Tingyun (Chinese: 停云; pinyin: Tíngyún) is a character from the video game Honkai: Star Rail, developed by miHoYo. Tingyun is a foxian, a species that mostly resembles humans, except that they live longer and have the ears and tail of a fox. In the lore, Tingyun is an "amicassador", a position responsible for trade, of the starship called the Xianzhou Luofu. Tingyun was possessed and subsequently attacked by the antagonistic Lord Ravager, Phantylia, and was incorrectly presumed dead. She recovered from this with help from Ruan Mei, but lost her identity as Tingyun. She was released in version 1.0 of the game. In version 2.7, Tingyun was released as a separate playable character called Fugue (忘归人; Wàngguīrén; 'the one who forgot to return'). Tingyun was received positively, with critics praising her role in the story and speculating whether she had died before Fugue was released. Her gameplay was also well received.
Design and voice acting Tingyun made her first appearance in the game in version 1.0, alongside the game's release, on April 26, 2023. In the game, it was revealed that she was an "amicassador" of the Whistling Flames, a merchant guild operating under the Sky-Faring Commission of the Xianzhou Alliance. Her position deals largely with trade issues on the Xianzhou starships. She uses a fan to assert her authority and solve conflicts, but she generally tries to solve these issues using her words first. In the story, Tingyun suffers a near-death experience due to a catastrophe. In addition, it is revealed that her identity and face had been stolen. Tingyun received a five-star form in version 2.5 of the game under the name Fugue, which first appeared as a non-player character. Tingyun is Fugue's past self; she was brought back from the brink of death by Ruan Mei and henceforth identified as Fugue. Fugue is described as a tactful foxian whose identity has been stolen. On December 17, 2024, miHoYo released a video explaining Fugue's combat abilities. Two days later, the developers released a trailer exploring Fugue's lore and identity entitled "Unlike a Floating Cloud". A trailer for Fugue entitled "Wordless" was released on December 23, 2024. Fugue was released two days later in version 2.7 of the game. Tingyun and Fugue are both voiced in Chinese by Jiang Li, in Japanese by Yūki Takada, and in Korean by Lee Myeong-ho. They were originally voiced in English by Laci Morgan, but she was replaced in version 2.7 of the game in December 2024 by Anya Floris. In an interview, Takada said that she was happy the players could meet Tingyun again in the form of Fugue, and she recalled that Tingyun was on the verge of losing her identity on the Xianzhou Luofu. Takada believed that Tingyun experienced many changes during the process of being saved by Ruan Mei.
Appearances The Trailblazer, the game's protagonist, first sees Tingyun shortly after landing on the Xianzhou Luofu and rescuing her from a group of soldiers corrupted with a curse known as mara, which results in loss of sanity for the afflicted. Tingyun introduces herself to them and takes the group to meet Yukong, a local official who is dealing with the crisis posed by a Stellaron, a highly destructive entity. The group also meets Jing Yuan, a respected general who entrusts them with capturing the Stellaron Hunter Kafka, who is also on the Xianzhou. After searching for a while, the group realizes Kafka had been intentionally placing clues to try and lead them to her the entire time, resulting in a chase. Kafka is arrested by Fu Xuan of the Divination Commission. Tingyun accompanies the group in walking to Exalting Sanctum (where Kafka's interrogation takes place), saying she cannot find a direct entrance to the Divination Commission from there. At the Alchemy Commission, they find evidence of a brutal battle, prompting Tingyun to explain that the Abundance and the Xianzhou Luofu do not have a good relationship. It is revealed that the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, a secret pro-Abundance cult that embraces immortality, are responsible for the recent surge in mara cases. They have weaponized the Elixir Crucibles' smoke by infusing it with "medicine" that triggers mara. Fu Xuan asks the Trailblazer and their companions to clear the smoke, since it specifically affects long-life Xianzhou natives. When the Disciples' leader, Dan Shu, calls on the person who brought the Stellaron to the Xianzhou Luofu, "Tingyun" is revealed to be an impostor, the Lord Ravager Phantylia, who appears to snap Tingyun's neck before vanishing. Welt suggests that the real Tingyun may still be alive because the body disappeared rather than being left behind. The crew then follows Phantylia and defeats her eventually.The real Tingyun's consciousness drifted in darkness, unable to speak for a while. She eventually awakens in a laboratory run by Ruan Mei, a member of the Genius Society who is overseeing Tingyun's recovery. Ruan Mei tells Tingyun that her body bears scars from Phantylia's actions and that Tingyun must learn to change quickly; her tail has changed color as well. She gradually heals from her injuries. Eventually, Ruan Mei tells Tingyun the truth about what Phantylia did while disguised as her: causing calamity and poisoning the living with mara. Tingyun realizes that Phantylia not only stole her life, but her identity. Tingyun realizes that her fate was now tied to the Astral Express and decides to leave her old identity behind, concealing the news of her survival. The Xianzhou arc ends with a brief funeral-like ceremony for Tingyun, with its inhabitants unaware she is still alive. On the planet of Penacony, it is revealed that Tingyun's survival left her physically scarred and psychologically fragmented, but also gives her a chance to reclaim her identity by forming a bond with the Astral Express. After reuniting with Yukong, who helped raise her as a child, she decides not to simply return home, but to use the Destruction's marks on her body as an advantage against the enemies of the Xianzhou. Later, in Planarcadia, Tingyun goes undercover with an assassin to investigate a gang known as the Synwish Syndicate and Blade's connection to the Phantasmoon Games, but the mission escalates when Sunday is made a participant in those games.
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