixenofthemist]

Do you think there was ever someone in the Akademia who told Alhaitham Kaveh was going to hate him?

When they were still friends but Alhaitham didn't care to work with anyone else and dropped collaborators like flies with seven times the amount of spite mixed in and classmates just did not like him and while he didn't give a SHIT do you think there was one person who said smth like "an attitude like this is even going to bring the hate of Senior Kaveh one day" and it became a small thought in the back of his head that'd he'd dismiss, but it always found its way back?

He never gave it attention however many times it plagued his mind bc it was a trivial, meaningless thought that wasn't true.

Wasn't true, until it was.

It was reality, and Kaveh hated him.

Do you think there's a meaningless classmate out there who happened to say the one thing Alhaitham can never forget?

[jayvolans]

The They’re Gay Your Honor™️ starter pack

[astrobolical]

When the truth spills forth-

Content Warnings: Pining, Alhaitham’s version of fluff, Kaveh’s obliviousness, mentions of their history

I wasn't sure if I was gonna post character x character, but here we go. Why not?

I adore these two, especially Kaveh, and think they deserve the world. We all know they’re married even if they don’t know it (Alhaitham does, Kaveh might not).

Living with one’s heart on their sleeve, laying their emotions bare for the world to see, it was something incomprehensible to Alhaitham. What benefits could it bring? What could it do but bring you troubles and eventual pain? Yet Kaveh was exactly that, brilliant, bright yet incredibly transparent. Almost unbearably.

His eyes told the world his truth, no matter what he tried to hide. It was tiresome to witness, Alhaitham could only imagine it was exhausting to exist in such a state. Kaveh persevered, however, regardless of how haphazard that perseverance was. Every step he took forward held the danger of tumbling back down the rocks he’d dragged himself from. He’d come so far, yet it was clear how much he was truly trying to balance, and the impact it had on the architect.

Alhaitham knew that their situation was only contributing to Kaveh’s unfortunate circumstances, for reasons far beyond the scribe’s control. No matter what he said or did, Kaveh would see the world in a vastly different way than himself. Alhaitham, contrary to his roommate’s belief, was happy with their arrangement. It had become his norm, an expectation to come home to Kaveh fussing over some new decoration, hearing his chastising and endless complaints. As blunt as Alhaitham was in return, it was never out of malice. 

He’d always cared about Kaveh, in his own way. Even in the past when they’d gone their separate ways— what he’d said had been the truth, spoken only to try to make Kaveh see reason, see how the way he was going would end in his detriment. Softened blows or flimsy words were not Alhaitham’s forte, he had always been brutally honest with Kaveh regardless of the consequences— perhaps more honest than he is with anybody else. 

While he could walk away from the majority of people within Sumeru without a second thought, Kaveh was someone who held a value he couldn’t measure. To Alhaitham Kaveh was something to ground him, keep him thinking, and surprise him at every turn. Kaveh was everything Alhaitham was not, just as he was everything Kaveh was not. A balance that was uniquely them. Something that couldn’t be replaced, something that Alhaitham had no desire to lose, even if Kaveh was blind to it.

Just like when he’d spoken his truth all those years ago, Alhaitham had been there again for Kaveh when he was needed. Despite the distance between them, the unyielding silence that had persisted. Alhaitham’s home had become Kaveh’s, despite his senior’s protests. Though it had begun as a way to keep his senior’s head above the proverbial water, Alhaitham had quickly come to adjust to their situation. Faster than anyone in Sumeru would likely believe given his reputation. 

The noises he would normally drown out were welcomed when they were Kaveh. His space being invaded was only okay when it was Kaveh. 

It was simply because it was Kaveh.

But he knew that if he voiced this to the architect he’d freeze. His mind would go into overdrive, working to its breaking point and creating problems that didn’t exist. He’d find a way to blame himself for a misfortune he didn’t cause. He’d burn away internally until he couldn’t withstand it anymore, succumbing to his own negativity and self doubt, and he, inevitably, would flee the situation in a vain attempt to make the situation ‘better’. 

So the scribe remained quiet about the way he felt, keeping his actions subtle, behind the scenes. He continued to chastise and speak bluntly with Kaveh as he always did-- just a tiny bit more forethought to his words so that he didn’t give Kaveh too much to think on.

In some ways, Kaveh was like a skittish desert fox. Eager, curious-- oddly adorable-- yet incredibly easy to frighten, startle or deter. 

If it was anyone else, Alhaitham would have declared them not worth his time and efforts, left them behind to continue their lives without him… but this wasn’t anyone else. 

So he lived, ignoring his growing affections, keeping the same distance that Kaveh seemed to need. When he’d find himself covering a sleeping Kaveh, passed out on his desk, with a blanket he resisted the urge to press a kiss to the top of his head, to indulge in the impulses he held deep down. Because if Kaveh knew, he feared that Kaveh would choose to leave. 

So when he returned home and was greeted with the sight of boxes in the entryway Alhaitham’s first reaction was fear. His normally rational mind, ever-calm and logical gave way to the feelings deep in his chest-- surely Kaveh hadn’t found a place so suddenly? Why? Alhaitham grit his teeth, his jaw clenched as he made his way by the boxes, he could hear Kaveh deeper within the house and he made his way there without a moment’s hesitation.

Kaveh’s room was in disarray, furniture moved about and out of place, the architect standing in the middle going through drawers that hadn’t been opened in months. “Kaveh?” He questioned, leaning in the doorway. His expression gave away nothing of his internal turmoil, stoic and calm as always.

“Oh.” Kaveh looked up, almost sheepishly as he looked around at the mess. “I didn’t think you’d be home so soon. Don’t worry, this will be packed up soon and you’ll have your precious space back.” He spoke more calmly than Alhaitham anticipated, expecting a level of defensiveness over his actions-- Kaveh would never truly apologize to the scribe, nor would he bring himself to thank him for anything he does. “I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

“Why?” 

The question left his lips with the same brashness as the day he’d destroyed their friendship, but Kaveh just looked at him, a confused expression settled on his face before he rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Come on, it's not like I need to explain myself here.” 

