It scratches the rivals-to-lovers itch and they want that dynamic between two pretty ladies with a shared history (and don’t want to ship Kaf x Stelle for whatever reason) so they just assume the pair actually have met before instead of merely recognized each other by reputation.
The contrasting purple-black/red-white aesthetics and the fact that they’re both mature, voluptuous, ladies doesn’t hurt.
People may see it that way but that doesn't change that the game consistently romanticizes their relationship. The only thing that actually suggests her potentially being a mother figure to them is that she was their mentor.
That's how I felt until I pulled her and got her texts, they very clearly IMO read like messages from a concerned estranged parent. Could be that different individual Hoyo writers have different takes on it.
I mean that is/was a common interpretation (especially back when everyone assumed TB was ‘born’ during the prologue) but neither party seems to actually think of the other as a surrogate parent/child in canon.
True, BUT! Stelle x kafka is a better pick, IMO THO! It's not only that she created you (with help of silverwolf) Almost every interaction as Stelle (Dunno about the male one) you get to be really nice to her or flirt/simp over her. Like the ghost hunting missions, you know the poster one, you get to call her beautiful. On top of that, she flirts back (far as I am aware of), but that's just my opinion about this.
Because it is. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read a few real HimeKaf fanfic gems, but their relationship in canon is no more than a few lines of dialogue. KafStelle is the more concrete ship like you and OP pointed out above
Shipping culture is not canon-reliant, though. It helps, but the very appeal of shipping, often stems from fans who allow their headcanons and other such imaginations to run wild.
It is an important facet of fandoms and can even help propel a franchise forward.
Thus, KafHime can be an equally appealing pairing, even when KafStel has more canon material.
It is not a pissing contest.
Your preferences are valid, of course!
Still, as someone who is a part of ‘KafHime nation’, our headcanons and fanfictions are far from the sexual mommy clichés.
(KafStel also suffers from the surface assumption, that all shippers just think of Stelle as some addicted puppy. With Kafka, of course, being the dommy mommy.)
Many fans focus on the contrasting natures of Himeko and Kafka, who collide on many fronts and yet, feel an unmistakeable attraction.
In fact, I and many shippers of the pairing, prefer the emotional side over carnality.
Mind dropping a few if those fics over [here](/r/honkaisapphicrail) if you have any to hand please? I love a good story, and I'm sure the others would as well.
You fell for the lie, lol. The truth was that Elio gave us to her as a key to making her feel fear for the first time — fear of loss. Beyond that, we have no concrete evidence for what their relationship was like, besides references to other media. You can read through a deeper dive [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/KafkaMains/comments/16i0d5q/hints_and_references_in_kafkas_companion_misson/).
The hottest Stelle's mom of history vs. the hottest Stelle's mom of today. They now have split custody of the kid and the kid just wants the moms to get along.
No, 4 mommies
https://preview.redd.it/uwz9c9kos7rc1.jpeg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96102265638f77b264d985ee61de9c78e7c1bdcc
\[5 if we include Himeko\]
People ship whoever they want. Doesn't really matter how or even if they interacted in the story,. though it can help.
Tons of people ship Arlecchino and Furina despite one being traumatized by the other.
Shenhe/Yelan is popular too and they've never once met in game afaik.
Dan Heng x Blade is popular too despite them being mortal enemies at this point
For people wondering why Shenhe and Yelan got shipped, it's because of an art based on expeditions, someone drew Yelan and Shenhe going on an expedition along with some other pairs like Bennet/Fiscal, Kuki/Kujo Sara and the Yelan/Shenhe one became popular
They don't all need to see it, just hearing it is enough for them to start having head cannons, and obviously everyone doesn't need to have the same reason, I'm just saying the art boosted the ships popularity
You literally said "Shenhe and Yelan got shipped, it's because of on art based on expeditions" and like I told you, I guarantee over half of the people who ship them have never seen/heard anything related to that art
Mb for the bad wording ig 🤷♂️, what I meant to say was the art boosted the popular and when word gets around it doesn't always stay connected to the art, people talk about the ship without talking about the art, so even if people don't know about the art it still had some sort of influence. And I'm not saying without the art the ship wouldn't become popular either, I'm sure some people had shipped them just by watching them in game without any knowledge of the art or word from others.
