#; hu tao's birthday 2021

[kanonavi]

Something that will never cease to rot my brain is just how brilliantly mhy have developed Xiao's character over the past three years. I'm lucky enough to have started playing Genshin before he was added to the game (which does of course mean newer players have probably had a different experience of him, I'll get into that later) so I've been there for every single moment that Xiao appeared and it's always so amazing to me just how much effort has been put into him. (Long rant and Mild Spoilers for the Poetry Gala Event below lol)

Xiao in the Archon quest and in 1.3 (both in his character quest and 1.3 Lantern Rite) compared to Xiao in the most recent event is truly like night and day, and what's most impressive about that is that how he acts in the poetry event feels completely true to his character. Xiao has earned this gentleness over the past three years, as the traveler but also the other people he's met have urged him to open up and interact with others more often.

This really couldn't have been achieved without mhy taking advantage of every scrap of screen time Xiao has gotten. They absolutely have favorites and Xiao is for sure one of them. I'll use Moonchase as a comparison to the Poetry Gala. Back then we saw Xiao on screen for maybe 5 minutes at most, appearing because the traveler called him, tasting Xiangling's dish and giving her a compliment (at least for his standards for giving compliments) and then disappearing. But now we see him at the poetry event being invited to join by Venti and Hu Tao (and him not outright refusing!!), and then staying to socialize with Chongyun's group when everyone (not just the traveler) asks him to.

3.4 Lantern Rite and the Poetry Gala have felt like the biggest steps due to the fact that we see Xiao actively participating in activities of his own volition. Most of his appearances before 3.4 (and even after, counting Baizhu's quest) are dictated by about 2.5 factors. The first is his duty: protecting Liyue from evil, more specifically keeping its people safe from these evils. The second is being called by the traveler, an act which I would consider a symbol of their friendship later on, but in the beginning and probably still in a lingering capacity now I think can be attributed to a sense of debt towards them. They helped save Liyue in a time of crisis, after having no obligation to do so, and someone like Xiao who takes his duties in protecting Liyue so seriously would absolutely feel like he owes a complete outsider like the traveler a debt after they kinda did his job for him. So much of Xiao's character is about debts, after all. That even ties into the 2.5th reason, where he would probably feel some obligation to appear at Lantern Rite because Zhongli would be there, though it's unclear if Hu Tao mentioned he would be so it might not even count in that case.

Now we see Xiao participating in events on the invitation of Hu Tao and Venti who are seeking him out because they see him as a friend. We see him taking not only the traveler's feelings into account when asked to participate, but also Chongyun and Diona's. It's such a far cry from his "I don't associate with mortals" attitude that we saw back in 2021.

That barely even touches the shift we've seen in his demeanor either. Back in 2021, Xiao always spoke very curtly and in as few words as possible, always seeming displeased any time he had to hold a conversation, but now he's loosened up so much that the difference is honestly staggering. It even shows through in his birthday letters from 2021 vs. 2023 (And even here we see him going out of his way to socialize of his own volition, so proud of him!):

I've gone back and forth between EN and CN voiceovers in the past year, so some of Xiao's appearances I've only experienced in CN, but hearing him in the Poetry Gala event in EN I can only give his voice actress a thousand kudos for how amazing her performance is. Xiao's voice has softened with time, and it's such a small detail, but I honestly think that it's what hammers his growth home more than anything else for me. He's not only willing to have full conversations with people he's less familiar with now, but he also doesn't feel the need to speak as harshly to them either, and that's really amazing to hear play out in the game.

Xiao's voicelines are so fascinating to me for that very reason, because they act as a time capsule for how he was back in 2021, and that's just not what he sounds like anymore. Obviously, voice actors' performances of their characters will shift with time but Xiao is the only character for which I can say that his demeanor really has just changed with time. Of course, I think that in some cases this does actually make sense, namely if a newer player pulls Xiao and has only gotten to experience the Archon Quest and maybe his Character Quest. In that case, all of the time that has passed simply doesn't exist. But at the same time I can only imagine how funny it would be for a long-time player who simply never pulled Xiao for one reason or another to pull him and listen to his lines and hear his older, edgier self lol

Though on that note I do also need to point out the biggest downside of all of this, and what is perhaps my greatest sadness about Xiao's character development, which is that new Genshin players simply won't have the chance to experience it. There are many characters who get the short end of the stick with the nature of Genshin's serialized storytelling and limited-time events (Albedo, Kazuha, and a plethora of 4 stars who don't get featured much, just to name a few), but I think Xiao's actually saddens me the most, because I believe the time that has passed is the greatest strength when it comes to this development. People will get to see his arc from the Archon Quest to Perilous Trail (and thank god they preserved Perilous Trail as an Interlude), but even that is still a shadow of Xiao's actual progression over the years.