His back turned he began to go through the drawer he’d been looking into again, ignoring Alhaitham’s stiffened form in the doorway. Alhaitham’s mind worked quickly, almost in a panic as he debated what to say. I think you do. You’re just going to leave like this? Can you even afford the place you’ve found long-term?

But he bit them all back, instead stepping forward and making his way through the room. He felt too warm, his heart racing against his chest. “Are you just going to stand there all evening?” Kaveh quipped, never turning to look at Alhaitham again-- perhaps if he had Alhaitham could have better controlled what he did next. Stopped his hands from reaching out, stopped his arms from encircling around Kaveh’s shoulders that rapidly stiffened. Stopped himself from pressing his forehead to the man’s hair. “What are you doing?!” Kaveh’s own hands found his forearms, confusedly pressing against the offending appendages that gently held him.

“Stay.” He breathed, feeling overwhelmed by his own movements, like the room was too warm, their bodies too close but yet not close enough. The truth he’d hidden for so long edging dangerously close to the ledge, teetering towards the dangerous abyss of making it known, letting it out into the world and risking it all coming crashing down. “Stay.” He repeated, for once unsure what else he could possibly say.

“Wha- What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?!” Kaveh was stiff in his arms, but his protests were light, clearly more perplexed than anything, not that Alhaitham could blame him. He, too, wasn’t sure what he was doing. “What do you mean ‘stay’?!” He grumbled. 

“Don’t leave.”

“I got that! Don’t leave where, Alhaitham?” Kaveh’s voice was becoming higher in pitch, cracking in the middle of his sentence.

“Here. Don’t move.” Alhaitham didn’t dare to let go-- he’d trapped his skittish fox within his arms, and if he let go now he was sure he would flee to hide within the sands. “Don’t leave.” 

There was a tense moment of silence between the two men before the architect finally wriggled free of the younger’s grasp, turning to face him before he realized how little space was truly between them. Instead he was face to face with a solemn looking Alhaitham, his back trapped against the dresser he’d been emptying. 

His eyes were wide, his face as red as the fabric he wore and Alhaitham knew he didn’t want to go back to coming home to an empty house. He couldn’t return to a time before their tentative reconciliation. 

Kaveh’s mouth opened, but no sound escaped, instead he closed it once again, eyes averting to look anywhere but his roommate. The silence was palpable, tension growing between them in a way they’d never experienced before. “Where did that even come from?” He finally muttered, bringing his arm up and shielding his blushing face with his hand, as if the red didn’t peek through, moving back towards his ears. 

“I want you to stay here.” Alhaitham reiterated, despite the unknown situation, how little he’d thought this one through. How unlike him this was. “I know you feel like you’re a burden to me, but I want you here, Kaveh.” 

“W-what the hell? Come on, Alhaitham quit joking around--” 

“I’m not joking.” He closed the distance between them more, barely a breath apart, almost close enough for Kaveh to feel his racing heart. He reached towards the hand that covered his roommate’s face, pulling it away and looking him square in his ruby eyes. “Kaveh, you don’t need to leave. Please.” 

“Alha--” 

“Kaveh.” He interrupted, leaning down just enough so their noses touched. “I…” 

All the days of silence, protecting Kaveh’s peace of mind in his own way. Withholding the truth that would send the architect running. Everything he’d held in came rushing forward as he was faced with the reality of Kaveh leaving. It was a reality he knew could happen, he’d expected it to come up now and then, but somehow with it being so real in front of him it was frightening. Every carefully hidden gesture, every snide remark covering a look of endearment, everything was coming undone in just a few moments. 

Alhaitham knew there was no returning from this, no turning back from what he’d begun. He could only hope and pray that Kaveh could handle his truth. That his skittish fox would find a way to not blame himself for this somehow. To not hate himself. To accept the truth for what it was.

“I love you.” 

Kaveh’s mouth was agape, eyes wider than before, breath coming out in ragged puffs as he undoubtedly fought down whatever panic was rising in his own chest. Sputters of attempted responses left his lips but formed no words. The distance between them was filled with nothing but silence and an inexplicable static-- like a spark waiting to ignite something further. 

“You-” He whispered, voice failing once again. “You… you can’t be serious... Don’t make a joke of something like this, I thought you… that you’d be better than that!” 

He moved to leave, to flee just as Alhaitham knew he would, but the scribe gripped his shoulders. “I’m not joking, Kaveh. I’m being serious.” 

Watery red eyes met turquoise, as if searching for any hint of a lie from the man who was holding him. Yet from the expressions on his face Alhaitham knew that the reality of his words was beginning to settle in. “What the hell…” Kaveh murmured, looking away when he was seemingly satisfied. “That’s not fair at all…” 

“Not fair?” Althaitham questioned, voice low, trying to keep himself calm, to retain a sense of logical reasoning, to keep himself steady in the revelation of what he’d just done. 

“You always just say whatever you want, it’s not fair.” Kaveh huffed, pushing against his shoulders in a vain attempt to gain some space. 

“Is there something you want to say to me…? Just say it.” Alhaitham dared not to let himself hope, he’d long since accepted that his feelings were one sided, that there was little to no chance to repair what he’d broken in the past, let alone further it. “Just say what you want to say.” 

“It’s not fair!” Kaveh whimpered, biting his lip. “Even things like this you say so casually.” Kaveh stopped his pushing, instead Alhaitham was shocked as the blonde moved forward, resting his forehead on Alhaitham’s shoulder in defeat. “Even something I should have said first.”

Alhaitham hugged Kaveh close, long hair tickling his nose as he nuzzled his face as close as he could manage. Quickly discarding his headset when they hindered how close he could get. It felt like a dream, like he’d wake at any moment and find himself back to square one waiting for this day to come again where he’d face losing Kaveh. The only person he could bring himself to have this close, to invade his space, to hold. 

They remained like that for a long, restless minute. Only the sounds of Kaveh’s hands gripping onto Alhaitham’s clothes, of his little whimpers as he let himself be overwhelmed with the situation. The thundering pulse of Alhaitham’s racing heart in his own ears. 

“So… you’ll stay?” He questioned, barely willing to break the quiet atmosphere between them, the calm in the midst of whatever storm they’d begun. 

