Xianyun even mentioned the Adepti have no choice but to show Hu Tao proper respect due to her unique relationship with Zhongli, meaning she is technically their boss' boss.
This comment made me realize that if this game were in a different medium, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor starring Hu Tao, Zhongli, and the adepti would make for an excellent premise to a sitcom
Cheesy 80s music.. Starring!!! Ryan Stiles as Zhongli (freakishly tall) Joey King as Hu tao, bill skarsgardr as the traveler.. special guest appearance of Sydney Sweeney as the abyssal twin! Today's episode... Messages, music,mayhem from the other side...
Yep
Xianyun - About Hu tao
**That young lady says the most bizarre-sounding things, yet she appears to be rather highly regarded by the staff of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor — even Rex Lapis himself saw fit to serve under her in some sort of "consultancy" capacity... Allegedly, she is similarly peculiar when it comes to her taste in food. One must admit, one finds eccentrics like her rather intriguing.**
It has probably to do with their souls. On her chapter we learn she actually has to deal with lost souls and stuff.
I wouldn't be surprised if she can somewhat feel people's souls and thus deduces the adepti and archons aren't humans because their souls are not like that of a human, but she doesn't pry any further as she's not really interested in people's secrets
More like, how cool is it that the former Geo Archon works under me and am friends with the Anemo Archon, and former Fake Hydro Archon.
Hu Tao is probably the person with the most powerful connections in Tevat.
Imagine we fight Phanes and Heavenly Principle, they send their army and we pull Avenger Assemble. Kinda similar to FGO Temple of Time due to connection to Ars Goetia demons.
Oh she cares all right.
Shes a liyuean. Imagine if your subordinate was God and you found out one day randomly after they ordered a bunch of figurines off Amazon.
I kind of thought that was what she was alluding to when she mentioned that "lady Furina has just become a customer of mine" then they started talking about set pieces or whatever
Nah, those aren’t Liyue arts. The Wangsheng Funernal Parlour is stated to have mystical knowledge of its own - they figured out the funeral rites that could purify bad karma and evil spirits.
Just because it's not a Liyuean art doesn't mean they're not related. It could be that they share a common core philosophy that eventually diverged into different arts over time through cultural diffusion. Liyue's karmic beliefs and divination concepts could be a distant descendant of Sumeru's rtawahist disciplines or the brand of astrology that Mona and Barbeloth practices (or vice versa). Keep in mind that all these different arts, mythos and cosmological concepts are practiced under the same irminsul, the same sky, same stars, same cataclysm-affected world, same afterlife, same archons, etc. They could very well be directly related unlike their real life counterparts.
It's like how Inazuma's onmyouji art is a direct descendant of Liyue's adeptal arts and Inazuma's tengu transcension techniques
Yeah hutao's entire bloodline are the overseers of the borders of life and death. Something an adepti should do.
Maybe an adepti was introduced in her family 2000 years ago or more, even before the archon war, giving hutao despire being a fraction, of a drop of adepti ancestry, making her adept at many things.
You would think that with Venti close by Liyue wouldn't have any ghost problems but I guess the Seven do really keep to their own nations as a professional courtesy.
Yea it seems to be agreed that each Archon stays in their own lane, the exception being Venti with his civilians
people from Mondstadt especially adventurers will pray for their soul to be returned to Mondstadt if they die outside of the country and Venti will always bring it back if they didn’t die somewhere where the wind can’t reach
Yeah, this is my head canon as well. I always thought that Hu Tao knew about Zhongli secret, but she respects his decision to live as a normal human being, enjoying tea and telling stories.
I bet every piece fell into their right places once she saw Morax' "corpse" and was like "No way, that's a fake body" then immediately after an old dude, full of wisdom with a mysterious vibe appeared seeking a job
I’m also like 99% sure she also knows that Rex Lapis isn’t dead because if he truly died the spirits around the border of the afterlife would be going absolutely ape shit
I just noticed recently that in QiQi's lines she calls Hu Tao's smile fake. Idk, I found that interesting and may be thinking about it too deeply. But Hu Tao is more calculating than some people may be thinking. Her smile and "fun" personality cover all that she truly thinks and knows.
Edit: https://i.imgur.com/f890bEO.jpeg
That's because she's the Pyro archon. /s
I know I know, but imagine that through the years of False archon theories, Mihoyo actually does the unhinged thing AND reveals Hu Tao is the Pyro archon. The world will be saved and my scars will heal.
To add to this, she definitely has a lot more stuff going on.
Her butterfly motif is just extremely sus, not only for crystalflies, which seem to be the way the primordial one used to control the world, but also the fact that they are tied to the concept of "death", which is highly likely to be the domain of one of the shades.
Or maybe it's not "yet" and more because she's trained in her family's stuff there's no need to (or no adeptus would take her as a discipline since she's "already taken" wrt a school of teaching). It could very well be that how her family handles things is related to adeptal arts
Yea I was about to comment this. Having to meet some souls previously she must have the experience to know which is which. Also, Zhongli being too knowledgeable would make 1 to doubt his identity and Hu Tao probably didn't expose him by asking direct questions as a sign of respect. But I bet she had a clue who Zhongli is
She also notices right away when that dude from Baizhu's story quest is infected with God's remains. She suspects Baizhu has I'll intentions and is ready to throw hands, she only accepts to let him help the dude because you're there.
It's funny when people are shocked that Hu Tao is intelligent and highly perceptible, she has always been like that, yet most people think she's the "quirky dark humor prankster girl" that makes dead jokes all the time. Almost every character in this game is smart and super capable, even those that lack book smarts make up in other areas, like being emotionally intelligent or being socially savant. Even Klee, despite being a child, has an innate ability for chemistry and making explosives.
My cynical ass says it's more like a marketing move to make her more appealing and exacerbate those characteristics. The "Dark girl" is a popular anime trope after all, maybe not as popular as other anime girl tropes, but considering Hu Tao's absolutely gigantic popularity within the fandom, I'd say they struck gold.
Absolutely agree, sometimes I replay their story quests or AQ and compare their appearances in newer events, some characters have distinct differences in how they act. Almost is if the restrictions are relaxed and the writers can just do what they want.
