#Iustitia (Bayonetta)

[archvaxe]

Angel Veil (masquerade)

(Click for better quality)

Harp of the Sirens.

An ancient harp maintained by an ancient civilisation who worshipped a god in the sea, the harp is said to represent this god who offered fish and protection to the people in the Bad days. A scale from the angel Sapientia was used to give the harp its lustre.

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

Scales of justice.

The scales of a man who brought much justice into the world, yet his heart wrapped itself in poison and died of an agonising death, only the few manage to use this weapon, because there your heart is tested for purity. A poisonous liquid from the angel Iustitia rules these scales, waiting to find a pure soul and understanding for justice.

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

Sword of Michael.

A sword wielded by an angel who entrusted the sword to the Lumen Sages, for now this angel protected the realm of the Creator in the form of a terrible face and two dragon heads. In this sword burns the flame of Fortitudo, which only extinguishes when the heavens has fallen. With one swing of this sword it can cut demons in two.

.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳.

Trident of the Gabriel.

Thunder and storms were the wrath of God, so the trident was greatly feared by the people, hoping that they would not be tempered. In this trident dwelt a small piece of broken glass from the angel Temperantia, who once entrusted this weapon to a prophet to control storms and air.

*Bonus*

In ancient times, there was a technique among the Lumen sages known as *angel puppeteering*. In this act, angels could be summoned and controlled so that the sage was able to strengthen the angel and guide it like a puppet in battle. Many sages had to raise their voice and sing a specific song in the Enochian language to control the angel, but beware, this act could quickly get out of hand if the singing was interrupted.

There was also the technique of *divinity* or *Blood of the saint* for fighting a strong opponent. In this ritual, Lumen-Sages must pluck out their spiritual feathers on their back and stain them with their blood. This ritual transforms the angels into *pious angels*

A long time ago, a female lumen-sage managed to make the angel Glamor grow several feathers and eyes in this ritual, the true appearance of a seraphim who was never transient in the human world.

[bradsmindbrain]

You think Balder made the Auditio the Board of Directors of Ithavoll? Was it just like:

Sapientia: Come on Fortitudo, spending more isn’t going to bring the profit margins down.

Temperantia: Sapientia is right, a little extra spending isn’t going to do anything.

Fortitudo: You’re one to talk Temperantia, how many paid vacations have you given yourself in the past year?

Temperantia, slamming a fist down on a huge table: That is none of your business!

Iustitia: Would you three shut the fuck up? I’m trying to file a libel lawsuit!

[sherbovania]

every bayonetta angel and demon, ranked best to worst

(in my based and platinumpilled opinion. only including bayo 1/2 appearances for simplicity)

grace and glory. they are my friends :D

alraune. one of the most fun fights in 2 if i’m being honest

fortitudo. goated recurring boss PLUS his fight is the first chapter that i pure platinum’d in bayo 1 :]

beloved. never once let me down

glamor. blinged tf out ice on his wrists

phantasmaraneae. i like when he go boom

affinity. i think they would be excellent marketable plushies. special shoutout to the trumpet affinities they mean everything to me

applaud. like affinity but taller. they make easy combo fodder and for that i thank them for their service o7

braves. what if beloved was small and T-posed on you in groups of 3

temperantia. concrete man take me by the hand

jubileus. woman :D

urbane and gravitas. This Is A Certified Bayonetta 2 Classic

joy. very fun anywhere that isn’t infinite climax difficulty. things start to get less fun there

greed. pupy :] he shoot fire and ice

fearless and fairness. kind of the same deal as greed but sometimes fearless will snipe me across the field and i don’t like that

valiance. Another Certified Bayonetta 2 Classic

iustitia. funny meatball

ardor. movin and groovin on my ass

inspired. i shoot him once and he dramatically goes completely limp and i think that’s funny

insidious. automatically cool bc he’s a manta ray

gracious and glorious. still my friends but they won’t let me witch time their attacks anymore :(

gomorrah. automatically lower on the list bc he kills jeanne like 5 seconds before you face him

