Rei

and in every universe, it doesn’t end well for you.

why is that?

countless reincarnations of yourself, countless versions of you, an infinite amount of you, and yet not one of them has had a happy ending with this man.

you’ve gotten close, so close, more times than you could even recall.

you had your happily ever after within the grasps of your fingertips, but it always managed to slip through your hands like sand.

he can’t help it. he doesn’t know why his devotion always turns violent. why he can’t help but snuff out your life because he can’t bare the thought of you leaving him in any other way.

death seems to follow you, and Xiao seems to haunt death for daring to try to collect you, yet every time he fails. In an endless cycle of being just an inch away from saving you only to have you ruthlessly taken by death's familiar arms.

it didn’t always end with him killing you. sometimes it ended in your tragic death— a freak accident, a single fatal mistake, one miscalculated move and suddenly you were gone just like that. Right before his eyes over, and over, and over again. He had to watch as you were taken from him too soon.

You never lived to see your late 50s, or your 30s, or even your late 20s.

No, death was much too cruel for that.

You never lived long enough to see your hair grow grey, your beautiful skin wrinkle with the elegance that was seeped into your very soul, never got to see all those beautiful moments life had to offer that made you stand back and think about how grateful you were to be alive.

No, none of that. Because you were quickly taken before the thought could even cross your mortal mind.

But not Xiao’s. No, never his. Every precaution he could possibly take, he grabbed.

And every time it was something different than the last. It really was some cruel, twisted joke. How hard he tried to keep you alive, only to become sick with obsession, deranged with trying to keep you alive that at some point, he’d started to become the one to kill you himself.

At least, in this way, some sick twisted way, he knew you felt no pain. That you died in hands that cradled you, adored you, loved every ounce of your existence. No matter how many times he had to snuff it out.

At least you’d die to someone who loved you enough to strip you down to the very bone, consume you entirely, and still remember you fondly.

He loved you through countless lifetimes, and another million he knew he’d have to watch you suffer in. In the way you’d put down an animal for

the sake of ending its suffering, he’d do the same to you. Snuff you out with the very hands that cradled your face between his calloused fingers so gently. The ones that carried you so closely to his chest and tucked you into bed.

The very ones that cracked your ribs open one by one to hold your heart closely to his own so you knew just how much he truly loved you.

I tend to be the :] anon to the people I annoy so expect to see this stupid smile a lot more. you can never get rid of me now that you've given me attention

(I am going to write a Xiao drabble eventually I keep my promises. and yes I will tag you I want your opinion on it when I get around to it)

— your new (least) favourite anon :]

Luckily for you and all the other cannibal Xiao enjoyers I’m working on something right now!! It’s still a wip but I’ll try and finish it when I’m not burnt out from life stuff lol

I just scrolled all the way back to your February posts and now I don't know what to do. just two hours of unfiltered Cannibalism™

like yes there is an ache behind my rib cage for something that will never be there

why did you bring it to my attention now it's WORSE

(write more. pls. xiao's had me in a chokehold for well over a year and you're the first person to characterize him in a way I agree with)

(should I write my own stupid drabble I wonder)

(would you want me to tag you if I did)

burns from the twisted spark you’ve lit inside him. burning from the sins he committed, condemning him for letting your hands roam his body.

he can feel himself burning.

every ounce of discipline, of control, of any form of righteousness melted and slipped through his fingers like the dust in the sand when it came to you. instead, replaced by the warmth of your flesh. flesh so soft, so fragile, so human— something never meant to be touched by Xiao.

the light indents of his nails on your hips make him wince with guilt, he rots anything he touches. he knows this. and yet, for some reason, he can't seem to stop himself. can't control himself. he pushes past the fire eating him alive just to kiss you once more. and again, and again, and again.

he could devour you. this sacrilegious dance of yours that he failed to put a stop to, it will consume him. and, in turn, he will consume you. he tasted bitter, wicked even. this unholy man above you. and even then, he still wilted like a flower caught in the breeze when you lifted your hand to his cheek, tracing his cheekbones down to his jaw, softly pressing on his bottom lip.

and you were right. if stoicism took its place in a man, he would be the very embodiment of cold, brooding, and serious.

long before Liyue was self-sufficient on its own to protect itself, the citizens would offer things to the last standing yaksha, in hopes he’d continue to give them his protection. Xiao found it bothersome in all honesty, misplaced ignorance at best.

he only got more annoyed when they offered you up as his bride. he usually didn’t have time to give the mortals too much thought, much less any emotion beyond the occasional annoyance, but this? had they lost their minds?

he was so outraged he went right to Rex Lapis himself and demanded he set the citizens of Liyue straight. however, much to Xiao’s dismay, it seemed Morax found the situation amusing; educational even. A companion couldn’t hurt Xiao. Xiao argued that he could hurt you, though. Without even meaning to. Karmic debt has a way of creeping to those he loved.

