Lindblum Castle
-Tried giving a Kupo Nut to a moogle, but no luck. Probably for use in one specific place later.
-There’s one particular area of the castle that’s been restricted to me since I got here. Can’t access it still.
-Zidane moves into the lobby area with the Resident Evil fountain. Hears a voice singing. Is that the song from his dream?
-A guard blocks our path to the lift. Zidane wants to disguise himself as a guard to get past.
-Can’t leave the castle. The answer must be somewhere in here.
-lol. Zidane wakes a sleeping guard up, tells him a suspicious character was found in the guest room, and lures him in. Poor guard is gonna be left with nothing but B.Day Suit for armor.
-The restricted area is still inaccessible. The guard guarding it now says “Good day, sir!” but still blocks the path.
-Zidane changes on the way up the elevator back into Zidane. No longer disguised.
-One of the guards on the walk up comments that the song is peculiar. Is it Siren?
-Dagger is at the top of a parapet. She seems sad.
Watching a flock of birds fly around. Perhaps seeing it and thinking about her own restricted movements.
-They see a telescope, and Zidane hops over to take a look through it. Since this is an FF game, I give it a 20% chance we see a moon or other celestial body that shouldn’t be there.
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Overlooking Lindblum
-We see the Ceebell River. We can walk alongside it to reach the South Gate.
-Alexandria is past the Aerbs Mountains.
Chocobo Forest!
-A marshland, with “lots of weird things living there.” Sounds like a place I might meet the Ragtime Mouse.
-The Aerbs Mountains also block the way to Burmecia. There’s a cave at the base of those mountains that may help us get through. I hope we take our new ratty friend with us back to her home, though I know she may be reluctant.
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Lindblum Castle
-Poor Dagger. She feels so guilty about everything that’s happening, like she’s not up to the task and her pace is putting everyone in trouble.
-Awkward. She asks Zidane what his plan to kidnap her was. He tells her.
-Really, Zidane? Really? She asks to borrow some of the sleeping potion he was gonna use since she’s having trouble sleeping, and he responds that she just might need some company to help. It’s not gross or anything, not like “ooh soft” again, but it’s just so… I dunno, cheesy. XD Like a pick-up line you’d get from a joke book of pick-up lines.
-Ah, the song wasn’t from a dream. He heard her singing it in Dali. She sings it when she feels lonely or sad, and it helps her feel less lonely, less sad. Zidane thinks it has mystical properties, and I agree with him.
-She starts singing it again.
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Around Lindblum
-We see Steiner in the armor shop. Omg. He’s admiring the suit of armor that Zidane found cheesy and unwearable.
-One of the animal nobles is buying something, for fear of when Queen Brahne might “start another war.”
Steiner takes offense.
-Scene switches to a hippo kid playing with Knights of Pluto action figures, and if you thought I could begin to remotely deal with the goofy hippo faces in this game, you’d be wrong.
-These two kids are playing war with Alexandria and Lindblum. The hippo kid, Philippo, has his Knights of Pluto and Brahne action playset, while the other kid, Poncho, has a set of Regent Cid and Lindblum guard action figures. The scene is cute, but reeks of foreshadowing. When these clash for real, it’ll probably be more than a bit bloody.
-The kids leave. Vivi stumbles across the action figures, and shit gets real heavy real quick.
-Scene switches to Freya on top of the Tantalus roof. Something feels ominous to her.
-She misses “Sir Fratley.” Her lost boyfriend perhaps?
-Holy crap. Freya is nimble af! Bouncing huge distances like it’s nothing.
-Scene switches to Regent Cid and Engineer Zebolt. Their modifications to the steam engine are not going well.
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Lindblum Castle
-THE SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT IS SO REAL
Zidane asked Dagger when she wants to go on the airship cruise. She doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he only then remembers that he used that line to hit on a different woman.
-She calls him out on it. She’s a bit annoyed, but basically says, “Whatever! I get it. Go enjoy yourself.”
-Zidane recovers, and asks her out on a date if he wins the Festival of the Hunt. She’s hesitant, eventually saying yes. He had to ask a second time, but it doesn’t get to the point where it’s that trope of a dude wearing down the woman by asking incessantly, thank goodness.
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Lindblum, Preparing for the Festival
-Two city officials are watching a rocking caravan/cart. Probably with savage beasts inside.
-One disapproves of the festival as overly deadly.
His captain sees it as a test of manhood or something.
-well crap. A bunch of wolves burst out of the cart.
SOLDIER: “We believe that they’re going to release ‘him’ any minute.” Uh oh. Another beast, or a feared hunter?
-Hee! They release a series of Mus (the squirrel things). Mus aren’t too bad; it’s the Skull Eaters from FFV, those most deadly of squirrels, that you gotta watch out for.
-The “him” is some deadly beast. Zaghnol. (I have his Tetra Master card!)
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Lindblum Castle
-In the guest quarters. Freya’s here!
-The festival is about to begin. We have 12 minutes to kill as many beasts as possible through the city. The winner of the competition gets a reward.
-Zidane would want Gil. Freya wants an Add-On.
-Vivi didn’t sign up, he wants no part of this. Zidane signed him up and Vivi is clearly uncomfortable.
-FREYA WINS MY UNDYING LOVE BY STICKING UP FOR VIVI.
-wtf Zidane. Stop doing stuff like this. He says if Vivi enters and wins, Zidane will fix up a date between Dagger and Vivi. DUDE. HE’S NINE, DAGGER IS IN HER TEENS (or older? I think late teens) AND YOU HAVEN’T SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS TO DAGGER.
-Vivi relents, saying he wants a Card as a reward to the castle guard.
-So it looks like Steiner and Dagger aren’t participating.
-Did I miss an introduction between Freya and the rest? They must all be wondering who tf this rat mage is hanging out with them.
-Zidane starts in the Theater District, Freya in the Industrial District, and Vivi in the Business District.
-Btw, what happened with the guard who was mugged and locked in the closet? Either he’s still there and unconscious or he was let out and there are just no consequences for Zidane. I suppose it’s possible that Zidane let him out and told him he’d embarrass the guard if the guard told anyone, but still weird for that plot to be dropped.
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Next time: Festival of the Hunt.
