spiritsoothe

[spiritsoothe]

kyubiko.

@spiritsoothe· asked:   “  let’s go for a walk. sitting here all cooped up will only make it worse.  ”  - to lumine   ,  prompts ( not accepting )

“  mhm,   yeah.   you’re   right.  ”   finally,   one   with   common   sense–   two   days   of   resting   was   enough   for   lumine.   if   she   had   to   spend   another   minute   in   bed,   she   was   going   to   go   crazy   and   riot   against   anyone   who   even   dared   to   THINK   of   telling   her   to   rest   any   longer.   and   that   is   what   she   told   any   companion   who   even   looked   at   her   the   minute   she   decided   to   spend   the   day   walking   around   the   city   with   hu  tao. everything   still   hurt,   though.   that   was   to   be   expected.   she   had   pushed   herself   far   harder  during   the   fight   with   azhdaha–   she   was   in   rough   shape   and   that   attack   of   his   messed   up   her   leg   more   than   she   thought.   but   she   could   still   walk,   which   was   a   good   thing.   the   moment   she   was   able   to   move   freely,   pain   and   exhaustion   subsiding   enough,   she’s   humming   some   song   to   herself,   before   lumine   can   say   something,   she   is   quickly   closing   the   distance.   “  sooo,   any   destination   on   mind   ?   or   should   we   go   where   the   wind   blows  ?  ”  

     The Director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the one with the most common sense? Many denizens of Liyue Harbor might think Lumine a fool for having such a thought, or perhaps they would assume she were out of her wits to trust the Director to lead her around whilst recovering from battle. Not that they had ever purposefully led anyone astray or done any wrong despite the suspicion surrounding her as head of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, but one could never be too sure if Hu Tao was simply that much of an odd person, or if the cryptic and unsettling things she said were true threats. Even the Millelith erred on the side of caution.

     Perhaps the Harbor at large would never know the answer, seeing as Hu Tao never stopped to provide a solid, cohesive answer to any question she seemingly didn’t want to. As they’ve stated before in regards to the border between life and death; it was better for most people to heed to their own suspicions and stay away, believing in the rumors which sent shivers down their spines.

     The bump to their shoulder gives rise to a playful smile curling up one side of their lips. Their body easily shifts to bump Lumine gently in retaliation as they began to walk through the streets of Liyue, past the typical bustle of everyday business. ‘ Well, I’d usually let the wind guide me up to Wuwang Hill on a day like this, but I wouldn’t want to see you overwhelmed by a hoard of hilichurls. Not unless you finally let me arrange your affairs first, that is. ‘

     She looks over to Lumine then, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes a telltale sign of her humor at work. Her eyes slowly fall shut as she chuckles. ‘ I think a walk along the harbor docks should suffice with your condition in mind. I’ve heard whispers in the streets about traveling merchants arriving in Liyue over the past few days if you’ve got the Mora for a little spending. ‘

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yanfeizhi.

@spiritsoothe· asked: hey yanfei if two guys were on the moon and one killed the other with a rock would that be fucked up or what || unprompted !!

     “ that would be homicide, director . “ spoken freely as though the two were discussing the latest trade policies, or other such hot and completely ordinary topics in the harbor . which, as she takes another sip of spiced hot cider, it certainly not what this is . “ though of the exact nature, i would need more information . “ she’s leaning towards murder, probably of the second degree unless the plan from before lift - off was to pick up a rock and bludgeon the other man to death with . all theoretical, of course . “ not that i think that matters to you– you’ll have a pleasant time sending him off on his way no matter why he comes to you, i imagine . asking for a friend ? “

     An exaggerated gasp, followed by the placement of her palm against the flat of her sternum. The Director feigns some form of shock. ‘ Accusing me of not caring for the wellbeing of my soon-to-be clients? Yanfei, I’d have thought you of all people wouldn’t make an accusation so baseless. ‘ Though by the way their words are trailed by faint bell-like giggles, it’s easy for one to assume Hu Tao isn’t trying to be threatening. The Director then chooses to hide her grin behind the rim of her cup, taking a delicate sip of the scalding brew within.