sapientia. my least favorite of the original boss fights but i still like him

pain. he’s neat

pride. pain 2

irenic. that is a car

valor. hard to time his hits sometimes

fury. he’s just a little guyyyyyyy he’s just a little birdie

cachet and compassion. how are they that small swinging blades like that

dear and decorations. the childlike voice from decorations kinda freaks me out. otherwise laughably weak

acceptance. what if affinity was a horse

accolade. what if applaud was a horse

enchant. kind of a nothingburger enemy but also kinda lame

hideous. kinda finicky

hatred. keeps blocking my shit and resetting my combos

enrapture. lame asf for stealing all my hard earned magic

belief. he just kind of unnerves me

kinship. sometimes fires missiles i can’t see coming. puts the L in angel

worship. tedious to fight and will make me catch strays even though i swear i dodged fr fr

resplendence. we don’t ever actually fight him so he doesn’t count (i think he looks kinda neat though)

malicious. annoying

resentment. GRAAHHHHHHH (shoots my de-aging beam and kills you instantly). also ugly

sloth. what the fuck. why

fidelity. stop dropping landmines and start killing yourself

harmony. get the fuck down from there stop shooting at me

allegiance. fuck you for blocking midair kill yourself

if i missed any: no i didn't <3

[bairusongassignment2]

Blog #1

When discussing the games that have had the most profound impact on me in the past five years, Bayonetta 3, released in 2022, must be included. This series is not only a personal favorite of mine, but also offers a wealth of inspiration for the design of various enemy characters for the upcoming end-of-semester project.

Grace & Glory, from Bayonetta

Iustitia, from Bayonetta

The enemies in the first two installments were primarily angels, incorporating many Catholic elements such as the purity symbolized by marble and the sanctity represented by gold. This common positive imagery was juxtaposed with their eerie and distorted forms to emphasize the intention of portraying angels as antagonists.

However, in the latest installment, the antagonistic forces are human-created Homunculi, whose variety is frighteningly vast compared to the previous games. They vary in size, shape, and function.

Homunculi enemies

Early drafts of the Homunculi enemies included a variety of silhouettes

According to behind-the-scenes interviews with the development team, to differentiate from the previous games, the Homunculi enemies exhibit more Eastern themes, including Buddhist elements, which are starkly different from the Western-centric Catholic influences of the earlier games.

The background image when homunculi enemies been shown up

Buddhist stupas featuring the same elements

Moreover, considering the significant number of elements associated with lotuses in Buddhism, the enemy designs also integrate numerous lotus motifs.

A Homunculus Boss primarily composed of lotus motifs

A Buddha statue with a lotus base

Clouds and streamers are also prominent elements in the enemy designs, elements rich in Eastern flair.

A Homunculus elite unit with numerous cloud and streamer elements

The design of the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, incorporating many auspicious cloud elements

The image of a fairy with streamers in Dunhuang murals

These motifs, which have frequently appeared in Eastern mythological creations, greatly enhance the Eastern impressions within character designs.

Lotuses, clouds, and streamers, even the pointed domes common in Buddhist architecture, consistently permeate the enemy designs in Bayonetta 3. Some form recognizable parts of their silhouettes, while others enrich the characters' visuals and enhance their stylishness. These designs not only maintain the series' consistency but also resonate with the Eastern theme, distinguishing them from the enemies of previous installments.

The insights I have gained involve identifying one or more recurring elements that can be leveraged repeatedly while exploring enemy character design, or indeed any conceptual creation for a faction or theme. It also requires boldly exploring diverse silhouettes to fully showcase differences among characters, thus creating more opportunities to produce a series of distinctive and thematically clear images.

References

Platinum Games. (2009). Bayonetta [Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC]. Japan, SEGA.

Platinum Games. (2022). Bayonetta 3 [Nintendo Switch]. Japan, SEGA, Nintendo.

Platinum Games. (2023). The Eyes of Bayonetta 3. Japan: Platinum Games.

