#qu's marsh

[shawnthewonder]

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FINAL FANTASY IX FAN ARTS I'VE EVER SEEN!

Final Fantasy 9 - Frog Catching

[importantbusinessdinosaur]

Warmup - Blue Mage (FF9)

Hi it’s Final Fantasy jobs all month, let me know if there’s any you’d like to see.

ko-fi | commissions open| Patreon

[romchat]

Ripe Town Ep. 12 visuals: The ghost of one's conscience

“Conscience is such a thing. If you want to sell it, it won’t sell for much. But if you want to keep it, then it is expensive." -Captain Leng

Goddamn, Ripe Town has some of the best cinematography I've seen on tv in YEARS. The show's meditations on (in)justice are beautifully rendered through its visual storytelling with not one frame wasted.

The final episode is no exception. As the show progresses, our main character, Qu Sangeng, becomes increasingly disillusioned with the justice system he has been charged to uphold. Like the serial killer he is hunting, Sangeng is caught between wanting to avenge the murder of his mentor and seeking justice in a system that is inherently unequal and unjust. What struck me about the finale was the way it evokes this tension through its symbolic representation of Judge Song, Sangeng’s superior. Even when the actor isn't on screen, Judge Song's character serves as a ghost who haunts Sangeng's conscience.

But before we dive into all that, I want to give a shoutout to the uncredited star of Ripe Town: this donkey, a symbol of Sangeng's unraveling sense of ethics.

I thought it was really clever of the show to bookend Sangeng's slow descent towards revenge with these two scenes from Episode 2 and Episode 11.

In the first scene, Sangeng meets his mentor, Captain Leng, in the forest with some money Captain Leng had asked for (possibly a bribe from the local crime lords?). Captain Leng is surprised Sangeng got him the money when he usually avoids doing so, which leads Sangeng to ask whether it's possible to "catch the bad guys" while keeping his conscience intact. It's clear from their conversation that Sangeng is principled and idealistic but his sense of loyalty could lead him to compromise those principles.

We eventually see this happen in the later part of the show. After a skirmish with the killer, Sangeng tracks down the donkey in a marsh and finds an important clue about the killer's identity. Not only does Sangeng hide this clue from the other bailiffs and Judge Song, but he also decides to collude with another mass murderer to dispose of the killer and avenge Captain Leng.

He has sold his conscious to get the "bad guy."

And yet Sangeng has the ability to choose an alternative path, and that moral decision is symbolically represented by Judge Song.

Despite being betrayed by the judicial system and living a life of bitterness and remorse, Judge Song still chooses to uphold justice for those similarly ensnared in the system. As the killer notes, "those who cannot serve the people, cannot serve the spirits”, and so Judge Song uses the law to punish the guilty regardless of their status. Every day, he fights against the urge to become the monster the judicial system and society tried to make him out to be.

In moments where Sangeng seems to deviate from a more righteous path, we always see Judge Song hovering in the background.

Even when he's not in the scene, his judge's chair and interrogation platform is placed front and center as an anchor. He is the show's moral compass even in death.

Side Note: One of my favorite scenes of this episode (and really the entire show) is when Sangeng visits the coroner's after his revenge plot accidentally leads to the death of Judge Song and other colleagues.

The first time we visited the coroner's in Episode 1, there was one slab for Captain Leng's body. But now, after Sangeng's misguided plan has failed, there are nine. Surrounded by the unnecessary death his desire for revenge caused, Sangeng breaks down.

And how ironic it is that the killer he was hunting is the one who is respectfully observing him put Judge Song's body to rest.

As Sangeng later confesses his misdeeds to his partner, we once again see Judge Song's chair and interrogation platform gently illuminated in the dark. No one gets true relief in this justice system, neither the ones who sell their conscience out of greed and desperation nor the ones who suffer with it still intact. And yet there is always the choice to hold a light up to injustice.

[crystalelemental]

Finally got myself starting on Final Fantasy 9 properly, and have some general thoughts.

For clarity, I am through the first disk's content and got through most of the Treno stuff.

Kinda like FF8, my recollections of the first playthrough of FF9 all those years ago revolve around a single point: the party split. I dreaded this. I remember absolutely hating the split, because Zidane's party is left with exactly no healing at all, and you have to deal with Potion as your only means of healing. Which costs money. But money is tight in this game because you can't ever sell equipment, because all your equipment has unique skills and different equipment doesn't always pass those particular skills to every character so you kinda just need to keep everything. As such, I remember this segment being a nightmare.

I am pleased to announce, not as bad as remembered.

For one thing, magic...kinda sucks? Again? PS1 era did not like magic, huh? Vivi's T1 spells are functionally useless, but more than that, it's the issue of MP. It's so low that you only get a few casts in any given stretch of time, only to find in boss fights that Vivi contributes less than everyone else just stabbing a target. Garnet isn't exactly much better, given that her healing is only useful a couple of times anyway.

The main reason to miss Garnet, then, is honestly the exploration phases where you need occasional pop heals. Those sections were a little difficult to break into, and required some Mandragora farming for cash. Which...I've done a lot of, I'm not gonna front. I'm also dirt poor again. The streamers I've been watching keep joking about FF12 having no money, but man FF9 feels way worse than 12 ever did.

