they’re insufferable and i hate them so much. i’ve been thinking about blade’s memory a lot recently and imagining there are times where he’s frustrated by his inability to either recall or retain information and i can see him feeling like he’s not really suited to learn something new like playing an instrument, especially bc he’d argue it’s not a “practical skill” like cooking is, but kafka encourages him to try it anyways and is very patient when teaching him so while he’s initially concerned about embarrassing himself that worry fades as he realizes she truly doesn’t have any expectations and she’s just trying to see if he can find something else that he enjoys doing. it gives them both something simple to focus on and do together and i think all five of them always value activities like that bc it’s a nice contrast from the nature of their work and their previous lives and allows them to exist in the present. it’s also funny that you mention this bc i have a kafblade neighbors au where kafka is a violinist and she has a keyboard in her living room that she teaches blade how to play so i’ve actually thought about this before but mostly within the context of the au

i’m so curious about firefly’s integration into the current day bc a lot of my hcs involve kafka being the one to show her a lot of things at first and it’s different when silver wolf joins bc she’s younger and has civilian interests that firefly would’ve missed out on so their friendship gives her a way to explore life uniquely from the things kafka introduced her to. it’d be really interesting to see them spending more time playing games together and learning more about firefly’s preferences and i think a lot about silver wolf’s line saying what firefly’s life would be like as a video game bc it makes me wonder if there are certain games firefly feels uncomfortable with and if they ever remind her of her past while there are others that are actually very comforting, perhaps bc of a lack of violence or maybe even something as small as the simplicity of the controls. i also think it’s interesting from silver wolf’s perspective too bc she didn’t have any close relationships with her peers growing up so i can imagine she uses characters from and genres of various media to understand those around her and seeing firefly’s life as a “high-difficulty, single-player, action/speedrun” is part of how she empathizes with her

my thoughts on this are a little complicated bc i can see silver wolf's curiosity and good intentions leading her to doing this and i think kafka appreciates her approach in the sense that it shows the extent of her interest in doing something that'll make kafka happy so that in itself is meaningful. if kafka were to be bothered by the invasion of privacy and they had a conversation about it i don't see silver wolf going against an established boundary though considering she's thoughtful, kind and wouldn't want to do something that could hurt their relationship. instead i see her asking the other sh or just going to kafka directly. that being said i'm also not entirely sure how kafka would feel about the breach in privacy to begin with. i think because she's secretive any more personal items saved wouldn't reveal much so it's less of the list itself that i see her being concerned with and more of the possibility of any of them trying to look more into any history she doesn't want them to be aware of for whatever reason (once again i wish we knew more about her past bc ik she says she's indifferent to it so it's possible she doesn't care much about them knowing and it's more just her trying to avoid conversations about it. this is especially interesting when you consider her history of working alone and voice line about "barely ever seeing the same person twice". i think hoyo hates me)

from the beginning they’re intended to have a relationship that blurs the lines of familial and mentor/apprentice so their recent appearances/interactions build off of that rather than changing anything! “officially” their dynamic is that of a general and retainer (yanqing assists him and jing yuan in return teaches him the art of swordplay) but jing yuan is also the closest thing to a parental figure that yanqing has since jing yuan took responsibility for him, raised him, cares very deeply for him and does whatever he thinks is best for him. jing yuan doesn’t outwardly refer to himself as a father or to yanqing as his son though, which i think is what contributes to some confusion about their dynamic, and this emotional distance is bc of his own experiences, emotions and beliefs surrounding interpersonal relationships and duty. their relationship is intended to be nuanced and dynamic so i’m looking forward to how it continues to develop over time! and please keep in mind that what i’ve said here is not meant to be comprehensive! this is just a brief recount of what we’re given in canon

i do! this isn't comprehensive but these are some of my current thoughts! i have reasons for all of these hcs but i feel like it's too much to go into at once so i might post about them another time

jingliu: he/they/she (she is reserved for those closest to him), transmasc stone butch, butch4butch, masc presenting
baiheng: she/they, butch woman, feminine leaning presentation
jing yuan: he/they, transmasc butch, mostly masc presenting (gender and presentation are influenced by jingliu)
yingxing: they (she/he is fine for friends), unlabeled gender and sexuality "gender is confusing but i have a job so i'm not worried about that rn", fluid presentation but masc leaning (gender and presentation are somewhat influenced by baiheng, jingliu and dan feng)
dan feng: they/she/he, nonbinary, unlabeled sexuality, fluid presentation but mostly fem leaning

