#alongside ragbros

[cluescorner]

Diluc was probably so fucking protective over Kaeya when they were kids. Like, he’d always go first into any situation he saw as dangerous and if literally anything bad would happen to Kaeya he would feel like a horrible person. So he’s always standing up for Kaeya and protecting him from anything scary, like boars and slimes and bullies!!

And then meanwhile Kaeya, the child-savior of Khaenri’ah who probably used to see more fucked up shit in the span of 1 week than Diluc will see in his entire life and has probably killed someone before, has to just...play along. For this mission he needs to blend into the Ragnvindr family and endearing himself to the heir of the family is definitely part of that description. Like, ‘oh wow thank you for saving me from that boar. You are my hero and I definitely needed your help with that. I totally was not going to just kill the boar with the knives I definitely didn’t steal from the kitchen and sew into my clothes in case I came across that treasure hoarder camp that’s been bothering dad recently and found an opportunity to...solve the problem.’ Kaeya finds Diluc’s attempts to ‘protect’ him adorable, especially since Kaeya needs none of that protection and in fact has been doing his own part in protecting Diluc (namely ensuring that they never run into Abyss Mages while wandering in the wild). 

[hibiscus-writing]

Always look out for you AU

Ragbros centric since i havent posted one about them in awhile, inspired by Sparks by Coldplay, it made me cry and write this

tldr: Kaeya never receives a vision and dies during the confrontation. during his time in Snezhnaya, Diluc discovers a series of animals with a star mark on their foreheads sacrificing their lives to protect him, is it truly a coincidence?

TW: Animal death (mentioned in passing, little to no detail)

-Kaeya dies in the fight between him and Diluc.

-Diluc doesn't realise he's dead and runs away to Snezhnaya

-Kaeya's body is discovered and buried alongside Crepus, using the Ragnvindr name since nobody knows Diluc disowned him.

-except, Kaeya doesn't stay dead

-Kaeya reincarnates into various animals, with the purpose of protecting Diluc, even if it costs him his life.

-each animal form has a Khaenri'ah star in its forehead

-one such form was a baby deer, barely a week old, stumbling across a dying Diluc. Kaeya sacrifices his life, staying with Diluc the whole winter night, using his body as both a shield, a heat source, and a way to plug the wound. Diluc would survive, Kaeya's new body didn't.

-at some point Diluc became suspicious of all the animals seemingly dying for him. He thinks it's a curse, everything close to him dies, even something as innocent as a baby deer.

-once Diluc reaches Mondstat, he realises what's actually occurring.

-Both in disbelief at this theory he's created and despair realising that he's killed his brother, Diluc runs off into an unmarked domain  to blow off some steam.

-this domain was highly dangerous, and at some point, Diluc was very injured and hiding from various abyss mages, abyss lectors, ECT.

-all of a sudden, when it seems like Diluc is about to be caught, a tiny fox pup with a star on its forehead yips out, catching the enemies attention, then it runs away, bringing the enemies with it, sacrificing its life.

-Diluc manages to escape, but not without coming across the barely alive fox pup. Diluc thanks the fox pup, comforting it in its last moments, before curiosity gets the best of him and he asks.

-"...Kaeya?"

-the fox pup licks Diluc's hand in response, staring up at him with bright blue eyes, before succumbing to its injuries.

-Diluc knows for sure that these animals are Kaeya now. Heartbroken, he cradles his brother's fox body, as he returns home, to give his brother's new body a proper burial.

-soon enough, there's a dedicated area in the dawn winery, filled with the animal body's Kaeya's sacrificed to keep Diluc safe, and each body piles on Diluc's conscious, knowing that Kaeya has died multiple times, because of Diluc, whether it be from protecting him, or being at the other end of his sword.

-life goes on, the citizens of Mondstat see random animals trailing behind Diluc each day, from a bunny, to a frog, to a mouse, no matter what, it has a star on its forehead.

