I came across a strange rule on Aku’s Phainon Carrd that I think deserves closer examination, especially for how it treats sapphic fans and interpretations of Cyrene’s identity.
Phaichan is absolutely pansexual and I am not against any sort of shipping. My main focus on ships are PHAIDEI, PHAIBLAZER & PHAIRENE but I am open to anything else.
Please do not interact if you are for bi/pan erasure and / or treat Cyrene as an extension of Elysia, or as Elysia 100%. She's stated to be her own person, end of story. She is not your "Yuri Jesus," she is Cyrene.
This includes approving of the term "HETSLOP."”
I had to do a bit of digging to understand what exactly was being referenced here, especially since I’m only a casual Hoyoverse fan and don’t have deep lore familiarity with Honkai Impact 3rd. So if I miss something, feel free to correct me.
"Cyrene is Phainon's childhood friend from Aedes Elysiae. Cyrene is known for her divination and use of tarot cards."
"A meteor streaks across the night sky, sending ripples through the river of life, gleaming in thirteen hues.
Daughter of Aedes Elysiae, Chrysos Heir who nourishes "██," sow the Seed of Memory, so that flowers of the past may bloom in tomorrow. — "And together, we shall write a verse unlike any before ♪"
"Elysia is the co-leader of The Thirteen Flame-Chasers. She is ranked second amongst the thirteen. Her codename is "Ego".
Elysia is an elegant, cheerful, and sweet lady who's described as someone who "enjoys everything". She likes to flatter Mei for her looks and constantly praises Eden's beauty. Elysia enjoys interacting with people and is very good at it.
Information within the Elysian Realm makes it apparent that Elysia is close with Kevin Kaslana. She knows about Kevin being "The Prince" in high school, too. In fact, she knows Kevin so well that even Dr. MEI herself asked Kevin how he met her. It is later revealed that she tried to find and meet him by disguising as a maid at a Tradition Night celebration, spurred on by him beating her score in training and the rumor of him joining because of MEI.
She rarely speaks badly about anybody, and even then, she would say it in the lightest way possible. She is a friendly presence, and attempts to make the trial a welcome place for Mei. She is light-hearted enough to joke occasionally.
Despite this friendly appearance, Elysia also keeps a mysterious distance. Eden states that Elysia rarely lied to anyone, but keeps a number of secrets to herself. Mobius, on the other hand, says that Elysia is a traitor."
Are Elysia and Cyrene the same?
Based on the available material, it’s pretty clear that Cyrene is at the very least a expy of Elysia, much like how Bronya Zaychik → Haxxor Bunny → Silver Wolf → Bronya Rand form a lineage of direct inspiration across games. There is also the Raiden Mei pipeline as well as many other examples across Hoyoverse media. Cyrene and Elysia might not be confirmed to be the same person in canon, but everything from the writing style, aesthetic cues and narrative tone point to Cyrene being a callback meant to evoke Elysia.
Firstly, the connections between Cyrene and Elysia
“it's obvious that in terms of appearance, voice, and even the habit of ending sentences with a musical note, Cyrene is consistent with Elysia.
In addition, the interval between each new character illustration release is generally 42 days. Based on this, we can estimate that the next character illustration (for verison 3.5) will be released on June 17th, and the one after that (for version 3.6) will be on July 29th. July 29th?! That's a familiar special date -- the day when Elysia "Herrscher of Human: Ego" character trailer was released!
Based on the latest illustration, an additional point of note is that Cyrene's pose resembles the form of an archer releasing a bowstring. This corresponds directly to the bow form of Elysia's signature weapon, "Whisper of the Past," further hinting at a potential profound connection or legacy between the two characters."
"Cyrene has a striking resemblance to Elysia from Honkai Impact 3rd. Elysia and Cyrene both sport the same short hairstyle, complete with matching hair accessories. Their hair color and clothes are also very similar."
"Cyrene's second form shown in the 3.5 Livestream is a more notable comparison as she looks even more like Elysia."
There is also a special dialogue when you meet Cyrene. The Trailblazer can either respond “who are you?”, “is it you?”, or “it’s you!”