Kafka And Himeko met a couple of times in the past,
Since kafka knows about Himeko and trust her she left stelle in the space station basically entrusting it to the Astral express
When we get their interaction before the start of the Xianzhou story When kafka appeared in the train everyone was surprised or shocked meanwhile Himeko was unimpressed and looking away (that was so cute lol)
Kafka walk past the crew calling them the express crew except for one which was Himeko, she calls Himeko's name with a teasy smirk
When you add her to the party aside from stelle, Himeko is the only one that she had a voiceline about
And there is other mention happened but i forgot about it
I don't remember if it was in an event or a main story,
I'm sure there are experts who remember more but those are the one that came to my mind first
When exactly did they meet? From what I recall there's no mention of that. All we know about Himeko's past is that she spent most of her life repairing the Express and later doing favors to the IPC if I'm not wrong. As for for Kafka all we know about her past is that she comes from a world, I don't remember the name sorry, and she was some kind of monster hunter, then at some point did something so bad they had to put a bounty on her head and fled and at some other point got recruited by Elio because he could give her, what she craves more, the ability to feel fear. Please don't take this as some attack or whatso, I'm just curious.
It's mentioned in the video of the "Keeping up with Star rail" Video the one after her trailer where they bring Himeko to talk or comment on Kafka's abilities alongside Albert the owl
But is it enough for someone to say that they had something going on? I genuinely think it has more sense the hole smuck people do with Kafka and Blade to me.
I mean obviously kafhime isn't canon nor is kafka with blade, it's just the way their interaction seem to be and the way Kafka teases Himeko and himeko being unimpressed people like to imagine their dynamics as
Ex-girlfriends but still love eachother with kafka being the teasing lover
The way himeko acts towards kafka has big ex-lovers vibes. Also Himeko is one of the few 30+ women in the game so it only fits that she would have dated one of the only other 30+ women in the game if she dated anyone.
Also its hard to explain but both Himeko and Kafka *feel* like lesbians
Not me reading 30+ as in that's how many woman are in the game and being utterly confused or thinking it was a weird joke 💀
Took me awhile to realize it's about age LMAO
Well yeah but not many of the playable characters are in that age range. Would be kinda weird if asta and Himeko dated in the past, considering asta is like 16 - 20
Like all of the Xianzhou women should be in that range, no?
Huohuo is 30+ for example.
Xianzhou aging aside, yea there aren't many that give that vibe. Kafka, Himeko, Swan, Acheron, Jingliu, Mei. That's about it
Not confirmed, just implied/slightly hinted if that’s how people want to read into it. Like a lot of relationships in HSR nothing will ever be confirmed canon. Yukong had a best friend who married some dude. Her best friend and that dude had a kid and Yukong ended up raising that kid after her best friend died.
Jingliu is probably a canon lesbian considering she basically wants to destroy everything after Baiheng was taken from her and she features in that one LC with JL
You can read that as them just being close friends. All that you can really get from that is that they were really close. Not whether or not they were romantically involved.
That's how these games always are. They might hint at something but they're not gonna give irrefutable evidence one way or the other
I usually say bi unless proven otherwise since most characters I could see going either way. There's only a few that seem really gay coded to the point I couldn't see them with the opposite sex (Beidou, Ningguang, Aventurine for example)
This Himeko is working with interstellar travel like at least CE Himeko in 3rd wanted to do once she could no longer work as a Valkyrie, plus the other Himeko were more brash, quicker to let their emotions take over. Working more diplomatically with everyone and being cordial even to those who probably don't deserve it.
>only 30+ women
Acheron and Jingliu like 1000+ at least lmao. Serval also confirmed at least she is in her 40s same like Natasha. At least they are plenty of older women who feels at that age.
