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- You reached out your hand to me on that day. You changed my destiny from the moment we touched. You're the most important person in my life. If saving you is a sin, then I'll gladly become a sinner.
- —Mei to Kiana in Lament of the Fallen Animated Short.
Kiamei is the femslash ship between Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana from the Honkai fandom.
Canon[]
Honkai Impact 3rd[]
Mei and Kiana are both teenage students training to become Valkyries together at St. Freya High School. They are part of the main trio of the game together with a younger girl named Bronya Zaychik. Kiana is very open about her attraction towards Mei and insists that she loves her back. Majority of the time she will blatantly flirt with Mei and carry on with perverted comments or actions to do with her, even in serious situations. Mei usually doesn't mind Kiana's actions as long as she is able to contain her public displays of affection. But after their separation since the Battle of Schicksal, it became clear that Mei was more aware of her feelings for Kiana and even stated multiple times how much she missed all of Kiana's public displays of affection, baffled when the Kiana she met in Arc City was not the Kiana she knew at St. Freya anymore.
Pre-Main Story[]
Nagazora Eruption 2014[]
They first met in the year 2014 when a Honkai outbreak took place in Nagazora and turned many people into zombies. As one of the survivors, Kiana made her way to her school's rooftop for safety, where she met a senior student named Raiden Mei. She turned out to be a Herrscher, but her human conscience appealed to Kiana so they fought as she tried to save her. Once Mei gained control of herself again, she tried to jump off the roof, but Kiana grabbed her hand and pulled her back up with a smile, resulting in the Herrscher deciding to hide away in Mei's heart because she could tell her host cared about this girl. From there on the two became close friends as they tried to escape their school together. Later on, Mei thanked Kiana greatly for saving her life, which resulting in Kiana calling her cute for the first time.[1]
The two later met Bronya and they attempted to escape the ruined city together. In a battle, Kiana was gravely injured by a Honkai beast which reawakened the 3rd Herrscher in Mei. Under the influence of the 3rd Herrscher and cradling Kiana’s unconscious body, Mei destroyed the Honkai beast that injured Kiana. This act caught the attention of Murata Himeko, a Schicksal Valkyrie. Himeko and Mei fought and during the fight; Kiana suddenly woke up and destroyed Mei's Herrscher wings, bringing Mei back to her senses. The two were then taken to St. Freya High where they began training to become Valkyries, with Himeko as their teacher and Theresa Apocalypse as their principal.[2]
AE Invasion[]
After the events of the Xuanyuan Chronicles, Himeko was hospitalized and Kiana felt extremely guilty for it. Theresa Apocalypse decided to take Kiana with her for training since Kiana didn't want to mess anything up again. While the two were training, Anti-Entropy sent a Welt Joyce clone to capture Mei and what ensued left Class Monitor Fu Hua gravely injured, and Bronya and Mei unconscious. While Mei was unconscious, the 3rd Herrscher within her awakened and attempted to kill the Welt Joyce clone, yet was quickly overpowered due to a bomb placed within her heart. Upon hearing that Mei was in danger, Kiana attempted to leave training and help her. The two of them worked together to defeat the Welt Joyce clone, leading to Mei powering up Kiana's battlesuit and their dorms being destroyed.
Main Story[]
St. Freya[]
In 2016, Bronya, Kiana, and Mei were tasked to recover a battleship called the Selene. During the events of Chapter 1, Kiana saved Mei from a Honkai zombie that was about to attack her, and the 3rd Herrscher within Mei saved Kiana from a horde of Honkai beasts. The trio soon returned to St. Freya to take the yearly Valkyrie Examination exam, and during one of Kiana's nightmares Sirin refers to Mei as Kiana's girlfriend. In another dream, Sirin conjures up false versions of Kiana's loved ones. The fake Mei says Kiana is weak and pathetic, but Kiana knows it is not real, as Mei would never speak to her in that way, and defeats her.
