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augustinewrites · 1 year

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listening to the amurta darshan’s faculty argue over budgets is positively mind-numbing, and alhaitham can feel his brain cells dying off with each agonizing minute that ticks by.

this is only his second meeting as the acting grand sage, but he’s already looking forward to retiring. he’s been mapping out his retirement plan for the last ten minutes, actually. he’ll move to liyue, build a house on a very, very high mountaintop, and spend his days reading from sunrise to sunset—

“acting grand sage, what are your thoughts on the matter?”

listening to petty squabbles between old men in his capacity as the scribe is one thing, but having to direct the squabbles is wholly another.

he sits up, doing his best to shake the stupor from his mind before quickly glancing down at the notes his assistant places in front of him.

“naphis,” he says, genuinely surprised. “you intend to relinquish your position as sage?”

alhaitham isn’t truly listening when amurta’s (now former) sage produces an explanation. the next step is to find a solution. find a new sage. naphis’ long-winded soliloquy about ‘ushering in the new generation’ and ‘starting anew’ were simply redundant.

he tunes back into the conversation when naphis says, “i’d like to recommend a former student of mine. tighnari.”

alhaitham knows tighnari. would even go as far as to say he likes him. “of the avidya forest watchers, yes,” he murmurs. “i will reach out.”

he glances over at you when you shift in your seat, glancing at him with that look in your eyes. the one that tells him you have something you want to say.

but then one of the faculty members begins a highly dramaticized account of an lab incident in pardis dhyai that “demands” the proper allocation of funds, and he sighs, realizing this will have to be addressed another time.

_____

the next few days are busy, as the shift of power within the akademiya demands near the entirety of his attention. that, combined with his reluctance to bring work home, lead him to follow up with you a week after the amurta faculty meeting.

“what were you going to tell me?”

“hm?” you roll onto your side to face him, eyes barely open, considering it’s two in the morning. “when?”

he feels bad for waking you, knowing you’re exhausted from a twelve hour shift at the bimarstan. but he’d been penning his letter to tighnari earlier, and couldn’t stop pondering what you’d wanted to tell him last week.

“at the meeting,” he clarifies. “you were giving me…a look.”

“i give you lots of looks,” you yawn, nudging your face further into your pillow. “you are quite handsome.”

“don’t be cute,” he mutters, hoping the darkness of the room hides his blush. “you were looking at me like you knew something i didn’t.”

you blink a few times as the memory comes back. “which time? i give you that look multiple times a day, darling.”

normally, he finds your sass to be quite a turn on. just not when it’s directed at him. “the first time.”

“when you were talking about research grants?”

“not that time,” he frowns. “but— what do you know about that?”

“nothing,” you say much too quickly, but then you lean over, cupping his chin and looking him in the eye. “but when someone so, so pretty and extremely smart submits a grant application…”

“i will set up a private channel just for your submissions,” he promises.

“i was actually talking about kaveh, but that is very much appreciated. we do need new stethoscopes.” you pat his cheek a little harder than necessary, smiling.

“wait, kaveh?” he asks. “really?”

“oh yes,” you nod. “he was talking about an affordable housing project the other night. if the akademiya could spare the funds, he could even move into one of said houses himself…”

“finally admitting you want him to leave?”

“haitham, he used that last of that face cream i bought in fontaine and keeps moving our furniture around. i don’t just want him to leave, i need him to leave. remember when he organized your bookshelves by colour?”

oh, he remembers, trust him. “i’ll have amani pull his application for review first thing tomorrow.”

“a most wise decision,” you hum, about to roll back around when he gently grips your arm.

“we’re not done. i was talking about when i mentioned reaching out to tighnari.”

“oh, that look,” you blink. “he won’t accept the position.”

his brows raise in surprise, because who in their right mind would deny the role of sage? “and you know this how?”

“because we’re friends,” you tell him matter-of-factly. “and i know he’s made a commitment to lead the forest watchers. he’s doing good work there, along withconducting his research. i doubt he’d want to be saddled with a desk job on top of that. let alone one with the akademiya.”

“okay,” he shrugs. if you say he doesn’t want the job, then he doesn’t want the job. there’s no need to delve further into the specifics. “you know the amurta faculty better than i do. who should i ask?”

this time you send him a flat look, pulling away from him and taking the duvet with you. “haitham, i’ve entertained your poor attempt at pillow talk thus far, but if you wish to continue discussing this so bad, why don’t you go find amani? i’m sure she’d love to spend the night with you.”

he rolls his eyes, trying and failing to reclaim the duvet. “jealousy is quite the unbecoming trait, you know.”

“go to sleep, acting grand sage.”

alhaitham shuts up, because, well, you’d titled him. that was a warning sign in itself that he’d deprived you of your sleep for long enough. but you don’t protest as he pulls you close, pressing a kiss to the back of your head, still overthinking. his mind won’t rest until he finds a solution.

“stop overthinking it,” you mutter into your pillow. “you’ll figure something out. you always do.”

you’re right, he realizes. maybe the solution is right in front of him.

_____

alhaitham is halfway through reading kaveh’s application when he hears your muffled threats to his assistant right outside his door.

“move, amani. or i’ll make you!”

amani has a much better sense of self-preservation than he thought, because it’s not a second later that his office doors burst open, and you let yourself in.

“when i told you that you’d figure it out, i didn’t mean this!” you exclaim, waving his letter in his face.

he takes your hand, pressing his lips to the back of it in an attempt to placate you, murmuring, “you don’t want to be a sage?”

“of course i do,” you huff, snatching your hand back. “but— but i’m—”

“the logical choice,” he finishes for you, folding his hands atop his desk. “you obtained two degrees before 25, your thesis on elemental healing techniques is the gold standard, you’re the head of medical and you’re decently versed in botany.”

“botany?” you repeat incredulously. “so maybe the neighbors are jealous of our garden and tighnari taught me how to use naku weed to make special brownies that one time–”

“they were very good brownies,” he assures you. “and you’re still an excellent candidate.”

you go off again, listing off all the reasons why it shouldn’t be you, but all that alhaitham sees is someone who is brave enough to hold their own in council meetings and even yell at the acting grand sage. you’re perfect.

even you sigh unnecessarily loud, pinching the bridge of your nose. “you’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“i don’t intend to, no.”

you’re silent for a long minute, clenching your jaw so hard that alhaitham worries for your teeth.

“i want to make my own hours,” you tell him firmly. “i’m not going to be tied to a desk all day.”

that was something he could certainly get on board with himself. “fine. anything else?”

“give me the day to think on it,” you shrug, moving to sit on the edge of his desk. alhaitham slides his chair back so your knees fit between his legs. “you really think i can do this?”

“the pros of you being amurta’s sage greatly outweigh the cons, so yes.”

you fix him with a long-suffering look. “what were the cons?”

alhaitham thought himself an intelligent man, but he very nearly opens his mouth to answer your question before realizing the answer will likely end with him sleeping on the couch tonight. he chooses to keep his mouth shut, earning himself a little kiss before you sign the contract on his desk.

