Genshin Impact Scenario - Tumblr Posts

Hu Tao x Reader || Business meeting

You woke up in a coffin. Again.

You racked your semi-conscious brain and put your hands to the top wall. With all your strength, you pushed the heavy oak lid up, and it wasn't until the deaf knock convinced you that your efforts weren’t in vain.

You closed your eyes when the bright sun struck your eyes. You felt like a vampire taken straight out of romanticism, but after a quick blinking, you got used to the brightness in the room.

"Hey, hey!” you were greeted by a joyful voice as you sat down. "Did you sleep well?"

You looked at Hu Tao, who as usual was dressed in her dark, official outfit. She tied her hair in two ponytails, and put her hat on her head, even if you two were in a room that always was more likely to not have sunlight than it was.

She bowed over the coffin and let you lean against her arm as you stand up.

"Like a dead," you replied with a heavy sigh. You could only guess that you fell asleep while working and by this, you exposed yourself to tricks from Hu Tao. By these pranks, workers either quickly quitted their job, or gained resistance to all obstacles and every joke "funny-until-you-are-victim".

She sent you a snappy smile.

"Excellent. Because today we have a small corporate mission!”

‏‏‎ ‎

Hu Tao has not particularly given you time to prepare.

Less than ten minutes after she disappeared from the vestibule, you were able to dress up for work, wash your face and correct your hair before she showed up again.

You've put up several posters promoting the wangsheng funeral parlor (which will be taken off again by the guards within hours), and palm business cards off on several passersby until you reached a remote building where a young woman was waiting for you.

She quickly signed some of the papers Hu Tao brought with her and promised to come to her in person later, to complete the formalities related to her cousin's death.

Hu Tao was far more relaxed after you left that house.

In the jumps she walked past you, wandering through the uncrowded streets, energetically talking about everything and nothing. Sometimes she got lost in her thoughts for a moment and smiled at her own ideas, which you started asking her about.

"Hehe~ Everything that's going on in my head is a mystery," she gently tapped her fingers about the roundabout of her hat.

As you passed restaurants and food stalls, you were overwhelmed by the smell of all the Liyue delicacies.

Something twisted in your stomach.

On a par with the loud sound your belly made, you realized that you ate nothing today. You left so quickly that you forgot about breakfast. Ha, you couldn't even drink anything!

"Ho, ho," Hu Tao sighed theatrically. "I see that we have to stop and eat something.”

You burned with a juicy blush.

"A-ah, no, no," you protested quickly. "Let's finish what we have to do first. I'll eat something when we're done with work.”

"Come on, it’s my treat!" she clung to your arm and forced you to follow her. "Or rather... I haven't had the opportunity to have someone as my official taster for a long time!”

You found yourselves in the kitchen.

Hu Tao, almost all in the flour, which she had been brushing off from her dark outfit for the last fifteen minutes, took the dumplings out of the oven. She had to be inspired by a dish from Wanmin Restaurant, but she made them far quicker than anyone else who ever prepared dumplings.

Several of them were put on a plate and with a loud "bon appétit!", she placed them in front of you.

"They look... suspicious,” you glanced at the dumpling and came to the conclusion that they all look... very pale, even for a dumpling.

"I'd like to say you don't have to eat it. But I want you to try them," she used the chopsticks to pick up a dumpling from the plate and pressed it into your mouth. She covered them with her hand so that you wouldn't spit it out and watch as you chewed her culinary work precariously. "And how is it?"

You grunted when you felt how an extremely slippery dumpling was being swallowed by you.

Although you could not say that it was so bad.

Something just... was off. Maybe not enough spices? Or some strange ingredient in the stuffing?

"It's good," you replied. "I guess.”

"You sound very convincing," she said, giggling quietly. She seemed very proud of these dumplings. "I see that cooking is another of my hidden talents.”

You didn't answer, but you smiled gently.

Being indifferent while spending some time with her was... impossible.

‏‏‎ ‎

On the table was placed a pot of hot black tea.

In addition to decorative cups with patterns that evoke plum flowers, the pile of cards grew on the countertop every minute. Soon Hu Tao threw the last card she had in her hands and smiled triumphantly.

"I won!" she scooped the cards off the table and deftly began to shuffle them. A few of them fell out of her hands, but she quickly collected them and began handing them out between the two of you.

This was the eighth round of the card game she presented to you less than two hours ago. Throughout the game she seemed to give you forums, but as soon as you got to the end, she showed her mastery skills and within minutes made up for what you collected the whole twenty minutes.