Morax waved him off, some oddly knowing twinkle in his eye. As if he knew you just happened to be a one in a million chance of a soul so good hearted you’d be unaffected by Xiao’s karmic debt. Instead, your presence would soothe him.

Nonetheless, after all was said and done, and a reluctant agreement was made, you were set to be his sacrificial bride. Your peers scared you with stories of his conquests, warning you that he’d devour your dreams in your sleep, keep you hidden away, or worse.

You’d been raised for this. Not a strand out of place. Poised. Graceful. A smile that never faltered no matter how sore your cheeks got. Everything a wife should be. Xiao didn’t know what to make of you, nor did you know what to make of him. You looked too fragile to be around him. He didn’t like it.

You disliked the quiet. Hated it, even. And Xiao brought nothing but an uncomfortable, heavy, silence. It’s not as though he had been opposed to speaking with you, he just.. didn’t know how.

“There isn’t much time for idle chatter on the battlefield.”

Ah, there it was.

What was that?

A jest to your mumbling complaints about how quiet he was, perhaps?

The first time he let something other than coldness slip.

A hint of sarcasm, dry humor. You almost didn’t believe your own ears.

But then he heard it, your burst of giggles bubbling from your lips.

Strange.

How odd. He never liked strangeness before.

Xiao simultaneously puts you on a pedestal and treats you like you’re made of glass, because, well, you’re mortal. you don’t know how easy it is to have life snuffed out from under you.

he isn’t violent with you. no, never you. you’re too fragile, even if he ever gets upset with you, which is rarely.

he never blames you for his frustrations however. no, no.

those lingering eyes that stayed on your figure a bit too long at the market? well lustful eyes shouldn’t have the privilege to lay even a single glance on you.

stray hands you’ve never pushed away? you’re obviously too afraid to defend yourself, that’s why he’s here. always watching, always ready to fend off disgusting vermin around you.

even your friends who occupy too much of your time- well they simply need to leave you alone. you’re just too nice to tell them to leave, so he’ll take care of it for you. anything for you.

he’ll excuse any of your actions, no matter how sinister they may be.

should you ever happen to murder another? obviously it was self defense. you didn’t mean too. quickly, wash yourself off. he’ll crush the skull into unrecognizable pieces and dispose of it among the monsters he’s slain.

in the beginning of course, he’d never let you see the violent side of him, at least he’d try not to let you see it often or at all if possible.

but overtime, as more and more obstacles just keep getting in the way, he becomes more agitated, more frustrated, more impulsive until he’s heaving over the mess of a corpse he’s left in a mangled mess on the ground when he hears something—

“xiao—?”

the horror and fear in your eyes. you looked like your legs were about to give out any second and you just couldn’t stop shaking. he wanted to reach out to you, comfort you, assure you that everything was okay and he was only exterminating pests that plagued you— but you flinched the moment he locked eyes with you.

but he knew that one day you would understand. one day you would thank him, embrace him and praise him for all the work he’s done to keep you safe. yeah, so you should get used to this.

he’s doing this for you, he reminds you. every rib cracked, every skull impaled, every life picked off one by one, it’s all for you. you know that right? that this is his way of showing his devotion to you?

your beauty didn’t belong to you, it belonged to the passing men who traded silver and gold for your time and services.

but Xiao wasn’t content with that. no, it didn’t belong to you either, but to him. obviously you couldn’t be trusted with it if you so frivolously flashed that pretty face of yours to whichever client showed up that night, no. Xiao knew how to keep you safe.

and shouldn’t he be rewarded for keeping that beautifully terrified face of yours safe from the hands of other disgusting, vile men? he deserved it, right? you just didn’t know how cruel your own kind could be to each other. but Xiao knew. he’d seen it first hand, what unruly men do to beautiful things like you.

and yeah, he knew he wasn’t any better than them in some sense; but at least he only had eyes for you. cold, unbearably suffocating eyes that dug their way into the deepest pits of your soul. eyes to watch your every move, every breath, eyes to watch you sleep. and he would, because your beauty belonged to him, and him alone.