34 xenoblade - vowing revenge on the metal faced mechon

Dear Readers,

Dunban, Reyn and I came face to face with the huge metal faced Mechon in the residential district. We tried to fight it but it was near useless. It struck us down and I could swear I saw it made a finger wagging gesture with its claws.

Just then, Fiora came from the other side with the charged up vehicle! She attacked metal face with all her strength and fury but her machine couldn't do anything either except knock metal face around a bit.

Then the metal face got serious. It slammed the mech into the buildings and blew part of it away.

I begged Fiora to please run away as I had a horrible vision of the mech failing badly.

Then things got really bad. Fiora was helpless on the ground. Metal Face got its big claws and sunk them into the mech. It pulled its claws out and they were covered red.

In a fury I got on my feet with help of the Monado and swore to the metal face that I'd kill it.

Another tutorial came up, saying the Monado had no effect on Mechon with faces. Thanks for telling me. I could've done with that a bit earlier. It advised using break and topple as part of a chain attack. 

So hey, it was time to try it out! This was very much a tutorial thing but I was able to select the chain attack, which froze time and let me choose commands from each character. I hope freezing time is part of the chain battling! I haven't really done it yet before now!

I chose my break move, Reyn's topple move and Dunban's whatever finishing move he had. That was it.

We got some damage done on the metal face and at one point I impaled its head with the Monado. It seemed to dim its lights a bit and looked at us in a strange way after I pulled the Monado back out. Then it flew away as I screamed after it. That was that.

Some time later I sat at Outlook Park. Colony 9 was still in a big mess but it was still standing. Flashbacks of Fiora sitting next to me played. Reyn then came up to me and we had a chat about everything. I said I had been to see Dunban and it was him that consoled me. His words about his lost loved ones were comforting and his words about Fiora giving me the gift of life was inspiring.

I told Reyn I decided my main mission in life was to go after the metal faced one. He agreed wholeheartedly and was glad that I wasn't holding back. He was only too happy to help.

Soon, Reyn and I left the colony on our mission. I was carrying the Monado on my back. Dunban watched us from his window, wishing us luck and that as soon as he was able, he was going to be right behind us.

There is emotional weight to these moments. The cynic in me recognises the tropey-ness of the plot devices, the wonderful love interest getting fridged and everything. It was why on my first attempted playthrough years ago I rushed through it, thinking "haha I've seen this a million times in other stuff" but this time I wanted to take my time. I found that now, since I was taking my time with this game that these moments were more impactful now that I was taking my time to process them.

So far I have spent like 20 hours in Colony 9 and surrounding areas. It was fun getting to know the place and just getting a feel for everything. I'll check it out again before we leave properly to see what people there are saying now.

33 xenoblade - using the monado at last!

Dear Readers,

After that little skirmish, the Mechon kept coming at us. A big piece of rubble fell between Reyn and myself and he ended up fighting off an open claw coming at him.

Just then a figure appeared and tore through some Mechon in a very dramatic way, saying sorry he kept us waiting. It was Dunban wielding the Monado! We cheered and joined up.

Another battle with bigger Mechon followed. Dunban tore right through them easily! Wow! He seemed to be okay, thankfully. We told him Fiora was over in the residential district and we had to meet her there, but some rubble was blocking the way. We had to go through the commercial district again and outside and around. Whew.

Again, I ran past the Mechon in the district and headed straight for the bridge. When we got there, Dunban collapsed and started coughing up blood. Yikes... he wasn't so good after all. More Mechon were coming so I ran to pick up the Monado and in a very dramatic scene, ran towards the Mechon in slow motion, realising my powers to see into the future with this thing. This enabled me to foresee attacks!

Dunban and Reyn joined me and I explained the best I could. The Monado has all sorts of hidden powers. I got a tutorial about Monado Arts.

At this point, we were well able to fight the Mechon! We tore through a few of them on the way to the residential district. The little quips and lines from Dunban were really fun as well. He was instructing us and were we going "Yes sir!" which was very amusing.

After a few battles, we reached the residential district where we were confronted by the giant Mechon with the face.

32 xenoblade - fighting off the mechon as best as we could

Dear Readers,

We dashed in the direction of the lab while the Mechon were attacking. We got a tutorial for running away and an introduction to the green flee icon with a cute little running man symbol. That would've been very handy earlier! It probably was there but I didn't realise it.

We didn't need to fight, we just needed to reach the lab. The tutorial even said it was a valid tactic. Colony 9 was now filled with Mechon wreaking havoc.

We didn't even engage the Mechon in the commercial district. We just ran under their legs and past them to the plaza.

Another dramatic cutscene played where the defence forces faced off with the Mechon, but they were no match. Mechon burst through. The colonel yelled at his men and defiantly at the Mechon that came face to face with him. He tried to attack but it was no use. The Mechon opened its claw and came at him. He tried to hold off but it was too late. More Mechon broke open the vehicles the people were working on earlier and more Mechon came out of them, like some kind of trojan horse.

We watched as explosions and mayhem came from the military district. We had to go there to the lab. When we got there we saw the devastation and the entrance to the lab had been blocked by rubble. Reyn was raging and vowed to avenge everyone. We had to come up with a backup plan.

We had cylinders so our option was to go back across the plaza and towards the residential district to the vehicle and charge it up. Then we could use that to shift the rubble!

In the middle of the plaza, Mechon surrounded us. We told Fiora to go on without us while we dealt with this lot to clear a path. She was hesitant but she was able to put faith in us.

Reyn and I started fighting Mechon. They were little ones but formidable. I found it a bit difficult to coordinate my breaks with his topples but we eventually managed it and won this little battle.

It still wasn't the end though...

31 xenoblade - toppling a mechon

Dear Readers,

Sirens rang out over Colony 9 as the Mechon appeared in the sky and descended. They attacked the Anti-Air units and landed in the commercial district, causing widespread panic.

The cranky Colonel roared at his underlings, ordering them to gather everyone who could fight and evacuate the civilians to safety.

Shots fired and hit the Mechon, but they didn't do any damage. These ones were different somehow.

Reyn, Fiora and I watched from above as the Mechon descended upon our home.

We weren't able to location skip so we jumped all the way down into the water and got the achievement Making Waves for falling into water from a height of 200 metres, or possibly more in this case.

We swam until we got to the beach and ran the rest of the back to the commercial district. We saw the Mechon open their claws and swallow people up in them. Yikes.

We told Fiora to go check on Dunban while we fought one of them. Then we got a tutorial. In general we had to topple the Mechon in order to do any damage. This is where we really started to need it! It helpfully broke down the steps. First I had to inflict break with my main art move, wait for Reyn to topple it with his move and then go to town while it was toppled.

