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milksnake-tea · 4 months ago

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him being a stelleron hunter would go against everything he stands for, genuinly why would he join a group of terrorist when his ideals were order and peace.

even though the ipc is terrible, the stelleron hunters are as bad in terms of damage and destruction.

because it is fiction, ppl forget that they commited crimes that also can be, and has been done in real life. my home is being attacked by one while i write this, k and seeing ppl praise someone because they didn't join one is ridiculous.

hi, first of all, i want to express my condolences for your situation. it's a terrible thing that is happening and i hope things get better for you. however, i do think you have some misconceptions about the stellaron hunters and their goal, and i want to use this to explain how stellaron hunter sunday would work, and if you want to debate with me further, i am open to that, as long as we are respectful :) explanation/essay utc.

okay, so the first thing here is that we need to remember that sunday technically is also considered a terrorist, and on a much larger scale on the stellaron hunters as well. he may have had good intentions, but it still stands that he plunged an entire star system into an eternal dream, without their consent, and would essentially trap them in this dream where he controlled all of their decisions. he may have wanted to do it out of the goodness of his heart and so that people wouldn't suffer, but it's still unlawful imprisonment and/or kidnapping.

sunday and the stellaron hunters are similar in this regard; they do morally questionable things (to put it lightly) for the greater good. remember that the stellaron hunters are following elio's script in order to save the universe from nanook, they are not doing it just because they want to. also, it should be noted that while you can consider them terrorists (and certainly to a lot planets/factions they are, for example the ipc), there are other factions that don't consider them as such - example: the luofu. in the end, while we don't understand why the stellaron hunters do what they do

also, i would say that it's inaccurate to say that the ipc and the stellaron hunters are equal in terms of damage and destruction. the stellaron hunters don't commit genocide, they don't colonize planets, in the end, their goal is simple: follow the script, capture the stellaron, aid the astral express in eventually defeating nanook. a lot of what happens after can be considered collateral damage, and i'm not defending them on that - but what is important to consider is that they take stellarons, which are cancers of all worlds and drive said worlds towards destruction, so in a weird way, they are saving those worlds, while it may not look like it at first. the astral express does the same thing, although they're a lot nicer about it and they actually follow the law.

the game repeatedly says that the astral express and the stellaron hunters are two sides of the same coin. theoretically, sunday fits in both, and i (begrudgingly) am fine with whichever faction he joins (and rn it seems to be astral express). however, when i see his character, with how morally grey he is and how far he's willing to go (i am never forgetting him executing aventurine), the stellaron hunters seem like a better fit for him (IN MY OPINION).

another thing i've seen is that the stellaron hunters wouldn't be a good fit for sunday because his arc is about freedom and learning to allow people to thrive on their own, without the need to control them. or something like that. and a common point that's brought up is that the stellaron hunters, with their adherence to the script, wouldn't be good for sunday because the last thing he needs is to be trapped by the script.

i see what people are saying with this, HOWEVER. if i were to point out something about the stellaron hunters, it's that they are not completely bound by the script. firefly actively defies it whenever she can, and blade is said to not become one of destiny's slaves. kafka abides by the script vaguely; she'll do what she needs to do but as for what's not in the script, she has complete and total freedom because in her words, "why would it matter?" and silver wolf has twisted/reinterpreted the script in order to keep firefly safe by hiring sparkle. the script is not absolute, even in kafka's character stories elio says that there are possibilities that things may not go as planned, and the trailblazer has defied fate before.

the script is not as much as a shackle like people think it is. remember, elio gets his seer abilities from terminus, who is a time traveler who tells the future. it doesn't matter if you know about it or if you don't, and elio doesn't force anyone to follow the script. he just gives it to you, and you're free to do whatever you want with it. it's strongly encouraged to follow it, but you don't have to. firefly sure tries not to. heck, if she wanted, she could burn it and the only consequence would be elio being sad because he spent an all-nighter typing that up and ink is expensive.

additionally, going back to sunday and elio's goal, they align a lot more than you think they would. sunday, evident from his drip marketing, has not given up on his goal of order and achieving a paradise, and i don't think he'd be opposed to elio's goal of saving the universe. nor would i think he'd be too opposed to getting his hands dirty in order to achieve it - again, he tried to kill aventurine (and almost succeeded) in order to protect penacony. he is not as soft as a lot of people make him out to be.

we also have to remember sunday's obsession with control. is it a good thing? nope, not at all! but the script would be more comfortable for him, because he knows what will happen, he has a safety net and he has the freedom to make plans based on this information. compared to his whole powerpoint presentation about his past trauma, where a lot of his decisions ended up badly due to him not knowing for certain what would happen, this safety net wouldn't be unwelcome. and it isn't like it limits sunday entirely either; elio is known to be vague and leaves out information he doesn't think people need to know, so sunday can still have his character growth of learning to become comfortable with uncertainty.

and before anyone comes at me, i am not saying that astral express sunday is bad. i'm actually all for it (contrary to what i might say on my blog, but listen. IM DRAMATIC OKAY) and i think it'd be interesting to see how a character that we aren't on good terms with joining the express. also i get to see pookie more so I WIN EITHER WAY. i just also want to explain the potential stellaron hunter sunday has and why it isn't such a far-fetched idea like some might make it out to be.

thanks for listening to my ted talk. or smth. IDK. i did this instead of my phil essay so imma go do that now. bye bye pookies

#mail 🏵️#anon #honkai star rail #hsr #honkai star rail sunday #hsr sunday #character analysis #stellaron hunter sunday

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thatringboy · 8 months ago

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A Body Built for an Undeserving Soul, A Boothill Theory

My definitely sober thoughts while grinding for the eventual Ruan Mei rerun and writing some robinhill have led me to a startling train of thought. I’ll do my best to sound sane as I say this, but the 18 minute discord voice memo I originally made is definitely anything but. Spoilers for Boothill’s backstory, character stories, and other lore, and no I’m not really gonna be citing things because it’s 3 in the morning and I’m high. If at any point I say something that isn’t really supported by canon, please be nice i’m a little silly boy

Anyways

I don’t think Boothill is a Pathstrider.

Let me cook, please. Here’s my reasons why:

The way he talks about Aeons and Paths

The way his body is designed

And 3.

Enjoy the madness below the cut

So, there’s not really a proper way to word any of this without it being an ADHD word vomit. Bear with me. Please.

Penacony has been a fantastic update for those of us waiting for worldbuilding. We’ve learned a LOT about the many factions in the cosmos, the true nature of the IPC, the powers of the Aeons, and that the Paths are tangible things in the universe. The Luofu arc opened up a bit about this, but since it was so focused on The Hunt and The Abundance and The Permanence, we sort of fell back into the same story beats as the Herta Station arc. Either way, Penacony has been amazing for little lore bugs like me.

So what does this have to do with the wild claim that Boothill somehow isn’t a Pathstrider?

Let’s touch some grass for a minute and consider our places in the irl universe. Hi, I’m Perseus, a young transmasculine white adult guy from South Texas who grew up reading too many Rick Riordan books and now has a complicated relationship with both the christian god and the greek gods. It’s an autism special interest of mine to learn about the greek pantheon and while I don’t know everything about it, I’m a silly little guy and can recite fun facts about dozens of gods. I can also recite fun facts about the christian bible and christian mythology because I was forced to study christianity when I was younger. Nice to meet y’all. Now, when I, Perseus, talk to people about the various religions I know a thing or two about, I infodump. A lot. I think I once ranted about Dionysus for 20 minutes before my sister told me to shut up. It happens.

Now focus back in on the important topic: the fictional cyborg with jiggle physics. I’m working purely on memory, but I’m pretty sure when he first meets Dan Heng and Pom-Pom, he does go on a spiel about the Aeons and Paths as he tries to prove his identity as a Galaxy Ranger and Acheron’s identity as Not a Galaxy Ranger. The way he describes The Hunt, The Nihility, Emanators, and Paths, it all just sounded… i don’t know, canned? It came across as very emotionally disconnected, even as he talked about The Hunt, but he was saying all the right words. Like someone who studied a religion but isn’t actually a part of the religion.

On its own, this means absolutely nothing besides just reminding us of his home planet’s hostile takeover by Qlipoth-worshiping IPC workers. If you haven’t seen the post yet, I really recommend reading the So, Honkai: Star Rail made a cyborg cowboy... an INDIGENOUS cyborg cowboy. post by @ahworm I’ll link it here, please check it out because it recontextualized a lot of how I viewed Boothill’s actions and mannerisms

So the way Boothill talks about the Path he should be a Pathstrider of sounds more like an encyclopedia than a follower. Now, maybe this can be explained by the fact that Galaxy Rangers aren’t the most zealous bunch, especially when standing next to the Xianzhou Alliance who worship Lan as a deity more than The Hunt itself. The Galaxy rangers are the opposite, they are hunters first and last regardless of what Lan in THEIR “greatness” does.