These days, newer Genshin players may have only seen Xiao in the Liyue Archon Quest before playing the Poetry Gala event (unless Perilous Trail is a prereq, which I don't know off the top of my head), and I can't even imagine how jarring it would be to see how he acts there and then immediately see him in this event. The way that time works in this case would probably just make it seem like mhy doesn't know what they're doing with Xiao when in reality three years of development have been compressed into a matter of weeks. Knowing that, I'm grateful to have been able to experience his story in its truest form, but it also cannot go unacknowledged that some aspects of Genshin's story have a shorter shelf life than others. It's a major problem with the game, from some perspectives, but at the same time it's just a consequence of how it's being developed.

Anyway, I just needed to gush after seeing Xiao absolutely steal the show in part 2 of the quest with his quiet participation and little smile (crying). He's so good and I love him so much, and it's so nice to see what they've done with him after he finally got some semblance of closure after Perilous Trail <3

[moonbells-draws]

genshin impact sketch dump

back in summer of 2021, i was doing 1 every couple days or so via random picker wheel

Amber - 7.2.2021 (ref: Adorkastock "DEJ 2020 - 15 Shot") Yanfei - 7.2.2021 Klee - 7.3.2021 Sucrose - 7.4.2021 Eula - 7.12.2021 (ref: Adorkastock "Fin [Pose Reference for Drawing]") Venti - 7.17.2021 Hu Tao - 7.28.2021 Razor - 8.2.2021 Zhongli - 12.31.2021 (happy birthday zhongli) Aether - 12.13.2022 Venti - 12.13.2022

[kazueezuki]

about me（^人^）

intro: kazue, he/she. | birthday: sept. 10

languages: english, french, vietnamese, japanese (a bit rusty, i can speak and understand it at a survival level)

more: introvert, (digital) artist, voice actor amateur, aspiring photographer & cosplayer, video editor, genshin lore player and soundtrack enjoyer <3

genshin: started nov. ‘20 | ar 57

likes

anime: a lot but my faves include bsd, vnc, pandora hearts, link click, violet evergarden, hyouka, charlotte, tbhk, black butler

jpop/vocaloid; fav artists: tuyu, ¿?shimon, syudou, fuji kaze, trigger, zool, ado, vflower, kanaria, kenshi yonezu, yoh kamiyama, gakupo, ayase, deco*27

more: drawing, cleaning, listening to music, studying during nighttime, goofy ppl, scaramouche, sleeping (something i don’t get to do often bc of school </3)

dislikes

proshipping: please slay away from me

messy workspaces: yes, your room has to be organized and shiny, id gladly help u clean if you don’t mind

celery, brussels sprout, eggplant, pepper: was forced to eat these atrocities too many times in my life, never again.

society standards: they’re utterly messed up, i hate how most older generations still aren’t every open to changes and how judging people in society still are

games/fandoms/communities

games: genshin, sekai, tears of themis, enstars, obey me (left in 2021 tho), idolish7, hypnosismic, mahoyaku, crk, legend of zelda, paradox live

anime/manga: a lot.

streaming/content creators: tuonto, ant, dish, bwaap, atsu, sykkuno, shoto (vtuber), nijisanji, hololive (a tiny bit)

more: seiyuu industry, milgram (musical project)

genshin faves

monstadt: amber, venti, kaeya, mona, albedo, fischl, mika

liyue: xiao, beidou, hu tao, shenhe, ganyu

inazuma: i love them all sm but ayaka, ayato, kazuha, ei, yae, thoma, heizou, itto (we’re besties)

sumeru: its so hard to decide without naming the entire cast uegh; collei, cyno, candace, nahida, wanderer (scara)

npcs: teppei (yes), kazari (inazuma cleansing ritual), liben (gossip girly pop we stan), madame ping, nadia & vlad (fatui couple), ruu, chizuru (inazuma test of courage event), signora

fav character backstories (as a lore enjoyer)

the archons/gods: the entire thing about the archon war, fallen gods, celestia, primordial one, islaroth IS SO INTERESTING LIKE HELLO?? I CANT WAIT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT

scaramouche & ei: of course, it’s all about misunderstanding and emotions but their lore is just so beautiful in some way

