Part 116: Sea of Mermaids

100% seriousness all the time from now on.

----

Welcome back!





Last time, we defeated Gadwin, which undid the plot-lock on two of Justin's skills. He's still a bit behind in fire and earth levels, though, needing one of the former and two of the latter.



Knew I should've killed these fuckers on the way in. Oh well.



Wait, Justin doesn't get healed after the duel? That's... quite unusual for this game.



Anyway, back to Dight. Gadwin mentioned that he left his boat here at the dock.





And it's named the Sea Dragon.

Gadwin... Gadwin kinda has a thing about dragons, you see.



As amusing as it would be for the Sea Dragon to be that canoe there, Gadwin's boat is offscreen to the left during this scene. I guess for a dramatic unveiling or something?

: This has been his family's boat for generations. It's a strong boat; it can handle rough treatment.

: Oh, it's that strong, is it?

: So, it'll be find in a small storm, then!

: It was a final gift from a rather clumsy man. Please take good care of it.

: We understand, Dr. Alma. We'll be crossing the Sea of Mermaids.



Thankfully, this conversation doesn't update any of the other NPCs dialog.

Trust me, I have it all recorded just in case.

: Actually, we're still getting ready.

: Well, in that case, I'll keep an eye on the boat for you. Come back when you are all ready.

In fact, this doesn't even update Dr. Alma's dialog here; talking to her again starts the whole conversation over again.

: Of course we're leaving right away!

: You're still as energetic as ever.

: The path ahead will not be easy. You may lose heart at times.

: But don't every shy away from what Gadwin and Sue expect of you.

: Be careful-- don't get hurt.



: I think you two will work together well.

Before we leave, though, Dr. Alma takes her final chance to play matchmaker.





: Yes, here we go!



I... I guess anglerfish are kinda like sea dragons? In that they both live in the ocean?



There's a reference that can be made here, but I'll spare you my horrible attempts at singing. Even though it's only text.

Anyway, the crazy triumphant music, along with some other stuff we'll get into after the end of disc 1, seem to indicate that the disc originally ended right here, with the Sea Dragon setting off.



We fade out to a clear, moonlit night over the ocean.



With Feena splashing her feet in the water and enjoying the nighttime breeze.



Justin, meanwhile, is passed the fuck out in the bed/lifeboat.



: Mmm...? Feena? Feena, where are you?



Y'know, I do like that there's another bed in here, and that Justin was sleeping in something which was clearly turned into a bed via the "throw a blanket and pillow on something mostly flat" technique.

There's also the dried fish and laundry hanging on the lines, and all those swords laying around.

The save point, for the first time in a while, though, has a hint for us.



Their skill XP is also returned to us in the form of special items, also dumped in the Stashing Place. So all those levels and gear we gave to Sue, and anything we would have given to Gadwin in a normal playthrough? Not wasted at all.



Each item, additionally, has a different flavor to it. Sue's weapons are coloring books and her magic is crayons. Gadwin's boring, and all three of his books are "Secrets".

Not quite sure what I'll be doing with these just yet; whether I'll be going the stat booster route and using them ASAP, or waiting until we have the final party all together and distributing them, or just letting them sit here. Feel free to discuss the merits of each.

Anyway, walking outside triggers a cutscene, as you might expect. Said cutscene both contains several branches and is fully voiced out, so I've set it up as a CYOA sort of thing. So click on page 1 down below to get started, and follow the annotations (or links in the description) to follow along on the magical journey of hilariously awkward dialog. The videos will last to the end of the update, so no need to skip to a later part this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4o5yDzwV_M





: Oh, Justin... you're awake.

: Look. Everywhere you look, there's nothing but ocean. Not a single island in sight. The moon is so beautiful. See its reflection in the sea, sparkling like a diamond?

Okay, this game gets a lot of flak for its voice acting. True, maybe it could have been better, but lines like this really can't be said out loud without sounding awkward as hell.



For the most part, the choices here boil down to "nice" and "mean", although they both usually wind up with Justin being nice to Feena.

