Fisherman’s Horizon
-Checked back at the Mayor’s House, but Flo’s not there and the Ultima draw point didn’t refill.
-Cid let the FH repair crews into the Garden.
-Irvine wants the repair crews to help fix some unnamed personal thing. I was going to make a crack about how he wants them to fix his courage, but given the dialogue from the repair shop dude back in town, that may actually be a thing they do.
IRVINE: “Selphie’s feeling kind of down right now. I thought you should know, since you’re… kind of like everybody’s leader.”
-Before that conversation, the elevator guy at the top said the elevator wasn’t responding. After the conversation, he said it’s working again. I take this as a sign that there might be more to do in FH.
-Flo’s now back home. Doesn’t say anything.
-I hoped there would be some interaction between Martine and Irvine now that Irvine’s in my party, but no.
-AHA! A new thing in the repair shop. A Galbadian officer wants some repairs done.
He’s clearly not wanted here. We ask him to “step outside,” and he agrees. We head outside, but he jumped out the window to escape us. XD As a reward for helping him, the repair guy gives us a Mega Phoenix.
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Balamb Garden
-I’m stopping to play Triple Triad with as many different people as I can. I have two working theories about that card club. One is that if I beat everyone in the Garden, they’ll approach me. The other is that if I beat Cid, they’ll approach me. So working on the first theory as I go.
-Something…weird happened in a game. I played a Shumi Tribe card, and it got flipped. It turned into something else when it got flipped. This must be some clue about the whole Shumi evolution thing. (It flipped into a card called “Trauma.”)
-Selphie’s in the quad. Really upset about how her life has been turned upside down. Specifically presenting now as sadness at not being able to see any bands perform here.
-I get the choice to either have Squall try to comfort her or let Irvine do it. Having Squall do it is way more interesting to me.
-Selphie is shocked by Squall’s attempts.
Does not compute.
I love that the game doesn’t leave this as a “lol squall’s such a grump” joke, but follows it up with him confirming that he does care, just doesn’t usually try to show it or know how.
It seems more that he’s overwhelmed by the amount of problems and doesn’t know how to try dealing with them all. I’ve really turned around on Squall as a protagonist.
-Cid calls Squall to his office on the PA. He walks off, leaving Irvine to help.
- Speaking of character development. IRVINE YOU GEM!! (atm at least) That whole thing about wanting to use the technicians to fix something wasn’t about him, it was about the stage. He wants them to fix the stage so that Selphie feels better. Selfless friendship = yay! Bravo.
-Oh. Never mind.
It was a play on Selphie all along, just some PUA bullshit. Ugh. [Later edit: I’ve gone back and forth about whether I’m being too harsh on Irvine, but I don’t think so. The language he uses is pretty manipulative.]
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Cid’s Balcony
-Squall reports into Cid. Squall’s current guess is that Edea is after Ellone (but again, doesn’t she HAVE Ellone? I’m now certain that I misunderstood things, that the group that took Ellone was a different Galbadian faction. I’ll see eventually I’m sure) because of Ellone’s ability to let people see into the past, but that’s a pretty weak guess imo.
-Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Edea doesn’t have Ellone now, wants Ellone, and will burn down everything in her path to get her.
-Cid is decided. The Garden show is going on the road, on the attack against Edea.
-Cid makes the announcement on the PA, and the camera scans around the school to see everyone’s reactions. Quistis in the infirmary, Rinoa in the library, Zell on the hot dog line (lol). He’s appointing Squall the leader of the campaign.
-This… well, narratively it doesn’t surprise me, since Squall’s the protagonist, but it does surprise me that Cid himself isn’t leading the attack. Not that he’d be the battle leader, but that he’d be the mastermind. The general to Squall’s squad captain. Especially given his close, personal knowledge of Edea.
-Squall does not take it well.
He’s pissed. He doesn’t like being shoved into this role.
-We get some thought text boxes where he actually contemplates quitting SeeD to avoid this. Really doesn’t like the idea of leadership.
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Dormitory
Squall lies in bed and contemplates the weight of this responsibility.
SQUALL: “(…….?! But isn’t she the headmaster’s wife? He wants us to kill his wife?)”
Right there with you, buddy.
I worry that all these concerns, the burdens of forced leadership, may make him even more susceptible to the Sorceress’s persuasion than even Seifer.
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Next time: the campaign against Edea begins?
