Bran Bal
-Stiltzkin is here! He wasn’t here when I logged out. Must’ve come by between sessions. Bought a new set of stuff from him so he can continue his journey. The set includes a diamond. Bless you, Stiltzkin.
-Zidane meets the Mysterious Girl in the lab. She’s all “yeeesss, now you understand!” and he really doesn’t. He doesn’t want to.
-They are the “Genomes.” Genome is the name of the “seed given to us all.” Including Zidane.
-She thinks he should be happy. Zidane is… well, not happy. To say the least. He sees the blank and zombie-like Genomes and can’t believe he’s one of them.
-Zidane is special in some way. Everyone here is a vessel, but Zidane has some greater purpose. I’m betting it has to do with that green barrier.
GIRL: “The will of Garland is absolute…”
-We head upstairs, to where other Genome vessels are worshipping that seashell thing.
-Garland’s purpose is to awaken the people of Terra… aha! So they’re sleeping, and the vessels are being prepared to host the Terrans.
-Something will cause Gaia’s light to turn from blue to red, and Gaia will become Terra. What will become of Gaia and all the people of Gaia though? Overwritten?
GIRL: “Terra has always absorbed new planets to survive.”
THAT’S ONE SERIOUSLY FUCKED UP LIFECYCLE YOU GOT THERE
-Apparently, Garland once tried a more forceful method than this and it failed. I wonder if that was what happened at Madain Sari.
-Oh. Nope. Madain Sari came much later.
-Still not fully sure what’s going on, but seems like Zidane was meant to be a sort of harbinger of Terra, someone to help Garland and Terra gain control over Gaia’s lifecycle.
-Scene switch back to the inn and the party. Dagger has a bad feeling. Wants Eiko to find Zidane, asap.
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Place to Call Home
-ATE! Feels like a while since we’ve gotten one. Probably Zidane talking to Garland.
-lol nope, it’s Quina.
-They’re wondering what’s up with this seashell thing.
-omg they licked the stone to taste it XD XD “Salty.”
-They come across Zidane. Noticed that Zidane is feeling out of sorts.
-Creepy. Quina brings up all the duplicates, unknowingly hitting on a sore spot right now with Zidane, and he replies that even Quina looks like her master (Quale).
-Quina is just… they’re the BEST!! So innocent and curious and good-natured. I love them so much. They hear Zidane’s words and accept them… only slowly putting together that Zidane is of the same race as these Genomes as he walks away.
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Where the Heart Is
-Another ATE. Vivi around town.
-INTERESTING!! Vivi comments how pleasant the blue light is, while the Genomes comment how unpleasant it is. Could Vivi be some sort of anti-Genome? Makes sense, if Kuja is creating the black mages as a Gaian-based army to fight Garland.
…nah. That puts Kuja almost as an anti-hero, and I’m pretty sure that Kuja’s a straight-up villain.
-VIVIIIII!! He senses that these Genomes, these vessels, dolls of sorts, are like him. He wants to get through.
-He thinks their minds aren’t hollow, just temporarily out. I wonder how hollow they really are, or if they have souls of their own that are just easily overwritten.
-Talks to Zidane briefly, but Zidane walks away. Is Zidane comforted to hear that their minds aren’t hollow? I’m not sure.
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Came Into This World
-Another ATE. Btw, one thing I feel pretty sure of is that there’s going to be some sudden turning point where the blue of Terra turns red and the shit hits the fan at 90 miles per hour.
-Ooh, this ATE is Zidane meeting the girl at the green barrier.
-Amarant sees Zidane. Zidane’s cold, and Amarant replies “What the hell? That’s no way to say hello.” GROOOWTH!
AMARANT: “I thought we’d find some mean mothers down here, but they’re all a bunch of wimps.” I’m betting that as soon as the light turns red, you’ll get your wish.
-Amarant backstory. The most painful kind. Doesn’t remember any kind of loving parents. His first memory is someone he was fighting. “I only found meaning in life through combat.” That may be changing.
This is such a great relationship.
-Amarant asks the same of Zidane. But Zidane didn’t have parents.
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Eiko in Bran Bal
-Just hit me. The name of Galuf’s home in FFV was “Bal.” I wonder if there’s any relation to this place.
-Eiko meets Quina. Both are worried about Zidane and team up.
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The Truth
-Zidane catches up with the Girl. She tells him to go through the portal to Garland.
-OH SHIT FFII REFERENCE!!! Garland’s home castle right now is called Pandemonium. It’s a floating castle where the Terran souls rest. (Pandemonium was the brutal final dungeon of FFII with one of the most dramatic and exhilirating musical tracks in all of FF imo.)
-The Girl wants him to accept that he is an enemy of Gaia. Zidane accepts that that is how he was born, his original purpose, and then DROPS THE HAMMER:
“Make no mistake. I won’t join your side… I want to take care of this little family matter myself.”
-He drops the fucking mic, turns his back on the Girl, and steps through the portal.
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Eiko in Bran Bal
-The Genomes remind me a lot of the Dolls in Dollhouse. I think this just as one says he has to exercise to maintain peak physical condition.
-She comes across Vivi. Also worried. He joins Eiko and Quina.
-Amarant joins too. A full party.
-We pass beyond the green barrier. Talk to the girl, and Eiko (on hearing the name Garland) takes the time to sass it.
BLESS. XD That’s the same reaction I had at first! A garland is a wreath of flowers, right?
-Eiko learns that Zidane went off to Pandemonium, freaks out, and runs back to tell the others. She leaves.
The Girl looks at the portal, and has an ominous af final line: “Heaven grant those souls eternal repose.”
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Next time: confronting Garland.
