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serenelia · 1 month

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ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʟʟ

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ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴀᴍᴏᴜᴄʜᴇ/ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Content includes: SFW, mild mentions of blood, vampire kinks, mentioned vampire Harbingers though only slight (it's gonna look like a Childe fic at first but trust me, I'm not writing for his ginger ass anytime soon), ball room dancing that's probably all over the place.

Scroll away if you don't entertain any au's regarding vampires, witches, and hunters. Also this is quite long, almost two-thousand and five hundred words, grab a snack!

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In a distant, secluded land, lays a splendid manor. Filled with guests, ranging from vampires and humans alike, all under the gaze of stars that mimic splatters of white paint scattered across a canvas, they glimmer and shine in the moonless night. Leaves entranced by the soft touches of the wind, sway according to its direction.

A melodious tune of a violin accompanied by a piano reaches the ears of laughing guests, played by the two pale men situated in the middle of the ballroom, wearing well-tailored suits, both playing their mastered instruments, each movement effortless as they played, gaining the attention of almost everyone inside.

A beautiful young-lady stood out from the rest, wearing a luxurious gown, one would think it was embroidered by the gods themselves. It twinkles with every step she makes, matching with the hat veil covering half of her face. Heads turn as she steps inside the luxurious manor, taking the breath of almost every attracted man and jealous woman away.

Her eyes dart across the room, exchanging pleasant smiles with everyone who was courageous enough to lock eyes with her intimidating gaze. Her heels clacking against the marble floor, the light from the chandelier illuminates her figure even more so as she crosses the center of the room, the other guests attention stolen from the musicians who were to engrossed in their own music to notice their gazes drifting away.

From across the ballroom, a group of dark dressed people started whispering among themselves. A tall man with a slender figure spoke up first, “Looks like I’ve found my main “food” for entertainment for the night,” He says with a whistle, eyes quickly moving to his companions in search for support, “Get it? Like “food” as in-”

“You better shut your mouth if you’re considering continuing that sentence.” The much taller woman threatens, raising the wine glass in her hand above his head.

The tall man immediately takes a step back, “Woah, no need to be so irritated first thing in the night! What’s a little comradery between us Harbingers?” He carps, shaking his head with fake disappointment.

“Oh, cut the crap, number 11. I’d rather starve and decay than be anything more than a business partner with you,” the shorter man grumbles, boring holes in the latter’s head.

The ginger-haired man frowns and turns to look at him after seeing the woman nod along, “Really? You’re still holding that over my head?”

The short-tempered man didn’t bother responding, focusing his attention on something much more worthwhile his attention. Surveying the rest of the room from where he stands, the mysterious woman “number 11” mentioned appeared to be looking at their direction after crossing the center of the room. Most of her features being hidden due to the shadow of the balcony above, so he couldn’t make a guess who she was.

But before he could even start guessing at all, the annoying one disrupts, “Ooh, would you look at that, a pretty little woman looking right at your direction, would you dare?” he muses from beside him. Scaramouche turns to glare at him, but immediately regrets it when he’s faced with Childe’s eat-shitting grin, “Do you know her?” He asks instead.

Childe looks back at him, “Me? Oh, no, if I did, I would’ve left you guys here as soon as she came in. I’m sure her company would be more worth my time.” He comments with a snort.

Scaramouche returns his gaze to the woman upon hearing his “No,” finding her to have already left her previous spot and headed for the food on the table near where they’re standing. Upon realizing this, he felt his eye twitch.

As if feeling his bruised ego, Childe whispers to him with a sigh, “Maybe your charms just didn’t work on her,” patting his shoulder with a plastered smile on his features.

He had to grit his teeth near breaking point to avoid punching him.

Resorting to a more tamed option, Scaramouche pushes his hand off his shoulder, giving him the fiercest glare he could muster. “I’d like to see you make an attempt. After all, I think I’d prefer to eat stale food than give you a try too,” He gave a snarky remark. A small but victorious smirk grew on his face after seeing Childe’s face drop.

“Well, I doubt anyone would be willing to give me a pass when you’re next to me, the choice is obvious, don’t you think?” Childe replies, expression quickly transitioning to a smug one, almost too smug for his liking.

Before Scaramouche could even rebut, Childe already slid past him and made way to approach the lady. He wishes he could watch him make a fool out of himself, yet as he turns to glance behind him, Signora was already staring at him with a repulsed look, head tilted to the side. Scaramouche walks away from the scene filled with resent.

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A half-eaten sweet in one hand, a ginger-haired man kissing the other, [Name] stands frozen in front of the table filled with food (thankfully they actually provided water and actual wine this time, she doesn’t think she can stomach accidentally drinking blood again), eyes wide and mouth agape. She lowers her gaze to look at the stranger, who has a ghost of a pleased smile on his face, “I apologize for the abrupt greeting, fair maiden. I simply could not take my eyes off of you,” He says and stands upright. [Name] lets her eyes wander his features, trying to recognize him from somewhere if she could.

She gulps down the remaining food in her mouth before speaking, “Good evening, dear Sir, may I inquire who you may be?” Ever so slowly moving her hand away from his mouth.

He might be one of those vampires that prefer blood from the wrist.

“Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers- but you may call me “Childe” instead.” The stranger replies, holding a polite smile. “And you must be..?”

Well, there goes her plan of avoiding that one particular party for the night.

Was her get up too eye-catching?

Seriously, how unlucky is she going to be tonight? Please get at least get one vampire back home!

“..My name is [Name], it’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Childe.” [Name] bobbed a curtsy to him, and he reciprocates by bowing as well. Finally letting go of her hand.

The Harbingers… A bunch of royal skinned vampires ganged up together. She’s never heard of any members’ names in it nor its organization (she doesn't really bother herself with it), but that didn’t mean she wanted to know either.

“I could say the same to you as well, Lady [Name]. It’s a privilege to be able to meet such a magnificent lady such as yourself in this fine night. If I may ask, what brings you here?” Childe asks after correcting his posture, his smile noticeably widening after seeing her flash a strained smile.

[Name] averts her eyes for a quick moment, appearing to be flustered, “Oh, I came here in my fathers stead. It was originally suppose to him as he has a meeting with one of the figures here, unfortunately, something happened to him that required a last minute switch.” She manages to lie, perhaps she should’ve prepared herself a bit more. The last time she went in an event like this to hunt, none of them even bothered to talk to her.

“Oh?” Childe muses, tilting his head as his eyes stare curiously at her.

She takes a deep breath, “It would’ve done him good to let it be yet, he insisted someone to go as it’s offensive to appear unattended despite his perfect reason for missing the event.” She sulks, furrowing her eyebrows for effect.

The gentleman laughs, “It certainly is- well, for some at least.” He says, eyes lingering from her eyes to her gloved hand. “But I wouldn’t call it “unfortunate” for the most part, I say it must be pretty lucky that fate allowed us to be here together?” Childe adds, his voice going an octave lower.

[Name] catches where his gaze lingers, and a ghost of a smirk creeps up her face. “I dare say it must be, Sir Childe, I couldn’t think I could be any less lucky of having met you.” She says, biting back the tone of sarcasm she wishes to add.

Alright, so he is one of those vampires. Should she go to the bathroom to apply the drug now or later? He looks like someone impatient.

His eyes light up at that, “I am delighted to hear you agree, Lady [Name]!” Childe exclaims with a grin, and as he was about to add to the conversation, the lights in the room suddenly go dark, all except for a spot in the middle. The musicians playing the terrible music from before paused their playing, taking the noise from the other guests with them, making the entire room ghost quiet.

[Name] squints her eyes at the obvious trap, if they wanted people to engage in a ballroom dance, they should’ve just switched the tune of to something more mellow. She could see some people already nudging their partner for a dance, some formed a circle outside the light, anxiously looking at one another, waiting for a brave couple to steal the show. She sighs, now all that’s missing are some people who are willing enough to have everyone’s eyes on them-

“Well, seeing as they’re all basically staring at us,” Childe turns his attention back to [Name], reaching a hand out. “Lady [Name], would you like a dance?”