Anyway, boss fights are the big hangup I have. While the exploration phases are difficult at times, they're at least fast-paced and zones are easily understood just by looking, unlike the other PS1 era games. So I'm overall enjoying this more than the last two from gameplay, at least. The problem is bosses suck.

Here's an example: this morning, my wife took a break from her game to nap around 8:45. We go on a walk and lunch date on Saturdays, usually leaving around 10, so I figure hey, I've got about an hour. I book up the game to play, having just finished all the Chocobo Forest and Qu's Marsh stuff, and about to press to Gizamaluke Cave. I spend about three minutes getting over there, about 12 exploring the cave thoroughly, about 35 fighting the boss, and about 5 getting the next Blue Mage skill (I'm using a guide to indicate Blue Magic, given that Quina is mandatory for an indeterminate amount of time).

"What the hell kept you?" you may ask. "Surely the boss wasn't that hard." It wasn't. I won first try. "It shouldn't take that long, though?" It does. Because of Zidane. Zidane is the main character. He is also a thief. Which means they had to design a system that makes thieving important. Thus, equipment having all the unique skills and such. Bosses have equipment. It's unclear whether you can buy them later (so far everything can be, but how long it takes varies), but even with that, the economy is in shambles, and you likely don't want to spend the money for it. So you spend an ungodly amount of time trying to steal semi-rare equipment, with Zidane failing some 40+ actions in a row for no reason, as your party just sits around waiting for him to do his singular fucking job, draining your Potion stocks from like 90 to 30.

I will admit that to some degree, I may be overly concerned about the stealing mechanic. But I also am 100% certain there will be unique steals sooner or later. I'm kinda surprised they haven't already happened. And in a game where equipment matters so much not just for its own sake, but for learnable skills? Now I need to get everything. The brain disease compels me. The only one I let go was Beatrix, because I didn't feel like resetting after all those scenes just for her rare drop. Turns out it was a sword you can buy almost immediately, so apparently sometimes the game plays pranks.

I dunno. This feels very similar in structure to FF8. What's the functional difference between spending 30 turns drawing magic for everyone, or spending 30 turns stealing? Answer: in the former, your characters are all doing something, and "Draw heal spells" is usually an option. In the latter you just get the piss beat out of you while Zidane does fuckall for 30 of god's own minutes. And yeah, maybe like FF8 there are better ways of doing this, and I'm not really required to do all of this. But shit dude, without encyclopedic knowledge of the game, how am I supposed to know this isn't unique stuff? So the compulsion is reinforced.

I don't dislike the game, I just wish that stealing mechanics weren't always so terrible. I legitimately hate having to do stealing in Final Fantasy games, I feel like it's never good. There's always some stupid shit about rare steals and unique equipment and it drives me nuts. I suppose this game isn't too different in that regard. I just wish it wouldn't.

(also I am actively avoiding the minigame discussion. I hate catching frogs. I hate Chocobo Hot and Cold. Minigames in this era of Final Fantasy are intolerable.)

[bookofjin]

The Water Classic: Part 2

[This is the core Classic only, i.e. without the Commentary, however the headings, SJZ01, SJZ02, etc., indicates the corresponding scrolls within the much longer Commentary on the Water Classic.]

[The maps are primarily intended to illustrate the Classic. Place names have as far as possible been placed in accordance with the Historic Atlas of China, and the rivers drawn as straight lines between their closest vicinity to each place. The Classic is not error-free, as is made clear in the Commentary. Unless noted otherwise, discrepancies between the Atlas and the Classic have been resolved in favour of the Atlas. Cities, mountains, rivers and other features not in the Atlas have been placed by me to fit the description in the Classic.]

[The Ji River is interesting as a once quite important river that no longer exists.]

Dongguo River洞過水 sets out from a mountain north of Zhan County沾縣, goes west to pass south of Yuci County榆次縣, again west to arrive south of Jinyang County晉陽縣, and to the west enters the Fen汾, making a mouth below the Jin River晉水[?].

Jin River晉水 sets out from Xuanweng懸甕山 west of Jinyang County晉陽縣, again goes south to pass south of that county, and to the east enters into Fen River汾水.

[During Western Zhou, Xie of Tang, a grandson of King Wu, relocated his capital to the north bank of the Jin river, and became known as the Marquis of Jin.]

Zhan River湛水 sets out from a mountain north-west of Henei's河內 Zhi County軹縣, goes east to pass north of that county, again east to pass north of Bo County波縣, again east to pass south of Wupi Town毋辟邑, again south-east to north-east of Ping County平縣, where to the south it enters the He河.

[According to the Commentary, the river described above was actually named the Qu River湨水, while the Zhan湛 was a different, smaller river that entered the He near Deng鄧.

