#sai plays hsr

[evilkaeya]

HSR SPOILERS

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HE CARES I'M SICK

[annqer]

pt. 2 - wild card

[moeblob]

So does he, Gallagher.

[haliaiii]

i played honkai star rail

[taphwa]

Me thinks Boothill is very Gyro Zeppeli.

Reference Image.

[mmeqkoi]

ah yes, a face of a 13 year old 😭😭

[aoxizu]

i have another 2.1 character dynamic post in the recesses of my brain but i need to get this out first

star rail's 2.1 update main plotline leans a lot more into existentialism and absurdism than i thought it would which is a really nice surprise

like i thought before 2.0 that at most it was just going to be some "oh no capitalism bad ipc bad cults also bad" thing but honestly what we got is so much more interesting. the spoilers start now

also massive disclaimer i am not a philosophist and actually i really don't like philosophy because it makes my brain hurt and i would much rather just look at logical nice things like math and plants so. if i get anything wrong please correct me

acheron's past and how she became an emanator of nihility reminds me somewhat of the absurdist theme of how people always look for meaning when there isn't any, until they finally realize that the universe is meaningless

and the entire path of nihility basically is a road towards that realization that people tread on, and the difference between the real world and star rail is that in the real world here we have people who will see that and then go write a book about a guy not crying at his mother's funeral, whereas in star rail it seems that just accepting that the universe is meaningless turns you into a pathstrider or even emanator of the nihility (not sure if i remember the details, correct me if i'm wrong)

and then aventurine's whole motivation is trying to understand why the universe is so cruel to him, and to find meaning when you have everything except freedom, both of which are absurdist themes

the leap of faith argument often attributed to søren kierkegaard claims that even though there is no rational logic for believing in god, you should do it anyway because the alternatives are madness, suicide, and ignorance. this was one solution to the problem of confronting the universe's meaninglessness: choosing to believe in a higher being regardless

later world wars i and ii both contributed heavily to the rise of absurdism as people returned from the war, having seen so many others die around them, and then just going back to a normal society with none of what they as individual soldiers had contributed seemingly doing anything. and then it happened again, but on a much greater scale with even more deaths. both wars and the destruction they brought led many people to start questioning why a supposedly moral god could allow this suffering, and this is where camus comes in and says that actually religion and nationalism both aren't good solutions, and instead we should just accept meaninglessness and keep living despite the absurdity

and i think dr ratio's scroll thing kind of relates to that

he tells aventurine to open it when he's about to die, or when he's completely out of answers for the question of how to confront absurdity

and dr ratio's answer for aventurine is to just tell him to keep living, good luck

which is. yeah

it's the argument that there are more answers to nihilism than just 1) going insane, 2) pretending like it doesn't exist, and 3) dying

it's the bold claim that despite everything, you can still choose to live

sure nothing makes sense but that does not detract from your life. it doesn't need to make sense at all

and with the understanding that things do not need to fit our human definition of meaning, we can continue on knowing our true place in the universe

and with that aventurine walks into the very big black hole like look at that thing you cannot tell me there is no symbolism there

let's go back to acheron.

in the part where you get a snippet of acheron's conversation with some guy just before this cutscene, the other party states that "[IX] leave[s] woven strands of fate for humans to walk, and together THEY weave a great shadow...And this shadow silently envelops them."

which to me sounds like a statement on how people across time and space have again and again come to the same question, what is the meaning of life?

and acheron's whole color thing seems to mean that she is one of the few who, after walking so far on the path of nihility, somehow have not died yet, be it from madness or something else

like it seems implied that many many more have seen the meaninglessness of the universe and have not reacted as well as acheron has

ok i have more to say about the elation and how it in turn relates to the nihility but that will have to come later but there is. a lot of interesting things there to explore

once again disclaimer: I Am Not A Philosophist And Do Not Know What The Correct Definitions Of These Words I'm Throwing Around Are. thank you for coming to my ted talk that was more of a longwinded ramble

[lowkeyren]

the whole 2.5 was a wild ride ngl

[redcallisto]

Danstelle week 2023 Day 1 - Soulmates | Reunion

[spacebunnie-e]

my fren told me that sylus and boothill have the same jp va

slutty cowboy sylus anyone?