When it was toppled, it lay on the ground. That's all we needed to do for now, learn how to topple it and disable it for a while.

Fiora came out to us and said Dunban wasn't in bed. We thought maybe he went to the lab so the three of us set off for there.

30 xenoblade - collecting the ether cylinders

Dear Readers,

We found ourselves in an area where the Ether Cylinders were stored. Fiora didn't know anything about this place or why we had to come here for them, so Reyn and I explained... well whatever we could. We didn't fully understand this ancient place either but it was the favoured place to get these things. It sounds like the colony depended on scavenging from these ruins.

We got what we needed, but then we were interrupted by these two floating robot thingies that confronted us. We didn't know what they were but now we had to fight.

I got tutorials for targeting and commands, specifically switching targets and issuing commands to the party. The three options were to focus on one monster, fight whatever monster was closest to you, and to regroup around the leader, that being me. Time to test all that stuff.

We fought these two things and... they weren't much trouble at all. We took them down one by one handily.

We wondered what was going on. I said they didn't look like Mechon and were more likely built by the civilisation that was long gone.

They never attacked before though. We didn't know what set them off but we were about to find out...

We looked up into the sky and saw a huge army of swarming Mechon approaching and about to descend on Colony 9! We had to go.... now!

29 xenoblade - the path through mag mell ruins

Dear Readers,

I went back to Tephra Cave with Reyn and Fiora to continue with the story.

We reached Mag Mell Ruins. We all had a chat about this strange place. Fiora was never here before, I came here now and again to do research and the defence forces often came here for training. Someone built this place but we didn't know who. I supposed it was all part of a giant vehicle but no one seemed to know for sure. In any case, the Ether Cylinders were nearby.

Got a tutorial about skip travel and selling stuff to the shop when inventory gets full. I've done the skip travel but inventory hasn't filled yet. May need to keep an eye on it.

How would I describe this place... it did look like corridors on a big metal structure like a factory or a big military base or yeah, possibly even a big vehicle. There were automatic doors, metal staircases, some passages were blocked by cave-ins, it was all very mysterious.

We met a group of Mell Lizards in one of the corridors and in the middle of that battle, a much bigger one called a Wallslide Gwynry came to attack and the music changed. We were able to deal with all of them handily though. That creature won't be eating any Nopons!

We continued along the corridors until we came outside to a space far above Colony 9.

28 xenoblade - social butterfly achievement

Dear Readers,

I looked up some tutorials that were now available. There was one about luring monsters, which sounds like a good idea. One about danger levels too.

We warped around and fought some Colony Krabbles for a sidequest.

We mingled and learned that Andreas' auntie was Shura. I spoke to her and learned she worked above Erik.

I learned that Jolele spent time with Lukas and found him to be a nice friend for his grandson.

I got the Social Butterfly achievement for talking to people 1,000 times! Haha! This made us level up and shout loudly about levelling up, which startled me a little!

27 xenoblade - helping dean with his love life

Dear Readers,

This was all about helping Dean out! I wanted to help him get a date with Sonia. Sonia was willing bug was preoccupied with keeping her kids happy, so she wanted me to get 2 shin geckos for her kids so I had to go to Tephra Cave.

I went to Tephra Cave and since I got stronger than the last time I was here, I was able to beat up the huge caterple and huge bunnit/bunniv thingies, so that was nice. The shin geckos were around were the brogs were. There was only one though so I had to revisit the area or wait or something to make it spawn again. When I got both geckos I went back to town.

Sonia agreed to go on the date with Dean when I got the geckos! Woo!

I told Dean and he was over the moon. The scene cut to after the date and Dean said it went okay and that she asked him for another dinner date. He felt he still hadn't won Sonia over but things are going really well!

Sonia's daughter Liliana then had a quest for me. She was worried about her mum dating the geeky man and forgetting her late father... aw... 

We listened to her problem anyway. She said before her dad passed away, he said if her mum ever got in trouble, that someone was to look in the little cave on Agora Shore. She reckoned her dad must've left something in that cave so her mum wouldn't forget him. Is she talking about the cave with that absolutely massive frog in it? Whew... she's gonna be waiting a while.

Meanwhile, I chatted with Sonia again and she was feeling very good! She said she was all aflutter from spending lots of time with Dean and she was feeling like a young girl again. Aw :)

26 xenoblade - more sidequests in colony 9!

Dear Readers,

While in the residential district we noticed Dionysis had a sidequest. He was an old man, the oldest person in the colony (he claimed, not that I had reason to doubt him), and his back was playing up. We listened to him and he asked us to get some Medicinal Brog Oil for him.

Reyn said he was fitter than the lot of us and he exercised a lot, but Dionysis said he just endured the pain and faked a smile like he was hunky-dory. We agreed to collect 2 lots of Medicinal Brog Oil for him.

It just so happened that we already had what he wanted! He was delighted with us and he was right as rain again. It said he was good for a few years yet. Yay!

He told us that interests were the key to a long life. He admired Marcia's love of kids. This made a link appear between him and her on the chart. I don't know if I ever spoke to him before or not but he came up as "Talkative old man".

We warped to the commercial district to talk to her, but we came across Giorgio first. He was running out of Dance Apples and asked us to collect 5 for him. We accepted and had them already, so he was delighted and told us curry was on the house any time we wanted! Yay! 

Then we met Rocco, who had a sidequest. He broke his mum's pendant and she's been making bad food ever since. He asked for help. I said Dean should be able to help and I said I'd ask him for the quest. He was happy. He then said not to tell his mum Sonia about this.

I spoke to Leopold and a link came up between him and Arnaut. It seems Arnaut's a fan of his. I spoke to Arnaut and he feels he doesn't go home as often as he should, looking up to Kantz, saying he's more of a man. Aw.

I caught up with Dean and got him to fix the pendant. He wanted me to tell Rocco that it was him that fixed it. Rocco was delighted and wanted to fix things when he grew up. I spoke with Dean again and he had another mission for me, a romantic mission! He wanted to have dinner with Rocco's mother Sonia so he asked us to talk to her. We agreed to ask her for him.

We warped quickly to Sonia and asked her for a date with Dean. She found it cute and she'd love to say yes, but she was preoccupied with the kids. There was an argument involving a Shin Gecko over who spotted it first, then it fled. She asked us to collect 2 Shin Geckos for her in Tephra Cave. Alright! Let's go!

25 xenoblade - niranira, moritz and lukas are now the best of friends

Dear Readers,

After the very dangerous but fun exploration of Hazzai Cape and surrounding areas, we warped back to the residential district.

