✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓. ⌝ ⟡ sunder (alex). 20↑. they/them. multifandom. ⟡ i write stuff, especially found family and nerdy analyses about my favorite media. ⟡
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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 . . . ⌝ ⟡ sir qifrey “amnesia twinkbeast” atelier. hua cheng, the definition of down bad. the tragedy of kaito hxh. ⟡ witch hat atelier, heaven official’s blessing, hunter x hunter. ⟡ currently reading: acceptance by jeff vandermeer. ⟡
— spoiler warning: this section includes major spoilers for severance, the magnus archives, heaven official's blessing, arcane, spider-man: into the spider-verse, knives out: wake up dead man, and miraculous: the tales of ladybug and cat noir!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, narrative structure & technique, mainly focused on reveals, identity-related mysteries, specific examples of what works
— word count: 4.1k
— overview: an appendix for my project "aha!sampo: musings & analysis," including references, further reading, and additional examples of effective reveals.
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Severance, The Magnus Archives, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Arcane, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, and Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The Miraculous example is negative, so feel free to skip it if that’s not your cup of tea.]
References
“The Delicate Art of Reveals.” Fox Print Editorial. Blog. https://foxprinteditorial.com/2024/02/22/the-delicate-art-of-reveals/
“Trickster Gods and the Mortals Who Love Them | Fate & Fabled.” PBS Storied. YouTube. https://youtu.be/gjJ5Vr8Tzvs?si=M3CUwDhUNv0lbTJu
“The Psychology of the Trickster.” Externalised. YouTube. https://youtu.be/38hwk0BgGNU?si=DNgdF24GLq4asdq_
“The Psychology of the Fool.” Externalised. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jLWpuLH3t6k?si=M4WZcbQEEh00vVQQ
“4 Ways to Discover Your Protagonist’s Identity.” Lewis | The Novel Smithy. Blog. https://thenovelsmithy.com/your-protagonists-identity/
“Exploring Identity in Fiction.” Nanda Reddy. Article. https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/exploring-identity-in-fiction
“The ultimate writer’s guide to the Secret Identity trope.” First Draft Pro. Blog. https://www.firstdraftpro.com/blog/secret-identity-trope
“Writing Tips: When To Reveal A Secret.” K.M. Allan. Blog. https://kmallan.com/2024/07/12/writing-tips-when-to-reveal-a-secret/#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20most%20of,shocking%2C%20sad%2C%20or%20happy.
Supplementary Examples
Severance (Helly as Helena Eagan)
In Severance, the reveal of Helly as Helena Eagan operates on multiple planes, similar to my covering of Aha!Sampo. First, there is the reveal to Helly herself, as she realizes who exactly she is outside of work. Then, there is the reveal at the gala where those watching come to realize what Helly actually experiences in contrast to what the media has been told. And lastly, there is the constant emotional tension moving forward of what Helly, Helena, and others will do with this information. For a large part of Season 2, Helly avoids giving this information to other characters for understandable psychological reasons.
What makes the reveal work so well is, in my opinion, the Eagan name—specifically Helena Eagan—and what it means contextually. There is sufficient buildup of the Eagans as an almost omnipresent, godlike force governing Lumon Industries. They have been established from the beginning of the story, and the characters have feelings and opinions about them. In many ways, the Eagan name is their jailor, the oppressive capitalist structure that prevents them from living the lives they want to live. Helena Eagan, then, synthesizes the established Eagan name with a specific person—a specific role—within the Eagan hierarchy. Helly not knowing this information puts her in solidarity with the other workers against the Eagans, which makes the reveal potent. It’s not bad enough that she’s an Eagan. She’s Helena Eagan, a child of the founder who is deified at work, the one in charge of lying to the masses about what is really going on at Lumon.
The reveal is incredibly effective because there is sufficient groundwork. The audience and the characters know who the Eagans are, have felt the tangible impacts of the Eagan name in a deeply personal way. There are stakes, there are emotions, and there are reasons to care. There are also reasons for Helly to keep this information to herself—the emotional tension lies in her not wanting the others to know that she, their coworker Helly who desperately wants to be on their side, is not who they think she is. That outside of work, her other self is actively sabotaging them. Precisely because the Eagan name means something, telling them she is an Eagan is a huge emotional burden.
Aha!Sampo could function in a similar way; the name Aha means something to the narrative and to the characters involved, and Sampo may have a vested reason to not tell others about it. Sampo wants to be on our side, but perhaps Aha does not, similar to the split personalities from Severance, which would create further tension. The important part is setting the foundation and creating proper buildup, which I believe the game has done for Aha!Sampo.
The Magnus Archives (Elias Bouchard as Jonah Magnus)
As mentioned in V. The Art of the Reveal, Elias Bouchard as Jonah Magnus works very well in the context of The Magnus Archives. Similar to Helly and Helena, both sides of the equation—both identities—are sufficiently established and known to the audience before the reveal, so we can properly understand the implications of connecting them. Jonah Magnus is not simply a character introduced a few episodes prior, but the founder of the Magnus Institute, a man we’ve gained information about in multiple other statements and conversations. Elias Bouchard has been present for the entirety of the series as well, and has had many appearances to establish his identity. Because of the groundwork here, synthesizing Elias Bouchard and Jonah Magnus leads to unique insights based on pre-established information. It engages the audience directly by allowing them to slot puzzle pieces together.
Additionally, the impact of the reveal is catastrophic. It’s a gut-punch for Jon, who realizes he’s been manipulated the entire series, but it also starts the eldritch apocalypse. Ground zero of the reveal changes so much about the narrative, what the world is like now, and where the characters will go from here. It would not have worked nearly as well if the audience had not known about either Elias or Jonah, or had simply heard of them in passing once or twice, or even if they had only been introduced a few episodes prior. Again, the equation needed to be balanced for the reveal to be revelatory.
Aha!Sampo has similar strengths; both identities are known by the characters and audience well in advance of the reveal, suggesting long-term planning and intricacy. This, in turn, allows the reveal to mean something to those involved—Aha means something, and Sampo means something. The reveal of an Aeon will also likely have a substantial impact on the status quo of the story, regardless of if the information is presented to only one character or multiple. (Remember, the Jonah Magnus reveal only occurred in the moment to one character—Jon—and perhaps Martin too. This worked because it had special significance to Jon, as the one being directly manipulated. Similarly, Aha!Sampo only revealing to one character—such as the Trailblazer—could have significance due to Aha’s affection for the Express.)
Heaven Official’s Blessing (Jun Wu as White No-Face)
Continuing the theme of established identities, both Jun Wu and White No-Face are well-known to the characters and reader by the time the reveal occurs. This is a pivotal narrative technique, because White No-Face accomplishes things as Jun Wu that are only possible because of the specific knowledge and abilities both parties have. For example, even when White No-Face’s identity is revealed, he is still able to leverage his powerful position as Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu to either 1) physically triumph over anyone standing against him or 2) coerce / command others to stand beside him.
Jun Wu and White No-Face’s reveals also include another reveal: The Crown Prince of Wuyong, which adds another persona and backstory to the mix. Heaven Official’s Blessing is able to balance this well because all the pieces have already been laid out for the reader—we are familiar with White No-Face, Jun Wu, and even the ideas and speculation around the Crown Prince of Wuyong. Thus, when the reveal combines these identities into one, it is satisfying. It feels like watching a puzzle click together. Even though new information concerning backstory, history, and motive is undoubtedly introduced, the orientation of the identities is enough to ground us through the process.
Additionally, the implications of the reveal are widespread and especially pertinent to Xie Lian, who has directly dealt with White No-Face as a threat for a long time. The emotional investment heightens because the reader has seen what Xie Lian has been put through, and knows how deeply events like the fall of Xianle have affected him. If the narrative had only showed brief glimpses of this, rather than full scenes, the reveal would not matter nearly as much, because we would not have seen Xie Lian’s pain, nor properly understood the threat of White No-Face.
Aha!Sampo also works along these metrics. Once again, both identities are established and known to the audience. We have personally seen Sampo’s actions through conversations, cutscenes, and narrative events. Likewise, we have been exposed to Aha through the Simulated Universe, as well as opinions, reputation, and rumors about Them. Thus, in the midst of an Aha!Sampo reveal, the audience would feel grounded when presented with new information—our orientation around both individuals would free our minds up to take in everything else.
Arcane (The Mage as Viktor)
This is more of a nuanced one, and shows the power a reveal can have when properly addressed within a specific context. It deals with a mysterious, powerful or even cosmic, figure, who saved Jayce’s life with magic when he was a boy. Throughout the show, we see the effect this has on Jayce’s life. It is the reason his mother and him survived that snowstorm, the motivation behind Jayce’s insistence on creating Hextech. Like a pebble thrown into a still lake, the Mage’s effect on Jayce ripples outward until the waves build and build and build. It starts a chain reaction of magic and tech that branches into so many defining moments of the story. At the same time, we see Jayce meeting Viktor, and the effect Viktor has on his life. Viktor gives Jayce hope at a similarly pivotal moment in time, and from there becomes a partner that Jayce can rely on, helping build Hextech from the ground-up.
By the time the story reaches its final chapter, and Jayce finds himself irrevocably changed in a foreign place, the Mage still matters to Jayce. All those years ago, the reason he’s alive. And so, when the Mage turns his face to reveal an older, wearier Viktor, it means something to the audience and, most importantly, Jayce. He’s coming to the realization that the man that saved him as a child is his lab partner. That Viktor, always intertwined with Jayce, had been the reason they even met in the first place.
This obviously has some timeline shenanigans going on, but the reveal hits hard because Jayce (and the audience) recognizes Viktor. There is narrative significance to both identities. The Mage is important to Jayce due to saving his life, and Viktor is important to Jayce as a partner. Combining the two is emotionally poignant, and very bittersweet. Jayce’s Viktor has died, and reborn, and changed, and beyond having to grapple with that, Jayce is now having to grapple with another Viktor, a life-changing revelation. The Mage has seen a world where Jayce could not save him, and Jayce now has to face a world where Viktor must be destroyed by his own hands. Jayce returns, realizing what he must do to his own Viktor, and it is heartbreaking.
The emotional tension here is palpable. I would compare it to Aha!Sampo along the lines of Aha as Sampo and Akivili as the Trailblazer, where Aha and Akivili used to be close, if not romantically involved. (It works even better if both characters are a step or two removed from their old selves.) The cosmic, bittersweet taste of meeting a love that isn’t yours, but at the same time is. Staring at someone with a familiar face, the face of someone you remember from a lifetime ago, and realizing They’ve been here the whole time. The gap of memory that changes a person, and the otherworldly quality of a love far from home. The moment you realize you can’t go back, only forward.
Beyond simply establishing identity or building up information, it is important to have a deep emotional thread to connect things—this is the part of the groundwork that makes people feel something. The identities of the reveal need to mean something to the character(s) it is happening to, emotionally and mentally, or else audience investment will likely fall flat. We must have a reason to care. And the best way to know you've succeeded is if you can have that silent moment; the moment of a single face, a single turn, a single Laugh, that changes the entire story without saying a word.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Uncle Aaron as The Prowler)
Beyond groundwork and tension, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gives us a reason to care. Once again, the audience is able to see Uncle Aaron and how he interacts with Miles, the casual, mentor-like quality he has when he gives Miles advice. You know they are family, and they feel like family. We also have the harrowing scene of The Prowler chasing Spider-Man, an emotionally intense sequence that establishes The Prowler as a genuine threat. When these identities converge, Miles feels the emotional impact of realizing his supportive uncle is the one trying to kill him, even though Aaron doesn’t know Spider-Man is Miles. This leads to the scene when Miles takes off his mask, letting Aaron as The Prowler see who he is, which makes Aaron unable to kill him.
The reveal scene itself, where both characters are staring at each other and realizing what was about to happen—that the The Prowler was about to kill Spider-Man, that Uncle Aaron was about to kill his nephew Miles—is incredibly emotionally impactful. The audience can see the sinking, horrible realization on Aaron’s face and the fear in Miles’ eyes, realizing what he was about to do and refusing to follow through with it. This eventually leads to Uncle Aaron’s death, which is a pivotal emotional moment in the narrative.
This works specifically because Aaron and Miles are fully established in the story, with a clear relationship between the two of them. Both sides have a reason to care about their secret identities and each other. It’s actually more of a four-way reveal over the course of the movie: it is revealed to Miles that Uncle Aaron is The Prowler, and it is revealed to Aaron that Miles is Spider-Man. Without the emotional investment of the characters’ existing relationship, the audience would have no framework with which to understand the events taking place.
Similarly, Aha!Sampo draws on both the relationship between Sampo and the Trailblazer, as well as Aha and Akivili, to accomplish a small-scale reveal. This can even go for large scale reveals, where Belobog’s relationship to Sampo carries the bulk of emotional tension. Since Sampo has tangible relationship dynamics with others—such as the Trailblazer and Belobog—his reveal as Aha—someone with Their own relationship dynamics to the Astral Express and other parties—puts those dynamics in tension with one another. It’s the push and pull between how Sampo characterizes specific relationships versus how Aha characterizes them. For the Trailblazer or Belobog, or even the Masked Fools, this reveal could carry a similar weight to Spider-Verse, a gut-sinking moment of connection. Conversely, it could be a bittersweet or protective affair, perhaps even joyous. A happy surprise. Whichever way it goes, the impact will be more effective given the relational nature of Sampo and Aha’s separate identities to others. Simply, the reveal matters precisely because it’s people we know.
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man
[In the case of Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man and other murder mysteries, one side of the identity reveal is usually “The Murderer.” This is a bit different from the case of Aha!Sampo, since The Murderer is unnamed, but given that The Murderer is usually in an ongoing cycle of building reputation, motive, and context across the story from the beginning, I believe there are insights we can take away regardless.]
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man is a great example of how to do a murder mystery-style reveal while still making the answer satisfying and compelling to the audience. It does a great job at laying out all the pieces to the answer, but framing them in a way that necessitates the winding road of a mystery (and eventual reveal). At the end, when Martha steps forward to confess, the carefully laid pieces are rearranged to provide a clear picture of what actually happened. The key here is that, while some members of the audience may not be able to predict the truth early on, all the pieces are there, substantially. There are no last-minute characters revealed to be the murderer, or barely-explained plot threads that become central to the reveal. Even the small moments are properly established in the context of the story. Martha is present throughout the movie, and is a character we know. Her reveal as the murderer simply synthesizes the breadcrumbs the movie has left for us. It puts the same picture at different angle, which prompts direct engagement for the audience to say, “So that’s what that meant!” It is, notably, clarity, rather than confusion or boredom.
Wake Up Dead Man is an example of how a reveal can be complex yet grounded at the same time. As long as it draws from tangible breadcrumbs and clues laid down by previous scenes, it can combine them in unique and satisfying ways. The key here is that while some details may be small, the identities are not. Martha is a fully-realized character, as are the other suspects. She is not a last-minute addition, nor is she underdeveloped. She undergoes additional development during the reveal, but it simply adds to what was already there. It builds upon what exists, rather than what doesn’t.
This speaks to Aha!Sampo as a proper contextual reveal for both Aha and Sampo. If either identity undergoes a reveal where the other side of the equation is a last-minute addition, or an underdeveloped concept, it runs the risk of failing to engage the audience. Moreover, it increases the risk of confusion, boredom, or lack of investment. It disregards clarity for complexity, instead of providing a foundation that allows both to coexist. Aha as a Planarcadia 4.X character, Aha as a completely new individual, Sampo as an unnamed Emanator or Faction Leader, and Sampo as an entity like the Noblesse Worm all fall into this issue. If the core identity being revealed has not had proper groundwork prior to the last-minute, the mystery falls apart. It becomes less of looking at the pieces at a new angle, and more like realizing you never had pieces to begin with, eventually wondering why you were asked to build a puzzle.
Aha!Sampo, then, allows precisely for that new angle: To see the clues built throughout the game under the lens of Aha—or under the lens of Sampo, coming from the other direction. We are able to go in either direction because we have enough informational context to do so. It is the “Aha!” moment of clarity, rather than the “Oh…” moment of confusion. Of course, new information and nuances to the identity and events surrounding it can be introduced, but the important part is that the identities remain oriented.
[Negative] The Miraculous Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir (Marinette as Ladybug and Adrien as Cat Noir)
Ladybug and Cat Noir is a good example of the issues that can arise when a reveal is improperly timed, or doesn’t occur at all. Despite having loads of buildup and clues laid throughout the seasons—and the fact the audience has known both of their identities since day one—the reveal keeps getting pushed and pushed and pushed beyond a reasonable timeframe. Entire seasons go by without the status quo being truly challenged; every time a small “reveal” occurs, something happens that makes the characters forget, or ignore it, or time travel back to when it didn’t happen, or something else. Granted, I have only watched the first three or four seasons of the show, but the reason I stopped is because it wasn’t going anywhere. It was running in place. It had all these interesting ideas, but never followed through.
There’s undoubtedly emotional tension present in the Love Square (Marinette, Ladybug, Adrien, and Cat Noir), and the reveal of their identities, even just once, one way, would be game-changing. Either Marinette / Ladybug realizes her crush is her superhero partner who openly wants to date her, or Adrien / Cat Noir realizes his superhero crush is a girl he literally knows and goes to school with. There are so many interesting ways this could go down, and so many ways it could be impactful to the story moving forward! That’s not even getting into how Hawkmoth might be able to leverage their identities against each other if he knew, because he’s Adrien’s dad, which is an entirely different reveal to worry about. But besides a few episodes that explore some of these ideas before ultimately returning to the status quo, it’s largely business as usual (at least for the seasons I watched). The show stagnates into oblivion. It resets every time the credits roll.
This is what I hope does not happen to Aha!Sampo. Similar to Ladybug and Cat Noir, Aha!Sampo has a wealth of setup—we know both characters, we know their personalities and reputations, their reveal would have a huge emotional impact on others and upend the status quo. One of my greatest fears, really, is that none of it will be used. None of the clues, or breadcrumbs, will amount to anything. Or worse: It’ll go in a direction that continues to uphold the status quo regardless. The game will stagnate, procrastinating change, for fear of upsetting the marketability of the story. No impact will truly be felt. And Aha!Sampo will wither behind closed doors. This isn’t the same as subtlety, or nuance, or a small reveal to one character or the audience; it would, essentially, be nothing. No reveal would happen in any way, and all those clues would be left by the wayside. I don’t believe this will happen, but it’s worrisome to think about regardless.
General: Murder Mysteries and Superhero Secret Identities
Getting back to lighter topics, I want to have a general discussion of murder mysteries and secret identities. Despite the differences in genre, the core techniques of their identity reveals have aspects in common. For one, they are both contingent on some kind of tension between identities—the “secret,” civilian, or yet-undiscovered one, and the more visible, notorious, or obvious one. In a murder mystery, the obvious identity is that of The Murderer; The Murderer has committed a Murder, and as such cast their general actions and motive into the spotlight. Similarly, superheroes often function in the public eye, even though no one knows who they actually are. Then, we have the “secret” identity. This is often a yet-undiscovered identity by the characters or audience: No one knows who The Murderer is in their daily life, and no one knows who the superhero is in their daily life. Therefore, the converging of identities in either genre often has to do with a secret being brought to light. The identity lying under the surface is brought up, either on a large or small scale. The Murderer might be revealed to the entire town as a character named Anne, while Superman may be revealed to a loved one to be Clark Kent.
Both genres balance the tension between identities, especially the fact that some people may know, and some people may not. Both seed clues throughout the story, building to a bigger picture and placing key players at different points. Forced outing is a worry for many revealees, and often, characters have a compelling or emotionally-driven reason for keeping their identity a secret. In a murder mystery, The Murderer likely does not want to be found or sent to jail. In a superhero story, the hero likely does not want their loved ones to get caught in the crossfire, or perhaps they just want to live an ordinary life. Despite the differences, it is still important for both genres to establish strong foundations for the identity-related mystery, especially how it relates to the broader web of characters in the story.
In Aha!Sampo’s case, I believe there is room for speculation, the fun kind that gets the audience involved in piecing things together before the reveal occurs. Undoubtedly, an Aeon—especially the Aeon Aha, known for mischief—must have many reasons for hiding Their identity, and Sampo must have many reasons for hiding that kind of power. However, with nothing confirmed, I’m partial to many different ideas. Perhaps Aha simply wishes to live a normal life, perhaps Sampo strives to be accepted and feel human; perhaps Aha is running from debts, perhaps Sampo is tired of working under the Primum Mobile. Maybe he is trying to outrun a grisly future, and maybe They are trying to reconnect with the Express. Whatever the case, threads of reasoning are woven throughout the story, even if the "canon” angle hasn’t been presented yet. There is clear tension between the spectacle, the notorious Aha, and the hidden, the mysterious Sampo. Away from the public eye, who is Aha? And when Sampo steps onto the stage, who does he become?
— spoiler warning: this section includes major spoilers for severance, the magnus archives, heaven official's blessing, arcane, spider-man: into the spider-verse, knives out: wake up dead man, and miraculous: the tales of ladybug and cat noir!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, narrative structure & technique, mainly focused on reveals, identity-related mysteries, specific examples of what works
— word count: 4.1k
— overview: an appendix for my project "aha!sampo: musings & analysis," including references, further reading, and additional examples of effective reveals.