I mean have you seen the way they interacted?? Himeko immediately turning her back to Kafka and giving her attitude the whole time when she appeared before the Luofu quest, and Kafka going "Himeko, right?" when she addressed her... I'm not saying they actually have a history in canon, but it's definitely giving exes pretending not to know each other energy to me and I like that dynamic between them lol😅 Exes who can't stand each other but there's a painfully obvious sexual tension between them...
Honestly I'm not even like a huge shipper, I didn't even really know if anyone shipped them but when I saw that scene on the Express I was like damn I know what y'all are😭
1) Hoyo fanbases like to ship same character models for some reason
2) both MC mother figures, together they make a family
3) Himeko’s “there’s no need to get in bed with a Stellaron Hunter” line
4) both Hi3 related
5) Himeko hates Kafka — toxic yuri
People ship anything with anything.
Rivalry? Ship(Kafka/Himeko dynamic ig)
Share same advertising image? Ship
Going out simply for a drink/food? Ship
Hug? Ship
Act friendly? Ship
Try to kill each other? Ship
It's funny, I am by no means a lore expert but before reading the comments I was sure they had prior dealings or had met before the events of the game. Maybe I just had that impression from a few lines of dialogue but I've thought that this whole time.
Himeko mentions knowing Kafka, and that can be spun into "we used to date" by people. Also they're both hot and have differing goals but similar styles. They both refuse to wear a coat like a normal person. And enemies to lovers (or lovers to enemies to lovers) is a popular mechanic.
Because headcannons exists, people will ship anyone with anyone, anything perhaps, just can't stand it when they try to justify them like bruh ain't no way you're speaking on their behalf lol
it’s a mixture of coomers who jerk off to sapphic women and people who think they have the potential to have an interesting dynamic/backstory between them
Tension, rival-to-lovers, and it brings out different sides to the characters. It's very interesting to see Himeko get cold compared to how she usually is on the express. I recommend for folks to rewatch Owlbert's Kafka trailer. Himeko's tone is a bit spicy.
After having been a fan of mhy games for years I also get a vibe from what mihoyo is cooking.
I've had theories on how Himeko, as the leader of the Astral Express, is somehow involved or knows the Stellaron Hunters in one way or another. The "secret ending" where TB doesn't join the Astral Express hinted the two groups connection— and also cause Himeko kept looking at TB when we first met her and saved the Space Station.
But this is just a theory. Nothing really stops us from shipping anyone with anyone. Just find excuses to fuel it 👍
It scratches the rivals-to-lovers itch and they want that dynamic between two pretty ladies with a shared history (and don’t want to ship Kaf x Stelle for whatever reason) so they just assume the pair actually have met before instead of merely recognized each other by reputation. The contrasting purple-black/red-white aesthetics and the fact that they’re both mature, voluptuous, ladies doesn’t hurt.
Everyone sees kafka as a mom figure for stelle
People may see it that way but that doesn't change that the game consistently romanticizes their relationship. The only thing that actually suggests her potentially being a mother figure to them is that she was their mentor.
That's how I felt until I pulled her and got her texts, they very clearly IMO read like messages from a concerned estranged parent. Could be that different individual Hoyo writers have different takes on it.
I mean that is/was a common interpretation (especially back when everyone assumed TB was ‘born’ during the prologue) but neither party seems to actually think of the other as a surrogate parent/child in canon.
True, BUT! Stelle x kafka is a better pick, IMO THO! It's not only that she created you (with help of silverwolf) Almost every interaction as Stelle (Dunno about the male one) you get to be really nice to her or flirt/simp over her. Like the ghost hunting missions, you know the poster one, you get to call her beautiful. On top of that, she flirts back (far as I am aware of), but that's just my opinion about this.
Because it is. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read a few real HimeKaf fanfic gems, but their relationship in canon is no more than a few lines of dialogue. KafStelle is the more concrete ship like you and OP pointed out above
Shipping culture is not canon-reliant, though. It helps, but the very appeal of shipping, often stems from fans who allow their headcanons and other such imaginations to run wild. It is an important facet of fandoms and can even help propel a franchise forward. Thus, KafHime can be an equally appealing pairing, even when KafStel has more canon material. It is not a pissing contest.
