#Amphoreus seems so interesting

[blazingblorbos]

So the Golden Epic Trailer came out.... didn't it?

hmm I have many thoughts. many thoughts. And not all of them are Honkai (Impact 3rd) related, even...

I'll start off with something I've noticed about Star Rail itself (for a long while now). Because it k e e p s being brought back up in my mind every single time they release one of these trailers: The Star Rail team is absolutely INCREDIBLE at, what I'm going to call, "Discontinuous Storytelling".

Hoyoverse as an entire company and artistic team has an unrelentingly powerful streak when it comes to their over-arching storyline trailers.. Genshin's Teyvat Storyline Preview trailer; Zenless's Lore teaser; Genshin's Overture Teaser; Winter Night's Lazzo; the Stonehearts' Myriad Celestia Trailer (even in spite of the fact that these last 2 may have served as a distraction from colorism-related outrages during their respective releases...); ANY!! FUCKING MYRIAD CELESTIA TRAILER, FOR THAT MATTER (FABLES ABOUT THE STARS PART 1 SPECIFICALLY, I AM STILL NOT OVER THAT).... And of course the one that has had perhaps the most profound impact on me to date: The Elysian Realm Concept trailer

And I've noticed for a while now that the stories told in a lot of the Star Rail trailers have felt,, very disjointed from the game's actual story. With any of their other games, even Zenless! now included, their trailers have had direct, VISIBLE connections to the events that played out in the game's actual storyline around the time of the trailer's release. It was a real, well-thought-out, well-crafted, teaser for what was to come [very soon!] for the playerbase in-game. And it's possible that.. maybe the pay-off period is just 10x longer in Star Rail than it has been in any of their other games...

but things like the Ever-Flame mansion and Duke Inferno's family was something that was teased in a Trailer, during a PIVOTAL hype season! and yet-!! was NEVER paid off!!! DUKE INFERNO WAS INTRODUCED TO LITERALLY JUST BE KILLED OFF LMAO (don't get me wrong, he had some pretty banger lines during 2.1 but. dude dropped mayyybe 9 banger lines out of.. what 27? during a flashback and dipped). Constance was the ONLY one of the children to have even a sliver of importance in Penacon'y story, and the sliver is near microscopic at best.

THAT^ was perhaps the strongest offender of this "Discontinuous Storytelling" that Star Rail likes to do. But even before that: there have been so many.. things. just! A bunch of random things!! Select tidbits of information, a mere taste of a specific corner of Worldbuilding lore, that have been dropped on players through a variety of ways that have just,, not been followed through yet!

A screenshot of a conversation between me and my friend that I think helps to contextualize What Exactly I'm Talking About:

anyways. I just hope this Golden Epic narrative is not that.

______________________________________________

Onto the Honkai Impact 3rd brain...

I'd be lying if I said 'I wasn't concerned'. I am. For a couple reasons. One reason being.. yeah.. the much, MUCH wider audience that's about to be introduced to a very Honkai Impact 3rd [from how on to be referred to as simply "Honkai", as I've always done]—inspired set of characters. I'm not toooo concerned about it; it mainly exists as a "Oh boy here we go again" sitting at the back of my mind, and I plan to promptly go about my own business and continue to avoid the circles of illiterate video game players that exist in every fandom .

But the other reason I'm concerned... is because I'm worried over just how much these new Star rail characters are going to parallel the Flame-Chasers and their story. Honkai means a lot to a lot of people, and it will always mean something different depending on who you ask. The Elysian Realm is no exception.

To me, Half the beauty of Elysia and the Realm comes in how their story ended. Emphasis on ended... The reason I love her so much is because she's gone. The reason she had such a lasting impact, is because she's not here anymore. When I played through Elysium Everlasting, I recorded my playthrough. The thing about that though... is that I have still never watched that recording back. For a long, LONG time, I didn't explicitly revisit,, any part of the later half of EE, because (I locked in so hard and) wanted what I took away from that moment to be whatever I remembered of the experience naturally.

The Flame-Chasers' WHOLE THING, was: Here is a recorded history of what we did. YOU are the sole witness to our story. Witness it, remember it, and carry it with you into the future; we are past our time.

