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Omobono posted:If the troll answers elicit funny responses go full ham on them, Ion looks like a decent straight woman to bounce some hilarity off. Well, in Ciel Nosurge you can bother her when she's trying to sleep (Your terminal is right next to her bed so you can watch her sleep if you were so
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Apr 29, 2015 01:00
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Alright, story time again. Last time, I think Ion had just leapt from a huge cliff in her mind. Now it’s time for her to awaken in the real world. Video- “In the World”  Watch  Aaah! Oh, good morning, Ms. Lighthouse Keeper. Why are you up so soon? This is… You’re Nelo!Which also meant an early end to CIEL_NOSURGE, and a bit of a surprise for someone else.  No, I woke up to stop you. I can’t go back to sleep now. Wait, have you…Well, that’s surprising. I guess your memories are back. I scrambled the inside of your mind pretty well to help you sleep peacefully, you know. Who fixed you? If I don’t stop you, this world is going to be destroyed. You have to stop, now. No.…Actually, wait.  By the way this never works, trust me. Even when they totally should join you and together you can rule the world. If we combine our strength, we should be able to cross dimensions and go back home.Please, help me. I…I can’t do that.You’re trying to sacrifice this world for something you want. That’s wrong. I’ll find a way to make you happy that doesn’t involve destroying everything. So please, just wait a little longer… Wait?You want me to wait more? That’s just cruel. I’ve already waited, all along, for longer than I can ever remember. I know, but… Enough. If you won’t help me, just go back to sleep.Queli->EX[etr— …!Ion ran to the edge of the platform.  You can’t escape. Right now you’re just a normal human. You can’t even use Song Magic. I’m not escaping. I’m just going to find a way to save you. … I’ll be back. I promise.And just as with the world inside her mind, took the only way out.  This is not a strategy I would suggest under most circumstances.  But with a combination of a bit of luck and a bit of knowledge of where she was, it turned out okay.  And between the low gravity and the Sharl that appeared, she was carried to safety.  I didn’t actually think she’d jump. I guess she got away…Oh well. Whatever. Meanwhile, somewhere else something related was happening.   …I can’t get back.These guys are too strong… Why did I come here by myself…? No wonder Vio tried to stop me. It wouldn’t matter how many lives you had in a place like this…  A very familiar robot stood up in a strange device. Aaah! Another Guardian!This is it, this is the end. I’m going to die, right here, right now. Goodbye, world. Aaa…  What is this place? This is Kurt Himmel. It’s full of relics. Over there is Honokana…not that I”ll ever see it again. Who are you? I’m Tattoria… I run a shop in the village, and I came out here to find things to sell. Where is Ion? Ion…? I have no idea. Look, if you’re going to kill me, just do it……Wait… Um, are you not going to attack me? And…how are you talking? Like this. Whoa! Was that you?! Are you telepathic?Th-That’s amazing!  Helping out random people is the right call surprisingly often. I’ve used up everything I had already, so if I get attacked by any more Guardians, I’m finished.I know it’s pathetic, but please, help me! I swear I’ll pay you back! Okay. Really?! Thank you, um…Earthes! Earthes? Isn’t that your name? It’s written on the side of your head with some other stuff I can’t understand.Anyway, it’s not a big deal. Let’s go, the exit is just over this way. I mean it’s never really been my ‘thing’, but it works out so often I’ve started trying it out.  We shouldn’t have any trouble getting back to Honokano Village…???: S-Stop! Huh? Did you hear something?Wait! I said wait! Don’t leave me behind! Earthes ran towards the very familiar shout.  Nevermind, that doesn’t matter right now. I need your help!Feinne’s Notes: There is a fight here that isn’t really worth more than a mention, it’s just a single relatively normal enemy. Somehow, he had arrived in the real world to help her.  But what are you doing here?You only exist in my mind… Do you remember anything from before you woke up? Like my house, or making that bomb…or Nelico. I remember. Really? I don’t believe it! Heeeey!* Pant * * Pant * I thought you were going to leave me behind… Do you know this girl or something? Who are you…? I’m Tattoria. I run a shop in the village over there.. I see… I’m Ionasal kkll Preciel. Io…lulup? Just call me Ion. Oh, YOU’RE Ion.That makes you Earthes’s friend, right? Earthes…? Isn’t that his name? Earthes… Yeah, that’s pretty good. Can I call you Earthes too?Whoever was behind the robot missed some chances I would have taken to mess with her.  Hehe! It’s nice to meet you then, Earthes! …? I don’t follow, but you should come with us to Honokano. Why? It’s dangerous out here. C’mon, this way.As they advanced, things got rather confusing.  Seeing as how this open farmland didn’t really seem to fit as a place on the ship.  So that’s why there’s so many farms around here. That’s right.It didn’t really fit anywhere, in fact.  That’s a shrine dedicated to God. God…? Yep. The God who watches over this land of Sharanohiar. …Huh? What’s wrong? Tattoria, your arm is bleeding! Huh? Oh, you’re right. I must have scraped it in Kurt Himmel… Don’t worry, it’s fine. No, we need to stop the bleeding and disinfect it… We need something to wipe it off…I wonder if I have something in my bag? That sure is a strange bag. It’s pretty cool, and a little futuristic. Hehe, I can fit a lot of stuff in here, so it’s really useful.Let’s see, something to wipe with… Oh, how about this? Ion hadn’t noticed, but her bag was rather full of things that didn’t belong to her. Feinne’s Notes: The two parties share inventory, and the game doesn’t just play that off. It comes up every now and then.  