Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-12-23, cont: Moonguile Forest, ending

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:16 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Let’s do this last playthrough thread.
Xelha ran off somewhere, Kalas followed, now it’s time to... reframe the entire main plot APPARENTLY.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:18 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

So, where did Xelha go? The Moonguile spring with the witches, who leave as Kalas shows up.

The four witches walk away as Kalas enters.

Xelha: “I was waiting for you, Kalas...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:21 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Remember the “How long have you known?” in the opening cutscene? It’s this bit. Told you the thing was full of spoilers that you won’t get without context.
Comes a bit out of left field on first go, even with context, unless you’re very sharp-eyed or overanalyze some “...”.

Kalas: “Also, when we were attacked by the Goldoba on the way to Mira, and were trapped in another dimension.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:24 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

One more flashback to said conversation.
Still hard to see how any of it matters, we’re getting there.

Xelha, offscreen, back on the Mindeer deck: “Yes. All life will eventually return to the sea...”

Xelha: “That’s my nation’s prayer. The one I said in Moonguile Forest, where we first met.”

Kalas, back in the present: “But we had met each other in Cebalrai, before you left for the forest.”

Kalas: “It was a slip of the tongue, Xelha. You gave yourself away.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:27 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Worry not, it’s all getting clarified by a shiny new flashback!

Kalas: “You had seen me in Moonguile Forest, before we met in Cebalrai.”

Kalas: “You probably just happened to overhear us talking.”

Xelha, in a sepia flashback of the entrance of Moonguile Forest, Kalas and Melodia talking in the background: “...?! Is that...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:30 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Kalas is laying out the plan that led to the start of the game, because the Spirit would not cooperate.

Kalas: “Here’s the plan. I’ll be attacked by Rock Cats, and lose consciousness.”

Kalas: “When I come to, I can say some memories were partially lost from the shock.”

Kalas: “You’ll have forgotten all about our plans, and continue helping me.”

Kalas: “Nope, sorry. There’s no turning back.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:31 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Last time this was brought up was A WHILE AGO, when he revealed his true goal in the Lava Caves.
The new information is that Xelha was eavesdropping and knew this all along.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:52 AM · Nov 19, 2020 Go

This is where the fourth wall starts getting a mild beating, as Xelha asks whether we-the-spirit were in on the conspiracy.
No, says Kalas, we even tried to discourage him. So we... got an amnesia spell cast on us right before the game started.

Kalas, quoting: “I will completely forget anything that has happened since the time I was called to this world as a [cont]”

Kalas, quoting: “[cont] Guardian Spirit. Those were the words used in the spell.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:33 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And this is what I mean by “unless you overanalyze some ellipses”.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:57 AM · Nov 19, 2020 Go

This will turn out to be more important than it looks. Back to it *checks notes* at the absolute end of the game.

Kalas: “We cast it back in Moonguile Forest, in Sadal Suud.”

Kalas: “Xelha, you remember the place, don’t you?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:36 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Melodia zaps Kalas with the amnesia spell.
The ominous text is in Mélodia’s voice, though it reads as Malpercio’s perspective.
“Come, free us...” is what we heard at the very start of the game. We’ve come full circle.

Xelha watching from behind a tree as Kalas is hit by an orb of light cast by Melodia.

White text: “You belong to us, now... Just as this girl belongs to us...”

White text: “Come, free us, from a thousand years of darkness... A millenium of solitude and suffering...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:38 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Literally the very start, after you see the spirit bonding and pick a name.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 07:50 PM · Oct 14, 2020 Go

The intro is infuriating in retrospect, because it puts the crux of the mid-game plot twist RIGHT THERE.
Just out of focus enough that you’ll miss her.
With a voice being Cartoon Villain, that you’ll probably fail to recognize when you meet her.

Sepia scene, with the protagonist in the foreground and a barely visible young woman at the back.

White text over five floating stones: “For the world, death and destruction” followed by ominous laughter.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:41 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Xelha gets a brief vision of Malpercio, then goes to check on Kalas.
Gram and Leon were still around, but rescue is out of the question when stealth is critical...

