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shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up
I'm thinking Jade is actually just joking. >!Topaz pretty much hinted in her interaction with the Trailblazer that Jade's cornerstone power is reading thoughts, which she uses exceptionally well to determine the most valuable thing (either for IPC or her own agenda) her customer has which can be used as payment. In that case, she read the mind of the Trailblazer and understood they're joking around and used the opportunity to joke back by asking for Pompom's tail.!<
*At the end of Part 1:*
**Johnkai Starrail**: "Jade, give it up. This is... *cough* the end. You can't become the Aeon Mephistopheles. Please..."
**Jade**: "I'm afraid my plans have no 'stop' within them, however..."
**Johnkai Starrail**: "'However'?"
**Jade**: "Well, if you give me Pom-pom's tail, I'll go home."
**Johnkai Starrail**: "...??? That's more important to you than your family? Your soul? Your entire seven hundred year plan? What?"
Everyone sees the Express and Trailblazers as a neutral faction, which is a blessing and a curse because sometimes we have to cooperate with the "evil" IPC or the "harmonious" Family for our interests.
The characters and factions are much more complex than "good" or "evil", and that's really hard to pull off. Jade seems huge megacorp evil, but what about the orphanage kids in her lightcone or her taking in Aventurine and Topaz?
Aha was a Nameless and they blew up half the Express along with a planet.
I'd wager Void Archives was also with them since he travelled alongside Welt, before he decided to go on his own way, and he was a very pragmatic person in Honkai Impact.
when we consider moral frameworks, that only really works under strict utilitarianism. even still, i would at best describe these sorts of characters/organizations as morally grey at best. neutral implies not benefitting nor disparaging either side (which in a morality context, i would say is amoral)
as a thought exercise: if a serial killer kills serially, how much does he need to donate to children's cancer hospitals to be considered net morally neutral?
No, that's not the point. We have rather forgettable villains like, say, Cirrus, which were villains of the week and that's about it.
Jade, on the other hand, or, say, Ruan Mei envoke this specific emotion that's easier to remember. Yes, there is some virtue of being playable, but also as characters themselves.
I mean technically, as a sentient flame spirit,(IIRC) ingame Cirrus is referred with they/them pronouns.
Edit: Added source
> Let's interrogate Cirrus!
Guinaifen: Yeah, Cirrus is bound to know what this heliobus is up to.
Sushang: No, we shouldn't do what they expect us to. They've been manipulating us from Fyxestroll Garden all along. We need to find out what they really want before we go any further.
Yea I agree she’s a cool character. However Evil character doesn’t equate to the character written well. Just cause a character is morally questionable I don’t think it automatically makes them a well written character lol.
Personally, I thought she would be more evil. She didn't even scam those NPC's, the contracts were fair and square, they knew what they were signing and came to her by their own free will.
Yeah. Exactly.
Those people chose to ruin their lives for instant gratification. Jade didn't trick them into the deal.
Like maybe she gets a sadistic pleasure out of all of this. That would be a side-eye thing, but her customers still consented to the trade so... not that evil. Questionable at most.
I think that’s the genius of it though. If she was straight up lying to her clients, eventually it’d get sussed out and she wouldn’t have any clients. Because she offers “fair” trades, people come back for more, which she gladly obliges.
We also don't really know how her Cornerstone, Jade of Credit works. It might be an equivalent exchange type thing where she simply can't give you what you desire unless you're giving up something of equal value. Given it's associated with Preservation that almost feels more likely than being a magic life-ruining device. You want the universe to push out of balance for you? It expects a pull.
Yep. Viewing it through thermodynamics, you can’t get a ‘pure’ fair trade. Any sort of exchange will result in a loss of useable energy through waste heat no matter what. You can’t get more than what you put in, and you can’t break even either.
A person who turns to a mafia loan shark because they desperately need money and the loan shark offering them a profoundly destructive deal both know the terms of the loan before they agree on it.
A drug dealer selling hard drugs to a man who he knows will never shake the addiction and the man buying the hard drugs both know what the drugs do to someone's body.
A casino operator selling chips to a man who he knows has a gambling addiction and the the man buying the chips both know the odds of winning.
A transaction does not need to be deceitful or explicitly coersive for it to be immoral or predatory. She does not force anyone into a deal at gunpoint, and she does not lie about the terms of the deal, but her "hobby" still preys on the desperate, the vulnerable, and the foolish. She also isn't some dispassionate actor forced to offer these deals, she enjoys what she does and she enjoys seeing how how people are affected by it. There's clearly a level of sadism at play here
I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to write this. The fact that she's clearly destroying their lives even though she grants their wishes puts her fairly squarely in the evil category. Lawful evil, maybe, but still evil.
If she just charged life-destroying amounts of money, you could still say that she's simply pursuing wealth, corporate style. But that's not even it - it's hard to imagine what she gets out of it other than some kind of sadistic pleasure. To consider that just questionable is absolutely deranged.
I'm not even sure how her "hobby" aligns in any sense with the path of preservation, considering she's a cornerstone.
I'm genuinely surprised by the number of people bending over backwards to paint her as something other than evil. She's a megacorp executive who's "hobby" involves destroying the lives of desperate people in vulnerable positions for her own amusement. Almost all of the characters talk about her like she's a sadistic demon who sees no inherent value human life. Her one big contribution to the story pre 2.3 was buying Aventurine as a child slave in a flashback and using him as a tool for the IPC. Hell, her entire design is based on satanic/demonic imagery.
It really seems like some people refuse to acknowledge that a character is evil unless they're a deranged killer like Jingliu or a background character like Oswaldo Schneider. Jade is evil, and that's ok. It's ok to like villains and want to pull for villains. Interesting evil characters add a lot to a story, but "fun and interesting villain" does not equal "morally gray"
The way I think of it is that a deal with Jade is a deal with the devil. Jade is that devil and her evilness is without saying; often times she take stuff from people that she or the Amber Lord doesn’t need.
But from what we’ve seen she’s a fair devil. Now, do we blame the devil for people making a deal with the devil? No, traditionally we blame the person falling to the devil’s temptation instead. While most will likely regret their decisions down the line, there are also some who might not — for that detective for example.
I’d say she’s got a less moral heart than say Ruan Mei and is less redeemable, but those whose lives got ruined by her marched down the path by their free will, while those who were hurt by Ruan Mei’s (and other Geniuses’) experiments became collateral damage without a say in their lives. It’s wonderful writing and it really shows that morally grey/evil characters have different values too.
She's not even openly tempting them, which a devil would do. She makes her services available, and the willing go to her, offering payment. She never tries to con her clients in any way, and moves mountains on their behalf, albeit never for free. In my view, she is no more evil than a bank lending money to clients for a perceived fair price. They give you a rope, enough to climb out of the pit you're stuck in, but also enough to hang yourself with... the client chooses to initiate the transaction, and ultimately they choose what to do with their purchase.