[Name] felt her world turn cold at his invitation, she hasn’t dance in almost a year, but she couldn’t just refuse him for the sake of her dignity. Her mission is on the line! “With pleasure,” she says through a forced smile. Ignoring the amount of eyes boring into her head as she takes his hand, cold sweat dripping down her back.

Quiet whispers and murmurs follow their every step, with Childe still wearing his signature smile, her hand in his, he couldn’t be more pleased.

They both reach the main spotlight in the room, placing themselves in front of the other. Once again, they did their own respective curtsies to one another, and soon after, the music starts.

Childe took a step forward, gaze never leaving hers as he places a hand to her waist, and [Name] had to resist the urge to move away. Placing a hand to his shoulder, maintaining her small smile to avoid accidentally offending him. Any moment he might rip her head off… probably.

Their bodies sway to the music, Childe looking as carefree as always, not minding the stares of multiple people right at him. Looking almost happy to be in the situation, a total contrast to [Name].

Step to the right, a step to the left.

Feet in their proper position.

Shifting weight equally to avoid slipping.

..ok, she’s got this.

Her dress follows her every movement perfectly, enhancing her enchanting looks even further he takes a step back and spun herself around, earning some amazed gasps from people around, including her dance partner. He looks almost pleased at seeing her move so gracefully. She only shyly smiles back as she held his hands once more.

Taking a step back once again, [Name] only manages to complete half of her spin when she almost collides with Childe, much to his fault for not letting go of her hands when she clearly gave him the cue to. Their faces mere inches away from each other, she could feel his breath tickle her cheek, and from this distance she could clearly see the missing shine in his eye. Her own breath got caught in her throat, but before she could ponder over it, he swiftly spins her back around to her original position from before, lifting his hand above her to let her move freely.

[Name] manages to maintain her poker face as she’s spun back around, but couldn’t shake the odd feeling in her chest. Almost as if something is about to go wrong.

Her gaze nervously alternates between his eyes and his face, Childe stays silent, “Your eyes..” She starts, her voice barely above a whisper.

He hums, both of them stepping forward before spinning around to switch their positions, “They’re.. unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” She continues, still entirely unsure whether to continue asking or not. Would she be suspicious if she did? Or would she be even more suspicious if she didn’t?

“Oh, that,” Childe chuckles, not letting his gaze on her ethereal face falter. “I’ve had it ever since I can remember.” She nods and spins around again, expecting him to do the same as before and so he did. Maneuvering her close to him with their hands still intertwined before letting go of the one held behind her waist to let her continue spinning to end up to his other side.

“I have a question,” Childe spoke up once they started to walk in a circle with their hands on each other’s waists, [Name] couldn’t see his face from this angle, so she had to stare at the people looking at them. Finding them dancing along, but farther away, as if afraid to even be near their presence.

She raises a brow at that, “What do you wish to know?” [Name] replies to him.

Childe asks, “When was the last time you danced in public like this?”

[Name] felt her blood run cold at the out-of-the-blue question, should she be honest? No, if she raised even more suspicion later on, he’d be able to connect the dots. “A while ago, why do you ask?” She answers, ending up with a plausible half-truth.

They stopped walking and each took a step outside of their makeshift circle with their hands out, [Name] spun herself around to land herself back to his arms, her back to his chest, “I just couldn’t help but notice how you were pretty nervous when we started.” He says, tone friendly as it had been in the first time, but she couldn’t help but feel offended. Was it necessary to point it out?

She smiles through her mild annoyance as she lands back to his chest after repeating the step, “Ah, please excuse my disgraceful dancing, I don’t usually go out as much as other women do.” She rolls her eyes, thankful for the veil covering half of her face.

Looking down, [Name] sees Childe’s shadow shake it’s head, “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that at all. In truth, I find it impressive to know you’re quick to recall the dance.”

She forces out a chuckle and steps back to repeat the step from before, placing her hands out for him to hold as she lightly spun herself around.

To be honest, she’s a little surprised herself too. The last ballroom dance she actually danced in was almost a year ago, she had to stop attending since they were getting too suspicious with the missing vampires every event held in this manor. It would be very bad if they found out about her.

Still, the place didn’t really change much since her last visit, it was still irritatingly bright and the food was still too stale for her. Did they only consider vampire and dead humans in their guest list?

And speaking of vampires, he… wait- why am I falling?

Her heart stopped beating as she looses her footing from the loss of support, it felt as if time had stopped as she felt herself descend ever so slowly onto the ground. Her hands continue to try and search for his hands, but she only grasped at air.

That was, until hands swiftly intertwined with hers again. Their bodies collide softly against each other, her heart threatening to burst out her chest at the split second fall.

Had this egotistic of a man forgotten to catch her all of a sudden? What if she actually fell!

She clasps their hands together (wishing she could break it there and then) and glares at the ground, pretending it was him, “Well, I certainly know a certain someone who forgot a portion of the dance.” [Name] swallows the tone of grumbling in her voice as much as she can, preparing to show him a frown as he spins her around once more, like a ballerina in a music box.

Except this time, instead of catching a glimpse of the ginger-hair she knows of, what she saw was unfamiliar indigo-colored hair.

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This is probably gonna take 2 more parts, since I plan to... never mind. Hope you enjoyed reading though!

Likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated!

#fanfic #genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin imagines #genshin impact #wanderer #ballroom #ballroom dancing #harbingers #scaramouche #childe #scaramouche x reader #vampire au #witch hunter #witch reader

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by-saiyuri · 4 months

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a little idea for my halloween au

at the end of the story childe turns back into a human and zhongli, who had never seen this form, is SMITTEN

#genshin impact #zhongli #tartagila #tartali #genshin au #he's down bad #the witch of stone and gold is unavailable for “oh.. cute human” reasons #“childe has freckles” headcanon my beloved

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gierosajie-art · 11 months

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Desperation

Witch Venti concept | Ko-fi link

#anyway can you guess who he was trying to keep from becoming a witch #genshin impact #genshin impact au #venti #the art drawer

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onenshtar · 10 months

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Oh no they fell on top of each other, how clumsy and careless of them 🤭

More witch AU haikaveh bc after ages stuck with artblock my brain decided to just continue a scene from a this doodle

Bonus:

#art #traditional art #watercolor #genshin impact #haikaveh #alhaitham #kaveh #tighnari #hkv witch au #poor nari having to deal with these dumb dense bitches #art tag #also yea i gave up rendering midway #my hands and brain just wouldn't work

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thormanick · 1 month

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All the Kavetham/Haikaveh ideas I don't have capacity to currently write, a very detailed list:

(Which I am humbly placing here before you. Be warned: this post is an incredibly long one!)

1. Fatui!Kaveh AU, where the night before the meeting happens between Kaveh and Alhaitham at the tavern, Kaveh gets a deal from Fatui representatives to work on a huge project in Snezhnaya. Kaveh is sceptical about it, but decides to accept the offer during the dialogue with Alhaitham (seeing himself as a burden, Kaveh decides that he will cause more trouble to Alhaitham than the Fatui, thus he decides to accept their offer even if it seems too good to be true). He tells Alhaitham about his decision to leave for Snezhnaya, and so the two relatively amicably/peacefully part their ways (not without Alhaitham testing Kaveh's reasoning a bit, but Kaveh's resolve remains strong).

