Joel sits awkwardly at a family dinner table that isn’t for him.
It’s nice and all, he reckons, for Impulse’s family to invite him over after he leaves the hospital. Even before—everything—Joel’s family hadn’t really been the “big meal around a big table” type, so he’s getting some new experiences here too. And it’s nice and all, that they want to thank him for his role in finding Skizz.
But like. It’s not like he or Impulse or Skizz could explain how it happened, when asked. “Magic brain ghosts” and “evil butterflies” and “Joel still isn’t certain all of that was real and is trying to pretend it wasn’t” puts a damper on that. Also, adults are kind of shit at talking around the fact Joel’s whole family is dead, so he gets the sense he’s sort of harshing the vibes, you know?
Still. It’s a nice gesture. He guesses. It’s free food at least, which is decent, and as close as Impulse and Skizz are, every time one of Impulse’s family says something stupid, Skizz taps Joel’s leg with his foot or steals a roll or something, and it makes Joel feel…
He’d have been sad if Skizz had died, probably. Like, he wouldn’t know. He didn’t come here to make friends, he came here to get a degree and get out. Also, that’s stupid, because it’s not like Joel would have known he was missing a really awkward congratulatory family dinner in which Skizz kept on trying to sneakily steal beans. Probably would have just moved right on. He’s not… friendly.
But.
They stand outside afterwards, waving by to Impulse, promising to walk together so that neither of them Vanish. They’re quiet.
“Thanks, man. That meant a lot to them,” Skizz says.
“Yeah, well, I can do stupid things for free food,” Joel says.
Skizz laughs. “It was nice having you there, too. Man, they’re even worse with you! It’s like not knowing you means they’re even more awkward about family tragedy.”
“Trust me, most adults are way worse. You should see my social worker,” Joel says.
“Didn’t he ditch you, dude?”
“Haha, yeah, he did,” Joel says.
They stare up at the streetlamps together.
“I was really ready to go for a bit there,” Skizz says. Joel’s hackles raise. Oh no. Emotions. Bad. Go away. “It was like—man, it felt like the whole world was empty. But when you showed up, it’s like I remembered… I’d miss dinners, dude.”
“I have no idea why, that kinda sucked,” Joel says, baffled and sarcastic, because he’s a moron who can’t handle emotional conversations, this is why everyone avoided him at the funeral, stupid.
Skizz breaks out laughing.
“You’re great, man! I’m glad we met. Uh, my place is only a block away, and I won’t go following any stupid butterflies. See you at school?”
“Yeah man. See you,” Joel says—
I am thou.
Thou art I.
Thou hath formed a new bond.
With the power of the Chariot Arcana, you shall build the chains with which to hold on to reality.
RANK 1!
“What the hell?” Joel says, tripping over his feet. “What? What? Where did—what the fuck that wasn’t Pygmalion oh god do I have more than one voice in my head—”
“Dude, are you okay?”
Skizz’s almost frustratingly strong and comforting arms grab Joel.
“Tell me you heard that,” Joel says desperately.
“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about. I could take you back to the hospital—no?”
“I am either crazy or am going to end up in a government lab?” Joel says, voice getting high and squeaky.
“We can ask Mr. Hills about it? He came to talk to me after I woke up in the hospital, apparently he like, knows stuff,” Skizz says.
“I don’t wanna,” Joel says.
“Tough luck, buddy, you just almost fell over and cracked your head open!”
Suddenly, Joel remembers a long-nosed man and a blonde in a very blue boat. He remembers a cryptic conversation about bonds and power and their importance. He takes a deep breath. “Can you cover your ears for a moment?” he says.
“Yeah, sure thing, why—”
Joel, as loudly as he can, screams. He hears several birds fly away. He pants.
“…Joel,” Skizz says.
“Yeah thanks man don’t worry about it let’s never speak of this again I’m sure it’s nothing. I definitely didn’t have a weird dream about this and should go to bed.”
“Yeah, okay, whatever you say,” Skizz says cheerfully before laughing, which Joel continues grumbling about all the way back to his apartment.
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I think it would be neat if we had a story in where like, the ninja all get separated into different places (my best excuse currently is the Merge), and Lloyd ends up somewhere now powerless and all alone, and the only thing that he could rely on to survive and fight is his Oni form, and so he has this journey where he has to rely on his Oni form, and throughout this journey he grows to accept it
I don’t think I worded it the best, but basically what I’m getting at is Lloyd being forced to acknowledge his Oni form, and thus his heritage, instead of rejecting it in favor of his dragon side (edit: okay they don’t really mention him being part dragon ever, but I mean that he only deals with the good side, always rejecting his Oni side), and through this learning to accept it, and likely control it
(Also I think it would be cool to see him use his Oni form after this journey, and while it’s not his main form of attack, he’d use it somewhat regularly and has far more control over it than just be a raging beast. I mean, maybe he doesn’t talk in that form and it is still generally destructive, but he can go in and out of it whenever he wants and won’t attack his friends)
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Yes yes body horror and Becoming The Monster as in Losing Oneself and the grotesqueries of transgression, of ill-fitting skin stretched too-tight over bones that feel like they don’t belong to you anymore — but what about body horror as metamorphoses? What about Becoming The Monster as in Embracing The Shadow? What about Wen Ning who has never felt more himself when he was alive than he does now that he’s dead?
