#hsr thoughts
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A "theory" regarding Sampo's abilities
okay so this is an absolute mess and more of a ramble but I think it might be worth sharing so here I am
Since I'm very normal about Sampo Koski, I've noticed some paralels to.. osme things... and i ended up with a concept that Sampo might be aware/know the script - just like Elio does
On Belobog we don't encounter stellaron hunters (for obvious reasons), but Sampo does end up being the one who affects the way the plot goes and actively puts it in motion, he's the one in control (to some extent)
He also appears to be aware of stuff that has yet to happen and its possible outcomes (getting Natasha even before we started fighting Svarog, knowing that we will arrive on Luofu despite it being an unplanned stop, the possible future Belobog catastropy)
There's 2 ways to approach this:
1. He works with the Script in mind (following the trailblazer around, kinda like stellaron hunters happen to do)
2. He deliberately works against it (Jarilo VI is supposed to face destruction but he prevents it, could be for personal reasons)
Theres also the whole thing about him breaking the 4th wall, which could be connected. Awarnesss of the fact that this is a game could result in him having a knowledge of what the plot of said game is.
I strongly HC Sampo to be an Elation emanator, so I thought about what being an elation emanator could mean, as in, how realistically the powers could manifest
From the recent guide that was released along side the 2.2 stream, we have a small entry about Masked Fools which confirms that the path powers are DIRECTLY tied to their masks (this could mean both metaphorical or physical masks but from what i get from the context here it most likely refers to the physical ones?? the concept works with both possibilities tho so whatever <3 )
We know that sampo doesn't have his mask currently (which also works in a symbolic way, Masks represent the devotion to Elation, him not having it could represent how he wants to distance himself from what Elation is considered to be and pursue his own idea of it instead. The general description provided here for how masked fools are doesn't exactly fit him either whichmight further prove that idea, i should write a seperate post on that, anyways-) , so how the hell can he do shit that we assumed earlier was Elation-related powers?
i have 2 possible explanations for this
1. Him being an emanator lets him use the path powers without a need for a mask, if thats the case - the mask would only provide a powerup
2. Elation emanator powers are something else altogether
when we look at his current power set/abilities it can all be tied to the fact that this is a game
so, him bieng an emanator of elation would allow him to ignore the rules of this world/mainupulate said rules, simple as that
it would also explain why he can break the 4th wall, why he is aware of the script in the first place and how he can do stuff that contradicts what's been established lore vise (like how nobody should be able to cross the barrier between the Overworld and Underworld), those rules don't apply to him, he's beyond them.
But there's more
we DO have an in game example of people already messing with the reality in the same manner - Silver Wolf
From what I gathered (with help of some friends of mine mwah mwah), the "reality editing" abilites of Punklorde people are directly tied to a technology present in said world - that combined with the world view of those living here results with them reating the world they live in as if it was a game
Adding onto that, during "punklorde mentality" mission we get to hear Leonard say this:
"Masked fools believe it really exists"
so are the Masked Fools aware that someone could posses *actual* (not provided by technology) power to alter/manipulate reality and ignore the established rules of the world?
We can kinda see such thing happening with Aha in stimulated universe, not only do they break the 4th wall, but according to Herta they also seem to be affecting the stimulated universe itself
Aha's manipulation of reality is also mentioned in the "Glimpses into the Beyond"
So maybe to wrap it all up:
1. Sampo could be aware of the script and use the reality manipulation abilities/the fact that the rules don't apply to him to achieve a desired outcome
2. Him and the Stellaron Hunters have some paralels in the narrative when it comes to the role that they play and what they do?? kinda???
3. Punklorde people could be affiliated with Elation to some extent, even if not directly blessed by it
I am probably VERY wrong about all of this but honestly I'm having fun with this theory so idc <3
#sampo koski#hsr sampo#honkai star rail#masked fools#Aha the Elation#theory#stellaron hunters#I need to throw Elio into the blender to learn their secrets#hsr silver wolf#hsr thoughts#5 star sampo needs to come out faster because im losing my mind here yayyyyyy
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HAS ANYONE ELSE REALIZED ALL OF THE ASTRAL EXPRESS HAVE THE SPECIAL STAR RAIL PASS’ ON THEIR OUTFITS BC I HAVE
(technically it’s like. a variation or smth it may just be an astral express insignia thing but idfk—)
FOR REFERENCE :
AND NOW LOOK
The Trailblazers both have a belt thingy and some sorta stop watch too in gold and red which matches the astral express colors AND I JUST THINK ITS SO CUTE! it’s such a small detail and I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t vigorously examining the Trailblazer’s outfits for reference but I adore it so much.
(Also I HC that the garter belt on Fem Trailblazer’s right leg is March’s bc the blue is SO out of place in her outfit — idc if she woke up with it; neither trailblazer would’ve woken up w the Astral Express either and the teal-aqua wtv color matches with March’s camera and ribbons so there!
Haven’t found anything like that on the trailblazers for Dan Heng, unless u include the mid-tone turquoise strap that holds their pocket watch which is also suspiciously colored oddly in regards to the rest of their outfits so :>>)
#hsr#honkai star rail#hsr thoughts#hsr trailblazer#star rail#astral express#astral express family#trailblazer#honkai star rail trailblazer#dan heng#march 7th#welt yang#himeko
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I have so many scattered thoughts re: Blade, Jingliu, and Dan Heng and the entirety of the HCQ after Clouds Leave No Trace
This is gonna probably be long as hell since I haven’t stopped thinking abt it for two days straight and will contain spoilers for the new HCQ quest in 1.4 as well as references to other leaks, this is mostly just a jumble of a bunch of theories and ramblings to get my thoughts out, some of which I already had and others that started to jump out during the quest. obv other ppl may have come up with similar conclusions and i obv might not be right myself but based on the narrative presented to us up until now, these are what I feel make the most sense. TLDR at the end.
