Chapter Text
2 minutes left…
The audience watching is seeing the music video of Vision, the first track of Anemo. As for the studio, 6REEZE is preparing for their live performance. The couches and table were swiftly replaced with instruments and microphones. It was with the combined efforts of the staff and band members.
“Aaah… the adrenaline is kicking in!” Aether squealed as he tested the drums.
“Aw come on, don't sweat it! If you make a mistake, it's alright! It means you actually played the drums and did not use any speakers to cheat.” Heizou said to cheer his nervous blonde friend as he reassessed the synthesizer.
“If you're nervous, just take deep breaths and stretch. It helps.” Kazuha said while adjusting the microphone for the piano.
“You'll— No, we'll do great.” Xiao mumbled, echoing the last sentence in his head to reassure himself.
“So… we're all set?” Kunikuzushi raised a brow, followed by the nods from the rest. He also made a sound check with the microphone in front of him.
“Let's enjoy this, everyone. I know that we're nervous because of expectations from the general public. But… remember the reason why each of us joined was our own accord.” Venti smiled at everyone, being the proud leader he is.
“May the winds bless our journey and travels! 6REEZE, let’s fly together!”
After Venti said his encouraging speech, the whole set went quiet. It’s the last minute until they perform. All that’s left to do is to wait for the less than two minutes of waiting to be over since all has been prepared. The colorful lights managed by staff. Multiple cameras handled by professionals in this field. All things captured will be edited and broadcasted by the tech unit. There were two screens on top of the center camera. The top screen has the live broadcast played out for monitoring. As for the bottom, it has the flow of the said broadcast. Jean, the manager, views the comments of the livestream on both YouTube and Card Stream.
— — —
🔗 www.cardstream.com/@6REEZE/video_1
[ ▶️ Attached: Livestream, currently showing the music video of ‘Vision’ ]
LIVE NOW! 6REEZE — Debut Countdown & Showcase — ‘Anemo’, First EP
#6REEZE #Anemo #Debut #Venti #Traveler #Xiao #Heizou #Kazuha #Scaramouche
Live Comments
ak_i0 AMAZING
syrupsauce MV LOOKING LIT 🔥
cyan.0 the other songs better be as good as this banger!! 🙏
— — —
🔗 www.youtube.com/78329311
[ ▶️ Attached: Livestream, currently showing the music video of ‘Vision’ ]
6REEZE — Debut Countdown & Showcase — ‘Anemo’, First EP
#6REEZE #Anemo #Debut #Venti #Traveler #Xiao #Heizou #Kazuha #Scaramouche
Live Comments
@teyvatcardofficialfan LET’S GOO THE MV LOOKING AMAZING!!
@bhexan HOW IS TEYVAT CARD OFFICIAL FAN ALWAYS FIRST WTH???
@teyvatcardofficialfan 😊
— — —
Then, the main camera person held out his hand in the air, signaling with his fingers…
3…
2…
1…
Lights! Camera! Action!
When seeing the bright white light, Traveler started counting with his drumsticks.
“One, two, three, and…!” He mumbled and started hitting the drums to begin the album’s second song, Swirl. The spotlight switches its color to yellow. It signifies each of the members’ representative colors whenever they are the focus. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone in the set, not even 6REEZE. It was because everyone knew of this arrangement. The very idea came from Heizou, who brought it up while rehearsing for the showcase. Managing the stage lights is a fun job, after all. Now that the addition was approved, the members gave their representative colors. It wasn’t a big deal because everyone chose their favorite colors. Plus, it was already mentioned in their ‘Member Introductions’ video.
Traveler’s drum solo was followed by the melodious combination of Xiao’s electric guitar and Heizou’s synthesizer. However, the light changed to aqua green since Venti started the vocal parts of the song while Traveler returned to the drums. When the pre-chorus hit, Kazuha started pressing the keys of his piano, shifting to a more mellow tune of the song. In addition, Scaramouche’s voice sang and perfectly overlapped with Kazuha’s piano, making the big light change to grayish indigo.
