Until I found you
summary: Xiao has to face the memories of his late lover at the bottom of the chasm
Xiao wakes up as he's leaned up against a familiar yet distant warmth, a warmth he yearn for so long and picks up his head to see h/c hair tied into a low ponytail with a ribbon he recognizes....he gifted it. He takes a step back and then another until he's a good distance as he watches the h/c haired turns around to look at him and he's fighting back tears, the clutching feeling in his throat is too much.
"I want you back so badly, Y/n.....but not like this." He summons his polearm, closing his eyes, not wanting to feel this emotion again. The feeling of having to cut down his partner again.
He knew that this illusion of his late significant other was a part of his memories being used against him by the powers of this part of the chasm. "I know this isn't really you, so I won't make you wait any longer."
He says before he lungs forward, a battle sparking between them.
After what felt like an eternity, his polearm finally pierces through the illusion and the h/c haired falls over and he's quick to catch them.
But before he could say anything, he watches at they smile at him before slumping into his arms as they body begins to vanish, leaving his arms empty as the flickering of tiny butterflies of light and they too vanish, and he's alone once again.
Masterlist
Baji: End my suffering.
Chifuyu: No.
Baji: Is this the reason I exist? Was I born just to do this? There must be more important things.
Baji: People spend their whole lives trying to find the meaning of life and fail. So why shouldn't I just enjoy the journey?
Baji: Doing only one thing for my whole life. That's not the way someone should live.
Baji: The thrill you get in a fight, when you punch someone. The adrenaline.
Baji: The little moments you spend with friends.
Baji: Riding my motorcycle at midnight.
Baji: Sharing peyoung yakisoba with you.
Baji: That's how I want to spend my life. Not like this.
Baji: Chifuyu, let's run away!
Mitsuya: What's going on?
Chifuyu: He's being a dramatic bitch. I'm helping him with math homework.
because i will love you until i die, and even longer still
content: angst, learning to move on
character/s: albedo
note: i’m really excited to share this one with you guys!! i have been thinking about this angst prompt for a while now, and it basically centers the concept of grief and loss. i believe it’s a truly difficult journey to wrap your head around the loss of a loved one. sometimes even the smallest of their habits and likes that you’ve picked up still breathes life into them even when they’re gone. i think it’s a beautiful yet sorrowful lesson to experience in life - to learn that love isn’t always about holding on, but letting go - and it’s seriously inspired me to write this albedo story. for now i hope you’ll still enjoy and have a lovely day!!
ALBEDO
Happy birthday, my love.
Albedo jolted up from his sudden slumber, frantically glancing around his empty laboratory.
I thought I heard her…
He blinks, puzzle for a moment, before fully shaking himself awake and running a hand through his unkempt hair in frustration. How did he end up falling asleep in the middle of his work? And a very important project at that.
He glances down at the stacks of scrolls scattered around his desk and the heaps of books dispersed in the room - starting from the area near his feet trailing all the way to the exit of his laboratory.
I was a bit confused on what to give you as a birthday present, so I ended up sticking with a letter instead.
He stands up and stretches his arms, groaning sloppily from exhaustion. Albedo knew he had to clean before doing anything else - you would have reprimanded the life out of him if you saw his mess of a workroom.
It was currently 9:30 in the morning, and his stomach angrily grumbled, urging him to get some food. He ignored the persistent pain, bending down to gather the fallen books and trash disposed all around the room.
I hope you don’t mind this gift - there are also a few things I need to convey to you in my message as well.
A flurry of soft raps echoed throughout the silent laboratory from the entryway. Never batting an eye at the wooden door, Albedo continued to put away a few more items before eventually responding to the knocks. “Come in.”
The door creaks open, a shy and high pitched voice severing the tranquility of the area. “Mister Albedo, it’s me.”
“Sucrose.” He hums, acknowledging her presence. “What do you need?”
