#Golden Epic Trailer

[the-astral-express-archive]

Honkai: Star Rail | Golden Epic Trailer — "Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes"

Voiceover: EN / JP / CN / KR

[vibinsane]

stop... herta's real voice makes me think of mcognagall ;-;

[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 Penacony's 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!! in Star Rail. Select tidbits of information, a mere taste of a specific corner of Worldbuilding lore, that's been dropped on players through a variety of ways that have just,, not been followed through yet! They love expanding on their world through things like Myriad Celestia trailers. And it's fascinating!! But for all intents and purposes, those random lore tidbits do not really make an appearance in game... and it just leaves me wondering, well.. What was this for?

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 now on, to be referred to as simply "Honkai", as I've always done]—inspired set of characters. I'm not tooooo concerned about that; it mainly exists as a "Oh boy here we go again" kind of thought 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.

[aromanticasterisms]

ogghhh amphoreus looks so cool

[b1adie]

Gods descended into madness, and mortals turned their weapons on one another. Yet still, there are heroes who chase the flames, leading the way in the grand undertaking of creation. Most 'Hero's Journeys' in the universe are just dice tosses THEY threw on a whim... Will your answer be any different, Amphoreus?

golden epic trailer ✧ “amphoreus' saga of heroes”

[witches-dream]

The trailer is just. Gorgeous. In every way. The feeling of dizziness, infinity and confusion it gives is impeccable, i love the way everything flows together, i love the gorgeous 3d models and the horror of not really knowing what's real and what's fake. And ofc Japanese Shmilk is ohhhh my god 😳😳😳

Ok so pv doesn't appear to be going alone, he's accompanied by GingerBrave, Strawberry and Wizard who appear a bunch of times, and White Lily, who in pretty sure only appears in the beginning. But in a lot of scenes pv is alone, making me think that he's gonna get separated from the rest after some point.

With the epic releases we've had accompanying the beast and awakened ancient releases, there's been a pattern of the first epic being someone who's on the beasts side and second being someone who's on the ancients side. It's only happened twice though so both of Shmilks epics might be on his side tho. The cookie with dark hair gives me butler vibes. The one with white hair looks like the type of character who appears cute and sweet, but it's secretly fucked up, sorta like Haetae. That's all i can say about them for now

Other than that, the rest of my thoughts are pretty scattered, so let's see

1. Love the music

2. Love the chess and the taro cards and the circus and the eyes theming. Not enough mirrors tho

3. Love whatever the hell this thing is

I really really hope we get some answers about either Blueberry Yogurt Academy or Dark Moon Magic, ideally both, which is what i think this is about

4. This Cookie reminds me of Crimson Moon Acolyte but i may be tripping lol

5. If anyone still had doubts about whether we were gonna get glimpses of pre corrupt Shmilk, i think it's pretty obvious now that we are

6. If this update doesn't make pv's character any more interesting to me I'm gonna be sad (i think he's boring)

7. Again. Where the heck White Lily gone

She appears at the start a couple of times, but the very next scene after the puppeteer one, she's gone. She also doesn't appear in later instances of the rest of the gang appearing, then running up the stairs, getting sucked into the nefarious vortex and on the chess scene. I wonder if Shmilks gonna gaslight pv about that, knowing how important she is to him. Plus Blueberry Yogurt Academy connection again

8. THE STAIRS. I've been listening to Stairwell by Nick Lutsko religiously waiting for this update you don't know how happy i am to see the goddamn stairs. This song to me is from Shmilks pov, singing about pv and "she" is Lily

9. Since when is Shmilk snake-coded. I'm living for it tho

10. I just realized i think the reflection is showing a Shmilkified version of pv. New costume anybody? (Don't have too many hopes for this tho lol)

11. The title screen, again, is gorgeous, probably one of my all-time favorites

So what can we see here? Once again, like with the other beast updates, the presence of the beast is overwhelming, and the hero appears small and insignificant. We can expect this turning the other way around in the second half of the update, though i imagine it will be a bigger change than with Mystic Flour/Dark Cacao and Burning Spice/Golden Cheese. Simply because i can't see pv being in the same position as sm here tbh

We only see one of the new cookies? Where's the second one?

