If I'm remembering recent updates correctly, hasn't Deling been dictator of Galbadia the whole time SeeD has been active? That would open up the possibility that he just personally doesn't like them, and/or Balamb Garden personally doesn't like him.
Yes; Deling was in charge when Galbadia invaded Timber 18 years ago, and Balamb Garden was established 12 years ago, so Galbadian ambitions predate SeeD's existence.
EDI: Wait... Why are you blinding Selphie? Isn't Squall the one with super-accuracy?
Yes, but I specifically wanted to play with slots.
Soooo, you're just... not going to mention the massive mommy dommy energy emanating from the sorceress? You betray yourself.
What I think is that such vibes are unconscionable when dealing with a character who is possibly (Seifer's age hasn't been clear so far) a minor.
Which is why I volunteer to step in in his place.
Pedantically, the term used is "battle series", which could include both shounen battle manga and shounen battle prose (ie light novels), so it could be something like serialized fanzine fiction too.
I mention this because in the Japanese script site, there's a line that's not attributed, but is in the "character thoughts" parentheses, set in the Timber Maniacs dialogue section. The thinker has found an old issue of a "battle series", and notes that they themselves read a lot of battle series.
It makes me wonder if this is Squall thinking it, because it would make an alarming amount of sense if he, in his teenage way, decided that the "cool shounen battle protagonist" personality type in these shounen battle series was the sort of person to emulate.
I went and checked, and yeah, it's definitely Squall; you can get that line before and after shuffling the party after Quistis joins in.
So he definitely has a shameful love of Light Novels and battle manga that he will sooner die than admit to any of the others.
Perfect character note.
Other interesting Timber Maniacs bits: one of the unattributed lines in the Japanese script is of someone happily welcoming the "pretty-boy" ("bishounen-kun") on his "inspection tour" of the Timber Maniacs office. I wonder if this is the receptionist, and the English script translates it to "honey".
Well spotted; that
is the receptionist, and she has two variant lines, one where she says "What can I do for you honey?" and the other where she says "Cute boys like you are always welcome. Feel free to look around."
This isn't the first, nor the last time, than an adult woman tries to flirt with Squall. I have some questions.
Which makes another Timber Maniacs staff sound even more inappropriate: they refer to themselves as a "person involved in Art" (katakana "art", hence the capitalization), responsible for editing a publication called "Nude Jacket: Pretty Girl Edition". This publication keeps selling out, while the rest of Timber considers it controversial. Still, as this person says, that is Art.
I have to wonder how the English translation handled that.
Huh.
Yeah, the English translation didn't even try. He just says "What? Did you say that I look like an artist? As a matter of fact, I am." and Squall thinks to himself "(I didn't say anything...)" There is no mention of any variant on the nude magazine, although such references do exist elsewhere, usually in reation to Zone, and refered to pudically as "naughty magazines," the main title of which is "Girl Next Door."
I think it may be that this is a follow-up line of conversation that you have to interact with this guy twice to get, but I didn't think to do that and it's too late now.
FAKE EDIT:
It is. I had to dig into the Memory Card function of my emulator (good thing I basically keep two separate save tracks even though there's one I don't use 90% of the time), but if interacted again, he says:
"Have you seen my work yet? It's a collection of photographs titled 'Jacket Over Skin: The Beautiful Women Edition.' It's a major sell out, and we don't have any in stock." He then has extra lines about how 'art' is the way to go and pondering putting photographs on cards.
'Jacket Over Skin' isn't
as blatant as 'Nude Jacket', but it's relatively easy to read between the lines. Censorship, definitely, although with a more subtle touch than I'd assumed immediately.
I'm not sure if the English script clarifies, but based on the Japanese script, this drifter ("traveller" in Japanese, which means the same) came from Dollet, and got stuck in Timber just as the town got locked down for Deling's visit. While this was happening, he got mugged of his money and TT cards by Galbadian soldiers. So he first blames Galbadia for always interfering with his life, then shifts the blame to the Resistance for causing the increased security in Timber due to the kidnap plot. The locals counter that the Galbadians were going to be abusing their authority anyway, so it has nothing to do with the Resistance.
