#Character Dan Heng from the hit game Honkai Star Rail

[coffiishake]

Maybe I should use my Tumblr to scream into the void more often.

Because damn. My brain is just

[moonsaver]

Where the Lamb does not Belong.

You're isekai'd into the world of Honkai Star Rail. Thankfully, you're taken into the Astral Express and continue your journey peacefully, until you reach Penacony. Something, or someone, seems to be causing your system to continually crash. Perhaps it's because you did not belong here at all.

Warnings: yandere, obviously. Uh, mentioned fracture(?)

A/n; reader is a tad forgetful and can brush off a few things, and get distracted slightly easily. But for the most part, i think it won't ruin the immersion. Its my first time writing something "self aware" related, and something like a character breaking the 4th wall. I really love these tropes but rarely write them. I hope i did it well. Its roughly 4.5k long. Enjoy.

----

“Ace!”

“It's not ace.”

“Uno!”

“March, you're supposed to say it after you put down your second card.”

“Oh, sure.”

…

“March, it's not your turn.”

“Huh?!”

You giggle, listening in on their banter. You're leaned up comfortably on Dan Heng's back, messing around with a level on Stelle's phone she hasn't been able to beat.

You hear a loud groan, a fwop as March drops on her back onto the bed,

“This is so confusing!”

“The rules are simple, you're just trying to rush things.”

Dan Heng takes the cards and settles them, tapping them vertically to level and gather them onto the little table. You stretch your neck to look back and catch a glimpse of March sulking. Stelle gently pries the phone out of your hands as you do so.

“Hey let's go through our photo album again!”

“It's the 6th time this month.”

You chuckle, getting up from Dan Heng's back as you feel him shift, moving over to situate yourself around the table aswell, the the bed dipping under your weight.

“I knew you were into photography but wow, this is something, March.”

You say, leaning over on the table, your elbow resting on it as your chin rests on your palm,

“Well, you better be grateful ‘cause I just finished up your entry!”

“My entry?”

You blink, confused,

“She's been dutifully taking pictures of your progress as a new member of the Astral express. I've.. learnt from experience It's better that you don't try to stop her.”

You laugh awkwardly, staring down as March excitedly flips through the photo book. It's a bit embarrassing now that you recall.

“Here! Look, look, look! I caught [name] in all their glory!”

“March..”

You awkwardly laugh, as Dan Heng looks over at the photo March points to in her photobook, 

You cringe as you see your own expression, dull and groggy, a stark contrast to the bright letters and stickers decorating the edge of the photo that's glued tightly onto the page. You're drooling, to top it off.

“Hehe, [name] looks cute here don't they?!”

March points down to another photo right below, blurry in the midst of action. Your hazy figure is sitting up on a bed, Stelle draped over your lap while in charge of watching over you when you first appeared.

“I should have stayed to watch over, instead.”

Dan Heng comments under his breath, glancing back momentarily at Stelle, her chin hooked over his shoulder after having abandoned the game, seemingly more interested in the collection.

You chuckle softly,

Where did it begin exactly?

You boarded as an official member of the Astral Express about a few months ago, a gold brooch handed over to you, and many new faces who welcomed you onboard. You remember being home one day, going to sleep and hoping, just hoping that all of your worries and stress would just.. disappear. Your head hit the pillow and then-

You woke up. Here.

Suddenly you woke up in the very game you played to relieve your stress. Ironically, that moment you woke up was one of your most stressful memories, panicking at the situation you were in–

“Aw, dang it. I got defeated.”

All of you look over to Stelle, and to the red screen on her phone. You chuckle, as March sighs and shifts the topic.

You yawn and settle back onto the bed, leaning on a pile of pillows as March and Dan Heng continue their banter, taking this time to go through your stats, swiping and tinkering on your phone.

You've reached a higher level now. Having unlocked many items and even levelled up some basic features which allowed you to at the very least, defend yourself.

You read through the archived stories, gazing over all the past dialogue you've shared with this trio from the “main quest” ever since you boarded. Your friendship level with many had increased gradually over time, and shot up with the trio, as expected.

“[Name]..”

Stelle whines, pushing her phone back to you. You giggle, taking the device from her hands,

“Alright, I won't get distracted this time.”

-

This was your first expedition as a new member of the Astral Express. Which didn't help considering you were going into Penacony of all places.

You were nervous – how was your presence going to alter the timeline? Maybe a less “on screen” role like Himeko's? Or maybe you should have just stayed back with Dan Heng? But the experience, materials and all sorts of gizmos Penacony was going to offer.. It was too tempting.

And here you are, in the lobby. Himeko and Welt continue negotiating with the young woman at the reception. You were already on edge, but it seemed things just had to go wrong as well.

To distract yourself, you fidgeted and anxiously viewed the prologue to Penacony the system had just offered to you, repeatedly scrolling up and down on your phone, tapping your foot, pacing around the hotel a bit when–

A hand came up to your shoulder.

“It seems you're quite worried.”

You looked back.

It's Robin.

“Sorry, uh, we're.. having difficulty with the check-in and..”

You momentarily trail off, almost lost as you look at Robin. Her in game model was beautiful, but now that you're standing in front of her, it's almost.. mesmerising. Her eyes are beautiful – deep and ethereal. Pretty pink lips and softly dusted cheeks, her hair wispy and framing her face just the right way. You're awestruck for a moment, before panicking and snapping out of your daze.

You're at a hotel lobby for aeons’ sake!

“O-Oh, uh, my family is–”

You turn over to see Himeko and Welt continuing to go back and forth with the young woman at the reception, and turn again to see March and Stelle slightly off in the corner talking anxiously.

“They seem lovely.”

Robin smiles at you. And suddenly, your eyebrows and shoulders relax. Your jaw slightly slacks. Something about Robin seems to soothe you more than you ever thought.

Your eyes trail over to the bar in the corner;

Friendship level: 0

Right. She's still a stranger, in this timeline of events.

You're snapped out of your thoughts momentarily as another, unfamiliar voice speaks up from the crowd – a blonde man, addressing your fellow trailblazers.

This can't be good.

You walk up, regrouping with March and Stelle as they watch it all happen.

–

The golden hour was a familiar map to you, particularly because you'd loved exploring the place back when you used to play.

But actually being there is stunning.

The yellow lights brighten up the night-like atmosphere in a beautiful, classy way. It's almost as though you're in an old film, the way everything around you is hazy and glowing. There's laughter in the background and shimmering lights somewhere in the distance, drinks and the smell of food occasionally wafting in the air from corner cafés or so. You wander, awestruck at the sight of the landscape when–

You bump into someone, a small sound leaving you at the impact.

You look back to take a look at the stranger - more to try and ground yourself into this “dream” and your current reality. You were in Penacony. And all of this was physically interacting with you, regardless of how miniscule you must be. Whether you would have been reincarnated as a Cafe owner, or an NPC, or anyone else. As long as you were on Penacony, you were going to be a part of Sunday's grand plan.

You zone out, the hazy cacophony of ecstasy in the background blurring in the crowded space of your mind, thoughts overarching and bubbling up.

Beep!

You look at your phone, buzzing as quests pop up. You take a moment to look around the various shops, before your eyes land on a cozy cafe.

It won’t hurt to rest for a moment.

–

“Shit, shit, shit..”

You curse to yourself, frantically tapping on the screen and trying to fix this mess.

“Just– cooperate damn it..!”

Your teeth gnaw at your lip, biting and peeling off bits of the skin. It stings, but in your anxious state, you barely pay mind,

Why was the system not cooperating with you?!

None of your teleportation points worked, you weren't levelling up, barely any of the trinkets given by completion of quests were being used up! It was rudimentary junk in your inventory and now for some god awful reason, your entire system was going haywire!

System error: freespace is occupied!

System error: unavailable tab

System error: unable to access tab

System error: unable to complete..