But if Boothill is just a normal Galaxy ranger (whatever that means), then how does he recognize the Jade Abacus of Allying Oath instantaneously? Dan Heng’s barely put the damn thing on the table and Boothill’s already jaw on the floor amazed. One could make the argument that, well, Boothill’s a well-traveled guy, of course he’d know the most valuable artifact to his Path. To that, I say: there’s more to it.

Boothill’s main accusation against Acheron in the beginning is, what? “An Emanator that shouldn’t exist.” He talks about The Nihility and Device IX the same way he talks about The Hunt; learned and detached in an agnostic way. He’s aware these are real concepts and beings, he’s crossed paths with an Emanator of Elation before so he can’t deny the existence of literal gods in the universe

We also know that it’s canon in the star rail universe that there are planets who haven’t heard of the Aeons before, like Sigonia - Aventurine’s planet. Instead of Aeons, we know the Avgins worshiped the goddess Giathra Triclops. I’ve seen the argument that Giathra is just another name for Xipe since THEY have three faces, but Aventurine’s flashbacks are very clear in showing that the worship of Giathra was very different from the worship of Aeons. We don’t know much about Aeragan-Epharshel, but from how the IPC described the indigenous people as needing civilization and other disgusting things (not to mention how they forced a synesthesia beacon into boothill when he was maybe like a teenager? And then his brain nearly broke from the influx of information?), I think it’s safe to say that the tribes of Aeragan-Epharshel also didn’t follow any specific Aeon.

But Aventurine is now a Pathstrider of Preservation, so why can’t Boothill be a Hunter Pathstrider too? Well, dear reader, allow me to bash my head against the wall trying to form words. Aventurine doesn’t believe anything about the sovereignty of The Preservation, just like the rest of the Stonehearts. He has his agenda, and if he has to play Preservation to do so, then he will. I think Boothill is the same, which is also why I can’t wait to see what happens in the upcoming quests with the two of them in the same room. That being said, Aventurine’s Preservation powers only come from his Cornerstone, crafted by an Emanator of Preservation. It’s how he and Topaz and Jade can all be such different people but all be classified as Pathstriders of Preservation, the sheer proximity to an Emanator’s powers canonically give them powers equivalent to actual Pathstriders.

So… what about Boothil? This leads me into my next point: Boothill’s cyborg body. By looking at his Character Story Part 3, we learn that Boothill VOLUNTARILY became a cyborg to become stronger. He literally shed the skin and name from an ancient, dead tongue to become a real loaded gun. His voice lines in combat talk about death a lot, his name literally is in reference to a graveyard - this man cannot wait to finally die in some sort of blaze of glory and vengeance. I say that with a little bit of sarcasm, but Boothill designed his body to be a weapon.

In a lot of parts of the USA, it’s illegal to even insinuate that you have a firearm as that constitutes as the crime of “armed robbery”, even if you don’t even have a gun. The threat alone is enough to warrant a higher penalty. But Boothill is already a great shot with a gun, why does he also need augmented teeth and crosshair eyes and hips that can fold his body into any sinful shape he needs? Because the threat alone is enough to give him power over his prey. Almost as if he’s compensating for a lack of magic godly powers. He needs to be able to keep up with even the strongest IPC goons, to pierce their Preservation shields with his bullets so that he can get closer and closer to Oswaldo Schneider.

But how can I prove that Boothill doesn’t have any Path magic? Well, let’s take a spin around his character model. What’s that thing sitting snugly against his exposed asscheek? His pistol? But that’s not weird, Perseus, most cowboys hold their guns there!

But what other playable character has their weapon on their actual model like him?

There are so many in-game cutscenes showing that, canonically, the Pathstriders summon their weapon from some sort of unseen storage or hammerspace. I like the term hammerspace, let’s use that. The playable Pathstriders all use hammerspace to easily summon their weapons. None of them actually carry their weapons on their model. Even Welt Yang has scenes of him summoning his herrscher cane (I’ve never played hi3 please forgive me for using incorrect terms) from his hammerspace. But not Boothill. He has his arm gun and he has his trusty 9 millimeter pistol on his little slutty hip. His idle animations involve reloading his weapons and putting them back on his person. No particle effects, no vanishing tricks, just a man sticking his tongue out to catch a bullet for a snack.

So what have we learned?

Boothill doesn’t have an emotional connection to his Path, it most likely is just the Path he figured met his needs and decided the philosophy was good enough

Boothill’s body is designed to perform specifically to kill Pathstriders, especially sturdier Pathstriders of The Preservation

Boothill either can’t or won’t use the same hammerspace the other canonical Pathstriders use

Each point by themself means nothing, or can be chalked up to unique character designs. But together? My intoxicated mind theorizes that Boothill is not a Pathstrider, merely a broken man trying to play the game according to the rules of the oppressors that colonized his planet and bombed his tribe into reservations and the dirt. Thank you for your time.

#hsr #honaki star rail #boothill #hsr boothill #boothill hsr #hsr theory #honkai star rail theory #oh look miguel o'hara i hope that isn't a reference to anything in his and boothill's backstories

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mismefancy · 4 months ago

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Just a kinda unfortunate but funny thought about Sunday:

Ever since the end of 2.3, there had been speculation on which faction Sunday would end up joining in. Two common factions were the Stellaron hunters and the Astral Express, in addition to IPC as another possible faction that kept getting mentioned from time to time.

But thinking about it now....those 3 factions have some problem or conflict with Sunday. Lol

The Astral Express had to deal with his plans throughout the whole Penacony quests and got nearly destroyed by his boss fights. I know that the Astral Express has teamed up with enemies or questionable strangers from time to time (Stellaron Hunters, Memokeepers, etc.) but those were temporary. Sunday's becoming A MEMBER who will travel with them for who knows how long. Basically he has to slowly gain their trust after the trouble he caused for them. (Especially since it said that he might canonically become a Nameless so... he's got a lot ahead of him)

The Stellaron Hunters don't really have any problems with him that affect their plans/scripts, but I do have to remind you that he called Firefly a person who is "weak, helpless and has no chance of improving her situation without the strong helping out" and cue all his ideologies about life without human suffering. Even with his somewhat selfless belief, he did just insult Firefly's whole point of her character. (So despite Stellaron Hunter Sunday being a very popular headcanon, we are not ignoring the possible conflict and awkwardness with Firefly, whether it is considered minor or not)

The IPC and their whole controversy with Penacony for losing ownership of their own faction, Sunday being a big obstacle and problem for their plans. And even if the company doesn't take that personally as a whole, he has another personal conflict with one individual. That is Aventurine, who he placed on a death timer, dug up some of his past and used it against him during the interrogation, then proceeded to put him through a torturous drug trip with hallucinations of his past self and doubts. Heck, I don't even know if that last part can be blamed on Sunday or the heightened up memoria in Penacony. Either way, that unpleasant experience will have Sunday's face associated with it. (Same thing with Firefly. Even if it was technically part of Aventurine's plan to go through that, it will still be the most conflicting and awkward experience to have Sunday for a colleague).

In conclusion: Sunday's got issues with a lot of the factions mentioned and it will not be the most pleasant experience trying to make it work. Lol

#sunday hsr #hsr #sunday honkai star rail #honkia star rail #aventurine #firefly hsr #astral express

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rationaliity · 10 months ago

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CALICO — VOICELINES

interactive voices

first meeting : hi ! i’m calico, and this is tabby, we’re members of the planetary protection division. if ever you need us, feel free to shoot either one of us a text, we’ll do our best to help out !

greeting : is something wrong ? you look like you’re deep in thought. if something’s troubling you, you can tell me. i’ll listen, i promise.

parting : oh, hey ! i’m glad you look less stressed out now. did you figure it out ? ah, i’m happy for you ! busy days are even better when they’re finally done and you get to take a nap.

about self: tabby : tabby : just because i’m a new addition to the cosmos, doesn’t mean that you, or anyone else, can try to pull one over on me. i’m a lot smarter than people give me credit for ! i have all of calico’s brains and none of her fear of confrontation. i say what i want when i want it.

about self: memory loss : there’s a lot of things that i’m supposed to remember, but a lot of it eludes me to this day. a lot of doctors have given their two cents about it, including people that i’m sure you know, but in the end, no one can truly know why so much is missing within me. unless they were on that dead planet with me, of course.