I found this interesting because this implies the Forest Owls' plot to kidnap Deling was well-known enough that this drifter was aware of it; it's more than the little kids play-acting it out, since this drifter is (at the moment) not sympathetic to the Resistance, so he presumably wouldn't be aware of it through Resistance sympathizers. Maybe Galbadia put out a news bulletin that the kidnap plot happened and failed, via propaganda channels? Presumably without mentioning the whole "undead monster" part of the foiling.
Very similar text in the English text here.
One more item from the Japanese script that I'm interested in:
One of the side dialogue is an unattributed person explaining Timber's train routes. From context, this person is probably a woman.
While explaining the train routes, she mentions an incident where one day she was so engrossed in train-watching that she almost had an accident. Thankfully, she was saved by someone "cool", and from what she can recall, his name is something like "Rewol" (レウォール). However, this Rewol was wearing a Galbadian soldier's uniform, and Galbadia is the enemy country that killed her father. So this woman dramatically considers her infatuation with Rewol as "just like Romeo and Juliet". As in, specifically "Romeo and Juliet", which implies Shakespeare existed in FFVIII.
Yes.
I am starting to get a
little ticked off at how many characters have missable follow-up lines. I did find that woman, talk to her, screenshot every line.
However, in order to get the interaction you are referring to and which I completely missed initially, you have to talk to her
again after she gives the explanation on the trains, at which point she says:
"Just don't scare me from behind. Once, I almost got hit by a train when someone tried to surprise me. But a very handsome young man quickly grabbed my hand and saved me... If I remember correctly... His name was... Loire... I think..."
That's Laguna. We know that Laguna's name is "Laguna Loire," although it's only in one line of dialogue from the first flashback that it is completely possible to overlook or not remember at this stage of the game.
But given that apparently in JP he is "Rewol" and in IT he is "Leon," it's possible the translator mistook a random character from that lady's backstory for someone we already met and took it upon themselves to tie up loose ends? That seems weird, though. Simple economy of writing commands that we have to know this guy, and if his name was rendered in EN as Loire, then that's probably Laguna.
You then have to follow that up by talking to her a
third time in order for her to add:
"(sigh...) To tell you the truth, he was my ideal man. But he was wearing a Galbadian uniform... To me, Galbadians are my sworn enemies. They killed my father... Kinda sounds like Romeo and Juliet, huh... (sigh)"
At which point her dialogue loops back around if interacted with again.
Which, yes. Does mean the EN went with "Shakespeare is canon to the FF8 setting."
...
I knew going into FF8 that it had a
thing where it contains a shitton of missable lines. And I have been doing my best to remember to check for those, very frequently talking twice to the same character just to make sure they don't have extra lines.
But my foolishness is that I was expecting these missable lines to be mostly found in named character dialogue, like when the whole party is hanging out between plot beats, or from character whose first line seems important. Instead, I should be checking
every character, because even NPCs whose first line is about trivialities or simple informational content and whose dialogue is five boxes deep and takes several seconds to go through may have actually important lines still hidden away behind repeated interactions.
Maddening way to build a game.
Another translation issue:
'Sorceress' is the wrong word.
The japanese uses 魔女 (majo) which is translated as 'witch' in basically any other work or context.
In fact, the phrase 'fithos lusec wecos vinosec' that is being repeated in the opening is an anagram of 'love' and 'succession of witches' indicating that 'witch' was the intended word in English.
This was followed in basically all other languages: German uses 'Hexe', Italian 'Strega', Spanish 'Bruja'. French seems to be another outlier, apparently they used 'necromancienne'? I'm guessing because the most common word for witch in French would be 'sorcière' which, again, would be closer to sorceress...
Now obviously both sorceress and witch refer to female magic users. However witch definitely evokes very distinct and more sinister connotations.
ganonso's post on the weird limitations of French when talking about magic users is accurate, but one thing I'll add - despite the mention of Necromanciennes in the dekstop informational, they actually do refer to Deling's embassador as a "sorcière," a Witch. So, who knows what they're going for, really.
They call me slurs too, which is why I'm wary hearing this kinda speech, 'cause I don't know you.
But hey - as long you know it's fascist rhetoric, and not buying into it? mostly good.
...'cept for the jokes themself, which could use a tune-up.
Please cut this out, it's weird and getting us nowhere.