He is a MASTERPIECE, the greatest work of the greatest demonic cultivator of all time! His life was characterized by fear and uncertainty and loneliness and it was only in death that he learned how strong he really was, how capable, how resilient. If he had been the Ghost General during the war, or right after it, would the Dafan Wen have still died?
I just want Wen Ning to settle into the whole being undead thing and decide that he’s pretty okay with it actually! There’s so little left for him to fear, and the few things he does find actively unpleasant are all things that Wei Gongzi can probably fix if he takes some time to work on it. Wen Ning doesn’t like asking people for things, most certainly not for his own sake, but at the same time… Wei Wuxian, as an inventor, would want to know how his master work is faring, right? He’s never completely satisfied with anything he makes, always tweaking and tinkering, and he does keep Asking of Wen Ning needs anything, so…
I dunno where I’m really going with this but I think it’d be interesting to explore an AU where maybe Wen Ning gets to be lowkey kind of excited that he’s now an unkillable hyperbadass literally powered by all the rage he suppressed for so many years AND he gets to have that while also maintaining his cognizance and his genuine desire to help other people. Wen Qing shielded him from as much as she could but the results of that were Wen Ning feeling like he was quietly suffocating under the weight of his sister’s controlling brand of overprotectiveness — he loves her and appreciates everything she did for him but god was she good at making him feel small and helpless — and it didn’t even work because life under Wen Rohan was such constant stress that by the time Lotus Pier was burned Wen Ning was damn near numb to it. Now? Wen Ning only answers to one master. A master who Knows How To Utilize Him. A master who respects and cares for him as a person without trying to smother him! Wen Ning takes quiet pride in his existence as Wei Wuxian’s magnum opus and consequently in his ability to actually function as his General (personal bodyguard, second in command, right hand man!) he is the living (kinda) embodiment of both his family’s drive to survive and protect each other and his master’s brilliance and ingenuity.
I just think it would be cool! I just think it would be cool.
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Just listened to Bayo3’s Moonlight Serenade and it just hit me again how absolutely furious I am about this game. Waiting 5 years since the announcement and then 2 further years before I could finally play it just to be met by that was… I don’t even have words for it.
And the worst part is - I was having so much fun playing it! Sure, it wasn’t on the level of Bayo1 or Bayo2, but it was still a delight to play! I loved the new designs, I loved the new weapons, I loved the music, I loved the new flow of combat, I genuinely had such a great time! Alright, the writing wasn’t exceptional, but the idea of parallel universes was still fun to explore - and I’m not fond of the enemies’ design in general, but I had a blast fighting them once I figured them out, and I appreciate the fact that they tried to do something different once again (after fighting angels in Bayo1 and demons in Bayo2). I even loved Jeanne’s little spy levels!! They were so cool and charming and so much fun to play through!
And I liked Viola! The narrative really didn’t do her justice but she was still such an endearing character! Her fighting sections were different but still enjoyable, and I enjoyed everything about Cheshire, which made her levels even better.
And I just - to take all that potential, all that joy, and squander it so completely and maliciously right at the end was just… devastating to me. I know Bayonetta isn’t made for the girls and the gays, but that’s not even the point - I would’ve at least enjoyed a Cereza/Luka ending if it had been written properly! Instead they decided to assassinate the characters we all knew and loved, spit on all the established lore and themes of the previous games, stomp on all the newly introduced characters, and all to shoehorn in a fated-lovers narrative that doesn’t even work on its own, without taking into account everything that contradicts it in the previous instalments.
And as if that’s not enough, they forced it into the most depressing, most nonsensical, most malicious finale I have ever witnessed. Why are you punishing me for winning the fights? Where is the reward for getting to the end? I was waiting at the edge of my seat for the entire game to see how Cereza would turn the situation around, how she’d overcome the impossible odds and come out dancing on her enemies, and instead they told me no, she saves almost no-one, she dies a pointless death she could’ve easily avoided so we can get a) the stupidest romance ever seen and b) a new protagonist that we spent no time developing, and nothing you did in this game had any meaning at all, fuck you.
Sorry for the rant, but I’m just… I’m so disappointed. I really really wanted to like this game and instead the finale ruined the whole experience for me. I literally sat in silence as the final scene and credits rolled out because I just couldn’t fathom what I was watching. How do you take such a great cast of beloved characters and decide that this is what you want to do with them? With a 5-year development time, no less? They deserved better, Cereza especially deserved better, and we all deserved so much better.
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