kaeya: we still don’t know much about his background as a character from khaenriah but I’m so excited to discover more about him, especially what he was sent to mondstadt for

dainsleif: my memory’s fuzzy since it’s been a while since I’ve last seen him in-game, but i do want to know more about literally just the entirety of khaenriah, the art of khemia, its location and so on, he’s such a key character in khaenriah lore

the twin siblings: what exactly happened after their separation as they got interrupted by the unknown god? what is the “truth of the world” that the traveler’s sibling discovered and how did that end up with them being the abyss order’s leader? there’s so many questions surrounding the background of the twins that make them all the more intriguing

there may have been a few errors in my interpretations here, but i haven’t been playing genshin as much as i used to and my lore knowledge is starting to erode as well, i’ll do my best to catch up <3

december 25, 2022

[genshinschool]

Happy birthday Hu tao 🦋

Happy birthday to the school's prankster Hu tao 🦋

Maybe we can forgive our walnut for all her pranks for this one day and enjoy it with her!

[genshinresource]

Genshin Impact 2021 Birthday Artworks & Character Shorts: Hu Tao

Artist: hou (main birthday art)

[flarebled]

ƸӜƷ | “It’s my birthday today, this means I can do whatever I want all the way.~” For once, she isn’t going to go around Liyue to get even more clients and customers for the Funeral Parlor, but as always, Hu tao was quite excited and chipper on her special day. 

[tartagliove]

zebra!! ( i hope i'm not too late but) happy birthday!! i i hope you had an amazing day today full of happiness and love! you deserve the world ♡ i loaf you!!

Ahhh Kitty thank you so much!! (you're not late at all!) My day has been wonderful hehe and I had a great time. Love youu!

[xheartpages]

@heartsaked​ asked: though interacting with hu tao always managed to bring about a lot of mixed reactions from those she knew within liyue ( though many did seem to have a more, less than pleasant reaction ), xiangling didn’t feel like that should stop her from trying to do something special for the funeral parlor director’s birthday. it wasn’t like she was close friends with her, like with xingqui and chongyun. unless one always being scared out of their wits so easily with the mere mention of a ‘boo!’ counted as a sign of friendship, then maybe xiangling was sort of her friend. yet despite the pranks hu tao liked to play, she wasn’t as annoyed with her as some others. at least there was always something she got out of it too. specifically fermented plum blossoms for her flower cakes.

the decision on the young chef’s part to make something for hu tao to eat for her birthday wasn’t much of a surprise, as making food was clearly just something that she enjoyed. but this new dish she had created was definitely going to be extraordinary! and all because xiangling came up with the perfect idea that would reflect hu tao perfectly from the flavor and presentation alone. she even searched throughout all of liyue to get what she needed. it just had to be perfect.

after spending many hours in the kitchen of the wanmin restaurant, xiangling was content with the end result and was on her way to look for hu tao. or perhaps, it should’ve been that hu tao had a way of finding her. how she did it? well xiangling would never know, but of course the sound of that familiar ‘boo!’ found itself startling the poor girl, jumping a bit in surprise and almost made xiangling drop the meal she had worked so hard on. luckily for her, she hadn’t.

turning to face hu tao, the girl huffed out at her in slight annoyance, cheeks puffed out before shaking her head. “hu tao! that wasn’t funny.” not like that was going to stop her from doing so, but at least xiangling could try. with a shake of her head, xiangling offered up the dish to hu tao with a small smile. “anyway, maybe it’s a good thing you ran into me. i spent most of today making this for you! it is your birthday after all and i thought you should get a chance to try this very exclusive dish!”

the cheerfulness in her tone of voice returned, already putting aside the fact that hu tao had pranked her only moments prior. “hopefully it makes you jump in surprise as much as you make me jump. happy birthday, hu tao.”

Happy Birthday Hu Tao! | July 15th

The laughter that escapes Hu Tao is fluttering; falling from her like a waterfall as a painted hand brushing over her lips as though to hold the sound in. Xiangling was proving to be one of her favorite victims, and not just because her reactions were always hilarious. ( Although that was a pretty big part of it. )

“Ah, i’m sorry! So sorry, Xiangling!” Hands are pressed in front of her as she offers her apology, although the grin stealing her lips completely nullifies how genuine it was. At this point in time though, she was sure her friend already had an idea. “You were just there like a sitting duck! I couldn’t help myself... forgive me?”