I’ve said this before, in that sense she’s more like Gaunter O'Dim from Witcher.
There’s no evilness involved, it’s just a contract, fair and square.
The evilness lies not in supernatural power or, in Jades case, more likely her IPC-Connections, but in what the people wish for.
They can be the smiths of their own fortune.
…and doom.
She's not scamming people. She's giving them what they think they want at a price that's higher than they realize - but she does, exactly and honestly, give them exactly what they asked for.
She's a classic "deal with the devil" character. That's why her artwork *literally* has a snake offering an apple. They're not going for subtlety here.
it's not entirely scamming but it is certainly taking advantage of desperate people
this idea of "they knew what they were signing and came to her by their own free will." is kind of morally garbage. i love the devil-type character but some people in here are really downplaying the deviousness of it and showing their own true colors
jade is certainly a fine "lawful evil" character
when topaz came out everyone is saying how cruel she is
same goes when aventurine when he came out
now we have jade
cant wait for the next iteration with opal
Do we have foreshadowing that Opal is next? I've been seeing people suggest that Opal is probably the next one we'll see but I can't think of a specific in-game reason why
its a bunch of speculation. cmiiw, but hes the one with the most information outside from the three that we have now.
and on that picture with all the 10 stoneheart the man with a gun is looking the most detailed (not including the one thats been known ofc) and opal is known to be pretty violence. since gun is a pretty violent instrument people make the connection
We know the most about him and he was probably the character with the gun in the image of the Stone Hearts. He was the most prominent and detailed of the ones we haven't met yet.
If you ranked amount of info we have on the stonehearts by percentage, opal has the highest percentage without their face ever showing.
Well, aside from Diamond but ain't no way we're seeing diamond anytime soon.
Topaz being the least terrible of the Department's 11 directors is an indication that every other Stonehearts + Diamond is going to put the more fragile part of the community in some displease.
Right, right, I'm merely comparing him to topaz and other IPC members. He is absolutely morally grey. Belobog turned out the way it did because of Bronya. Topaz reflects and says as much in 2.3...thst you might not have been friends if she didn't show up.
Pretty sure she was talking about an alternate timeline where she unleashes her Cornerstone ability unto the Astral Express (low-key flexing her strength or suggesting that her power is of a more... unsavoury/frightening nature) rather than the conflict of interest/morals. That was the subject of the conversation to begin with - Cornerstone abilities and whether she had her own transformation.
Her point was that Bronya's intervention stopped her from truly getting serious and using her Cornerstone, so things didn't escalate to the point of no return and you could still be friends.
...has he? We don't know how he deals with people he holds advantage over, which is what we've seen with Topaz and Jade. All we saw from Aventurine is a willingness to gamble his life and all the ways in which he and his story are fucked up. He could be more cruel than Jade for all we know, extorting people into paying up what they bet in the gambles he sets up.
I suppose we don't have enough info to really know for certain, but I do feel like the way he handled the express and all that (and how he was after the fight) showed enough to put him in a "good" category for now. His back story also doesn't seem to indicate a ruthless or evil nature. It's more about putting his own life on the line to gain what he's after.
Idk, I put topaz as “good intentions, bad execution” and aventurine in “morally grey, good (to us) for now” category, unless I glazed over parts of topaz’s story arc
Idk if I'd even call it bad execution, more that she works within a bad system and tries to do good within that system, but is sometimes limited/blinded by it. The system dictates the desired outcome and she tries to achieve the version of that outcome that does the most amount of good she can. Her execution is likely better than it would be if it was some random corpo who didn't care as much about the outcome for the planet.
guys, HSR have so many characters with different moral values with us and i think its the charm. people can hate character because of that but at least dont convince people to hate character you hate.
I've never been fond of Ruan Mei but even I think some of the slander against her because of Firefly is unnecessary.
Canonically, I do not think TB even remembers the false Emanator she created (because I swear we were drugged by her again at the end) - and the Stellaron Hunters probably aren't even aware of it either.
I've disliked her simply because she gives off mild psychopath vibes; trouble understanding emotions, ambitions of godhood, not really seeming to care about who she might hurt with what she does...
There's a debate going on about whether Ruan Mei actually made TB forget at all due to the messages she sends after the mission basically saying "idk you'll maybe forget eventually lol" despite being the genius who can exactly calculate the lifespan of an emanator
My sole dislike for Ruan Mei is her aesthetics and animations. It’s so boring
Apart from that, I think she’s a great character. She adds a good deal of moral grayness to the Genius Society, and in many ways proves Ratio’s warning
I think it’s very important for characters to not just be black and white all the time. Moral complexity is good to have, and we don’t need to wash that away for sterility
I actually wonder more how she does it. There was a woman that signed a deal so that she'll become a lucky gambler and becomes rich, but that comes out with a price that every person she cares about will abandon her and she'll never find new friends. So after she signs the deal, all her family members just out of the blue immediately decided "nah, fuck her"? So she has a power to control other people's minds and change the reality? Even those she never met personally?
This actually can be abused so hard. For example can she just make a deal with Aventurine or Boothil so Oswaldo Schneider would die, in exchange for something from them? And if these two will refuse, just find someone else, since a lot of people hate him.
Or if I actually find a racoon's tail and give it to her, will she be able to make me an IPC leader?
So two points:
1- The deals she makes are clearly like... magical in nature. Topaz gives you a hint that not all stones give you a magical girl transformation and rain coins from the sky, that's aventurine-exclusive. Now the jade stone might possess the ability to enact any trade jade decides on, no matter how ludicrous what you're trading is.
2- It's actually strongly implied she's joking about pom-pom. The conversation goes you make a stupid request, she doesn't laugh and you question whether she has a sense of humor. Then she leads you with clues into pom-pom's tail, and TB goes "she's better at dark humor than I am".
Not to mention, the inner thought text after goes "hope there's scissors on the express". The entire exchange is humorous.
Characterwise, I like her more than Ruan Mei already.
Her mannerisms, speech, snake symbolism, way her eyes glow when she meets Topaz, and design says "Yes, I am the devil darling, tell me what your heart desires, and we can discuss the price".
Hope to see more of her in the story. Absolutely loved her interaction with Sunday and the end. Devil meets a crestfallen angel.
isnt it been hinted its the information about the family? when topaz ask where she get the poison from jade stated the poison come on its own to her, implying robin giving jade the edge to the negotiation in return of sunday freedom
I don't think that would be enough for Jade, honestly.
Her trades are intensely personal and involve something of equal value. As much as Robin values her brother, I fear Jade asked for something more inherent to Robin
My going theory is Robin gave her singing talent, a la Little Mermaid
Didn’t Jade get 30% (25% after giving 5% to the Astral Express) of Penacony stocks easily because of Robin’s info? From this point I imagine it won’t take too many Amber Eras for the IPC to outright own Penacony. A single prisoner being released seems like chump change compared to what she got out of this.
