#hsr taoran

[taphwa]

I think Lingsha and Danheng should become friends.

Had 2 versions but I didn't know which one to choose so I posted both.

[trashyvanillabean]

So, not gonna lie, I do have a few gripes with how the writers handled Taoran. (Image below taken from the fan wiki.)

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED/ARE STILL PLAYING 2.5, BEWARE THE SPOILERS!

His first “appearance” (just his voice) was in the Myriad Celestia Trailer: “History of the Xianzhou: Exodus of the Five Dragons.” Anything else so far (because there might be things that I personally missed) comes from the “Preceptor Assembly Chronicle Fragment” readable, which has him and Preceptor Fenghuan accusing Preceptor Xuepu of attempting to replace the High Elder system with the council of Preceptors (basically accusing her of being power-hungry, which is rather hypocritical as some of us will have undoubtedly noted come version 2.5).

The problem with Taoran’s introduction is that, unless players have tried to dig into the lore, this is probably their first time ever seeing, hearing and/or reading about him; so, what small amount of time he has on screen is most likely going to be somewhat lukewarm and have players asking, “Who the fork is this handsome muddlefudger?????” (Not even gonna hide this under a strikethrough: his design is 🔥 but it’s wasted on this lame old man. 🙂‍↕️ No one even points out his horns, unless that turns out to be common among the Preceptors rather than just the High Elders. <- It’s been a while, I can’t remember this part more accurately.)

And while I greatly enjoyed watching Dan Heng get as close to making this guy some kinda piscine-reptile kebab as he might be willing to…Taoran’s first physical introduction is otherwise slightly lukewarm. What little buildup we have comes from Lingsha, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng carrying out their investigations in the Shackling Prison. After that, he’s only given one scene confessing right out of the gate to colluding with Sanctus Medicus and aiding the borisin in freeing Hoolay, throwing out excuses that it’s all to preserve the Vidyadhara from extinction, and trying to hide behind Bailu and the oath between the Vidyadhara with the Xianzhou Alliance to not harm any Vidyadhara on their territory (which should honestly be rendered null in the event where the Vidyadhara in question is a criminal, and could potentially be evading arrest, like what the fudge).

I think it would have gone better if Taoran was introduced much earlier when we first arrived at the Luofu during or after version 1.0, like during the main trailblaze mission when we visit the Alchemy Commission and Scalegorge Waterscape, or during Dan Heng, Bailu or Jingliu’s companion missions. Either set him up as an ally at first, and then have us finding clues and be warned by a few people (Qingzu, Fu Xuan, or Jing Yuan himself <- just tossing Jing Yuan in here as just an example) to not trust Taoran and the Preceptors. Or, have him try to stop us from reaching Scalegorge, and that’s unfortunately where that idea stops because I can’t think of anything else. Sorry. 😅

One thing I liked was the “boss fight” that followed, but that actually felt a bit worse than his introduction…? Like, again, lukewarm, but definitely more like tap-water-that-hasn’t-really-been-boiled-long-enough lukewarm. 😅 (Or maybe my team comp was just that strong enough to bring him and his mooks down in a few hits.) Even the confrontation with him before that fight didn’t feel threatening at all, just…pretty annoying, like having to sit in a really boring lecture in a classroom.

Even Skott’s mechs put up more of a fight, and Skott himself riled me up much more just by opening his mouth. (Note: I was listening to Skott’s English voice, and I think they did a great job of making him obnoxious.)

Taoran was just all pretentious “blah blah blah.”

I’m suddenly reminded of that one post comparing Taoran to the Abundant Ebon Deer, and some people might think I’m crazy for thinking this, but I just… *heavy sighs* I feel like the writers really wasted potential for an interesting villain and following up with a stronger boss fight (even if I hate fighting that darn deer). 😞

Oh well, at least we got to enjoy Dan Heng in the spotlight~ 🥰

@artheresy tagging you in this for funsies. 👀

I’ll also put screenshots of that readable I mentioned under here and the map location, in case anyone wants to read it immediately before searching for it on their own.

[grimlyveiled]

I don't care what anybody says this is the hottest npc in Honkai Star Rail. I don't care about your Screwllums. I don't care about your Duke Infernos or your Hoolays or your Skotts. Taoran is special to me and God am I so mad that Hoyoverse didn't push a little further and make him a playable character. His character design is so sick and incredibly unique for an hsr character. I mean the one abundance branch horn and the crazy abundance colored draconic arm? You're telling me that isn't sick af? I spent a good chunk of time learning Vidyadhara lore just so I could draw him (which I'm still working on). He's evil as fuck and I LOVE evil men. I love when they are so irredeemably evil! I'm so angry he's not playable. I would have pulled him without a shadow of a doubt. Sadly, because he's so incredibly unpopular there's little to no fanart and little to no fanfiction where he is the main focus. Everybody is sleeping on Taoran I tell you what.

[preceptor-taoran]

My name is Taoran

I am a Vidyadhara Preceptor for the Xianzhou Loufu.

