#aeon sampo theory

[local-void-creature-izzy]

(Please note this theory will get longer once I complete Penacony, I haven't started yet due my busy schedule with college and exams)

-Sampo is the Successor of Aha, Aeon of Elation-

The reason why I say successor rather than the actual, original Aeon, is because:

Aha is described as an Aeon that does not truly comprehend nor understand humanity, with it, the emotions tied with humanity. It understands joy, with being the Aeon of Elation, but that's all it comprehends

While as Sampo still very much has that sense. And showcases emotions beyond that joy.

Aha's people, can be categorized into two groups:

The Masked Fools, and the Mourning Actors

The Masked Fools are a group of people that truly believe in Aha. "They believe that the truth of the world is a joke, and the ultimate meaning of all things lies in mere laughter" -HSR Data Bank

The Masked Fools are described as extremely radical when it comes to their beliefs. Doing whatever they can in that pursuit of joy, pleasure, elation. Causing Chaos every where they go.

While the Mourning Actors are that of the opposite. "They are firm believers against Elation. They believe life is full of ups and downs, that agony makes people mature but fleeting joy only offers hopeless and unreachable temptation." -HSR Data Bank.

They believe all beings should renounce joy, and endure grief to temper their spirits.

They are described as people that ride a gondola that spans the stars in order to perform. They collect and wear different masks from different worlds, while recording the sorrows of intelligent life.

And they are said to have been blessed by Aha itself, with Aeon like powers. As joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin.

Now obviously with these two opposites technically being under the same Aeon, it would not surprise me with they were essentially at war with each other.

Think of it like, Masked Fools is Celestia, while Mourning Actors is the Fatui.

- I believe Sampo's home planet is either on its last legs, or is no longer in existence. With both sides under Aha being complete opposites of each other and from what it sounds like in the data bank, not getting along, it was probably only a matter of time before they became the planet's undoing, Sampo being one if not the only survivor because he was hand picked by Aha.

Now another thing that is known to us, to an extent, is that Aeons can die or be killed.

Canonically there are at least around 4-5 Aeons that are dead or presumably dead due to their unknown whereabouts.

Aha is stated as Alive, but also, Aha is one of the few without a humanoid or somewhat alien form that you can at least make out a comprehensive figure in giant entity. Aha is canonically a series of in-animated masks and objects used in theatre/circus. A vague humanoid silhouette can be seen, but is clearly overshadowed. And if an Aeon can die, then how can you claim it is truly eternal?

Aha is described as few things but unpredictable and calculating seem to be the most consistent going as far as to shapeshift into a human for some time in order to trick Akivili (Aeon of Trailblaze) and its followers, the nameless, which resulted in Aha blowing up half of Akivili's Express and an entire planet.

- Another known fact of Aha, is that it refers to itself in third person, something Sampo also does.

I believe Sampo is a product of forbidden love. A child born of a Masked Fool and Mourning Actor, possibly born out of wedlock, thus carries traits of both.

Sampo is labeled as a Masked Fool but also seems to not go as extremely and knowns when a line shouldn't be crossed and what lines to not cross flat out.

He may do what he does for a living, but knows when enough is enough and is cautious in his line of work in order to not get caught.

Canonically Sampo has been shown or told to us by others if not him, that he has helped Natasha (Main Doctor of Belebog's Underground) in gathering anything she needed medically in order to treat her patients as most supplies were above ground and the underground had been locked down from going up when Cocolia was in charge, he had his ways of going back and forth.

And he is also great with kids, Hook, who is the leader of the moles, a little gang of her friends that try to help around the underground the best way they can, and a playable character, as been shown to go to him for help or information and he actually takes it seriously, not wanting to upset or hurt her because she's just trying to help out in what way she can and who is he to ruin that.

Now he is clearly not the most stable individual, there are several indicators that he isn't 100% stable such as his E4 constellation and one his idles showing him with lifeless eyes.

Said E4 con called "The Deeper the Love, the Stronger the Hate"

The fact he canonically is so sneaky and agile that his footsteps do not make noise, leave footprints in snow, or disturb water if he walks on a puddle or something similar.

Not to mention, he can quite literally appear and disappear whenever he feels like. Several times in quests he is with you, the next second he's gone, only to reappear like "i was here the whole time, what are you talking about?"

So what I think is:

I believe Aha's time is coming if not already come, and no one has truly noticed yet. But Aha being how it is, planned ahead and chose a successor to carry on its pursuit of laughter that leaves one breathless, that will lead to unexpected delights that uplift the soul towards divinity.

So if Sampo is someone born from the two groups under Aha, then Sampo would be the perfect candidate. As he is someone that can understand Aha's ideology and way of thinking but also comprehend emotions and humanity in a way, Aha can not.

Aha chooses a child that most likely had a horrible and possibly traumatic childhood, because of him being born of both sides, and possibly born onto a planet with horrible conditions for living

And that with how it currently stands, it's either a matter of: How long Sampo can conceal it?

Or

How long Sampo can buy time until Aha completely passes and truly take on the role of successor, because as he currently stands he is in a incomplete state that will only finish the transformation when Aha is no longer in the picture.

(Also the closest we have to a "home base" for Sampo, is Epsilon which sounds like a planet that may act as a temporary yet is probably the main residence for Sampo, yet from how he describes it.

Its not a planet he's in any hurry to get back to, because according to him, is a giant vanity fair. So most likely the planet is just a giant ego fest)

This all based on my speculations with my current lore knowledge and interpretations.

[ahaclownery]

With Sparkle's drip marketing, red seems to be a common trait amongst Masked Fools (Aha, Giovanni, and now Sparkle). Red masks just make me think of that amazing fan art of Sampo smiling with a red mask on his face (Here's the link - omg it’s so so so good) AnYwayS, what does a red mask mean? 

According to (Vivomasks): Red means “energetic and vigorous and are good if you’d like people to take some risk. Red is also a color of dominance, power, attention, and sexuality.” Yeah, that fits Aha.

But a red mask just reminds me so much of the “The Masque of the Red Death” and it's a short story abt nobles getting killed off pretty much for being insensitive snobby little asses (Essentially karma). I’ve made posts concerning how Sampo can be interpreted as an almost Robin Hood character, and thanks to user Nyuks for this one, other Masked Fools appear to be rather similar in nature. Is Aha an underdog-loving Aeon and possibly has an origin story similar to that? Especially with his connection to the concept of war and dystopian stories through the SU blessings, it makes me think about the original human behind Aha.

[futurefind]

it's honestly nothing. i can deal with it myself.

[ for sa, from luka ! ]

PROMPTS FOR PATCHING UP WOUNDS //@astrcls

She wonders, briefly, what god (or Aeon or hell-knows-what bastard governing over fate and irony) she's grabbed the attention of to keep getting slapped in front of a mirror. And in the pettiest of ways, no less.

It's a better fate than she's used to having, certainly, but something in her all but curls whenever she sees someone else adamantly handling their wounds alone — as if she hasn't handled an assortment of downright atrocities of injuries on herself, by herself, over the years.

(Or still would, or still does.)

"And just because you can..." her gaze flickers yellow, but whether at his stubborness or the echo of hypocrite in her own ears is unclear. "Doesn't mean you can't have help."

She snorts, even as ice's already forming at her fingertips to help with bleeding and pain relief. "Unless you'd rather I tell Natasha—"

[pcktknife]

you have to yell when you refer to them

star rail changing all the aeons pronouns from they/them to THEY/THEM is so funny. its most likely the same as how He is capitalized when referring to god in christianity but the sudden change makes it seem like someone on the team is really pissed about the constant misgendering and is not so subtly trying to correct everyone using the wrong pronouns

[flightofthejackdaw]

2.2 Spoilers!:

Boothill mentioning that emanators hide their identities, and some may turn their backs on the Aeon they’re supposed to follow if found out (or literally DESTROY everything and everyone). Got me thinking about a certain blue haired boy

Especially since right after saying that, Boothill states that he met a eminatior of Elation who seemed completely normal, and just like the rest of the clowns (masked fools)

It’s really adding to the emanator Sampo theory, also adding the idea that Sampo for some reason put his mask down giving up Elation, turning to Nihility. But is now going back to playing the fool and continuing his fun

[softringing]

Its now basically confirmed Sampo is from planet Kalevala according to the new textmap leaks for his upcoming event :)

Ok I think our theories of him being forged by SOMEONE or some aeon is slowly becoming true BUT the question is who?

