Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-10-17: Nashira

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:41 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Last time on Baten Kaitos: we broke into the Governor’s mansion, freed Xelha, beat up a dozen Imperial soldiers, got our ass handed to us by Giacomo a bunch of times, and finally wrapped up Sadal Suud.
Today, we’re off to Diadem because the Empire wants our heads.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:42 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

This session will probably be more erratic since I’ve got handwoven fabric to babysit. Silk should dry flat or it wrinkles but I don’t have enough room for that.
ANYWAY, Kalas is still an ass but he’s going the same way as Xelha so for now we can pretend things are JPRG normal.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:53 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

We make a narrow escape on the liner because, amazingly, the Imperial soldiers found us by checking literally the only way off the island. Brilliant.

A random NPC announcing that the liner will be departing soon.

Kalas and Xelha boarding the liner, Imperial soldiers hot on their tail to the left of the screen.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:54 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

First brief glimpse of the world map! We’ve been told about the five islands but identifying them at this point is pretty tricky.

The world map, surrounded by an ornate frame.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:54 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

PRETTY

A dock covered in deep purple clouds, where a turtle-ship is arriving. Title card: “Nashira, the Fishing Village”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 05:57 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

And here’s our questline for Diadem: Kalas needs a way to the Empire and that’s in the castle town, and Xelha needs to talk to the King and that’s in the castle town.
Tragic, they get to stick together a while longer. Kalas somehow does not complain.

Kalas: “Excuse me. Where could I catch a ride to the Empire?”

Random NPC: “The Empire? You’d need to make your way down to the castle town. There’s a large port there.”

Xelha: “I’m headed for the castle, too. I need to talk to the King...”

Xelha: “Which means we’ll be traveling together a little longer.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:07 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Going through the warehouse, two running topics: Diadem isn’t on good terms with the Empire and there hasn’t been any fish to catch lately.
The first one seems reassuring, Diadem has no interest in turning you in.

Random NPC: “Our nation used to be on bad terms with the Empire. But now we have no major conflicts with them.”

Random kid: “But it [the warehouse] is empty now... They’re saying that nobody can catch fish anymore...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:11 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Onto the village and! Horror! Imperial colors!
On a character whose first action we see is getting distracted looking at a bunch of birds flying past. That’s going to turn out to be extremely on brand, so good intro there.

Xelha, looking shocked: “His uniform... Do you think?”

Kalas, looking focused: “Yeah. Can’t say for sure from here, but it looks like an Imperial uniform.”

The character discussed, all in red-black-gold, looking up at some passing birds.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:13 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Yet again, a Convenient Exposition Kid shows up to tell us who that is. Lyude, Ambassador from the Empire, with a fancy Imperial sailboat. ‘Kay.

A kid: “That’s Lyude’s sailboat, if you’re wondering!”

Kalas: “This Lyude of yours... Is he from the Empire?”

The kid: “He’s pretty important, ya know? An Ambassador from the Empire. Awesome, huh?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:17 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Intelligence is Kalas’ dump stat

Kalas: “I hope he’s not looking for us.”

Kid: “Huh? You outlaws, or somethin’? Bein’ chased by the Empire?”

Kalas: “Sorry? No, no way. What gave you that idea?”

Kalas: “It’s just that... We’re not on very good terms with Imperial soldiers. Nothing serious.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:18 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

And obviously we get dunked on some more because children hate him.

Kid: “Well, the girl behind ya doesn’t look like a bad person at all... Don’t know about you, though.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:30 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

A touch more HINT HINT as the same kid tells us that 1) the village is tiny and we won’t be able to dodge Lyude forever and 2) dude’s weird and seems to be avoiding his duties as much as possible.
Also lots of “things can’t possible get worse!” from villagers. HAHAHAHA

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:33 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

There’s a fortune teller around, who basically gives us the story from the opening but with a few differences. There was an Ocean and a Whale, Malpercio drunk the Ocean and ate the Whale.

Old Fortune Teller: “Once, long, long ago... When the world still had an ocean...”

Old Fortune Teller: “Within the ocean, an enormous fish called a “whale” would roam about freely.

Old Fortune Teller: “An evil god appeared, and swallowed the entire ocean... Every last drop of it...”

Old Fortune Teller: “Malpercio sucked up the entire ocean, but choked and drowned in the very water he swallowed.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:35 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Xelha opens her mouth and is immediately told to NOT TRUST STRANGERS. With Kalas right there. I see what you did there, videogame.
One of those innocent convos that hit very differently when you know the mid-game twist.

Old Fortune Teller: “Confide not in those yet to be proven worthy of trust...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:45 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

AHA! A properly referenced spinning wheel. Short a drive band, but otherwise looking decent.
The large “spools” on the floor are Japanese-style, I’ve seen those a bunch in pictures from Kawashima textile school and Japanese handweavers.

