This is a double week. We’re stopping after you’ve questioned everyone, before returning to the guild. Your 手帳 should have three stars and four triangles on the current main quest page.
Side Quests and Missable Content
There is one side quest available. Must be completed this week as it will expire once you’ve questioned everyone.
消えた展示物
There is a hidden book in エレボニア大使館 library (available after talking to the 大使), as well as all the collectable books (11 volumes) from last game. The カルバード大使館 library has another book series (22 volumes) you can read. I have not counted the text in them.
Vocab Sheet, thank you to everyone who helps with this.
Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.
Discussion Guidelines
Everybody should feel free to post and ask questions–it’s what makes book clubs fun! But please do not post until you are familiar with Spoiler Courtesy!
Spoiler Courtesy
Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.
Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.
Instructions for Spoiler Tags
Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).
Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:
Example
This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.
The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.
This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.
Posting Advice
When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!
If necessary, include an explanation of any discrepancies in the Ebook page numbers from physical page numbers. If there is an easy shortcut for some ebook versions to relate back to physical page numbers, it would be worth it to include it as a third bullet here, or if you want to use chapter page numbers instead of volume page numbers, as is the case with some manga. For example:
Example
For the Kindle version of this manga, the page numbers and the location number are always 3 apart. If you subtract 3 from the location, this will give you the accurate page number!
OR
Please use the chapter page numbers, instead of the volume page numbers. These are located in between the panels!
Discussion Questions
What sentence/passage gave you the most difficulty? Feel free to request some help, or if you figured it out on your own break it down for the rest of us!
What was your favorite new vocab word from this week’s reading?
Was there any passage that you found particularly intriguing? Did it resonate with you (either positively or negatively)? Was it surprising? Offer any insight or new perspective? Was it just beautifully written?
Any problems with the political intrigue?
What are your current theories?
Did anyone read the novels?
Participation
Will you be playing along with us this week?
I’m playing along
I have finished this part
I’m still playing the game but I haven’t reached this part yet
I’m playing this game after the club has finished
I’m no longer playing the game
0voters
If you’ve already played this game but are still going to join the discussion, please select “I have finished this part.”
Party Members Poll
アガット
エステル
オリビエ
クローゼ
シェラザード
ジン
ティータ
0voters
(You shouldn’t have a choice this week.)
Don’t forget to set this thread to Watching in order to stay abreast of discussion!
Back in a bit with my total week thoughts, but I always forget that 与する is read くみ and get mad every time I look it up. If we all used 組する it would be easy
I’m kind of thinking Trails is not at all difficult in the language except it’s inflated by all the titles to keep up with. Brain power gets engaged more when lines start needing me to remember who is a 共和制, a 王国, a 大佐, a 中佐, and a thousand other things.
We’re looking for so many things recently. The side quest was way harder than his previous treasure hunts, particularly starting with needing to go in a building that I had forgotten what it was since when we were here in FC. I knew right away it’d be a clock but had no idea where. Had kind of assumed/hoped interiors wouldn’t be part of it. Maybe starting with the embassy would’ve been nice to show the acceptable range of searching, but then again the exact spot it was in was kind of crazy there. Here’s my chance to sit and read whole Trails novels, but I’ve just never been the type even though I am pretty invested in this world. I could be reading real books with the time! Maybe if I was in English and could speedread them. Despite the riddle difficulty, we took only the slightest damage at all in the fight in the end. Big AOE arts finished off most things with only a little damage getting poked by the minions a time or two, and we cancelled arts casting on the big one so it never did anything at all.
I had fun running around the various places. Both embassies give you a good peek at what those countries are like. I especially like the reactions to Jin and Olivier, all friendly and welcoming in the former and “god we’re so tired of you” in the latter. I liked the chat with the ambassador from Jin’s country but it’s the more strict, severe empire that keeps catching my attention. I don’t really know exactly where the coming future games are set, I keep forgetting the order this giant series takes place in and have done next to no research into those games, will be fun surprises. All I know is I’ve heard Crossbell mentioned a lot (Crossbell Arc etc) so my ears perk up every time they mention that place. Hope nobody swallows it up. This whole week was all about getting forcefed the broader political tendencies and relationships and I’m cool with that, setting up for the future.
Crestfallen about the lack of Dorothy, let’s get on the next flight out of here. I still enjoy talking to Nial though. I’m assuming everything ever in this game is the work of Ouroboros. I think it’d be fun to be surprised, maybe there are schemes we don’t know about with one of the countries. Of course, someone there could also be working with Ouroboros anyway, still involving them. The 災い threat certainly sounds like one of their devices.
This isn’t a serous prediction, but I want our villain of the week to be this girl’s parents. Realistically… given the stuff happening with them being distracted and distanced as they travel around, they must have ulterior motives for this trip, being something more than merchants. Ultimately I wouldn’t be surprised if they get wrapped up in the Ouroboros plot as hostages, or something? I have to assume the two investigations we’re doing are going to stay intertwined.
I have to imagine the way the pacing has been we’re nearing the sudden crisis point to run off to a dungeon. I’m betting we go back to that other half of the sewers; Ouroboros has always been lurking in places like that and the game made it clear with all those treasure chests that we go there sometime.
It’s been long enough, bring back Schera! Maybe in a chapter or two? I think I want to give her a shot whenever she rejoins; I haven’t used her since early game FC.
I ended up using a guide because I was stuck on the 3rd one as well. This feels harder than the previous thief quests, or maybe I just don’t have the patience because of the amount of text this double week.
I did as well. I was too stuck with having forgotten his house was there and also had no idea (at the start) if I should expect the spots to be within a section of the town, outdoor only in the whole town, include interiors, etc.
That’s my point, how are you supposed to know which volume it’s in besides reading every single one of them, not being even sure that it’s what the clue is about?
Er… yeah basically. These quests are kinda know everything about everything or check everything or use a guide. (not saying it’s a good thing, just what it is)
Been traveling a lot and away from my PC the last two weeks but still only a day late to finish! Woo.
Week 16
For all that traveling around the city and questioning it seems to me like nobody has any idea of who it is. Since there wasn’t any clear direction towards anybody and lots of steering away from anti-treaty pro-war people, plus the chapter-by-chapter trend of ouroboros people appearing… it’s gotta be an ouroboros person. Personally I’m inclined to believe the kid is in on it just because she’s so prominently there and nobody knows anything about her parents. Also Reb implied she was a villain in another thread not long ago.
I didn’t look up a guide for the clues to the phantom thief quest! I think I’m getting used to how the searches in this game work. Kinda glad I didn’t because when I was searching houses for clocks I found some lady who just up and gave me a new 竹竿. I’d also forgotten Morgan had a house but 時の傍観者, of course it had to be a clock. I was convinced at first it had to be the wife downstairs staring at the little clock on the fireplace mantle but, nope.
I also didn’t read the 22 book series. Maybe I’ll give it a shot this weekend? I was looking for a blue suit of armor or something similar in the embassies when I found the books and realized you might have to go through all of them to get the clue. I wasn’t really in the headspace for a side story at that moment.
it was funny when the photo was returned everyone was confused, like “oh why would the phantom thief from a powerful, shadowy organization be stealing a photo of the airship everybody is talking about? The one that’s about to test a new engine being used as a lure to get other countries to sign a peace treaty? I guess it’s just harassment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.”
Nobody thinks that the real ship might be a target soon. I might be wrong, but it seems like big time foreshadowing to me.
