#dracomusic

Arlin: How many times does this make now? Hundreds. We keep reliving the same moment. You're gonna try and kill me. And I'm still gonna love you, buddy. You're not gonna change my mind. I'll never, ever regret pulling you onto this ship. No matter what this place tries to make me believe. You're my son and you'd never hurt me. Come on. Let's run it back again. I can do this all day.

Chip: You know. Some people call it a chip. It's an easy mistake to make.

Grizzly: There's a moment of silence. And he begins to turn around.

Arlin: I haven't heard that one before.

Chip: I think you have.

Arlin: Kinda a silly name.

Grizzly: And you guys lock eyes. He's re-lived countless fake versions of this memory. And he doesn't see- You can tell for the first time when he looks at you, he knows this is real. He slowly approaches you, grabs the back of your head, and pulls you into his chest.

Bizly: I don't even know that I would hug him back right away. Just kinda fall into it.

So, Chip deals with his nightmares from the end of 62 to episode 70, which is 12 episodes, not even including in-game days, so it was for a while. For in-game days, I'm not entirely sure, because I can't recall if it was ever said how long they had been sailing until they found Ichabod (the GOAT). But I'd say at least a week or 2. As for Gill, he gets scratched and bitten in episode 90 and I think the nightmares start in episode 91, maybe 92 (I'm not there yet lol) and he got cured at the end of episode 98.

Now obviously, Chip only got scratched on his chest and back, but Gill got scratched and bitten, BUT THAT'S A RAMBLE FOR A DIFFERENT DAY. What I wanted to focus on was how they handled the nightmares, and this could have everything to do with Gill seeing how it affected Chip, but I still wanted to share my thoughts about it and see what the jrwiblr has to say about it!

Chip seems so determined not to experience the nightmares and/or get rid of the nightmares. He stayed up for 3 days straight, he mentioned how he didn't want to go to sleep again during episode 64, and everything else in the episodes that follow until he gets cured (again, not there yet, I'm watching the Humble Beginnings one-shot). My point being, he is actively fighting against the curse at every chance he can, never once succumbing to it. Sure, it hurts him physically and mentally, but he doesn't give up.

As for Gill, it kinda seems like he's the opposite. Like, sure, it could be him remembering what Chip experienced, but Gill's first nightmare was constantly seeing Edyn being brutally slaughtered in some way with a message saying "I'll be back" in blood and how no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't save her. I can't recall the nightmare he had during episode 95 (or if that was the Edyn one and I'm getting confused), but in episode 97, he sees Chip die brutally, he sees Jay get disintegrated, and when he wakes up, all he can do is scream about how he saw Chip and Jay die and then tries to kill himself. To me, it honestly seems like Gill is more accepting of his fate than Chip was. And I have a lot of thoughts about why I think that is.

Gill was raised to be a weapon, he says it himself in episode 63. He also mentions how he doesn't really know what the prophecy that he was told (initially, before episode 110) entails or what his destiny truly is, just hoping that something will start to make sense as he travels around Mana. So, maybe the reason he's quicker to give up is that he believes that this truly is his destiny? That his death could result in the prophecy being fulfilled. Here's the prophecy Gill was told growing up, btw:

A hero born of moonlight, storm, and sea

They shall rise or fall to bring unity

They will be tested or bested by evil's hand

And by their choice, one will remain, sea or land

The third stanza is kinda what's supporting me on this train of thought, because it mentions that he will either be tested by evil's hand or he'll be defeated by it (Kuba Kenta is a fiend and that's one of Gill's supposed enemies, btw!). So, it would kinda makes sense that he'd just give up and accept that he was going to die, it was stated in the prophecy after all. And I could be wrong about this, but it's just something that's been on my mind during the Noctis Arc.

Specifically, the fact that when Grizzly told Bizly that he had to choose between Arlin and Chip on who gets back on the ship, he immediately chose Chip without a second thought or any hesitation. No matter what, Arlin was always going to choose Chip over himself. Because he loves Chip, he always has. Even when he first met Chip, who begged Arlin to join the Black Rose, even after he said no, saying it wasn't safe for him. He gave Chip the coin that he kept with him for years afterward and gave him his name. Gave him a home he never had. And when Arlin saw that flashback and it ended with an older Chip stabbing him, he knew that that wasn't Chip. Chip would never hurt him.

