#Only to learn that not only did they change his tribe midway

[mandareeboo]

So, uh, there's no polite way to ask this, but.... how badly did Chakotay age?

[bloodanddiscoballs]

Do you have any headcanons about which specific tribe/nation Spy would be from?

So I'm from the Luiseño Tribe which was colonized by the Spanish so I wouldn't say he's from mine. I think if I was to headcanon any Tribe I'd have it be one that was colonized by the French or had connections with them at some point. French colonizers integrated with the indigenous peoples in the same way that the Spanish did on my coast which is that, in addition to the violence, also settled and married people. We really don't need to get into all of that I don't need to tell you that the history you often read is whitewashed to hell and back. Basically, I'm taking Spy for myself here because I want to and I like him so moving forward:

I think it would make sense to me that he would be from either the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (farthest south I'd put him), Penacook (midway point), or part of the Mohawk Nation with roots at the Ahkwesáhsne territory. I pick these because, while I'm sure that Spy probably met Scout's Ma due to traveling for work, he very well could have been visiting family in the area too.

Here's my thought for this headcanon; Spy's mother or father was originally from America, born in either Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or the border of the US and Quebec (respectively). This parent traveled to France and got married to the other who was a French native and then raised Spy in France. So while he is a French citizen and was born and raised there, he still maintains his roots to his indigenous family in America. It would make sense to start his knowledge of various languages by teaching him his parents' native tongues and then it spread from there. So, Spy gets into the spy business because he can blend in with various different backgrounds, since it could be difficult to tell what his ethnicity is due to the mix (something that happens to me ALL the time which is me projecting again) plus his mastery of all kind of languages. He is either in the Boston area due to a job or because he's visiting/wanting to learn about his family (or a mix of the two) and meets Scout's Ma and falls hard and fast for her. Nothing changes there lore-wise.

Time for me to SUPER project: Due to his accent, he gets seen as only French, with his indigenous roots ignored. People think he just tans well but that he's just a white guy. It bothers him to no end because he has always felt displaced deep down, unable to fully feel connected to those roots because of circumstance and now his job making it dangerous to have connections. It's a part of himself he is very proud of but also feels like he is missing something because he hasn't been able to go back to his parent's side of the family in a long time. There are milestone ceremonies he didn't get to participate in since he was raised in France. And though his childhood was in France, he always felt like the odd one out. Spy has this deep-rooted feeling of not belonging anywhere that is compounded with his relationship with his gender which is part of why he leans so hard into the Gentleman persona (i personally see him as trans). It isn't until he joins the team that he's finally able to feel connected to a group of people perhaps for the first time ever.

[artekai]

I've noticed you making more post about your OC, I really wanna hear more about him if you have anything... please ramble about him as much as you want §(*￣▽￣*)§

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING AAAAAAAAAAA

OKAY SO i've been bluescreening all afternoon because I don't know where to start??? This is a P5R x Horizon AU, so do I start with the P5R stuff? Do I start with the Horizon stuff? Do I start with who Artekai actually is as a person?? I was gonna go over the story in chronological order, but when I was midway through my essay I realized it was gonna require me to explain a lot of Horizon stuff I don't really wanna get into, and it was gonna be like 80% Horizon, 10% P5R, and 10% actual Artekai ;-; So I'm gonna try to focus on my boy this time :')

(Just as a heads up, I will be going into major Horizon Zero Dawn spoilers, but I will try to explain so that it makes sense even if you’ve never played it. Also, I'm still brushing up on my knowledge of Horizon lore, so please forgive me if I get the timeline or any other canon details wrong ;-;)

SO. About Artekai. He's a 20 years old (give or take) machine hunter from the Cut (which is what we currently call Yellowstone, except it's frozen over in the future). He's a manwhore, a himbo, an attention whore. He doesn't have the same terms to describe his identity as we do, but, if he did, he'd be a gay trans guy. He's a devout believer of the Banuk tribe's faith and dreams of being a shaman someday, but, deep down, what he truly wants is to be needed. Poor guy feels very disconnected from the world and the people around him ;-;

Artekai, much like his predecessor, is extremely forgiving. Even though the werak that raised him was wiped out during the war with the Carja, he doesn't hold a grudge against any of the other tribes. That is, of course, as long as they don't say anything against Kai's people now, because he can get very defensive very quickly, but, otherwise, he always tends to assumes the best of everyone. He also advocates for diplomacy, migration, and trading between tribes, because he believes that contact with other cultures can only enrich all of their tribes and make them stronger.