And so, Kaveh leaves for Snezhnaya, where he gets to work on several huge projects for the next several years under Sandrone. Most of them are related to construction, engineering and reverse-engineering of Khaenri'ahn and Khaenri'ah-inspired technology, and he gets barely any time to work on his personal projects (he's overworked and exhausted and doesn't get much time and opportunity to be creative; however, the payments are good and he's on his way to getting out of debt, which is practically the sole reason driving him forward. The projects get progressively more complicated and, in a way, unhinged - engineering military equipment is alright, but working with the remains of Khaenri'ahn technology, dead gods and such proves to be... mentally taxing. Everything happens very gradually though, so Kaveh does not immediately notice the true scale of where the Fatui are ready to go to achieve certain goals). Kaveh doesn't really like the work environment of the Fatui, but he does his best (the Harbingers creep him out whenever he gets to see them on a rare official occasion (he might specifically dislike Pantalone because the Harbinger keeps picking at him for his debt, given a chance), but Sandrone's a decent boss who is somewhat encouraging and invested in his work and personal projects. She might be especially interested in Mehrak's existence and operation). Overall, everything goes quite smoothly for Kaveh, even if he doesn't feel quite at home in Snezhnaya and is aware of how dangerous the Fatui can be. He does not consider himself to be paranoid, but the other shoe has to drop at some point - and that happens when the new Acting Grand Sage of Sumeru gets to visit Snezhnaya on a diplomatic mission (aka: Kaveh reconnects with Alhaitham & Co for the first time in what feels like forever). The situation gets complicated when Kaveh realizes that Sandrone encourages the reestablishment of his connection with Alhaitham specifically - and she never encourages an action if she doesn't directly contribute from it.

Feelings, emotions and shenanigans ensue.

TLDR: Kaveh's doing his best despite being restricted in his ways of work, prevented from realizing most of his creative projects and slowly but surely building emotional walls around himself because Fatui and Snezhnaya; Sandrone being a kind of decent boss with sorta good work ethic but horrendous morals who is not exactly a good influence on Kaveh's idealistic tendencies and guilt complex; Fatui being contextually horrifying but kinda normal coworkers if you don't look at them too close; Alhaitham trying his best as a political figure (Nahida help him) while also trying to get Kaveh to return home with him (because he misses him); the main conflict revolving around Kaveh and his life choices with Sandrone and Alhaitham being kind of foils to each other (with Sandrone gradually destroying Kaveh's idealistic morals and playing on his guilt to get the most out of his potential as an innovator, and with Alhaitham actively trying to resolve Kaveh's guilt and show him that, despite their arguments, Kaveh's idealism still has place in the world and can co-exist with other philosophies). There might or might not be some macguffin-esque Deshret relic that both Akademia and Fatui hunt for that eventually brings the whole crew back to Sumeru. Kaveh might or might not get a chance to meet a fragment of Deshret's spirit within the mentioned relic. But there definitely will be a happy end for everyone here (Deshret will make sure of it).

2. Calamity!AU. The new Cataclysm comes, enveloping all Seven Nations, and so Sumeru does its best to survive. The cities are ruined, and the people gather together in random places to survive. Alhaitham gets to live within one of the settlements, established by the Akademiya. While trying to survive the first wave of the new Calamity, he is also looking for Kaveh; after an argument between the two the architect left for an expedition to the Desert, right before the new Calamity began. Unfortunately, the news comes that his group should have been around Tunigi Hollow - one of the spots in Sumeru where the first wave of the new Calamity hit the hardest. There is no concrete information on whether Kaveh's group survived or not. Alhaitham, not loosing hope, does his best to find any information on Kaveh's whereabouts, but due to Sumeru becoming extremely dangerous to traverse and disjointed as a result of the new Calamity, the search stretches out for almost a decade.

One day Alhaitham helps a caravan, traversing the forests to get to one of the settlements, to fight off the monsters. Unexpectedly, Kaveh turns out to be one of the members of the caravan. Their reunion is almost cut short by the caravan's need to keep going, but Alhaitham convinces Kaveh to join him instead. The two return to the new Sumeru city settlement, where Alhaitham lives and works under the watch of Akademiya and Lord Kusanali. It appears that during his years of travels around the destroyed Sumeru Kaveh learned new ways of architectural construction that would be more efficient against the monsters, born by the Calamity. He also seems to behave quite differently, hardened by the experiences of the past years. Alhaitham proposes for Kaveh to stay with him in the city, and Kaveh accepts. The feelings, new routines, dealings with the changed versions of each other and attempts to find new pace of life in the new world ensue.

TLDR: The world might be ending and impossible to live in, but even so each new day is brighter when the person one loves is by their side.

3. Another Cataclysm!AU, where Kaveh and Alhaitham get assigned separate missions in the grander scheme of things created to prevent the coming of a new Calamity. The plan succeeds and the world remains safe, but not without heavy losses: amongst many others, Kaveh does not survive while carrying out his mission.

Decades pass as Alhaitham goes through his grieving process. Eventually, one evening on the anniversary of the Calamity's prevention, Alhaitham wanders to a place he and Kaveh used to visit together. A Ley Line disruption occurs, and he gets to see a glimpse of Kaveh through it. They have a conversation; the Ley Line apparition (a memory of Kaveh) is convinced that Alhaitham is from the future, and so they talk a lot about the Calamity, whether it was prevented, and about each other's futures. Alhaitham can't bring himself to tell Kaveh that he does not survive the Calamity, but he does tell Kaveh that his architectural legacy lives on. Kaveh commends Alhaitham on his achievements (though not an acting grand sage for a very long time, Alhaitham kept playing an important role throughout Sumeru's history, helping to keep it safe).

Eventually, their time runs out. Ley Line disorder starts gradually disappearing. Alhaitham urges Kaveh to be careful and stay safe, knowing that the Calamity (on Kaveh's side) is yet to come. Kaveh laughs and tells him that on his side, Alhaitham just told him the same words after they finished the debriefing session, related to the Calamity. He says that he was feeling very nervous, but that seeing future-Alhaitham made him convinced that they are on the right path.

And so, the Ley Line disorder disappears. Alhaitham spends some more time at the spot before returning home. Despite painful memories having been brought up, his heart feels a bit lighter.

TLDR: closure comes unexpectedly, takes many forms and does not erase the pain in an instant, but, nevertheless, it heals.

4. AU! where Kaveh and Alhaitham are both magical birds that can transform into humans (and half-humans).

They live together in the depths of Sumeru forest - a domain of a long lost God of Wisdom. Kaveh's feathers are rumoured to bring blessings, while Alhaitham's feathers, on the contrary, are said to bring bad luck or even curses. Humans, living at the edge of magical forest, kinda worship them, but also prefer not to interact with them, primarily because Alhaitham is not happy when others trespass on his lands, and because searching for Kaveh is extremely hard (he's often off working on his projects deep within the forest), and the magical forest is very dangerous on its own. So, the humans build their cities outside of the Sumeru forest, and Alhaitham and Kaveh peacefully live together in the depths of it.

Despite Kaveh and Alhaitham living together for a long time, their opinions on humanity are diametrically opposed: Alhaitham barely tolerates humans, finding them to be reckless, meddling, cowardly and deceitful; Kaveh, on the contrary, finds humans to be creative, inspiring, free and beautiful in their own way. Throughout the years, Kaveh manages to build somewhat of an amicable relationship with the humans, living at the edge of the forest: he learns more about their traditions and arts, while the humans receive his guidance and blessings in various matters of living, craftsmanship and arts. Eventually, Kaveh's knowledge and magical powers catch the eye of Lord Sangemah Bay, who resides in and governs one of the bigger settlements at the forest's border. She makes a deal with Kaveh that, despite providing him with valuable (in his eyes) experience of working with humans on some of his grandest architectural projects, costs him a lot - meaning he has to give away lots of his blessed feathers, which makes his remaining magic much weaker (and generally undermines his health for a bit). Alhaitham is not a huge fan of such approach (in his eyes, Kaveh is wasting his powers and time for nothing, endangering himself), and so a conflict between him and Kaveh breaks. As a result, Kaveh flees their home, secluding himself while he's focusing on other projects he finds curious. Kaveh keeps working with humans, and though Alhaitham certainly keeps an eye on Kaveh's wellbeing, he does not make it easy for humans to reach him. So what if there are new random magical seals, obstacles, almost-traps and riddles appearing here and there when people try to get to Kaveh? It's a magical forest, things happen! (Kaveh knows that Alhaitham does this on purpose, and Alhaitham knows that Kaveh knows, and it leads to them indirectly, and then directly bickering and arguing. The magical forest quite possibly grows very tired of them. Their friends Tighnari and Cyno certainly do, but alas.)