The entire fleeting nature of the Realm is something I hold so dear to myself. Their message of us continuing where they left off is the shit that got me crying, bro. Elysia ended the Realm with her and the Flame-Chasers' own 26 hands... because they exist in the past; their only job was to inspire the future, not live in it.

Having Star Rail characters that parallel them is fine, and I'm sure it'll be great! (As long as they don't do what they tried to do with the Seven Shus. Oh yeah. I saw that one. I felt it, I'm not blind. I knew it was there, but I chose to ignore it because 1) it didn't land and 2) paying attention to any traces of it that did manage to land would have ruined what the Shus ALREADY had going for them. Which- for like half of Part 2 wasn't much -- it got better later). It's more than "fine" actually, they can do whatever the hell they want with them! "Honkai" is in the title for a damn reason. I just hope it's in good faith.

Anyways.. I'm interested to see what they do with them.

[ka2ki2]

Chrysos Heirs

people who play both hi3 and hsr are WINNING rn

anyway. i've determined likely flamechaser parallels for a majority of the chrysos heirs. most of them do not actually look like their flamechaser counterparts, which makes me think they're not direct expies but merely parallels.

I also sprinkled some minor analysis of what little lore we have on these guys. Amphoreus is massively inspired by greek mythology.

watch this before reading!

Aglaea = Eden (both associated with gold)

Eden owned the Elysian Realm previously, but at that time it was called the Golden Courtyard

Eden is also called the Bearer of the Gold Signet

Aglaea is called the Goldweaver

You're not going to believe this-- Aglaea is named after the Charis called Aglaea.

The mythological Aglaea basically runs errands for Aphrodite, which would explain why HSR Aglaea bears the Coreflame of Romance.

HSR Aglaea is from the city of Okhema. In greek thought (plato I think?), Okhema is an intermediary between the body and the soul. I did as much research as I could and the best I could figure out is "it carries the soul through rebirth". SORRY IF THAT'S WRONG-

HSR Aglaea has the "divine authority of mnestia". After lots of research, I think mnestia can be loosely translated to Remembrance, so perhaps that's the Amphorean way of saying she's a pathstrider of Remembrance?

Aglaea's drip marketing references the myth of Prometheus, where Prometheus stole fire from the gods and returned/gave it to humanity.

Tribbie = Vill-V (multiple 'selves')

Tribbie is called the "three-faced messenger"

We see Tribbie adopt multiple personas in the video. She can even take multiple forms at once

Vill-V has partitioned her personality into 8 different segments

Anaxa = Su (both associated with knowledge/enlightenment)

Anaxa is said to have "enough knowledge to refute faith, and to stir up a torrent capable of slaying gods."

Su is called the Enlightened of Bodhi, Enlightened One, and other similar titles.

These two have lots of physical similarity

Anaxa's namesake has some interesting connections with Nous actually

Hyacine = Griseo (both Asleep)

In the video, when Hyacine is on-screen it says "let the sky become the slumbering cot from which she wakes".

Due to the 8th Honkai Eruption, Griseo fell into a deep sleep.

Could be named after Hyacinthus

Mydei = Kalpas (fire in battle)

In the video, Mydei is seen in a post-battle poise surrounded by fire.

Kalpas is constantly surrounded by fire during battle.

Both characters constantly seek out fighting/strife.

Mydei is likely related to the greek god Deimos

One of the unnamed people has a mask too though, but these guys are too similar in aesthetic and personality

Cipher = Pardofelis (...come on.)

Cat girls.

Same eye and hair color

Castorice = Aponia? (butterfly theming)

Castorice is pictured with butterflies both in the video and in the twitter art. These butterflies look highly similar to the butterfly motif in Aponia's design

Aponia is very strongly associated with butterflies. Her dress is patterned like one and she has butterfly wings in her ult

Both seem to have devastating levels of power

IDK about the greek origins for this one. Castor? Kratos (who is actually a child of the Styx)?

Phainon = Kevin (deliverance)

Yeah they're both related to deliverance. They literally outright said deliverance in the video, and Kevin bears the Deliverance Signet.

Also they look EXACTLY THE SAME

Also both seem to be the 'leader'

In mythology, Phainon is the star of Cronus/Saturn (cuz they thought saturn was a star)

Cyrene = Elysia (...COME ON.)