And even with ALL THAT, Chip blamed himself for Arlin getting stuck in the Black Sea. He fully believed that it was his fault that Arlin ended up stuck in the hole. But it was ultimately Arlin's choice to save Chip, who didn't choose to fall off of the ship. And all while he was searching everywhere for Arlin, all he could think was that it was his fault Arlin was missing. I mean, in the intro to episode 16, when he's "talking" to Arlin, all he can think about is how he can't handle this without Arlin, how he wanted Arlin to captain the ship, how he felt like he wasn't the pirate Arlin wanted him to be.

There's just something so interesting about how the moment something bad happens that is because of something Chip did or something that happened to Chip, he immediately blames himself for it. When Gill drew the Donjon card in the Feywild? Oh, well, Chip got the cards and practically handed him the cards, so it's his fault. When Ollie got cursed after using Niklaus's Compass? He gave Ollie that compass, so it's his fault. Arlin is trapped in the Black Sea? He nearly fell off of the ship, and Arlin saved him, so it's his fault. But it never has been his fault.

The moment he reunites with Arlin, after 10 years of not seeing him and months of searching and he realizes that destroying the egg attached to Arlin would kill him too, all he could think about was how he wanted to leave, tell Gillion to stop... but he couldn't. Because he preferred losing the man who gave him everything over sacrificing the entire world. It was one life for the cost of many others that could've been lost. And he didn't want to do that because searching for Arlin was the whole reason he started sailing around Mana in the first place, the one person he wanted back more than anything, but he knew that this was the right choice.

When Chip and Arlin are pulled out of the vision and onto the floating platform in front of it, I wonder what was running through their minds. Chip, with part of his skull exposed, looking exactly as he was: undead while Arlin looked barely alive, emaciated and torn up as Grizzly said. They both look at each other and just see how fucked up they look. And then the entity locks on Chip, ready to take him as a vessel, and Arlin screams out to Chip. I can see Chip holding up his arms as some kind of an attempt to block the entity, knowing that it's for naught, waiting for it to hit him, and it doesn't. And when Chip looks over to Arlin, Arlin loses consciousness, probably forcing himself to stay awake and upright because of Chip, but seeing his son isn't going to become a vessel, he relaxes and gives in.

Their relationship is so special to me. Arlin reminds me of my own dad, a man who looks intimidating and cruel, but is very kind when you get to know him. And when you do, you can't help but feel safe around him. Sure, he gets upset from time to time, as many people do, but you know that he'd never hurt you. Meanwhile, I find myself relating to Chip a lot, which I've mentioned before in the past. He's so determined and set on finding the one person who gave him a life he never had, and when he does, he ultimately chooses to spend the last few moments this person has instead of trying to save him. It resonates with me because if I were in this circumstance, I think I would've done the same. But yeah, T H E M. I need Chip and Arlin to reunite again and just hug and then Chip excitedly introduces Arlin to Jay and Gill, a man they both know that Chip loves and cares about more than anything, given how much he talked about him. I NEED IT SO BAD, AS SOON AS THIS UNDERSEA ARC IS OVER, I NEED CHIP AND ARLIN TOGETHER AGAIN, AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!

SO!! During the scene where Arlin, Finn, and Drey descend the staircase that leads to the room where the confrontation with Captain Rose happens, we see each of them relive a memory. Finn's was when he left the Undersea, Arlin's was when he adopted Chip, and Drey's was when he joined the Black Rose Pirates. And y'know, wholesome shit, I guess, but that's not the point I want to make. Because after the memory happens, all three of them have to roll a Wisdom Save (individually, obviously).

After Charlie rolls the Wisdom save, Finn sees office supplies wrapped around his ankle like a chain that then breaks, and he continues going to the Oversea. For Drey, nothing out of the ordinary happens, and the memory continues as usual. However, Arlin failed the save, which resulted in him seeing an older version of Chip attacking him, trying to kill him. That version of Chip said, "Thanks for nothing, old man. I never needed you anyway." And then Arlin comes to, and they continue down the steps, and Arlin briefly mentions what he saw. Grizzly even points out that Arlin's still thinking about the memory, specifically about how it ended, because that DEFINITELY didn't happen before. But, they continue and eventually find Captain Rose and blah blah blah, NOT THE POINT.