Sometime later, the trio are sent to New Zealand to recover the Gem of Desire, which has been placed inside an ex-Valkyrie named Wendy. Wendy lost control of herself and became the 4th Herrscher, leading to the three being forced to fight her. During the situation, Anti-Entropy suddenly appeared and ambushed them with a brain chip placed within Bronya. Both Mei and Wendy were captured by Anti-Entropy, and a rescue mission was setup where Kiana attempted to save Mei. However, during the rescue attempt, Bronya sacrificed herself and fell into a coma to save Mei.
Battle of Schicksal[]
Things took a turn for the worst as Otto Apocalypse exploited Kiana's feelings, using the situation to abduct her and reawaken the 2nd Herrscher (or Herrscher of the Void) within her. To save Kiana, the Far East Branch of Schicksal teamed up with Anti-Entropy to defeat their foe in common, Otto. Mei reunites with Kiana during the Battle of Schicksal, desperate to help her. However, the 2nd Herrscher easily defeats Mei and takes the Herrscher core within Mei for herself. The removal of the core causes Mei to fall into a coma for some time.
The Battle ultimately ended with Fu Hua being shot in the head by Otto, and Himeko dying after pushing herself beyond her limits to defeat the Herrscher of the Void. However, for their betrayal against Schicksal, the rest of the group including Mei became fugitives, and Kiana being MIA.
Arc City[]
After a four month timeskip, the current group consisting of Theresa, Bronya, and Mei are shown heading to Arc City, after hearing that Kiana was sighted there. The three find the Ningyō, a cyborg who they believe may have information on Kiana’s whereabouts. However, Rita Rosseweisse, a powerful Schicksal Valkyrie ambushes them and resets the Ningyō before any information could be found.
Later, the team split with Theresa and Bronya heading to the Deep, and Dr. Tesla and Mei going to repair the Ningyō. The Ningyō suddenly reboots, and Rita reveals Kiana’s location. However, Kiana had been kidnapped by the World Serpent, a mysterious organization with suspicious motives. Rita contacted Mei for support and went back to Arc City. After a long battle, the two finally reunite, with Mei incredibly relieved and happy to see Kiana safe. Mei asks Kiana to return to the Hyperion, but Kiana refuses. Mei finds herself shocked by just how different this Kiana was to the Kiana she knew, wondering what Kiana had been through while they were separated. Kiana apologized to Mei, telling her World Serpent had been planning to cause a Honkai eruption in Arc City to move towards their goal of enacting Project Stigma, and she was the only one who could stop it.
To save Arc City, Kiana sent the Honkai reactor flying into the sky and absorbed the Honkai energy with in the bomb, leading her to pass out and fall from the sky. Mei rushes to save Kiana only to be stopped by Durandal, the most powerful Valkyrie in Schicksal. Durandal overpowers Mei in a fight, and takes Kiana back to Schicksal, leaving Mei feeling helpless.
Thunders Over Nagazora[]
While imprisoned at Schicksal, a World Serpent ambush occurred, and Kiana used this as opportunity to escape and make it to Nagazora. After detecting Kiana's energy fluctuation, Dr. Tesla also took Mei to Nagazora to reunite with Kiana once again. During attempting to locate Kiana, Mei reunited with Raven, with the two forming a temporary alliance to find Kiana, yet it turned out that Raven had wanted to kill Kiana all along. The two fight, though without her Herrscher powers, Mei couldn’t do anything. Regardless, Mei did everything she could to stop Raven, eventually concentrating Honkai energy in her body lead her to defeating Raven and going to find Kiana.
Mei finally found Kiana, and brought her back to their temporary base. However, she found out that due to all the Honkai energy within Kiana’s body, she only had at least 2 months to live. Mei was absolutely devastated by the news, and the fact she was completely unable to do anything about it. The leader of World Serpent, Kevin Kaslana noticed this, taking the opportunity to makes a deal with Mei: World Serpent would save Kiana if Mei became a Herrscher again and joined them. Desperate to do anything to save Kiana, Mei accepted the offer.
Kiana fought Mei in a desperate attempt to have her stay, yet in her weakened and dying state, she couldn’t do anything. The two were clearly hurt by having to fight each other, and Mei eventually won the fight, with the two parted ways once again.