Dan Heng vs “running away”
I find it fascinating, and frankly disingenuous, that that both Jingliu and Blade consistently frame DH’s explanations of no longer being Dan Feng and only containing fragments of his memories as "trying to run from his past". I’ve also seen some in the fandom claim that DH’s position on the matter shouldn’t be trusted as he’s an “unreliable narrator”, which could be true, but it’s a stance I disagree with as it goes against the structure of DH’s narrative as it’s been set up since the beginning of the game.
From day one until the present, Dan Heng is shown to be fully willing to atone for the sins of his past:
The moment he was allowed to move freely aboard the Luofu after having quietly accepted exile for crimes he shouldn’t have had to pay for, he decided of his own volition to seek out the current high elder and make amends with both the Xianzhou and his past in general, even when doing so made him a target for even more suffering:
Narratively speaking, he never once backs away from the punishment considered owed to Dan Feng's actions.
Dan Heng, the result of a forced rebirth process that was then manipulated to leave him with combat prowess and broken memories he neither wanted or should have possessed to begin with, was escorted away from the only homeland he knew, after being held in prison for crimes he legally should not have been judged by from the moment of his birth, with only the few possessions his previous incarnation had possessed, forced to jump from spaceship to spaceship without even recognizing the destination. The only reason he ever ran at all is due to the ages spent fighting for his life against an enemy he didn't recognize and never truly recognized him, one that refused to die no matter how many times they fought. One who caused unmatched destruction in his hunt for Dan Heng, fully willing to destroy anyone and anything in the way of his goal— a shadow of his past:
This is why personally (emphasis on personally) I believe that the longing in question from the leak regarding Dan Heng polishing his spear is in reference to the Luofu, as to me, it makes sense that he would long for and think of the homeland he never got to witness thoroughly with his own eyes and could only experience in books while caring for the weapon he uses to keep himself and others safe from the force of destruction that trails him:
In fact, it isn't until after Dan Heng joins the Astral Express that he begins to fight back against the assertion that he must eternally suffer for the past; this is because this is when he finally has something other than himself to protect. We are directly shown this in his animated short, when the memory of the other members of the Express crew serve as the motivation to spur Dan Heng out of the internal conflict he was drowning in, and also as his prime reason for going to meet with the others in the HCQ aboard the Luofu:
This is likely possible largely due both to the fact that Vidyadhara cannot succumb to mara, as well as the fact that he doesn't have the same specific memories as the others, and so he is not shackled to the same chains that now bind Blade and Jingliu.
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Blade and Jingliu
In Blade’s youth, Jingliu describes him as someone who was “defiant” in a way she claimed not to like. I find this fascinating given that the two are so incredibly similar at present, which I feel is due in part to Blade’s unwavering respect for her even after the pain she caused him, both because of who she is as the former Sword Champion and the amount of Abundance abominations she alone had been able to slay, as well as the pain she inflicted giving him new purpose, a choice to give him a “second chance” despite at one point having wished to leave him to his misery as a fate worse than death, as described in her character story.
Both Blade and Jingliu experienced great suffering in their childhoods
Blade's swordsmanship ability comes directly from Jingliu’s tutelage
His personal oath comes directly from Jingliu, as she forced it into his psyche over and over through death and rebirth in order to force him to remember:
They both took on deals through which they are able to have access to suppression for their mara:
And both are fighting towards goals that are implied to, at least currently, be impossible (following who I believe to be extremely suspicious individuals):
Also, both are equally stubborn, seen both through their refusal to take no as an answer to Dan Heng's wishes to no longer associate with them and through their refusal to listen to anything that may trigger or directly refute their perceptions of reality:
But most importantly:
Blade and Jingliu both became mara-struck very quickly after Baiheng’s death.
It's repeatedly mentioned that mara is linked to to the artificially stretched lifespans of Xianzhou natives, but also that a fundamental aspect of the affliction is tied to the accumulation of painful memories. Given that vast scope of the destruction that occurred during this bane, and the extreme closeness both Jingliu and Blade had to the deceased and beloved Baiheng (in addition to the trauma of being transmuted into another species entirely, in Blade's case), it's no surprise that both of them are affected so deeply. Additionally, a common treatment for mara is avoiding accessing painful memories or suppressing/removing them entirely.
As Blade himself states that the effects of mara affliction are unique to the individual, I can't make a sweeping judgement of the symptoms all the mara-struck; the specific manifestations of Jingliu and Blade's afflictions, however, can be related to the concept of complicated grief:
We see these symptoms heavily within Jingliu, who literally wears a blindfold to avoid seeing anything that can trigger painful memories, has a voiceline describing how she can't remember many details of the time she and Baiheng spent together, speaks how she's plagued with nightmares about Baiheng, and she refuses to not only prohibit herself from forgetting the pain of what happened to her that day, but also the remaining members of the HCQ.
Similar observations can be made for Blade; he notably speaks very little and withdraws from most social situations, not wanting to take part in “annoying conversations.” His particular form of mara affliction is, by his own admission, unusual and devoid of any real emotion. The few moments of reprieve are spent either thinking too much or not thinking of anything at all. When his mara strikes, though, he shuts down, going completely numb and lashing out at whatever's in his way- not unlike certain displays of trauma responses in real life. He asks directly, “Why does someone like her have to be buried, burned to ash, and eventually forgotten...? Why!?” And given Yingxing being quoted saying directly during this quest that he doesn't wish for an overly long life, and Blade's intense suicidal ideations in the present, it's not a far reach to suggest that he also wishes that he died with her or in her stead.
And both are unable to find purpose in a life without her:
Blade and Jingliu both accuse Dan Heng of being unwilling to accept the past, but both of them are quite literally and physically unable to do so themselves— Dan Heng was even the only one to have spent extended time in the Shackling Prison, even though he should not have had to due to his rebirth, while both Blade and Jingliu were both wanted criminals who managed to escape. They both walk carrying the pain of the past through the present because they feel empty without it. And, unlike Dan Heng, neither one of them have a future that they feel can look forward to.