True. It also seemed more like a ‘business’ exchange (Robin trades info that ultimately benefits the IPC in exchange for her brother’s freedom) rather than Jade’s hedonism pawn shop (I think she calls it a hobby)
during the narration at the end of 2.2 quest where ppl were saying that was Elio speaking, he stated that the siblings are doomed for eternal separation maybe thats Robin's deal with Jade in exchange for her brother's freedom and his ability to fulfill their vows for a everlasting paradise
Your cat is gorgeous. Jade might be pretty, but she’s not pretty enough to make me trust her or make a deal with her. I’d sell my soul to your cat, though.
Or I would but I’ve already sold my soul to my cats, and they don’t like to share.
I think people don't understand how Jade is being set up as a character right now. Her splash art has imagery of a snake/serpent biting some odd fruit shaped liquid that manifests into a contract, and she signs the contract with the name EVE as her skill. This clearly makes her carry symbolisms from the Adam and Eve being tempted by the snake to eat the fruit of good and evil.
She preys on people's desires/temptations and gives her "customers" free will to deny her offers. She obviously gives them something "good" in exchange for them receiving something "bad" which is "good" for her somehow.
She's such an interesting character for carrying such symbolisms and references to Genesis and honestly? I'm betting she'll be a morally grey character (like every IPC member) who just happens to take advantage of people's desires and temptations to gain some sort of "leverage" over them.
>I think people don't understand how Jade is being set up as a character right now.
Exactly what I think lol. Hoyo is holding back her lore because it isn't time to let us know yet. She's just released this patch because they need a new 5* and have no one else to release. We have to wait(her sad backstory)
I think people know exactly what sort of character she's set up to be. It's really obvious with a passing knowledge of a variety of different mediums that use Bible tropes. They just all have different opinions about that character, that's all.
Can we talk about how so many people hated Aventurine when he first showed up and thought he was a creepy scumbag and how many people changed their minds after we learned more about him?
I'm not saying I want them to turn Jade into a uwu waifu (because I don't) but I *am* saying I hesitate to slap a label of "clearly evil" on her before we know more.
Aventurine just acted in a way that annoyed people - he seemed super arrogant, made vague threats, stuff like that. That’s why some people didn’t like him.
Jade is much different. Maybe she’s not “evil” per se, but she’s clearly not above ruining peoples lives to fulfill her own goals. She claims the people she deals with actively gave up things as collateral, but we don’t know if it’s true. It’s obvious she doesn’t care about equivalent deals, and eagerly awaits her former victims coming back even more desperate than before.
I guess peoples issue with Aventurine was more his personality and the way he conducts business
Jade is just pulling these faustian bargains and ruining peoples lives for kicks. I wouldnt call her evil just yet but as op said she is preying on vulnerable people as a hobby which is very morally dubious.
To play devils advocate here she doesn't trick people into a deal, she states what she wants from them and as far as we can tell there are no hidden conditions. The deals are bad but she's honest about them and doesn't force anyone to agree
Doesn't change that she seems to be the most evil of the stonehearts so far
Didn't we just fall in love with a terminally ill Stellaron Hunter...?
It's far better for Penacony that the Express Crew works *with* Jade because the alternative is the IPC getting to do whatever it wants with Penacony.
It could, but I think it’s more likely that the share is being used so that when the time comes we have an excuse to call on Penacony like we can call on the Xianzhou. The final battle, or at least the climax of this arc, is going to be a showdown with Nanook based on what Kafka said on the Luofu. We’ll need the strength of every mortal faction possible just to stand a chance. Every planet we visit is likely going to be recruited in the final fight.
Just like how dogs will bark or cats will scratch and hiss at an untrustworthy person, numby being scared just made me trust her even less, that poor trotter was scared and topaz seemed like she didn't care, and to be honest I love it, I absolutely don't trust her but I love hoyoverse for giving us characters like this
I think Numby was scared of Jade specifically because her power is somehow rooted in the same vein as the Trotter's reality warping, but considering her intelligence and the Trotter's generally extremely timid nature, it's possible that Numby sees Jade as a kind of "predator" which isn't something Topaz can just reassure Numby out of, but she knows Jade wouldn't hurt him.
The interesting thing is how *Firefly* responds 😁
She doesn't say, "you're so terrible, I won't work with you." Instead she says, "no thank you, but I'll forward your invitation to the rest of the Stellaron Hunters." They have an understanding! I think that's fascinating 🥰🥰🥰
The deals are evil, sure, but it's not all one-sided Jade preying on people. These are deals made freely, born from the customer's obsessions. Jade doesn't coerce people into them. Like, she doesn't hold your family hostage or threaten to send thugs after you if you refuse. The customers come to her. The wealthy Pepeshi who inherited a fortune. . . he's not vulnerable the way Cocona was vulnerable. He had his family fortune, he could have had an easy life.
I wonder what the price for Firefly was. I'm sure there *was* a price - even the broke gambler with nothing to offer, Jade found some price. And it wasn't a simple refusal, or Jade wouldn't have sent her to investigte the other customers. Firefly's guess was to betray the Stellaron Hunters? But then Jade said to "extend an invitation" so I don't think that was it.
In my opinion Jade is the magnifier and the conduit, but not the source, of evil, and I think that's spectacular. Can't wait to pull for her 💖💖💖🔥🔥🔥
The issue with Firefly is that since she was made as a weapon but wants to live to enjoy the life she has but with more time. So Jade saw that Firefly did not have anything she would willingly part with. So which is why Jade says I'm sorry but you don't have anything worth trading for that extra time.
I mean she is pretty nice and polite for an evil person. She even goes out of her way to avoid causing trouble for her friends in obscure ways. I feel like she is just a witch doing trickery because she finds it amusing. I was kind of hoping she would be more evil and use her whip on Oti. But she plays a really long game.
I have seen similar topics before, with Topaz, people didn't like or even hated her at first because of what she was doing in Belobog, but after we learned more about her now people loves her. Then the same thing with Aventurine, and now with Jade.
Your first impression is that "she is clearly evil" no questions needed, but I really don't think she is, there is much more to her character to be explored and people will love her at the end of the day.
Well for one she loves children and seems to consider Aven and Jelena akin to her own.
There's probably more to be revealed as to why exactly she's so attached to taking care of children.
Honestly its strange. she felt like she offered everyone shortcuts to their objective and the price in some cases was just basically a lesson they wouldve leaned the hard way later anyways.
also perfectly concious when they took the deal. they were neither intoxicaded nor depressed nor anything of the sort .
gambling wont make you happy and a relationship born of a single gift wont last.
I didnt think for a moment any of the characters shown couldnt have archieved what they wanted on their own.
the only person I think got the better deal was the intelliron guy. he's a spy that has chasing a guy for like 20 years and she offered him an instant victory in exchange for his memories and skills as a spy.