At this Kaveh did push him back, abruptly and far more roughly than his initial attempts. Alhaitham could see the tear stains on his cheeks, how red his eyes had become and the watery shimmer of tears still threatening to fall. “I wasn’t leaving! You moron!” He hiccuped, gesturing wildly to the messy room. “I was going to put things in storage!” 

Alhaitham blinked, slowly, as the words settled in his mind. “What about the boxes in the entryway?” 

Kaveh glared at him as he wiped away his lingering tears, and Alhaitham felt relieved--it was still the Kaveh he knew, things hadn’t entirely blown up like he’d worried about. “They’re for you. God knows you could do some spring cleaning.”

Alhaitham nearly laughed, a breathy huff escaping him at the sheer audacity of the situation. “Ridiculous.” He muttered, ignoring the indignant retort Kaveh threw back his way in favour of bringing him back into his arms. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“And yet you… love me.” Kaveh whispered, his nose just barely missing Alhaitham’s at their new proximity. 

Alhaitham didn’t bother to answer vocally, simply staring with the same, bored gaze he always gave the architect. It earned him a smack to the shoulder and a huffy, embarrassed man in his arms. “...I… love you, too.” 

Alhaitham was the one to breach the shallow distance between them, pressing a chaste kiss to Kaveh’s lips, enjoying the noise of surprise that graced his ears as he pulled away. Adoring the way that Kaveh chased the sensation. Alhaitham denied him the press of his lips, a smirk on his face. “Well, shall we do some ‘spring cleaning’ then?” 

“You’re an ass.” Kaveh groaned, but didn’t protest-- if Alhiatham really was willing to help him with the daunting task of cleaning their home, he surely wasn’t going to argue the point. 

They laxed back into a comfortable rhythm, if a little tense with that spark that remained between them. Perhaps remaining a little too close to one another, their skin brushing more than they ever would have allowed before.

Some things had surely begun to change, but Alhaitham felt relieved to know that his truth was shared with Kaveh, and that the two of them would work through whatever turmoil faced them in the future. Together. 

[unishitpile]

No amount of angsty kavetham will ever make me such a fumbling mess than kavetham growing old together. The comfy home theyve renovated together and settling down with each other as years pass by. Them baking and shopping together with both of their rings still intact after all those years. Them mellowing out with the silly banter and can only laugh at the times they were so young, ambitious and feisty. Them dancing together at their living room dancing together to old Sumerian tunes.

Kaveh has so much intricate things that it filled the whole house—thats fine, Haitham insisted they make a shed together so the house wont be too clogged. The house; that was Kaveh’s life-long project—as in he never stopped redesigning and renovating. Every time he would make sure it fitted into the season and he would rotate through different vases and pillow sheets. He was getting old, though. Haitham told him to settle down knowing full well he’s being hypocrtical when hes still working at the akademiya cause his thirst for knowledge never seemed to run out.

Theyre happy. Theyre old and happy. They may be childless but there would be children in the street bother Haitham to tell them another of his stories. These children were stubborn, always disturbed the quiet afternoon of Haitham but he still continues to tell them stories. Tell them stories of the first sages of buer—The first who saved the Archon of Sumeru, the little facts hes learned during his time as a scribe, he would talk about his husband too, how much his red carmine eyes never seemed to grow dull in his eyes. The kids could only roll their eyes and grimace, their love was so sweet it gave them more of a sweet tooth than the cookies Kaveh baked for them.

Theyve been together for so long. Theyre in their home and their old and their fucking happy.

[kotsuri]

dumb young kavetham sketch while I'm busy with my studies

[harmoniouseclipse]

Woe fankids be upon ye

Doing a little series where I took some ship requests on my instagram to make them fankids, this one is for me tho (jeanlisa to kick it off whoo 🙌🏻) The lineup so far is Cytham, Kavetham, Lionfish (aka Freminet x Gaming aged up probably idk how old they are canonically), Cynonari, Jealuc, and Beiguang, and feel free to send me some other pairings you wanna see (as long as they are legal pls otherwise I will ignore it 👎)

I'm gonna ramble about some headcanons and lore for them under the cut, continue with caution bc I'm insane

These two are my brainrot rn, don't even joke lad. And I wanna tell yall their name meanings too bc I like them a lot 🥹 Zephra's means "west wind" derived from Greek, and it's the feminine version of Zephyr. Tyrian was a type of purple dye used by the Ancient Phoenicians, huge huge HUGE thanks to my pookie bear @miothefish for helping me out with his name!!! Also he has Lisa's butterfly earring and you can't see bc of the angle but Zephra has the rose that went in her hair holding her ponytail <3

I'm also making a massive family tree for the characters as a go along, and just the jeanlisa tree is taking up half of the canvas bc of the KoF and Sumeru characters since Cyno is their uncle and the rest of the gang are their honorary uncles 😭 I'll be posting that once the series is done/all the requests are finished/I run out of ships and otps I enjoy

Here's an alternative version with some more info on most of the characters I wanted to briefly mention in their relation to them; Tyrian likes calling Eula his aunt too even though she was never really considered one for them so it's kind of like her unofficial title she pretends to dislike but she loves it and dotes on Tyrian 🤭 She and Diluc also helped train Zephra with a claymore and Diluc kind of became a parental figure to her in her teen years after Lisa's passing 🥺 She also feels like she's outshined by Jean and that she's not smart or powerful enough to follow in Lisa's footsteps (something that Lisa wouldn't want anyways bc it led her to her death 😔) rip zephra she's just like me fr

And yeah some Kaeya angst bc he's still going thru it I fear, and Jean is single mombossing but she's worried for zephra which me too dawg, im afraid to say she might be cooked 😦 Zephra is also kind of like a weird mix of Lisa when she was her age and Jean, where overall she's well-mannered and kind but she can be competitive and feel the need to push herself too much and pull a few strings to get what she wants from time to time. Tyrian is a ray of sunshine tho, he has not yet witnessed the horrors 💔 I do think that Jean is also a lot easier on him than her mom was with her so that also helps. He's very shy tho and wants to stick with Zephra or Razor most of the time, and they both have some nasty tan lines from going out with Razor and Klee and Fischl a lot ��� Cyno also freaking loves them and dotes on them and Tyrian is getting a TCG addiction because of it smh, Cyno is also one of Zephra's favorite people and when she's in Sumeru she stays with him and Alhaitham (bc in my universe they are married ough I love cytham)

And (I think?) Klee physically and mentally ages slower than humans so I think she'd be technically 9 or 10, and Zephra is left with babysitting duty most of the time if she's home on break or smth 😭 Klee really looks up to her tho

Also, I wrote Tyrian's last bullet point like he was super young when Lisa died, but I think he was around 7 so he actually remembers Lisa better than I intended it to sound, he was just younger than Zephra (who was 11 at the time) and just didn't have as much time with her as Zeph did, but his most fond memory of Lisa was reading with her and she probably taught them some potion-making skills too.