chat: planetary protection division : the ipc sends us out when a world has gone through a crisis and may not have the ability to pick itself back up. we collaborate with a lot of the ipc, including the strategic investment department and the intelligentsia guild. whatever we need to help a world, if we don’t have it, the other factions do.

chat: ipc : the ipc is filled with interesting members ! topaz and i are relatively close, and i’ve met aventurine a few times. now, that doctor.. i’ve met him more times than i can count, and every time has been… enlightening, to say the least.

tabby: enlightening ? you’re too busy ogling him to pay attention to what he’s saying.

hobbies : getting a cat nap in when i can is the only way i can keep up my strength, after all, i wanna be at peak performance in case anything happens. sleeping is so nice, you can go anywhere and be anyone in your dreams ~

tabby : i like collecting keychains ! i have a dozen probably from different planets that we’ve visted. i don’t have anything ot even put them on, i just have a bunch of them.

annoyances : those times where you swear you have an hour left to nap but then your alarm rings.. the worst ever.

something to share : the easiest way of taking care of yourself is to go about everything one step at a time. can’t get out of bed ? just wiggle your toes, or stretch. you’ll get there.

knowledge : the human body is beautifully resilient. you can go through hell and return still standing on your own feet. there’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it.

about dr. ratio : ah, the doctor within the intelligentsia guild, a man of knowledge.. as elusive as he is, uhm, interesting.

tabby : and by ��interesting’ you mean ‘handsome’. you can just say what you mean, calico.

about aventurine : i’ve never been in his shoes, so i don’t know what he’s gone through personally. i feel as though my amnesia makes me lucky comparatively. i don’t have to remember what i’ve been through.

about topaz : her love for anything cute and fluffy is adorable. one time, i bought her a fuzzy keychain from a planet i visited, and i swear i saw her tear up.

about raun mei : she is.. beautiful, from a distance. i can’t bring myself to approach her. life.. is more than an experiment.

eidolon activation : the parts of me that i’ll never understand, why do you slumber ?

character ascension : move forward, even if you can’t feel your feet.

max level reached : we’re here because of the tireless work of other people. my accomplishments are not my own.

trace activation : a new skill ! perhaps i have earned a well deserve nap. what do you say, tabby ?

added to team with dr. ratio : ah, d-doctor..! you’re here too ?

tabby : leave this to us, doctor. you can just stand there and look pretty.

added to team with aventurine : we’ve gone through harder trials than this, i’m sure. i will protect you.

added to team with topaz : what a pleasant surprise, topaz ~ once we’re done here, i’ll take you out to eat.

added to team with raun mei : tabby : we’re here, miss, a testament to life itself.

combat voices

battle begins : weakness break : i’m a tough cookie..!

battle begins : danger alert : stand behind me !

turn begins : i can take a punch or two.

turn idling : decisions…are hard..

basic atk : calico and tabby do not have any basic atk voiceovers

enhanced basic atk: calico and tabby do not have any enhanced basic atk voiceovers.

skill 1 : we will not let you get hurt.

skill 2 : tabby : focus ! we can take this !

hit by light attack : i couldn’t even feel it !

hit by heavy attack : ow.. that’s going to bruise..

ultimate: activate : i will not fail you !

ultimate: unleash : my scars.. i carry them with the strength inside of me..!

talent 1 : hah, try again !

talent 2 : tabby : you’re weak !

downed : everything.. has lead me to this point..

return to battle : thank you, i will never forget this kindness.

health recovery : i feel much better now !

technique : let me lead the way.

battle won : another win, we’re on a roll today !

treasure opening 1 : we got lucky this time !

treasure opening 2 : tabby : does this count as stealing ?

precious treasure opening : what nice stuff ! do you want to split ?

successful puzzle-solving 1 : hah ! i knew i was smart !

successful puzzle-solving 2 : tabby : are you going to go tell him ?

enemy target found : we’re stronger, i can tell.

returning to town : can we go take a nap now ? i’m sleepy..

-> introduction | gallery | lightcone

#hsr fanart #honkai star rail #honkai starrail oc #hsr oc #honkai sr #honkai star rail art #hsr fanfic #honkai star rail calico #calico #original character #character voicelines #dr ratio #veritas ratio #oc x canon #tabby

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desiremade · 1 month ago

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HSR stuff, just notes for now. Thoughts...

The planet is called Perdition 999, or just perdition , and is essentially a massive 'legal black market' that produces all kinds of things. the IPC actually controls it and pushes a bunch of commercialism, and merchandising through it. Turning it into a rather big tourist hot spot, for those who don't mind the risk. People tend to go missing on this planet, or lose themselves on their own. So taken by the novelty and wonder of perdition- that they never leave. ( it's supposed be like ,, , a form of hell ig )

The planet's local race are simply referred to as the infari. But most people from off world simply call them demons. They can disguise themselves to look much more human- but otherwise have a wide variety of strange, and unsettling appearances. Despite the IPC's influence, most of the infari follow the path of voracity. ( though it might change as i flesh them out more ).

Shiloh is an infari. And all her life she grew up hearing fanciful tales of romance and true love. Of familial bonds that could weather any storm. Of friendships that moved entire mountains. She's not sure if it was her overwhelming wanderlust, or if it was simply fate- but Shiloh would be blessed by Aha. Gifted the abilities and freedom she needed to try to find love of her very own.

I don't think she'd fit into any existing factions of Aha very well. So she's sort of her own thing- referred to as the matchmaker. She finds joy in the pursuit of love, and enjoys seeing it in it's many forms. And encourages others to find their own love too if it makes them happy.

#𝟎𝟎. / ooc #i will flesh these out later ☝️#something something-#the infari being opposite of halovians

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makimacult · 5 months ago

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been turning over 2.5 in my head more and more and it's quite uncomfortable how the borisin are written.. for one thing their name is directly derived from genghis khan's clan, the borjigin. in general i feel like portraying an enemy faction as ontologically evil is lazy writing. the writing was somewhat redeemed by the samatha quest in luminary wardance but i was still side-eyeing it a lil... the token 'good' borisin we meet is always in a foxian meatsuit? 🤔 idk... just lots of missed opportunities here. i wish there was more exploration of the hints that are given that feixiao at least does have some borisin heritage. the hoolay-feixiao confrontation of the shadow self stuff was fun, but if there could have just been small edits in how the borisin were framed...

look, feixiao literally became a general by using the borisin's tactics against them. clearly they do have some tactics and therefore intelligence and free will to speak of? sunday and gopher wood belong to an antagonistic faction and yet they're humanised via their quests. star rail portrays paths as something neutral; the meaning of the path is given by the people who walk on it. so we can get the ipc following preservation but still being exploitative and ruthless, and we can get the belobogians reforming under bronya and pursuing preservation in their own way. all im saying is, i would like to see more nuanced depictions of the denizens of abundance... the claretwheel monks are a start and i hope they get more exploration

#hsrposting #anya.txt

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ccaptain · 8 months ago

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I am being forced to cook against my own exhausted ass body, but my brain is telling me to connect the dots. So I have connected them.

By this point whoever has been following my headcanon journey to shape H:SR Kaeya knows about Astrid, Mortis and what happened with the headmaster of the Monastery. A tl;dr is that this man lured Kaeya into a trap by using these two kids and then essentially brutally tortured and unalived Astrid right in front of Kaeya before fleeing after she had outlived her usefulness, and all that Kaeya has of this experience are terrors and the blood-stained epoxy-ed bread piece always with him.

This man is the only person, up until now, that draws a very human, very angered response out of Kaeya- it makes him almost feral, grasping at every trace of him he can find and pursuing him like a bloodhound chases the trail of a wounded animal, muzzle stained with blood and teeth bared. Kaeya is not proud of this side of his, but it exists and will continue existing as long as he knows the ruthless, callous man who did something unspeakable just because he could continues to live.

This leads to one question: if it's important for him, why isn't H:SR Kaeya pursuing him more strictly?

Even if busy with his goal, nothing stops him from paying an investigator to find intel of this man's whereabouts- many individuals have good sources that they can mobilitate for him, if the price meets their standards. Kaeya doesn't have a shortage of money- nor his income will ever dry up in a substantial way. He would be realistically able to pay for these services.

There's even the possibility of hiring a mercenary- someone who will make his death either quick and swift, or drawn out, long and agonizingly painful- exactly like the one he inflicted upon Astrid. This would allow Kaeya to keep his hands clean while ridding the universe or someone dangerous- even if human, a skilled assassin would be able to come out of the conflict with minor, treatable injuries and with a job well done. Even a bounty hunter would do- surely, you'd think a man this dangerous has been talked about and slapped with, at least, a mildly high cash price for his head. What he did was and still is pretty serious. Even as Kaeya tore apart the Monastery, people managed to escape and spread words of what had transpired in here.