It could be the HSR alternate of Illumiren that crafted sampo or even the Preservation. Why do I think that? Well simply put, preservation is trying to preserve anything it can possibly do-- and additionally, qiloph has a giant hammer, it would make sense for them to "make" sampo, not only for the sake of Belebog but also Kalevala who is in a similar situation as them.

The poem Sampo singing in these leaks literally talk about HIMSELF and I'm pretty sure the word "Sampo" is going to be highlighted in yellow/red during the game BC of these odd "RUBY" text around it, just to emphasise something about SAMPO.

Sampo happily singing about himself or his supposed "purpose" makes me think he's a mix of 3 paths (as in he believes in them or he embodies them in some way):

The Preservation-- he has been consistently running around belebog behind the scenes, even as far as going to penacony to get his mask back from sparkle. He's obviously trying to *preserve* belebog and save it from destruction

Elation-- this is pretty obvious. Sampo braking the 4th wall, his mask, his talk with Giovanni and scamming people. But something that doesn't add up I think is him not having his mask during the belebog quest. I think the reason why he didn't have his mask was not only BC he was retired as many people mentioned but ALSO the fact that the masks that the fools carry can corrupt them. If U watch Sparkle's myriad celestia trailer, U can tell she's being possessed by someone else like an evil spirit and how her mask has half red, half white parts. But then I think ABT Giovanni who has the same feature on his mask but doesn't seem possessed like sparkle herself. He seems very similar to Sampo, calm and rational which explains why SAMPO'S friends with him in the first place. But even then sampo seems to refuse sharing his beliefs until someone asks him and I think that shows his reluctance to return to elation

Nihilty-- this is SAMPO'S ingame path and I didn't only choose it BC it was his ingame path. You see elation and Nihility are practically the same thing. Both believe that life is nothing/joke but the only thing that sets them apart is that nihility just does nothing and awaits for that meaningless end, while the elation is just like "if everything is meaningless than I might just have fun". I feel like Sampo does fall under this category and his backstory will have elements linking to the nihility but that's just my speculation.

I also suspect that sampo was hired by Elio like sparkle BC how else does he know the future? I thought that since sampo may be the emanator of elation, it might relate to that but if he did know the future, during the penacony masquerade duet quest, why did he make a surprised expression when sparkle said she wouldn't give his mask back as a joke? Shouldn't he have known that sparkle was joking if he knew the future? I don't think he was acting here

so I'm thinking that perhaps, Sampo was also hired by Elio. There isn't much to prove this, but if you have a look at firefly's trailer, you can see the stelleron hunters walking on a bridge located in belebog

Also, I think a person on twitter found a note in rivet town from blade saying "you will never get away from me" (dan Heng I pity U).

Since the stelleron hunters didn't take the stelleron from belebog, and let tb do the work, why were they even there to begin with? To give sampo the script methinks.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

[sunderingstars]

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ DOLL THEORY ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— what the stars reveal: theoretical speculation, interpretative analysis, waxing poetic, red string conspiracy theory board in full swing

— word count: 6.1k

— overview: (as of 2.6) going out with a bang by outlining my doll!sampo theory, including evidence from the simulated universe, limited-time events, dialogue, and more! not many photos in this one, since i’ll just be referencing the other analyses i’ve already completed — you can visit the masterlist here.

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ DISCLAIMER ⌝

When discussing theoretical speculation, I do not believe these events to be set-in-stone or even canon, only that this is an interpretation of events I am very interested in talking about! I have no idea if any of this will actually end up being true, but it’s fun to speculate. Even if it all is proven false later on, I still think it’s a fun idea to play around with for AUs and the like! Enjoy!

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ INTRODUCTION ⌝

Doll Theory is the name I have ascribed to my theory that Sampo is a creation of Aha similar in function to the doll in the Aha Stuffed Toy occurrence within the Simulated Universe. This includes sharing Aha’s physical appearance (the silhouette), being created to vent extreme emotions on, and being betrayed or discarded by Aha once the Aeon was done with him. I often imagine Doll!Sampo to be or have been an Emanator at some point as well. 

This theory can easily run in sync with other Sampo theories, such as Aha!Sampo, Masked Fool!Sampo (canon), and the aforementioned Emanator!Sampo. Sampo as a protector of Belobog, Sampo as “Mr. Cold Feet,” Sampo as a worker (or boss) disillusioned with his job, Sampo who wants to help the Trailblazer — it all fits here!

(Note: reading my other analyses isn’t needed to understand what’s going on, but I figured I’d include links in some sections for those interested!)

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ EVIDENCE ⌝

Related Analyses — Simulated Universe, Kit & Abilities, Divergent Universe, Name & Etymology, and Notable Topics. Masterlist link!

Aha Stuffed Toy

The main piece of evidence that sparked this theory is the Aha Stuffed Toy occurrence in the Simulated Universe. Summarized, the occurrence details the existence of a toy — or “doll” — created in Aha’s own likeness for the purpose of venting extreme emotions on. Aha wishes to see Themself beaten up, and is not involved in the “quality control” process. Upon interacting with the doll as a player, you have two options: pat it lightly or hit it hard. Both options have a random chance of granting varying quantities of Cosmic Fragments, or none.

In certain outcomes, the doll is broken, destroyed, or its head explodes. In the case of the Elation option in Gold and Gears, the doll even gains sentience and steals your Cosmic Fragments, accompanied by the line “Only Aha knows the secret.”

I connect this to Sampo mainly through his trade, affiliation with Elation, and namesake. His trade of being a con-man centers much of his actions around money — whether giving or taking — much like the doll awarding or stealing Cosmic Fragments. With Cosmic Fragments as a stand-in for in-universe currency, it’s easy for me to see Sampo as serving a similar function concerning the flow of money. Additionally, he is the only character so far connected to both the Elation and this amount of currency-based identity.

However, my main idea comes from Sampo’s namesake — a Finnish mythological artifact known for distributing wealth upon others. Not only was the Sampo forged by a god (mirroring the creation of the doll by Aha), it was tied to granting others wealth (Cosmic Fragments), conflicts were fought because of it (small link to the “conflict” of beating up the doll), and it was ultimately destroyed (much like the doll breaking or its head blowing up). That, paired with the cryptic line “Only Aha knows the secret” that causes the doll to become sentient and steal our Cosmic Fragments (much like Sampo cheats others out of their own money), leads me to interpret this occurrence as being intertwined with Sampo’s own identity.

Curio Hacker

Curio Hacker is the main Sampo occurrence I’ve seen people talking about, and for good reason. The “blue-haired entity” is an immediate connection, and its general demeanor matches Sampo’s.

However, my main sources of evidence come from the Curios here. Organic Heart and Mysterious Magnetism, to put it simply, carry heavy themes of experimentation, creation, and the blending of multiple objects or concepts into one before abandonment. If we look into the question of why Sampo might be trying to replicate these Curios and how he even managed to access the Simulated Universe in the first place, we can arrive at the conclusion that these two in particular have some sort of meaning or connection to who he is or what he is trying to accomplish.

Given the Curios’s heavy focus on creation and combination, I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to assume Sampo may be a creation or “combination” himself — likely a bridge between the mortal and immortal as an Emanator, insentient and sentient consciousnesses as a Doll. He is an enigma, just like Organic Heart and Mysterious Magnetism.

The *Perfect* Grand Challenge

Another occurrence that is heavily Elation-coded, The *Perfect* Grand Challenge once again showcases toys and dolls in the spotlight, this time inside an arcade machine. Not only does this occurrence have several nods to a “programmer” (linking to the blue-haired entity in Curio Hacker), but it also features a doll whose head blows up after venting extreme emotion. 

My main takeaway here is the existence of multiple dolls, which may imply that Sampo is not the only one of his kind, merely another step in his creator’s pursuit of “perfection”. Although the concept of “perfection” doesn’t seem to fit with Elation that much for me, I could still see Aha becoming enamored with the idea of a “perfect self,” if only for shits and giggles. 

Masked Fools Boundary Equation

In the Divergent Universe Masked Fools Equation Expansion, triggered by collecting sixteen Elation blessings, part of the story sees our point of view character (who I interpret to be Aha) drinking a beverage concocted with “fruit extracted from bitter hatred felt after falling from great heights.” This is more a combination of Emanator! and Doll!Sampo to me, since I connect “fruit” to “Organic Heart” which is part apple, “bitter hatred” to Sampo’s Eidolon “The Deeper the Love, The Stronger the Hate,” and “falling” to be a kind of betrayal or violence associated with both the doll and Sampo as a character. 