I think there will be some abyss angst in here too at some point, since I hc Lisa to be probably an Abyss Lector/Harold (I forget which is which) um so thinking that Zeph and Tyrian experiencing some not normal things happening and Jean doesn't know what to do since Lisa also didn't really know what that dog in her was until it was too late 😔 That's what Kaeya's for tho since he's like the heir of the abyss???? Go off king. Also some touchy ragbros angst bc Kaeya is scared for Zeph knowing how close she is with Luc and he doesn't want him to push her away because of her being from the abyss or smth (they mostly made up but it's still a fear in Kaeya's mind both for him and Jean's kids)

I think that's all I wanted to touch on for now?? Mainly just thinking about domestic fluff and angst all the time now 🥺 Zeph not being able to be open with Jean bc she feels like a disappointment but Jean would literally actually die for her and shes proud of her no matter what ough im going to lose my freak dawg guess who my favorite fankid is it's super hard ik

Send me asks or dms or whatever for more ship requests!!! I'm having so much fun with this dawg 🫶🏻

[otomiyaa]

TGI Tournament

Cynonari | Chili | Wrioney | Kavetham

A/N: HAPPY BDAY FABIIII @lovelynim !!! Busy day so a little late, but it's still your birthday hoho. I combined some of your fav pairings into this random fic, hope you enjooooy :3

Summary: Aether launches his first own international Genius Invokation TCG tournament and is surprised when things get a different turn than expected. (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 2.9K

Genius Invokation TCG wasn't just a game. The more time Aether spent traveling around Teyvat, the more he discovered about it. He had come to the realization that this special card game was actually what connected all nations to each other the most.

Not visions, archons, beliefs, cultures or customs: it was one single card game they all had in common. The rules were the same across all of Teyvat.

Sure one person owned better cards than the other and some players were more invested, skilful and passionate, but in the end, the game was also all about chance.

With this game, a young boy like Timmie could beat the mightiest archon if the odds were in his favor. An everyday farmer could beat the smartest Akademiya scholar if he believed in himself. A beginner, like Aether himself not long ago, could beat someone as obsessed and skilled as Cyno.

He smiled proudly. Aether admired all that, and so thanks to his growing love for the game, the day had officially come: the first 'Traveler's Genius Invokation TCG Tournament', hosted by him, with assistance of Paimon, Diona and Amber, right here in Mondstadt at the Cat's Tail!

They equipped the place with smaller tables to fit in more, and decorated it with flags and decorations from all nations. Because, it wasn't just a Mondstadt event. It was international!

Aether had used his own network to invite various friends, not only from Mondstadt but also from other nations, to play in this international tournament. And he felt so gleeful to have gathered such a nice group of people who valued their friendship and also loved playing the game!

"I can't believe so many came from all over the world!" Paimon squeaked, watching how crowded the Cat's Tail was. Aether was truly surprised too. When he sent the invitation, he didn't expect them to travel all the way to Mondstadt.

"Mondstadt economy is booming thanks to us. Next time we should ask them to pay ー" Aether's reaction to Paimon's sassy comment was blowing into her face, and she whined in response.

"Welcome, everyone! To the first edition of the Traveler's Genius Invokation TCG Tournament, in short, TGI Tournament, " he called out to the crowd. Sadly not everyone could come, but there sure were some surprising faces!

Most surprising were Wriothesley and Alhaitham. How were they able to drop their busy work to come all this way? Glancing at Lyney and Kaveh next to them, grinning triumphantly, he vaguely got a clue...

"We made a tournament chart, you can view it on the board. We will start the first round shortly!" Paimon announced next. The crowd gathered around the board, and excited and also enthusiastic yells could be heard.

And so, after a few more minutes of excited discussions and preparations, the tournament started, with quite the interesting first round, which resulted in even more interesting winners, and various words were exchanged.

Cyno VS Kaeya

Albedo VS Tighnari

Rosaria VS Kazuha

Childe VS Diluc

Fischl VS Lyney

Sucrose VS Bennett

Venti VS Wriothesley

Eula VS Mika

Mona VS Kaveh

Xiao VS Noelle

Zhongli VS Lisa

Alhaitham VS Jean

"Bennett? You won? You're not that unlucky after all!"

"S-S-Sucrose just w-went too easy on me...!"

"What's this, what's this? You lost, Diluc?"

"Shut up, Kaeya. You lost too."

"Eula, did you let Mika win on purpose?"

"I did no such thing."

"Hey.. Is it me or did Mondstadt get owned pretty hard?"

"Maybe a little."

"Guys, do you know why no ladies are left in the next round? Because after all, it's a tourna-MEN-t."

"Cyno!!!!"

Aether chuckled to see all the reactions to the first tournament round, and he walked over to Amber and Diona who were busy working on the chart and scores.

"So I guess it's time for round two soon, then?" Aether said, and he glanced at the new pairs.

"Oh. This is interesting," Aether said, seeing the pairs they made especially since Amber and Diona didn't know everyone that well which actually contributed to the fairness. It needed to be completely random.

Diona nodded and misunderstood what Aether meant with interesting: "Ah yes I know. It's bad for Mondstadt we put the only two left on one table. But you see, Bennett said that-"

Amber interrupted Diona and quickly waved her hands. "I-it's just better this way!"

Aether grinned and nodded. Either one of the two, probably Bennett, was too shy to play against people they weren't too familiar with, or they just wanted to play together. Which was fine of course.