Xelha, kneeling next to a passed-out Kalas: “What’s going on here? Who are you?”

Gram: “Is everything all right, Your Majesty?”

Leon: “Let us carry him, then, to the nearest village.”

Xelha: “Wait... I don’t want people to know that we were the ones who found him...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:44 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

“Critical” new fact: Meemai was asked to rescue Kalas and did not do it spontaneously.
The actual relevant part here is Xelha being shown as a friend to the Greythornes.
Flashback over!

Xelha: “I’m glad you’re here. I have a favor to ask you.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:52 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Back in the present, we... dodge an important question by philosophizing, again.

Kalas: “What are you hiding, Xelha? Who are you?”

Xelha: “I’m just Xelha... Last of the Ice Queens...”

Xelha: “... Did you know that Moonguile Forest had another name? At first it was called the Moonglade Forest...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:56 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

I’m not sure what kind of point she’s getting at, here. The comparison is a bit weird.
The rest of the convo will suggest that the self-deception was about having a shot at a normal life.

Xelha: “But, as time passed by, people started using the wrong name... Eventually, the wrong name stuck.”

Xelha: “Maybe we do that too, sometimes. We leave things lying around, [cont]”

Xelha: “[cont] things that should have been important to us.”

Xelha: “Thus we deceive others... And eventually, even ourselves...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:58 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

It’s time for the actual true version of what happened to the Ocean. So far we’ve been told that Malpercio drank it up, and that the Ice Queen protects it somehow.

Xelha: “A thousand years ago, five continents rose to the Sky, leaving the Land which was damaged by [cont]”

Xelha: “The Ice Lands also escaped into the Sky, with help from the Great Whale...”

Xelha: “Wizards gave us the Ocean Mirror, but there was something else, as well...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:07 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

One more flashback, to the Ice Queen and an ancient wizard (called a Magician, but said to have “stayed below”).
They discuss protecting the Ocean while the Earth heals, until the taint is gone and people can come back.
Malpercio didn’t drink it: it was sealed away.

Ice Queen, facing an ancient wizard in a sepia flashback: “Now, let us begin, before the Ocean is tainted with the venomous blood of the gods...”

The Ice Queen with outstretched hands, as the wizard is surrounded by magic.

Ancient Magician: “I hereby lay my life down to seal the Ocean, to remove its song from the Earth...”

Ancient Magician: “To halt the neverending lullaby that has blessed this world forever past...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:10 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Ocean Prayer time again. Then the entire thing converges towards the Ice Queen, and the flashback ends.

White text as the Ice Queen and the wizard hover in a dark space: “Cast light upon the darkened earth. Save those lost in despair.”

White text: “O Mighty Ocean, guide us as we journey through... The darkest pit of night...”

White text, as the Ice Queen and the wizard hover above water, ripples gathering towards the Queen: “May Time, ever fleeting, forgive us...”

White text: “We who have forsaken our song, and buried our future...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:13 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

“My crush is actually a large body of salt water” is, admittedly, a lot to take in.
(This plot point is a colossal avenue for niche shitposts)

Xelha: “Kalas... The Ocean is here... inside me... I am the Ocean...”

Xelha: “The Queen protects the Ocean, and passes it on to the next Queen... Until the final moment...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:17 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Subtext becomes text. Because the logical question once we learn that Xelha knew about Kalas all along is “Why didn’t you stop him?”.
This, to me, weakens Xelha as a heroine a LOT and it’s a bit unfortunate.

Xelha: “I didn’t know which side you were on, but I knew you were enthralled by some fearsome power...”

Xelha: “I wanted to stay and watch over you...”

Xelha: “I wanted to save you. I would have done anything I could.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:23 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Does not actually clarify this much.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 01:09 AM · Nov 08, 2020 Go

This whole scene is not Xelha’s brightest moment. Which can be read as her being The Silly Kind-Hearted Blonde, right?
Except we learn very late on that she knew what Kalas was up to, so... is it refusal to believe it anyway, or playing silly on top of lies? It’s weird.