They look identical and have almost the exact same personality

i have yet to figure out the two unnamed ones, Hysilens, and Cerydra. nor can i find their name origins... the closest i found, after ages of digging, is this for Hysilens

the remaining flame-chasers are Kosma, Sakura, Fu Hua, and Mobius. only one of the unknown people seems to be male ("unknown 2"), so that one's probably Kosma.

And yeah that's the culmination of me losing my mind for the past 6 hours. lucky you, you didn't have to watch me try and fail to decipher what the 12 titans might be connected to. (greek titans, 12 olympians, and HSR aeons all didn't line up easily waaaaaa)

here's the failed attempt to figure out the aeons if anyone else gets ideas from this

OK thanks for reading. normally I post my loredumps in discord servers with my friends. this is my first time posting it anywhere abfiushdliueh

[saunne]

AMPHOREUS LORE - AGLAEA ANALYSIS

So, I think everyone saw it, but we were graced today with the drip marketing for Aglaea, a 5-Star Lightning unit on the brand new Remembrance Path. Hence the reason why I’m back from the dead, in order to dissect and analyze everything I can about this sliver of lore we were given.

1. Who is Aglaea in Greek Mythology ?

Aglaea (Ἀγλαΐα) can be translated to “splendor”, “radiance”. It is the name of the youngest of the Charites or Graces, minor goddesses said to be patronesses of amusement and festivities, presiding over things such as grace, beauty, adornment, mirth, banquet, rest, happiness, relaxation etc. Although there are many names associated with the Charites, it is customary to recognize three main ones : Aglaea (Splendor, Beauty and Adornment), Euphrosyne (Cheer, Mirth, Merriment and Joy) and Thalia (Abundance, Festivities and Banquets). 

The Charites also served as attendants for Hera and Aphrodite, Homer specifically associating them to the retinue of Aphrodite. There are also mentions of their involvement with the Underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries (secret rites for Persephone and Demeter), although exact sources on this specific part are lacking. I’m still keeping it however, for some specific reasons.

They were said to be the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, one of the elder Okeanides. However, according to the Orphic Hymns, their mother would rather be Eunomia, the goddess of good order and lawful conduct. Their godly father being Zeus, it could explain why Hoyoverse chose to make Aglaea a Lightning unit.

Another interesting fact is that Aglaea is sometimes equated with Charis and according to Hesiod’s Theogony, this would make her Hephaestus’ wife, following his divorce with Aphrodite. This is interesting for one specific reason : the automatons surrounding her in her drip marketing. Hephaestus was the Olympian god of fire, smiths, craftsmen and metalworking and some of his greatest achievements were the Automatones, animated metal statues of animal, men and monsters. Among these Automatons, we find the Kourai Khryseai (Golden Maidens) : woman-shaped, gold automatons serving as attendants for his palace.

2. What can we guess from her titles ?

In the drip marketing post, we were offered a gaggle of titles : Dressmaster of Okhema, Chrysos Heir, Weaver of Gold, Goldweaver, bearer of the Coreflame of Romance… Although they may seem a little obscure, they actually refer to quite a number of things.

Chrysos (χρῡσός) means “gold”, or in a more poetic sense, “something dear and precious”. However, it’s more the “gold” aspect which will interest us, notably because of Aglaea’s character design which is covered in it. Gold was primarily associated with deities, symbolizing power, authority, wealth and eternal life (think about the golden apples of the Hesperides).

This brings us to the title “Goldweaver”, which is also fascinating. In Greek Mythology, one of the well-known weaving myth is about the Moirai, the three sisters personifying destiny and weaving the fate of every being in existence. Being the weaver, Aglaea would be equated to Clotho, the Moirai responsible for spinning the thread, responsible for choosing when a person was born as well as when deities or mortals were to be saved or put to death, being able to resurrect people of her choosing (for example Pelops, Tantalus’ son).

However, another weaving myth is preponderant in Greek mythology : Arachne and Athena weaving contest, a long known cautionary tale about the consequences of hubris in the face of the divine. Athena and Hephaestus were considered as the great patrons both of the useful and elegant arts, as Athena was also the goddess of crafts such as pottery and weaving. Aglaea’s title as “Dressmaker” could be a reference to this, and more particularly to the Arrephoros, girl acolytes in the cult of Athena Polias, responsible for supervising the weaving of the peplos used during the Panathenaea. Or it could also be a reference to the Charites’ role as Aphrodite’s attendants, as Homer mentioned they were the one to weave and dye her peplos.