I pondered this question in my mind for a while. And then I happened to glance a bit more attentively at Boothill's stories and saw a thing:

Let me preface this with a theory: I don't think that a normal human would be able to ''erase himself completely from historical records''. Boothill himself had to visit and cause chaos in the Garden of Remembrance in order to find out who his target was: Oswaldo Schneider. Not only hiding oneself like how this piece of story tells us would have been difficult after doing something as massive as he did- his underlings would have heard his voice dishing out the command, too. Or received a message from a source they knew. At worst, he would have had to identify himself with a nickname, which could be traced back to him.

In no way a person can simply vanish from history after having done something so massive. There must have been a smidge of a trace to work on- a person who could have recognized his voice- apparently, he is the head director of the Marketing Development Department, so of course there could have been someone tampering with files and records to hide him. But as I said: nothing can be fully erased from history- expecially from human, clumsy hands who tend to overlook things. There'll always be a little hint left here and there to work with.

Unless...

We know only of a group of people who can alter any kind of history. And those are on the faction of the Enigmata- the History Fictionologists.

Boothill had to resort into breaking in the Garden of Recollection to find Oswaldo Schneider- despite him having a role inside the IPC.

Kaeya can't find the Monastery headmaster because he hasn't hired the right sources, or because he isn't putting enough effort into it- all of these statements are false.

Kaeya cannot track this man down because the man is hiding himself while actively tampering with history.

He can confuse his own identity to avoid a bounty on his head- so hiring an hunter is useless. The intel on this man would be non-existant, since he has tampered with his own informations- and, obviously, mercenaries wouldn't know who he is and wouldn't know who to target- either the Monastery headmaster is an avatar belonging to someone from the Enigmata, just like Gallagher was, or a Fictionologist themselves, which further complicates things.

Kaeya isn't lazying around, nor avoiding the final confrontation: this is a matter of Enigmata fellow and Enigmata fellow going against eachother, using the same weapons and techniques that they are equipped with, and still both under the same Aeon. Both of them, the pursuer of justice (Kaeya) and the villain (the headmaster) aren't willing to budge from their respective positions.

Kaeya will continue to chase. The headmaster will continue to hide. This battle could take millennias to have a final winner out of it. Nobody can help Kaeya with this, and this is a battle he must face alone.

TL;DR: how reading Boothill's lore made me realize that the man he's pursuing could be from the fucking Enigmata and this has slapped me across the face and made me cook up some more H:SR Kaeya lore. Thanks Boothill!

#from another realm ━ (ooc)#you no longer know me; shrouded in the fog of mystery ━ (H:SR V. Headcanons)#hmm. perishes in the heat of night #this was actually a sensible amount of cooking that i did in 2hr+. pats myself on the back #also realizing that hsr kae.ya connects to boo.thills with little effort bc these two have... a LOT of similiarities. they get eachother #also @ any boo.thills seeing this: dont be shy let's plot serious stuff. im gripping yall with moderate force.

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loiyaltie · 1 year ago

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“plots please”

ALL ABOARD. - Gepard being offered the chance to travel on the Astral Express for a time to see the world, and to gather some information about worlds beyond to help the advancement of Jarilo-VI. I think he'd gravitate towards Dan Heng more than the others, appreciating both the more reserved nature but also the access to the data banks. Let him talk about plants and ask to see other landscapes (I love the idea of him getting to see images of forests and expanses of water and deserts etc.) really interested in knowing the world (and what his planet is becoming a part of. I think he'd happily sit and listen to Dan Heng explain facts, or ask him questions and just them getting to know each other through a quest for knowledge. Later on perhaps becoming a teaching opportunity to ask about what the IPC are about so he can know for the next time.

NIGHT TIME COMPANIONS. - Dan Heng gets nightmares and Gepard has his own sleep struggles, so these two meeting in the night hours, on Jarilo-VI or on the Astral Express. Whether it's they both have had nightmares or there's an absence of sleep or a combination of both, but the two of them connecting within that space where they are both vulnerable but isolated from the waking world. Speaking around the things that bother them, and yet finding commonalities in their struggles, perhaps being honest with each other as time passes.

LEND A HAND? - Gepard inviting Dan Heng back to Belobog - along with the rest of the Nameless - to see how they have expanded and invite him to consult on some of the ideas. At the same time something happens, whether its light-hearted like volunteers going sick at the museum and is Gepard's turn to teach Dan Heng of their history, talking of his family's history, the history of the Guardians etc. which could lead into a chance over time to recognise similarities with each other in having this former legacy bearing upon their shoulders whether they wish it or not. Or it could be something more serious, Fragmentum effects getting worse, a surge in creatures out there, and an exhausted Gepard needing some capable reinforcements who can help him find the source of the problems.

WE HAVE COMMON ACQUAINTANCES. - Stellaron Hunter AU, where Gepard who has been posing as a Silvermane Guard during the quest - always alone keeping himself obscured from any important figures - reveals himself at the end as aligned with the Stellaron Hunter faction. Could be a bit more of a cat and mouse, Dan Heng suspicious as time goes on because he has a bit too much knowledge for one on Belobog should have (given its isolation from the world) also mentioning his name around Serval has different effects. Then also the chance to interact through other events, Gepard's sent to the Luofu to ensure things are on track or that chance for honesty later.

→ send plots please for 3 - 5 interaction ideas. // @cloudhymn

#cloudhymn #ooc. [ captain's orders / mun rambles. ]#( thanks for sending!! )

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franeridan · 9 months ago

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ratio having once hoped to be recognised by nous and admitted in the genius society is only ever mentioned in his character story as far as I recall, and his character story is exclusively told from an external perspective and this specific fact is given as speculation from someone who's not particularly close to ratio and is just assuming based on his reaction to being invited to join the guild, which has me thinking that maybe it was never true to being with (even aven mentioning as much during his pov in the 2.1 quest could just be him repeating what he's heard through gossip, and therefore isn't definitive proof that ratio did wish, at some point, to join the society)

that said what I find especially interesting about the instance in which this is mentioned isn't as much the fact that ratio might or might have not hoped to be looked at by nous, but his reaction specifically to being invited to joining the intelligentsia guild independently from his feelings about the society - he gets the letter, he asks to be left alone, he laughs bitterly at it. It's speculated by the assistant that he realized in that moment that being invited to join the guild meant he'd never join the society, but that's honestly a weird conclusion to reach - herta is proof enough that you can both work for the ipc and be part of the genius society. Be an emanator of nous, even

the thing I rarely see brought up is that the guild isn't simply founded or marginally affiliated with the ipc, it is part of the ipc. just like the strategic investment department, the intelligentsia guild is a section of the ipc. aven working with ratio isn't the ipc working with the guild, it's just the ipc doing business as usual (the invitation to join the guild was sent to him by the ipc themselves, and if that's not proof enough, the first time we ever heard of the guild was in the ipc presentation trailer - a myriad celestia nonetheless - in which it's listed as one of the many cogs that makes up the ipc machine)

(this is off topic just slightly, but keeping this in mind makes it even more suspicious how both topaz and jade mentioned how aven was the only ipc member allowed inside the dreamscape - did they really not know ratio was with him? though topaz obviously saw him in sunday's dream and she didn't seem surprised, so who knows)

I'm bringing this up because I feel like ratio's reaction to receiving the letter of invitation was less about losing his chance to join the genius society (if he ever wished for it) and more about having done something that made the ipc interested in his work - the ipc specifically reached out to him after the completion of the anti-planetary weapon, and we know of at least one other instance in which the ipc got interested in the works of a genius specifically for its use in the building of mass destruction weapons. Ratio's a weird character, but I feel he's easily read as fundamentally a good guy - he seeks knowledge for his own sake as much as for everyone else's, and his main aim is always to help first and foremost. He never specifies why he worked on the weapon, but from his texts to the tb we can sorta figure that it was primarly meant as a mean of defence during interstellar travels (the star rail universe is an exceedingly dangerous place, after all. even if you don't count the stellarons and the anti-matter legion and any possible hostile faction, the express did get randomly swallowed by a leftover emanator of propagation - that ratio would worry about defence in a world like this isn't so far fetched). catching the eye of the ipc means that his weapon was noticed as something meant to attack first, though, and we don't have proof of anything as far as ratio's thoughts go, but for him to be disappointed in himself after something like this happened doesn't sound too weird

the question stands though as for why he decided to accept the invitation - he's not working on the weapon anymore, that's for sure as he's told us as much (he refers to it as something he used to work on in his messages, and mentions that the problem of actually finding the materials to build it isn't his to puzzle out). Actually, I personally don't see why someone as good and as selfless and as little interested in personal gain as ratio would join the ipc at all. founding? the freedom to travel to spread knowledge? access to more information? I don't think ratio is a huge fan of the ipc's modus operandi, but it's also true that we've rarely seen his thoughts or pov, so maybe I just misread him completely and he doesn't care either way so long as he can keep on doing his own thing

no, all of this is to say that I believe ratio has his own goal in mind and he doesn't care which means he uses as long as he reaches it, but he is, canonically, a man of integrity and care for others, so his presence in the guild and the ipc despite their putting themselves and their own gain above anything else must serve some form of plan or reason. Or he just likes the concept of knowledge-for-knowledge the guild is based upon (though, from what we can piece together reading about him, he was the founder of the council of mundanites himself - so he's probably, at least in part, trying to change the guild from the inside. Or gathering like-minded people around himself for whatever reason. Interesting also how the council isn't an official group but is regarded more as a rumour than something you can get easy data on - is he keeping the exact members and works of the council hidden from the ipc for a specific reason?)