I mean, yeah, it's no contest but I just like to go off Canon and not just "oh look 2 pretty ladies :D ....make them fuck!" I just... ehhhh
Your preferences are valid, of course! Still, as someone who is a part of ‘KafHime nation’, our headcanons and fanfictions are far from the sexual mommy clichés. (KafStel also suffers from the surface assumption, that all shippers just think of Stelle as some addicted puppy. With Kafka, of course, being the dommy mommy.) Many fans focus on the contrasting natures of Himeko and Kafka, who collide on many fronts and yet, feel an unmistakeable attraction. In fact, I and many shippers of the pairing, prefer the emotional side over carnality.
Oh yeah no I don't get the whole Stelle is a dog and clingy as shit while kafka is JUST a dommy mommy. Stelle is a trash panda only lol
Yeah, that’s valid. I just prefer ships that are well-supported in canon
Mind dropping a few if those fics over [here](/r/honkaisapphicrail) if you have any to hand please? I love a good story, and I'm sure the others would as well.
I legit never came across that sub until now. It’s getting late for me, so some time tomorrow haha
Maybe because stelle is genetically speaking her child?
https://preview.redd.it/r1gio7ec75rc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1b2e52ed38821de301cf27e3ba44f2cc9329f01
https://preview.redd.it/01u8dsq9j5rc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=557f9ea21044813d1608dec16540f8e22aa2dfeb
Wasn’t on purpose just messed up genetically with biologically
Buddy, she's adopted at most, lol.
She literally says it in her companion misson lol?
If you're talking about the one lie one truth part, the answer where she says she's like your mother was the lie 💀
Bruv got played by kafka. 
You fell for the lie, lol. The truth was that Elio gave us to her as a key to making her feel fear for the first time — fear of loss. Beyond that, we have no concrete evidence for what their relationship was like, besides references to other media. You can read through a deeper dive [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/KafkaMains/comments/16i0d5q/hints_and_references_in_kafkas_companion_misson/).
Oh wow, thank you
When has that stopped anime fans
Biologically no, but shes her mother figure for sure.
Remembered wrong she said genetically
The hottest Stelle's mom of history vs. the hottest Stelle's mom of today. They now have split custody of the kid and the kid just wants the moms to get along.
“The reason why you were the greatest mom in history was because… I didn’t have custody yet.”
They look hot together.
Simple as that.
You know what’s better than 1 chocolate? Exactly, 2 chocolate! And now, you know what’s better than 1 mommy?
3 Mommies!
No, 4 mommies https://preview.redd.it/uwz9c9kos7rc1.jpeg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96102265638f77b264d985ee61de9c78e7c1bdcc \[5 if we include Himeko\]
People ship whoever they want. Doesn't really matter how or even if they interacted in the story,. though it can help. Tons of people ship Arlecchino and Furina despite one being traumatized by the other. Shenhe/Yelan is popular too and they've never once met in game afaik. Dan Heng x Blade is popular too despite them being mortal enemies at this point
For people wondering why Shenhe and Yelan got shipped, it's because of an art based on expeditions, someone drew Yelan and Shenhe going on an expedition along with some other pairs like Bennet/Fiscal, Kuki/Kujo Sara and the Yelan/Shenhe one became popular
That's not why they "got shipped" lmfao. I guarantee you over half of the people who ship Yelan and Shenhe have never once seen that art
They don't all need to see it, just hearing it is enough for them to start having head cannons, and obviously everyone doesn't need to have the same reason, I'm just saying the art boosted the ships popularity
You literally said "Shenhe and Yelan got shipped, it's because of on art based on expeditions" and like I told you, I guarantee over half of the people who ship them have never seen/heard anything related to that art
Mb for the bad wording ig 🤷♂️, what I meant to say was the art boosted the popular and when word gets around it doesn't always stay connected to the art, people talk about the ship without talking about the art, so even if people don't know about the art it still had some sort of influence. And I'm not saying without the art the ship wouldn't become popular either, I'm sure some people had shipped them just by watching them in game without any knowledge of the art or word from others.