She awkwardly fiddled with her fingers. “You’ve been stuck in here for weeks. I was wondering if you wanted to go out and have breakfast with us. And Klee…insists for your appearance.”
Are you well? Have you been taking breaks like I’ve asked you to?
Albedo shakes his head, dusting his hands off as he stands up. “You know I can’t do that.”
Sucrose sighs. “I knew it.”
“So why bother coming anyway?” He asks, looking around the now tidy room.
She huffed at his stubbornness. “Mister Albedo, you know that isn’t good for your health. If Y/N were here-“
A loud crash echoes throughout the laboratory.
“Don’t say that.”
He seethes through clenched teeth, pent up frustration boiling in the pit of his stomach. In a fit of anger, Albedo’s hands had shoved the previously neat pile of books he arranged, and sent them flying back to the ground.
Even after all these years, hearing your name roll out of anyone’s mouth still sends him into a sensitive and frenzied state.
Sucrose knows that he is slowly dying inside. Anyone could see it in those lifeless pools of teal. Countless days and nights were spent locked up in the tiny room, experiment after experiment only to get his expectations crushed. It had eventually reached a point where even the archons could tell that the great and brilliant Albedo was simply clinging on to the last thin strings of false hope.
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
“I’d voluntarily exhaust the rest of my life making sure it does.” Albedo retorts, eyes fixated at the mess beneath his feet, never daring to meet hers.
Sucrose nods, glancing with pity at the unreadable man with clenched fists standing in front of her.
As I thought. He’s still persistent.
“Alchemy has it’s limits too. That’s all I’m saying.”
Without another word, she quietly slips away through the exit, making sure to shut the door behind her and leave Albedo alone with the voices in his head.
I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to come up with the best way on how to celebrate your birthday.
Not again.
He scoffs, looking away from the scribbled writings on the board down to his chalk - once the length of his index finger, now reduced to a minuscule size. Tossing it behind his shoulder, his fingers dive in to reach for another, before it dawns upon him that he’s finally run out of it.
Archons, this is so damn irritating.
We could pick cecilias and stargaze on Starsnatch Cliff.
Albedo massaged his forehead in frustration, glancing over at the barricaded windows he blocked months ago to obstruct any light from entering the tiny room. It had been weeks since he left the laboratory, and he knew the day would eventually come when he depleted all of his necessary materials and needed to replenish his supplies once more.
Hesitantly reaching for his white dusty coat, he throws it on himself while delving through his pocket for his keys, before carefully approaching the exit of the dark and grimy laboratory.
Or perhaps we could have a nice picnic at Windrise and watch the dandelions flutter in the breeze.
The sun’s harsh glare that peeked through the towering establishments of Mondstadt caused Albedo to wince and squint his eyes at the sight of it.
Today was especially crowded than the usual, or perhaps he simply forgot how the world once looked like before he locked himself out of it. And the longer he stayed with the multitude, the more Albedo felt like he was suffocating as he presently stood amidst the packed jam of bustling citizens.
With one swift motion, he slithered through the crowd, muttering the occasional ‘excuse me’s or incoherent apologies to people who stood in his way.
We could even spend the day cooped up in your camp at Dragonspine. Anywhere is perfect as long as it’s with you.
“Chief Alchemist…?” Flora asks in confusion, blinking once more to check if her vision had betrayed her, upon staring at the man no one had seen for a long period of time.
“I need more flowers.” Albedo hands her a leather bag filled with coins. “Cecilias, if you will.”
“A-ah, right away!” She exclaims and quickly rushes to work, still a bit weirded out to acknowledge his existence back around the streets of Mondstadt.
Albedo tapped his foot in waiting, glancing around the area to make sure no one he knew would notice him.
“I..heard about what happened.” He hears Flora say, and looks back at her, with a bunch of potted Cecilias in a crate on her desk. “I’m sorry for your loss, Albedo.”
He shakes his head rapidly, picking up the crate. “It won’t be a loss soon enough.”