#alhaitham x reader #alhaitham x y/n #genshin x reader #alhaitham fluff #genshin impact fluff

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iridescentmirrorsgenshin · 2 months

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masterpost pt 3 of alhaitham being endeared by kaveh can this man get a hobby or something

- kaveh’s hangout

alhaitham in this for one scene is determined to spend every frame smiling, i can sense the shift in pixels

canon laughter, he thought he was cute fr! Also the blatant scheme to distract kaveh by sending him to books he has previously annotated, so he can chase up the aborted mention of kaveh being down and his reluctance to discuss it in front of alhaitham, and then for kaveh to return having found a compliment for his annotations which ensures that his heart meter goes up, which alhaitham comments on,,,, the choices here are immaculate and powerful

Alhaitham ‘evading’ the direct question only for kaveh to reinforce the fact that he has ascertained the truth and therefore asserting that he’s more of an interesting conversation topic than alhaitham’s work, and alhaitham not denying this because he’s deterred his original aim of being in the house of daena solely to talk with kaveh and talk ABOUT kaveh,,, and then not accompanying the traveller and kaveh to port ormos because he wants to finish his work before going home, meaning that it was nearing the end of his shift but he still dedicated time to kaveh regardless

there is nothing to be analysed here, he tells kaveh to talk about his projects and stays to listen and then teases him, revealing that he has been privy to many of these talks before and has listened to each one so that he knows kaveh’s favourite projects and with this, the details behind them, we get it, you know him inside out, no one’s trying to take him from you

He has to mention the fact he knows kaveh and that they share a private past outside of the player’s knowledge with every line guys or these thoughts will grind his brain into pepper

He finally managed a compliment that couldn’t be misconstrued as derisive - that is the impressive achievement here

it makes me sick this whole scene is used to raise kaveh’s happiness meter and that alhaitham is present during all of it to ensure that 1) the heart raises by one, and 2) it remains raised by one. This scene just shows how much alhaitham cares about and KNOWS kaveh, and the fact it all takes place in the house of daena where they first met and became friends,,,, yeah that’s Their spot, we can see how far you’ve grown and how much you understand each other inside out to each other’s betterment or detriment, and this shows how alhaitham desires for kaveh’s betterment

#kaveh’s hangout….. now i have so many thoughts #is it true that kaveh’s routes which involve alhaitham lead to a full heart meter?#because i wouldnt be surprised if this was true #anyways alhaitham was not kidding when he says in his character stories that he and kaveh know each other inside out #in the og chinese anyway #we were robbed in the eng #also how did alhaitham hear kaveh talking at a normal volume and claim that kavehs voice got through his headphones #there is a metaphor right there and it is of the insane kind #alhaitham #kaveh #haikaveh #kavetham

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himeryu · 11 months

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— Love Rivarly: 43. haunted

kaveh x reader (still two years ago)

"Why are you always on your phone?" You snap your head up, startled, as your gaze turns to him. You roll your eyes. "You startled me," you say to the man holding a tray filled with pastries standing in front of you. "Maybe if you were not busy with your phone, you would've noticed my presence," he says, making his way to the chair beside you, placing the tray on the table as he sits.

"Well, instead of working on our thesis…" he says, glancing at your phone screen, "your eyes are glued to the phone." Your eyes widen as you notice his gaze on your phone. You quickly turn off your phone in the hope of keeping your conversation with Scaramouche private. You look at the man beside you, flustered, "Al Haitham!"

Alhaitham raises his eyebrow in curiosity, a small-not-so-noticeable-yet-only-you-notice smirk paints his face, "Is your conversation that important that you need to keep it away from someone else?"

"Yes," You reply, grabbing a pastry from the tray.

"Wow, how straightforward," He replies as he unlocks his laptop to proofread the project.

You take a bite from the pastry as you lean back and gaze at his face. It would be a lie to say he is not good-looking– though not exactly pretty, which is how you like it, but God, he is handsome. This isn't a rare occurrence for you and Alhaitham: hanging out with each other for school. You hate to admit it, but hanging out with Alhaitham is peaceful– though it gets boring, it is still calm. Therefore, you can't help but feel like there is something off about the man sitting beside you. You take another bite from the pastry.

Unfortunately, your gaze toward your partner does not go unnoticed. Alhaitham sighs as he looks away from his laptop to look at you. "What's with the staring?" He asks. You take another bite from the pastry, your gaze not leaving his face.

Mouth still filled with the pastry, you speak up, "What's with you today?"

Alhaitham raises his brow– a habit he usually does when he is confused, a habit you know all too well. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," You reply as you look away from Alhaitham, breaking eye contact. He furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

You sit up properly, "I don't know," you repeat, "I just feel like there's something off."

"Care to expound?" He mutters, his eyes not leaving you.

You chuckle, still not looking at him, "I thought you don't care what others think about you?"

"This is different."

"Why?"

"Come on, [Name]. You can't ask me another question without answering mine," Alhaitham sighs.

You giggle as you look at him once more, "Well, you just seem different."

"Expound."

"Yes, yes. I know," you continue, "You usually aren't the type to join me on a whim for academic projects. We usually plan everything beforehand."

"I just have some free time, that is all," Alhaitham rationalizes.

"Feels out of character," you refute, "You aren't the type who would text, 'where are you?' out of nowhere, you know?"

"What, so you know me more than myself?"

"I have a good judge of character," you put on a sly grin.

"So, that's it?" Alhaitham leans against his chair with a smug expression.

"Of course not," You lean against your chair, copying the man. You grin, "I am not one to make baseless claims."

"I know," Alhaitham smiles, a genuine and gentle yet small smile, and your eyes widen. You have seen a smile like this before– delicate and peaceful– but never on the man in front of you.

Ba-dump

Huh? You freeze, 'Did my heart just skip a beat?'

Before Alhaitham could continue, the phone rang. He checks his phone, then his expression visibly darkens. "Sorry, I have to take this," he says, standing up before you can reply. "I'll come back," he states as he walks away from your table.

Your gaze is still glued to his figure till it fades into the background as you slowly absorb what is happening.

"Hahahah, fuck."

"Where is he?" You whisper to yourself. It's been at least fifteen minutes since Alhaitham left to answer his call, and he has not returned. Out of worry, you decided to look for him.

However, your mind is focused on your conversation with Scara. For some reason, the thought of befriending Alhaitham doesn't leave a foul taste in your mouth. It's no lie that your relationship with Alhaitham started due to academic rivalry, but things have changed, and you are well aware of the change.

You look around the garden outside the cat cafe, hoping Alhaitham is around. After a few minutes of searching, you finally found him. Unbeknownst to you, your eyes lit up, not noticing the obvious disdain in his expression.

You slightly open your mouth to call out for him; however, he starts raising his voice. "I don't seem to understand you. Why is it that every person who called is after my neck," Alhaitham yells. Instinctively, you hid behind a tall bush.

Today has been an eventful day. For the first time, Alhaitham showed a genuine smile; moreover, you heard Alhaitham yell loudly for the first time. Alhaitham has always been the type to keep his emotions in check, never succumbing to emotional outbursts. This is why it makes him dull. Sure, Alhaitham is peaceful to be around-- and entertaining when it comes to petty, playful arguments; however, the lack of showing off emotions makes him feel uninteresting. Which is why you are curious about Alhaitham's sudden outburst.

Curiosity kills the cat– you know that all too well. However, an opportunity presents itself in front of you: the possibility of witnessing a man–who usually keeps to himself– have an emotional outburst for the first time. Furthermore, deep down, you want to know more about him. Maybe it's your desire to properly become friends with the man? So, you stay behind the tall bush to ear-drop on his conversation.

"Me? Engaging in such actions? Stop putting ideas into my head. It isn't funny," Alhaitham says, running his fingers through his hair. "I called you to inform you of what just transpired awhile ago, not for you to lecture me on my actions."

You sit down behind the bush with your knees near your chest. You decided not to look at Alhaitham because he might sense your gaze. After all, Alhaitham is an attentive young man– though you hope he does not notice your presence. You sit patiently, hoping to find out the reason for his outburst.

Time has passed, and you are getting bored. You thought listening to Alhaitham's burst of emotions would let you discover another side of him; however, he stays guarded even in vulnerable emotional situations. Hence, you decided to leave.

You were about to stand up; however, the sudden mention of your Name made you stay.

Alhaitham grunts, "You clearly don't understand how difficult it is to have [Name] as your partner."

You freeze.

"I don't know what you're trying to get from me, [unaudible]–" your eyebrows furrow, but you continue to listen to Alhaitham "–But me and [Name] are anything but friends, so keep your ideas to yourself."

Your eyes widen, 'What?' Alhaitham is a man of self-control, you know that. However, he is human. No amount of self-control can save a human being from anger.