We chatted with Jolele again and he was happy that Niranira made a nice friend like Lukas. The link established between them. I'm glad we found Niranira when we explored Hazzai Cape without getting our butts kicked. There was some interesting wreckage there too. Probably debris.

We switched to daytime and spoke to Lukas, who told us Niranira made it home, so that was nice. Moritz then wanted to say something to us. He apologised to Niranira and was amazed that he got a Krabble shell all by himself. He thanked us for saving Niranira and promised to play nice from now on. We returned to Lukas who was very happy as they were now all the best of friends! It even reflected this in the Affinity Chart! Yay!

They all looked forward to playing games that you can play as three kids instead of just two. Hooray!

That little Niranira guy... he was super courageous to go all the way to such a dangerous area. I wouldn't encourage any kid to go there, even a non-human kid.

24 xenoblade - exploring hazzai cape and agora shore

Dear Readers,

We went back to Colony after getting our butts kicked by those bigger versions of bunnits and caterples. There were some completed sidequests to cash in on.

I gave the sweets to Suzanna and the following conversations led to links being established between her and the other lady who liked flowers. Some affinity grew with Fiora here as well.

Lukas then had a dilemma. He said Niranira went to Hazzai Cape all by himself. Moritz told him to get a Krabble shell and he would be in serious trouble since he's just a little guy. I accepted the quest. Some affinity grew with Reyn here too. Moritz cheekily said Niranira probably got scared and ran off crying somewhere. Little jerk.

Well, we went to explore Hazzai Cape. There was no road there I could see, so I swam across. There were krabbles there but also enemies that were level 70! We died fairly quickly when we got to them and got warped back. No sign of Niranira anywhere.

We explored more and found an inland cave area where we found the Lake Magdalena! It had the serious music but it was easy to defeat thankfully. We just had to attack while standing on the beach there. It was underneath the Outlook Park area. Nice to get that sidequest out of the way!

Outside and near here was an area called Cliff Lake. There were really strong enemies here too. It was weird because it looked like it was part of the starting game area, yet it wasn't? Anyway I tried to avoid what nearly killed us there.

Then we swam around the south part of the body of water and round to the other side of Hazzai Cape. Exploring in the water takes ages and I feel like I'm taking a more difficult way than I should be taking haha. Oh well, at least there's the odd item in the water.

We got to Hazzai Cape and beat up a bunch of Crabbles, one by one. It was a lot of fun this time. We avoided the water with the really powerful enemies too. We even found Niranira, who was sitting at the edge of the little cliff. He almost blended in to the grass. He went home.

We continued past Hazzai Cape to Agora Shore, where there were many Armu that were very powerful. We avoided them and found another heart-to-heart spot that wasn't available yet.

Further on we came across more powerful Brogs in a part of the land that seemed to go into a quiet corner. Then we saw an absolutely gigantic one called "Gentle Rodriguez"! OMG it was terrifying! We scarpered before we were seen! It's LV40 so we were no match for it as our LV11 selves!

There seemed to be no road out of this area. We swam away when we ran out of land and round Anti-Air Battery 2. Then we found an area and an island with very powerful and big Flamii birds, so we just warped out of there.

23 xenoblade - entering tephra cave with fiora and reyn

Dear Readers,

Fiora joined Reyn and myself at the cave entrance. Also here were two defence force soldiers.

One of the soldiers asked me to kill a Willow Bunniv for him. I accepted. He had more he wanted me to kill though! He wanted us to take out two Singing Brogs and 5 Mell Lizards. I accepted all of these side quest requests.

There was also a heart-to-heart here called Enduring Friendship. It was between Reyn and myself. We chatted about how it brings back memories whenever we came here. I brought up the time we had that big fight. It was the biggest bust-up we ever had but we were glad we made up afterwards. He didn't remember what it was about and I said I didn't either, but it was probably some kid thing. I said it didn't matter, which was the wrong answer as it made our affinity drop. Oops. I said it didn't matter because we were friends and I hoped we always would be friends. He agreed.

We went inside to this new area, Tephra Cave. I got a tutorial about the kinds of enemies that attack if they see or hear you. I studied about this last time, so I was slightly ahead. I got an achievement called "A Corner of the World" for discovering 10 landmarks. Yay! The music was nice here too, a mysterious, curious theme.

The Bunnit/Bunniv thingies were the first enemies we met and we dealt with them handily. Then an area specific Skeeter, then some Caterples in their nest. We approached them and out burst a huge one called a Cellar Bugworm. Yikes. It was a bit too strong for us when I tried to take it on. Had to run away a few times and even got killed. Gonna skip past for now.

We found a tunnel hidden and it led to a bridge that crossed over the Caterple Nest. It led to more bunnits, bunnivs and a big one called a Mining Patrichev. I used some of the new mechanics about encouraging and helping fallen party members but we failed against it as well. I decided to head back to town to complete Suzanna's quest about getting sweets for her son.

22 xenoblade - defeating the evil rhangrot after getting stronger

Dear Readers,

I looked at the instruction manual and it turns out there's no penalty for getting KO'd, but I decided to head to the story objective for now.

I also studied the manual in the section for target windows of enemies, looking at examples of danger levels and sense types. Different colours for easy-difficult, different symbols for if they attack on sight or sound etc. This knowledge will come in very handy. No doubt it's in the tutorials somewhere too. Just needed to study this for a bit.

Since we levelled up a bit on the beach and through doing sidequests etc, we were at level 10 now and were strong enough to take on the Evil Rhangrot! It was a big battle but we beat it and finished that side quest! Hooray! I was glad to finish that one.

We continued up the hill and got to a nice vantage point where we could look over Colony 9 and the anti-air thingies surrounding it.

A cutscene played where someone was there to greet us. It was Fiora! She had some equipment with her and insisted she come along with us. Why not.

I got tutorials for the Party Gauge, reviving incapacitated party members by pressing b, and Chain attacks. Things becoming more and more complex now. Also got a tutorial for the story memo. I knew it already but it's always handy knowing where to go.

21 xenoblade - kicking butt on the beaches around colony 9

Dear Readers,

I noticed some enemies in the sidequests were around the beach area near the colony, so I decided to go after them.

I completed some quests by beating beach krabbles and cute brogs. Some preying caterples were here too.

Then we saw one big caterple called a Verdant Bluchal. It played different music and everything. I was worried it would be too powerful for us but I wanted to try it out. We did extremely well against it! We even knocked it on its back a few times. We got through this battle handily.

We completed a few more subquests by defeating Lake Flamiis, a couple of birds that were wandering around the beach.