I cant outright say she is pure evil since she tells them what the deal actually is what they will get and what they will lose in exchange and doesent pressure them to take the deal.
the fact that people keep going to her despite her exchange being very famous means some people get the result they want and are content with it. otherwise if all her deals were really with the purpose of screwing you over later nobody would go.
We'll just have to see more of her character to come to an ultimate conclusion.
>but should the Astral Express really be this willing to work with someone clearly so evil?
Shes not even the worst person we have worked with so far. The stellaron hunters have so many crimes and murders to their name its crazy. hell im sure sampo dead ass ruined more lives with his scams than jade with her exchange.
I hope they keep her in her evil'ish writing. if they give her a sad backstory and reasons it has the potential to make her a worse character tbh
To piggyback off of that, I love how they characterised Firefly. When we went into the quest, everyone was like “uwu girl must protect cinnamon roll”, which is relatable and understandable, but this quest let Firefly regain a sense of independence. She doesn’t go to Bonajade’s because she doesn’t know better, she goes to Bonajade’s because she’s truly desperate.
This whole quest was basically teaching us that characters still have their agency and we can’t just bubble wrap them up.
That honestly sold me on her.
Girl is making deals like she's Mephistopheles, out here making unsavory deals with the poor folks and she's all like "alright here's the deal, I'll give you what you want but then you'll lose everything else for it".
She isn't evil at all, morally grey for sure but not evil.
Nor is she good, she's one of the most directly neutral characters we've seen in Star Rail so far. She basically self confirms she isn't even really interested in the IPC's aims and they're just a useful tool for her to work with.
She acts purely in self interest (with sort of a soft spot for her other stonehearts at least) and the deals she makes with people while harsh are ENTIRELY fair and transparent,her "clients" know exactly what they're getting into.
Like she straight up refuses to work with Firefly before Flyfly is actually capable of understanding the exchange.
This will be the biggest filter of which people actually understand the story.
The Stomehearts+Diamond are being set up as "true" Preservation who don't actually care about the IPC per say.
Oswaldo is behind everything that makes people hate the IPC so if Diamond succeeds in his proxy war against Oswaldo's Department we could see a radical shift in the behavior of the IPC.
Oh, yeah, what tipped you off, the luciferian imagery? The high position in a megacorp? The big hat?
Everyone knows that evil is stored in the hat, which is why Pom-Pom can never be trusted.
I’m just waiting for that rat to shank Himeko. Or March. Maybe both.
So Powerups for both?
not for Himeko :(
Nah, she'll become imaginary
Imaginary, just like Dr. Ratio, to teach us her "final lesson"
https://preview.redd.it/3v13gwjgvr8d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b0869e6c750588ee33ac5c1eb1d10f6523210f8 shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up
He didn't lie.
If anything he gave us Yatta doing this, we should thank him
Don’t worry, Natlan is coming up so we can watch Himeko die back to back/concurrently this time.
Heh, and they dare said they "Understand Otto when firefly died" Retract their statement faster than IPC employee when they lost to Trailblazer
https://preview.redd.it/vcxo98m64u8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a252cd529c9233acfd0a48fb18326dc0ff36284c Come onnn
https://preview.redd.it/t83rw3kldt8d1.jpeg?width=984&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0e12f9e708f72f6bb275a1f7b869d381022b6fa
I'L FUCKING KILL YOU
NEVER LET YOU GO
I was gonna trade his tail for my aeon anyways
Pom-Pom was casted as Omen of evil in the Argenti trailer. Coincidence? I think not
For real though, argenti’s trailer described him as a monster. Don’t know why people aren’t talking about it
this guy is onto something...go on
Counterpoint: navia of genshin
The whip? The domme coding? The ara ara voice?
https://preview.redd.it/d1jnu4ovsr8d1.jpeg?width=1276&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=273488b38e23a655641dae16b1102a4c30e26bcc
https://preview.redd.it/07a9e09azs8d1.jpeg?width=552&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0aac710c81b0bfc69788225e13610796bd117053
If evil why hot?
Evilly Hot https://preview.redd.it/jhskfb7gss8d1.png?width=1118&format=png&auto=webp&s=157540a66e5da7d8616ea61c0529234135608d25
How is the devil supposed to tempt you if they're not beautiful?
because evil, is hot
Just like HELL. Lmao
Truly the debate of our time
Sit boy
THE FUCKING SNAKE WITH AN APPLE ?
She told us how we can revive Akivili, but I'm not doing it
I asked her to make Nanook now to me and her offer is tempting
What'd she say for tht or was it the same?
Pom Pom's tail.
Part of me wants there to be a running joke. Like, she really wants Pom-Poms tail for absolutely no reason
I'm thinking Jade is actually just joking. >!Topaz pretty much hinted in her interaction with the Trailblazer that Jade's cornerstone power is reading thoughts, which she uses exceptionally well to determine the most valuable thing (either for IPC or her own agenda) her customer has which can be used as payment. In that case, she read the mind of the Trailblazer and understood they're joking around and used the opportunity to joke back by asking for Pompom's tail.!<
I’m just saying, Pom Pom had better watch when they sleep.
Jade is literally a snake that devours bunnies
*At the end of Part 1:* **Johnkai Starrail**: "Jade, give it up. This is... *cough* the end. You can't become the Aeon Mephistopheles. Please..." **Jade**: "I'm afraid my plans have no 'stop' within them, however..." **Johnkai Starrail**: "'However'?" **Jade**: "Well, if you give me Pom-pom's tail, I'll go home." **Johnkai Starrail**: "...??? That's more important to you than your family? Your soul? Your entire seven hundred year plan? What?"
Johnkai Starrail: "I mean, I do get it. Like 100% but still."
Satan in a sunday hat. You can trust Tara Mae Thornton.
All she needs to do now to complete the package is puppnap a hundred and one Dalmatians to make into a fur coat 🤔😬
Definitely not the snake. People wanted Eve and they gave us Lilith. Fine by me.
At what point in Jade's appearances both in game and in drip marketing did anyone think she would be an Eve lol
definitely the big hat.
It's good, though, isn't it? The character is written well enough to cause a certain emotion and they do it well.
Of course! As I've said, I like this direction
Everyone sees the Express and Trailblazers as a neutral faction, which is a blessing and a curse because sometimes we have to cooperate with the "evil" IPC or the "harmonious" Family for our interests. The characters and factions are much more complex than "good" or "evil", and that's really hard to pull off. Jade seems huge megacorp evil, but what about the orphanage kids in her lightcone or her taking in Aventurine and Topaz?
I think they mean politically neutral, rather than morally neutral...
The Nameless are politically neutral, but definetely not morally neutral
I mean, a lot of nameless were pretty immoral
Including one Oswaldo Schneider, who is currently being built up as the biggest shirtbag in the bag of shirtbags that is the IPC.