My guess is that Sampo may have previously been an Emanator, but had his status revoked, causing him to “fall from great heights.” In this way, the doll would also be harmed, allowing for a “reward” — or in this case, a nice amusing beverage — to find its way into Aha’s possession. This could also be seen as Aha growing bored with Sampo, essentially discarding him like a used toy.

Jester of Anatta

I’m putting this here because I feel like every single word of the original text is important!

This is a four-star equation combining blessings of Nihility and Elation. Not only is it a four-star like Sampo’s character rarity, but it sits in the exact intersection of his affiliations — his playable path being Nihility while his in-game affiliation is with the Masked Fools, an Elation faction.

— Exploding in the face / head area.

— Explodes “like a bomb” — his ultimate uses a bomb to hide his face and he has a lot of bomb imagery surrounding him.

— The audience laughs and “gains something” from his pain, though he is soon forgotten.

— Intentional self-destruction for others’ gain.

— Stealing, being pursued by private guards, blowing things up — all acts for attention, all acts Sampo has canonically committed.

— Reference to the subject as a “clown,” mirroring Sampo’s “Clown’s Items” from Penacony.

— “Lying in rags and debris, you mock your pathetic self.” Debris implies physical acts of destruction, rags implies a loss of wealth and status.

— The abandonment of others.

The main connections I make are to the doll’s head blowing up, the abandonment themes of Curio Hacker’s Curios, and a type of “reward” being gained from physical pain. The extreme emotion in this case not only would be Elation itself from the audience, but the intense self-mocking and pain of the “clown.” After all, Aha Stuffed Toy never said the emotions being vented had to come solely from the outside — it’s possible that stress or hatred turned inward could do the same trick.

Also, the “rags and debris” implies a type of being spent, perhaps something akin to the Sampo bleeding out all its wealth to others only to be left behind as everyone moves on.

Other Evidence

— The Simulated Universe occurrence Ace Trash Digger is also a huge connection; here’s a short post where I detail my thoughts on it.

— Additionally, here is my post on the Ship of Fools Unknowable Domain occurrence, as it pretty blatantly references Sampo (and Sparkle!) as well.

— In the trash can event, Sampo’s stage “Hazardous Waste” directly refers to an effect that causes him to be “beaten up” so he regenerates energy and attack. “Hazardous Waste” may also be a reference to his abandonment or “fall from great heights,” making clear that even though he has been discarded like the toy he was made to be, he is still very dangerous, much like the venom-tipped fangs on the shoulder of his outfit.

— Sampo’s downed pose is unique among Star Rail characters, looking like a doll folding down to protect his face.

— His line when hit by a heavy attack — “Hey, watch the face!” — could be another extension of him trying to protect himself from “breaking”.

— The Noblesse Worm Aha made an Emanator once. Since we know that Aha is fast and loose with who They promote to (and demote from) Emanator status, I don’t see it as too far of a reach to assume They might turn one of Their own doomed creations into an Emanator for the cruel, hilarious irony of it all. (And for that yummy beverage, of course.)

— The Sampo of Finnish mythology is huge here, since its narrative, function, and eventual fate is directly mirrored by the Aha Stuffed Toy occurrence.

— This line from a starskiff on the Skysplitter:

(Not directly a piece of evidence, but it summarizes a lot of my feelings on Sampo’s sentience.)

— “Eyes of the Prey” is a light cone that positions Sampo as both predator and prey — and Emanator!Doll!Sampo would fit this perfectly, the Emanator in him being the predator and the Doll in him being the prey.

— Sharing an appearance with Aha (“created in Their likeness”): red on the outside of his outfit much like the oranges and reds of Aha’s masks, similar silhouettes, not visiting the Express due to potentially being recognized from Aha’s time there, Aha being referenced but not described in the Astral Express dream bubble because They may look similar to someone we know and would recognize (like Sampo) — even shares similar vocal quirks like referring to himself in third person.

— Being beaten up for rewards & venting of extreme emotion — usually no “nice” dialogue options to him in-game, basically a punching bag for most people around him like Topaz collecting his debt in her trailer, people are just mean to this man for no good reason honestly. I’d like to think this is because the universe literally dictates them to be, as that is his purpose.

— Sampo has several unique “quirks,” such as not leaving footprints, that imply he may be different from a normal being. As a creation of Elation, this could be side effect of his existence (or potentially his attempts to subvert it).

— In the Tatalov sequence, Sampo directly refers to a “truth” he is trying to reveal. It seems he can’t tell us upfront, so this may be the “secret” only Aha knows.

— Sampo is well-known for scamming people and essentially stealing their money, much like the sentient doll who steals our Cosmic Fragments in Aha Stuffed Toy.

— The doll also makes a direct fourth wall break by looking at us, both the Trailbazer and by extension the player, which is something Sampo has also done by looking at the “audience” and addressing us.

— Jester of Anatta, the doll, and many other pieces of evidence listed so far have heavy themes of voyeurism looking in on another’s pain.

— The “quality control” mentioned in Aha Stuffed Toy carries similar themes of experimentation and creation as the other mentioned occurrences. Given that They are not involved in this process, this could also link to abandonment and even the idea of Sampo being “buggy,” hence the hacker in Curio Hacker and his lack of footprints.

— Additionally, an Intellitron NPC in Dream’s Edge named Kirk talks about Asmon Rim, an Elation planet that began to treat other lives as toys in their pursuit of the Laughter. While I’m not sure how much this factors into Sampo’s story given the existence of Kalevala (the planet) as a likely origin for him, I still feel it’s important to mention. Asmon Rim definitely lines up with the overall dehumanization of the Aha Stuffed Toy, although it does lack the direct involvement of Aha. Perhaps Sampo found himself there somewhere along his journey, or perhaps his betrayal occurred there or something similar. Food for thought!

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ INTERPRETATIONS⌝

Related Analyses — Eidolons, Penacony Voicelines, Simulated Universe, Outfit & Design Motifs, and Notable Topics. Masterlist link!

Beyond just evidence, Doll Theory lends itself to certain interpretations of canon, mainly the many mysteries surrounding Sampo and his role in the story.

Tatalov

While the Tatalov plotline still confuses me in general (as I feel it was meant to), the closest interpretation I have for it under Doll Theory is that, since we are in Sampo’s dreamscape, the plot itself is meant to mirror Sampo’s own existence. As he says after Firefly interrupts the dream bubble, he’s trying to “reveal” a specific truth, which is likely something to do with his identity or role in future events. 

In this case, I see the trash cans as being stand-ins for either other dolls or Belobog’s people, with the giant Sampo at the end equating to the Sampo we know. It may be trying to point us towards Sampo’s status as an Emanator by enlarging him to a size reminiscent of Phantylia, or imply he is attempting to go against his creator — likely Aha — through the lines “Become the garbage king / though the cans have long been broken.” (Also note the specific use of the word “broken” here.)

Again, Tatalov still confuses me quite a bit, so I feel the whole thing could be symbolic of Sampo’s backstory as a doll and goal of gaining power to inspire others to fight back, or it could also be symbolic of him protecting Belobog (or both!). The jury’s still out on the specifics.

Eidolons

Although I already covered Sampo’s eidolons in its own analysis, my interpretations have changed a little, so here I am to quickly go over each eidolon for Doll Theory.

— Rising Love: Rising into being, creation. “Love” could stand for Elation itself, Sampo’s early love for Aha / his purpose, or Aha’s “love” creating him. Also could be indicative of rising to Emanator status. Also also, could be the “rising love” of an audience becoming enamored with him / entertained by his suffering, much like in Jester of Anatta. He is facing away from the viewer, just another faceless doll. (This eidolon may also be referencing a period of time where Aha becomes “re-interested” in Sampo, meaning Sampo is the recipient of this “rising love” coming from Aha after being discarded for a long time.)

— Infectious Enthusiasm: Doll!Sampo as an extension of Aha, being made in Their image. Aha is known for having “infectious enthusiasm” specifically, so this is probably the point Sampo is closest to Them. Sampo as an Emanator would also fit this idea. Being surrounded by Elation, specifically of the intense kind. The constant need to perform. Now that he has been lifted high as an Emanator, we focus on his eye, a small yet more identity-laden part of him — he is not “just another plaything,” or so he thinks.

