#and also the osmanthus wine with the original 7 archons

[blerghie]

will forever think about how zhongli never starves but will always make it a point to share a meal with his friends and loved ones

#whenever you meet with zhongli he's always eating or having tea with other people #and this could be interpreted as 1) zhongli finally having time and allowing himself to indulge in simple mortal pleasures #and 2) because food means family.... remember cloud retainer's abode #here sits retainer #here sits guizhong #here sits rex #and also the osmanthus wine with the original 7 archons #also him always dining with childe #him inviting the traveler to a meal #also how he's always so particular with the way food tastes and making sure he and the people he dines with will get only the best #food really is a love language #actually now that i think about it maybe food is just a reason to spend time with other people #zhongli's real love language is quality time because time is the only thing he has a shortage of in this essay i will #why do i always return to references to zhongli's dead friends #zhongli #WHY AM I SO OBSESSED WITH YOU BREAK ME OUT OF THIS HELL IM LIVING #gnsn

[quillium]

What if, the blood of god tastes like wine, Rhodeia made water around Dawn winery bitter just by sheer force of will so what's to say god blood can't taste like wine. Now consider, Venti is a drunkard, Zhongli fondness of Osmanthus wine, the fact that the original 7 used to have drinks at Zhongli's. What if as gods who have slain countless other gods, the 7 just naturally develop a taste for it. Also what if sharing the blood of a fallen foe with another is a sign of trust (I should write)

This headcanon is like. Brutal. But I love its implications as well

In the times of war, when humans are always getting hurt and killed, they turn away from their gods, and they begin to lose their divinity

To counteract this, Celestia allows them to gain more divinity from drinking the blood of fallen foes

The idea of sharing blood is not only symbolic, it’s actually willingly sharing power with someone else--the trust that they won’t stab you in the back with the power you both gain

Zhongli only drinks when he’s feeling nostalgic, and the more human he becomes, the less he drinks--there is no need for memories of a divinity he no longer wants

Venti at first hating the idea of drinking blood because he was just. Wind. What do you MEAN I have to like. Consume things. That’s gross. You living beings are gross. What do you MEAN I’m a living being as well I hate everything being a wisp of wind is so much better--

This imagery is hilarious to me because like. Do you just drink it like a vampire. Or do you tap out the blood into a cup like maple syrup. It’s so messy however you do it.

One of the old archons falls by trying out human blood. Celestia abandons them because the purpose of an archon, after all, is to protect and help their humans

The implications of developing a taste for something you only earned after a victory? Associating this with the only moments of safety in a time of incredible stress and death?

Venti drinking all the time because he doesn’t feel safe anymore and only this taste makes him feel safe because it was the only time he knew he was okay--that he had victory, that he had won, that he would live to fight another day--

#genshin impact #venti #barbatos #zhongli #rex lapis #asks #pancakethedevil #ultimately i can't like it too much because it's too brutal for me #i think ultimately strength is found in kindness and the idea of willingly remembering something as traumatizing as a war? wack #but it's a cool idea and i think you should write it #i think it just doesn't fit well with their characters though #it's just too brutal #nobody wants to carry with them the things that used to hurt them--i feel like it goes too much against venti's character #even if you could feasibly make an argument for zhongli #blood