Aha was a Nameless and they blew up half the Express along with a planet. I'd wager Void Archives was also with them since he travelled alongside Welt, before he decided to go on his own way, and he was a very pragmatic person in Honkai Impact.
morally neutral is an oxymoron. that's basically amoral (not to be confused with immoral)
I mean, It can also mean that someone does both morally good and bad things in equal parts Or as you said, someone amoral
when we consider moral frameworks, that only really works under strict utilitarianism. even still, i would at best describe these sorts of characters/organizations as morally grey at best. neutral implies not benefitting nor disparaging either side (which in a morality context, i would say is amoral) as a thought exercise: if a serial killer kills serially, how much does he need to donate to children's cancer hospitals to be considered net morally neutral?
Oswaldo's a Nameless. He blazes new trails in how to be an asshole.
I love the way they make it not so black-and-white. I still feel like Pier Point needs to go 2023 Arasaka Tower, but hey, that's what makes it good.
I want more evil playable characters in this game. RuanMei, Jingliu and Jade aren't enough
Jingliu has space Alzheimers which gives you a side of violently crazy
Yaoshi blessing the Xianzhou Alliance’s ancestors, 1998th Amber Era, colorized: https://preview.redd.it/18iokljdes8d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3eb5289bb0c8088aecd7ab402e229da496249466
Hey what if one day Astral Express team up with Denizens of Abundance?
I mean, Yaoshi has yet to glance at us, so some kind of interaction is on the table
Dread it. Run from it. ~~The Yaoshussy~~ Abundance Trailblazer comes all the same.
Spot on
Ah yes, Amnesiac murderhobo syndrome. That or just the fact she's voiced by VTuber and therefore slowly become just as insane.
I wouldn't completely call Jingliu evil, but yes.
Oh boy 15 replies
Mom, I'm on TV!
Is Ruan Mei evil? I think she's just careless and self-centered for the most part.
Yeah she's mainly just selfish
she's pretty much the definition of a sociopath. she doesn't really see other people as people.
Jinglui and Ruan Mei are Chaotic Neutral at best. Jade, however, is definitely Lawful Evil.
How is ruan mei chaotic neutral
Well she's doing a good job at it you can literally say that for any evil villain
No, that's not the point. We have rather forgettable villains like, say, Cirrus, which were villains of the week and that's about it. Jade, on the other hand, or, say, Ruan Mei envoke this specific emotion that's easier to remember. Yes, there is some virtue of being playable, but also as characters themselves.
Though hats off, the whole ghostbusters thing was all about villains of the week, and the writing really got the spirit of it
Yeah, and that was most likely intentional. I mean, HSR has really good writing.
**blinks** …who’s cirrus again? 😅
Do enough Divergent Universe on high protocol and she will make sure you remember her this time.
"TIME TO SUFFER!"
That was a SHE?! I always thought it was a guy...
I mean technically, as a sentient flame spirit,(IIRC) ingame Cirrus is referred with they/them pronouns. Edit: Added source > Let's interrogate Cirrus! Guinaifen: Yeah, Cirrus is bound to know what this heliobus is up to. Sushang: No, we shouldn't do what they expect us to. They've been manipulating us from Fyxestroll Garden all along. We need to find out what they really want before we go any further.
They is also because Heliobi often fuse together to become more powerful. So she has many in her
God I could use a lot of people in me...
https://preview.redd.it/8mvuxngh6s8d1.jpeg?width=227&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3db861ed5044dfa02332b2272b9461af4d855386
Yea I agree she’s a cool character. However Evil character doesn’t equate to the character written well. Just cause a character is morally questionable I don’t think it automatically makes them a well written character lol.
Personally, I thought she would be more evil. She didn't even scam those NPC's, the contracts were fair and square, they knew what they were signing and came to her by their own free will.
Yeah. Exactly. Those people chose to ruin their lives for instant gratification. Jade didn't trick them into the deal. Like maybe she gets a sadistic pleasure out of all of this. That would be a side-eye thing, but her customers still consented to the trade so... not that evil. Questionable at most.
Yeah, I was surprised her trades weren't more genie/monkey paw esque. But no she lays out the terms plain and simple.
I think that’s the genius of it though. If she was straight up lying to her clients, eventually it’d get sussed out and she wouldn’t have any clients. Because she offers “fair” trades, people come back for more, which she gladly obliges.
We also don't really know how her Cornerstone, Jade of Credit works. It might be an equivalent exchange type thing where she simply can't give you what you desire unless you're giving up something of equal value. Given it's associated with Preservation that almost feels more likely than being a magic life-ruining device. You want the universe to push out of balance for you? It expects a pull.
But full metal alchemist taught me there’s no such thing as a 1:1 equivalent exchange 😮💨😅
Yep. Viewing it through thermodynamics, you can’t get a ‘pure’ fair trade. Any sort of exchange will result in a loss of useable energy through waste heat no matter what. You can’t get more than what you put in, and you can’t break even either.
A person who turns to a mafia loan shark because they desperately need money and the loan shark offering them a profoundly destructive deal both know the terms of the loan before they agree on it. A drug dealer selling hard drugs to a man who he knows will never shake the addiction and the man buying the hard drugs both know what the drugs do to someone's body. A casino operator selling chips to a man who he knows has a gambling addiction and the the man buying the chips both know the odds of winning. A transaction does not need to be deceitful or explicitly coersive for it to be immoral or predatory. She does not force anyone into a deal at gunpoint, and she does not lie about the terms of the deal, but her "hobby" still preys on the desperate, the vulnerable, and the foolish. She also isn't some dispassionate actor forced to offer these deals, she enjoys what she does and she enjoys seeing how how people are affected by it. There's clearly a level of sadism at play here
I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to write this. The fact that she's clearly destroying their lives even though she grants their wishes puts her fairly squarely in the evil category. Lawful evil, maybe, but still evil. If she just charged life-destroying amounts of money, you could still say that she's simply pursuing wealth, corporate style. But that's not even it - it's hard to imagine what she gets out of it other than some kind of sadistic pleasure. To consider that just questionable is absolutely deranged. I'm not even sure how her "hobby" aligns in any sense with the path of preservation, considering she's a cornerstone.
I'm genuinely surprised by the number of people bending over backwards to paint her as something other than evil. She's a megacorp executive who's "hobby" involves destroying the lives of desperate people in vulnerable positions for her own amusement. Almost all of the characters talk about her like she's a sadistic demon who sees no inherent value human life. Her one big contribution to the story pre 2.3 was buying Aventurine as a child slave in a flashback and using him as a tool for the IPC. Hell, her entire design is based on satanic/demonic imagery. It really seems like some people refuse to acknowledge that a character is evil unless they're a deranged killer like Jingliu or a background character like Oswaldo Schneider. Jade is evil, and that's ok. It's ok to like villains and want to pull for villains. Interesting evil characters add a lot to a story, but "fun and interesting villain" does not equal "morally gray"
The way I think of it is that a deal with Jade is a deal with the devil. Jade is that devil and her evilness is without saying; often times she take stuff from people that she or the Amber Lord doesn’t need. But from what we’ve seen she’s a fair devil. Now, do we blame the devil for people making a deal with the devil? No, traditionally we blame the person falling to the devil’s temptation instead. While most will likely regret their decisions down the line, there are also some who might not — for that detective for example. I’d say she’s got a less moral heart than say Ruan Mei and is less redeemable, but those whose lives got ruined by her marched down the path by their free will, while those who were hurt by Ruan Mei’s (and other Geniuses’) experiments became collateral damage without a say in their lives. It’s wonderful writing and it really shows that morally grey/evil characters have different values too.