Speaking of cultures, you could say that Kai takes a lot of interest in anthropology, haha. He's excited about traveling around and learning all about other tribes, their traditions and their beliefs, showing a child-like wonder when he gets to share his own culture with any outlanders who are willing to keep an open mind.

As protective as he is of his people, however, Kai does find some aspects of Banuk culture stifling, like the emphasis on self reliance or how everything, even survival, is made into a competition. He hopes to be able to get through to the other Banuk and push for a change, but he feels like he needs more authority to be able to actually achieve anything (which ties back to his desire to be a shaman - but it's fine, he'll settle for chieftain if he gets the chance).

On the topic of authority and social change, Artekai isn't very well liked amongst the Banuk, not even within his own werak. They tolerate him because he's a very skilled hunter and explorer, but he's the werak weirdo, who's overly clingy and flirts with the chieftain, who challenges tradition yet somehow believes in the Blue Light more obsessively than anyone else, who thinks he's the second coming of Banukai (an important historical figure in Banuk faith) or something equally insane. And yeah, Artekai's feet aren't exactly grounded on reality. He's a lot more quiet about it now, since he has been shamed for it throughout the years, but the werak he was raised in used to believe he had been born from the Blue Light to heal the world and restore peace to the machines, so he believed it too.

In that sense, I guess he's a bit of an anti-Aloy. And I know that sounds like more of a Carja thing to do, but it's all Azathoth's fault. Let me explain.

Back in the day, about half a century ago, there was this guy called Takuto Maruki (idk, you've probably never heard of him lol) who was part of Project Zero Dawn, because he was the world's leading expert on cognitive psience at the time. What was Project Zero Dawn, you may ask? Well, you see, at the time, a swarm of self replicating machines had gone rogue, so there was nothing humanity could do to save the world they knew. However, Zero Dawn was a project led by Elisabet Sobeck, created with the goal to stop the machines and restore life to Earth even after total extinction.

Azathoth, however, survived. How did he live through humanity's extinction, which would've presumably caused the cognitive world to crumble and be rebuilt later on in completely different ways? I'm not sure. I'm still figuring things out ;-; He's probably an actual deity and not just a cognitive being here. This AU is already very far removed from P5R canon, so that might as well happen, I guess.

Anyhow, Azathoth had to watch Takuto die. He lost his master, his role model, his only friend, his partner in crime... and, as if that wasn't enough, he had to watch the rest of humanity die as well. He watched as plants and animals disappeared, as the world was taken over by machines, and he couldn't do anything about it...

Azzie had a lot of time to sleep while he waited for the world to be repopulated. He might've even unlocked a new whole range of emotions while he processed what was happening around him. But, even when the wait was over and humans came back, he still felt... horribly empty. He needed his master, his chosen human, his friend. Even if humans came back, there'd never be another one as perfect as Takuto, who'd be able to give Azathoth a sense of purpose like he had, who'd help him feel complete again...

(unless...)

Azzie impulsively ordered a Takuto clone to be made. How???? No idea. Did he even have access to GAIA or ELEUTHIA??? I dunno. But Azzie is a deity, nothing was gonna stop him. He was gonna learn how to actualize an AI if necessary, dammit.

As you can see, I'm trying to connect the two things that don't make sense in this AU (The existence of a Takuto clone + Azathoth's survival) to try to fit everything in... but, on the other hand, this was self indulgent from the start, so maybe I can allow myself a few plot holes?

In any case, that's how Artekai was born! It was only then that Azathoth realized what he had done. He really had just made a whole ass baby just because he was sad and lonely... He could practically hear Takuto panicking and banging his head against a wall in the afterlife. Azathoth didn't know the first thing about taking care of a human child, so, for the baby's sake, he scouted the area and chose to hand him over to the Banuk. Why the Banuk, specifically? He probably thought their way of life suited Takuto or something. After all, wasn't Takuto self-reliant and resilient to a fault? Surely his clone would fare well in a society that valued those two traits above all else, right?

But Azathoth either didn't account or didn't care for the way the Banuk would react to his presence (he is the blind idiot god, so I'm leaning towards "didn't account"). This was around the time of the Derangement, which meant the machines that had once been peaceful were turning aggressive towards people without explanation. So, imagine you're a Banuk shaman and, during that period of change and uncertainty, a machine unlike any other (taller than any human, body bathed in gold and hovering over the ground, cables in place of limbs, bright blue light flowing through its tendrils and shining in his eyes) shows up at your werak and places a baby in your arms. For all you know, this baby has no human parents. This machine also seems a lot friendlier than all other machines, even before the Derangement. Are you supposed to not interpret that as some kind of divine sign?