When the chorus came about, all instruments started playing to blend with Heizou’s vocals. In return, the spotlight switched to a shade of light burgundy. The song continued, lasting for more than 3 minutes with Venti, Scaramouche, Heizou, and Traveler singing. The second pre-chorus came with the same duo. But the volume of Scaramouche’s voice lowered, making Kazuha’s piano part play louder. It was intentional. And so, the spotlight changed to pale red. It ended with Xiao’s guitar solo with the light as teal green that faded to black when the song finished.
The next song, Gust, will be broadcasted as an edited music video that people see online just like with Vision. And so the band was given four minutes to prepare for the last song since that’s the length of the said next song. The last song, Winds, is an acoustic ballad. So the synthesizer and electric guitar was replaced by the lyre, an acoustic guitar, and an acoustic bass guitar. The first instrument, of course, for Venti. The second and third will be used by Scaramouche and Xiao respectively.
Everyone in the band anticipated performing the last song. Winds was written by Venti, Kazuha, and Scaramouche to dedicate the band members. Indeed, a heart-warming message. When the four minutes was up, they were back to performing live. Tiring yet exciting.
Venti with the gentle tunes of the lyre accompanied by his vocals. Traveler’s drums were the “backbone” of every song, and he also sang along. Xiao strumming the bass was played every time Scaramouche’s guitar struck as the latter sang a few parts. Since Heizou didn’t need to play an instrument in this particular song, it was planned out for him to be the main vocalist. And of course, Kazuha playing the piano was also the focus of the instrumentals because of its sweet melody that matches with the lyrics.
A big light teal spotlight casted upon the band for the whole duration of Winds. It is the band’s representative color itself with white in the background. That added even more symbolism to the song. Aether felt a bit emotional from performing the most wholesome song in the album. He felt like crying tears of joy but was able to compose himself onstage.
As the song ended, they were given a five minute break before they proceeded to the next and last part of the live broadcast, the commentary segment. The set went back to the first setting which is the chairs and table with papers that contain the flow of events. 6REEZE also had their well-deserved water and snack break, Venti even encouraged the staff to do the same.
“Whew, that was great!” Venti gave everyone a high five. Heizou and Aether high fived back with the same enthusiasm as their leader. Kazuha did the same but it was more of a gentle one. Xiao reluctantly returned the gesture with slight force.
Scaramouche twisted his face, so Venti did it for him but he surprisingly high fived back. That is… with full force. It caused a loud “Clap!” in the room, followed by Venti silently screaming from the impact while the rest, other than Scaramouche, widened their eyes from shock. After all, Scaramouche had the guts to pull off such a move on his leader.
“That… that felt more of a slap! Many would think it was the sound of a snap…” Venti managed to say, taking deep breaths and wincing as his right palm’s color slightly changed to a shade of red.
“Oooh… that gotta hurt real bad…” Aether patted Venti’s back with a sympathetic look.
“Okay, my mistake …Can’t seem to handle it?” Scaramouche retorted. He showed a slight smirk from the pain he caused on the hand. He’s a bit of a sadist… although the look on his eyes formed concern.
“Ehe, you apologized!” Venti’s eyes sparkled.
“Dumbass chameleon, that wasn’t an apology!” Scaramouche crossed his arms. He looked away, not wanting to admit that he felt bad and apologized.
“Awww…” He gave a defeated whine.
“Eh? Seriously?” Heizou chuckled, “Come on, Scara, give Ven some slack. That would make the pain even less bearable. We just performed as a band, remember?” That got a slight grumble from Scaramouche.
“I am certain that it was an apology from your tone of voice. There’s no need to bury an emotion as simple as regret.” Kazuha whispered so that only Scaramouche could hear.
“Well… easy for you to say.” Scaramouche crossed his arms. He doesn’t express his positive emotions freely to those around him anymore. Indeed, he has before but that was all in the distant past that he wished he didn’t have.
Just as Kazuha was about to question the response, the director declared only one minute remains until the livestream is back. When it continued, everything went back as a calm and formal setting. That was in order to be viewed as a perfect show for a band’s debut. No one wants a serious dispute going on a live show. The gentle and cozy lighting in the room returned which is different from the bright and energetic performances earlier. Of course, there were many questions by fans. But before they could answer them, there were general questions on the script for them to address first.