-when Diluc notices Kaeya's presence, he tries his best to make it as comfortable as possible, to keep this version of Kaeya alive for as long as possible. It could be bringing a pet bed around with him so Kaeya has a comfortable place to sit when Diluc's bartending, or making sure that Kaeya gets the best diet for his species.

-for a while before the Dvalin incident, Kaeya remains relatively safe, he manages to live a whole rabbit's life, only dying from old age to be reborn as a turtle. 

-its during this turtle life that the Dvalin incident occurs, and Kaeya dies twice, once from protecting Diluc from falling rubbles off a building, and once by using himself as a shield from Dvalin's attacks.

-after the dust settles, Kaeya continues to live, as different animals, protecting Diluc to the best of his ability. 

-When the abyss order attacks, Kaeya is a peacock, and he stands as a symbol of Mondstats hope, as Mondstat triumphs.

-as a last ditch effort, Diluc begs Kaeya to rest, now that the dangers are gone. Kaeya dies in his arms on the battlefield, as the knights celebrate a victory around him.

-unlike the Multiple times before, a new animal doesn't appear. No puppy trailing behind him with a star on its head, nor finch chick hooked onto his shoulder.

-Kaeya has gone into rest. Diluc allows himself to fully process everything, a grieve for every one of Kaeya's forms.

-years go by without any sight of Kaeya, and Diluc accepts that he is truly gone. Diluc has a child through a surrogate, a young girl with fiery red hair and eyes.

-Diluc's daughter never appears to encounter danger, despite no animal following her around. It's as if something in the wind was protecting her in his stead.

-One the drive back from a late night of business in Mondstat, he passes by the spot father had found Kaeya all those years ago, and since he was there, Diluc decided to take a look.

-instead of the empty clearing he was expecting, the clearing was full of intervals and calla lilies, with small star shaped statues along the clearing, creating a gateway. Cryo crystalflys fly freely about, and the grass is a soft white.

-what god Diluc's the most, was the basket in the middle of the clearing, the exact place Kaeya was left.

-Diluc peers inside the basket and sees Kaeya, alive once again but this time, human. Kaeya has been reborn for the final time, as a human baby. Identical from before, only difference being a star on his forehead.

-Diluc cries out from joy at being able to see his brother once again, but human on top of it. This commotion awakes the baby, who when looking up to see his brother once again, smiles.

[uhzuku]

— 𝐦𝐫. 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 ( 𝐢 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐚𝐧 ) ; 𝐤. 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡.

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: in your company this vision was gained, therefore in your company it will stay.

𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦: genshin impact. | 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: kaeya alberich/f!reader | 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw ; minors dni | 𝐰/𝐜: 2.02k.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: angst, hurt no comfort, previously established relationship, canon ragbro angst, diluc worries over kaeya but doesn’t say anything, borderline alcoholism, pining, mourning, offscreen reader death, implied suicide.

— 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞 !!

his middle finger absentmindedly traces the rim of his glass, the whiskey long since drained from it as he stares into absolute nothingness. his eyes are empty, his vision distant, and his mind elsewhere — but after what he’d lost, wasn’t it to be expected?

it was supposed to be a routine inspection of their borders — it shouldn’t have taken her but a few days, so when she’d not returned in over a week the acting commander had sent out a pair of partnered knights to look into her absence. they’d returned silently with little between them and no woman at their backs, and kaeya had been called into jean’s office as soon as they’d finished giving the report. he’d been looking forward to whatever message y/n could have sent describing what had somehow gotten her sidetracked, as doing so would involve quite the feat considering this was a work trip rather than one meant for play regardless, only to receive somber looks of pity and apologies alongside the news that the scouting knights had found only her corpse. 

kaeya had gone silent at the admission, all jokes seemingly stolen from him. he’d been in disbelief at first, confused as to how his fiancé could possibly have been bested when she was one of the greatest catalyst users in mondstadt, much less killed. she was not weak, nor was she a fool — y/n was strong and she didn’t make mistakes in work, this had to be some mistake, surely?

that was, at least, what he’d tried to convince himself of. 