Flora doubtfully nodded as she watched him walk away, wondering if he truly came up with a solution that would eventually fix his problems, or if the alchemist was simply being…delusional.
Anywhere with you…
“Albedo?”
He freezes in his spot at the voice calling from behind him.
“Is that you?”
…Albedo, I have to tell you something.
A hand reaches to clasp his shoulder, and he forcefully comes face to face with familiar purple irises and an eyepatch.
“Wow…I never thought you had it in you to leave your laboratory.” Kaeya grinned at the short man.
Albedo shoved his hand off, beginning to pace away before gathering more unwanted attention. “I’m already headed back anyway.”
“So quickly?” The blue haired man chirpily asks, following right behind him. “You’re very persistent in this new project.”
“I would have greater progress in doing so and in making my way back if you’d just turn around and leave me alone.”
Kaeya clicks his tongue playfully. “Aw come on, at least have a drink with me. We haven’t properly talked together since-“
“Finish that sentence and I’ll make sure you never speak again.”
I’ve been denying it for a while now, because I feared losing a great deal just to admit the bitter truth.
Kaeya pauses upon hearing Albedo’s cold and unfamiliar tone. Everyone had been affected upon hearing the news, but Kaeya knew deep down that the blonde had suffered the worst out of them all.
“I know you’re grieving.” He says calmly, putting his hands in his pockets. “We all are. But you can’t just ignore the truth anymore.”
“You’re wrong.” Albedo counters, a wave of foreign emotions crashing around inside him. “I’ve never ignored the truth. I simply thought beyond it.”
Now that it’s standing right in front of me, I can’t just run away anymore like I did for a long time.
“Not even the archons are capable of doing this.” Kaeya says in a fit of frustration, throwing his hands up in the air. “And you seriously believe you can make it work? What the hell makes you so different, anyway?”
“The only difference between me and all of them is that I still haven’t given up.” He says scornfully, glaring over at the man’s direction.
“Not like the rest of you.”
So this is me being brave. I’m sorry it took so long for me to say to you.
Kaeya scoffs, astounded at his resolve. He was aware Albedo was highly intelligent and completely logical, yet at this rate he was just straying away from his original path.
So this is what he chose.
He looks down with surrender, solemnly nodding at the alchemist’s pitiful answer.
“Or perhaps you just don’t know how to let go.”
I’m dying. I think I have been, for a while now.
Albedo stands alone once more in his laboratory.
Perhaps you just don’t know how to let go.
He gently sets the crate of Cecilias on the ground, and carefully walks over to his desk, rummaging through scrolls and books until he finds what he’s looking for. Albedo reaches out for it, and hesitates for a second, before picking up a picture frame that had been face down for a while now.
They say it’s a rare disease - that I can’t be cured. And that I have two months left.
It was a photograph of you smiling amidst the dandelions, your white dress billowing in the wind. He remembers it like it was yesterday, watching you goofily twirl around barefoot in a bed of grass, while he grinned and held up a camera to capture the memory of your beauty.
The sound of your laughter haunts him until this day, and Albedo can hear it echoing around the empty room, almost as if you were standing right beside him. He shuts his eyes and swallows a bile forming in his throat, feeling tears prickle in the corners of his eyes.
“Albedo.”
That’s on your birthday.
The frame slips in between his hands and crashes onto the floor with a resounding smash.
His eyes flutter open upon realizing what he had done, absentmindedly staring at the broken glass beneath his boots.
Please stop calling me, Y/N.
A little too coincidental, if you ask me.
Perhaps it’s fate reaching out to the both of us, saying that it’s finally time to stop.
Weaving through the shards of glass, he carefully plucks your photo from the mess, with blood-tainted hands. He stands back up and stares at the scattered papers and notebooks spread across his desk - a sign of grueling work he wasted months perfecting, only to realize he hadn’t even reached half of it.
Alchemy has its limits too.