          ‘ I like to indulge in my own hypotheticals from time to time, you know. Seeing as our work always has the potential to become more intertwined than it already is, wouldn’t you agree it’s best to work them out while they’re still hypothetical? ‘

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Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Members ✷
21.07.01 happy mora day! ♡​

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kyubiko.

relieved   sigh   almost   unnoticed,   arched   a   brow   upwards   towards   the   companion.   pinch   of   irritation   whisked   together   with   a   handful   of   curiosity   upon   previous   act.   “  hu   tao,   just   because   you   are   capable   does   not   mean   you   can   rush   mindlessly   into   anything   !   what   if   i   wasn’t   there   ?   OR   anyone   capable   enough   to   lend   you   a   hand   ?  ”

     Heavier sigh falls forth from the Director’s lips as calamity dulls to gradual silence, the occasional chirp of crickets being the only sound which remains, a tune played in rhythm with frantically beating hearts. Their pyro spirit forms and drifts lazily, upside down, through the thick of Hu Tao’s torso with a groan that sounds like a creaking floorboard, its expression a tired and worn out grimace. But Hu Tao is still standing tall with a smile despite the singed ends of her hair still smoking beneath the moonlight.

     Sheepish chuckle accompanies the rise of her hand, digits carding through one pigtail as she faces her dear companion. ‘ Now, now — there’s no need to fret over it! I would’ve found my way through to the other side one way or another! ‘

     As if to purposely contradict the Director’s sunny disposition, her pyro spirit groans louder as it twirls and falls from the middle of her chest, descending farther and farther down until it phases through the ground underfoot. Talk about dramatic.

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@fireshot​ said:  Casually yoinks the hat of her head and places it on her own "Sooooo, how do I look???"

          ‘ Yoh!! ‘

     To most anyone, a single ill-mannered digit laid upon the well-loved hat of the 77th Director would have been swiftly met by the flames and blade of her polearm, beautifully charred by purifying fire. If it was their time to depart from this world, who was Hu Tao to stay her hand when instinct and elemental energy sung through her body, commanding she move accordingly? No sleep to be lost on those who simply found their way to their rightful end.

     Yoimiya, only by the grace of the Gods and her incredibly cute stance, was not faced in this moment with a superheated lethal blow. Rather, she received a contemplative expression from the Director, their chin carefully slotted between thumb and forefinger, elbow cradled by their off-hand. After what appeared to be a moment of careful thought, Hu Tao’s eyes closed, a mirthful smile splitting her face like a fresh wound.

          ‘ Absolutely dazzling! If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were the new face of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Don’t go giving people any ideas, Yoi, I’ve still got a lot of time left before I make my grand departure! ‘

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@creotas said:  don't ask, but i need a preserved human skull, can you help me acquire one?

          ' Aiya~ It's not any fun if I don't ask at all! But I won't be asking the questions you're wary of. I'm not here to spoil anyone's fun. ' They raise a hand, a finger ticking up for each question they ask. ' What size skull, do you need it to have all of its teeth, and would you like it ethically acquired? '

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sorry for being annoying. it will happen again

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@albrich said: ❛ there are countless ways to open a carcass ❜

     The Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor conducts her affairs with utmost solemnity.

     Of course, you wouldn’t know it by the looks of her as she bounds around Liyue Harbor in the dead of night. The Director is a person known best for her eccentricities and rather unorthodox methodology when it comes to addressing potential business clientele, yet none have ever been able to successfully dispute her effectiveness in regards to her responsibilities to the dearly departed.

     The solemnity present in the Director’s affairs stretches far past what most have ever seen in person; the seasoned undertakers staffed under Hu Tao will tell anyone that much of her odd behavior is abandoned at the threshold of her personal office, in which various preparations are organized and meticulously planned by the Director themself. After all, their service to the dead did not start and end at the reading of their funeral rites.