Either way, the next line-up was mostly interesting because for some magical reason they happened to put at least 4 couples together, and not many people knew about their relationship, let alone Amber and Diona!

"That must be a coincidence," Paimon whispered the obvious as she looked over Aether's shoulder, and he nodded.

So, round two:

Cyno VS Tighnari

Kazuha VS Xiao

Childe VS Zhongli

Wriothesley VS Lyney

Bennett VS Mika

Alhaitham VS Kaveh

Amused, he watched how the pairs sat at a table together. Bennett and Mika started playing their game quite cheerfully. Kazuha and Xiao were the ultimate combination for a quiet, calculated and intelligent game of cards without many works spoken.

But those other pairs....

"If I win this, you'll have to listen to at least ten of my jokes without running," Cyno said as he rolled the dice.

"You're going to claim such a big prize after just the second round?" was Tighnari's sassy response.

"Finally. I thought you were never going to play against me again after that last massacre~" Childe sang.

Zhongli did not seem amused. "Stop talking. It's your turn."

"Look at us, traveling all this way for me to beat your ass like I can do at home."

"Don't be so confident, jail guy. I have polished my skills since our last game."

Aether gulped to hear this remark from Wriothesley towards Lyney, but then giggled to hear Lyney's new nickname for the confident Duke.

Alhaitham and Kaveh were having a hilarious staring contest, barely looking away from each other as they played card after card.

"I win. I win again. Oh, I win." Alhaitham was clearly winning and liked to rub it in with live commentary.

"If you say it once again I will kick your ass," Kaveh grunted.

"Are those guys close?" Diona asked as she noticed the interesting dynamics, and she cocked her head.

"They... They are all from the same nations," Aether explained with a stiff smile.

"Eep! Did we mess up?" Amber squeaked.

"No that's fine. I like it this way," Aether said, smirking to see more funny situations unfold.

He was just gazing at the quiet game between Kazuha and Xiao when a funny noise could be heard from another table.

"Childe, stop."

Aether stared. What was... "Hmm, why?" Childe said, followed by the same funny sound.

"Dohohon't!" Seeing Childe reach under the table, there was no doubt he was tickling Zhongli's leg.

"Do nohohot distrahahact mehehe!"

"So you admit. This is distracting you."

Aether smirked. How childish. "Chihilde!"

Not many people present seemed to know how rare it was to hear Zhongli's laughter, and as it was getting louder, he could see Venti walk over there. He had been spectating the game between Kazuha and Xiao, but now joined in with teasing Zhongli.

"What's going on here?" he chirped.

"Hehe's c-cheheating!"

"How's this cheating, then? Old man?" Zhongli's laughter increased when Venti tickled his sides, and the concentration and focus that had been very strong in the first round, now crumbled.

"I'll tell them to stop," Diona said, walking over there, but the moment she was gone, Aether heard another laugh. He turned his head and saw the one laughing was... Cyno!

"Huh?" Paimon had been too busy serving drinks to the participants who lost the first round, so she hadn't noticed the funny mess at Zhongli's table. However she came to look the moment Cyno could be heard barking near them.

"Nahaahahari! Don't dohoho thahat! Thihihighn-aahaha!"

"That's right. I'm tickling your thigh."

"Nohohot fuhuhunny!"

"You dare tell me my joke isn't funny?"

Whatever the reason, Tighnari must've been inspired by the tickly mess at the other table. Right at that moment, Aether heard a loud noise. Lyney just banged his head against the table from underneath. Huh?

"WRIAh- nohoho! Don't you dahahare- why ahahare you- gahhh!"

"For a magician, that was petty and embarrassing. You dropped the dice on purpose when they didn't give you the result you wanted. You know I won't let you get away with cheats, kitten."

Aether blushed when he overheard the exchange. These two weren't subtle at all. He watched how Wriothesley tickled Lyney who had crawled under the table to pick up the dice, but Wriothesley was tickling his sides and ribs relentlessly, trapping him under the table and punishing him for his apparent attempt to cheat.

"Why did it turn out like this?" Amber sighed when Diona returned to their side as well.

"They're not stopping," she complained, hehe, poor girl. Only Aether seemed to be amused by the little chaos. Childe had even jumped up and teased and tickled Zhongli with the help of Venti.

Aether noticed Bennett and Mika had stopped playing for a moment and watched the tickly chaos with smiles on their faces.

Kazuha and Xiao were still playing as if nothing was happening.

Ah, he then remembered he hadn't checked on Kaveh and Alhaitham who were tucked away with their table in the corner, surrounded by various Mondstadt people who were watching their game. He could hardly see them, but sounded like they didn't let the others bother them.

A loud cry made him look away from the busy table again to see Wriothesley throw his head back as he laughed loudly.

"Ahahalright! Alrihihight alreheheady! L-lehehet's continuehehe!" he laughed, and Lyney was still under the table but there was no doubt he was tickling Wriothesley's knees and thighs from under there.

"You started it, Wrio. Besides, I wouldn't have dropped the dice if you weren't distracting me on purpose. And then you accuse me of cheating?"

Aether had no idea who was in the right, but he decided to not interrupt them and walked around, ending up at Zhongli's table.

He tapped Venti's shoulder who was still tickling him together with Childe. "Let's not disturb their game," he said. Venti whined.

"Why? We're having fun."

"At least keep it in between them," Aether disagreed, dragging Venti away, but it didn't stop Childe from simply abandoning his own seat and wriggling himself onto Zhongli's lap, just to tickle him uncontrollably. There was no game to speak of anymore, except a tickle game.

Looked like their duel of Genius Invokation TCG was already abandoned.

"Disqualified," Diona said as she stood next to them, but the Harbinger merely responded with a cheerful peace sign.

"Did you hear that Zhongli? We're disqualified."

"Stohohop thihihis instahahant!" Poor Zhongli. Luckily he didn't need to be too embarrassed since by now, the duos not having a silly tickle fight at their table were in the minority.

"Disqualified."

Wriothesley and Lyney were next, but there wasn't much left of their game anyway. Besides the dice, also some cards had fallen off due to the struggle under the table.