He falls back onto his chair, this time unable to stop the tears from tumbling down his cheeks, and the uncontrollable sob that escaped past his lips.
My love, I know it’s hard. I can’t even imagine my life if I was the one losing you.
The tucked away flashbacks of you start to slip out from the locked part of his mind, swirling around like a tornado that had been waiting to destroy everything around it. His vision blurs and the world spins, and for a moment he swears he can see you standing across his desk, looking down with tears at his vulnerable self.
But we have to remain brave even in the face of danger.
“I love you, Albedo.” You whisper, gripping his chilly hand tightly, smiling up at his teary face.
Even if it kills us.
“Please don’t leave me, Y/N.” He says, with a traitorous crack of his voice at the end of his sentence, unable to bear the sight of you weak and helpless on your deathbed.
Even if it means we end up alone at the end of the road.
“Big Brother Albedo?”
But that will never be the case for you.
Albedo finally looks up from his desk, stunned upon seeing the hazy figure of a little girl in red standing by the entrance of his lonely laboratory.
“…Klee?”
You will never end up alone in this path.
She hesitantly remains rooted in her spot, clutching the doorknob in her little grasp. “I - Sucrose told me I wasn’t allowed to come in…” Klee nods at herself. “But I heard a crash and I ran away, to see if you…were okay.”
Am I okay?
It takes a moment for him to process her words before he nods at her, hastily wiping the tears off his cheeks and sitting up straighter.
“I miss her too.” Klee quietly says with sorrowful eyes.
“But Big Sister Y/N won’t come back anymore.”
I know.
Promise me you won’t try to save me.
It was the simple and blunt truth, yet Albedo couldn’t help but run away at the face of it.
“You can…come in if you want.” He voices hoarsely, making gestures for her to do so.
She nods doubtfully, slowly walking over to his side, carefully stepping over the glass left on the ground.
Let us accept mortality, even if it makes us lonely.
“Is that her?” Klee asks, pointing her little fingers at the slightly crumpled photo lying on his desk.
“It’s the last one I have of her.” He whispers, holding it out to let her get a better view of it.
“She looks happy…” Klee trails off, touching it gently. “I’m sure she’d want us to be happy too.”
And don’t be afraid to be happy without me again.
The sound of footsteps rushing towards the laboratory echoed around the hallways, and perks up Klee and Albedo’s ears upon hearing it.
“Klee!” The two turn to see a figure panting by the door.
“I told you…not to run away.” Sucrose huffs, leaning by the wall to gain support for her body.
“Sorry.” Klee sheepishly apologizes, guiltily rubbing the back of her head. “I just wanted to see Big Brother.”
“I’m surprised…he let you in anyway.” She remarks, raising an eyebrow at the quiet alchemist.
Because I promise I will love you until I die
He looked down, noticing an envelope stuck behind the destroyed frame. Picking it up, he examines it while letting Sucrose and Klee talk for a moment.
Flipping to the back, his eyes widen upon seeing the date and signature scribbled behind the paper.
September 13, Albedo’s birthday gift
“Is your offer…still up?” He asks, eyes flickering back and forth from your picture to the envelope in his grasp.
“What do you mean-“
“Although…perhaps it would be more fitting to have lunch now.” Albedo states, before slowly setting the possession down and glancing over at Sucrose and Klee.
“If you still don’t mind me joining you, that is.”
and even longer still.
“Of course it is!” Klee exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air. “We can make up for breakfast tomorrow, and the day after that, and for the rest of our lives!”
Albedo smiles, standing up from his chair, as Sucrose nods at the little girl’s cheery declaration.
“For the rest of our lives…that sounds lovely.”
Yours always and forever, Y/N.
P.S. I’ve attached a long list of ways on how to celebrate your birthday (and the next ones to come) with everyone else. Have fun - and more than anything, don’t be afraid to try again.