I'm assuming the reason you came to speak to is because you had something of interest to say? if so, I would be more than happy to listen.

if you don't, I suggest you start explaining your reasoning for coming up to me.

either way, I am a very busy person, whatever is it you have to say, Please make it quick.

\/admin's rules and boundaries\/

Hi!! welcome to my rp blog for the very pretty vidyadhara man Taoran!! the second I saw him I absolutely fell in love with his design which is what inspired me to start this rp blog!

some basic boundaries:

please keep any nsfw and/or suggestive asks to a minimum, I'll just generally would prefer not to speak about topics of the sorts.

any hateful asks are likely to be ignored, I get that Taoran might not be the best person but I would still like the asks to remain respectfull.

if you have your own rp blog, feel free to rp with me! I would be more than happy to participate :D

main blog: @beeissimping

Argenti rp blog: @knight-argenti

HAPPY ASKING :D

[shadowcatzone]

if dan feng was still around he'd have edited dan heng throwing preceptor taoran at the wall into one of those music videos i keep seeing-

The first shot is someone hitting their head - LOUDLY - and the rest of the video is underlaid with a song like "hollaback girl" and the (LOUD) smack is every single beat afterwards

You guys- you know what i mean, its a meme and you guys are younger than me. Many of you anyways.

-dan feng really WOULD have enjoyed that

[beeissimping]

I need more people to talk about this man

he's so pretty

[trashyvanillabean]

@artheresy

much to think about

[incorrectstarrailquotes]

Dan Heng, to Preceptor Taoran: They say it’s better to take the moral high road. Too bad I'm a piece of shit, so you’re about to catch these hands.

[0bsessed-jay]

taoran I need fanart

I will draw some

[its-dark-girl]

ok so i saw lalody's short video about preceptor taoran and now the situation feels clearer (i havent finished the quest but shh)

the borisin have many things

insider knowledge of the xianzhou and it;'s trade relations & rules

constant supply of form-altering drugs

access to official id's and uniforms/armors

mara struck soldiers that used cloudhymn magic

that has to be from preceptor taoran, right?

now i gotta play to see why tf he did that and if he even did that

[mumbledramblings]

HSR patch 2.5 spoilers

idk about you guys but i found it quite disappointing that none of the characters that confronted elder taoran had anything to say about the fact he had a literal branch growing out of his head

like dan heng made ONE (1) comment on how he seemed healthier than last he saw him but like that's it. nothing else. not even from jing yuan............

idk i just think that visual evidence that the vidyadhara preceptors might be messing with the Ambrosial Arbor—you know, the plaguemark that has haunted the xianzhou natives and the alliance since basically their beginning—would be a bigger deal than just "wow. you were on death's door last i saw you, and now you're not. wild. anyway–"

[daybreakrising]

some hsr update thoughts below the cut. still not entirely coherent but i'm a mess over my sus fox man so this is the best i can give you rn-

i was a little sceptical over march taking over yq's role. i'm very salty over this prodigy never getting to show off his skills properly so i was ready to be angry on his behalf, but with how everything turned out, i'm actually pretty happy with it. yq got to shine for once, i feel. DESERVED.

that being said, i was hoping to see jl in this quest from that glimpse that got teased, BUT i'm also !!!!! over yq learning from her moves. future sword champion ??? i think so. AND the small reveal at the end regarding her and l.uocha helped to make up for it. curious to see where that thread is going

i am incredibly normal about the dynamic between the yaoqing trio. the trust they have in each other. the connection they have with each other. that is truly an unshakeable bond if ever i see one

and while we're on the subject-

j.iaoqiu. my beloved. my sus fox man. when i tell you that i was SO STRESSED after the poison reveal AS;LKJDVGNLFH. what made it worse was i had to stop playing just after that - i was so stressed i had to look up whether he survived or not just so i could focus on my d&d game

but can i just talk about how fucking clever this man is ????? and the lengths he would go to - he was ready and willing to die just to ensure h.oolay was brought down & f.eixiao could succeed. and i'm so normal over him still telling m.oze to run even when he needed help-

the flashback scenes. man was so DEFEATED. i'm so emotional over him, i really am. depressed army medic found a new purpose that he was willing to die for even after being so agonised over saving people only for them to die after he'd healed them because that's what war is

"can you cure war?" you trying to give this man more emotional damage, f.eixiao??????

the absolute switch around of f.eixiao now being determined to heal j.iaoqiu's eyes. love that. (m.oze's "an eye for an eye" also - beautiful). i'm also glad that they didn't just have him survive and be absolutely fine, given the fact he ingested a deadly toxin. that would have cheapened his actions and lessened the impact, i feel.

fuck taoran. BUT the reveal that they'd messed with dan h.eng's rebirth so he would remember dan f.eng's life was fire. finally, an explanation for it (but also this last fight was unnecessary. why did we need another battle. why is hsr trying to be return of the king with 60 endings-)

hyv if v.arka doesn't have a similar build to h.oolay's disguise model i'm coming for you. i know it's a different game but please-

and some additional thoughts:

could have done entirely without the march & y.unli section. it added nothing for me ???? just felt like a waste of time

too many fights. way too many fights. particularly as they were one after the other after the other - this is the reason i couldn't finish in time for my game and had to pause at such a crucial moment. i was honestly tired of it by the end of the last f.eixiao fight. if you're gonna throw endless combat at me at least let me auto-battle-

[gems1g]

Spoilers for the last two patches of HSR.

