FFVIII – Part 20: Sensate

Summary: End of the “dream.” Many unanswered questions, but an incredibly sweet and sympathetic portrayal of Laguna, Kiros, and Ward.  Meeting Julia.  Hints at deeper ties. Arrival at Timber.


Deling City

-They reach a city. Maybe this is Timber. The music turns wacky.

-Ward just wants to get drunk and fight. These three are goofballs. XD

-I take it back. The music’s not goofy exactly, but it’s… it’s very “just boppin’ along”-ish. Absolutely not “epic, STORM THE GATES” war music.

-Now we’re inside a building. I have no idea what we’re doing or what’s going on wtf is anything.

-Up a ladder. Nothing. Down a ladder, and now I’m in sewers.

-I feel like I’m playing a different game right now. Like this is some sequel to FFVIII with totally different characters that a friend was in the middle of, and was just like “I gotta use the bathroom, you play for a while,” so here I am.

-Sewers are a dead end.

-Back outside, wandering Deling. Check out that fresco on the building!

-Reached “The Galbadia Hotel.” Now I know where Deling City is.

…are you telling me FF is giving a canonically queer character? Is this real life?

Three possible answers:

1.No, you dingus, this is literally a dream.
2.Maybe Laguna is really a male.
3.Maybe yes…?

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Galbadia Hotel

-LOOK AT THIS ARCHITECTURE!

-We head to the beautiful dining room downstairs. These three have a regular table.

-………….I’m pretty sure Laguna just heard the SeeDs. One of my dialogue options was in gray, indicating it was the SeeD saying it (like, “What’s going on?” or something), and LAGUNA HERSELF said, “What?” aloud, like she just heard something that nobody else heard.

I no longer believe this is the past. I think this is some present day telepathy shit going down.

-“Julia’s private bodyguard” is here. Guessing she’s the pianist that Laguna’s interested in.

-There’s a new soldier here, and engineer, who’s super nervous for some reason.

-They take their table. While doing so, Laguna’s “at ease, men” tells me that Kiros is male.

-Kiros and Ward encourage Laguna to “go for” Julia, the pianist. She’s too embarrassed to do so. (I know, Laguna’s probably male, but I can’t tell from the model and portrait and until it’s confirmed I’ll assume she’s female.)

-Julia performs. Her piano playing is pretty soothing.

Love the gray text peanut gallery. This is like the FF version of MST3K.

-Aaaand there goes that hope. Laguna’s a guy. Maybe we’ll get a queer relationship sometime later this game. Next game? Eventually?

-OK THIS IS DEFINITELY SOME SENSE8 SHIT RIGHT HERE. Gray text said “my leg is cramping up” and LAGUNA’S LEG THEN CRAMPED UP. He walks it off, but his moment to approach Julia and talk to her has passed.

[Later edit: while I no longer believe that one of the SeeDs had a leg cramp that caused Laguna to cramp up – more likely the other way around, just a normal Laguna leg cramp that the SeeDs happened to feel - I still believe there’s plenty of “sense8 shit” going on.]

-He sits back down, and the others give him some friendly ribbing. I really like this trio.

-Kiros and Ward leave. Laguna stays.

-And now I see why. Julia approaches Laguna. Sits down.

-hahahah he’s so nervous. This intro reminds me a bit of Mysterious Dancing Woman approaching Squall.

-Aaand she invites him up to her room. Hard to tell if this is a pass, or if she has other private stuff to communicate. She seems nervous about prying ears listening in.

-She goes on ahead to her room in the hotel, leaving him the key at the front desk.

-This is really adorable on all fronts. I like the trio, I like Laguna, I like Julia, I like Kiros and Ward, and yet I am reluctant to get too invested in this because for all I know this is all to set up a Big Bad who will cast a bolt of lightning killing them all or something like that.

-LOL – the SeeDs provide a running commentary to this. That Laguna talks to himself, that he’s too nervous.

-The dudes in the bar are jealous seeing what just transpired. Including a higher ranking officer who mutters about getting Laguna sent off to war far away.

-Full name: Laguna Loire.

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Hotel Room

-Laguna is awkward raised to 10. Julia asks him to sit down. He sits down on the bed, then kind of facepalms at how forward that is and shuffles quickly over to a chair. THEN GETS UP AND RANDOMLY WALKS AROUND THE ROOM. CTFO BROSEPH. (Julia just finds this amusing and laughs.)

-He comes to this club to watch her play a lot. She noticed.

JULIA (on Laguna’s eyes): “Don’t worry, I’m not going to pluck ‘em and eat ‘em. I just want to talk, gazing into those eyes…”

Again: this is incredibly well done, and incredibly sweet. She’s got a good sense of humor.

-Time passes. We stop in on the conversation midway through, learning that Laguna doesn’t like to fight, just to travel with his friends Kiros and Ward. He wants to be a journalist!

I think he’s also… well, not drunk, but as one of the SeeD’s puts it in gray text, “loose.”

-Julia time. She wants to sing. She has trouble coming up with lyrics, but says his different shades and “different faces” (truer than you know, Julia). She takes his hands…

AAAARGH DAMMIT AND A KNOCK AT THE DOOR TELLS HIM HE HAS NEW ORDERS. It better not be that asshole officer. He has to go to the Presidential Palace.

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Train to Timber

NO WTF YOU CAN’T END THERE

FDJFJDK:LSFJDK:LSFJDK:LSFJK:LAJFKA:LS

-The three SeeDs wake up. The train’s arrived.

-They all dreamed. Each is ready to write it off as just dreams, when Selphie mentions “Sir Laguna.” This blows everyone’s minds.

SELPHIE: “There’s no way we can understand this. Let’s focus on our first mission.” They’re really going to leave this unresolved, aren’t they?

Dammit. They are.

Probably Wrong Theory Time: I no longer believe this was the past. I believe these three – Laguna, Kiros, Ward – exist in the present day, that Laguna is somehow telepathically linked with our SeeDs, and that their paths will eventually join up to fight whoever ends up being the Big Bad. Whatever part of their nature or lineage or past or whatever brought them together for this dream will provide the foundation for them to fight the Big Bad together.

-They arrive in Timber.

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Next time: TIIMMMMMBERRRRRR!!!