Xelha: “Someone might have already picked it up...”

Lyude: “If someone found it, I’m pretty sure the ensuing fuss would have reached us by now.”

Kalas: “You have a point. The village was just as quiet as always...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:27 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

This convo is IMO a mess lore-wise: like a lot of the late-game, it dumps too much in at once, and too late.
But there’s some legit great back-and-forth between those two, in a Early Romance Drama kind of way.

Kalas, looking pissed: “...Why, Xelha? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Xelha, looking pissed: “What was I supposed to say to you?!”

Xelha: “The long lost Ocean is inside me? Why don’t you come with me and we’ll find ourselves an exciting [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:28 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Complete with immediate tonal shift. It works well.

Kalas, looking down: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that...”

Xelha, looking down: “I’m sorry, too...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:30 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Oh, right, there’s supposed to be plot resolution at some point.

Xelha: “Kalas, I want you to do it... To release the Ocean... from inside me...”

Kalas: “If I do that, Xelha... What will happen to you?”

Kalas, looking down: “No! I can’t! I won’t do it!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:33 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

The Guardian Spirit needs to help because reasons. Everyone involved grudgingly accepts.
The plot never branches based on your choices: you just get slightly different dialog. You’re not in charge, after all.

Xelha: “Now that the Earth has been restored... Everyone is waiting for the Ocean to return...”

Dialog choice: “I’ll... I’ll do it...” or “No, I won’t do it!”

Xelha: “I am the Ice Queen of Wazn... I must face my destiny.”

Kalas, looking pissed: “Okay... All right! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:35 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

I don’t much care for Kalas as a character, but losing people all the time does kind of suck.
Also put a pin in this one because Xelha does not actually promise anything.

Kalas: “Just promise me this... Don’t leave us, Xelha... Don’t leave me.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 02:37 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Prayer time again, alternating between everyone.
I do not personally interpret Xelha’s last line as being part of it, unlike the wiki.

Kalas: “Cast light upon the darkened earth.”

Dialog prompt: “Save those lost in despair...”

Xelha: “O Might Ocean, guide us as we journey through...”

Xelha, arms wide open: “Fare thee well, my children... Rest, in my heart... Forever...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:10 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And now for the weirdest and most unnecessary plot twist in this entire thing!
Geldoblame’s not dead. Not really. What?

White text on black background: “Noooooo! Not so faaaast kiddies! What do you think you’re doooing?”

White text on black background: “This world is miiine!!!”

White text above a scene of the spring, as the witches have come back and dust is rising: “I found you Kalas, you sickly raven!!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:14 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

He monologues for A WHILE, pulls the witches into sinkholes somehow, and then manifests as a giant head in the mud. I GUESS.

Geldoblame: “I am the world, nowwwwww! Soon I will be the universe itselffffff!”

Kodelle, as the witches are being pulled into sinkholes: “Hey, what is this?!”

Geldoblame, as a cloud of ominous ghostly faces surrounding Kalas and Xelha: “You two just give up nowwwwww, become part of meeeeee! You want to live, don’t youuuuuu?!”

A giant fat head emerging from the ground, textured like it.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:17 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Xelha gets a ridiculously good turn, which is useless.
Kalas gets a Spirit spell immediately, which is the actual end condition for this fight.
Done, bye Geldoblame, this was useful.

Combat turn result, showing 2837 raw damage, plus a final straight sunrise for +306%, totaling 11518.

Combat turn result. Damage is irrelevant, what matters is the combo ending with a Guardian Spirit spell.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:19 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Xelha immediately collapses.
A bunch of Greythornes come in to pay their respects, and Catranne is now sobbing.

Kalas holding Xelha who just collapsed: “Xelha?!”

Kalas still holding Xelha, with the four witches to the side and a pack of Greythornes to the front.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:23 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

We reframe the plot some more to make Xelha even more about her crush on Kalas...