this whole thing is mostly just stream of consciousness about ratio tbh, but I read someone earlier mention how they believe it's possible if aven is trying to tear down the ipc from the inside that ratio is giving him a hand, and that got me thinking. I can't 100% say I believe that's what the two of them are trying to do, but if they are...... ratio's presence inside the ipc is weird, is what it got me thinking. I'm not sure I understand what exactly he's doing in there, or how much he likes it. It is possible he would agree to a plan to take them (or a specific part of them) down, I guess

#this is very long but I've been thinking about this for hours #he's probably the character that interests me the most in star rail ngl #he's so weird #he seems to have such great goals and reasons #but it also wouldn't be weird to me if he accepted the job at the ipc to be allowed all the research he wishes for without worrying about #founding and means and reach #i hope we'll get more info about him and his reasons the further in the story we go

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stellrn · 1 year ago

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A possible solution to the universe's problems in the future:

Be your own Aeon.

Every Aeon has a theme of representing an aspect to the extreme. What if there was an Aeon that is nuanced?

To loosely summarise the war between the Hunt and the Abundance: they were incapable of nuance (being one of the factors). Either full immortality or mortality, and no take backsies. The lack of options, the dichotomy, made them think that the gift was the best thing there is.

Not to mention Elation and the lack of accountability, or the Destruction with every major war and genocide. Such extremism doesn't do anyone good. Look at the IPC, even the Preservation can be twisted to give an excuse for the excessively profit-driven corporation.

The war of all the Aeons against each other also means a lot of suffering is because of these higher beings, instead of humans doing it to themselves. It's redundant.

While the solution I am theorising probably isn't any better, putting you on top of existance with all the consequences, it should still remove a lot of unnecessary parts of Aeons.

A human can't represent just a single thing: they aren't only warmonging as the Destruction, uncaring like Nihility, intrusive as the Elation, devoted as the Hunt, protective like the Preservation or loving as the Harmony. They are a mix of everything, both good and bad.

Another thing is that Aeons can be dissolved into an Aeon with the bigger idea. So it might be possible to turn all the Aeons into a soup. (And drink it.)

A theory about the Stellarons is that they are created from the desires of people, or something along those lines. If that is the case, you may represent the will of the people.

Stelle, Aeon of Humanity, Stellaron Prime.

There may be a small problem with that...

It would also mean war againat the IPC, everything based on Aeons, and the universe at that... So eh? Oh well:

"Rules are made to be broken!"

P.S. Unveiling is a good read. Can be applied to Aeons as well.

[Stelle is mind-blown by this ask.]

“You must have a big brain, largechemicalreactor. Is it possible you’re a part of the Genius Society or the Intelligentsia Guild or any other factions of the Erudition?” [Stelle compliments you for this possible solution, which, of course, still has its consequences.]

“I definitely agree, every aeon…is a bit too extreme. As you said, aeons have lack of choices and are just…who they are.” [Stelle shrugs at the last part and then nods her head as she understands what you have to say.]

“Seriously, because most aeons are constantly in war with each other…the people that follow their path follow them too. It causes disharmony is the universe, and that’s when the Astral Express steps in and you know the deal after that.” [Stelle groans in annoyance, wondering why these aeons can’t just live peacefully with each other?]

“Me…as an Aeon? That would be sick! And that’s right too, humans can also have the qualities of two or more paths at the same time. This makes me wonder if there is anyone in the universe that follow two or more paths simultaneously.” [Stelle thinks for a moment before continuing.]

“Aeon soup? That’s a smart idea. I wonder if drinking the mixture of all aeons that could apparently turn into soup could turn us into some omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient being or something. Just a thought.” [Stelle gives you a smug smile, hearing what you say next.]

“Ah yes…I will represent the people with the power of my stellaron. But honestly, that’s a good point. But, I have a doubt in this one…we all know that Stellarons are seeds of destruction, cancer of all words blah blah. But these…stellarons stem from the power of the destruction, so it’s very likely to be turned into soup by the destruction. I don’t personally like the idea of me being soup.” [Stelle feels a shiver run down her spine.]

“I personally think I should be the Aeon of Trashcans. The most underrated Aeon. And war against the IPC and…yeah okay, I’m not a coward. I bet I can beat their ass!” [Stelle gives a motivated grin.]

#Trailblazing beyond🌟#The main character appears!‼️#hsr roleplay #hsr stelle #hsr trailblazer #honkai star rail #honkai star rail roleplay #hsr rp #stelle #honkai: star rail #hsr

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hometownrockstar · 1 year ago

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hello boss i know you’ve mentioned honkai star rail a bit and i just downloaded it the other day but my stupid ass forgot to read all the lore stuff 😭 if you’re feeling up to it would you mayhaps give me a teeny rundown… at least for the general stuff hehe. hope you’re having a good one!

:) hi! umm lore in star rail might be harder to summarize bc its like bunch of different factions/planets with their own lore, rather than it being one world with a central story lore u know? but basically there's the aeons who are like gods of certain paths, those are important to specific factions except the Preservation didnt show up much in belobog lol, belobog's deal is they are a planet under eternal winter cause of a stellaron, stellaron's are just like a phenomenon that causes bad things to happen its very vague in the game but you the main character have one in your heart cause kafka put it there. Xianzhou is a fleet of six ships (you visit only the Luofu in the game) who follow the Hunt because they are hunting down creations of the Abundance who are immortal because their unmitigated growth is bad, also the Xianzhou is made of immortals cause they were blessed by the Abundance at first but then realized immortality sucks cause it makes them lose their minds and grow leaves so theyre like trying to fix their mistakes by destroying the Abundance instead. then on february 5th in real life we're going to Penacony which was a prison planet run by the IPC (space amazon) but now its a dream resort place run by the family, who follow the Harmony. sunday is there :) we don't know much abt them yet cause theyre not out. if u need more then in the database section of the esc menu, u can read about the factions!

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ironunderstands · 7 months ago

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This is overall really well written and thank you for pointing out that Aventurine clearly wants something from the IPC, that he was not going to get executed there, and that he was never going to get executed in the future. (One little nitpick though, what Ratio said there could have been true AND he wouldn’t be racist if but considering the context yeah he’s probably not sentenced to death).

However I’ve seen some people point it out in the comments but I think it’s pretty heavily implied that the IPC were the ones to capture and enslave him originally. Knowing Boothill’s lore, how we have seen lower ranked IPC members behave (Aurum alley) and the fact that Aventurine’s first enslaver seemingly got him from or at the very least went to lower ranked IPC members to ask about his condition/origins, which a) why would they know specifically unless they had custody of him and b) this implies that those employees would know (or could at least guess) that Aventurine was a slave and they were like “yup that tracks”

Either way we don’t know for certain WHO enslaved Aventurine originally, but considering that the Kataca and the remaining Avgin were either dead or “missing” it’s not insane to assume that the only remaining faction in the area- the IPC, is responsible for this, especially considering that it’s not above them in the slightest. Hell, one of Topaz’s lines in the Belabog quest makes it seem like this is kind of normal for them if it’s clear the other party can’t offer anything

The IPC will do whatever profits them, so enslaving and then selling the survivors on Sigonia because they have nothing left to offer would make perfect sense.