(pls forgive the lazy coloring drawing hoyo characters is so time consuming cuz of all the lil details my brain is friedddddd)

[teecupangel]

I had a thought earlier: What if Ezio was Desmond's Sage?

Basically, the usual setup with Desmond using the eye to contact Ezio in the library and offering to send him back in time to save his family, but due to the damage he's sustained from the Eye, he can't come with. Once this moment in the Grey is over, he would die. Ezio begs him to come with him, through any means possible. He refuses to leave behind the divine being he is the chosen Prophet for. The being who is going against Fate itself to give him his family back. Desmond just can't say no to Ezio and tries to see if there's anyway he could come with Ezio. He doesn't want to die if he can avoid it. It's then, through the connection with the Eye and the Apple, that he learns about Sages. With a few modifications for Ezio's safety, that could work. Instead of consuming Ezio's mind to take over, he would just live alongside him. When he tells Ezio of it, Ezio accepts.

.

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When Ezio wakes up, it is to his childhood bedroom. Everything is how it was when he was 17. Is 17. It worked! His family is alive and well! Did the Sage thing work?

"Desmond, are you here?"

'Yes Ezio, i am.'

.

Just a thought i had. I imagine that Ezio could let Desmond have control of his body, but Desmond is pretty chill with just watching though Ezio's eyes.

Ezio would have mind conversations with Desmond, which worries his family a lot when they catch him just staring emptily though the air. That and his complete switch in behaviour.

There's probably so many routes to go here, but i'm too sleep deprived to think atm. XD

It doesn’t take long before Desmond realized that all the modifications he made for his consciousness to become part of Ezio had turned him to be the least invasive Bleed to ever be conceived.

Did this count as possession?

Was Ezio even a Sage or was Desmond simply a sentient Bleed?

Wait.

Did that mean that the Bleeding Effect mimicked the experiences a Sage goes through when they start ‘getting’ the Isu’s memories.

Didn’t that mean that there was a possibility that the Animus was based on the research the Isus made to create the-

“Desmond, as interesting as your thoughts are about this subject, I’d prefer it if you were to. Focus!” Ezio was unable to stop himself from raising his voice as he punched one of Vieri’s hired muscles as Desmond liked to call them. The man staggered as he took a few steps back and Ezio swiped his feet before stomping on his groin.

There was a few scandalous looks thrown his way at that attack and Ezio just shrugged.

It wasn’t his fault that Desmond’s skills in unarmed combat bled through to him during these situations and Desmond fought shamelessly dirty.

‘In my defense…’ Desmond quipped from his mind, ‘I was taught that honor and shame have no place when you’re getting ganged up by Templars.’

Ezio grunted as he dodged a punch aimed for his chest, quickly grabbing the wrist and pulling him forward to unbalance him before delivering a high knee strike, making the man gasp as Ezio kneed him on the throat.

Okay, that one was from one of Desmond’s Bleed, not Desmond himself.

But then again…

Desmond was his Bleeds and his Bleeds were him. When he thinks about it that way…

“Desmond…” Ezio gritted as he smacked an incoming kick from another man, quickly jabbing the man’s side before suckerpunching him.

‘Sorry, sorry. My brain’s wacky at the moment.’ Desmond said.

That was an understatement.

Desmond had been in Ezio’s body for only a few hours. They had went outside to try and get a lay of the land and found out the date by Vieri throwing a rock at Ezio and giving Ezio the scar on his lips.

So yeah…

Desmond was still not used to being this… entity inside Ezio’s mind.

“Don’t think too hard.” Ezio backhanded a goon’s cheek hard and fast enough that he was able to topple the surprised and hurt goon with his mind quickly making it known that it was a common technique Altaïr used to do. Ezio tried to focus as he said, “Let’s just get this over with then we can have our mental breakdown in our room, okay?”

‘Yeah, okay.’ Desmond answered and Ezio felt Desmond focus.

It was like his senses became clearer.