“Yeah, yeah I got it you little-”

“Is something the matter?”

You gasped under your breath, a chill shooting up your spine as you turn around,

“No, no! Nothing, haha just.. uh..”

You awkwardly shuffle, pretending to look into your bag,

“You seem to be having trouble.”

Sunday's poised figure contrasts your sweaty, nervous, fidgeting one, as you only panic more at his words.

“Oh, just.. well.. it’s my first time visiting another world, so..”

“Ah, first time jitters? I’m faintly familiar.”

You chuckle awkwardly, but your humour doesn't seem to be exactly matched. Sunday’s smile doesn't widen or lessen, and neither does he chuckle. You realise how uncanny he looks in the dim lights of the Golden Hour barely illuminating his face in the alley.

“You seem to have been separated from your group. Would you like me to accompany you on your way back?”

“Sure–”

Warning: you are currently interacting with an influential figure. Proceed with caution.

“..you seem hesitant.”

You look at the glaring notification on your screen - akin to when an amber alert pops up, or when an earthquake warning resounds.

“..uh, I think.. I’ll be able to find them on my own. I should be fine.”

“I insist. As the representative and Spokesperson of The Family it is my duty to ensure the safety and relaxation of guests in the Dreamscape.”

Shit. This guy isn’t giving in.

You hesitate, a bead of sweat forming on your forehead and grazing the top of your eyebrow,

Beep!

Optional: would you like dialogue suggestions to be displayed?

[Yes]

[No]

[No – do not ask again]

You sigh internally. At least this system knows how to assist you when you need it.

“Shall we?”

Sunday beckons you to follow, as the pop-up blinks away, before you get the chance to select.

There’s no getting out of this. You’re just gonna have to suck it up and be careful.

“..sure.”

-

Sunday doesn’t remember when it exactly began.

Strange patterns, predictable dialogues, and the anomalies that occured..

Right after Sunday discovered your name.

He watched as the cup from the trash pile slipped and fell onto the pavement. Your name was written on it – messily and hurried. The cup rolls down a bit before hitting the side of his shoe. Sunday watched it with indifference, opting to simply move it aside before he spotted it. Your name. But it wasn’t supposed to be.

An alias? Maybe. It was different than the name administered in your profile. 

He opted to push it back for later; but it was an interrupted thought as he walked ahead and watched you fiddle around with your phone, buzzing constantly as you cursed at it.

He breathes out, before deciding to approach you.

–

“Alone?”

“Alone.”

You respond, your eyes embarrassed and watching the various shuffling of feet in front of you, the crowd forming in front of the Rollercoaster you were too scared to go on.

Well, it's rather you haven't been able to go onto them.

Stelle and March offered you to join, and usually you'd be able to accept the invitation pop up, but as of recent, your system has been going haywire. The system probably narrowed down the scenarios you'd be allowed to participate in,in order to control the situation.

So you stood there, your mood dampened as you accepted that the system would not allow you to partake in the ride with your friends, shaking your head and telling them to go on instead, leaving you behind.

And Sunday saw all of it.

Or rather, just that you haven't gone onto the ride.

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“No, nothing like that.”

You chuckle softly, shaking your head. Even if you were.. he's not exactly the person you'd tell it to, anyway. You ignore the buzzing of your phone as it displays the same warning, jaded and moody as you'd been denied a great opportunity to have fun.

“..there is a new bakery that's opened up in the corner. Would you like to visit?”

You blink, and look at him, confused. He seems to have understood your confusion, and follows up,

“Until your companions have had their fill. Just for a cup of coffee.”

You hesitate, humming in contemplation. You look at the options displayed;

Options:

 □ “Sure. Let's go.”

 □ “sorry, my husband's waiting for me on the express.

 □ “No thank y–

 System Error: no options available

You sigh. You really need to do something about these errors. You nod,

“Sure. Let's go.”

…

The bakery was warm, and lively. As soon as you entered, the faintly sweet smell of pastries and the waft of coffee enveloped you two. You gawked at the mesmerising scenery, while Sunday asked for an available booth that's more hidden from the public eye.

The seats were soft, and pliable as you took your seat, still taking in the view of the bakery. You hear Sunday clearing his throat and tapping the table, your gaze shifting to him. He points to the menu. You understand his cue and take to reading it, your eyes scanning the plethora of options as Sunday does the same.

“Have you.. been here before?”

“I have visited once in the past. With my sister.”

“Ah, how is Robin?”

Your eyes settle on a particular option, as the silence between you two fills with comfortable conversation,

“She has been well. Are you looking forward to her performance at the coming Festival?”

You blink as you realise. How could you forget? The entire reason you and the rest of the crew even came to Penacony! This was the guy who was gonna put everyone into a coma!

“O-Oh, uh, yes! March has been talking non-stop about it, so..”

You chuckle awkwardly, flustered as he caught you a bit off guard. He hums, his face indifferent and neutral as your words process in his mind.

“I suppose I shall expect you in the audience, then?”

“March will drag me to the front, so you'll probably get a clear view of me in my uncomfortable glory.”

That seems to elicit a small, soft chuckle from him, as his eyes land on a specific item on the menu, seeming to have decided his own liking.

“Very well. I'll look forward to it.”

Soon enough, a waitress comes up to the table, and begins taking your orders.

–

“It does seem a tad scary, but the view is always beautiful in the Astral express.”

“I'm sure of it. It sounds wonderful.”

Sunday listens to you dutifully, as you continue talking. Somewhere along the way, your discomfort at the awkward silence between you two led to you talking and filling in the silence, your coffee cup hanging idly in your hands. One thing led to another, as both of you started talking about your childhood memories, tea flavours, desserts, and so on. You find Sunday has been easy to converse with. You'd been ignoring the constant buzzing of your phone – most likely achievements or quests that popped up constantly wherever you went.

You take another sip from your coffee as Sunday takes his initiative to talk, listening to him well, and chuckling slightly at one or the other thing. 

“I came to know tea is supposed to be made with hot water, but by then I'd gotten accustomed.”

You giggle, slightly in disbelief,

“Well, do you like iced tea now?”

Sunday shakes his head,

“I prefer coffee, more than that. Perhaps due to needing it more than a preference..”

His eyes trail to your cup, as you hold it in your hands. You follow his gaze,

Is something wrong? He'd been glancing at your cup a few times now, but you didn't comment on it before.

“Is.. something wro–”

Your words are cut off as your phone loudly rings, making you almost fumble and drop your coffee as you hurriedly take your phone.

It's March!

Crap, you forgot.

“Sorry, I uh..”

You scroll through the plethora of notifications, almost all of them missed calls and various texts.

“It seems your companions were searching for you.”

You look up, as Sunday looks into the distance, Stelle and March running towards you.

–

It was strange how things progressed since you came to Penacony.

Some of your equipment took ages to level up, the others taking barely anything before they hit their maximum level. Your friendship level progressed pretty highly on some days, and barely moved an inch on other days. 

Your friendship level with Sunday, on the other hand, shot up to a 5. Not even anyone on the Astral Express had that level.

You only noticed it a fraction before you cleared all your notifications at once, swiped away before your finger had the chance to tap on it. 

Regardless, that wasn’t your exact concern as of late. The story of Penacony had been well under way now, and things were starting to pick up. 

As of recent, you haven't been able to remember the quest contents as much as you used to, only remembering enough in the last moment to avert an extremely bad decision – at least for yourself. Your own personal missions left you alive by a hair's breadth.

But if that didn't upset you – your crew did. The pressure of everything happening on Penacony seemed to have started to weigh down on your team, as they barely regard you anymore. You could technically blame it on the system – it's been trying desperately to revive and fix itself as the game progresses. You might be interfering with the inner workings, so you suppose it's only natural the game tries to limit your interactions with the world.