There's cutouts of the other ancients in the picture (and they appear elsewhere in the trailer too) which makes me think that, just like Shmilk compares pv to his past self, he's gonna do that shit about the other ancients too. Just to say like ohhh you have this potential to become evil too you know, all of you.

My theory from a while ago was that Shmilk was gonna show pv the past of the beasts, showing that they too were good and driven by a desire to help others and spread kindness, which could make pv sympathize, because he's a softie like that. Which would then either corrupt pv or make him want to try to "redeem" the beasts and want to help them, which the beasts could obviously abuse. From The devs pov, that's a good way to hype the fans and tease pre-corruption costumes, which i think are 100% coming at some point. (Btw i don't think the coty costume Mystic is gonna get will be her pre-corrupt one, simply because i think that's planned regardless. She's gonna get a different, unique one. Plus, coty costumes are legendaries I'm pretty sure, and i think pre-corrupt costumes are gonna be epics, maybe specials, but deffo not legendaries. Watch me be wrong tho). Similarly to how Dark Cacao got so miserably helpless in his story and Golden Cheese was so physically and mentally drained in hers, i think Vanilla will be in a similar state before awakening too, but he's gonna have to break out of the illusions Shmilk feeds him, so maybe like. He's gonna get very very close to corrupting as a result of Shmilks influence. I hope I'm making sense here lol

12. Last thing i think. The decor set is gonna be sick

[tree-obsession]

hopes/theories/predictions for each of the chrysos heirs' + cyrene's personalities

not at all accurate, and i haven't seen any story leaks yet(although i saw the coreflame ones, so beware)! this was written a few days before 3.0 came out and is just for fun! only the chrysos heirs i know the names and faces of... sorry hysilens fans, i have no idea for her :(. cyrene is included because a) i love her and elysia and b) she's gonna be relevant, even if idk if she'll be a chrysos heir

a few coreflame spoiler under the cut, but no other story leaks! a bunch of people have already predicted the coreflames anyway lol

aglaea- im very excited for her story-wise, a couple people have already said she probably has some hidden side to her, and she may even become an antagonist of sorts in the second part! i personally love that she's the oldest(maybe? or just most experienced) heir and the one to unite them all. she's our first playable so she'll def be super important. i really wanna know what her golden apple thingy is all about too... but aside from that she's ETHEREAL. i need to know everything about her she's so gorgeous. she can commit a little murder as a treat i think she would deserve it. idk why i just get that feeling. she's so calm and elegant and stoic like i think she should go just a little apeshit for the hell of it.

tribbie- im really curious- did she split into three or are they born triplets who all carry the coreflame? how does all that work? why does she have two city affiliations in her drip? im not the most interested in her, per se, but she's got a lot of questions too. i hope she's playable as three characters because i wanna see those animations!!

anaxa- honestly i have the most questions + speculations about him. like what happened to his dull eye(s)? why does he have an eyepatch? why's he called "the Foolish"? how are he and hyacine related? why are his eyes the same colors as March's(and from a planet where she'll be very story relevant? i'm very biased at him cause su's my favorite male character in hi3 and anaxagoras was one of my fav greek philosophers. i already said this in a different post but su's variants are all batshit insane so he's gonna be. interesting! also the timeloop theory and him maybe being aware of it?? that got me really interested. but his name is the bit really bothering me- why name his after the guy who a) invented the concept of nous, an aeon we know is involved in amphoreus b) didn't believe gods were responsible for bits of the world like everyone else did(which is gonna come up in amphoreus just you wait) and c) was right about basically everything several hundred years before anyone had the tech to back it up?? like that's still insane to me. also how are we getting his coreflame if cerces is dead like come on what's going on there?? i wanna shake him around in a box im excited for him!