Alhaitham scoffs, "One more remark, and I'd drop the call. I already told you, me and [Name] are nothing. Heck, the only reason why I am hanging out with them is because of our grades. [Name] and I would never become friends, and I'll make sure it would never happen."

You stay put, eyes wide in shock as you listen to his words. You suddenly feel a pain in your chest and tears forming in your eyes as you listen to Alhaitham; however you refuse to let those tears roll down your cheeks. How laughable, truly. Just a few moments ago you were determined to befriend the man, however, developing a friendship is a team sport, it is not one-sided.

Deep down, you understand where Alhaitham is coming from. Your relationship with the man started due to academic rivalry; Moreover, your clashing personalities and pride made it difficult to have a decent conversation with the man. Hence, your professor purposely assigned him as your partner for the semester.

At first, you found it annoying. You would rather die than work with Alhaitham for a semester. Your clashing standards are like water and oil, unable to mix and be one. The both of you would argue over a statement, the supporting arguments, or even references. There was even a time when you and Alhaitham created two separate proposals and competed on whose version was better. Every day, Scaramouche had to wake up with your ramblings about how much of an idiot Alhaitham is and how your version was a million times better; heck, he probably heard you call Alhaitham every vulgar word in the dictionary.

However, as time passed, you became curious about the man. 'Why is he such a pain in the ass?' 'Why does he usually keep to himself?' questions like those taint your mind like the chorus of the trending pop song. Therefore, to quell your curiosity, You started observing his habits, hobbies, and interests.

The more you observed, the more unanswered questions develop in your head. You rationalized that maybe you need to talk to him instead of observing him to find out more about him. So, Instead of arguing immediately, you took your time to understand his perspective. At first, Alhaitham was caught off guard at the sudden change in attitude. Heck, there were times he found himself in embarrassing situations as you refuse to argue back because of your desire to understand him. However, he got used to it.

From then on, your dynamic with Alhaitham starts to change. Instead of creating two different proposals, the both of you began working on the proposal together. You put down your pride, and he followed, creating a peaceful atmosphere. You started to depend on him more regarding academics, and he began consulting you before deciding on significant details regarding the project.

You genuinely thought that maybe you and Alhaitham could develop a genuine bond. However, you were wrong. Therefore, you left the scene feeling betrayed.

You’re a fool.

…

“Albedo, this isn’t funny. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say right now,” Alhaitham sighs. It’s been a while since he left you alone in the cafe, and all he wants to do right now is to hurry back to your side. Only God knows the reason why Alhaitham is feeling this way.

“I am not in denial,” Alhaitham refutes, “I don’t like [Name] romantically. They’re a good partner, and that is all.”

Alhaitham sighs, “Me? And them? Friends?”

“… That’s right,” Albedo says through the phone, “Just settle as friends, then.”

Alhaitham stays quiet. “You don’t like [Name], anyways. So there’s nothing wrong with just being friends. I don’t understand your distress,” Albedo states.

Alhaitham is a rational man. He knows he is not one to succumb to emotions. However, the thought of being just your friend awakened a set of emotions even he is unaware of.

Alhaitham sighs, "Don't call me again, Albedo." And so, he ends the call.

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SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

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dilvuc · 2 years

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they borrowed your jacket

characters: childe, thoma, ayato, itto, al haitham (part 2)

Part 1

plot: (characters) "borrowed" your jacket behind your back.

genre: fluff

gender: male

warning: mentioned of nude(ayato)

Childe

That sneaky little bastard has stolen your jacket when you're not looking. You had to be jacketless during the harbingers meeting. You are the second harbinger after all and you're gonna killed that dumbass for stealing your jacket.

"Oi. Give me back my jacket." You glared grabbing the ginger by his collar.

"Hey now~ My jacket was torned up by some wolves, so I wore yours." Childe smiled.

"...Tch!"

"You think I'm cute~" Childe purred.

"Yes and I hate you for it." You blushed.

Thoma

Who needs to ask permission for your jacket? He can take it whenever he wants. You. Will. Melt…at how cute he looks in your work jacket. You cannot decline the facts on how adorable this man is and you will die!

"Babe, shouldn't you be going to work?" Thoma blushed.

"Just a little more photos and I'll be done." You smiled lazily, taking the last photos. "I'm going to brag with Sara to show her how cute my puppy is."

"W-wait! Please don't!" Thoma panicked with a red face.

Ayato

Boba king had yet again stolen your jacket without you looking. You found working on some paperworks wearing YOUR jacket. You had to admit, he looks cute in it, but not out loud.

"My, my~ Is my favorite bodyguard enjoying the view?" Ayato purred. "Do I look cute in your jacket? Unless you want to see me nude under your jacket?"

You blushed, "I-idiot! Like hell I want to see your fragile body! It's not like I enjoy it!"

"Hm~ I can take off my clothes now~"

"Shut the fuck up!" You hollered with an exploding red face.

Itto

'Real men don't need jackets,' is what he says. Except the fact that he's been wearing your jacket tightly around his body. His chest is larger than yours, so he ended up stretching out your jacket, but you really enjoy the view, leading you to a nosebleed.

"[Y]! Oh my archon, I'm sorry for stretching out your jacket!" Itto cried.

"It's alright." You smirked, holding your bleeding nose. "I think it looks wonderful."

"[Y]?!"

Al Haitham

Rival dating a rival in secret. You don't show affection to Al Haitham, nor did he do the same to you. Not in public. Kaveh knew about their relationship, but was not fond of how they're not showing affection to each other in private. You two just have a small boring conversation that bored him to death. Do you two even love each other?

Al Haitham had one thing in mind. Your jacket. He wants to wear it for "research purposes." He found your jacket lying around in bed and grabbed it.

Al Haitham looks around at his surroundings to see if it's coast and clear. Although he didn't notice Kaveh was watching from behind him. The male then puts on your jacket.

"...Warm…" Al Haitham blushed.

"Let see if [Y] will see this~" Kaveh smirked, quickly catching Al Haitham's attention. The gray haired man grabbed his roommate's throat and choked him.

"Not a word."

"S-stop choking me!" Kaveh glared, grabbing the male's wrists.

While the roommates were at each other's throats, you walked in on them. You weren't paying attention to the fight, but you landed your eyes on your jacket wrapped around Al Haitham's figure.

"Cute…" you said out loud, causing the strangling to stop and turned their eyes towards you.

With embarrassment, Al Haitham quickly took off his jacket and tossed it in your face. He turned around and cleared his throat acting like nothing happened.

"Forget what you saw…"

"Why? We're dating, aren't we?" You asked.

With his back facing you, he was turning red. Kaveh recovered from the strangle and wiggled his eyebrows at him, receiving hands around his throat again.

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➳ masterlist

#genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin fluff #genshin headcanons #genshin icons #genshin imagines #genshin impact #top male reader #male reader #genshin impact childe #genshin thoma #genshin ayato #genshin itto #genshin al haitham

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i-am-a-l0st-gh0st · 7 months

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When I'm not with you think of you always- Alhaitham X Gn!Reader flufftober

"Everything is alright just hold on tight, that's because I'm a god old fashioned lover boy"

T/w- fluff,

Summary - alhaitham can't get you out of his head, maybe you can help him?

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Flufftober masterlist

You had overtaken his thoughts, for months. He couldn't get you out of your head. Your laughter, your smile, your hugs. Alhaitham could hardly get any work done, which was very unusual. People did start to take note of this, whispering as he passed them in the hallways, the streets. He of course paid them no mind, his mind only focused on you. Oh how to get you out of his mind…

"Hey Haitham!"

It was none other then the person who plagued his thoughts. Before he could respond you ran and hugged him from behind, which made him turn slightly red. Thank archons he was able to keep his composure. He tried to turn around which he struggled with. Your Hugs were always quite tight and he struggled to get out, despite being strong himself. "Hello y/n"

"Whatcha doing." You took note of the people all staring. Archons was it really that bad to talk to alhaitham. You finally let him go, becoming slightly self conscious.

"Heading home. You?"