Now whether this is something Oswaldo ordered or something his subordinates decided to do on their own is another thing entirely, but I think it’s unreasonable to suggest that Aventurine knows nothing about him, let alone that he’s unaware that he’s behind the situation on Sigonia

A) Considering the first thing he asks Jade upon becoming a Stoneheart is about the fate of the Avgin, there’s no way in hell Aventurine didn’t use the IPC’s resources and his own position to scour the universe for any and all information about the Avgin

B) As you said, the Strategic Investment Department and the Marketing Department are enemies, so he’d probably learn information about Oswaldo anyways

C) Aventurine might have even learned of it on Sigonia, considering the Avgin did make a deal, although he probably didn’t know what it meant back then, as he referred to the IPC as “the men in black”

D) This kinda seems like it’s Oswaldo’s thing, and what happened on Boothill’s and Aventurine’s planets is incredibly unremarkable to him, so I doubt that in universe it would be an insane assumption to make.

Aventurine’s relationship to the IPC is complicated. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he doesn’t like being in the Stonehearts or the IPC, considering how self destructive he is, or the very reasonable ways in which he would hate them. However, I do think he deliberately tried to join them, although the reasons behind it are unknown, being a Stoneheart grants him money, power, and the one thing he truly needed- autonomy.

It’s clear he’s planning SOMETHING with these assets that has nothing to do with the IPC, “may your schemes be ever concealed,” and all, plus him putting the suicidal facade back on for Jade when he know he’s had a change of heart and doesn’t want to meaninglessly risk his life anymore, meaning he’s keeping up the act so she- and by extension the IPC- won’t know about it.

Personally, I have two theories as for why he’s still with them, as it’s clearly not love of the Preservation, or the material things they can offer him (as he has them but it doesn’t satisfy him)

Revenge

This one is almost self explanatory, both because the IPC has wronged him and his people (to what degree you may decide) and because Aventurine was thrust into the role of the savior of the Avgin, and since he failed to save them, he might as well do away with the people who failed them too.

Moreover, he probably also does not desire to see other people fall into his situation, as despite everything, Aventurine is extremely empathetic. The first thing he asks when getting his Cornerstone is if there are any other survivors of the Avgin, and if he can pay the people who helped him on a random unknown planet back. He absolutely has enough motivation to want to tear open the IPC from the inside.

2. The Order

It’s speculated a lot that Ena is Gaithra Tryclops + the one who gifted Aventurine his luck, and this is a theory I personally believe.

However, I also learned that they would destroy civilizations that got too powerful to maintain Order, and that they came into conflict with the Voracity who was well, voracious, consuming and taking literally everything.

Sound familiar?

Whether he’s aware of it or not, Aventurine taking down the IPC would be much like Ena taking down the Voracity (who mirrors the IPC a lot, both in methods and with individuals like Jade, who are indicative of them with her snake motifs), so if he can’t save his people, he’d be fulfilling what his mother goddess would have wanted by destroying entities that got too powerful, such as the IPC. We honestly don’t know a lot about Gaithra Tryclops, but considering her believers also seemed to consist purely of a small clan (and not a massive civilization), I think it’s fun to speculate that small, tight knit communities were part of the Avgin’s beliefs/culture, and that they perhaps didn’t favor the opposite of that.

That’s just speculation though, although personally I want both 1 and 2 to be true because that would be sick as fuck and because if I hear Aventurine get called “an Emanator of the Order” I will actually explode with joy.

I think the reason this dissonance exists is because Aventurine creates it himself. Unlike Topaz who seems happy to be there, or Jade who’s fine with what they do, at best he’s like “this is part of the job” and at worst he’s making plans that could get himself killed (and are pointed out to be unnecessarily be that way by other Stonehearts) because it’s clear that nothing the IPC provides him is satisfying or gives him purpose. Prior to talking to Acheron, he literally doesn’t believe his life is worth living, and she believes his existence under the facade that is “Aventurine” is quite fragile.

It’s clear that behind in the IPC isn’t good for him, and that he’s not enjoying it, but this can coexist with him choosing to stay, as what you want to do and what you need to do are two separate things.

As for Aventurine… well, not OUR Aventurine, but the title in general…

You mentioned the Aventurine-Egyhazo case, one which is suspiciously named that considering Kakavasha was not Aventurine at that time, and would not have become him by the time it was granted a name.

What, or rather Who, was this “Aventurine” and could he be the reason why leaving the IPC would be hard for our Aventurine?

After all, I doubt Diamond would randomly make him a new cornerstone out of nowhere considering that we have seen the resources they take to make in the recent Myriad Celestia, no matter how valuable Jade believes he is. Moreover, the IPC included the rest of Aventurine’s background in their broadcast about him, save for him being a slave and him killing his master, which are suspicious things to cover up if they had nothing to do with the case at hand, or at the very least the IPC’s reputation.

I’ve had a theory for a while now that the master he killed (not the first one, perhaps he was passed between people as that wouldn’t be unprecedented in slave trades) was the previous Aventurine, and the biggest part of Aventurine’s gamble with Jade was that she would be aware that losing a Stoneheart to a random person would cause a big stir within the galaxy, so replacing him with the previous one, and writing it off as “just a scam case” could ensure his survival. Moreover, considering that it seems like Aventurine’s watch was taken from his previous enslaver, who’s to say he didn’t take anything else from him? Like earning his cornerstone? The man also held a glass of wine in the one shot we got of him, and that kind of visual motif is present throughout the Stonehearts (Topaz offers us one in her demo, Jade and Aventurine both have it in their animated shorts).

That’s just my little crack theory that I’m praying comes true though. Overall, thank you for making this post, as what pisses me off the most is when people act like Aventurine is helpless, when he’s anything BUT that.

Fact Checking Some Myths About Aventurine and the IPC

Especially in light of Jade's new myriad celestia trailer and the reveal of the other Stonehearts, I've seen a ton of wild claims about Aventurine--particularly how he's an unwilling member of the Stonehearts and needs to be saved from the IPC--that just aren't sitting right with me because they're based significantly more on the fanon take that Aventurine is an "innocent victim" than any actual evidence displayed in the game. So I wanted to take the time to collect some in-game evidence to see if we can sort out what Aventurine's actual relationship to the IPC is. Time to do some fact checking--this is a long one, buckle up!

Claim #1: Aventurine was sentenced to die by the IPC.

Verdict: There's no actual evidence that Aventurine was ever sentenced to anything.

This entire idea that Aventurine was actually successfully sentenced to die by the IPC comes from two pieces of "evidence" in the game. First, the scene with Dr. Ratio where those words are stated:

Leaving aside whether the IPC legally has the right to sentence anyone to anything by themselves (they're a corporation, not an actual governing body), this is the exact line that Dr. Ratio fans have been bending over backward to prove is "just an act" and that Ratio would never actually mean this (because if he actually meant this, it would make him pretty racist). So if we've already busted our asses to prove this line isn't true and was just Ratio and Aventurine acting... why would we be using this line as evidence that Aventurine was actually sentenced to anything?

We can't say "This entire scene was an act because Sunday/the Family was listening in!" and then go "Okay, but this one part is definitely true (despite there not being any other evidence in game to corroborate the statement)." Either this scene is acting, and this line isn't true--or the line is true, and Ratio's kind of a racist. Make up your minds, people. 😂

Actually, I can help make up your mind. We can prove that this line is likely a strong part of Aventurine and Ratio's deliberate act because Ratio's comment (which took place in 2.0) doesn't actually make any sense once Aventurine's story is fully revealed (in 2.1).

Ratio relates Aventurine's slave brand to the IPC, suggesting that the brand is proof that Aventurine is "doomed" and "sentenced to die by the IPC." Ratio even goes so far to say "Or was it from the Amber Lord himself?"

But from 2.1, we know that Aventurine's brand had nothing to do with the IPC, and his former slave owner was definitely not an IPC employee (as he refers to the IPC the same as Aventurine's sister did, "the guys in black").

Aventurine's brand came from being owned by a non-IPC-affiliated slaver--it had nothing to do with the Stonehearts or even Oswaldo Schneider.

So Ratio's entire comment linking the brand to the IPC makes no sense, and therefore his statement that the brand marks Aventurine as a "doomed Sigonian thrall sentenced to die by the IPC" also makes no sense.

Instead, I would argue that this line is a perfect example of the kind of exaggerated acting that Ratio and Aventurine were doing specifically to make the eavesdropping Family see Aventurine as an easy target. With this line, Ratio is emphasizing that Aventurine is a sitting duck without his Cornerstone, that he'll be weak and helpless--and that no one in the IPC will come help him, because they've already sentenced him to die. This is Ratio deliberately baiting Sunday into thinking that Aventurine will be easy, isolated prey without his Cornerstone--which is exactly what Aventurine wanted Sunday to think.

This line, which comes from a scene that we've already established is a deliberate act to mislead someone, cannot be used as evidence of Aventurine's real situation within the IPC.

"But then what about the trial scene with Jade?!" I already hear people saying. "Aventurine was definitely going to be sentenced to death!"