“The first question states… ‘What’s your favorite song from the EP overall and why?’” Kazuha read out from the paper.
“I can vividly remember writing lyrics for all songs with Kunikuzushi and Venti, so I find it difficult to choose my most favorite. All lyrics written have a great meaning which can be up to different interpretations. But if I had to choose, it has to be either Winds or Vision because of their lyrics.” He continued, then looked at the others for their answers.
“Gust. I wrote most of the lyrics for that song. Plus, I was the ‘main’ composer for it.” Scaramouche responded.
“Winds hold a special place in my heart! Everyone in 6REEZE definitely agrees with me here. When the lyrics were shared, I even shed tears. I enjoyed performing it today.” Traveler explained.
“I also enjoyed composing Swirl. I like using the synthesizer for the song! But like I said, Winds is my favorite for sure!” He continued.
“For me…” Xiao trailed off before continuing, “It’s Gust.”
“Because of the electric bass?”
“Because of the electric bass.” He confirmed Traveler’s guess, nodding. The blonde knows Xiao the most after all.
“I like Vision and Winds because of the spectacular instrumentals that I have played. It scratched my head in a good way!” Heizou hummed.
“I for one find Winds pleasant to perform! The lyre I played gave the song a good form.” Venti smiled. The band then spent minutes answering questions from their newly gained fans before the stream reached two hours.
-
“Here’s a question from… uh?” Scaramouche paused as he saw the username before eventually reading it. “Sca… Rarabs underscore X asks what are my school records?” He could feel his annoyance rising up, but attempted to remain cordial. See, Scaramouche isn’t that much of a chatter. And unlike Xiao, he does not attempt to change that trait.
“One, why do you want to know? Two, it’s not as interesting as you think. Three, I’m not going around telling some info here.” That was all he could respond to the weird question. That is without sounding like he’s about to throw hands at the one who asked… How evasive. To Scaramouche, the user sounded as if they were tracking his history records, his past . He found it uncomfortable since he knew it was better to dwell in the present and future. He learned it the hard way.
-
“Someone asks if I’m taken. Haha! That’s quite a question to ask someone who debuted…” Heizou sighed, scratching his head.
“But I’m not taken if you really and… desperately want to know, haha.” In reality, he wanted to call out the ones who kept on prying. But since Heizou doesn’t want to be seen as rude on his first day of his career, his inner thoughts were not uttered.
-
“Where are you from?” Venti and Aether are Mondstadters. Xiao is Liyuan. Kunikuzushi, Heizou, and Kazuha are Inazuman. Although Kunikuzushi preferred to say he’s Sumerian.
“Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?” Nothing other than sweet words that can hopefully satisfy the audience.
“What’d you eat today?”
“What’s your favorite book?”
“Where do you usually go out?”
-
After the Q & A segment ended, so did the broadcast. The band gave their farewell to their online audience before that. However, the broadcast isn’t just the only thing up for their schedule for the day. They have a practice in front of Teyvat Card officials in 30 minutes. It was to apparently prepare them for public performances even though the broadcast was considered as one already.
Not only that, but they also have a meeting right after on where to live as a band since Venti’s house is at risk of getting leaked to the public. The whole schedule for today will last until the evening, but none of them had lost their minds upon the busy schedules to come… yet.
— — —
6REEZE ✔ @6reeze_official
Hello! Watch these videos from the debut live broadcast and showcase, thank you everyone for the support today!
Debut Broadcast & Showcase: www.youtube.com/78329311
Vision (Official Music Video): www.youtube.com/03273182
Swirl (Live Showcase Video): www.youtube.com/83723029
Gust (Official Music Video): www.youtube.com/28381991
Winds (Live Showcase Video): www.youtube.com/631800
#6REEZE #Anemo #Venti #Traveler #Xiao #Heizou #Kazuha #Scaramouche
— — —
The Steambird ✔ @thesteambirdnews
Tweet, tweet! 6REEZE’s debut has garnered a lot of attention!
All of their performance/music videos have reached 26M views in total in the first hour of release on YouTube. In which both achievements made a new record in the music industry!
