vox & alastor: upgrades
thinking about vox upgrading over the years and losing a piece of himself each time. alastor coming to resent modern technology because a step forward for the world means a step further away from vox.
thinking about how alastor didn't mind the changes at first, when they were few and far between-- nothing more than a haircut. people get those all the time. underneath the sleeker shine of glass, vox is still the same man, until he isn't. with every upgrade, every soulless performance he puts on, he becomes a little less recognizable.
thinking about vox using upgrades as a coping mechanism. a knee-jerk response he runs to the minute he feels he's slipping, losing control of his life. it's an opportunity to be reborn, to put on a new mask, to be better and more powerful-- and isn't that what alastor was all about? power and control? well look at him now, leveling up and controlling his own (literal) presentation. how many sinners could say they have that luxury, when they are all so bound to their forms?
and when they fight? clash in ways that pull at his emotions? emotions he can't hide because his system is just clearly too archaic to do so? new head. new man. he's so over it.
thinking about how, when alastor disappears, vox doesn't touch his display. no matter how much val or vel pesters him about it, no matter how scuffed up it gets, he doesn't upgrade. on the off chance that one day alastor will come back. if he changed again, would alastor even recognize him anymore?
he wants to keep some semblance of their relationship intact. he has nothing but a photograph that's long been torn apart-- nothing save for the head on his shoulders, the screen alastor had nearly broken in two the last time they saw each other. once he replaces it, it's over. there will be nothing left to show they were ever anything.
vel tries to convince him otherwise; it's like changing your hair after a bad breakup, she says. not a big deal.
and what if? after seven long years, vox finally moves on. reborn again, shedding any and all memory of his past, he changes, and grows into it. and then alastor comes back. and somehow, beneath the blue tinted display and the new features, alastor recognizes him, calls him out by name in their little spat over the airwaves, and that's really all that matters.
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Trying to explain to my partner who Chungledown Bim is and why Fabian is scared of him and the hilarious shit at the end with Cassandra saying she never sent a second fear and the sheer fear Fabian had
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Please, to ANYONE who got the IO2 art book. . .
PLEASE POST THEM IN HD AND SEND THEM MY WAY MINE DOESNT COME TILL FRIDAY!😭😭
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mm sometimes i think my yanderes would take advantage of the fact that I cant do some of the things most people can do with ease like tying their shoes or telling the difference between left and right, or the way i absorb info just to force me into being a baby. Mommy kakyoin would coax me into his lap after heavily drugging me, so I just happily melt into his embrace as he asks me what sound a puppy makes only to be met with a soft whimper of me trying to speak.. or diavolo making me do kindergarten level math in the playpen he keeps in his office for me. -📱
I've been having some trouble with doing tasks most people can do, so it is fun to think about different yanderes making you do baby-level math worksheets, or French vocab sheets and crosswords meant for little kids. Or having those grid papers to write Cantonese and Mandarin, or in your case with mommy Kakyoin, katakana. Why bother teaching you kanji or hiragana? You'll only be confused. And hiragana is more commonly used-- he doesn't need you knowing what common signs and objects actually say. Then you won't feel as lost, should you manage to slip away from his hands for a moment.
Diavolo knows worksheets aren't any fun-- he'd give everything to not have to do them, and still know the people he cares about would be okay. So instead of a little duotang with worksheets for your math, linguistics, or animal noises, Diavolo tries to set up little activities for you to do every day. Little trays with a number of the day, clay in one dish so you can draw the number yourself, roll it on a die, and count it out of marbles. Calling an animal handler to show you the different birds and bugs of the devildom in the throne room (and saving trips to the royal zoo for weeks you've been extra good!).
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WDYM only Alain can get the killing blow on Baltro???
TFW the Tricorns keep on whacking him to no avail, ditto with Magellan :(
even if plot wise it makes sense
@pandp-author Feathershields are absolutely ridiculous lol, Fodoquir basically exists and makes mage teams/teams where Sorceress try their "surprise you're frozen !" combo completely meaningless !
Sanatio's healing is completely stupid too lol, too bad we can't play more maps with the angels/feathered people, because they're fun to use!
I'll make a more detailed post about the epilogue later but plot wise for the final chapter, as expected, Gharnef Baltro backstabs the Red Emperor, it is revealed Ilenia - Alain's mom - survived in the prologue, but Red Emperor Galerius Galvius when defeated body/soul hopped on hers so she became his unwilling medium (which raises all sorts of questions here, when Alain kills Galvius during the "Rescue Scarlett" mission, did he aleady kill Ilenia and Baltro resurrected her, but she's somehow still alive and not a zombie?) but ultimately she is free when Baltro uses Galvius' soul to open the "gate to the netherworld" or something, to use the souls of the Zenoiran currently in limbo as fuel for his spells.
Given how Baltro notes that the Cornian Royal fam has the blood of the Maiden who survived the sacrifice of the Unicorn and its curse 800 years ago, I guess he implies that is the reason why Ilenia makes for a better host than the random Valmore - the previous human who was Galvius' host - but then it raises the question of Giethe hunting Virginia : wouldn't she have been used as a spare ? Granted, given how Galvius incarnates in the flesh of people who defeat him, the only way to incarnate in Virginia would be for either her or a random to kill Galvius while he's using Ilenia's body (and Virginia would later kill the random).
So I guess if Giethe brought her head Baltro would have been "you dumb fuck", but Alcina's plan to uwu with Gerard in Alain's body wouldn't put a dent in his plans, since he could get rid of Gerard in Alain's body to put Galvius instead if needed.
As cheesy as it was, I liked how the plot unfolded here - despite his "perfect lord" appearances, Alain still wants revenge for his mom and didn't forget what happened 10 years ago : if the player chooses to give Alain his vengeance, despite learning the plot and the truth about Zenoira, he... actually kills his mother, and Baltro is still Baltroing around.
If he acts as the better person and the "saviour", he tries to offer mercy to Galvius, despite him killing his mother and plunging the continent in a sea of blood, which gives Baltro the occasion and opportunity to betray Galvius, thus freeing Ilenia without killing her, and it gives the party the occasion to kill/banish him to oblivion instead.
The usual "follow the plot = you're rewarded + vengeance is meaningless" trope.
Of course I can't talk about the final map without ranting about the green NPCs that are here to "help" you - nice nod to have them be Drakengardians to echo Gilbert's earlier (at the end of arc 2!) words of sending Drakengard's help to help Cornia when it will be needed - sure his help is green units + Hermann (one of his retainer that is blue this playable \o/) but it's a nice nod to the former plot and you can honeypot about the political ramifications of this move (the Liberation Army led by the Cornian prince helped free Drakengard, so now the Drakengard Army will help the Cornian prince to free his country?).
No such lines about the enemy Bestrals - who as Bestrals can't be soul snatched - who are recruited by Dyna who basically tells them "wtf dudes stop fighting with them and join us instead!" but I confess I laughed at their names (il y en a qui s'appelle Paulo mdr, pourquoi pas Bébert pendant qu'on y est?).
Too bad the named minibosses aren't more developped, but I wonder if in the Norbelle aka worst ending we get to fight Reimann and pals instead.
Oh well, I'll have other occasions to replay that map to get the different endings - at least the normal one on this PT (the one where Alain kills Galvius but fights off the possession thanks to his magical plot ring that resonates with the plot ring of his partner).
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