my honkai: star rail page
i'm sure by now we are all aware of just how bad gacha games are (i hope). they, though i'm mostly talking about mihoyo, keep crafting these grand narratives that "justify" being live-service and using gacha as their main way of keeping the game alive (or building nuclear reactors), in the hopes that you tag along for their years' long journey and maybe spend a little money or a few thousands
unfortunately for my ass, hoyo has a knack for writing characters and stories that are ALMOST intriguing enough to warrant playing them. i debated making this page but there is genuinely some good writing in this. mihoyo has branded themselves as a bunch of nerds making games and it's honest to god true. through genshin impact, they've exposed things like "commedia dell'arte" to their players, which i highly appreciate. what better way to first hear about game theory, historical events, and classic literature than a gacha game (i am holding back tears as i write this)
anyhow. this is my honkai: star rail page where i keep notes on the few things i like about the game. get out while you still can.......
the creatures that keep me here
my two favorite characters. herta and dr. ratio. both associated with the Genius Society, though one more than the other. ha. hahaha.
herta
herta was one of the few characters whose lore i was actually interested in. i was a day one player and watched the character trailers they were releasing before the game's launch. out of those, i really liked clara. i wouldn't end up getting clara as my beginner 5 star....and while her story was cute it just wasn't for me anyway so no big loss (i got yanKING instead)
but herta? everyone gets a herta! you can E6 (get copies that give substantial upgrades) her for free, i think. her eidolons (the name of the copies) were so mysterious and hinted at some backstory that was never implied in the main story (she generally acts as an aloof scientist only interested in sciency stuff)
- kick you when you're down
- keep the ball rolling
- that's the kind of girl i am
- hit where it hurts
- cuss big or cuss nothing
- no one can betray me
it's generally accepted by the community that eidolons are insight into a character's soul, with later eidolons being the purest expression of it. this seems pretty on point to me, especially with the associated imagery in mind
so what's going on with herta? no one knows... YET (unless the game has added onto her lore and i just haven't been made aware of it— whoops!). also important to note that the original, puppet herta was available from release on april 26, 2023. "The Herta", the normal, human girl that puppet herta is based on, was only released in 3.0 in january 2025. so for nearly 2 years, herta was a big mystery (and so is everyone else in this game and it's not like the herta's release cleared up much)
so what's left to do but theorize on the little we have. maybe the most evocative of these little details is the purple flower attached to her hat. according to one redditor, the flower may be a crocus flower, which is associated with the myth of Crocus
One Greek myth links the origin of these flowers to a boy named Crocus, who had an affection for Smilax, a nymph. One legend says the boy died of a broken heart after the gods forbid his relationship. Then a flower grew where he died.
But another Greek lore says that the gods rewarded Crocus for his unwavering and eternal love by turning him into the flower, giving him immortality. This myth ties into the symbolism of devotional and romantic associations, making them common for wedding ceremonies.
(i got this from a site that seems to be gone?)
and this fits herta, who learned how to reverse her aging and thus attained immortality, perfectly! but what about that part about the broken heart? does it also apply to herta? it's also interesting that there's a mention of gods, considering how important aeons (gods in HSR) are. herta is implied to be romantically aligned with ruan mei, who may become an aeon, so there's also that. whether this applies to her past, future, or at all, we'll have to see. (also very funny that crocus was rewarded for "eternal love" and herta was sought out by idrila, who presides over beauty)
dr. ratio
i remember logging into HSR, getting the free ratio, and putting the game down for a few months. i wasn't keeping up with the discussion so i thought it was like an aloy situation where they give out a free unit only for it to be ass. even now he sits on my account at level 1, not because i hate him. but because i...like him🥺
while i wasn't playing myself, i would watch a friend play instead (this would be during the penacony storyline, where he plays a role). HSR is just so much better when it's not you being the one to play it or maybe i'm just not gamerpilled enough or respect myself too much. also, he has ties to herta, which helped. also also he's basically a Gacha Game Renaissance Man. you'd have to be a fool to not like him (heh)
the way hoyo characterizes him is so well done. take the message you receive with your free ratio attached:
Pardon the interruption — you are now speaking with Veritas Ratio.
It has come to my attention that your broadcast today touched on certain warp arrangements in connection with myself. If I may be so bold...
The current arrangements for this Warp are pitiful! Zero points!
The dissemination and sharing of knowledge, as well as truth, is imperative. I, in my esteemed capacity, demand that every trailblazer be given access to a proper education! With lessons delivered by me in person!