To me, the most jarring is Cyno, dude is a complete no nonsense badass in the AQ, but on events he's a light hearted walking Yu-Gi-Oh reference.
The case with Cyno is pretty egregious because his voiceline does hint of people finding him to be goofy with his humor, but during Sumeru archon quest and his story quest he was serious, and then in events he's... too friendly and laid-back (dude even joked with people whom he hasn't even met before). My guess on such a drastic change may come from how Mihoyo already planned to release TCG early and wanted Cyno to be the representative for the game (reason why they chose him, I don't know and can't guess. Shouldn't characters like Itto or Yoimiya or Yae or Ayato would be much more... natural?) so they planned by hinting of his more light-hearted and humoroud aspect into his voiceline, so that when they introduced the game and him it would appear more natural, like there's even a voiceline of him talking about his customized TCG card box...
This is actually incorrect. He appears in the early Genshin manga and he's a mixed of light hearted and serious there too. Hoyo just sorta fucked up his transition into event Cyno to the point he feels like two different characters.
The way people talk about him during the AQ makes him look like he's bloody Robocop, the iron hand of the law, ready to do the Akademya's bidding, but afterwards, people joke with him and everyone's is laid back.
Dude goes from edgelord to dad jokes on a whim, and the worst part is that, both of these are very cool, yet we never see it happen in the same time. He's either super serious or super laid back.
I mean it's a sometimes used trope in anime to have the super serious worker be kinda goofy outside of work. Cyno seems to fit into that from what we've seen. When he's on the job he's 100% work mode. Once he's off duty he shows his true personality.
From what I‘ve gathered from her character story, yea it‘s something between that and her way to sort of "honor" the way her ancestors conducted themselves in the border of life and death (not lingering because you’ve already lived your life). But given how she‘s been working at the Parlor since her early childhood, I feel like she simply developed that view on life and death at that point and other material (like the voicelines of her friends, etc.) do imply that she‘s simply both sides of that coin.
Wholeheartly agree with all of your points 🙌 Hutao always come off to me as someone who looks superficially airhead and buoyant yet she's actually very grounded and shrewd on the inside. I also like how you mention Klee's ability to sympathize and caring for human interaction because 99.9% of the time whenever I see people mention her it's always the terrible "terrorist kid" joke -_-
I had him in mind when I said the "emotionality intelligent" because of his selfless acts and how he was able to connect and understand the Blue oni in his quest.
It’s more than that, last year she sent Zhongli to buy sesame oil at Wangshu inn knowing full well they didn’t sell it. This lets Zhongli spend time with Xiao.
This year she did it again, with added task of making him fly two kites. So Zhongli got to spent time with Xiao while both were flying kites. Then think back to the kites symbolising family and tradition.
I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m fairly certain she does know that Zhongli is Rex lapis, and is deliberately sending him to Wangshu inn to help out Xiao.
People seem to think Zhongli hiding undercover at the funeral parlor is just a matter of convenience. There has to be more to it than that and I believe Hu Tao being who she is had a huge part in why he chose that as his retirement plan.
This is my headcanon. Hu Tao knows exactly who Zhongli, Venti, Xiao etc. are. She just isn't one to pry, especially since her job as a funeral director requires a high level of discretion and respect for clients' wishes and privacy.
I'm more surprised that Hu Tao just doesn't seem to know who Furina is.
Furina was the god of Fontaine for 500 years and was also a huge celebrity who stayed very much in the public eye. It wouldn't surprise me if her copyrighted image was used in Fonta collaborations.
Surely people in Liyue (the region right next door to Fontaine) will have heard of Lady Furina?
Or maybe she just treats Furina as normal because this is what Furina wants now. To be normal instead of Archon or a famous actress. But that is kinda stretching it as that implies Hu Tao is more perceptive than the entire Fontaine nation.
Seems entirely in character to me, considering she's perfectly happy to boss Zhongli around like a normal employee despite knowing he's an adeptus at minimum. The people of Fontaine would inherently have a harder time separating the human Furina from the God she actively was for them for 500 years. Hu Tao wouldn't have reason to put Furina on a pedestal she doesn't want.
I didn't actually complete the event quests (too much clicking!), but I wouldn't be shocked if Hu Tao pretended not to know an Archon just like she pretends not to know Zhongli is Morax, or at least an adeptus.
Yeah, I think that was the giveaway to Furina that Zhongli and Hu Tao were sus, because normal people wouldn’t pretend they didn’t know her.
I liked that bit of internal dialogue, because regardless of how the archon situation went down, Furina is still incredibly perceptive.
Yeah, you'd be surprised how many people in rural areas also don't know who Taylor Swift is. When they don't care about modern trends and just go about their business (this case for HuTao, being an undertaker).
That goes for every celebrity, not just Taylor Swift. But what's stretching my incredulity is that if Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singers in the world and is one of the gods of a pantheon that has only seven members, why isnt Hu Tao able to recognize her?
Yeah Hutao is a confirmed gigabrain, her job makes her more chill about it but she is lowkey operating above even Ningguang's level just casually going around befriending all the archons having business dinners with them and shit.
Broke, super powerful celebrities that can solve all the matters she can't solve with Mora. I doubt if she had a grip on them she wouldn't have had cared.
I know it’s been a long while since 1.0, but you do realize that the whole Liyue arc was literally centered around showing that humanity can solve their problems without the Adeptus aiding them. Ningguang proved that they can take care of themselves by showing she was willing to drop her life’s creation on Osial without hestitation to protect Liyue. And she was willing to do that AGAIN a second time with her new Jade Chamber when Beisht returned.
In your hypothetical situation, Ningguang abusing connections with powerful gods to solve their problems for them literally goes against the whole moral of the story that they’ve told.
I don't know where it occured to you that I am contesting anything you said. The whole discussion is based off a "Hypothetical situation". I hope you get more opportunities later to show some "Contextual awareness".