"I think they are still trying to play," Amber said, pointing at Cyno and Tighnari. Despite getting tickled, Cyno was playing card after card, and Tighnari was laughing too, so it looked like they were having a tickle fight under the table while playing the game.

"Stop that, or, disqualified," Diona told them. It seemed to work at first, but the moment she left, Aether could see they started again. Hehe, how cute and silly.

At this point everyone was just laughing and messing around. "There goes our tournament!" Amber whined.

"You'll pay for that!" Cyno and Tighnari had now left their table as Cyno chased Tighnari to the other side of the room. Aether saw that their game was totally messed up, cards and dice scattered over the table and floor.

"Disqualified after all," Diona muttered next to him, shaking her head in disappointment. Tighnari fled into the crowd around Alhaitham and Kaveh's table, trying to hide behind the usually cool and aloof Alhaitham, but it didn't stop Cyno from chasing after him, hands formed into claws.

"Guhuhuys hehehelp!"

"I'll get you for ruining our game!" Everyone backed away and squealed and cheered in surprise when Tighnari was thrown over Kaveh and Alhaitham's table, sending cards falling and flying, and Aether covered his own face in defeat.

"Game over," he said, trying to hide his smile while Diona fumed angrily.

"Such bad manners!" she cried. Tighnari was laughing and flailing as he was tickled by Cyno, and Kaveh and Alhaitham merely got up and went to get a drink, giving up without a complaint.

"You must be glad about this. I was winning," Kaveh said proudly. Alhaitham rolled his eyes.

"How can you say that when I was about to obliterate your final card?"

"I had a strategy."

"A strategy for loss, indeed."

Aether finally stood on top of a table in the middle and clapped. "Alright you guys! That's enough!" His voice wasn't loud enough to interrupt the tickle chaos, so Paimon took her megaphone and yelled instead.

"STOOOOOOOP!" All laughter stopped abruptly. Diona also climbed on the table and crossed her arms.

"Is there anyone who is still playing?!" she yelled. Bennett shyly raised a single finger.

"I won..." he said shyly. Mika scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

"Bennett is really lucky today," he said.

"Anyone else?" Amber asked kindly, looking around. Kazuha also raised his hand.

"I won," he announced sweetly. Woah. Aether saw the indifferent look on Xiao's face and giggled. He felt sorry for him. Xiao was the only one who didn't get a proper invitation, but he simply summoned him by calling his name and dragged him into this.

"Sorry," he mouthed in his direction, to apologize for the chaos, and he was pleased to see a gentle nod in response. Xiao didn't seem to blame him for losing control over the tournament.

"Good! Well then," Paimon said, and she pointed towards the board where Diona made the final adjustments. Exactly two people were left for the finale which ended up taking place sooner than planned.

Cyno VS Tighnari

Kazuha VS Xiao

Childe VS Zhongli

Wriothesley VS Lyney

Bennett VS Mika

Alhaitham VS Kaveh

While the final table was prepared for Kazuha and Bennett's duel, Paimon passed by the other duos to scold them.

"I can't believe all of you just turned it into a tickle fight! YOU started it!" she yelled at Childe, poking his chest and making him giggle.

"Sorry not sorry. Maybe next time we can have a tickle tournament instead," he said, probing Zhongli's side playfully.

"Don't give the Traveler ideas," Paimon sighed. Aether was already smirking. Don't, indeed. The idea of a tickle tournament sounded quite interesting.

"Well then! Last round!" Diona and Amber looked exhausted as the final round finally started. This time everyone was gathered around Bennett and Kazuha's table, with some people getting drinks and giggling at the funny turn of events.

Walking around the room to check on everyone and clean up some of the mess, Aether then saw an interesting display, and shuffled closer to watch and listen.

"D-dohohon't! You bohohoth ahaahare-eepp!" To his surprise, Kaveh had cornered Alhaitham in an abandoned spot behind the crowd and was tickling him now.

Alhaitham was also a rare one to witness laughing, so Aether couldn't help but chuckle at the remarkable sight.

"Y-you g-gaahha q-quihihit ihihit! Y-you're suhuhuch a sohohore loseheher!" Despite laughing, Alhaitham didn't seem amused, but Kaveh wouldn't let him go.

"Sore loser, me? I wasn't losing though." Kaveh looked smug, and Alhaitham appeared very flustered to get tickled in public like this. Not that anyone except Aether was noticing them now. And- woah.

He gulped to see Alhaitham lose his cool. He managed to break free from Kaveh's grasp, grabbed his collar and dragged him outside. Oh. Aether had a feeling that they were returning to their hotel room and that Kaveh was going to get a taste of Alhaitham's revenge in private.

"What are you spacing out for? The finale is almost ending! Come, quick!" Paimon suddenly squeaked, making him jump. Aether quickly returned to the table, making his way through the crowd, and was just in time to witness a unique sight.

Bennett won.

"Congratulations," Kazuha said, shaking his hand formally. Before Aether could say anything, Kaeya already dashed forward and lifted Bennett up.

"We have a winner! Woohoo!" Amber and Diona cheered as everyone applauded. Who would have thought. Bennett, the unlucky guy, but lucky today.

Aether nodded proudly and stepped forward. "Bennett! This is for you." He handed him the trophy he had crafted specially for this event, and Bennett took it with sparkling eyes.

Seeing him so happy, Aether thought that the fact that many other pairs ended up getting disqualified, shortening the tournament enormously, might have contributed to Bennett's luck. He absolutely deserved the win.

Seeing the smiles on Diona and Amber's faces, and the proud Mondstadt people, Aether was glad they also weren't too upset that their tournament turned into a little chaos.

"Let's do this again next year!"

Aether nodded proudly. "We will," he said, although he had to admit the thought of a Tickle Tournament was now paving its way into his mind first. He wondered if he could get anyone to participate...

[cocrante]

Haitham watches Kaveh's boyfriend with both jealousy and admiration, wishing he could be in his place, but in the sense that he wants to be exactly like him. Kaveh's boyfriend is older, with adult-like gestures, confident in what he does. He doesn't hesitate to hold Kaveh's hand, doesn't blush when he looks at him, and kisses are given without shame. Haitham knows he could never do that, he's still a boy who loves with the simplicity of a boy. He could never make him feel the same things, but he wishes he could. He wishes that embarrassed smile was for him, those shy eyes that lower when he whispers secrets in his ear. The laughter that bubbles up, he wishes it were only audible to his ears. He doesn't hate that guy, but he envies him like he's never envied anyone before.