Now, during episode 116, Chip, Gil, Gryffon, and Drey find Arlin tied up by the tary substance that came from the egg at the end of the one-shot. He has been constantly raging and fighting against it, and the egg is stuck to his body, which I believe was his chest specifically. And later, Chip goes up to him and goes into Arlin's mind. Arlin mentions how a fake version of Chip was going to try to kill him, and he was still going to love him and all that shit that made me SOB when I watched the episode. But going back to the one-shot, that's how the memory Arlin had ended. So, what I'm wondering is what if Finn or Drey had failed the save? What if that was how it resulted in them being separated sporadically? Because, remember, Finn was in Canella as Apple, Drey was in the center of the B.L.O.C.K., and Arlin was in the exact same place he was when they were hit with the tar.

And I can't be normal about it either, because I'll see it or hear it and I'll just think, "Oh mah gaw, Fish & Chips, like the guys from the hit D&D podcast Just Roll With It: Riptide!" It is becoming a PROBLEM- I AM TOO FNC PILLED TO LIVE MY LIFE NORMALLY ANYMORE, ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS GILLION TIDESTRIDER AND CHIP "BASTARD" JAMES KISSING-

Bizly: Yeah.

Arlin: Do I even want to know how you got here?

Chip: Probably not. But I'm here. It's me.

Grizzly: He's massive. So he just kind of sits down on this little board that leads up to the Midnight Rose. And there's no one else, it's just you two. He says,

Arlin: Well, tell me about it. Tell me- Tell me how great of a pirate you've become. Must have to make it all the way down here.

Chip: I've got a good crew.

Arlin: I bet you do.

Chip: Jay, she was actually part of the Navy, but...

Arlin: Where have I heard that one before? [laughs]

Chip: She's Drey's niece. And then Gillion, Finn's grandson.

Arlin: Strange- Strange how, I suppose fate would pull you together that way.

Chip: I- Brought me here.

Arlin: Sometimes it feels like the goddesses, if they're real, whatever force in the world, is pulling one big prank on us.

Chip: All the time. [chuckles]

Arlin: You know what I always tell you? The best thing you can do in moments like these is find a reason to laugh.

Chip: I never stopped.

Grizzly: He leans forward and just kind of like, puts a hand on you.

Arlin: Yeah. Yeah.

Chip: Listen, we gotta get you out of here.

Grizzly: You say that, and he winces.

Arlin: Yeah. I can feel something just hit me. What was that? Listen, Chip, this thing, this thing that's inside this egg we found. I think if it gets out, it's gonna doom the world, a lot of good people. So I've been trying my best to hold on, not let anyone get close enough to break-

Chip: To break it?

Arlin: To break it or keep the egg open, to let it open any further than what happened.

Chip: Why? Why? What is- But if you break it, it's destroyed, right?

Arlin: What I just felt- It's probably powerful enough to destroy it, but...

Chip: What happens when it gets destroyed?

Arlin: If it's possible. You know, while we have the time, I want to hear more about this crew.

Chip: We got plenty of time. We just...

Arlin: How long have you held onto that?

Grizzly: He looks at the coin in your hand.

Chip: Too long.

Arlin: Sometimes we're just- We're just dealt odds like that. Sometimes you pick heads, and you win. Other times- Other times, it lands on tails. I don't want this thing getting out into the world, my boy, and this- Whoever's out there trying to destroy it, I think they might, and it's gonna take me with it.

Chip: [puts his head in his hands] Oh, no.

Grizzly: It looks like he's trying to be that figure that is like-

Bizly: I know what he's trying to do. Yeah, I think at this point, if I know that breaking the egg is going to kill him, I would just get up from where I am and just say,

Chip: We have to stop it then. 'Cause Gillion's gonna break it. We thought that would be the only- Gillion!

Grizzliy: Your voice, like echoes in the sea.

Bizly: Just yell out a couple more times.

Arlin: Chip, settle down.

Chip: No, there has to- There has to be a way. Gillion, please!

Arlin: Settle down, boy. Sit down.

Chip: Why are you so calm about this?

Arlin: I'm not finished talking to you. All right, it's- Look, I- I think if it comes down to it and you really can destroy it, even if it takes me, we have to, right? Because if you half-ass this just to save me and that thing gets released- I know what I'm asking is impossible. Hell, if I were you, I wouldn't want it to happen either.

Bizly: I'll just go back and sit down then.

Arlin: So you can go back out there if you want, and we can fill them in on the options because they're not great, or we can spend this time-

Bizly: I think pretty immediately, I'd get up and start to rush over to where I could leave. And just before I'd leave, I'd stop.

Grizzly: Yeah, if you run off the plank, you can feel that- You can leave this. Like, you can exit that way.