Ji River濟水 sets out from Wangwu Mountain王屋山 east of Hedong's河東 Yuan County垣縣 as the Yan River沇水, again east it arrives north-west of Wen County溫縣 and becomes the Ji River濟水. Again it goes east to pass north of that county, bends from the county to flow south-east, passing west of Tui City隤城, again south to the north of Gong County鞏縣, it to the south enters the He河. It combines flow with the He河, again goes east to pass north of Chenggao County成臯縣, again east to pass north of Xingyang County滎陽縣, again east to arrive south of Li Creek礫溪, and sets out east to pass north of Xing Marsh滎澤. Again going east to pass north of Yangwu County陽武縣, again east to pass north of Fengqiu County封丘縣, again east to pass south of Pingqiu County平丘縣, again east to pass north of Jiyang County濟陽縣, again east to pass south of Yuanqu County冤朐縣, again east to pass south of Dingtao County定陶縣, again bends to flow north-east from the county.

SJZ08

Again east it arrives west of Chengshi County乘氏縣, and divides to become two.

[The Ji River as a branch of the He no longer exists due to changes in the river courses in the centuries since the Classic was written.]

One of the rivers flows south-east, one of the rivers flows north-east from the county, and enters Juye Marsh鉅野澤. Again it goes north-east to pass south of Anmin Precinct安民亭 on the western boundaries of Shouzhang County壽張縣, Wen River 汶水 comes from the north east to pour into it, again north to pass west of Xuchang County須昌縣, again north to pass west of Gucheng County穀城縣, again north to pass east of Linyi County臨邑縣, again north-east to pass north of Lu County盧縣, again north-east to pass north of Tai County臺縣, again north-east to pass south of Jian County菅縣, again east to pass north of Liangzou County梁鄒縣, again north-east to pass south of Linji County臨濟縣, again north-east to pass west of Li County利縣, again north-east to pass Jiaxia Town甲下邑, and enters the He河.

[The Commentary notes that the Ji actually entered the sea separately

The river that flows south-east passes south of Chengshi County乘氏縣, again goes east to pass north of Changyi County昌邑縣, again east to pass south of Jinxiang County金鄉縣, again east to pass north of Dongmin County東緡縣, again east to pass north of Fangyu County方與縣 to become He River菏水. He River菏水 again goes east to pass south of Hulu County湖陸縣, and to the east enters Si River泗水. Again it goes south-east to pass north-east of Pei County沛縣, again south-east to pass north of Liu County留縣, again east to pass north of Pengcheng County彭城縣, Huo River獲水 came from the west to pour into it, again south-east to pass north of Xu County徐縣, again east to arrive south of Xiapi's下邳 Suiling County睢陵縣, and enter the Huai淮.

[The He River菏水 was a manmade channel dug out to connect the Ji with Si (and so ultimately with the Huai.]

[decayingblorg]

The kingdom of Burmecia is under attack from an invading army. So the team have gone to go and help them out. But stopped in a place called the ‘Qu Marsh’ where we’ve stumbled across Quina who wants to eat frogs from across the world.

[sorcadh]

Manduca sexta

Habitat and Searching for Larvae: This is a species of Solanaceous plants. They really enjoy Tomato, Pepper, Potato, Datura, and Nightshades. This species is almost never out of reach. Their preferred food are herbaceous plants, and as such, they’re never very tall. Larvae can be found virtually anywhere on the plant. First instars make distinctive small holes in the leaves and are found sitting under the leaf with the small hole. Older larvae tend to hide under leaves, or on the stems of plants. This species can turn up virtually anywhere from urban yards, parks, wetlands, marshes, edges, fields, and deserts. They are not often found in deep forests as their hostplants are not usually very numerous. In the Northern parts of its range, larvae can be found from July through October. They can be found nearly year-round in the South. UV flashlights are a great method to find this larvae as they fluoresce brightly in all instars.

Adults are not very picky, and will lay eggs in paper bags, styrofoam coolers, or flight cages. Sleeving an adult on hostplant would also likely yield eggs.

[magicmalcolm]

Malcolm Plays Final Fantasy IX

I Got The Burmecia Blues

(previous parts here)

Okay, so there's a few things to do before hitting up Burmecia.

First, a small optional area to the right of the exit from Gizamaluke's Grotto. The North Gate has a nice little scene between Freya and Quina, where the former envies the carefree nature of the latter. There's also a couple of Chests to loot. Yay!

Second, we track down a Nymph enemy for Quina to learn another Blue Magic Skill: Night. Night induces the Sleep Status on EVERYTHING in the current battle, friend and foe alike. Can combo quite well if everyone on your side has the Insomniac ability equipped (which we can get from the Coral Ring Freya won at the Festival Of The Hunt).

Third, we can dig up one more Chocograph location in this area of the map. Taking a detour past the left of the sand-tornado takes us to a secluded beach, where a set of Chocobo tracks lay. The treasure location is also on this beach and…

IT'S A TRAP!!!

Or…not?

Choco has acquired the Reef Ability! So this doesn't give Choco the ability to walk on all water yet, this one allows him to traverse the shallow light-blue waters. This will come in handy to nab a few more Chocograph Treasures back on the other side of Gizamaluke's Grotto, but we'll get them later. Burmecia awaits!

And what is the first thing that happens to us in Burmecia?

Welp.

Another enemy can be eaten here in Burmecia for Blue Magic, eating a Magic Vice enemy will earn Quina the Magic Hammer skill. which removes a random amount (based on their current HP) of the enemies' remaining MP. Could be useful to help neuter some bosses down the road.

