Part 8: Gay Paris

Karin is back in the party with a change of clothes and a change of profile.


She also starts with 10 affinity with Yuri. Karin must like her men dumb and belligerent.


Before we go, we'll loot Gepetto's apartment for anything remotely useful. Hey, it's not really stealing when the old man is with us, right? This chest has the Crocell Crest, which gives us Cure and Aqua Edge.


Next, we go through the door by the save point to get this chest in the library. It has a Thera Leaf.


This door lets us out of the apartment.


A short way down the street, we come to a path leading off to the side. If we keep going down the main street, we run into a fight with more Clawed Soldiers and can't go any further. We need to find a way around.


Luckily, there's a hatch that leads down into the subway system on the right.


The path here is linear; we just follow the tracks to the next station. I really hope there aren't any trains coming.


One of my favorite parts of this game is talking to all the NPCs wandering around.

Maurice: Progress makes our lives so much easier!


Awww.


Awww.


Going up the stairs, we find ourselves in the neighborhood of Montmartre.


I don't think we exactly "blend in" well enough to be spies.





Suzanne: There's a wonderful painter lodging in my neighborhood. Maybe I should get him to do my portrait...? I bet he'd even do a nude for me!

Suzanne: Say, just how old are you, young man?

Uhh, I'm...forty-eight.

Suzanne: Really? You don't look-

Yeah, I hear that a lot! Bye!



Up the stairs...


Alphonse: Guess I'd better go try to find another lottery ticket...

Tch. Amateur.



Salvador: Lots of people have heard 'em howling in the middle of the night. That must be real spooky...

Oh yeah, wolves are real scary.


Let's try it!


Okay, I didn't count the steps, but I did find a Hit Area Expand. Now we can go through the door by Mister "The Thought of Wolves Makes Me Wet Myself".



Louis: ...Well, look who we have here! It's Gepetto! Haven't seen you in a while! You disappeared all of a sudden. When did you get back?

Gepetto is friends with a bartender. Why am I not surprised?

Just a little while ago. But I'm caught up in a bit of a situation. I'll have to be leaving Paris again right away.

Louis: You don't say? But you just got here! You sure haven't changed... Always sticking your nose into things. You've got to start acting your age!

When I want your advice, I'll ask! But, listen. We want to go to Le Havre. You know any ways to get out of town unnoticed?

When I want your advice, I'll ask! Now, give me some advice!

Louis: Hmm... You don't want to attract any attention to yourself, eh? Ha ha! I know! You could use a subway tunnel. That way, you could go where you want without being seen! Rumor has it there are a few abandoned tunnels, and some of 'em even reach to the outskirts of Paris.

I see! Subway tunnels, eh? That's a great idea.
But it's just a rumor, right? How are we going to find these tunnels?
Hmm... How about we ask somebody that would know? Like somebody that worked on the tunnels...? Or one of those train freaks that can name every single station...?


Why does everyone always have the same reaction whenever Yuri actually has a good idea?

Okay, let's start looking for somebody who knows about the subway, then!

Louis: In that case, why don't you try going to the Champs Élysées? They're enlarging the subway over there right now. You'll find Dr. Gautier, the design engineer, in a hotel there.


Oh. That would be why.

Champs Élysées! The next station over. I've met Dr. Gautier a couple of times before. He used to come to my theater.
Your theater? You mean you used to be famous, Gepetto?

Louis: He quit the stage when his wife died, but his show used to be celebrated all over Paris!

Shh! Don't tell them that! That was all a long time ago. ...Anyway, we're off to the Champs Élysées!


First though, let's make some more friends!

Auguste: She cooks me meals, buys me painting supplies... She's a wonderful woman! I've got nothing to offer her right now, but someday I'm going to show the whole world her beauty through my art!







Amelie: My dream is to one day stand on the stage of the Moulin Rouge! You'll come to see me then, won't you?



Angelina: My daughter is going to be three this year. I wish I could take her to see one of your Cornelia performances!

You're a sick woman.


As we head back to take the subway, we're accosted by a strange man.



