originally pitched 13 october 2023.

so recently i've been rewatching this shot-by-shot analysis of puella magi madoka magica that takes somewhere from like 16 to 22 hours to watch in full (i watch it at 1.5x speed bc i feel like the guy talks kinda slow) bc that's the kind of person i am, and despite there being no confirmed worms in place of my brain, i still found my thoughts straying to xv as i watched the first episode.

bc, like, i don't think it's terribly uncommon to see artists do magical girl aus for xv where venti gets to be a magical girl. like, he can pull that off no questions asked!!! but then xiao usually gets kinda tossed in love interest jail, which i think is kind of a shame bc person­ally i think xiao fits the role of magical girl better, thematically speaking.

anyway, as mentioned in the subtitle, this au was made up in collaboration w/ navi when i pitched him the idea late at night over discord, and i think that the very back-and-forth "yes, and" that came about is a lot of fun, so that'll be preserved in the presentation moving forward :33

• i think that xiao would probably be a stronger choice [for the magical girl] if we're going for classical magical girl vibes, and i'm sure that sounds kind of deranged
• but magical girls are abt hope, they're abt protection; they value the graces of mundane life n its happiness so much they are willing to put on the glamour of the magical girl which was thrust upon them in episode one and fight for their lives over it.
• and a great many magical girls must also ultimately sacrifice that mundane grace for themselves in the end, to save the world with that glamour of magic.
• and so a key conflict in magical girl anime revolves around that tension btwn the mundane life of the girls and the fantastical magic of their responsibilities:
• the difficulty of balancing those things, of hiding from one another for the sake of keeping everything together
• n i think that xiao, whose canon character arc is abt his inner desires to connect with humanity n gentility n stuff vs. his violent duty n past n self image would be an easier character to translate into that kind of magical girl conflict
• do you see it do you see my vision
• Yes, I saw it even before the elaboration lol
• But the elaboration is good
• i think it'd be fun to have venti be the regular guy in a magical girl au
• like ofc he'd do more than just chill around or w/e
• like it'd be funny if he could hold his own despite being just a guy who is decidedly not magical
• normal guy venti would also totally have a ball trying to court or be courted by the cute magical girl xiao anyway
• Venti gets swept off his feet by Xiao in a cute magical girl outfit
• he hopes for kiss but xiao has anxiety and just gently drops him off at home and then runs away
• From Venti's pov, the shoujo rose petals are flying as he looks up at his hero and meanwhile Xiao is trying not to throw up from anxiety
• meanwhile back at magical girl HQ the other yaksha are cheering xiao on (he is passed out on the floor)
• And after that Venti keeps tracking him down and trying to flirt with him
• he gets into scrapes specifically just so that xiao can save him
• Never anything he can't deal with himself in case Xiao doesn't come but of course Xiao always does
• after a while i'm sure xiao figures out venti can save himself but they've developed a little song and dance around the whole thing by this point so he just pretends he hasn't figured it out yet or smth
• so that he can linger in venti's life, reaching a hand across the doorway to venti's seemingly empty home
• but never quite being able to articulate his desires
• or before the glamour runs out n he has to run away or smth
• And every time Venti has to watch him leave with this sad little smile on his face because just once he wishes his hero would let himself stay for just a little while longer
• and then they also go to school together so that venti can piece xiao's identity bit by bit
• but he never tells xiao he figures it out bc he wants to hear it from xiao
• and then idk they get locked in a closet together or smth lol
• And the closet is too cramped with the two of them in there and it gets worse when Venti starts teasing Xiao about all the illicit things they could do
• And Xiao starts freaking out because now Venti is flirting with his real self even though he's not supposed to know who he is
• n then xiao also receives a summon for magical girl duties n he has to figure out how to get out of the closet w/o venti figuring him out (venti has already figured him out)
• i think that xiao would also start doubting venti's affections for his magical girl self at that point since he doesn't think venti Should know
• Yeah… it all gets very complicated
• what if zhongli was the mascot
• Holy shit
• I was thinking that if the magical girl secrecy needed to go on longer, Xiao could ask Venti to close his eyes and Venti (because he loves him) agrees, but teasingly says that Xiao better make it worth his while
