Of infernal patterns and theological virtues
Hello there. I’m here to get some thoughts out of my mind once again. So, I’ve been thinking about those Bayonetta characters that I tried to conceptualize in one of my previous posts and came up with some additional details I wanted to share with you. It’s nothing particularly big or important, but you know how the saying goes, the Devil is in the details. And you cannot have an Umbra Witch without some demons. :3 No but seriously, I just felt like it was a nice and interesting way to flesh those characters out a little more. It’s amazing how writing about things makes you grow attached to them... So, first thing first, I’m still not sure about the name I want to give to my Umbra boy, but since there is a lot of things in the Bayonetta universe named after figures from the Norse Mythology - Balder, Aesir, Loki, Loptr, Vigrid, Noatun, Fimbulventr, the Jörmungandr tower, the Valkyrie military transport, and so on and so forth... -, and since said mythology is one of the few where the Moon is regarded as male, I was thinking, maybe I could give him the name of the Scandinavian Moon god, Máni. It would make for a pleasant contrast to Apollonia and maintain the solar/lunar naming pattern I wanted for the two siblings without making it too blatant. I mean, I haven’t made up my mind yet, but the more I think about it, the more I like this choice... Speaking of denominations though, you know how Bayo’s main sets of guns in the first two games were both named after famous vintage songs (I don’t really know what are the technical commonalities between Scarborough Fair and Love Is Blue, so I won’t try to categorize them further than that :p ) ? Well, as you can tell from the previous point, I love this kind of pattern, so I thought it would be nice to keep the trend and name the weapons of my Umbra boy after an old song too*1. Now, I don’t know if Bayo’s guns were really named after this exact version - although it wouldn’t be surprising, since it’s pretty much the quintessential and most well-known rendition of the ballad -, but like a lot of people, I cannot hear "Scarborough Fair" without thinking of Simon & Garfunkel. I bet you see where this is going, but my point is, "The Sound of Silence" would make for a fantastic name for a set of guns. I don’t know anything about firearms though, so I cannot tell you what type of guns I envision them to be, but I think that their individual names would be "Touch", "Disturb", "Echo" and "Whisper", after the last lines of the different verses of the song. Additionally, I don’t think they would have been crafted by Rodin, but by a rival demon smith. I was considering naming this guy "Mulciber", after one of the fallen angels in John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost*2, but I’m still not sure. That issue aside, I must say that if I had to devise a plot for a game where Cereza were to meet those characters, I think this guy would play a crucial part in the first few chapters. Here is how I imagine the way it would go : after a chance encounter with a mysterious man who appears to be a survivor of the Umbra clan, Bayonetta is left with a lot of questions. Sensing that something wicked is brewing - no pun intended -, and in possession of one of the bullets that the enigmatic warlock was using, she asks Rodin for his expertise. Thankfully, the demon is able to identify the bullet as the work of another infernal master blacksmith. By an odd stroke of luck, it also happens that said blacksmith has recently emigrated from Inferno to settle in the Human realm. Thanks to Rodin, Cereza is able to track the demon and goes to meet him, hoping to find a lead in her research of the Umbra boy. I think those events would make up the prologue of the game. Of course, the demonic craftsman would have set up his new forge under some ancient volcano. I would say the Etna, since it’s the go-to mountain for this kind of thing and would tie in nicely with Mulciber’s origins (as described in a previous footnote), but at the same time, I’d rather make it a completely original location*3. Anyway, opening with Bayonetta reaching the base of the volcano, the first chapter would probably focus on the witch as she makes her way to the blacksmith’s lair, starting on an eerie yet beautiful snowy path to end up in the fiery depths of the mountain. Instead of angels or demons, I also like to imagine that the enemies here would be various kinds of magical automatons that the infernal blacksmith would have created to guard the path to his den, in the bowels of the volcano. Now, having found the guy, it’s time for Bayo to make him talk. Obviously, the craftsman is not particularly willing to rat his client out, so Cereza will have to make him spill the beans with all the finesse and subtlety by which we know her, culminating in a boss fight against the uncooperative demon. Thankfully, if his smithing skills are on a par with Rodin’s, his powers are far weaker than those of the Infinite One, making for a much less painful battle. As for the plot, one can imagine that a good old spanking would be enough to loosen the blacksmith’s tongue. Now in possession of the lead she was looking for, Bayonetta can finally chase after the mysterious man. But as she is drawing near the town where the boy is said to hide, the question remains : is this all one big coincidence, or is there someone plotting in the shadows to lure the witch on their Machiavellian chessboard... ? This is a purely rhetorical question, obviously, but yeah, I think it could make for a nice beginning. Anyway, since I broached the topic of the enemies Bayo would have to face, I’ve been thinking about another species of demons that I would like to introduce : the Imps (short for "Impious", to keep to the trend of the demons being named after negative feelings and qualities, like Insidious, Malicious, Hatred, et cetera). As the name implies, they would be little demonic creatures created by Baphomet - the demon Máni has made his pact with - to act both as servants and extensions of himself. Having little power on their own, they would probably not pose any real threat to Bayonetta on the battlefield, but the idea is that Baphomet can basically use them as magical surveillance cameras, seeing through their eyes, or outright possess them, wherever they may be, to extend his influence across the world. Speaking of Baphomet, I also picture that one of the key aspects of his character would be that he is impossibly old. Like, "was there long before the First Armageddon even happened" old. So while he isn’t as powerful as the likes of Sheba or Jubileus, his knowledge of the universe and its mechanisms is unparalleled. One could even work in a reference to the story of Laplace’s demon, although the affection that the old goat has for the two siblings may sometimes blind him and distort his calculations...