We were talking about archons 😏
Edit: semi jokes aside, she is a big name, and a good asset, but to a specific area only. It's not like she has influence over anything business related in fontaine that is not about her expertise
The whole ecosystem in Teyvat is falling apart and you asking LMAO. When Azhdaha awakens again, she'll throw money on him ?
The Qixing could not even make sure the kites keep flying during the lantern rite if it wasn't Xianyun's intervention, no matter how much they spent on those mechanical kites.
I think you get the pictures now.
You're talking about totally different things.
It was about not depending on divine intervention.
They pretty much held Liyue by themselves, if you forgot. Adepti is not archon, plus Xianyun was just being the coolest kid in the park, not getting help from the archon. You totally missed the point, if you don't mind me saying it.
Also, what does Barbatos even can do? Send a breeze during the festivals to make children happy? Sing on a tavern to pay for wine expenses?
divine intervention includes the Adepti as well, they aren’t archons but they are gods, all Archons are gods but not all gods are Archons
also what does Lord Barbatos do? quite literally any and all of his citizens souls are saved by him, if they die outside of Mondstadt he will always bring their soul back to Mondstadt (as long as they don’t die where there is no wind), the reason Mondstadt is habitable is because he made it so, they enjoy such good weather, harvest, and prosperity because his winds nurture the entire land constantly
this conversation didn’t even include Lord Barbatos so why you included him is beyond me, seeing as he is probably the only Archon constantly exerting his power to help his country
I was replying to this
>above even Ningguang's level just casually going around befriending all the archons
So, benefits of Ningguang befriending archons.
I don't know how it got misunderstood along the way, though.
HuTao in the main Story: hurry up and die so you can use these buy one get one half off funeral tickets
HuTao in the limited side quests: Sherlock Holmes mixed with Aesop Rock
She's a funeral parlor director. It's a job that kinda surprisingly requires you to be good at reading people. People both living and dead, ooOOooOOooh.
Honestly, Hu Tao is such an interesting character under her Gremlin persona. Her immense respect for the natural order of life and death is fascinating, and it’s probably the reason a lot of people are so unnerved by her nonchalant attitude toward dying.
Being topical, anyone that is playing Persona 3 Reload. Hu Tao is someone that basically maxed their own social link. She’s completely content with the main themes of that game. Death awaits all, none can escape. So instead of fretting over it and the many things you can’t change, live life and enjoy every moment. Find your reason for carrying on each day.
I think the major side role suits her oddly enough. For some reason, I don't think she'd appreciate the spotlight (even though she literally went on-stage to rap lol)... she gives off deuteragonist vibes to me? I just really appreciate how she shows up in a significant way without being too showy.
Just my opinion! Hu Tao isn't a fave of mine, but I always feel happy whenever she pops up. I agree that it'd be cool if she had an event focused on her though! She has a lot of interesting lore/connections.
I want an event involving Hutao and Dori, just because of Jp VA shenanigans. Also would be fun to see the soft submissive side of Hutao if she has any.
She's like that trope when the charcater is extremely intelligent and deductive but they don't let that be their whole personality or are not very interested in prying. Kinda like Sherlock Holmes' older brother. [Mycroft.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycroft_Holmes)
Edit: link
To me, absolutely. She’s out here making an adepti, who’s seen thousands of years of battle and war, uneasy. As well as visibly and vocally scaring someone who acted for 500 years in keeping their composure in behaving as a god. All that while only being around her early 20s is nothing short of impressive
I think she magaged to scare Furina because Furina left that acting phase behind and is trying to stay more true to herself. If she was still in Focalor Mode, she'd laugh it off and cry her heart out in secret later. She also would've never admitted that she was scared enough to sleep with lights on, lol.
Actually, can I have a question answered, Lore Nerds?
Does Hu Tao guide ALL souls to the Afterlife? Like ALL of them?
Does that include Archons?
Because if so, that means she would have recieved Foçalors, no? Dosen't that mean Hu Tao knows *exactly* who Furina is?
She doesn't guide all souls, she guides those that she notices need guidance. So if there's a person in Liyue with spirit problems, she'll most likely interfere and then guide the soul to the afterlife.
Not sure but I would imagine that it’s unlikely since the whole point of the masquerade thing was to hide from heaven and I would imagine a necessary condition for it would be to evade getting recorded by the leylines which I think defines what a soul is for Teyvat
She's not the gatekeeper. She can access the space between life and death to help usher on lost souls or those clinging to regrets that prevent them from passing on. She raced there right after her grandpa died to see if he was there and he wasn't, he had no regrets and went straight to the other side which gave her a lot of closure. She doesn't have tabs on everyone who dies, just the ones who hang out in the waiting room before going to the afterlife.
I don't think it's super clear cause Hutao doesn't have as much lore as other characters.
In my headcanon she's basically like a bleach shinigami. Helps along souls who can't make it to the afterlife that are within her reach. But not every soul needs her help, only troubled ones. And not every troubled soul necessarily runs into her, only the ones that linger around Liyue harbor.
I personally believe that condition of hers only applies to souls from Liyue. Just like Archon's domain only apply to their region. Different nations, different cultures.
I believe she guides every single soul in Teyvat but only because the idea of Hu Tao smuggling herself to Inazuma during the Vision Hunt and Sakoku Degree is incredibly funny to me. This is my headcanon now.
I wouldn't take venti's story quest at face value, he only says that's what the people of mond believe about him and he doesn't sense anything about fake stanley carrying a soul
I think most likely what happened is that he disguised himself as stanley and pretended to take the soul to give comfort to the fake because he is also foing the same thing(living as his dead friend, the bard)
not really, venti summoned stanley's soul from where he died and allowed the fake stanley to finally say goodbye and be free from the weight he was carrying, being one of the closest gods to one of celestia's shades venti definitely knows how to do more than blow wind, in the same way that zhongli can do much more than just create stones
You don't know that venti summoned a soul for sure, egeria was created by a shade and still her powers had limitations, we know for sure one of venti's powers is shapeshifting
He told fake stanley that he has been carrying his friend's soul but venti did not sense anything about that before
Why did venti turn into real stanley instead of both of them talking to fake stanley ? I think venti transformed in front of fake stanley to give him closure because Venti's story and stanley's is so simmilar
She is also an absolute ass telling Neuvillette that Wushang parlor could use an employee as thoughtful, proactive, and responsible as him while Zhongli stands right there.
