Lia's BK tweets archive - 2021-11-14: Council, plot twists galore

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:28 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

I was gonna start earlier but I er got sidetracked taking very specific Outer Wilds screenshots. It’s fine I function better when sleeping less anyway.
So. Council. Elections. Definitely nothing that will possibly go wrong. Onwards.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:04 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

WHAT

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:17 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

How the hell did I remain unspoiled on ALL OF THIS because it’s er a lot

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:26 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

... and that’s a fight I’m supposed to WIN? Er.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:56 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Sooooo er let’s. Try and sum this up now that I got myself a painkiller because I sure got a headache.
I had a couple last errands to run so ended up back in Mintaka, the “I wish they’d vote right so we’d fit in” stuff is once more surprisingly biting.

Mintaka citizen: “Fall upon us, miracle of the heavens!! Expose Baelheit’s schemes and thwart his wicked plans!”

Mintaka housewife: “Everyone in the neighborhood is voting for Lord Baelheit. It’s positively mortifying.”

Mintaka housewife: “I wish they’d take a minute to appreciate the plight of the housewife.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:59 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

We’ve also got a letter from Geldoblame with a “PS PLEASE DON’T INVADE MY PRIVACY”. It’s interesting that they bring attention to it. I guess this is as forward as the queercoding gets?

Letter: “Never, ever look in the bookshelf near the bed. Don’t even think about it.”

Inspection text: “There’s a small book hidden inside a larger book here.”

Inspection text: “”My Verus Scrapbook”?? It’s probably best to respect the owner’s privacy.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:06 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

We get some sleep and then it’s council time. Geldoblame speaks for Verus first, hitting the usual points about military greatness and spiriters being amazing.
The delivery’s pretty stilted but does the job, and the last bit starts hitting some of his unpleasant honeyed tone.

Geldoblame: “Today, we live without fear of invasion from other nations.”

Geldoblame: “But let us not forget that all such assurances are the fruit of Quaestor Verus’ endeavors.”

Geldoblame: “As if that were not qualification enough, our quaestor is also a spiriter!”

Geldoblame: “Being the educated imperial citizens that you are, surely you know that spiriters are a chosen few—“

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:09 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Then it’s Shanath’s turn, also hitting his top 5 of “Baelheit saved us, machina good, magic bad”.
So far so expected.

Shanath: “Was it the quaestor who erased the monsters from the face of our world?”

Shanath: “No, it was not. We have Lord Baelheit and the machina he developed to thank for that.”

Shanath: “Then you have guardian spirits, wings of the heart, magic—the intangible plagues of our world.”

Shanath: “We don’t need them! Now is the time to cast away our “heart-wings” and reap what machina has sown!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:12 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

And then er things get weird

Sagi, as soldiers come in dragging Gena: “M-Mom?!”

Shanath: “Look at this sad soul! To think some people in this world continue to rely on wings of the heart!”

Empire Soldier, to Gena: “Go on! Spread your wings!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:16 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

And maybe just a tiny bit gratuitous.
(Also this game does a lot more camera work vs puppet theater and it IMO does it an immense disservice, those scenes look clunky and bad)

Shanath: “The age of machina is upon us! What does she expect to do with such foolish adornments?!”

Shanath: “If something serves no purpose, then it ought to be discarded!”

Shanath: “Now! Tear this heathen woman’s wings off!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:18 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Called it

Milly: “What are you doing?! This isn’t what you promised!”

Guillo: “”Father”?! What’s going on, Milliarde?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:21 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Sagi gets VERY pissed off, shoves Milly out of the way and gets his sword. I’m sure this’ll go great.

Milly: “Wait, I’ll talk to him. Please, Sagi, calm down!”

Sagi: “Get out of my way! That’s my MOTHER up there!”

Sagi: “All of you, MOVE! Get your hands off of my mom!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:25 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

The wings get torn off because Gena made the mistake of being a mother in a videogame, Sagi goes on a poorly animated rampage, Shanath is being suspiciously enthusiastic about it all.
*gets predictions sheet*

Gena, wings getting torn off: “Ungh... Sagi! No... Aaaaaaaagh!”

Sagi going after the soldiers with his sword as Gena lies on the ground.

Shanath: “Take a good look. Embrace your rage! Let your emotions overtake you!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:28 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Called that one too

Sagi, starting to be surrounded by dark particle effects: “Uah, muahh, unnh... MUAAAAAAAARRRRGH!”

Shanath: “About time you showed your face.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:31 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

A very puny-looking tank gets brought in, murders our already-kinda-dead protagonist, and zoom back into the past we go. This is fine.

A beam of light from the tank tears through the Sagi afterling.

Seph: “Marno! Pay attention! They’ll kill you if you give them the chance!”

Sagi: “I... I was shot. And... and that sent me to the past...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:35 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

The screen fades to solid red - I’m sparing you that - and we go to a much darker version of the same scene, with no one left standing.

Thoran: “What about Wiseman? Did we kill Wiseman?!”

Pieda: “Wait... look at this. We did this?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:39 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

At which point some Sorcerers show up with familiar items and start executing the group via what looks an awful lot like Guillo.
Was that the War of the Gods then? This one battle?

Thoran: “Hey! Who are they?! Something’s coming!”

Two Sorcerers, three glowing items in front of them - a red pendant, a blue mirror and a yellow sword: “Seph he Yaze, accursed one...”

Two Sorcerers: “For the sake of the Earth, the Sky, and the Ocean—thy life must end!”

Seph down on the ground after getting summarily executed by what looks like Guillo.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:42 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

He, Che, Bo, Le you say? Hmm, where have I heard this before.

Two Sorcerers: “Thoran che Ladra, accursed one... Thy life must end!”

Two Sorcerers: “Ven bo Norco, accursed one... Thy life must end!”

Two Sorcerers: “Pieda le Monarna, accursed one... Thy life must end!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:44 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

And Ar, plus a splice of the Spirit name for extra “what the hell is going on”, we were low on those.

Two Sorcerers: “Malpercio! As long as we share this earth...”

Two Sorcerers: “we cannot allow your devastation to continue!”

Two Sorcerers: “Marno ar Lia, accursed one... Thy life must end!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:46 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Battle time! “Guillo” hits very hard but not too often, takes too little damage with this deck, but whatever I’m overleveled and it only takes two tries.
Why ARE the others here for the fight, they’re absent in the overworld?

Sagi, facing Guillo who’s in attack position: “Guillo?”

Fight screen, the party including Guillo facing... Guillo.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:50 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

In any case it’s one of those fights you have to win but actually lose, which BKO overuses to an obnoxious degree. Particle effects go zoom, party goes splat, “Sagi” gets gutted under a red filter, THE END?

Enemy-Guillo casting an area of effect spell at the entire party.

Guillo with a bladed forearm shoved through Sagi’s chest.

Sagi, held aloft on Guillo’s arm: “Uh, unh, ahhhh... Guillooooooooo!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:52 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

Nope. It lets me save - area name “Sagi heart-to-heart” - then goes into more stuff, so that’ll be next time.

Dialog choice: “Sagi! Wake up!” versus “Sagi! Can you hear me?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:54 AM · Nov 14, 2021 Permalink

So er. This isn’t as good as the EW twist to me, because it has too many moving parts, but oof. The War of the Gods feels rushed as hell for such a foundational event.
I’m not sold on any of it but I am curious. We’ll see, the Gathering is nowhere near full yet.