On that note, Jing Yuan, the only member of the HCQ who is capable of succumbing to mara and yet hasn't, is also the only member to directly acknowledge Dan Heng's autonomy and existence. This extends to Dan Feng as well, as both Blade and Jingliu most often refer to both Dan Heng and Dan Feng interchangeably with the title of Imbibitor Lunae, rather than their names.
The only ones to continue to deny Dan Heng's existence and rebirth are those who are unable to leave the past behind, such as the mirage echoes forever tied to Scalegorge Waterscape, as well as Blade and Jingliu, forever tied to their own suffering.
[Side note: This is exactly why I believe HYV decided to have 1.3 end with an entire questline based around the showing the process of accepting death and healthy grieving: to act as a direct juxtaposition to Blade and Jingliu, who both are unable to engage in the process themselves.]
————
Yingxing and Dan Feng/Blade and Dan Heng
Yingxing the Furnace Master and High Elder Dan Feng were very close. They were good friends, yes, but they were also bad for each other, according to Kafka:
Which would be easy enough on its to write off as her own interpretation of a story she’s heard but doesn’t know enough to understand. But Jingliu, the living member of the HCQ most affected by their actions, shows agreement with her assessment, pointing out that she’d found it strange “to see someone so arrogant get along with someone so proud.”
These specific traits are mentioned and attributed to them multiple times— the arrogant craftsman and the proud high elder. The reason for this is also stated by Kafka: “Together, they did something bad— something terrible. It led to horrific consequences.”
The emphasis that they did it together, almost directly after stating that the pair were bad for one another (which was a conscious choice to have her say, as her statements of their shared mistake and Blade's memory loss would have sufficed on their own), is important not simply because they both made and adhered to the plan; it’s important because it implies that it was directly because it took the two of them specifically to create the chaos and unrest that took place and not anyone else. This isn’t a condemnation of either of them as individuals, but Jingliu herself points out that even the smartest people can make extremely ill-advised decisions in the heat of the moment.
If Yingxing hadn’t arrogantly believed himself alone capable of handling and utilizing the remains of the very Emanator it took a plethora of combatants including the entire HCQ to take down (likely leading to the loss in the usability of his hands as a result):
If Dan Feng hadn’t proudly believed his “salvation” more righteous than the autonomy of those mortals he sought to save, "letting" them continue living as though the right to withhold the honor of dying for a cause they believed in was his alone, while also seeming to blindly believe himself incapable of being deceived or misunderstanding something:
None of the resulting fallout would have happened.
Only one with powers like those of the High Elder of the Vidyadhara could have attempted what Dan Feng did, and only an outworlder who has experienced the allure of immortality and experienced the fear of not having enough time would be willing to assist, given the Xianzhou’s stance on acts regarding immortality.
Furnace Master and High Elder, filled with blind confidence in themselves, blind confidence in each other, enabling each other (Yingxing calling out to Dan Feng and implying that they had to be the ones to make a choice, Dan Feng being moved by his human heart’s words and his own exhaustion with watching the deaths of those around him) to make a dangerous choice at a critical moment when their close companion is in mortal peril (more accurately already dead but they couldn’t accept that), and make the decision to ignore the autonomy of everyone involved. They had no contingency plan because they were sure that, with each other, that it would work. Because of this, they both share the blame, their noble intentions not enough to outweigh their unforgivable sin.
Jing Yuan is noted to have “always understood the price better than any of [the HCQ], yet he never spoke up, never did anything”, but anyone who has had the experience of trying to tell an arrogant or prideful person that they’re wrong or making a mistake knows that that’s an uphill battle on its own. Add in that it would be two against one (one of whom he already canonically bickered with constantly throughout their companionship), asking two of the most stubborn people he knew to give up on their desire to save the beloved (for Yingxing, Baiheng; for Dan Feng, his people), the two that were closer to each other than he was with either of them (not to imply that the HCQ weren’t all very close to each other because they definitely were but in obv differing ways) right in the middle of a high stress situation where there’s no time for arguing, and what remains is Jing Yuan with no options but to watch as disaster unfolded before him and everyone else, knowing that their minds were already made up.
Yingxing never wanted to be immortal or to see Baiheng suffering, but his own hubris helped lead to both.
Dan Feng never wanted to endure the sight of meaningless death, and yet directly caused it due to his pride, believing he had the right to play god and interfere with the natural process of death, or to consider that he may be wrong.
They were good friends who were bad for each other, and good people who made an exceedingly bad decision.
In the present, it’s been over 700 years since the last meeting of the High-Cloud Quintet, meaning Yingxing and Dan Feng have been essentially dead for roughly 7x the length of the HCQ’s entire existence. Their new identities, Blade and Dan Heng are clearly meant to parallel each other, but as opposing forces going in different directions, given Blade’s unwavering desire to die, and Dan Heng’s unwavering desire to live and to protect those he cares for. Both were put through immense suffering that, in the same vein, provided the means of “freedom” for them— Blade, through the sword; Dan Heng, through banishment. And both have found new colleagues to consider allies, though even the two groups are opposed to one another.
