Nothing lasts forever

Narratively, you have a major character death followed directly by the introduction of a new character that joins the party. Everyone's already devastated enough by the loss of the first character and the circumstances of that loss that they either instinctively don't trust Verso or are flat out too torn apart to give a true shit about him beyond what he can help them accomplish in the short term.

Game-wise, you have a player who has already invested hours in one character, who is presented more or less as the main/player character for the first act of the story. Not only does the cutscene whallop you in the usual ways (the music, the acting, all 10/10), it also compounds the emotionality by immediately replacing that character with another, similar-but-not-quite-right character that a lot of players also instinctively don't like or trust.

"You're telling me you're killing my loveable character and immediately swapping him out for another one that inherits a very similar play style, role in the party, who uses the same weapons? One who even looks a bit like the old one? You expect me to be okay with the bait and switch and continue on as normal?

No way! Fuck this guy! This imposter!"

Imposter. That's the word that keeps coming up over and over when I see clips of people playing the transition between finishing act I and starting act II. "You're not Gustave. You could never be him. How dare you stand where he stood. Fuck you."

I said these words aloud! To myself! Through my tears and my grief, just like so many other players did. And you know what I realized after the reveal at the end of act II?

The writers made the player feel how painted Verso feels about himself. That he's an imposter. A fraud. Not fit to take the place of the one that died: not Gustave, not the real Verso. Only worth as much as his utility: to the party, who wants revenge and the end of the gommage; to the player, who wants to beat the game; to Aline, who wants to stem the bleeding wound of her grief by any means necessary.

Rumi: you look nervous are you sure this is ok?

Zoey(blushing): VERY. This is just like this one fanfic I read about us.

Rumi: someone made a fanfic of us with me being a demon making out with you? Seems pretty trashy.

Mira: well it's just.

Zoey: wait wait I got an idea. Here stand in front of the mirror. Ok you see your horns and fangs and your eyes and the beautiful color of your stripes.

Rumi(blushing ): yeah...

Zoey: ok now imagine all that...on Mira.

Rumi:

Rumi(blushing): oh...oh! That would be ...oh.

ATLA x KPDH! Because trauma bonding can transcend time, space, and fictional continuities~

🌊🪨🔥💨