Finally, Coreflame of Romance would have been the most obscure title, if not for all the previous explanations about the Charites’ association with Aphrodite. According to the Dionysiaca, there was once a time when Aphrodite attempted to weave better than Athena out of jealousy, aided in her endeavor by the Charites, Aglaea being the one passing her the yarn. 

3. What about Okhema and Amphoreus ?

Okhema is here referenced to be a city, but we already met that word, in a slightly different form : “Regret of Infinite Ochema”, the Trace material given by Phantylia. An Okhema (ὄχημα) is a carrier/vehicle for the soul in Neoplatonism. It is particularly important in Plato’s Myth of Er, where the main character recount his journey in the afterlife, including an account of reincarnation and the celestial spheres of the astral plane. A city named Okhema could imply either the “vehicle” aspect of the okhema, maybe being a moving city…. or since an okhema could be thought as a recipient for a soul, that the city itself could play a role in anchoring the souls of its inhabitants or allowing their travels/transport from one point/place/state to another.

We’ve got another thing about Okhema, the part “holy city kissed by dawn”. Many places could be considered “holy” in greek mythology. One of them is Elefsina, known as Eleusis and holy site of the Eleusinian Mysteries mentioned earlier alongside Delphi, where is kept the omphalos (the chinese name for Amphoreus is the word omphalos). However, the “kissed by dawn” was more interesting, as Greek mythology have a personification of the dawn in the goddess Eos, often equated with Hemera.  Eos’ myths are heavily connected to Aphrodite, in addition to her being the mother of the Anemoi, the greek gods of the winds and in the post, Aglaea said “the wind brought me news of you”.

About Amphoreus… we know next to nothing about it, except its moniker “The Eternal Land” and that it is “hidden away from outside observation, its presence only revealed by the light from the mirror of the Garden of Recollection” according to Black Swan. It was also mentioned that it was  “fettered by three Paths” and given the involvement of the Garden, it seems safe to bet on Remembrance being one of them. I think Amphoreus could honestly be a place filled to the brim with memoria, if not entirely dreamscape-like, similarly to Penacony’s Dreamscape.

Amphoreus reference the amphora, a container used for the storage and transportation of various goods such as wine and oil, in addition to being a common support for vase painting. One interesting thing is that painted amphoras were often used for funerary purposes, as graves markers or recipients for funeral offerings or human remains. Which is even more interesting considering that the post mentioned “the dying land of Amphoreus”, which leads me to think that one of the three Paths fettering Amphoreus might be Finality. 

As for why it’s dying, the answer is quite explicit when you know your mythology : “they will smite down the gods, return the divine fire”. This is Prometheus myth, and if we have Prometheus myth, we have Pandora’s Box in tow. And  tell me, what is a pithos if not a massive amphora ? In Prometheus’ myth, the gods didn’t take back the gift of fire, but what if they did in Amphoreus ? In addition to letting their Pandora release the curses of death, sickness and all other various evils to plague humankind ?

The idea of Remembrance and Finality being two of the three Paths in Amphoreus is even more endorsed by the mention of granting rebirth.  We know that Fuli’s realm “Eden of Blessed Insight” also known as the Pure Land of Recollection, serves to store memories that “shall serve to reshape the entirety of the world after its annihilation”. It’s basically backup data in case of inevitable doom, in order to recreate the universe as it once was. Aglaea having a “Mnestia” as Divine Authority is also adding to it, as Mnestia more than probably comes from “mnestic”, meaning “pertaining to memory”.

That’s one of the reason why I kept the information about the Charites being linked to the Underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries, between the funerary amphoras, the okhema and Myth of Er and now that, it seems important enough to keep track of any references to death and rebirth. The aforementioned “Chrysalis” is also counting in said references, as it’s a common symbol for death and rebirth by metamorphosis/transformation.

I have another theory to talk about, but this is already long enough  I fear.