Lizlee. (2015) The Stubas Near The Temple of Tar [Online Image]. Available at: https://xsj.699pic.com/sou/cangshifota.html [Accessed on 20 April, 2024]

Thuan V. T.. (2020) Gautama Buddha Sitting On a Lotus flower, Statue Of Gautama Buddha, Hand-Carved Statue [Online Image]. Available at: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1293175286/gautama-buddha-sitting-on-a-lotus-flower [Accessed on 20 April, 2024]

央广网（2021）鸟巢”就建在我家门口！李乃文讲述一把特殊的祥云火炬｜红色印记第94集 [Online Image]. Available at: https://m.cnr.cn/news/20210725/t20210725_525543630.html [Accessed on 20 April, 2024]

Silk Road Travel (2018) Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes [Online Image]. Available at: https://www.silkroadtravel.com/dunhuang/attraction/mogao-grottoes.html [Accessed on 20 April, 2024]

[drama-glob]

Among Bayonetta's biggest enemies are the Auditio, four giant angels that serve as generals of the heavenly host, also known as the Cardinal Virtues: Fortitudo (/watch?v=xY2ErWihXWY), Temperantia (/watch?v=RnPXJ7a9-xA), Iustitia (/watch?v=cZYePMs7AZ0), & Sapientia (/watch?v=d_Lpc-EQ7H4). Which of them do you think I.M.P. would never want to meet?

Probably Iustitia because the cables coming out of the mouths is freaky, even compared to the other angels. O_O

[fredcasden]

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Bayonetta certainly drove home the point that the plot of the game makes no sense what so ever. Between apparent time travel shenanigans, the resurrection of a 'god' to destroy and remake the universe, lost memories and more plot holes than an Ed Wood film, it makes my head hurt trying to have it all make sense. Also didn't help with the number of long cut scenes in Chapters 14, 15 & 16 that tried to justify everything.

Still, it was a lot of fun, the boss battles got more over the top, and the reuse of earlier bosses made for a great call back, even if that is a bit cliche. The music in the later half of the game certainly was awesome to listen to, and this certainly was a game that justified my usual 'watch through the credits' because of the 'extra fights' that take place during it, and the dance video at the very end.

Now will I play Bayonetta again? More than likely yes, as there is the Xbox One version, so if and when I play this game again, it'll be that version, just to play it with superior visuals! Real question is, do I feel like I could handle the game on normal difficulty.... I'm not sure, I got dodging down pretty good, but combos could be a pain to pull off.

Question is, what will be the next Monday-Tuesday game, at this time I'm not completely sure as of yet, as I do have plenty of options!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/PowerThumbz!  

Bayonetta (Xbox 360) Achievements

Commander Of Magic: Purchase all techniques.

Treasure Collector: Discover half of all the Umbra Witches' final resting places.

Iustitia, Giver Of Life: Defeat Iustitia on any difficulty.

Feels Good, Doesn't It?: Execute 50 Torture Attacks.

Sapientia, Controller Of Seas: Defeat Sapientia on any difficulty.

Double, Double, Toil And Trouble: Create 20 Concoctions.

Master Of The Heavens: Defeat Father Balder on any difficulty.

Taste Of The Witching Hour: Complete all Chapters on any difficulty.

Stream Clip Links

Stylishly Cool!

So sorry!

We just punched it in the face!

Mom had an okay first day at the nursing / rehab facility, she is getting along with her room mate. She had her first session of physical therapy, they had her walking a little bit, which is good. If anyone would like to donate to her gofundme dedicated to covering medical related costs, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Had a 45-minute telephone conference that could probably help resolve a few worries I've had since mid-December, fingers crossed!

I've been really working on knocking out these series of Mass Effect short story commissions, and now gradually working to where things can reach the Mass Effect 3 era of the franchise, but there are some lingering tales the client wants based on Mass Effect 2.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Advanced Combo #1, Beginner Combo #2 and Uppercut Combo #1 for 34 minutes.

What did the drummer call his two twin daughters? Anna one, Anna two.

Song of the Day: Malibu by Miley Cyrus

For tonight's stream, we're playing Fall Guys and Fallout 76, if Iceman joins in, we'll be wrapping up his run of the Brotherhood of Steel story arc!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

[mister-faltine]

Sapientia is (probably) the unluckiest Auditio ever:

Warning: The following post contains dismemberment of angels, torture of angels, spiders, decapitation, extreme violence against Auditios and heavy scenes of Sapientia's suffering. It is not recommended for people who are on the side of angels (or are an angel). 👁️👁️

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

1 - He already suffers in his first appearance and is even attacked by his "ally", making the guy fall into the seas.