• So Xiao transforms and leaves without Venti ever technically having seen him, but Venti knows anyway
• And also Xiao owes him a favor that he'll obsess over paying back even though Venti was only teasing and doesn't really care
• venti cashes in on the favor by asking xiao to have a sleepover with him bc he's lonely living alone
• and then they sleep in the same bed
• Because Venti offered Xiao the bed but then Xiao didn't want Venti to sleep on the floor and Venti didn't want Xiao to sleep on the floor so they argue about it and end up sleeping in the bed together lol
• ooooo i was thinking venti would just straight-up ask xiao to share with him lol
• If you think he'd be so bold!
• He could call it more of Xiao's favor that he owes lol
• But then backtrack if Xiao seems uncomfortable
• does mascot zhongli come along?
• Lmao honestly either or. Zhongli probably wouldn't want to witness the nonsense that goes down.
• but zhongli also probably needs to ensure xiao's safety in the unknown location, esp if they're at a point where stakes are ramping up and the other yaksha have been experiencing Very Close Calls recently!
• Oh very true
• Cuz for all they know, Venti could be an enemy
• It's unlikely but possible
• He could have just been doing a long con to get Xiao to let his guard down.
• anyway, i think that since xiao is very gone for venti, he'd just agree to share the bed, selfishly
• True. He's down so bad
• xiao's just like "oh, he's lonely…"
• "(and i am in love w/him so ofc i would share a bed w/him if he asks)"
• So they both get in bed together and hold hands in the dark because Venti asked him to
• Because he wanted to know he wasn't alone even though he can't see Xiao like this
• i think xiao can probably see in the dark pretty well
• he gets to see how down bad venti is for him LOL
• Venti is looking at him so lovingly because he thinks neither of them can see
• But oops Xiao can totally see
• xiao blushing harder and harder
• but not wanting to move away
• Since he's already come this far, he decides to just move closer instead so that he can't see Venti's face
• and then zhongli (tiny dragon) climbs onto the foot of the bed n curls up, shocking xiao out of his internal fantasy
• Zhongli disturbing the romantic moment smh
• that's his job!!
• you never know; maybe venti absorbs souls by kissing people!!
• or at least, that's an anxiety
• ofc he doesn't actually he's just a regular guy
• But he's just so bewitching to Xiao he couldn't possibly be normal
• but xiao also doubts venti's affections for him bc of the way he's been flirting with both forms
• i think it would be fun if xiao eventually revealed his identity to venti when zhongli wasn't around Specifically bc doing so would be disobedient to zhongli's wishes or smth
• venti corrupting xiao with the power of disobedience lol
• As he should!!!
• Venti would respond by smiling and telling Xiao that he's known for a while now, and hope that Xiao picks up on what that means
• Namely that Venti has been flirting with him the whole time
• i feel like that's a reveal SO much bigger to xiao that he can't even rlly process the magnitude of it at first
• like what do you mean that all his doubts and fears of venti not really liking him have been unfounded this whole time!!!!!
• He really doesn't know what to do with that information, especially when he's spent years in acceptance that his magical girl identity and the separation from normalcy that it leaves him will stop him from ever finding love like this
• And yet there's Venti, this completely normal guy, who loves him anyway
• and then they kiss abt it before xiao's anxiety makes him throw up
• And Venti giggles because Xiao has this absolutely petrified look on his face even though it's supposed to be good! They know they love each other now!
• i think xiao would spend a long long time staring at the ceiling of his magical girl dorm room that night tbh
• and then the next day he can Start being normal abt it
• Yeah… there's a lot to think about
• like omg kiss!
• and also omg he loves me back!!
• and also holy fuck the world is ending in like three days hnngghffhdhs
• but also omg kiss!!!!!!!!
• He's got a lot on his plate lmao
• the world Maybe ending in three days may or may not also be a factor in his disobedience
• bc living a life of no regrets n stuff
• Now he super has to save the world so that people don't die but also so maybe Venti will give him another kiss or something
• then during the apocalypse everything seems nigh and one by one the other yaksha sacrifice themselves like in sailor moon for xiao to continue n it's very "i don't think i'm gonna make it out of this alive,,,"
• but then venti shows up (would be funny if he got kidnapped into this, but it would also be neat if he manages to follow xiao there through strength of will alone)
• and they say that tuxedo mask's role in sailor moon is to be someone who unconditionally believes in sailor moon, right?
• that's VENTI and they save the day with the power of love c:
• SO TRUE
• And then they kiss about it
• AND THEN THEY KISS ABT IT!!!