Now, let’s take a look at the bright side of things. It’s time to talk about theology Apollonia and her holy entourage. As you may recall from my previous Bayonetta post, I was contemplating the idea of introducing three new Auditio based on the theological virtues, so as to complete the set of the seven heavenly virtues from the Christian tradition (of which the four cardinal virtues that the existing Auditio represent are part of). Well, as you can guess, I was pretty much already sold on the concept, so here are some thoughts I had about them. First of all, their names. Okay, that point wasn’t really difficult. All I had to do was translate the virtues’ names into Latin, as they did for the Cardinal Virtues. So, after checking multiple online translators (I’m not really fluent in Latin, so I’ll have to trust them on that one), we have : Fides (Faith)*4, Spes (Hope), and Caritas (Charity, also referred to as Love). I must say, I like the sound of it. It’s quite funny how all the Cardinal Virtues’ names end with vowel sounds (Fortitudo, Temperantia...), while all the Theological Virtues would all have theirs ending with an "s" sound (or whatever is the technical term for that). Really, the contrast between the two groups is something that I really wanted to explore, so it’s quite an amusing coincidence to have it engraved in their very names. On that note, I’ve been thinking about how to implement them in the lore of the series. As I pointed out in my previous post, coming up with three new Auditio would inevitably require to explain why three of the most powerful angels have not been heard of before, especially when the first game’s plot was centered on the resurrection of the queen goddess of Paradiso. If you remember, I suggested that, maybe, the Theological Virtues could have proven more reasonable than their Cardinal brethren and opposed the return of the Creator, which would have led to them being booted out of Paradiso by the other four and joining the two siblings in their exile. I must admit, I wasn’t really convinced by the idea at first, since it seemed a little too implausible for three of the most important angels in the rigid hierarchy of Paradiso to go against the Divine Will like that, but after giving it some thought, it would make for a delightful contradiction. You see, according to Christian philosophy, the four cardinal virtues are supposed to be human virtues, while the three theological ones are supposed to be inspired by God. With that in mind, wouldn’t it be exquisitely ironic if, in the Bayonetta universe, the embodiments of the three theological virtues turned out to have a huge fondness for Humanity while the incarnations of the cardinal virtues are blindly loyal to their insane goddess ? I don’t know about you, but personally, I find it quite fitting (although I also imagine that Apollonia and the three Auditio already had contact before the clan war, at which point the three angels basically went "Our colleagues have lost their marbles ! Can we go with your brother and you ?" ). To stay on this topic, I also like to think that while the Cardinal Auditio are known to behave in opposition to the qualities they embody - like Fortitudo being a bit of a coward, or Iustitia attacking everything indiscriminately -, the Theological Auditio, on the other hand, are always spouting philosophical platitudes about the virtues they represent. One can only imagine Cereza’s immense frustration when she’ll have to deal with those rambling loons. XD That being said, Apollonia would still have a lot of affection for them, treating them as trusted friends and advisors, almost like a trio of weird uncles. Now, on a completely unrelated note, I also thought about what the titles of their themes could be. I know, it doesn’t really amount to anything without the songs that go with them, but hey, as you can probably tell by now, I love to play with those kinds of little details. :p Anyway, devoted Fides' would be "In convictions and promises", optimistic Spes' would be "In waiting for better tomorrows", and all-loving Caritas' would be "In regards to Love, universal and everlasting", the last one being an obvious reference to the song "In regards to Love : Agape" from Yuri!!! on Ice (it may not really sound like a boss battle theme, but this is how I imagine their songs would sound like, that is to say, imposing in a tender and crystalline kind of way, rather than the heavy and dreadful choirs of the Cardinal Virtues*5). I would also like to cite the NieR games’ soundtracks as a major inspiration for what I envision their themes would sound like, especially the Shadowlord’s theme, "Bipolar Nightmare" and "Emil - Despair". If you don’t know them already, I warmly recommend you to listen to them right away ; those games’ scores are magnificent. Music aside though, I still have no idea what my Theological Virtues could look like and what their powers could be. Since the Cardinal Virtues all had elemental powers, it would make sense for their Theological brethren to have some too, but I don’t really know what theirs could be. At the very least, I picture that Fides would have some sort of brainwashing ability, since he is, you know, Faith, inspiring blind and absolute devotion in others, but I don’t think it would be related to his "element" per se. That being said, I also imagine that the three of them would possess a limited shapeshifting power, allowing them to assume more practical forms when they are around their smaller companions. Alternate forms that I like to picture as a trio of identical, tall and human-like silhouettes, wearing hoods