Although you'd like to win with her, you were not particularly angry with that. Because you two were talking a lot, you mostly didn't notice the key moves you could make. It wasn't until you put another card down that you noticed your mistake, and Hu Tao, with a too-sweet and teasing smile, reminded you that you can't undo your moves.

What a stupid game.

With resignation, you have brought together a newly shuffled card tray.

"So that's what your corporate meetings look like, hmm?" You asked, propping up your chin with your hand and browsing through your new options.

"That’s weird to call date a business meeting," she replied, throwing another card on the table.

"Huh?" you shivered, almost biting your tongue in surprise. "So, it was a date?"

"Wasn’t it?" she said surprised. "Don't think I treat every employee like that. You are the exception," she hesitated, and for the first time in a long time raised her eyes from above the cards and looked at you. You couldn't tell what feelings were painted on her face. Gratitude? Joy? Love? In any case, it made you feel such strange, pleasant warmth... “But if so... How about another "corporate meeting", [Name]? You know, you have to take care of your customers, but you need to take care of your loyal employees even more.”

You were sure she had invented it just now, but...

"I shouldn't say no to my boss, shouldn't I?" you answered with a smile that she returned with big grin.

"Surely!"

Aether x Reader || Glaze Lilies

"This one is delicious too," you said, swallowing another piece of the dish. “Paimon would probably create another stomach for these miracles.”

Aether chuckled softly as he bites off another piece of hot roll filled with traditional Liyue-rich stuffing. “I guess even that is not enough when the competition is the Sticky Honey Roast that Amber offered her.”

You smiled in response.

Late fall in Liyue was a beautiful time of the year.

The city was always full of red and gold colours like towns straight from fairy tales, but in this time, when the leaves have already turned dark orange and the air was carrying an aroma of seasonal seed cookies, Liyue looked even more breathtaking.

You were sure that it was Amber who made it possible for you to go somewhere on Aether's day off from doing… everything. Normally, you would be sitting in some restaurant watching Paimon heartlessly ordering all the dishes from a menu without looking at the number of zeros of each price.

But when Amber heard you mention dates accompanied by beautiful, falling leaves, she blushed as the flame of pure determination appeared in her eyes. In the evening she appeared in front of Paimon and offered her to go out to the city for one day.

Oh, if she only knew how much it will cost her...

"[Name], stay close to me, or I will lose you in this crowd." Aether gripped your hand tighter.

"Getting lost in such a big city would be romantic, wouldn't it?" you giggled.

"Getting lost and being found in the wrong place and time wouldn’t be," he replied. “Every city is much more dangerous when the night comes.”

You turned into another street to finally reach the viewpoint in Liyue.

You could see a lot more from there, but less people could see you. Who would twist their neck to see two little dots on top of a mountain?

"It's going to rain soon," Aether nodded at the clouds, which were moving quickly toward the city. He clicked his tongue. “If we don't want to get wet, we should be getting ready.”

"Oh, isn't that Aether?"

You turned around to see a girl approaching you two.

She was gorgeous—her long blonde hair waved in the breeze as if it existed only to be an effect for them. She had every girl's dream figure, bright, sparkling eyes, and rosy cheeks.

Perfect girl.

And the perfect person to compare yourself with to create a trillion complexes about your body.

She had a very charismatic, attractive aura around her, but the way she behaved towards Aether was slowly starting to bother you. Of course, it might just be some kind of funny, totally wrong prejudice against her, but ...

“[Girl's name]?” Aether muttered, not noticing your pleading gaze saying: ‘let's get out of here.’ “—What are you doing here?”

"I was just passing by," she laughed, her voice soft, pearl-like. “I couldn't go without saying hi, haha!” Then she looked at you and fixed you with a stare. It wasn't a cold look, but it wasn't friendly either. “And who is that?”

"Ah," Aether shook his head, as if only now remembering that he had not come here alone. He put his hand around your waist. “This is my girlfriend, [Name]”

“I didn't know you had a girlfriend! You always have to be so mysterious?” Aether rolled his eyes at her words, even if he smiled slightly. Then she turned to you. “Could I kidnap him for a moment? I need help moving my luggage to my new apartment.”

She grabbed his hand without waiting for your answer, as if it were a rhetorical question. As Aether released his hand from your waist, you felt as if you were left alone in a foreign land.

“I'll be back in a minute!” After these words, he turned to the blonde and at an equal pace, they turned around the corner of some house, behind the wall of which you could see an extremely high pile of boxes.

"It probably won't be a minute," you sighed.