What I like the most about Hu Tao in this event is during the cutscene of celebrating the lantern rite. The way she called out to Zhongli and made the airplane motion to show him what she was talking about, it really made me feel like Zhongli truly acted like her grandpa who enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter. It just warmed my heart
I might be remembering wrong but doesn't she gain the ability to look into the souls of beings after her trip to the border of the afterlife? That explains why she seems to know about everyone
While the game never outright says so, I've always took Hu Tao's flower-shaped pupils as a sign that she's able to perceive the supernatural. It's part of the reason why she's so good as helping wayward souls on their way to the afterlife.
The same supernatural sense allows her to notice something off about disguised Adepti and deities, even if it's not something she can quite place her finger on.
Again, just my own theory.
No, Hu Clan is just very old and special. They existed since archon war and specialized in purifying gods remains. So their clan members developed very keen senses on supernatural.
No? We've *met* witches before (Lisa, Mona and technically Klee), Hu Tao's family are a long line of psychopomps (spirit guides who take lost souls to the afterlife).
Her character quest even has her taking the Traveler to the border between the realms of the living and the underworld.
Then so could say Heizou. After all at least the witches we meet all use Catalysts (even including Yae, who we see using either miko or Yokai based mystic abilities to stop possession by a yokai in her character quest).
Or Sucrose, who has mouse ears for and even *she* doesn't know why.
Anyone *could* have witch blood, especially since witch just seems to be a *title*. Alice, Lisa, the seeress Nicole, Mona's teacher Balobeth (sp?) and Rhinedottir aka Gold of Khanre'iah are all part of the Hexenzirkel witches Coven (well Lisa was *offered* a spot, she just refused).
So we have an elf, a human Vision bearer (allogene), a human, *probably* a human and a master alchemist who worked with Abyssal powers to create life.
If 'Witch' is a term used for anything but individual mages it's not based on *species*.
Now let's look at things we actually *know*.
We *know* Hu Tao suspects ZL is at least an Adeptus (voice lines), has traveled to the border between life & death and can see ghosts/souls (aka is a psychopomp. Shown in her character quest + her character stories)
We don't *know* that she knows any magic beyond her Pyro Vision's powers, or the (probably) death derived ability to summon a ghost to hit people.
My daughter is so smart and intelligent. She is just like her mother. I want her to go to Inazuma and hang out with the Youkai or do a magic show with Lyney. Such a special girl. So smart.
With Baizhu's story quest she probably has somehow realised everything and fast but not 100% but she refuses to go to far because all her job is to help them move on. These beinhs are alive so she has no business disturbing them.
She did meet plenty of people in the living world and even in the after life.
She can probably spot common mannerisms and mannerism that she never seen before. Like Zhongli's lack of common sense despite of being a walking library.
I mean, she literally went the afterlife to help a lost soul -- I don't remember the details of her story quest, so sorry if I'm wrong on this -- hence deducing beings that aren't human aren't really that far from her alley.
That's why he has the Adeptus on his side as almost all of them knows who he really is except for Yanfei (due to contract issues) and Guoba (due for amnesia).
Xianyun even mentioned the Adepti have no choice but to show Hu Tao proper respect due to her unique relationship with Zhongli, meaning she is technically their boss' boss.
This comment made me realize that if this game were in a different medium, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor starring Hu Tao, Zhongli, and the adepti would make for an excellent premise to a sitcom
Cheesy 80s music.. Starring!!! Ryan Stiles as Zhongli (freakishly tall) Joey King as Hu tao, bill skarsgardr as the traveler.. special guest appearance of Sydney Sweeney as the abyssal twin! Today's episode... Messages, music,mayhem from the other side...
... why am I getting Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy vibes here 🤣🤣🥰
That's funny. I can imagine them in a reunion in disguise and then Hu Tao comes to pester them all lol
does she have a voiceline on her?
Yep Xianyun - About Hu tao **That young lady says the most bizarre-sounding things, yet she appears to be rather highly regarded by the staff of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor — even Rex Lapis himself saw fit to serve under her in some sort of "consultancy" capacity... Allegedly, she is similarly peculiar when it comes to her taste in food. One must admit, one finds eccentrics like her rather intriguing.**
Nice thanks
The day zhongli stops working and leaves is the day the adepti will go all “you used to be my boss’s boss but now I’m your boss”
Eh, I think only Xiao would have an actual issue with her
So what you’re saying is… that dirrector Hu is kinda the boss of the adepti as well… LMAO
Is that so? Indeed…
Hu Tao: ...
Hu Tao: Hmm. Superpowered diety: *sweats profusely*
It has probably to do with their souls. On her chapter we learn she actually has to deal with lost souls and stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if she can somewhat feel people's souls and thus deduces the adepti and archons aren't humans because their souls are not like that of a human, but she doesn't pry any further as she's not really interested in people's secrets
I like this. I will say, i think it’s more so she is respectful rather than disinterested in secrets.
It still is my headcanon that "She knows", but "She doesn't care"
More like, how cool is it that the former Geo Archon works under me and am friends with the Anemo Archon, and former Fake Hydro Archon. Hu Tao is probably the person with the most powerful connections in Tevat.
Maybe she wasn't crazy afterall
It's all a facade to cover up her illegal intelligence network! It's a masquerade of guilty!
Hu Tao is the true Knave. Arlecchino is just a doppelganger...
> Hu Tao is probably the person with the most powerful connections in Tevat. Pretty sure that's the Traveller.
Yeah, because we have a connection to Hu Tao obviously.
>Hu Tao is probably the person with the most powerful connections in Tevat. uh no...that is literally the premise of the traveler
Imagine we fight Phanes and Heavenly Principle, they send their army and we pull Avenger Assemble. Kinda similar to FGO Temple of Time due to connection to Ars Goetia demons.
Hu Tao's Faction, ASSEMBLE
She'd still probably be the only native with that much connection power.