2 - He can't even finish his speech and gets choked up on the antenna.

3 - Bayonetta summons "Phantasmaraneae" and is a giant spider. However, Sapientia seems to have some kind of "arachnophobia", because he even grunts when he sees her.

4 - Unfortunately, Bayonetta forces Sapientia towards his greatest fear and is punched when he tries to resist. However, that's not all, when he gets close to the Spider, the Spider breaks parts of his face and makes him lose the horns on his jaw, poor guy.

5 - And if that wasn't enough, Bayonetta rips poor Sapientia's wings off. Seriously, what's the deal with Cereza dismembering the Auditios? She rips off Fortitudo's dragon heads, rips off Temperantia's arms, cuts off Iustitia's "tongues" and rips off Sapientia's wings.

6 - In the last part of the fight, Bayonetta traps Sapientia in a giant spider web, has the guy devoured and cut in half by small spiders, causing the bastard to explode.

7 - Sapientia is still "alive", but he only has his head now and Bayonetta even broke his damn jaw. Let the guy use his jaw, come on. Oh, and he gets sent to Inferno afterwards, because "one Hell" just isn't enough for the guy.

8 - However, that's not the end of Sapientia's suffering yet, because you still find a weaker version of him ("Green Sapientia" or "Prudence"). However, that's not enough for Bayonetta to feel sorry for him and the idiot is impaled alive because of her. The guy still explodes, leave him alone, for Jubileus' sake.

9 - Incredibly, he still suffers in Bayonetta 2 and the other Auditios gave Rosa and Cereza more work, because when Sapientia appears in the battle, Rosa already punches the guy and makes him be dragged to the ground.

10 - To end Sapientia's suffering, he is held against his will by Rosa, takes a beating from Cereza and is even thrown into an angelic ship, making the guy explode, again.

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As you can see, Sapientia is perhaps the Auditio that suffered the most among the other Auditios, because at least... the other Auditios still had body parts intact. Even in the past, Sapientia cannot be left alone and it still explodes at the end.

Sorry if my english sounds weird, it's just that english is not my main language.

P.S: No angels were harmed to make this post. ⛄

[death-rebirth-senshi]

Thinking specifically how Americanized dmc reimagined Eva as an angel with her own weapon she hands down to Dante (and Dante and Vergil are now "Nephilim"/the spawn of angels and demons...) and also all the demons you fight call her "Eva the Whore"

[husband-steve-cortez]

Noah is 100% a madama butterfly +guns type of Umbra witch, but I think Baal would be a fun one to give him. I could actually see him with any of the Bayo weapons and summons. The chainsaw yo-yos seem like his type.

He'd just make a good Umbra Witch oc.

[jubileus57]

And with that last drawing the Auditio quatuor is complete! I’m glad I finally drew them all!

[ridermatsu]

Iustitia looks really small here BUT OH WELL- Cassidinae is very nervous about everything but especially BIG OL ANGELS THAT GUILT HER FOR ABANDONING HER RELIGION

[archvaxe]

Childhood Friends

Never Showed Baby Temperantia so here we goooo!!! {He is a big crybaby}

Also Here have Baby Iustitia.

HE IS THE BALL

[proceleon]

[savageboar]

godd the virtues have some of the best fucking themes in the bayonetta series especially iustitia and sapientia

[dragonshoard]

Do you think the Angels in Hazbin Hotel are ranked like in the Old Testaments/The Bayonetta Series? Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels? Because in the latter, Angels have marble-like skin, gold and ivory armor, and frequently extravagant golden halos made of light. The extravagance of their halo is closely affiliated to their sphere of influence within Paradiso ( Heaven ). They also look monstrous in appearance. Part 1

Part 2. Look up Angels from Bayonetta and you see what i mean. What is more interesting is that they show aspects of the Divine Will ( like Justice or Temperance ) and the Cardinal Virtues in angel form, and they make them eldtrich and fugly as sin. See Fortitudo, Temperantia, Sapientia, and Iustitia. So if these HH Angels do look like that, what does that say about Lucifer and Charlie? Lucy was the fallen angel along with Satan ( if they are different beings here ), and Charile is his daughter

Hmmm... we haven’t seen much of Heaven at all in Hazbin so I wouldn’t know. I’d imagine that it wouldn’t be nearly that complex considering how small of a production this is, but I’d like to think that there are ranks. We only see the executioner angels, but there is an assumption that angels of high ranking do exist. 