hyacine- lots of theories saying she might also be from the grove of epiphany, and she and anaxa were sitting in the same tree in golden epic trailer! i think her design's super cute, and she'll be important if her titan is actually aquila like people have theorized. she'll probs be a healer? i wonder what the inspiration behind her name is too... she doesn't seem to have flower motifs, even, but if she's from the grove that makes a bit more sense. i'd initially thought she was from aidonia, a city in the mountains(near the sky) plus the place aquila might be from(judging from ancient hymns, but that could be my misinterpretation). im so pulling for her. i also really hope she and anaxa have a big brother-little sister relationship like ppl on twitter have said, bc they looked so happy together in that one frame of nameless faces and im weak for found family.

mydei- uhhh a lot of people have said gap moe?? idk if that's a theory or leaks- personally i think it would be super funny. im a little worried about him, cause the words in his drip marketing were... super ominous, like why does he have to die a thousand deaths? he's a prince, which makes me wonder how nobility works in amphoreus + when castrum kremnos was destroyed, but that's a different conversation. i like the little braids in his design- good nod to greek culture! he's also got a throne in the nameless faces trailer which is kinda interesting and probably foreshadowing

cipher - par! do! fe! lis! i LOVE trickery characters so i'll probs pull her unless i have zero funds. her model looks so different from the initial art but i do still love the vibes so i'm not that put off. she already has her coreflame! but that one scene in nameless faces where she's surrounded by flames... no death flags im begging. elysian realm was bad enough for sure. let them be happy!! i have high hopes for her personality- i hope they don't lean too much into the "catty"(hah) bit and focus on her backstory, whatever that may be!

castorice- afgausdfyg her ANIMATION?! must pull! she's so gorgeous and she has a butterfly motif and she's related to DEATH in a GREEK MYTHOLOGY WORLD and she has a MASSIVE SCYTHE im going absolutely insane. also dull eyes syndrome for the win! she's gonna make me cry. side note her dragon's super cool looking too. i hope she becomes a major companion for tb (it seems so from the remembrance tb keeping up with star rail!). she's. im gonna enjoy her part of the quest so much oh god. im shaking in excitement. also while i dont like the same dress on every single hsr girl hers actually looks pretty good. if they put butterflies and dragons into all her animations i might actually pull eidolons, which so far i've only done for ruan mei. that's the power of a death goddess tho!! im so excited for her.

phainon- kevin... smiling... looking like a puppy... oh god my h e a r t. if he's like a happy lil puppy like he was before the Traumas + dr mei's death in hi3 i'll throw myself through a wall. hoyo please let him be happy this one time let all the flamechasers have a happy end im begging. they deserve it. im begging for all the people who theorize he will have to hold the world on his shoulders to be wrong about just this one thing because my heart WILL give out just a bit.

cyrene- ELYSIA ELYSIA!!! oh god she's so tiny!! she's got the same lil giggle and attitude about happy stories im gonna ghksufgukygfk jhf. but anyway. we know nothing about her yet, but i like the theories that she's somehow on the "outside" of amphoreus looking in + the ones saying mem is her fursona. she's adorable and i really, really hope she's playable. so much. you know her animations would go so hard you know it hoyo loves elysia too much for anything else.

one last thing i just wanted to say that i already said on twt: i think in the golden epic trailer, the first one, the order in which the chrysos heirs were introduced is the order aglaea recruited them in! i have no real evidence, other than that it would kinda make sense and having tribbie second makes sense because... messenger who can recruit heirs! but idk, just a random thought.

aaand that's all! again, these are all speculations + hopes nothing i say here will necessarily be canon :)

[controlvariable]

[ HSR Theory ] The Real Stellaron Was The Heirs We Met Along The Way

"Nameless Faces" draws obvious parallels between Phainon and the Trailblazer, having them switch places in one scene. Phainon is given the epithet of "Nameless" (usually in the title "Nameless King"), and Acheron even compares the Trailblazer to her planet's Kevin Kaslana variant in a cutscene.

Phainon is shown splashing ichor on himself, resembling the depiction of Nanook from Simulated Universe. The first Aeon to acknowledge the Trailblazer, with THEIR gaze seemingly drawn by the Stellaron in our chest being blasted by the Doomsday Beast.