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Severance, The Magnus Archives, Heaven Official’s Blessing, Arcane, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, and Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The Miraculous example is negative, so feel free to skip it if that’s not your cup of tea.]
References
“The Delicate Art of Reveals.” Fox Print Editorial. Blog. https://foxprinteditorial.com/2024/02/22/the-delicate-art-of-reveals/
“Trickster Gods and the Mortals Who Love Them | Fate & Fabled.” PBS Storied. YouTube. https://youtu.be/gjJ5Vr8Tzvs?si=M3CUwDhUNv0lbTJu
“The Psychology of the Trickster.” Externalised. YouTube. https://youtu.be/38hwk0BgGNU?si=DNgdF24GLq4asdq_
“The Psychology of the Fool.” Externalised. YouTube. https://youtu.be/jLWpuLH3t6k?si=M4WZcbQEEh00vVQQ
“4 Ways to Discover Your Protagonist’s Identity.” Lewis | The Novel Smithy. Blog. https://thenovelsmithy.com/your-protagonists-identity/
“Exploring Identity in Fiction.” Nanda Reddy. Article. https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/exploring-identity-in-fiction
“The ultimate writer’s guide to the Secret Identity trope.” First Draft Pro. Blog. https://www.firstdraftpro.com/blog/secret-identity-trope
“Writing Tips: When To Reveal A Secret.” K.M. Allan. Blog. https://kmallan.com/2024/07/12/writing-tips-when-to-reveal-a-secret/#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20most%20of,shocking%2C%20sad%2C%20or%20happy.
Supplementary Examples
Severance (Helly as Helena Eagan)
In Severance, the reveal of Helly as Helena Eagan operates on multiple planes, similar to my covering of Aha!Sampo. First, there is the reveal to Helly herself, as she realizes who exactly she is outside of work. Then, there is the reveal at the gala where those watching come to realize what Helly actually experiences in contrast to what the media has been told. And lastly, there is the constant emotional tension moving forward of what Helly, Helena, and others will do with this information. For a large part of Season 2, Helly avoids giving this information to other characters for understandable psychological reasons.
What makes the reveal work so well is, in my opinion, the Eagan name—specifically Helena Eagan—and what it means contextually. There is sufficient buildup of the Eagans as an almost omnipresent, godlike force governing Lumon Industries. They have been established from the beginning of the story, and the characters have feelings and opinions about them. In many ways, the Eagan name is their jailor, the oppressive capitalist structure that prevents them from living the lives they want to live. Helena Eagan, then, synthesizes the established Eagan name with a specific person—a specific role—within the Eagan hierarchy. Helly not knowing this information puts her in solidarity with the other workers against the Eagans, which makes the reveal potent. It’s not bad enough that she’s an Eagan. She’s Helena Eagan, a child of the founder who is deified at work, the one in charge of lying to the masses about what is really going on at Lumon.
The reveal is incredibly effective because there is sufficient groundwork. The audience and the characters know who the Eagans are, have felt the tangible impacts of the Eagan name in a deeply personal way. There are stakes, there are emotions, and there are reasons to care. There are also reasons for Helly to keep this information to herself—the emotional tension lies in her not wanting the others to know that she, their coworker Helly who desperately wants to be on their side, is not who they think she is. That outside of work, her other self is actively sabotaging them. Precisely because the Eagan name means something, telling them she is an Eagan is a huge emotional burden.
Aha!Sampo could function in a similar way; the name Aha means something to the narrative and to the characters involved, and Sampo may have a vested reason to not tell others about it. Sampo wants to be on our side, but perhaps Aha does not, similar to the split personalities from Severance, which would create further tension. The important part is setting the foundation and creating proper buildup, which I believe the game has done for Aha!Sampo.
The Magnus Archives (Elias Bouchard as Jonah Magnus)
As mentioned in V. The Art of the Reveal, Elias Bouchard as Jonah Magnus works very well in the context of The Magnus Archives. Similar to Helly and Helena, both sides of the equation—both identities—are sufficiently established and known to the audience before the reveal, so we can properly understand the implications of connecting them. Jonah Magnus is not simply a character introduced a few episodes prior, but the founder of the Magnus Institute, a man we’ve gained information about in multiple other statements and conversations. Elias Bouchard has been present for the entirety of the series as well, and has had many appearances to establish his identity. Because of the groundwork here, synthesizing Elias Bouchard and Jonah Magnus leads to unique insights based on pre-established information. It engages the audience directly by allowing them to slot puzzle pieces together.
Additionally, the impact of the reveal is catastrophic. It’s a gut-punch for Jon, who realizes he’s been manipulated the entire series, but it also starts the eldritch apocalypse. Ground zero of the reveal changes so much about the narrative, what the world is like now, and where the characters will go from here. It would not have worked nearly as well if the audience had not known about either Elias or Jonah, or had simply heard of them in passing once or twice, or even if they had only been introduced a few episodes prior. Again, the equation needed to be balanced for the reveal to be revelatory.
Aha!Sampo has similar strengths; both identities are known by the characters and audience well in advance of the reveal, suggesting long-term planning and intricacy. This, in turn, allows the reveal to mean something to those involved—Aha means something, and Sampo means something. The reveal of an Aeon will also likely have a substantial impact on the status quo of the story, regardless of if the information is presented to only one character or multiple. (Remember, the Jonah Magnus reveal only occurred in the moment to one character—Jon—and perhaps Martin too. This worked because it had special significance to Jon, as the one being directly manipulated. Similarly, Aha!Sampo only revealing to one character—such as the Trailblazer—could have significance due to Aha’s affection for the Express.)
Heaven Official’s Blessing (Jun Wu as White No-Face)
Continuing the theme of established identities, both Jun Wu and White No-Face are well-known to the characters and reader by the time the reveal occurs. This is a pivotal narrative technique, because White No-Face accomplishes things as Jun Wu that are only possible because of the specific knowledge and abilities both parties have. For example, even when White No-Face’s identity is revealed, he is still able to leverage his powerful position as Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu to either 1) physically triumph over anyone standing against him or 2) coerce / command others to stand beside him.
Jun Wu and White No-Face’s reveals also include another reveal: The Crown Prince of Wuyong, which adds another persona and backstory to the mix. Heaven Official’s Blessing is able to balance this well because all the pieces have already been laid out for the reader—we are familiar with White No-Face, Jun Wu, and even the ideas and speculation around the Crown Prince of Wuyong. Thus, when the reveal combines these identities into one, it is satisfying. It feels like watching a puzzle click together. Even though new information concerning backstory, history, and motive is undoubtedly introduced, the orientation of the identities is enough to ground us through the process.
Additionally, the implications of the reveal are widespread and especially pertinent to Xie Lian, who has directly dealt with White No-Face as a threat for a long time. The emotional investment heightens because the reader has seen what Xie Lian has been put through, and knows how deeply events like the fall of Xianle have affected him. If the narrative had only showed brief glimpses of this, rather than full scenes, the reveal would not matter nearly as much, because we would not have seen Xie Lian’s pain, nor properly understood the threat of White No-Face.
Aha!Sampo also works along these metrics. Once again, both identities are established and known to the audience. We have personally seen Sampo’s actions through conversations, cutscenes, and narrative events. Likewise, we have been exposed to Aha through the Simulated Universe, as well as opinions, reputation, and rumors about Them. Thus, in the midst of an Aha!Sampo reveal, the audience would feel grounded when presented with new information—our orientation around both individuals would free our minds up to take in everything else.
Arcane (The Mage as Viktor)
This is more of a nuanced one, and shows the power a reveal can have when properly addressed within a specific context. It deals with a mysterious, powerful or even cosmic, figure, who saved Jayce’s life with magic when he was a boy. Throughout the show, we see the effect this has on Jayce’s life. It is the reason his mother and him survived that snowstorm, the motivation behind Jayce’s insistence on creating Hextech. Like a pebble thrown into a still lake, the Mage’s effect on Jayce ripples outward until the waves build and build and build. It starts a chain reaction of magic and tech that branches into so many defining moments of the story. At the same time, we see Jayce meeting Viktor, and the effect Viktor has on his life. Viktor gives Jayce hope at a similarly pivotal moment in time, and from there becomes a partner that Jayce can rely on, helping build Hextech from the ground-up.
By the time the story reaches its final chapter, and Jayce finds himself irrevocably changed in a foreign place, the Mage still matters to Jayce. All those years ago, the reason he’s alive. And so, when the Mage turns his face to reveal an older, wearier Viktor, it means something to the audience and, most importantly, Jayce. He’s coming to the realization that the man that saved him as a child is his lab partner. That Viktor, always intertwined with Jayce, had been the reason they even met in the first place.
This obviously has some timeline shenanigans going on, but the reveal hits hard because Jayce (and the audience) recognizes Viktor. There is narrative significance to both identities. The Mage is important to Jayce due to saving his life, and Viktor is important to Jayce as a partner. Combining the two is emotionally poignant, and very bittersweet. Jayce’s Viktor has died, and reborn, and changed, and beyond having to grapple with that, Jayce is now having to grapple with another Viktor, a life-changing revelation. The Mage has seen a world where Jayce could not save him, and Jayce now has to face a world where Viktor must be destroyed by his own hands. Jayce returns, realizing what he must do to his own Viktor, and it is heartbreaking.
The emotional tension here is palpable. I would compare it to Aha!Sampo along the lines of Aha as Sampo and Akivili as the Trailblazer, where Aha and Akivili used to be close, if not romantically involved. (It works even better if both characters are a step or two removed from their old selves.) The cosmic, bittersweet taste of meeting a love that isn’t yours, but at the same time is. Staring at someone with a familiar face, the face of someone you remember from a lifetime ago, and realizing They’ve been here the whole time. The gap of memory that changes a person, and the otherworldly quality of a love far from home. The moment you realize you can’t go back, only forward.
Beyond simply establishing identity or building up information, it is important to have a deep emotional thread to connect things—this is the part of the groundwork that makes people feel something. The identities of the reveal need to mean something to the character(s) it is happening to, emotionally and mentally, or else audience investment will likely fall flat. We must have a reason to care. And the best way to know you've succeeded is if you can have that silent moment; the moment of a single face, a single turn, a single Laugh, that changes the entire story without saying a word.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Uncle Aaron as The Prowler)
Beyond groundwork and tension, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gives us a reason to care. Once again, the audience is able to see Uncle Aaron and how he interacts with Miles, the casual, mentor-like quality he has when he gives Miles advice. You know they are family, and they feel like family. We also have the harrowing scene of The Prowler chasing Spider-Man, an emotionally intense sequence that establishes The Prowler as a genuine threat. When these identities converge, Miles feels the emotional impact of realizing his supportive uncle is the one trying to kill him, even though Aaron doesn’t know Spider-Man is Miles. This leads to the scene when Miles takes off his mask, letting Aaron as The Prowler see who he is, which makes Aaron unable to kill him.
The reveal scene itself, where both characters are staring at each other and realizing what was about to happen—that the The Prowler was about to kill Spider-Man, that Uncle Aaron was about to kill his nephew Miles—is incredibly emotionally impactful. The audience can see the sinking, horrible realization on Aaron’s face and the fear in Miles’ eyes, realizing what he was about to do and refusing to follow through with it. This eventually leads to Uncle Aaron’s death, which is a pivotal emotional moment in the narrative.
This works specifically because Aaron and Miles are fully established in the story, with a clear relationship between the two of them. Both sides have a reason to care about their secret identities and each other. It’s actually more of a four-way reveal over the course of the movie: it is revealed to Miles that Uncle Aaron is The Prowler, and it is revealed to Aaron that Miles is Spider-Man. Without the emotional investment of the characters’ existing relationship, the audience would have no framework with which to understand the events taking place.
Similarly, Aha!Sampo draws on both the relationship between Sampo and the Trailblazer, as well as Aha and Akivili, to accomplish a small-scale reveal. This can even go for large scale reveals, where Belobog’s relationship to Sampo carries the bulk of emotional tension. Since Sampo has tangible relationship dynamics with others—such as the Trailblazer and Belobog—his reveal as Aha—someone with Their own relationship dynamics to the Astral Express and other parties—puts those dynamics in tension with one another. It’s the push and pull between how Sampo characterizes specific relationships versus how Aha characterizes them. For the Trailblazer or Belobog, or even the Masked Fools, this reveal could carry a similar weight to Spider-Verse, a gut-sinking moment of connection. Conversely, it could be a bittersweet or protective affair, perhaps even joyous. A happy surprise. Whichever way it goes, the impact will be more effective given the relational nature of Sampo and Aha’s separate identities to others. Simply, the reveal matters precisely because it’s people we know.
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man
[In the case of Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man and other murder mysteries, one side of the identity reveal is usually “The Murderer.” This is a bit different from the case of Aha!Sampo, since The Murderer is unnamed, but given that The Murderer is usually in an ongoing cycle of building reputation, motive, and context across the story from the beginning, I believe there are insights we can take away regardless.]
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man is a great example of how to do a murder mystery-style reveal while still making the answer satisfying and compelling to the audience. It does a great job at laying out all the pieces to the answer, but framing them in a way that necessitates the winding road of a mystery (and eventual reveal). At the end, when Martha steps forward to confess, the carefully laid pieces are rearranged to provide a clear picture of what actually happened. The key here is that, while some members of the audience may not be able to predict the truth early on, all the pieces are there, substantially. There are no last-minute characters revealed to be the murderer, or barely-explained plot threads that become central to the reveal. Even the small moments are properly established in the context of the story. Martha is present throughout the movie, and is a character we know. Her reveal as the murderer simply synthesizes the breadcrumbs the movie has left for us. It puts the same picture at different angle, which prompts direct engagement for the audience to say, “So that’s what that meant!” It is, notably, clarity, rather than confusion or boredom.
Wake Up Dead Man is an example of how a reveal can be complex yet grounded at the same time. As long as it draws from tangible breadcrumbs and clues laid down by previous scenes, it can combine them in unique and satisfying ways. The key here is that while some details may be small, the identities are not. Martha is a fully-realized character, as are the other suspects. She is not a last-minute addition, nor is she underdeveloped. She undergoes additional development during the reveal, but it simply adds to what was already there. It builds upon what exists, rather than what doesn’t.
This speaks to Aha!Sampo as a proper contextual reveal for both Aha and Sampo. If either identity undergoes a reveal where the other side of the equation is a last-minute addition, or an underdeveloped concept, it runs the risk of failing to engage the audience. Moreover, it increases the risk of confusion, boredom, or lack of investment. It disregards clarity for complexity, instead of providing a foundation that allows both to coexist. Aha as a Planarcadia 4.X character, Aha as a completely new individual, Sampo as an unnamed Emanator or Faction Leader, and Sampo as an entity like the Noblesse Worm all fall into this issue. If the core identity being revealed has not had proper groundwork prior to the last-minute, the mystery falls apart. It becomes less of looking at the pieces at a new angle, and more like realizing you never had pieces to begin with, eventually wondering why you were asked to build a puzzle.
Aha!Sampo, then, allows precisely for that new angle: To see the clues built throughout the game under the lens of Aha—or under the lens of Sampo, coming from the other direction. We are able to go in either direction because we have enough informational context to do so. It is the “Aha!” moment of clarity, rather than the “Oh…” moment of confusion. Of course, new information and nuances to the identity and events surrounding it can be introduced, but the important part is that the identities remain oriented.
[Negative] The Miraculous Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir (Marinette as Ladybug and Adrien as Cat Noir)
Ladybug and Cat Noir is a good example of the issues that can arise when a reveal is improperly timed, or doesn’t occur at all. Despite having loads of buildup and clues laid throughout the seasons—and the fact the audience has known both of their identities since day one—the reveal keeps getting pushed and pushed and pushed beyond a reasonable timeframe. Entire seasons go by without the status quo being truly challenged; every time a small “reveal” occurs, something happens that makes the characters forget, or ignore it, or time travel back to when it didn’t happen, or something else. Granted, I have only watched the first three or four seasons of the show, but the reason I stopped is because it wasn’t going anywhere. It was running in place. It had all these interesting ideas, but never followed through.
There’s undoubtedly emotional tension present in the Love Square (Marinette, Ladybug, Adrien, and Cat Noir), and the reveal of their identities, even just once, one way, would be game-changing. Either Marinette / Ladybug realizes her crush is her superhero partner who openly wants to date her, or Adrien / Cat Noir realizes his superhero crush is a girl he literally knows and goes to school with. There are so many interesting ways this could go down, and so many ways it could be impactful to the story moving forward! That’s not even getting into how Hawkmoth might be able to leverage their identities against each other if he knew, because he’s Adrien’s dad, which is an entirely different reveal to worry about. But besides a few episodes that explore some of these ideas before ultimately returning to the status quo, it’s largely business as usual (at least for the seasons I watched). The show stagnates into oblivion. It resets every time the credits roll.
This is what I hope does not happen to Aha!Sampo. Similar to Ladybug and Cat Noir, Aha!Sampo has a wealth of setup—we know both characters, we know their personalities and reputations, their reveal would have a huge emotional impact on others and upend the status quo. One of my greatest fears, really, is that none of it will be used. None of the clues, or breadcrumbs, will amount to anything. Or worse: It’ll go in a direction that continues to uphold the status quo regardless. The game will stagnate, procrastinating change, for fear of upsetting the marketability of the story. No impact will truly be felt. And Aha!Sampo will wither behind closed doors. This isn’t the same as subtlety, or nuance, or a small reveal to one character or the audience; it would, essentially, be nothing. No reveal would happen in any way, and all those clues would be left by the wayside. I don’t believe this will happen, but it’s worrisome to think about regardless.
General: Murder Mysteries and Superhero Secret Identities
Getting back to lighter topics, I want to have a general discussion of murder mysteries and secret identities. Despite the differences in genre, the core techniques of their identity reveals have aspects in common. For one, they are both contingent on some kind of tension between identities—the “secret,” civilian, or yet-undiscovered one, and the more visible, notorious, or obvious one. In a murder mystery, the obvious identity is that of The Murderer; The Murderer has committed a Murder, and as such cast their general actions and motive into the spotlight. Similarly, superheroes often function in the public eye, even though no one knows who they actually are. Then, we have the “secret” identity. This is often a yet-undiscovered identity by the characters or audience: No one knows who The Murderer is in their daily life, and no one knows who the superhero is in their daily life. Therefore, the converging of identities in either genre often has to do with a secret being brought to light. The identity lying under the surface is brought up, either on a large or small scale. The Murderer might be revealed to the entire town as a character named Anne, while Superman may be revealed to a loved one to be Clark Kent.
Both genres balance the tension between identities, especially the fact that some people may know, and some people may not. Both seed clues throughout the story, building to a bigger picture and placing key players at different points. Forced outing is a worry for many revealees, and often, characters have a compelling or emotionally-driven reason for keeping their identity a secret. In a murder mystery, The Murderer likely does not want to be found or sent to jail. In a superhero story, the hero likely does not want their loved ones to get caught in the crossfire, or perhaps they just want to live an ordinary life. Despite the differences, it is still important for both genres to establish strong foundations for the identity-related mystery, especially how it relates to the broader web of characters in the story.
In Aha!Sampo’s case, I believe there is room for speculation, the fun kind that gets the audience involved in piecing things together before the reveal occurs. Undoubtedly, an Aeon—especially the Aeon Aha, known for mischief—must have many reasons for hiding Their identity, and Sampo must have many reasons for hiding that kind of power. However, with nothing confirmed, I’m partial to many different ideas. Perhaps Aha simply wishes to live a normal life, perhaps Sampo strives to be accepted and feel human; perhaps Aha is running from debts, perhaps Sampo is tired of working under the Primum Mobile. Maybe he is trying to outrun a grisly future, and maybe They are trying to reconnect with the Express. Whatever the case, threads of reasoning are woven throughout the story, even if the "canon” angle hasn’t been presented yet. There is clear tension between the spectacle, the notorious Aha, and the hidden, the mysterious Sampo. Away from the public eye, who is Aha? And when Sampo steps onto the stage, who does he become?
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, creative process, waxing poetic, wrapping up, personal thoughts & feelings, pursuing what you love feels great
— word count: under 1k
— overview: concluding remarks for my "aha!sampo: musings & analysis" project, including a look into my creative process.
This project was so fun to write! I’ve taken so many side tangents to places I didn’t really want to go before that it feels weird to finally write about what I want to write about. Committing to Aha!Sampo with my whole chest and gushing about it feels really freeing, honestly. I’ve had nothing but good experiences in the Honkai: Star Rail fandom—mostly due to Tumblr, I love you guys—but it’s been so hard for me to shake the feeling I’d get ridiculed if I talked about Aha!Sampo without, like, three layers of skepticism behind it, so I never let it shine in my writing. But eventually I realized that it doesn’t really matter if people don’t agree with my take on Aha, or Sampo, or Honkai: Star Rail in general. Hell, even if the game doesn’t pursue Aha!Sampo, I’ll probably just go: “Star Rail’s loss. I’m going to write a fix-it fic now.” I am, quite literally, doing it for the love of the game.