Uh, yeah. Sure.



: Why are you sitting so far away? Fine, I'll move over there.



Well, that was boring. Let's try the other one.

: Well, no. I'm fine here.



: Don't say that. Stay with me a while. OK?

Either way, Feena winds up walking next to Justin and they sit together.

: Hee, hee. This is the first time we've been alone together.

: What's wrong? Why the silent treatment?



Feena shifts back and forth between "staring out at the sea" and "looking at Justin" quite a bit during this cutscene.

: Tee-hee. You know... I've been thinking about things here in the night breeze.



: I know. You've been thinking about me! "That Justin, he's so manly, so handsome and such a wonderful person!"

And yes, Justin is trying to imitate Feena's voice there.

: Guess not, huh?

: Try again!

: I know, I know.... Ha, ha ha.

: Well, maybe you weren't entirely wrong.

: Huh?

Hmm. Does this mean that you miss out on Justin doing impressions if you choose the other option?

Of course not!

: I know! Were you thinking about Sue? She's so noisy and annoying, but you sort of miss having her around.

: Uh-oh. It's not about Sue.

: Well, maybe Gadwin?

: "You mustn't skip a day of training!"

: Something like that?

: Uh-oh, that's not it. It's not Sue or Gadwin.

: I was thinking of you, Justin.

: What?! Th-thinking of me?

For a while, I had photoshopped Justin's face on top of Feena's and Gadwin's for the impressions bit. Just another peril of writing LP updates in the wee hours of the morning.

Anyway, these two paths join up here.



: When I first met you, Justin, we were sailing over the sea. I'm remembering that time.

: That time, you said I was still a newbie and you wouldn't even give me the adventurer's greeting.

: At that time I never even imagined that I'd go on a journey with you.

: But you've grown stronger, braver, and so trustworthy, Justin. Your place in my heart grows bigger and bigger.

: Feena...?

: Long ago, when I was still living with my big sister... I was... I was so happy.

: But the day... my sister left.... I was all alone.



: Even now, I sometimes worry. The more I think I'm happy, the more I worry.

: I worry that everyone will leave me and that I'll be left all alone again sometime....



As fun as it would be to jump straight to the asshole option, the other one is the first one listed.

: 'Course we will! We're going to have adventures together forever!

: That makes me so happy. Thank you, Justin.

Yep, that was boring. Next!

: Hmm, you never know what lies ahead. Adventure always brings danger.

: But Feena, I'll protect you with my life, if I have to.

: Oh, Justin, you're so melodramatic.

: But, thank you. I'm so happy.

A distressingly large number of Feena's voiced-out lines are "I'm feeling $EMOTION right now!".

: When I'm with you, Justin, I feel so safe and just so happy.

: It's because I'm with you, Justin. No one else, not even my sister, could take your place.

: Feena....



And finally, we come to the last choice. Both branches of this one are short.

: Of course I love you! Sue loves you, and Gadwin, too. We all love you, Feena!

: Justin... I'm not talking about that kind of love.

: Hey, Feena, what's come over you all of a sudden? Of course nobody's going to start hating you!

: Thank you, Justin. But that's not what I was talking about.

And that's that. The rest of this plays on both branches.

: Huh?

: Feena, what do you mean?

: ......

: ... Feena....

: It must be because of the moonlight. You look different than usual. I mean... well... you... look really beautiful.

: Uh, well, of-of course you're always pretty....

: Um... what am I saying? It's strange.

: Isn't it odd? I can say things now that I'd normally be too embarrassed to say.

: Feena....



: Justin... you're... you're special to me....

Of course, what sort of anime JRPG would be complete without something interrupting the romantic leads during a tender moment? In this case, it's the sound of the boat hitting something.

: Wha-what was that? That sound?!

: What? What's wrong? Did something hit us?!



Oh dear. She hit us right in the pointy bits.

: Eeeek!

: A person! We have to rescue her!

I'm sure nothing could go wrong with that!

Next time:



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