How haikyuu manga (SPOILER) went: everyone is doing fine after time skip, hinata learning volleyball in rio, kageyama ushijima and oikawa are pro players, kenma is very successful young man and sponsoring hinata.
vs.
How haikyuu fandom on twt talk about the manga:
~Twt: @vn_vannies
a genshin impact smau | xiao x gn!reader
SUMMARY as part of the student council, you’ve been tasked to recruit the local band playing in your university’s bar. xiao, who’s the band’s bassist, seems to be the only one refusing your offer to join the foundation day. you have two weeks to make him agree to perform on stage in front of the whole university or you’re off the council for good.
GENRE modern, fluff, slight(?) crack, mild angst if u squint
STATUS completed as of october 11, 2022
NOTES time stamps do not matter unless i say so !! i hope u all enjoy <3
EPISODE LIST
your dropees | xiao’s band
001 — beloved vp ♢002 — failed night out
003 — bench front ♢ 004 — deleted tweet
005 — hashtag boy ♢ 006 — fuckin’ with ‘ya
007 — know yakshas? ♢ 008 — this is betrayal
009 — go ahead without me ♢ 010 — why not?
011 — follow back, vp ♢ 012 — annoying pest
013 — ah, that’s why ♢ 014 — he likes who?
015 — never mind ♢ 016 — actually, i hate you
017 — you like them, right? ♢ 018 — my treat!
019 —so a game? ♢020 — he agreed?
021 — not my boyfriend ♢ 022 — for you
023 — don’t ask me to ♢ 024 — breakfast
025 — tokyo ♢ 026 — suddenly gone
027 — don’t reply please ♢ 028 — get rid of it
029 — time to cry ♢ 030 — the last song
031 — just ignore him ♢ 032 — i wonder why
033 — hate me ♢ 034 — just a hunch
035 — hung up ♢ 036 — the person i like
037 — touchdown ♢ 038 — bad feeling
039 — unknown id ♢ 040 — all yours
041 — better ♢ 042 — sheesh
043 — miss me ♢ 044 — come back
045 — at last ♢ bonus — tba
MISCELLANEOUS thank you so much to all of you who supported me throughout this series !! i love u all ueueue
OH MY LORDDDDDDDD AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
16 | slowly rest your head on my shoulder. (1k words)
you sigh and smile in content. the last time you got to loosen up like this was when you got through your first year of college. it's been months since then and you find yourself here right now, enjoying with friends, your worries at the very back of your mind.
it's already past midnight, three in the morning. most of your companions scattered around the almost empty bar, passed out either on the floor or on one of the couches. but you see venti, kaeya, kazuha, and hu tao on one of the bar tables, still taking shots together. laughing and slurring at whatever they're talking about. you giggle slightly at them.
goodness, they have monster livers.
your mind is a little hazy but you're sober enough to be aware of your surroundings and remember everything that happened tonight. you didn't drink alcohol as much as the others did. you probably only had roughly a bottle of liquor. you can handle your alcohol well, but you chose to tone down your intake this time. considering that there are other people accompanying your friend group today, you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of them.
you stand up from where you're sitting and decide to head outside the bar, wanting to get some fresh air.
in the dim staircase, you see the silhouette of someone at the end, sitting on the curb of the street. (the bar is underground and the entrance is a staircase, if you didn't get the picture) you jog your way up the stairs and stop just behind the person.
you realize that it's scaramouche.
you didn't want to admit it, but you secretly kept looking for him inside the bar when he disappeared somewhere. not only was he late but he only stayed with the group for an hour or two before disappearing by himself. he didn't even interact with his friends much, just quietly drinking in the corner of the bar. when you realized that he was nowhere in sight, you just assumed that he went home by himself.
so this is where he went.
you study him. he's facing the quiet street, holding a shot glass and a bottle beside him.
you make your presence known by coughing slightly. "is this how antisocials hang out when they go to a bar with their friends?”
he turns his head to look at you. he let's out a breath, almost like a laugh, and smirks lazily. "what, missed me already?"