And so, here we are! I’m a huge nerd about writing and English stuff, so being able to dig into my favorite thing ever from the past three years under the lens of craft analysis was amazing. As you can probably tell, I definitely got carried away and waxed poetic, but my style of analysis has included aspects of creative writing for a while now. I tried my best to integrate sources, but wow! Some were hard to find! Especially for reveals, perhaps because they have to do with a specific creative writing technique, the only references I could find were in blog posts or Reddit forums (not the academic sources I was looking for). I had a little bit of extra help with secret identities and trickster gods, since I was able to find videos from sources I trust, but it was still a little rough. I do like the ones I found, though!
I also tried to integrate reveals from other stories that I liked, such as Heaven Official’s Blessing and The Magnus Archives. When I write my analyses, I really try to provide references and examples and sources, to more properly support my ideas and give readers a frame of reference for what I’m explaining. I’ll have a separate Appendix for this project linked on the masterlist that will include all of the reveals and references mentioned in the project, including further reading and additional reveals I didn’t have the space to mention!
At the end of the day, as I hope is clear by now, I just really like Aha!Sampo. I could probably gush about it in an entirely new project all over again, but I think for now I’ll take a well-deserved rest. I’ll try not to get too stressed about the direction the game takes, even if it’s one I don’t like, and just keep my fingers crossed behind my back that Aha!Sampo will happen beyond my wildest dreams.
And if you, dear reader, take away anything from this: Please pursue what you’re passionate about. If there’s a character, or ship, or story, or anything else you enjoy, let it guide you to create. Even if it’s unpopular, even if it’s niche or nerdy, even if you worry people won’t like it, you deserve to be able to express your love. You deserve to be honest, because it feels amazing. I know it can be nervewracking, but I hope by talking about this I can set an example. If I, wracked with anxiety sitting in my therapist’s office, can press post on a labor of love, you can too. I believe in you. ♡
(Also, you should convert to Aha!Sampo because it’s cool and fun and hot and sexy. Okay, bye!)
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, creative process, waxing poetic, wrapping up, personal thoughts & feelings, pursuing what you love feels great
— word count: under 1k
— overview: concluding remarks for my "aha!sampo: musings & analysis" project, including a look into my creative process.
This project was so fun to write! I’ve taken so many side tangents to places I didn’t really want to go before that it feels weird to finally write about what I want to write about. Committing to Aha!Sampo with my whole chest and gushing about it feels really freeing, honestly. I’ve had nothing but good experiences in the Honkai: Star Rail fandom—mostly due to Tumblr, I love you guys—but it’s been so hard for me to shake the feeling I’d get ridiculed if I talked about Aha!Sampo without, like, three layers of skepticism behind it, so I never let it shine in my writing. But eventually I realized that it doesn’t really matter if people don’t agree with my take on Aha, or Sampo, or Honkai: Star Rail in general. Hell, even if the game doesn’t pursue Aha!Sampo, I’ll probably just go: “Star Rail’s loss. I’m going to write a fix-it fic now.” I am, quite literally, doing it for the love of the game.
And so, here we are! I’m a huge nerd about writing and English stuff, so being able to dig into my favorite thing ever from the past three years under the lens of craft analysis was amazing. As you can probably tell, I definitely got carried away and waxed poetic, but my style of analysis has included aspects of creative writing for a while now. I tried my best to integrate sources, but wow! Some were hard to find! Especially for reveals, perhaps because they have to do with a specific creative writing technique, the only references I could find were in blog posts or Reddit forums (not the academic sources I was looking for). I had a little bit of extra help with secret identities and trickster gods, since I was able to find videos from sources I trust, but it was still a little rough. I do like the ones I found, though!
I also tried to integrate reveals from other stories that I liked, such as Heaven Official’s Blessing and The Magnus Archives. When I write my analyses, I really try to provide references and examples and sources, to more properly support my ideas and give readers a frame of reference for what I’m explaining. I’ll have a separate Appendix for this project linked on the masterlist that will include all of the reveals and references mentioned in the project, including further reading and additional reveals I didn’t have the space to mention!
At the end of the day, as I hope is clear by now, I just really like Aha!Sampo. I could probably gush about it in an entirely new project all over again, but I think for now I’ll take a well-deserved rest. I’ll try not to get too stressed about the direction the game takes, even if it’s one I don’t like, and just keep my fingers crossed behind my back that Aha!Sampo will happen beyond my wildest dreams.
And if you, dear reader, take away anything from this: Please pursue what you’re passionate about. If there’s a character, or ship, or story, or anything else you enjoy, let it guide you to create. Even if it’s unpopular, even if it’s niche or nerdy, even if you worry people won’t like it, you deserve to be able to express your love. You deserve to be honest, because it feels amazing. I know it can be nervewracking, but I hope by talking about this I can set an example. If I, wracked with anxiety sitting in my therapist’s office, can press post on a labor of love, you can too. I believe in you. ♡
(Also, you should convert to Aha!Sampo because it’s cool and fun and hot and sexy. Okay, bye!)
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, presenting my argument for why aha!sampo is super cool and fun and sexy, summarizing my project findings, send me to a hyv board meeting the way i'm pitching this development, general discussion of 4.x (no major spoilers)
— word count: 1.8k
— overview: a personal elaboration on why i like aha!sampo, as well as a high-level overview of what it can offer the story of honkai: star rail.
After discussing god consciousness, narrative frameworks, reveals, and more, the question still remains: Why Aha!Sampo? Why do I personally like it? Why do I feel it is a fitting development for the story? And why, exactly, does it work so well?
Most of this has already been answered in long-form. Here, however, I plan to bring my thoughts together more cohesively.
Why do I personally like Aha!Sampo?
To be completely frank, I just think it’s cool. An Aeon, ostensibly an eldritch entity in Their own right, taking form for an extended period of time as a mysterious character we’ve known from the beginning of the story is really interesting. (I am a sucker for characters with massive hidden powers, as well.) As a writer and a reader, I love asking questions. I love grilling the narrative and worldbuilding and coming up with more than I expected to find. Simply put, it’s fun for me. And I’m a nerd.
It’s also a hotbed for fanfiction, fanart, and all other kinds of creative craft. There are so many ways to take it—dual-sided, running from debts, trickster gods being unpredictable, simply wanting a nice retirement, and much more. Whatever your flavor of Sampo, you can probably find it here. The trickster nature of Aha!Sampo makes Their motivations flexible, able to be remixed and reinterpreted into new scenes, stories, and conversations. The world is your oyster.
Why do I feel Aha!Sampo is a fitting development for the story?
As explained previously, both Aha and Sampo have identity-related hooks, alongside mysteries of power, motives, and backstory. Converging the two identities into a reveal is an effective answer to all of these questions at once, enabling the audience to 1) have previous investment in both characters due to their long presence in the overarching story, 2) make connections between past events and reputations, including rumors and word-of-mouth, 3) generate unique insights about both identities separately and together, and 4) feel significant impact to the characters, plot, and world that justifies a lengthy buildup. Aha!Sampo simply has a lot going for it narratively. The potential recontextualization a reveal would create, even if just for the audience, would be on a large scale, and thus effective as far as reveals are concerned.
It’s worth addressing the “Who am I right now?” question present in Planarcadia's teaser trailer (which I take to be asking: Who is Aha right now?) . As of 4.2, as much as I want to manifest Aha!Sampo into reality, the table is still open for many other options. Anyone introduced after the question was posed—mainly new characters in Planarcadia like Nihilux, Evanescia, Yaoguang, Ashveil, and even Asat Pramad—is theoretically on the table. However, I do not believe any one of these is a good contender. I mentioned it previously, but they’ve simply been introduced too close to the reveal itself, if it happens in the Planarcadia arc. The audience hasn’t had enough time to get to know them, and there hasn’t been enough time to properly seed in clues and information for a reveal this large, the reveal of an Aeon. I personally like to think of them as fun set dressing to Aha’s mystery; the red herrings, the characters we know probably aren’t the answer, but the ones Aha drew in to make everything more interesting for us. (Thanks, Aha!)
There are also non-character entities, such as Sampo having something to do with Wishpower or Oroboros' remains or Aha’s tear, or even being the Noblesse Worm that perhaps, somehow, survived. While these are fine extra tidbits to throw in, I do not think they justify a reveal, and the impact would not equal the sheer amount of buildup put into Sampo’s character. Even Sampo as a yet-unnamed Emanator of Elation falls a little flat for me, because there’s little to orient around besides the status of Emanator itself. For all the meticulous detail put into Sampo’s kit and interactions and foreshadowing, the equation of these reveals would be oddly unbalanced, tipping in one direction while leaving the audience with little prior established information on the other. A giant question mark, that doesn’t feel too good to answer via Star Rail's lengthy exposition dumps.
To talk about Emanators a little more, I believe the time for a solely Emanator!Sampo reveal has largely passed. As much as it pains me to say it, Emanator!Sampo just doesn’t carry as much weight as it would have two years or even a year ago. The time for an Emanator!Sampo reveal—a proper, satisfying recontextualization of information that carries impact and meaning—would have been before the characters and audience met more Emanators. An Emanator!Sampo in the days of early Belobog, Xianzhou, or even Penacony would have carried weight; Emanators were still largely mysterious to us then, and Sampo would have been one of the only ones we knew. Now, however, the meaning of the status as the crux of a reveal simply fades.
What does an Emanator!Sampo reveal mean if the Trailblazer can count the number of Emanators they’ve met on more than two hands? What does Sampo, coming in at Emanator number 11 or 12 or 13, really mean? The truth is that it can’t—the main interest would come from how he is an Emanator, or why he is an Emanator, but not the actual reveal of identity itself. This means a reveal wouldn’t really need to happen at all, the information could be integrated in other ways into the story, and Sampo’s identity buildup would sit stagnant with nowhere to funnel into.
In my opinion, there wouldn’t be much reason for this to be a reveal, because how would this information really shape things? The Trailblazer would likely go, “Oh. Well I know a bunch of Emanators and they’re cool! You’re good.” and move on. He would just be another Emanator, because he hasn't been set up with a specific reputation beyond that. It’s great for regular conversation, but not something that justifies identity hooks and foreshadowing and years of buildup. It would be different if we knew of a specific and named Elation Emanator with a reputation—which could be a proper identity to orient around and generate unique insights from—but we simply don’t have that in the game.
[To be clear I still very much enjoy Emanator!Sampo in theory, especially in fandom interpretation and fanfic; my main issue is with how it would be executed in canon. I just don’t think it would be most effective development looking at where the story is currently. I worry for the buildup and payoff of a Non-Aha!Sampo reveal on a purely craft level, especially if it occurs in Planarcadia. It sucks to feel that way because in another context, I would’ve loved canon Emanator-or-Other!Sampo. One year ago, two years ago, I actually would have preferred it over Aha!Sampo. Now, I just feel like the window has largely passed. I really don’t see any way they can pull it off in Planarcadia without a huge exposition dump.]
And so, we look back to Aha!Sampo. Aha, a vast and mysterious and powerful entity, with a reputation and loads of interesting history. Sampo, a quirky and mysterious character present from the beginning of the game itself. From Sampo’s side, Aha’s Aeonic identity would cause enough commotion to justify a reveal; it would be big news. And from Aha’s side, Sampo serves as a sufficient “surprise present” for the characters and audience—the revelation that They have been with us all along. They complement each other nicely, covering holes that might be present in one or the other. Not to say it’s perfect by any means, but it is the exact right blend of tension, buildup, and payoff that worms its way into my brain and refuses to leave. And because of this, I do believe it is the best route currently available to the game.
Why, exactly, does Aha!Sampo work so well?
Aha!Sampo achieves its effectiveness through blending a variety of different narrative frameworks and techniques:
Emotional tension between expectation and reality, internal and external identity, reputation and action, and the tension between what is revealed, and when, and how, and why.
Prompting questions and making connections by directly engaging the audience with new context surrounding established characters, including details present in the buildup.
Narrative buildup, threading the seeds and clues of a future reveal through foreshadowing, pre-existing context, microcosmic allusions, and more.
Long-term planning, including the intricacy, delicacy, and contextual meaning employed as a result of carefully crafting a story’s details well in advance.
The reveal itself, which would synthesize buildup, foreshadowing, and long-term planning to recontextualize significant portions of the plot, characters, history, and worldbuilding of the game, including generating a tangibly large impact for the audience and world of Honkai: Star Rail.
Thematic relevance, which would weave Aha and Sampo’s themes and motifs together into a tapestry that makes new and unique connections between the two.
The presence of the trickster god archetype, which allows Aha!Sampo to challenge the status quo through unpredictability, loopholes, and narrative/moral flexibility.
Aha!Sampo blends all of these techniques wonderfully so far. The reveal itself is the only thing that hasn’t happened yet, but the emotional tension, questions, connections, buildup, planning, thematic relevance, and archetype are all already there. The connective tissue has already been growing, the groundwork has already been laid. All that’s left to do is see if it nails the landing.
Ultimately, what this all feels like to me is a beautiful glimpse into the inner workings of a story. I believe that, in a good story, if the reader looks hard enough they should be able to see the beating heart of the whole thing—the nerves and the veins and the pumping blood. Like an intricate watch, you can see the cogs turning. This is what I see in Aha!Sampo. In a strange way, I have looked so deeply I feel I can see the gears turning with every passing second. Perhaps that makes me insane, or perhaps it just means I cared enough to look. I can’t be sure until the game progresses, until more is revealed, but until then, all I know is: It’s beautiful.
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, presenting my argument for why aha!sampo is super cool and fun and sexy, summarizing my project findings, send me to a hyv board meeting the way i'm pitching this development, general discussion of 4.x (no major spoilers)
— word count: 1.8k
— overview: a personal elaboration on why i like aha!sampo, as well as a high-level overview of what it can offer the story of honkai: star rail.
After discussing god consciousness, narrative frameworks, reveals, and more, the question still remains: Why Aha!Sampo? Why do I personally like it? Why do I feel it is a fitting development for the story? And why, exactly, does it work so well?
Most of this has already been answered in long-form. Here, however, I plan to bring my thoughts together more cohesively.
Why do I personally like Aha!Sampo?
To be completely frank, I just think it’s cool. An Aeon, ostensibly an eldritch entity in Their own right, taking form for an extended period of time as a mysterious character we’ve known from the beginning of the story is really interesting. (I am a sucker for characters with massive hidden powers, as well.) As a writer and a reader, I love asking questions. I love grilling the narrative and worldbuilding and coming up with more than I expected to find. Simply put, it’s fun for me. And I’m a nerd.
It’s also a hotbed for fanfiction, fanart, and all other kinds of creative craft. There are so many ways to take it—dual-sided, running from debts, trickster gods being unpredictable, simply wanting a nice retirement, and much more. Whatever your flavor of Sampo, you can probably find it here. The trickster nature of Aha!Sampo makes Their motivations flexible, able to be remixed and reinterpreted into new scenes, stories, and conversations. The world is your oyster.
Why do I feel Aha!Sampo is a fitting development for the story?
As explained previously, both Aha and Sampo have identity-related hooks, alongside mysteries of power, motives, and backstory. Converging the two identities into a reveal is an effective answer to all of these questions at once, enabling the audience to 1) have previous investment in both characters due to their long presence in the overarching story, 2) make connections between past events and reputations, including rumors and word-of-mouth, 3) generate unique insights about both identities separately and together, and 4) feel significant impact to the characters, plot, and world that justifies a lengthy buildup. Aha!Sampo simply has a lot going for it narratively. The potential recontextualization a reveal would create, even if just for the audience, would be on a large scale, and thus effective as far as reveals are concerned.
It’s worth addressing the “Who am I right now?” question present in Planarcadia's teaser trailer (which I take to be asking: Who is Aha right now?) . As of 4.2, as much as I want to manifest Aha!Sampo into reality, the table is still open for many other options. Anyone introduced after the question was posed—mainly new characters in Planarcadia like Nihilux, Evanescia, Yaoguang, Ashveil, and even Asat Pramad—is theoretically on the table. However, I do not believe any one of these is a good contender. I mentioned it previously, but they’ve simply been introduced too close to the reveal itself, if it happens in the Planarcadia arc. The audience hasn’t had enough time to get to know them, and there hasn’t been enough time to properly seed in clues and information for a reveal this large, the reveal of an Aeon. I personally like to think of them as fun set dressing to Aha’s mystery; the red herrings, the characters we know probably aren’t the answer, but the ones Aha drew in to make everything more interesting for us. (Thanks, Aha!)
There are also non-character entities, such as Sampo having something to do with Wishpower or Oroboros' remains or Aha’s tear, or even being the Noblesse Worm that perhaps, somehow, survived. While these are fine extra tidbits to throw in, I do not think they justify a reveal, and the impact would not equal the sheer amount of buildup put into Sampo’s character. Even Sampo as a yet-unnamed Emanator of Elation falls a little flat for me, because there’s little to orient around besides the status of Emanator itself. For all the meticulous detail put into Sampo’s kit and interactions and foreshadowing, the equation of these reveals would be oddly unbalanced, tipping in one direction while leaving the audience with little prior established information on the other. A giant question mark, that doesn’t feel too good to answer via Star Rail's lengthy exposition dumps.
To talk about Emanators a little more, I believe the time for a solely Emanator!Sampo reveal has largely passed. As much as it pains me to say it, Emanator!Sampo just doesn’t carry as much weight as it would have two years or even a year ago. The time for an Emanator!Sampo reveal—a proper, satisfying recontextualization of information that carries impact and meaning—would have been before the characters and audience met more Emanators. An Emanator!Sampo in the days of early Belobog, Xianzhou, or even Penacony would have carried weight; Emanators were still largely mysterious to us then, and Sampo would have been one of the only ones we knew. Now, however, the meaning of the status as the crux of a reveal simply fades.
What does an Emanator!Sampo reveal mean if the Trailblazer can count the number of Emanators they’ve met on more than two hands? What does Sampo, coming in at Emanator number 11 or 12 or 13, really mean? The truth is that it can’t—the main interest would come from how he is an Emanator, or why he is an Emanator, but not the actual reveal of identity itself. This means a reveal wouldn’t really need to happen at all, the information could be integrated in other ways into the story, and Sampo’s identity buildup would sit stagnant with nowhere to funnel into.
In my opinion, there wouldn’t be much reason for this to be a reveal, because how would this information really shape things? The Trailblazer would likely go, “Oh. Well I know a bunch of Emanators and they’re cool! You’re good.” and move on. He would just be another Emanator, because he hasn't been set up with a specific reputation beyond that. It’s great for regular conversation, but not something that justifies identity hooks and foreshadowing and years of buildup. It would be different if we knew of a specific and named Elation Emanator with a reputation—which could be a proper identity to orient around and generate unique insights from—but we simply don’t have that in the game.
[To be clear I still very much enjoy Emanator!Sampo in theory, especially in fandom interpretation and fanfic; my main issue is with how it would be executed in canon. I just don’t think it would be most effective development looking at where the story is currently. I worry for the buildup and payoff of a Non-Aha!Sampo reveal on a purely craft level, especially if it occurs in Planarcadia. It sucks to feel that way because in another context, I would’ve loved canon Emanator-or-Other!Sampo. One year ago, two years ago, I actually would have preferred it over Aha!Sampo. Now, I just feel like the window has largely passed. I really don’t see any way they can pull it off in Planarcadia without a huge exposition dump.]
And so, we look back to Aha!Sampo. Aha, a vast and mysterious and powerful entity, with a reputation and loads of interesting history. Sampo, a quirky and mysterious character present from the beginning of the game itself. From Sampo’s side, Aha’s Aeonic identity would cause enough commotion to justify a reveal; it would be big news. And from Aha’s side, Sampo serves as a sufficient “surprise present” for the characters and audience—the revelation that They have been with us all along. They complement each other nicely, covering holes that might be present in one or the other. Not to say it’s perfect by any means, but it is the exact right blend of tension, buildup, and payoff that worms its way into my brain and refuses to leave. And because of this, I do believe it is the best route currently available to the game.
Why, exactly, does Aha!Sampo work so well?
Aha!Sampo achieves its effectiveness through blending a variety of different narrative frameworks and techniques:
Emotional tension between expectation and reality, internal and external identity, reputation and action, and the tension between what is revealed, and when, and how, and why.
Prompting questions and making connections by directly engaging the audience with new context surrounding established characters, including details present in the buildup.
Narrative buildup, threading the seeds and clues of a future reveal through foreshadowing, pre-existing context, microcosmic allusions, and more.
Long-term planning, including the intricacy, delicacy, and contextual meaning employed as a result of carefully crafting a story’s details well in advance.
The reveal itself, which would synthesize buildup, foreshadowing, and long-term planning to recontextualize significant portions of the plot, characters, history, and worldbuilding of the game, including generating a tangibly large impact for the audience and world of Honkai: Star Rail.
Thematic relevance, which would weave Aha and Sampo’s themes and motifs together into a tapestry that makes new and unique connections between the two.
The presence of the trickster god archetype, which allows Aha!Sampo to challenge the status quo through unpredictability, loopholes, and narrative/moral flexibility.
Aha!Sampo blends all of these techniques wonderfully so far. The reveal itself is the only thing that hasn’t happened yet, but the emotional tension, questions, connections, buildup, planning, thematic relevance, and archetype are all already there. The connective tissue has already been growing, the groundwork has already been laid. All that’s left to do is see if it nails the landing.