When I was putting together my theories on the heirs, there was one scene in the Golden Epic trailer that confused me. Here it is.

Instead of showing us anything of Cerydra, who has a clear blue color scheme, we get... this. Could this really be her? Is it actually March 7th, and the Express was a big red herring? Well, no. I don't think this person is any of the heirs, actually.

Say hello to The Chess Player, a Lord Ravager we know of thanks to the Xianzhou's meticulous documentation and less-than-meticulous security. They are said to have the temper of a chess grandmaster, "pulling the strings of strife". I believe they are orchestrating Phainon's ascendance to the throne.

We know the Coreflame of Worldbearing has already been sacrificed, so what could be taking its place when we see all twelve constellations lit up?

I think it's a Stellaron. More specifically, a Stellaron that is inside Phainon's body - just like the one inside the Trailblazer. Phainon has been harnessing its power to become the "Nameless King", unaware that a Lord Ravager behind the scenes is using him as a tool to destroy Amphoreus for good.

Written: January 10 2025

[harmonysanreads]

you for no reason:

(dont) stop the phainon propaganda!!! i need to stay loyal to my hot blonde wife!!!

It's pretty weird actually, because when I first saw the Golden Epic trailer, I thought I'd be writing most for Mydei. What with him being based off of another favorite character of mine. But I somehow ended up investing more on Phainon, for which, I think I can thank my anons and mutuals to an extent XD It reminds me of how I got into hsr solely for Aventurine but ended up writing the most for Sunday lol.

I'm at the edge of my seat counting down the days till 3.0 and praying they don't mess up either of the three — Phainon, Mydei and Anaxa's characters orz. Because the Phainon propaganda needs to thrive 🔥

[aeternior]

HSR Amphoreus Analysis/Theory — Possible Historical Parallels/References?

First post ig but I've literally been geeking out sm abt this, but keep in mind I've only done about surface-level research and digging so don't expect much, and this is mostly a rant so feel free to point things out.

Okay so for starters the name of the myriad celestia trailer is 'Golden Epic' and 'The saga of heroes' right? im gonna connect that fact later on to why it’s relevant but for now I'll just say it has something to do with Hesoid, which is also very relevant. But also for context and im pretty sure this is the most obvious one in the trailer: Basically the whole beginning is just a flat out retelling of the creation myth in greek mythology — Which historically, is tied to the Dark Ages of Greece (and is very much relevant to the points I'm trying to make, as well the events that go on in the trailer.)

So I'm gonna split the trailer into like a few separate pieces: The opening = Historical dark ages of Greece, then the Archaic Age which eventually leads on to the Golden age, and the Peloponnessian war. Basically the trailer starts us off with the chaos and basically fall of civilization through the retelling of the greek creation myth (which as said before, is historically tied to the dark ages of greece/the decline of the Mycenaean civilization), before eventually following into what is historically considered the archaic age of greece, where civilization then rises back up (and by the eye in the trailer, we could assume perhaps Ena has something to do with it), and then eventually the city starts to flourish, which is possibly a reference to the peak of that time period being a reference to Greece's Golden Age (As mentioned by the 'Golden Age' in the trailer).

 But then after the city falls back into destruction and chaos in the trailer and eventually we can assume Nanook played a role in that somewhere, as by the description of 'golden blood'. But also that event in the trailer almost perfectly parallels with the historical timeline of the Peloponnessian war (which btw was also considered highly destructive/a very dramatic end) which happens afterwards the Golden Age of Greece, basically bringing a downfall to the Athens right after an age of flourish. 