Also some of the chests in Burmecia are actually Mimics. Mimics can sometimes summon the aforementioned Magic Vices, so battling them isn't all bad.

Sadly, Burmecia is already in Ruins by the time we get there. Soldiers and civilians alike fallen at the hands of Brahne's Black Mage Army. Still, they were nice enough to leave a Lightning Staff and this Mythril Spear untouched for us to acquire.

We also bump into Stiltzkin again, who sells us a pretty sweet bundle of goodies for a barganimous price. And we also get another Kupo Nut and oh oh this another game spanning quest isn't it?

Welp. Burmecia's already wrecked, might as well head back and get sidetracked. Play the Backtrack Song!

So first we go back to Gizmaluke's Grotto and give Moguta the Kupo Nut we just got.

He's Kupo For Kupo Nuts.

Then we head back to Qu's Marsh to check on the Frog Spawn.

This goes immediately onto Vivi. Ability Up is going to be really useful for him soon.

And since Choco obtained the Reef Ability earlier, we can grab two more Chocograph Treasures! The Magician's Robe is nice, but the Oak Staff from Chocograph #11 is the real prize right now. Bio, Stop and Drain? For Best Boy Vivi? Yay!

After that it's heading back to prep for facing Beatrix. Everyone gets moved to the back row, Zidane gets the Coral Ring and then it's pretty much down to the whims of fate.

He's doing his best.

Kuja's so sassy.

My strategy for the Beatrix fight is pretty simple, Zidane Steals and hopes for a miracle to at least get that Chain Plate, Freya casts Reis' Wind to open and heals with Potions when not defending, Quina casts Vanish on Zidane and recasts as necessary, and Vivi tries to land a Slow spell on Beatrix. Getting the Mythril Sword is about as mythical as it gets during this hopeless boss battle. If Beatrix KOs Zidane before you can Steal the Chain Plate (let alone the Sword), you might as well reset. The remakes are nice enough to Autosave right before the Beatrix Battle, at least.

OMG I actually got it what in the actual…

The real kicker is that it's not even a unique weapon...you can literally buy this in Treno in like five minutes from now...and it's almost immediately made obsolete in Treno too.

Unfortunately that's where the good luck ends. Beatrix activates her trap card: Hopeless Boss Battle. Fortunately it's still Disc One of Four so we're allowed to live for some reason.

And yet you do nothing. Aah, blessed be to Overconfident Villains.

[rpgxyz]

Qu's Marsh (title)

[miguelmontte]

[id-pack-archive]

Plain Text

Nature Names | aciano. alder. alfie. aloe. antonio. archer. ash. ashby. ashe. ashley. ashton. aspen. aster. autumn. azalea. basil. belladonna. birch. bloom. blossom. branch. buttercup. calix. cedar. cherry. cider. coco. creek. cypress. dahlia. daisy. echo. elm. elowen. elyana. ester. everest. everett. fern. finn. finnley. flora. florian. florise. flynn. forest. forrest. gracie. grove. grover. gunner. hawthorne. hazel. heather. herb. hollis. holly. honey. ipomea. iris. ivy. jaskier. jasmine. juniper. kalina. kingsley. lake. laurel. lavae. lavender. leaf. lief. lilac. lilly. lily. lime. lucinda. lucky. lucy. lupin. madeline. magnolia. maple. marigold. marlow. meadow. miles. momo. moss. mossie. mossy. moxie. narcisow. nash. nature. nelda. noyce. oak. oakley. oleander. olive. oliver. olivia. pansy. park. parker. peaches. pebble. petal. pine. poppy. posey. primrose. quill. river. rosa. rose. rosemary. rowan. rue. rune. sage. spruce. story. strider. striker. sunflower. sunny. sylvan. sylvia. thorne. tree. tulip. veronica. vine. viola. violet. westley. willow. wisteria. wisty. wood. wren. yuki.

Pronouns | an/annuals. bee/bees. blo/blooms. blo/blossoms. bloom/blooms. bog/bog. bra/branches. branch/branches. bu/bugs. bury/bury. bush/bushes. ca/cactis. chirp/churps. ci/cir. clo/clovers. cloud/clouds. clover/clovers. comfort/comforts. creek/creeks. di/dirts. dirt/dirts. dri/drinks. ey/em. faun/fauns. fe/fern. fern/ferns. field/fields. flo/flowers. flor/flors. flower/flower. fog/fog. forest/forests. gar/gardens. garden/garden. gra/grasses. grass/grasses. gre/greens. gro/grows. herb/herbs. hi/hits. h✦/h✦m. jour/ney. laven/lavender. le/leaf. lea/leafs. leaf/leafs. leaf/leaves. marsh/marsh. mo/moth. morning/mornings. moss/moss. mud/mud. muddy/muddy. mus/mushrooms. na/natures. nature/nature. pet/petals. petal/petals. pi/pines. pi/pix. pine/pinescones. pla/plants. plant/plant. po/pollens. qu/quest. ro/roots. ro/roses. rose/rose. sage/sages. sap/saplings. scent/scents. se/seeds. se/ser. sh✦/h✦r. si/strike. smile/smiles. soft/softs. soil/soils. ste/stems. stick/sticks. sun/sunrise. sun/sunset. swamp/swamp. tho/thorns. th✦y/th✦m. tre/trees. tree/tree. twig/twigs. vi/vier. vine/vine. water/water. we/weeds. wi/wilts. wild/wilds. wind/winds. wo/woods.