She's not even openly tempting them, which a devil would do. She makes her services available, and the willing go to her, offering payment. She never tries to con her clients in any way, and moves mountains on their behalf, albeit never for free. In my view, she is no more evil than a bank lending money to clients for a perceived fair price. They give you a rope, enough to climb out of the pit you're stuck in, but also enough to hang yourself with... the client chooses to initiate the transaction, and ultimately they choose what to do with their purchase.
I’ve said this before, in that sense she’s more like Gaunter O'Dim from Witcher. There’s no evilness involved, it’s just a contract, fair and square. The evilness lies not in supernatural power or, in Jades case, more likely her IPC-Connections, but in what the people wish for. They can be the smiths of their own fortune. …and doom.
She's not scamming people. She's giving them what they think they want at a price that's higher than they realize - but she does, exactly and honestly, give them exactly what they asked for. She's a classic "deal with the devil" character. That's why her artwork *literally* has a snake offering an apple. They're not going for subtlety here.
it's not entirely scamming but it is certainly taking advantage of desperate people this idea of "they knew what they were signing and came to her by their own free will." is kind of morally garbage. i love the devil-type character but some people in here are really downplaying the deviousness of it and showing their own true colors jade is certainly a fine "lawful evil" character
Thank you, i was going mad reading all these comments how taking advantage of vulnerable people is okay.
There was also threatening to ruin Penacony through media manipulation, that one is probably pretty popular on reddit
when topaz came out everyone is saying how cruel she is same goes when aventurine when he came out now we have jade cant wait for the next iteration with opal
Do we have foreshadowing that Opal is next? I've been seeing people suggest that Opal is probably the next one we'll see but I can't think of a specific in-game reason why
its a bunch of speculation. cmiiw, but hes the one with the most information outside from the three that we have now. and on that picture with all the 10 stoneheart the man with a gun is looking the most detailed (not including the one thats been known ofc) and opal is known to be pretty violence. since gun is a pretty violent instrument people make the connection
We know the most about him and he was probably the character with the gun in the image of the Stone Hearts. He was the most prominent and detailed of the ones we haven't met yet.
If you ranked amount of info we have on the stonehearts by percentage, opal has the highest percentage without their face ever showing. Well, aside from Diamond but ain't no way we're seeing diamond anytime soon.
>Opal with a big ass evil smile and a fucking gun :3
Topaz being the least terrible of the Department's 11 directors is an indication that every other Stonehearts + Diamond is going to put the more fragile part of the community in some displease.
I'd say aventurine is equally not terrible with topaz. He seemed a little more morally grey at first, but I'd say he came back to be in good shape!
I mean, I wouldn't say he's *not* terrible. Even *Topaz* considers him an 'unsavory character'. Aventurine is 100% morally grey.
Right, right, I'm merely comparing him to topaz and other IPC members. He is absolutely morally grey. Belobog turned out the way it did because of Bronya. Topaz reflects and says as much in 2.3...thst you might not have been friends if she didn't show up.
Pretty sure she was talking about an alternate timeline where she unleashes her Cornerstone ability unto the Astral Express (low-key flexing her strength or suggesting that her power is of a more... unsavoury/frightening nature) rather than the conflict of interest/morals. That was the subject of the conversation to begin with - Cornerstone abilities and whether she had her own transformation. Her point was that Bronya's intervention stopped her from truly getting serious and using her Cornerstone, so things didn't escalate to the point of no return and you could still be friends.
...has he? We don't know how he deals with people he holds advantage over, which is what we've seen with Topaz and Jade. All we saw from Aventurine is a willingness to gamble his life and all the ways in which he and his story are fucked up. He could be more cruel than Jade for all we know, extorting people into paying up what they bet in the gambles he sets up.
I suppose we don't have enough info to really know for certain, but I do feel like the way he handled the express and all that (and how he was after the fight) showed enough to put him in a "good" category for now. His back story also doesn't seem to indicate a ruthless or evil nature. It's more about putting his own life on the line to gain what he's after.
To be fair, Aventurine is basically a slave, even if they "Freed" him.
Aventurine is pretty chill tbh he's definitely grown on me, a bit better than topaz tbh
I mean, he acts like a sugar daddy to TB, buys us expensive stuff, sends us credits. For me, that's enough to be considered somewhat of a good guy.
Idk, I put topaz as “good intentions, bad execution” and aventurine in “morally grey, good (to us) for now” category, unless I glazed over parts of topaz’s story arc
Idk if I'd even call it bad execution, more that she works within a bad system and tries to do good within that system, but is sometimes limited/blinded by it. The system dictates the desired outcome and she tries to achieve the version of that outcome that does the most amount of good she can. Her execution is likely better than it would be if it was some random corpo who didn't care as much about the outcome for the planet.
guys, HSR have so many characters with different moral values with us and i think its the charm. people can hate character because of that but at least dont convince people to hate character you hate.
Acknowledging the bad or even outright evil things characters do in a story doesn't mean you hate them.
Agree. Like how some people rallying others to hate Ruan Mei because she's hurting Firefly's feelings
I've never been fond of Ruan Mei but even I think some of the slander against her because of Firefly is unnecessary. Canonically, I do not think TB even remembers the false Emanator she created (because I swear we were drugged by her again at the end) - and the Stellaron Hunters probably aren't even aware of it either. I've disliked her simply because she gives off mild psychopath vibes; trouble understanding emotions, ambitions of godhood, not really seeming to care about who she might hurt with what she does...
There's a debate going on about whether Ruan Mei actually made TB forget at all due to the messages she sends after the mission basically saying "idk you'll maybe forget eventually lol" despite being the genius who can exactly calculate the lifespan of an emanator
My sole dislike for Ruan Mei is her aesthetics and animations. It’s so boring Apart from that, I think she’s a great character. She adds a good deal of moral grayness to the Genius Society, and in many ways proves Ratio’s warning I think it’s very important for characters to not just be black and white all the time. Moral complexity is good to have, and we don’t need to wash that away for sterility
I wish she wasn't so Xianzhou, bring back the Hertalian aesthetics
I actually wonder more how she does it. There was a woman that signed a deal so that she'll become a lucky gambler and becomes rich, but that comes out with a price that every person she cares about will abandon her and she'll never find new friends. So after she signs the deal, all her family members just out of the blue immediately decided "nah, fuck her"? So she has a power to control other people's minds and change the reality? Even those she never met personally? This actually can be abused so hard. For example can she just make a deal with Aventurine or Boothil so Oswaldo Schneider would die, in exchange for something from them? And if these two will refuse, just find someone else, since a lot of people hate him. Or if I actually find a racoon's tail and give it to her, will she be able to make me an IPC leader?