Ultimately, what this all feels like to me is a beautiful glimpse into the inner workings of a story. I believe that, in a good story, if the reader looks hard enough they should be able to see the beating heart of the whole thing—the nerves and the veins and the pumping blood. Like an intricate watch, you can see the cogs turning. This is what I see in Aha!Sampo. In a strange way, I have looked so deeply I feel I can see the gears turning with every passing second. Perhaps that makes me insane, or perhaps it just means I cared enough to look. I can’t be sure until the game progresses, until more is revealed, but until then, all I know is: It’s beautiful.
✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ VIII. THE UNASSUMING GOD, THE TRICKSTER GOD ⌝
aha!sampo project m.list ⟡ sampo analysis m.list
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, character archetypes, specifically trickster gods
— word count: 2.2k
— overview: a discussion of how the trickster god archetype, complete with unpredictability and challenging the status quo, relates to aha!sampo.
This may be a slightly tangential topic, but I do love me a trickster god. Trickster gods can be broadly defined as deities, often mythological figures, who embody chaos, cunning, and unpredictability. They are seen across languages and cultures, and can be depicted as heroes, villains, or even the gray area between. A defining characteristic of trickster gods is often their ability to shapeshift, and their unpredictability leads to a kind of narrative flexibility that challenges the status quo.
If anyone is interested in a further source, I recommend:
“Trickster Gods and the Mortals Who Love Them | Fate & Fabled” from PBS Storied on YouTube
And, for a more in-depth discussion:
“The Psychology of the Trickster” from Externalised on YouTube
I also want to point out the differences between tricksters and fools. Despite being similar archetypes, both embodying duality, entertainment, and elements of comedy, the fool is often portrayed as a more “innocent and naïve figure,” while the trickster occupies a devious role, seeking to “trick others and laugh at them” (“The Psychology of the Fool,” Externalised) (8:45). The fool laughs with others (and the self), but the trickster laughs at them, often taking pleasure in harm.
In my opinion, Sampo occupies a combination of the two—specifically, I believe he is a trickster (Aha) playing the fool (Sampo), as tricksters often do. He presents to the world as an innocent businessman, a harmless Masked Fool, while hiding the truth of his intentions. His quick wit and shady dealings make it easier for him to occupy the shadows, and his position as a Masked Fool makes it easier to convince others there is nothing more to see. The undercurrents of well-hidden danger and intention run through his interactions, contrasting his persona as a lighthearted Fool. His parallels to “Spirithief” Bartholos—Zagreus, the Titan of Trickery—are especially striking in this comparison, as Zagreus occupies a similar trickster role to Aha. (Notably, Zagreus often “plays the fool” as “Spirithief” Bartholos, feigning innocence or ignorance for the sake of tricking others, much like Aha and Sampo.)
Speaking of Aha, one of the reasons I love Them so much is because of Their existence as a trickster god in the Aeonic pantheon. This leads Them away from “cosmic horror” and towards the more personal, archetype-oriented mythology commonly found in folklore, of course with a dose of cosmic vastness for flavor. They are, in a way, predictable in Their unpredictability, often following in the mythological footsteps of deities like Loki, Anansi, and Sun Wukong. Similarities include Aha’s ability to shapeshift at will, Their penchant for tricking or surprising others (whether for better or for worse), Their shifting personality between friend and foe, and Their challenging of the status quo. One day, They might steal from the rich to give to the poor, or provide someone with the power needed to improve their life, but the next, They blow up half the Astral Express and rack up a significant tab posing as a Nameless at the Tavern.
This unpredictability is what makes Them so fun to be around, narratively-speaking. Aha is engaging precisely because They are flexible—if the plot needs a boost, let Aha do it! This is the same for Sampo. I would argue that Sampo is just as much of a trickster as a fool, archetypically-speaking, and some of the Fools who are Pathstriders, like Sparkle, can fit here as well. Both Sampo and Sparkle have the ability to shapeshift, Sparkle’s being more overt, while Sampo is left more to implication in his character stories. At the very least, he is accustomed to taking new identities in order to trick, surprise, or fool others. It’s difficult to tell sometimes whether Sampo will be a friend or a foe—while I, lovingly, always consider him a friend, sometimes he makes chaotic decisions (such as that smoke bomb on Belobog or sending scam links in live chat) that shade him in a morally-grey light. While these decisions always turn out for the Express’ (and Belobog’s) benefit in the end, there are many moments where the characters and audience are left to wonder what role he actually plays in the grand scheme of heroes, villains, and fools.
Aha!Sampo doubly aligns with these metrics. It’s twice the good stuff. Aha, as a trickster god, could understandably use the identity of Sampo to accomplish chaotic jokes, and Sampo, Aha’s foolish persona, could take these shenanigans further in his downtime. When Sampo gets on stage, Aha reveals all the fun lights and glitter and laughter of a performance, and when Aha steps off stage, Sampo continues Their work in the shadows, posing as Madam Poisson and stealing relics under the noses of city officials. In fact, the identity of Sampo is so unassuming, so pathetically broke at times, that no one would suspect Aha, not really.
They’ve dug Themself deep—They’re committed to the bit, in it for the long con. Their simple existence as Sampo challenges the status quo, challenges the ability for Aeons to be detached and distant. An Aeon, walking among us? Walking among a forgotten, snow-ridden planet, in the universe’s glorified cosmic dump? No one would believe it. And yet Sampo continues to run supplies for Natasha, to step in for Serval’s band. Aha, for whatever reason, is in hiding. Perhaps They are vulnerable, or recovering from a nasty wound, or afflicted by a curse, or desperately needing a vacation. They could be tiredly soft-launching retirement. They may want a normal life; to be seen beyond godhood, to be loved beyond immortality. Or They could simply be doing it for fun. Waiting for the Trailblazer to densely walk past so They can put into motion the universe’s greatest surprise. Perhaps all at once.
Because that’s the game: Being unpredictable, and chaotic, and quick-witted by nature. Getting out of sticky situations with a silver tongue and smoke bombs. It fascinates me that Aha is potentially, intentionally, creating Their own weaknesses, simply to make the game more fun. As Sampo mentioned during the Cosmicon Collective quest, if he were to intervene outright, to push things in one direction or another, he’d just get accused of using his tricks. (He uses the word “tricks” specifically.) And that’s no fun for an Aeon, is it? Under the surface, I can see a very sincere want to accomplish something of his own merit—to forego the status of Aeon, the identity of Aha, and just play the game. Prove “Sampo” can do something on his own. If he wins, it’s all him. If he loses, just as well. The point is that it was him regardless.
In Externalised’s video, “The Psychology of the Trickster,” tricksters are specifically discussed as disguising themselves as someone “very lowly” to overcome “so-called great” others—the trickster reverses the idea of “the great helping the lowly,” by becoming the lowly who topples the great (25:26). I believe Aha disguising Themself as Sampo may serve this role—the one pretending to be a “Fool,” who is, in reality, a trickster god in disguise. However, it is also possible that Aha has become fooled Themself, the result of another common plotline among tricksters: hubris preceding a great fall.
Relevant to Aha!Sampo, the trickster also embodies duality. The same being that fools others is themself fooled, often leading to punishment. As Externalised quotes from Paul Radin’s The Trickster: “Trickster is at one and the same creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes and who is always duped himself.” (08:50) Tricksters embody shadow, the unconscious, and duality. They are not good or evil, but are responsible for both; the duality reveals itself in the sides of light versus dark, in the unity that underlies duality. It is “… the peculiar unity of the liminal: that which is neither this nor that, and yet is both” (10:38). They are respected, they are feared, they are mocked. In Aha’s case, They may even be praised. The trickster is an amoral being, yet often protective of humanity, yet at the same time split within themself, different parts fighting with another for dominance.
This is very similar to Sampo’s character motifs of love/hate, protection, and “spending,” and blends with his additional fool (Masked Fool) archetype quite well. Not all fools are tricksters, but many tricksters can become fools or disguise themselves as one—Sampo, characteristic of a trickster, embodies the duality of harmlessness and danger. He blends the light nature of the fool with the darker, amoral undercurrents of a trickster. He protects those close to him, covers himself in sheep’s clothing, yet still something waits in the background for a chance to strike. Like a trickster, he represents the shadow of man. After all, no one suspects that “… his own hidden and apparently harmless shadow has qualities whose dangerousness exceeds his wildest dreams.” (22:30)
This is Aha: a chaotic god of mischief, a shapeshifter dually embodying laughter and sorrow, at once praised and despised. A creator and destroyer, the playful spark of an unconscious mind. The stage and the lights, the glamor of the game.
This is Sampo: a man of shadows and smoke, a figure dually embodying love and hate, at once fooling others and being fooled himself. A protector and a betrayer, the danger of a silhouette lurking in the background.
Together, they form one whole: the trickster masked as a Fool, the lowly disguise of a great entity meant to push the boundaries of understanding. The body and its shadow, the Mask and its Silhouette. Apparent duality that coalesces into unity. One into two, and two into one. Aha!Sampo is neither this nor that, and yet he is both. Two sides of the same coin, caught in a never-ending cycle of cause and effect. Sparkle calls him a “Fool,” because perhaps he is one. Perhaps Aha, in Their disguise, has become Themselves fooled and forsaken. Perhaps the war within Themself has grown too loud, too grating. Perhaps this is simply the cycle of cause and effect.
Both Aha and Sampo also seem to be fond of loopholes. Much like the Spirithief and Zagreus, they seem to have some amount of control over spacetime, which adds to their unpredictability. Sampo especially seems to be able to appear and disappear at will, which could track with the idea of any physical manifestation of Aha’s form, essentially, being a projection from a higher plane. It’s really fun to see Sampo bend over backwards to find a way out of a situation, if not disappear entirely. It’s also fun to think about how Aha might react to being cornered with a debt notice, since They seem to chronically avoid responsibility.
With Aha!Sampo, there’s so many wonderful ways loopholes can manifest. I’m especially thinking of the Tavern here—we know Aha is banned, but anything related to Them is not. I could see Sampo being confronted by Sparkle, or someone else who knows his secret, only for him to hold up his Mask and go: “Aha only exists when I have the Mask on, and clearly I don’t have the Mask on. Unless you want to ban poor Sampo too?” And the other party is forced to let him in because damn, he technically isn’t wrong. I also like the idea of Aha signing the Astral Express debt notice, only for Sampo to dodge it completely by going, “Look buddy, it clearly says Aha right there. I’m Sampo. Do those names look the same to you?” And when the Trailblazer points out it’s the exact same handwriting he goes, “Yeah, but the names are still different” with a fuckass smirk on his face. Man, I love the idea of Aha chronically avoiding Their responsibilities as Sampo. Finding loopholes in every little area, cracks in spacetime They can slip through to get some moment of respite.
However, as many trickster stories are wont to do, there’s a good chance Aha!Sampo has already been or will be on the receiving end of some kind of consequence to Their actions. You can only run for so long—eventually the past will catch up to you. Aha, the trickster god, playing Sampo, the unassuming Fool, likely realizes this. But Sampo cannot stop running. Aha has set the tracks, and Sampo must continue on them. Aha racks up debt after debt after debt, runs a tab at the Tavern, blows up the Express, relies on Sparkle for favors, and Sampo runs. It’s all he can do. It’s fun at first; the feeling of freedom, the thrill of wit. But then Sparkle finds him, pries into his secrets, crosses her arms and continues to pester him even after he points out his eyes are blue right now, not red. She’s secretly fond, but she won’t let him off the hook.
Then there’s the Tavern, who plasters his Mask at the front, next to his own goddamn door, and strikes a big red cross through it. It’s funny at first. It quickly sours. Aha’s followers don’t want Them. It feels like they don’t want him, either. The resentment builds. Aha racks up a tab as Sampo, now, and groans when Zhongshan cuts him off. Sparkle makes him wash dishes. Giovanni gives him a withering look when a valuable piece in storage goes missing. It’s your own collection, Gio says. What’s the point?
What is the point, Sampo starts to think, if all I ever do is owe, and owe, and owe? Jokes aren’t fun if they have taxes. Aha wasn’t built for this. It’s monotonous. It’s boring. So They run again. They run all the way to an isolated planet and try to start over. The name’s Sampo Koski, They say, and hope it sticks; hope the wool pulled over Their fur is enough to find warmth. Sampo owes favors to Wildfire and Natasha, now. It’s all the same. He could ignore them, but the horrible, brutal truth hits him when he’s halfway through a heist: He cares. Sampo cares, and Aha cares, and together they can feel a train coming—some inevitable fate—because Aha isn’t supposed to care. That’s the status quo. That’s what Aha is. That’s why Sampo exists, to run. To make Aha fleet-footed and quick-witted, to cheat and steal and hide, to commit multiple of the universe’s biggest tax evasions at the same time. To forget about the rejection, the betrayal. To be somewhere no Aeonic debtors come knocking.
Love shackles Them, both of Them, painfully and cruelly ironic. This time, They stand still as Sampo hears the horn of a train. There’s a long list with a name on it, there. He can’t remember who signed. He loves Belobog enough to stay. The train is coming. He is tired and does not want to leave. The train arrives. He doesn’t think he wants to run, anymore.
✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ VIII. THE UNASSUMING GOD, THE TRICKSTER GOD ⌝
aha!sampo project m.list ⟡ sampo analysis m.list
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, character archetypes, specifically trickster gods
— word count: 2.2k
— overview: a discussion of how the trickster god archetype, complete with unpredictability and challenging the status quo, relates to aha!sampo.
This may be a slightly tangential topic, but I do love me a trickster god. Trickster gods can be broadly defined as deities, often mythological figures, who embody chaos, cunning, and unpredictability. They are seen across languages and cultures, and can be depicted as heroes, villains, or even the gray area between. A defining characteristic of trickster gods is often their ability to shapeshift, and their unpredictability leads to a kind of narrative flexibility that challenges the status quo.
If anyone is interested in a further source, I recommend:
“Trickster Gods and the Mortals Who Love Them | Fate & Fabled” from PBS Storied on YouTube
And, for a more in-depth discussion:
“The Psychology of the Trickster” from Externalised on YouTube
I also want to point out the differences between tricksters and fools. Despite being similar archetypes, both embodying duality, entertainment, and elements of comedy, the fool is often portrayed as a more “innocent and naïve figure,” while the trickster occupies a devious role, seeking to “trick others and laugh at them” (“The Psychology of the Fool,” Externalised) (8:45). The fool laughs with others (and the self), but the trickster laughs at them, often taking pleasure in harm.
In my opinion, Sampo occupies a combination of the two—specifically, I believe he is a trickster (Aha) playing the fool (Sampo), as tricksters often do. He presents to the world as an innocent businessman, a harmless Masked Fool, while hiding the truth of his intentions. His quick wit and shady dealings make it easier for him to occupy the shadows, and his position as a Masked Fool makes it easier to convince others there is nothing more to see. The undercurrents of well-hidden danger and intention run through his interactions, contrasting his persona as a lighthearted Fool. His parallels to “Spirithief” Bartholos—Zagreus, the Titan of Trickery—are especially striking in this comparison, as Zagreus occupies a similar trickster role to Aha. (Notably, Zagreus often “plays the fool” as “Spirithief” Bartholos, feigning innocence or ignorance for the sake of tricking others, much like Aha and Sampo.)
Speaking of Aha, one of the reasons I love Them so much is because of Their existence as a trickster god in the Aeonic pantheon. This leads Them away from “cosmic horror” and towards the more personal, archetype-oriented mythology commonly found in folklore, of course with a dose of cosmic vastness for flavor. They are, in a way, predictable in Their unpredictability, often following in the mythological footsteps of deities like Loki, Anansi, and Sun Wukong. Similarities include Aha’s ability to shapeshift at will, Their penchant for tricking or surprising others (whether for better or for worse), Their shifting personality between friend and foe, and Their challenging of the status quo. One day, They might steal from the rich to give to the poor, or provide someone with the power needed to improve their life, but the next, They blow up half the Astral Express and rack up a significant tab posing as a Nameless at the Tavern.
This unpredictability is what makes Them so fun to be around, narratively-speaking. Aha is engaging precisely because They are flexible—if the plot needs a boost, let Aha do it! This is the same for Sampo. I would argue that Sampo is just as much of a trickster as a fool, archetypically-speaking, and some of the Fools who are Pathstriders, like Sparkle, can fit here as well. Both Sampo and Sparkle have the ability to shapeshift, Sparkle’s being more overt, while Sampo is left more to implication in his character stories. At the very least, he is accustomed to taking new identities in order to trick, surprise, or fool others. It’s difficult to tell sometimes whether Sampo will be a friend or a foe—while I, lovingly, always consider him a friend, sometimes he makes chaotic decisions (such as that smoke bomb on Belobog or sending scam links in live chat) that shade him in a morally-grey light. While these decisions always turn out for the Express’ (and Belobog’s) benefit in the end, there are many moments where the characters and audience are left to wonder what role he actually plays in the grand scheme of heroes, villains, and fools.
Aha!Sampo doubly aligns with these metrics. It’s twice the good stuff. Aha, as a trickster god, could understandably use the identity of Sampo to accomplish chaotic jokes, and Sampo, Aha’s foolish persona, could take these shenanigans further in his downtime. When Sampo gets on stage, Aha reveals all the fun lights and glitter and laughter of a performance, and when Aha steps off stage, Sampo continues Their work in the shadows, posing as Madam Poisson and stealing relics under the noses of city officials. In fact, the identity of Sampo is so unassuming, so pathetically broke at times, that no one would suspect Aha, not really.
They’ve dug Themself deep—They’re committed to the bit, in it for the long con. Their simple existence as Sampo challenges the status quo, challenges the ability for Aeons to be detached and distant. An Aeon, walking among us? Walking among a forgotten, snow-ridden planet, in the universe’s glorified cosmic dump? No one would believe it. And yet Sampo continues to run supplies for Natasha, to step in for Serval’s band. Aha, for whatever reason, is in hiding. Perhaps They are vulnerable, or recovering from a nasty wound, or afflicted by a curse, or desperately needing a vacation. They could be tiredly soft-launching retirement. They may want a normal life; to be seen beyond godhood, to be loved beyond immortality. Or They could simply be doing it for fun. Waiting for the Trailblazer to densely walk past so They can put into motion the universe’s greatest surprise. Perhaps all at once.
Because that’s the game: Being unpredictable, and chaotic, and quick-witted by nature. Getting out of sticky situations with a silver tongue and smoke bombs. It fascinates me that Aha is potentially, intentionally, creating Their own weaknesses, simply to make the game more fun. As Sampo mentioned during the Cosmicon Collective quest, if he were to intervene outright, to push things in one direction or another, he’d just get accused of using his tricks. (He uses the word “tricks” specifically.) And that’s no fun for an Aeon, is it? Under the surface, I can see a very sincere want to accomplish something of his own merit—to forego the status of Aeon, the identity of Aha, and just play the game. Prove “Sampo” can do something on his own. If he wins, it’s all him. If he loses, just as well. The point is that it was him regardless.
In Externalised’s video, “The Psychology of the Trickster,” tricksters are specifically discussed as disguising themselves as someone “very lowly” to overcome “so-called great” others—the trickster reverses the idea of “the great helping the lowly,” by becoming the lowly who topples the great (25:26). I believe Aha disguising Themself as Sampo may serve this role—the one pretending to be a “Fool,” who is, in reality, a trickster god in disguise. However, it is also possible that Aha has become fooled Themself, the result of another common plotline among tricksters: hubris preceding a great fall.
Relevant to Aha!Sampo, the trickster also embodies duality. The same being that fools others is themself fooled, often leading to punishment. As Externalised quotes from Paul Radin’s The Trickster: “Trickster is at one and the same creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes and who is always duped himself.” (08:50) Tricksters embody shadow, the unconscious, and duality. They are not good or evil, but are responsible for both; the duality reveals itself in the sides of light versus dark, in the unity that underlies duality. It is “… the peculiar unity of the liminal: that which is neither this nor that, and yet is both” (10:38). They are respected, they are feared, they are mocked. In Aha’s case, They may even be praised. The trickster is an amoral being, yet often protective of humanity, yet at the same time split within themself, different parts fighting with another for dominance.
This is very similar to Sampo’s character motifs of love/hate, protection, and “spending,” and blends with his additional fool (Masked Fool) archetype quite well. Not all fools are tricksters, but many tricksters can become fools or disguise themselves as one—Sampo, characteristic of a trickster, embodies the duality of harmlessness and danger. He blends the light nature of the fool with the darker, amoral undercurrents of a trickster. He protects those close to him, covers himself in sheep’s clothing, yet still something waits in the background for a chance to strike. Like a trickster, he represents the shadow of man. After all, no one suspects that “… his own hidden and apparently harmless shadow has qualities whose dangerousness exceeds his wildest dreams.” (22:30)
This is Aha: a chaotic god of mischief, a shapeshifter dually embodying laughter and sorrow, at once praised and despised. A creator and destroyer, the playful spark of an unconscious mind. The stage and the lights, the glamor of the game.
This is Sampo: a man of shadows and smoke, a figure dually embodying love and hate, at once fooling others and being fooled himself. A protector and a betrayer, the danger of a silhouette lurking in the background.