The new equilibrium, found by Alhaitham and Kaveh, is challenged once more when Kaveh leaves to the Lord Sangemah Bay's city to direct yet another one of his grand projects. They do not see each other for a long while. Despite all the challenges, Kaveh's relationship with Dori gradually grows stronger - the two value their partnership - and Kaveh ends up making friends amongst humans. However, not everyone is happy about Lord Sangema Bay's growing friendship with the "deity of blessings" personified. As some people come to despise her for her wealth, influence and ever growing power, so do they come to despise the bird of paradise.

When the project is complete, the time for celebration comes. Kaveh gets to attend a feast by Dori's side as a guest of honour, and is invited to stay the night in her palace before returning to the forest. Kaveh agrees: he's been spending all his days and nights at the building site, and resting a night before returning home would be nice. As the night goes on, however, Kaveh begins to feel weary and unwell - the new type of wine he was served did him no good. He excuses himself early for the night and, as soon as he gets to his bed, he's out cold.

After an undetermined amount of time (in what appears to be the middle of the night), Kaveh wakes up because of immense pain in his back.

As he gradually comes to his senses, he has a horrible realization: one of his wings was cut off when he was asleep. Alerting the guards and Dori yields no results: the intruder escaped, presumably with Kaveh's wing, and there are no traces of them left. While Kaveh gets immediately attended to, he goes in shock and, eventually, loses consciousness.

When the messengers form the city arrive to the forest, Alhaitham receives them reluctantly at first, but as soon as he hears of what happened, he rushes to the city. He ends up taking Kaveh back to the forest, hoping that its healing magic will help restore his wing. However, nothing seems to work: neither spells, nor the powers of nature, not even Tighnari's medicine. Though the wound is slowly healing, Kaveh remains unconscious for days. To get more information on what happened, Alhaitham returns to the city to question Dori together with Cyno (who's also to continue the investigation within the city once Alhaitham returns home), while Tighnari stays with Kaveh.

Though the questioning concludes that Dori knows nothing and is willing to assist in the search of the perpetrator, Cyno concludes that she was not thorough enough in ensuring Kaveh's safety and overall security of the celebration in general, revealing that Dori recklessly cut corners here and there. Furious, Alhaitham leaves Dori his cursed feather, giving her an ultimatum: she has to find the perpetrator and give them to Alhaitham to deal the final punishment. Until then, her city is doomed to slowly crumble into decay and oblivion. Dori accepts the deal.

Alhaitham returns to the forest to look after Kaveh, while Cyno remains in the city to continue the search. When Alhaitham comes back, Kaveh is finally awake. However, he remains extremely closed-off, practically a shadow of himself. The recovery process is slow and challenging, but Alhaitham does his best to support Kaveh in all ways that matter. Kaveh struggles with healing: the loss of a wing affected not only his body, but also his mental state and magic. He cannot transform, he can barely use any of his magical skills, and he cannot fly anymore, which hurts him most of all. It takes a while for Kaveh to get on his feet (quite literally), even longer to finally leave his room. He also feels guilty for being in Alhaitham's care, because he remembers all of the Alhaitham warnings about the humans he didn't listen to, and so lots of internal conflict ensues.

Meanwhile Alhaitham does all he can to try and navigate the situation. He looks after Kaveh's healing process; brings back his blueprints and equipment from Kaveh's place so that he has enough to work with if he wishes; he also (to the best of his ability) remodels their home to make it more accessible to Kaveh. Given that their natural method of moving around their house was flying (whether in form of birds of half-humans), Alhaitham now implements more adjustments for walking or climbing. (When Kaveh feels good enough to leave his room, he's amazed by what Alhaitham managed to achieve. He also helps fix some of the constructions, given he's the one with the experience in architecture.) Alhaitham and Kaveh grow closer, slowly unpacking and mending their relationship, turning it into something new and beautiful.

At the same time, Alhaitham continues to watch the forest borders - to make sure that no intruders interrupt Kaveh's recovery and their peaceful life together. One day he notices an interesting sight: a small, but beautiful shrine appeared right by the forest. He decides to investigate; upon approaching the shrine, he meets Nilou (whom he saw in the palace when he visited Dori). She explains to him that, after he and Kaveh left the city, a group of people decided to organize a shrine, dedicated to Kaveh, to pray for his recovery. Nilou explains that in their eyes it's the least they can offer for all the help that their city received in the past and as amends for the pain they have caused. Alhaitham warns her not to get any closer to the forest, but the action of people leaves a lasting impression on him.

Meanwhile, Cyno's investigation progresses. Cyno writes to Alhaitham that together with Dori they managed to find and capture the perpetrator. Questioning reveals no useful information, but Cyno suspects that there might be more to the attack on Kaveh than they anticipated. To uphold his end of the deal Alhaitham goes to the city to deliver the punishment to the attacker and to undo the curse he put on Dori's city. Before he leaves, Kaveh, scared of what might happen to Alhaitham, sews into his cloak a blessed feather for protection (because Alhaitham wouldn't accept it outright). While Alhaitham is away, Kaveh begins working on a new project: a mechanical wing.

When Alhaitham gets to the city, he is led to the cell where the attacker is being held. Cyno and Dori are by his side for the final questioning. The man - a mere mortal (with strange red-ish eyes), one of Dori's citizens - keeps talking in circles, making less and less sense with each new word. Alhaitham lets Cyno and Dori go before rendering the punishment. When the curse (one of Alhaitham's darkest yet) is finally prepared, suddenly, the tables are turned. The perpetrator attacks Alhaitham, but his movements seem unnatural, almost like those of a puppet. Alhaitham realizes, that the man is being controlled by someone with prowess for strong, incredibly dark magic that seems similar to that of the Desert. The strange puppet manages to overpower Alhaitham in a fight, but cannot harm him (due to the protection from Kaveh's feather). The perpetrator manages to escape, taking with him Alhaitham's cursed feather (they seemed to be pleased to receive it. Alhaitham fears to think what they will use it for).

Dori and Cyno pick up the investigation, with Cyno going straight to the Desert. Dori begins reinforcing the city (her people discover that Alhaithams curse (now lifted) awakened Miasma deep under the ground. The Miasma begins to slowly spread, seemingly in the direction of the Sumeru Forest). Cyno sends back a message, confirming that strong and dark magic seems to be gathering within the Desert, possibly for the purpose of destroying the magical forest.

Alhaitham manages to get back to Kaveh and tell him of what happened in the city. In order to be able to protect the forest together with Alhaitham, Kaveh doubles down on his efforts to create a mechanical working wing. Everything works, besides the golden feathers - they need to be blessed in order to allow the mechanism to work as intended, but Kaveh does not have enough power for it. Alhaitham takes a risk and brings the feathers to the shrine, created by Nilou and other humans, so that they could bless them for Kaveh. (They are short of one feather eventually, and Alhaitham gives Kaveh one of his own, his first blessed feather, to complete the wing.)

TLDR: Kaveh works on restoring his wing and faith in himself and humanity; Alhaitham learns that humanity is not always evil. Dori and Cyno discover that the escaped perpetrator (caugh controlled by Dottore caugh) used Kaveh to get to Alhaitham to gain his cursed feather for completing some sort of ancient ritual to unseal the forbidden knowledge magic deep within the Desert in roder to unleash it on the magical forest, slumbering God of Wisdom and human cities. Kaveh learns to curse his feathers (while opposing Dottore in a final fight), and Alhaitham learns to bless his. Humans and Sumeru Forest continue to coexist peacefully. Alhaitham and Kaveh live together happily ever after.

5. Pacific Rim!AU, where Kaveh and Alhaitham used to be pilots of a Jaeger, but during one of their battles they suffered too much damage. In order to save Alhaitham and what remains of their Jaeger, Kaveh takes most of the damage by severing already unstable connection between Alhaitham and Jaeger's system. Both barely survive the encounter, but meanwhile Alhaitham manages to recover fast, the damage Kaveh has taken leaves him in a critical condition, eventually resulting in him being unable to ever pilot a Jaeger ever again (and putting many new restraints on his usual daily life).

As soon as Kaveh comes to his senses, the two have a huge fight about Kaveh's rash decision, and eventually break off their friendship. They don't see each other for a long, long time.