You leaned against the railing and stared at the toes of your shoes, telling yourself that you should have opposed her. Would that be selfish? You've been dreaming about a date with Aether for so long, without third parties, and now that the moment has come, it turns out that someone will take from you your boyfriend anyway.

Five minutes passed... eight minutes... ten... thirteen...

After fourteen minutes, you got up and decided to check how much was already packed. Some of the super-heavy boxes seemed to be gone, but that was up for discussion since there were dozens of them here.

You couldn't find a familiar face in sight. Did... they just leave you here? More likely, they were just carrying some luggage into one of the nearby houses, but you couldn't knock on every door to find them—it would take hours.

You felt yourself slowly breaking down.

You knew you were a little (a little very much) jealous of this girl, but more depressing was the fact that this was going to be yours and Aether’s day. COMMON. Now you thought you were the loneliest person in the universe.

"I'm not going to get upset," you repeated aloud, trying to motivate yourself to leave this place. "I'll go... I’ll go somewhere and have a good time... alone."

With a quick step, as if you didn't want to think about this anymore, you turned back and followed the alleys you and Aether had previously travelled. You came to the food stores that you had only glanced at before, but you didn't have time to taste anything else because you were in a hurry to get to the viewpoint.

It is true that you ordered take-out rolls, but the whole range of different types of food seemed very tempting despite the filling bread.

And the smell of such highly seasoned dishes was tempting—very much.

"Sorry," a young girl approached you after you shoved a piece of meat into your mouth. You swallowed it quickly, almost choking on it. “Would you like to buy some flowers?”

“…Why not?” you replied.

The girl put the money in the pocket of her dress. Instead of putting a flower on your hand, she came closer and gently braided a glaze lily into your hair near right ear.

"Here you are," she replied and looked at you. A smile beamed across her face. “You look really pretty!”

"Thank you," you replied. You noticed that this was the last flower in her basket, and because of that, the ten-year-old girl seemed proud of herself. She walked away, thanking again for the purchase.

I think that one more on the other side and all would be perfect...

You glanced at the setting sun and concluded that you could give Aether a similar lily. Wouldn't that look cute on him? There was still some time before it will get completely dark. Even the rain clouds that had previously seemed to be crossing the sky at an alarming pace now seem to have stopped.

You finished eating and walked briskly towards the Danyu Ruins, hoping to find some pretty lilies on your way.

The silence, or rather the sound of the wind and the leaves rustling against each other, were the only thing that accompanied your footsteps since you left Liyue. It seemed relaxing at first, but now that the skies were a deeper blue than orange, you concluded that a travelling companion would not be a bad idea.

“They're here!” you finally found two lilies that glistened slightly in the dark. You collected them quickly and turned to head back into town.

…You were surprised when you encountered many, many roads, each of them unfamiliar.

"I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs," you joked, though panic had already paralyzed your legs.

Your problems were not diminished by the fact that you heard mad laughter near you. You felt your heart leap into your throat, tears welling up in your eyes as a figure emerged from behind the bushes.

Abyss mage.

You have heard about them from the stories of Aether, who sometimes told you about his adventures when you tried to bandage his wounds with a bandage, herbs, or other medicines.

As soon as your heart was beating, so quickly the magician saw you. He teleported a meter away from you and you started running.

Faster, faster, faster.

Before you ran a hundred meters, a mage appeared before you. You didn't even have time to stop when he waved his hand, and a large ice crystal formed in front of him. Huge and pointed towards you.

Almost as soon as it was launched, a certain force pushed both of you backwards. You felt pain in your left leg, but somehow you didn't fall. Strong arms held you and made you be in a comforting, familiar embrace.

You looked up to see Aether running towards the cliff to finally jump, open his gliding set and take you two away from the icy monster.

You didn't say a word to each other all this time.

As soon as you touched the ground, you stepped out of his embrace, as if feeling that you had abused his closeness too much. Instead, he grabbed your wrist, turned to face him, and initiated a long, passionate kiss.

He didn't pull away until you both were breathless, and your cheeks were burning like hot coals. You couldn't say you were cold anymore.

“Why?” He took a deep breath. However, his voice still trembled. “Why didn't you wait for me? If I did not make it on time—"

“I was waiting for you!” You interrupted him. You bit your lower lip as you tried to contain the tide of frustration. “It's you who disappeared somewhere. You went somewhere with that girl. I already thought you weren't coming back.”