anger had followed the disbelief; why had jean allowed her to go by herself if the journey had the potential to be so dangerous? why not send her with a partner, even if it weren’t him? he’d yelled at her, something he was ashamed to remember, and she’d taken it — she was still mourning in her own right, but she’d stood there and looked down at her desk through tear-filled eyes as kaeya raged until he fell into fitful tears of his own as the loss became so overwhelming that he lost control of himself. 

she’d tried to comfort him, archons bless her, but kaeya had left before she could say anything, much less even make it around her desk to put a hand on his shoulder.

after the aforementioned anger came sorrow — an emotion he still hadn’t shaken, and one he doubted he ever would. it’s been seven months since he’d gotten news from jean about y/n’s death, and he’d privately resigned shortly after hearing it ( he’d taken a couple weeks to attend the funeral services and mourn before going in and telling her; she’d begged him to reconsider, but he’d not said another word and had just walked back out the way he came in ). now his days were spent in the angel’s share as long as diluc would allow him to stay, which wasn’t a terribly long time considering the redhead still despised his very existence ( kaeya had long since stopped trying to fool himself when it came to his relationship with diluc; he knew that the damage done to it was irreparable and that diluc would never again care for him like he had when they were children as well as the simple fact that the man he’d considered an older brother would always hate him, and he’d spent more than one night crying about it in y/n’s arms while they were curled up in their shared bed ). regardless, angel’s share was kaeya’s favorite place to drink; the cat’s tail was y/n’s favorite spot and he’d started only going there after he’d started dating her. he’d not been in the angel’s share more than a small handful of times in the four years that had passed with him dating and eventually getting engaged to y/n; it was filled to the brim with memories they had shared together there, so he couldn’t bear to step foot inside it. 

vibrations behind kaeya as someone walks by cause ripples to appear in his glass as he stares down at it. he just blinks slowly, unaware of the way both charles and diluc were looking at him in concern; he was hardly aware of anything more than his own sorrow these days, really. y/n had been the brightest spot in his life, the warm sunlight in the mornings that he looked forward to when he went to sleep and the smooth candlelight that led him through the darkness, whether that darkness be from the night or from his own personal demons. 

whispers ran rampant around the bar, but kaeya was no fool even if he didn’t bother listening to them; he knew that they were talking about him, he just didn’t care — everything they were saying was true after all. he was a broken shell of a man, and the better part of his soul had died along with y/n the day she’d been stolen from him. he wouldn’t ever recover from this, and he would never reclaim his title as cavalry captain, nor did he or would he ever have the urge to do so. he was trying to drink himself to death, though he was unaware of that fact, and he would stay until he was thrown out — where else would he go? y/n was dead, and she wasn’t coming back, therefore there was no home to return to in his eyes. 

the memories he fled to in place of his house were no longer doing the trick either. it was why he was now at the angel’s share so often rather than just ordering the bottles and going home to drink himself to oblivion; he was starting to forget about her, and it scared him, because what was he supposed to do without her? she had been his entire world for so, so long… he wasn’t ready to lose her back then, and even if enough time has passed for him to accept it, he still hadn’t. 

a hand slamming down next to him makes him jump in his seat, startled, and he looks towards said hand’s owner to find that it’s diluc standing in front of him. “that’s it,” the redhead mutters coldly, “it’s been six hours and you’ve had enough, go home.”

“i…” kaeya whispers, his voice cracking from disuse; it’s been so long since he’s actually talked out loud that it hurt to speak. on top of the physical pain, his heart ached unrelated to the pain that came with losing y/n; it was as if diluc didn’t even care. 