Set Tomorrow Ablaze[]
Both Kiana and Mei were in their separate organizations (Anti-Entropy and World Serpent, respectively) however sharing the common goal of trying to stop the disaster brought upon by the Herrscher of Domination in their own ways. They were both sucked into the Theater of Domination where the Herrscher of Domination and its 1000 puppets resided, and to get out and end the disaster in their own ways.
The puppets separate Mei from the theater by creating an illusionary space to prevent her from finding out their true goal (which is to awaken Herrscher of the Void and make Kiana and Herrscher of the Void fight for absolute control of K-423's body). Mei fought with countless puppets just to get out of the illusion and back to the theater to be able to assist Kiana, Mei being aware of her presence yet at the time Kiana wasn't.
It dawned on Mei that her fully awakened Herrscher power, Conquest was stronger than that of Domination, rendering them unable to steal hers like they did with Fu Hua and Bronya. She used this opportunity to weaken the puppets by a significant amount, slashing them down with multiple thunders. The effects of Mei's attack caused thunder to strike down all over the Legion Theater, startling Kiana as she was staying in the fragmented space created by the Gem of Haste with Himeko, and Himeko told Kiana to leave and defeat the Herrscher of Dominance. When Kiana eventually left Himeko after saying goodbye, Bronya and Fu Hua informed her of Mei's assistance from somewhere in the Theater of Domination.
Kiana acknowledged that as she moves forward to fight against the Herrscher of Domination with her friends, knowing that Mei is there to fight by her side, despite albeit being separated by the fragmented illusions of the theater.
As of now, it is still unclear whether or not Mei saw the transformation of Kiana into the Herrscher of Flamescion in the Legion Theater.
Beyond Will[]
Kiana attempted to open a crack in the Imaginary Space to fight Otto, though her powers are limited. She hears Mei's voice telling her to hold on just a little while longer and that she'll be able to help her. In the Imaginary Space, Kiana relives some past memories she had with Mei, including her last fight with Mei. Kiana says that there are a million things she'd do in that moment just to keep Mei with her, though if she did, they wouldn't be where they are now.
Kiana is then able to communicate with Mei through the deepest part of their Herrscher cores. Mei jokes that Kiana isn't wearing her jacket like she said she would, catching Kiana off guard. She states that Kiana has changed a lot, though Kiana replies that they haven't changed a bit. Mei elaborates that they're in a space created by the Will of the Honkai and they have limited time here. Kiana fills her in that she and Durandal are on their way to fight Otto, and Mei says she'll help Kiana, saying that no matter how many times her blade breaks, Mei would reforge it for her.
As the two part ways, Kiana is hesitant to say something, and Mei reassures her that she understands. Kiana states that they have the strength of one hundred warriors with Mei around, a callback to her line in Chapter 1. Mei giggles lovingly at this and as she lends Kiana her power, she says "Alright...Then take it, the strength of a hundred people." After receiving Mei's power, Kiana thanks Mei and goes off on her way to defeat Otto.
Guns Girl Z[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Era: ZERO[]
- Main article: MEIKia
Kiana was a nameless girl from the slums notable for her strong resistance to Honkai energy. Dr. MEI was the president of the Massive Electric Corporation, a leading organization in the fight against the Honkai, though MEI herself did not care for humanity. MEI and Kiana first met as experimenter and test subject, though the two gained feelings for each other as they spent more time together. In Kiana's last moments, she agreed to let MEI turn her dying body into the Stigmata Terminal, a machine that resets the world and reincarnates the stigmata of each person each time the Honkai wipes out humanity. Because of Kiana and MEI's connection in Era: ZERO, their fates are inseparable in future eras. In a conversation with Reborn era Raiden Mei, MEI hopes that Mei can treat Kiana better than she ever did.[3]
Retrospective[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Chapter 5: Prologue[]
Kiana is very flirty with Mei as she saves her at Chiba academy. They form the "Girls Alliance of Looking for Our Missing Dads" and Kiana flirts with Mei
Chapter 12: Ragnarök[]
God Kiana destroys the world and tearfully kills Mei. Before the world resets, God Kiana asks if God exists and that if God does exist, to let her and Mei meet again in the next world.
Reborn[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Chapter 15: Eye of the Universe[]
Mei witnesses Kiana being devoured by the Will of Honkai and cries in anguish, never having the chance to tell Kiana her feelings.