(Spoiler warning for 3.4 onward) Granted the Trailblazer hadn’t entered the Eternal Reccurence until the 33,550,336th cycle, the “its you!” option is most likely meant to be a callback to Hi3 rather than Amphoreous’s cycles.
Some fans go even further and read it as a meta-recognition of Cyrene as a reincarnation or memory of Elysia. Combined with Cyrene’s musical speech patterns, aesthetic similarities, and narrative phrasing, this optional dialogue becomes more than a coincidence. Rather, it’s a nod from the writers, designed to reward those familiar with Elysia’s legacy.
There are some theories stating that the line was Trailblazer recognizing Cyrene as Mem. However, it is obvious the line was left ambiguous to resonate with HI3 fans.
How is Elysia Sapphic/Yuri/Lesbian-coded?
"Says she has a thing for bad girls.
Wanted to go to the seaside to see "girls as cute as her."
Constantly states her love for girls and compliments the women around her, while her behavior towards men is exclusively friendly and platonic.
Says that she is weak for gentle and pretty girls like Kiana.
Says that Mobius is cute and adorable and that she really likes her.
Says that Eden is a gentle, beautiful and generous angel.
Flirted with Mei on numerous occasions and once told Mobius that they were on a date.
Touched Mei's horns intimately.
When drunk Eden gave her a rose cut sapphire, her response is telling Eden she loves (大好き) her ("Really? Thank you Eden! I love you!")
In Japanese, she refers to Eden as her "大好きな" (beloved), a term that is almost always used romantically."
"Elysia is an implied lesbian as there has been no confirmation from Hoyoverse, however there is a number of instances which showcase her flirting with women.
Shaoji, who is in charge of Honkai's creative concepts and writing, appears to ship her with Mei, he has Elymei fanart on his desk."
How is Aku’s Treatment of Elysia/Cyrene problematic?
I understand the desire to protect Cyrene’s individuality. However, completely shutting down Elysia comparisons risks invalidating players who emotionally connected with her specifically because of those similarities in voice, visual design, tone, or sapphic-coded expression.
This post isn’t intended to punish Aku for wanting Cyrene to stand as her own character. Rather, it reflects on her discomfort with the “Yuri Jesus” title, and what that pushback implies about how sapphic readings are treated.
I’m not claiming Elysia or Cyrene must be explicitly lesbian as their sexualities are not confirmed. It’s entirely valid to interpret them as bisexual, pansexual, demisexual, etc. But it’s equally valid to interpret them as lesbians; especially given the canon behaviors, symbolism, and character relationships that support that lens.
There is nothing inherently wrong with calling Elysia (and by extension, Cyrene) lesbian-coded or interpreting them through a lesbian portrayal. What becomes problematic is when lesbian readings are framed as “erasure” or when people who resonate with them as sapphic icons are mocked for doing so.
That isn’t defending bi/pan representation. It’s gatekeeping how lesbians are allowed to identify with queer media. To frame lesbian readings as “erasure,” or to mock people who see these characters as sapphic icons, is deeply harmful.
Aku explicitly supports ships like:
- Phainon x Caelus / Male Trailblazer (MLM)
- Phainon x Cyrene (hetero)
- Phainon x Stelle / Female Trailblazer (hetero)
There’s nothing inherently wrong with these ships. What makes this noteworthy is the inconsistency in how lesbian-coded ships and those who support them are treated by comparison.
Take this post from Aku (originally shared via anonymous):
“Man, I love me some girls as a fellow cis woman myself... but seeing people who only ship strictly yuri always gives me bi/pan erasure vibes. This has nothing to do with stuff going on on the dash, but just a lot of stuff I've been thinking about lately again. What with some people being very loud about sexualities of characters, insisting they have to just be one because of X reason.”
This reveals a clear double standard.
When Aku ships Phainon with multiple genders, it’s framed as progressive.
But when others interpret Cyrene or other women as lesbian/lesbian-coded, especially given her obvious design lineage from Elysia, that same freedom is suddenly labeled “bi/pan erasure”.