So for the most part, you've resigned yourself to be an NPC; walking around all of the tourist attractions, getting who knows how many cups of coffee, trying on various clothing items, and occasionally running into Sunday. The first few times, you awkwardly fiddled with your phone for optional dialogues, but as time went on, you felt more comfortable. Regardless, it's not like anything you say can technically avert him from his current plan. It's been in the schemes for who knows how long? As of now, it's less complicating to remain ignorant and act unknowing, and enjoying another walk with him as he surveys the Dreamscape. Considering how close you two might be getting, you'll probably end up telling him a few secrets from your past.

-

“The Grand theatre is Penacony’s main attraction.”

Sunday’s face is illuminated by it in the distance, as he stands, staring at it. His voice is barely audible, seemingly as if he speaks to himself. But that idea is swept under the rug the moment he turns slightly to you.

When was this cutscene? You curse your memory, the fog of your mind still not cleared from when you first came to this world,

“Have you decided to attend?”

Truthfully, you didn’t want to. Considering the story, you actually knew the event wasn’t going to happen. But in the case it did..

Options:

 □ “Ill be there first in line to enter.”

 □ “Im thinking about it.”

 □ “probably not..”

“..I have.”

You hesitantly answer.

“You haven’t made up your mind.”

Sunday states, more as a fact than a question. You can’t blame him, considering the hesitance apparent in your voice.

“..out of everyone, I’d hoped you would have attended.”

The options flicker and appear, but before you can press and respond, he continues,

“I understand. How has your family been?”

He turns to face you, you stay silent for a moment, before humming and clicking on an option,

 □ “They’re alright.”

□ “I hope they’re all okay.”

 □ “I wouldn’t really know..”

“Ah, uh.. we’re all kind of in our separate ways right now, so.. I wouldn’t really know.”

“I see.”

Both of you stand in silence, as you follow his gaze to the glowing theatre. After a moment, Sunday breaks his silence,

“When I was a child, I was particularly soft-spoken. Back then, Robin used to stand up for me frequently.”

Your ears perk up slightly. Is he talking about a childhood memory right now?

“One day, she wasn’t around, taking a few extra music lessons. The other kids were simply curious enough to take me in.”

You hum, listening to him intently. Your eyes gaze over his features – softly shaded by the cold light of the theatre, and illuminated by the yellow lights of the path.

“We were all kids. One of them pulled and broke my wing that day.”

You gasp, involuntarily. Ouch.

But sunday only chuckles at your reaction, his eyes downwards and distant. You don't think he finds it funny.

“But do you know? Right after that - they visited me. Day after day. Every step of recovery. Every recess when I had to sit back, they accompanied me. I thought about it recently. Humanity is worth saving.”

You stay silent, before smiling. The silence seems pleasant over you two, as you stare at the Grand Theatre in the distance.

“That, is when human spirit and strife first piqued my interest.”

You blink, and turn to look at him, the smile on your face faltering,

“What must the weak, the misfortunate, and the falsely accused do to gain balance within this world?”

You’re left speechless for a moment. It seems even the system cannot exactly provide you any dialogue options, as you glance over to your phone.

“..balance in the world isn’t achievable, which is why the human spirit strives to fix it.”

You stay silent, listening to him.

“Would a bird that cannot fly be allowed to, simply because it yearns to? Would it be righteous of you, or of the bird, to allow the freedom and death of the vast sky? Is it still righteous, if you withhold its freedom?”

He inhales, slowly, speaking in a low voice, wavering.

“Is death the only comprehensible freedom life offers, beside slumber, to the weak? Is that truly freedom?”

Sunday turns to look at you – his golden eyes almost searing into your soul.

You break out into a sweat, panicking as you check your phone, desperately trying to find an option when–

 System Error: options not available

Shit, shit, shit. Holy crap. Can you even speak right now?

You're left silently staring at Sunday. He stares back before resigning to quietly look away.

You should leave.

—

Your memory seems to be strangely affected – either because you haven't been able to adjust to the new world, or you just haven't been able to adapt to Penacony.

You groan and slump into the couch of your room, in the real world. You keep forgetting to charge your phone – which isn't technically a hassle; you can access the same menu options, it's just more.. time-consuming. Not to mention you lose your only source of dialogue option pop ups.

How long has this been going on? You knew Penacony had a vast and complicated storyline, but living it feels entirely different. Feeling it is entirely bizarre. No wonder your head's spinning.

But thankfully, it should end soon. Your last quest is to face off Sunday in his boss form. You and your members have decided to meet up at the Grand Theatre, where the event will take place.

You place your phone into charging, and right on cue, March pops up into your room. She stumbles around your room a bit the moment you turn your back, even hear her drop and accidentally knock over some items on her way, simply laughing at the girl, as you continue packing up and preparing for the final “showdown”. You disregard her words, when she tells you she felt something push her.

-

You're not sure when the next cutscene plays.

You're in the grand theatre; just having defeated Sunday, and collectively waiting to return to the Astral Express. This is when you meet Boothill and Black Swan, where she wakes you up using Misha as a fallacy within Ena's dream.

But you aren't waking up.

You've just been stranded in the empty grand theatre after the darkness lifted.

You try to turn your phone on – but its busted. March must have disconnected the plug when she stumbled across a few things.

You sigh, irritated and antsy, choosing to walk ahead and look warily at the mechanical statues. The quest description is empty; devoid of any explanation. The title is vague and doesn't indicate much. Are you stuck in the loading screen? What the hell is going on?

And just as you are about to shout out for help – Sunday appears. There he is, on the stage. But this time, there's no spotlight. He stares down at you, emptily. You're creeped out for the lack of a better word, feeling your skin crawl with every second he stares. The silence is paper thin and thickly dense at the same time; electrified with tension and the unknown.

He makes the first step, slowly descending down and towards you.

“You are an outsider.”

System error: cannot process dialogue

“You do not belong here.”

System error: cannot proceed further

“I do not belong here.”

System warning: further interaction in this context may lead to irreversible da–

Sunday's hand rips through the warning, causing it to glitch violently, and disappear. You're scared, your throat constricting and your heart almost lurching out of your chest as he continues walking towards you, eyes searing into your soul,

“We do not belong here.”

Beep!

 Options:

 □ We do not belong here

 □ I do not belong here

 □ You do not belong here

 □ We belong together

 ■ There is nothing else left for you here. You cannot turn back. There is no other option.

The screen glitches out, as Sunday stands before you, his hand reaching out,

“Tell me. What is your name?”

You can't access anything – the menu, the quests, your inventory, nothing. You stare almost endlessly in horror, as Sunday speaks of your real name.

You shouldn't have used it on that coffee cup.

-

[a-random-weeb]

How about surprising a favorite star rail character (your choice, but I'd prefer Fu Xuan) with their favorite snack?

Im so sorry I have no clue who that is 😭

I (attempted) to write for some of the characters I know, sorry if they're ooc, I'm only at trailblazer lvl 30-ish so...

You didn't specify if you wanted it romantic or not, but these are when you're their s/o, sorry if you didn't want that, most of the headcannons could easily be interpreted as platonic tho so...

(Ik y'all prob forgot about me I haven't posted in like two years I'm so sorry 😭)

Honkai characters when you cook/bake their favorite snack for them

March 7th:

•Shes overjoyed

•Lots of hugs and kisses

•Definitely takes a lot of pictures of you worked really hard on it

•probably decides she would love to bake/cook with you sometime

•From that point forward, you probably bake a lot of stuff

•She hits me as the type to not be a great chef, so it'll probably be you doing most of it... but she can be cute while trying to help... right...?