In the stigma space, Mei meets a young version of Kiana. Kiana manages to survive and defeat the Will of Honkai with Mei, thanks to the souls of the stigma space. Kiana and Mei then go on to the Will of Honkai's universe to defeat other traces of the Honkai.
Honkai: Star Rail[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Kiana has not made an appearance in Honkai: Star Rail yet. Mei, however, has a Honkai: Star Rail version hailing from the world of Izumo, Raiden Bōsenmori Mei, who goes by the name Acheron.Quotes[]
- “I always believe in Mei. We're the best of partners, after all.”
- — Kiana's Herrscher of Flamescion battlesuit bridge lines
- “The night is so quiet... I miss her.”
- — One of Mei's bridge voicelines about Kiana in the Herrscher of Thunder battlesuit
- “I like how you, at the end of every mission, would kick down the dorm door, and shout "Mei, I'm home!", and then leap beside me and yell about how hungry you are... I would always rub your hair and tell you... "Welcome back!" I like all these about you.”
- — Mei, Chapter 8 about Kiana
- “You said you were alone. I used to be alone myself. Two ex-loners make the perfect team.”
- — Kiana, Chapter 16 flashback to when they first met
- “Because we understand each other, I know what her decisions would be, and it's the same way around, and none of this is going to be changed by how far we're apart or how different our positions are.”
- — Mei to the 10th Herrscher about her and Kiana
- “I don't need to go back to the past. Neither does she.”
- — Mei, Chapter 25
- Kiana – “Mei! We have the strength of one hundred warriors when Mei is around!”
- Mei – “Haha! Alright... Then take it, the strength of one hundred people.”
- — Kiana repeating one of her past lines to Mei, Chapter 28.
- “Fight for all that is beautiful in the world — this is my mission, and my promise to Himeko. And in my heart, you're the most special part of all the beautiful things in the world. That's why I hope... you can care about yourself more...”
- — Kiana to Mei, Chapter 32.
- “I only know that deep down... the world means nothing to me... without you!!”
- — Mei to Kiana in Lament of the Fallen Animated Short.
- “You reached out your hand to me on that day. You changed my destiny from the moment we touched. You're the most important person in my life. If saving you is a sin, then I'll gladly become a sinner. ”
- — Mei to Kiana in Lament of the Fallen Animated Short.
Fanon[]
Kiamei is the most popular ship in the fandom and the most well known outside the fandom. Some players even state that if HoYoverse does not add Kiamei into the 4th game, they should at the very least let them reunite, or give a bittersweet ending and state that if the two would get a bad ending they would quit the game. Through the game as the two of them start having a better development as characters, their relationship turned into a more mature one, understanding each other's motives as individuals, knowing that even being distant from one another or depending on their circumstances, their bond will remain unbreakable.
It is the most written about ship on AO3 with Sentihua (HoS x Fu Hua) and Bronseele (Bronya x Seele) coming in second and third. Kiamei is considered the most popular ship in the fandom because of it's canon status and the relationship of the two characters being very centric to the story. Along with Kiamei there are also ships that include a third person with them in a poly ship, the most popular ones being Fukimei and Elykiamei.
In the Honkai: Star Rail fandom, the two are reasonably well known and liked, as Acheron is a Honkai: Star Rail alternate version of Raiden Mei. Ever since her character was known, fans wondered if Acheron had her own version of Kiana, considering how iterations of Mei and Kiana are always together in Guns Girl Z and Honkai Impact 3rd. With no version of Kiana in sight and Acheron evidently holding great trauma from her past, fans believe that if she did have a Kiana, then she must have met a tragic end. Comparing this idea to Raiden Mei's story in Honkai Impact 3rd, where she is willing to sacrifice anything for Kiana and achieves a favorable ending, Acheron is often seen as the opposite outcome, where this Mei failed to protect Kiana.