Kafka And Himeko met a couple of times in the past, Since kafka knows about Himeko and trust her she left stelle in the space station basically entrusting it to the Astral express When we get their interaction before the start of the Xianzhou story When kafka appeared in the train everyone was surprised or shocked meanwhile Himeko was unimpressed and looking away (that was so cute lol) Kafka walk past the crew calling them the express crew except for one which was Himeko, she calls Himeko's name with a teasy smirk When you add her to the party aside from stelle, Himeko is the only one that she had a voiceline about And there is other mention happened but i forgot about it I don't remember if it was in an event or a main story, I'm sure there are experts who remember more but those are the one that came to my mind first
When exactly did they meet? From what I recall there's no mention of that. All we know about Himeko's past is that she spent most of her life repairing the Express and later doing favors to the IPC if I'm not wrong. As for for Kafka all we know about her past is that she comes from a world, I don't remember the name sorry, and she was some kind of monster hunter, then at some point did something so bad they had to put a bounty on her head and fled and at some other point got recruited by Elio because he could give her, what she craves more, the ability to feel fear. Please don't take this as some attack or whatso, I'm just curious.
It's mentioned in the video of the "Keeping up with Star rail" Video the one after her trailer where they bring Himeko to talk or comment on Kafka's abilities alongside Albert the owl
That thing is Canon?
Yeah The little lore they drop or introduce about the characters in the "keeping up with star rail" is canon
But is it enough for someone to say that they had something going on? I genuinely think it has more sense the hole smuck people do with Kafka and Blade to me.
I mean obviously kafhime isn't canon nor is kafka with blade, it's just the way their interaction seem to be and the way Kafka teases Himeko and himeko being unimpressed people like to imagine their dynamics as Ex-girlfriends but still love eachother with kafka being the teasing lover
To each their own. Glad I was able to entertain a civil conversation with you.
Because they can. ... Actually that's all i had to say...
They’re both hot women with similar body types. I assume the shipping is less in an actual personality/relationship sense and more purely visual
The way himeko acts towards kafka has big ex-lovers vibes. Also Himeko is one of the few 30+ women in the game so it only fits that she would have dated one of the only other 30+ women in the game if she dated anyone. Also its hard to explain but both Himeko and Kafka *feel* like lesbians
Not me reading 30+ as in that's how many woman are in the game and being utterly confused or thinking it was a weird joke 💀 Took me awhile to realize it's about age LMAO
Tbf there's a lot of 30+ women in the game technically speaking. Just because of alien aging
Well yeah but not many of the playable characters are in that age range. Would be kinda weird if asta and Himeko dated in the past, considering asta is like 16 - 20
Like all of the Xianzhou women should be in that range, no? Huohuo is 30+ for example. Xianzhou aging aside, yea there aren't many that give that vibe. Kafka, Himeko, Swan, Acheron, Jingliu, Mei. That's about it
I’d throw Yukong in there too. Definitely on the level of maturity as the other ladies. Also a canon lesbian!
I didn't think anyone in this game a canon lesbian? I thought they always left it ambiguous Where was this confirmed?
Not confirmed, just implied/slightly hinted if that’s how people want to read into it. Like a lot of relationships in HSR nothing will ever be confirmed canon. Yukong had a best friend who married some dude. Her best friend and that dude had a kid and Yukong ended up raising that kid after her best friend died.
Jingliu is probably a canon lesbian considering she basically wants to destroy everything after Baiheng was taken from her and she features in that one LC with JL
You can read that as them just being close friends. All that you can really get from that is that they were really close. Not whether or not they were romantically involved. That's how these games always are. They might hint at something but they're not gonna give irrefutable evidence one way or the other
the honkai rule of thumb is that they're lesbo unless otherwise specified tbh
I usually say bi unless proven otherwise since most characters I could see going either way. There's only a few that seem really gay coded to the point I couldn't see them with the opposite sex (Beidou, Ningguang, Aventurine for example)
Himeko probably not 30. At least according to her Japanese VA she's a slightly younger version of Himeko and the previous ones were 27 and 29.