Dan Heng:

•Youre one of the only ones who can make him smile (+Stelle and march 7th and whoever else is in his backstory later in the game)

•He smiles when you see you've made his favorite snack

•Probably makes you something in return later, whatever your favorite snack is, but unlike you, he's way to embarrassed to give it directly to you

•Instead, he gets Stelle to give it to you (March can't be trusted with such a precious thing)

•Hes not the best chef, but he's certainly not the worst one either

•And when Stelle gives it to you, you immediately knows who its from

•He probably also leaves a cute little love note in it ♡

Bronya:

•no clue if this is lore accurate or not, but I feel like she absolutely loves cakes and pastries and stuff like that

•I feel like her fav would be cheesecake or som

•If you make her one, she'll have no clue what to say, but her red face will tell you everything you need to know

•Unlike March I feel like she would be kinda ok at baking, but sometimes subtly come up and ask for tips

•Sometimes, it ends up with you baking together, which ends up in throwing flower at each other and having the best night of their lives (Someone make a oneshot of and @ me in it this is so cute ahhhdowjkforkap)

•Ends in kisses and feeding each other, it's been so long since she's let loose and had fun... it was... nice...

[zephyrine-gale]

I recently got into Honkai Star Rail through you art and I was wondering what made you ship Blade and Dan Heng? Hope you have a great day ❤️

they had sprinklings of lore throughout the game and I love that! also the very first dan heng nightmare pv was 👀 that was the first thing that made me curious about their dynamic I'm also a sucker for dynamics that are a little unhinged and plague each other's dreams, gotta have a healthy balance of feral so the more intimate moments hit harder ajfjgkgh it's that friends to lovers to tragedy to enemies pipeline

it's that unrequited connection from someone forced to live because of past consequences, and someone who bears the weight of those sins but desperately wants to disconnect from the past. they're currently at their lowest rn but that just means they can only go up from here, and I'm really interested to see how they interact once they learn more about their past

their backstories are very much intertwined, alongside the high cloud quintet. I'll put some stuff that stands out to me below the cut!

Nowhere to Run lightcone

This isn't the first time he's seen this man. This man had become his own inseparable shadow. No matter how many times he runs this man through with his spear, the man always comes back. He can neither lose to this man, nor truly win. Though he wants to run away, there is nowhere to run.

Dan Heng's char story II

Very sus of u blade to chase after another man through countless planets and still recognize him after he's changed his appearance

Blade's char story II

The black-haired young man shivered violently all over, but still clutched onto the spear in his hands. He had no dragon horns, and his reaction was slightly less mature than he remembered... But he would never forget this spear, these eyes, and how cruelty burst out from beneath the mirror-like emerald calmness. His wounds began to heal. His irises flickered and fixed their gaze at the boy once more. Without hesitation, the boy made another flourish with the spear... "That's it." The one who showed no mercy to enemies - was you. The one who single-handedly buried the beloved - was you. The one who almost led the place called home to its destruction - was also you. He fell down again. The teen pressed his hand against his own wounds and retreated, until he was no longer in the man's sight. "Before I witness your death in person, we will meet again, ███."

the beloved = blade the blacked out name = dan feng/imbibitor lunae it implies they knew each other in the past, but DH doesn't remember. Blade doesn't remember much about his past either, only that his mara strikes are triggered by seeing his xianzhou friends of the past (he most likely doesn't remember them as friends)

They share a pair of bracers!

the entire Passerby of Wandering Cloud set is Blade lore! he's such a tragic character, he's been through quite a lot, you should give it a read if you have the time :'>

this one is the backstory for the dragon bracer:

It seems that pairs of objects have telepathic connections with each other. Though the unnamed only had one bracer in his possession, his fingertips could still faintly feel the temperature from the other. He closed his eyes, trying his best to extract any information about the other bracer from the tenuous connection, be it its location or master. A slender yet strong hand once wore the other bracer. That owner, whose sharp spear glinted with a cold light and flourished like shooting stars, once sparred with the unnamed. That owner also once shared company and drinks with the unnamed, the two of them simply gazing at the moon with no words exchanged. However, in the end, it was also this person who stubbornly adhered to their plans with the unnamed, turned the beloved into a monstrosity, and pushed all into an abyss of eternal hatred and remorse. Pairs of objects are destined for an eventual reunion. The long years of grudges and hatred between them should be savored, like ice-cold aged liquor, one slow sip after another until the bottle of resentment is finally empty. Would the wearer of the other bracer feel the same? The unnamed didn't want to know.

the unnamed = Blade = Yingxing

drinking under the moon together -> in cn this is very ceremonial bond/close relationship-coded. Yingxing and Dan Feng were close

Yingxing, a short life species craftsman

Yingxing has the bracer on his right arm and Dan Feng has the other pair on his left

They also share jade pendants (they look like they'd slot together, forming the head and mouthpiece of a cn lion)

This is a line from a vidyadhara egg, but I find the implications very fitting for them :'>

Yingxing created DH's Cloud-Piercer (as well as the other weapons for the High Cloud Quintet)

Blade's char story IV

He remembered that, decades ago, he came to the Xianzhou with a merchant vessel and was impressed by the superb craftsmanship of this place. The young man was obsessed to the point of forgetting to eat or drink, and spent his inspiration like he was running out of time. He forged hundreds of marvels, four of which were the most famous. ... The black-haired man with dragon horns used his water manipulation abilities to rejuvenate his allies, and in the next moment he bound the water upon his spear and used it to ran his enemies through.

Blade's iris shape is similar to IL's lotus motif. lotuses symbolize resilience and rebirth--fitting for both of them, though one came back wrong :'>

Blade | About Dan Heng:

It's been heavily implied that Dan Feng and Yingxing did something that caused catastrophe and resulted in DF being forced to molting rebirth + banishment, and Blade being cursed with immortality and banished.

Dan Feng trusted Yingxing enough to sneak him into the Scalegorge Waterscape and let him do research--into what? we're not sure yet, but since Yingxing is a craftsman, he's probably creating something from the ambrosial arbor?? or from something relating to the vidyadharas. Perhaps he got cursed with Shuhu's gift here?? or DF somehow gave YX immortality, who knows...

I think their plan may be related to what we learn from Imbibitor Lunae's companion quest

SPOILERS FOR IMBIBITOR LUNAE'S COMPANION QUEST

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There's a big focus on vidyadhara's immortality through molting but inability to reproduce, so any casualties in their numbers results in a permanent decrease in their numbers. Dan Feng's sin may be related to changing that (and failing, creating a dragon abomination that they had to fight against instead. although a whole separate vidyadhara was born from the catastrophe--Bailu).

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END OF SPOILERS

Big hc delulu hrs now

Maybe being around the High Cloud Quintet made Dan Feng realize he didn't have a legacy to leave behind, unlike them. Every high elder becomes like the former, they lose their own sense of identity. I'd imagine being around a group of friends with their own agency, who also saw DF as a normal person, made him realize he also wanted to break free from the high elder cycle.

Yingxing may have been DF's biggest wake up call just bc he's a short life species who has done so much, who achieved more than anyone could imagine in a fraction of a lifetime of those in the Xianzhou. DF saw a star shine bright and couldn't help but follow and maybe wish he'd never lose sight of it as well.

Maybe it was for the selfish reason that he didn't want to lose these memories of the people who truly cared for him--of the people he truly came to care for--that he committed such a grave sin

He was dehumanized by everyone around him, I wouldn't put it past him to just. Snap one day, break his cold and calm poise, cry of desperation and fear of losing something dear to him

This kinda became a DF thing but personally, while DH himself may want to distance himself from DF, they're still the same person with shared memories (that DH can't remember)

It's similar to how Blade distances himself from Yingxing because he can't fathom his former self becoming the monstrous thing he is now

I'm really looking forward to when they can both reconcile and put their past to rest

[bottle-of-newts]

Heyo, small disclaimer here, this is a Star Rail lore/theory dump abt the Rating Pistol Curio with A LOT of spoilers. Most of them are from the Penacony storyline, but there might be a few major ones from the Xianzhou Loufu arc. Most of them are Penacony 2.1 and 2.2 tho so if you aren't there yet I do not suggest reading under the cut!!! Ty <33

Those of you interested, buckle up y'all, it's a long one.