But also the events aren't only just possibly referenced from the Greeces ancient historical events long before 100 AD, but also possibly from Hesoid, specifically his piece, the 'Works and Days of Hesiod', and specifically the timeline of the "Ages" that occur in his work. That being:

Golden Age:  The first age, when humans lived like gods, free from pain, sorrow, and toil. They lived in peace and harmony, and did not have to work to feed themselves. They lived to very old age, but with a youthful appearance, and eventually died peacefully. (There is also the mention of the titans such as Kronos in this age in greek mythology, and basically humanity living among the gods)

Silver Age: The Silver Age and every age that follows fall within the rule of Cronus's successor and son, Zeus. Men in the Silver Age lived for one hundred years under the dominion of their mothers. They lived only a short time as grown adults, and spent that time in strife with one another. (also its said zeus started causing destruction due to lack of respect to gods, etc) 

Bronze Age: Self destruction through the making of weapons mostly, war

Heroic Age: as telling by the name, basically the age of heroes such as odysseus and such 

Iron Age: What we may assume the current timeline for amphoreus may possibly be at the moment, and is basically described as the worst and most miserable of all the ages

Now another interesting thing is Hesoid was basically the one to create the term 'Golden Age', and the title, 'Golden Epic' as well as the 'Saga of Heroes' (aka heroic age ref?) can possibly be a reference to that in the trailer, altho it can be a stretch. Whats also interesting and something to note is the fact that Hesoid was alive during the archaic era of ancient greece, and if we start looking at historical timelines the scholar that Anaxa is possibly based off from in the trailer (Anaxagoras) had lived during the Golden Age of ancient greece.

btw i still have not figured nor done much research on the characters introduced but if im able to find the ref on them i may be able to somewhat connect it or find another connection but thats all i've been able to speculate for now💔💔

[the-astral-express-archive]

Honkai: Star Rail | The Chrysos Heirs From Golden Epic Trailer - "Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes"

Download: EN / CN (slightly better quality)

[gandalfsalt]

How Ragnarok Predicts Veilguard Endings

What can the norse myth of Ragnarok tell us about ending of the Veilguard? I think it can predict some major themes and plot developments.

Veilguard’s soundtrack is likely inspired by Richard Wagner and his epic fantasy work The Ring Cycle. Not only are there striking musical similarities, but the album covers use similar symbolism. 

The Ring Cycle is a series of 4 operas based on Norse mythology, and it shares themes and plot elements in common with the Veilguard and Dragon Age more broadly. The Ring Cycle tells the story of the god’s downfall due to their desire for power, corruption, and greed, which is represented by a cursed golden ring of power.

The fourth and final installment of the cycle is the opera Gotterdammerung, which is German for Ragnarok, or the end of the world in norse mythology. Gotterdammerung culminates in the end of the god’s rule and influence, and the emergence of a new world driven by human and mortal choices. The Veilguard is the fourth installment of the Dragon Age franchise, and I think it will also represent the end of an old cycle and the birth of a new era. 

Giant Wolves Eating Gods

A central figure in Ragnarok is the giant wolf Fenrir, who’s name was probably inspiration for Fen’Harel. Fenrir is responsible for destroying the order of the gods. During Ragnarok, Fenrir devours Odin, the all-father and leader of the gods. Solas’s knife that can probably kill gods as well as tear down the veil is referred to as “the wolf’s fang.”

During one of the trailers, we see Solas in his Fen-Harel wolf form leaping up to take a huge bite out of Elgarn’nan. Like Odin, Elgar’nan is the head of the elven pantheon and referred to as the all-father. And like Odin’s counterpart in ring cycle, Wotan, Elgarn’nan becomes a power hungry despot. 

Things do not end well for Fenrir, unfortunately, because even though he’s successful in taking down the gods, after he devours Odin, he’s killed by one of Odin’s children who rips his jaws apart. Are we going to see Ghilan’nain take out Solas? It could be a possibility on one of his paths. 

A Symbolic Spear

As head of the gods, Wotan heads down a path of corruption and destruction in his quest to accumulate power. His rule and the order of the gods, along with its corruption and descent into tyranny, is represented by Wotan’s spear. We know Andruil’s spear is probably going to play a role in the game, and I think it may serve a similar symbolic purpose. 