At this point in time, they’re enemies in all respects, and the chances of any reconciliation between them in my opinion is VERY slim for multiple reasons not limited to how much time has already passed at this point:
1) Dan Heng does not trust Blade at all and actively considers him one of the biggest threats to both his own and his companions’ safety, with good reason. The only way this could feasibly change is if Blade were to stop hunting him, which likely would not happen because
2) Blade is wholly devoted to Elio’s predictions for him, which Dan Heng’s existence would be paradoxical to. One of Blade’s wishes is to kill Imbibitor Lunae specifically in revenge, and he doesn’t (or can't) accept Dan Heng’s existence; if what Dan Heng claims about his identity is true, then that could only mean the future Elio promised must be false, which would strip him of the only purpose he has left in this world, leaving him as an empty, undying husk. This matter is also complicated by the fact that
3) There is still no cure for the mara that afflicts Blade, which would be the only avenue through which Blade could even begin to consider accepting Dan Heng and potentially reconciling. Both he and Jingliu were able to discover methods of having it suppressed, but both were temporary fixes: Jingliu notes that her time is beginning to run out, and Kafka had to use alternate means to reduce the potency of the mara within Blade after it violently flared up after merely being on the Xianzhou, which is likely the only reason the meeting between the HCQ could even take place with his attendance. On top of this, there’s also the fact that
4) Blade’s feelings for Dan Feng are likely very complex as well. Deep down, there’s clearly still some fondness there in the way Blade looks back on the time spent with Dan Feng, but he’s also one of the people he deeply resents and wants to see dead, which I believe could be due to his belief that it’s Dan Feng’s fault that Baiheng died. There is a choice-dependent voiceline from Baiheng deep within Dan Heng's memories that calls out to him to save them from the starskiff, but we know that it crashed. He tried to invoke the Transmutation Arcaneum, but it failed, instead turning Baiheng into a half-dragon monstrosity whose wails of pain echoed all around them. And then, though he wasn’t the one to deal the final blow, he might as well have by giving the location of the dragon’s weak spot to Jingliu. To top everything off, everything ended with Blade within an immortal body, one that leaves him in constant pain, particularly during the healing process after “death”.
From his perspective, it’s easy to see just why Blade could place the blame of Baiheng’s burial and the near destruction of the Luofu solely on Dan Feng, accusing Dan Feng alone of being the one to stubbornly adhere to the plan; it’s also easy to point out Blade’s hypocrisy given his role as Dan Feng’s accomplice. There are multiple potential reasons for this in my opinion: his brain, afflicted by both mara and prior memory loss (though he never forgets Dan Feng’s eyes or “how cruelty burst out from beneath the mirror-like emerald calmness”); his arrogance, leading him to absolve himself of any guilt or wrongdoing because he believes himself incapable of failing; the current youth-like quality of his mind, reduced to immaturely (by which I purely mean the dictionary definition of having/showing emotional development of someone younger) craving nothing but revenge while simultaneously absolving responsibility by saying “He did it! Not me!”. Also, considering Jingliu’s dialogue to Dan Feng where she says to him “If your death can return everything to how it was, I would do it,” and the many ways Blade already emulates Jingliu, it isn’t too difficult to consider that he may have taken that duty on himself out of grief and longing.
Along with these reasons, the narrative emphasizes that even almost a millennium after Yingxing and Dan Feng’s deaths, destruction follows in their wake whenever their new lives cross paths. Dan Heng learned this quickly, hence his fervent desire to keep distance and his relative uncertainty of anywhere that could possibly be safe for him, though he also learned rather quickly that this was futile. Blade was always able to find him, entire spaceships destroyed in his unshakable desire to kill him. On the Xianzhou, not only was Dan Heng dragged into a fight with Blade, but so too was Yanqing. This cycle of destruction is implied to have been so constant for Dan Heng that it’s likely the entire reason he never feels safe or feels unable to confide in anyone so as to not risk putting them in danger.
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The Destruction Trio
Imbibitor Lunae, Blade, and Jingliu all being on the path of destruction is no coincidence given their histories. The three “sinners” all shared a key trait: being able to cope with death and painful losses. Both Yingxing and Dan Feng viewed her as arrogant and proud, respectfully, which was another commonality between them. This leads all three of them to not only become the orchestrators of their own self-destruction, but the destruction of those around them as well: Dan Feng witnessing countless deaths and being forced to be reborn as another; Yingxing’s loss of his gift and creative abilities as well as the transformation into the immortal Blade who only sees himself as a weapon; Jingliu’s abandonment of her sacred oath and everyone she killed during her time under the influence of the mara poisoning her mind. Only Dan Heng walks a different path, as he is the only one to have directly stated that he accepts the past that happened but refuses to let it stain his bright future.
The three of them are also intrinsically linked in their pain. Dan Feng and Yingxing's mistake led directly to Jingliu's suffering; Jingliu's treatment of Blade led to his becoming a living weapon and catching the eye of the Stellaron Hunters, and also to him being able to inflict similar suffering to Dan Heng by hunting him constantly. Blade and Jingliu both are of the mind that this is inevitable and inescapable, but only Dan Heng is in a position to be able and willing to question whether he really does have to continue feeling that pain.
While it's still very early on in HSR's lifespan making it difficult to make any real concrete theories, for now I predict that Jingliu will die in her attempt to kill the Abundance, and I also believe her to be aware of this deep down, as she likely sees this as a way for her to atone and find her peace. It also makes most sense for Blade to die at some point as well, considering his parallels to Jingliu, his current character and the fact that while Yingxing used to fear not having enough time in life when he was young, he came to accept his mortality in his elder years after the full life he lived with the HCQ; it could even possibly be in defense of Dan Heng, which could provide a full-circle end to their cycle and their story, a form of closure that no other broken pair has seemed to get so far. Their respective character stories, while directly representing their current struggles, can also be viewed as allusions to their fates as well, with Blade's referring to his death and Dan Heng's highlighting him seeing the dawn of a new day. I also think it could be feasible for the discovery of a method to remove Blade's mara and for him to grow content with the Blade of today, even with powers he doesn't want, similar to Dan Heng accepting that Imbibitor Lunae's powers will always be a part of him; a "miraculous cure" sort of ending could be very clunky if not handled well in my opinion, though.
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The Reunion
Though it's phrased in a metaphorical way, I feel pretty sure that not only did we just see the reunion alluded to by the PoWC bracer, but also that this is another remnant of Jingliu’s influence that some part of Blade’s subconscious must have clung to:
Note the usage of “should”, a term with many meanings but the most applicable being “expressing a conjecture or hope,” rather than something like “will”, which would indicate future tense or an inevitable event.