Together, they form one whole: the trickster masked as a Fool, the lowly disguise of a great entity meant to push the boundaries of understanding. The body and its shadow, the Mask and its Silhouette. Apparent duality that coalesces into unity. One into two, and two into one. Aha!Sampo is neither this nor that, and yet he is both. Two sides of the same coin, caught in a never-ending cycle of cause and effect. Sparkle calls him a “Fool,” because perhaps he is one. Perhaps Aha, in Their disguise, has become Themselves fooled and forsaken. Perhaps the war within Themself has grown too loud, too grating. Perhaps this is simply the cycle of cause and effect.
Both Aha and Sampo also seem to be fond of loopholes. Much like the Spirithief and Zagreus, they seem to have some amount of control over spacetime, which adds to their unpredictability. Sampo especially seems to be able to appear and disappear at will, which could track with the idea of any physical manifestation of Aha’s form, essentially, being a projection from a higher plane. It’s really fun to see Sampo bend over backwards to find a way out of a situation, if not disappear entirely. It’s also fun to think about how Aha might react to being cornered with a debt notice, since They seem to chronically avoid responsibility.
With Aha!Sampo, there’s so many wonderful ways loopholes can manifest. I’m especially thinking of the Tavern here—we know Aha is banned, but anything related to Them is not. I could see Sampo being confronted by Sparkle, or someone else who knows his secret, only for him to hold up his Mask and go: “Aha only exists when I have the Mask on, and clearly I don’t have the Mask on. Unless you want to ban poor Sampo too?” And the other party is forced to let him in because damn, he technically isn’t wrong. I also like the idea of Aha signing the Astral Express debt notice, only for Sampo to dodge it completely by going, “Look buddy, it clearly says Aha right there. I’m Sampo. Do those names look the same to you?” And when the Trailblazer points out it’s the exact same handwriting he goes, “Yeah, but the names are still different” with a fuckass smirk on his face. Man, I love the idea of Aha chronically avoiding Their responsibilities as Sampo. Finding loopholes in every little area, cracks in spacetime They can slip through to get some moment of respite.
However, as many trickster stories are wont to do, there’s a good chance Aha!Sampo has already been or will be on the receiving end of some kind of consequence to Their actions. You can only run for so long—eventually the past will catch up to you. Aha, the trickster god, playing Sampo, the unassuming Fool, likely realizes this. But Sampo cannot stop running. Aha has set the tracks, and Sampo must continue on them. Aha racks up debt after debt after debt, runs a tab at the Tavern, blows up the Express, relies on Sparkle for favors, and Sampo runs. It’s all he can do. It’s fun at first; the feeling of freedom, the thrill of wit. But then Sparkle finds him, pries into his secrets, crosses her arms and continues to pester him even after he points out his eyes are blue right now, not red. She’s secretly fond, but she won’t let him off the hook.
Then there’s the Tavern, who plasters his Mask at the front, next to his own goddamn door, and strikes a big red cross through it. It’s funny at first. It quickly sours. Aha’s followers don’t want Them. It feels like they don’t want him, either. The resentment builds. Aha racks up a tab as Sampo, now, and groans when Zhongshan cuts him off. Sparkle makes him wash dishes. Giovanni gives him a withering look when a valuable piece in storage goes missing. It’s your own collection, Gio says. What’s the point?
What is the point, Sampo starts to think, if all I ever do is owe, and owe, and owe? Jokes aren’t fun if they have taxes. Aha wasn’t built for this. It’s monotonous. It’s boring. So They run again. They run all the way to an isolated planet and try to start over. The name’s Sampo Koski, They say, and hope it sticks; hope the wool pulled over Their fur is enough to find warmth. Sampo owes favors to Wildfire and Natasha, now. It’s all the same. He could ignore them, but the horrible, brutal truth hits him when he’s halfway through a heist: He cares. Sampo cares, and Aha cares, and together they can feel a train coming—some inevitable fate—because Aha isn’t supposed to care. That’s the status quo. That’s what Aha is. That’s why Sampo exists, to run. To make Aha fleet-footed and quick-witted, to cheat and steal and hide, to commit multiple of the universe’s biggest tax evasions at the same time. To forget about the rejection, the betrayal. To be somewhere no Aeonic debtors come knocking.
Love shackles Them, both of Them, painfully and cruelly ironic. This time, They stand still as Sampo hears the horn of a train. There’s a long list with a name on it, there. He can’t remember who signed. He loves Belobog enough to stay. The train is coming. He is tired and does not want to leave. The train arrives. He doesn’t think he wants to run, anymore.
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, the "i've been here all along" trope, god is a just a guy and it's beautiful
— word count: under 1k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo can work to introduce the characters and audience to the web of aeonic relationships, as well as raise the stakes for power classes involved in the story.
Something I haven’t really mentioned yet is what I have affectionately termed the “Aeonic Web.” The Aeonic Web, to me, consists of the next major step in Honkai: Star Rail’s worldbuilding—the thread of connections and interpersonal relationships and conflicts between Aeons. We were introduced to Factions and Pathstriders at the beginning of the game, and over the past few years we have been likewise introduced to Emanators (who also may be considered outer parts of the Aeonic Web). Each part has represented a step up in the characters’ and audience’s understanding of Honkai: Star Rail’s universe. It allows us to become accustomed to new ideas and concepts before ramping up the intensity. For example, before anyone personally met the first on-screen Emanator, we had Herta’s puppets, which introduced the idea of non-puppet, off-screen Herta as an Emanator. We also had Phantylia on the Xianzhou, discussions of the Xianzhou Alliance’s generals, and from there stepped into the big, wide world. Acheron, the Stonehearts, Phainon, Cyrene, Evernight, and more, all on different sliding scale levels of power. Slowly, we’ve been drip-fed Lord Ravagers like Asat Pramad, and now we’re meeting Elation Emanators like Silver Wolf Lvl.999.
This is useful because Emanators are a high power class in Honkai: Star Rail’s universe—it would have been unwise to drop them all on the audience at once, because we would likely feel overwhelmed and confused. I think of those first few characters fondly, like Herta and her puppets, Phantylia, and even Acheron on Penacony, because they essentially guided us by hand until we were ready for more.
With Aeons being, as of now, the highest known power class / class of being in Honkai: Star Rail, I believe a similar drip-fed introduction is needed. So far, the game seems to be doing this quite well. As the Trailblazer, what started as fleeting glimpses of Nanook and Qlipoth as we attained Path power have now become deeper, more nuanced. We’ve seen Ena the Order attempt resurrection, we’ve seen Phainon scratch Nanook, and most importantly, we’ve seen Sunday almost ascend into an Aeon himself (as confirmed by Constance’s story quest). We’re at the point where, in my opinion, we could really use the guiding hand of our first real Aeon to introduce us to the next level of Honkai: Star Rail.
Call me biased, but I think Aha is a great option. Aha has motivation to do so—They and Akivili were close, so They would have an incentive to take interest in the Trailblazer—and is more personal than many other Aeons. Nanook can get quite intense, Nous is way too high-level and technical, and IX literally doesn’t care. Sure, I could see others like Xipe or Yaoshi lending a helping hand, but Aha just connects so well. Who would be more fitting to bring the Trailblazer onto this new stage than the God of Elation Themself?
[I also want to point out that we can glean a wealth of knowledge about other Aeons from Aha, such as what They think of Nanook or Qlipoth, or specific encounters They’ve had with others. Adding Sampo’s personality flair into the mix makes it all the better! “I’ve been here all along” also works great for expectation versus reality, since we’ve gotten to see Sampo in action so many times we can properly evaluate him against what we know of Aha.]
The point is to familiarize the audience with the Aeons slowly, so we can properly absorb it all. Within the story, the point is for the Trailblazer to slowly gain enough understanding to eventually stand on their own two feet as a member of the Express Crew, taking on higher and higher levels of difficulty. Eventually, they’ll end up fighting an Aeon (Nanook), if the script stays true.
There is something oddly comforting to me about the idea of Aha, due to Their affection for Akivili, being present with us from the beginning to help guide us into the Aeonic Web. An Aha who could stay in the shadows for the most part, watching us run around Belobog and the Xianzhou and Penacony, before nudging us forward on Planarcadia. A Sampo who may not reveal everything right away, instead taking the Trailblazer by the hand, seeing Akivili in Their eyes, and slowly taking a step. Then another. And another. The other Aeons do not care, Aha thinks, of trains and laughter. But I do.
They know Akivili, They know well that deep want to travel the stars, and when They see the Trailblazer stumbling around Belobog, Sampo smiles and thinks, I hope you’ll like this surprise. They do it like old times, blue hair and all, and when the time finally comes, the Trailblazer doesn’t have to worry. Well, not beyond Aha’s flamboyant spectacle and a Lord Ravager, anyways.
We’ve always known the Aeons would come. Every day we’ve drawn closer—a glance here, a graze there. The stares become longer than the last, and soon we’ll find ourself in the middle of that dense web. Perhaps we’re already there. But until that time comes, until the Express and the Trailblazer are caught in the inevitable war between Aeons, there will always be Someone looking out for us. Someone who has never left, not really. Only Someone who slowly guides us forward, hoping we like both the present and the eventual surprise.
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, the "i've been here all along" trope, god is a just a guy and it's beautiful
— word count: under 1k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo can work to introduce the characters and audience to the web of aeonic relationships, as well as raise the stakes for power classes involved in the story.
Something I haven’t really mentioned yet is what I have affectionately termed the “Aeonic Web.” The Aeonic Web, to me, consists of the next major step in Honkai: Star Rail’s worldbuilding—the thread of connections and interpersonal relationships and conflicts between Aeons. We were introduced to Factions and Pathstriders at the beginning of the game, and over the past few years we have been likewise introduced to Emanators (who also may be considered outer parts of the Aeonic Web). Each part has represented a step up in the characters’ and audience’s understanding of Honkai: Star Rail’s universe. It allows us to become accustomed to new ideas and concepts before ramping up the intensity. For example, before anyone personally met the first on-screen Emanator, we had Herta’s puppets, which introduced the idea of non-puppet, off-screen Herta as an Emanator. We also had Phantylia on the Xianzhou, discussions of the Xianzhou Alliance’s generals, and from there stepped into the big, wide world. Acheron, the Stonehearts, Phainon, Cyrene, Evernight, and more, all on different sliding scale levels of power. Slowly, we’ve been drip-fed Lord Ravagers like Asat Pramad, and now we’re meeting Elation Emanators like Silver Wolf Lvl.999.
This is useful because Emanators are a high power class in Honkai: Star Rail’s universe—it would have been unwise to drop them all on the audience at once, because we would likely feel overwhelmed and confused. I think of those first few characters fondly, like Herta and her puppets, Phantylia, and even Acheron on Penacony, because they essentially guided us by hand until we were ready for more.
With Aeons being, as of now, the highest known power class / class of being in Honkai: Star Rail, I believe a similar drip-fed introduction is needed. So far, the game seems to be doing this quite well. As the Trailblazer, what started as fleeting glimpses of Nanook and Qlipoth as we attained Path power have now become deeper, more nuanced. We’ve seen Ena the Order attempt resurrection, we’ve seen Phainon scratch Nanook, and most importantly, we’ve seen Sunday almost ascend into an Aeon himself (as confirmed by Constance’s story quest). We’re at the point where, in my opinion, we could really use the guiding hand of our first real Aeon to introduce us to the next level of Honkai: Star Rail.
Call me biased, but I think Aha is a great option. Aha has motivation to do so—They and Akivili were close, so They would have an incentive to take interest in the Trailblazer—and is more personal than many other Aeons. Nanook can get quite intense, Nous is way too high-level and technical, and IX literally doesn’t care. Sure, I could see others like Xipe or Yaoshi lending a helping hand, but Aha just connects so well. Who would be more fitting to bring the Trailblazer onto this new stage than the God of Elation Themself?
[I also want to point out that we can glean a wealth of knowledge about other Aeons from Aha, such as what They think of Nanook or Qlipoth, or specific encounters They’ve had with others. Adding Sampo’s personality flair into the mix makes it all the better! “I’ve been here all along” also works great for expectation versus reality, since we’ve gotten to see Sampo in action so many times we can properly evaluate him against what we know of Aha.]
The point is to familiarize the audience with the Aeons slowly, so we can properly absorb it all. Within the story, the point is for the Trailblazer to slowly gain enough understanding to eventually stand on their own two feet as a member of the Express Crew, taking on higher and higher levels of difficulty. Eventually, they’ll end up fighting an Aeon (Nanook), if the script stays true.
There is something oddly comforting to me about the idea of Aha, due to Their affection for Akivili, being present with us from the beginning to help guide us into the Aeonic Web. An Aha who could stay in the shadows for the most part, watching us run around Belobog and the Xianzhou and Penacony, before nudging us forward on Planarcadia. A Sampo who may not reveal everything right away, instead taking the Trailblazer by the hand, seeing Akivili in Their eyes, and slowly taking a step. Then another. And another. The other Aeons do not care, Aha thinks, of trains and laughter. But I do.
They know Akivili, They know well that deep want to travel the stars, and when They see the Trailblazer stumbling around Belobog, Sampo smiles and thinks, I hope you’ll like this surprise. They do it like old times, blue hair and all, and when the time finally comes, the Trailblazer doesn’t have to worry. Well, not beyond Aha’s flamboyant spectacle and a Lord Ravager, anyways.
We’ve always known the Aeons would come. Every day we’ve drawn closer—a glance here, a graze there. The stares become longer than the last, and soon we’ll find ourself in the middle of that dense web. Perhaps we’re already there. But until that time comes, until the Express and the Trailblazer are caught in the inevitable war between Aeons, there will always be Someone looking out for us. Someone who has never left, not really. Only Someone who slowly guides us forward, hoping we like both the present and the eventual surprise.
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, themes & motifs, short & sweet, aha!sampo is just Fun babey
— word count: under 1k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo is thematically relevant to sampo, aha, elation, and the broader context of honkai: star rail.
This is the part of the project where I talk about Aha!Sampo just being fun. Like really fun! One of Aha’s biggest themes is fun—joy, whimsy, excitement, the like. Their whole thing is surprises, Their whole bit is “the joke.” And man, wouldn’t Aha!Sampo be fun to see? Here we have this cunty, pathetic guy who keeps following the Trailblazer around and asking for money, only to find out he’s not only an Aeon, but Aha, the Aeon of Elation. Aha, the Aeon of Elation, who is broke. And sells counterfeit relics. And has cut-out hip windows. It’s like coming across a sleazy middle-aged car salesman who tries to upcharge you thousands of dollars on a broke-down car that sounds like it’s choking when you turn it on, and then finding out later that was God. Like the God. Of Holy Trinity fame. And you just think: What the hell happened to that guy? It’s really funny, and, in my opinion, very on-brand for Aha!
Moving away from all the fun and whimsy, there are other themes that Aha!Sampo deals with as well. Thinking of the two sides of the equation—Sampo and Aha (and, by extension, Sampo as Aha, and Aha as Sampo, separately)—we can see quite a few. On Sampo’s side, we have shadows, smokescreens, protection, retirement, found family, and more. On Aha’s side, we have chaos, unpredictability, masks, games, and more. Both sides are fairly overt about dual-sided motifs.
The great thing about Aha!Sampo is that Aha and Sampo double-dip into each other. Aha also has a theme of shadows and smokescreens (as seen with Their shadowed silhouette) and almost seems to collect "playthings" like family to keep Them company; likewise, Sampo has a theme of masks and Fools (being a part of the Tavern) and unpredictability (since he often seems to show up and disappear out-of-the-blue). This is the nature of a dual-sided Aeon—love and hate, joy and sorrow, red and blue, both existing at the same time, blending in and over each other until indistinguishably purple.
Each part is relevant to the next. The dual-sided nature of Sampo and Aha’s thematic motifs puts extra tension between their internal and external identities; the blue altruism of Sampo’s intentions and the red chaos of Aha’s external impact. Sampo’s tired wish for retirement is expressed by trying to pass on Aha’s authority, the masks surrounding Aha are held dearly by Sampo at the Tavern, and the shadows used by Aha to hide become a well of Nihility for Sampo. Some of this may have to do with Asat Pramad, who is in the business of “cruel jokes,” and may have been able to inflict some kind of irony onto an Aeon by chance or intention. Either way, the effect is the same: Aha and Sampo’s themes, converging into one, are spectacular to behold.
To think an Aeon tired, or trapped, by Their own self is incredibly interesting. To think an Aeon a Fool is doubly so. And yet, at the core of it all, there is simply a man. A man in a crown-lit mask, shoulders bared and head turned, surrounded by playing cards and invariable shades of purple. Someone who once climbed a tree, and now tries to climb back down. An Aeon who wishes for Themself a form and a face. A man who, waking up in snow, finds it.
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, themes & motifs, short & sweet, aha!sampo is just Fun babey
— word count: under 1k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo is thematically relevant to sampo, aha, elation, and the broader context of honkai: star rail.
This is the part of the project where I talk about Aha!Sampo just being fun. Like really fun! One of Aha’s biggest themes is fun—joy, whimsy, excitement, the like. Their whole thing is surprises, Their whole bit is “the joke.” And man, wouldn’t Aha!Sampo be fun to see? Here we have this cunty, pathetic guy who keeps following the Trailblazer around and asking for money, only to find out he’s not only an Aeon, but Aha, the Aeon of Elation. Aha, the Aeon of Elation, who is broke. And sells counterfeit relics. And has cut-out hip windows. It’s like coming across a sleazy middle-aged car salesman who tries to upcharge you thousands of dollars on a broke-down car that sounds like it’s choking when you turn it on, and then finding out later that was God. Like the God. Of Holy Trinity fame. And you just think: What the hell happened to that guy? It’s really funny, and, in my opinion, very on-brand for Aha!
Moving away from all the fun and whimsy, there are other themes that Aha!Sampo deals with as well. Thinking of the two sides of the equation—Sampo and Aha (and, by extension, Sampo as Aha, and Aha as Sampo, separately)—we can see quite a few. On Sampo’s side, we have shadows, smokescreens, protection, retirement, found family, and more. On Aha’s side, we have chaos, unpredictability, masks, games, and more. Both sides are fairly overt about dual-sided motifs.
The great thing about Aha!Sampo is that Aha and Sampo double-dip into each other. Aha also has a theme of shadows and smokescreens (as seen with Their shadowed silhouette) and almost seems to collect "playthings" like family to keep Them company; likewise, Sampo has a theme of masks and Fools (being a part of the Tavern) and unpredictability (since he often seems to show up and disappear out-of-the-blue). This is the nature of a dual-sided Aeon—love and hate, joy and sorrow, red and blue, both existing at the same time, blending in and over each other until indistinguishably purple.
Each part is relevant to the next. The dual-sided nature of Sampo and Aha’s thematic motifs puts extra tension between their internal and external identities; the blue altruism of Sampo’s intentions and the red chaos of Aha’s external impact. Sampo’s tired wish for retirement is expressed by trying to pass on Aha’s authority, the masks surrounding Aha are held dearly by Sampo at the Tavern, and the shadows used by Aha to hide become a well of Nihility for Sampo. Some of this may have to do with Asat Pramad, who is in the business of “cruel jokes,” and may have been able to inflict some kind of irony onto an Aeon by chance or intention. Either way, the effect is the same: Aha and Sampo’s themes, converging into one, are spectacular to behold.
To think an Aeon tired, or trapped, by Their own self is incredibly interesting. To think an Aeon a Fool is doubly so. And yet, at the core of it all, there is simply a man. A man in a crown-lit mask, shoulders bared and head turned, surrounded by playing cards and invariable shades of purple. Someone who once climbed a tree, and now tries to climb back down. An Aeon who wishes for Themself a form and a face. A man who, waking up in snow, finds it.
— spoiler warning: major spoilers for heaven official's blessing and the magnus archives near the end!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, the art of revealing hidden or secret identities, you know its serious when i start using citations, aha!sampo really knocks it out of the park guys, like wow
— word count: 2.9k
— overview: a discussion of character identity reveals (recontextualization, implication, foreshadowing, impact, subtlety, and more) as they relate to aha!sampo.
[Unless quoted from a source, any definitions for techniques or concepts are ones I have personally come up with.]
So far, we’ve established core aspects of a reveal: emotional tension, buildup, and recontextualization. I now want to address other facets I consider important—implication, foreshadowing, and impact. My personal definitions are as follows: Implication has largely to do with subtextual changes that occur as the result of a reveal, foreshadowing is a part of buildup that focuses on laying predictive groundwork before the reveal, and impact covers cumulative consequences of the reveal that substantially affect the characters, narrative, and/or audience. Impact is often the goal or result of different facets like foreshadowing, implication, recontexualization, and more. For the reveal of the identity of both Sampo and Aha in Honkai: Star Rail, I argue that a large impact is needed to justify the presence of a reveal.
Fox Print Editorial has a great blog post called “The Delicate Art of Reveals” with some key takeaways I’d like to integrate into this discussion. Namely, the fact that, while reveals are usually concerned with “the unveiling of some unknown or unexpected information or event in a story,” (Fox Print Editorial), that information does not have to be unknown or unexpected to all parties. The post has a great section called Using Reveals Effectively that gives a case example of a girl who feels guilty for the death of her younger brother, which in turn affects how she approaches central relationships in the story. Fox Print Editorial points out that, in order to truly invest in her actions relevant to this information, the audience would need to know that information beforehand—we would need to know why. The more impactful reveal, here, may come from her revealing this information to other characters in the story, rather than to the audience who already knows.