Okay, so I was feeling a little silly while doing my daily quest on the space station and decided to rate (with the Rating Pistol curio) my main team, which consists of Acheron, Pela, Sampo and Luocha.

So you could imagine my surprise when it only gave me a number per usual for one character, that being Pela. (She was like a 98 or something)

Instead, for Acheron, Sampo, and Luocha, it gave me this:

The same message, everytime, no matter what I did. I can't say I was very surprised abt Acheron - I mean, she's an Emanator of Nihility. Of course she's probably gonna get a weird response. Who intrigued me the most, was Sampo. Why was he getting such a weird rating like Acheron and Luocha (who we know quite literally nothing abt from the game itself, only some theroies from past Honkai installments)? Was it because he's a Masked Fool?

Well lucky for me, I have Sparkle, so I decided to see if that was the case.

No dice, it gave me the standard response. The character's name, and a seemingly random number that, from what I can tell, never changes. I decided to try the Trailblazer next, thinking the Stellaron they carry might have some kind of influence on the score, but I got pretty much the same result. The name I gave, and a seemingly random number. (84, if you're curious to see if it's the same on all accounts.)

So, I decided to run down the roster of all the characters I own, and came up with 4 other different ratings among my 34 characters.

First hit was Huo Huo, likely the Pistol discerning her and Tail as two separate but very closely tied entities...or just digging on the poor girl because that's just Hoyo's favorite thing to do I guess.

Second hit was Clara - which makes sense considering it seems to have done something similar to HuoHuo and Tail. It read both Clara and Svarog. Who's score is who's however, I cannot tell. I wouldn't be surprised if Hoyo has a random number generator they use and just assign a character a number.

Third hit was Dan Heng's. This one wasn't really a surprise considering the whole Imbibitor Lunae thing. I wish I had Dan Heng - Imbibitor Lunae though, cause now I'm curious to see the rating it gives him, and if it's the same or not. If anyone has him and is willing please reblog or send me a ss of the response!! I'm super curious!!

The last hit though probably surprised me the most. I was expecting Tingyun, Misha, or maybe even Gallagher to have a hit of some kind, even if it wasn't as major as "Rating Invalid." Just something to indicate confusion at either Misha not even being real, or Tingyun being a puppet of Phantilya and likely not the real Tingyun (I'm coping shut up).

No no, instead my 4th hit was none other than -

March 7th.

This actually really shocked me at first. Why in the world is sweet March 7th getting a similar rating to an Emanator??? Of Nihility at that?? And then it hit me.

March 7th's companion quest.

The majority of the quest is March 7th and Fu Xuan using the Matrix of Prescience to search March's mind for her lost memories, trying to see if maybe they're simply blocked by trauma response or if they've been tampered with. They find out someone has indeed tampered with her memories after all, and it's not just some random bad guy either. It's the Garden of Recollection themselves. And they are insistent on March not digging any deeper into her memories, claiming it doesn't matter to her anymore, what matters is who she is as a person right now.

And considering the rating and who she shares that rating with - talk about suspicious. I don't think it has to do with her amnesia, while she does share memory problems with Acheron, there is nothing to indicate Sampo or Luocha suffer anything similar. Another thing is - the Rating Pistol never says any of their names, hinting that maybe that's another thing they share with Acheron - a fake name, or an alias...and if you know even a little about past Honkai lore like I do (and the stuff ik surrounds Welt) then you know that possibly implicates Luocha.

So what could this all mean?

I think it could mean a multitude of things. Considering we don't know exactly how the Rating Pistol's score works, it makes it difficult to know it's criteria, especially since I don't have quite a few characters that have a possibility to give us a better understanding. Characters like Blade, Jingliu, Imbibitor Lunae, two essentially undead powerhouses and the reincarnation of a former High Elder, or even Topaz and Aventurine, two of the Ten Stonehearts. (Again if anyone is willing to ss the Rating Pistol's response to any of these characters and reblog, please do!!! I'd love to hear your two cents on the matter too <33)

But what we can tell is it seems to recognize a certain level of power. Which only makes this more confusing - because if that's the case why is an intelligence officer like Pela getting a 98 for a score while Boothill, a Galaxy Ranger with a hefty bounty on his getting a 44?? But, putting aside the Curio for a second, let's look at what the 3 share in common along with Acheron.

Mystery. We know nothing about March prior to the Express, we know next to nothing about Luocha besides that he doesn't seem to be a fan of the Abundance and there is something or someone wicked weird in that coffin - and all we know for sure about Sampo is he's a Masked Fool. Otherwise, we don't know shit about the guy.

( There's a lot of theories the guy isn't even from Jarilo VI after Topaz's trailer, and I can't say I blame them. The whole Masked Fool reveal and him leaving his Mask at the Tavern isn't helpful either. Maybe Belobog was a place for him to lay low, not his homeworld. Either way, he's likely left the planet at some point.)

What I honestly think is that maybe the Emanator of Elation! Sampo theories may hold a little more merit than I thought. I can't say I support the theory for sure, but this along with Sparkle asking him if something bad is coming to Jarilo VI once he asks for his Mask back...certainly does hint at the fact man is quite a bit stronger than he acts. He is a Masked Fool, I suppose. Acting is kinda their schtick.

But that doesn't mean March 7th or Luocha are Emanators either - only that they definitely possess power - power likely close to an equal level with an Emanator, whether they know it or not. Besides, I struggle to think of any path Luocha could follow, unless he was somehow made an Emanator of Abundance against his will, and his hunt for the Aeon is so he can be free of being tied to the path. But March doesn't entirely show much evidence of being an Emanator. In fact there's nothing really specific that points to anything about her past identity.

All we know is she definitely holds more power than what she currently uses, and what kind of power that is exactly is something we'll have to wait and find out, unfortunately, just like we do with Sampo and Luocha.

Anyways, thank you for reading my longass rant, if you enjoyed it or have something to add please please PLEASE comment or reblog/tell me in the tags or SOMETHING, I love talking abt lore with other people and learning stuff abt some of my favorite stories <33

[accenderesposts]

[Honkai Star Rail 2.2 Spoilers]

Boothill, my beloved space cyborg cowboy! I swear, I haven't been this obsessed with a game character ever since Neuvillette. I'm sorry Robin, I absolutely love your songs and Ultimate, but my space cyborg cowboy is top priority.

A memory zone meme that was pretty much an eldritch abomination being called "Sleepie" and described like a docile pet that's misbehaving (AKA stabbing people to bring them to Dreamflux Reef)...

Love Boothill's back-up plans, especially the hostage one. His dynamic with Dan Heng is hilarious, and Boothill would absolutely hit it off with the MC. 🤣

Firefly being pretty much the first Stellarons Hunter the Astral Express as a whole genuinely gets along with.

Also Sunday...

I FCKING CALLED IT. I can't believe I was actually spot on with my Order theory!

Misha... I'M SO SAD. His departure actually hit me way harder than I thought it would. And it broke me when I saw the guest book and the departed note 😭. I'm so glad I've built him (I needed Ice AoE).

I loved the difference between the Preservation and the Harmony Path scenes. While the Preservation was more action packed, the Harmony was much more emotional since it was more of a debate of philosophies. The way Xipe glanced at us actually looked like THEY were supportive of the Trailblaze.

The Dream Ending scene really shocked me. And I was so pissed because I REALLY WANTED BOOTHILL TO TRAVEL WITH US, even if it was for a short while 😭.

Also was not expecting an Argenti appearance. I learned from others in Twitter you can actually avoid his fight by picking the right dialogue. I can't believe I missed an achievement.

Boothill's plan at the end really made me more interested in the current status of the Galaxy Rangers. Their scene was so cool, they actually arrived without hesitation when Boothill fired the burial artifact.

