Genshin Impact x Reader - Being an absolute Genius Invocation TCG nerd
Feat. Itto, Cyno (of course), and Kaeya because those are the ones I know who are into the game. Can be seen as mostly platonic but I added a bit of optional romance headcanons at the end for each character. Reader here is gender-neutral.
Ok so I’m getting some brain worms today in the form of the genius invocation tcg event like bruh
As someone who loves the card game and gets REALLY into it, can you imagine a reader agt the genshin cast while playing? Reader who’s such a dedicated player that they know the strats, the meta, and different deck playstyles. Reader who goes to the Cat’s Tail to hang out with fellow players and duels them on the daily enough that they have a reputation for being a pro.
It would be even more hilarious if they don’t exactly advertise this hobby (cough obsession) at all to anyone else outside the game, but the moment someone engages them in a duel or they go into places like the Cat’s Tail where many other players gather, or they attend any tcg related event? They go hardcore mode.
Itto sees you buying the latest tcg cards and he saunters up to you, bragging about how good he is at the game in an attempt to impress you lmao. Your curiosity is piqued and thus decide to challenge Itto for the funsies. At that, the oni is all “ho ho ho sure but don’t get too upset when I win, alright?”
Except you wipe his deck off the floor and Itto is. Flabbergasted while you try not to laugh too hard at his reaction. Like bruh even his gang spectating the duel had lost their hopes of their boss winning at all when they witness how outmatched Itto is against you the whole game. Itto’s character cards are all gone and yet only ONE of your character cards has taken some damage. That’s how skewed the matchup was.
Of course, as it is with Itto, expect him to challenge you again and again until he gets a win. In the meantime, you start coaching Itto about the game more, help to optimise his deck, and point out his mistakes and what he could have done better. Itto is an eager student and is in awe when you explain the strats and reasoning behind them. Itto isn’t exactly the brightest but damn even he can see that you know what the fuck you’re doing (if he’s crushing on you he’ll think that’s hot af. You’re so amazing?? And he gets to learn and spend time with you hehe totally not part of his master plan to get closer to you).
The moment Cyno notices you have a tcg deck, he’s going to immediately challenge you. Cyno goes all out and dramatic in calling out his challenge, as how it’s done in those card game medias. He absolutely HAS to battle any fellow tcg player since he’s that hardcore of a tcg nerd. The two of you will eventually engage in a duel (if you’re in a public place, expect to attract a LOT of attention because Cyno is too well known as the general mahamatra AND a proud tcg gamer). The man even narrates some of his actions while playing since he’s that much of a fucking dork. How adorable.
It’s a tense yet action-packed match. Cyno is a very good player, but evidently so are you. Spectators (if you guys are somewhere public) are starting to exchange bets on who would win. No one knows who’s going to come out on top because the two of you are so evenly matched that it could go either way. Cyno has that determined glint in his eyes as he figures out ways to beat you, yet somehow you anticipate his strategy and neutralise it, and vice versa.
Regardless of who wins though, it’s by a close margin. Cyno extends an invitation to play more matches with you whenever he’s free. How could he not when he just had the most thrilling duel of his life? You take up on his offer, since there are few players who can go toe-to-toe with you, and you can recognise that Cyno is a fellow tcg nerd like you. Boy, you two are going to get along so well. I can imagine both of you having conversations about the card metas and deckbuilding, which can sound like absolute nonsense to anyone who isn’t as hardcore abt the game. (And if Cyno has a crush on you, rip Tighnari because he has to witness the man blunders about in trying to earn your affections - keyword: TRY - and the fennec fox hybrid facepalms when Cyno keeps using tcg as a incredibly convenient excuse to hang out with you. For love of Lesser Lord Kusanali-)
Kaeya somehow picks up the fact that you’re into tcg (even if you don’t bring it up to him at all, he will know thanks to his ability to get others to share info with him, and some ppl might have mentioned you being an absolute BEAST at the game). So what does he do about it? Bring it up to you, of course, and ask if you wanna play a round or two.