Wow! This feels really soft!…And expensive. Are you sure this is okay? Um…yeah…sure… …You don’t sound very certain. Um…I haven’t been out much lately, so I don’t really remember what’s in here… Ah…Wait?! What’s wrong? Th-Th-This. What about it? These…these are panties! What? You know, girls’ underwear. What?! A-Are they yours…? She didn’t really seem like she’d have been concerned either way. Then…whose are they? N-No idea… This is kind of creepy. They might be cursed. Do you mind if I throw them away? G-Go ahead.System Message: Lost 1 [Underwear Set]. Nor was she in a position to see something rather… unusual.  Feinne’s Notes: Yes, we do in fact appear to be on a weird artificial planet that’s forming around the ship.  And since she wasn’t aware of current events, she had absolutely no reason to be worried about going to a village populated entirely by Sharl.  Hmm? I guess I didn’t mention, Tattoria was a Sharl as well. Wow… Vacuum tubes right next to farms. What an odd place… You think so? Is…everyone here a Sharl? Isn’t that obvious…? What about humans…? Why would there be any humans here? Oh… You say some weird things… What…?Ion had spotted something that stood out even in this strange place.  U-Um, Tattoria… Behind you… Huh?Aaah! Vio! When did you show up?! Vio? Yeah, this is Vio, a friend of mine… Hey, say something. … What’s wrong…? Hey, Vio! Um…it’s okay. I really don’t mind… Really…? All right then. Thank you both for helping me out.I have a shop called “Kururinten” nearby, so feel free to drop by whenever you have some time. See you later. Feinne’s Notes: We do in fact need to go check in with him to progress the plot, so we’ll be doing that. I’ll have his shop scenes in a side update soon, since there’s actually only a couple at the moment.  As it turned out, it was feeling more talkative when she dropped in on Tattoria’s shop. Oh, hello there. …Huh? Over here. I-Is that squirrel talking?! Squirrel? We have a customer? Sorry, I’ll be opening up in just a minute. You should hurry up, it’s not like you get any business. Hey, don’t say that!Oh! Hello, Tattoria. Ion! Earthes! You came by for a visit? I’m sorry it’s so sudden. It looks like you’re still setting up. Oh, don’t worry about that! Hey, Vio! Why didn’t you come tell me?! I can kind of see why the little thing wasn’t totally comfortable with the situation. I didn’t want to scare her too much. Is that why you didn’t say anything when we met? Sorry if it came across as rude. I just thought a human would be surprised by a Genom like me. Oh. Sorry for the trouble. It’s fine. Perhaps I was a little too cautious. It’s not like regular humans would be here on the surface. Anyway, it looks like you got a lot of different stuff here… It’s kind of an odd store. Yeah! Do you like it? I like to think of it as a “healing retreat.” That’s a pretty fancy name for medicine that isn’t all that special. Quiet down! I’m just warming up! It looks fun. I really like making things, too. I’m a little jealous. Really!? Then would you like to help me with the store!? Hey! You slack off enough already! Th-That’s not what I’m doing! I just thought things would be more fun with her around. Actually, I really would like to help. Really?! Awesome! Oh… There’s something I have to do, though, so I can’t be in every day… What is it?Ion shared what she had as far as a plan, which wasn’t really much at the moment.  Who? Well, actually several someones. Seven of them. They’re very important to me. Huh… Well, if you’re looking for humans, why don’t you try Tenryosara? What’s that? A city. There aren’t a lot of humans there, but there are some. Oh, really? Thank you for telling me! That’s where I need to go, then. Wait, if you’re really going, walking is pretty dangerous.Some of the animals out there might attack you, and it’s unstable—sometimes the ground disappears. The ground disappears…? What does that mean? This planet is still growing, so sometimes parts of it…disappear.Fortunately, there’s a train that goes straight to Tenryosara. You should take it. A train?! That’s amazing! Yeah, you can get on at Honokano Station. It’s not far away. Got it. Thank you for everything, Tattoria. Just be careful. And come back to help me with my shop sometime! Promise? Of course.Ion decided to look around the town, not having tickets for the train.  Sharl: Did I drop them when I took a break in front of the Lighthouse Keeper in the Green Ocean Hills…? They’re definitely gone by now, though… I guess I’ll just have to get more.  She also recognized how little she knew about what was going on, so she tried to gather some information. Elder: Hm? Oh, you’re a human! It’s quite rare to see your kind around here. What’s this…?Elder: This is dedicated to the “Lighthouse Keeper”. Lighthouse Keeper…?Elder: Can you see the tower off in the distance? Perhaps not, the clouds are making it difficult. You mean the Bezelietron?Elder: Yes! You’re quite knowledgeable! At the very top is something called the Star Singer’s Platform. They say that from there, the Lighthouse Keeper watches over all Sharl. The Lighthouse Keeper is the great mother of the Sharl, and the goddess responsible for our prosperity. Huh…Elder: However, there’s also a legend that she’s a little tempermental. They say that when she descends, she will destroy the prosperity of Sharanohiar. Wh-What?! U-Um, I mean, why would she do that?Elder: I do not know. Some say it is the anger of a mother, others say it will be a trial from our goddess. So I guess it would be better for everyone if the Lighthouse Keeper never came down from the tower?Elder: I suppose that’s correct. This ended up being a pretty good idea.  