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- Ayaya!
- — Hu Tao, Low HP: I
Taoyaka is the femslash ship between Hu Tao and Kamisato Ayaka from the Genshin Impact fandom.
Canon[]
Neither Hu Tao nor Ayaka have voicelines about each other, and they have yet to interact in any quest or event. They belong to different nations, Liyue and Inazuma, respectively. Even so, they appear to have a shared interest in the arts—specifically poetry. It should be noted that these two have interacted with other playable characters who are known poets: Venti, Kazuha, and Xingqiu. Hu Tao and Ayaka have also had interactions with Furina in back-to-back patches (4.3, Roses and Muskets, and 4.4, Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze).
They differ in terms of appearance. Hu Tao has dark brown hair that is put up into pigtails with three-part bangs, and wears a coat with shorts. Ayaka's light blue hair is cut into the hime style and tied into a high ponytail, and she dons armor and a skirt. Interestingly, both of their outfits depict a flower that is commonly associated with death. These flowers appear on Hu Tao's coattails (otherwise known as spider lilies, the Silk Flower's real-world counterparts, which are often used in funerals) and as the camellia-shaped emblem of the Kamisato Clan on Ayaka's breastplate (specifically, a samurai's death). Their outfits also feature flowers that are tied to spring: the plum blossoms on Hu Tao's hat and the cherry blossoms depicted on Ayaka's sleeves and the bottom of her skirt.
Not only do they contrast visually, but in personality as well. While the Himegimi is graceful and tends to choose her words carefully, the funeral director is more spontaneous and cheerful. Ayaka is "greatly admired" by most of Inazuma as a role model. Hu Tao's eccentricity earned her a less than favorable reputation to those who do not personally know her. Still, they both take their work very seriously and exercise great care in carrying out their duties.
Thematically, elements of their designs are tied to the supernatural. For example, Ayaka's title is Frostflake Heron. In Japanese culture, white herons are said to be sent by the gods, a symbol of purity and transition. Hu Tao, meanwhile, has a butterfly motif in various areas of her design, such as her constellation, Papilio Charontis. The name appears to reference Charon, who in Greek mythology is tasked with bringing spirits to the underworld through the River Styx.
After the reveal of Hu Tao's themed skin, Cherries Snow-Laden, a few more parallels can be drawn between the two's outfits. In Cherries Snow-Laden, the floral patterns on Hu Tao's skirt mirrors that of Ayaka's in Flawless Radiance. In both of their themed skins, they wear rings on their right middle fingers and parts of their hair create a "loop"—though Ayaka's is obviously braided in her case. As previously mentioned, the placement of the flowers on Ayaka's spring hat are similar to that of Hu Tao's in Plum Blossom Bouquet. Interestingly, while Ayaka's themed outfit is explicitly said to be based on Fontainian dresses, Hu Tao reacts to being called a "Fontaine magazine cover star" (枫丹杂志封面人物 Fēngdān zázhì fēngmiàn rénwù, rough translation from the Chinese voiceline) when equipping her themed outfit.
Fanon[]
Taoyaka is not very popular as a ship in the fandom. As of now, they have only 10 works on AO3. They are overshadowed by more popular femslash pairings for the two such as YanTao, YoiTao, and Ayamiya. Still, part of the appeal is their contrasting looks and personalities. Hu Tao is more bubbly while Ayaka is more reserved, which can make for interesting dialogues in fanworks. In the meta, both characters are well-known for being proficient DPSes of their respective elements, able to provide substantial damage output in combat. In addition, they can be used together in one team to nuke bosses, with Ayaka using her burst to apply Cryo and enabling Hu Tao to melt said boss with her ultimate, though one's mileage may vary.
In the 4.3 Roses and Muskets event quest, Ayaka stated that Inazuma "needs to strengthen its relations and cultural ties with other nations", as they had just reopened its borders. They began with Fontaine as these nations did not collaborate much in the past. However, this also means that they may try to collaborate with Liyue in future events. A possible Taoyaka interaction can be brought about by a partnership between the Yashiro Commission and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, as they are both concerned with carrying out ceremonies and cultural traditions. This is further supported by how Hu Tao provided props for Furina during the 4.4 Lantern Rite event.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Hu Tao/Kamisato Ayaka tag on AO3
Trivia[]
- Ayaka and Hu Tao are the first characters to go by their full names in the game interface; Ayaka, being featured in the first Closed Beta Testing, was in development much longer than Kazuha.
- Both Hu Tao (Plum Blossom Bouquet) and Ayaka (Springbloom Missive) wear flowers on their hats, and have voicelines about their hats possibly flying away:
- “My hat won't be blown away... right?” ― Ayaka, upon equipping her themed skin.
- “My hat's gonna be blown away!” — Hu Tao, When the Wind is Blowing voice line.
- Ayaka's given name (綾華) can translate to “silk flower.” Her name contains the Kun’yomi and Nanori readings of the kanji for “silk” (綾 aya), as well as the Kan’on reading for one of the many kanjis for “flower” (華 ka). Coincidentally, Hu Tao requires Silk Flowers to ascend.
- Both of them are heavily associated with a certain area in their respective regions whose skies remain static regardless of the time. In the case of Hu Tao, it is Wuwang Hill (featured in her teaser and demo); for Ayaka, Chinju Forest (featured in her demo and the end of her first story quest).
- Hu Tao's and Ayaka's special dishes, "Ghostly March" and "Snow on the Hearth" respectively, can be used to revive a character.
- In the closed beta, Ayaka used to have butterflies appear at the end of her sprint, which looks very similar to the way Hu Tao disappears into butterflies when she sprints.
- Their required talent books can be farmed on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays (Diligence/Elegance).
- Their signature weapons grant CRIT DMG as a secondary stat. While the Staff of Homa offers 22.1% more, Mistsplitter Reforged grants more base ATK.
- Hu Tao and Ayaka reran alongside a unit that has great synergy with them meta-wise in the second phases of 3.4 and 3.5 respectively.
- 3.4 included Yelan, who is often included in Hu Tao's vaporize teams.
- 3.5 included Shenhe, a premium unit in Ayaka's freeze teams.
- On the topic of banners, Ayaka's birthday took place during Hu Tao's third rerun (September 27, 2023—October 17, 2023).
Gallery[]
Fan Edits[]