[hanakihan]

quick Rapunzel!Ratio sketch before dinner

so basically Aventio Rapunzel AU actually follows Kavetham Beaty and the Beats AU and they’re heavily connected

/more useless lore under the cut it’s long lmao/

so in this entire fairytale AU Ratio is adopted son of Alhaitham (and later Kaveh’s). Alhaitham himself was living and supporting his grandmother and while he’s himself barely an adult he kinda adopted orphaned Ratio whose parents died of local variant of plague or incurable illness. Ratio was around 3 when Alhaitham took him under his wing because no one else wanted to take in a burden in form of an extra mouth to feed.

After events of Beauty and the Beast AU Ratio got officially adopted into royal family as Alhaitham and Kaveh’s child (6 years old by now), but then it’s revealed that Ratio’s parents died not of plague or illness that roamed around by that time, but by inherited defect in health. Small Ratio falls really ill and each day it becomes progressively worse and nothing helps. Then one day they acquire magical flower that miraculously cures Ratio but at the same night he gets kidnapped, since essence of a magical flower now flows through his blood.

Years go by and Ratio grows into a curious but easily annoyed young man whose hair impossibly long. He and people who confine him tried to cut them but each time it happens cut hair just turn into rotting poisonous mess and then grow up back again after some time (Ratio doesn’t know it, but all the poison and illness in his body go into his hair so it turns into a cycle of cleansing and getting sick again).

Come Aventurine who was simply trying to get away from pursuers because he is a gambler and is pretty much in big debt at the moment and he really needs some treasure to sell. He stumbles upon Ratio’s confinement and they strike a deal - Aventurine helps Ratio to finally escape from his kidnappers and reach nearby town while Aventurine gets a gemstone that Ratio has on him (which Aventurine recognizes as a sign of royal family since much similar but green one is in possession of King Alhaitham). Selling this one will give Aventurine enough fortune to pay off his debts and even live comfortably.

So they go on a chaotic adventure to reach a town (where Kaveh and Alhaitham reside) so they can go their separate ways. They arrive on time of missing prince’s birthday to see and partake in a festival (which Ratio was against at first because he’s not here for fun and he still fears he’s still followed by people who kept him confined). Aventurine insists, having suspicions Ratio may be a missing prince judging by gemstone he possesses but then again who knows what happened to prince and gemstone could’ve ended up anywhere.

After that deal is complete, Ratio gives Aventurine his gemstone as was promised and they go on separate ways. While walking his own way to sell gemstone, Aventurine stumbles upon Alhaitham who’s away from celebrations to be in quiet and reminiscence about a young boy he once adopted as his own. It’s near outskirts of city, Alhaitham’s old house and Ratio’s nearby, where they lived before Alhaitham got married to Kaveh. Alhaitham spots Aventurine who wanted to leave unnoticed, but in the end Aventurine understands whole picture because Alhaitham shares some past with him. Turns out Ratio is the missing prince - Veritas. No one knows Veritas’ last name so no one connected the dots between Prince Veritas and a man going by last name Ratio. Aventurine realizes how much royal family misses their son, realizes how he himself fell in love with this insufferable man and how he’s ready to risk it all for him in his last gambit gamble. Aventurine gives Alhaitham gemstone that Ratio gave him and promises to bring their son back while rushing to direction Ratio left.

Cut further and Ratio is found by his kidnappers again. Aventurine does arrive in time to help him escape once again, dragging him along to the palace so they can get help. They’re close enough when one of kidnappers manages to grab Ratio’s hair. Now he and Aventurine are separated, one of kidnappers managed to injure Aventurine when he tried to get to Ratio, and in his last effort he does reach Ratio and cuts off his hair, freeing him and telling him to run and not to look back. Ratio’s cut hair start to rot and poison to death everyone who was holding it in their grasp thus killing at least half of them. Ratio chaotically tries to cut his hand so his blood can be used to help Aventurine but it doesn’t work and his hair don’t grow out again like it usually does - meaning there’s no more essence of flower in his body, just as there’s no more illness in him, since everything was purged and purified in him. Alhaitham and Kaveh arrive on time with others to this scene and deal with remaining kidnappers while Ratio chaotically tries to do something because Aventurine’s life slips through his fingers and he refuses to accept such outcome. Ratio never really cried in his life no matter what, but this breaks his heart and final drop of flower’s essence in his single tear heals Aventurine.

Everything is good and sweet and nothing hurts anymore because I’m a sucker for happy endings (Kaveh be questioning Aventurine’s morals until Alhaitham smacks him on head. Eventually Kaveh remembers where he saw Aventurine - turns out Aventurine (which is not his real name) was Veritas’ childhood companion back after adoption into royal family. Aventurine was a son of a head maid and thus was always following Ratio around as well as studying with him and disappeared same night since he was taken away along by being a witness but then kidnappers just sold him away and with time he forgot who he was and what was his goal)

[generalsdiary]

hear me out- what if kavetham were in a zzz au?

alhaitham, who works as a proxy and owns a small library as his main job, and kaveh, who is a hollow raider. and over time alhaitham is the only proxy kaveh wants to work with. but they never met after that irl. only communicating via inter-knot and alhaitham’s bangboo. kaveh goes into hollows to find tech parts and analyze the architecture of the buildings lost to the hollows. alhaitham, who loves his cushy job that is only long distance, even in the library he isn’t talking to people, he keeps his other bangboo at the desk job. plot twist they went to the same uni- alhaitham specializing in bangboo and a.i technology + kaveh studying architecture. could also evolve into a 5+1 fic? alhaitham’s bangboo getting corrupted with ether in the hollow, kaveh getting trapped in, left alone with a broken bangboo and mehrak who cannot help. alhaitham now has to go into the hollow despite his near zero experience physically walking in one, goes in with his other bangboo, which requires human assistance, to save kaveh. or they first meet in alhaitham’s library, on the odd chance of him trying to leave to buy groceries and he recognizes kaveh- like truly recognizes; this is the man that he is always guiding through the hollows, standing right in front of him, asking his bangboo about a specific book. and kaveh who remembers the young man who went to the same uni as him. raaah the potential is there, i have so many thoughts and ideas about this-