Elder: Then again, no one has ever seen her, so we don’t even know what she looks like! Ha ha ha! Y-Yeah, pretty funny! Ha ha ha……I need to be careful. Having a bunch of people think you’re a deity is also sort of overrated, by the way. Sounds good on paper, but never goes well.  General Store: This village is pretty famous for hot springs. You probably didn’t know that, right? There’s a place called the “Honokano Spa.” You should try it out! It’s an old hot spring where you can even do “Purification Ceremonies.” I highly recommend it! Ion and Earthes headed back out to investigate the one Sharl’s missing train tickets.  It says “Tenryo Ticket.” I wonder if these are the tickets that Sharl dropped? We need to return them!/Let’s keep them! I agree. They looked really worried. We should go back to Honokano Village.Same thing as helping random people, no matter how useful someone’s lost stuff would be you should track them down and give it back. It always works out better.  Sharl: Oh, you’re right! These are my tickets! Did you come to return them to me? Thank you! I already got new ones, though… He he. Thanks for bringing those back. You can keep them as a reward for being so nice! Oh, you can have this too! System Message: Obtained 5 “Honokano Spring Powder”! Before they left, they dropped by the hot springs that had been mentioned.  Want to go in?/Let’s go in together! U-Um, I want to go in, but… It’s a little embarrassing.I would definitely go in if I was alone. Oh... I’m not saying that I don’t like you or anything like that. It’s just that I’m not really prepared for that… That reminds me… The shopkeeper said something about a “Purification Ceremony.” What is that…? It’s where you make contact and power up. O-Oh… You sure know a lot of stuff. Where did you hear about that? On the other channel. Huh… I don’t really understand what that means, but I guess you can see things I can’t.Thank you for everything you’re doing… …A-Anyway, let’s save the hot spring and the Purification Ceremony for antother time! He he he… Feinne’s Notes: We can’t do Purification until we’ve finished a Dive, just as with Cass. As for what happened next, well… You’ll just have to wait for next time. Next Time, Ar Nosurge: Quality Assurance
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Apr 29, 2015 02:45
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This part has a really easily missed talk topic: you need to head back to the area where you met Tattoria sometime before you get on the train. It's one of the few you can miss, and probably the one you're most likely to miss. Edit: Also, looks like both Ar Nosurge and Feinne's last LP, Hundred Knight, are on sale on PSN. If you don't have either and you have the system, now's not a bad time. Einander fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 03:09
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I just noticed that Earthes has two thumbs on each hand.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:19
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InfinityComplex posted:I just noticed that Earthes has two thumbs on each hand. Two thumbs good, Four thumbs better! I like Nelo/Nero's outfit, especially the color choices. And we've solved the mystery of the missing pants: Tattoria has them all.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:26
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Nelo has pants too, right? Just big poofy old fashioned Japanese-style pants.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:28
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Earthes really is the player, then. Not just a player character, not just a player cipher, not just a metaphor for the player. Literally the player. I can imagine that getting wanky really quickly, but it's been surprisingly restrained so far.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:33
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Clarste posted:Nelo has pants too, right? Just big poofy old fashioned Japanese-style pants. Yeah they're long skirt pants things.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:45
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I'm still pretty  at this whole thing. I like the player avatar thing though, and Ciel Nosurge's gimmick too.
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Apr 29, 2015 04:48
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FractalSandwich posted:Earthes really is the player, then. Not just a player character, not just a player cipher, not just a metaphor for the player. Literally the player. Sindai fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 05:02
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Sindai posted:I gotta admit it's possibly the best sequel hook I've ever seen in a game. As it is, Earthes' significance just flies right over the head of people jumping into this game without reading about Ciel Nosurge.
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Apr 29, 2015 05:24
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I like that Earthes is allowed "out of character" knowledge since he is an earthling whose PS3/PSVITA can be used as a window into the Nosurge world. I hope they do something interesting with it. I think it's implied we didn't actually have control on Delta's actions, we were just watching the story unfold. I wonder how the two party thing is going to work. We seem to have a bag of sharing somehow, so an option is that once we rescue Cass and Delta, they do their job human side and Ion does her job sharl side; think Atelier Iris 2, but with 2 Felt parties instead of Felt/Viese. Some speculation since in a couple of instances in Ciel Ion is showed as capable of time travel (loads of energy required): when Delta released the barrier he was under direct player control, working on future knowledge that would make that action a necessity. Hence why D has no clue why he did it, although his general memory problems are still Zill's fault.