Theories[]
Since Kiana does not have a confirmed alternate version in Honkai: Star Rail, many fan interpretations of Kiamei (Kiana x Mei) in the HSR universe rely on fan theories. In "The Knocking at Ungodly Hours," Acheron tells Stelle that she evokes the memory of an "old friend" who "stood shoulder to shoulder" with her. However, when speaking to Caelus, she references someone she "crossed blades" with. The fandom speculates that these lines refer to Kiana and Kevin, respectively, supporting the tragic idea that Acheron lost her Kiana.
Despite theories suggesting that Black Swan, Firefly, Frebass, or Stelle could represent Honkai: Star Rail's version of Kiana in Acheron's life—or at least serve as her main love interest, much like Yae Miko is to Raiden Ei—none of them have been confirmed as Kiana iterations. However, fans still enjoy shipping Acheron with the Trailblazer or other characters. Some even speculate that one of these individuals is a literal iteration of Kiana:
- Black Swan: Her light-colored hair and stoic demeanor remind fans of Kiana.
- Frebass: Her parallels to Kiana's personality and connection to Acheron's past make her the most widely accepted "Kiana-like" character.
- Firefly: She and Kiana share similar tragic origins as genetically modified beings created for warfare (Kiana as the Herrscher of the Void; Firefly as a pilot for Sam).
- Stelle: The Trailblazer’s relationship with Acheron contains many moments that evoke Kiamei's dynamic in Honkai Impact 3rd.
Some fans even theorize that the Aeon of Finality, Terminus, is a version of Kiana, especially in light of theories linking Acheron to Finality. However, this idea is less popular due to linguistic differences between the CN term for Finality in HSR (终末) and its counterpart in HI3 (终焉), as well as the confirmation that Acheron aligns more with Nihility.
Other fan works imagine Acheron encountering Kiana from HI3, often in her Herrscher of Finality form. In these scenarios, Acheron might feel nostalgic and mournful, reminded of her Kiana, or fail to recognize Kiana entirely due to memory loss or differences in their universes.
Speculations ran rampant after the release of Acheron's Myriad Celestia trailer, which showed that her homeworld, Izumo, parallels Honkai Impact 3rd in several ways. The trailer revealed that Acheron wielded the Bearer of "Origin", much like Raiden Mei became the Herrscher of Origin, while another wielded the Bearer of "End" (终), which is a clear parallel to "Finality" (终焉) in HI3. Since Kiana is the Herrscher of Finality in HI3, lots of fans speculate that the one holding the authority of "End" is Acheron's Kiana, who she had to kill. Another theory is that the White-Haired Demon (白髪鬼, Shiraga Oni) is the one bearing "End", since he seems to be an iteration of Kevin due to sharing the same CN and JP VA's, who also bore Finality — this matches with Acheron's past dialogue of her crossing blades with a version of Kevin. Under this theory, fans believe that Acheron and her version of Kiana fought the White-Haired Demon (白髪鬼, Shiraga Oni) together, an idea which was later disproven.[4]
Interestingly, fans of ScaraLumi (Scaramouche x Lumine from Genshin Impact) draw comparisons between their dynamic and Kiamei. Scaramouche is often considered a male counterpart to Raiden Mei due to his appearance and shared thematic elements. His demo fight even bears resemblance to Kiamei’s iconic battle in HI3. Similarly, Lumine is seen as a Kiana counterpart. Kiana was referred to as a "knight," a title Lumine also holds: Nahida calls her the "Knight of Flowers" in her birthday event quest and is recognized as the "Honorary Knight of Favonius" in Mondstadt. Furthermore, Mei learning to cook for Kiana parallels Scaramouche (as Wanderer) who shows a more personal and vulnerable side by preparing Shimi Chazuke exclusively for Lumine.
Fandom[]
FAN FICTION
- Kiana Kaslana(K-423)/Raiden Mei tag on AO3
- Acheron/Kiana Kaslana (K-423) tag on AO3
- KianaxMei search results on Wattpad
TUMBLR
- Kiana x Mei tag on Tumblr
- Kiamei tag on Tumblr
- Kiamei posts on Twitter
- Kiamei hashtag on Twitter
- Kiacheron posts on Twitter
- AcheKia posts on Twitter
Trivia[]
- Both Kiana and Mei are Herrschers; Mei is the Herrscher of Thunder and Kiana is the Herrscher of the Void and Flamescion. Later becoming Herrscher of Origin and Herrscher of Finality respectively.