There was another reason for her visiting the restaurant and the girl before her, although as red eyes flickered down to the dish in her hands, she could see that Xiangling had already beaten her to the punch. Delight colors her expression, light laughter fluttering from her lips. “You remembered!!” Hands are already reaching out for the dish, taking it in her own hands as she holds it up to her face, inspecting it closely. She knew all about the chef’s eccentric ways of making her dishes, about how she could use just about anything around her for the sake of cuisine; and make it all work together no matter what it was.

It was one of the reasons why Hu Tao loved coming to Wanmin when Xiangling was sure to be there: and now she was being given an exclusive dish that no one else has tried first!

“Aiyah, you spoil me so.” If she could hug it to her chest, she surely would, but as it stood, she grins up to her friend excitedly; more laughter escaping her. “I love it! It’s almost a shame that I’m going to have to eat it... but it’d be even more of a shame to let it go to waste!

“Please join me while I have my first bite. I was planning on asking you if you would like to come and share some tea with me for my birthday anyway. You have no room to refuse -- it is my birthday after all!” She’s light on her feet, moving around the chef towards one of the private dining rooms, excited to sink her chopsticks into the meal. “Come on!”

[ir-dr]

Day 3125 - 15 July 2021

🔥Happy Birthday Hu Tao!!🔥

.//projectTiGER

[trendywaifus]

“ IT FEELS LIKE I SEEN YOU HERE BEFORE? SHOULD I SAY WELCOME BACK? “

REQUESTS CURRENTLY OPEN FOR HONKAI STAR RAIL — 0 SLOT OPEN.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MY BLOG:

GENERAL RULES

RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

REQUESTS WILL BE OPEN ON 9/9

2K ANNOUNCEMENT

CURRENTLY WRITING FOR:

KNY — masterlist

GENSHIN IMPACT —masterlist

HONKAI STAR RAIL —masterlist

CHAINSAW MAN —coming soon

DUNGEON MESHI —coming soon

FRIEREN — coming soon

ZENLESS ZONE ZERO — masterlist

ANON EMOJIS

🪼🚘 🫐 🌞 🔥

(under construction, will delete everything below after masters links are available)

MASTERLISTS:

SPIDEYVERSE AU MASTERLIST 2024

HALLOWEEN MASTERLIST 2023

2K SPECIAL MASTERLIST 2024

KNY (2019—??)

SHINOBU KOCHO

modern au! shinobu

stoic reader smiling for the first time

falling in love with snow hashira! reader

shinobu with drunk! reader

reader with fears of holes

her reaction to you crying

MITSURI KANROJI

giving her a massage

stoic reader smiling for the first time

her reaction to you crying

KANAO TSUYURI

stoic reader smiling for the first time

KANAE KOCHO

giving her a massage

TAMAYO

stoic reader smiling for the first time

NEZUKO KAMADO

nezuko comforting reader who thinks they do not deserve to be loved

AOI

giving her a massage

DAKI

nsfw hcs

nsfw top hcs

KOTOHA

demon! reader taking care of kotoha and baby inosuke

LADY MUZAN

overprotective reader with kids

SPIDER—MOTHER

overprotective reader with kids

OLD MASTERLIST + ADDITIONAL POSTS

2019 KNY MASTERLIST

GENSHIN IMPACT ( 2021 — ??? )

LUMINE

nsfw hcs

cuddling with her

being klee’s guardian with her

JEAN

poly jeanlisa with stoic reader

her comforting reader with bad anxiety

poly jeanlisa confessing to reader

jean waking up to reader in the morning

being klee’s guardian with her

LISA

poly jeanlisa with stoic reader

her comforting crying reader

poly jeanlisa confessing to reader

sfw hcs with submissive top! reader

making out with her

EULA

being klee’s guardian with her

cuddling with her

serenading eula with a love song

ROSARIA

cuddling with her

fluff hcs

her comforting crying reader

AMBER

sfw hcs with submissive top! reader

KLEE

platonic! klee asking sibling reader to dance

NINGGUANG

her comforting reader with bad anxiety

sfw hcs with submissive top! reader

BEIDOU

her comforting reader with bad anxiety

her comforting crying reader

cuddling with her

HU TAO

sfw with submissive top! reader

SHENHE

cuddling with her

GANYU

her with reader who’s scared of thunder

surprising ganyu on her birthday

QIQI

qiqi who sees adeptus! reader as a sibling figure

AYAKA

ayaka comforting you

EI (BAAL)

her with reader who’s scared of thunder

ei with non-human! reader

making out with her

baal with reincarnated! fatui harbringer! reader

poly eimiko comforting reader with burnout

her comforting reader with bad anxiety

SARA

touching her tengu wings

YAE MIKO

cuddling with her

making out with her

poly eimiko comforting reader with burnout

making her jealous

novel ideas gone wrong

ceo! miko fingering you while working on a big project

eating out miko’s pussy while pussy drunk

NILOU

LYNETTE

NAVIA

late night comfort

them fighting over you during dinner

navia waking you up with kisses

CLORINDE

making her jealous

late night comfort

them fighting over you during dinner

FURINA

late night comfort

pussy drunk

HONKAI STAR RAIL ( 2023—?? )