I see Hell to be the antithesis of Heaven. Hell is chaos with a very small bit of order in that there’s a “ruling” body that is technically above the rest of the lower demons. Hell is highly based on power of an individual versus power of any actual governing body. 

I’d say Heaven is very corporate (very Good Omens movie-esque) and structured. Lucifer, Charlie’s father, would probably be a part of the higher tier where they’re inherently more powerful. 

Charlie being the daughter of a fallen angel or Lucifer can be seen in a lot of ways. In one sense, she is the anti-christ (the beast, etc) which could mean that she will eventually walk earth and potentially destroy it. 

Another being the one we’ve been working with and that Charlie is, at least, half angel and half demon. The theme of gold on angels like you mention wouldn’t show up on Charlie... or would it? 

Like, if she had flakes of gold going down her spine and on her shoulders. As she got older would the gold fade or grow in number/size? 

[tenshiharmonia]

Bayonetta Recap - Part 4

    C - Angels

The Theological Virtues as a whole : Fides, Spes and Caritas

- Along with the four Cardinal Virtues, they formed the celestial council embodying the Divine Will of Paradiso and tasked with overseeing the realm of Light in Jubileus’ absence

- By an ironic twist of fate, the three Theological Virtues turned out to be much more sensible and benevolent than their Cardinal brethren. While the four Cardinal Auditio are fanatically loyal to Jubileus and only exist to enforce her will, Fides, Spes and Caritas, on the other hand, have a genuine soft spot for humanity.

- Therefore, when the opportunity arose to revive the slumbering goddess through the help of an exiled Lumen Sage, the three of them opposed the idea, knowing full well that Jubileus’ return would doom the human race to a grim future. However, they were still outnumbered, so by four votes to three, their objections were ultimately overruled. And to ensure that they wouldn’t try to use their influence to disrupt their grand design, the Cardinal Virtues arranged to have them driven out of Paradiso.

- Note that, at this point, Apollonia had probably already made their acquaintance. I don’t think they were especially close back then, but I like to imagine that the three Auditio already had some sort of preceptorial fondness for this promising girl. Likewise, Apollonia probably already held them in higher regard than the other authorities of Paradiso...

- Still, knowing of her ties to the Umbra Clan through her brother, they tried to ask for her mediation in the hope of preventing the nefarious machinations of their colleagues from succeeding. Sadly, the tension between the two clans was still at an all-time high after the events that led to Cereza’s conception, and the manipulations of Paradiso proved to be quite effective at fanning the flames of war. None of the clans’ elders were willing to listen to the voice of reason, and the escalating distrust was quickly getting out of hand.

- Silenced by their peers, and with nowhere else to run, the three angels ultimately resolved to accompany Máni and Apollonia in their exodus. They spent the next five centuries watching over the Sage and her brother, helping them build their own little community far from the bleak specter of Vigrid.

- Unlike the Cardinal Virtues, who are known to often act in contradiction to the qualities they are supposed to embody (like Fortitudo being a bit of a coward, or Iustitia attacking everyone and everything indiscriminately), those three, on the other hand, are almost always spouting philosophical platitudes about the virtues they represent. They can be quite a handful to deal with, especially when you have as little patience as Bayonetta, but Apollonia still treats them as trusted friends and advisors.