- Kiana loves food and Mei is an excellent cook. Kiana, on the other hand, is a bad cook.
- Kiana is often compared to a tuna as a joke by fans and developers of the game. Because of the joke, MiHoYo added in-game weapon named "One Salty Tuna" which, as a sword weapon, can be equipped on Mei.[5]
- There are several depictions Kiana and Mei's hypothetical wedding.
- In Chapter 44 of the GGZ 4koma, Kiana dreams of marrying Mei and having Bronya as their daughter.
- In the Mystery of Stigmata manga, which was later decanonized, there was a scene where Mei was worrying about Kiana and had a dream where they got happily married, only to result in Kiana dying before her eyes.
- In the game, there is a stigmata named "Eternal Love", which has art of Kiana in a tuxedo holding Mei in a bride outfit.
- The trial character of White Comet (W.C.) for Chapter 17, in the stage where Kiana and Mei fought before Lament of the Fallen, W.C's stigmas are shown to have Mei stigmatas, namely; Mei: Princess (T), Mei: Bride (M), Mei: Birthday (B).
- In the Xuanyuan Chronicles, Kiana mentions having a cat named Sora. Mei believed Sora to be another girl and Bronya comments on how she "detects jealousy" which lead to Kiana having to clarify that Sora was her cat.
- In A Post-Honkai Odyssey, an open-world game mode set eight years after the main story; says that 99% of Honkai energy is sealed on the moon, Mei's introduction states that "she is anticipating a reunion with someone special", clearly referring to Kiana. As Kiana was said to be "MIA" and it was hinted that she sealed herself on the moon along with 99% of Honkai Energy. Mei was noticed to be always looking at the moon in the APHO main character's dialogues regarding Mei.
- In the 2017 White Day (March 14) there were official tokens added in-game wherein two rings were seen. Namely, "cat's claw ring" which is a ring given by Mei to Kiana, and "bow ring" which is given by Kiana to Mei. The selling price for the cat's claw ring is 520, while the bow ring 1314 in-game currency. In Chinese, 520 is slang for "I love you", and 1314 is slang for "forever."
- Kiana and Mei are both lesbians.[6]
- In Houkai Gakuen 2 4-koma, Kiana mentions multiple times that she's not interested in men or that she's a lesbian.
- In the same 4-koma, Mei found Emesa more attractive after learning that she was a woman.
- In the pirate event (Guns GirlZ-Honkai Gakuen) Kiana says she's not interested in men and that she does not like them.
- Kiamei's Chinese ship name is '琪芽' (Qì yà). The etymology behind it is that the characters were picked from the first character of their given name.
- The 3rd Herrscher persona was also in love with Kiana due to Kiana making her feel other emotions for the first time and saving her. She stayed dormant in Mei's mind out of fear of hurting Kiana.[7] The 3rd Herrscher is also fiercely protective and possessive of her.
- In the Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 Special Program, Matsuzawa Chiaki said that fans in Japan love Honkai as much as Mei loves (大好き) Kiana.
- Allegra Clark, Mei/Acheron's EN VA, appears to be a Kiamei shipper, believing that Acheron had her own version Kiana and quoting Lament of the Fallen.[8][9]
Gallery[]
- Main article: Kiamei/Gallery
Variations[]
- ElyKiaMei refers to the ship between Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei and Elysia
- ElyKiaMeiHua refers to the ship between Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, Elysia, and Fu Hua
- Fukimei refers to the ship between Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei and Fu Hua
References[]
- ↑ Guns Girl Z Retrospective
- ↑ "Escape from Nagazora" manga
- ↑ Guns Girl Z - "The End of the Sea"
- ↑ "...I ended that man's life, alone." -Acheron, "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes"
- ↑ One Salty Tuna
- ↑ "Rumor has it [Mei] rejected 12 boys in one day." -Kiana, Retrospective Ch. 3
- ↑ AE Invasion Ch. 13
- ↑ Allegra Clark (@SimplyAllegra) on Twitter
- ↑ Allegra Clark (@SimplyAllegra) on Twitter