STELLE

sleeping in the same bed

stelle sfw & nsfw hcs

stelle getting all needy for you after a mission

HIMEKO

sfw/nsfw relationship hcs

convincing himeko to stay on the train

KAFKA

medic!reader hcs

her anonymously txting you l

SEELE

BRONYA

NATASHA

YUKONG

FU XUAN

nsfw sub hcs

TINGYUN

sfw and nsfw relationship hcs

TOPAZ

evading your taxes

wanna show you off

RUAN MEI

lovely distraction

CATERINA

sucking her dick

FIREFLY

you getting injured during the memory zone quest

SPECIAL FICS—

‘just wanna see my baby right outside my door! —arlecchino, kafka, shenhe, jinglu

[mirakeul]

on kisses under mistletoes

navigation (last pin)

the sagittarius szn is upon us, and as some of you may know, my birthday is on december aaaaa ! and so, i decided to do a writing challenge for myself this december 2021 ! this is vaguely inspired by a christmas event i saw last year ! it's not an original idea but i hope i could do justice for it !

on kisses under mistletoes is a writing prompt challenge wherein i will write 31 christmas-themed drabbles and you will be the ones picking the character for each day! the prompts will be a secret and will be revealed on the day of posting itself ! the only closed and fixed slots will be 14 and 25 with bakugou and suga because it's my birthday and it's christmas so you cannot request them anymore ! [days taken - 31 / 31 ; not accepting !]

rules ;

send in a character in my ask box, including a date/day, from either of these fandoms: haikyuu, bnha, genshin impact, and jjk ! [refer to the list here for the characters i write for, auto delete if i don't write for that character :")]

examples; may i request kaeya for 12? / izuku + 19 please ! / kuroo on day 19?

and that's it! there will be no repetitions for characters i will write for and so, it will be a unique character + prompt each day! prompts will be randomized for each day and will be definite/unchangeable regardless of character!

all works will be SFW and fluffy [with a few suggestive ones] because it's christmas ! before i forget, everything will be written for gender neutral reader ! <33

the fics will be small drabbles surrounding the prompts and will be posted 8:30 PM, GMT+8

anyone especially anons are welcome !

block #on kisses under mistletoes if you don't want this on your dash ! to be tagged, send an ask/reply to this post !

if you have questions, let me know ! [masterlist is under keep reading!]

DAY 1 »»— aether [genshin impact] ; snowman

DAY 2 »»— chisaki kai [bnha] ; snowflake

DAY 3 »»— all might / toshinori yagi [bnha] ; christmas playlist

DAY 4 »»— inumaki toge [jujutsu kaisen] ; candy cane

DAY 5 »»— bennett [genshin impact]

DAY 6 »»— midoriya izuku [bnha]

DAY 7 »»— tsukishima kei [haikyuu]

DAY 8 »»— kageyama tobio [haikyuu]

DAY 9 »»— miruko / usagiyama rumi [bnha]

DAY 10 »»— hawks / keigo takami [bnha]

DAY 11 »»— lev haiba [haikyuu]

DAY 12 »»— kenma kozume [haikyuu]

DAY 13 »»— bokuto koutarou [haikyuu]

DAY 14 »»— bakugou katsuki [bnha]

DAY 15 »»— hu tao [genshin impact]

DAY 16 »»— kyouka jirou [bnha]

DAY 17 »»— ryomen sukuna [jujutsu kaisen]

DAY 18 »»— gojo satoru [jujutsu kaisen]

DAY 19 »»— kaeya alberich [genshin impact]

DAY 20 »»— sakusa kiyoomi [haikyuu]

DAY 21 »»— amber [genshin impact]

DAY 22 »»— kaminari denki [bnha]

DAY 23 »»— uraraka ochako [bnha]

DAY 24 »»— todoroki shouto [bnha]

DAY 25 »»— sugawara koushi [haikyuu]

DAY 26 »»— oikawa tooru [haikyuu]

DAY 27 »»— shoji mezo [bnha]

DAY 28 »»— miya atsumu [haikyuu]

DAY 29 »»— tamaki amajiki [bnha]

DAY 30 »»— itadori yuuji [jujutsu kaisen]

DAY 31 »»— toga himiko [bnha]

© mirakeul ; do not modify or reupload anywhere else but reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[genshingraphics]

Genshin Impact 2021 Birthday Artworks & Character Shorts - Hu Tao (late upload)

[teyvat-imagines]

Masterlist

A collection of all completed works and requests so far! :) Will try to keep as up to date as possible!