Note that Kaeya isn’t a full-on hardcore nerd about the game. That’s not his thing. He doesn’t exactly know the ins and outs of the cards, but he has an incredibly strategic mindset that helps him beat most players. How else do you think he got to the final round in the tcg event competition? Still, Kaeya is absolutely intrigued when you match up against him, and said intrigue increases when you’re clearly winning. Seems like it’s true when he heard those rumors of you being an expert in tcg. He’s full on smirking when you beat him, and he claps slowly while congratulating you on your win and complimenting your skills (yet with the way he’s acting, it seems like he’s won somehow).
After that match, Kaeya will occasionally play a few rounds of tcg with you in his free time. I mean, he gets to sharpen his mind, hang out with you, gain information and be entertained. An all-round plus in his book. (And if somehow Kaeya has feelings that a biit more than platonic towards you, he’s going to use tcg as a way to get closer to you. Heck, he might even start paying closer attention to your tips and strategies to formulate a game plan. Be wary if he makes a bet with you through tcg, cus that means he’s got something planned. And if he happens to win the game and the bet? Well, hope you don’t mind doing a favor for him in the form of a kiss, maybe even a dinner date.
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I totally believe you, but I'd be interested to see your receipts of haitham being nice if you're willing to share~
hello weary traveler please take a look at my wares~
top ten (read: 3) reasons alhaitham is a SWEETIE w/ receipts:
1) he’s got really good manners:
*leaves to the entrance to wait patiently for you so he can say goodbye* and i just like how offended he seems at the implication in the last one
these voicelines in particular stick out to convey that he doesn’t really want to be responsible for causing others trouble:
also tbh basically all of his about lines are just him talking about people’s good qualities, which always makes me a little sad when i think about most of the voicelines about him in comparison rip
here’s some faves though tighnari’s especially sticks out in regard to alhaitham being nice i think:
2) he does a lot of things for other people:
“i’m not going to field any questions” proceeds to take us to his house, gather a bunch of books to help us understand, and then field all of our questions🤔 also just the entire concept of him being able to be talked into being acting grand sage at ALL
also not included but little things like taking the time to teach us how to use the knowledge capsules, taking the aaru villager’s feelings into account/getting shani to talk, and just generally taking the time to carefully address the rest of The Squad’s™️ questions/concerns during sumeru’s archon quests
3) and perhaps some people will disagree with this one but i just think he has a very kind view of humanity:
(⬆️ from sq also not cropped cause pretty🥰)
i feel that if someone is so intimately aware of the limits and faults of humanity while also still having an innate curiosity about other people and an affinity for finding people’s positive qualities it’s indicative of an inherently kind/forgiving way of thinking
i can and will defend any of these examples if anyone disagrees😤 i spend every moment of my life ready for a debate😤
but seriously lol idk there’s just SO MUCH that he does and says that can be interpreted as kind if you look for it and connect it, like this isn’t even all the examples i could think of off the top of my head
also thank you anon for giving me an excuse to talk about him and how he is GOOD i owe you my life sorry for adding so much lol
my sources for your convenience: SQ = alhaitham’s story quest, TP = teapot dialogue, KH = kaveh’s hangout, PoP = the parade of providence event
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Alright, what do y'all's Study Rooms look like?
Study room CL points heavy on the influence side helped me last time to get this sort of debate completed. This time around, it looks like evil/dark!trial!MC just does More Damage, so I'm thinking something like this:
Because I seem to be one turn away from winning 2/3 of these debates, but she defeats me with whammy, powerful blows.
Honestly, I dont really care for the namecard, but I know that one of these days, it'll be a badge I really want, like the Darius Badge from Anniversary. (Its actually the Light of Stellis badge, but its Darius's badge in my mind <3)
Im saving those last two CL to see where I need to put them on the left side :)
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