“i said get out, kaeya,” diluc growls, unsure of how to tend to the emotions of someone that he’s spent over a decade pushing away. he sees something flash through kaeya’s eyes, something that sends a sudden jolt of alarm through his entire body, slamming to a stop in the form of a vicious pang in his heart, but chooses to ignore it in favor of staring him down. 

kaeya just stares up at him, his blue eye wide but empty, before he slowly moves to get money from his coin purse at his hip. diluc takes this as meaning enough and walks away, content to take the payment after the drunk man he once believed to be so unbearably proud was gone. it takes a long moment, diluc notes while watching from the corner of his eye, for kaeya to get the coin purse open, but eventually he does so and wanders out the door. 

diluc returns to cleaning the bar, an action that had been interrupted by his ill-shown concern for the younger man. 

meanwhile, as he wanders the streets of mondstadt, kaeya’s mind is clearer than it has been in a long time. all this time he’d been clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, diluc would finally let him back in; diluc was his only remaining connection to mondstadt, the only one he cared about at least, but even that hope had bitten him in the ass. 

kaeya leans against a street lamp and looks towards the entrance to the city, contemplating the decision he’d made in the bare before finally steadying himself on his choice; there’s no one left who loves him anymore, not with y/n gone, so why should he even bother to stay?

as he steps foot outside the gates of mondstadt for the final time, no weapon at his hip and a personal mission on his mind, kaeya finally feels like he’s close to to peace once again. 

charles heads out for the night with a kind “goodbye!” thrown over his shoulder, a farewell that diluc responds to with a fond grunt as he continues cleaning the bar. he’d sent charles home early, something the other man more than deserved after all the hard work and extra shifts he’d pulled lately. 

he cleans the glasses in front of him with a rag he’d pulled from the stack of clean ones, thinking back to his short conversation with kaeya; he knew that he’d been unnecessarily rude, but kaeya needed to go home — what he was doing wasn’t healthy. diluc understood the desperate urge to cope that came with the loss of a dearly loved one, but this wasn’t a safe mechanism to use and he therefore refused to enable it. 

a soft blue glint from the corner of his eye catches his attention, the glow coming through the glass kaeya had been staring into. deciding to do away with his usual pattern of collecting payments just this once, diluc strides over only to pause at the sight before him, blinking down at it in surprise. 

sitting in a small pool of condensation that had dripped down from the still-full glass that the former cavalry captain had used was kaeya’s cryo vision, left behind by an owner who seemingly didn’t miss it despite being gone from the bar for three hours now. 

the sight of it sitting carelessly abandoned sets off sudden warning bells within diluc’s mind, his heart rate quickening faster than he expected as a sudden wave of fresh concern washes over him. why on earth would kaeya leave this here? he needed it. 

unwillingly a dark thought enters diluc’s mind as he tries to think up why kaeya would leave it there, a thought he quickly shakes off. kaeya wouldn’t — there was no way. 

regardless, diluc still snatches the vision, stuffs it in his pocket, then grabs his claymore from behind the bar and runs out, not even bothering to lock up and instead leaving for kaeya’s house in a frantic search for his former brother only to find kaeya’s home empty. it hasn’t been entered at all, meaning that kaeya never went home, so with a fresh surge of nervousness diluc tears out of the gates to begin to search the wilds. 

he spends hours doing so, but as he reaches the statue of the anemo archon that was located within the windwail highlands, the vision in his pocket heats up almost enough to burn him through his pants. he digs it out in a panic, using a handkerchief to hold it even as the heat quickly seeps through the thin fabric — though the feeling of it is inconsequential as diluc watches with wide, terrified eyes as it’s glow fades in and out thrice before darkening into a dull, sheenless grey that leads to an almost crippling fear filling him. 

shoving it back in his pocket, he turns back to the path he’d set out on, his eyes wide and scared like those of a frightened, cornered animal as he roars out a pained, panicked, “KAEYA!” that echoes through the hills, hoping beyond all reason that he’ll get a response even though he knows with the fading of light from the object in his pocket that he never again will get one. 

ignoring the pains in his chest from the event he refused to truly acknowledge, diluc carries on through the night with the search that would never bear him the fruit he so fearfully chased after.

𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 © { 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 } 𝐛𝐲 𝟒𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐒. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭.

[zorosdimples]

the appeal of the ragbros is the pseudocest—the psychological torture of their relationship. the “i was raised alongside you and was taught to love you like a brother. but you’re not my blood—even though it feels like you are—and i can’t stand being in the same room as you because i mourn our boyhood and i hate that i can’t love you like a brother should. instead i yearn for you, body and soul.”