Aether, an intelligent boy, immediately paraphrased your words "I was maybe jealous". At the thought, he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry," he said, scratching his neck. “I accidentally dropped a box on her leg and, oh, it was hard to treat someone who screams in pain before even a finger touches them…”

"Oh," you felt a deep flush of embarrassment coming up to your cheeks. Indeed, the previous redness of the cheeks did not disappear, but now it only preserved their shade for the next minutes. “I'm really sorry. I left you, put you and myself in danger, just to find some stupid flowers...”

For the third time since finding you, Aether hugged you tightly. He planted a kiss on the top of your head. You stood for a few minutes in pleasant silence, cuddling tightly to each other, and finally, you both relaxed completely.

You took the tangled lilies out of your pocket; one was practically worn out, but the other seemed to be in good condition. You dropped the massacred one, and you tried to straighten the petals with your fingers.

"Turn around," you told him.

He did it without batting an eye. You ran your fingers through his hair and braided his plant into a braid.

Out of the corner of your eye, you thought yours, still artfully arranged, flashed a pleasant blue light as Aether examined his looks.

"It suits you," you said. You both decided to go back to Liyue and spend the rest of the night there. You held hands all the way back.

"You too," he replied. "We are complementing each other very nicely now with these flowers ...and also without them," he added with a smile.

"So, you still think getting lost isn't romantic?" You looked at him from under your lashes.

“Still. I wish I could have you with me without any excuse that you will get lost.”

A Comforting Night

In which our wind adeptus is plagued with nightmares and seeks solace in you.

Warnings: Mentions of death, nightmares

Defined Reader Features: None. *The reader has a pyro vision

Word Count: 686

He woke up with a start, his breath ragged and short. The cool night air made the sweat on his skin feel clammy. He blinked once. Twice. Thrice. He turned to look to his side, out one of the windows in his room at the Wangshu Inn. The night sky was clear, littered with stars that shone like diamonds. The only sounds he could hear were the distant hoots of owls, the leaves rustling outside the window and the calm breathing of you, laying next to him.

Slowly, Xiao turned to face your sleeping form, which was currently well tucked in under the blankets, both your arms loosely draped around his waist. He takes a sharp breath, the fear from his nightmares briefly melting away, and gently places his hand on your head. This gentle but new touch disturbs your rest, and you shift a bit. You were always a light sleeper, Xiao cursed inside his head as he watched your eyes flutter open. You squint a bit, confused as to why your lover was awake and watching you like a curious cat does to a scurrying mouse.

“Why aren’t you asleep...?” You question, removing your arms from his body as you push yourself up to sit up. Xiao shakes his head.

“I thought I heard something. It was nothing-- go back to bed,” he lies, hoping you’ll buy it and close your eyes. But you don’t, instead reaching around for the lamp that sits near your bed. Once your fingers graze the wick of the candle, sparks fly at your tips as you light the lamp, shedding some dim light in the room.

“You know I hate it when you lie to me, Xiao,” you start, turning your body back to face the visibly disturbed yaksha. He hesitates for a moment, before realizing neither of you will get sleep if he isn’t upfront about his feelings.

“Nightmares. Memories of the countless lives I took in my past...the dreams I devoured...they haunt me nightly, and this night is no different.” He glances away, uncomfortable with your intense stare. When he glances back, you still watch him, but your hands have lifted to touch his face. You pause for a moment, as if asking for consent. When he gives a slight nod in response, your hands carefully cup his face. You tilt it down a bit so he looks at you and you offer him a kind smile.

“I remember the stories you told me about your time serving under your cruel master. I know that those times trouble you, even with how distant in the past they are. I know that even as you lie in bed with me, you find yourself hesitant to express your love. These nightmares plague your dreams and make you walk with your eyes looking back to see if your karma will truly come to catch you. But it won’t, Xiao.” He leans into your touch watching you. A part of him wants to stop you and question your confidence, but he knows better.

“You are here. Your a Liyue’s protector, and Rex Lapis’s trusted adeptus. You are more than your past for it does not define you. The sword hanging over your head shall be cut, for you strive to be a better person. I promise you my love, you are free to be.” He stares at you, contemplating how lucky he got to have someone, especially a mortal as understanding as you for a partner. A rare smile graces his face and he turns his head slightly, placing a kiss on your palm. 

“Thank you, (y/n).” You beam at him and pull back, moving to get comfortable once more in your bed. 

“Let’s sleep. When I wake up, I’ll go shopping for some ingredients to make almond tofu, hm?” He nods, moving as well to lie back down and go to sleep. His arms snake around you and he tucks you under his chin, giving himself the privilege of being comforted by your warm body head on. The night of terror soon became one of comfort.