"Coming to find you." You flashed him a smile, oh how that made his heart race. Still he showed no sign of emotion. How hard was it to get him to smile, atleast a little?

"What seems to be the issue? If it's something regarding the academia, you'll have to come to my office tomorrow."

"No no, nothing like that. I just need to talk to you."

No one ever wanted to volunterily talk to him. Why would you? He pondered why you, one of the prettiest/handsomest people in Sumeru, would want to talk to him. Only you could answer that for him. "Hmm what about?"

"Oh um, maybe we move somewhere a bit more private." To the passing people it may have seemed like you were implying something, alhaitham also took the same approach to that.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh no no nothing like that Alhaitham."

He only nodded in exchange. You started to walk away, so he followed. Oh how people would talk after this, usually Alhaitham was by himself he seemed content that way. Soon you reached his house, the house wasn't clean but not messy either. Kaveh wasn't home either which made it easier to talk to him.

"So what is it?"

"Oh um, Archons I'm not quite sure how to say this." You added a little chuckle for good measure. Alhaitham was listening intently, but he seemed uninterested in a way. He had his usual stance, and his face was just unemotional. This made you a whole lot more nervous.

"Alhaitham, I.." You sighed, his answers either gonna be yes or no, it's fine Y/n. "I like you."

Alhaitham was taken aback, he had taken.a guess where this conversation was going, and he did guess here. He just wasn't sure how to respond. "You do?"

"I'm such an idiot, cause I know you won't like me back. Ah, I shouldn't have done this, I'm sorry for bothering you I'll leave."

"Wait."

So you stopped, the only normal thing to do. Why did he ask me to late? He is gonna yell at me? Ah, I'm such an idiot.

"Y/n you're not an idiot." That was his way of telling you he liked you.

"H-huh, b-but."

Then he hugged you. Not a half assed hug but a real one. Silence fell between you two. You buried your face in his chest, only because you were as pink as a peach. It didn't make it better when he kissed you on the head. And it got even worse when he kissed you, on the lips this time. His body was pressed against yours and your lips locking. Well until Kaveh came home

Taglist

@pandragonsoul

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #gn reader #fluff #genshin fluff #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #flufftober day 7 #flufftober #alhaitham fluff #alhaitham oneshots #alhaitham oneshot

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justaghostingon · 2 months

Text

In Which Kaeya and Kaveh Have a Horrible Missunderstanding

It starts at a bar in Sumeru. Kaeya is technically on buisness, but really he’s just having “fun” if fun is meeting another khanrian who drops a lore bomb, steals Kaeya’s company (traveler), and leaves without paying the bill.

Somewhat shaken up, kaeya walks up to the bar where he meets Kaveh, who is bemoaning his strained relationship with Alhaitham.

And maybe Kaeya’s feeling nostalgic surrounded by all this wine, maybe Dain’s words about the Alberichs made him want to reaffirm his place in the family that wasn’t crazy (if u count Diluc’s Darknight heroing as sane) but he finds himself emphasizing with Kaveh, and begins to tell his own story.

The two quickly realize their stories are quite similar. Kaveh talks about how his mother left him and Kaeya tells him about how his dad left him too. (Kaeya does not mention he was a very small child at the time, and not a college student, he thinks this is obvious. It is not. Kaveh doesn’t make that connection and it will come back to bite him later)

Kaveh bemoans how he found himself someone he thought he was going to make a new family with, indirectly talking of his secret college dream to marry his first boyfriend Alhaitham (he’s not direct because how embarrassing would that be? Kaeya gets it right?) kaeya emphasizes with his own hopes with diluc and master crepus (both who he uses first names for because he feels like he doesn’t deserve to call them brother/father. But it’s fine, it’s implied right?)

Then kaveh gripes about how it all fell apart and they had a big fight ( “Same” kaeya goes) how it emotionally destroyed him and Alhaitham is now letting him live in his house and that has to mean something, right?

This is when Kaeya, drunk and very much a busybody, (and projecting hard) offers his services. He wants to help these two brothers reconnect

Because kaeya has come to the mistaken conclusion that alhaitham and kaveh are brothers

Kaveh meanwhile, thinks diluc and kaeya must have been dating

Both are very, very wrong

Kaveh takes one look at Kaeya’s fashionable clothing with its daring V neck and thinks Kaeya must be a suduction master who’s taken pity upon him

He agrees

Kaeya starts with reconisence, since Alhaitham is still letting Kaveh live with him, it can’t be as bad as him and diluc, but it never hurts to know ur target

He stalks alhaitham’s schedule, and figures out what he can gleam about his personality.

“The first step is to be where they are,” Kaeya starts, “You’ve got a huge advantage because u share a house. Be useful. Remind him that he needs your support, even if he doesn’t like it”

“I already do the interior decorating! And cleaning! I even cook sometimes!”

“Excellent!” Kaeya claps his hands. “He relies on u, now u just need to figure out what his biggest secret is.”

“I …what?” Kaveh blinks “why? U aren’t seriously suggesting blackmail?”

“It’s not realllly blackmail.” Kaeya waves his hand. “U just want him to know u could, if u wanted too, but u don’t.”

“That’s not going to work on alhaitham, he doesn’t really have secrets” Kaveh says, privately thinking that maybe Kaeya’s not as good at this as he previously assumed.

“A shame,” kaeya sighs “ur sure he’s not moonlighting as a vigilante? Keeping a secret like that is a great way to force them to begin to trust you again.”

“…No” kaveh now definitely thinks Kaeya is not as knowledgeable as he though he was. And might be a little crazy.

Hopimg to change the subject Kaveh goes, “all i really want is to know how to have an open conversation with him wjthout our stupid pride getting in the way”

“An open conversation?” Kaeya looks serious. “That’s going to get physical.”

Physical? Kaveh thinks to himself. Is that really all we need?. Could he really be that bold?

“Does he have a vision?” Kaeya asks oblivious to kaveh’s shock

“Yes? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Is your vision a healing or sheilding one?”

“I can self-heal, yes” kaveh crossed his arms “what are you getting at?”

“That’s good” kaeya nods, lost in his own thoughts. “We’ll need a flat area then, mostly private but close enough to call for help when things get violent…”

“WHEN?” Kaveh shouts.

“I’ll stay by to act as an emergency aid. I can sheild when people closeby are close to death…”

“CLOSE TO DEATH?” Kaveh throws up his hands, breaking Kaeya out of his thoughts “What the F are u talking about?”

“Worst case scenarios.” Kaeya frowns. “You’ve had this fight before, you know how deadly it can get.”

“Deadly? Alhaitham and i had a verbal argument! With words!” Kaveh grabs Kaeya’s shoulders. “What happened to you??!!!”

“He tried to take me out with a flaming claymore.” Kaeya crosses his arms defensively. “It’s how i got my vision.”

“And you still want to get back together????”

“Yes? He’s all i have left.”

Kaveh opens his mouth, and closes this mouth, realizing for the first time in his life he’s to angry to speak.

Wordless, he leaves kaeya and goes straight to Alhaitham

Alhaitham looks up but before he can say anything, kaveh gives him a big hug and buries his head in his shoulder.

Alhaitham is shocked, but hugs back. Kaeya is shocked, becuase he’d never take a risk like that! But Alhaitham was hugging back! Should Kaeya try that?

“Thank you for just being a bit of a dick and not a psychopath”

“Are your standards really that low?” Alhaitham snarks, trying to cover how confused and offput he is by this all.

Kaveh just smiles and kisses him full on the mouth.

Kaeya who at this point, is convinced kaveh and ahaitham are brothers, promptly faints.

When he wakes, he doesn’t talk to anyone, just walks himself home all the way to mondstat in a daze before sitting at thr angel’s share.

Diluc takes one look at kaeya’s disleveled and dazed appearance and demands to know what happened

“He kissed his brother.” Kaeya says. Staring into his glass like it contained the secrets of the universe

“Some cultures do,” diluc points out, cleaning a few glasses while he waits the bar

“No,” kaeya shakes his head. “Not like those cheek kisses they do in fontaine. He was full on making out! With his brother!”