Bizly: Yeah.

Chip: There's uh... There's Earl. He's an old guy who really likes juice. And every time we land somewhere, we have to go and get him some kind of fruit. And he smashes it with his feet.

Grizzly: He lets out like a big hearty laugh at that one.

Chip: We found Finn's book.

Arlin: [laughs]

Chip: Me and his grandson.

Arlin: No!

Chip: We got stuck reading it.

Arlin: No! Really?

Chip: He read it out loud to me. I don't think he understood all the words. I did.

Bizly: I'll turn back around and just walk back to him.

Chip: There's Ollie. He's this little kid who just got stowed away on a ship. We took him on, and I tried to make my own little Chip, and it was not very good. I got him hurt and then did everything I could to fix it, but fix one thing, ten other things break. It's just one thing after another. Alphonse. He's a cowboy robot. And then he became our ship.

Arlin: Ran into a few of those.

Chip: We have a ship. I had a ship. It was called the Big Chipper. It was kind of the best ship there was. But then we got a better one. It's called the Albatross. And we have a flag. Check this out.

Bizly: And I want to- Can I get, like, a dagger? Is there a dagger?

Grizzly: Yeah.

Bizly: Okay, I just want-

Grizzly: You've got it.

Bizly: Carve it. Carve the symbol in the wood and show him.

Chip: Up here, it's like- Okay. So Gillion has, it's like coral. So that's for Gillion. And then the wings are for Jay. And then there's a Chip in the skull 'cause [he points at himself], huh? Okay.

Arlin: Clever boy.

Chip: And we're called- Wait for it- The Riptide Pirates.

Arlin: Really?

Chip: Yeah. But we're all captains. But I'm, like, the most captain.

Arlin: Is that so?

Chip. Yeah. And then- And then- Okay. There's Queen. They're cursed. And they have to sing most things. And, like, can't stop singing all the time. It's a huge problem, but it's kind of fun.

Arlin: There's an island of people like that.

Chip: What?

Arlin: Yeah.

Chip: That's probably good to know, actually.

Arlin: Musical Island.

Chip: Gryffon. He's a bounty hunter.

Arlin: They have those now?

Chip: Yeah.

Arlin: Times change.

Chip: He's a giant panda. Big panda man.

Arlin: Ah, I think I remember a village filled with panda folk.

Chip: Might be where he's from. And then Drey, I mean, he's with us.

Arlin: He made it out?

Chip: Mm.

Arlin: So some of them survived.

Chip: They both did. Although Finn was a bird for a while. We called him Apple. Also thought it was a girl bird.

Arlin: That crazy old fart. Pretty sure his magic's the only reason they made it out.

Chip: [laughs] He's nuts, he's nuts.

Arlin: That's even more reason why there's gotta be a world for them to live in.

Chip: I know. I just don't want you to go.

Arlin: You're a captain now, though. What's it mean to be a captain? I never quite made it to that rank.

Chip: It means making the hard decision, even when it hurts. Looking out for your crew. [His voice breaks] You could still be on it. We could figure something out.

Arlin: It's a high price to pay, the world for our little crew. I won't tell you what to do but...

Chip: I know. I know.

Arlin: We had our time.

Chip: There are so many times I just wanted you to tell me what to do. I just wanted you to be there, to laugh when I did something stupid. And I was mad that you weren't. You made me. You gave me my name, a home. I want to walk out there so bad. [He starts to cry] I can't. I can't. I know I can't.

Grizzly: He grabs your hand that has the coin.

Arlin: I'm here now. We're here now. It's gonna be all right because I can see it. I can see that you're gonna be- You're gonna be better. You're gonna have great, great goddamn adventures and stories to tell. You're gonna make people laugh. You're gonna take care of your crew because that's what a captain does.

Chip: Okay. Okay.

Arlin: You're gonna live, and everyone else is gonna live.

Chip: Thanks for being my dad.

Grizzly: He starts to crack.

Arlin: I wish I could have seen more, but thank the waves that I was able to do enough to be so proud of who I see in front of me right now.

Chip: It's nice here.

Arlin: It is, being on the sea. There's no

Chip: place I'd rather be.

Grizzly: Are you gonna stay in this mental memory?

Bizly: I'm not-

Grizzly: Are you gonna leave and try and-

Bizly: I'm not leaving.

Grizzly: Okay. You're not leaving.

Bizly: I'm just gonna take what I can get.

Timestamps: 2:27:35 to 2:41:06