NATURE NAMES ⌇　aciano.　alder.　alfie.　aloe.　antonio.　archer.　ash.　ashby.　ashe.　ashley.　ashton.　aspen.　aster.　autumn.　azalea.　basil.　belladonna.　birch.　bloom.　blossom.　branch.　buttercup.　calix.　cedar.　cherry.　cider.　coco.　creek.　cypress.　dahlia.　daisy.　echo.　elm.　elowen.　elyana.　ester.　everest.　everett.　fern.　finn.　finnley.　flora.　florian.　florise.　flynn.　forest.　forrest.　gracie grove.　grover.　gunner.　hawthorne.　hazel.　heather.　herb.　hollis.　holly.　honey.　ipomea.　iris.　ivy.　jaskier.　jasmine.　juniper.　kalina.　kingsley.　lake.　laurel.　lavae.　lavender.　leaf.　lief.　lilac.　lilly.　lily.　lime.　lucinda.　lucky.　lucy.　lupin.　madeline.　magnolia.　maple.　marigold.　marlow.　meadow.　miles.　momo.　moss.　mossie.　mossy.　moxie.　narcisow.　nash.　nature.　nelda.　noyce.　oak.　oakley.　oleander.　olive.　oliver.　olivia.　pansy.　park.　parker.　peaches.　pebble.　petal.　pine.　poppy.　posey.　primrose.　quill.　river.　rosa.　rose.　rosemary.　rowan.　rue.　rune.　sage.　spruce.　story.　strider.　striker.　sunflower.　sunny.　sylvan.　sylvia.　thorne.　tree.　tulip.　veronica.　vine.　viola.　violet.　westley.　willow.　wisteria.　wisty.　wood.　wren.　yuki.

PRONOUNS ⌇　an/annuals.　bee/bees.　blo/blooms.　blo/blossoms.　bloom/blooms.　bog/bog.　bra/branches.　branch/branches.　bu/bugs.　bury/bury.　bush/bushes.　ca/cactis.　chirp/churps.　ci/cir.　clo/clovers.　cloud/clouds.　clover/clovers.　comfort/comforts.　creek/creeks.　di/dirts.　dirt/dirts.　dri/drinks.　ey/em.　faun/fauns.　fe/fern.　fern/ferns.　field/fields.　flo/flowers.　flor/flors.　flower/flower.　fog/fog.　forest/forests.　gar/gardens.　garden/garden.　gra/grasses.　grass/grasses.　gre/greens.　gro/grows.　herb/herbs.　hi/hits.　h✦/h✦m.　jour/ney.　laven/lavender.　le/leaf.　lea/leafs.　leaf/leafs.　leaf/leaves.　marsh/marsh.　mo/moth.　morning/mornings.　moss/moss.　mud/mud.　muddy/muddy.　mus/mushrooms.　na/natures.　nature/nature.　pet/petals.　petal/petals.　pi/pines.　pi/pix.　pine/pinescones.　pla/plants.　plant/plant.　po/pollens.　qu/quest.　ro/roots.　ro/roses.　rose/rose.　sage/sages.　sap/saplings.　scent/scents.　se/seeds.　se/ser.　sh✦/h✦r.　si/strike.　smile/smiles.　soft/softs.　soil/soils.　ste/stems.　stick/sticks.　sun/sunrise.　sun/sunset.　swamp/swamp.　tho/thorns.　th✦y/th✦m.　tre/trees.　tree/tree.　twig/twigs.　vi/vier.　vine/vine.　water/water.　we/weeds.　wi/wilts.　wild/wilds.　wind/winds.　wo/woods.

[rikdrawsthings]

[r0g3rw4bb17]

But wait, there is more.

The music of Final Fantasy is so god damn amazing!

[sayitaliano]

Writing exercise III

Choose the correct form of writing each of the following words. Solutions under the keep reading link (you'll find there also some useful rules/tips to remember):

QU / CU / QQU / CQU / CCU

1. fifteen quindici | cuindici | qquindici | cquindici | ccuindici

2. watercolor aquerello | acuerello | aqquerello | acquerello | accuerello

3. central police station questura | cuestura | qquestura | cquestura | ccuestura