A spinning wheel and Japanese-style spools in a corner. Text says “A machine for spinning plant fiber into thread. It has been maintained very well.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:46 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

My one nitpick would be “plant fiber” when typical linen wheels aren’t castle wheels, but that might be Western standards.
MOVING ON

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:51 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

... to dyes described as being from flowers, extracted from the seeds (better than petals, yes!) and another machine described as used for winding nets, which is close enough ‘cause that looks like a spool winder to me.
WESTERN DEVS, TAKE NOTES AND GET SHIT RIGHT FOR ONCE.

Another textile machine, described as “a machine for rolling up nets. A must for Nashira’s fishermen.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:53 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

The two NPCs in this house do more Lyude Tonesetting.
The grandfather remember the bad days between Diadem and Alfard so works from the assumption he’s a spy.
The daughter mentions he’s constantly been helpful and kind and the Empire hasn’t been bugging them anyway.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:55 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

This sets Lyude up as a good person per se but inherently compromised by being Imperial, which is the trope he’s built on.
That’s why I’m calling him the plot’s punching bag. They do interesting things with that in some places.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:56 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

This also brings us back to the age thing because he’s 18 and that makes his position and all of the “Sir” stuff REALLY EFFIN WEIRD. Worry not it gets weirder when we learn what the hell he’s doing there. Later.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:08 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Yeah definitely not I’m sure

A customer at the bar: “The Empire wouldn’t dare start anything!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:16 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Tried to go poke at the next combat area see what the sequence is for this one and nope, everything hits too hard, it’s like you’re supposed to have a third character HMMM

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:21 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

We go chat to the bartender (who is, by the way, very cute) and she tells you everything you had started to gather from random convos:
- The road is blocked because of a freak flood.
- You could go by boat, but all the fisherman hate strangers, so godspeed.

Anna: “As you may have heard, the Lesser Celestial River is flooded. The road to the city has been cut off.”

Anna: “It’s one of those freak things that hits once in a blue moon.”

Anna: “You’ll have to ask one of the fishermen to ferry you over...”

Anna: “They don’t like taking strangers on their ships...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:21 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

She then points us at a “Gibari” without much detail, saying he should be there any minute now. You just need to go kill some time, somehow.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:23 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Apparently that flag in code is “Go talk to the damn Imperial you cowards”, I’d argue it’s not suuuuper well directed.
(Cue “like Lyude’s voice acting” zing because that intro quasi-monologue is NOT GOOD)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:28 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Anyway we go do that.
It lays it on a bit thick with the “THIS IS A GOOD PERSON DO YOU GET IT YET”.

Lyude: “Hello there. I don’t believe we’ve met. Are you travelers, perchance?”

Lyude: “I prefer the humble atmosphere of this village to the glitz and glam of the city.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:31 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

And starts hinting with the subtlety of a bulldozer that the whole Ambassador thing is kinda bullshit.

Lyude: “Yes. My name is Lyude, Imperial Ambassador to Diadem.”

Lyude: “... Yet the title of “Ambassador” is but a name. An excuse for sending me away.”

Lyude, looking distraught: “Besides, the Empire cares very little about people of other nations...”

Lyude: “Thus, my post is much less important than it sounds.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:32 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

The fun thing is that in most games, this would be typical weird oversharing exposition. But this one’s overall written better than that, meaning it’s unusual for a character to introduce themselves with this much background info.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:42 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Meaning this becomes characterization: he’s the type to talk too much and be embarrassingly honest. Which again we’ll get back to once we get his backstory.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:28 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Meet Reblys, he’s a bit of a jerk. Doesn’t end up super plot-relevant, mostly serves as contrast / banter magnet for Gibari.

Reblys: “You two... You lookin’ for Gibari? Whad’ya want him for?”

Reblys: “The last thing we need is strangers scaring away the fish.”

Reblys: “Gibari, that lug... he ignores those rules. Laughs at them, says we’re just superstitious.”

Reblys: “If talk ain’t workin’, maybe roughin’ you up a bit will help it sink in.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:29 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

Gibari shows up, depriving us of a tavern brawl, probably best for Reblys. His design is, er, a lot?

Gibari entering the bar: “So, these two are here to see me, hmm?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:32 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

The deal is that we go with him to investigate whatever is causing the river to overflow, and he’ll drop us off in the city if said whatever turns out to be too big to handle. Onwards!
(Spoiler: it’s very big and we will handle it indeed)

Gibari: “It’s on the way to the city. I’m curious as to what’s causin’ it to flood over.”

Gibari: “None of the others have enough guts to go out there.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:54 PM · Oct 17, 2020 Permalink

I went to poke at the Cloud Passage - the road to the city - see what it looks like when flooded. Wasn’t much to find there but got some XP and a couple good healing cards.
Next time, we go to the river and hit a big fish in the face with a paddle, as you do.