I'm not arguing that death wasn't a possible option for Kakavasha initially; it's clear that committing severe enough crimes can earn you the death penalty in Star Rail's universe. But I think we need to take another good look at this scene and see what really happened here.

First, we need to clarify that this scene with Jade was not an actual trial. The scene begins with a broadcast which clarifies that the suspect in the "Egyhazo-Aventurine Fraud Case" was just caught, and the IPC are conducting investigations into the "motive of the suspect."

So Jade's scene with Aventurine is not an actual trial (I mean... Jade's not even legally a judge!); it's an investigation with the goal of determining why Kakavasha would have tried to scam the Intelligentsia Guild and IPC at Egyhazo.

We can confirm that this scene with Jade is not an actual trial because she is even says "We haven't been able to find you any defense [lawyer], so you perhaps will have to defend yourself."

To which Aventurine responds that he easily could defend himself from the charges--but that it's pointless to do so. Why? Because he never intends to get to a trial in the first place.

He's there to gamble with Diamond (who he asks to see right on the spot, indicating that he's done his research in advance and knows who the head honcho he needs to talk to is). Instead, Jade says that he'll have to gamble with her, to which he agrees, and lays down his terms.

(He even says "I bet you won't send me to the gallows." We know that Kakavasha always wins his bets--he bet she won't send him off to a trial to be executed, and he once again won his bet!)

Jade, known for picking out "unpolished stones with great potential" and promoting them into positions of power to extract their value, agrees immediately, and literally tells Kakavasha to go change his clothes right then and there. She really said "I like your confidence; you're hired on the spot."

So... This was not a trial, Kakavasha never went on trial, and because he never went on trial, we have zero evidence in-game that he was ever sentenced to anything.

The IPC doesn't give a shit about the murder of some no-name slaver (I mean come on, think of how many other murders they've covered up at this point--do you really think they're holding one past murder of a no-name NPC over Aventurine's head years later?).

They might give a shit about the money they lost on Kakavasha's schemes, but Jade's entire schtick is one of equivalence--having Kakavasha join the IPC as a Stoneheart means he will ultimately generate infinitely more wealth for them than his schemes ever cost them in the first place, and that's the central piece of Jade's statement in this scene:

Is Aventurine's whole role in the Stonehearts exploitative, focused on his endless ability to win bets and generate profit? YUP. But that's ALL the Stonehearts' goal at this point--he's not unique in being "exploited" for his value. One look at Topaz confirms that.

So, ultimately, we have no evidence that Kakavasha was ever sentenced for his crimes, let alone that he was sentenced to die specifically by the IPC.

Claim #2: The Stonehearts will execute Aventurine if he tries to leave or fails his mission(s).

Verdict: There's no actual evidence for this either, beyond the obvious that most people in a powerful enough position in an evil corporation probably can't just up and quit their jobs without consequences.

I've seen this idea that the Stonehearts are planning to execute Aventurine--either for his past crimes, for failing a mission, or for trying to leave the IPC--many, many places, and unfortunately, I really think people are reaching this conclusion strictly on "The IPC is evil" vibes alone.

The IPC is evil; they coerce nice people like Topaz to buying into lifelong contracts; they're colonizers and exploitative capitalists, so of course they would threaten to execute poor innocent Aventurine!

Look, I won't defend the IPC. They are evil. But post hoc, ergo proctor hoc--just because one thing is true, doesn't mean the other statement naturally follows.

Just because the IPC is evil and exploitative (and probably does kill people to shut them up) does not automatically mean they're out to execute Aventurine for the slightest mishap.

I've seen many people say "He was going to be executed for his past crimes, so what do you think will happen if he tries to leave the Stonehearts?" But A) We just established he never went to trial for those past crimes in the first place, so we have no idea if he would have actually been sentenced to death anyway, and B) We have no evidence in-game that any of Kakavasha's past crimes would be back on the table if he were to try to quit the IPC. This is literally just fanon, based on the vibes of the IPC being evil alone. Probably informed by Topaz's "lifelong contract" situation giving people the impression that everyone who works for the IPC has to have a lifelong contract.

What evidence do we have that Aventurine is not at-risk of being executed for screwing up a mission? I mean, Aventurine himself says it. When Jade first states that Aventurine might be punished for destroying a Cornerstone, the only two possible punishments he states are:

If execution was on the table, wouldn't that have been the first punishment Aventurine listed?

And Jade's myriad celestia trailer also states that the only punishment on the table is whether Aventurine will be expelled from the Stonehearts:

And the biggest proof that execution isn't on the table?

The fact that Diamond himself agrees that Aventurine should not be punished even for the serious act of willingly breaking a Cornerstone. If Aventurine can do something as serious as breaking part of Qlipoth's will and body, something he was told to treasure more than his own life, and still get away with it... You can bet the IPC really does not give a shit about his old schemes anymore. Aventurine is way too valuable alive for them to be constantly threatening to kill him.

(But then what about Obsidian's statement that she wants a "bloodbath"? Surely that's evidence that he would have died if they voted against him?

First of all, "bloodbath" is a pretty common metaphorical term. I don't know about you, but any time people get into big drama at my work, this term comes up ["They were all talking shit; it was a total bloodbath"]. "Bloodbath" can mean any intense struggle; it's often not literal death.

However, I'm inclined in this case to say that the real reason Hoyo threw in this "bloodbath" line was just to double down on Obsidian's obvious vampire aesthetic. She's a "vampire." Duh, of course she needs to say something about blood. I think this line speaks more to establishing Obsidian's character as a violent, self-centered person than anything to do with Aventurine's actual situation.)

So, there is no actual evidence in the game that Aventurine is still being held accountable for his past crimes, or that the IPC is planning to execute him for messing up on a mission.

In fact, there are several pieces of evidence in the story suggesting the opposite, that multiple people, including the other Stonehearts, think he's kind of crazy for trying to get himself killed every mission he goes on.

When Aventurine was affected by the Harmony's power, the "future" Aventurine asks him this directly.

"Why does every one of your schemes put your own life at risk?" And players are told the answer to that isn't because of the IPC--it's not because the Stonehearts are out here forcing Aventurine to gamble with his life. When the "Future" Aventurine suggests Aventurine might be taking these risks because of the IPC, real Aventurine flat out says "You don't know me at all." He's not taking the risks for the IPC--he's taking them for himself.

Later, "Future" Aventurine even says that if Aventurine just used tactics like Opal's--which he claims Aventurine could easily do--then he would have been able to claim Penacony for the IPC without putting himself at risk at all. But Aventurine chose not to do that; he chose "death."

Because Aventurine is actually, at least slightly, suicidal. I don't personally think Aventurine would ever have turned a fully-loaded gun on himself and pulled the trigger, but he was actively seeking opportunities to die. Before Penacony ended, he was deliberately putting himself into situations where his life was at risk, taking unnecessary gambles with his life on the line--because then he would win either way. If he won the gamble, he would get whatever prize was promised, and if he lost the gamble, then he would have the "freedom" of death, to be reunited with his family. (It's important to note that the only time the word "freedom" is used in Aventurine's story through 2.1 is in direct reference to death--it is never used in reference to getting "free" from the IPC.)

Aventurine's plans were not self-destructive because of the IPC. They were self-destructive because he was self-destructive. And, in fact, multiple other members of the Stonehearts call out this behavior as a bad thing.

Jade describes Aventurine's ploy in Penacony as "overplaying his hand."

Topaz describes Aventurine's work habits as:

Then there's even Sugilite, who clocks Aventurine's suicidal tendency directly by stating that Aventurine's "death" scheme in Penacony wasn't for the IPC at all--it was entirely for himself.

If the Stonehearts were holding execution over Aventurine's head at all times, why would death be an "unnecessary [personal] extravagance"?

The takeaway from all the other Stonehearts' dialogue about Aventurine is that they actually think he goes too far and that his methods are more risky with his own life than they need to be.

Does that sound like a group of people who are planning to kill him on the drop of the hat?

Okay, okay, I can hear you saying "But that still doesn't mean he can leave the Stonehearts without consequences. They would kill him if he tried to leave."

To that I say: A) There's no actual in-game evidence for that statement; it's literally just "IPC is evil so they definitely would do this" vibes, but B) Is that statement really unique to Aventurine? Do you think Topaz could leave the Stonehearts without consequences? Do you think Jade could just fuck off and leave the IPC if she got the desire to?

It's pretty typical, I would think, that anyone who achieves a high-ranking in a stereotypical "evil capitalist mega-corporation" is not free to just abandon their high up position without consequences. The phrase "You know too much" comes to mind.