That raises the question:
Why is queerness only valid when it aligns with Aku’s preferred ships?
People aren’t calling Cyrene a lesbian to erase bisexuality. They’re doing it because Elysia is sapphic-coded in canon, and Cyrene carries those visual and thematic threads forward. Acknowledging that isn’t hostile, it’s just one valid interpretation. If queerness must always pass Aku’s purity test to be considered “valid,” then it’s no longer inclusion.
This post isn’t just an attack on Cyrene/Elysia fans who interpret her as sapphic. It feels like an attack on:
- Anyone who prefers or celebrates wlw dynamics
Gatekeeping Cyrene/Elysia
The quote in Aku’s Carrd “She is not your Yuri Jesus. End of story.” is openly hostile to sapphic-coded fandom behavior, especially in the context of her own unchallenged MLM and heterosexual ships. It sends a damning message: you’re allowed to be queer. but only in Aku's way.
Aku’s phrasing implies a sense of ownership over how Cyrene “should” be seen. This isn’t just a personal headcanon or casual preference, it’s a directive, an agenda, and a command.
The tone doesn’t invite interpretation; it shuts it down, labeling any deviation as wrong, disrespectful, or even harmful. Rather than allowing Cyrene to be a flexible or symbolically resonant character, Aku frames her as a closed-off property, with identity, legacy, and symbolism dictated solely by Aku.
This authoritarian framing is especially harmful in fandom spaces where sapphic fans already struggle to have their interpretations taken seriously. When someone tries to shame others out of viewing a clearly sapphic-coded expy like Cyrene through a lesbian lens while simultaneously shipping her with men and encouraging others to do the same it creates a power imbalance that undermines community discussion.
What makes this more jarring is Aku’s own claim:
“I will never police or judge you on who you write with, or what you decide to write.”
Except… that’s exactly what’s happening.
Aku's Stance on "Hetslop"
Aku’s condemnation of the term “hetslop” might initially seem like a gesture toward respectful fandom discourse. However, in the broader context of her behavior, it reflects a deeper contradiction. While she publicly discourages derogatory language toward heterosexual pairings; a valid and reasonable stance, she applies no such restraint when it comes to sapphic interpretations. Instead, sapphic fans are met with mocking tone, hardline language (“she is not your Yuri Jesus”), and accusations of disrespect or misreading.
This discrepancy reveals a double standard in how different queer portrayals and ships are treated. Hetero and MLM ships are protected and celebrated. But WLW interpretations are treated with hostility, over-scrutiny, or outright gatekeeping. The issue isn’t that she condemns “hetslop”, it’s that she only draws lines when sapphic readings cross hers.
At the end of the day, no one is saying Cyrene must be a lesbian. Elysia, her clear expy, does not have a confirmed canonical sexuality and fans are free to interpret that ambiguity in multiple ways.
But within that ambiguity, sapphic fans deserve the same interpretive freedom and cultural space that MLM and hetero shippers enjoy without scrutiny. When a character is sapphic-coded, especially one with Elysia’s established legacy, it is not unreasonable for fans to resonate with or imagine her through a lesbian lens. What’s harmful is not differing interpretations but rather, shaming and silencing one specific group for theirs.
Akureceipts-backup also says it best:
“Posting as-is, speaks for itself. God forbid sapphics exist or people enjoy writing wlw content. The ones often writing only yuri are usually sapphics, the narrative that them simply existing inherently erases bi/pan people because they don't want to write other sexualities is exhausted, lesbophobic, and a widespread issue many of these writers face in fiction spaces even outside of roleplay. Lets not pretend that sapphic muses don't usually have to fight tooth and nail to even get interactions in the first place, on top of having the struggle of how the RPC treats female muses generally.
I'm not diving deep into why this rhetoric is harmful, context for that was already posted by another blog here, but I will say it's an extremely ironic take from someone who consistently infantilizes and fetishizes mlm pairings time after time on her blogs, something also often done by predominantly cis women who typically have double standards against sapphics.