As the time goes on, Kaveh learns how to live with the changes that his body sustained with the help of his service dog Mehrak. Eventually he takes on a job at one of the Jaeger construction facilities (together with his friend Tighnari), studying Kaiju and creating new Jaeger modifications - though no Kaiju has been seen in the past several years, the world is still afraid of their return.

When the suspicion of the new Kaiju appearance arises, new pilot recruits and ex-pilots are summoned to the facility. There, Kaveh meets Alhaitham for the first time in years. After their fallout, Alahitham resigned from piloting Jaegers, yet now he had no choice but to return to train new recruits (and possibly resume his role of a Jaeger pilot). Now once again the two have to work together as a part of a team in face of approaching danger, trying to resolve their past conflicts and overcome their fears and insecurities along the way (when deep down they simply want to keep each other safe).

TLDR: Kaveh & service animal Mehrak is a neat concept I'd love to see more of, just as a concept in general. I think this one could be an interesting story idea centered mostly around Kaveh's day to day life. Additionally, Alhaitham who used to be only drift compatible with Kaveh but now suddenly discovers he's drift compatible with Cyno. I need more Cyno & Alhaitham camaraderie I think it would do them lots of good (at least in this specific AU setting lol).

6. Oxenfree!AU where Kaveh and Alhaitham are two ex-best friends turned reluctant coworkers (photo-journalist and journalist respectively) working on writing a piece about the disappearances of a group of teenagers that happened at the Edwards Island several years prior (timeline somewhere between the first and the second games). The radio shenanigans ensue, making the two face their past, possible futures and, most importantly, their present. (In Oxenfree tuning into certain radio sequences can temporarily mess up time-space shenanigans, just fyi).

TLDR: I just think that this setting could facilitate some character exploration that would be very fun.

7. Modern MermanKaveh!AU, post-fallout, where it's a little bit more about haunting Alhaitham (and the narrative), than being a merman. Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, Kaveh drowns one day, trying to save someone from the water. Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, he doesn't really die, being stuck in between (existence and death, normal life and the necessity to live in water). Kaveh manages, for quite a while even!

But of course Alhaitham has to come back and turn his world upside down once again.

TLDR: can you tell Alhaitham's quote about drowning stuck with me huh (and I made it literal lol). On a serious note... Idk, vibes??? I want to see the "stuck in the middle" Kaveh, whatever that entails. Some existential explorations. And the development of his relationship with Alhaitham, of course. // Kaveh is a merman unable to fully live the life he used to have, and Alhaitham doesn't know that he survived (for a while), alternatively "let me help to save you from metaphorical and literal drowning" Alhaitham and "I learned to live like this, this is what my norm now looks like" Kaveh.

8. Another Modern MermanKaveh!AU/DrownedGhostKaveh!AU, because I apparently have no self-control (I feel like I should also clarify that whenever I mention a mermaid, I think of them more as of ghosts of drowned people and less as mermaids-mermaids, the half-human half-marine creature ones). This idea was initially prepared for chili/zhongchi but it's been sooooooooooooooooooo long and I still haven't done anything substantial for it so I'm borrowing it from myself for myself and tweaking it for kavetham because I figured it could fit them. So here it goes,

Alhaitham is a scientist/marine biologist that moves from the city to a much smaller port town, getting himself a place in a local partially repurposed lighthouse. Kaveh is a merman, who has been dead for a long while and who's been living within local waters ever since he drowned. Alhaitham leads a very isolated life, going through a rather rough patch emotionally (maybe a badly ended past relationship and relocation from an established group of friends to a remote place brought up past negative emotions related to loss that were bottled up for a while. who knows, not me). Anyways, Alhaitham's not doing too well, but seaside walks help him unwind, even if for a short periods of time. During one of such walks, he finds an old pendant washed ashore. He picks up his find, hoping to do some research on it outside of his work time (because research is his fun-time).

He expects this to be a brief excursion into local history. He does not expect to become haunted by the ghost of a man to whom this pendant belonged to way back when.

Kaveh, in turn, is extremely excited to finally, finally be able to get out of the sea to the surface. He intends to stay ashore as long as possible and, well, if he just so gets to amuse himself by haunting a grumpy marine biologist that refuses to believe in merpeople, ghosts of drowned and other supernatural occurences - who's he to say no?

TLDR: this AU can go two ways (in my eyes): the happy ending way and probably more gothic-horror-story-esque ending. So, Alahitham is cursed to be haunted by Kaveh: for a while he's the only one who can see him, with Kaveh being something akin to a ghost. However, the longer Kaveh haunts Alhaitham, the more human he becomes (others can see him, he cannot phase through walls anymore, etc.). The curse in itself goes something like this: the cursed thing, after being picked up/taken in, cannot be thrown away and will always come back. The ghost, tied to the haunted thing, shall haunt whoever picks the cursed thing (the thing should be tied to the ghost, but may not necessarily belong to them) and drain their life energy. The ghost can become free and human again if the haunting goes long enough and they kill the human who picked the cursed object in the end during a very specific time that doesn't occur too often (proverbial blue moon, idk). If they don't kill the human and decide to let them go, then the ghost will seize to exist and the human will regain their strength. (An alternative option to the ghost dying for a less angsty au: the ghost voluntarily takes back the cursed object and returns to the place where they died, but then they will never be able to haunt anyone ever again. The effect of the curse on the haunted remain, but much weaker).

In this case, let's say Kaveh and Alhaitham stay by each other's side from half a year to a year, idk. They grow closer, eventually becoming friends and maybe more (the usual kavetham shenanigans Kaveh falls first but Alhaitham falls harder). Alhaitham's mental state gradually improves, yet overall he becomes weaker because of the curse (to the point that it becomes a serious concern), which Kaveh blames himself for. The appointed time approaches (both Kaveh and Alhaitham are in on the details of the curse), and Kaveh, seeing it as an opportunity to set Alhaitham free, manages to separate himself from Alhaitham. Kaveh is ready to return to the sea/merge with it (ah yes the classic Little Mermaid influence does anybody feel it lol). However, Alhaitham sees through his plan and arrives just in time to stop him. They have a confrontation. Eventually, they manage to lift the curse (as you can see I have not figured out exactly how this can happen but! it definitely can!) with Kaveh becoming human again and Alhaitham regaining his health. The two continue to live together happily ever after.

The other scenario is practically the same, but it's more ghothic? and abstract (and probably more suitable for the og pairing it was made for, but i'll throw it in anyways). I have not engaged with gothic literature much and thus don't have much experience in how it works/how to write it, but the idea is that Kaveh is more of a projection of Alhaitham's grief than a ghost fo a drowned person (in other words, he's definitely a ghost, but his presence is also much more symbolical). The story follows quite similar beats, except the setting of the curse is a bit different: it's more of a "kill first or be killed" thingy with a deadline. Kaveh earnestly tries to drown Alhaitham at first through various means, but the more time they spend together, the more Kaveh sees of Alhaitham's life and pain and feels sympathetic for him. Despite the curse, Kaveh tires to help Alhaitham in various ways; and it works! Alhaitham gradually begins to feel better; the two grow closer to each other (more in a platonic way).

So now the precedent is that though Alhaitham's overall doing better, the curse still preys on him, hindering his life in various ways that become more and more serious/dangerous (the curse's deadline approaches, and it tries to survive the best way it can through Kaveh's influence on Alhaitham). Eventually, Kaveh lets Alhaitham go, merging with the sea (once again, yes, it was partially inspired by the Little Mermaid). Alhaitham realizes what happened and tries to look for Kaveh, but it is in vain.

Eventually, life goes on.

Bonus Elden Ring AU (because guess who suddenly went on a lore video watching spree): Kaveh is a craftsman and one of the inhabitants of Castle Morne who managed to escape before it was overrun by Misbegotten. He's a follower of St. Trina and Miquella (he doesn't follow Miquella at first, but slowly he comes to suspect that the two are one and the same). After escaping from Castle Morne, he finds his way to Jarburg, where he is welcomed to stay and be the new Potentate.