I have said my piece. That is all. Farewell.
i don't even think i need to explain...but i will try
ratio is a man of knowledge. though he once aimed to be part of the Genius Society (a group by those chosen by Nous, god of erudition), he was never able to accomplish this. he would later learn that the Genius Society isn't all it's cracked up to be anyways, the idolization and fawning leading to an unwarranted faith in the geniuses. also in opposition of them, he believes knowledge should be free to all and not kept in secret or pursuited for selfish purposes, as the geniuses tend to do
despite his harsh exterior— as an example, see the message above— he truly has a heart of gold and believes in humanity's capability to surpass idiocy. this quality, though, is believed to be the reason why he can never join the Society. the geniuses have an aspect of "inhumanness" to them. ruan mei lacks empathy, screwllum is a machine, and herta is... a puppet? immortal? (unsure which quality makes her the most inhuman)
so: giving out a free ratio is the perfect display of what he believes in
as another example, take Divergent Universe, a game mode in HSR and one that dr. ratio works on in-universe. if you find it too difficult, you can turn on Insight Mode, courtesy of ratio himself and also comes with his signature owl symbol
herta and dr. ratio in ... "THE ONE-SIDED FEUD"!
as herta is the poster girl for the Genius Society, hoyo typically depicts her and ratio as foils
herta's character stories are from an interview. when asked questions, she gives out short, irrelevant answers ("You should go home and sleep."), eventually putting the puppet on auto-answer mode before the interview ends
in ratio's introduction details (also an interview), he admits, "How is this interview going? ...Though the process has been rather long, the questions asked are not very boring."
about the herta: "Disliking mundane affairs, she typically delegates such tasks to her puppets."
ratio on headgear: "The true faces of Mundanites usually inflict more harm than good. My headwear spares me unneeded burdens."
herta's remark: "He's right. I don't remember what he looks like."
herta from the 1.6 livestream, about ratio: "Hmph, gentleman my foot!"
also from the same livestream:
Owlbert: [Ratio] belongs to a different Nous-worshipping organization, the Intelligentsia Guild.
Herta: Which is why I can't stand the sight of him!(the entire ratio segment consists of her trashing on him)
Trailblazer: Also, I'm thankful to Mr. Ratio
Herta: Who's that?
Trailblazer: Eh?
Herta: Eh?but let's not forget the one way in which they are similar: they've created a lot of copies of themselves (herta's puppets, ratio's statues)
they are like this to me
ratio/aventurine
or more fondly known as raturine. isn't that..hilarious? doesn't that make you want to laugh?
i'm not sure what to make of aventurine. as it stands i only have one (1) real opinion of him: it is incredibly funny that hoyo made their most developed character a gambler. it's prime material for memes (as seen below), which is the language most of the game seems to hinge on
it's an understatement to say that he's associated with ratio. they're designed to be the other's counterpart and the story only proves this further
it's a bit unfortunate that aventurine's theme is gambling because whenever aventurine has a reference to ratio it's allowed to have the graces that latin and science have, but ratio gets stuff like: "So you're saying that Professor Ratio, whose pass rate is like the gacha rates in the Interastral Peace Entertainment's blind boxes, actually passed you?"
they actually have a bunch of references to each other or so their page on this shipping fandom wiki says (which was probably made by an insane person/people. i say this respectfully) but here are the ones that i personally like the best
spades and hearts
you might remember that i said "ratio has a heart of gold" and it's true! he wears his heart on his sleeve, and his chest, while aventurine wears a spade
this is likely a reference to two card games that are often played together, Spades and Hearts. from pokernews:
Spades places emphasis on accurate predictions and collaboration, incorporating nil bids, whereas Hearts focuses on pre-hand card passing and the strategic avoidance of specific cards, contributing to the distinct character of each game.
the allusion to aventurine is strong here, with spades involving betting and collaboration (he is part of a high-ranking group of executives). on the other hand, hearts, with its focus on strategy rather than prediction, show ratio's careful and independent nature
aventurine's eidolons
some of aventurine's eidolons are named after theories (which ratio surely likes)
- prisoner's dilemma
- bounded rationality
- droprate maxing
- unexpected hanging paradox
- ambiguity aversion
- stag hunt game
it was this tweet that shed light for me on his last eidolon, stag hunt game, which goes as follows, from wikipedia:
Two hunters must decide separately, and without the other knowing, whether to hunt a stag or a hare. However, both hunters know the only way to successfully hunt a stag is with the other's help. One hunter can catch a hare alone with less effort and less time, but it is worth far less than a stag and has much less meat. But both hunters would be better off if both choose the more ambitious and more rewarding goal of getting the stag, giving up some autonomy in exchange for the other hunter's cooperation and added might.
as the tweet says, it describes aventurine's relationship with ratio. this is shown especially when aventurine's plans in penacony rely on ratio not having all the information, but choosing to act in a way that favors aventurine anyway
"alea iacta est"
HSR is a turn-based combat game (can you believe i went through nearly the entire page without having to say this) and every character has voice lines for actions in battle. for casting his ultimate, aventurine's line is: "The dice have been cast." (which is followed by the iconic "Bust? Or maybe I'll take it all!")
this could be referencing what was said by Ceasar before leading his army to a war that would change everything. in the original latin, it goes, "alea iacta est," which translates to "the dice have been cast" or "the die is cast"
while ratio isn't the only character to reference latin, it IS aventurine.... and ratio is probably the character most associated with latin, anyway. if the reference is true, it means that both he and ratio share a popular latin phrase for casting their ultimates, with ratio's being "esse est percipi"!
moments of joy
favorite moments in and out of the game