Full article by Charlotte: www.thesteambirdnews.com/6reezedebutrecords
[ 📌 Attached: A photo of 6REEZE’s EP, Anemo, design ]
[ 📌 Attached: A photo of 6REEZE’s Vision MV ]
[ 📌 Attached: A photo of 6REEZE performing Winds ]
[ 📌 Attached: A photo of a white screen that says “6REEZE - Vision (Official Music Video) — 8M views”, “6REEZE - Swirl (Live Showcase Video) — 5M views”, “6REEZE - Gust (Official Music Video) — 7M views”, “6REEZE - Winds (Live Showcase Video) — 6M views” ]
— — —
TEYVAT CARD SOLOS @teyvatcard_official_fan
WE GOT EM GUYS 26M VIEWS IN TOTAL ON THE FIRST HOUR!! WATCH THE VIDS POSTED ON YT
#6REEZE #Anemo #Venti #Traveler #Xiao #Heizou #Kazuha #Scaramouche
— — —
1 in the early morning, the next day…
The band arrived at Venti’s house from Teyvat Card building in the early morning of the next day. Their work was busy to that point. Exhausting, really. This day wouldn’t be so different though. Turns out, they had been invited to The Steambird and The Evening Show months prior to their debut. It was so that they can be interviewed and to perform in both on this particular day. Just another job for their careers to flourish is what Jean had said. Since it was early in the morning, all of them went to their respective bedrooms. They were tired to the point that they didn’t bother taking a shower.
With Scaramouche and Kazuha…
The two men were in the living room, Kazuha lying down on the longer couch, sleeping peacefully with a soft smile. His platinum blonde hair down, his still body snuggled up in a white blanket, his face was the only thing that stuck up from the said blanket. Kunikuzushi, on the other hand, lies down on the smaller couch that converts to a bed. Instead of sleeping, he was scrolling on his phone, one of his habits. He can’t help but engage himself in the online world. After all, he had messages sent by his friends from as far as Sumeru, his true home.
— — —
SUMakaRU (cyno made the name, but won’t let us change it…)
best tcg player & adventurer [admin] (CY_YESNO), Nari (narix), Librarian (AlhaithamVultur), kavarchitect (kakavh), surrounded by the gays (se_delta), hat guy (kuzu.re)
7:25 PM
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
yo, bro
@hat guy (you)
come on
time to answer
Nari
Cyno, he might be busy as of now
His account is not online
Are you that hopeless when it comes to comprehension?
[ surrounded by the gays reacted with 💀 to @Nari ‘s message ]
[ best tcg player & adventurer [admin] reacted with 😨 to @Nari ‘s message ]
[ best tcg player & adventurer [admin] reacted with 💔to @Nari ‘s message ]
kavarchitect
Nari did NOT hesitate one bit 😭
Librarian
Well that was straightforward.
surrounded by the gays
CRAZYYY
1:06 AM
hat guy (you)
@best tcg player & adventurer [admin] tf you want?
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
YOU’RE ALIVE!
BRO I HAVE LOTS OF THINGS TO ASK YOU
kavarchitect
seriously, cyno… at 1 am??
surrounded by the gays
you’re also online, kaveh
kavarchitect
I’M WORKING OKAY??
it’s because of that damn client who keeps on complaining on my work
now i’m pulling all-nighter… again
#justarchitectthings
hat guy (you)
oh wow
everyone’s online
Librarian
Kaveh here keeps on pulling all-nighters every few days.
I always hear him screaming at these hours, and that’d wake me up
And today is one of those instances.
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
hat guy, so like
you look awfully familiar to this scaramouche guy from 6reeze or smth
😨
Nari
Oh my Archons…
Oh my Buer… please give him wisdom…
You absolute big lummox.
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
WAIT
WHAT DID I DO NARI?? 🥹
hat guy (you)
why do i look like scaramouche, you ask?
think of it.
think carefully.
think wisely.
connect the dots.
you get it?
or are you trying to be funny?
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
oh.
[ surrounded by the gays reacted with 💀 to @best tcg player & adventurer [admin] ‘s message ]
Nari
I sometimes wonder how I ended up marrying a total dumbass like you…
[ best tcg player & adventurer [admin] reacted with 💀 to @Nari ‘s message ]
hat guy (you)
hah
yeah tell him that
surrounded by the gays
PLS 😭
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
But Nari… ;<
How could you say that? I’m the best police general in all of Sumeru
Cause I’m the General Mahahahahahatra
Get it?
