Are you still looking for reasons to yap about Zhongli? Because I would love to hear your thoughts on his relationship with Hu Tao ;w;
I think my favorite thing about Hu Tao and Zhongli is that they're both literally insane. Psychological terrors.
Hu Tao will put a whoopee cushion on your chair and laugh when you sit on it. Zhongli will gaslight you into believing the whoopee cushion never existed and that you just sat and jumped up all on your own.
Hu Tao is deliberate and overt with her pranks while Zhongli is a subtle and mischievous trickster. They both just terrorize the general populace. You talk to them for longer than 10 minutes and you start hearing voices. Zhongli just gets away with it because he has the elegance and aura of a god.
Like Hu Tao will tease Furina by telling scary stories or tales of ghosts while Zhongli would probably tease her by calling her as 'lovely as goddess' or 'a lady blessed by gods'.
People always say Zhongli is cold but he's just a silly little liar like 50% of the time. Lying about being in the chasm, tricked some guy out of two hand-painted fans, led these two fake archeologists on a quest just to deny them of their dreams at the last moment, acting like he's never met the adepti, ignoring venti at the restaurant, hiding from neuvillette, lying to xiao about sesame oil and teasing him at the restaurant like the list goes on, faking his fucking death like he is just a fucking terror. No wonder he and Hu Tao get along well.
Speaking of their dynamic I think they play off each other very nicely. Before Hu Tao was released it was suggested that Hu Tao teases Zhongli endlessly to the point of exasperation but it seems like their teasing is mutual and Zhongli is just being an overdramatic tsundere (like always). Hu Tao makes fun of him at Lantern Rite but he just teases her right back. I imagine Hu Tao is constantly trying to get him to admit or confess to being an adeptus and he always manages to one up her at the last second to avoid saying anything.
I believe the two of them would make perfect partners in any business. Imagine Hu Tao and Zhongli as detectives lol, Hu Tao would chase down the suspect having figured out the case within 5 minutes while Zhongli would already be there waiting for Hu Tao to chase the suspect down cause he figured it out after 30 seconds. They would barely listen to the authorities and do whatever they wanted as long as it wasn't against the law.
But then again they have this really good balance. Hu Tao is a fire force of nature, energetic, playful and proud. But she has a very thoughtful side to her, she's a sharp thinker, with a love for poetry, music, and appreciation for life. Zhongli is much the same. He is thoughtful and caring, kind with a love for the arts, but he is rather mischievous, and a little manipulative with a taste for having fun in his own way. They are tricksters with a love for life and the arts just two very different auras. In many ways I would say they are more alike than different
They even work in gameplay! Double hydro Hu Tao aka Hu Tao, Xingqiu, Yelan and Zhongli is probably my strongest and most optimized team for the Spiral Abyss. I use them like every round and it works.
Unpopular opinion I guess but I have never really cared for the headcanon of Hu Tao as Zhongli's daughter. Not so much as I dislike it but I greatly prefer the crazy boss and even crazier secretary/employee dynamic. No but really the weirdo leader and their insane but incredibly loyal underling is like one of my favorite tropes. I just wouldn't alter anything about their relationship.
Besides if I were to assign Hu Tao and Zhongli a familial bond it would be siblings with a large age gap. Like siblings that are 10+ years apart so the eldest practically helps raise the younger one but it’s not like they are the parent (they have parents) but rather the eldest is a weird person who takes care of the youngest but also makes fun of them within the same minute.
Part of the reason I love Zhongli and Hu Tao is how much trust is in their relationship. Hu Tao states in her story lines that she trusts Zhongli more than anything and considering Zhongli’s influence in the parlor and how he works with Baizhu, trains the other workers and is in charge of all adepti related matters it is safe to say he has a lot of input even though he is just an employee. Xianyun states it is odd for Rex Lapis to work under her but she won’t go against his wishes and that she must be respectable. So even though Zhongl may suggest he is tired of her, for a 6000 year old deity to pick a job and stick with it it must be a damn good job.
And their interactions are the best, in the 2022 Lantern Rite when Hu Tao told Zhongli to pick her up after she hung out with Zhongli or the fact it seems they always spend Lantern Rite together which is just the best. Or the poetry event where she kept bugging him to be a better judge but Zhongli was too busy praising everybody.
They may not ever say how much they care about each other but the way Hu Tao checks on Zhongli after meeting Furina because she was worried about him just awww. Zhongli is a dusty old encyclopedia man but he is still her beloved consultant who she cares about. Hu Tao may be a child he cannot deal with but he always looks out for her.
Hu Tao and Zhongli are always competing for the top spot in my favorite Zhongli dynamics they are both two characters I really like and I like whenever they are together even more.
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I've reached season 5 on my CSI rewatch and I'm a few episodes past "Swap Meet", where a woman is murdered after attending a swing party with other couples from the neighbourhood. Near the end of the episode there's a moment that made me jump from my seat:
(Grissom walks up to Sara and takes the seat next to her. He's holding two cups. He hands her a cup of tea.)
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - BRASS' OFFICE]
Erin Brady: Everybody fantasizes about other people. (She glances at Grissom.)
Even you, Mr. Grissom. A neighbor, a friend ... girl at the office.
[INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY]
(The door opens. Paul Brady walks out of the hallway. Erin Brady walks out into the hallway. Sara is sitting in the hallway chair watching them. She watches as they meet and kiss.)
(Grissom walks up to Sara and takes the seat next to her. He's holding two culps. He hands her a cup of tea.)
LIKE!!!!!!!
Right after Erin ends her sentence with 'girl at the office', the first time Sara and Grissom meet again, he brings her tea. This might be an innocent interaction but to me it seemed like a nod to this relationship they have where both are into each other, know about the other's feelings, but can't/won't do anything about it (although Sara has kind of given Grissom an ultimatum). I don't know if it was intentional - I'm guessing it is, because I picked it up immediately. I might or might not have squealed in delight.
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Cas + Faith
9/?- 5x16: Dark Side of the Moon
The alternate quotes are from the discussion of this moment in episode 23 of @thecascast, Dark Side of the Cas. The idea of doing a series following Cas' faith journey had been floating around in my head for a while, but this discussion is what lead to me actually doing this series so thanks y'all.
ID: Three images of a digital drawing of Cas from episode 5x16 of Supernatural. The drawing shows Cas' head and shoulders, viewed from above, with his face turned upwards towards the viewer. His expression is upset. The background is in shades of orange and the drawing is set within a circle, with a quote around the outside. In the the first image, the words read "Fuck you. I believed in-". In the second image, the words read "You son of a bitch. I believed in-". In the third image, the words read "You coward. I believed in-". The difference in the quotes is the only difference between the three images. End ID.
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