We see in his new tarot card image that Solas is holding what may be Andruil’s spear - What does it mean that Solas is holding a symbol of the god’s oppressive power and corruption? It could foreshadow a bad path for Solas, or represent how in his quest to save the world from the gods, he has in fact become just like them. Just like the other Evanuris, in his quest to tear down the veil Solas has accumulated godlike power in pursuit of his goals, and he’s willing to make sweeping unilateral judgements and decisions on behalf of millions. 

We know one of the final achievements is called “The Dread Wolf Rises” and we’ll likely be facing off against Solas during the endgame. It’s possible that Solas becomes like the Evanuris no matter what path we choose and we’ll have to face him. I don’t think that means he won’t have a good path or chance at redemption based on our choices, but I think it might not come until the very end. Which brings us to my next point...

Redemption through Self-Sacrifice

In the ring cycle, the curse of the ring is only broken through an act of self-sacrifice motivated by love. The heroine Brunhilde, a valkyrie and former servant of the gods, takes it upon herself to return the ring from where it came, ending its cycle of destruction and corruption. I think the possibility of redemption through love and sacrifice is going to be a big theme in the Veilguard, and we could see it play out with Solas’ and Morrigan’s arcs. Love in this context doesn’t need to be romantic love, it can apply to platonic love, familial love, and companionship as well. I know it’s unlikely we’ll see Keiran, which is really unfortunate, but if we did he could have an interesting role to play here.

Brunnhilde’s sacrifice represents the undoing of the god’s original sin, and marks the end of the gods' reign which allows for the possibility of a new, uncorrupted world to emerge. When I think about Brunhilde’s sacrifice, I immediately think about Morrigan and Solas. This kind of self-sacrifice would be a full circle, cycle-breaking moment for both of them. I personally wouldn’t want to see Morrigan sacrifice herself because Morrigan isn’t complicit in the gods misdeeds, whereas I think Solas is. I do think Solas was probably manipulated and exploited to a certain extent, but I think we’ll find out he’s done a lot wrong of his own volition that he’ll need to answer for. I personally can only see redemption of Solas through his death. 

These are the 3 ways I see Ragnarok influencing the ending of the Veilguard. The Ring Cycle has other influences on Dragon Age and the Veilguard that I see, especially parallels between the blight and the ring’s curse, so if you want me to get into those let me know in the comments!

[maxwell-grant]

Do you have any thoughts/opinions on Batman: Caped Crusader and its trailer? It's already giving me the vibe of "Batman wants to the The Shadow so badly".

(Spoiler for Batman: Caped Crusader, I guess)

Well now that the whole show is out I might as well talk about that instead, and I already wasn't very sold on the trailers. I'm mostly just gonna touch on the show here instead of certain particulars of it like Clayface or Two-Face and so on, which I do have more thoughts on it, but anyway. Regarding you bringing up The Shadow, I don't think this Batman wants to be The Shadow, I think this show is just what happens when you boil Batman back to the basics as much as possible, which inevitably means he's going to be doing what people might think of as Shadow material (and very boring Shadow material at that - again, I'm of the opinion that approaching The Shadow as a "noir" character is a lame idea, and I think that also holds true to a lesser extent for Batman). Problem upfront is, back-to-basics Batman is boring. Pre-Robin Golden Age Batman is just not a very interesting character, certainly not by Batman standards, he lacks charm and identity. It's not a coincidence that Batman started achieving success when he stopped ripping off The Shadow, when he started fighting Dick Tracy villains, when Robin joined in. Batman kinda sucks at being The Shadow, they've made a bunch of books about it even, and honestly, if Caped Crusader had been a Shadow cartoon, I would be incredibly depressed.

See, I love 1940s Golden Age Batman, I love Bill Finger's wisecracking Sherlockian bruiser who solves impossible cases with his fists and peerless trivia knowledge, but people don't love that Batman, people love the 1939 Golden Age Batman they've heard about, they love the idea of a grim and gritty and murderous epic Golden Age Batman that simply did not exist and if it did, was painfully and mercifully short-lived. There are very good reasons why Hugo Strange had to die to make way for The Joker and The Penguin, there are very good reasons why Batman throwback projects are either short, short-lived, or only really start as a throwback before settling on a new identity. Problem is, there is functionally very little difference between Golden Age Batman and Silver Age Batman, so if you adapted that guy, people would call it an Adam West throwback, so yes I get why everyone who says Golden Age Batman just does the first or so year when he gunned down a vampire or cracked a goon's neck against a windowsill and, basically just that. That was the basis they were working off for Caped Crusader, so what did they do with it?