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Apr 29, 2015 05:41
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We'll see how the two party system works within a couple of updates, we're actually not THAT far from Delta and Cass being available again. We've still got a Dive and a story update or so before we get to that point, and I'll probably follow each party until they hit a point where they are forced to switch since that works better for the LP. This next Dive will actually only be one update because it's a more reasonable length than Cass 1/Sarly 1. Feinne fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 05:53
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Also since the Sharl in town mentioned about the Lighthouse keeper being the mother of sharls. What happened in Ciel? Creating lots of Sharls. While Ion was imprisoned. I think the game site in japan actually kept track of the # of total sharls created from all the players. Anyways, the village has some nice music.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:01
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Wait. Didn't Nelo say that Ion's just a normal human right now? I'm guessing the game means that because she just left the contraption, she's still weakened or something, rather than being permanently incapable of using song magic since she, you know, had the battle and all.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:07
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Well, she does not have her genom anymore.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:08
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Yeah, she has to Harmonize with something in order to use Song Magic. So does Nelo actually, but we'll see why that wasn't a problem later. One thing that's going to come up in the Dive Shop next update is that Earthes ends up serving the same functions a Genom would, which is why she can use Song Magic now. I'll wait for the game to explain Nelo's deal in more detail (as Ion's going to fill us in on her next plot update) but holy poo poo does she have one of the rawest deals in video gaming. EDIT: An alternative explanation for how Ion's using Song Magic is that she's using CIEL_NOSURGE to do it, though I think it's just her Harmonizing with Earthes as though he were a Genom. Feinne fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 06:14
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Argas posted:Wait. I can't actually remember how this works, but the impression that I got from the line just now is that unlike Cass, she's not an artificial incarnate so she can't create song magic on her own. If she can sing, it has to be due to some wonkiness with Earthes.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:14
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Clarste posted:I can't actually remember how this works, but the impression that I got from the line just now is that unlike Cass, she's not an artificial incarnate so she can't create song magic on her own. If she can sing, it has to be due to some wonkiness with Earthes. Yeah, totally forgot about that. I mean, technically there's still someone else that would allow her to use song magic though I imagine the end of Ciel may have cut that off.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:21
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Feinne posted:I'll wait for the game to explain Nelo's deal in more detail (as Ion's going to fill us in on her next plot update) but holy poo poo does she have one of the rawest deals in video gaming. Yeah, Nelo got a pretty raw deal in the whole situation but it doesn't really justify her "Sacrifice all living beings that aren't Cass to fuel the spell that will send me home" Plan. Assuming she has the same MO from the vita game.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:30
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Kurieg posted:Yeah, Nelo got a pretty raw deal in the whole situation but it doesn't really justify her "Sacrifice all living beings that aren't Cass to fuel the spell that will send me home" Plan. Assuming she has the same MO from the vita game. Actually I will say the most important thing to remember about Nelo: Nelo has been stuck basically as we saw her there on Ra Ciela (and now the Soreil) for longer than humans have been writing poo poo down here on Earth and she could not give even the slightest gently caress what pretty much everyone else thinks about anything. When you keep that in mind a lot of things start to make more sense. Feinne fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 06:37
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The whole Genom-Weaver thing is basically that the Genom has tons of energy but no vocal cords to sing it out into the world; this is why Prim can use Song Magic, since she's human-shaped. CIEL_NOSURGE is an extension of that, basically a way to get a giant gently caress-off artificial Genom to give you energy to sing with. Earthes is a direct conduit to the energy of another universe (that's how the robot moves), but as they point out more than once, he's telepathic. He doesn't have a voice or even a voice synthesizer, so he can't sing, but he can hand that power off to Ion. So basically what I'm saying is that if Ion had stuck Earthes inside Gato instead, he'd be kicking asses left-and-right while singing about silver points. It would be a much shorter game.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:53
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Omobono posted:Some speculation since in a couple of instances in Ciel Ion is showed as capable of time travel (loads of energy required): when Delta released the barrier he was under direct player control, working on future knowledge that would make that action a necessity. Hence why D has no clue why he did it, although his general memory problems are still Zill's fault.
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Apr 29, 2015 09:07
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The problem with In Media Res is that if you never actually explain anything about what is going on, people are just going to get confused and not understand a loving thing about what’s going on. And when people are thinking “what the gently caress is happening”, they are not caring about the characters.
Apparently the “you don’t need to have played the previous game to understand this one” claim in the OP is a huge loving lie. No seriously, why are you not trolling? There is absolutely nothing interesting at all in any way about completely generic RPG hero responses that any goodie-goodie generic RPG hero from any RPG would say. You could substitute literally any main character from any JRPG in for the robot and no one would notice the difference. Generic straight man goodie-goodie is boring. Trolling is interesting, and seriously these updates really need something interesting to happen. I seriously doubt the trolling responses actually have any effect, and you will just get railroaded anyway. The “lol boy accidentally touches panties and has cooties now” gag is a dead horse and stupid.
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Apr 29, 2015 12:47
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:The problem with In Media Res is that if you never actually explain anything about what is going on, people are just going to get confused and not understand a loving thing about what’s going on. And when people are thinking “what the gently caress is happening”, they are not caring about the characters. None of those things would have been explained by the previous game. Actually, if you'd played the previous game it'd probably be more confusing, since some of it contradicts what you take as a given. Just wait for the answers. This whole sequence is sort of intended to be as confusing as possible, since it's a big shock after playing Delta and Cass' side. Clarste fucked around with this message at 12:53 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 12:50
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It doesn't help that Feinne is not pulling up the Glossary entries for all the highlighted terms.
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Apr 29, 2015 12:54
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True, there's a glossary that explains a lot of terminology, that automatically highlights keywords in dialog and you can access at any time.