Also apologies for the not so great formatting... I promise I'll work on it!! ;w;

Updated: 10/06/2021

Albedo

S/O Who Enjoys Making Plushies

Depressed S/O

General Relationship Headcanons

Amber

Nicknames for Reader S/O

Amber's Hobbies - Heacanons

Fun At the Windblume Festival

Bennett

Bennett With a Sister Figure - Headcanons

Collei

Fun At the Windblume Festival

Diluc

Diluc on a day off - Headcanons

S/O Who Insults Themselves

Straightforward S/O

Depressed S/O

Reader Avoiding Being Hit On

S/O With Eating Disorder

General Headcanons

Eula

Doting S/O avoiding Eula's Vengeance

Bipolar Girlfriend

Kaeya

Kaeya on a day off - Headcanons

S/O Who Insults Themselves

Self-Harming S/O

Straightforward S/O

Depressed S/O

Cuddly S/O

S/O With Eating Disorder

Lisa

Happy Birthday to Our Witch of Purple Rose

Little Brother Reader That Wants to Dress Up

Mona

Mona and S/O Watching Horror Movies - Modern AU

Venti

Accidentally Walking In On S/O Changing (Female Reader!)

General Headcanons

Beidou

Introverted S/O

Ganyu

Helping the Reader Get Motivated

Hu Tao

Helping the Reader Get Motivated

General Relationship Headcanons

Bipolar Girlfriend

Keqing

Nicknames for Reader S/O

Bipolar Girlfriend

Xiao

S/O Who Enjoys Making Plushies

Depressed S/O

General Relationship Headcanons

S/O With Eating Disorder

Xingqiu

Accidentally Walking In On S/O Changing (Female Reader!)

Yanfei

Nicknames for Reader S/O

General Relationship Headcanons

Zhongli

Memories Like Dust - Oneshot

Introverted S/O

S/O Struggling With Bipolar Disorder

Zhongli With a Flirty and Loud S/O

Father Figure Zhongli

Straightforward S/O

A Losing Game - Oneshot

S/O Accidentally Falling Asleep on Their Lap

General Headcanons

Other Nations:

Childe

S/O Who Enjoys Making Plushies

Introverted S/O

Childe On a First Date

Cuddly S/O

S/O Accidentally Falling Asleep on Their Lap

Reader Avoiding Being Hit On

General Relationship Headcanons

Overworked S/O Being Pampered

Accidentally Walking In On S/O Changing (Female Reader!)

Kazuha

Helping the Reader Get Motivated

[aotaku12]

𝐀 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

✧ Summary | Chongyun misses Xingqiu ever since he left to Inazuma to partake in the Irodori Event so they decided to have a video call

✧ Warning | References the Irodori Event

✧ Ship | Horror Novel (🍦📖)

✧ Additional Tags/Notes | Modern AU (With Visions), Partially a Chatfic, Established Relationships, Despite being a modern AU, I still use the in-game locations.

✧ Inspiration | Xingqiu and Chongyun's 2021 Birthday Art

✧ Word Count | 1503 Words

✧ Author's Notes | I couldn't think of a title I'm sorry. This could be seen as a sequel to this oneshot but you don't have to read it to understand. This ended up wayyyy longer than I intended but I hope you enjoy!

Finally done for the day, Chongyun nestled down on his bed, leisurely scrolling through his phone. He wasn't one for social media but he really enjoyed looking through possible paranormal activity. A notification pops up from the LIYUE FRIENDS group chat.