Well, they were very faithful to 1939 Batman, in that the show is also just nothing but a basic skeleton of ideas that can and will be done better elsewhere, if not by other creators then hopefully at the next seasons for this thing. I was not very optimistic regarding Bruce Timm's involvement because I largely don't like Timm's work (although it's a good thing the show had other character designers, which you can tell because the women characters have different body types and facial features amongst themselves). The Greg Rucka episodes are decently written, and despite a truly horrendous start at the pilot, the show does get better and picks up as it heads to the finale.

But it only does so incrementally, never as good as it could be or should be, and the best it has to offer is too often just mediocre and unsatisfying. It's not visually interesting, it is so cheaply animated and presented that you would lose virtually nothing by experiencing this as a radio show on another tab (and at that point, you might as well listen to The Batman Audio Adventures), it's rushing past every plotline and emotional beat it grasps for and yet it moves at a glacial pace, and it doesn't seem to be a show made with any kind of clear intent in mind. I don't imagine any kids getting any enjoyment out of actionless, dull drama, but it's not committing nearly enough to being this dramatic and complex and nuanced show for adults that it keeps presenting itself as. It's terrible at threading the needle between what it wants to be and what it can afford to be. I don't think it's terrible, but I also don't think it's better than any other Batman cartoon other than Beware the Batman, the one nobody talks about. I wouldn't even say this is better than The Batman. At least The Batman took some weird new swings that it had to commit to and had great action and some genuinely really strong episodes, where as thislargely fails to deliver on the action and it's not doing nearly enough work on the writing and drama side of things.

The closest it gets to anything new are in it's new takes on Firefly, Gentleman Ghost, Harley Quinn and Two-Face, and while Firefly I thought a really solid, even great usage of a historically underwhelming half-baked character (and the strongest episode of the show, albeit one that barely features him), and Gentleman Ghost a decent twist on the character to make him more viable as a Batman villain (if still an abject downgrade from the regular character), Harley and Harvey I thought were incredibly unsatisfying and undercooked, the peak example of how much the show fails to deliver as compelling character drama in spite of having some legitimately fresh and strong new ideas at play here. As is, I'd say the best villain is Clayface, because his is the episode that convinced me to keep watching, and because while he is just Golden Age Clayface with not much of a twist on it, he was really fun, and delivered exactly on what was promised, where as the rest mostly range from mediocre and lackluster to outright terrible (again, I hate how dissappointed I am at this version of Penguin - I'm glad you are all having fun making fan art of her, I hope she has a better showing if she comes back, but goddamn man they really fumbled the ball on that episode).

I'd call Caped Crusader like a 6/10, and frankly that's me being generous, the more I talk about it after having watched it, the more I feel like it doesn't deserve past a 5 (but not anything below a 5 either, again it does get better, it isn't terrible, it's just not very good either). There is a good and exciting version of the show, and it is not the one they put on Amazon for me to watch, and frankly, I doubt there was ever going to be a great version of the show. I'm dead sure this is gonna get at least another season and because you guys ask me for Batman opinions, and because I gotta have my Batman, I will watch it, and I will hope it's more satisfying than this one.

[trivialbob]

Six people and five dogs went camping.

A couple two houses down from Sheila and me have a trailer similar to the one we have. Mutual friends also have a trailer and 40 acres of land in Wisconsin. Those people who own the land have it set up with electrical hookups to support RVs. The six of us met there this weekend.

It is a Disney vacation for our dogs. Ella, Oliver and Sulley ran all over, chasing critters in the woods or just going back and forth between the trailers. Our neighbors' tiny dog is elderly, but she loved following the other dogs around and going inside other trailers. The people who own the land have a huge golden retriever that would check on us each morning, coming inside to see what we'd feed him.