---

• it's interesting that all this still has more xv than vx vibes to it
• but i don't think that's a bad thing
• It's because Venti is proactive instead of just being a damsel in distress
• he's damseling himself On Purpose
• bc he thinks it would be fun and indulges himself
• in this way, the damseling is in fact an active choice on his part
• esp. since he can hold his own anyway
• He's not a damsel because he's making himself the damsel
• he's making a game out of it lol
• He says that to Xiao once and Xiao's like "can you not make a game out of risking your life??" and Venti's like "ehe"
• well it's not like xiao's not having some kind of fun or satisfaction out of playing along anyway~~
• He'd just never admit that to himself
• At least not yet lol
• oh absolutely it's excruciating
• but also winning the game means he gets kiss in the end
• and he wants kiss sooooooooo badly he looks stupid
• All the Yakshas know it, Zhongli knows it, by the end Venti knows it
• It's very embarrassing for Xiao tbh
• does zhongli ever pay venti a visit by himself and give him a Very Stern Lecture abt his intentions w/xiao
• Knowing him, probably
• But venti may not take it seriously because he's the mascot lmao
• zhongli says no excessive kissing bc it's a distraction to xiao's work
• venti rolls his eyes n gives more kiss
• Venti takes Zhongli's lecture as a list of what absolutely to do if it means that Xiao will be more disobedient
• and also if they saved the world by this point, what could possibly go wrong by letting xiao indulge in his own selfish desires a little more!!!!
• he worked hard to have this happy outcome!!!!!!
• True!!!!!
• He deserves some kiss for that
• he deserves Many kiss for that; he watched the other yaksha die for him (they came back to life bc of the power of love)
• But that doesn't make the trauma automatically disappear of course
• He has some stuff to work through afterwards
• which is helped by having someone else who was Also there with him through it all
• and therefore keenly understands the Everything about it
• Mmmhm
• And he has that!
• does this mean venti gets to move into magical girl HQ
• emotional support bf to the world's savior
• no more lonely living alone for venti!!!!! :D
• Venti would jump at the chance to move in with Xiao
• zhongli puts them in separate rooms lol
• venti sneaks in every night
• And after a while Xiao's dorm just kinda looks like Venti lives there because he leaves his stuff all over the place
• they're like those animals that have to be adopted together bc if you separate them they'll fall apart lol
• Pretty much
• They are a set do not separate!!
• They have nightmares when they sleep alone, but not when they're together
• Xiao dreams about the yakshas dying and also Venti dying, and Venti dreams about being too late and finding Xiao dead, or worse— watching him be overpowered and die
• eventually i think zhongli would figure out how to keep venti in his own room. so then xiao sneaks out at night to sleep in venti's dorm
• and then zhongli finally sighs and gives up on keeping them separated
• It's a futile effort
• he has to live with them cuddling n holding hands n kissing all the time now lol
• And he hates it because they're so embarrassing
• But also not really because Xiao is happy for once
• live zhongli reaction lmao
• Which is why all the other Yakshas are so supportive, because Xiao is so happy with Venti
• they jokingly throw a surprise wedding for them at some point
• Which is adorable
• and it's fine as a joke but whether they'd get real married? whom'st knows
• Venti gets really into it but Xiao is just embarrassed
• oh yeah absolutely
• xiao has "takes everything too seriously" disease lol
• Which is even more embarrassing for him when Venti says all of his vows in rhyme
• and then xiao is just flustered n stuff n he has no idea what to say so he's just like
• "um. i love you too"
• And everyone laughs at him but he does get kiss for it so it works out for him in the end
• and then they all live happily ever after