Diluc drops the glass.

“Diluc…” kaeya looks at diluc with big, watery eyes. “Diluc we aren’t thr most f-ed up pair of brothers. There are actually worse cases”

“Why are you telling me this?” Diluc asks, knuckles white on the counter.

“Because if i have to have nightmares about this, so do you,” goes Kaeya.

“Ass” diluc replies, “if u tried anything like that i’d have you reported to the church for the crime of incest.” but he relaxes.

Kaeya hides a smile. In a weird way, it’s reassuring to know that Diluc considers the idea of kissing him as incestuous. It means deep down he must still think of Kaeya as a brother.

Bonus

Meanwhile in Sumeru:

“How to you help someone who’s trapped in an abusive relationship?” Kaveh asks alhaitham

“I’ve found staging a coup most effective,” alhaitham says, thinking of nahida.

“Great,” kaveh pulls out the blue prints to the dawn winery “get the gang together Alhaitham, we’ve got a Wine tycoon to take down.”

The end

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zhongrin · 11 months

Note

Rin ofmg I was omw to continue our conversation about our selfships when I saw you have +7k followers?? Congratulations on them aaaaaa <33 you deserve them really!! 💞💞 (Zhongli and Alhaitham told me they wanna celebrate the milestone later in private hehe 🤭)

AND YOU PLAY(ED) MYSTIC MESSENGER TOO?? FODBSJKS QUICK. DROP. WHO IS YOUR FAV CHARACTER? (I would guess Jumin Han ngl hehkdbsjak)

Anyways so the reason why my bestie wanted to make me simp for Thoma was cuz he is as caring as me in her eyes. 😭 That's it.

(and I already told him hehe 🤭)

Yes!! Agreed <33 hehe 💞💞 so btw Rin, thanks to Mika - Baizhu and me are engaged now. Ya wanna attend the wedding with your hubby's? 🤭❤️

hfodbejsksn YES. Kaveh and me are gossip besties hehe 🍵 sharing gossip over tea while we are slandering our favorite couple affectionately<33 (hoping Baizhu doesn't get jealous oopsie)

It really does huh? <33 but I stick with "my sunshine" ❤️

HATCHLING AND PUPPY FIDHSHSIWWJWO so adorable sisbifkdbensjks and you calling Zhongli "my dragon" and Alhaitham "my owner" "my babe"? :P /lh (it's a joke plssss(?))

Fodhsjkwjeben maybe I can fight my fears with your little doggo heh 🥹 and pls I tell Alhaitham to do so. Rn. Omw.

Sure sure Rin hehe sure sure 🤭💞

LMao whAT WHY DOES IT FIT SM like yes Zhongli totally gentleman like and gentle and like "☺️😊💞❤️" and Alhaitham like ok ya ain't saying anything we do it rn aight like "😐😒🙄😮‍💨" (but his heart aching for you in secret <33)

Yes. We love big dominant men with a little wifey who tries to take the lead but initiating it (when her big dragon hubby isn't in rut heiehsjskksbdn) so adorable ahhh - but they are surely gentle while at it nonetheless, right? Or are they going full wild? 🫣❤️

For Baizhu and me the nsfw version, we both don't have a high drive - rather a real low one. But if we want to do it, Baizhu is often the one who initiates it cuz I am - as I said - kinda shy. And in that point I have troubles communicating my feelings heh. And also while at it he is quite dominant but also serving. (There are some exceptions when for example he is needy but feeling weak atm, then I will take the lead or something like that heh <33)

(you're so adorable I can't dosbjsisns <33)

IDK HOW IT GOT TO THAT NUMBER i think the genshin otome i posted is the thing that brought people in hslfdkjsd not sure if i truly deserve them all but i'm just gonna be here posting silly contents and talking with my friends about selfships and silly things hehehe (wait what- o-oh my <3)

I DID AND OMG HOW THE HECK- yes i loved jumin he's so hsldjfklsdksdf ok so maybe i have a type huh IT WAS SO LONG AGO THO hahah i had an android acc and had the unlimited call thingy but then i switched phones and i couldn't retrieve my acc so.... ;w;

it is true tho!!! he would make a good lover in general! wholesome + wholesome can only result in super wholesome <3 omg a love triangle between you and thoma and ayato 👀

(WHAT DO YOU M- OH ZHONGLI. HI. HELLO. HI BELOVED WHAT'S- HUH- WDYM WE HAVE TO TALK- UH- UHHH-)

I SAW THAT THREAD HAHAHAH and yes ofc!!! we'll bring you angbaos and osmanthus wine ;)) please do save us a seat <3 the ex-archon of liyue would be honored to oversee the union of such two lovely individuals <3

if baizhu gets jealous you can sit him on the table and sit on his lap while gossipping, i'm sure kaveh wouldn't mind ;)

ofc ofc whichever nickname you like best hehehe

zhongli is definitely "my dragon" yessss and al haitham??? ......... i'm gonna try calling him "my master" and see what his reactions are 😈

awww you don't have to push yourself but i promise we'll train the doggo to not jump on ppl on sight!!

random ramble but i feel like usually, the bigger doggos are way gentler from my experience. mayhaps i should buy a samoyed or a golden retriever puppy instead hehe

zhongli is so sweet it's almost overbearing sometimes but it's how he shows he cares so i'm hsldfjksldjf "dearest, are you sure you want to go out today?" "my love, i think we should eat something lighter this evening, what do you think?".... and meanwhile al haitham just goes "i don't feel like going out today." "no, given the amount of food we've feasted this afternoon it would be better for our digestive systems if we consume something lighter." lmao (altho he would still listen to my opinion and adjust things to fit both of our needs 😌 and tbh i'm super indecisive soooo yeah)

....... let's just say it depends on the mood ;))) i'm so sorry vi i'm a degenerate helphsldfjksld

a service dom! awww very cute dynamic yes yes i can totally see that!! and you taking the reigns when he's a lil unwell or out of energy that's so 🥺🥺🥺

#rin answers #rin is having tea with: dresvi 💚#rin selfships #zhongrin #meitham #minors dni

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transitverse · 3 years

Text

Eggshells: Chapter 5

WORDS: 2192 CHAPTERS: 5/9 CHARACTERS: Aubrey, Kaveh CONTENT WARNINGS: A little bit of weird eye stuff

Aubrey opens up... again. Kaveh is definitely not concerned at all.

Soundtrack: Twelve - tide/edit

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that Aubrey is awake when you get up for work a few hours later--she did spend most of yesterday asleep, after all--but it does, a little bit. You almost forgot she was there, which means you jump when you open the living room door and find her sitting straight up, staring at the opposite wall.

“Jesus-- Hey.” Trying to look like you didn’t nearly just throw coffee on the floor, you wait until she turns to you, which takes a couple of seconds. “You’re up early.”

“I’m always up early.”

“Right. How are you feeling? Did you sleep okay in the end?”

She shrugs. “Yeah. I’m… fine.” This time, you decide not to question it.

“Good. Did you, uh-- Do you want a drink, or something to eat?”

“...Coffee would be nice.”

“Sure.” You zip back to the kitchen to pour a second mug for her and return to the living room, where you sit beside her with your own. She cradles the cup in her hands with her legs pulled right up to her chest. It strikes you as odd, initially, given yesterday’s admission about her lack of taste, but perhaps it’s just as much for her other senses as it would be for that. Going through the motions, the scent, the warmth, even if she can't taste it. It’s something to focus on.

“Are you gonna be okay on your own today?” you ask, taking a sip of your own drink. “You can always call me or something, if you need to.”

“...Yeah.” She nods without looking up from her coffee. “I won’t… trash the place, or do anything stupid.”

You find yourself chuckling. “Good. I trust you. If you want anything from the store, I can swing by and pick it up on my way home later, so let me know.”

“What if something happens to you at work?”