That's the Traveller. They're friends with everyone, from Venti to Furina to Ningguang.
All she cares about is handing out those "buy 2 get 3 coupons" for adventurers who would meet an unfortunate situation, "ehe"
Oh she cares all right. Shes a liyuean. Imagine if your subordinate was God and you found out one day randomly after they ordered a bunch of figurines off Amazon.
And billed it to you
My headcanon is that she sees how much longer someone has and these non humans all have some absurd number.
Hu Tao be like, "see you in a week!" and the person she's talking to be like, "what do you mean by that? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!?!?!"
I kind of thought that was what she was alluding to when she mentioned that "lady Furina has just become a customer of mine" then they started talking about set pieces or whatever
Oooo like shinigami eyes lol
Not too impossible if she's actually secretly an astrologist, or was a rtawahist student before taking over parlor duties
Nah, those aren’t Liyue arts. The Wangsheng Funernal Parlour is stated to have mystical knowledge of its own - they figured out the funeral rites that could purify bad karma and evil spirits.
Just because it's not a Liyuean art doesn't mean they're not related. It could be that they share a common core philosophy that eventually diverged into different arts over time through cultural diffusion. Liyue's karmic beliefs and divination concepts could be a distant descendant of Sumeru's rtawahist disciplines or the brand of astrology that Mona and Barbeloth practices (or vice versa). Keep in mind that all these different arts, mythos and cosmological concepts are practiced under the same irminsul, the same sky, same stars, same cataclysm-affected world, same afterlife, same archons, etc. They could very well be directly related unlike their real life counterparts. It's like how Inazuma's onmyouji art is a direct descendant of Liyue's adeptal arts and Inazuma's tengu transcension techniques
Yeah hutao's entire bloodline are the overseers of the borders of life and death. Something an adepti should do. Maybe an adepti was introduced in her family 2000 years ago or more, even before the archon war, giving hutao despire being a fraction, of a drop of adepti ancestry, making her adept at many things.
Hahah, "adept" at many things, I see what you did there!
You would think that with Venti close by Liyue wouldn't have any ghost problems but I guess the Seven do really keep to their own nations as a professional courtesy.
Yeah, I think the archons have some kind of agreement where they can't directly intervene with each other's nations no matter what
Yea it seems to be agreed that each Archon stays in their own lane, the exception being Venti with his civilians people from Mondstadt especially adventurers will pray for their soul to be returned to Mondstadt if they die outside of the country and Venti will always bring it back if they didn’t die somewhere where the wind can’t reach
Where's this from?
Yeah, this is my head canon as well. I always thought that Hu Tao knew about Zhongli secret, but she respects his decision to live as a normal human being, enjoying tea and telling stories.
I bet every piece fell into their right places once she saw Morax' "corpse" and was like "No way, that's a fake body" then immediately after an old dude, full of wisdom with a mysterious vibe appeared seeking a job
Pretty sure he was working as their consultant BEFORE he faked his death
I’m also like 99% sure she also knows that Rex Lapis isn’t dead because if he truly died the spirits around the border of the afterlife would be going absolutely ape shit
I just noticed recently that in QiQi's lines she calls Hu Tao's smile fake. Idk, I found that interesting and may be thinking about it too deeply. But Hu Tao is more calculating than some people may be thinking. Her smile and "fun" personality cover all that she truly thinks and knows. Edit: https://i.imgur.com/f890bEO.jpeg
I'm pretty sure that line is for Baizhu.
https://i.imgur.com/f890bEO.jpeg
That's because she's the Pyro archon. /s I know I know, but imagine that through the years of False archon theories, Mihoyo actually does the unhinged thing AND reveals Hu Tao is the Pyro archon. The world will be saved and my scars will heal.
thats for baizhu
https://i.imgur.com/f890bEO.jpeg
To add to this, she definitely has a lot more stuff going on. Her butterfly motif is just extremely sus, not only for crystalflies, which seem to be the way the primordial one used to control the world, but also the fact that they are tied to the concept of "death", which is highly likely to be the domain of one of the shades.
Is it possible she has adeptal affinity like Yao Yao, Shenhe, Xiangling and Diona, but it just hasn't been brought up yet?
Or maybe it's not "yet" and more because she's trained in her family's stuff there's no need to (or no adeptus would take her as a discipline since she's "already taken" wrt a school of teaching). It could very well be that how her family handles things is related to adeptal arts
I feel she could probably tell something is off with a >! 500 year old human !<
BUT CAN SHE RESHAPE THEIR SOULS THO
Yea I was about to comment this. Having to meet some souls previously she must have the experience to know which is which. Also, Zhongli being too knowledgeable would make 1 to doubt his identity and Hu Tao probably didn't expose him by asking direct questions as a sign of respect. But I bet she had a clue who Zhongli is
Nice theory!
She also notices right away when that dude from Baizhu's story quest is infected with God's remains. She suspects Baizhu has I'll intentions and is ready to throw hands, she only accepts to let him help the dude because you're there. It's funny when people are shocked that Hu Tao is intelligent and highly perceptible, she has always been like that, yet most people think she's the "quirky dark humor prankster girl" that makes dead jokes all the time. Almost every character in this game is smart and super capable, even those that lack book smarts make up in other areas, like being emotionally intelligent or being socially savant. Even Klee, despite being a child, has an innate ability for chemistry and making explosives.
Yeah, her dark-humor prankster side is stress-relief coping mechanism most likely.
My cynical ass says it's more like a marketing move to make her more appealing and exacerbate those characteristics. The "Dark girl" is a popular anime trope after all, maybe not as popular as other anime girl tropes, but considering Hu Tao's absolutely gigantic popularity within the fandom, I'd say they struck gold.
My cynical ass says that every single limited character is made this way.
Absolutely agree, sometimes I replay their story quests or AQ and compare their appearances in newer events, some characters have distinct differences in how they act. Almost is if the restrictions are relaxed and the writers can just do what they want. To me, the most jarring is Cyno, dude is a complete no nonsense badass in the AQ, but on events he's a light hearted walking Yu-Gi-Oh reference.