[across-every-universe]

ok for my Genshin moots this is how ragbros lore goes down in the F1 AU:

Kaeya is sent from India to Germany at 15 by his father, who was originally from Europe and has connections in the racing scene there

Crepus Ragnvindr’s “adopt that lonely kid” instinct kicks in and takes Kaeya under his wing and trains/promotes him alongside his son Diluc

Eventually the two of them both race for Ferrari, the team Crepus partially owns

When Crepus falls ill, Kaeya sees that season as his final chance to prove himself to his mentor

One race, Kaeya makes a risky move on Diluc attempting to overtake. Neither of them budge. They collide and both go into the wall.

Diluc emerges mostly unscathed, but Kaeya gains The Scar just beside his right eye.

Diluc places the blame for the incident — which put the final nail in the coffin on his championship bid — on Kaeya’s risky driving. Ferrari sides with Kaeya.

The Ragnvindr investment in the team dies with Crepus. Disillusioned, Diluc walks away to sign a contract with their biggest rival.

The AU picks the story back up when Diluc resumes racing at Ferrari, and with Kaeya, after three years trying — and failing — to win the championship with Red Bull Racing.

[kaeyas-beloved]

Feelin’ mischevious and undeciding sooooo (sorry about the tags)

A special disclaimer: there will be a request or two from the acts of services prompts that’ll be posted alongside the final choice :)

[meili-sheep]

Just saw some fanart that hc-ed that kaeya has that fluffy fur thing on his neck because he likes to nuzzle into it since it reminds him of Dilucs fluffy hair and i just-- (gets a heart attack and dies) THIS IS THE RAGBROS CONTENT THAT I LIVE FOR

Aaah, that's pretty cute.

I do think while currently, Diluc doesn't like being touched. He used to love it. Especially his hair. Kaeya used to be the one who did his hair alongside Adelinde.

Diluc now thought doesn't like being touched at all, and Kaeya, unfortunately, learned that the hard way. Thought Diluc did apologize for that reaction but didn't explain.

I think as they reconcile, it does get better. And Diluc does try to warm himself back up to touch.

[hibiscus-writing]

Child of Time AU

Genshin au, Ragbros centric featuring a little bit of Venti!

tldr: Kaeya is Istaroth's youngest son, and awakens his godly powers whilst staying with the Ragvindr's.

-Kaeya is the youngest son of Istaroth, the god of thousand winds and time, making him the younger brother of Barbatos and the thousand winds.

-Istaroth had a one night stand with Kaeya's father, resulting in Kaeya. Istaroth basically dumped Kaeya onto his father and fucked off after birth.

-Kaeya's father tried his best, here Kaeya was merely the king's cousin's child, barely royalty, to the point they don't even live in the castle, left barely scraping by.

-Kaeya's father didn't know of his royal side of the family, he is merely scraping by raising the son he adores but had no preparation before getting him.

-Kaeya's father is a single father, working quick jobs around Khaenri'ah to make due. Despite this, Kaeya's father wouldn't give up anything for Kaeya.

-Kaeya's father doesn't know that Istaroth was a god, as she had disguised herself as a mortal when meeting Kaeya's father and dropping him off.

-they make due for about a year before  Khaenri'ah’s collapse, where luckily, both Kaeya's father and Kaeya survive miraculously (Kaeya unconsciously awakening his godly powers to protect himself and his father). They didn't come out completely unsaved, as Kaeya's father was affected by the curse, doomed to be slowly transformed into an Abyssal being, however it is not instant like many other Khaenri'ahn’s.

-all the survivors create a base at the ruins of the castle, some of those survivors are the former royal family, who continue to take charge. 

-its survival of the fittest from here, Kaeya's father slowly but painfully morphs into a hilichurl, only staying fully conscious enough to see Kaeya, now 4, being chosen to be a spy and sent away to Mondstadt.