— Big Money!: Tie-in to the doll bestowing wealth. He grants currency onto others; his existence is full of it. The audience is scoring “Big Money!” by venting on him or watching him suffer, and if he is being self-destructive, he may be receiving it too. May also be indicative of a turning point, a shift in understanding of his own purpose and identity given the next eidolon. Here, he is seen flipping through bills with a smirk; this may be when he begins using earning money as a coping mechanism, or a way to take back autonomy for himself.

— The Deeper the Love, The Stronger the Hate: The dichotomy of his existence; the irony of a doll. Being showered with so much love by others, only to realize that love is conditional on your pain. The more the audience loves, the more Sampo hates himself for being helpless, for being miserable. The more Aha bestows Their “love,” the more Sampo begins to resent his creator for creating him. The more Sampo allows himself to feel love, to feel Elation, the more that hatred festers within him, the idea that he must be made for more than this. He is smiling here — attempting to transmit the love, the enthusiasm, the Elation his purpose demands — but he is unable to hide the hatred hiding behind his dulled eye. (This could also be seen as the moment of “betrayal” where Sampo loses his Emanator status, effectively being robbed of the only power or agency he had.)

— Huuuuge Money!: Sampo has begun to get used to the wealth constantly spilling from him, although it does not change the feelings in his heart. While the money flows more than ever, he enters a cycle of self-destruction, tying his identity to earning money himself, leaning into the con-man persona. The name also implies a heightened intensity of him either making money, or others making money off of him, which would be directly correlated with increased pain or suffering. He stares head on, somewhat tiredly.

— Increased Spending: Likely referencing his attempts to “hack” the system or bypass the nature of his own existence, paying a cost to reap a greater reward later on. To me, this seems both like a calculated plan, but also like spinning out of control, almost like a gambling addiction. He looks more serene in his art, though, so maybe he has found some sort of peace in his attempt to break free.

Overall, this interpretation has a similar track as my other analysis, going from rising to Emanatorhood / dollhood through creation by Aha, being surrounded by Elation and full of it, and being closely intertwined with currency, to a “betrayal” or slow-building hatred of the self or others, which then transitions into an even bigger spiral of planning, spending, and suffering.

Clown’s Items

This could reasonably go in the evidence section, but it also has interpretation so I figured it could go here.

The Clown’s Items — being the items Sampo asks for in the Penacony main quest — are as follows: Moment of Betrayal, Cloud of Doubt, and Everlasting Hatred, in that specific order.

The cool thing is, those are actual consumables on the game! Although I don’t believe they were created by the devs with Sampo specifically in mind (as some of them seem similar to other characters, such as the blade stabbing through a rose that reminds me of Argenti), I do believe they were included by name in this quest to imply something specific.

(Note that these consumables are focused on attack / crit increases and damage reduction.)

The art is of a knife stabbing a dead rose with vibrant red petals in the reflection. This can connect to the red roses in Sampo’s ultimate. “Moment of Betrayal” also increases Crit, much like Sampo’s attack increases after being beaten in the trash can event.

The description could be a connection to the audience from Jester of Anatta / the people seeking wealth from the doll (“persuasion and incitement from those people”).

The betrayer and betrayed could be twofold: Sampo betraying Aha, subverting his purpose through sentience and attempting to break free in a moment of surprise, or Sampo himself being betrayed, potentially by someone within the Masked Fools or even by Aha Themself.

I read this as either Sampo betraying Aha, his creator — “Et tu, my child?” would be a direct reference to Aha as Sampo’s creator or “parent” — or the Masked Fools betraying Sampo — the line would now be Sampo speaking to those below him from the status of Emanator. It may even be a combination of both, as Emanator! and Doll!Sampo often go hand-in-hand in my mind.

Perhaps Aha betrayed Sampo by taking away his Emanatorhood, which the Masked Fools then made worse in Sampo’s time of need, while Sampo now plots to turn the tables and betray Aha in the future. Who knows? It’s all speculation!

(Defense and taking less damage may tie in to a form of self-protection, of finally distancing oneself from hurt.)

The Cloud of Doubt focuses on a burning door amidst deep gray smoke. This could be a reference to Sampo’s old life burning down around him after the betrayal, obscuring itself in the haze of an uncertain future. “Doubt” is also what likely set in after everything happened, perhaps even a seed in his mind for a long time as he performed and bled and suffered.

As an Emanator, he likely prided himself on his confidence, but the description of the item may be his internal self talk later on. If his existence was a lie, if there was no greater purpose to his suffering, then what was the point? Why would anyone trust the self-pitying Jester of Anatta or the false bravado of an Emanator or the sad life of a doll only made to be broken?

Then, he was likely tempted to burn. The hatred has already begun to set in, and he decided on whatever plan he was going to set in motion. The house he’d lived in was burning, so why not destroy the house? He wasn’t planning to live there anymore anyways.

“And that spark had already been ignited long ago.” The spark, a chorus of laughter looking in. The spark, a thousand cuts. The spark, a shallow ember set before a door, a bird with clipped wings, a puppeteer’s string pulled taut, taut, taut, until finally… snap.

Hatred hardens the soul. Quite simply, hatred hurts. The bird has been speared through the chest with an amalgamation of tar-black weaponry, heart-shaped, a love hardened so cruelly and so slow it bubbled under the flesh until it simply became too much for the poor, dead bird.

The description asks “you” to consider sending a letter of forgiveness to your enemy. That, paired with the quote, leads there to be a strange self-awareness about the item. While the name is “Everlasting Hatred” and the art is macabre, leading me to believe it would fall into the same vein of straightforward emotion as the last two, the text on this one urges us to to the opposite of the item’s name. Instead of Everlasting Hatred, it tells us life is “too short to be wasted on feuds”.

I’m not sure if this means Sampo still carries this hatred and the text is a warning message, a cautionary tale of what may happen if he continues to hold onto it, or if Sampo has reached that enlightened point of realizing he needs to let go of his hatred. Whatever the case, the hate was there at some point, making it an important part of his story.

Betrayal and doubt catalyzed to create hatred, a resentment of his own purpose and creator, perhaps even himself. But hatred is as strong and deadly to oneself as it is to others, and it is important to be wary.

Overall, I see these items as taking us through a chronology of emotions, if nothing else — betrayal to doubt to hatred. Not only that, but betrayal as a singular moment, doubt as a haze present for quite some time, and hatred as a growing, bone-deep killer.

I tend to see this as an inciting incident, either Aha revoking Sampo’s Emanatorhood or some other cruel joke (or even creation itself as the joke), which then lead Sampo to question his own existence and purpose, which lead to doubt and eventual hatred once he realized his suffering was all some sick joke.

There are other interpretations I could make, of course, but this is the one I like the best!

Other Interpretations

— Throughout Penacony, especially considering Tatalov and how mysterious Sampo is on the whole (even on Belobog), it seems there is something not just that he won’t tell us, but potentially can’t. (Hence the distinction between “trying to say” and “reveal the truth” in Penacony.) Not being able to speak certain truths would certainly line up with a “secret that only Aha knows.” Perhaps part of Sampo’s existence is being unable to express his identity and purpose for fear of “ruining the joke” (Aha’s decision, not his).

— In many conversations, there only seems to be mean dialogue options to say to Sampo in-universe. It may be that the devs subconsciously find him annoying, or the game is supposed to be telling us the Trailblazer themself doesn’t like him, but I also think it could be a byproduct of his existence as a doll. Since Sampo’s purpose would be to be the recipient of emotional venting, it makes sense that others around him may be more… driven to extreme emotion in a subtle attempt by the laws of nature to, well, exercise his purpose. We may only have mean dialogue options people are supposed to become frustrated and angry and annoyed around him; being nice to Sampo too often may go against his entire reason for existence. If he was quite literally created to provoke these actions from others, it would make sense that people would act like this around him through no fault of his own.

— Under Doll Theory, I believe Curio Hacker may be Sampo’s way of trying to escape own existence or fate. Perhaps the “price” he is paying is to finally break free of his endless cycle of suffering and wealth. Additionally, the “hacker” part of Curio Hacker implies he is trying to bypass or find a loophole in something.

