Part 31: Giant Naked Bunny Lady

Entry 29: Giant Naked Bunny Lady



Agreed. Let's get this over with.



Florem is surrounded by verdant lands, rich in water... sounds familiar.



The water originates from a single river in the mountains to the north, running south into Florem. There it splits into four distributaries, two on either side of the city, eventually flowing down off the plateau to join the Flor-Cheim Inner Sea. Presumably the plateau's southern cliffs are too dangerous to traverse, as there is no mention of a trade route running north-south across the Inner Sea.

The party arrives in Florem just as evening hits. Let's see what a civilization of devout Crystalists looks like.



Oh.



Sure looks extravagant for a place where people live in "chaste humility". Then again, real life religions aren't known for understated decorating.



Florem is called the Land of Radiant Flowers for a reason. All its residents are female.

Wait, was it self-titled, or given that name by enthusiastic visitors?

What!? A whole nation of women, you say!?

And if a man comes here, what do they do to him?

You needn't worry. Men cannot take up residence, but no law bars them from visiting.

You're red as a beet, Tiz. Are you blushing?

Oh, no, I just... Hearing it's all ladies here, I just got a little nervous, is all...

Ha ha, that's adorable!

H-hey! I just didn't know, alright? Don't tease me...

The all-women thing doesn't explain the giant naked bunny lady statue in the center of town. Is Florem a colony for lesbians/other women attracted to women?



"True to the old teachings, Florem's women live in chaste humility, in coexistence with the spirits of nature. Devout Crystalists, they reject war and conflict, instead choosing lives of peaceful reflection."

Hear that!? A land of maidens, pure and modest, fit to shame the flowers of the field! Angels, all!





Note: almost all women in Florem have comically exaggerated valley girl accents.

Well, have you seen this? A spirit hairpin! My coin purse is empty, but come on! Worth it!





Aah! C-cold!



Augh, that's cruel! She's soaking wet!





What in the world...?

Hm? That awful cow dropped something.



...Ahh! "The yearly competition to decide the most beautiful flower in Florem!"

Lovely. A beauty contest. Now he'll never shut up.

But that isn't right. The Sacred Flower Festival is a day of solemn observance of the Crystalist faith.

What's more, this place is different... Its streets were not so overrun with glamor and idle pleasure.

I worry for Olivia, as well. Let us go to speak with Florem's matriarch at once.

So, the general theme of this chapter is probably already obvious to most viewers: while Chapter 1 critiqued capitalism, greed, and corrupted government, Chapter 2's targets are narcissism, consumerism, and superficiality. The big difference is that instead of Profiteur and Khamer acting as two comical strawmen, in this chapter the strawman is a country defined by being all women.

Taking a civilization composed solely of a long-marginalized group and making them the example of negative qualities long associated with said group leads to the game seeming to support common stereotypes: that women as a whole are too shallow, stupid, and ignorant to be worthy of being treated as men's equals.

There are complex, millenia-old reasons for why these stereotypes came to exist in the first place, but this game has no intention of examining the deeper issues. As I mentioned in a recent post, the game's sensibilities are nothing if not inconsistent and, either hypocritically or ironically, superficial.



Look at how shiny the floors are! I can-- Ringabel, what are you looking at?

Oh, uh...various things. I was deep in thought, you see.

Then why did I catch you looking at my reflection!?

It's different... All of this is completely different than the last time I was here!

I recall it being a two-tiered city built upon the river's surface, but... Before, the lower tier was residential, while the upper was reserved for Crystalist institutions.

What of that giant stage at the top? Did that serve a religious function?

I've no idea. Now could I even guess what sort of place all that neon is advertising.

Just what in the world could have happened here?




New city means new residents and new gear/magic.



But that's them telling me everything but my face isn't right? *sigh*

Right at the entrance of town is a kid stressing about her looks. South of her is this woman:

I've never been very confident in my face. Or my body. Or my anything...

Let's give this some context. Both the media and peers, male and female, commonly push the idea that pursuit of physical perfection is a top priority for any worthwhile woman. This pressure continues from childhood throughout most women's lives, often crushing their self-esteem as they almost inevitably fail to live up to perfection.



Some asshats take advantage of that constant pressure. People with low self-esteem are always easier to bully into doing what you want.



With beauty like mine, I'll have every man in the world turning my way!

With such a strong push to focus on physical beauty, other traits get pushed aside. In many places, for women, cultivating wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, or physical or mental strength is outright discouraged.

Hey, another tutorial man!



Put another way, that means changing to a new job can lead to a temporary dip in your stats. It may be safest not to have everyone change jobs at the same time just because you learned a new one.

A little late to learn this side of the gameplay, considering we had to get through Miasma Woods to get here.