- All in all, they’ve become like a trio of weird uncles for the two siblings

- Since their true, angelic bodies are way too massive and cumbersome, I like to think that when the three of them are hanging out with the two siblings and the rest of their entourage, they use some kind of limited shapeshifting power to assume more practical and mundane forms*. In those forms, they look like a trio of tall and nearly identical, human-like silhouettes, draped in long and flowing mantles with hoods. Kind of like the Sages in Twilight Princess, the mantles are seemingly filled with nothing but air. Their only visible body parts are mask-like marble faces (note that they can still emote), floating where their actual visages should be, and long, disconnected hands, jointed like those of some mannequins. Colour-wise, I’m not entirely sure, but my first idea was for the fabric of their cloaks to be as dark and sparkling as the night sky itself. If you’ve seen the – at the time of this post’s writing – latest episode of Helluva Boss, "The Circus", I was basically thinking about a deep black version of Paimon’s own cape. The glittering effect of his cloak, in particular, is exactly what I have in mind. It’s certainly a bit unusual for angels to wear black, but I feel like a lighter colour scheme would simply not be as striking as I want it to be. Black would make for a much better contrast between the cloaks and their alabaster body parts. Besides, while its main emblem is the Sun, Paradiso is also associated with stars in general (I mean, one of the realm’s area is literally referred to as the "Sea of Stars"), so a fabric that imitates a glittering night would still be quite appropriate. For the rest, while the three of them would look nearly identical to each other in those forms, I think there would still be slight differences in the shapes and colours of the ornaments they’d wear. The exact details are rather nebulous obviously, but for example, I was thinking that, maybe, Fides could sport white gemstones, while Spes and Caritas’ colours of choice would be green and red respectively (in reference to the colours that Dante associates with each virtue in his Divine Comedy). I don’t think that the colour schemes of their true angelic forms would be as strict (they would probably sport the same "white and gold with stained-glass-like splashes of colour" palette as the other Auditio), but it seemed like an important distinction to make in those secondary forms... Really though, I had this picture in mind, of Apollonia sitting on a throne, with those three ominously protective figures standing behing her, and I thought it was pretty sick, so I hope that my words have done my vision justice. XD

* I was also toying with the idea that those forms aren’t actually the result of shapeshifting, but some kinds of projections or power constructs. Basically, magical puppets that they manipulate from afar, speaking through them while their true angelic bodies hide in some sorts of dimensional folds, concealed and unreachable until they actually need them (to fight an insolent and troublesome Witch, for example). I don’t know which explanation I’ll ultimately opt for, but I must admit that I kind of like this "puppets" idea...

- Since all the Auditio that Cereza has to fight in the games have an elemental attribute, I thought it was only natural to assign one to my Theological Virtues as well, since they are supposed to complete the original set. I must admit, however, that I have absolutely no idea what their elements could be. Fire, Air, Earth and Water are already accounted for ; Light is a shared element among all angels ; Darkness is the demons’ exclusive domain ; Temperantia also covers lightnings and everything meteorological ; Iustitia, as the "Giver of Life", is already related to plants and poison ; and Glamor, while not an Auditio, is strongly associated with Ice... Really, I’m not sure what it leaves me with. Since I’m currently playing Pokémon Legends : Arceus, I was considering taking a leaf out of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina’s book, but I’m not entirely sure. I mean, a guy named "Spes" having Space powers would certainly be hilarious. And I guess that Fides being assigned Time could be interesting* (one could even imagine that it was actually him who taught the Lumen Clan how to manipulate time in the first place). Meanwhile, Love being the highest of the heavenly virtues, Caritas would obviously inherit Giratina’s antimatter. Which would actually resonate pretty well with his character, marking him as unfathomably more powerful than the other Auditio, just as Love transcends everything else. Alternatively, I also considered for his element to be Soul. Or maybe it could be referred to as "Heart" ? Either way, I’m talking about the sacred and ineffable principle that animates all beings, allowing him to have a certain dominion over the vagaries of metempsychosis. I also thought about stars. It’s not an elemental attribute per se, but as the supreme embodiment of Paradiso’s pure and infinite light, I think it could work. After all, isn’t Love supposed to be "as constant as the stars" or something like that ? One could even imagine a combination of the two, since stars are often regarded as the souls of our ancestors, watching over us from the heavens... Yeah, as you can tell, this is all one big work in progress (if that wasn’t clear enough :p ). For the sake of exhaustivity though, here is a list of all the other elements I considered, with varying degrees of likelihood : Metal, Crystal, Sand, Dust, Sound, Death and Decay, Gravity, Aether (whatever it might be XD ), Radioactivity, Paper, Magic itself...