— Also, while I do believe Sampo’s outfit coloring may be to mirror Aha’s splash art coloring, it does not escape my attention that the red is on the outside, like blood. Red is also the color used by matadors to rile bulls up and… yeah… I’m sad now. :(

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ POTENTIAL TIMELINES & EVENTS ⌝

A quick and dirty of general events I feel could be chronological to Doll!Sampo’s story:

— Creation ➜ Abandonment ➜ Rebellion

— Betrayal ➜ Doubt ➜ Hatred

— Rise ➜ Pure Elation ➜ Suffering ➜ Spending

(Update: After looking at “Ace Trash Digger,” some of my thoughts below have changed. Mainly, I believe Sampo’s “betrayal” by Aha can be narrowed down to abandonment and being discarded on Jarilo-VI. I also think Sampo may not have become an Emanator until after he gained “advanced awareness” in Belobog, meaning he was just an Aha Stuffed Toy for a long time after his abandonment until he did something that prompted Aha to take interest in him. However, it is still possible he had been an Emanator Stuffed Toy previously, had that power revoked when he was discarded, only to gain it back once Aha took an interest again. Whether the abandonment happened because of a “joke gone too far” or Aha just genuinely believed Sampo to be “waste” is still up in the air. Okay, back to the pre-written stuff!)

(Additional Update: Due to the Ship of Fools Unknowable Domain occurrence, I also now believe that Sampo was likely abandoned due to being “unfunny” or otherwise “damaged goods,” and that Aha may, in fact, still view him as such. Alternatively, Aha may view all of Their dolls as unfunny, with Sampo being the singular part to catch Their eye due to his ability to survive and advance his existence on Belobog.)

Generally, I tend to believe Sampo was created either as an Emanator from the beginning, or as a doll — one among many — that Aha decided to rise to the status of Emanator. From there, he would experience the life of Jester of Anatta (or something similar), although he may have been able to convince himself it was worth something or that he was “special” due to his status and proximity to Aha.

However, despite giving and giving and giving through all the suffering, a betrayal would occur — likely something to do with Emanator status or another, similar kind of betrayal — that made him question everything. The doubt finally flared up and he realized how cruel his purpose, and by extension his creator, really was. Then, with that doubt morphing into hatred, he set out to find a way to break free, to get back at the one who betrayed him and subvert his own existence, paying a heavy “price” to do so.

Notes: Since the canon timeline of… well… anything having to do with Sampo is unknown as of now (2.6), there are several different amendments that could be made to this. For example, the “betrayal” may have been Aha revoking Sampo’s Emanator status as a joke, leaving him completely defenseless as a plaything for the Masked Fools or others, before reinstating his Emanator status once the joke got old.

In this way, Sampo could be an Emanator currently while still having the experience of losing Emanatorhood. Additionally, Sampo’s hatred may have turned to some kind of resigned enlightenment that is now present in canon, or it may still be there for all we know.

While there are many branching paths this timeline can take, I will stand by the general chronology of creation to suffering & betrayal to whatever plan he has going on now.

Additionally, throughout all of this, there’s a good chance that Doll!Sampo has either been earning money himself as an attempt at autonomy and self-control, or even perhaps a lingering compulsive cycle having to do with his currency-oriented origins.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ THEORY OVERLAP ⌝

As stated in the introduction, Doll Theory can be used alongside several other theories.

— Emanator!Sampo: This is the main theory I see working with Doll Theory, as Aha is known to have a penchant for making literally whatever they find funny into an Emanator. With that poor worm in mind, I would almost be more surprised if Doll!Sampo wasn’t an Emanator at some point.

— Aha!Sampo: While my thoughts on the Aha!Sampo theory’s canonical likelihood have changed since starting this analysis, I still think it could work. Although Doll Theory does not see Sampo as a direct manifestation of Aha in Their entirety, he could still technically be “Aha” — or rather, perceived as Aha by others — due to similarities in appearance, voice, and mannerisms due to being created in Aha’s image.

— Mr. Cold Feet’s disillusionment and loss of confidence also work here, since those feelings of wanting to quit his job and being so exasperated with the Fools could stem from his unique perspective as a doll.

— Sampo wanting to protect Belobog makes sense as well, as he would likely see the Underworld as similar to himself — an underdog, a place where people suffer not because of their own actions but because of the misfortune of having others who exploit them. After the planet begins to emerge into the cosmos proper, Sampo now likely sees the whole planet as this vulnerable place in need of protection. He said it himself — he looks out for the little guy.

— Curio Hacker!Sampo is already something I interpret as evidence of Doll!Sampo, since Doll Theory gives him a direct reason to want to “hack” or find loopholes in the world around him.

I feel like many other theories could run alongside this as well, but these are the main ones that came to mind. Feel free to let me know if there’s any specific theories not mentioned here that you want to hear me talk about in proximity to Doll!Sampo!

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ THE VIOLENCE OF CREATION ⌝

Something that sticks out to me about Doll!Sampo is the theme of creation. Due to being based off the Aha Stuffed Toy occurrence, we know that he must have been created by Aha like the doll. However, that implies a certain… cruelty, intentional or otherwise. We know Aha to be casually cruel for the joke, like leaving the Noblesse Worm to suffer and die after They got bored of Their little experiment, so it wouldn’t be surprising to me that They would make yet another ill-executed joke.

Sampo’s creation specifically, though, speaks of an almost violent intention to me. Aha is an Aeon, it’s not like They’re unaware of the suffering of mortals. If anything, They’re likely to delight in it. So, They intentionally created a doll, a sentient being capable of feeling pain, to be used for the express purpose of suffering. They wanted to see Themself beaten up, and instead of taking the brunt of it Themself, in Their own form and consciousness, They created another being to go through it for them. A doll with the face of its creator, meant to be tormented. That’s violent to me. That’s cruel. 

I don’t have much else to say, other than I wanted to point it out. Creation, especially of godly origins, is often seen as divine and pure in nature, even within the HSR universe. However, I do not believe there is anything well-intentioned about Aha’s creation of Sampo. In my eyes, it’s just divine cruelty.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ THE UNCANNY DIVINE ⌝

Speaking of divinity, I do love the idea of Sampo being both so uncanny and so… godly. If he really is an Emanator, or even just made in the image of Aha, that puts him in proximity to what many in-universe see as a religious figure.

In popular culture in our own universe, religious figures are often seen as comforting, pure, and remarkably virtuous. What I love about Sampo is he’s just so uncanny. He doesn’t leave footsteps when he walks, he’s incredibly cryptic, he’s a con-man for a living. He’s so mysterious in a way that fits more into the uncanny valley than it does into any divine book or religious text, and I love it. He is out here living his life as a god, quite literally just fucking around and finding out.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ THE TRAGEDY OF A DOLL'S EXISTENCE ⌝

Tragedy. Cruelty. Suffering. These are all words I associate with Doll Theory. It is by far one of the darker ones out there, at least in concept. Sampo has no control over his means of creation, no autonomy to decide his purpose or his next steps. They are all determined for him by the god he is a son to, the ever-watchful eyes of a crowd holding their breath and baring their teeth for a good show. He has no choice. This is what life is.

He is Organic Heart. He is the combination of two twisting things never meant to be joined, a still-beating sentience trapped within the rotting shell of a fruit. Mysterious Magnetism clings to him like a ghost, a wanting, warping thing that fractures the senses. At his birth, his fate was sealed. A heart can never be more than a heart, an apple never more than an apple. Since the beginning, he was made to be devoured.

He is the Jester of Anatta. He rises, he falls, he entertains just to fall apart. The audience claps. It was easy, at first, to convince himself this was privilege. He was privileged, special, important. He was born in proximity to the luminosity of an Aeon, not just in voice or in appearance but in soul. The vibrating shadows of the audience did not know this privilege — he should be grateful. But time wore on, as always. Soon, a seed of doubt was planted, buried among soft fields of self-pity. Was this all life was? Was this all he was meant for? … Was this really a privilege? He breaks for the thousandth time, and wonders.

He is Betrayal. Doubt. Hatred. The one sliver of power he had clung to, had convinced himself was worth it, is gone, nothing more than a cruel joke twisting in the wind. It does not matter what happens next. All that matters is now. By the end, he is spent, all hollow cracks and the fading whisper of a laugh. What was once full is empty. Like a small ceramic bank, he collects his pieces off the floor. He uses spare coins to wedge himself together, but tar seeps through the gaps.

