Summary:
Collecting five more cactuar gatekeepers from around the world. Some
more spheres from the Leblanc Syndicate. New thoughts on Not!Tidus.
Bikanel Desert
-Toumeya’s mom is happy to have her son back.
-Lobeira is the next gatekeeper. He loves cramped spaces. His goal was to find “the most comfortable box in existence.” This doesn’t tell me much, but she also says he found a box in the home of a sphere hunter. Guadosalam is next.
-But first, I want to do some more digging in the Bikanel Desert. Not sure why. It’s strangely satisfying.
-Going to continue experimenting with mixtures, but in a more scattershot way. I’ll track what I discover this session and post at the end.
-Alchemist!Rikku learned Mega-Potion, a free 2000 HP heal for the entire party. Powerful as hell.
-Woohoo!! Fluent in Al Bhed now after completing 40 successful digs.
---
Guadosalam
-heeee this is great, Logos and Ormi are still trying to think of ways to cheer up their leader.
-Wow. I wasn’t expecting non-cactuar story here. They took a sphere from Bevelle and want to show us.
-Hi, Lobeira. XD
Hiding in a box in one of the side rooms.
-OMG LOBEIRA’S FRIENDS ARE OTHER TREASURE CHESTS
I LOVE THIS SUBPLOT SO MUCH
-Lost, but ALMOST won. Got Lobeira down to 2 HP. The difference is that this time I tried to wait until a little bit into the cactuar’s image showing up than shooting immediately. It seemed to help.
-Found a secret I’d missed before, a “Crimson Sphere 4.”
-Ah. The sphere the Logos is showing us isn’t stolen from Bevelle, but rather taken then during our expedition beneath the city.
-ugghhhhh why. Why include this ‘joke’ of how logos zooms in on yuna’s ass when recording. Why.
-oh shit who’s that?
-That’s nooj, right?
-Definitely Nooj. What was Nooj doing beneath Bevelle?
-Aw. Logos doesn’t want us to tell Leblanc. He’s afraid that she’d get more mixed up in the Vegnagun business, which Logos feels is out of their depth as sphere hunters. And he’s in love with her, so doesn’t want her hurt.
-We got Logos’ and Ormi’s spheres.
Bikanel Desert
-Toumeya’s mom is happy to have her son back.
-Lobeira is the next gatekeeper. He loves cramped spaces. His goal was to find “the most comfortable box in existence.” This doesn’t tell me much, but she also says he found a box in the home of a sphere hunter. Guadosalam is next.
-But first, I want to do some more digging in the Bikanel Desert. Not sure why. It’s strangely satisfying.
-Going to continue experimenting with mixtures, but in a more scattershot way. I’ll track what I discover this session and post at the end.
-Alchemist!Rikku learned Mega-Potion, a free 2000 HP heal for the entire party. Powerful as hell.
-Woohoo!! Fluent in Al Bhed now after completing 40 successful digs.
---
Guadosalam
-heeee this is great, Logos and Ormi are still trying to think of ways to cheer up their leader.
-Wow. I wasn’t expecting non-cactuar story here. They took a sphere from Bevelle and want to show us.
-Hi, Lobeira. XD
Hiding in a box in one of the side rooms.
-OMG LOBEIRA’S FRIENDS ARE OTHER TREASURE CHESTS
I LOVE THIS SUBPLOT SO MUCH
-Lost, but ALMOST won. Got Lobeira down to 2 HP. The difference is that this time I tried to wait until a little bit into the cactuar’s image showing up than shooting immediately. It seemed to help.
-Found a secret I’d missed before, a “Crimson Sphere 4.”
-Ah. The sphere the Logos is showing us isn’t stolen from Bevelle, but rather taken then during our expedition beneath the city.
-ugghhhhh why. Why include this ‘joke’ of how logos zooms in on yuna’s ass when recording. Why.
-oh shit who’s that?
-That’s nooj, right?
-Definitely Nooj. What was Nooj doing beneath Bevelle?
-Aw. Logos doesn’t want us to tell Leblanc. He’s afraid that she’d get more mixed up in the Vegnagun business, which Logos feels is out of their depth as sphere hunters. And he’s in love with her, so doesn’t want her hurt.
-We got Logos’ and Ormi’s spheres.
-Came across another sphere on the table nearby.
-OH!! T his is from before Sin! Before the fall of Zanarkand.
-IT’S NOT!TIDUS!!! This is like, the real Tidus, right? The one that the dream!Tidus was probably modeled on. That’s my current guess as to the connection. That the FFX Tidus was a version modeled on a real life Zanarkandian, the person who for some reason is back in action now.
-HI MAECHEN!!
-Maechen tells us of a rumor that one of Yuna’s guardians was from Zanarkand. Yeah. “A rumor.”
-Maechen had talked to Tidus, and believes him. There’s a connection between not!Tidus and Tidus.
-WAIT IS MAECHEN GOING TO TRY TO GET ANSWERS FROM TIDUS IN THE FARPLANE??