The question takes a second to sink in.

“It won’t,” you say, once you’ve processed it. “I’ll be fine. It’s a low-risk job in broad daylight.”

“What if it does? And then I’m stuck here, on my own, after they said I shouldn’t be doing a lot, and--then you’re hurt, too--”

“Aubrey, Aubrey, Aubrey.” You reach over, pat her on the shoulder. She stops dead and stares at you. “Don’t freak out. It’ll be fine, okay?” you insist, squeezing her shoulder for emphasis. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me. And if it does, I know people who we can fall back on, who can come and help you out. It’s okay.”

She looks skeptical, but after a second, she sighs, nods, and relaxes back against the couch.

“Okay. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry. I get why you’re worried. I can check in with you over the course of the day, if it’ll help.”

“...Yeah. It would.”

“Sure. Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m off for lunch, or something, and whenever else I have a spare minute.” You’re already knocking back the last of your coffee at this point, and rising to your feet for a refill. “Alright, I’m hungry. Are you gonna eat now, too?”

She nods and follows you out into the kitchen.

Breakfast is quiet, but comfortable: you, flipping eggs in a pan; Aubrey, slowly pulling apart a meal bar in between sips of coffee; the radio on, but turned down low to provide some background noise without disturbing the peace. It's nice, actually, having the company. It's been a little while since you had a roommate, and Aubrey is content to just exist alongside you as you go about your usual morning routine.

You point a few things out to her before you leave--how the coffee machine works, where you keep the tea, how to work the electronics manually if she can't tap into them. Knowing she has no need to use most of the kitchen is a weight off both your minds, you think. No risk of her accidentally setting anything on fire, unless she does something truly, astonishingly, spectacularly wrong mixing a fucking protein shake.

You keep your promise, and ping her a message every few hours or so, just to let her know you're still on your feet. You don't get a whole lot in response, but then, you don't really need to. She just needs reassurance that you're doing okay; you just need to know that she isn't in a panic.

(When you leave that evening, you consider picking up the pamphlets on psychiatric support for her, but decide against it. You said yourself that she doesn't have to think about coming back to work for a few weeks yet. It's too soon after her clash with the infirmary staff. She’ll get there. One thing at a time.)

***

You arrive home to find Aubrey in place on the couch, TV on, empty Soylent cup beside her. You notice, now, how much better she really looks since she left medical; hair washed, fresh clothes on, the bags under her eyes noticeably faded.

"Hey." You shrug your coat off, hang it up, and lean in through the doorway. "How are you doing?"

“Not bad,” she answers, smiling slightly as she cocks her head at you. “Better here than in a hospital bed.”

“Looks like.” You return the smile as you pull your shoes off. “Your side’s not giving you grief?”

She shrugs. “Not really. It’s fine.”

“Cool. Hey, I’m starving, so I’m gonna go make a start on dinner. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

You make yourself busy in the kitchen, and Aubrey joins you a few minutes later, bundled up in her blankets again.

"Do you mind if I watch?"

"Sure," you answer, nodding towards the dining table. "Pull up a chair, if you want." She does, and plops herself down beside you, watching--contentedly?--while you chop onions and garlic.

"You know, I ate an onion raw for ten nuyen one time."

"Seriously?" You laugh and look over at her. "I mean, I guess not being able to taste anything has its perks, huh?"

"Yeah. Helps when you've only got one set of working tear ducts, too." Your eyes linger on the cybernetic in her left eye socket. Your curiosity just keeps on getting the better of you.

"So… can I ask you about that eye?" you venture. "I mean, I know the deal with cybernetics, obviously, but…"

"You've never seen one like this?"

"Most people tend to go for something… subtle. Or cosmetic." Hers is certainly not the former, and judging by the distinctive scarring and--as far as you've been able to tell--lack of an eyelid, it's safe to say it's not the latter, either, unless she’s a woman of unusual tastes.

"Yeah. Well." Aubrey looks off at the wall for a moment, and you're concerned you've pushed the conversation too far until she turns back to you. "This is… It does other stuff.”

"What kind of other stuff? "

"Can I show you something? Promise you won't get grossed out?"

"O... kay?" Before you can ask any more questions, her left eye has popped clean out of the socket and zips around her in a loop, coming to a stop in mid-air a foot or two away from her.

"It's a drone," she explains, as you stare at the thing (and do your best not to stare at the empty eye socket; you catch the glint of light on metal on the interior and that’s plenty enough for you). "It works as an eye, does all the stuff you'd probably expect from a fancy cybereye, but I can pilot it around like any other drone, too."

"Doesn't that feel weird? Popping it in and out like that?”

She shrugs. "I don’t feel much around there at all. You get used to it. I used to feel sick seeing two places at once, but you get used to that, too." Well, you don’t know what the fuck to make of this. Your best guess had been that it was an archaic piece that was all she could access or afford, but it seems you were very sorely mistaken. For a drone, it’s tiny, and completely silent, on top of lacking any visible method of propulsion. This is not something she picked off the shelf at any old clinic.

"Where did you get that thing? Something like that can’t come cheap."

Aubrey looks down and sucks on her lip, as the drone slots itself back into place in her eye socket.

"I was moving with some bad people, before I got this job," she says, eventually. "I had to do some shitty things, and I had some shitty things done to me. I had to… make some sacrifices to survive in that world."

"Is that why you…" You nod vaguely in her direction. "With the arms, too?"

"...Yeah." It takes her a moment, but she nods slowly. "Look, I don't… want to get into it."

"Right. Of course." You hardly register what you're doing as you scrape the ingredients into the pan and push them around. She's said so little, but revealed so much. "I'm… sorry that you had to go through that."

She's silent, at first. Then:

"Thanks," she says, quietly. She props one arm up on the counter and leans her head against it. You glance at her, out of the corner of your eye, and you swear you see a tear roll down her cheek.

But you can't be sure. You're not looking properly. You shouldn't comment. You turn your attention back to cooking and start chopping chillies instead.

"How'd you find this job, anyway?" you ask, taking the initiative to set the conversation back on a more positive course. "It's a big leap, to go from… what, gangs--?" (You look at her, and she nods) "--from gangs to working private security overnight."

"A friend tipped me off that you were hiring, and…" She trails off and shrugs her left shoulder slightly, her gaze darting from you to the floor and back again. "Can I tell you something?"

"What?" Because that doesn't sound like this is about to get sketchy at all.

"They… called in a favour for me. They got my application in front of the right people, and… I don't know. If they did anything else, they didn't tell me. All I know is I passed through all the interview stages, and here I am."

"Aubrey…"

"I needed this job, okay?" She spits the words out with unexpected aggression, her expression suddenly sour. "You know where I'd be without this? Hanging out at some shitty, crusty bar, doing a ton of Bull and beating people around in the parking lot for fun, waiting for someone to drag me away to start gunning people down. Nobody ever treated me like a person. I don't want that. I don't ever want to go back to that."

Her voice cracks at the end, and you realise too late that your attempt at fixing the conversation has gone awry. Shit.

"Aubrey, no, I don't…" You sigh, go to pinch the bridge of your nose, remember you were just touching chillies and think better of letting your hands get so close to your eyes at the last second. "It's not-- I'm just--"

"Don't tell anyone." You glance down, and now her eyes are wide with the same primal fear you saw when she was threatened with an extended hospital stay. "Please. I don't wanna get in trouble. I need this."

"I won't, I won't. It's okay. You're not in trouble." You exhale hard and stare down at the chillies, like they might hold all the answers to the situation you find yourself in. They don't, and after a few seconds, you flick them into the pan.

"I guess there's nothing to be done about it now. I mean, I think you really are a solid candidate, regardless. You're good at what you do. And I'm glad it got you out of a bad situation. Nobody deserves to be stuck somewhere like that forever."

"So you won't--you won't tell, or--"

"Nobody else has to know," you assure her. "It's irrelevant now. You're here, you can do what the job asks of you, and you can do it well. Not everyone can keep a grown man pinned when they've got a bullet lodged in their gut."