Jingliu’s splash art alone shows her pouring out a cup of alcohol
In Jingliu’s character story, Baiheng is said to have brought Jingliu “divine nectar from the other side of the universe”
At the beginning of the companion quest, in the Seat of Divine Foresight, she mentions wanting to have a glass of wine and reminisce with old friends
She is the one to bring the jade flask that Blade handcrafted himself for her when she releases the starskiff in her memory
When the remaining quartet reach Scalegorge Waterscape, she directly mentions that she never believed the 4 of them, with their many grudges and all friendship lost, would gather again and specifically quantifies the hundreds of years that have passed
She does this twice more, mentioning the seven centuries and how they all did this 700 hundred years ago
She is the one to point out that, in the past, they all promised to meet together again for a drink no matter what happened
She says that she believed “those joyful days would flow indefinitely before us” which also fits within the imagery of drinking
There are multiple visual nods to drinking in her flashbacks as well: there’s the quintet having a toast, as well as Jingliu pouring out the alcohol once again while Yingxing sips off to the side, which symbolically is a good representation of the way she poured so much of herself into Blade (whether intentionally or unintentionally) that so much of him resembles her now, down to the bow on the back of his clothes (and even their similar splash arts). There’s also a glimpse of Yingxing and Jing Yuan drinking together. Because both of them were children when they each met Jingliu for the first time, it makes sense that Jingliu and the others were likely the ones to teach the pair to drink once they each came of age.
Jingliu mentions that they will likely never all meet again, and bids farewell to the HCQ.
Finally, at the very end of the quest, she directly says:
Blade mentions alcohol only once, when he says, "The miraculous thing is that in my brief moment of death... all the pain went away... like when we drank to drown our sorrows." In Jingliu's case, we know that she was affected in much the same way as Blade, becoming more confident and boastful under the effects of drinking, mentioning that the nightmares and pain from her childhood memories were no longer so terrifying. For both of them, alcohol is another form of suppression of pain, not unlike substance abuse seen in real life, which grieving individuals are at higher risk of falling victim to.
While it’s possible this wasn’t the reunion that alluded to and they could technically all reunite once more in the future, the sheer number of references to the contents of the backstory mentioned in the bracer lead me to believe that this isn’t the case, as well as Jingliu stating herself that this would likely be their final meeting before she pays her own ultimate price. Not to mention the fact that very specific circumstances had to be in play for Jingliu/Luocha, the Stellaron Hunters, and the Astral Express to all end up on Jing Yuan’s doorstep at the same time. Specificity like that is rarely duplicated, particularly in HSR’s canon, which features many characters with formerly close bonds being separated for whatever reason with no closure to their relationship. The four of them even getting one reunion was a blessing in itself, even though none of them felt particularly happy about it afterwards.
TLDR: Dan Heng is accused of running from his past, but he is the only one of the three "sinners" capable and willing to do so; Jingliu and Blade are heavy parallels of each other and share the same pains of complicated grief; Yingxing and Dan Feng together (and Blade and Dan Heng by association) bring out the worst in each other and represent a cycle of destruction that neither of them are currently able to escape from; the reunion mentioned by the bracer was likely Jingliu's idea that Blade also began to internalize and we likely just watched it occur; Dan Feng, Blade, and Jingliu were all incapable of handling death and loss and this inability is what lead to the three of them causing so much pain and destruction for themselves, each other, and everyone around them.
#honkai star rail#hsr#hsr thoughts#hsr analysis#hsr 1.4#hsr blade#yingxing#dan heng#dan feng#imbibitor lunae#jing yuan#jingliu#baiheng#high cloud quintet
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Boothill observations and theorys(?):
⚠️‼️Cw// leaks + possible 2.1 spoilers‼️⚠️
Hello tumblr I thought I’d share some observations I’ve made about boothill, an upcoming 5 star character. Particularly his name and how it relates to his cowboy aesthetic as well as his possible backstory. I also want to theorize his situation with Acheron as well. Well I’m not exactly an expert on theory’s so I doubt mine counts but I’ll share what interests me on boothill!
Boot Hill, Name origin:
First off, what is a “boothill”?
“Boothill” or “Boot Hill” are a type of cemetery most commonly referred to in western parts of the United States and America. What makes this cemetery unique is its association with cowboys, specifically ones that died in violent non natural fashion like shooting or hanging, “died with their boots on”.
How does this relate to Honkai star rail boothill.
- boothill is based of the typical western American cowboy , with the outfit, his accent , usage of guns, etc. so we have that connection .
- The HSR wiki says that he’s specifically a cyberborg. Cyborgs are typically depicted as robot human hybrid characters. Some cyborg characters like robocop and cyborg (dc comics) have backstories of becoming a cyborg by having had either died and came back to life through technology or damaged their human body greatly to the point they replace with artificial robot tech.
- Boothill in leaked eilodons shows his naked body. However you can quickly noticed his body is human. Not robotic like what we’ve been officially shown.
- Contrast this with his lightcone art, boothill has only part of his robot body. It looks like he’s being operated on.
- So how does this his name relate to his possible backstory
- As previously iterated, boothill is a name for cemetery of cowboys that died in violent ways. Pair this with how the leaked content having a human body which insinuates that he was at some point a human.
- So what I theorize: Most likely case is that boothill died/ got heavily injured, most likely due to a fight, so much that his only chance to survive was to make him a cyborg. The name boothill fits because he probably died in his boots (I’ll assume for now it happened on the job, maybe his job was the same before and after?).
- Interestingly There’s a leaked description of his lightcones. I’m not 100% sure about how true it is so I’ll have to take it with a grain of salt. However it details on him coming back to life after almost embracing death.
- - If boothill died, who killed him?
There isnt much to hint at who is to blame for cause of him becoming cyborg so far, given he’s a new character with little information.
At this moment, my best guess is the ipc which characters including topaz and aventurine are in. Boothill is revealed to not like the IPC as revealed in his introduction post. However there’s an interesting thing we need to observe.