[consumeroflemoans]

AIGHT YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS

Overanalyzing the new Honkai Star Rail trailer in reference to Greek Mythology because I am mentally ill.

The world begins with Chaos. Gods cast down the 'core flames' in which titans are born. Three carve the heavens and earth, three weave fate, three molded life, and three 'guide calamity's gate'.

In Greek mythology, there were twelve children of Uranus and Gaia that were the Titans. Assuming the unspecified 'Gods' are those two, we can pretty cleanly sort the titans.

Hyperion, Tethys, and Oceanus are the most likely ones to carve heaven and earth being the sun and water-related titans.

Phoebe, Mnemosyne, and Theia are most likely the weavers of fate, being focused on prophecy and intellect, memory, and sight and prophecy respectfully. Curiously enough, Mnemosyne can parallel the Remembrance fairly well

Rhea, Iapetus, and most likely Coeus are the ones that molded life. They focus on fertility/motherhood, mortality, and intellect. (Not much is known about Coeus so take that with a pinch of salt)

This leaves Crius, Cronus, and Themis to 'guide calamity's gate'. Crius is the titan of constellations and many of his descendants specialize in magic. Given Hoyo's track record with things in space and constellations relating to gods/powerful beings, I think this works. Then there's time and justice for the other two. Time is fairly straight forwards, especially considering the Finality's aeon is one that travels through time. My thought process on Justice focuses on the theory that if you do something wrong, it will lead you to calamity.

This all being said, I'm not sure if the actual identities of the Titans will be important for Amphoreus, but it would be interesting if the characters parallel these Titans or their ideals.

--

"These titans' blaze enlightened civilizations" possibly references the myth of Prometheus (despite this being out of chronological order).

The trailer references the Golden Age, which in Greek Mythology was a time when there was an abundance in everything and all living things lived in harmony. This was when Cronus ruled the world and the well-known Olympian Gods did not exist.

From beyond the sky came a heretical black tide...driving the Titans to madness and the mortals to mutual war.

Considering the chronology of Greek myths, this is most likely referencing the Titanomachy, the war of the Olympian gods versus the Titans. This destroyed the Golden Age and brought about the Silver Age, a time where mortals were immature and continuously sinned. This is likely the 'age of darkness' referenced by the trailer. (It could also be that the Silver and Bronze ages are combined for simplicity's sake. The Bronze Age brought about a warlike and rageful race of humans)

Within Greek Mythology, the Olympian gods are often painted to be on the 'good side' of the war. This telling of the myth makes them out to be the bad guys who brought about an age of ruin.

"Flow, golden blood flow. Converge into a boiling river that flows to the heroic heirs of this world."

Alright, and now we are officially into the Age of Heroes. These humans were actually respected by the olympian gods and this brought about demi-gods. These demigods are likely a thing on Amphoreus considering the 'golden blood flowing into heroic heirs'.

Aglaea the Goldweaver: You must gently caress the holy city's silken web and harken to the sounds and voices of destiny.

Aglaea is one of the three Charities along with Euphrosyne (happiness) and Thalia (abundance). Considering Aglaea is already tied to the Remembrance, this is throwing so many conspiracy theories through my head about how she could be related to the Abundance or the Elation. She is known for being Aphrodite's attendant and messenger, which could also tie her to the Beauty, something I theorized would be present in Amphoreus.

The narrator within the trailer seems to be placing her into a position of power, or at least giving her a task that relates to fate.

There shall be the three faced messenger traversing through myriad doors bearing tidings to you from hundreds of worlds.

Tribbie is interesting to me because she seems to combine two different gods. Janus is the god of doorways, journies, and duality. He's most known for having two faces. This 'third face' could be referencing the addition of being a messenger, but I'm not entirely sure.

Anaxagoras the Foolish has enough knowledge to refute faith and to stir up a torrent capable of slaying gods.

Anaxagoras aka Anaxa according to the video description is so fascinating to me. The original philosopher Anaxagoras is the one that first PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF NOUS. This is pretty much confirming that the Erudition is going to be playing a big part on Amphoreus. Also I am fascinated that he is called 'the Foolish' within this trailer. Could this also be referencing a connection to Aha or perhaps this means he is the one stirring up the conflict within Amphoreus in the first place. Either way, he is no doubt going to be a big player.