Finally got official confirmation that Acheron shares a name with her HI3 and Genshin counterparts just like Himeko and Bronya.

The Harmonious Choir Boss was fcking epic. And it's awesome and funny that the MC and Clockie basically just ram THE ENTIRE ASTRAL EXPRESS (even if it's just a copy) onto him. And the Robin song cutscene was so cool.

WHY DID IT HAVE TO END ON ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER?? I hope we actually get significant Boothill lore in 2.3, I mean, the cliffhanger does need to be addressed.

Penacony is absolutely PEAK. I love that the mission revealed significant lore about the Nameless.

[ravenwolfie97]

okay so initial thoughts on honkai star rail after i played like half of the tutorial bit this morning before work

first off, for the record, i have not played or heard much of anything about honkai impact 3rd and i have only played genshin impact pretty much since launch so my expectations were "genshin but sci-fi fantasy" but i can say that's not quite what i got (here’s a read more if you don’t care lol)

- immediately i notice that the graphics fidelity is gorgeous, very sleek and clean - it startled me a bit but also made me happy that the lip flaps are synced to the english dub! it seemed to flow really well even with the expression changes. the dialogue system doesn't seem all too different from genshin or. any other system like that. but it's got a pretty nice polish on the transitions between different states - the animation in the cutscenes and battles are really good, clearly they had a real talented team working on them. the characters feel so bouncy and expressive and it is pretty darn satisfying - the UI and interactive language is pretty much exactly the same as genshin with a sci-fi coat of paint. that's not a bad thing necessarily but like. it's pretty obvious - so the way combat and elemental powers work is very different from genshin, which frankly i should have expected, given this is a turn-based rpg. and i shouldn't have too much trouble with it, since turn-based rpgs are kind of a staple in my game roster, but for some reason i had trouble connecting with it. obviously finishing the tutorial would help, but it didn't feel as intuitive as i expected elements are presented in more of a traditional jrpg type of way where there are clear weaknesses you can exploit on enemies if you attack with a certain element. idk if i fully mean this but i think it kind of ruins part of the fun of discovering an enemy's weakness when the game itself just. tells you what it is off the bat also the types are weird in that they have pretty static effects in terms of what they do, the variability in moves is probably also explained further in character profiles but i haven't found how to look at that yet bkjljl - i'm fascinated by the ideas of Quantum and Imaginary types. what does that even mean. how do those manifest - i think it was a bit of a bold move to start the game off with two random characters talking about the world as if things are normal and known, and then having them influence your player character into. being in the plot not that i didn't like kafka and silver wolf. in fact i love both of them a lot. but i also had no context and had no goddamn idea what was going on so i was thrown pretty off-guard first thing which isn't exactly the greatest first impression lol - why is she named March 7th. does anyone know. is there a joke lost in translation or is it because she's like a pseudo-mascot character or. what - speaking of march actually i really want to like her but so far her character reeks of "hi i'm a girl". her skill is called "The Power of Cuteness" and one of her abilities is called "Girl Power" and so far her personality is cute, kind, and kinda stupid. it's a bit much. but she's neat - i have no big opinions on dan heng except he's neat and people keep saying he's the kazuha of star rail bc windy maple leaf boys but they're wrong bc dan heng has a stabby not a slicey and he can only hit one person at a time while kazoo thrives on the multi-hit AoE damage - i do love that the MC's weapon is just. a future baseball bat. that they get to smack people really hard with. no element, just big smack - oh yeah hyv loves to queerbait i guess cuz that wasn't CPR honey the twitter crowd wasn't kidding - i can’t think of anything else rn cuz it’s past midnight but star rail is neat and i like the little train rabbit dog mascot it’s cute and i wanna get past the tutorial hkjbjk

[foreststranger]

READ FIRST -͟͟͞☆

MASTERLIST HERE ☆

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟABOUT ME -͟͟͞☆

hi! my name is amy/cheng wei (成唯), i go by she/her/hers, i’m 13 (my birthday is in june), and i’m a silly little fanfic writer. it doesn’t matter to me which name you use. if 成唯，阿唯，小唯，唯唯， etc. is easier for you to use, idm. if amy is easier for you, idm either.

i mostly write for honkai: star rail though i might write a few genshin related things here and there.

please request me to write something! i love writing (despite me abandoning projects all the time). now doing commissions as well if you wanna pay for my genshin and hsr funds…

i usually don’t proofread my work bc i’m too scared to read it, so forgive me for spelling/grammar errors and nonsensical lines.

“I'm Lynx, a Snow Plains Development Consultant. Though... I prefer exploring the vastness of the Snow Plains rather than solving problems in the city. The brisk weather can always stimulate your vim and vigor... Ah, sorry, I get distracted when thinking of all the possibilities hidden in the snow.”

↳ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ, ɪ ᴀᴍ:

⛰︎ thinking abt lynx

⛰︎ working on an il dan heng & child reader request

(ɪɴ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴘʀɪᴏʀɪᴛʏ)

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟDO NOT INTERACT -͟͟͞☆

↳ ᴅɴɪ (ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛ)

⛰︎ basic DNI list

(homophobia, transphobia, racism, etc.)

⛰︎ accs with NSFW names (you can still read my stuff but don’t like, reblog, follow, etc.)

you’re fine if you have a nsfw pfp bc tumblr auto censors 👍👍

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ TAGS -͟͟͞☆

#.forestfics​​​ ☆

↳ fanfics

​#.forestreqs​​ ☆

↳ requests

#.forestthings​​​ ☆

↳ other

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ REQUESTS -͟͟͞☆

↳ ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴜɴᴡɪʟʟɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ:

𑁍 character x character ships (unfortunately i only write x readers lol)

𑁍 pedophilic relationships

𑁍 anything with content I deem problematic/am not comfortable with

(kidnapping/yandere themes, the promotion of homophobia, transphobia, racism, and general bigotry, etc.)

𑁍 excessive gore

𑁍 NSFW (of the smutty kind, though there might be some ‘suggestive’ content)

if you send a request that i’m not comfortable fulfilling, I’ll let you know.

↳ ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴡɪʟʟɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ:

𑁍 genshin and hsr stuff

𑁍 romantic and platonic x readers

𑁍 canon x oc

𑁍 angst, trauma, character death, etc.

(excluding SA and anything incredibly graphic)

𑁍 and more!

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ COMMISSIONS -͟͟͞☆

↳ ʙᴀꜱɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛꜱ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ?

𑁍 i get paid via in game currencies

𑁍 you get a proofread fanfic with a lot more effort than a typical request

𑁍 more words/content (i.e, texts and such)

𑁍 your commission takes priority over all of my other projects (AKA I’M NOT GIVING UP ON YOUR FIC. EVEN IF BURNOUT GETS TO ME)

𑁍 that’s it lol

contact me via dms for commissions, rates, etc. however, as a standard, my rate is around $6.79-6.99 CAD/$5-5.16 USD (300 genesis crystals/300 oneiric shards) for every 700~ words. if you need help with how to pay, i can show you. ofc you don’t have to commission me but i’m getting desperate bc i need dan heng and then i need lynx and then there’s topaz and her little dog thing and jingliu and argenti and huohuo and then genshin’s hitting me with neuvillette AND wriothesley IN THE SAME PATCH pls i’ve never been more desperate for pixels. #commercializingyourhobbies. don’t feel pressured to commission me btw, little pixel people in my screen are luxuries, not necessities. i jst rlly want them.

my hsr uid for payment: 601912597 america server

my genshin uid for payment: 629711011 america server

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟMISC. -͟͟͞☆

↳ Qᴜᴇꜱᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀꜱ:

Q: how long will it take for you to complete a request?