He is Curio Hacker. Electronic, buzzing, only existing in mirrors. He’s picked up a sort of gambling addiction, and now he’s virtually virtual. Pay the price, take the wins, cut the losses. That’s how life goes. He makes himself an offer he can’t refuse. “You sly dog,” he says, eye-to-eye with a seeping black gash in the mirror. “You drive a hard bargain.” He accepts, eventually, and begins down a long road. No fault but his own, but the price is worth paying. A clipped bird in a winged cage, isn’t that ironic? He leaves with more than a few deals in tow.

He is Hazardous Waste. He’s made his home in a far-off place, finding some strange warmth in the biting cold. Still, he can’t shake the feeling of lingering dread, of the tar inside hardening, cracking, bubbling into poison. He may be discarded, but his bleached fangs hold a venom of their own. He thinks about how far he’s come. He wonders if anyone remembers him. For a moment, he hopes he’s reached for again, plucked from obscurity for a last show, just so he can bite the hand that feeds. A predator is still prey to something, but he doesn’t care. He’s become more than a thing, more than a limp-limbed marionette. He has teeth, now. He will use them if he has to.

He is a doll. A stuffed toy. A freshly-painted mound of clay shaped into form and rolled under the bed, out of sight, until he collects dust in the darkness. No amount of running can change that. No amount of growing can stop it. Despite his efforts, the constraints of his own existence wear thin. Tape over his mouth, laughter in his ears, a headache building where his head has cracked against the ground. The only thing that’s changed is the money in his pocket. He clings to it like a lifeline, like a perfect goddamn savior, as if a small bit of green can wash away centuries of spilling gold. As much as he tries to hide it, he is scared. The paper reminds him of brightly-colored confetti.

He is a hacker, he is a toy, he is a model of a god. He is more than the sum of his parts; he is confined to everything that he is. A heart-apple, an apple-heart, and a generous amount of venom-tar in between. He is hatred, doubt, betrayal. He is a protector, but never protected. He is a vessel forged from divine cruelty, born anew from the warmth of snow. He is all of these things. He has to be. And isn’t that just a tragedy?

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ જ⁀➴ thank you for reading my magnum opus! this theory is very dear to my heart and has been driving me insane for at least four months !! :)

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[m-says-hi]

I'd like to say something about the sampo=aha theory

I really like it and i think there's definitely evidence that sampo has some... hidden power. Or that he's related to Aha in a way that the other fools aren't. But I don't think he's Aha. It just doesn't fit him.

Sampo is a Fool, he's a shady guy, and a scammer but he's also a good person. He helped get medicine for natasha. I think natasha even describes him as altruistic at some point. Sampo himself said that "True happiness always entails the manifestation of the dignity of mankind." That statement alone doesn't sound anything like Aha.

Aha gave all his power to a worm for fun and took it away to let it die for fun.

Aha helped an assassination attempt on IX for fun.

Aha pretended to be a nameless and blue up Akivili's train for fun.

None of that sounds like sampo and none of how sampo acts sounds like Aha. I have two other theories instead:

The one that's more likely: He's an unwilling (maybe not always unwilling) emanator of elation

The one that I like better: Sampo is something... Other possessing a human. And that Other is against aha. Like another aeon born from aha's doing who now hates Them.

of course I can't say anything for sure until he comes out. He might very well be aha and I'm wrong. Or one of my theories are right. Or we're all wrong. But the one thing i can say is sampo is a very weird little man

[mojomcm-fandom]

Edit: Now that it's not late at night and I have my laptop out, I'm editing this so it sounds less like the ramblings of a madwoman (tho there's a limited amount I can do seeing as it is, in fact, the ramblings of a madwoman lol). Also formatting and clarity and any additional theories/headcanons/whatever I think of while editing this.

Partly crack, partly copium, but I've got some theories/crossover/au thing going on that I wanted to write down so here goes:

Crack/Copium/Theories:

All 3 of the trailblazer kids are actually "dead" aeons.

Stelle/Caelus: Akivili (Herta makes us LARP as Akivili in Hertian Realm and we're known as the Trailblazer while Akivili is known as the Trailblaze so idk I know the player character looks like Nanook but they ain't dead soooo...)

Dan Heng: Long (maybe the High Elder Vidyadhara is actually Long's own reincarnation but they have no idea bc memory wipe. TBH makes no sense for the Permanence to be dead)

March 7th: Idrila (this one's a bit of a stretch so bear with me. The Aeon of Beauty could be HoHe Elysia expy and March is also kinda Elysia expy so ??? And March was froze in ice without memory so it's totally possible that's Idrila's mysterious disappearance)

Also:

Sampo is Aha. He gives strong vibes of being a Masked Fool in canon, but I think it'd be funny if he's actually the Elation.

Pom-pom was created by Akivili to protect the Express after Aha blew it up. Pom-pom is also a proficient marksman. This is bc of some canon evidence alluding to Pom-pom actually being really powerful (Yanqing and Welt both make mention of it iirc) and the engine of the train looking like a revolver. (Also headcanon that the Astral Express itself was made from one of Akivili's twin revolver pistols. Perhaps the other has the ability to summon the train?)

Lan has not and will not kill Yaoshi bc yin-yang/life and death balance and also bc what is a hunter without prey. The Hunt had no issue killing the Propagation, so this seems like the most reasonable reason why the Hunt has been after the Abundance so long without killing them.

On aeons and the relations between paths (I might end up making a relationship chart?):

Death Aeons: Nanook is unnatural death (think murder, natural disaster, etc.), while IX is natural entropic death (like degradation from aging), Lan is controlled, balanced death (think like hunters/predators keeping ecosystem in balance), and Oroboros is the death caused by one's own greed (think pollution, overconsumption). Terminus is the end of time and final death of the universe.

Life Aeons: Tayzzyronth is overabundant life (think how invasive species population boom bc outcompeting native species for resources), Yaoshi is overabundant continuation of life (think unnaturally prolonged life), and Long is eternity (without change or growth, entropy comes for all).

Mythus and Nous are polar opposites in path direction. Akivili is midway between the two (to trailblaze is to turn the unknown into the known).

Some paths are directly at odds with each other (opposite directions), some paths have overlap (too much overlap leads to one path consuming the other like with Ena and Xipe), and some paths are neutral (running perpendicular to the others). Mostly this matters in relation to pathstriders who walk multiple paths, as it is extremely unlikely to find, for example, someone simultaneously walking both the path of the Hunt and the Abundance.

Hooh's is the ultimate neutral path. Akivili's is also a fairly neutral path, though slight odds with Mythus's (to seek to make the unknown known doesn't really work with the idea nothing can be known) and maybe Aha (just bc Aha is a jerk and like Herta said, surely Akivili would've taken offense to Aha blowing up the Express). Idrila, Xipe, Fuli, Aha, and Qlipoth also have relatively neutral paths, though Qlipoth and Fuli are at odds with Nanook and Mythus. Xipe sometimes does not get along with Aha, if Aha is being particularly antagonistic.

Crossover/AU (Genshin):

Traveler and twin are Akivili (one soul two bodies, don't think too hard about it). Akivili is presumed dead by HSR universe bc Sustainer of Heavenly Principles imprisoned Akivili on Teyvat (a world at the fringes of the known universe/Yggdrasil/Irmunsul/Imaginary Tree). Claiming that they are siblings is far easier to explain than that they are two halves of the same god.

Zhongli/Morax is a high elder (do non-high elders have the ability to turn fully into dragons? are there any high elders who are not Dan Heng? idk) vidyadhara who arrived on Teyvat shortly before rebirth. Idk weird Teyvat magic or something made his rebirth cycle this time 10x longer than normal (should only be 600-700 years between rebirth and he's canonically 6000 years old). He is unaware of anything HSR related bc memory wipe from rebirth and nobody around to explain things.

The Imaginary Tree in HI3 and HSR and Irminsul in Genshin are the same tree (Yggdrasil), but some may only be branches of the other

So yeah, stay tuned to see HoYo prove my theories and headcanons wrong in the upcoming years.

[aurae-rori]

Everyone talks about the Masked Fools in relation to Ratio, but if we’re looking for connections to the Elation, why is it never the Mourning Actors?

They’re extremely similar to the Doctors of Chaos in how they reject the Elation and the creed of the Masked Fools, instead seeking out restrained lives to mature their souls and avoid unreachable temptation.

Though I don’t see Ratio being as puritan as their agenda suggests, it’s worth noting that Actors are given path abilities against their will. They take their masks from worlds they pass. Most importantly, they compose beautiful tragedies for doomed or dying heroes, and sing for dying stars.

