Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-11-30: Gemma

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:59 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Today: exploring Mizuti’s village, which as always means stealing all the things and annoying everyone by talking to them repeatedly. We’re good guests like that.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:02 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

As usual with new places: title card, “come back later because reasons”, and an extremely happy Lyude who wanted to see how the locals live anyway.

The party stepping into a colorful terraced villages. Title card: “Gemma Village”

Great Mizuti: “First, we must talk with the village elder. Everyone follow the Great Mizuti.”

Gate Keeper at the top of the village: “The Great Kamroh is currently having a very important discussion.”

Kalas: “Too bad. I guess we could take a look around the village while we wait.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:27 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Gemma village is a lot of calling Mizuti on Mizuti’s bullshit.

Villager: “... But I received no notice from the port... which means you must have come through the Labyrinth?”

Great Mizuti: “Great Mizuti took a wrong turn... just a little one. Nothing major...”

Villager: “Ha ha ha, there’s a port in this village, even though it hasn’t been used for a while. Don’t get lost [cont]”

Villager: “[cont] when you come here next time, he he.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:29 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

We meet Mizuti’s friend / protege Kee.
I’d maybe add “Insufferable” to the list, at times.

Kee: “I heard you had a hard time up there... Everything okay?”

Great Mizuti: “The Great Mizuti be in tip-top shape. Hehe. As well as Invicible, Incredible, Indomitable and [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:31 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

NO FORESHADOWING HERE NO SIR

Villager: “This place is protected by a force field made by our ancestors. They were great wizards, so we don’t [cont]”

Villager: “[cont] fear the powers of darkness.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:34 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Another case of this game’s silly sense of humor via mechanics. As this card ages, it’s noooooot going to stay at -100.

Inspection text: “There’s a drawer with “DANGER! DO NOT OPEN!” written on it.”

Kalas: “See? Okay then, I’m opening it.”

Textbox: “You’ve obtained a Magnus: Slight Debt”

Shop screen, focused on the Slight Debt, worth -100G. “Money reluctantly borrowed from a consumer-credit loan machine during the recession. Helpful if budgeted properly. Make a solid plan before borrowing.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:38 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Loose plot thread getting tied up: the pendant came from here and was originally used to seal the gods away.

Villager: “Could I have a look at that pendant you’re wearing?”

Villager: “Have you folks ever heard of an ancient artifact called the Earth Sphere?”

Villager: “Mizuti’s ancestors, the great wizards of old, made it to seal the bodies of the dead gods within the [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:41 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

One of Lord Calbren’s ancestors has a lot to answer for. Don’t steal important artifacts from people and use them for evil (or put them in museums FOR EXAMPLE), that’s very rude.

Villager: “Two hundred years ago, a man named Calbren came down from the Sky.”

Villager: “He stole the Earth Sphere from us, and took it back to the Sky with him.”

Xelha: “I guess since Lord Calbren’s ancestor stole it, it was stored at the Duke’s Manor for quite a while.”

Xelha: “Then Mélodia must have found it there, and secretly passed it on to Geldoblame...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:43 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Instead of being asked to give the dang thing back we get to keep it. It’s a pretty great healing / res item.

Villager: “Young lady, even though it may be broken, the Sphere is still a very sacred Artifact.”

Villager: “It may prove useful to you someday. Please keep it safe.”

Textbox: “You can now use a piece of the pendant as a Broken Earth Sphere!”

Inventory screen, focused on the Broken Earth Sphere. Heal HP 1000, 100% chance to cure Death.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:45 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Note that this entire conversation happens on a background of loudly clucking chickens.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:46 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Minor puzzles are going through the lights outside in the right order, and handing some mud (from the next area) to a shopkeeper to fix the... supposedly messed-up shop? I dunno, looks decent to me.

Xelha: “This building is a total wreck. I wonder if that’s why they’re not open...”

Shopkeeper: “If you’ve gone in the shop already, you can see what a mess it is. It’s in pretty poor condition.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:49 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Some background on why Mizuti left, driving home the age thing by having “Mizuti” and “the adults”.
(Looks like most everyone just says “Mizuti” and avoids pronouns except for the very rude UI, so I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing)

Woman: “About a year ago... Our elder, the Great Kamroh, had a vision. It foretold the rebirth of an evil god.”

Woman: “Mizuti must have overheard the adults talking about it and set off immediately, trying to save the [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:51 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Mizuti’s parents continue the pattern of Stern Mother and Mildly Irresponsible Father that we’ve been seeing throughout.

Great Mizuti: “Father, mother, I be home!”

Kay: “How could you go up there all by yourself?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Koh: “Come now, dear. Our child has returned to us safely.”

Koh: “Besides, considering what Mizuti has accomplished, I am truly impressed.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:55 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

This is the first thing we get giving us an actual timeline for the entire adventure, which must be pretty short since we ran into Mizuti on our way to Mira.

Kay: “To tell you the truth, Mizuti is the most powerful wizard in this village.”

Kay: “Perhaps Mizuti was much more sensitive to the dangers up above than any of us were.”

Kay: “About a month ago, Mizuti said someone needs to check on the outside world, [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:56 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

LITERALLY THE WORST PERSON TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES

Kay: “Our apologies for any mischief Mizuti may have caused you.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:57 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Busted.

Kalas: “The Great Mizuti saved the day more than once...”

Kay: “Mizuti... you’re not calling yourself “Great” again, are you?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:58 PM · Nov 30, 2020 Permalink

Note the nametag. Delightful.
(I’m pretty sure Mizuti reverts right back once we’re out of sight)

Kay: “Mizuti! How many times do I have to tell you?”

Kay: “A truly great person would never show off his importance.”