     Hu Tao sits uncharacteristically quiet behind the large oak desk, weathered by the slow passage of time and burdened by a plethora of paper stacks which nearly dwarfed the young woman who sat between them.

     The sound of a pen diligently scratching against the surface of a page stops short as the Director hears Kaeya’s comment from across the room, drawing her eyes away from the notations she had been making about what materials would be necessary for this particular ceremony. They had been invited in, of course, in an attempt to seem hospitable as she finished the last of her work for the day before engaging in discussion with him, as a representative of Mondstadt. Loyal as she was to her home and the funeral parlor, Hu Tao would never turn down a good opportunity for a business partnership with those who sought out her services, neighboring nations enthusiastically included. Archons know she would be quite mad to even consider dismissing such a chance, rare as they were.

     No matter the nation, those who pass on should be honored with the appropriate ceremonies and customs they wish to be honored with, and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor would deliver on such a promise.

     The small pyro entity which followed along with Hu Tao apparates beside her unoccupied left hand, prompting her to shift and press her fingertips softly into the top of its form with a breathy chuckle. Her eyes focus in on Kaeya across the room, already comfortably sat on the old couch with a book he’d seemingly plucked from a nearby shelf. Handwritten notes belonging to a previous Director of the parlor.

          ‘ There are more ways than even you could imagine, I believe, ‘ They respond, shifting her index and ring fingers intermittently atop the pyro specter’s form. A small, withered-sounding groan escapes from the entity’s mouth and persists for a number of seconds before Hu Tao relents and pulls away from it with a pleasant giggle. ‘ You and I are in quite different sorts of business, connected as they may be. As a Knight of Favonious, I’d be willing to guess your ideas of opening a carcass fall into a more ... literal sense? ‘

     She doesn’t wait for an answer before rising from her plush office chair, abandoning her pen and planning in favor of making her way across the office floor, straying over to the book case Kaeya had paid a visit to moments before. Rising up on tip-toe, Hu Tao retrieves a similar looking volume from the shelf; a terribly weathered face for a cover, the spine creaking loudly in protest as it falls open in Hu Tao’s careful palms. Without looking up from the text, they continue. ‘ I’d venture to say you and I are elbow deep in carcasses as we speak. Ones belonging to past Directors of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, to be exact. ‘

     After a moment of skimming through the notations scrawled across the yellowed pages, she snaps the book closed in her hand, attention shifting back towards the Knight. ‘ If you really think about it, the thoughts one immortalizes with paper and ink become a carcass of their own kind after death. Human remains all their own. Another way for someone to linger in this life long after they’ve made the journey to the other side. And the abandoned carrion of a carcass will inevitably fall prey to vultures who find themselves lucky enough to find a meal. ‘

     Hu Tao crosses the room again until she’s come face to face with Kaeya, an unfaltering grin on her face as she reaches forward and takes the book from Kaeya’s hand, snapping it shut in similar fashion. The sharp sound echoes through the room as Hu Tao allows her pause to persist. Their brow quirks upwards, challenging. ‘ Something tells me the part of you that isn’t strictly a Knight already knew all about that, though. ‘

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@windbloomed said: whooshes hat off her head with a lil gust of wind

     The wind may lift the beloved hat from her head, but Hu Tao is not one to surrender to such mischief so easily. A brief yelp escapes her mouth before her hand clenches ‘round a freshly summoned polearm, twirling the instrument before spearing into the hat’s opening with the blunt end of her weapon to catch it. Hu Tao’s gaze falls back to Venti, half-lidded and paired with a knowing smirk as the polearm evaporates. The Director’s hat falls delicately back into her waiting hand.