Go seek the priest who severs dawn from dusk and let the sky become the slumbering cot from which she wakes.

Hyacine is most likely a refence to Hyacinth, a prince loved by Apollo. I don't have many theories about her other than her obvious connection to the sun and perhaps dreams as well.

Make him roar, Mydeimos the Undying. Pierce the enemy's king with Kremnos' blood.

Mydeimous aka Mydei according to the description is most likely a reference to Deimos. He was a child of Ares and Aphrodite and the god of dread and terror. He has a brother Phobos who is the personification of fear and panic, and I'm curious to see if he's mentioned at all.

The name Kremnos is curious to me. It's the greek word for ravine or deep hole. This could relate to the underworld or perhaps Tartarus? It could also be a reference to Cronus/Kronos who was cut into pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Either way he's fighting something with what is most likely a god's blood.

Set her in motion, Cifera the Fleet-Footed. Command the frozen time to once again flow.

Cifera aka Cipher is a massive mystery to me. She's likely related to Cronus considering her ability to 'command time', but her name isn't related to any gods or heroes. Cipher could relate her to riddles or puzzles. My best guess is she might be related to the Sphinx in some way considering her cat themes

And that servant of the Hand of Shadow, the daughter of River Styx. If you grant her the right to embrace, then even frozen death will sleep peacefully at her fingertips.

Castorice is another mystery to me. She's related to the underworld considering the mention of shadows and the River Styx. It could be she's a combination of several of Nyx's (Night's) children. Many dieties of destruction, death, pain, and sleep have been created by Nyx, which relates to the narration of Castorice.

The actual children of Styx are Nike (Victory), Zelus (Glory), Kratos (Strength) and Bia (Violence), none of which seem to fit Castorice well.

You will hear the sound of the ocean's abyss reverberating through the storm. You will see outlanders from faraway realms visiting under the veil of gloom.

Considering the similarities in outlines, these characters are most likely the very last or very first shadow figure. If we go by the order of names in the description, this is likely Cerydra or Hysilens. I can't find much information on either name. The closest thing to Cerydra is the Ceryneian hind, a sacred deer to Artemis. Hysilens seems to relate quite a bit to the word silence and possibly the goddess Hesychia.

Until the journey's end when the Titans of old have all fallen and the nameless new king ascends the throne alongside countless heroes to embark on the grand mission of deliverance.

Annnd finally we're onto Phainon. He's definitely a reference to Phaenon, who was created by Prometheus and is known to be very beautiful. Once he was discovered by Zeus, he was made immortal and placed among 'wandering stars' aka planets. The planet he's most associated with is Saturn, aka Cronus.

There are two more characters that are shadow figures and also have their names blanked out in the description.

The children of mankind known as the Chrysos Heirs.

Chrysos means gold, a reference to the golden blood from earlier.

There's quite a few references to core flames and the flame chase. This is likely a source of godly power, as flames initially belonged solely to the gods. I don't have a lot of theorization on this, but it's something to keep in mind.

Most 'Heroes Journeys' in the universe are just dice tosses THEY threw on a whim.

This quote from Herta is so curious to me because it implies an aeon influencing fate directly. Technically any aeon has the power, but not many do things on a whim. Could this be Aha? Someone like Mythus that influences reality? Or maybe it's referencing multiple aeons.

And last but not least, the mysterious girl named Cyrene at the end. She's pretty obviously a version of Elysia from Honkai Impact 3rd but I don't know her story, so I am not the best person to theorize on who she'll be in Star Rail

[moociaoafterdark]

I KNOW that I mostly talk about Warhammer here, but I just NEED to vent about HSR right now, or else I'll explode, because, unfortunately, I'm still somewhat interested in the game

Okay... Amphoreus...

... HSR design team... What in the actual fuck?

Because, what is this?! It's clear that Amphoreus is supposed to be based on Ancient Greece (perhaps with a mix of Ancient Rome because of course). The name of the planet, the names of some characters, the actual teaser trailer. That's all and good...

... So why the fuck the character designs don't reflect that?

All I see are generic fantasy outfits (not even sci-fi, FANTASY! Those designs would be more at home in Genshin, not HSR). The guys are wearing generic suits and pieces of cloth, the girls are wearing generic bikini and dresses.