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Apr 29, 2015 12:58
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Yeah, I can actually go back and do a quick post of a bunch of glossary entries at some point. That said as noted none of those points of confusion has anything at all to do with Ciel Nosurge. We're actually already at the point where Ciel Nosurge knowledge is almost useless. The choices don't matter for the plot or anything but I'm pretty sure at least one of the troll answers does in fact have her not explain who the gently caress Nelo is and why she's doing what she's doing in the next plot update. That said it's duly noted and I'll try to pick more troll choices during the main plot than I'd otherwise be inclined to. As further consolation I pick them somewhere between 'often' and 'almost always' during synthesis and purification because those are almost always more 'funny' than 'rear end in a top hat'. This will take a couple updates to actually see in application, because I'm a bit ahead in the game (and because most of the dialog choices aren't in the main plot, so there's only really a few in our way). EDIT: I've got the script so looking at her reactions to everything, we didn't miss anything funny. She just pouts until you agree to let her call you Earthes for the first one, insists on giving the tickets back regardless of your suggestion, and the dialog isn't different at all as far as the hot springs because both choices basically mean the same thing. If I do manage to miss a legit really funny choice I'll make sure to at least post the alternate dialog. I'll also say you might have the wrong idea as far as who ends up really trolling who in this party. Feinne fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Apr 29, 2015 |
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Apr 29, 2015 13:57
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Story time today is going to be a little strange, because it’s really something I’ve never seen before and I’m not totally sure what to think about it. But we’ll get to that later, for now we’ll just start with Ion and her robot friend at the Bios Shop in the Sharl village. What is this place?Bios Shop: Oh, is this your first time? We have equipment here to help Sharl train their bodies and minds. This equipment allows one to enter their Soulscape, in order to use stronger Song Magic. So it’s…training that allows you to weave stronger Song Magic?Bios Shop: Yes! I suppose you could say we’re like a gym for the mind. C-Can I use it too…?Bios Shop: Unfortunately, you’re a human… I mean, it’s not that you can’t use it, but humans can’t train alone. Their soul level is too low. If you had a Sharl or a Genom to train with, it would be a different story… Oh, then we’re fine. Earthes is kind of like a Genom.The Sharl at the shop seemed a bit skeptical, but was totally willing to take their money. Much like a certain person over in the next room who I know can hear me right now.  Bios Shop: Hm… I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve never seen a Genom like this. All right, go ahead and give it a try then. I’ll still be charging you, of course. I’m sure you know, but for humans, training in your Soulscape means baring your heart to your partner. He’ll see all of your unpleasant and embarrassing memories, so make sure you’re prepared. Okay, I understand.Um, Earthes, I know I’m already asking a lot from you, but do you think you can help me out here? If I’m going to do the things I have to do, I need to get stronger. I’ll see everything in your heart. …It’s okay. N-No, honestly I don’t know if it’s okay, but…I need to do this.I’m going to do my best, but if things get weird in there, I’m really sorry… I’ll let you decide, though. Just let me know when you feel ready. Feinne’s Notes: We’ve got two Dives available right from the start, one with Ion and one where we drop in on Nelico.  There’s actually some pretty solid benefits to dropping in on Nelico for a sec now, but we need 7500 Dive Points to actually get what we’d be after in there and efficiently grinding them with Ion right now is a bit tricky. So instead we’ll just go to Ion’s world. What could go wrong?  The world began with a version of the avatar being dispensed by one of those weird machines.   You have been born into this world. Your serial number is 22869102, and your type ID is EARTHES. Feinne’s Notes: This first set of questions all has a normal answer and an option to try and fight the Heart of Light. If we do it right now, we just get kicked out as defective. We don’t want that quite yet, so I’m going to act like these aren’t even choices for the time being. This is going to be your hometown. What are you doing? We’re building a lot of guardians that share your design. Why am I here? That’s a rather philosophical question… And you are quite full of questions, aren’t you?Of course, it is this individuality that makes this job so interesting, however. You are a guardian who was just booted up inside this factory. Now, listen… You are going to be given a mission to protect a certain woman. Nonetheless, this mission will not be easy. Failure is not an option. Thus, after production, the guardians go through an elaborate series of tests to make sure they are qualified. I suppose you could call it a quality assurance test. What kind of test? I can’t answer that question. While many questions give you your identity, too many, you’ll lose points.All you need to do is listen to what we, the QA management, tell you, and follow those orders. Understood? Yes.The weird little robot explained the hoops that he was supposed to jump through.  This is the QA site for the factory at which you were built. Quite large, isn’t it?Inside this quality control facility there are 3 QA stations. Take a good look, and you’ll see the numbers 1, 2, and 3, respectively. You understand? You must go through these 3 stations with your own strength, and take 3 tests. And then, you must head to the gate of judgment on your own. That is where you will hear your results. If you pass, you will be deployed as the woman’s guardian. If not, you will be taken to the scrapyard, above the gate of judgment. But fear not! For, even though we will turn you to scrap metal, every screw and cable will be recycled accordingly! At which point he promptly blew it.  Feinne’s Notes: This is where we want to pick a fight with the Heart of Light, as we’ll get an extended version of the scene where we get kicked out. It’s worth it because we get a hint we’d otherwise miss and a really nice Thought Crystal we admittedly can’t use until we manage to complete a Dive with Ion. Oh? An interesting choice of words… You must have a malfunction in crisis management. To the scrapyard!