* Although it would probably be more fitting for Fides to get Space and for Spes to be assigned Time, since Faith is supposed to be a "guiding light", while Hope is disposed toward both the future and making all the difference in the present...

- I also assigned titles to their non-existent theme songs. Some would say that it doesn’t really amount to anything without the tracks that go with those names, but hey, it’s still fun. ^_^ For the record, though, while the Cardinal Virtues’ themes are meant to be heavy and threatening, I like to think that the Theological Virtues’ songs, on the other hand, would have a more ethereal and crystalline grace to them. Actually, the title of Caritas’ theme is a reference to the song "In Regards to Love : Agape", from Yuri!!! on Ice, and said piece is certainly a good example of what I’d like those themes to sound like (although its pace may be a little too gentle to work as a battle theme). Another reference I’d like to mention is the Shadowlord’s theme, from NieR Gestalt/Replicant...

Fides, Theological Virtue of Faith

- Theme song : "In convictions and promises"

- Design-wise, my first idea would be to base him on the "Spear of the Cathedra" enemy from the game Blasphemous. Basically, he would look like some kind of pope or bishop sitting on an elevated cathedral throne of gigantic proportions, preaching otherworldly truths to those listening below and armed with an ornate episcopal crosier whose bottom part doubles as a spear with which he can impale the infidels (at least in theory ; since I envision the Theological Virtues as genuinely amiable and well-intentioned guys, he would probably not do such a thing... at least unprovoked).

- Of course, being a Bayonetta angel, it would not be just a particularly big guy seated on a particularly big chair, but some heavenly abomination whose silhouette happens to look like a bishop sitting on his throne. Heck, the bishop’s face would probably not even be the angel’s face, but rather some sort of sculpted, visage-like ornament. His actual face would probably be located somewhere on the "torso"...

- Being the Theological Virtue of Faith, he possesses incredible brainwashing powers, inspiring blind devotion in others. It’s not particularly useful in combat, especially against someone as strong-willed as Cereza, but it can come in handy when dealing with, ahem ahem, uncooperative elements.

Spes, Theological Virtue of Hope

- Theme song : "In waiting for better tomorrows"

- Since the main symbol of Hope is an anchor (as it keeps the soul safe and steady against the storm), I was thinking about having him be some sort of humongous living battleship, in the same vein as the Kinship and Worship types of angels. Of course, the concept also brings to mind the tale of the Flood and Noah’s Ark (which were actually already cited in the games as part of the Kinship angels’ lore). Now, the story itself is not really about Hope, but I do think that it resonates quite nicely with the notion*. I’m still not sure if it’s really the direction I want to take with him, but it would certainly makes for an interesting base...

* Seems like DC Comics agreed with me on this one since they apparently based Adara, the living embodiment of the Blue Light of Hope, on Noah’s dove...

- At the very least, I’d like to work a rainbow in his design, in reference to the one that God put in the sky after the Flood as a token of Hope for humanity. After all, there is a lot of proverbs that link the notion of Hope to the promise of a bright spell after the raging storm : "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"... And really, a rainbow is the perfect embodiment of that idea.

- I could also try to put some sort of twist on the concept of a living ark, like the second game did with the Insidious, who are gigantic manta ray demons that also serve as battleships, carrying the legions of Inferno in their bowels. Along the same lines, I was thinking that, maybe, Fides could also be some kind of enormous sea creature transporting souls and angels inside of him. My first pick would have been a whale. It’s not particularly original, but hey, whales are cool (and it could make for an interesting design). Besides, the way they spout water from their blowhole would be a nice and convenient excuse to work the aforementioned rainbow in his design since it often makes one appear. Really, the only downside of the idea is that, well, whales don’t exactly have anchors, and that element is like, the core of the entire thought process. I mean, you can always work one in the design if you’re creative enough, but I’m afraid it would make the whole thing feel a little too cluttered concept-wise. Still, it seemed like an interesting idea, so I wanted to share that train of thought with you.