The baby armu we fought was alright too, just needed to keep an eye on Reyn's health. I got the Blossoming Friendship achievement for improving the affinity between two party members.

Beat some light skeeters easily too for another sidequest.

After running out of sidequests I decided to explore the area and swim the perimeter of the huge body of water around Colony 9. We reached a beach with very large Flamiis and they were 70 levels higher than us. They attacked and wiped us out with one hit each. Yikes.

I got the "Come on, Cheer Up!" achievement for becoming incapacitated for the first time. Whoops. We respawned at the last visited landmark. I don't know if there's any penalty for dying as such...

20 xenoblade - fixing désirée's watch

Dear Readers,

I decided to head back to town to fix Désirée's watch. On the way, we defeated some more monsters and at one point a rare treasure chest dropped. This gave us the achievement "Ooh, Shiny".

We got back to the lab and I got repairing. Désirée's watch was now fixed perfectly.

It was daytime so I changed it to nighttime for the first time. I didn't get an achievement for that though. Then I warped to the commercial district, where I had a vague memory as to where Désirée was. She wasn't upstairs so I had to find her. I had trouble finding her on the affinity chart as well. I wish the chart had a simple list as well, which would save me browsing through tiny soulless portraits I can't tell from one another.

I found Désirée looking over the fence. She had a "!" symbol over her head, which is some indication of the sidequest at least.

Désirée was delighted I fixed the watch for her. She then teased the idea of breaking it on purpose, but she was only joking, thankfully!

Anyway, finishing this made us level up! Sidequesting is pretty important in this game it seems!

19 xenoblade - getting our butts kicked by an evil rhangrot

Dear Readers,

Reyn and I left town finally. It was time to head out and go for the story quest! Maybe even do a bit of exploring.

I checked the story memo and it was about Reyn and I going to the Mag Mell Ruins in Tephra Cave to collect some Ether Cylinders. That thing is handy.

I saw a few things to collect and straight away this completed the bug side quest (Collection Quest 4). I got that giant hornet. I also got the Helpful Stranger achievement, earned from finishing 10 side quests.

We fought a group of bunnits and completed another side quest for defeating them.

Then we fought some caterpiles. All this information comes up about "topple" and "break" and it's very confusing. I need to go through this slowly. Mostly what I'm doing is waiting for attacks to cooldown so I can do them again.

I collected what I needed to mend the watch for one of the sidequests. I'll have to return to the lab to fix it though.

We met a "unique monster" and got a tutorial warning that it was much stronger than others on the field but it has better quality items. This one we found was called Evil Rhangrot and it was carrying a big stick in its tail, which had its own fingers. It looked like a big bunny. It was level 6, we were level 8 so we tried it out.

It was far far too strong for us! I tried to take it on a few times but when Reyn collapsed I had to run away. When I escaped he came back to life so I could try again. I did this a few times but the creature was too strong. Our life came back but its life came back as well.

After this I looked at the arts more closely. It's still all very confusing to me. I doubt very much that we're strong enough for this creature yet.

18 xenoblade - mingling in colony 9 with reyn

Dear Readers,

Reyn and I had a story mission to do, but I wanted to mingle some more, this time with him because I was able to do some things now. We went to the commercial district.

A Nopon looking over the fence wanted us to defeat Wallslide Gwynry in Mag Mell Ruins. It nearly ate him when he encountered it. We accepted.

Then we found Miller who agreed to go back to Captain Emmy Leater. We had to go back to her too so we went back to her and she expressed her gratitude. This made Miller turn over a new leaf. We got Dyed Top, Dyed Bottoms and Dyed Mules as reward. The link between her and Miller was one of dissatisfaction. 

I tried skip travel for the first time to the Commercial District and got an achievement for it! There wasn't any loading either which was cool. There is loading with menus in this game though, which isn't the best thing.

Dunban advised us to be careful on the story journey and said it was good practice for us. There was a heart-to-heart downstairs but we couldn't access it.

Other than that, nothing really jumped out at us as far as mingling goes. Got some directions alright to the cave we had to go to. 

17 xenoblade - mysterious visions from the uncontrollable monado

Dear Readers,

I got back to the lab with Fiora and Reyn was there, about to touch the Monado. He got surprised on seeing us and when he touched it, he grabbed hold of it and it activated, making him slash all around the place like a madman.

He slashed at Fiora and broke the machine next to her. She was very cross with me when I showed more concern for the machine than I did for her. I told her the Monado couldn't hurt people but she still wasn't impressed with my lack of concern.

In all the awkwardness I grabbed hold of it myself and it activated again, making my eyes glow and putting me into some kind of trance...

A trance that made time stop and showed me visions of other characters. Some dramatic and distressing flashes of scenes played that didn't make sense.

I asked Reyn if he saw those visions and he said he didn't. I mentioned the symbol that appears in the circle of the Monado.

Reyn said the colonel put him on punishment duty. I asked if the colonel hit him and he said he did. He was really angry alright.

Reyn had to go get Ether Cylinders because they were out of stock and I had to go with him. Fiora made him promise to take care of me as I was delicate. After that, she left.

I also learned that Dunban is Fiora's brother. It looks like she is my love interest after all. Classic childhood friend scenario. It's sweet.

Dialogue boxes came up, saying I could now level up Arts and that there are Skill Trees. There were two big tutorials explaining Art Points and Skill Points to level them up. Whew... It also encouraged me to acquire skills efficiently by switching character traits to keep them even. Whew... overwhelming.

I was now with Reyn instead of Fiora. Our objective was to go to the Mag Mell Ruins in Tephra Cave to collect Ether Cylinders.

Fiora stayed behind at the entrance of the lab, telling us we needed to be prepared.

With Reyn around I was able to get a quest from Emmy Leater, who wanted him to find Miller, her only subordinate. She said he was being a lazybones in the Commercial District and avoided her when she came looking. We accepted. Affinity grew between Reyn and me and unlocked the achievement "Breaking the Ice" for having a party member step into a conversation.

Dickson was around as well, saying it was great we were going adventuring and even joked about us looking like a good couple haha.

There's going to be lots to do with Reyn in the party now. I'll have to do more mingling before we set off to get the Ether Cylinders.

16 xenoblade - finally bringing shulk his food

Dear Readers,

I finally decided to bring Shulk his food. I left the residential district and climbed up the winding steps, fighting little enemies until I reached him, deep in thought.

A scene played out where Shulk thought to himself about the Monado, how it was the only thing we had to fight the Mechon. He wanted to uncover its mystery and thought about Dunban losing the use of his right arm from overusing it.