「 Guhua Geek: Hey guys! I'm coming back to Liyue tomorrow morning! 」

「 BOOMSHAKALAKA: Really!?!? That's great!!! 」

「 Coffins4Sale: Thank goodness! Chongyun here was sulking the entire time you were gone 」

「 Icy Popsicle: i was not! 」

「 Coffins4Sale: Are you sure about that??? (￢‿￢ )✧ 」

「 Icy Popsicle: hu tao!!! 」

「 Guhua Geek: Don't worry Chongyun, I missed you too. I haven't been able to go online for a while, it has been really busy. 」

「 BOOMSHAKALAKA: Well in that case...why don't we have a vc??? 」

「 Icy Popsicle: vc??? on evernight or here??? 」

「 BOOMSHAKALAKA: Here silly! We haven't seen each other in a while! 」

「 Icy Popsicle: but...didn't we just see each other in school earlier??? 」

「 Coffins4Sale: It doesn't matter!! I'll start the call! 」

Chongyun entered the call to be greeted with yells from Hu Tao and Xiangling saying hello. "HEYYYY!!!!" "HELLO!!!" Chongyun immediately lowered down his volume. "Hi." He greeted. Xingqiu came into the call, "Hello everybody!"

"Oh my-" "Wow Xingqiu!" "Lookin' fancy!!" Chongyun, Xiangling and Hu Tao said, respectfully.

"Thank you! I believe this is called a Jinbei. It's quite different from the pajamas I usually wear. Anyway, long time no see...well, not really haha." Xingqiu chuckled.

"How was the festival!?" Xiangling asked. "It was fun! I managed to get some new books for my collection. I was especially enjoying the new light novel, Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji?" Xingqiu showed the cover of the book that he settled nearby.

"Oooh~! What's it about?" Hu Tao asked. "It's about a fox shrine maiden and the Raiden Shogun. I'd rather not spoil it but there's a stall that sells the drink featured in this book. I believe it's called Rainbow Aster."

Xiangling immediately lit up in excitement, "How did it taste!?" "It tasted quite refreshing." Xingqiu replied. "No wonder it's so popular..." Chongyun muttered. "Oh? Would you like me to feed you it, mouth-to-mouth?" Xingqiu asked, teasingly. Chongyun turned red. Hu Tao let out a loud gasp, "XINGQIU!?! I had no idea you were so bold!"

"I'm just teasing haha! You're face is so red, YunYun." Xingqiu continues laughing. "Sh...Shut up." Chongyun tries to hide his face with his hands. "Anyway, Xingqiu! Do you know the recipe? I would like to try it!" Xiangling asks. "Oh um...I don't. I think Aether does though, I'm not sure."

Xiangling immediately messaged Aether.

「 Xiangling: Aether!! U awake???? 」

「 Aether: I am 」 「 Aether: Wassup? 」

「 Xiangling: Xingqiu told me you have to recipe to Rainbow Aster, can I have a copy??? 」

「 Aether: Oh sure gimme a moment 」

Aether sent a photo.

「 Xiangling: TYSM!!!! 」

"I got the recipe! It has lavender melon and calla lilies and I don't have those at the moment. I'm gonna go experiment on it and update you guys on it. Bye!!!!" "Bye Xiangling!!!" "Bye!!!"

Xiangling left the call leaving Hu Tao, Xingqiu and Chongyun in the VC. "So...has anyone answered the assignment?" Hu Tao asked. "Oh my archons Hu Tao...!!!" Chongyun groaned. "Sorry, I can't help." Xingqiu replied lightheartedly. "Awww....How about you Chongyun?" She asked. "I'm...kinda done with it? I'm not sharing my answers though." "Bummer..." Hu Tao sighed.

"Oh! I'm getting a call from Professor Zhongli! Got to go, BYE!" Hu Tao left the call. The two boys were met with silence now that the Pyro Girls were gone.

"You were pretty quiet y'know. What's up?" Xingqiu asked. "Nothing much, just the usual." Chongyun said. Xongqiu lets out an exaggerated gasp, "You don't miss me...?" he says dramatically. "Of course I did I just... you know..." Chongyun couldn't find the right words to explain. "A-Anyway, how was the signing event?"

"Ugh it was hell. I felt like my hands were gonna fall off..." Xingqiu cringed at the memory. "Were you able to still do it?" "Yes. Thankfully Calx and Kazuha were able to come up with a solution of using stamps rather than signing every single copy."

"Kazuha...? Wasn't he one of the models used for the 5 Kasen?" Chongyun asked. "Ah...so you saw the portraits of the 5 Kasen. Yes, he's the model for Akihiko." Xingqiu said. "You were the model of Aoi no Okina, right?" "Mhm. It's actually a funny story on how we were all chosen to be the models." Xingqiu then tells how they had found poems of the 5 Kasen that related to each of the models.