His body became lighter.

And…

He could predict everyone’s next move.

To borrow Desmond’s expression at the moment.

Holy shit.

(Desmond doesn’t know it but because he made Ezio his Sage, he is technically a being that has access to Isu senses which he can pass down to Ezio. Ezio’s human body can’t take much of it though so there’s a time limit and that is how Federico comes in and save them because Ezio and Desmond starts getting a headache after using it too much.)

[evilkaeya]

can you go five seconds without mentioning your wife

[feroluce]

Lucid Dreamer (1/2)

part 2

Gepard notices that it's been. Quiet lately. Like weirdly quiet. TOO quiet. He hasn't seen Sampo Koski in almost a week, which is about the longest he's ever been absent. And he is NOT worried. He's not! So what if they've been getting along more lately! So what if Gepard sometimes looks for him in his favorite hiding places! So what if he's been dreaming about blue hair and green eyes! It's nothing!!

But they're….strange, these dreams. Gepard doesn't usually remember what he's dreamt. It's out of his mind seconds within waking up. But these stick with him, they won't leave him be, they feel different somehow.

He dreams of Sampo bringing food to the frontlines and eating breakfast in his tent with him. Sampo always sneaks him extras. He dreams of chasing Sampo through the alleyways, Sampo sometimes letting himself be caught, Gepard sometimes catching him, and trying to ignore how it feels more like a game now more than anything else. He even dreams that Sampo tags along with him on one of his few civilian days. Sampo runs errands with him, prattles about inane bullshit while Gepard picks out groceries for the week, drags Gepard into some bakery he's never been to but he thinks Serval mentioned once.

And sometimes, it feels so close to reality, that Gepard half expects to see Sampo, shamelessly swaggering into the frontlines with all the guards' breakfast like his wanted poster wasn't only recently taken off the walls of Belobog. He's disappointed when it's always someone else instead. He tells himself his disappointment is ridiculous and if Sampo wants to go prowl around the Snow Plains or wherever he is, then fine. It's not any of his business.

…But it IS his job to investigate any unusual criminal activity relating to the frontlines. And the frontlines are Sampo's usual haunting grounds, and this is unusual activity, and Sampo IS technically a criminal, so it is absolutely part of his duty to look into this - is what Gepard tells himself the entire tram ride down into the Underground.

Natasha tells him he's gone, and Gepard has to steel himself. He knew Sampo made enemies wherever he went, there are a lot of people who would love his head on a platter, but he didn't think-

Natasha corrects him that she means literally gone. As in off-planet. Sampo always leaves her a note before he goes anywhere, so she knows not to expect any supply runs from him. He should be back in exactly two weeks. Thank the Preservation.

Gepard goes back home. He waits.

The uneasiness doesn't leave him.

"Where did you go?" Sampo stops dead in the middle of some story about Seele, and how you'd think someone with as blunt a mouth as her wouldn't have so much trouble asking a woman out, even if that woman IS the Supreme Guardian, and stares at him. He nearly fumbles his cigarette.

"Ahaha, what do you mean, I'm right here?" Sampo smiles at him the same way he always does. Gepard has no idea why he asked. It just popped out. He can never tell when Sampo is lying, anyway.

"I don't know. I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time." Gepard idly mouths at his own cigarette. He almost never smokes, but he wants to ration their stocks of Blizzard Immunity, and it helps with the cold. It's seemed colder lately, for some reason.

Gepard flicks his lighter once, twice, sighs at the third time because a metal prosthetic and thick gloves make the damn things so difficult. Sampo reaches over and wordlessly kisses the end of his cigarette to Gepard's, lighting it. "Thank you."

Nothing happens for almost a full 30 seconds. Something churns behind Gepard's ribcage. Because Sampo never leaves a "thank you" hanging. This is the part where he gives his spiel about how helpful and kind he is and Gepard either brings up how long his rap sheet was before Bronya helped clear his name, or just stares deadpan because seeing Sampo squirm is weirdly satisfying.

"…I'll be back in one more week."

Gepard jolts awake in his cot, mouth dry and eyes bleary.