Mizuti: “...Gotcha. Point has been taken.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:00 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

You have now hit the story trigger and may proceed.
That last bit is understatement for “they’ll just start yelling at each other anyway”.

Koh: “Speaking of “Great”, have you had a chance to talk with the Great Kamroh?”

Koh: “An important discussion? ...Ah, I think I know who he’s talking with. I heard Sir Krumly’s in town.”

Koh: “If it’s him, their talk shouldn’t last too long.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:02 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

*2020-thousand-yard-stare*

Mask collector: “These masks were used as face guards to protect us from the polluted air.”

Mask collector: “By the time the air had returned to normal, wearing masks had become our custom.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:20 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Back at the top of the village...

Gate Keeper: “The Great Kamroh is having a very important discussion...”

Unnamed character: “That old goat! He has no clue whatsoever!”

Gate Keeper: “That is Sir Krumly, chief of a neighboring village.”

Gate Keeper: “Their discussion seems to be over. The Great Kamroh will see you know.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:22 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Into the... throne room, I guess. The attendants at the sides have Major Lore Dump material for us.

An ornate throne with a masked character inside a sphere, cartoonish wobbly hands and feets poking out.

Attendant: “Do you want to hear a story?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:23 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

It’s all really important stuff. “Gods” were just big creatures with strong powers...

“Long, long ago... when the world was still lush, green, and had a blue Ocean...”

“There lived huge creatures with terrible powers.”

“People were awed by them, and called them gods...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:25 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Humans were supposedly the ones who started shit by way of colonizer nonsense...

“In ancient times, gods and men maintained a peaceful existence.”

“Yet about a thousand years ago, a war erupted between them.”

“It is said that the cause of the conflict was man’s invasion of the god’s territory.”

“Vicious battles ensued between god and man... Eventually, the men emerged victorious.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:27 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Oh, so Cor Hydrae isn’t so much evil as just... the opposing side in a territorial conflict, huh?
(I really like this aspect of the lore, though it’s not quite followed through enough)

“The creatures who followed the gods and fought for them were exiled, sent to a dark corner of another [cont]”

“[cont] along with their stronghold, Cor Hydrae.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:30 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

This one’s the part we already got in the opening cutscene, but with more context and the extra gruesome details.

“Our ancestors, the ancient Children of the Earth, were wizards.”

“Having defeated the gods after a long and arduous struggle, they decided to take the dead gods apart, [cont]”

“[cont] sealing each of them in five separate islands, and magically raising them into the sky.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:32 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Nicely working around the issue of floating islands being inherently unsustainable, here

“The Earth had been ravaged and poisoned during the war, [cont]”

“[cont] so any future hope of survival was set afloat in the Sky.”

“Even after death, a strong power resided in the corpses of the gods.”

“The five floating islands have prospered until today largely due to the power of the gods buried within.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:35 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Poor Malpercio’s just a messed-up jigsaw puzzle.

“It is also said that different parts of the gods’ bodies were chosen for burial, so that the islands in the Sky [cont]”

“[cont] would each develop a unique culture.”

“Who could have imagined that, after so many years [cont]”

“[cont] someone would attempt to fuse those parts together again?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:37 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

And the Nausicaa-esque conclusion: the Taintclouds were put in place to clean up the mess.

“After the war with the gods, the wizards remained on the Earth.”

“That is the purpose of the Taintclouds.”

“For a thousand years, now, the Taintclouds have covered the entire Earth, absorbing and purifying the [cont]”

“[cont] poison that had seeped into it.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:39 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Time to talk to Kamroh!
Mizuti has, as expected, reverted right back to Great.

Great Kamroh: “Welcome home, Mizuti. It must have been awful for you up there in the Sky. Your efforts are appreciated.”

Great Mizuti: “No problem. Any time. Piece of cake.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:40 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

AND WHOSE FAULT WAS SAID TIGHT SPOT AGAIN

Great Kamroh: “It seems you’ve taken good care of our Mizuti. Please accept my thanks...”

Kalas: “No, no, thank you. Thank you for helping us out of that tight spot the other day.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:43 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Many niceties follow, mostly to add up to two things: the Children of the Earth don’t have much power left, and Mizuti is exceptionally strong.

Great Kamroh: “A thousand years have passed since our people started living in these poisonous conditions.”

Great Kamroh: “Devastated from battles with the gods, our magic has all but withered away.”

Great Kamroh: “But Mizuti is a very strong child.”

Great Kamroh: “It’s almost as if Mizuti were one of our ancestors, reincarnate...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:47 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Right.
1) Fuck this type of plot point, as a rule.
2) Fuck adding color to your text rendering for it.
3) Fuck you, Kalas.
4) Fuck you, Xelha.
Yes, I get it, everyone using “Mizuti” up to now is to build The Surprise, but I’m going to read it as respecting wishes instead, WOKAY.

Great Kamroh: “I’d say it was a blessing in disguise for her [note: highlighted in red] to have gone up there and found all of you.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:50 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Gibari’s even more cringeworthy, Lyude basically goes “the more you know”, and only Savyna does the right thing and says nothing.
Hi I ideally don’t want pronouns used for myself and Surprise Gender Reveals are not a thing I’m too fond of.
MOVING ON

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:52 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

We’ve broken two out of the three magical thingamajigs the ancient wizards had, but the third one’s just nearby! Surely this time it will be different!
(Spoiler: we’ll end up with a third broken magical thingamajig)

Great Kamroh: “But the third Artifact, the Sword of the Heavens, is still safe here, in our lands.”

Great Kamroh: “It should prove a great help when facing Malpercio.”

Great Kamroh: “It is kept in the Garden of Death, just north of this village. Here. Take this key...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:55 AM · Dec 01, 2020 Permalink

Next time: TRAWLING THROUGH MUD YAAAAAY