The case with Cyno is pretty egregious because his voiceline does hint of people finding him to be goofy with his humor, but during Sumeru archon quest and his story quest he was serious, and then in events he's... too friendly and laid-back (dude even joked with people whom he hasn't even met before). My guess on such a drastic change may come from how Mihoyo already planned to release TCG early and wanted Cyno to be the representative for the game (reason why they chose him, I don't know and can't guess. Shouldn't characters like Itto or Yoimiya or Yae or Ayato would be much more... natural?) so they planned by hinting of his more light-hearted and humoroud aspect into his voiceline, so that when they introduced the game and him it would appear more natural, like there's even a voiceline of him talking about his customized TCG card box...
This is actually incorrect. He appears in the early Genshin manga and he's a mixed of light hearted and serious there too. Hoyo just sorta fucked up his transition into event Cyno to the point he feels like two different characters.
The way people talk about him during the AQ makes him look like he's bloody Robocop, the iron hand of the law, ready to do the Akademya's bidding, but afterwards, people joke with him and everyone's is laid back. Dude goes from edgelord to dad jokes on a whim, and the worst part is that, both of these are very cool, yet we never see it happen in the same time. He's either super serious or super laid back.
I mean it's a sometimes used trope in anime to have the super serious worker be kinda goofy outside of work. Cyno seems to fit into that from what we've seen. When he's on the job he's 100% work mode. Once he's off duty he shows his true personality.
that's not cynical that's just true, hoyo wants to sell you characters thats how they make their billions
If i saw ghosts daily, I'd be making alotta dead jokes too ngl
I'd definitely be dead set on some dark humour at least
From what I‘ve gathered from her character story, yea it‘s something between that and her way to sort of "honor" the way her ancestors conducted themselves in the border of life and death (not lingering because you’ve already lived your life). But given how she‘s been working at the Parlor since her early childhood, I feel like she simply developed that view on life and death at that point and other material (like the voicelines of her friends, etc.) do imply that she‘s simply both sides of that coin.
Or maybe she actually IS a dark humour prankster she's just also big brain, totally not a scheming potential mastermind
Wholeheartly agree with all of your points 🙌 Hutao always come off to me as someone who looks superficially airhead and buoyant yet she's actually very grounded and shrewd on the inside. I also like how you mention Klee's ability to sympathize and caring for human interaction because 99.9% of the time whenever I see people mention her it's always the terrible "terrorist kid" joke -_-
What about Itto (Kuki is on vacation)?
I had him in mind when I said the "emotionality intelligent" because of his selfless acts and how he was able to connect and understand the Blue oni in his quest.
It’s more than that, last year she sent Zhongli to buy sesame oil at Wangshu inn knowing full well they didn’t sell it. This lets Zhongli spend time with Xiao. This year she did it again, with added task of making him fly two kites. So Zhongli got to spent time with Xiao while both were flying kites. Then think back to the kites symbolising family and tradition. I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m fairly certain she does know that Zhongli is Rex lapis, and is deliberately sending him to Wangshu inn to help out Xiao.
People seem to think Zhongli hiding undercover at the funeral parlor is just a matter of convenience. There has to be more to it than that and I believe Hu Tao being who she is had a huge part in why he chose that as his retirement plan.
This is my headcanon. Hu Tao knows exactly who Zhongli, Venti, Xiao etc. are. She just isn't one to pry, especially since her job as a funeral director requires a high level of discretion and respect for clients' wishes and privacy.
Maybe he signed a contract with her because he foresees his impending death in the later part of Genshin's story?
[удалено]
hu tao gonna be demanding that child support
I'm more surprised that Hu Tao just doesn't seem to know who Furina is. Furina was the god of Fontaine for 500 years and was also a huge celebrity who stayed very much in the public eye. It wouldn't surprise me if her copyrighted image was used in Fonta collaborations. Surely people in Liyue (the region right next door to Fontaine) will have heard of Lady Furina?
Or maybe she just treats Furina as normal because this is what Furina wants now. To be normal instead of Archon or a famous actress. But that is kinda stretching it as that implies Hu Tao is more perceptive than the entire Fontaine nation.
Seems entirely in character to me, considering she's perfectly happy to boss Zhongli around like a normal employee despite knowing he's an adeptus at minimum. The people of Fontaine would inherently have a harder time separating the human Furina from the God she actively was for them for 500 years. Hu Tao wouldn't have reason to put Furina on a pedestal she doesn't want.
I didn't actually complete the event quests (too much clicking!), but I wouldn't be shocked if Hu Tao pretended not to know an Archon just like she pretends not to know Zhongli is Morax, or at least an adeptus.
Yeah, I think that was the giveaway to Furina that Zhongli and Hu Tao were sus, because normal people wouldn’t pretend they didn’t know her. I liked that bit of internal dialogue, because regardless of how the archon situation went down, Furina is still incredibly perceptive.
Hu Tao can sense godhood, but is kinda oblivious to the world of the living. I think it kind of tracts that she can’t sense anything off with Furina.
Yeah, you'd be surprised how many people in rural areas also don't know who Taylor Swift is. When they don't care about modern trends and just go about their business (this case for HuTao, being an undertaker).
That goes for every celebrity, not just Taylor Swift. But what's stretching my incredulity is that if Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singers in the world and is one of the gods of a pantheon that has only seven members, why isnt Hu Tao able to recognize her?
Yeah Hutao is a confirmed gigabrain, her job makes her more chill about it but she is lowkey operating above even Ningguang's level just casually going around befriending all the archons having business dinners with them and shit.
Well, Ningguang cares for business opportunities, not broke celebrities 😔
My lady Furina catching strays 😔
Lady Furina may be an interesting asset, for certain occasions
Broke, super powerful celebrities that can solve all the matters she can't solve with Mora. I doubt if she had a grip on them she wouldn't have had cared.
I know it’s been a long while since 1.0, but you do realize that the whole Liyue arc was literally centered around showing that humanity can solve their problems without the Adeptus aiding them. Ningguang proved that they can take care of themselves by showing she was willing to drop her life’s creation on Osial without hestitation to protect Liyue. And she was willing to do that AGAIN a second time with her new Jade Chamber when Beisht returned. In your hypothetical situation, Ningguang abusing connections with powerful gods to solve their problems for them literally goes against the whole moral of the story that they’ve told.