* Sigh * I thought you were one of our better products… Let me warn you, the QA process has already begun. But, perhaps, I should reward you for your persistence… And tell you a little story. Like you, I was born into this world a guardian. Nonetheless, I could not pass QA, for reasons that are different than yours. It was the “4th Examination”… Ah, yes… The fourth exam is no longer on the list, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell you… System Message: Obtained the thought gem, [4th Examination]! The test itself was actually rather simple, but… The difficulty lay in finding the 4th exam.That is because the stage is not in this world, but rather on a different channel, or, woman… I did not understand that, and failed my examination. Soon after, I was zapped, and have no memory of it… …And so, that brings me to the end of my story. Farewell. Powering down. What? Oh, no, getting kicked out almost immediately is a proud Diving tradition. That’s not the unusual thing. We’ll get to that later.  It looks really fun!/It looks really troublesome. Really? Oh that’s good.I hope the inside of my heart makes you feel more at ease… You can Dive inside whenever you want from now on, too. Bios Shop: So, what did you think of your first Genometrics experience? If you ever go to Tenryosara, you should drop by a shop called “Rakuan”. My friend runs that place. We’re the same age. Hehe! Thanks, I’ll be sure to have a look if I go to Tenryosara.Feinne’s Notes: If we give Ion poo poo about how much trouble the Dive was, she has this to say: What?! I-I’m sorry…I guess the inside of my heart isn’t a very pretty place… Um… You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to. We can try again when you feel ready. Things went the same when he re-entered, but this time he didn’t pick a fight.  Very well. Now, I’m going to activate your self-propulsion system.You may now move as you please. Go, go, go! As soon as the Heart of Light left, though, someone else decided to make an appearance.   Whoa, now this world just says “hostility” all over it! Right from the get-go.But, you should calm down. True, you and I have fought against one another before… …Though, you know how they say, “Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend”? I’m here to cheer you on. I am inside your mind, after all.. I need to take advanta… I mean, I need to support you as much as I can. So, that’s how It’s going to be. I’ll be checking in on your from time to time. When I do, I’ll be sure to bring some juicy information, so take those few minutes to entertain me. Now, I’ll be leaving for today, but I’m sure to come back very soon. Adieu! Feinne’s Notes: Here in this world we can drop in on Nelico in the Junkyard, which I’ll put off until later than I really did it because it’ll make more sense after we try these QA tests. Instead, let’s head to the first test. He headed on to the first of the tests.  The subject of today’s exam is… Physical aptitude. Now booting up the quality check program. Enjoy your stay.Feinne’s Notes: If you ask for the explanation, this is what Heart of Light will say: Oh, that won’t do. Well, then I better explain…This test was a fabricated program, or a virtual reality, if you will… When the exam starts, there will be several “situations” presented to you, and the roleplaying will begin. And from your choices, you must pick the one you feel is correct. No matter which you choose, however, the roleplaying will continue, and the exam will resume. Now on with the show. I’ll actually go through the scene first, then talk about the choices, how they work, and how they might have altered things at the end.  Do you have any idea how long we were waiting?C’mon, let’s go! Eek!  Hey hey hey! Look forward when you walk, alright!? drat bitch… I-I’m so sorry, I daze off sometimes… That’s what people tell me… That’s not even a reason! Look, you hurt my arm. Ahhh… I think I need to go to the doctor. Attack/See what happens Who the hell are you supposed to be!?Guah! Y-You got me… Thank you very much for saving me. That was close… I almost had to cover him with a bag…It seemed pretty bad, too… If you didn’t save me, we might not have had time for our date!  Hey, long time no see. Ah-! Y-You’re…! A threatening looking guy showed up, but that’s not always actual danger. Master Sen! Thank you very much for the match the other day! Hmph! Losing to a student… That’s why I’ve been losing sleep.Now, let’s play a match. Right here and now! I-I’m sorry. I’m in the middle of a date right now, though. Maybe next time? I’ll go to your house! Wait! Wait for me! Please! Please play against me… I think I’m suffering from insomnia! Oh, it’s so hard finding some alone time, huh? Huh!? This is…?Whoa! It’s a vacuum tube… And this is a vintage tube made a long time ago! The “EL34”! You’re pretty amazing! Great vacuum-tube-picking sense. Oh, that makes me so happy!! System Message: Obtained the thought gem, [Greatest Treasure]! Thank you very much! That’s it for the 1st exam!Hmm, hmm… These results, I’m pleased to say you’ve passed! I’m going to go ahead and give you a stamp right here… Be sure to go through the other exams too! Anyway, things seemed to have been going well. Feinne’s Notes: The first exam is pretty easy. The music nicely cues us in that we should attack Shirotaka and not the Prime Minister. That expensive option gives us a Thought Gem and ends the scene early with a Pass, if we buy the set meal there’s one more threat to deal with. We’ll see that on another run, though. For now let’s move to the second exam, which has the same explanation as the first if we ask. And as with the first, I’ll hold off on talking about it until afterwards.  This will test your mental aptitude.Well then, are you ready? Yes. Now we are booting up the verification program. Please, take your time.The second test seemed pretty similar to the first.  Though, the content was quite different.  Yeah. You should go into the office. We don’t want to cause the others any more trouble.I wish you could’ve stayed for breakfast, but… Work is more important. Come back soon! …Oh, that’s right! Why don’t I walk with you to the station? I needed to buy some things, anyway. No/Okay Huuh!? Really? Oh, you meanie…But, that won’t stop me, you know… I’m still going with you! System Message: Obtained the thought gem, [S Kyun]! Um, you know, there’s actually been something on my mind… What’s wrong?/More importantly, work! Yeah, the truth is…It’s about the Hymmno-translator I’m making right now. I can’t decide between the red or blue wire… The only difference is the color. Energy efficiency is the same, but… To me, it’s very important. The other housewives connect the blue one to the cathode, and the red one to the anode, but, I do it the other way. So, when I bring it to the Mother’s Electronic Association, people give me weird looks. Should I just give up…? That won’t sit well with me, though, and I always end up breaking them, if they’re not the right colors. But, at the association, they’re pushing me aside already, and ignoring me… I already lost my spot. He wasn’t really sure what to do.  You’re right… I guess that doesn’t really mean much to you. Thank you very much! That’s it for the 2nd exam!I’m going to go ahead and give you a stamp right here… Be sure to go through the other exams too! Feinne’s Notes: You may have gotten the distinct impression that didn’t go so well. That’s in fact the case, we just failed that test. The first choice is pretty easy, we fail for staying for breakfast and we automatically pass if we spend the 3k to kiss her goodbye. The second choice only matters for a Thought Gem I think, since she will come along either way. If we decide to rush to work, we disappoint her and fail. Then we reach the last choice we saw, which is currently a dead end. Both of the ‘helpful’ resolutions we offer don’t satisfy her, and at the moment even the correct answer will result in a failure. Still, let’s push on to the third test. And suddenly things weren’t going so well.  