- Notice how it states “the target of his revenge”, meaning the ipc most likely wronged him in some. I wonder if the ipc is the ones responsible for his death and transformation to being a cyberborg. But it’s likely it could be another reason for his distaste.
About Acheron
Cw/ this part gets into partial spoilers for 2.1 trailblazer main story quest
black swan receives a call from boothill. The call is immediately clear he is threatening Acheron with death.
- his tension with her seems very extreme to the point where hell even go after people affiliated with her when he threatened black swan under the impression she’s was working with her. And saying she shouldn’t exist.
do I think she was behind his death?
Unlike with the ipc one, I’m not really sure. I personally think that this possibility has less weight to it and there might be another reason for his dislike towards her. But it wouldn’t be surprising considering aventurine claims she brings death and finality.
- like aventurine, Boothill knows that Acheron isn’t an actual galaxy ranger however boothill himself is a galaxy ranger. Since Acheron is falsely claiming she’s a galaxy ranger, could this possibly cause tension with the actual galaxy rangers and her to be a target for them? I don’t really have much to theorize much more but would like to hear what others think
#acheron honkai star rail#boothill#boothill leaks#boothill honkai star rail#boothill hsr#hsr leaks#acheron hsr#hsr spoilers#hsr theory#hsr thoughts#Honkai star rail#theory#honkai star rail theory
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My thoughts on Sampo after Penacony:
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I do think that Sampo must be Aha himself or an emanator, I just find the way he behaves to be far different from other masked fools. He seems to be more discreet, like he says himself "he's in the backstage". But also he's been actively helping the MC instead of getting in their way like Sparkle is, even Giovanni tried to trick us a few times.
He's also always talking about being old, I can see him having hundreds of years or even be older than time itself like an Aeon. He gives me old man in his retirement vibes that have to step up at some point and reveals his true potential lmao 🤔
#sampo koski#honkai star rail#hsr sampo#hsr thoughts#secretly I hope he's Aha because I think that'd be soo cool!
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something about how sampo and black swan seem to be really connected to each other (as seen in these leaks). how they both call us the same way. but "us" as in the main character? hmm doubt.
something about how black swan acts in the new trailer and what she says and does
like she's an outsider or knows something we don't. the way she's flipping through the star rail story "chapters" like it's something she could easily have control over, almost pulling the strings of the whole thing (this may be a reach but she literally moves the whole ass train so leave me alone)
as if she's always watching and knows what will happen. plus this is not the first trailer she's in and she seems to have a somewhat important role, or at least it's teased enough to make me think that she will
there's nearly not enough information about black swan (that I have seen) to make some sort of theory, but her connection and similarities to sampo can tell us just enough about him as they can about her
and also bring yk even more questions but like that's how it always is
anyways I said what I needed to say, feel free to add anything else pls n thx
#this stupid blue con man had me become an avid theorist#never speculated on a fictional character's identity this much before#hsr#honkai star rail#star rail#hsr sampo#sampo koski#black swan#hsr black swan#hsr thoughts#hsr leaks
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Dr. Ratio has very clear inspiration from Ancient Greece so I figured Dr. Ratio fans should know that Ancient Greeks preferred small penises because they believed a man with a small penis was more intelligent and a man with a large penis was "barbaric". The Greek statues of males were often extremely muscled but with little flaccid penises...
Aristophanes, a famous ancient Greek Playwright says that, "a gleaming chest, broad shoulders, tiny tongue, strong buttocks and a little prick," are the favored traits of a man in ancient Greece.
Dr. Ratio is very clearly muscled, we see his "gleaming chest", broad shoulders, I don't know about his tongue, and personally I'd say he has strong buttocks. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Especially considering Dr. Ratio is a genius, it wouldn't be a surprise if his lil ratio was below average. That's just a theory though.
I apologize in advance. I have written this in my 3rd period class.
#dr ratio#hsr dr ratio#honkai star rail dr ratio#dr veritas ratio#hsr dr veritas ratio#honkai star rail dr veritas ratio#veritas ratio#hsr veritas ratio#hsr ratio#hsr thoughts#hsr theory#honkai star rail theory#dr ratio theory#veritas ratio theory
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You know it would be funny if the actual villain of penacony is the dream master, so far he seems slightly oppressive and questionable, like he ordered the head security of dewlight pavilion to "kill" his family for treason, he doesn't truly care for "death" : it's like he's frantically trying to stop the watchmaker instead of dealing with the current threat, and I at least believe that Gallagher is taking revenge for the watchmaker, that is if he isn't the watchmaker himself.
From his character story - "...Gallagher is my most genuine lie. Sometimes, I can't even distinguish between him and myself."
It also talks Abt his past and how he was fighting for freedom, basically old penacony when he was a prisoner, dreaming of creating a land of ideals. I recently thought Abt how penacony might not be what the watchmaker envisioned so he got displeased with the family, since they're not free from wickedness and evilness . Would be super interesting if Sunday learns the unfiltered truth and gets free from the family teachings (brainwashing) I'm sure as a head he has enough authority to make his own research and reach his own judgement but that's the power of manipulation from early childhood lol. Oti alfalfa did say the watchmaker wasn't a bad person, so would be funny if eventually Sunday teams up with Gallagher LOL
#idk if i should be amazed or scared sunday remembers every single member of the family#the dream master was displeased by his investigations hmmm wHy tHo#okay are there no consequences to acheron just slashing a hole in the dream while Sunday is like#nvm let them destroy as much that way a rat will come out#dream master be like 🧍 didn't raise u well!#OMG I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING#so like Sunday is smart and very preceptive#yet the kind to be paranoid of everyone except the one who 'shouldnt' do harm#aka the dream master#Gallagher says smth at the end i kept trying to understand and this is my conclusion!#“in the thick of things people are blind to the grit in their eyes” (dreammaster)#“yet they can only feel it's scratch” (problems he's causing)#Sunday just needs to learn robin is alive n he'll be himself again lol#idk why i put this in tags#honkai star rail#hsr sunday#hsr theory#hsr thoughts
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HSR thoughts, speculations and 1.2/1.3 spoilers
So you're telling me Dan Feng risked his everything to save Ying Xing(Blade). Committed a sin against his homeland, threw an entire rebelion and his punishment made him forget ALL of it??