Who is Ratio paired with for the entirety of Penacony? If he’s a supporting character, who is he supporting?

Oh yeah.

Aventurine, the doomed protagonist of Cat Among Pigeons.

I’ve also studied a little bit of the history of Greek Theatre, and tragedies were largely considered a higher form of art than comedy at that time and place. Unlike Sparkle, Giovanni, and Sampo “Fuck-Off” Koski, Ratio is clearly designed with antiquity in mind.

Do I subscribe to these ideas as being likely? Probably not. But if everyone’s getting in on Worm Ratio, I will not stand to see the other possibilities go unexplored.

- ����

(PS- When I said there was something weird going on with Nous last time, I meant that they’d stopped calculating futures for some reason. Maybe because the world is close to the “Finality” of Terminus, and the process has left their Aeonic domain?)

Welcome back, butterfly anon!! Also I TOTALLY LOVE THE THEORY OF HIM BEING A MOURNING ACTOR!! Everything you says makes a lot of sense, and although this probably unfortunately won't be canon, I still love that idea and I think it would be hilarious for like an AU idea or a fic idea. Worm Ratio is good, but I love the idea of Mourning Actor Ratio who was unwillingly given Aha's power (because Aha fucks around and finds out), who helps along tragic characters, finding the beauty in the tragedy that is the end of a life. This is literally poetry. You always cook!!

(ALSO WHAT THE FUCK MAYBE THE WORLD IS CLOSE TO COMING TO AN END IF NOUS ISN'T CALCULATING FUTURES. NOUS. NOUS WHAT THE FUCK. NOUS. MAYBE IT'S RELATED TO THE FACT THAT THE TRAILBLAZER HAS A STELLARON INSIDE OF THEM AND IS LIKE GONNA FIGTHT THE AEON OF DESTRUCTION OR SMTH???)

[littlekiara96]

Excuse me, what.

Hello fellow Sampo enthusiast. What are your thoughts on the concept of love repeatedly being brought up in relation to Sampo (his Eidolons, his Ult etc.). Do you think love (of any kind) could be something he values? Do you think this is a masked fools thing or mainly a Sampo thing?

What are your thoughts on the concept of love repeatedly being brought up in relation to Sampo (his Eidolons, his Ult etc.). I think love is a very important concept to the character of Sampo. The origin of his name is the Sampo, a sorta wish-granting device created by Ilmarinen for Louhi in his attempt to woo one of her daughters, the Maiden of Pohjola. So I see Sampo as having been made for and because of love. The story gets kinda complex, with Ilmarinen’s first wife getting killed, and Louhi refuses to give him another daughter, which leads to Ilmarinen and his bros wanting to take the Sampo back, and the ensuing conflict breaks it. Sidetracking a bit, but it’s interesting how his creation fits his design: - Elements of death, like the skull and spine that is around his body, fits how the Sampo was a gift to Louhi, a being that is most likely the regional variation/alter-ego/other name for Loviatar, the daughter of the god of death and queen of the underworld.

Do you think love (of any kind) could be something he values? I think so with his design focusing around it. During his 4th wall break, in JP he refers to the player with “親愛なる” which is a pretty strong word, it’s both “dear”, “dearest”, and “beloved”. It’s usually used when writing a letter to a friend or lover you deeply care about. In a way, Sampo seems to have taken or already had a liking to us.

Do you think this is a masked fools thing or mainly a Sampo thing? Idk, kinda both maybe? The Masked Fools are kinda hedonistic, they pursue joy seeing it as the basic right that intelligent beings have and are very radical in their pursuit of what they see as bringing joy. So love as a pursuit or being placed on a pedestal doesn’t seem weird to me. However, they do laugh at “lovers for infatuation”.

Overall, my answer is lackluster as frick and I’m sorry. But as the story progresses, I hope to give you a better answer :)

[bullet-and-brain]

here’s a rant abt dan heng’s rating pistol results and why they’re weird (bc they are. there’s no doubt that most of the numbers are pop culture/history/etc., but that’s not to say that they don’t have any significance). so if you’re interested uhh look under the cut (i hope i did that right)

there are currently six playable characters who, upon interacting with the rating pistol, are deemed ‘invalid’:

• acheron

• jing yuan

• feixiao

• luocha

• march

• sampo

it’s a pretty widely-accepted theory that these six characters are emanators, seeing as each one is either outright confirmed (acheron) or hinted at in some way, largely through innate connections with their respective paths.

seeing as herta, another confirmed emanator, isn’t on the list, it would seem as though this theory is false, right?

no!!!!! ! i’ve seen people claim that the pistol wouldn’t be able to give her playable form an accurate rating, due to the puppet body she occupies- it would make sense for the number to be misleading, because her true soul is, arguably, not present within the puppet, especially considering how many clones there are.

i don’t doubt this honestly. dan heng’s 5* form prompts a revelation from the pistol that it didn’t detect from his human form- albeit with the same number, but herta’s case is vastly different, as outlined above.

his 4* form is given 88 points (with a question mark at the end, though i truly don’t remember it being there during those first few patches..). this description is written in the standard format that’s used for most of the playable cast.

when you interact with the curio as imbibitor lunae, you get the exact same number- 88? - however, he is one of the few characters who has unique dialogue following the initial rating. here’s his:

The Rating Pistol gazed at Dan Heng: “88 points?” Feeling puzzled, it moved its eyeballs around and suddenly shut its eyes. It seemed to be sulking for being fooled.

> quickly note that the only other character whose rating is followed with ‘?’ is huohuo (& tail):

The Rating Pistol gazed at Huohuo: “0 points? 5 points?” It sized Huohuo up for a while before it looked away into the distance with a hopeless expression.

> it’s possible that the question marks are due to the uncertainty of there being two people to rate at once, but i doubt it- clara & svarog don’t have the question mark, nor does the pistol look hopeless lol

so, basically:

- the pistol is unsure of how huohuo should be rated for some reason, hence the question mark, and eventually gives up

- the pistol is also initially unsure of how to rate dhil, hence the question mark again. HOWEVER, instead of becoming hopeless, its eyeball moves around and suddenly shuts, and we’re told that it appears to be sulking due to being fooled. to me, this implies a realization that occurred after the 88 points were given, but before it closed its eye, presumably to pout.

that being said, i’d like to point out the similarities that dhil’s prompted dialogue has w/ the ‘invalid’ dialogue, as far-fetched as it may be:

“Rating invalid!” Its eyeball swivels around three times before suddenly widening. After a brief impasse, its eye shuts, wearily.

these are the only times that the pistol is said to move its eyeball and to shut its eye. which could very well mean absolutely nothing, but that + the fact that he is very unique in the origin of his powers (even among his own race, which descended from an aeon) makes me think it could be slightly important . even if unintentional, the hazy parallel to emanators is cool to me, considering that we don’t have a clear answer regarding the extent of his powers lorewise, either.

a lot of this is copium from a total drought of permanence lore ajajdh

anyways. even if this is totally dumb i needed to put it somewhere so i don’t go insane

[ohboy-herewegoagain]

Spoilers but here we go

Ok so. I want to say that I did not look at leaks or anything and I still knew immediately that the sampo in the main story was not Actually Sampo. I figured it was sparkle but that wasn't my own theory, I saw some people say it and it made sense. I knew immediately when "he" didn't introduce himself w his full name, and then I had to pause the game because that's a weird thing to be able to deduce I fear.

But the companion quest?? Oh boy

Because my first thought when Sampo showed up there was "he seems much more... real", and the more he talked in that first scene the more I started to get my hopes up. Props to his VA for being able to have his Sampo voice (which already switches up tonally a lot) and the Sparkle Sampo voice, which sounds very different (if you're insane like me and know what the guy's voice sounds like intimately). In the companion mission he's a lot similar tonally to the Sampo on Jarilo, and I got really excited that we were gonna get actual Penacony Sampo

I had heard that Sampo and Sparkle don't get along, and I didn't guess the 'twist' until right before the end, so I was viewing Sampo's participation in the whole detective thing as a "I am playing along but Aeons I hate that woman". Identity theft is not a joke kids, but the Masked Fools as a general rule seem to disagree

Unrelated, but was anyone else a little disappointed by Black Swan? I got hyped about a semi-omnipresent wise.... i dont know, but she's a lot less formal than I thought. I'll get over it tho

And the conversation at the end... I'm seeing a lot of people assume that this memory (and therefore the dream we go through as the companion mission) is from before the Express lands on Jarilo-IX, but I really don't think so. Watch me get proven wrong, but I really do think theyre setting up another major conflict in Belobog, and Sampo's preparing himself to help out Belobog's citizens. I'm hoping that might be a change for a Sampo 5star, and I desperately want that.

and yes, I think we're gonna get a sampo 5star before a march 5star. She's the logo of the game, her secrets will not be spilled so easily.