I still can't stand Yunli but at least she's less annoying this patch. I'm still so-so about Lingsha, Feixiao too. I like the men introduced in the last two patches more. And I think Yanqing's character development in the last two patches is also really great.

I had a feeling the Preceptors were involved with the Sanctus Medicus so the part with Taoran didn't come as a surprise. And I literally cheered when Dan Heng speared him with Cloud-Piercer, like, goddamn, no mercy. Probably took out Taoran's right lung too. I need more of Feral!Dan Heng/Not Playing Around Dan Heng, Hoyo! Also, make a playable Vidyadhara character with the same design as Taoran, please. I liked the use of scales in his arms and face, and the gradients in his arms.🤣

I'm so happy I got Jiaoqiu last patch, I love him even more after this. Loved the voice acting for him in this patch too. And I actually really like Hoolay, would have been interesting if Feixiao followed the path he offered instead, but alas, she did not.

[satangcrush]

hsr spoiler below cut (the lines that made me scream while playing)

anyways my MAN JINGYUANNNN 😭😭😭

YUKONG JIEJIE 😭😭😭😭😭

JIAOQIU HAS TO BE ALIVE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

May ur blade be sharp and your victories GLORIOUS 😭

yunli is so impatient she’s so cute

JINGYUANNN… so sexy and smart fr… I knew HE HAD SMTH UP HIS SLEEVE, HE WAS TOO SILENT

I love the concept of the hunt omg

I have so many thoughts abt h th is the parallels and shit omg

jiaoqiu is freaking hilarious 😭 even in the face of death

omg….. wait….. he drank jiaoqiu’s blood OR IS HE FEADG(:?:????

How do we get a picky child to eat green peppers OMGGG JIAQIUUUUUUUU 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 HE POSIONED HIMSELG?:)?:?:?????

Bring victory to yaoqing

I GOT FUCKING GOOSEBUMPS AT YANQING’S CUTACENE

WDYM HE EMULATEDDD JINGLIUUU

THIS TROPE WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME

yanqing 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pmg he’s growing up..

If the gods who never bleed nor cry who watch silently form above refuse to listen to the prayers of mortals then we have no choice but to fight for our desires

Why did this line go so hard

Hoolay is such a well written villain btw

I want to kiss feixiao so bad

I kinda laughed at the my only enemy is myself

ohhh jiaoqiu is alive, I thought he was a goner fr

This taoran is speaking out of his ass

DANHENG IS SO FUNNY, he really STOOD ON BUSINESS THE MOMENT BAILU SAID SHE WANTED OUT

I love jingyuan my Little Sly Lion

they’re so funny I love the yaoqing trio

Wait lol I just realised the hair sticks in jiaoqiu’s hair

JIAOQIU IS BLIDN?3)3?????

KSJSOSKJSN an eye for an eye &:!:$: LOYALTYvvevsvvvvv???

REMJANTS OF THE PROPOGATIONS??? LUOCHA????

Ruanmei is here too???

Aa what the fuck tiNGYU!!/??/!:?:?:?:??TINGYUN??? TINGYUN???? WTF

I will regroup my thoughts at a later time but WTHH THIS WAS SUCHBA GOOD QUEST … xianzhou was always one of my fav and they DIDNT LET ME DOWN THIS TIME TOO (other than the inconsistencies in the high cloud quintet, we don’t talk abt that)

[dasniichts]

Ok I lied not yet back to your regularly scheduled program but I had a shower and as we all know that's the best place to have a Thought and theorycraft.

Anyways, as we all know and if you don't you're about to get hit with a short important TL;DR on peepaw lore but the Sky People came to the hsr universe to find some kind of upper hand they've found to beat K.iana and take the honkai in the earth's moon and Welt and Void came chasing after them to stop it.

What if this is that upper hand?

Not necessarily this particular plan, but I'm not discounting the possibility because who knows how long it was worked on and how long it would've taken for L.uocha to find Tazzy's prison, but what if this is what they managed to detect?

And since the sky people are technologically advanced enough to create portals to traverse the branches of the imaginary tree, what's to say they didn't also create a scanner strong enough to detect an aeon imprisoned and in stasis to go "mmm yes we can use this"? It makes sense since Propagation would supply them with endless soldiers just like Taoran outright stated at the end🤔

Not to mention the name "god killing protocol" is just a bit too on the nose.

🤔But then who came up with the plan? Bait? Void's still unaccounted for and this just seems like something they'd dangle like "see i figured it out before you could, sovereign". Then again this last part could just be me finding it funny if they ended up shackled to yet another Otto sooo yeah

someday i'll get back to your regularly scheduled programming anyways grandpa was right and he's gonna beat everyone's favorite traveling merchant with a solid copy of No One Is Born Evil

:) can't trust ottos anywhere

can't trust them at all :)

btw if you wanna make it Much Worse remember Swarm Disaster?

you're welcome :)

[b1adie]