Alhaitham is from a distant branch of Carian royal family and a scholar at the Academy of Raya Lucaria. Quite possibly explored an area of studies similar to Sellen's. Eventually he separates himself from both Academy and his family, becoming a wandering scholar.

The two meet somewhere nearby Jarburg when Kaveh gets ambushed by the same people who were trying to get to Alhaitham. The two fight them off. Kaveh, trying to help injured Alhaitham, leads him to Jarburg. The two continue living together there ever since (not without hiccups, but they're doing their best).

TLDR: this one is short and very simple because I just started diving into the Elden Ring's lore, but I just. Really wanted to make some AU for them. I also desperately wanted it to be peaceful and happy one despite it being a seeming impossibility for anything dark souls/elden ring related, but one can dream. If I were to make this one darker I'd probably expand on the duality of their two characters here, and how Alhaitham probably used to conjure spells on humans (with gaining knowledge being his sole life purpose for a long time) and has challenges with comprehending the world outside of a framework of pure logic, and how Kaveh gets an increasing tendency of escaping to the dream world/wherever Miquella is in order to alleviate his mental turmoil (maybe he witnessed too much during his escape from the Castle), and how the two have opposing perspectives on the idea of worshipping gods, and- like, there's a lot that can be done. But I also just really really really want them to simply be happy together in a jar village, leading a peaceful life.

That's it for now! Thank you for reading all of this, I can't commend your patience enough if you got to the end of this list!!!✨🎉✨

Maybe in the future I will unpack some of these aus. who knows.

#if you made it till the end you're officially a hero #sorry for so many words lol #genshin impact #afinna explores teyvat #genshin impact kaveh #genshin impact alhaitham #kavetham #haikaveh #alhaitham x kaveh #genshin impact writing #genshin impact writing ideas #magical birds au my beloved (can you tell lol)#maybe one day #one day i might write it #i was sure i'd never write the inquisitioner x witch kavetham AU but guess what #istg the first chapter should be ready sometime this year. probably. i hope. i dream of it...#pacific rim au is also something i just cradle gently in my hands. weird apocalyptic-esque setting but make it more a piece of life thing #in order to better unpack the relationships between people and various internal turmoils #and the fatui au!!! i want fatui to be weird menacing coworkers that end up being weirdly decent!!! sometimes!!!#idk i just think kaveh and sandrone could be a great work duo #and just the interactions with others could be sooooo much fun #anyways hope these ideas are. decent #also lowkey i need more dori-kaveh-alhaitham shenanigans #like alhaitham is canonically banned from seeing dori as far as i remember [well. blacklisted from the market or something similar]#granted it's probably bc he's with the Akademiya but like. Are We Sure [glances at Kaveh's debt]#anyways i just think there can be some exploration done here lol #also a hot take probably but. we need more 'Dori the Scary Businesswoman that Seems Inhumane But is Actually Wise'#like I want her to push others to their limits for mutual/personal gain BUT doing so knowing exactly when to stop and not cross the line #she is The Monkey's Paw for people who come to her. anyways i just find her interesting #yay that's it thanks for reading all of it have a great day byeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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writerandbaka · 6 months

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Happy Halloween to everyone! (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)

It's been a while since I've drawn these two… This must be remedied ahahah enjoy pumpkins and candy on the spookiest day of the year!! 🧡🎃👻🍭

#cynonari #cyno x tighnari #cyno #tighnari #tighcyno #cynari #genshin impact fanart #genshin impact au #genshin impact #furry au #jackal cyno #witch au #happy halloween #chibi #my art

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linkerbell · 1 year

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@/virusAP on twitter has a pretty cute Witch AU featuring Venti and I was inspired to draw fanart of him. :D

#genshin impact #venti #witch au #genshin venti #my art #gift art #ive been drawing pretty frequently I just need to post aaaa

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undermine-the-instinct · 1 year

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Title: Visitor

Now in first place is Witch!reader with a 26.1% vote! This is the Canon reader, and I guess you can say storyline, for the Prince!Al Haitham Series! Witchreader and their accursed prince~

Wc: 1.3K Warnings: None

"Well well well, what a surprise. The Crown Prince, standing in my shop."

You stand behind the counter, staring down at the man behind it. He has a cloak on to obscure his features, but his eyes are too bright, and his cloak is too clean, boots too high quality.

You point your finger towards the door he just walked through.

"Get out. I am not going to be held accountable for whatever happens, or whatever problems you have. Get. Out."

"No. I need your services."

"I need to keep my head attached and this," you gesture towards the space in between you two. "Is putting that in grave danger." You huff, and put your hands to your hips.

"How did you even find this place?"

He shrugs, and removes the hood from his head. The low lamps almost brush his hair, and paint him a warm gold.

"I need your services."

"You need to get out."

"I can assure you that you will remain unharmed. By my word. " You snort.

"Mob mentality doesn't work like that when they're hellbent on ripping you to shreds." You're liable to jump over this counter and push him out yourself, if you're forced too.

"This isn't a matter of want. I need your services. No one knows that I am here, and I only have a small window of time."

Teal, yellow, a rusted red. His eyes are bold and intense, and he doesn't even shy or flinch away from yours, even as you feel the power swirl in them, unknown and feared by the commonplace. He seems desperate, and you are curious.

"Tell me what you 'need', and I'll see if I'll help you."

He steps closer till only the counter stands between you, and stares down at you with all his stoic-ness.

"I assume I am under a curse. I do not know when or how it was placed, but everyone seems to fall for me upon first sight."

"And that's a curse?"

"When you're in a position such as mine, yes. I need you to identify it, and possibly find a way to break it."

"Hm. And that's it?" You lean against your counter like a cat stretching. You're not going to be made to feel uncomfortable in your own shop.

"You don't want to curse someone? You don't want a potion for strength or invisibility? Or luck?"

"Everything is a matter of skill and circumstance," he raises a hand, blasé.

"Manipulate the circumstances to your favor, and the rest is history. I don't need any of those. I need you to identify what curse I am under."

"Well, alrighty, let's have a look then." Quick as a snake you grab a fistful of hair, and pull him down to your level, balancing on your tiptoes. His hair is soft in your hand, and he doesn't fight, leaving you to your whims. He does grit his teeth though, so you don't think he's complying to you simply out of goodwill.

There are no bumps on his skull, no scabs. From what you can see, his skin has no discoloration or bumps or rashes, his pores seem normal as well.

He smells like books and leaves and clean linen, the slightest musk and hint of leather. Nothing odd. You move one of the ear phones, and he tenses at this, but his eyes are only slightly pointed, nothing odd.

You tap his chin, hand under his jaw.

"Let me see your teeth." He looks at you oddly but complies. His teeth are straight and white, he still has his wisdom teeth. And his tongue is flat and pink. You touch his adams apple, which is normal. You can't tell anything. No odd moles or scars even.

"I don't see any sign of a curse. Not from what I can see."

"Nothing? Nothing odd or strange?"

"No. The only odd thing I can tell is your eyes, have they always been like this?"

"Yes. This…phenomenon only started around a year ago."

"Hm. Maybe its something you ingested? Or a latent curse." You let him go, and he rises back up, straightening his hair with a frown. You can see his brain working a mile a minute.

"Latent. So there's a set of conditions that activated the curse." His eyes cut to you, and a ordinary person would jolt. You smile.

"So it's possibly there's another set of conditions to deactivate it." You shrug.

"Probaly. Most likely. Otherwise, I don't think you're cursed at all. Maybe it's just your charms. Many women have finally had their debut and entered the socialite. You're the Crown prince, you're just desirable."

"Not to this extent. People are frantic, obsessive. There's definitely something more at play here."

"I only did a brief basic check but I find nothing odd about you." You look him over.

"At least not from what I can see."

"But," you raise your hands, "that's your problem, and not mine. Thank you for visiting my shop, the door is right there. I'll send the check personally to you from the palace, thank you very much~"

"There must be something more you can do."

There is plenty you can do. You are from a long line of witches and the knowledge of generations is all within you. It is all an encyclopedia, they are your chapters and you are their sum, and you're not sure you want to aid a prince when it's likely you'd get your head sliced off because of it.