-from here, the events of canon basically got exactly the same, except one moment when Kaeya is 7

-when he was 7, he felt extremely Ill. Many were worried he wouldn't last another night, this broke Crepus's heart, barely leaving his side as healers tried and failed to identify the boy's illness.

-late into the night, when everyone else in the house is asleep, Crepus steps out of Kaeya's room to wet a cloth to cool the boy down, and when he enters the room, he's met with hundreds of the thought to be extinct wind wisps and Lord Barbatos looking over the boy.

-Crepus is flabbergasted, pausing before beginning to audibley pray and beg for Barbatos to cure Kaeya's illness.

-Barbatos laughs, pulling Crepus back onto his feet and explaining that Kaeya isn’t sick, his powers are simply fully awakening.

-still confused, Barbatos explains further, that Kaeya is his youngest sibling, and he’s been watching over him since he arrived in Mondstadt. Now that Kaeya’s powers are awakening, he’s here alongside the many wind sprite siblings to help teach Kaeya how to control his powers.

-Barbatos stays the whole night, helping Kaeya throughout the awakening.

-Kaeya grows peacock wings and a tail during this process, with the ends of some feathers trailing off into what looks to be a night sky full of stars.

-Kaeya was extremely confused and distressed when he woke up, scared of Barbatos especially. He trips over his wings, hides behind Crepus, ect.

-crepus sits down and explains to Kaeya what happened.

-this only confused Kaeya more, but he calmed down a little, he's still hiding behind Crepus when barbatos introduced himself.

-Kaeya’s still cautious, but allows himself to calm down a little. 

-the day begins to rise and Barbatos has to leave, but promises to return soon to help teach Kaeya. 

-this carries on for a couple years, with Barbatos arriving at night to teach Kaeya his godly abilities, and Crepus making sure it stays a secret whilst supporting him.

-everything that happens during Diluc’s 18th birthday happens, except Kaeya doesn’t get a vision. Before Diluc can serve his finishing move, Kaeya is whisked away. 

-Diluc runs off to do his whole revenge plot, and Kaeya wakes up in his godly form, his new scars turning into miniature galaxies flowing on his skin.

-Istaroth saved Kaeya before he could die. She might be distant and neglectful, but she doesn’t want to see Kaeya die.

-she tells him that now's as good a time as any to start his role as god of the sky. The real sky, not the fake sky Celestia put up.

-Istaroth shows Kaeya his new domain, showing him how to manipulate star dust to create living beings, control planets' gravitational pull, and more.

-it’s there Kaeya stays for years, with his only visitors being Barbatos and the wind wisps, his only remaining family.

-Kaeya often stares down at Teyvat, wondering how everyone is in his absence. He can't see anyone from above, and the questions he asks Barbatos doesn't quell his wonders.

-He misses everyone in Mondstadt dearly, however he knows he's gone too far to ever return, especially after his confession to Diluc, who ‘definitely told everyone by now’

-cut to modern day, a mysterious domain was discovered, and Jean asks the traveller to accompany her as she clears it out. Diluc tags along when the travellers ask them too.

-Diluc is slightly different in this au. Part of his dark knight hero shtick is trying to discover where Kaeya is, because once his mind cleared up, he realised how weird it was that Kaeya completely disappeared, and this got worse once he realised Kaeya was never found afterwards.

-when they enter this domain, the world shifts around them. The floor is replaced with a transparent floor, covered in fake stars and clouds, with a view of Teyvat underneath. Surrounding them is a lively, beautiful galaxy of stars, with swirls of colours and constellations littering the sky. 

-some constellations seem to come alive and move across the sky.

-The group are confronted by an stary outline of a peacock, calling itself Pavo. He says he is a part of the Pavo oculus constellation. He remarks that the group should be able to see some of it underneath the false sky, which confuses the group.

-when questioned, Pavo states that all of Teyvat is covered in a fake sky, put into place by Celestia, and where they are now is the outside layer of that fake sky to the real one.

-Diluc, Jean and the Traveller are left to navigate the border between Teyvat and the vastness of space, finding more clues to Kaeya’s disappearance.