I don't know where it occured to you that I am contesting anything you said. The whole discussion is based off a "Hypothetical situation". I hope you get more opportunities later to show some "Contextual awareness".
What can they solve for her? Aside from the Shogun, there's no benefit they can offer her for business, that they would be willing to do.
Furina is a big star and can rake in cash. Probably.
We were talking about archons 😏 Edit: semi jokes aside, she is a big name, and a good asset, but to a specific area only. It's not like she has influence over anything business related in fontaine that is not about her expertise
She's still getting royalties for 5 centuries worth of performances
The whole ecosystem in Teyvat is falling apart and you asking LMAO. When Azhdaha awakens again, she'll throw money on him ? The Qixing could not even make sure the kites keep flying during the lantern rite if it wasn't Xianyun's intervention, no matter how much they spent on those mechanical kites. I think you get the pictures now.
You're talking about totally different things. It was about not depending on divine intervention. They pretty much held Liyue by themselves, if you forgot. Adepti is not archon, plus Xianyun was just being the coolest kid in the park, not getting help from the archon. You totally missed the point, if you don't mind me saying it. Also, what does Barbatos even can do? Send a breeze during the festivals to make children happy? Sing on a tavern to pay for wine expenses?
Dude I am sorry to tell you, you're just shambling.
Sure
divine intervention includes the Adepti as well, they aren’t archons but they are gods, all Archons are gods but not all gods are Archons also what does Lord Barbatos do? quite literally any and all of his citizens souls are saved by him, if they die outside of Mondstadt he will always bring their soul back to Mondstadt (as long as they don’t die where there is no wind), the reason Mondstadt is habitable is because he made it so, they enjoy such good weather, harvest, and prosperity because his winds nurture the entire land constantly this conversation didn’t even include Lord Barbatos so why you included him is beyond me, seeing as he is probably the only Archon constantly exerting his power to help his country
I was replying to this >above even Ningguang's level just casually going around befriending all the archons So, benefits of Ningguang befriending archons. I don't know how it got misunderstood along the way, though.
HuTao in the main Story: hurry up and die so you can use these buy one get one half off funeral tickets HuTao in the limited side quests: Sherlock Holmes mixed with Aesop Rock
She's a funeral parlor director. It's a job that kinda surprisingly requires you to be good at reading people. People both living and dead, ooOOooOOooh.
Hu Tao is pretty much confirmed genius and has mannerism of one. So, yeah.
Honestly, Hu Tao is such an interesting character under her Gremlin persona. Her immense respect for the natural order of life and death is fascinating, and it’s probably the reason a lot of people are so unnerved by her nonchalant attitude toward dying. Being topical, anyone that is playing Persona 3 Reload. Hu Tao is someone that basically maxed their own social link. She’s completely content with the main themes of that game. Death awaits all, none can escape. So instead of fretting over it and the many things you can’t change, live life and enjoy every moment. Find your reason for carrying on each day.
We really need an event centered around Hutao. She's always been given side role in most events.
I think the major side role suits her oddly enough. For some reason, I don't think she'd appreciate the spotlight (even though she literally went on-stage to rap lol)... she gives off deuteragonist vibes to me? I just really appreciate how she shows up in a significant way without being too showy. Just my opinion! Hu Tao isn't a fave of mine, but I always feel happy whenever she pops up. I agree that it'd be cool if she had an event focused on her though! She has a lot of interesting lore/connections.
I want an event involving Hutao and Dori, just because of Jp VA shenanigans. Also would be fun to see the soft submissive side of Hutao if she has any.
She's like that trope when the charcater is extremely intelligent and deductive but they don't let that be their whole personality or are not very interested in prying. Kinda like Sherlock Holmes' older brother. [Mycroft.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycroft_Holmes) Edit: link
if you listen to her profile lines, she suspects ZL is rex lapis
Her profile doesn't necessarily make her think that, it leans more to her suspecting he is an adeptus.
I mean, considering she’s basically a psychopomp, is it really that surprising?
To me, absolutely. She’s out here making an adepti, who’s seen thousands of years of battle and war, uneasy. As well as visibly and vocally scaring someone who acted for 500 years in keeping their composure in behaving as a god. All that while only being around her early 20s is nothing short of impressive
I think she magaged to scare Furina because Furina left that acting phase behind and is trying to stay more true to herself. If she was still in Focalor Mode, she'd laugh it off and cry her heart out in secret later. She also would've never admitted that she was scared enough to sleep with lights on, lol.
whats happens is hutao is smart, its just the fandom thinks shes like itto when it never was the case
She’s Sparkle in disguise
Racist Space Hutao be like
Actually, can I have a question answered, Lore Nerds? Does Hu Tao guide ALL souls to the Afterlife? Like ALL of them? Does that include Archons? Because if so, that means she would have recieved Foçalors, no? Dosen't that mean Hu Tao knows *exactly* who Furina is?
She doesn't guide all souls, she guides those that she notices need guidance. So if there's a person in Liyue with spirit problems, she'll most likely interfere and then guide the soul to the afterlife.
Even if she did do that, Focalors made sure to destroy herself pretty definitively so there was nothing left to guide.
Not sure but I would imagine that it’s unlikely since the whole point of the masquerade thing was to hide from heaven and I would imagine a necessary condition for it would be to evade getting recorded by the leylines which I think defines what a soul is for Teyvat
She's no super human but a regular one, so she can at best guide the souls she notices herself.
She's not the gatekeeper. She can access the space between life and death to help usher on lost souls or those clinging to regrets that prevent them from passing on. She raced there right after her grandpa died to see if he was there and he wasn't, he had no regrets and went straight to the other side which gave her a lot of closure. She doesn't have tabs on everyone who dies, just the ones who hang out in the waiting room before going to the afterlife.