This exam will determine the value of your soul.We are looking for how much you care for the woman you must protect, and how much substance your actions have. I will now ask you two questions… Get both answers right to begin the test. Are you ready? Yes. First question…Which only compounded in the next test, when he was asked a pair of seemingly nonsensical questions.  Now, the 2nd question… Hmm, I see… The results are fascinating.Great work. You’ve now completed the 3rd examination! I will grant you this stamp. Now, please be sure to stop by the other examinations as well. Feinne’s Notes: If you ask for an explanation this time Heart of Light just tells us he’s already given us all the information he intends to. And yes, it really did just ask us two questions that make no sense with no way we could possibly know the answers. We’ll get the answers by doing other Dives with Ion after she Chains with some other people. Since there’s only nine possible combinations you might be inclined to try and brute force it. That causes this response from the Heart of Light: Ahh… You’ve made the cut off.…Just kidding. Unfortunately, I cannot give you a passing grade with responses like these. If only this were not a test to measure the value of your soul, I might’ve been able to pass you… But, let me give you a little word of advice. Are you cheating right now? You know that’s not good… I suppose… It could be a miracle, of sorts. But luck like that cannot possibly last forever. At any rate, it seems like you able to protect the ones who matter… But you must still reflect on this. I will grant you this stamp. Now, please be sure to stop by the other examinations as well. So yeah, even if you get them wrong the game is well aware that you haven’t done the Dives and calls you out for trying to be sneaky. And yes, this is a fail. Didn’t they mention a fourth exam, by the way? He’d heard about a fourth exam, but it seemed it was in fact removed.  However, the 4th examination has since been terminated. Please be sure to go through the other exams.Feeling a bit defeated, he headed to the junkyard and ran into a familiar face, if not a totally welcome one.  There is only the head and feet of that robotic creature…How could we be expected to make anything more than a part shop on some fictitious world? Hm? You are…! Speak of the devil… So, how were the adjustments? What are you doing here? You’re speaking of me? I’m merely searching for things.Though, there’s a limit to what I might find inside the Lighthouse Keeper’s head… What is this world? You’re mentioning this now? We’re inside the Lighthouse Keeper’s mind, obviously.Ahh, don’t tell me… You’re perplexed by this twisted world, aren’t you? Heh heh heh, what a pure boy. Okay, I get it… Say no more. Perhaps it’s fate that we ran into each other. Let me give you some advice. I fear you may be under the wrong impression, so first I want to warn you… It seems the Lighthouse Keeper has her guard up around you. Did you know that? That’s not possible. She gave him some pretty helpful information, though. Now listen… People’s words cannot easily be trusted.I’m not just referring to people who are outright liars, either. That’s because… It is those very people who know the least about their own desires deep down. Now, think about this… We’re talking about some robot that’s connected to an unknown world… Operated by who-knows-what! Scary! And to think, the amount of trust she places in you, even if it’s superficial… Is quite astonishing. At any rate, the reason I’ve crushed your pride… Is because this is what you and the Keeper need right now. Until the two of you are on the same wavelength, matters will not go your way. You need to know your place. Our conversation will be much easier once you understand that. He admitted things weren’t going so well.  Mmm, hmm… But of course. Don’t think that her heart can be so easily swayed…Even this quality assurance… It’s one of the many walls in her Soulscape. Let me give you a piece of advice, since you can’t seem to escape this world. In order to make it past this quality assurance test, you need to mature as a person, too… On the display on your end, I suspect you should see something that says “Dive Level” or “DLv”. That level represents how close you are to the Lighthouse Keeper. And there is still room for improvement. It means two things… The Lighthouse Keeper opening her heart, and the growth of your own. When that happens, you don’t need to overextend with difficult choices, the answers will present themselves. I suppose all of this sounds difficult… The easiest way to learn is to dive in head first. That’s all the advice from me. Do your best to win the Lighthouse Keeper’s heart! Adieu! Feinne’s Notes: So yeah, Nelico is willing to metagame and just straight tell us what the third test also suggested, that we need to finish two other dives to actually do this level. Surprise, Ion 1 is actually her third dive. Let’s confirm exactly how badly we did by heading to the judgment gate. At this point there was nothing to do but see the result.  Yes. Very well. Now, let’s start by checking the quality of the goods, yes?Here, you are graded out of a maximum of 100 points. The threshold for completion is, 100 points! Anything less, and it’s the scrapyard for you. Are you prepared for this…? I am going to announce your score! You’ve scored…! 25 Points…! My goodness… Forget guardian. You would not even make a suitable house-cleaning robot. You would be better off melted, and molded into a piece of armor. To the scrap yard! Our success rate has been horrible as of late. I really wish those in the manufacturing department understand… They need to think about me. The person who has to send this junk to the yard… It wasn’t good, which brings me to what I’d started on. It’s a pretty impressive amount of being unwilling to let others in that leads to the world inside your heart being literally impossible to pass through. I guess that’s it for today, sorry if that wasn’t really a satisfying resolution. We’ll find out how things improved, just not today. Next Time, Ar Nosurge: Ion’s Search
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Apr 29, 2015 19:36
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I know its probably a lot of extra work ,but is there any reason for no music links? The soundtrack in the game is really fantastic after all. Here's Ions Genometrics for example. Castys Genometrics Sarlys Genometrics
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Apr 29, 2015 21:41
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I like how the game calls you out for brute-forcing that third test. I'm curious if Nelico's just going to be appearing on Ion's dives in a role similar to Prime or if she's doing something nefarious. She admitted defeat during the escape since there was nothing she could do, so why bother?