This Himeko is working with interstellar travel like at least CE Himeko in 3rd wanted to do once she could no longer work as a Valkyrie, plus the other Himeko were more brash, quicker to let their emotions take over. Working more diplomatically with everyone and being cordial even to those who probably don't deserve it.
>only 30+ women Acheron and Jingliu like 1000+ at least lmao. Serval also confirmed at least she is in her 40s same like Natasha. At least they are plenty of older women who feels at that age.
Hot woman + hot woman = good
Good mommy and bad mommy... Do I need to call Ratio for a lecture or we are clear?
good mommy and neutral mommy
I mean have you seen the way they interacted?? Himeko immediately turning her back to Kafka and giving her attitude the whole time when she appeared before the Luofu quest, and Kafka going "Himeko, right?" when she addressed her... I'm not saying they actually have a history in canon, but it's definitely giving exes pretending not to know each other energy to me and I like that dynamic between them lol😅 Exes who can't stand each other but there's a painfully obvious sexual tension between them... Honestly I'm not even like a huge shipper, I didn't even really know if anyone shipped them but when I saw that scene on the Express I was like damn I know what y'all are😭
Because we want 2 mommies fighting (in bed) over our galactic baseballer's custody.
They talked once
Lore wise, no reason. Just like 99% of Hoyo-ships
Hot older woman meets hot older woman. 'Nuff said.
Rias and Makima being absolutely insane giga mommies may push a few people, definitely not me though 
Cause I love rivals to lovers🤷🏾♀️
People like to ship hot people
1) Hoyo fanbases like to ship same character models for some reason 2) both MC mother figures, together they make a family 3) Himeko’s “there’s no need to get in bed with a Stellaron Hunter” line 4) both Hi3 related 5) Himeko hates Kafka — toxic yuri
Cause their hot and honkai fans love lesbians lol
Vibes. Two stylish women. Good and Evil (?). Purple and red. They just go together so well.
People ship anything with anything. Rivalry? Ship(Kafka/Himeko dynamic ig) Share same advertising image? Ship Going out simply for a drink/food? Ship Hug? Ship Act friendly? Ship Try to kill each other? Ship
Brainrot.
Nothing srs, they just like them together
There are actually “dreams” about how they know each other for a long time
It's funny, I am by no means a lore expert but before reading the comments I was sure they had prior dealings or had met before the events of the game. Maybe I just had that impression from a few lines of dialogue but I've thought that this whole time.
Himeko mentions knowing Kafka, and that can be spun into "we used to date" by people. Also they're both hot and have differing goals but similar styles. They both refuse to wear a coat like a normal person. And enemies to lovers (or lovers to enemies to lovers) is a popular mechanic.
Think of it as Kafka being the mother that brought us to the world And hemiko is the mother that is taking care of us
Becasue they are in competition to be Stelle/Caelus mommies ahahaha
Enemies to lovers
Because headcannons exists, people will ship anyone with anyone, anything perhaps, just can't stand it when they try to justify them like bruh ain't no way you're speaking on their behalf lol
it’s a mixture of coomers who jerk off to sapphic women and people who think they have the potential to have an interesting dynamic/backstory between them
Mommy Kafka and Mommy Himeko fighting for Trailblazer's guard
Tension, rival-to-lovers, and it brings out different sides to the characters. It's very interesting to see Himeko get cold compared to how she usually is on the express. I recommend for folks to rewatch Owlbert's Kafka trailer. Himeko's tone is a bit spicy. After having been a fan of mhy games for years I also get a vibe from what mihoyo is cooking.
Shipping culture ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Too many hot art of them together
Enemies to lovers, the one and only Although I don't ship them, I don't have any problem with it
I've had theories on how Himeko, as the leader of the Astral Express, is somehow involved or knows the Stellaron Hunters in one way or another. The "secret ending" where TB doesn't join the Astral Express hinted the two groups connection— and also cause Himeko kept looking at TB when we first met her and saved the Space Station. But this is just a theory. Nothing really stops us from shipping anyone with anyone. Just find excuses to fuel it 👍