I sat next to him and brought him his lunch. He told me it was amazing. I told him he always said that but he said it was even more so today. I said he had some sense of taste becuase I used special spices and herbs to bring out the flavour. We sat there together, enjoying the peace. Some sentimental violin music played.

I said he was spending too much time with Reyn and all the noise. It stopped him from enjoying a peaceful day like this. I wished it could always be this peaceful.

Just then, an alarm sounded. It was the debris alarm. Some rubble appeared in the sky and the anti-air thingies zapped it away. This was unusual. We decided to head back to town.

I'm glad it was more delicious than usual. even though I spent a few days bringing it to him haha. I got a tutorial about Affinity Cries and timed button presses to help party members. Sounds nice. I got another one about Heart-to-Hearts and checked out the one here in this area.

A scene played out where I asked Shulk if he remembered the time we watched the sun rise here when we were young. I then had a choice as Shulk to say something. I said "I invited you". She said I was silly and that she had a big fight with Dunban and ran out of the house. Another choice came up, and for fun I picked the one that said "You wanted to marry me?!", so I was controlling Shulk again.

She yelled at me, saying she couldn't believe me. She admitted saying something about wanting to be my bride but I'd promised I'd forget about it. I laughed and said sorry I couldn't resist, but I admitted I quite liked the idea of her being my bride. Wow! She said not to get any funny ideas in my head as she was just a kid and barely even knew what a bride was. 

For this I got the achievement "Heartbreaking" for having a Heart-to-Heart go as badly as possible. Oops!

We ran back to town and found another heart-to-heart spot, but couldn't access it. The new menu didn't say who it was for either. After that, we headed back to the lab.

15 xenoblade - swimming under the residential district

Dear Readers,

While jumping around the residential district, I accidentally jumped the fence and plunged down into the water!

I felt panicked, but my character was capable at swimming and there was stuff to collect down here below town. The music was also super chill nighttime music. I took a few moments to relax and collect stuff.

As I collected stuff during the swim, quests become complete! It didn't make much sense for the items to be here, but here they were nonetheless.

I completed the quest for the lady who wanted to brighten her shop. No idea the stuff was here.

I swam around for a good bit and climbed up an anti-air battery thingy as well. It was number 3. I discovered Hazzai Cape as well but didn't dare go to shore because of the hostile looking beings there.

It then turned to day time. I swam around to the front of the commercial district where I went to see Marcia. I finished her quest and she was happy, hoping Jiroque would win. She gave me swimming sandals. I'm not sure what was with this family at all...

I went back to the residential district and a lady wanted me to find a giant hornet for her. I accepted.

I think that's enough mingling for now. I'm gonna go towards Shulk with the food for him.

14 xenoblade - daytime mingling in the residential district

Dear Readers,

I'm still Fiora, and I'm still mingling in the residential district of Colony 9, except now it's daytime.

Many people gathered around the crashed mech. They said it was the only one they had to protect us. The poor lady who owned the house it crashed into didn't want this commotion.

Urgh... the visuals are so dense and dull that people blend into the buildings. There was a man leaning against a wall and I didn't see him until I got close. Oh well.

A woman named Betty had great admiration for an artist and said she'd give him more support today. She came up as "Kenny's biggest fan".

A lady named Francoise said it was amazing how the flowers turned to face the morning sun. She came up as "Flower-loving housewife".

A woman named Suzanna came up as "Study-mad housewife". She spoke of housework, teaching and her son. The lady she was talking to talked about Francoise and Narine.

A boy named Lukas was running around and was looking forward to another day of fun. He came up as "All alone in the world". Another boy named Moritz was playing with him and talked about graffiti. He came up as "Leader of the local kids". I guess he's the son of Suzanna by how he described her. He said his mum wanted him to study but his dad told him to play. 

Suzanna then had a quest, asking me to help. She said if her son had an incentive like sweets, he would study more. She asked me to bring her some Black Nectar, 2 lots of them from Skeeters in Tephra Cave. I accepted.

I then met Narine running around. She said Paola was talking rubbish about Shulk. She came up as "Really likes Shulk" and had a rivalry with Paola. I spoke to her mother again and the link appeared between them. I might have to do this with several people.

More of Kenny Rohan's fans appeared, looking at him from behind bushes. I spoke to him. It looks like I met him before, in the commercial district. He was enjoying the sounds of people rather than machines or shopping.

I spoke to Lukas again and the link appeared between him and his friend.

Niranira the Nopon said he wanted a friend. He was too shy to bring up the courage to deliver his letter to Lukas, so he asked me to deliver it for him. I accepted. He said Lukas always looked so happy and if he were to be friends with him then he'd be happy too. Awww... that's really sweet.

Lukas was close by and I went straight to him with the letter. Happily, Lukas said he always wanted a Nopon friend and wanted me to tell Niranira he'd like to be friends! Yay! I told Niranira the news and he was very happy. I got a Block Guarder for this.

I went to check on the three kids and established links between all of them. Unfortunately, Moritz was not as nice a friend to Niranira.

I got the achievement, Constellation, for helping people form an Affinity for one another ten times.

A female soldier asked me when I was going to join the army and I said never. She said I'd be good at it. I'm not interested though.

A man named Jackson was tucked away behind some buildings and was looking up at the sky. His personality was "Loves the sky"

A Nopon was looking for its shiny treasure, a Blue Glass Bead. I found it near where the kids were playing(I think). I had to jump over some boxes to get it. I see a use for the jump now! Anyway I had it, so I accepted and completed the quest. She was thankful and advised me on hard to reach places in the district and outside the colony too.

I met Betty again. She really was obsessed with Kenny...

The lady at the food stand had a quest. She asked me to get her some glowing rocks to brighten her shop. It was for 2 Rainbow Zirconias. I accepted.

I then learned that Niranira is the grandson of Jolele. More links...

Night fell again and I met Jorique who was training. He was a hom and he was big and tall, more than me! He referred to his Nopon brother as his big brother! That's amusing. He came up as "Cares for his brother", just like his brother and the relationship was described as "Bitter Brothers". Yikes.

I also had to return to Marcia for this particular quest. I'll wait until morning though when she's around.

13 xenoblade - mingling in the residential district at night

Dear Readers,

I became Fiora and visited the Residential District of Colony 9. I met the soldier who stood in front of the mech that crashed into a house. It was the first thing I saw. It was nighttime.

A resident was looking for Yolkless Flamii Eggs for an omlette for his girlfriend. I agreed to get him one, but an egg that's yolkless? Sounds joyless. He said he didn't feel safe outside the colony at night, saying Brogs were on the beach at night, whatever they are.

There was a couple at the tranquil square. The lady seemed to be really into the dude. The guy just talked about how the army was amaterish until last year when the big battle happened.