That's like one of the cruelest rebutals. He was forced to molt, so his soul couldn't go through rebirth. He simply re-aged. He's in a new cycle of the same body. The scars made upon his soul are still there. (Basically they didn't allow him to heal).
What's MORE. Blade also doesn't remember most of, if any, good memories he had with Dan Feng or probably anyone in Luofu. He forgot all of them due to Mara. Only the most painful echoes of the past remain. He's tormented by the fact he can never end his life cyckle. He's stuck, there's no way out, only the subdued madness erroding at his mind.
Then we have Jing Yuan who neither forgot, nor became a 'new person'. He simply grew like regular people do(as regular as it gets for long living spiecies). He went through loosing friend after friend, everyone important to him.
Then when the said friends came back they didn't remember him and it's almost like he's left with all these beutiful memories that are now glazed over with loss. (He's so strong for taking it with a smile no matter how sad it looked °-°).
All of them with or without memories went and are going through so much.
(╥﹏╥)
Other characters as well, I'm just hyper focused on this trio these days.
(Honkai: Star Rail EP: Samudrartha )
#hsr#jing yuan#dan feng#hsr blade#xianzhou luofu#hsr spoilers#hsr lore#hsr thoughts#imbibitor lunae#my thoughts
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Potential spoilers for 2.1 but I just wanted to talk about some Honkai Star Rail theories and ideas I liked and thought would be cool to talk about.
My first thought idea /theory is about how we could potentially save Firefly due to some things I noticed during the story quest and the white night trailer.
So I think Firefly isn't dead(shocker), but I do think we have some evidence to support this theory. First and foremost is the most important thing that people discuss during the death of Firefly and that's what Acharon does afterwards with the orb that comes out of her. She helps guide it back to the waking world.
Now what I think is happening here is obviously that she's helping guide something back but I propose it's firefly herself. Now for this I have evidence from the white night video where Firefly either is a ball of light, becomes a ball of light or is surrounded by a ball of light.
This scene is from the music video where we see a shooting star that becomes Firefly. The obvious connection being oh the ball of light here and the ball of light Acheron helps guide back are the exact same. Case closed, however this isn't the first time we see this ball of light in the video and even more compelling, the first time it's near Firefly.
This scene plays just before the scene above, where see the Trailblazer taking a photograph of Firefly. What I find interesting is that a ball of light seemingly comes from where Firefly is standing(directly In front of the Trailblazer) and goes into the camera. Also inside the camera we see the Trailblazer firstly standing and then running chasing the ball of light. And while it's hard to see when the Trailblazer catches up to the ball of light I think we can see them holding a person who I assume is Firefly.
All this is to say I think we're going to save Firefly and I think the selfie that always appears even if you don't take it, (This plays into the multiple timeline theory also going on within Penacony but I'm not gonna cover that just yet as I'm still figuring stuff out myself), will be the key somehow.
Next I'd like to talk about the meme and what exactly a spiritual death is. Since I'm going to be using the word death in both the context of a literal death and a spiritual death I will be using colours to differentiate them. We have been told time and time again that death is impossible within the dreamscape due to the blessings of Xipe. That's what makes the meme and it's death so scary. However I'd like to argue that a spiritual death is something completely different from a regular death and the evidence I have to prove it as well as just theory craft.
Id like to propose the idea that a spiritual death is a death that prevents people from perusing their dreams and preventing them from returning to the dreamscape. Now this is a pure crack theory on my part but I believe I may have some solid bases. Now this comes mostly from Robin and how she acted both in and out of the dreamscape.
Outside of the dreamscape we are told and can hear that Robin's voice is static and glitchy. My theory is that it's because she had already experienced her death before we even arrived. That would explain why her voice was so randomly glitchy in reality, because of her death she is unable to chase her dream IE to sing and spread more harmony. Now the wrench in this theory is that if she already died and I'm correct about her not being able to come back into the dreamscape how come we meet her in the golden hour.
To that I say rule 5 or the dreamscape:
The fact that they have to provide a rule to request not assuming another person's identity means it is in fact possible to do so in the dream. So my idea is that the Robin in the dreamscape was just a stand in the family is used to help minimise the amount of panic. But what about the Charmony festival and robin singing they couldn't fake that could they? But we've already seen them play robin's music without her in the story itself. When we have our meeting with Firefly they play some of Robin's music and Firefly explains that they are playing it often within the dreams to celebrate. So it stands to reason that they could just fake the performance as well using the same stand in. This could also explain why Sunday wasn't as disturbed by Sparkle assuming her identity at the epilogue of the story. It's because someone else was already running around as a Robin and when Sparkle revealed herself to not be the stand in they selected he then got somewhat annoyed.
So why don't I think they are just dead dead? It's because something Black Swan told us during her campaign quest as well as something we've been told multiple times in the story.
Even Black swan an Emanator could not kill someone. The promise of the family and the blessings of Harmony are too strong. So why would the Meme something we haven't received confirmation of being an Emanator and is just a memory zone meme be possible of bringing a death that even Emanators can't.
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is it. intentional, that dan heng (both 4 star and 5 star forms) and blade both have repeating first lines in all their character stories?
i would include bailu because!!! high cloud quintet!!!! but hers is medical journals/records which makes sense to be repeated first line (except the last one) and other characters have similar things (hook: diary, pela: reports, clara: logs by svarog)
i mean i know they did it for a reason but is it. high cloud quintet reasons. as the ones who are “alive but dead” “remember but not”. my theory will be “confirmed” when jingliu comes out and if she has that same pattern, as “one of the three who need to pay the price”
(i could probably look up her story there’s probably leaks but like. why.)
i’m just looking at this from story fanfic whatever perspective, but like. is it implying that they’re in a cycle. together. something needs to change, to break. either through death, or something else, i don’t know.