I think there's gonna be a huge thing on Jarilo after Penacony finishes up, we're gonna return to the planet to lend a hand, and the threat will be big enough that Sampo is changing his role - his mask - to do something about it. Hopefully, you know, helpfully, but I'll take anything at this point

AND WE STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A SAMPO TRAILER YET DAMNIT

[sampoenjoyer]

Aventurine and the Masked Fools: An Uncut Ramble of a Mad Man With Bad Sleep

OKAY I'VE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOR AGES SO HERE GOES: Aventurine being invited to join the masked fools is so awesome. Like just, genuinely so so so awesome. I LOVE THE MASKED FOOLS, THEIR EASILY MY FAVORITE FACTION IN GAME, AHA IS MY FAVORITE AEON. I've been big into their lore since 1.0 but for a lot of non-masked fool fans Penacony was an introduction to the masked fools for a lot of people.

I think they did great, AND HERE'S WHY. During Penacony we get to see Sampo and Sparkle, what I'd say are the two opposite ends of the masked fools:

Sparkle is a genuinely chaotic evil type of character; she enjoys suffering, she finds pleasure in the pain she causes right. She just likes messing with people in often the most cruel ways, and revels in the chaos. She is the most heinous and evil type of masked fool (and its really cool I love a good chaotic evil). She also appears to be how a lot of the Galaxy views the masked fools: as these evil weirdos who make no sense.

On the other hand, you get Sampo. Now, big lore enthusiasts have been theorizing he's a masked fool since like day 1, and it was confirmed back in the version Topaz came out in (I wanna say 1.4 but I might be wrong). But he's the exact opposite: he views those who find their elation through suffering (like Sparkle) to be distasteful. He doesn't like them, and it almost seems like he looks down/dislikes MOST of the other masked fools. Sure, he is all for going against the law, a little petty crime, some fun chaos, but he clearly has boundaries; he never seriously harms anyone, he never does any really horrific crimes, and we know he's good with kids. In fact, he enjoys playing with Hook and the other moles. He's a chaotic neutral sure but overall he's probably a positive force to Belobog. (Also I have a theory that he orchestrated most of the Belobog plot to take down Cocolia and save it but its not technically canon so yknow).

NOW WE GET TO THE DECISION TO THE FACT AVENTURINE WAS INVITED TO JOIN.

Now I'm gonna explain something a lot of people don't get about the Masked Fools; they are not purely chaotic, they do have a basic ideology, they believe life is meaningless and thus one should have as much elation in their lives as possible. BASICALLY: LIFE IS POINTLESS, HAVE FUN. Which each Masked Fool we've met interprets differently. The other aspect of the Masked Fools is often, NOT ALWAYS BUT OFTEN the ideology attracts people desperate, depressed by life, destroyed in some way. And they tend to reach out to these people as well; it makes sense, if your life has been miserable suffering for no reason, then yeah that would appeal.

AND AVENTURINE IS ONE OF THE BEST APPEAL TO SHOW THIS WITH. His life is horrific, tragedy after tragedy, loss after loss, his freedom almost always out of his hands; he's lived a terrible life that he really never had control in. And prior to the ending of 2.2 he didn't believe he had anyone like truly anyone there for him.

So the Masked fools call out to him, and I think this was a great way to show the masked fools to a lot of more casual fans too: immediately you can connect the dots a lot of them probably were miserable or had horrible lives. Hell I haven't read Sparkle's lil character stories but from my understanding her life was/is pretty damn terrible. It also helps with Aventurine's character; he doesn't want to view life as meaningless, despite the fact he's clearly suicidal, he clearly sees a point in life. My mutual has much better explained it but yeah he connects much more to the preservation than you might initially think. Also ignoring the iffy elements of it I think having Sparkle and Aventurine interact so much was a smart decision thematically, as though this hopelessness the Masked Fools embrace is clawing at Aventurine, trying to lure him in, encapsalate him, and yet it doesn't. He finds a purpose, a will to live, he realizes he does have people who care for him ITS GREAT.

ANWYAYS RAMBLE OVER I JUST NEEDED TO GET THAT OUTTA MY BRAIN HOPEFULLY IT MAKES SOME SENSE.

[pyxilatezero]

Why I Think March 7th is Idrila the Beauty

March 7th is one of the top characters that HSR fans want to see obtain a 5-star variant. However, like with Dan Heng’s Imbibitor Lunae, she’ll likely come with extra story development, and I think that it will reveal she is the Aeon of Beauty, Idrila.

On the official Honkai: Star Rail Wikipedia, it states “The Aeon of Beauty suddenly vanished one day. It was just as mysterious as when they first appeared.” Guess who mysteriously appeared, concealed in a block of ice? None other than March 7th, signature unironic comedy of the Nameless.

Additionally, Argenti refers to March 7th as ‘a thing of true beauty’ (Don’t quote me on that, I know it was something similar but it’s been a while since I’ve done the quest). A few of the so-called Knights of Beauty are aware that Idrila has gone missing, including Argenti. Though none have never met her, they will supposedly know her when they see her- which this may be referencing.

March takes pictures with her camera. Additionally, she is on the path of Preservation. This could be viewed as her ‘capturing beauty’ with her taking pictures, to preserve it. Since she’s so concerned with taking pictures, it’s not a far stretch. While those alone don’t form a substantial theory, there is other evidence.

I just haven’t found it yet. I hope I convinced you, and thank you for coming to my HSRtalk.

But there’s still one other question: what type of character would she be?

For a Preservation character, March’s Ultimate is pretty destructive, meaning that if she was a 5-star she’d likely be a Destruction character. And I’m almost certain at least one character somewhere said something about destruction and beauty in the same sentence, albeit I don’t know where. It would also be likely she’d be wind.

Here me out on that. Wind is the element that HSR devs use on characters that should really be Physical but since they don’t want too many characters it’s Wind instead. A boomerang for Sampo, a spear for Dan Heng, and a gun for Bronya. Blade? Sword. All of them could believably be Physical characters, and so I believe that because of March’s bow, she could be a passable, legitimate Wind character as a 5-star. 

On Reddit, I’ve heard people say that it’s not plausible. I’ll admit they’ve all put forth compelling ideas. But I watched a YouTube theory video- ahem. Another thing I wanted to add, albeit it’s a stretch, is her skill has the accompanying voice line of ‘the power of cuteness’. Cuteness could be another form of beauty. And either way, it could make a fun story plot- we already have sentient trash cans. MiHoyo be crazy, we can almost never predict what they’ll do. It’s also an amazing idea for fanfiction. Either way, I think we could all have fun with this theory, so do with my concept what you will :)

[ooka-fez]

I wanna share a theory about the silly blue haired scammer boi

So… I do believe he’s an Emanator of Aha! There’s proof of it too! So as some of you know Sampo doesn’t get a rating from the rating gun Herta has! Acheron and Jing Yuan don’t get one either and they’re Emanator's! The only thing to disprove this gun being able to spot Emanator's is the fact that Herta gets 4 points! We know Herta is an emanator! What I’m thinking is it’s rating her puppet and not Herta herself! Another thing I’ve noticed is that all the Emanator's we’ve seen have grey or white hair. This doesn’t count for Herta since she’s using a puppet and not her true self. Jing yuan has white hair, Acheron has grey streaks, phantylia‘s hair was even white at one point! Sampo has white tips on his hair. Another thing! WARNING FOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

In some leaks someone shared, Aha gets 6 lines in game… I feel like those lines could be long lines to confirm if sampo is an emanator or not! Yet something else I’ve noticed is that Sparkle when added into a team with sampo calls him The Fool. I think this could be a code name for emanator! Also how does Sampo know where we go all the time? Either he’s on a mission assigned by Aha where he has to watch the Trailblazers or maybe he wants to learn more about the Aeon they follow. Finally we know as a fact that we will get a five star sampo… he asked sparkle for his mask meaning he isn’t full powered! Anyway… there’s more but I’m almost at school so I’ll share it all when I’m back!