A: requests are my favourite things to do so usually i’ll stop working on whatever i’m doing to focus on it. depending on how long it is, it may take me a from a day to a week or more. however, i often lose interest and motivation if a fic takes too long for me so apologies in advance if i give up on your request. 𑁍

Q: does anyone help you run this account?

A: it’s just me. though sometimes, with gruelling tasks such as reworking the texting parts of my old fics, my sister (8 yrs old) will help me out. she’s a very nice kid. 𑁍

Q: do you have an upload schedule?

A: i post whenever i have a completed fic and want to post it. usually, I’ll post 1-2 times every week. though, this is not always consistent. usually i’ll post twice back to back and then leave for a while. and especially since the school year is starting soon, this upload schedule may be even more inconsistent. i struggle a lot with burn out and have abandoned many projects. 𑁍

Q: what are your hobbies?

A: i like doing creative things. drawing, writing, etc. i also like to read and i’m learning to play the flute! i’m hoping to apply for a local school art program for singing and visual arts when i reach high school. 𑁍

Q: what languages do you read and speak?

A: i’m most fluent in english as i was born in canada. i can speak vietnamese pretty well but i have difficulty understanding dialects and accents. i’m also not very good at reading it either. (hong kong) cantonese i can hold a conversation in (mostly) but i have a lot of difficulty with it and can’t read most characters, since i only speak it with my dad. 𑁍

ask before translating, taking inspo from (not copy), reposting, etc. my work. remember to credit me and if you’re taking inspo from it, please @ me as I’d like to see what you do with my ideas!

[nameless-will]

I kinda wanna know, since this is my first time following a Hoyo-game. How oes everyone feel about Penacony to date?

I feel it gave a lot of cool stuff, and that they wanted to do more but cut itself short so that it didn't overstay its welcome, and that kinda hurt itself in some ways.

I only say this from a place of love, but:

Personally, I feel a bit disappointed by the scale of the adventure given everything that this was hyped up to be, but this is also my first time following a live service game for the story.

I feel like the time that was granted for the story to really cement itself as something on the same scale of Belobog and Xianzhou were there but not adequately utilized, IMO. And not in stakes, but in present themes that tie specifically back to the Trailblazers, which, as functionally our main cast, was the weakest part of Penacony for me. And I eat up whatever's put in front of me for the most part.

Which sucks because the secondary objective besides the Charmony Festival was to get a better feel for the legacies left behind by the Trailblaze. And like, it's propped up as this false mystery which is odd because this feels like things that the Astral Express' records should at bare minimum have on Penacony for it to be so popular. Like it would be one thing if the AE wasn't there for the war, but they were?? And they didn't leave 'til the fighting was done?? So even if the details were hazy, I feel like we should still know more about it.

Like legit, I... don't really know anything about Mikhail really. Like sure, we know the synopsis and see what others felt about him, but WE are never really given the same chance to feel the same about him. His words aren't given the chance to hit as hard, in my opinion. It feels emptier than I wish it did. I WANT to feel excited to put on the hat, but it never had the chance to take me there. And worst of all, I can't even remember the other two Nameless' names. It hurts man.

Seeing Welt and Acheron do things and talk was cool, but not for any of the reasons that have to do with Honkai Star Rail™. That comes from me learning about all the cool shit from HI3. And Aventurine's story is dope, I think it's solid. But I don't think it should have been the main story update. That shit should have been a companion quest to help set up everything that's going to go down with Jade because that's what that was.

I like his character much more after it, but not enough to say that I'm happy with how little time I got with the Trailblazers this World for a story that was supposed to recenter the Trailblaze's influence on the wider world of HSR and finishing fight for him.

I haven't done the additional story stuff yet so I might get some details there but it seems like HSR is sorta quick on the draw with its potentially heaviest story beats (ie. Dan Heng and the Xianzhou was revealed waaaayyyy too fuckin' early) to a premature degree.

[pantherxdrawz]

Enstars x Genshin au? Nah. How about

Enstars x Honkai: Star Rail au

I’ve just got rambles cause yeah I wanted to draw the designs but adhd brain hit like a freight train “oh I wanna draw this design” “n o.”

Anyways yeah just just rambles

How I’ll do this is “Enstars character takes Star Rail characters General role, however I’ll give them wiggle room and they keep their personalities, maybe even tweak their backstories”

So generally ALKALOID takes the Nameless/Trailblazers roles,

Hiiro takes Dan Heng’s role, however he’s not exiled for a past life’s actions, rather he “ran” from home and joined the Trailblazers to find his oldest brother (Rinne, who doesn’t technically take a role, I mean right now you could say in a way he takes a combo of Bailu’s and Dan Heng’s as well if you really want but yeah he’s pretty much role-less, free from the binds of the story) who was supposed to be the next Vidyadhara High Elder but ran away across the galaxy for unknown reasons

Also I say “Oldest brother” because I know in canon Rinne is Hiiro’s only brother, but in this au I’m gonna do a funny thing and make Luka be their middle child brother in the au because come on look at them, which means (besides NPC’s) he’s gonna be one of the few un-booted-out-for-Enstars-characters-to-steal their-lives-characters who just vibe for an epic crossover

Also yes this means Vidyadhara Rinnie, Luka And Hiiro

Or Luka is just adopted-💥

Then there’s going to be Mayoi as the MC, well, technically, he doesn’t take the Protagonist role in this au, Hiiro does still, So like. Imagine if Dan Heng was the protagonist/MC of H:SR instead like does that make sense?

I also think Mayoi would die if he was given the Main Protagonist role- Anyways why am I giving him a side protagonist version of Caelus/Stelle? Well one: he was my first favorite in Enstars, ever, and two: anxious wall gremlin is a very good stand in for feral raccoon (wo)man

And yes this means he’s now an artificial human with a stellaron inside him and could explode at any second

I also had the idea of Aria as March 7th, I…Don’t have anything for that except how they just make me think of the other, so that’s not really in stone

And Akiomi as Welt, just cause why not

Madara and Kohaku take Clara and Svarog‘s roles, (Madara Svarog and Kohaku Clara to get specific)

Kohaku taking Clara’s role if she had a big fucking gun/hj

For this au instead of Kohaku being a shy little orphan like Clara, he’s just a random teen that ran away, found Madara and they ended up as friends somehow, but technically Kohaku is in Clara’s role here, like just

“Yeah I found this big fucking motorcycle transformer cowboy thing and it’s my mom friend now”

“+w+”

Also I’m changing the type of Robot Madara is, instead of being the giant robot Svarog originally is, he’s now a transformer that turns into a motorcycle, because why the fuck not, it doesn’t matter as long as he has Svarog’s capabilities as well

HiMERU takes Tingyun’s role (starts slowly descending away, evil cackling in knowing both Enstars and Star Rail lore as I refuse to elaborate, but if you play both games like me we can evil laugh/cry together :))

Jin takes Jing Yuan’s role, why? *drops a second infodump*

It’s literally perfect to me, first of all, they’re both eepy old men who have the :3/=w= faces

Also I say “Old” but if Jing Yuan aged normally and wasn’t immortal he’d probably be like 40’s and Jin is 30’s, and I don’t think that’s actually old I just say old cause they both call themselves old at at least some point and the entire fandom and their mothers call Jing Yuan old/hj

They’ve also got a few similarities:

They both took paths their parents didn’t want them to (Jing Yuan being with the Cloud Knights when his parents wished for him to inherit the mantle of a scholar or official at the Realm-Keeping Commission and Jin being an Idol, when his parents wanted him to be a Doctor),

-They both lost one’s close to them (Jing Yuan losing his mentor (who is still alive but eehhhshshs he technically lost her-) and old friendships, Jin meanwhile lost his whole ass older brother)

-Both seem lazy but whenever it’s the right situation (For Jing Yuan it’s literally any situation where he’d absolutely need to take action, for Jin it’s his students in danger) Shit gets real

Also I just really want a situation where he’s constantly sleeping on the desk while Mayoi, Aria* and Akiomi* are just staring at him like “:/ are you sure this is the real general??? Are you sure this isn’t just a random lost guy?????” Maybe even finding him sleeping while standing up in hologram form

(*swaps aren’t in stone but what I’m going with rn)

and two characters I simp for in one

Uhh *checks notes aka just my floating thoughts on this*

I think that’s it for now, im up for ideas for this au

[antimatterz]

Enyo! Thank you for the kind good luck you sent in your reply. My Dan Heng is getting stronger. I just maxed some of his relics and he started dealing 2000 damage. I don't know what to say but I am happy. I want to pat him in the head and praise him and the others for doing their best today. And welcome to the team Sushang! I finally decided to level her up after I lost Tingyun to her in Jing Yuan's banner.