and long, flowing mantle seemingly filled with nothing, their only visible body parts being floating marble faces and disconnected, jointed hands, like articulated mannequin hands made out of the same immaculate limestone as their mask-like visages. Kind of like the Sages in Twilight Princess, if you see what I’m talking about, with only minor variations in colours and ornaments to differentiate the three Auditio. As for their true, monstrously angelic forms, well, I don’t really know what direction I would like them to take. Since one of the symbols of Hope is an anchor (because, you know, Hope anchors the soul and keeps it safe and steady against the storm and the vagaries of fate), I was thinking about giving Spes the appearance of a colossal, living battleship, in the same vein as the Kinships and Worships, but I’m not entirely convinced by the concept. At the very least, I would like to work a rainbow in his design (yes, an actual rainbow), in reference to the one that God put in the sky as a token of hope after the Flood*6. Of course, said tale also brings to mind the idea of an enormous boat, so I’ll have to think about it. Now, regarding Caritas, the main symbol of Charity is the Sacred Heart, a burning heart said to represent the eternal and boundless Love which God lavishes upon his creations. And really, a grotesque, pulsating heart would fit quite nicely - so to speak - with the visceral monstrosity that angels display under their marble skin. Of course, I don’t really want the Auditio to be just a humongous heart with a face taped on the front, but I guess it’s a starting point...
Anyway, I think I wrote down everything I had on the mind. For now, of course, but still, it feels nice to get all those thoughts out of my system. If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read the whole thing. I don’t know if my divagations are really that interesting, but at the very least, I really like to share them here. Who knows, maybe they’ll inspire somebody else one day... Now, to conclude this post, there was one last topic I wanted to address : the Moon song ! Since the first two games both had a cover of one of Frank Sinatra’s Moon-related songs - Fly me to the Moon and Moon River, respectively*7 - as part of their soundtracks, I thought it would be nice to pick one too. I must admit, Sinatra’s repertoire is not one I know really well - and the fact that they already used his two most iconic Moon-themed songs didn’t make it any easier XD -, but after listening to several recordings on YouTube, I would say that my favourite is probably "It's only a paper moon". Granted, it doesn’t really allude to the Moon that much, but I think that a Bayonetta remix of the song would make for a stylish battle theme. I only need to find a softer, more sensual version for Cereza to pole dance on during the credits. :p Joking aside, I also considered "Reaching for the Moon" and "The Moon was yellow (and the Night was young)", but I ultimately find them less striking than the previous one. That being said, if we don’t limit ourselves to the crooner’s catalogue, I would also like to bring up the "Moon Song", from the "her" movie. Sure, it is a lot more recent than the pieces covered in the games (and has a painfully uncreative title), but it does exude a similar vibe. And the fact that it’s a duet between a man and a woman would make it quite appropriate for a game where Bayonetta is pit against a male Umbra Witch... Anyway, thank you once again for listening to my monologue. It’s always a pleasure to share my ideas with you. Take care of yourselves, and have an awesome day. ^_^
*1 - Even though I’m well aware that it’s not really an actual tradition of the Umbra clan, as indicated by the names of Jeanne and Rosa’s own weapons. If anything, it looks more like a Rodin thing... *2 - He is credited solely as an architect in the poem, being the one who designed the capital city of Hell, Pandaemonium, but since "Mulciber" was originally another name of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking, I would say it doesn’t feel too out of place to reimagine him as some sort of multifaceted craftsman who likes to forge weapons too (in fact, I found quite a bunch of cool demon blacksmith pictures by googling his name ; don’t hesitate to give them a look :p ). *3 - As I mentioned earlier, a lot of places in the first two games are named after locations in the Norse mythology, so if I were to opt for this second option, I’d like to call this mountain "Nidavellir", after the cavernous realm where the Dwarves are said to reside (apparently, said realm is also known as "Svartalfheim", so there’s also this option to consider, although I must admit that I’m not really knowledgeable enough about Scandinavian myths and linguistics to tell which name would be the best XD ). *4 - Google Translate also gives it as "Fidem". Phonetically speaking, I kind of like it more, but apparently, it’s only a declension of the noun, and it would bug me to have one of them not being named after the nominative form. So if you speak Latin, feel free to give me your opinion on the matter. ^^ *5 - Not that I don’t like them, of course, but you catch my drift. *6 - You know how it goes, "after the rain comes the sun", "every cloud has a silver lining", "there's always light at the end of the tunnel", "April showers bring May flowers"... Really, I’m tempted to say that the symbol is pretty self-explanatory. *7 - Although it’s debatable if those really count as Sinatra songs, since he merely covered them. Still, for the sake of simplicity, I’ll limit myself to his work for now.