-Maechen was about to say something but can’t remember what he was going to say.
-Before he leaves, he brings up the possibility that we may all be reunited at the end. That Tidus will return to Yuna. Doesn’t elaborate, but I now believe the end of the game will feature such a reunion. Personally, I like the poetry of it ending with Tidus gone, but we’ll see.
---
The Celsius
-Back aboard the ship. I head over to Shinra and look at that hidden sphere I picked up, the Crimson 4.
-Baralai! Kinoc! Kinoc is leading a mission with Nooj and Baralai. They’re heading into a cave as a trial for Crimson Squad.
-Still not sure what all this is about.
-Heavy breathing.
-Something is attacking the soldiers. They’re getting fucked up. Dollars to donuts, this is probably where Nooj got injured.
---
Bikanel Desert
-Lobeira’s mom is happy to have him back.
-Next gatekeepers are twins, Areq and Arroja. They met large yellow birds (whatever could those be?) on a wide, open plain.
-Arroja had been planning to see snow. So if I just find Areq in the Calm Lands, I’ll bet that Arroja is at Gagazet.
---
Calm Lands
-First, gonna check at Clasko’s. If the cactuars aren’t there, I’ll take a hover and roam the Calm Lands.
-No luck at Clasko’s. And I thought I could rent a hover, but looks like can only use it to travel to set locations. Guess I’m on foot.
-Not seeing him anywhere. Huh.
-THERE! By Gagazet.
-omg. Two cactuars are riding a chocobo and this is what heaven must look like.
-Again, way better that time, got them down to 2HP from 16, but still lost.
-OH!! T his is from before Sin! Before the fall of Zanarkand.
-IT’S NOT!TIDUS!!! This is like, the real Tidus, right? The one that the dream!Tidus was probably modeled on. That’s my current guess as to the connection. That the FFX Tidus was a version modeled on a real life Zanarkandian, the person who for some reason is back in action now.
-HI MAECHEN!!
-Maechen tells us of a rumor that one of Yuna’s guardians was from Zanarkand. Yeah. “A rumor.”
-Maechen had talked to Tidus, and believes him. There’s a connection between not!Tidus and Tidus.
-WAIT IS MAECHEN GOING TO TRY TO GET ANSWERS FROM TIDUS IN THE FARPLANE??
-Maechen was about to say something but can’t remember what he was going to say.
-Before he leaves, he brings up the possibility that we may all be reunited at the end. That Tidus will return to Yuna. Doesn’t elaborate, but I now believe the end of the game will feature such a reunion. Personally, I like the poetry of it ending with Tidus gone, but we’ll see.
---
The Celsius
-Back aboard the ship. I head over to Shinra and look at that hidden sphere I picked up, the Crimson 4.
-Baralai! Kinoc! Kinoc is leading a mission with Nooj and Baralai. They’re heading into a cave as a trial for Crimson Squad.
-Still not sure what all this is about.
-Heavy breathing.
-Something is attacking the soldiers. They’re getting fucked up. Dollars to donuts, this is probably where Nooj got injured.
---
Bikanel Desert
-Lobeira’s mom is happy to have him back.
-Next gatekeepers are twins, Areq and Arroja. They met large yellow birds (whatever could those be?) on a wide, open plain.
-Arroja had been planning to see snow. So if I just find Areq in the Calm Lands, I’ll bet that Arroja is at Gagazet.
---
Calm Lands
-First, gonna check at Clasko’s. If the cactuars aren’t there, I’ll take a hover and roam the Calm Lands.
-No luck at Clasko’s. And I thought I could rent a hover, but looks like can only use it to travel to set locations. Guess I’m on foot.
-Not seeing him anywhere. Huh.
-THERE! By Gagazet.
-omg. Two cactuars are riding a chocobo and this is what heaven must look like.
-Again, way better that time, got them down to 2HP from 16, but still lost.
---
Bikanel Desert
-These cactuar reunions are consistently adoarable.
-Islaya the sage is the next cactuar.
-Islaya went looking for Cactuar Stones. Thunder Plains, ho!
-Accidentally went on an expedition when I meant to leave, but it’s good because I encountered a new enemy full of baseball puns.
The Pop Fry. Ablities like Night Game. Lol wtf
---
Thunder Plains
-I always enjoy revisiting the spacey music of the Thunder Plains.
-The chocobos looks to happy to be caught!
I don’t blame them. The Thunder Plains has gotta be a scary place for a chocobo.
-Still not seeing the cactuar. Maybe it’s at the last stone.
-Yup, there he is. His friend is the image of the cactuar past.
-FINALLY!! I won one.
---
Bikanel Desert
-Next up, Chiapa.
-Huh. The mother doesn’t want me to get Chiapa just yet. So… I’ll come back later I guess.
-Talked to the main cactus. She also wants me to hold off on my search, and also for the three after Chiapa.
-Gonna try doing a couple of more digs and seeing if that opens things up again.
-Did two more digs but nothing changed. This mission is still on hold. I’ll progress with the story a bit more and then come back.