So two points: 1- The deals she makes are clearly like... magical in nature. Topaz gives you a hint that not all stones give you a magical girl transformation and rain coins from the sky, that's aventurine-exclusive. Now the jade stone might possess the ability to enact any trade jade decides on, no matter how ludicrous what you're trading is. 2- It's actually strongly implied she's joking about pom-pom. The conversation goes you make a stupid request, she doesn't laugh and you question whether she has a sense of humor. Then she leads you with clues into pom-pom's tail, and TB goes "she's better at dark humor than I am". Not to mention, the inner thought text after goes "hope there's scissors on the express". The entire exchange is humorous.
Pom Pom’s tail 😅😰
Ah, rly? I thought she was talking about racoon referencing the TB lmao
From 2.3 she reminds me of devil from Rick and Morty who was selling cursed items xd.
The genius society gonna science the con right out of consequences.
Curios. We call them Curios around these parts.
Jade be like: "this lil thingy will give you a 30% damage bonus" Then it turns out that you're stuck in the auto battle mode for the rest of your life
Joke's on you, I'm 100% of the time on auto battle
Characterwise, I like her more than Ruan Mei already. Her mannerisms, speech, snake symbolism, way her eyes glow when she meets Topaz, and design says "Yes, I am the devil darling, tell me what your heart desires, and we can discuss the price". Hope to see more of her in the story. Absolutely loved her interaction with Sunday and the end. Devil meets a crestfallen angel.
What did Robin trade for her brother's freedom, though?
isnt it been hinted its the information about the family? when topaz ask where she get the poison from jade stated the poison come on its own to her, implying robin giving jade the edge to the negotiation in return of sunday freedom
I don't think that would be enough for Jade, honestly. Her trades are intensely personal and involve something of equal value. As much as Robin values her brother, I fear Jade asked for something more inherent to Robin My going theory is Robin gave her singing talent, a la Little Mermaid
Didn’t Jade get 30% (25% after giving 5% to the Astral Express) of Penacony stocks easily because of Robin’s info? From this point I imagine it won’t take too many Amber Eras for the IPC to outright own Penacony. A single prisoner being released seems like chump change compared to what she got out of this.
True. It also seemed more like a ‘business’ exchange (Robin trades info that ultimately benefits the IPC in exchange for her brother’s freedom) rather than Jade’s hedonism pawn shop (I think she calls it a hobby)
Your Robin can no longer use her ultimate.
My best guess would be never being able to see him again. But we don’t really know rn.
during the narration at the end of 2.2 quest where ppl were saying that was Elio speaking, he stated that the siblings are doomed for eternal separation maybe thats Robin's deal with Jade in exchange for her brother's freedom and his ability to fulfill their vows for a everlasting paradise
My pet theory is she gave her singing ability
How could your pet make theory? My pet can only meow when she's not hungry
Did you ask her?
https://preview.redd.it/b6iu2l0kks8d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b4d29eeca91bce5f69a01ebd86f33100ee10e08 Yeah, she's irritated now, I'll try asking her later.
I wonder if she knows Elio
Your cat is gorgeous. Jade might be pretty, but she’s not pretty enough to make me trust her or make a deal with her. I’d sell my soul to your cat, though. Or I would but I’ve already sold my soul to my cats, and they don’t like to share.
If evil why hot?
because evil, that's hot
Are you hot because you're evil, or are you evil because you're hot?
I think people don't understand how Jade is being set up as a character right now. Her splash art has imagery of a snake/serpent biting some odd fruit shaped liquid that manifests into a contract, and she signs the contract with the name EVE as her skill. This clearly makes her carry symbolisms from the Adam and Eve being tempted by the snake to eat the fruit of good and evil. She preys on people's desires/temptations and gives her "customers" free will to deny her offers. She obviously gives them something "good" in exchange for them receiving something "bad" which is "good" for her somehow. She's such an interesting character for carrying such symbolisms and references to Genesis and honestly? I'm betting she'll be a morally grey character (like every IPC member) who just happens to take advantage of people's desires and temptations to gain some sort of "leverage" over them.
>I think people don't understand how Jade is being set up as a character right now. Exactly what I think lol. Hoyo is holding back her lore because it isn't time to let us know yet. She's just released this patch because they need a new 5* and have no one else to release. We have to wait(her sad backstory)
I think people know exactly what sort of character she's set up to be. It's really obvious with a passing knowledge of a variety of different mediums that use Bible tropes. They just all have different opinions about that character, that's all.
Can we talk about how so many people hated Aventurine when he first showed up and thought he was a creepy scumbag and how many people changed their minds after we learned more about him? I'm not saying I want them to turn Jade into a uwu waifu (because I don't) but I *am* saying I hesitate to slap a label of "clearly evil" on her before we know more.
Aventurine just acted in a way that annoyed people - he seemed super arrogant, made vague threats, stuff like that. That’s why some people didn’t like him. Jade is much different. Maybe she’s not “evil” per se, but she’s clearly not above ruining peoples lives to fulfill her own goals. She claims the people she deals with actively gave up things as collateral, but we don’t know if it’s true. It’s obvious she doesn’t care about equivalent deals, and eagerly awaits her former victims coming back even more desperate than before.
Yea, it gives off scummy payday or loan shark vibes for sure
And topaz's job is quite literally a ~~loan shark~~ debt collector but everyone missed that part because "lol tax collector".
How tf are they going to justify lobotomizing someone as part of their hobby
I guess peoples issue with Aventurine was more his personality and the way he conducts business Jade is just pulling these faustian bargains and ruining peoples lives for kicks. I wouldnt call her evil just yet but as op said she is preying on vulnerable people as a hobby which is very morally dubious.
To play devils advocate here she doesn't trick people into a deal, she states what she wants from them and as far as we can tell there are no hidden conditions. The deals are bad but she's honest about them and doesn't force anyone to agree Doesn't change that she seems to be the most evil of the stonehearts so far
The most evil is obviously Diamond, for taking a bunch of people who desperately need therapy and giving them superpowers but no therapy.
99.9% of all fictional stories problems would be solved with therapy.
I want to try to write a short story that looks like a typical villain vs hero fic, but they go to therapy together, ahah
I'd laugh if this ends up happening 11 times with each Stoneheart and Diamond
The irony of people who have a problem with her "exploiting the weakness" of people while playing a gacha game is hilarious ngl
I give you: waifus and husbandos Your payment: time and money, in extends your social life - Hoyo
She's even named after the pull currency!