A Nopon talked about Outlook Park and how you have to go up really high to get there. You could even try diving from there if you were brave enough. Also she advised to avoid going there at night. Hmm... might mingle 'til the morning.

A Nopon named Zukazu was hopping around near a tree. He said Marcia hated him and only liked Jiroque and that made her stupid. Yikes. He came up as "Cares for his brother" and there was a hostile link between him and Marcia. Wait, this was one of the brothers? Marcia is a human though? Strange.

A soldier named Minnie was annoyed at having to go on watch duty again and was going to have a go at Monica next time she saw her. I think I met her already? She comes up as "Spirited Soldier".

A Nopon named Jolele said he was the only family his grandchild had. He came up as "Doting grandpa".

A resident said he lost the tool he needed for work, a spanner. He couldn't make money without it. I agreed to find it for him and I already had it so this quest was complete. Woo! He seemed to be into Désirée but couldn't work up the courage to talk to her. He didn't want to give her more problems. Aw.

A shirtless guy named Peppino came up as "Fancies himself a loner". He said it was pointless arguing who the nicest girl was as everyone had their favourite. He wanted to go somewhere where his name wouldn't be made fun of.

Another resident who was sitting said Paola was the most adorable little girl. Hm.

Another resident seemed to have a thing for Emmy Leater.

These guys were arguing for their favourite girl but one was talking about Paola? Yikes...

I went round a building and followed the way round the back where I found the key another resident was looking for, finishing that quest. Woo!

Night changed to day, so I'll have different people to mingle with now. I may have missed some nighttime folk though. Bit of a pain but ah well.

12 xenoblade - becoming fiora for a while

Dear Readers,

I walked into the weapon dev lab expecting a cutscene to play but I met another Nopon with a quest.

He was looking for materials but was too busy to gather them himself. He wanted 2 Small Shells and I agreed to get them for him. He said Krabbles dropped them.

Day then changed to night and he disappeared. Perrine appeared. She came up as "Individualistic scientist" and she wanted to investigate an obscure or unfamiliar field. She wanted something completely new.

I went further downstairs and Dickson greeted me, praising my research on the Monado. The sword itself stood there in the lab. We talked about it a lot and about Dunban using it as well. I hadn't figured everything out about it yet and I thought back to one year ago, when Dunban was on a stretcher, whispering into my ear that the Monado was controlling him. It's a very mysterious and powerful sword. I said anyone could activate it but... who can control it is a different story.

Dickson said I should get some fresh air as I was spending too much time in the lab either researching or looking for scraps. He had good praise for me.

The scene shifted to Dunban in bed. Fiora was at his bedside and brought him food. He was still recovering after using the Monado last year. He said he was looking forward to using it again, which seemed to upset her. He assured her he was doing fine and that I was eagerly awaiting a delivery of food from her too. She seems really caring and I don't know if she's a love interest to me or to Dunban. We'll see how it goes.

The perspective shifted and I was now Fiora! My main quest was to bring food to Shulk before it got cold. I accepted it and got a tutorial about story quests being different from side quests.

Dunban said I'd make a great wife with my kindness. I went out and met Dickson, who told me Shulk went to Outlook Park to get some fresh air, as ordered by him. I then got another tutorial dialogue about Fiora's talents, Butterfly Step and Power Smash, presented as dialogue between me and Shulk.

A resident suggested I go the long way around and through the residential district to meet Shulk, saying it was safer and Dunban would prefer that too. Sounds like a good idea. I'll mingle a bit while I'm there as I haven't explored it yet.

11 xenoblade - more mingling in the military district during the day

Dear Readers,

I mingled in the Military District until it became morning again, witnessing the moment when the NPCs disappeared for the daytime NPCs to appear suddenly, which was amusing. The base is huge and wide open and mostly the same colour, so figures of people aren't always easy to spot in the distance. Same goes for Nopon, which are tiny.

I spoke to Emmy Leater, a "Young captain". She said she was waiting for some idiot who was holding her back. She was looking for someone she could ask for help but said I didn't quite fit the description. I won't take offence.

The soldier who disappeared when it became night appeared again. He spoke of armour of different weights and said it took someone skilled to wear heavier ones. Wasn't too specific though.

Another soldier said we were perfectly equipped for emergencies and this base could house everyone underground. He said they couldn't do that in Colony 6 though.

I met Raoul at the gate, who came up as "Elite captain". He said everyone was working hard except for one platoon. He commented on Emmy Leater as being terrible at managing her platoon of one.

I spoke to her again where I found her standing between the two lookouts. She said she wanted me to find her subordinate but didn't seem to trust me, so it didn't come up as a quest. I have no idea who she could be talking about. That link between her and Raoul was not a happy one. He said there could be nepotism involved in her becoming captain. Yeeks.

I met Kantz, a "Lieutenant colonel", who was supportive of Vangarre, saying things ran smoothly with him at the helm. Well, he's not the one getting punched...

I think that's enough mingling in this area. Maybe I need to do some trading with Emmy or the others to get trust so I can help them.

10 xenoblade - mingling in the military district at night

Dear Readers,

I continued mingling in the Military District. It was becoming nighttime.

A man named Andreas came up on the chart as "New recruit" and advised getting to know people. Way ahead of you!

Another man named Nic came up on the chart as "Weak-willed soldier" and he had really low self-esteem. No confidence in himself at all. Poor guy.

A lady named Monica came up on the chart as "Soldier in love". She was indeed in love with someone. She wouldn't say who and told me she expected me to know and wouldn't talk to me because of it. I'm supposed to know through someone else I suppose.

Another soldier said Andreas was the only one who enjoyed working the night shift and wondered why he worked so hard.

Another soldier thanked me for modifying his Scrap Driver some time ago.

A man named Arnaut wished me good morning as it was morning for him. He slept during the day and woke in the afternoon. He didn't advise this kind of lifestyle though. He came up as "Lab chief candidate". He said he didn't remember the last time he was home and asked me to check on his daughter for him. This wasn't a quest.

A soldier with a quest brought up the pool below Outlook Park and asked if I had ever been there at night. He said there was a monster there called Lake Magdalena that appears there and asked if I would defeat it once and for all. I accepted. He commended my courage. He said my Break art was ideally matched with Reyn's Wild Down and advised using Topple on an enemy that has been inflicted with Break so it'll fall over.

A little furry thing named Mefimefi said she needed an assistant and wanted to work close to where she could get materials. She wanted to move closer to nature. I keep forgetting they're Nopons. She came up as "Healing scientist" on the chart.