          ‘ Silly little bard, ‘ they say, voice now possessing a sing-song quality as they practically skip over to their companion’s side. The hat is carefully placed back onto her head while she continues. ‘ I’d be careful when choosing who you’d like to start a prank war with. After all, who knows what sort of toll the retaliation could take on you! Speaking from a business standpoint, it would be advantageous for me if you were to simply drop dead from fright, but I wouldn’t want that happening before I’ve had a chance to help you get all your affairs sorted out! So be sure to look before you leap next time. ‘

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albrich.

        when he hears her recite the lines in perfect form from her very own work he can’t help but LAUGH ——— loose and lilting and musical. bemused / amused / delighted. the question with no mark, lingering in the air, paired with the tilt of her head and the grin she had hidden behind that book making for quite the picture, indeed. a show, a show, it’s all a show ——— it’s always an occasion, when hu tao is around ; they find themselves perpetually bemused ( moreso than usual, that is ), playing into her quirks and oddities and tendency towards chaos.

        it’s hardly as though either of them stray away from entropy, after all. arbiters, the pair of them / or TROUBLEMAKERS, depending on who you were to ask ( poor, poor jean, indeed ). they bounce off of each other dangerously, ricocheting and colliding, constantly raising to greater heights.

        naturally, that’s what makes hu tao’s visits quite fun, for nearly everyone involved.

       ❝ it’s as though you’re a TELEPATH, hu tao ——— that is precisely the work i was referring to, ❞ he all but twinkles in the low and still yet dimming light of evening, a pristine sheet of ice reflecting light even more brightly than the sun itself. how else is ice meant to disarm and lure and break? ❝ it makes for quite the idyllic thought, doesn’t it? linger not on death / adventure waits yet, ❞ there’s a sense of sacrilege to be quoting an artist’s own work back at them in such a BLATANTLY CAJOLING FASHION, not unlike spitting upon one of barbatos’s statues, perhaps, but it simply can’t be helped !!

        wind whips around them, mondstadt in evening’s glow greeting them with brisk winds and cold air carried in from the mountains, dragonspine lingering overhead ( he will have to return sometime soon ——— it’s always such a shame to remain quite so far away ) and kaeya’s grin widens when hu tao pats his cheek / mock patronizing or simply patronizing? it hardly matters, attention otherwise caught as they glance as she shoos away SOMETHING from over his shoulder, eye tracking the movement of their hand / wondering / always so much fun.

        so much fun and more fun yet to be had. they allow themselves to be grabbged and pulled around and he makes no attempt to stop their progress even to close the open window ——— thieves and ruffians of mondstadt know better than to ATTEMPT AND STEAL FROM THE CAVALRY CAPTAIN, after all. almost none of them are foolish enough to try. almost. and if one does, it simply makes things more FUN for them, doesn’t it?

       ❝ of course, how could i ever forget? ❞ there is that familiar warming amusement in his tone, beseeching sunlight overhead of a frigid wintry day / they remain trailing hu tao, pulled by the wrist, trotting along behind them. ❝ silly me, indeed. luckily a master reveler has come all this way to remind me… how fortunate, indeed. ❞

     While the knowledge of her penchant for the vexatious extends far across the populace of Liyue, Hu Tao doubts the citizens of Mondstadt have any clue of what mischief they might witness trialing behind her coattails as they prance about beside the city’s own Cavalry Captain. She’s so used to being denied outright the permission of her elders to dabble in meddlesome activities — how else was one steeped in such solemnity to experience a fleeting moment of levity? But with Kaeya — Kaeya knew such a spark of mischief was one less likely to ignite a pyre than that of pure malice.

      A brief fright never hurt anyone in the long run, now did it?

          ‘ I have my ways, ‘ they reply with a coy wink and a saccharine grin, eyes alight with a glimmer that portrays neither agreement nor denial of the possibility. ( Warmth of the dimming pyre shows an equal ability to lure and subdue and char that which attempts to touch what must not be tampered with. ) Being a telepath was of the lower-ranked rumors on the list of other bemusing tales circulating around Liyue Harbor about the Wangshang Funeral Parlor’s dearest Director. She must have heard it a hundred times or more passing by the street vendors and other citizens who cast her a curious gaze.