Fox Print Editorial additionally advocates for timing the reveal to have “maximum impact on the characters and story,” as well as building the “necessary context and foundation” for the reveal, so that it properly reverberates for the characters, plot, and reader (Section: Techniques and Tips for Successful Reveals). The audience needs to know enough to care, and it’s important that we don’t walk away confused, frustrated, or unaffected. Namely, it is important to integrate clues throughout the story: “What makes reveals so delicious is how they directly engage readers and make them a part of the story—but you have to give us the breadcrumbs to follow.” (Fox Print Editorial)
I absolutely agree here: Reveals are often impactful because of the way they prompt audience engagement and impact, and in order to engage, one must be invested. To achieve investment, the audience must have proper context, even if we don’t know everything. In both Sampo and Aha’s case, it is important to consider the art of the reveal. As mentioned in previous posts, Sampo and Aha have identity-related hooks. One of the main hooks of this new arc, Planarcadia, is quite literally the verbatim question surrounding Aha: “Who am I right now?”
So, for the reveal, it is important to ask: Have the proper clues been set? Has context been integrated into the story? Is there tension for the audience to invest in? Is there, even, potential dramatic irony between what the audience knows and what the characters know? In the case of Aha revealing to be a newly-introduced character (4.0 and onward), I argue “no.” Why? Because Honkai: Star Rail’s context exists far beyond a singular arc; it’s a game of three years and counting, and Aha as an Aeon has been present since the beginning of the story. The buildup, then, necessitates scope beyond a single arc, even if Planarcadia is the arc the reveal happens to occur in. Think about the length of a novel—Is it enough to only seed in clues during the last chapter, or a single chapter leading up to the reveal? Or would it be more impactful to leave breadcrumbs throughout the entire story?
Aha!Sampo represents the culmination of many factors: emotional tension, buildup, recontexualization, implications, foreshadowing, and impact. An Aha!Sampo reveal is already set up with a wealth of breadcrumbed clues across years of game content, and the impact would be massive. Aha and Sampo represent two sides of an equation, each with their own set of information. A reveal would be the convergence of these two sides of information, in a way other Sampo identity reveals and other Aha identity reveals may lack. There needs to be information to recontextualize, after all.
This is where I want to gush about an Aha!Sampo reveal. It hits nearly every expectation you could set for it; even before the actual execution, the writers are entering with a leg up. I’ve already established Aha!Sampo’s effectiveness in areas of emotional tension and buildup. There is a tangible push and pull between internal and external identity—who Sampo is through his own understanding and actions, versus who Aha is perceived to be as an Aeon—and there is substantial buildup woven through nearly every aspect of Sampo and Aha’s characters. Even Amphoreus took the time to throw in the Spirithief and Zagreus, despite neither Sampo nor Aha being present!
But Aha!Sampo really excels at recontextualization. Taking information, dialogue, history, motive, and giving it new meaning in hindsight. It’s not enough that Sampo reveals to be Aha, but that Aha reveals to be Sampo. This makes the impact twofold: Sampo’s involvement in the story is given new meaning through Aha, and Aha’s involvement (or lack thereof, in cases like the Tavern) is also given new meaning through Sampo. The convergence of identity culminates in a mind-boggling amount of new perspectives. It operates on multiple planes: characters, plot, and audience.
Before the reveal, the audience may have some level of dramatic irony—if you’re like me and have done nearly academic levels of research into Aha!Sampo, then the dramatic irony already exists. However, the characters do not have this perspective. They do not know the names of Sampo’s Eidolons, or the details of his character stories, or the meaning of his visual motifs. So, when the reveal occurs, when the convergence happens, all hell breaks loose. On a universal scale, this includes the Astral Express, Belobog, the Masked Fools / the Tavern, and Planarcadia, comprising specific and personally-related characters like the Trailblazer, Pom-Pom, Gepard, Natasha, Hook, Sparkle, and many more—the parties implicated are more numerous than, for example, Aha as Nihilux, Aha as Yaoguang, or even Aha as Asat Pramad. The scope additionally expands to include any factions that worship or despise Aha, including the Mourning Actors and even non-Elation factions. This is, as Fox Print Editorial put it, “delicious.”
There is major impact in the sheer weight of implication that spiderwebs out from the site of the reveal. The Astral Express will react quite differently than Sparkle, who will react quite differently from Belobog, which will surely act differently from Asat Pramad. Sampo and Aha, together, have a litany of friends and family and enemies, all of who would be affected differently by the reveal. Implication says: Asat Pramad could target Belobog. The Express could come to collect on Aha’s debt. Sparkle could laugh her ass off for days and still not be done.
And then there is recontextualization, the sheer breadth of information put under a microscope. Beyond Planarcadia, beyond Belobog, beyond the Tavern, there is time. History. The Noblesse Worm, Aha and Akivili’s relationship, Pom-Pom’s debt statement, Asat Pramad the Anti-Elation Lord Ravager, the great tree Aha climbed and climbed and climbed. Every time we have seen Sampo help us, every time he’s said something cryptic, every time he’s laughed or shrugged or asked us for money, we now see it through new eyes. It is the same for Aha: Their Laugh, Their unpredictability, Their abandonment and Their perceived cruelty. We ask questions. We make connections.
The reveal is ground zero. With enough context and buildup and tension, it explodes. It ricochets through the narrative, it connects identity and motive and belief. It recontextualizes the entire game. It means something to everyone involved. The Trailblazer sits, mouth hanging open, eyebrows turned up, buffering, while Pela—ever studious—shouts “I knew it!” from halfway across the universe. Serval shrugs and smirks while Gepard chokes on his drink and tries not to think about handcuffs. Sparkle cackles. Hook imprints like a baby duckling. Nihilux gains inspiration for a fancomic while Pom-Pom waves an extremely long document from the windows of the Express. And all the while, Asat Pramad sits behind his game of chess, observing, stacking the new pieces. Some people rush towards the center of the impact, others rush away. The Tavern splits into new factions. The Destruction smiles at an endgame.
This is chaos. This is Elation. This is a goddamn good reveal.
However, this is not the only option. A universal reveal would surely be a literal game-changer—that wonderful spiderweb of change that is impossible to come back from. But if the writers want to retain some mystery, especially for future plotlines, smaller reveals can still work. In fact, for a first overt introduction—a first canonization—in Honkai: Star Rail, Aha!Sampo may do better with a small-scale reveal or series of mini-reveals over time because of the complexity of the identities involved. Small-scale reveals are mentioned in Overly Sarcastic Production’s “Trope Talk: Secret Identities” video as being “extremely impactful without really altering the status quo all that much” (~14:45), and mainly concern a secret identity being revealed to a single character, usually a friend or ally, at a time.
It may not be viable for Sampo and Aha’s motivations to do an intentional full-scale reveal; in fact, only hinting at it or telling it to one person (such as the Trailblazer) may be ideal, because it keeps the emotional tension of a future universal reveal in place while allowing the main character and audience to begin making connections. We, the audience, and the Trailblazer, perhaps even the Express, will get that juicy glimpse into the inner workings of things, while the plot retains relevancy through Aha!Sampo’s interactions with others (like Belobog) who don’t know. The dramatic irony is taken to new heights, while still reaping the benefits of a reveal.
Sampo doesn’t have to proclaim his identity to the universe on a jumbotron. It can just as easily be the Trailblazer winning the Phantasmoon Games and having a cryptic conversation with Sampo, full of subtext and “open secrets” and maybe a little smug wink or two. In fact, that may be preferable since, again, it keeps a lot of the external emotional tension secure for future plotlines while giving the audience just enough internal understanding to make that big connection. It’s a satisfying narrative focused not on outsmarting the audience, but rather giving us little pieces and clues to pick up along the way.
It’s in the way we get to the end and see Sampo, only Sampo, standing in front of that tree. The way the Trailblazer asks a question and Sampo looks at them a little too fondly, the way he starts sweating upon seeing the debt statement they brought. It’s Sampo asking how Pom-Pom is doing, and smiling wistfully at the mention of Akivili, and asking for a wish, very softly. It’s in his eyes and his voice and his laugh. It’s in all of him when the Trailblazer turns to leave and he stops them by the arm, asks, “Did you like it?,” beams brightly when he hears a “Yes.” And it’s in the question he communicates through his eyes at 00:58 seconds, to which the Trailblazer responds, “Don’t worry. It’s our secret.”
There will always be a shadow looming over Aha; Their own shadow, Their own self and enemies and mistakes. Their own future, Their loved ones, engulfed in an unwitting game of chess. There will be a day, not now, where everyone will know. But until then, Sampo doesn’t have to carry it alone.
Addendum: Subtlety
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Heaven Official's Blessing.]
The great thing about good reveals is that, generally, enough contextual information is present beforehand that the reveal itself could deal with the bare minimum, and the audience would still be able to make the connection. It’s the one little piece of information that connects everything, the subtle moment of revelation, that shows true craft, not a whole monologue or exposition dump just to get to there. For example, Heaven Official’s Blessing, despite including additional information, could have still accomplished its reveal with the single, silent scene of Jun Wu’s face being reflected in the sword. No dialogue would have been needed—the moment the reader sees Human Face Disease, they know what it is, and who would have it, and who that person is. This shows that Heaven Official’s Blessing was ready for that reveal; its groundwork and buildup and context were sufficient enough to proceed. Even if the story chose to include additional information to enhance the plot and scene, it didn’t need to. The reveal was strong enough to stand on its own.
Similarly, Aha!Sampo has such a wealth of buildup that no spoken explanation would be needed to connect the identities. The Trailblazer would simply have to win the Games, walk through a door, and silently see Sampo holding a Mask towards them. That’s it. No words, no exchanges, the Mask wouldn’t even have to be there. It could just be Sampo in a room, with the Trailblazer staring at him. That is how you, as a writer, know you’ve laid sufficient groundwork for a reveal. If it can still work with the minimal amount of parts—no dialogue, one frame, a sliver of an outfit—then as a writer you’ve done your due diligence. And it’s wonderful.
Unfortunately, many other Sampo (and Aha) interpretations do not have this. In many cases, he would have to go on a long-winded explanation to even introduce the identity he’s revealing as. The Joker of the Tavern, a yet-unnamed Emanator, some specific melding of Paths, even an Asat Pramad-Aha swap situation—they all would require him to introduce that information to us on the spot, which doesn’t make for a very solid impact. While the audience is focused on taking in who, for example, "The Joker" even is, they lose out on the emotional investment. Their focus is split, and the impact fades. Meanwhile, Aha!Sampo has done all the heavy lifting beforehand; all it would take is a well-placed scene for the audience to make the connection, and the focus would be freed up for impact and emotional tension. Sampo, standing at the end of the Games, waiting beneath the tree. A Mask, with a blue-haired Body. Someone in the shadows, whose lilting voice sounds awfully familiar. Man, I’m just so excited for a potential reveal! Honkai: Star Rail is exposition central, a little too familiar with the phrase “beating a dead horse,” so I don’t think we’ll be getting any truly silent, poignant reveals, but I do hope that whatever happens is at least interesting. After all, Aha!Sampo has already done most of the heavy lifting, so the writers are really free to structure the reveal in a creative way.
Case Example: The Magnus Archives
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for The Magnus Archives.]
As an addendum, I wanted to mention a reveal that I feel was executed very well, to give some reference for what I like about Aha!Sampo. At the end of Season 4 of The Magnus Archives, shady capitalist boss Elias Bouchard reveals to be Jonah Magnus, the founder of the Magnus Institute and a pre-established character very much connected to an eldritch entity. Beyond the buildup and tension, the moment of the reveal itself is incredibly impactful.
The protagonist, Jon, is reading a letter, and cannot stop reading due to Eldritch Shenanigans—Elias, having manipulated Jon into this position in the first place, uses this against him, revealing Jonah Magnus’ identity in one breath while forcing Jon to, essentially, begin the apocalypse in another. In this situation, Jonah Magnus’ reveal quite literally changes the status quo of the entire story. It recontextualizes everything we know about Elias, everything we know about the events leading up to this point, under the understanding that Jonah Magnus was manipulating Jon towards the eldritch apocalypse this whole time. Jon is obviously surprised, and horrified, and has no real way to stop what is happening. Martin, his boyfriend, is now having to deal with a giant eye in the sky. The rest of the world is being plunged into eldritch Fear, and Jonah Magnus, in the eye-snatched body of poor Elias Bouchard, couldn’t be more pleased. It is pandemonium.
What works well isn’t just the buildup or the tension—although they are certainly needed—but the recontexualization of the whole series up to that point. The Magnus Institute, Jon stepping in as Head Archivist, Elias’ long track record of suspicious behavior; it’s all cast in a new light. You can re-listen from Episode One and have a completely different understanding of things. And it means something because the reveal affects the characters involved in major ways. The apocalypse literally begins.
I’m not necessarily looking for an entire apocalypse with either an Aha or Sampo reveal, but I do want a high level of impact. This is why I support Aha!Sampo so heavily. In my opinion, it has that impact, the impact of changing the characters’ and the audience’s understanding of past events on a mass scale. I don’t have much else to say, other than providing Elias Bouchard and Jonah Magnus as a great example of an identity reveal for reference!
— spoiler warning: major spoilers for heaven official's blessing and the magnus archives near the end!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, the art of revealing hidden or secret identities, you know its serious when i start using citations, aha!sampo really knocks it out of the park guys, like wow
— word count: 2.9k
— overview: a discussion of character identity reveals (recontextualization, implication, foreshadowing, impact, subtlety, and more) as they relate to aha!sampo.
[Unless quoted from a source, any definitions for techniques or concepts are ones I have personally come up with.]
So far, we’ve established core aspects of a reveal: emotional tension, buildup, and recontextualization. I now want to address other facets I consider important—implication, foreshadowing, and impact. My personal definitions are as follows: Implication has largely to do with subtextual changes that occur as the result of a reveal, foreshadowing is a part of buildup that focuses on laying predictive groundwork before the reveal, and impact covers cumulative consequences of the reveal that substantially affect the characters, narrative, and/or audience. Impact is often the goal or result of different facets like foreshadowing, implication, recontexualization, and more. For the reveal of the identity of both Sampo and Aha in Honkai: Star Rail, I argue that a large impact is needed to justify the presence of a reveal.
Fox Print Editorial has a great blog post called “The Delicate Art of Reveals” with some key takeaways I’d like to integrate into this discussion. Namely, the fact that, while reveals are usually concerned with “the unveiling of some unknown or unexpected information or event in a story,” (Fox Print Editorial), that information does not have to be unknown or unexpected to all parties. The post has a great section called Using Reveals Effectively that gives a case example of a girl who feels guilty for the death of her younger brother, which in turn affects how she approaches central relationships in the story. Fox Print Editorial points out that, in order to truly invest in her actions relevant to this information, the audience would need to know that information beforehand—we would need to know why. The more impactful reveal, here, may come from her revealing this information to other characters in the story, rather than to the audience who already knows.
Fox Print Editorial additionally advocates for timing the reveal to have “maximum impact on the characters and story,” as well as building the “necessary context and foundation” for the reveal, so that it properly reverberates for the characters, plot, and reader (Section: Techniques and Tips for Successful Reveals). The audience needs to know enough to care, and it’s important that we don’t walk away confused, frustrated, or unaffected. Namely, it is important to integrate clues throughout the story: “What makes reveals so delicious is how they directly engage readers and make them a part of the story—but you have to give us the breadcrumbs to follow.” (Fox Print Editorial)
I absolutely agree here: Reveals are often impactful because of the way they prompt audience engagement and impact, and in order to engage, one must be invested. To achieve investment, the audience must have proper context, even if we don’t know everything. In both Sampo and Aha’s case, it is important to consider the art of the reveal. As mentioned in previous posts, Sampo and Aha have identity-related hooks. One of the main hooks of this new arc, Planarcadia, is quite literally the verbatim question surrounding Aha: “Who am I right now?”
So, for the reveal, it is important to ask: Have the proper clues been set? Has context been integrated into the story? Is there tension for the audience to invest in? Is there, even, potential dramatic irony between what the audience knows and what the characters know? In the case of Aha revealing to be a newly-introduced character (4.0 and onward), I argue “no.” Why? Because Honkai: Star Rail’s context exists far beyond a singular arc; it’s a game of three years and counting, and Aha as an Aeon has been present since the beginning of the story. The buildup, then, necessitates scope beyond a single arc, even if Planarcadia is the arc the reveal happens to occur in. Think about the length of a novel—Is it enough to only seed in clues during the last chapter, or a single chapter leading up to the reveal? Or would it be more impactful to leave breadcrumbs throughout the entire story?
Aha!Sampo represents the culmination of many factors: emotional tension, buildup, recontexualization, implications, foreshadowing, and impact. An Aha!Sampo reveal is already set up with a wealth of breadcrumbed clues across years of game content, and the impact would be massive. Aha and Sampo represent two sides of an equation, each with their own set of information. A reveal would be the convergence of these two sides of information, in a way other Sampo identity reveals and other Aha identity reveals may lack. There needs to be information to recontextualize, after all.
This is where I want to gush about an Aha!Sampo reveal. It hits nearly every expectation you could set for it; even before the actual execution, the writers are entering with a leg up. I’ve already established Aha!Sampo’s effectiveness in areas of emotional tension and buildup. There is a tangible push and pull between internal and external identity—who Sampo is through his own understanding and actions, versus who Aha is perceived to be as an Aeon—and there is substantial buildup woven through nearly every aspect of Sampo and Aha’s characters. Even Amphoreus took the time to throw in the Spirithief and Zagreus, despite neither Sampo nor Aha being present!
But Aha!Sampo really excels at recontextualization. Taking information, dialogue, history, motive, and giving it new meaning in hindsight. It’s not enough that Sampo reveals to be Aha, but that Aha reveals to be Sampo. This makes the impact twofold: Sampo’s involvement in the story is given new meaning through Aha, and Aha’s involvement (or lack thereof, in cases like the Tavern) is also given new meaning through Sampo. The convergence of identity culminates in a mind-boggling amount of new perspectives. It operates on multiple planes: characters, plot, and audience.
Before the reveal, the audience may have some level of dramatic irony—if you’re like me and have done nearly academic levels of research into Aha!Sampo, then the dramatic irony already exists. However, the characters do not have this perspective. They do not know the names of Sampo’s Eidolons, or the details of his character stories, or the meaning of his visual motifs. So, when the reveal occurs, when the convergence happens, all hell breaks loose. On a universal scale, this includes the Astral Express, Belobog, the Masked Fools / the Tavern, and Planarcadia, comprising specific and personally-related characters like the Trailblazer, Pom-Pom, Gepard, Natasha, Hook, Sparkle, and many more—the parties implicated are more numerous than, for example, Aha as Nihilux, Aha as Yaoguang, or even Aha as Asat Pramad. The scope additionally expands to include any factions that worship or despise Aha, including the Mourning Actors and even non-Elation factions. This is, as Fox Print Editorial put it, “delicious.”
There is major impact in the sheer weight of implication that spiderwebs out from the site of the reveal. The Astral Express will react quite differently than Sparkle, who will react quite differently from Belobog, which will surely act differently from Asat Pramad. Sampo and Aha, together, have a litany of friends and family and enemies, all of who would be affected differently by the reveal. Implication says: Asat Pramad could target Belobog. The Express could come to collect on Aha’s debt. Sparkle could laugh her ass off for days and still not be done.
And then there is recontextualization, the sheer breadth of information put under a microscope. Beyond Planarcadia, beyond Belobog, beyond the Tavern, there is time. History. The Noblesse Worm, Aha and Akivili’s relationship, Pom-Pom’s debt statement, Asat Pramad the Anti-Elation Lord Ravager, the great tree Aha climbed and climbed and climbed. Every time we have seen Sampo help us, every time he’s said something cryptic, every time he’s laughed or shrugged or asked us for money, we now see it through new eyes. It is the same for Aha: Their Laugh, Their unpredictability, Their abandonment and Their perceived cruelty. We ask questions. We make connections.
The reveal is ground zero. With enough context and buildup and tension, it explodes. It ricochets through the narrative, it connects identity and motive and belief. It recontextualizes the entire game. It means something to everyone involved. The Trailblazer sits, mouth hanging open, eyebrows turned up, buffering, while Pela—ever studious—shouts “I knew it!” from halfway across the universe. Serval shrugs and smirks while Gepard chokes on his drink and tries not to think about handcuffs. Sparkle cackles. Hook imprints like a baby duckling. Nihilux gains inspiration for a fancomic while Pom-Pom waves an extremely long document from the windows of the Express. And all the while, Asat Pramad sits behind his game of chess, observing, stacking the new pieces. Some people rush towards the center of the impact, others rush away. The Tavern splits into new factions. The Destruction smiles at an endgame.
This is chaos. This is Elation. This is a goddamn good reveal.
