LogFAQs > #927728976

At this point, we transition into an interactive flashback, where we see the present-day versions of the characters interacting with their past selves in the orphanage almost as if they were really there seeing all of it. I think the presentation of this part is actually really cool because of that.

Irvine talks about a girl who was very special to him back then, and the girl was clearly Selphie, which prompts her to ask if the orphanage was a stone house, and Quistis asks if it was by the ocean. Irvine confirms it and said he knew right away when they first met. They ask why he didn't tell them, and he said it was because they all seemed to have forgotten about it, so it sucked being the only one who remembered. Irvine plays the customary role of "the party member who withholds critical information from the rest of the party" in Final Fantasy VIII...!

Zell chimes in, asking if they remembered setting off fireworks, confirming that he was there as well. At this point, Squall is wandering around as a transparent "ghost" of sorts because it hasn't been revealed that he was there, too, yet. You can walk around and see different versions of child Squall lamenting over the disappearance of Ellone, which will cause the present day version to declare it a "shameful sight."

It's at this point that Zell realizes he must have been adopted by his parents in Balamb. They also reveal that Seifer was there, trolling Zell every bit as hard back then as he does now. At this point, Squall will comment on what he thought of them as kids. He'll say that Seifer has always been who he is, plain and simple. Zell was always crying an screaming. Selphie was always full of energy. Quistis was difficult to deal with. Then he flatly states that he doesn't remember Irvine at all.

At this point, Irvine states that except for Rinoa, they were all there, which causes Squall to step forward and admit that includes him, too. He says he was always waiting for "Sis" to come back. It's at this point that he recalls that Ellone was the long lost "Sis." She was a bit older than the rest of them, so they all used to call her that. Squall doesn't know what all this means, but they were definitely together. He says that Ellone wants to change the past, but he doesn't know why. Quistis says there can only be one reason, and that's because she isn't happy with the present.

Then they all begin to wonder why Irvine seems to remember all of this stuff, but the rest of them have forgotten so many of the details up to now. Squall says he and Seifer weren't adopted because of the way they were, so they've been at Garden from the beginning. Quistis recalls that she was adopted, but it didn't work out with her new family, so she ended up coming to Garden at the age of 10. Even back then, Squall and Seifer were always fighting, and she would break them up.

Quistis says that Seifer always needed to be the center of attention, so it would drive him crazy when Squall would ignore him. Even so, they would eventually end up fighting because Squall couldn't back down from a challenge. Quistis says she thinks she was trying to take Ellone's place, and she eventually mistook that for romantic affection. Even after she became an instructor, she couldn't stop thinking about him. It was her subconscious feelings as a big sister that lingered that caused her to feel the way she did, or so she thinks. On the same note, Quistis admits she had already given up on Squall once Rinoa came into the picture. This is one of the repercussions of them forgetting so much but still having the experiences and the emotions inside of them somewhere. They know those things are there, but they don't know where they came from, what they mean, or what to do with them.
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