Also, the fic made me melt especially Blade's. He sounds so cute in it. It makes me want to tease him. Not only him but also Dan Heng. Sampo is all over you and embarrassing you one way or another with his loud dramatic comments to even tease him. I don't think I can tease Jing Yuan, I'll be too busy blushing at him just existing. Him smiling as soon as he sees you online again, that soft and gentle look in his eyes and you're at loss of words.

I’m delighted that you got inspired with that random musing. I just can't help think of them being “alive” and hearing you through the screen. Me who thinks that my stuffs toys are alive, I might as well delude myself that they have “life”. And the delusion worsens when something out of the ordinary happens with your favorite character and you think they are responding to you in some way.

Maybe it's just a stroke of luck for my Dan Heng but he needs to take responsibility for dragging me to Honkai Star Rail. This man did not only made me dream of him but also made me fall for his looks, his voice, voice overs, and something about him being knowledgeable and his reserved personality. I guess, I found my ideal type already. I can't help but stress that he came home thrice as I prayed he'll come home — imagine pulling on a 5 star banner for a 4 star character. That's me too on Silver Wolf's banner when I saw Dan Heng in it. So, I don't know how to feel if he leaves the astral express when he becomes Imbibitor Lunae. I might still be able to play him, yes, but I feel sad thinking about it. Wahhh...

ooh yes i remember being so proud when dan heng hit his first 1k ! i yelled about it to my friends who don't even play hsr? they were like enyo chill out who even is dan heng 😭 ( which resulted in me spamming them with pictures ofc ) and aaa i feel you !! sometimes i randomly praise them when they do good damage, let me be delusional and pretend they can hear me ok ? and ooh is sushang a good ? i got her e6 as i was pulling for tingyun and i'm like, should i use her ? the fact that she summons a whole angry chicken is so funny shdhjs

i'm glad you liked it ! it was kinda written for you since you inspired me to write it hehe. i had so much fun imagining this scenario with them ( and i already got a follow-up request on this so i'm not done with this self aware au ^^ )

okay but i do that too ? the entire life stories my plushies have to hear on a daily basis is insane but i can't help it they're such good listeners lol. we can be delusional together nonnie, it's okay !

i'm the same,, i've been playing genshin since release and my brother one day went like "yo the developers of genshin brought out a new game, did you already download it ?" and i was like nahh but i got curious, did some research, saw dan heng and was like DUDE i'm gonna play this game,, and then i found out he was one of the free characters and i think i ascended from happiness sjdjfh he's just so perfect and i fully relate to you. his looks, his personality, his voice, he's just so hhh i'm down bad for him nonnie ;_; WAIT HE'S GONNA GO ? okay i was already afraid of that happening but i'm not ready for it to ACTUALLY happen help ??

[wynterrolls]

HSR FAQ 𖡻 How long to max upgrade a character?

Answer (Calcs below the cut.)

I’m curious how much time it is going to take me to grind for the materials to max out a single unit in this game, but I can’t find any post that talks about this, so I’ll create one here. Only their ascension and trace materials in this post.

Since I’m F2P in the game and F2Ps take the longest time to grind for a character, I’ll use this situation to estimate the time needed.

Conditions:

Max Trailblaze Power (TP) = 240 per day

Equilibrium Level 6, Trailblaze Lv 70

Starting from scratch = means no items in bag (broke F2P)

Considering only the low end drop rate @ highest difficulty

Drop Rate @ highest difficulty

These rates are based from the Domain Drop Rate sheet linked below. I just considered the low end to know the max results.

For 5-star unit, I’ll use Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae as example. Here is a screenshot of his material requirements to fully max him from Lv1 to Lv 80 with Traces 6/10/10/10.

In written format, this is what DHIL’s materials are called as:

Credits

Character EXP 4* = Traveler’s Guide

Stagnant Shadow Drop = Suppressing Edict

Echoes of War Drop = Regret of Infinite Ochema

Crimson Trace 4* = Worldbreaker Blade

Crimson Trace 3* = Lifeless Blade

Crimson Trace 2* = Shattered Blade

Gold Trace 4* = Immortal Lumintwig

Gold Trace 3* = Immortal Aeroblossom

Gold Trace 2* = Immortal Scionette

Tracks of Destiny

For 4-star unit, I’ll use Dan Heng as example. Same procedure to his 5-star form done above.

In written format, this is what his materials are called as:

Credits

Character EXP 4* = Traveler’s Guide

Stagnant Shadow Drop = Storm Eye

Echoes of War Drop = Destroyer’s Final Road

Crimson Trace 4* = Arrow of the Starchaser

Crimson Trace 3* = Arrow of the Demon Slayer

Crimson Trace 2* = Arrow of the Beast Hunter

Gold Trace 4* = Squirming Core

Gold Trace 3* = Glimmering Core

Gold Trace 2* = Extinguished Core

Tracks of Destiny

In table form, this is what the materials will be called as:

NOTE: I converted 4* Crimson Trace materials into 3* ones for ease of computation. Since I’m considering the low-end drop rate, I’m not including 4* drop average in the calcs.

Among the items listed here in this table, these items are not suitable to farm with TP:

Tracks of Destiny [Source: Simulated Universe (SU) weekly rewards, monthly shop item, and from events]

Gold Trace Materials [Source: Golden Calyx runs, overworld enemies in map, SU runs, and sending characters in Assignments]

Now, for the calculations, the easiest to calc first are the Echoes of War drops and Stagnant Shadow drops. These two have constant drops so no need to explain.

NOTE: Runs ↑, Days ↑, and Total TP ↑ are rounded up values.

Next would be Character EXP and Crimson Trace materials. In the drop rate table above, each run gives different kinds of item drops.

To simplify the values in order to have uniformity in the calcs, I converted the number of drop items in accordance to the value of the highest rarity drop.

Notations:

rate w/r 4* = rate with respect to 4* EXP = EXP / (EXP of 4*)

rate w/r 3* = rate with respect to 3* crimson trace = (2* drop) / 3

rate w/r 2* = rate with respect to 2* crimson trace = (3* drop) * 3

Which leads to this calc:

Last would be the credits. Since the first four runs (Echoes of War, Stagnant Shadow, Character EXP, and Crimson Trace) drop credits as well, I deducted those values and computed the remaining credits needed.

NOTE: I created two columns for credit values because once you hit Trailblaze Level 70, the Trailblaze EXP is converted into credits instead. Rate is 1 Trailblaze EXP = 10 credits.

I’ve placed the summary above, but if you want an Ascension and Trace Farming Schedule, here.

Sources

Hoyolab Leveling Calculator for HSR Characters

Inventory Materials in HSR Hoyowiki

Honkai: Star Rail Domain Drop Rates

Character EXP in HSR Wiki Fandom

Uploaded on Patch 2.0

➥ Back to my HSR masterlist.

Author’s Note

Similar post to this one but for light cone here. Ok. Good luck farming. ( •_•)👍

Update Log

02/17/2024 – Uploaded this post.

02/20/2024 - Added the link for light cone post.