You can see the fear fall away as she slumps against the counter again.

"I don't want to lose this."

"You won't. It's okay. I wouldn't… do anything that I thought would endanger you like that." You don’t know where you’d even take this, anyway, if she has someone on the inside vying for her. But you have no reason to chase it up, beyond rules-for-rules’-sake; nor do you have it in your heart when you look at her. Her intense fear every time she thinks her job is under threat is making more and more sense, and she’s completely won you over.

She’s trying to do better. She’s trying to break the cycle. And you would be a terrible, terrible person to sabotage that.

#lost in transit #eggshells #side story #ongoing #aubrey #kaveh

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thethingssafhaslearnedsofar · 4 years

Text

52 things I learned in 2019

Each year humanity produces 1,000 times more transistors than grains of rice and wheat combined. [Mark P Mills]

The maths of queuing are absolutely brutal and counter-intuitive. [John D Cook]

Emojis are starting to appear in evidence in court cases, and lawyers are worried: “When emoji symbols are strung together, we don’t have a reliable way of interpreting their meaning.” (In 2017, an Israeli judge had to decide if one emoji-filled message constituted a verbal contract) [Eric Goldman]

Harbinger customers are customers who buy products that tend to fail. They group together, forming harbinger zip codes. If households in those zip codes buy a product, it is likely to fail. If they back a political candidate, they are likely to lose the election. [Simester, Tucker & Yang]

Baijiu is the world’s most popular spirit, with 10bn litres sold each year, almost entirely in China. The second most popular spirit in the world is vodka, with just 5bn litres sold. [Feyi Fawehinmi]

A Python script, an Instagram account and quite a bit of free time can get you free meals in New York City. [Chris Buetti]

At least three private companies have fallen victim to ‘deep fake’ audio fraud. In each case, a computerised voice clone of the company CEO “called a senior financial officer to request an urgent money transfer.” [Kaveh Waddell, Jennifer A. Kingson]

Drunk shopping could be a $45bn /year industry, and only 6% of people regret their drunk purchases. [Zachary Crockett]

Placebos are so effective that placebo placebos work: A pain cream with no active ingredients worked even when not used by the patient. Just owning the cream was enough to reduce pain. [Victoria Wai-lanYeung]

Since the 1960s, British motorways have been deliberately designed by computer as series of long curves, rather than straight lines. This is done for both safety (less hypnotic) and aesthetic (“sculpture on an exciting, grand scale”) reasons. [Joe Moran]

Between 1880 and 1916, Ireland had its own timezone, which was 25m 21s behind Greenwich Mean Time. After the Easter Rising, the House of Commons in London introduced GMT in Ireland and abolished Dublin Mean Time [Elena Goukassian]

Drug names are changing: X and Z names (Prozac, Seroxat) are giving way to names ending in O or A (Natesto, Qsymia) which are more appealing to speakers of Romance languages in Europe and South America. [Pascaline Faure]

The UK male suicide rate is the lowest since accurate records began in 1981. [Office for National Statistics]

The goal of walking 10,000 steps per day may have originated when a Japanese pedometer manufacturer noticed that the 万 symbol (which means 10,000) looks a little like someone walking. The actual health merits of that number ‘have never been validated by research.’ [Amanda Mull]

People hate asking sensitive questions. However, it turns out that people don’t hate being asked sensitive questions. So talking around difficult questions in research interviews is a waste of time and money. [Hart, VanEpps, Schweitzer]

The Korean Police force includes five labradors who are clones of ‘Quinn’, a bomb-sniffing dog who found fame after finding a missing girl’s body in a 2007 kidnapping. [Kim Tong-hyung]

As mobile phones became mainstream in the US in the early 1990s, the murder rate fell sharply. Street drug dealing became less popular, so gang-related turf wars were less common. (Other factors were also involved, obviously.) [Alexis C. Madrigal]

Mechanical devices to cheat your phone pedometer (for health insurance fraud or vanity) are now all over AliExpress. [Matthew Brennan]

In 2017 Google and Facebook lost $100 million between them to one scammer who sent them fake invoices. [Jeff John Roberts] [found by TomBot*]

Teenagers with acne get higher marks, are more likely to complete college and, if female, eventually get paid more than people without teenage acne. [Hugo M. Mialon & Erik T. Nesson]

72% of classical musicians have taken beta blockers for performance anxiety. [Composed]

Black women in the United States die in childbirth at roughly the same rate as women in Mongolia. [Annie Lowrey]

Sometime in the 1990s, it seems the US forgot how to make a critical component of some nuclear warheads. [Nick Baumann]

“Mushrooms and truffles are fungi, more closely related to humans than they are to plants.” [Lynne Peskoe-Yang]

In the US Northwest, rain can damage the fruit on cherry trees. So helicopter pilots are paid to fly over the orchards, using their downdraft to dry the fruit as it ripens. For the pilots, it’s a risky but potentially profitable job. [Maria Langer]

Gravitricity is a Scottish startup planning to store energy by lifting huge weights up a disused mine shaft when electricity is cheap, dropping them down to generate power when it is expensive. Using a 12,000 tonne weight (roughly the weight of the Eiffel tower), it should be half as expensive as equivalent lithium ion battery. [Jillian Ambrose]

Spotify pays by the song. Two three minute songs are twice as profitable as one six minute song. So songs are getting shorter. [Dan Kopf]

Fashion++ is a Facebook-funded computer vision project that looks at a photo of your outfit and suggests ‘minimal edits for outfit improvement’ like tucking in a shirt or removing an accessory. [Wei-Lin Hsiao & co] (In 2019, Fluxx helped launch Vogue Business.)

Three million students at US schools don’t have the internet at home. [Michael Melia & co]

No babies born in Britain in 2016 were named Nigel. [Jonathan Ore] (Correction: Robert Colvile, who broke the original story, points out that there could have been one or two Nigels in 2016 — the ONS only reports names with three or more examples)

Using machine learning, researchers can now predict how likely an individual is to be involve in a car accident by looking at the image of their home address on Google Street View. [Kinga Kita-Wojciechowska]

In 2018, the Nigerian government spent more on subsidies for petrol than on health, education, or defence. [Andrew S Nevin]

According to WaterAid research, women spend 97 billion hours a year looking for a safe place to go to the loo. That equals 46 million working years, which is the same workforce as Germany, the fourth largest economy in the world. [Caroline Criado Perez via Tanya Gold]

28% of people like the smell of (their own) urine after eating asparagus.[Rolf Degen]

AliBaba is investing $15m to research Chinese dialects, hoping to improve the performance of their voice recognition systems. [Emma Lee]

At least half of the effort of most AI projects goes on data labelling, and that’s often done in rural Indian villages. [Anand Murali]

Worldwide, growth in the fragrance industry is lagging behind cosmetics and skincare products. Why? ‘You can’t smell a selfie’. [Andrea Felsted and Sarah Halzack]

CD sales still make up 78% of music revenue in Japan (compared with less than 30% in the UK). Japanese pop fans have been encouraged to buy multiple copies of their favourite releases to win rewards (buy 2,000 copies, win a night at a hot spring with your favourite star). One 32 year-old fan was charged with illegally dumping 585 copies of a CD on the side of a mountain. [Mark Mulligan] [found by TomBot*]

Two disgruntled game developers wrote a script to generate and release identical but differently-named slot machine apps (sample names: Deer Antler Spray Slots, 3D Ravioli Slots). Eventually, the slot machine apps earned them $50,000. [Alex Schwartz & Ziba Scott]

80% of prisoners released late 2018 in a presidential pardon have opted to return to Kinshasa’s infamous Makala jail due to lack of means to live. [Olivier Kalume]

Disco, a Japanese high tech manufacturing company, has introduced an internal billing and payment system, where every cost is charged back to workers. Renting a conference room costs $100. “People really cut back on useless meetings,” says one staffer. [Yuji Nakamura & Yuki Furukawa]