In an alley a conversation popped up between two people. One said someone had a thing for Erik and annoys him at lunch. I guess she's talking about Monica? She said Monica slacks off and Dorothy cares about other people a lot more. The soldier she was talking to said she was tired of taking care of useless men all day long and she was happiest when she was able to speak freely like this.

Another soldier with a quest said Ridge Antois appeared outside the Commercial District. He asked me to defeat 2 of them. I accepted. He said they appeared at night. He had another quest for Cute Brogs on the beach near Anti-Air Battery 1. He asked me to defeat 1 as they were short staffed at the moment. I accepted this too. He thanked me again and again said these ones only came out at night. He had another quest again for Colony Krabbles that lived near Cliff Lake. He asked me to take out 3 of them and I accepted. He thanked me a lot and said having me around was like having 100 extra troops. haha. He went on to say the ranks weren't exactly harmonious, saying Captain Raoul and Captain Emmy Leater didn't get along. He made me swear to secrecy though.

A soldier on lookout said all the lights in the night sky were ether particles. At least they call them stars too. I don't want to call them ether particles haha. The other soldier on lookout advised to fight monsters for treasure but fight wisely.

I then met Erik, who was being followed closely by Monica. Yeesh. He came up as "Two-faced scientist" which doesn't sound good. He was lost in thoughts about his own research. I spoke to Monica again and she was absolutely besotted with Erik. I later found them both in another alley. Not doing anything, saying the same things as before but they were just standing there. That's it. Mightn't be the healthiest thing happening but I don't know for sure. There's that link between them established at least.

9 xenoblade - exploring the military district of Colony 9

Dear Readers,

I went to the Fortress Entrance of the Military District from the Central Plaza of Colony 9. A scene played out where the Colonel Vangarre was screaming his head off at two soldiers who crashed a mech thingy into a house. Comedic music was playing and he really was laying into them. His mustache was really big and horned, not at all like the older guy from the prologue. Like I said it was played for laughs but he punched them ruthlessly as well. Yikes...

His accent was so English I expected him to say "You 'orrible lot!" but instead he called them maggots.

This was a very big place. I spoke to the first soldier I saw with a quest marker. He told me about Lake Flamii on the beach near Anti-Air Battery 1. He asked me to take out 2 of them and I accepted. This was kind of a routine thing they did to protect the battery.

I spoke to him again for another quest. Defeating 1 Baby Armu to help with the same problem. Then again for defeating 2 Stone Krabbles near Agora Shore. He said it was far east of the colony.

Vangarre didn't appear on the affinity chart. He seems very cruel.

I spoke to Jan, an old man. He came up on the chart as "Retired soldier". He said the soldiers today didn't have what it takes. He was watching some soldiers train, doing press ups.

A soldier said he was training in Arts using claw weapons, saying it was his dream to master Mumkhar's Hell Dive Claw. He wished he was still alive to teach him. I don't remember if that's one of the guys from the prologue.

A soldier spoke of Evil Rhangrot on Tephra Hill, saying she was ordered to kill it by herself. She said it was impossible for one person. She asked me to do it for her and I accepted. She thanked me and told me to be careful as it was a terrifying monster. She then said Dickson was the commander of the soldier and scientists but he was often away so Vangarre was acting as colonel. She wished they made Dunban the colonel instead. He definitely wouldn't be as cruel I'd say.

A soldier who liked messing around with machines said the machine he was looking at went through a lot and was on its last legs. He added that Vangarre was so violent he wasn't expecting it to last much longer.

Another soldier advised me about monsters that remain docile unless one of their own is attacked. For example, she said Bunnits were dangerous and acted in packs, whereas Caterpiles will just sit there even if you attack another one. Interesting. Wish the game had a bestiary so I could use it for reference... She was working on the vehicle too.

Another soldier was bossing them around from atop a crate.

Another soldier said Dunban and Mumkhar were rivals for the Monado and Dunban won. She said Mumkhar was always so angry after that. Okay... so Mumkhar was the one with the rings around his eyes. I remember now. She added that he'd be using it if he were still alive as Dunban couldn't handle it anymore.

Another soldier talked about wooden and silver treasure chests that enemies drop. Interesting.

Another soldier talked about Agora Shore and how dangerous it was. He advised me to just run if I ever went there by accident.

I was about to talk to another soldier but he vanished into thin air. Must be the change to night time...

8 xenoblade - central plaza of colony 9

Dear Readers,

I finally crossed the bridge to the Central Plaza. It was nighttime.

I met a guy in the corner who lost his wedding ring. I accepted the quest. Then it got completed because I already found it! I don't remember finding it, but I won't complain. I didn't need to talk to him again, so I'm surer of that now with quests. Whew.

A guy sitting down said I shouldn't overdo it. Then he told me about a cave that was straight from the exit of the colony. Handy. He advised me to bring Reyn with me.

From the Central Plaza, there were bridges that went towards the Residential District and the Military District. 

There was a little blue guy here that had these animals carrying goods for him. He said they were dangerous out in the wild.

I decided to save here and continue to the next point in the story at the Military District next time.

7 xenoblade - exploring the rest of the commercial district

Dear Readers,

Nighttime again in the Colony 9 commercial district. More mingling!

I met Miller underneath the platform on the other side of the shed. His personality was "Skiving soldier". He was complaining about some lady not taking him back. Didn't go into detail though.

Further on this platform, I met an old guy who had a quest. He wanted materials to make a bug trap as he didn't have time to get them himself. He wanted 1 portion of Plate Snow, whatever that is. I accepted.

Sesame was having a big secret meeting with some other men and one of those little blue guys. They were discussing recruiting different people for something big and secret. They wouldn't tell me what it was though.

A lady named Rosemary had a personality called "WANTED: 1 boyfriend", even though she was with someone practising his singing.

I met a guy sitting on a box that had a quest. He wanted me to defeat 2 Hand Bunnits for the safety of the colony. I think I did beat them already on the way here... I spoke to him again and he had another quest! Defeat 3 Beach Krabbles, again to keep the place safe. I spoke to him again and again he had another quest to defeat 2 Wood Bunnits, then another one involving 3 Light Skeeters in Anti-Air Battery 1. I accepted them all. 

I then wondered if the other numbered quests had more from the same people. I'm not sure  yet.

It became daytime again. Miller said he was skiving off because the captain was just a little girl who didn't have a clue and was all talk. Hmm...

For fun I decided to see if I could jump off the platform into the water and... yes I could. I swam around to the front gate and went up the beach, collecting things. I finished the first collection quest with the rabbit diodes! Woo! I didn't have to go back to the person either it seems. From what I can see anyway. That is good because I have trouble telling people apart, especially the unnamed ones.