Because
Nari
You can save that for later, dear
Anyways
Kunikuzushi, I’ve heard of your performance from Collei. And I bet it was amazing work even though I haven’t personally watched it myself
I wish you the best for your career as being part of 6REEZE :D
hat guy (you)
thanks
kavarchitect
HOLD ON
YOU’RE A MUSIC ARTIST NOW??
hat guy (you)
pretty much
kavarchitect
damn
we could’ve made a toast for that, but i do hope the same for you!
[ hat guy (you) reacted with 👍 to @kavarchitect ‘s message ]
Librarian
I’m sure you’ll get busier and busier as time passes, so you messaging us at this time of the day will suffice.
See ya.
[ hat guy (you) reacted with 👍 to @Librarian ‘s message ]
surrounded by the gays
oooooh
oh right
ive seen your performance today on yt
IT WAS SIMPLY AMAZING
I AGREE WITH COLLEI ON THAT
didnt know you were also musically gifted
bros talented fr
GL HAT GUYY
[ hat guy (you) reacted with 👍 to @surrounded by the gay ‘s message ]
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
Hat Guy, the one who graduated from the Vahumana Darshan of the Akademiya…
We may have our differences, ups and downs, and whatnot…
And yet, I still would like to wish you the best on your future endeavors.
hat guy (you)
what’s with the long ahh speech?
thanks btw
Nari
Well that’s Cyno for you…
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
anyways
I’d like to explain my joke from earlier
Nari
No…
hat guy (you)
no.
kavarchitect
N O.
Librarian
No.
surrounded by the gays
YES
BWAHDHASHD
go on
hat guy (you)
anyone with more than 1 brain cell can get the joke already
surrounded by the gays
damn 😔
Nari
I’m off to sleep
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
What??? :<
but i won’t be able to chat with you…
Nari
Are you actually that big of a lummox? Archons, we live in the same house
We have a bed together
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
oh.
hat guy (you)
looks like someone’s brain dead at this particular hour
Nari
Indeed…
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
HANG ON.
Nari… you’re teaming up with him on this???
Nari
And I’m off to bed.
Good night. You should sleep too, Cyno dear
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
no need.
Nari
You can cuddle like you always have if you do sleep now
best tcg player & adventurer [admin]
…
alright, so
good night everyone
surrounded by the gays
woah
well what a way to convince someone to sleep
anw
gn skibidi rizzlers
kavarchitect
??
Librarian
I can’t sleep because of a particular architect in my room.
Good night to the rest of you, regardless.
kavarchitect
SERIOUSLY
THAT DAMN CLIENT
ALWAYS TELLING ME TO EDIT MY DESIGNS
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
surrounded by the gays
geez
take it easy, kaveh
perhaps talk about your frustrations with the person who’s with you rn iykwim?
kavarchitect
what in the slang did you just?
hat guy (you)
night.
— — —
Kunikuzushi, after deciding to sleep, turned off his phone and placed it in his bag on the floor. But before he settled in his bed, his dark eyes glanced at Kazuha. The light haired man looks like a particular figure in Kunikuzushi’s past, so he couldn’t help but give a soft smile at Kazuha’s sleeping form.
The dark haired man realized something… he acts a bit differently when Kazuha is around. He’s still as sharp-tongued or distant as what others would describe him. And yet he converses with Kazuha on a daily basis without swearing and being truly angry at him. Perhaps Kazuha’s gentle and kind nature is to blame… is that normal for someone so cynical to be affected by it? Is he getting soft over something as basic as that? Has Kunikuzushi accepted the fact that he’s warming up to Kazuha? Probably not, for he is unsure if that’s the actual case.
And then, he drifted off to sleep, not wanting to think of anything else. The schedule later will be as busy as yesterday after all. What made him smile in his sleep was this small conversation with Kazuha right before the latter slept…
“Good night, Kunikuzushi.”
“Good night, Kazuha.”
With Xiao and Aether…
“Ugh, what’s the schedule tomorrow…?” Aether asked while lying down on his bed, looking at Xiao.