The hell.

The next dream he has, Sampo looks tired. Sometimes he seems normal. Sometimes he says strange things, like how he wishes he'd gone to some restaurant in Belobog. Ate his favorite food more recently. Brought something with him. Gepard asks why he can't do that now. Where would he bring something? Sampo only shrugs. His rebuttals have less energy.

Gepard doesn't know if he wants to dream more, or less.

He ticks down the days on his calendar. Natasha hasn't told him any different. She promised she would if she got any kind of message. Sampo returns tomorrow, from whatever vacation or seedy business dealings he's been off having. He is not excited about it. He is not looking forward to it. He's not!!

Gepard falls asleep late that night, unable to settle. He dreams again.

He's alone. There are tons of people everywhere, the frontlines are always crowded. But he's alone. They all pass right by him as though he were a ghost. Gepard starts to walk before he realizes his feet are even moving.

He checks the trashcans in the dead end alley. He checks the supply crates that someone always stacks too high because they don't feel like finding more space for them. He pauses to check the soldiers that march past him, watching their footprints in the snow.

He finally finds Sampo on the rooftop along the northernmost wall, the one that looks out over the plains, towards Everwinter Hill, towards where the Stellaron had once been kept. With a full moon and an entire land of white snow, Gepard can almost see clear out to the horizon.

"Found you." Sampo stiffens, and Gepard is almost prepared for him to sprint off the roof. He doesn't. But he doesn't relax either. Gepard sits down next to him and stares out at the wastelands.

"…I fucked up." It wasn't what Gepard had been expecting. Sampo never 'fucks up,' Sampo just gets into incidents that are entirely, supposedly, not his fault and that he just happens to always be within the vicinity of.

"What did you do now?" It must be really bad if Sampo is coming to the Silvermanes for protection.

Instead, Sampo ignores his question completely. "See out over there? Right on the other side of that mountain. There's a safe house that way. It's hidden under a lot of snow and dead trees, but it's there. And in that safe house is a box full of letters. I need you to deliver those letters for me."

Gepard's brow furrows. It's a weird favor to ask. Sampo would never tell anyone where his hidden safehouses were. It defeated the whole purpose of a hidden safe house.

Something is wrong, something is really really wrong.

Gepard turns back to look at him again and startles, all of his questions dying in his throat, because the entire left side of Sampo's head is suddenly matted down, dark and sticky, his skin is dyed red red red-

"In three more months, there's gonna be something big happening." Gepard grabs Sampo's hand and it feels slick and warm against his palm. "I won't be here. So I need you to do my end of things for me." Gepard tries to keep hold, but something is fading, something is slowing, the sun is coming up but the colors are all wrong, everything feels like encroaching fog, Sampo's hand slides right through his. "I was gonna come back with my mask to finish setting the stage, but…" Gepard makes a frantic grab for Sampo's wrist, the air twists, he comes back empty-handed. "They have you. And you're the Iron Wall of Belobog. So it'll be ok."

Gepard finally manages to find his grip, snatches the front of Sampo's dark wet jacket and yanks him forward to hold onto him, and this close up, he can see it better, his colors are bleaching out, leaking outside the lines as if Sampo will become part of the background, as if he's fading into the strange fog that's been closing in on them. His fingers are already starting to feel empty again.

"Wake up."

Gepard jolts awake, uncurls his hands from where they're fisted in the blanket, scrubs the dampness off his face. Breathes. Breathes. Breathes. Today is supposed to be the day.

He throws on his civilian clothes, and he goes down to the shipyard the IPC had built. He finds a spot where he can see every person that returns to Belobog, and he waits.

And he waits and he waits and he waits.

No one he recognizes appears.

[moeblob]

We don't talk about how long ago I started this haha (there was supposed to be more parts but let's worry about that later).

You should roast Sampo all the time as a Belobog citizen duty.

[the--firevenus]

You not belong

-

Stress painting afk merlin with my new drawing tablet, lmao I said I'd do a simple piece but nahhh, need me more angsty merlin pspsps afkj come on

[haunted-xander]

My team! Ladies <3