I reckon that's all of the Commercial District explored. I'll go towards the Central Plaza now.

6 xenoblade - getting bearings in colony 9

Dear Readers,

I continued mingling in Colony 9, trying to get my bearings. It became daytime again.

I spoke to Kenny Rohan. He believed art could heal the deepest wounds and scars of war. His personality was "Artistic genius". He might be on to something really good.

I spoke to Cheryl upstairs. She said she was missing her son. Her personality was "Sad OAP" aww... This was the ranting lady that was mentioned last night. She was trying to find her son and others that went missing in the battle.

I went back down the original stairs and met Dorothy. She was sleepy and suspected someone was messing with her clock. Her personality was "Fine soldier". She does have pretty hair alright but I'm sure it refers to her qualities as a soldier.

 

After talking to her I got an achievement for registering 10 people on the affinity chart. Whew.

I spoke to another resident who talked about the big lump of metal sticking out of the western cliff. He said there were all kinds of machines in there that we could never make.

A lady sitting at a table lost her housekey and asked me to help her find it. I agreed to. This came up as "Search Quest 3". I haven't even encountered the other two yet! This town is even bigger than I thought.

A little blue dude was looking out at the river. He said his kind were cute and easy for monsters to eat, which was why they all carried weapons. Good call.

A lady was looking for Vang Teeth for her grandmother's handicrafts. I took on the quest.

A lady was feeling sorry for a boy named Rocco or something who was bickering with his sister and mother. Aw.

I found a girl named Paola hiding. I nearly missed her becuase she was squatting and blending into the background. her personality was "Really likes Reyn".

I then met Rocco, whose personality was "Home-loving tearaway". He said he broke his mother's pendant, hence the fighting. Aw. Maybe I can fix it but there wasn't an option to accept a quest or anything.

I then met Giorgio, the famous curry genius. He said I was late and only made enough curry for 20 plates. His personality was "Hardcore chef".

I then met Liliana, running really fast. Her personality was "Misses her dad". Aww...

I met a man named Sesame, who was late for a secret meeting. His personality was "Idealist" and he said he had a habit of revealing secrets he shouldn't. Hmm...

It turned to night again. Gonna stop for now and continue later. I can see that part of this commercial district is a circle, some of it is upstairs and there's some kind of big shed and there's also a bridge to another district going over a body of water.

5 xenoblade - meeting the gem man

Dear Readers,

I continued mingling in Colony 9. It was night now.

Upstairs a man said an old woman hung out here in the mornings raving about stuff.

I crossed a bridge and down another flight of stairs, meeting a man named Oleksiy. He was critical of people's relaxed attitude, even though we went through a big battle just a year ago. His personality was "Estranged free thinker".

Then I met the Gem Man. He wanted to teach me so I let him talk. He said creatures dropped crystals when they die. He said this furnace he had compresses ether crystals and removes impurities to make ether gems. These gems had the power of ether crystals in condensed form and they can give me all sorts of powers. Great for use at home or by the Defence Force. I only had to put them in weapons or armour with slots.

For demonstration he pointed to my weapon and gave me a couple of gems to increase Strength and HP. He then said not to waste ether crystals by selling them as they were useful. He then said the furnace wasn't working now and to come back later.

Whew. Another thing to learn.

A lady said she liked walking around here at night as it was safe. She did mention bad conversations coming from the alley nearby. Hmm..

While all this stuff was happening, I levelled up and got the achievement "Ear to the Ground" for talking to people 100 times.

I think it's time to turn the game off for another day. I still haven't talked to everyone and I feel like I haven't got my bearings at all in this town yet. More mingling in town next time!

4 xenoblade - more mingling and gathering quests in colony 9

Dear Readers,

I mingled more with the residents of Colony 9.

One said everything was made of ether and monsters dropped them. They said monster ones had different properties.

There was a lady who was so addicted to the tasty curry here that she cried if she couldn't have it every day.

Another lady sitting said it wasn't safe to go out of town alone and not even two were enough. Three was more ideal. An old guy sitting across from her said Dunban saved Colony 9 and 6. This was the guy with the Monado from the prologue.

Another lady said the mustache Colonel was strict and scary but it was thanks to him we were safe. She said a lot of girls have signed up to be soldiers and joked about signing up herself for exercise.

A guy shouting welcome was sitting and suggested cliff diving from any height into water. I've seen this in videos of the game! Should be fun. He told me to be careful in the east as there were deadly monsters around Agora Shore. Ok noted.

I saw a pink little thingy who was selling Nopon vegetables. Confirmed these little thingies are Nopon. She was happy there weren't any Mechon seen for about a year thanks to Dunban but she was also worried no gossip was coming from Colony 6.

A man asked me to take care of a gigantic monster because he didn't like the sight of it. I agreed to take the quest to defeat Verdant Bluchal near Anti-Air Battery 1 in Colony 9. He was grateful and said he hoped it didn't go too near the battery itself.

Another Nopon lady advised me to increase affinity with people for benefits in trading.

Another lady said Nopon Merchants were really helpful to travellers when they go outside the colony.

A man wanted to make armour for his son but needed a Small Scale. I accepted this quest for him. Also it's weird to see "armour" spelled the non-American way in an RPG! He said I could get Small Scales by defeating Piranhaxes. Noted. He was also having trouble with his household Ether Cylinder. No quest for that though. Ah well.

A little blue Nopon dude said good things about Giorgio's curry.

A lady named Shura talked about Ether Lamps and how they didn't cause pollution. She came up as a "Giants researcher". Interesting. She said she wanted to investigate their ruins at some point.

A man said we Homs had to sleep every night but the Mechons could keep going through the night, so we had to be careful. He spoke of someone named Désirée who lost her father a year ago and had to close his shop. She was very upset. Homs is a funny but cute name for humans.

A man named Leopold was interested in buying lamps but he was in debt. His personality was "Impoverished Critic". He also had a girlfriend who spent a lot of money. This girlfriend was next to him and was named Sylviane, an "Extravagant spender". She was dying to buy stuff for their home to make the neighbours jealous.

Another man said more dangerous monsters came out at night but they dropped rarer stuff. Makes sense.

I went up some stairs and met Désirée. She broke her watch and wanted me to fix it for her. We talked about her father being good at fixing things. I apologised for being rude to bring it up, especially since he was gone now. She was in good form though and said I was sweet when I went timid. Aw... I accepted her quest. I would have to take it to the lab. Her personality was "Useless with machines". Yeesh!

More mingling next time. A lot of people and it's hard to get a feel for this place. It's taking days and some of them only come out during day or night too.