However, this is not the only option. A universal reveal would surely be a literal game-changer—that wonderful spiderweb of change that is impossible to come back from. But if the writers want to retain some mystery, especially for future plotlines, smaller reveals can still work. In fact, for a first overt introduction—a first canonization—in Honkai: Star Rail, Aha!Sampo may do better with a small-scale reveal or series of mini-reveals over time because of the complexity of the identities involved. Small-scale reveals are mentioned in Overly Sarcastic Production’s “Trope Talk: Secret Identities” video as being “extremely impactful without really altering the status quo all that much” (~14:45), and mainly concern a secret identity being revealed to a single character, usually a friend or ally, at a time.
It may not be viable for Sampo and Aha’s motivations to do an intentional full-scale reveal; in fact, only hinting at it or telling it to one person (such as the Trailblazer) may be ideal, because it keeps the emotional tension of a future universal reveal in place while allowing the main character and audience to begin making connections. We, the audience, and the Trailblazer, perhaps even the Express, will get that juicy glimpse into the inner workings of things, while the plot retains relevancy through Aha!Sampo’s interactions with others (like Belobog) who don’t know. The dramatic irony is taken to new heights, while still reaping the benefits of a reveal.
Sampo doesn’t have to proclaim his identity to the universe on a jumbotron. It can just as easily be the Trailblazer winning the Phantasmoon Games and having a cryptic conversation with Sampo, full of subtext and “open secrets” and maybe a little smug wink or two. In fact, that may be preferable since, again, it keeps a lot of the external emotional tension secure for future plotlines while giving the audience just enough internal understanding to make that big connection. It’s a satisfying narrative focused not on outsmarting the audience, but rather giving us little pieces and clues to pick up along the way.
It’s in the way we get to the end and see Sampo, only Sampo, standing in front of that tree. The way the Trailblazer asks a question and Sampo looks at them a little too fondly, the way he starts sweating upon seeing the debt statement they brought. It’s Sampo asking how Pom-Pom is doing, and smiling wistfully at the mention of Akivili, and asking for a wish, very softly. It’s in his eyes and his voice and his laugh. It’s in all of him when the Trailblazer turns to leave and he stops them by the arm, asks, “Did you like it?,” beams brightly when he hears a “Yes.” And it’s in the question he communicates through his eyes at 00:58 seconds, to which the Trailblazer responds, “Don’t worry. It’s our secret.”
There will always be a shadow looming over Aha; Their own shadow, Their own self and enemies and mistakes. Their own future, Their loved ones, engulfed in an unwitting game of chess. There will be a day, not now, where everyone will know. But until then, Sampo doesn’t have to carry it alone.
Addendum: Subtlety
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Heaven Official's Blessing.]
The great thing about good reveals is that, generally, enough contextual information is present beforehand that the reveal itself could deal with the bare minimum, and the audience would still be able to make the connection. It’s the one little piece of information that connects everything, the subtle moment of revelation, that shows true craft, not a whole monologue or exposition dump just to get to there. For example, Heaven Official’s Blessing, despite including additional information, could have still accomplished its reveal with the single, silent scene of Jun Wu’s face being reflected in the sword. No dialogue would have been needed—the moment the reader sees Human Face Disease, they know what it is, and who would have it, and who that person is. This shows that Heaven Official’s Blessing was ready for that reveal; its groundwork and buildup and context were sufficient enough to proceed. Even if the story chose to include additional information to enhance the plot and scene, it didn’t need to. The reveal was strong enough to stand on its own.
Similarly, Aha!Sampo has such a wealth of buildup that no spoken explanation would be needed to connect the identities. The Trailblazer would simply have to win the Games, walk through a door, and silently see Sampo holding a Mask towards them. That’s it. No words, no exchanges, the Mask wouldn’t even have to be there. It could just be Sampo in a room, with the Trailblazer staring at him. That is how you, as a writer, know you’ve laid sufficient groundwork for a reveal. If it can still work with the minimal amount of parts—no dialogue, one frame, a sliver of an outfit—then as a writer you’ve done your due diligence. And it’s wonderful.
Unfortunately, many other Sampo (and Aha) interpretations do not have this. In many cases, he would have to go on a long-winded explanation to even introduce the identity he’s revealing as. The Joker of the Tavern, a yet-unnamed Emanator, some specific melding of Paths, even an Asat Pramad-Aha swap situation—they all would require him to introduce that information to us on the spot, which doesn’t make for a very solid impact. While the audience is focused on taking in who, for example, "The Joker" even is, they lose out on the emotional investment. Their focus is split, and the impact fades. Meanwhile, Aha!Sampo has done all the heavy lifting beforehand; all it would take is a well-placed scene for the audience to make the connection, and the focus would be freed up for impact and emotional tension. Sampo, standing at the end of the Games, waiting beneath the tree. A Mask, with a blue-haired Body. Someone in the shadows, whose lilting voice sounds awfully familiar. Man, I’m just so excited for a potential reveal! Honkai: Star Rail is exposition central, a little too familiar with the phrase “beating a dead horse,” so I don’t think we’ll be getting any truly silent, poignant reveals, but I do hope that whatever happens is at least interesting. After all, Aha!Sampo has already done most of the heavy lifting, so the writers are really free to structure the reveal in a creative way.
Case Example: The Magnus Archives
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for The Magnus Archives.]
As an addendum, I wanted to mention a reveal that I feel was executed very well, to give some reference for what I like about Aha!Sampo. At the end of Season 4 of The Magnus Archives, shady capitalist boss Elias Bouchard reveals to be Jonah Magnus, the founder of the Magnus Institute and a pre-established character very much connected to an eldritch entity. Beyond the buildup and tension, the moment of the reveal itself is incredibly impactful.
The protagonist, Jon, is reading a letter, and cannot stop reading due to Eldritch Shenanigans—Elias, having manipulated Jon into this position in the first place, uses this against him, revealing Jonah Magnus’ identity in one breath while forcing Jon to, essentially, begin the apocalypse in another. In this situation, Jonah Magnus’ reveal quite literally changes the status quo of the entire story. It recontextualizes everything we know about Elias, everything we know about the events leading up to this point, under the understanding that Jonah Magnus was manipulating Jon towards the eldritch apocalypse this whole time. Jon is obviously surprised, and horrified, and has no real way to stop what is happening. Martin, his boyfriend, is now having to deal with a giant eye in the sky. The rest of the world is being plunged into eldritch Fear, and Jonah Magnus, in the eye-snatched body of poor Elias Bouchard, couldn’t be more pleased. It is pandemonium.
What works well isn’t just the buildup or the tension—although they are certainly needed—but the recontexualization of the whole series up to that point. The Magnus Institute, Jon stepping in as Head Archivist, Elias’ long track record of suspicious behavior; it’s all cast in a new light. You can re-listen from Episode One and have a completely different understanding of things. And it means something because the reveal affects the characters involved in major ways. The apocalypse literally begins.
I’m not necessarily looking for an entire apocalypse with either an Aha or Sampo reveal, but I do want a high level of impact. This is why I support Aha!Sampo so heavily. In my opinion, it has that impact, the impact of changing the characters’ and the audience’s understanding of past events on a mass scale. I don’t have much else to say, other than providing Elias Bouchard and Jonah Magnus as a great example of an identity reveal for reference!
— spoiler warning: major spoilers for heaven official's blessing!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, craft analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, yapping about reveals i like
— word count: 3.6k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo narratively builds up the structure of an effective reveal (intricacy, delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning).
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Heaven Official’s Blessing.]
One of the hallmarks of identity revelation is buildup. This often entails establishing both sides of the identity, sometimes to differing degrees, with enough connective tissue that sufficient insight can be generated upon the reveal. It essentially marries the ideas of expectation versus reality and emotional tension. Take, for example, White No-Face and Jun Wu from Heaven Official’s Blessing. The audience is introduced to both characters through different lenses—Jun Wu as the stable, authoritative mentor figure, and White No-Face as the haunting, unhinged shadow of Xie Lian’s traumatic past. Both characters are present in the story for a good while (including flashbacks) before the series fully connects them; there is substantial tension in the mysterious nature of White No-Face, and suspicion in the seemingly “too perfect” actions of Jun Wu. The audience and characters see specific actions taken by both parties, and are able to compare and contrast their personalities subconsciously. Most importantly, both identities matter to the main character, and have major impact on the story given the differential gap between what we know of them.
This is why Jun Wu’s eventual reveal as White No-Face hits like a gut punch. The audience and Xie Lian know the extent of pain White No-Face has caused; we know the horrific things he’s put Xie Lian through, and we know the amount of (perceived) stability Jun Wu has offered to a deeply traumatized Xie Lian. To have one of the only stable sources Xie Lian trusts turn out to be his greatest fear—his greatest enemy—matters precisely because of the work the narrative put into contextualizing both parties. Not just one, not just the other, but both.
We are well-aware of Jun Wu’s position in the heavens. We are well aware of White-No Face’s manipulative capabilities. Combine these, and it’s all too easy to understand how “Jun Wu” is still able to command certain Heavenly Officials even after the reveal. Everyone realizes at once: the connective tissue was there the whole time. Both parties have had a vested interest in Xie Lian’s “growth.” Both parties have unprecedented power. Both parties are very old, and very mysterious, and very vague on their past.
This would not work if Jun Wu was simply a Calamity—what would a random Calamity mean to Xie Lian, who has met, fought with, and even fallen in love with other Calamities? It would also not work if White No-Face was an unnamed Emperor or Heavenly Official—again, what would this offer the story beyond a new person to fight? The intricacy comes in the details: The delicacy of stringing a web of connections between Xie Lian, White No-Face, and Jun Wu. Jun Wu is not simply a Calamity; he is White No-Face, the specific Calamity that destroyed Xianle, tortured Xie Lian for years, and is responsible for Xie Lian’s most traumatic memories. And White No-Face is not simply the Heavenly Emperor; he is Jun Wu, the Heavenly Emperor that has had heart-to-heart conversations with Xie Lian, who followed Xie Lian’s wishes to fight and shackle himself, who offered advice to Xie Lian when things got rough.
This connective tissue—this buildup—concerns facets of intricacy, delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning. For Heaven Official’s Blessing to execute an effective identity-related reveal, intricacy and delicacy were required, shown through various scenes and flashbacks of Xie Lian’s interactions with both parties. Intricacy laces the connections between the identities and their effect on Xie Lian—the scenes of torture, obsession, and veiled guidance—while the delicacy balances the similarities between White No-Face and Jun Wu with retaining mystery, making sure to not reveal the surprise too early. Contextual meaning also accompanies these scenes, such as the fall of Xianle and White No-Face’s various conversations with Xie Lian. When the reveal happens and the identities of White No-Face and Jun Wu are connected, the characters and the audience have the context of past events. In that moment, Xie Lian (and by extension, the audience) is not just reckoning with the identities themselves, but with the realization that Jun Wu is the one responsible for the fall of Xianle, Jun Wu is responsible for Xie Lian’s trauma, and Jun Wu—as White No-Face is prone to do—has once again manipulated Xie Lian against his will. Jun Wu and White No-Face’s histories are one.
None of this would be possible without proper buildup, without seeding threads of long-term connection through the story, eventually connecting the two identities. Pivoting to Sampo, I believe we can use a similar framework to assess the effectiveness of an identity reveal. One of Sampo’s main mysteries is that of his identity: Just who exactly is he? To answer this, some kind of reveal is important, and to execute the reveal, good foundations are a must. Without buildup, the “surprise” will have no impact, no meaning, no reason for the characters or audience to care. As mentioned earlier, the main core tenets I would expect out of a Sampo reveal are intricacy and delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning. Has the game seeded sufficient connections throughout earlier parts of the story to culminate in an effective and impactful reveal? Is the connective tissue present?
This connective tissue—the buildup—can come in many shapes and forms. It does not have to be direct conversations and events, like White No-Face’s philosophically manipulative discussions with Xie Lian, but can encompass a range of phrases, visual motifs, personality quirks, analogous parallels, rumors, and more. They can be combined in various ways, and not all need to be used at the same time.
So, what are some things I would expect in the buildup for a Sampo identity reveal? (For the purposes of this discussion, since I am not specifically implicating Aha yet, the identity Sampo would be revealing as will be referred to as Identity B. Identity B, for now, can hypothetically constitute any number of options.)
First, I would expect some level of reputation surrounding a separate identity yet to be revealed—Identity B—through rumors, word-of-mouth, stories, or even direct conversation if needed. This could be accomplished through readables, main or side quest stories, events, narrative parallels, conversations with other characters, and more. Both the characters and the audience need a jumping-off point for the reveal, and building connective tissue within Identity B would be important for this. It would likely include some level of outward perception, setting the “expectation” of Identity B for the audience. Ideally, Sampo’s current identity and Identity B would have the audience developing two parallel conceptions at the same time: one based on what we’ve seen from Sampo personally, and the other based on what we’ve heard about Identity B. The result of this would mainly be building up the tension between expectation (reputation) and reality (action).
Next, I would expect a level of information about both identities, enough to breadcrumb a trail between the two, even if they are subtle and not fully connected yet. (I cannot stress enough that most, if not all, of the pieces need to be there before the actual reveal, otherwise the reveal won’t really be recontextualizing anything. It’ll just be dumping a bunch of new exposition on the audience.) This could be established through personality, mannerisms, actions and past events, dialogue, goals and motivations, visual motifs, and more. It does not need to be overt, and in fact may even function better relying on subtext.
I would also expect these connections to ramp up in intensity the closer we get to the reveal. Early-game Belobog may be able to get away with some vague easter eggs, but—if Sampo’s Identity B is being revealed in Planarcadia—newer areas like the Tavern simply need more. Otherwise the narrative curve will feel more like a train going in a flat direction, rather than the intended climb. Overall, I am simply looking for substance and context. Can the game allow both identities to breathe on their own before connecting them, and can it do so in a way that still intricately threads similarities throughout? Beyond that, can the game show intention and attention to detail through long-term planning?
Here are some specific characteristics I would expect to see for an identity-based Sampo reveal—whether that be faction leader, Emanator, Aeon, or other:
Sampo and Identity B both have their own reputations or impacts on the plot and characters of the story. Ideally, Identity B is named, but if not, Identity B is still addressed as a specific individual.
Sampo and Identity B exist for a substantial amount of time before the reveal—neither are a last-minute addition to the cast, and both are at least tangentially known to the audience.
Information relating to Sampo and Identity B is tangibly present in the story beyond minimal lines of dialogue. Identity B is not so obscure as to be forgotten by the average player after being mentioned. (Sufficient information must be present to create connective tissue.)
Some part of Sampo’s playability—character stories, Eidolons, kit, etc.—reflect information we the audience know (or at least suspect) about Identity B.
There are tangible connections to be made between specific quirks and motifs. Sampo aligns with Identity B in either minuscule or overt ways.
Other characters express opinions about Sampo and Identity B as separate individuals. Some people may talk about only Sampo, some may only talk about Identity B, and some may talk about both, separately.
Certain characters generate emotional and narrative tension by potentially “knowing” the connection between these identities in the story.
The goal here is threefold: planning, context, and tension. It is important for both sides of the equation to be sufficiently established beforehand (to avoid the rush of adding a new character or identity to the cast last-minute), contain enough information separately to generate connections between the two (to avoid the reveal occurring in a vacuum), and create a tense push and pull between the two identities (to avoid lack of emotional investment from the audience). So, what might this specifically look like for Sampo?
Eidolon names, abilities, and talents connecting to information we know about Identity B.
Elements of Sampo’s character story and visual design connecting to information we know about Identity B.
Sampo becoming dodgy, nervous, or cryptic when confronted with information relating to Identity B.
Sampo’s actions can often be interpreted in accordance with Identity B.
There are specific dialogue and linguistic quirks that Sampo shares with Identity B.
Readables—especially those in the Tavern, since Sampo is connected to it—mentioning Identity B.
Established characters having specific opinions about both Sampo and Identity B, separately.
Certain characters making thinly-veiled references to Sampo’s Identity B.
Microcosms or allusions—such as parts of Amphoreus—mirroring Sampo’s connection to Identity B.
At least a few miscellaneous details that seem awfully suspicious given the context surrounding both Sampo and Identity B.
I want to be open to Sampo’s identity here, because, hypothetically, any tangible entity set up in this way could work for a reveal. However, within the context of the game’s current story, I feel like we can start crossing off options. Let’s take, for example, the Elation Emanator Boothill mentioned in the Penacony Trailblaze quest. Cool, a specific individual who could function as Sampo's hidden identity! But then we look deeper, and realize this Elation Emanator only exists in a few lines of dialogue, not more than a paragraph, with little information or description present. There isn’t much investment here, not much tension or buildup, and certainly not many juicy details to pull from. So we move on to look for better candidates. How about Sampo as the leader of the Masked Fools? That’s one that particularly interests me in theory. But as much as I love the idea, I’m not seeing much here either. Does the Masked Fools even have a leader? Or hierarchy at all? If they do, this person is not mentioned and has essentially no reputation. Which means less tension, less connections, and less reason to care. Sampo’s reveal would be attempting to rock climb on a completely smooth wall.
But Aha!Sampo? Good lord, Aha!Sampo is practically the crowning jewel of threads and connections and wonderful details. Both Aha and Sampo are named, established entities with reputations, existing at the same time since nearly the beginning of the game. We have specific information on Aha that we can connect to Sampo. We can analyze Sampo’s dialogue, actions, and even outfit under the lens of Aha, that’s how much we know. Digging into this is like digging into a cave full of diamonds—valuable things are everywhere. Here are simply a few, in accordance with the factors of buildup I previously mentioned:
Sampo’s Eidolon “Infectious Enthusiasm” is the exact same phrase used when Aha appears in the Simulated Universe.
Sampo’s Ultimate, “Surprise Present,” is a bomb with hearts for eyes, connecting both to Aha’s blowing up of the Astral Express and to Aha’s theme of “love” (joy/happiness/Elation). When Sampo unclasps his case, he also covers the top half of his face, resembling Aha’s half-formed head.
Sampo’s character stories feature him shapeshifting or otherwise assuming multiple identities, something that Aha is known to do (such as pretending to be an Astral Express member).
Sampo’s visual and character motifs—love and hate, red and blue—connect to the dual-sided nature of Aha: joy and sorrow.
Sampo has expressly not shared his views on Elation, and when confronted with being asked, gives a fairly cryptic answer. This could be because of Elation’s connection to Aha, which could significantly complicate his opinions or response.
The two share motivations and coincidences. Aha owes the Express a mountain of debt; Sampo hates owing people things and gives the Express a wide berth, never becoming a visitor. Aha and Akivili were close; Sampo cares for us, the Trailblazer, and protects us when at all possible.
Both Sampo and Aha refer to themselves in third person quite often.
The Tavern—the place we would likely find any easter eggs about Sampo’s Identity B, in order to establish others’ perception of him—features readables heavily centered around Aha. The Sampo Place has Aha written all over it. Literally. The Fools have put up a ban sign.
Established characters have strong opinions about Aha. Herta finds Them annoying, Pom-Pom exasperatedly refers to Them as “that one,” and the Trailblazer, likely conceptualizing Them as uncaring, irresponsible, or too funnypilled, plans to literally blackmail Them.
Sparkle hints on multiple occasions that she knows more about Sampo than meets the eye—her party join line and basically any conversation she has with Sampo reflect this.
On Amphoreus, the Spirithief and Zagreus serve as a microcosmic parallel to Sampo and Aha. The Spirithief being Zagreus may also serve as foreshadowing.
Detail 1: In the Tavern—the place so intrinsically Sampo the doors literally giggle his laugh—the portrait of Elation is a mirror that reads: “Know Thyself.”
Detail 2: In the Grease Chronicles, the blue monkey (who I am assuming to be Sampo due to its color association and dialogue (looking at you third person reference to being old)) is called the Great Climber. In the Masked Fools’ parable of Aha’s ascension, Aha climbed the great tree and looked out upon the universe before uttering Their first Laugh.
Detail 3: Sampo has part of Aha’s first Laugh casually on-hand at the Tavern, locked behind the Blisstar with a red-blue mask (Sampo’s signature colors), that he is able to seemingly appear near at will. Even more importantly, in the recent anniversary web event (Phantasmoon New Game), this same split-color mask has a light at the top, resembling Aha’s mask with the light.
There is so much more, and if I mentioned them all we’d be here all day. At every turn, wherever I would expect there to be connective tissue to Identity B, it’s always Aha. Aha!Sampo is haunting the narrative before the reveal even happens.
As mentioned before, the Tavern—where we would expect to find the seeds of Identity B—is chock full of readables about Aha; what the Fools think, why they’re banning Them, fables and jokes and whole factions predicated on who they think Aha is. Zhongshan mentions the Laughter could be among the Fools at this very moment. The ban sign rests right next to the glowing blue door that sounds like Sampo’s laugh when you hit it. The mirror and colors and Blisstar seem to shake you and say: Look! Look with your eyes! Still extremely mysterious, but tangible, foundational. Pointing you in a direction, pointing you to make connections, even though you don’t have everything yet.
We have been developing our conception of Aha the entire time we have been developing our conception of Sampo—since the beginning. The intrigue of the buildup here is the slow convergence of these two identities we already know: How do we reconcile Aha with Sampo? The Fools have split into factions, they’ve banned Aha from the Tavern; what does this mean for Sampo? How does he feel about this? “Lonely at the top” hits a whole lot different when talking about an Aeonic entity whose own followers have quite literally rejected Them.