Moat likely he'd have you sequestered away wile you rot like and old hag from fables and legends, denied fame and recognition and most finer things, till you outlive your uselessness. You know how these royals treat beings like yours.

Prince Al Haitham takes out a pouch of coins and tosses it onto the counter. Gold coins pour out, a lot of coins.

"I am willing to pay you for your continued service."

"Continued service?" You question, eyes on the gold, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, for you to run more tests, and make whatever potions that I might need for whatever occasion might arise. I could even enroll you as a doctor, or guard."

"And have me shut away in some tower, no doubt."

"No. I'll need you on the scene for whatever issues ir complications arrive. You will be no guest." He reaches ynderneath hid cloak, and from within, produces a beautiful brooch, shaped like a parrots wing.

"This is a personal gift from a friend of mine. This is my proof and your ticket to my court." It is ridiculously beautiful, and obviously made in excruciating care. This is real.

Knowledge of ages past or not, money is money. Fame (or notoriety) is recognition. So if the pay matches your skillset…

"I might not find anything, ever. If you are cursed it's hidden exponentially well. You want to take that risk?" You look up from the pouch and brooch with a soft frown.

"And I here I thought you said that everything is a matter of skill and circumstance." The mirth returns to your voice though as you tease.

"Yes. Circumstance has led me to you and my skills help me to barter. And you and your skills will increase the luck and favorability of my circumstances. You are useful, and I am in need of you." He gestures to himself and the room, covered in your trinkets and potions and ingredients. His eyes land on the pouch pointedly.

"I will provide all you need and wish. Join my side, and reap the rewards of being mine."

You scoff a little, and rest your chin in your hands. Sweet words. They're working.

"...You say you're cursed but that sounds more like a love confession than some sort of proclamation. You're rather smooth, Your Highness."

"So is that a yes?"

"Well…we'd have to draw up a contract, put it in writing, y'know? That takes time. I have to make sure my shop isn't left abandoned, and make sure I have a stable pay–"

"That will be done. I'll draft a contract and we can overlook it next time." He draws up his hood again, and turns towards the doors, quick and sure. His time must nearly be out. Despite yourself, you call out to him. Your fingers trace the brooch.

"Why…why did you choose to come to my shop, or even offer me a contract? What made me so special?" You grin, like how of course could he think of anyone else but you, but you really want to know.

Prince Al Haitham stands there, in the low lamplight, looking both ominous and debonair. You're starting to think he's just ridiculously handsome and not really cursed.

He shrugs, a hand fiddling with the string to his earphones.

"You're the only one who didn't offer to read my palm or tell the future through my eyes when I arrived. Neither did you deign to tell me my love life through the stars."

"I wanted you the hell out of here."

"Exactly," he nods. "You are the only one with some common sense." With that, he leaves your shop, leaving you with the silence and weight of a new proposition.

Maybe you should read the stars to tell your future. You're in for a trip, now.

Taglist: @tigerpriestess @hypernovaxx @certaindreampost @tanspostsblog @escapeis

#my stuff #my writing #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #al haitham #genshin al haitham #Prince!Al Haitham #reader insert #witch!reader #al haitham x witch reader #al haitham x reader #al haitham x y/n #al haitham x you #genshin al haitham x reader #genshin au #poll results

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glazeblume · 1 year

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xiaoven from sprout’s witch au.. my beloveds my darlings 🍃

#xiaoven #genshin impact xiao #genshin venti #xiao #venti #witch au #monmii artchive

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wheatcak3 · 1 year

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been thinking of more witch au lately 😌✨❤️

#he stole the broom from bard just cause he likes it uwu #ive been wanting to redesign witch!venti for a while now since he technically has two different designs ajdkaw #Now he has three cause I merged the two to make this one!#He is a fashionable lad!#nothing was wrong with the old one I just wanted to redo it uwu #witch au #witch!venti #venti #genshin impact #wheat art

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serenelia · 17 days

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ᴍᴀꜱQᴜᴇʀᴀᴅᴇ

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ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴀᴍᴏᴜᴄʜᴇ/ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Content includes: SFW, mentioned vampire Harbinger Childe, ball room dancing that's probably all over the place, the reader experiences stress (to say the least) and vomits.

Scroll away if you don't entertain any au's regarding vampires, witches, and hunters. Also this is quite long (yes again), almost two-thousand and five hundred words, grab a drink!

If you haven't read the first part: ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʟʟ

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Before she could even begin to theorize who the person was, she’s promptly shut up once he ceases spinning her around and intertwines their hands. One of his hands takes hers from the same side and places it on his shoulder, resting his on her waist soon after. The gentleman looks.. soft; compared to his intimidating gaze and aura, his features are similar to those of a porcelain doll. A pretty one at that. If one were to differentiate between Childe and him, she could definitely say with confidence that the stranger is more pleasing to the eyes, one would be easy to be distracted by such a man.

The two stared at each other as they swayed gently from side to side, and [Name] felt her breath be taken away upon examining his face even further. Illuminated by the bright light of the chandelier above, his soft indigo-colored hair framing his soft cheeks, his pale skin, and sharp eyes perfectly compliment his very being; even [Name] could feel herself slowly starting to get insecure in his presence. And upon shifting her gaze to his lips, she could see the corner of his lips quirk up and the shine of a sharp and long fang.

[Name] gulps. “Is it too late to back out now?” the stranger muses, evidently entertained by her previous comment that was very obviously for the man she danced with before.

“..My apologies, dear sir; I had intended that for my previous dance partner, Childe, who.. had suddenly left.” She forces herself to look away, her gaze locking with the audience as she turns away, and sees Childe scurrying away in the crowd, not even bothering to look back at her.

Well, it's not like she wanted him to, but she was hoping he'd be attached somehow. Those make the killings easier.

The latter snorts, “Do you…” His laughter dies down as quickly as it came, and [Name] didn’t have enough time to react as he abruptly raised their intertwined hands and spun her around, eliciting a surprised gasp from the lady.

He slows her down after a few spins, intentionally making her land right on his chest. He places a careful hand on her back, pulling her closer, and he whispers, “When dancing with someone, it's rather rude to focus on other people, don't you think?”

“…” Her eyes widened, her mind turning to mush at their nonexistent distance, and her heart started beating loudly in her chest. Yet before she could even respond, he swiftly maneuvered her back to her previous place and started swaying them once again, wearing a small but polite smile.

“..My apologies; I was simply confused for a mere moment.” [Name] says through gritted teeth, mentally cursing at the rate of her heart at that one cheesy action. How many more times is he going to spin her around?!

“Forgiven,” he replies, a smirk growing on his lips. “I am Scaramouche, the 6th of the Eleven Harbingers. I must apologize for my fellow Harbinger’s actions. I’ll make sure to ask him to give you a proper apology later.”

[Name] smiles back politely and shakes her head. “Good evening, Sir Scaramouche, I am Lady [Name]. You ought not to, I’m sure the matter is something of outmost importance for him to handle.”

“Even if that is so, it’s still rather rude to leave your dance partner in the middle of it.”

“You need not to fret; I take no offense to it.”

Scaramouche squints his eyes. “Lying is not a very friendly mannerism to a stranger, is it?" he says, tilting his head to the side and peering down at her.

forcing a smile, [Name] made an effort to avoid glaring at him, “Quite so, though, may I ask why you took it upon yourself to replace my previous partner?” her charm was working marvelously on Childe, a little more would have him end up in her lab. Why did he have to intervene?

The Harbinger replies in a sly tone, “Upon realizing his gaze would inevitably stray away from you, I had to clean up after him to make sure he doesn’t do more harm than good.”

[Name] raises a brow, “Then one should not bother himself with a fleeting matter such as this, I assure you, there is no need to occupy your time with a dance.” She removes her hand from his shoulder and takes a step backward with her body following suit, accompanied by an outreached hand; the latter does the same and assists her once she spins herself and lands carefully near his chest. His hands outlining her waist, she wraps her arms around his neck and threw her head back as Scaramouche leans her downward.