A man who bought the personalised number plate NULL has received over $12,000 of parking fines, because the system records ‘NULL’ when no numberplate has been recorded. [Jack Morse]

The islands of Orkney generate 120% of their energy needs using wind and solar. However, 57% of homes in Orkney are in fuel poverty, where a household spends more than 10% of income on fuel. [Chris Silver] (This year I worked briefly with Community Energy Scotland on a project with Energy Systems Catapult)

Some blind people can understand speech that is almost three times faster than the fastest speech sighted people can understand. They can use speech synthesisers set at at 800 words per minute (conversational speech is 120–150 wpm). Research suggests that a section of the brain that normally responds to light is re-mapped in blind people to process sound. [Austin Hicks & R Douglas Fields]

SpottedRisk is a disgrace insurance company built on data: “Firstborns are at slightly higher risk of disgrace, as are those… who’ve suffered recent breakups — until the passage of time sends the bereft partner back down the ‘risk-decay curve.’” [Boris Kachka]

SDAM (Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory) is a rare syndrome where otherwise healthy, high-functioning people are unable to remember events from their own life. There is also an exhausting syndrome called Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, where people can remember precise details about every single day of their life. [Palumbo & Alain]

“Polling by phone has become very expensive, as the number of Americans willing to respond to unexpected or unknown callers has dropped. In the mid-to-late-20th century response rates were as high as 70%… [falling to] a mere 6% of the people it tried to survey in 2018.” [The Economist]

In 2012, only one sports team (Manchester United) was worth more than $2bn. Today, there are 52 sports teams worth more than $2bn. [Kurt Badenhausen]

Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were invented by a cleaner at a Frito-Lay factory. He’s now VP of multicultural sales for PepsiCo America. [Zachary Crockett]

Six reluctant Chinese hitmen who hired each other to carry out a murder went to jail when their outsourcing scheme collapsed. [Eric Cheung]

Fast fashion is hitting the wiping rags businesses, because some clothing is just too badly made to be sold as rags. [Adam Minter] (In January, Fluxx worked with Fibretrace to develop new ways to make the circular economy work in fashion.)

Asking ‘What questions do you have for me?’ can be dramatically more effective than ‘Any questions?’ at the end of a talk. (Many more good tips in this thread. [Jacqueline Antonovich]

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realselfblog · 5 years

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Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford

What will telemedicine look like in 2030? imagined Kaveh Safavi, Accenture’s Senior Managing Director and Health of Global Healthcare Practice. Kaveh was brainstorming the future of telehealth a decade from “now,” with three innovators attending #ATA19: Deepthi Bathina of Humana, Matthew Holt of Catalyst Health (and Co-Founder of Health 2.0), and Kim Swafford of Providence St. Joseph. This week convened the ATA annual conference where healthcare industry stakeholders met up to deal with the current telehealth environment and imagine what the future prospects would/could be.

As Kaveh invoked the futuristic theme, I couldn’t help thinking about Elroy Jetson, pictured here in a kind of FaceTime/Skype-type visit with a clinician sometime in the future that Hanna-Barbera produced in my childhood.

”Telemedicine used to be about solving access to no care,” Kaveh introduced the conversation. “Now, it’s about serving people who already have care through different mechanisms.”

This quartet of innovative digital health thinkers discussed the pace of adoption for telehealth, moving from the current state to 2030 and working backward from there, asking what conditions would have to change to get us from “here” to telehealth as, well, a healthcare delivery channel norm.

Today, fewer than 1% of Medicare beneficiaries have had any telehealth encounter, Kaveh explained, and fewer than one in eight doctors are aware of offering telehealth in their practice.

Deepthi from Humana offered three considerations concerning how care will transform. First, connected care: one in five U.S. households have a smart device, Deepthi noted. In 2018, after Amazon acquired PillPack, the company filed a patent for Alexa that would observe a consumer’s cough or sneeze and predict the onset of depression or disease. By 2030, she imagined, Alexa would recognize this before we do and a drone might drop something off at our doorstep before we even know we have a problem.

Deepthi added two more elements: individualized care, personalized to each of us; and, standardized care, perhaps using a digital twin, in a system that cares for me employing established standards based on the latest knowledge culled through machine learning/AI.

Kim Swafford of Providence St Joe’s knows a lot about telehealth “today” because her organization is on the forefront of leveraging digital and virtual health modes. Providence St. Joe’s deploys telehealth in eight states. She asserts that leveraging AI and machine learning for low acuity issues can automate as much as 80% of care, for both physical and behavioral/mental health.

Matthew talked about the “Flip the Stack” concept that he and Indu Subaiya, his partner in Health 2.0, developed for the World Congress on Health and Medical Sociology in December 2018. They imagined a scenario where, say, Alexa version 5 was the home platform enabling daily living, including health care delivery at home. From their talk’s abstract: “Starting with technology, the sensors, trackers, AI systems and processes are soon going to be in place monitoring, measuring and suggesting next steps to both providers and patients.” That sounds very 2030, but also do-able with the eleven-year time horizon.

The quartet discussed whether the demand (consumer/patient/caregiver) side would push telehealth adoption, or whether the supply side would. On the consumer side, younger people — namely, Millennials and Gen Z cohorts — are behaving today as if they do not value a primary care medical home, instead, favoring an on-demand, just-in-time-on-my-timeline mode. This would conform with other services in daily life flow, from shared rides to GrubHub food delivery, as health behavior morphs into more general consumer behavior patterns. Matthew pointed to latent demand for Lyft and Uber supplying that demand, which brought cheaper transport into peoples’ hands. “But how to get cheaper care into the hands of consumers?” he asked. We have this for some aspects of health and wellness services, choosing to deliver children in different settings, the supplement industry market, and chiropractic, Matthew commented.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: In full disclosure, I worked with Kaveh and the Accenture team on a recent study modeling the economic value of shifting a portion of ambulatory care visits to virtual care settings. The report’s title summarized what we calculated: Virtual Health: The Untapped Opportunity to Get the Most out of Healthcare. We modeled three scenarios: a typical primary care office visit, ongoing patient management dealing with a chronic condition, and patient self-management at home. Our scenarios combined virtual health and traditional in-person patient care to reflect a hybrid model of care, reflecting how life really works in an omni-channel world for healthcare and other daily life-flows. By saving even five minutes’ time per patient, our model calculated that a health system could conserve 320 primary care providers (PCPs) and save about $63 million for these three use cases taken together.

This small study is but one data point and insight into how telehealth can help bend the cost curve to help remake a sustainable U.S. healthcare system. Any designs on healthcare reform, whether broad public/private universal healthcare or tightly defined Medicare4All, must move care outside of ultra-expensive care settings. Let’s be mindful that in espousing whatever flavor of healthcare reform we debate in the coming months, we ensure affordability, good design, and consumer engagement in places convenient to people — especially, in the home as Indu and Matthew imagine in their Flip the Stack future world.

The post Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.

Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford posted first on http://dentistfortworth.blogspot.com

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maxihealth · 5 years

Text

Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford

”Telemedicine used to be about solving access to no care,” Kaveh introduced the conversation. “Now, it’s about serving people who already have care through different mechanisms.”

Today, fewer than 1% of Medicare beneficiaries have had any telehealth encounter, Kaveh explained, and fewer than one in eight doctors are aware of offering telehealth in their practice.

The post Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.

Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford posted first on https://carilloncitydental.blogspot.com

0 notes

realselfblog · 5 years

Text

Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford

”Telemedicine used to be about solving access to no care,” Kaveh introduced the conversation. “Now, it’s about serving people who already have care through different mechanisms.”

Today, fewer than 1% of Medicare beneficiaries have had any telehealth encounter, Kaveh explained, and fewer than one in eight doctors are aware of offering telehealth in their practice.

The post Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.

Telehealth In 2030 – Notes From the Future At #ATA19 with Safavi, Holt, Bathina and Swafford posted first on http://dentistfortworth.blogspot.com

0 notes