I'd argue that people are probably right--Aventurine probably could not leave the Stonehearts without something severe happening, at the very least a memory wipe--but that this is probably true of all the Stonehearts. They're too far up the chain. They know too much about the inner-workings of the literal planet-destroying world-domination company. They've had too much access to insider info to easily leave their positions.

Not being able to easily leave the position has nothing to do with Aventurine personally or his past crimes. It's just (at least likely) a basic fact of being too high up in the morally-grey-at-best super organization. (Well, then again, apparently no one even knows if Agate is dead or not, so maybe they actually don't even care lol.)

Claim #3: Aventurine didn't want to join the IPC; he's working with the IPC only because he's forced to.

Verdict: The game suggests in several places that Aventurine joined the IPC of his own free will. Whether he's still loyal to them is not 100% clear.

I think this is the biggest question mark I'm left with when reading other people's posts about Aventurine--this enduring idea that Aventurine never wanted to join the IPC and was only forced to do so because he was captured and death was his only other option.

But that is literally not what the game is telling us at all. The game tells us--in multiple places--that Aventurine orchestrated his own circumstances so that he could gain an audience with Diamond and win a position within the Stonehearts by his own gambles.

First, let's re-examine that scene with Jade. One of the first things Jade says is "What kind of person would come up with a scheme [the Egyhazo fraud] that doesn't benefit them in any way?"

The takeaway from this is that Kakavasha did not actually stand to gain anything from scamming the Intelligentsia Guild into digging for Tayzzyronth's remains in the desert at Egyhazo. All he achieved with this fraud was putting himself at risk of being caught by the IPC.

Does that sound like Aventurine to you? The guy whose mantra is literally:

So obviously, Aventurine stood to gain something from scamming the IPC at Egyhazo. What could he possibly have wanted to achieve by creating a scheme that seemingly didn't directly benefit him? Well, he says it himself:

Aventurine wanted to be brought before the IPC. He got caught on purpose. He once again gambled with his own life, betting that, instead of being put on trial for all his past crimes, he could convince Diamond (though it ended up being Jade) to invest in him. The game literally tells you, in multiple places, that Aventurine was taking another one of his stereotypically crazy, potentially self-destructive gambles to try to achieve something:

Aventurine wanted the IPC to invest in him. He wanted in on their power and wealth. No one in the IPC forced him to target their organization not once but twice with his "desert-digging schemes" when it is clear that Aventurine could easily make money elsewhere. No one forced him to suggest this gamble with Jade to convince the IPC to invest in him. No one forced him to, in the words of the game itself, "seek a Cornerstone."

Aventurine's character stories are the only indications we have (for now) about what his motivations for joining the IPC might have been:

They suggest he joined with the intention of gaining wealth and power to help his people and others who aided him in the past--only to find out that that was no longer possible, invalidating his original reason for joining and likely leaving him without motivation or will to really even stay in the powerful position he had worked to get into. Part of his suicidality is likely linked to this--that he set himself a massive, unbelievable goal in an attempt to gain power and wealth to finally help his people--only to be entirely too late. But in any case, these character stories make it clear that he did personally seek to join the IPC of his own free will.

(And I mean, hello? The whole point of Jade as a character is being the one who sees people's desires and then grants them--ergo, Aventurine's desire was, in fact, to join the IPC himself.)

If we needed any more corroborating evidence for this, just consider everything post-Penacony, when Aventurine has decided that he does actually value his life now and wants to live. Aventurine would have had so many chances to "escape" the IPC if he so chose. First, he could easily have pretended to actually die within the Nihility. He could have entirely fucked off with Argenti's help, created a new identity, and made himself a pile of independent wealth from gambles, all without the IPC ever knowing where he went. But he didn't.

Then, he had a second chance to betray the IPC and fuck off again with Boothill's help. Boothill had already knocked out Aventurine's bodyguards at the door--there was literally no one else around. A little blood on the floor and no one would have doubted that the IPC-hating, wanted vigilante Boothill had done away with Aventurine.

Hell, Aventurine knows the Trailblazer. One word to the Trailblazer, and Aventurine could board the Astral Express and be whisked off to the other side of the universe.

But none of those things happened. Aventurine made no effort to remove himself from the IPC--even though he knew he had broken a Cornerstone and would be facing possible punishment. He didn't even make a single mention of trying to "escape" the IPC at all.

Because he isn't trying to.

(And edit, an addendum, because I kept seeing this on Twitter too: A bunch of people were claiming that because Aventurine wasn't smiling when he got his Cornerstone back, that was evidence that he hates the IPC and doesn't want to be there:

Like... did they forget that every single time Aventurine makes his major gambles, he has such anxiety that he can never convince himself to believe he'll actually win, to the point that the "Future" Aventurine accuses him of clenching his trembling hand beneath the table? Is it really that surprising that someone who never actually believes he's going to win would have a shocked face when he does win here, especially after witnessing the literal power of an aeon restore something he thought was broken forever? Come on now...)

Would the guy who always wins his gambles bet that he would get a promotion if he absolutely didn't want his job?

People really, really seem to struggle with this aspect of Aventurine's character, going out of their way to ignore the game's text and suggest that he definitely absolutely would never, ever have joined the IPC of his own free will. People really hate the idea that Aventurine is a morally-grey character who makes choices that are actively harmful to himself, like willingly joining an organization that is exploiting him.

Knowing that the IPC played a part in the Avgin extinction, people literally cannot fathom that Aventurine would willingly join them.

But I think that denying this part of Aventurine's character is bad. There's no need to reduce Aventurine to an innocent, helpless victim who is being exploited against his will and who would never do a single evil thing himself. That's not who the game is telling us he is.

The game tells us, repeatedly, that Aventurine is a survivor who will do whatever it takes to succeed at whatever he sets his mind to--even up to murdering innocent people to survive himself. Up to willingly joining the IPC to seek wealth and power. He's not a 100% good person who is still being forced through an existence he has no control over.

He's a self-destructive gambler who makes terrible choices with his own life, and willingly joining the IPC to let the Stonehearts exploit his abilities is one of the most obvious indications of that in the game.

Please stop denying Aventurine his complex, three-dimensional character writing to make him your pure, innocent trauma woobie. I'm begging people.

Claim #4: Aventurine wants revenge on Oswaldo Schneider.

Verdict: There's no evidence in the game (yet) that Aventurine is even aware of Oswaldo Schneider's role in the Avgin extinction, let alone actively trying to seek revenge for it.

Personally, this one hurts me the most, because this is where I'd like to see the story going. I want it to be that Aventurine was partially motivated to join the IPC specifically to orchestrate an inside job and get the Avgins' revenge on Oswaldo Schneider.

But even I have to admit that there's currently no evidence for this at all in the story.

For one, we have no confirmation in-game that Aventurine actually knows Schneider's direct role in the Avgin extinction. Aventurine clearly knows that the IPC could have intervened (he was there; he saw they didn't do anything), but we have no actual confirmation in the game's text that Aventurine knows Schneider told his people not to get involved, leading to the massacre. The only reason we players know of this is relic text, which isn't available canonically to characters in the game.

It is very likely that Aventurine is smart enough to figure this out or do the research to learn it, but as of right now, we don't have that confirmation in game.

Similarly, we players are given no access to Aventurine's actual conversations with Boothill. We have no idea what they talked about other than this one statement:

It seems likely, based on this, that Aventurine did say something to Boothill about being willing to go after Oswaldo Schneider, but we won't know for sure until the game reveals more.

What we do know is that even if Aventurine does give Boothill information on Oswaldo, it might not really be because Aventurine wants personal revenge.

Oswaldo's Marketing Development Department is basically the sworn enemy of the Stonehearts' Strategic Investment Department. The two groups are in an internal cold war, vying for "votes" from the seven board members who are actually leading the IPC.

So even if we see Aventurine taking actions against Oswaldo, it might not be because of a personal grudge, but because literally Aventurine's entire department hates Oswaldo Schneider's guts on principle in the first place.

So it's very difficult to say what is going on with Aventurine and Oswaldo Schneider at this point, and in the end, we just need to wait for more information.

Phew, all right! That was definitely long enough. I've gotten it all off my chest. I hope I've managed to give people some more canon material to chew on for another look at Aventurine's character, which is rich and complex and definitely cannot be reduced to simply "pure innocent victim babygirl."

Maybe now I'll be a little less salty when I see misinformation spreading like a wildfire again on Twitter.

Maybe.

Ha ha, who am I kidding.

#Hsr #Aventurine hsr #He’s so UGHHHH #He’s so much more competent then people give him credit for #Aventurine’s cooking up something and god I can’t wait for what it is #he looks so done with the IPC though #He gets his cornerstone back and is just like 🌝#that’s the face of a man who’s waiting for something

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