Better than yours, anyway.
Awroo! Awroo! (Grrr! These guys think they're tough, Ernest!)
Hmm, that sounds like a challenge. Tetsu, why don't you show them whose fangs are sharper!



Awroo... (I don't want to waste energy on a meaningless fight...)
...What do you say, Blanca? Sounds like they're asking for it to me!


Poor Blanca. Surrounded by idiots.



That's a childish reason for a fight! I say no.


And thus begins Blanca's character side-quest, the Wolf Bouts.


Tetsu is a pushover. His only special attack is a Physical Defense Down, and he only attacks once per turn, while Blanca has two attacks. The fight is over quickly.


We get a Coral Lariat for winning, which slows the Judgment Ring by 20%. This is going on Yuri, as his three-strike ring is giving me the most trouble.


Aw. Poor little guy.







Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ernest, a humble zoologist. This is for you, Blanca.

You got Stamp Card



Congratulations! You are now entitled to join the "Wolf Bout," a competition to find the world's strongest wolf!
Wolf Bout?!
You battle the wolves you find throughout the world and gather pawprint stamps as proof of your victories.
Awroo! (Like this.)


The Wolf Bout is how Blanca powers up his Special Ability, Manifestations. Every time he beats another wolf, he'll either learn a new skill or power up an existing one.

I'll give you a prize for every three stamps you collect. And when you fill the whole card up with stamps...



Wouldn't that be cool? The strongest wolf in the world, Blanca. He he.




I don't think Blanca is too impressed.

Come ask if you ever have any questions! And good luck to you!



Never mind, Tetsu. You're not a real wolf anyway... I guess there's room for a few improvements. And I'd better get ready, before he gets any stronger...


Hey, yeah, we can!





Over in Champs Élysées, we can take the subway back to Montmartre, but I'd rather avoid that weirdo with the "not a real wolf" for now.




We come up from the subway near the Arc de Triomphe, but right now I'm more interested in that wagon off to the right.


Uh-oh.





Umm, wh-who are these guys?!
The Magimel Brothers. Pierre here is a tailor, and Gerard runs an item shop. They're my old theater associates. They used to sell me costumes and supplies to use on stage.

"Theater associates", huh? The evidence just keeps piling up, doesn't it?




Ah haha. Once again, Yuri is gay merchant stalker bait.

Hey! Don't start scaring off my friends!
Well, I never! ...But, anyway, now that we've all become such good friends, let me give you a fabulous present! Here you are.

You got Point Card

What's this?
That? That's a very, very special card you can use at any shop at all! If you have one of those, you can build up points whenever you go shopping. Those points really add up! And the more points you collect, the bigger the discount you can get. Isn't that just fabulous?
G-gee... Th-thanks...

I'll go over the shopping in more detail in the next update.

Anyway... You haven't forgotten the dress I ordered for Cornelia, have you?


Tee hee!

And what about you, Gep? You haven't forgotten that little "item" I asked you for, have you? Did you bring it?
Of course! Let's see... Where did I put it? Ah, yes! This wasn't easy to get ahold of, you know.



Just for that, I'll now sew you a fabulous dress. Just pick the design you want, all right?


At the moment, there are six dresses to choose from, each based on a different element. Later in the game, we'll find items that unlock three additional dresses.












I went ahead and picked the Fire dress this time. It'll be useful against the next boss.

Mmm! *drool* Simply fabulous! I'm in the mood, now! Just a moment while I whip you up a cute little number.






With the new dress, we also get a Fire-based attack spell. Cornelia doesn't have to be dressed in the Fire dress to use it, but if she is, it, and Fire crest magic, will be more powerful.

Oh, isn't it just fabulous?! I'm sure you must be very pleased. And come again anytime, now!


You're not altering this one to wear, Karin.




Yeah, we get even better at KABOOM-ing enemies.

Now, then, Gep. Why don't you get little Cornelia changed? Oh, isn't this just too exciting, people?!

Of course, I had to put the introduction to the Magimel Brothers on video.




We now get access to Gepetto's Special Ability, Marionette. We can also see a description of the dress Cornelia is wearing if we go into "Change Dress".





Whew, that's enough for now. Next time, I'll show how shopping works, and we'll start exploring the subway system.