"I see, but if there were 4 poems, why was Kuronushi's portrait left blank?" Chongyun asked. "Calx said that he wanted everyone to have their own interpretation. But there's actually a portrait drawn using special ink. Hold on, I'll show you." Xingqiu gets up and approaches the window. "W-Wait! You don't have to do that!" Chongyun says in a panic. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I can only show you this at night. Plus, this isn't the first time I snuck out through the window." "oh my archons..."

Xingqiu manages to leave the Outlander Affairs Agency safely, without anyone noticing. Xingqiu heads to the center plaza where the portraits are being shown. He faces the portrait of Kuronushi and creates a silk flower out of hydro before using it to splash the painting. 

"Oh my archons..." Chongyun says in awe. "I couldn't believe it myself too but Calx is very impressive in his skills." Xingqiu added. The two watch the image of Kuronushi fade until the only thing left was the background drawn.

"While we're- or rather, I'm- still here, I wanna take a picture with you." Xingqiu said. Chongyun's face turned pink, "Don't we take pictures together all the time...?" "Well, yes but I noticed 2 girls using their cryo and pyro visions to make a heart. I want to do that with you." Chongyun didn't respond for a while. "Actually if you don't want to that's also fi-" "Nonono! We can! I just don't know how we're gonna do it."

"How about...we both take screenshots of each other making a half-heart in the video call and then send it to each other later." Xingqiu proposed. "Alright, um..I guess I'll go first." Chongyun places his phone on a nearby pillow for it to rest on while he creates a mini-snowman of himself to hold in his hands as talismans surround him. When it was Xingqiu's turn, he created the same hydro-silk flower he made earlier and made some of the water surround him. But then someone unexpectedly joined the call.

"A- OH MY ARCHONS I'M SORRY WAS I INTERRUPTING SOMETHING!?!?" Xinyan says in a panic. "Pfft- Ahahaha! No it's fine! It's fine!" Xingqiu laughs as the hydro around him disappears. "Oh my archons I'm so sorry!! I'm gonna go now, bye!" Xinyan leaves the call, once again leaving the two in silence.

"Did you manage to take the photo?" Xingqiu asked. "Yep. I'll send it to you later." Chongyun said. "I think I have to go now, Xu might call for me and I don't want to get caught." "Alright then, night. "Goodnight."

A few days later the Liyue Friends decided to meet up at Xiangling's place as usual. "I tried recreating the Rainbow Aster and found out Lavender Melon tastes like a mix of banana, lychee and passionfruit. So these 3 drinks have the same ingredients, just a different ratio with the fruits." Xiangling gives them the drinks for them to taste.

"These all taste pretty good." Yun Jin said. "I agree!" Hu Tao added. "Not really my thing. It's kinda bland." Xinyan places the drink back on the table after a sip. "I couldn't really tell the difference between the drinks but I really enjoy them." Chongyun continued drinking the "Rainbow Aster". Xiangling nodded at everyone's comments, noting each one in her head. But the one she really needed was from Xingqiu.

"Hm...I think this one tastes the most similar to the one I had in Inazuma." Xingqiu points to one of the glasses. "NAILED IT!!!" Xiangling exclaimed. "When did you get the idea to make this?" Yun Jin asked. "Oh, we had a video call a few days ago while Xingqiu was in Inazuma. He told me about it and I asked Aether for the recipe." Xiangling explained. "Oh? You guys had a video call?" Yun Jin said. "I think you and Xinyan were busy in club while it happened." Hu Tao stated. "Actually, Xinyan managed to drop by on accident." Xingqiu chuckled at the memory. "I said I was sorry okay!" Xinyan exclaimed, embarrased before quickly changing topics. "What were you and Chongyun doing anyway?" 

"We were taking a picture together." Chongyun replied. "I was the one who thought of it, see." Xingqiu shows his lock screen with the photo of Chongyun on it. "You set it as your lock screen???" He asked. "You didn't!?" Xingqiu lets out a dramatic offended gasp, "I can't believe you!" "I'm...sorry???" Chongyun says in confusion while the rest laugh lighthertedly.

[riteburdened]

in the Sweets Paradise artwork, the dish Hu Tao holds doesn’t exist in game but it’s the mix of coconut milk and violetgrass that she references in the 2021 birthday letter, and which was on the SP menu for Qiqi!  Tao’s really out here making new special drinks for one (1) zombie....

[genshin-impact-pride-flags]

hu tao wanters will be hu tao havers im manifesting for you guys

art is from the official 2021 birthday post - artist is hou