4. aqueduct aquedotto | acuedotto | aqquedotto | acquedotto | accuedotto

5. circuit cirquito | circuito | cirqquito | circquito | circcuito

6. cupola qupola | cupola | qqupola | cqupola | ccupola

7. spines (animals) aqulei | aculei | aqqulei | acqulei | acculei

8. (in) disarray soquadro | socuadro | soqquadro | socquadro | soccuadro

9. licorice liquirizia | lucuirizia | liqquirizia | licquirizia | liccuirizia

10. team, triangle squadra | scuadra | sqquadra | scquadra | sccuadra

11. newspaper quotidiano | cuotidiano | qquotidiano | cquotidiano | ccuotidiano

12. marsh aquitrino | acuitrino | aqquitrino | acquitrino | accuitrino

13. heart quore | cuore | qquore | cquore | ccuore

14. quotient quoziente | cuoziente | qquoziente | cquoziente | ccuoziente

15. to pummel perquotere | percuotere | perqquotere | percquotere | perccuotere

16. notebook taquino | tacuino | taqquino | tacquino | taccuino

17. shark squalo | scualo | sqqualo | scqualo | sccualo

18. liquefy liquefare | licuefare | liqquefare | licquefare | liccuefare

19. one hundred fifty centocinquanta | centocincuanta | centocinqquanta | centocincquanta | centocinccuanta

20. underwater, diver subaqueo | subacueo | subaqqueo | subacqueo | subaccueo

Tips/rules to remember when writing these words: - a word can never start with a double consonant cq/cc/qq or triple consonant scq/sqq/scc - soqquadro is actually the only words that actually needs the double qq in Italian - in "cq" the c always comes before the q: there's no other way of writing these two. - words related/originating from "acqua" (water) are all written as it is, with "cqu"

1 - quindici 2 - acquerello 3 - questura 4 - acquedotto 5 - circuito 6 - cupola 7 - aculei 8 - soqquadro * 9 - liquirizia 10 - squadra 11 - quotidiano 12 - acquitrino 13 - cuore 14 - quoziente 15 - percuotere 16 - taccuino 17 - squalo 18 - liquefare 19 - centocinquanta 20 - subacqueo

[purgatory-park]

[Purgatory Park] "El comienzo del fin"

Cap.1

Años atrás...

[Grabación empezada]

??? : Sharon ¿Qué significa ese punto rojo en la cámara?

SHARON: ¡Randy! ¡Te estas grabando a ti mismo!

RANDY: ¿Cómo le doy vuelta?

RANDY: ¡Creo que lo estoy logrando! Muy bien. Aquí Randy Marsh, luego de un paseo nosotros la familia Marsh estamos de regreso a la residencia Marsh. ¿Quedo bien, Sharon?

SHARON: Creo que se te olvido mencionar que somos los Marsh...

RANDY: Tienes razón.

SHARON: ¡Randy fue un comentario sarcástico!

RANDY: ¡Aquí en la parte trasera tenemos a mis hijos y a papá!

RANDY: Ella es mi hija mayor Shelley Marsh, la niña mas hermosa del mundo. También tenemos al pequeño Stan y a mi papá. ¡Saluda papá, este es un recuerdo que verán los niños cuando sean grandes!

MARVIN: ¡No quiero!

RANDY: Vamos, papá. Solo son unas cuantas palabras hacia ellos. ¿Qué te gustaría decirle a Shelley?

MARVIN: Que es una niña muy hermosa y encantadora.

RANDY: Bien, ¿A Stan? ¿Algunas palabras para el pequeño hombrecito Marsh? Aquel que dejara el apellido y nuestro legado a sus hijos. Aquel destinado a ser grande.

MARVIN: No seas gay.

RANDY: ¡Papá! ¡Oh dios mío, espero que no salga alguna red social donde si te escucharan decir eso te mandarían sicarios!

MARVIN: ¡Mejor! Así muero mas rápido.

RANDY: ¿Cómo apago la cámara, Sharon?

[Grabación finalizada]

La actualidad...

SHARON: Aquí esta Stan Marsh regresando a South Park luego de mucho tiempo estudiando lejos. ¡Sonríe, hijo!

STAN: ¿Es necesario, mamá?

SHARON: Claro que si, es un recuerdo que quiero tener en esta vieja cámara.

SHARON: Ya estamos llegando a South Park, espero y vuelvas a encontrarte con todos tus amigos.

Mi nombre es Stan Marsh, tengo 16 años. Cuando tenia solo 12 mis padres me mandaron a estudiar lejos del estado de Colorado, deje atrás a muchos amigos sin la posibilidad de poder hablar por internet, aun conservo fotos antiguas de ellos.

South Park siempre fue un lugar lleno de cosas difíciles de explicar, eso lo vuelve interesante.

Mi padre se quedo en el pueblo junto con mi hermana mientras mi madre y yo nos encontrábamos fuera. Luego de muchas notas excelentes mis padres tomaron la decisión de volver a traerme.

Aun así, volver a mi antiguo pueblo me da mucho miedo, no vi a mis amigos en años y tengo temor que no quieran estar conmigo. No se cuanto pudieron cambiar.

SHARON: ¡Llegamos a casa! Stan, baja del auto y espérame en la entrada para poder ingresar a la casa juntos.

STAN: ¡Pero, mamá!

SHARON: ¡Stan!

STAN: Si, mamá.

SHARON: Bien, quédate ahí. Debo comprar algunas cosas para poder tener una cena digna de un reencuentro familiar.

Estar fuera de casa me hace sentir indefenso y apenado. No quiero tener la mala suerte de tener que toparme con alguien. Me da mucha vergüenza, la residencia Testaburger esta al lado y yo no creo qu-

??? : ¡Oye, Stan!