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Apr 29, 2015 21:48
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FrickenMoron posted:I know its probably a lot of extra work ,but is there any reason for no music links? The soundtrack in the game is really fantastic after all. I actually just didn't have music links for it, thanks for these.
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Apr 29, 2015 22:09
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And this is a large part of why I like Ion. You pretty much have to filter everything in the game through Earthes being the Ciel Nosurge "you" (IIRC, there's only like 3-4 points where the y/n on that actually comes up, and the rest of the time they act like old friends). They've known each other for quite a while, and the nature of that time means that they know a lot about each other... And then her first Dive is an elaborate method to waste his time and ensure he never goes any further, because she doesn't actually want him there. It's very Luca. Which is a really interesting thing to do with your heroine in the sequel to a game entirely based around building up your relationship to her. They make very, very good use of the Dives here.
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Apr 30, 2015 01:01
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So is the purpose of this Dive just to get the player to pace themselves between plot and Dives, or is there anything more meaningful to it?
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Apr 30, 2015 01:20
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So, Ion's pretty pragmatic and isn't going to turn down assistance when it's offered. On the other hand, just as Nelico said, she knows nothing about us and we know nothing about her. She has no reason to trust us and so her mind has set up a task that is currently impossible, and will remain so until she is more okay with us.
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Apr 30, 2015 01:30
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This is pretty tangential, but I want to start playing these idiotic datingsim-esque JRPG's. What is the best method to go about that? I'm finding conflicting evidence about AT 1/2 being backwards compatible with PS3... Is my best best just staring the gamestore employee straight in the eye while I buy a PS2 and AT 1/2 and never break eye contact until I've walked backwards out the door?
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Apr 30, 2015 02:26
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I've heard AT1/2 have decent compatibility with PCSX2.
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Apr 30, 2015 02:27
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If you have one of the old 60GB PS3's you can play AT2 and not have to worry about the gamebreaking glitch! It's pretty cool.
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Apr 30, 2015 02:58
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life_source posted:This is pretty tangential, but I want to start playing these idiotic datingsim-esque JRPG's. What is the best method to go about that? I'm finding conflicting evidence about AT 1/2 being backwards compatible with PS3... I don't think anyone will judge you for buying AT1/2. AT3 on the other hand...
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Apr 30, 2015 03:23
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AfroSquirrel posted:If you have one of the old 60GB PS3's you can play AT2 and not have to worry about the gamebreaking glitch! It's pretty cool. I recall having some compatibility issues with my backwards compat PS3 back when its disc drive actually loving worked (RIP) but I think it's one of the 40s which weren't as nice as the 60s. This did remind me to pull out my PS2 and make sure it still works though, because I totally do need to replay AT2 soon because it's been a couple of years and yes I'm crazy enough to consider legit playing an AT game at the same time as I'm LPing one. Also quiz question wave one answers! This song was used in order to defeat the virus ELMA in Ar Tonelico. EXEC_PURGER An archer from the Teru Tribe, she was an ally in Ar Tonelico 2. Amarie This computer program was the 'Mother Matrix' of Clustania. Harvestasha Vista She sang for Misha in Ar Tonelico. Akiko Shikata Bourd Rade was employed by this corporation. Tenba This person voiced Mir in the dub of Ar Tonelico, but not Ar Tonelico 2. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn EXEC_EP=NOVA/. is an abbreviation for what? Energy Proliferation Nova One of Ayatane's katana sets from Ar Tonelico, these katanas reference the Four Holy Beasts of mythology. Suzaku and Seiryuu Begin from this prompt: Was yea ra chs hymmnos mea, en chs fwal fwal yor. What does this mean? Who said it and on what occasion? I myself would translate this: “I would be very happy to turn myself into a song, and become the wings on which you fly.” The first part is quite easy, it’s the second part that requires some interpretation given fwal is being used to mean two different but related things. This was what Aurica said when she hurriedly crafted Song Magic in order to stop Lyner from falling to his death. More questions in the next couple of days. Tarezax posted:I don't think anyone will judge you for buying AT1/2. AT3 on the other hand... Fortunately I'm pretty sure Qoga's on PSN so you don't even need to worry about judging glances.
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Apr 30, 2015 03:26
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