Xeha: “Kalas... The dream I saw two years ago...”

Xelha: “It wasn’t about the end of the world...”

Xelha: “It was you, in the heart of a dark forest... Holding someone tight... Crying...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:25 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Still, this hits every time. Refusal of a tragic destiny, craving a normal life.

Xelha: “I just... wanted to be with you...”

Xelha: “To be a couple... like any other...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:27 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

[cw: major character death]
And she’s gone.
(See above, she never /did/ promise)

Kalas, in despair: “You promised me you’d never leave us...”

Kalas still kneeling on the ground, Xelha having disappeared.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:29 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Rain starts pouring down, and we get successive shots of the Earth getting covered in water.

The same scene with Kalas, heavy rain falling.

A child in Pherkad: “Weird! This rain tastes salty!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:30 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

We also see Wings of the Heart opening, and dissolving into sparkles. This is never explained, at least in this game.

Komo Mai inhabitants, their wings disappearing in a burst of blue sparkles.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:31 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

See why I’m concerned about Gemma village? The water clearly reaches very far up.
Convenient that everything was at the same height even on floating islands AHEM

The docks in Mintaka, now surrounded by water.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:33 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

The Greythornes float up into the sky, gathering into a single larger creature... The Whale. It was the cute mascots all along.

Kalas now alone, looking up as the Greythornes float upwards.

A bunch of Greythrones converging above the water in a glowing light.

More Greythornes going towards the light, which is getting larger.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:35 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

We also see Wazn fall back into the water, causing a large wave, but I missed the two seconds I had for a clean screenshot.
People run around on the beach, where a familiar pendant has washed up...

A bunch of people on a sand beach by the blue-green Ocean.

The Earth Sphere pendant, half-buried in sand.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:36 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Actual last sequence time!
This is where the glitch I mentioned is. Can you spot it?

All the major characters gathered in Nekton.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:38 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Hint: look at Lyude’s right hand

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:50 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Last sequence? Not really, ONE MORE FLASHBACK.
This was right before the game started, right before we-the-spirit bonded with Kalas.
It messes with the fourth wall, saying that we came here, we weren’t called. We picked up the game, afternall.

Melodia, in Nekton, facing Kalas: “The voices... the spirits are calling...”

Melodia: “You have heard about the Guardian Spirits, haven’t you?”

Melodia, looking pleased: “You don’t really need to summon the spirits to this world...”

Melodia: “They call out to us, so playfully...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:52 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And this was the exact intro. It even replays the gender and name selection with the UI visible!

Melodia: “That Spirit seems to like you.”

The Spirit bonding the Kalas in a burst of light and pink petals.

Kalas: “Uh... Hello. Can I... May I ask your name?”

Kalas: “My name is Kalas. We’re a team now, you and I.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:57 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Fourth wall? What fourth wall?

Kalas, back in the present: “We didn’t summon you here that night...”

Kalas: “It was you who called out to us.”

Kalas: “What brought you to this world?”

Kalas: “Were you looking for something important?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 03:58 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

I keep using that expression, by the way: you might not have heard it. It comes from theater originally, but applies to cinema and games.
It’s the imaginary wall between the audience and the performance, where the gaze is supposed to only go one way.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:00 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Any piece of media that has the performers / characters addressing you as a member of the audience is playing with the fourth wall.
It’s not unusual to do that these days, but it’s not the default approach to storytelling either.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:01 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

For instance, FF7R does a lot of subversion of its own canon, it’s in dialogue with its own footprint and legacy as a major piece of media.
But it does not break the fourth wall or at least not often enough for it to be a key aspect of it.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:02 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Baten Kaitos breaks the fourth wall from the get-go, then lulls you into forgetting that, only to slam it in your face in the Lava Caves.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:04 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And it’s why this ending wrecks me. It’s a goodbye to you-the-player, not just an in-universe conclusion.

Kalas: “I’m so glad I got to travel around with you...”

The Spirit leaving Kalas in a puff of pink petals.