Esa voz... me suena demasiado familiar. Shelley Marsh, mi hermana mayor. Desde su nacimiento mis padres admiraban la belleza de Shelley incluso aseguraban que seria la chica mas linda de todo el pueblo.

O al menos eso es lo que se creía. Ocurrió un accidente hace años, no recuerdo muy bien pero a los hermosos dientes de Shelley se les sometieron a tener frenos por unos cuantos años. Antes de cambiar su apariencia, tendría que empezar cambiando esa actitud tan fea.

De pequeños siempre tenemos enemigos, incluso podemos llegar a tener un bully. Lastimosamente mi bully era mi propia hermana mayor.

STAN: ¡Shelley! P-paso mucho tiempo desde que no vi tu rostro.

SHELLEY: ¡Cállate, mojón! ¿Crees que estoy feliz por tener que volverte a ver?

RANDY: ¿Qué es todo este ruido? Shelley, ¿Con quien estas-¡STAAAN! ¡HIJO! ¡Al fin, después de tantos años tengo a mi lado a mis dos hermosos hijos!

RANDY: ¡Vamos, Shelley! Aun tenemos cosas que comprar, sube al auto. 

STAN: Ehh... Papá . ¿Dónde me quedo yo? 

RANDY: Le avise a uno de tus amigos para que venga a jugar contigo, tomate la tarde para reunirte con tus antiguos compañeros. Ven a casa antes del anochecer. ¡Adiós, Stan! 

¿Amigo? Vi a papá y Shelley irse en el auto. ¿Qué amigo se supone que debo esperar? ¿Y por cuanto tiempo? 

Ok, Stan... Mantén la calma, no entres en pánico. ¿Las piernas me tiemblan? Tranquilo, solo toma tu celular y finge hacer algo interesante hasta que llegue ese famoso amigo... Todo va a salir bien... Tal vez si pienso un poco pueda saber quien esta por llegar. Tengo tres opciones.

Kyle Broflovski, el hijo mayor de la familia judía. Antes de irme el era mi mejor amigo. Los días de Janucá su familia me invitaba a conocer las tradiciones judías. 

Eric Cartman, gordo culón. Hijo único. Idiota. 

Kenny McCormick, un chico simple y humilde. Era uno de mis amigos.

??? : Oh, ¡Hey, Stan! 

Ese saludo... no puede ser...

STAN: Ho-hola... Kyle...

STAN: Kyle... yo... siento mucho no avisar que me iba, incluso para mi fue algo repentino y- 

KYLE: Stan... lo entiendo. Admito que es raro verte luego de tanto. Nunca fue fácil comprender la razón por la cual mi mejor amigo se fuera. 

Nunca le dije a nadie mi partida, ni a Kyle... el merecía saber la razón, Pero, ¿Qué se supone que debía decirle si ni yo sabia que me iba? Todos estos años también sentí la ausencia de Kyle pero si le digo sonare como un rarito.

Al frente mío tengo a Kyle, pero... no lo siento el mismo... 

KYLE: ¿Qué me miras tanto?

STAN: E-ehh... parece que aprendiste a amar tu cabello. 

KYLE: ¿Que? No, amigo. Mama dijo que debía vestirme elegante para poder saludar. Sigo odiando este estúpido cabello. ¿Escuchas ese sonido? 

STAN: Parece como si alguien estuviera dando un concierto. No creo ser tan popular como para merecer un concierto de bienvenida. 

KYLE: ¡Mira! ¡Luces! Parece que vienen de la otra calle. ¿Vamos?

STAN: ¿Ir a un lugar donde no nos invitaron?

KYLE: ¿Tenemos algo mejor por hacer?

KYLE: Lo veo y no lo puedo creer... La residencia Tucker. 

STAN: No sabia que Craig era tan popular. 

KYLE: Amigo, me dio una fuerte... eehh... depresión... al sentirme solo y ser humillado por Cartman todos los días. Solo salía de casa para ir a la escuela. Así que realmente estoy igual de confundido que tu. 

???: Hola, niños. ¿Buscan a Craig? 

KYLE: Señora Tucker. Pasábamos por casualidad y vimos las luces. 

SEÑORA TUCKER: Adelante, Craig esta jugando en el jardín. 

STAN: Gracias, Señora. 

KYLE: Entramos y salimos. Nadie nos vera. 

KYLE: ¡Hey, Stan! Te queda bien el cabello de costado! 

STAN: ¡MIERDA KYLE! Digo- gracias. Estas luces de prostíbulo no me dejan ver. 

???: ¡MUY BIEN! ¡ABRE TU CORAZON PARA LA SALVACION! 

KYLE & STAN: ¡¿CRAIG?! 

CRAIG: Escuchen la voz de la salvación! ¡Yo! ¡Craig Tucker el pastor de jóvenes! ¡Alabado sea nuestro señor! 

STAN: Kyle... ¿Qué es eso de “pastor de jóvenes”? ¿Qué mierda esta sucediendo?

KYLE: S-stan... creo que te dije que estoy igual de confundido que tu. No salgo de casa desde que... pues... te fuiste. 