Other identities offer interest and surprise, but Aha!Sampo offers, crucially, depth: Convergence, reconciliation, the “Aha!” moment of connection. A kind of depth that can only come from the coalescence of two separately strong foundations into one. The kind of questions that can only be present when we know both identities: How does Aha’s “abandonment” of the Tavern reflect on Sampo? How does he feel about the Tavern’s factions and rumors about Aha? How did he feel when they put up that ban sign? These are things that, at the moment, we would not get in a truly personal way with other identities, with previously-unnamed Emanators or Faction Leaders, due to a lack of personal (and therefore emotional) context.
In my opinion, I believe Honkai: Star Rail has set up a near-perfect buildup for an Aha!Sampo reveal (especially one that is small scale; as in, only being revealed to one or a few people, for the most impact due to levels of foreshadowing and sheer effort put into building up both Aha and Sampo parallel to each other). I do not mean this is most likely to be canon, but I believe it would be the most effective way to take the story. The building blocks are there, the foundation is there, and now I am just waiting to see if it will be used at all. It’s like seeing a beautiful house slowly being built and just hoping the architects intend to finish it.
(An additional note: It is crucial that the investment and outcome here are proportional—for three years of mysterious Sampo buildup, we need a reveal that significantly recontexualizes the narrative. This is not a small plot detail to be brushed aside, and this is also not the time for last-minute characters and unnamed individuals. This is more akin to a White No-Face and Jun Wu situation, where the characters are so baked into the fabric of the universe, context, and story, that the reveal is almost obligated to mean something game-changing.)
Simply put, the strong foundational buildup I would expect to see for Aha!Sampo exists (through the Spirithief, Aha readables, Tavern easter eggs, and more), while substantial buildup for other identities does not—this does not speak to the true canon future of anything, but rather to the fact that, if the game pursues a non-Aha!Sampo reveal, I fear it will fall apart like a poorly-baked pastry due to a lack of stable foundation. Most other Identity B’s I can think of do not meet my threshold for reveal buildup as of the first arc of Planarcadia, and it is unlikely it will be able to pull itself up this late into the game without feeling too sudden.
But enough worrying! I’m here for the fun, and the drama, and the juicy connections! I’m here for an Aha who chronically avoids Pom-Pom, and a Sampo who looks us dead in the eye as we try to blackmail him going “Really, buddy?”. I’m here for an Aha who laughs at Their own ban sign, and a Sampo who walks right in. An Aha who is the subject of strongly-opposed factions, and a Sampo who tries his damndest to bring people together. An Aha who hears “disgrace“ and “headache” and convinces Themself They don’t care, until Sampo stares in the mirror and watches a little light leave his eyes. A monkey who wants nothing more than to be human. A monkey who never stopped climbing, but still can’t break free of Their own Path. Even now, even in hiding, They haunt Themself; Sampo looks in the mirror every day and sees red, every day he sees what he is. What he has no other choice than to be. It bleeds into the world around him, into his shoulders and his eyes and his laugh. He Laughs still, aware it lingers. Aware that, no matter how much he dyes himself blue, he cannot wash away the red. There is no ego death here.
The Primum Mobile is His shackle to the prison of Elation, and He can feel something coming, now. Waves pulling back. Purple, intoxicating water. It is tinged with fire, snow melting somewhere beyond the horizon, and He knows it is coming. And so Aha remains Sampo, bracing for impact.
— spoiler warning: major spoilers for heaven official's blessing!
— what the stars reveal: aha!sampo, craft analysis, waxing poetic, narrative structure & technique, yapping about reveals i like
— word count: 3.6k
— overview: a discussion of how aha!sampo narratively builds up the structure of an effective reveal (intricacy, delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning).
[Disclaimer: This section includes major spoilers for Heaven Official’s Blessing.]
One of the hallmarks of identity revelation is buildup. This often entails establishing both sides of the identity, sometimes to differing degrees, with enough connective tissue that sufficient insight can be generated upon the reveal. It essentially marries the ideas of expectation versus reality and emotional tension. Take, for example, White No-Face and Jun Wu from Heaven Official’s Blessing. The audience is introduced to both characters through different lenses—Jun Wu as the stable, authoritative mentor figure, and White No-Face as the haunting, unhinged shadow of Xie Lian’s traumatic past. Both characters are present in the story for a good while (including flashbacks) before the series fully connects them; there is substantial tension in the mysterious nature of White No-Face, and suspicion in the seemingly “too perfect” actions of Jun Wu. The audience and characters see specific actions taken by both parties, and are able to compare and contrast their personalities subconsciously. Most importantly, both identities matter to the main character, and have major impact on the story given the differential gap between what we know of them.
This is why Jun Wu’s eventual reveal as White No-Face hits like a gut punch. The audience and Xie Lian know the extent of pain White No-Face has caused; we know the horrific things he’s put Xie Lian through, and we know the amount of (perceived) stability Jun Wu has offered to a deeply traumatized Xie Lian. To have one of the only stable sources Xie Lian trusts turn out to be his greatest fear—his greatest enemy—matters precisely because of the work the narrative put into contextualizing both parties. Not just one, not just the other, but both.
We are well-aware of Jun Wu’s position in the heavens. We are well aware of White-No Face’s manipulative capabilities. Combine these, and it’s all too easy to understand how “Jun Wu” is still able to command certain Heavenly Officials even after the reveal. Everyone realizes at once: the connective tissue was there the whole time. Both parties have had a vested interest in Xie Lian’s “growth.” Both parties have unprecedented power. Both parties are very old, and very mysterious, and very vague on their past.
This would not work if Jun Wu was simply a Calamity—what would a random Calamity mean to Xie Lian, who has met, fought with, and even fallen in love with other Calamities? It would also not work if White No-Face was an unnamed Emperor or Heavenly Official—again, what would this offer the story beyond a new person to fight? The intricacy comes in the details: The delicacy of stringing a web of connections between Xie Lian, White No-Face, and Jun Wu. Jun Wu is not simply a Calamity; he is White No-Face, the specific Calamity that destroyed Xianle, tortured Xie Lian for years, and is responsible for Xie Lian’s most traumatic memories. And White No-Face is not simply the Heavenly Emperor; he is Jun Wu, the Heavenly Emperor that has had heart-to-heart conversations with Xie Lian, who followed Xie Lian’s wishes to fight and shackle himself, who offered advice to Xie Lian when things got rough.
This connective tissue—this buildup—concerns facets of intricacy, delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning. For Heaven Official’s Blessing to execute an effective identity-related reveal, intricacy and delicacy were required, shown through various scenes and flashbacks of Xie Lian’s interactions with both parties. Intricacy laces the connections between the identities and their effect on Xie Lian—the scenes of torture, obsession, and veiled guidance—while the delicacy balances the similarities between White No-Face and Jun Wu with retaining mystery, making sure to not reveal the surprise too early. Contextual meaning also accompanies these scenes, such as the fall of Xianle and White No-Face’s various conversations with Xie Lian. When the reveal happens and the identities of White No-Face and Jun Wu are connected, the characters and the audience have the context of past events. In that moment, Xie Lian (and by extension, the audience) is not just reckoning with the identities themselves, but with the realization that Jun Wu is the one responsible for the fall of Xianle, Jun Wu is responsible for Xie Lian’s trauma, and Jun Wu—as White No-Face is prone to do—has once again manipulated Xie Lian against his will. Jun Wu and White No-Face’s histories are one.
None of this would be possible without proper buildup, without seeding threads of long-term connection through the story, eventually connecting the two identities. Pivoting to Sampo, I believe we can use a similar framework to assess the effectiveness of an identity reveal. One of Sampo’s main mysteries is that of his identity: Just who exactly is he? To answer this, some kind of reveal is important, and to execute the reveal, good foundations are a must. Without buildup, the “surprise” will have no impact, no meaning, no reason for the characters or audience to care. As mentioned earlier, the main core tenets I would expect out of a Sampo reveal are intricacy and delicacy, contextual meaning, and long-term planning. Has the game seeded sufficient connections throughout earlier parts of the story to culminate in an effective and impactful reveal? Is the connective tissue present?
This connective tissue—the buildup—can come in many shapes and forms. It does not have to be direct conversations and events, like White No-Face’s philosophically manipulative discussions with Xie Lian, but can encompass a range of phrases, visual motifs, personality quirks, analogous parallels, rumors, and more. They can be combined in various ways, and not all need to be used at the same time.
So, what are some things I would expect in the buildup for a Sampo identity reveal? (For the purposes of this discussion, since I am not specifically implicating Aha yet, the identity Sampo would be revealing as will be referred to as Identity B. Identity B, for now, can hypothetically constitute any number of options.)
First, I would expect some level of reputation surrounding a separate identity yet to be revealed—Identity B—through rumors, word-of-mouth, stories, or even direct conversation if needed. This could be accomplished through readables, main or side quest stories, events, narrative parallels, conversations with other characters, and more. Both the characters and the audience need a jumping-off point for the reveal, and building connective tissue within Identity B would be important for this. It would likely include some level of outward perception, setting the “expectation” of Identity B for the audience. Ideally, Sampo’s current identity and Identity B would have the audience developing two parallel conceptions at the same time: one based on what we’ve seen from Sampo personally, and the other based on what we’ve heard about Identity B. The result of this would mainly be building up the tension between expectation (reputation) and reality (action).
Next, I would expect a level of information about both identities, enough to breadcrumb a trail between the two, even if they are subtle and not fully connected yet. (I cannot stress enough that most, if not all, of the pieces need to be there before the actual reveal, otherwise the reveal won’t really be recontextualizing anything. It’ll just be dumping a bunch of new exposition on the audience.) This could be established through personality, mannerisms, actions and past events, dialogue, goals and motivations, visual motifs, and more. It does not need to be overt, and in fact may even function better relying on subtext.
I would also expect these connections to ramp up in intensity the closer we get to the reveal. Early-game Belobog may be able to get away with some vague easter eggs, but—if Sampo’s Identity B is being revealed in Planarcadia—newer areas like the Tavern simply need more. Otherwise the narrative curve will feel more like a train going in a flat direction, rather than the intended climb. Overall, I am simply looking for substance and context. Can the game allow both identities to breathe on their own before connecting them, and can it do so in a way that still intricately threads similarities throughout? Beyond that, can the game show intention and attention to detail through long-term planning?
Here are some specific characteristics I would expect to see for an identity-based Sampo reveal—whether that be faction leader, Emanator, Aeon, or other:
Sampo and Identity B both have their own reputations or impacts on the plot and characters of the story. Ideally, Identity B is named, but if not, Identity B is still addressed as a specific individual.
Sampo and Identity B exist for a substantial amount of time before the reveal—neither are a last-minute addition to the cast, and both are at least tangentially known to the audience.
Information relating to Sampo and Identity B is tangibly present in the story beyond minimal lines of dialogue. Identity B is not so obscure as to be forgotten by the average player after being mentioned. (Sufficient information must be present to create connective tissue.)
Some part of Sampo’s playability—character stories, Eidolons, kit, etc.—reflect information we the audience know (or at least suspect) about Identity B.
There are tangible connections to be made between specific quirks and motifs. Sampo aligns with Identity B in either minuscule or overt ways.
Other characters express opinions about Sampo and Identity B as separate individuals. Some people may talk about only Sampo, some may only talk about Identity B, and some may talk about both, separately.
Certain characters generate emotional and narrative tension by potentially “knowing” the connection between these identities in the story.
The goal here is threefold: planning, context, and tension. It is important for both sides of the equation to be sufficiently established beforehand (to avoid the rush of adding a new character or identity to the cast last-minute), contain enough information separately to generate connections between the two (to avoid the reveal occurring in a vacuum), and create a tense push and pull between the two identities (to avoid lack of emotional investment from the audience). So, what might this specifically look like for Sampo?
Eidolon names, abilities, and talents connecting to information we know about Identity B.
Elements of Sampo’s character story and visual design connecting to information we know about Identity B.
Sampo becoming dodgy, nervous, or cryptic when confronted with information relating to Identity B.
Sampo’s actions can often be interpreted in accordance with Identity B.
There are specific dialogue and linguistic quirks that Sampo shares with Identity B.
Readables—especially those in the Tavern, since Sampo is connected to it—mentioning Identity B.
Established characters having specific opinions about both Sampo and Identity B, separately.
Certain characters making thinly-veiled references to Sampo’s Identity B.
Microcosms or allusions—such as parts of Amphoreus—mirroring Sampo’s connection to Identity B.
At least a few miscellaneous details that seem awfully suspicious given the context surrounding both Sampo and Identity B.
I want to be open to Sampo’s identity here, because, hypothetically, any tangible entity set up in this way could work for a reveal. However, within the context of the game’s current story, I feel like we can start crossing off options. Let’s take, for example, the Elation Emanator Boothill mentioned in the Penacony Trailblaze quest. Cool, a specific individual who could function as Sampo's hidden identity! But then we look deeper, and realize this Elation Emanator only exists in a few lines of dialogue, not more than a paragraph, with little information or description present. There isn’t much investment here, not much tension or buildup, and certainly not many juicy details to pull from. So we move on to look for better candidates. How about Sampo as the leader of the Masked Fools? That’s one that particularly interests me in theory. But as much as I love the idea, I’m not seeing much here either. Does the Masked Fools even have a leader? Or hierarchy at all? If they do, this person is not mentioned and has essentially no reputation. Which means less tension, less connections, and less reason to care. Sampo’s reveal would be attempting to rock climb on a completely smooth wall.
But Aha!Sampo? Good lord, Aha!Sampo is practically the crowning jewel of threads and connections and wonderful details. Both Aha and Sampo are named, established entities with reputations, existing at the same time since nearly the beginning of the game. We have specific information on Aha that we can connect to Sampo. We can analyze Sampo’s dialogue, actions, and even outfit under the lens of Aha, that’s how much we know. Digging into this is like digging into a cave full of diamonds—valuable things are everywhere. Here are simply a few, in accordance with the factors of buildup I previously mentioned:
Sampo’s Eidolon “Infectious Enthusiasm” is the exact same phrase used when Aha appears in the Simulated Universe.
Sampo’s Ultimate, “Surprise Present,” is a bomb with hearts for eyes, connecting both to Aha’s blowing up of the Astral Express and to Aha’s theme of “love” (joy/happiness/Elation). When Sampo unclasps his case, he also covers the top half of his face, resembling Aha’s half-formed head.
Sampo’s character stories feature him shapeshifting or otherwise assuming multiple identities, something that Aha is known to do (such as pretending to be an Astral Express member).
Sampo’s visual and character motifs—love and hate, red and blue—connect to the dual-sided nature of Aha: joy and sorrow.
Sampo has expressly not shared his views on Elation, and when confronted with being asked, gives a fairly cryptic answer. This could be because of Elation’s connection to Aha, which could significantly complicate his opinions or response.
The two share motivations and coincidences. Aha owes the Express a mountain of debt; Sampo hates owing people things and gives the Express a wide berth, never becoming a visitor. Aha and Akivili were close; Sampo cares for us, the Trailblazer, and protects us when at all possible.
Both Sampo and Aha refer to themselves in third person quite often.
The Tavern—the place we would likely find any easter eggs about Sampo’s Identity B, in order to establish others’ perception of him—features readables heavily centered around Aha. The Sampo Place has Aha written all over it. Literally. The Fools have put up a ban sign.
Established characters have strong opinions about Aha. Herta finds Them annoying, Pom-Pom exasperatedly refers to Them as “that one,” and the Trailblazer, likely conceptualizing Them as uncaring, irresponsible, or too funnypilled, plans to literally blackmail Them.
Sparkle hints on multiple occasions that she knows more about Sampo than meets the eye—her party join line and basically any conversation she has with Sampo reflect this.
On Amphoreus, the Spirithief and Zagreus serve as a microcosmic parallel to Sampo and Aha. The Spirithief being Zagreus may also serve as foreshadowing.
Detail 1: In the Tavern—the place so intrinsically Sampo the doors literally giggle his laugh—the portrait of Elation is a mirror that reads: “Know Thyself.”
Detail 2: In the Grease Chronicles, the blue monkey (who I am assuming to be Sampo due to its color association and dialogue (looking at you third person reference to being old)) is called the Great Climber. In the Masked Fools’ parable of Aha’s ascension, Aha climbed the great tree and looked out upon the universe before uttering Their first Laugh.
Detail 3: Sampo has part of Aha’s first Laugh casually on-hand at the Tavern, locked behind the Blisstar with a red-blue mask (Sampo’s signature colors), that he is able to seemingly appear near at will. Even more importantly, in the recent anniversary web event (Phantasmoon New Game), this same split-color mask has a light at the top, resembling Aha’s mask with the light.
There is so much more, and if I mentioned them all we’d be here all day. At every turn, wherever I would expect there to be connective tissue to Identity B, it’s always Aha. Aha!Sampo is haunting the narrative before the reveal even happens.
As mentioned before, the Tavern—where we would expect to find the seeds of Identity B—is chock full of readables about Aha; what the Fools think, why they’re banning Them, fables and jokes and whole factions predicated on who they think Aha is. Zhongshan mentions the Laughter could be among the Fools at this very moment. The ban sign rests right next to the glowing blue door that sounds like Sampo’s laugh when you hit it. The mirror and colors and Blisstar seem to shake you and say: Look! Look with your eyes! Still extremely mysterious, but tangible, foundational. Pointing you in a direction, pointing you to make connections, even though you don’t have everything yet.
We have been developing our conception of Aha the entire time we have been developing our conception of Sampo—since the beginning. The intrigue of the buildup here is the slow convergence of these two identities we already know: How do we reconcile Aha with Sampo? The Fools have split into factions, they’ve banned Aha from the Tavern; what does this mean for Sampo? How does he feel about this? “Lonely at the top” hits a whole lot different when talking about an Aeonic entity whose own followers have quite literally rejected Them.
Other identities offer interest and surprise, but Aha!Sampo offers, crucially, depth: Convergence, reconciliation, the “Aha!” moment of connection. A kind of depth that can only come from the coalescence of two separately strong foundations into one. The kind of questions that can only be present when we know both identities: How does Aha’s “abandonment” of the Tavern reflect on Sampo? How does he feel about the Tavern’s factions and rumors about Aha? How did he feel when they put up that ban sign? These are things that, at the moment, we would not get in a truly personal way with other identities, with previously-unnamed Emanators or Faction Leaders, due to a lack of personal (and therefore emotional) context.
In my opinion, I believe Honkai: Star Rail has set up a near-perfect buildup for an Aha!Sampo reveal (especially one that is small scale; as in, only being revealed to one or a few people, for the most impact due to levels of foreshadowing and sheer effort put into building up both Aha and Sampo parallel to each other). I do not mean this is most likely to be canon, but I believe it would be the most effective way to take the story. The building blocks are there, the foundation is there, and now I am just waiting to see if it will be used at all. It’s like seeing a beautiful house slowly being built and just hoping the architects intend to finish it.
(An additional note: It is crucial that the investment and outcome here are proportional—for three years of mysterious Sampo buildup, we need a reveal that significantly recontexualizes the narrative. This is not a small plot detail to be brushed aside, and this is also not the time for last-minute characters and unnamed individuals. This is more akin to a White No-Face and Jun Wu situation, where the characters are so baked into the fabric of the universe, context, and story, that the reveal is almost obligated to mean something game-changing.)
Simply put, the strong foundational buildup I would expect to see for Aha!Sampo exists (through the Spirithief, Aha readables, Tavern easter eggs, and more), while substantial buildup for other identities does not—this does not speak to the true canon future of anything, but rather to the fact that, if the game pursues a non-Aha!Sampo reveal, I fear it will fall apart like a poorly-baked pastry due to a lack of stable foundation. Most other Identity B’s I can think of do not meet my threshold for reveal buildup as of the first arc of Planarcadia, and it is unlikely it will be able to pull itself up this late into the game without feeling too sudden.
But enough worrying! I’m here for the fun, and the drama, and the juicy connections! I’m here for an Aha who chronically avoids Pom-Pom, and a Sampo who looks us dead in the eye as we try to blackmail him going “Really, buddy?”. I’m here for an Aha who laughs at Their own ban sign, and a Sampo who walks right in. An Aha who is the subject of strongly-opposed factions, and a Sampo who tries his damndest to bring people together. An Aha who hears “disgrace“ and “headache” and convinces Themself They don’t care, until Sampo stares in the mirror and watches a little light leave his eyes. A monkey who wants nothing more than to be human. A monkey who never stopped climbing, but still can’t break free of Their own Path. Even now, even in hiding, They haunt Themself; Sampo looks in the mirror every day and sees red, every day he sees what he is. What he has no other choice than to be. It bleeds into the world around him, into his shoulders and his eyes and his laugh. He Laughs still, aware it lingers. Aware that, no matter how much he dyes himself blue, he cannot wash away the red. There is no ego death here.
The Primum Mobile is His shackle to the prison of Elation, and He can feel something coming, now. Waves pulling back. Purple, intoxicating water. It is tinged with fire, snow melting somewhere beyond the horizon, and He knows it is coming. And so Aha remains Sampo, bracing for impact.