     But onto the more pressing topic of poetry …

           ‘ I can’t imagine it being anything less, ‘ Poet muses aloud, watching as the ever-flowing winds of freedom grant movement to a small number of loose pages around Kaeya’s office. They don’t seem to very much grasp the sanctity of this gift bestowed upon them, momentum only used to flutter up into a languid loop before twirling and tumbling down to rest on the floor below. Hu Tao thinks this serves as a metaphor of some kind to those who frivolously overlook the importance of their good fortune.

      Citing poetry to the author hardly reaches the sacrilege of preaching scripture to the Preacher; in fact, Hu Tao marvels in the art of passing poetry through spoken word. It’s more fun that way, with how a passage can become jumbled through its travels from tongue to tongue, across vast lands and oceans. Such is a large reason behind their refusal to commit poetry to text on many occasions. Only those poems which she desires to keep in its original form are ever transcribed in her own hand. The others, however, might only be captured by those with enough foresight to know her words may be lost to them forevermore should they be caught without a quill and paper on the street. Xingqui would sooner be made a willing customer than allow such a thing happen.

          ‘ Aiya~!! How can I ever trust you if you can’t follow my thought process?! Perhaps one of these days I’ll find a way to make you remember. Then again, I’m sure a Knight of Favonius such as yourself must need to remember a lot more important things than my love for surprises during spontaneous visits, yeah? ‘ They speak with only a teasing lilt on their tongue, mirth bleeding off her form like butterflies fluttering in the breeze.

    The Vision mounted between her shoulder blades glows brightly as the sun begins to dip below the horizon line, giving way to the cool breezes of the night which ruffle Hu Tao’s pigtails. Continuing along across the bridge outside Mondstatdt and further into the wilderness which surrounds, Hu Tao begins to muse aloud. ‘ Lunar winds billow and blow beneath a ghastly glow, through twisting trees with ghouls in tow. Shall we treat these forests to a bit of a show, Captain Kaeya? I hear stories of lots of hilichurls around these roads lately. ‘

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Hu Tao ✿ Idle Animations

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you might be thinking to yourself “wow, hu tao’s pyro butterflies are beautiful!!” until you see them set fire to small papers and/or leaves/plants. was that an accident? she’ll never tell.

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albrich.

@spiritsoothe· : ‘  life  &  death don’t have to be so boring,  let’s make both an adventure.  ’—— grave suggestions ( accepting )

        he laughs when she says it, though not meanspiritedly, fingers sliding over the spines of the third shelf of the second bookshelf of books in his living room. leave it to the HEAD OF A FUNERAL PARLOR to wish to make death an adventure ——— he agrees on principle, of course, agrees utterly and wholeheartedly, because who wants both life and death to be boring, after all?

        ❝ that turn of phrase sounds familiar, ❞ he phrases it as a ponderance, an open ended question with no question mark to denote it, index finger tapping along a few books as he moves around the room with a flourish. kaeya always moves about like this, broad movements and lilting shoulders and swaying hips : TAKING UP ROOM SO OSTENTATIOUSLY, plumage vibrant, larger than life, drawing all eyes and attention to himself / even now when he has an audience of one. a performer must always be performing, after all. ❝ i feel as though i’ve read something similar, before. ❞

        TEASING, ALWAYS TEASING : they both know that they enjoy her work / he took great glee in meeting them for the first time and realizing that yes, indeed, they were meeting an author of published work that they owned. ( these rank among kaeya’s favorite encounters : a great deal of travelers work their way through mondstadt, wishing to see the city of freedom and experience its bracing winds, taste its luxurious wine for themselves, and some of those are even authors and writers and dreamers alike / what? it’s not as though ALL of the people he could feasibly entertain are bandits and thieves and murderers all. they have to have some fun sometimes, after all. ) and, what with kaeya’s near perfect memory, it’s hardly as though he needs to think especially hard about if he’s read a similar phrase to that before.