KYLE: ¿Qué tal si solo es un simple juego de roles? Ya sabes, ¿Recuerdas el juego de rol que jugábamos hace años? ¿La vara de la verdad? ¿Coon & amigos? 

STAN: ¿Tienen 16 años y siguen jugando así? 

KYLE: Parece que ahora hay mejor presupuesto para jugar de mejor manera. ¡Carajo, Stan! ¡Armo una iglesia en su patio trasero! ¡Es como la fortaleza de Clyde! 

CRAIG: Kyle  Broflovski y Stan Marsh... bendecidos mis ojos que los vuelven a ver, sus caminos nuevamente juntos y guiados hacia la casa del señor. ¿Les gustaría participar en este bello deber? 

[magicmalcolm]

Malcolm Plays Final Fantasy IX Part Four

Qu’s Marsh ~ Gizmaluke‘s Grotto

(previous parts here)

Quina is technically optional at this point in the game, but there's no conceivable reason to not pick them up as soon as possible.  Getting started with Frog Catching ASAP, I want that Silver Fork (23 Frogs required) and Bistro Fork (33 Frogs).

Then the Plot comes to a GRINDING HALT so we can have Quina eat as many monsters as deemed necessary.  There's NINE Blue Magics available right now for Quina to learn, although most are borderline "meh" worthy.  

Aqua Breath (deals Water-elemental damage equal to 25% of all enemies' max HP.  Useless)

Frog Drop (deals damage equal to Quina's Level multiplied by number of frogs caught in the Frog Catching mini-game.  Can potentially be brutal if enough time is invested into Frog Catching)

Mustard Bomb (inflicts the Heat status effect, 30% accuracy.  More or less an instant kill if it lands, but the things you'd really want to use it on are probably immune anyway)

Limit Glove (inflicts 9,999 damage if Quina is at 1 HP.  Incredibly situational at first, but can be abused heavily later on with Auto-Life hi-jinks)

LV3 Def-less (randomly debuffs enemy Defense and Magic Defense, but only if the enemy's level is a multiple of 3.  Everything you'd want to use it on is invariably not going to qualify)

Mighty Guard (casts Protect and Shell on all party members. Will be great in the future, not so hot on Quina's initial stats)

Angel's Snack (uses 1 Remedy on every party member simultaneously.  Can potentially be a great panic button when Status Effects get really nasty and you forget to protect against them, but you need the Remedies in the first place for it to work)

Vanish (applies the Vanish status on the target, which protects against all Physical attacks but is removed with Magic attacks or naturally over time.  Not bad, I believe Vanish also increases Accuracy which is a nice bonus)

Pumpkin Head (deals damage equal to the amount of Quina's Max HP minus Quina's Current HP.  Not a fan of this type of spell, could potentially be okay with Auto-Life but in that case you're probably trying to set up for Limit Glove instead)

The fact you can learn Mighty Guard right away is bonkers, but that's evened out by Quina not having enough MP to cast it at this point nor having a decent Spirit stat for the spell to last all that long.  But hey, it's easily obtainable so why da fuq not?

And if time-wasting is your thang, then also available right now is Chocobo Hot-N-Cold.  There's nothing super-awesome immediately available to dig up, but that's going to change very quickly.  There's NINE Chocographs to dig up in the Chocobo Forest, but only #1 and #2 can be immediately completed.  The 1st Chocograph gives Germinas Boots, which teach Alert and the 2nd Chocograph gives 2 Cotton Robes so I feel fine about selling all mine from earlier for PHAT STACKS.

There's also a little side area just north of Chocobo's Forest where the first of the Coffees for Morrid's Sidequest is available, plus a free healing spring to top up from all the Blue Magic hunting.  By this point after feeding Quina all the local wildlife and Chocograph hunting I take a quick trip back to Qu's Marsh to see if any more frog's have spawned.

aka the Ring My Bell dungeon.  Also a big ole Final Fantasy II reference.

Gizmaluke's Grotto is a hefty step-up in difficulty as it's at this point that Vivi's spells are definitely showing their age, whilst Quina is inconsistent with their damage dealing and Freya is still learning Abilities.  Status Effects are beginning to get slung around here, Hornets can inflict Berserk and Lamias can inflict Confuse.

Gizmaluke is a right bastard of a boss fight, it's got a hefty physical attack, counters Magic attacks with Silence and most dangerously has a nasty Water spell (you can buy Glass Armlets in Lindblum, they half Water damage and only Freya can't equip them in this party).  

Thankfully Gizmaluke is also susceptible to Blind and Silence so the Tent trick saves the day once again.  It is also vulnerable to Slow, and you pick up the Hat that teaches it to Vivi in this very dungeon so it's worth getting it to stick whilst Zidane steals from it.  Vivi desperately wants the Ice Staff you can steal from Gizmaluke as it will teach him Blizzara, a much needed Spell upgrade just as his first tier spells are beginning to lag.

After that we get some much needed comic relief as we get a brief section with Dagger and Steiner, which is more of a chance to restock on items if needed.  It's somewhat of an unnecessary interlude, but more Steiner antics is never a bad thing (plus a free weapon for Dagger that teaches some nice abilities!).

Next Time: The End Of Disc One!  Already!