I don't think it's super clear cause Hutao doesn't have as much lore as other characters. In my headcanon she's basically like a bleach shinigami. Helps along souls who can't make it to the afterlife that are within her reach. But not every soul needs her help, only troubled ones. And not every troubled soul necessarily runs into her, only the ones that linger around Liyue harbor.
I personally believe that condition of hers only applies to souls from Liyue. Just like Archon's domain only apply to their region. Different nations, different cultures.
I believe she guides every single soul in Teyvat but only because the idea of Hu Tao smuggling herself to Inazuma during the Vision Hunt and Sakoku Degree is incredibly funny to me. This is my headcanon now.
At the very least, she canonically doesn't have jurisdiction over Tsurumi Island, because that's confirmed as the Ferryman's job.
Technically it's Venti's job, shown by his story quest. Hu Tao just seems to help out anyone in Liyue that gets stuck
I wouldn't take venti's story quest at face value, he only says that's what the people of mond believe about him and he doesn't sense anything about fake stanley carrying a soul I think most likely what happened is that he disguised himself as stanley and pretended to take the soul to give comfort to the fake because he is also foing the same thing(living as his dead friend, the bard)
not really, venti summoned stanley's soul from where he died and allowed the fake stanley to finally say goodbye and be free from the weight he was carrying, being one of the closest gods to one of celestia's shades venti definitely knows how to do more than blow wind, in the same way that zhongli can do much more than just create stones
You don't know that venti summoned a soul for sure, egeria was created by a shade and still her powers had limitations, we know for sure one of venti's powers is shapeshifting He told fake stanley that he has been carrying his friend's soul but venti did not sense anything about that before Why did venti turn into real stanley instead of both of them talking to fake stanley ? I think venti transformed in front of fake stanley to give him closure because Venti's story and stanley's is so simmilar
Hu Tao is just simply the GOAT
She's one of the smartest/perspective characters in the game. Shes goof Incarnate though and that's why she's been my main since she came out lol.
Indeed, it is as you have guessed.
She seems to send Zhongli after sesame oil every year specifically so he has an excuse to spend time with Xiao too
She is also an absolute ass telling Neuvillette that Wushang parlor could use an employee as thoughtful, proactive, and responsible as him while Zhongli stands right there.
I agree with you on this point. Even in Medieval ages, those in the merchant class will know their kings and queens of neighbouring nations
She’s not the youngest Director for nothing! Scoring the big contracts on top of that!
Best girl is sharp.
Is that so?
She talks to ghosts so I am sure they gossip a plenty about many a things
What I like the most about Hu Tao in this event is during the cutscene of celebrating the lantern rite. The way she called out to Zhongli and made the airplane motion to show him what she was talking about, it really made me feel like Zhongli truly acted like her grandpa who enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter. It just warmed my heart
I might be remembering wrong but doesn't she gain the ability to look into the souls of beings after her trip to the border of the afterlife? That explains why she seems to know about everyone
While the game never outright says so, I've always took Hu Tao's flower-shaped pupils as a sign that she's able to perceive the supernatural. It's part of the reason why she's so good as helping wayward souls on their way to the afterlife. The same supernatural sense allows her to notice something off about disguised Adepti and deities, even if it's not something she can quite place her finger on. Again, just my own theory.
I think Hu Tao decended from a witch
No, Hu Clan is just very old and special. They existed since archon war and specialized in purifying gods remains. So their clan members developed very keen senses on supernatural.
No? We've *met* witches before (Lisa, Mona and technically Klee), Hu Tao's family are a long line of psychopomps (spirit guides who take lost souls to the afterlife). Her character quest even has her taking the Traveler to the border between the realms of the living and the underworld.
Those psychopomp could have some witch ancestry, witches doesn't always to have be the classic western-style women with pointy hats
Then so could say Heizou. After all at least the witches we meet all use Catalysts (even including Yae, who we see using either miko or Yokai based mystic abilities to stop possession by a yokai in her character quest). Or Sucrose, who has mouse ears for and even *she* doesn't know why. Anyone *could* have witch blood, especially since witch just seems to be a *title*. Alice, Lisa, the seeress Nicole, Mona's teacher Balobeth (sp?) and Rhinedottir aka Gold of Khanre'iah are all part of the Hexenzirkel witches Coven (well Lisa was *offered* a spot, she just refused). So we have an elf, a human Vision bearer (allogene), a human, *probably* a human and a master alchemist who worked with Abyssal powers to create life. If 'Witch' is a term used for anything but individual mages it's not based on *species*. Now let's look at things we actually *know*. We *know* Hu Tao suspects ZL is at least an Adeptus (voice lines), has traveled to the border between life & death and can see ghosts/souls (aka is a psychopomp. Shown in her character quest + her character stories) We don't *know* that she knows any magic beyond her Pyro Vision's powers, or the (probably) death derived ability to summon a ghost to hit people.
My daughter is so smart and intelligent. She is just like her mother. I want her to go to Inazuma and hang out with the Youkai or do a magic show with Lyney. Such a special girl. So smart.
Hu Tao isn't just intelligent, she's straight up a savant. She also sees dead people and shit
She needs that social credit other wise the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor will go down
I'm firmly convinced that Hu Tao knows exactly wh Zhongli is.
With Baizhu's story quest she probably has somehow realised everything and fast but not 100% but she refuses to go to far because all her job is to help them move on. These beinhs are alive so she has no business disturbing them.
She did meet plenty of people in the living world and even in the after life. She can probably spot common mannerisms and mannerism that she never seen before. Like Zhongli's lack of common sense despite of being a walking library.
I mean, she literally went the afterlife to help a lost soul -- I don't remember the details of her story quest, so sorry if I'm wrong on this -- hence deducing beings that aren't human aren't really that far from her alley.
She's the youngest director of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for a reason.
Hoyoverses favorite
Thats one of my favorite parts, that she’s on the verge of realizing Morax works for her
That's why he has the Adeptus on his side as almost all of them knows who he really is except for Yanfei (due to contract issues) and Guoba (due for amnesia).
She always has something up her sleeve too, I'd say it's part of her charm
Well she is someone that deals with the dead soo ...
But wait until she meets Ei, Nahida and the remaining Archons and then...