[kizuna-the-randomix]

So one of my friends is really into history, lore, and Stuff and told me that a dude named Dr. Irving Finkel translates stuff from sumerian and he's, like, the one who learned that the Epic of Gilgamesh was like homework for scribes-in-training with said trainee scribes being, as I like to describe, 2-18-years-old rich kids. Bestie then proceeded to yeet me the mental imagery of some young noble child scribe writing GilKidu fan fiction instead of their homework [which, mood you scenario-noble child] which leads me to THIS crack shot of an idea being born when I said to them:

"Imagine one of the best scribes in the Modern Era was a 2 year old girl and the only reason she's considered the best because she lost her homework and that's the only reason why a Significant Part of The Story of Gilgamesh still exists."

Which lead me to conclude that "I can fanfic this." So really this AU (kinda) started because of bestie and because they like Kaveh and Deshret and Kaveh as Deshret, I decided to call this one The Epic of Deshret AU (shortened name) [full name of this AU would probably be Ancient Ship Fiction Survives AU]. (Below is basically copy pasting what I told them while I was running on AU juice)

Epic of Gilgamesh AU in Genshin but replace Gil and Enkidu with King Deshret and Nabu Malikata-- but its modern au with Haikaveh/Kavetham being Scribe and Archeologist respectively and they just uncovered a new site that contains ancient text that seems to hold new information about the Epic of King Deshret-- except that's not really the main plot.

So first scene is haikaveh uncovering the text and it like freezes to black and white, focusing on the Ancient text they're holding with some background dialouge going like "so you're probably wondering how I got here" with the voiceover being Nahida. Now flashback to an ancient time where The Era of King Deshret has passed but their stories told are still (kinda) accurate-- newly inducted scribe Nahida (5 years old), daughter of the late Lady Rukkadevata, has decided that she want to write about The Definitely True and Hidden Love Story of King Deshret and His Goddess of Flower Nabu Malikata that she discovered from her Late Mother's hidden books. There starts the tale of a grand adventure starting her escape from her definitely-not-power-hungry uncle Azar who definitely did not kill Rukka to going on a journey where she meets many people, asking them about what Hidden Details they could possibly know about King Deshret and Nabu Malikata to make her Definitely Hidden True Love Story more accurate.

So like the thing is that the story Nahida finds from her mom's hidden stuff is a What-If fanfiction if Nabu Malikata lived and they went on their way to Love and Procreate. Yeah she definitely still died as lore accurate to her Epic of Gilgamesh counterpart Enkidu.

--------------------------------------------------------

So yea that's all that I got for now. If anyone does decide this also tickles their plot bunny do tag me so I can see it too.

[raiden-shogun-give-me-a-chance]

The line “you were just too kind and I was too young to know. That’s all that really matters, I was a fool.” Is SO kavetham coded

[mushroomwitches]

Okay so I am very adhd and have like a ton of drafts started for some fanfic ideas and wanted to focus on one to start with, but I wanted to get peoples opinions because I’m also very indecisive! Below the cut I will explain each option I have that I’ve started to help!

Slight Spoiler warnings

Option 1: okay so this idea is inspired by mamuro-chiba-ua ‘s artwork here on tumblr, though I have seen other talk about in on here, but their artwork and Au made me start to wonder how being the uncle to Vivi would effect buggy! This would focus on buggy as he goes about his life and would be a cross guild (crocodile, mihawk, and buggy! )

Option 2: for whatever reason kaveh and Alhaitham give me the swan Princess vibes. So this story would follow kaveh as he is captured by Dori and given to a mysterious man who changes him into a paradisea by day, only allowing him to return to his human form at night to build for him. Can Alhaitham save him or will he be trapped forever ( featuring Tighnari, collei and Layla as the others trapped with Kaveh and also turned into animals, Cyno as Alhaitham friend and Faruzan as the overly annoyed and sarcastic advisor to Alhaitham )

Option 3: so this one could either be gigolas or aralas, both work and I am a multi shipper who loves both options! I could also tweak this and make it a throuple if anyone is interested in that. But basically I was a total band kid and feel like Legolas would be a color guard member. Now if I do Gimli, that boy is definitely a percussionist, and I would say I could see him in the drum line as a bass player. If it’s Aragorn, I am a little more torn on that, I could see Aragorn as either a low brass player or the drum major! Basically a fun marching band AU (specifically based on DCI (drum corps international) which goes to 21 so they would all be over the age of 18!)

Option 4: so I’ll set the stage. Bilbo is the lead in the local theater companies upcoming production of Les Miserables (could totally see him singing who am I, like the voice of the original Jean Val Jean just fits in my head). But oh no, Bilbo’s babysitter ( *cough cough* Gandalf) didn’t show up and now he has to bring baby frodo with him, but he has to practice. So he call Bofur, his friend from college to see if he could come to watch frodo while he’s performing. Bofur agrees easily, but is also currently dealing with a brooding Thorin after a really shitty date and decides to bring him with. Thorin isn’t thrilled, claiming to hate musicals and only like his metal and stuff he can play with the rest of the band, but sees Bofur won’t let it go and agrees to go. He goes right in time to watch Bilbo practice the who am I song and just is like damn. Basically meet cute here and then just follows their life from there with all of life’s up and downs (plus cute little kids with frodo, fili and kili)

Option 5: okay so shanks and buggy give off like such ex energy, and I just love the idea of they got like married real young and got divorced a year or 2 later because they both wanted different things, but they are forced together like 20 years later (either a job, event, taking care of roger who is sick, something like that) and being to fall in love again!

Option 6: so I feel like this is pretty self explanatory. Basically I have begun taking both the hobbit and lotr and putting them into the star wars universe! The hobbit would include ships like bagginshield and lotr would include ships like samfro, Aragorn x Arwen, and gigolas!

But yeah feel free to answer the poll and comment or pop into my inbox with any questions!