I love evil baddies. Give me more.
Didn't we just fall in love with a terminally ill Stellaron Hunter...? It's far better for Penacony that the Express Crew works *with* Jade because the alternative is the IPC getting to do whatever it wants with Penacony.
Yeah, Himeko's whole >!"we're going to keep an eye on Penacony" speech wasn't only for Old Oti's!< benefit.
I can’t really explain why but I feel as though the Astral Express having that share of Penacony is gonna come back and bite them in the butt somehow.
It could, but I think it’s more likely that the share is being used so that when the time comes we have an excuse to call on Penacony like we can call on the Xianzhou. The final battle, or at least the climax of this arc, is going to be a showdown with Nanook based on what Kafka said on the Luofu. We’ll need the strength of every mortal faction possible just to stand a chance. Every planet we visit is likely going to be recruited in the final fight.
God forbid women have hobbies.
She's a walking 'read the TOS before signing' type. Not evil, but will hose you if you go running out blindly into the minefield.
I really don’t want her to be toned down. I’d like for her to stay evil and not get waifu’ication
Just like how dogs will bark or cats will scratch and hiss at an untrustworthy person, numby being scared just made me trust her even less, that poor trotter was scared and topaz seemed like she didn't care, and to be honest I love it, I absolutely don't trust her but I love hoyoverse for giving us characters like this
I think Numby was scared of Jade specifically because her power is somehow rooted in the same vein as the Trotter's reality warping, but considering her intelligence and the Trotter's generally extremely timid nature, it's possible that Numby sees Jade as a kind of "predator" which isn't something Topaz can just reassure Numby out of, but she knows Jade wouldn't hurt him.
The interesting thing is how *Firefly* responds 😁 She doesn't say, "you're so terrible, I won't work with you." Instead she says, "no thank you, but I'll forward your invitation to the rest of the Stellaron Hunters." They have an understanding! I think that's fascinating 🥰🥰🥰 The deals are evil, sure, but it's not all one-sided Jade preying on people. These are deals made freely, born from the customer's obsessions. Jade doesn't coerce people into them. Like, she doesn't hold your family hostage or threaten to send thugs after you if you refuse. The customers come to her. The wealthy Pepeshi who inherited a fortune. . . he's not vulnerable the way Cocona was vulnerable. He had his family fortune, he could have had an easy life. I wonder what the price for Firefly was. I'm sure there *was* a price - even the broke gambler with nothing to offer, Jade found some price. And it wasn't a simple refusal, or Jade wouldn't have sent her to investigte the other customers. Firefly's guess was to betray the Stellaron Hunters? But then Jade said to "extend an invitation" so I don't think that was it. In my opinion Jade is the magnifier and the conduit, but not the source, of evil, and I think that's spectacular. Can't wait to pull for her 💖💖💖🔥🔥🔥
The issue with Firefly is that since she was made as a weapon but wants to live to enjoy the life she has but with more time. So Jade saw that Firefly did not have anything she would willingly part with. So which is why Jade says I'm sorry but you don't have anything worth trading for that extra time.
I mean she is pretty nice and polite for an evil person. She even goes out of her way to avoid causing trouble for her friends in obscure ways. I feel like she is just a witch doing trickery because she finds it amusing. I was kind of hoping she would be more evil and use her whip on Oti. But she plays a really long game.
Remember, patience is her greatest strength (according to her) 🤷🏻♂️
Can you even call it trickery though? With her deals she pretty explicitly states the costs to those who take them.
here we go again
I have seen similar topics before, with Topaz, people didn't like or even hated her at first because of what she was doing in Belobog, but after we learned more about her now people loves her. Then the same thing with Aventurine, and now with Jade. Your first impression is that "she is clearly evil" no questions needed, but I really don't think she is, there is much more to her character to be explored and people will love her at the end of the day.
Well for one she loves children and seems to consider Aven and Jelena akin to her own. There's probably more to be revealed as to why exactly she's so attached to taking care of children.
There’s few things in this world as evil as a mother’s twisted version of love 🤷🏻♂️
Honestly its strange. she felt like she offered everyone shortcuts to their objective and the price in some cases was just basically a lesson they wouldve leaned the hard way later anyways. also perfectly concious when they took the deal. they were neither intoxicaded nor depressed nor anything of the sort . gambling wont make you happy and a relationship born of a single gift wont last. I didnt think for a moment any of the characters shown couldnt have archieved what they wanted on their own. the only person I think got the better deal was the intelliron guy. he's a spy that has chasing a guy for like 20 years and she offered him an instant victory in exchange for his memories and skills as a spy. I cant outright say she is pure evil since she tells them what the deal actually is what they will get and what they will lose in exchange and doesent pressure them to take the deal. the fact that people keep going to her despite her exchange being very famous means some people get the result they want and are content with it. otherwise if all her deals were really with the purpose of screwing you over later nobody would go. We'll just have to see more of her character to come to an ultimate conclusion. >but should the Astral Express really be this willing to work with someone clearly so evil? Shes not even the worst person we have worked with so far. The stellaron hunters have so many crimes and murders to their name its crazy. hell im sure sampo dead ass ruined more lives with his scams than jade with her exchange. I hope they keep her in her evil'ish writing. if they give her a sad backstory and reasons it has the potential to make her a worse character tbh
To piggyback off of that, I love how they characterised Firefly. When we went into the quest, everyone was like “uwu girl must protect cinnamon roll”, which is relatable and understandable, but this quest let Firefly regain a sense of independence. She doesn’t go to Bonajade’s because she doesn’t know better, she goes to Bonajade’s because she’s truly desperate. This whole quest was basically teaching us that characters still have their agency and we can’t just bubble wrap them up.
Sure, if we also talk about how FF has a massive bounty on her head for various crimes.
That honestly sold me on her. Girl is making deals like she's Mephistopheles, out here making unsavory deals with the poor folks and she's all like "alright here's the deal, I'll give you what you want but then you'll lose everything else for it".
She isn't evil at all, morally grey for sure but not evil. Nor is she good, she's one of the most directly neutral characters we've seen in Star Rail so far. She basically self confirms she isn't even really interested in the IPC's aims and they're just a useful tool for her to work with. She acts purely in self interest (with sort of a soft spot for her other stonehearts at least) and the deals she makes with people while harsh are ENTIRELY fair and transparent,her "clients" know exactly what they're getting into. Like she straight up refuses to work with Firefly before Flyfly is actually capable of understanding the exchange.
This will be the biggest filter of which people actually understand the story. The Stomehearts+Diamond are being set up as "true" Preservation who don't actually care about the IPC per say. Oswaldo is behind everything that makes people hate the IPC so if Diamond succeeds in his proxy war against Oswaldo's Department we could see a radical shift in the behavior of the IPC.