Dan Heng: A new dawn begins.
Dan Heng IL: He seemed to have returned to the insides of a Vidyadhara egg in the lightless dark, being ceaselessly churned in a sea of waves and elusive dreams.
He dreamed (different)
Blade: The only thing he could sense was a splotch of crimson in his sight and the taste of iron in his mouth. His limbs were unresponsive.
— He must have died.
#high cloud quintet#dan heng#dan heng il#imbibitor lunae#blade#hsr#honkai star rail#honkai: star rail#hsr theory#hsr thoughts
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(warning - HSR Belobog Arc Ending Spoilers)
I know they mention it a lot in canon but like… has anyone else ever really paused and thought about all the worlds we will have to leave behind as Trailblazers? Coming and going forever, only ever being able to truly call the Express ‘Home’ but even then, the words are heavy on the tongue.
Does anyone else think about how little time they really spend there? How many trails they’ve blazed before disappearing without a trace save for the changes they’ve since left in a domino effect. Belobog took a few days for the main quest alone — perhaps two weeks if you want to include the sub-quests and story quests. And then they never go back. 700 years they’d wait — Bronya said — and it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Dan Heng how long can humans live for?”
“…Forever. But in those situations they wouldn’t be considered human anymore.”
It’s easy to forget that we may never see those people again in that world, as they are, as they’ve become, because we as the player can always teleport back with a few clicks of a button but the characters do not get the same liberties. They have left, to never return, lest they accidentally cause more calamity.
And few of Jarilo-VI have gotten to know them by name, as anything other than “the Outsiders” or, later, “the Trailblazers”. They’re not Nameless because they have no names, they are Nameless because in the grand scheme of things; no one will recognize them by name. Only by the paths they carve and set, by the view of their backs as they set off into the stars again.
Do you think about how quickly they accept the lost onto their ship — how quickly they accept the Nameless and allow them to stay with their own? Because they are all Nameless on the express. Wonderlusters, Lost ones, confused, fearful, grieving, lonely. They accepted the Trailblazer without a second thought, extending hands that were quickly grasped in return and have yet to be let go of. They are the Nameless, they are the trailblazers, they are the lost ones, and they are each other’s family. The Express is not ‘Home’ because none of them have that anymore, but they’ve found each other and in the wake of what they’ve lost or may not have never had, they’ve got each other. They’ve forged their own trail.
Trailblazers in their name and in how they love. Only another trailblazer can truly love a trailblazer. It’s why they gravitate so closely to one another. That small part of their souls resonating with one another and bringing them solace within the vastness of the universe. Pieces of their make-up so similar and lonely and lost that they can’t help but seek out others who are the same.
I don’t know where I’m going with this, honestly, but I’m absolutely enamored with the small feeling their presences makes me feel through the Trailblazer. Platonic, Romantic, or otherwise. Storgé — Is the word for familial love apparently but not found family, so I’m not quite sure it fits. Their impact as well in the universes, beyond their relationship on the Express. It’s all beautiful but always with a touch of melancholy when you sit back to think about it rather than just quickly passing through the planets and stars. It’s lovely, and I’m hard pressed to find a universe that makes me feel so small and important all at once.
Welt said something about feeling helpless when you first step foot on the planet and see for the first time everything that goes on there… and yet I find myself feeling more powerless when I look down from above rather than up from below.
In conclusion, Star Rail is lovely so far, I’m having a great time and will continue to brainrot about this and think too much abt it constantly for a good while <3
#honkai star rail#hsr#hsr spoilers#hsr thoughts#my thoughts#trailblazers#astral express#dan heng#march 7th#the nameless#astral express family#found family
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Congratulations to Honkai: Star Rail for doing what Genshin Impact was never able to achieve and switching between MCs in promotional materials PLEASE keep it up I love you thanks
#i dont want to hear “but Ae and Lu are twins so it would be confusing”#if they did it from the start it would not be#im stelle player ready to fight anyone who says caelus isnt canon#i dont want this nonsense again#lorem ipsum incognito#hsr thoughts#genshin thoughts
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Finally caught up with the main story in HSR, and man I have no idea what they’re saying half the time, but aye I at least get the gist of it
#I love it when the lore is expanded#but like#wtf is a cornerstone and what does it have to do with wills??#also wtf just happen to aventurine???#also wtf is an emenator or however it’s spelled idr#are they people who perfectly embody their path or smth???#are they children of an Aeon????#are they THE Aeon?????#but aye Sam and Firefly were pretty cool#and hot#hsr thoughts
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(overthinking about the Stellaron Hunters) do you think the name Sam came from the name Samsa. Like Gregor Samsa. From hit novel metamorphosis made by Franz Kafka. Kafka who's a member of the Stellaron hunte
#Ill look like a fuckingf clown when Sam releases and has nothing to do with metamorphosis#but the thing is#its called delusion#hsr thoughts#huge ass stretch but I decided that this website is where i iust say things without thinking
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To summarize how my pulls went: lost 50/50 to E1 Clara before immediately being greeted by a 10 pity Aventurine. Man I’m so happy now he can hang out with his colleagues and hopefully carry my FuA team.
Also, the pain of being Jingliuless AND Ruan Meiless REALLY ramps up whenever an ice and physical-only floor shows up on MoC or PF. Thankfully after enough resets to make the “dormammu I’ve come to bargain” scene look obsolete Mahjong gremlin Qingque managed to 2 turn clear the first half leaving me enough time to pummel Aventurine.
This MoC was annoying more than difficult due to dino + Aven but still hope they won’t go the Wenut route and implement stalling bosses every cycle
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