       quite suddenly he takes a book from a shelf, pulling it with one hand and letting it drop in the palm of the other, turning gracefully all in one fluid motion, eye skimming the cover before him, smirk playing along his mouth. after a moment they look up, look to hu tao sitting on the couch, SPRAWLED COMFORTABLY, making herself perfectly at home, a cup of half—cold tea beside them, flipping through one of the many, many books lying around the living room, alone. ( some would call the amount of literature he’s amassed indecent / he simply thinks of himself as a collector. ) there is a GRIN on her face, too, mischief playing in her eyes, expression bright / the sun setting in the window behind her, casting her in hues of ORANGE AND YELLOW.

     they stride across the small room and hu tao looks up, gazing his gaze as kaeya deposits a book on top of some miscellaneous stack or another ( it all makes sense to him, truly, it’s hardly as though you can blame him for having his own ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM, can you? ) before offering her their hand with something of a mock bow. ❝ something of how death is quite as thrilling as life, itself, ❞ hu tao laughs as she takes the offered hand and allows herself to be pulled up to standing / her hat tipping with the motion. kaeya reaches over to fix it, smirk broadening. ❝ well, whoever wrote such a thing had the right idea of it, as you clearly know, ❞ he steps to the side, reaching over to throw the windows open, evening breeze greeting them merrily as he does so. papers rustle / but LUCKILY he knows better than to leave any loose, given their penchant for, well. throwing open windows. you can hardly live in mondstadt and not learn to adjust to its near continuous winds.

        ❝ whatever shall we do to make this adventerous, hu tao? we have the whole of a city to paint red, after all ——— and BEYOND, of course. ❞

     They watch Kaeya and his practiced waltz ‘round the room with the carefully trailed gaze of a hunter tracking game; that is, after all, part of her job as the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, to gaze into the eyes of those who lived within this realm and deduce which were meant to continue living further and which were to be ushered into her establishment to sort their affairs. Hu Tao greatly believed in settling any of the doubts stirring in her clients minds before they took on their journey past the boundary, whether it be through consolation or coupons. Such was the only way to assure they lingered as little as possible.

     Culling the herd, some would call it. A practice observed in pack animals, instinct guiding every choice made in order to ensure the living could continue further, and the dead could swiftly depart. The fun of it all came from her lack of a threatening appearance, looking more prey than predator.

          ‘ Does it? ‘ Hu Tao asks with innocence laced between the syllables, the smile sprawling across her face behind the book she holds enough to make a Cicin mage falter. The director shifts in her place upon the couch, appendage removing the book from her direct line of sight as one leg swiftly crosses over the other. ‘ Life will toll its final bell / Linger not on death / Adventure waits yet. ‘ The prose falls effortlessly from her lips as Hu Tao deftly snaps the tome in her hand shut, the clap of it echoing faintly across the room before she places it back onto the stack she’d fetched it from moments before. Her head tilts curiously to the side, the inflection of her recitation denoting a question within it, though one was not directly asked. ‘ I think that’s the one you’re referring to. ‘

     And no, they had not been reciting the words from the text.

     The way Kaeya moves about the room in a continuous waltz reminds Hu Tao somewhat of herself, though they could stand to add a little more flair to the choreography from where she was sitting. A real eye-catching spin that nearly had one surrendering to the pull of gravity — that would be a sight even for the dead! Just the thought itself gets Hu Tao giggling like a school girl with a rumor to gossip over.

     That, and his ostentatious display of chivalry with the hand he offers. Hu Tao takes it with ease and allows him to guide her ascent until she’s upright and fully at the mercy of Mondstadt’s incessant winds rolling through the window behind her. The tassels of her hat blow forward in place of the entirety as Kaeya rights it atop her head, dangling over her shoulders as she tuts aloud.

          ‘ Silly, silly Kaeya, ‘ Hu Tao teases, reaching up to lightly pat her hand against his cheek before shooing away a wisp at his shoulder. Seems it had blown in with the breeze.‘ Don’t you know half the fun of adventure is not knowing? ‘

     They take his wrist, then, and pull him around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees towards the exit.

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Late for that twitter thing

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hu tao: [kicks g off graveyard sign]

hu tao: let’s get this party started

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Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s 77th Director

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[ ❝ Hee-hee, did I scare you? ❞ | Hu Tao Character Teaser ]