The local armory has some good upgrades.





It seems the Crystal Orthodoxy wasn't entirely peaceful during its heyday.





Yggdrasil? The powerful world tree from Norse mythology that Japan loves to reference? Wonder where it is in-game? (it isn't.)



Too bad we didn't get to see Florem back in the older days, I bet they had all sorts of expert craftsmen.



Magic shop has a lot of the Final Fantasy classic upgrades, all of which I immediately buy out. Spell Fencer Tiz and Time Mage Edea can use the new stuff right away, but it'll take grinding before anyone's White Mage level is high enough to use the white magic.



Unlike other cities, Florem has two screens instead of one. The Matriarch's place is on the second screen.




The second area also contains the giant stage Ringabel mentioned.



Amaaaaazing.



It may not be a city of lesbians, but I did find one woman having a great time, at least.

The other day? When mama wasn't looking? I tried her lipstick. It was super pretty!

Nowadays, makeup's a popular form of body art. Have you seen the range of colors available with modern technology? It's amaaaaaaazing.



Although there's a stereotype of women disliking one another, it mostly boils down to double standards (women being expected to get along with everyone v.s. men being expected to clash). In short: being a jerk is gender neutral.

That said, there is a subset of women that genuinely dislike women in general. For at least some, they've internalized the hate shown by media/peers towards women and either are self-hating or dissociating themselves from womanhood because they can't rationalize being as terrible as women supposedly are.

But for this lady we're talking to, she just seems like a snob who thinks anyone who tries less than them is worthless. She is hardcore, and Agnès is merely a noob.



Sorry folks, we're busy doing important saving the world things and will not be here to see nor participate in the Festival. Nope. Not a chance.



As in other settlements, there are hidden items scattered around.



Lilith is known as either an ancient type of bird demon, a demonic woman, or Adam's first wife who left him (after Adam refused to treat her as an equal) to associate with demons.

There are a lot of stories about liliths, but I couldn't find any about woman-on-woman violence over a man.



Here's Agnès hating the spotlight.



And here's the entrance to the Matriarch's place. Time to rejoin the plot.



Agnès bows.

I am Agnès Oblige, Vestal of Wind. It has been many years, Lady Matriarch.

Ahh! I see it now! My, but you've grown, dear. Florem is more beautiful for your visit.

On the topic of Florem's beauty... Lady Matriarch, just what has happened here?



"Be sister to the flowers, woods, and waters, pure of mind and body." Those were Florem's ways...



They spend their days staring into mirrors while nature's beauty is lost to them. Their neglect has turned Florem's lands to wastes. Her beauty is all but lost.

How has this happened?

At some point, there emerged the notion that prosperity was limited only to the most beautiful.

But you guide this land's laws, Lady Matriarch. Did you notice no change?

Not until it was complete, I fear. It truly was an insidious thing. And now I am left to curse my powerlessness to reverse this corrosive tide.

The game never specifies how Florem is now wasteland. The city's changed, but the surrounding country, including the areas downriver, seemed green enough.



Going to cut you off there, Ringabel.

...Lady Matriarch, I wish to speak with the vestal of water. Is Olivia at the temple?

Ahh, of course. The two of you were so inseperable as girls. You scarce passed a day apart. Seems almost yesterday, that. Fond memories of fairer times...

But I fear the vestal of water is in hiding. Even I cannot say where she makes her hermitage.

No...



It suffers for the absence of its mistress and her acolytes. These months have seen it go ragged.

Agnès, it may still hold some clue. Why don't we begin there?



The party exits the house. While Edea and Ringabel are distracted, Tiz and Agnès talk alone.



Olivia was my one and only friend. She is very dear to me.

We are the same age, and were selected as vestalings around the same time.

Then we succeeded our predecessors and became full vestals together as well. We were always together, walking the same path in step. I do not know that I could have endured the vestal training without her.

She was always the talented one. Smarter than I, but kinder as well. She shone so bright.

There was a time we traded letters nearly every day.

Despite the distance separating us, she always felt close by. Once we became vestals, our responsibilities kept us from writing as often, but...

I never imagined anything like this.

Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find her. She's probably busy looking for you right now, too!

Yes, of course. And thank you, Tiz.

Agnès was surrounded by acolytes, but her higher status as vestal likely kept them from treating her as an equal. Agnès's talks with the sage and Tiz are probably the most candid she's been her adult life.

The meeting with the local, inept yet seemingly well-meaning leader finished, the party sleeps.


Next: Searching for Friends

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Event Viewer
Main Scenario:
Land of Radiant Flowers
Maidens, Modest and Pure?
Florem's Matriarch
A Withered Flower

Party Chat:
A Changed City
The Water Vestal and Me