At night my dogs had unconscious sleep. At home at least two of the three typically get up and move somewhere else in the middle of the night. This weekend they had all the ambition of stuffed teddy bears after the lights went out.

There is an adorable bunk house on the property. No one used it this time, but If the landowners ever have multiple grandkids there could be an epic fight over who gets to sleep in there.

Near it is an outdoor shower that even has hot water. I like outdoor showers.

The nearby small town has one brewery and some assorted bars and grills. We'd discussed going to the brewery Saturday night. We went swimming in the St. Croix river mid-day. It was so hot that in the evening we stayed at the trailers, playing cards, drinking some beer, and laughing a lot.

[satoshi-mochida]

‘Swashbuckler action game’ En Garde! announced for PC

Gematsu Source

Fireplace Games has announced “swashbuckler action game” En Garde! for PC. It will launch via Steam in August. A demo is available now.

En Garde! began as a student project back in 2018. The reception from the community led the team to establish itself as Fireplace Games and recreate En Garde! from the ground up as a full game experience.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

From the forgotten pages of history, comes Adalia de Volador! Legendary swashbuckler. Dashing adventurer. Hero of the people.

Play as Adalia in her daring escapades full of sword-fighting, satire and shenanigans. Challenge the cruel Count-Duke and oppose tyranny with panache!

Beautifully painted locations, charismatic characters, and an astounding amount of battle banter will transport you to the golden age of swashbuckling comedy!

So, sharpen your sword, grab your boots and hat, and embark on a hilarious, action-packed spectacle!

Key Features

Fencing With Flair – Parry, riposte and lunge your way to victory! Fight with style to fill your Panache Meter and unlock special skills! But you’ll need more than your sword to win the day…

Adapt and Improvise – Challenging, ever-changing fights push you to rely on your cunning and acrobatics to disturb your enemies. Learn their weaknesses to toy with them and express your fighting style.

Experiment with the Environment – Combat areas are playgrounds full of opportunities to create mischief and gain the upper hand. Surprise, stun, or evade enemies with a variety of objects – from rolling barrels to falling chandeliers.

Arena Mode – Unlock zany game-changing modifiers and new fight situations in the arena mode. Play and replay randomized scenarios to test your skill against waves of enemies!

Theatrical Characters – A flamboyant cast dazzles the screen! Adalia and her rivals react to each of your actions, exchanging witty one-liners during the flow of the fight.

Story Episodes – Discover the tales of Adalia, with unique challenges to complete and secrets to uncover. Fight through marketplaces, dungeons and palaces: the world’s a stage for your epic duels!

Award-Winning Passion Project – The game was first prototyped as an award-winning and much-loved student project. The original team has reformed and expanded as Fireplace Games to increase the scope, sweep and grandeur of En Garde!

Watch the reveal trailer below.

Reveal Trailer

[wonderfull-star]

Is it just me or did Devsisters completely forgot about the CoD? A year ago, it seemed to me that in the continuation of the main story the main characters would continue to be developed. But with each update I hoped for this less and less. And finally, the long-awaited update that everyone has been waiting for more than a year will soon be released. And no, the trailer with Golden Cheese didn’t seem too bad to me, but I only have one question. Where main villains??? This could somehow be forgiven if this update came out a year ago as everyone wanted it, but certainly not now.

The only plus is that we will see Adventurer Cookie. It's really impressive. Like wow Devsisters decided to give RARE cookies some screen time?? And even despite this, everyone somehow doesn’t care about them anymore, to be honest, since usually for three years now, in every update, only epics have been added to the game, which are then successfully forgotten by everyone. Of course, Rockstar Cookie and Vampire Cookie are the exception, but for some reason they have become epics in the kingdom.

I think many, like me, have long wanted to see the villains we already know. What is the BAD4 doing now? What happened to Dark Choco? What happened in Licorice’s past?

I really hope we see an update with CoD. Seriously, I will soon be allergic to new epics and super epics 🤧