Kalas, looking down: “You’re gone, aren’t you?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:06 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

So we’re done, right...?

Kalas: “I can’t hear your voice anymore...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:08 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

LAST SECOND PLOT TWIST

Cedr, having ran in with Palolo III: “Kalas! Look! Look at this!”

Palolo III: “We found it on the beach! You can hear Xelha’s voice in it!”

Kalas, holding the pendant to his ear like a seashell: “...?!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:12 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And look who’s back in a burst of water.

A burst of water comes out of the pendant Kalas is holding.

The water spirals upwards, forming a column.

The water disappears, revealing Xelha, to the shock of everyone around.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:17 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

NO YOU DIDN’T.
This is a major deus ex machina but you know what, it’s cute, whatever.

Kalas, shocked: “Xelha?! Is it really you?”

Xelha, blushing, hugging Kalas tightly: “I promised you. That I wouldn’t leave you...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:22 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Make that a deux-ex-squeak I guess. Saved by the power of the adorable mascots. It makes no sense and it’s perfect.
I love that Kalas is just completely useless in this bit.

Xelha: “I owe it to Meemai and friends... The Great Whale.”

Xelha: “When the Ocean was released, I was fading away... They found me, and put me together again.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:25 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

(Deus*. I’m not retyping that alt-text)
Finally, the last round of goodbyes. Everyone steps forward to give their bit.

Xelha, standing next to Kalas: “I’m glad I made it back in time!”

Xelha: “Thanks to you, the Earth and the Ocean have returned.”

Gibari, as the full party has lined up at the front: “Drop by anytime! I’ll take ya out fishing sometime!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:28 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

😭

Lyude, smiling: “We have lost a great deal... But you taught us to believe in ourselves.”

Lyude: “You gave us the courage to go on.”

Mizuti: “We be having extraordinary adventures, the Great Mizuti and you!”

Mizuti: “Wonderful. Marvelous. Fantastic!!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:30 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

Everyone waves, Ayme and Folon sneak in at the back at the last second... and we leave.

Savyna: “Mission accomplished. All operations have been successfully completed.”

Everyone waving goodbye, except Ayme standing still at the back and Folon pointedly looking off-screen.

The same scene, seen from even further, getting blurred.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:32 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

End credits! This was NOT a small project, they run for a while.
The first half has vignettes from the game itself...

End credits, showing Kalas waking up in Cebalrai.

End credits, showing the Celestial Tree blooming.

End credits, showing Kalas ripping off his cursed white wing.

End credits, showing a fully awakened Malpercio.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:36 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

The second half has some glimpses of what happens next.
Gibari’s off fishing with Reblys and Anna, Lyude’s working on repairs, Savyna is indeed learning to cook, and Mizuti’s off adventuring with Catranne and some kids.
Those pictures don’t seem to even exist in high res?

End credits, showing Reblys and Gibari fishing as Anna stares.

End credits, showing Lyude in front of some kids, holding a small hammer.

End credits, showing Savyna flinging a fried egg way too high into the air and looking concerned.

End credits, showing Mizuti walking through rhe forest, followed by two children and Catranne.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:38 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

And that’s it. The game stops on a last shot of a now-useless winglet.
No back to menu, no message, just looping a music box tune until you shut it down.

Shelves holding ornate pots and boxes, plus Kalas’ winglet on a piece of fabric. Text on top: “The End”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:43 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

I think the last stretch overstays its welcome. It tries to resolve every main plot thing in one go, the Geldoblame fight is just weird.
I don’t care much for Kalas, so the strong focus on him and Xelha is not my jam, but that’s of course deeply personal.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:44 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

But mostly, the fact that the goodbye breaks the fourth wall makes me go “WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE” a lot.
Outer Wilds is the only other game that does this to me to this degree. I want more time in this world, with those characters.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 04:45 PM · Dec 24, 2020 Permalink

I’m going to give myself some time to get out of the resulting brain funk, poke at some tech stuff, and then it’ll be time to start BKO and try to not bounce off it!