"you wish. i just came out for fresh air." you make a move to sit down beside him on the curb, the bottle of liquor between the two of you.
"you're kind of a moron. but i know you can get there."
you suddenly remember his words earlier today. after the debate, you've been thinking about your view of him ever since he said those words of comfort to you. if it were any other person who said them, you would've laughed at their bad effort of trying to be supportive.
but those words came from him. which made them completely different and special. knowing him, it was the best consolation he could give to someone and, most especially, to you.
so you begin to see him in a new light. perhaps he's not as bad of a person as you thought. perhaps he doesn't actually think you're below him. you think that maybe his way of friendship is through offending people but with no actual malice. or perhaps he just doesn't know how to approach people normally.
but all of those are mere speculation in your perspective. you realize that you can't get to know him properly if you keep pushing your petty grudge on him.
moments pass with just the two of you sitting there saying nothing.
"we did good." you slur slightly, the tiredness that your body felt is now only settling. "i wonder why we didn't get partnered for debates at all back in highschool. not that i wanted to, though."
he stares at you for a second before explaining, "i organized the debates in a way for us to always be on separate teams. being pres had its perks."
you notice that he didn't slur his words at all. how many bottles did he have? you wonder.
"are you not drunk at all?" you ask.
"i can hold my liquor." much to xiao's disappointment "what? thought you could catch me slipping?"
"kind of."
"never." he laughs slightly.
although he did say that, it's quite obvious that he's out of it to some extent. he's snarky, but his remarks are more lighthearted than usual. or maybe he's just too tired to start his usual arguments with you. who knows.
he grabs the bottle between the two of you, uncapping it to refill his glass.
he's so passive right now that you find it weird.
once he's done filling his shot glass, he hands you the bottle that still has one shot worth of liquor in it. "you can finish it. i've had enough."
you accept it, "you sure you didn't drink from this bottle?"
he looks at you boredly. "why do you think i have a glass with me?"
"just making sure." you shrug and down what's left of the bottle in one go. scaramouche follows you and takes his shot.
you cough at the bitter taste, squinting slightly as you take in the alcohol. you place the bottle back down beside you. you sniff and wipe your face with your sleeve.
you sigh heavily and rest your head on your palm. you feel your muscles relax and your eyes start to droop out of exhaustion. your head swaying slightly, trying to keep it upright.
you take a sleepy glance at scaramouche only to find him already staring at you.
"you look ugly." he says.
"and you have a bowlcut..." you mumble back.
you finally let yourself succumb to sleep. so out of it that you don't feel his hand slowly guiding your head to his shoulder.
you two sit there, side by side, with you dozing off. silence engulfing you both and street lights illuminating your features.
a peaceful and intimate moment with only the moon as your witness.
and as you continue to drift in your dreamland, passed out and unaware of your surroundings, you don't hear the quiet mutter under his breath that's forever lost to the soft breeze of the cold morning.
"you did good today. i'm proud of you."
raised the bar !
masterlist / prev - next
synopsis yn thought she finally escaped the perpetual doom of constantly placing 2nd after she graduated high school. but alas! the leaderboard has her name printed under another’s! a name she thought she’d never get to see again. better luck next time, i guess.
a/n: just some of their instagram story highlights! because is it really a social media au if there aren't irl ulzzang photos 😭
anw that's a wrap for the act one of this smau!! the next updates will continue on act two which will focus more on yn and scara's development and will reveal more about their struggles and stories since act one focused more on introducing the characters and their dynamics.
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If you want to be part of the taglist, just reply, dm, or ask!
Back at it again with another text post comic.
I haven’t draw these two together in a long time, so they were fun to finally do again
Textpost & Textpost credit goes to:
@the-wholesome-ranpo
me when
me when people make fanart of shinichiro, mikey and emma together and write 'sano siblings <3' in the caption but izana isnt there