“Today is already the ‘tomorrow’ that you’ve been asking.” Xiao looked at him back.
“What…? Ohhh! Wait yeah… my bad.” He scratched his head with a sigh.
“We need to leave at 9 am because The Steambird interview is at 10. Then another meeting about our apartment at 1 pm. 3 pm is rehearsal for The Evening Show, 5 pm is wardrobe check and final rehearsal, and 6:30 pm is the actual show.” Xiao explained the schedule as he settled on his bed.
“It’s giving school all over again…” Aether winced from the thought.
“You’ll do alright… like always.” The dark teal haired man mumbled, but Aether was able to pick up.
“Ahaha, really? Thank you, you’ll do great too, Xiao!” The blonde smiled despite his exhaustion which made Xiao’s cheeks a bit warmer than usual. Is this certain feeling something Xiao should regret? Of course not, for this feeling is positive.
“Ah… well— Hm… thanks.” He wanted to say more, but that’s what his mouth can say for now. Xiao could never get old from Aether’s beautiful smile, even willing to ask the Archons above for it to stay that way.
“I wasn’t able to ask this earlier since I took a nap in the van. So… how was the earlier performance? Did your fears disappear?” Aether raised a brow.
“A bit, actually.”
“And why’s that?”
“It’s because of our bandmates performing with me. Most specifically… you.” He said, his gaze went from his blanket to Aether’s golden eyes. That caught the blonde off-guard, his eyes widening for a moment before smiling.
“Is that so? Well, you’re improving! I’m glad!” Aether positioned himself in a comfortable position on his bed with his blanket, lying down on his side.
“Thanks.” Xiao nodded and did the same action.
“Good night, Xiao.”
“Good night, Aether.”
With Venti and Heizou…
“I’m off to sleep! Today absolutely exhausted me to shreds, so you should sleep too, Ven!” Heizou yawned after entering their shared bedroom. Both Venti and Heizou lay down on their respective beds. The former lay down at his side as the latter made a starfish-shaped position.
“Hang on… You’re not… gonna think about him and not sleep, do you…?” He continued, looking at his roommate in hesitation. The two of them knew who Heizou was talking about which made Venti silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.
“Well…” In truth, Venti hadn’t felt this kind of exhaustion ever since the grieving process of Avel’s death. But it wasn’t just Avel who left Venti’s world… his parents and Avel’s parents too.
After knowing the given schedule he needs to follow when he wakes up, it makes him even more exhausted in dealing with life. But he has to push through, it’s his ambition to spread his songs to the entirety of Teyvat. That’s what Avel would’ve told him anyway.
“Maybe…?” Venti smiled sheepishly.
“Ah, come on, Ven! None of us want you all secretly gloomy for the rest of the day. You need your sleep, okay?” The burgundy haired man sighed. He had every right to be worried about his friend because Venti had opened up to Heizou about his late friend, Avel, one day. Before that happened, Heizou always had a feeling that his leader was lying about his feelings, but he wasn’t anticipating the intense grief that Venti was feeling.
“Alright, alright. But it’s difficult to sleep when all I can think about is… him…” He placed a hand on his face.
“Okay, so… First off, this is the present and not the past.” Heizou gave a serious look, but it was with no malice. Venti’s smile remained, but his eyes softened at the words. Having to lose a friend, but having to move on… The words struck deep for both of them.
“Since that’s the basis, think of your accomplishments with 6REEZE. That’s so your mind is occupied with other thoughts. Hug the lyre as you think of the songs you’ve composed for ‘Anemo’. Just close your eyes and control your breaths.” Heizou continued, hoping that his advice would help his friend.
“Ehe, got it!” Venti smiled earnestly as he untied his braids. He's seemingly on board with the directions given to him. He untangled the braids with a white comb. And after a short moment of combing his hair, he placed the hair ties on the table and took the lyre in his arms.
“Good night, Ven.” Heizou chuckled and tucked himself in his blanket.
“You too, Heiz.” Applying all of the steps that Heizou gave, Venti finally slept peacefully in a few minutes. Just like the rest of his bandmates. The fact surprised him, but he’s not complaining at all.
Another day’s work will commence once all of them wake up…