---
MIXTURES TESTED
Budget Grenade Dark Grenade = Blaster Mine
Budget Grenade Grenade = Potato Masher
Budget Grenade Arctic Wind = Icefall, 3x ice spells.
Bomb Core Fire Gem = Burning Soul – 4x fire spells
Bomb Core Bomb Core = Firestorm, 3x fire spells
Fire Gem Fire Gem = Burning Soul
Electro Marble Fish Scale = Pineapple (a grenade type)
Lightning Gem Poison Fang = Thunderblast – 3x lightning spells
Fish Scal Fish Scale = Waterfall – 3x water spells
Fish Scale Lightning Gem = Cluster Bomb, HUGE damage to group of enemies
Holy Water Budget Grenade = Archangel, chain of holy damage on a single target
Poison Fang Poison Fang = Blaster Mine, low-med damage on all enemies
Ether Ether = Mega-Pot (boo! Was hoping for Turbo Ether on the party or something)
Remedy Remedy = Panacea
Remedy Echo Screen = Panacea
Remedy S-Bomb = Potato Masher
Mana Spring Stamina Spring = Soul Spring (mana and maybe also health drain from an enemy)
Chocobo Feather Chocobo Feather = Chocobo Wing (haste on all party members)
Light Curtain Light Curtain = Wall on party
Lunar Curtain Chocobo Wing = Final Wall
Lunar Curtain Light Curtain = Wall on the party (shell protect)
Lunar Curtain Star Curtain = Wall on the party
Phoenix Down Phoenix Down = Mega Phoenix
Gysahl Greens Gysahl Greens = Mega-Pot
Gysahl Greens Pahsana Greens = Mega-Pot
Pahsana Greens Pahsana Greens = Mega-Pot
Healing Spring Mana Tablet = Ultra Potion
---
Next time: Kilika Island, and possibly Clasko’s ranch to try out chocobo raising.
Bikanel Desert
-These cactuar reunions are consistently adoarable.
-Islaya the sage is the next cactuar.
-Islaya went looking for Cactuar Stones. Thunder Plains, ho!
-Accidentally went on an expedition when I meant to leave, but it’s good because I encountered a new enemy full of baseball puns.
The Pop Fry. Ablities like Night Game. Lol wtf
---
Thunder Plains
-I always enjoy revisiting the spacey music of the Thunder Plains.
-The chocobos looks to happy to be caught!
I don’t blame them. The Thunder Plains has gotta be a scary place for a chocobo.
-Still not seeing the cactuar. Maybe it’s at the last stone.
-Yup, there he is. His friend is the image of the cactuar past.
-FINALLY!! I won one.
---
Bikanel Desert
-Next up, Chiapa.
-Huh. The mother doesn’t want me to get Chiapa just yet. So… I’ll come back later I guess.
-Talked to the main cactus. She also wants me to hold off on my search, and also for the three after Chiapa.
-Gonna try doing a couple of more digs and seeing if that opens things up again.
-Did two more digs but nothing changed. This mission is still on hold. I’ll progress with the story a bit more and then come back.
---
MIXTURES TESTED
Budget Grenade Dark Grenade = Blaster Mine
Budget Grenade Grenade = Potato Masher
Budget Grenade Arctic Wind = Icefall, 3x ice spells.
Bomb Core Fire Gem = Burning Soul – 4x fire spells
Bomb Core Bomb Core = Firestorm, 3x fire spells
Fire Gem Fire Gem = Burning Soul
Electro Marble Fish Scale = Pineapple (a grenade type)
Lightning Gem Poison Fang = Thunderblast – 3x lightning spells
Fish Scal Fish Scale = Waterfall – 3x water spells
Fish Scale Lightning Gem = Cluster Bomb, HUGE damage to group of enemies
Holy Water Budget Grenade = Archangel, chain of holy damage on a single target
Poison Fang Poison Fang = Blaster Mine, low-med damage on all enemies
Ether Ether = Mega-Pot (boo! Was hoping for Turbo Ether on the party or something)
Remedy Remedy = Panacea
Remedy Echo Screen = Panacea
Remedy S-Bomb = Potato Masher
Mana Spring Stamina Spring = Soul Spring (mana and maybe also health drain from an enemy)
Chocobo Feather Chocobo Feather = Chocobo Wing (haste on all party members)
Light Curtain Light Curtain = Wall on party
Lunar Curtain Chocobo Wing = Final Wall
Lunar Curtain Light Curtain = Wall on the party (shell protect)
Lunar Curtain Star Curtain = Wall on the party
Phoenix Down Phoenix Down = Mega Phoenix
Gysahl Greens Gysahl Greens = Mega-Pot
Gysahl Greens Pahsana Greens = Mega-Pot
Pahsana Greens Pahsana Greens = Mega-Pot
Healing Spring Mana Tablet = Ultra Potion
---
Next time: Kilika Island, and possibly Clasko’s ranch to try out chocobo raising.