i'm assuming you mean this as separate occasions bc taking off lipstick and applying another is such a pain (coming from someone who can never decide which color to wear) but the thought of them just sitting in her room cycling through different colors is killing me 😭 i feel like in general the act itself wouldn't necessarily be embarrassing but i can imagine it'd get awkward if they were actually switching colors bc that'd take some time 😭 aside from that though i think it's only something she'd find embarrassing earlier on (bc of her own view of herself, not necessarily a dislike of the gesture/attention itself) or when they're around others. i feel like in private it actually helps her feel grounded bc it's a reminder that kafka is there and cares about her. and i think that's still hard for her to process/accept at times but there's still a part of her that finds comfort in her presence

omg i'm gonna cry 😭😭 thinking about baiheng getting gifts for them when she travels and saving them for their birthdays but she can only keep them a secret for so long so she'll often end up telling at least one person, usually jingliu, what she got. she's so mindful of their interests and remembers if they've expressed wanting/looking into something specific. she's also familiar with their preferences for events so she plans the size, location, food, etc accordingly. i think she'd like to journal about their times together and how things went, whether it's a comment about how far yingxing has come since she's known him or something funny that happened. she puts a lot of thought into appreciating them and the time they have together and hopes she can bring them as much happiness as possible bc they mean so much to her and have brought her happiness too

for the sh i think it depends on the member. assuming silver wolf knows her birthday i imagine them celebrating hers by gifting her any games or merchandise she expressed interest in and maybe going to special gaming events (like we've seen in belobog and the luofu), spending time at arcades (i think i've posted about this before but the thought of them having a tradition of playing laser tag is so funny to me) or maybe they make plans to go to some kind of convention as her birthday gift (the thought of her cosplaying is so cute omg). i also think she has a list of places related to different media that she's interested in seeing (maybe museums for different technologies or games, places where things were filmed, or locations that are referenced in media she likes) so they might go to those as well. i think they'd get her a customized cake so it can be themed after anything she's currently into, go wherever she wants for dinner and spend the night playing whatever games she wants to. the thought of them playing anything competitive, but especially racing games, is so funny to me and i also love the idea of them playing games like overcooked that require teamwork but can get very frustrating 😭 very self indulgent hc that kafka prefers physical board or card games over anything virtual and asks to play those too (she also suggests it as a way to have blade more involved since controllers are difficult for him to use but she keeps that reasoning to herself)

i'm guessing firefly has some kind of record of her "birth" but idk if that's necessarily the day she celebrates. my incredibly self indulgent hc is that she chooses a day that has some kind of significance to her for her birthday instead (could be a pop culture reference or related to something that happened in her own life that she cherishes). she likes traveling and sightseeing so they make plans to visit different cities, famous landscapes or events (maybe festivals or concerts). they take lots of pictures and kafka gives firefly her credit card and tells her to buy whatever she wants but they also prepare their own gifts for her. silver wolf's are usually related to something they've discussed or done together while kafka's are often clothes and cosmetics. blade writes her a note reflecting on times and conversations they've shared and cooks something she loves for dinner in addition to getting her something she remembers her wanting (incredibly self indulgent hc no.3 that the two of them have matching bracelets bc firefly mentioned seeing friendship bracelets in a movie once and wishing she had someone to match with so blade surprised her). blade also spends time with her when she puts all of the pictures and mementos together in her scrapbook

kafka i'm kind of torn on bc i can see it going multiple ways. it's possible it's not something she celebrates bc she's spent so much time alone that it's not something she really cares for and it seems like an irrelevant detail of her past but i can also see her enjoying having a day to do whatever she wants to and i think she'd like gifts from the others. tbh i hc them as getting things for each other often so it's not like gifts are rare or reserved for certain times but i also think it'd be cute for them to have little gifts from their travels set aside to give her at once. i can see them having a movie night where she gets to choose what they watch and maybe they go out somewhere prestigious for lunch or dinner but i think at the very least blade makes a special breakfast for her bc i think cooking is one of the things blade enjoys doing for the others and kafka has always understood the significance behind the gesture and really appreciates it