She tries her utmost best to avoid ogling his face, “Why, there is no need to belittle this wonderful dance; I am finding it rather enjoyable, so consider my time well occupied.” Scaramouche praises, though [Name] could clearly see the empty words behind it.

He guides her back to her feet by the waist, “I am incredibly honored to hear such.” [Name] lies, moving her hands from his neck back to his shoulders as they started swaying side to side, frowning at his natural beauty and nonchalant behavior.

a flicker of doubt crosses his face, “..I find myself honored as well to be able to speak to you, Lady [Name].”

[Name] forces out a smile.

silence overruns the space between them, both plastering polite smiles on their faces, one more visible than the molecule of a smile the other has. After a few more seconds of their bodies swaying, they switched their perspective positions and once again intertwined their hands together. [Name] takes a step back before raising their hands to hang above her head to be able to place herself by his side, facing the opposite direction with their arms resting on top of each other.

To her surprise, it was he who broke the silence between them: “How does one find the event so far? I hope it suits to your adequate tastes.”

[Name] glances at him from behind. Is he one of the people who arranged the whole event? Or maybe well acquainted with the person who did?

Perhaps she should watch her mouth from now on.

“This event has been wonderful so far; I can tell a lot of effort has been put into it to make it satisfactory for both races,” she replies, which, in a way, is true.

Scaramouche suppresses what sounds like a scoff: “Yes, this whole event wishes to bring both the human race and the vampire race together.” The two break off the physical connection between their arms and held hands, with Scaramouche raising them as [Name] spins herself before doing the same for the latter. After he spins, they repeat their outstretched arms by their sides. “I must say, this whole idea is rather.. idealistic. Don’t you think so?” he continues, gaze glued to her figure during the whole step.

[Name] remains silent for a second longer. “Why does one think so?" she asks, her eyes finding it difficult to maintain eye contact. They each took a step to meet at the center and held hands, withdrawing for a mere moment before letting go of one pair as she started to slowly walk in a circle around him, with Scaramouche having to adjust his hand over his head once she made her way behind him.

“Anyone who had proper education would be able to process that.. ideas like that are just utterly impossible. It defies the natural law in the food chain, no? With who has the most favor in the eyes of the “gods,” it’s pretty obvious whose more deserving to rule.” Scaramouche states.

[Name] could almost trip at the absurdity of his belief. “…Is that so?”

He tilts his head once they come to face each other. “Do you not agree, Miss [Name]?”

“I.. don’t have a particular view on that subject,” [Name] mutters, lowering her head slightly to avoid his unwavering stare. Aside from the predicament she finds herself in, at least she can confirm that this gentleman is a vampire. A psychopathic human who would be willing to be a blood bag for vampires doesn’t seem to be a plausible explanation. It is also worth adding the glimpse of a fang she saw earlier, further supporting her theory. The only remaining challenge here is figuring out where he prefers his blood to come from.

They repeat their outstretched hands from their side, and [Name] could feel her anxiety (or could it be giddiness?) spike up once she felt his hands embrace the sides of her waist firmly after she spun herself to land with her back to his chest, “To be able to grasp the true reality of this hierarchy-focused world, one must adapt their beliefs and get rid of this foolish agenda,” he speaks up while lifting her carefully into the air, her feet kicking purely out of instinct at the loss of ground beneath her. [Name]’s heart rate only increases as he spins himself around, taking her along with it, her beautiful dress a dazzling display for the awed audience.

He swiftly gently places her back on the ground, their hands instinctively finding their way to each other, “Only in that way can you accomplish your desired goals,” Scaramouche adds, his eyes boring onto her whole being with silent but much perceived expectations. [Name] feels the overwhelming urge to run away to her bones; she feels naked around him. With the way he worded his sentences and the tone along with them, it was as if he knew everything about her already.

Cold sweat drips down her back.

What does he mean by that?

Does he mean something more?

Does he know I’m a witch hunter already?

Is he going to expose me?

Oblivious to her panic, Scaramouche continues dancing to the music, seemingly thinking she’s merely thinking about it in her head. He decides to take the lead. His hand always with hers as they became the sole partners left dancing under the light. Their movements were graceful and calculated, appearing to be peaceful for both parties, with the exception of [Name], whose expression slowly turned to one of morbid horror the longer they danced. Scaramouche, for some reason, doesn’t react whatsoever, only keeping a small smile on his face. Only giving rise to her unparalleled feeling of distraught.

The cheerful atmosphere inside the manor suddenly becomes claustrophobic, and the space around her seems to be choking all the air remaining inside her lungs. She needed to get out of there fast. She had underestimated the gravity of her whole situation; she had overestimated herself.

When will this dance end?

The music provided by the musicians was constantly fighting with the dominating ringing in her ears, the muffled voices of the audience increasing and decreasing in volume; it pierced her ears, yet it was almost as quiet as the soft whisper of the wind. Her feet stumbling even at the perfectly made marble floor, her heels screeching upon contact, they trip among themselves, every spin and turn made, but never did she make an attempt to run away. She can’t.

It’s all too much. She could feel the merciful brush of the wind upon her hair, the warm touch of the light above, the tight hug of the corset in her chest, yet the most primary of all, his penetrating gaze set on her, the strong scent of his cologne hazing her mind, his cold touch on her clothed skin, leaving a burning sensation behind. Every trail of his finger from her hand to her shoulder, down to her waist, creates a shockwave of shivers that resonates with her very core.

Please, please, have pity on me, gods!

Let this night end!

Suddenly, everything stops.

The crowd applauds as the music slows down, and they’re both standing in the middle of the circle, facing one another. [Name] had to take a moment to process it. She scans the room around her, and with her raggedy breathing, she can’t find it in herself to say anything, let alone breathe in his presence.

It’s… over?

Something heavy and tight presses itself against her neck, and she involuntarily flinches. Her hand immediately shoots up to her collar; it grasps on nothing. The imaginary force’s hold on her tightens as she locks gazes with Scaramouche. “I thank you again for having this dance with me, Miss [Name]. I hope the rest of the night treats you well.” He purrs and takes her hand up to his lips, pressing a light kiss on the glove.

She clutches her free hand tightly, “..To you too… Sir.” [Name] manages to croak out, barely hearing him over the sound of her heart in her ears and the audience’s amazement.

And with that, he lets go of her hand and leaves his station, blending in with the crowd only a few seconds later, and [Name] is left on her spot, frozen. Looking in his direction with a chill up her spine, this mission was too precious to give up, but was it really worth it just for her experiment?

Her stomach twists and turns in her throat, and [Name] makes quick work with her feet in finding the restroom.

She hastily washes her mouth and hands after exiting the cubicle, banging her hands onto the sink counter repeatedly.

Curse him, curse him, curse him!

her voice strains itself in her throat, tempting her to let it out, but imagining the possibility a fellow guest walking in on her and having to explain brings a blush to her cheeks and a headache in her already dazed head. So she settles by whispering it loudly to herself instead, resulting to her coughing into the sink as flashbacks of the previous dance floods her mind. She takes a deep breath with her eyes closed, but it proved to be useless meditation for his smell clouded her sense of smell everywhere she turns. Oh, how she wishes she could wash it off her right this moment.

It was intoxicating. He was intoxicating.

the sensation of dread and excitement only continued to plague her mind. It never occurred to her—the real danger of being undercover and having a dance with your victim. It was as if the gods were punishing her and keeping her humble.

She scoffs and takes out a small container she kept hidden in her, opening it before applying the ingredients imbedded in it to her lips, wrists, and neck.

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..this was originally supposed to be like 5k words but I held back (my schedule partook in it too). Truly, I was supposed to make this plus two more scenes all in one post, but I was editing and decided to check the word count and... almost 2,500k words... And I know that'll be a mouthful 😪 and I thought that if I delay it further I was afraid ya'll would lose interest and would probably forget about it, haha.

Apart from my self-pity, I really enjoyed making this! Took me like 5 days for this and the rest of the outline.. It was still enjoyable nonetheless. So I hope it's a joyful read too!

Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated!

#fanfic #genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin imagines #genshin impact #scaramouche x reader #ballroom dancing #ballroom #vampire au #witch hunter

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