Caritas, Theological Virtue of Charity (alternatively : Theological Virtue of Love)

- Theme song : "In regards to Love, universal and everlasting"

- In reference to the last few verses of Dante’s Divine Comedy - truly one of my favourite sources of inspiration -, where God’s love is described as a divine wheel that "moves the Sun and the other stars", I’d like to implement in his design the idea that Love is the motor that, you know, makes the world go round. I don’t really know how to translate it into an actual design, so it’s still pretty nebulous, but I was thinking that maybe, he could look like some sort of gigantic cog, with a big, pulsating heart in the center, to reference the Sacred Heart iconography. Or maybe like some kind of living solar system model. I don’t know if you see what I’m talking about, but basically, I would imagine it as a core with multiple rings and spheres revolving around it. Of course, one can imagine that said core could be the heart I mentioned earlier. I don’t really know where the angel’s face would fit in all this, but it could certainly make for quite an interesting battle, with Bayonetta having to jump from ring to ring to reach the innermost layer and strike his weak point while avoiding the Auditio’s attacks and minions. Really, I’m not entirely convinced, but the concept seems to have potential...

- Regarding this idea, another inspiration I’d like to mention is the esthetic of the dream worlds in Hollow Knight, with all those floating wheels and ethereal spirographs. I don’t really know how it could factor into Caritas’ design, but it definitely feels like the kind of vibe I’d like for him.

- Speaking of Hollow Knight though, do you know what else looks like a wheel, is the Pale King’s favourite waste of space and money, and would make for cool projectiles ? Buzz saws. And really, I can totally envision Caritas throwing wave after wave of hard-light buzz saws at Bayonetta. Kind of like the blades that Iustitia uses to hinder the Witch when she is running on his tentacles...

- By the way, if we go with the "astronomical model" idea, it would probably be (roughly) based on the geocentric Ptolemaic system, with the angel’s core standing for the Earth, and seven rings revolving around it. Each ring would represent - and be stamped with the sigil of - one of the seven classical "planets" (from the innermost to the outermost : the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). If we want to be technical, there should be nine rings, since the Ptolemaic system also include the sphere of the fixed stars and the Primum Mobile, but I feel like it would be a bit too much. Also, I wonder if instead of rotating in the same plane, it wouldn’t be more interesting and impressive for the rings to move along concentric spheres in a three-dimensional manner, if you see what I mean. It would not be astronomically accurate, for sure (as if the Ptolemaic model was correct to begin with), but it would certainly make the design feel more intricate and dynamic...

Apollonia’s angelic entourage also includes :

- a Grace and a Glory : Apollonia’s right and left hands (don’t ask me which brother is which hand, though XD ). Those two were the first angels that Apollonia ever contacted and have faithfully stayed by her sides ever since, watching over Máni and her like a pair of protective and dutiful big brothers. And it would not be an exaggeration to say that this is indeed how the two humans consider them. Even in battle, they are Apollonia’s oldest and most trusted partners. She can even summon their heavenly claws to perform... whatever the Lumen Sages’ equivalent to the Wicked Weaves is called, tearing into her enemies with all the holy fierceness of flames and thunder.

- a Joy : one of Apollonia’s closest friends. Acts as her lady-in-waiting and confidante. And as her self-appointed bodyguard (even though Apollonia is more than capable of taking care of herself). Also, she knows how to play the transverse flute.

- a Valiance and a Valor : holy paladins and brothers in arms (if you’ll pardon me an intentional pun). I’m still not entirely sure about the exact details of their relationship to Apollonia*, but I like to think that when the girl went into exile, the two heavenly knights took it upon themselves to help her perfect her swordsmanship and became her instructors, spending the next five centuries training her in the way of the blade, so she certainly has a huge deal of respect for them, in a student/teachers kind of way. They also features among the angels that she can summon when performing her Lumen-branded Wicked Weaves, using their swords to prolong her own. Most of the time, she’ll only solicit Valiance’s help, but when cornered by a particularly strong enemy, she’ll switch to Valor, adding his shield to her battle choreography.

* My initial idea was that they were followers of the Theological Virtues who chose to join them in their own exile, so they kind of ended up associating with Apollonia by default. Still, they quickly developed a strong affection for the girl and her brother, taking the two humans under their wing and pledging allegiance to their ideals of peace and harmony...

- an Ardor : I must admit, I have zero idea what that guy’s deal could be, but I love the Affinities and their relatives, so I could not not include one of those guys in my Lumen girl’s inner circle.