i think initially blade finds the idea of celebrating anything about herself unnecessary if not ridiculous. i can see the conversation coming up when firefly celebrates her own and asks blade if she knows hers (she doesn't and i hc yingxing gave herself one bc she also couldn't remember hers). firefly suggests choosing a day to celebrate just like she did and explains that birthdays don't have to be a big deal and just having a day to appreciate her as her companions would be nice. blade ultimately acquiesces and when firefly asks if she has any specific day she cares about she thinks about her recruitment so that's what they go with. it's one of the few times kafka insists on cooking (but blade still ends up helping her). kafka gets her clothes and jewelry, firefly likes to gift her eye makeup and put together pictures that reflect the sh's times together (in some it's obvious blade wasn't aware they were taking pictures and they laugh about it) and silver wolf gets her silly things that she has no need for but holds onto regardless (maybe funny t-shirts, odd-looking plush keychains, basically anything that she thinks will get a smile and/or laugh out of her)

when i think about the sh i tend to pay attention to their individual demeanors and how they interact with others overall and i think it’s easy to see him as separate bc of how he’s quieter than them but one of the things i love the most about the sh is that they all come from isolating backgrounds so their relationships are influenced by that. they all have unique dynamics with each other and i tend to view their connections as different rather than “closer” if that makes sense! this is supported by jade’s comment in “soldier’s pay” about the sh having “strong and intimate” bonds that still allow for independence so we know that he’s sociable and has a deep connection to them but it’s not necessarily in ways we’d deem conventional. he may be in the corner but it’s not inherently the same as being disengaged

we learn from the web event “code action” and the lc “before the tutorial mission starts” that kafka was initially supposed to teach/monitor silver wolf after her recruitment but she assigned that to blade instead and says that they “hit it off quite well”. he doesn’t seem to be actively engaged with silver wolf’s hobbies but to me he comes off as the type to listen and show interest even if he isn’t participating himself. i say this bc he promised to play games with silver wolf once his hand healed but it hasn’t (we know he’s being genuine and not avoidant bc of his character story). silver wolf and the other sh use his phone and in the critter picker event silver wolf uses the nickname “bladie” for him which implies he’s comfortable with her using kafka’s nickname (i’ve mentioned the significance of his nickname here https://retrospring.net/@girlkisserkafka/a/112937110574485707)! to me this shows some level of involvement with her as well as how he’s comfortable being around her despite their differences. silver wolf also expresses interest in and appreciation for him so it’s implied she’s spent enough time with him to understand how he expresses himself and his attachment to them

it’s mentioned multiple times that he doesn’t like to talk but we learn from firefly that he’s willing to talk about “topics that relate to life” with her and to me this paired with his promise to silver wolf show that he is mindful of and cares for them even if his expressions seem limited. he talks to her mostly about their scripts but we see his concern for her in his reminder of her “bad habit” and i recommend revisiting firefly and silver wolf’s conversation here (https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Unconquered) bc it shows how there’s a mutual care, appreciation and respect amongst them and blade is appreciative of their company and what they do for him

kafka’s case is a bit different bc she canonically tries to distance herself from those around her but it’s worth noting that she seems to accompany him the most on missions and that in itself gives them time to form a deeper bond and those interactions and the significance behind them aren’t solely limited to work. they’re both mindful of each other’s emotions and boundaries and he recognized her isolation and sadness from the beginning so it’s reasonable to assume that the thoughtfulness and attention he shows the others extends to her as well even though kafka keeps her emotions and history mostly to herself

this is a very long way of saying "i think he hangs out with them" but i hope it provides insight into how his quietness doesn't inherently limit his involvement! they've spent enough time together to learn each other's behaviors and have deeper personal conversations that require trust, patience and compassion so i think that he's not separate from them despite how it might seem at first glance

this is so sweet omg i’m so sorry for getting around to it so late 😭 obviously her character stories and companion mission are must reads so i recommend becoming familiar with those and i’d also suggest revisiting her section of the “foxian tale of the haunted” event. as for readables “an exchange diary between pilots” is crucial to understanding her character and her history and the past and future lc description is brief but provides more insight to her perspective. you can read her character introduction here (https://www.hoyolab.com/article/19583612) and it’s partly reworded sections of her character stories but it’s worth looking at. i’d also recommend her text messages and parlor car dialogue!