Where are the gorgeous robes? Where are the tunics? Armor? Ancient Greece is covered A LOT, it has so many interesting takes on it, surely they could've gotten inspiration from some pieces of media?

And I know, I know. HSR is a gooner bait game, I'm here for cute boys and girls here too, so, obviously, if we do a ""historically accurate"" designs, they wouldn't appeal to the core demographic of the game.

Except this argument falls apart considering that there ARE gacha games that did Ancient Greece/Ancient Rome theme, made it fanservicable and MADE IT WORK

First example is IDV, a game I have played way before HSR even came out. The theme for the release skin of the character Luchino/Professor was a Greek bathhouse (that slowly mutates you into either a fish or a reptile because cursed fossils):

Again, we are not talking about the historical accuracy, merely if the theme is obvious here or not. And, in IDV's case, it clearly is, even if you isolate the characters from the background!Luchino (middle front) is the obvious example. A piece of white cloth with gold embroidery wrapped around his hips with a cloak drapped over his shoulders, supposedly making it seem like Luchino is wearing a very slutty himation, without him actually wearing it (which is understandable, it would be such a pain in the ass to actually make a new set of animations for Luchino, had he been wearing a himation). Along with his clothes, there is also his golden laurel on his head as well as golden bands.

The other two designs: Philippe and Christina (left) and Margaretha (right) are less obvious, but they still try to follow the theme, with Margaretha wearing a light pink bathrobe and Christina also wearing laurel.

It's not perfect, but at the very least, you CAN tell that the theme was Greek bathhouse from a glance.

The second example, is a game I admit I wasn't even interested in, named Reverse:1999. Despite my disinterest, I have to note that the game's design team are cooking 24/7, the designs are immaculate!

They did a way better job than even IDV. Instead of saying anything, it's best for me to just show you the characters:

MILES better than whatever the hell HSR tried to give us. Again, not the accurate representation of Ancient Greece and what people actually wore there, but, just like with IDV you CAN TELL THE BLOODY THEME FROM FIRST GLANCE.

Now, that's just the gacha games where the characters gotta look either hot or cute in order for them to sell well. For that the designers, while trying to follow the theme, did deviate, trying to give their own spin to the costumes and accessories.

*Sigh* If only there was game, based entirely on Ancient Greece or Greek Mythology, that followed the theme perfectly, while also having extremely attractive characters...

If only... Okay, I can't keep up the act anymore. If you know anything about Hades 1 and 2, you don't need any other words to get my point. If you don't know anything about these games, just look up the pictures of the characters from them. The design team UNDERSTOOD the assignment.

Conclusion...? Uhh... I guess what I'm trying to say is that Hoyo are getting very lazy. Like EXTREMELY lazy, even by their own standards. After Fontaine the character designs have been VERY bland. There's, of course, Natlan and everything that came with it. I expected the HSR team to not repeat Genshin team's mistakes, but, I was wrong for thinking that. It seems this is more of a company wide phenomenon, instead of something happening only with one of their projects. And... It sucks. I have favorite characters in HSR (or the ones I'm really interested in) and one of them is literally based on a Greek God (Zephyrus). I guess I have to count my lucky days and cling to the fan concept I made of that character, before the devs inevitably crush all my hopes. Maybe I'll recycle said fan concept into an actual OC as a way to cope... Oh well. It's hard to let go, but, I'll manage. It's one thing loosing an interest in something all on your own, actually being extremely disappointed is on another level.

Have a good day everyone :')

[krawlernyannyan]

I doubt it is but it would be immensely interesting if one of the three Paths binding Amphoreus is Beauty.

The only meat I have for why Beauty would be one of those Paths is that the Path of Beauty seems to have a lot in common with the classical ideal of perfect forms so pairing it up with Space Greece makes some sense.

...but really I just think it'd be cool if Beauty got some actual development considering it's probably the least of the Paths right now. We only have Argenti and a gaggle of NPCs to represent it and most of those are either extremely questionable accounts or treated as jokes. We don't even have its Path symbol.

If the implications that Himeko used to be a follower of Idrila before her time on the Express pan out, there's even some potential for the Express Crew to get some richer characterization through it.