So yeah. If Artekai's name sounds similar to Banukai, that was a deliberate choice. He was loved and uplifted by his original werak, which he misses dearly, but he was also pushed even harder than usual because they believed that the duty of saving the world rested on his shoulders. So that's why he's always so thirsty for validation.

Of course, someday, Artekai is gonna meet Azathoth and find out that he never was some sort of savior, because he's just the clone of some random dude from the old world (whereas his traveling partner Aloy really is the clone of the Scientist that Saved the World) and that he was made just because Azzie got lonely :/ That's not gonna be fun for anyone involved, haha. But hey, Kai still sticks with Aloy and helps save the world for real, so maybe his wish still came true somewhat! ^^

(I must say, though, I find it amusing that Azathoth single-handedly gave both Takuto and his son god complexes to match. King shit)

[princesskokichi]

kokichi meeting a mermaid s/o

all i used to write was fantasy aus a long time ago, so i got a little bit excited oops

i haven’t written fantasy in such a long time, it’s just romance nowadays - mod kokichi

- alright, to be fair

- this was not / his / world

- he didn't know where he was, but this wasn't his world

- when he was by the sea, playing in the sand as if he was a child

- he knew that something was off, even from the moment he woke up

- and then he met you by the sea, a timid and almost strange person

- you must've been swimming for a long time because he hadn't seen you on the beach at all

- even though the beach is completely empty today, for some reason

- you rose up out of the water, your legs dripping water for a few seconds, before they were perfectly dry

- he was a little confused at how your skin was so dry even though you just got out of the water

- perhaps you had waterproof sunscreen with a lot oil that just slicks off water, but you didn't look oily

- and you were wearing a whole formal outfit, including a satchel

- before he realized it, you two were making eye contact

- and then you rushed back into the water, as if you were supposed to be out of it at all

- but,, while he was staring at where you disappeared, a large tail broke the water surface as whatever animal with it pushed itself deeper into the sea

- that was,, weird

- no matter how weird it was, it wasn't the weirdest thing he saw today

- his phone wasn't working at all, and he couldn't contact shuichi or kaede

- and he swore, he SWORE he saw a large bird flying across his window

- but it wasn't a bird,, it just had the wings of a bird

- it was a person

- or a person with the wings of a bird

- so you running into the water in full apparel  was not at all the weirdest thing he witnessed today

- kokichi was a little upset, because he and his friends had made plans to play at the beach today before school starts back up the next day

- ten minutes later, while he was fuming that no one shwed up, you arrived out of the water again

- your skin repelled the water as before, and your hair was dry before you even reached him

- oh god, he was going to have to talk to you, wasn't he ?

- s / o : " hello ? who are you, and why are you dressed weirdly ? "

- kokichi scoffed. you just met him and you were saying he was dressed weirdly ? look at your own outfit, god

-kokichi : " i'm dressed in my swim suit. what are you dressed in ? "

- s / o : " my marriage clothes. "

- kokichi : " you're getting married ? then why are you at the beach and not the church ? "

- s / o : " church ? what would i have to do with the church ? "

- kokichi : " most people in japan get married at the church, duh. "

- s / o : " japan ? is that your tribe ? "

- kokichi : " its our country ?? where are you from ?? "

- you sat down beside him, looking at his little sand castle

- s / o : " i don't know where you're from, but this is ******. "

- kokichi : " oh. i'm pretty sure this is japan, but okay. "

- s / o : " here, i'll prove it to you. "

- fumbling around, you pulled a paper from the satchel you wore

- opening it up, he noticed that it was a bounty for a person

- s / o : " see ? some witch named kokichi is wanted for murder, here in ******. "

- kokichi : " huh,, that's,, uh, that's wild. what are they wanted for ? "

- s / o : " no idea. i just know the government wants them. "

- you stared at the picture, and then back up at kokichi

- s / o : " hey, you kinda look like them,, "

- kokichi : " oh, so i do. "

- s / o : " so, traveller from this " japan " that you speak of, what's your name ? what are you doing here ? "

- kokichi : " haha i don't think my name is very relevant. "

- he was very confused, please pardon him being so awkward

- he's been a part of weird situations, but this ?

- alright, this was teetering over the edge of what he knew and how to deal with it

- s / o : " then what are you doing here ? "

- kokichi : " i had a beach date with my friends. but i don't think that's going to happen very much anymore. "

- this kind of talk lasted for about twenty minutes ( i'm running rather long with my words so i gotta shorten the scenes a little )

- did you know that kokichi was the same witch as on the wanted poster ? yes

- did you particularly care ? no, not really. he seemed harmless.

- you two talked about a lot of things, even your marriage you ran away from

- you were a captive for a very long time, and were forced to marry someone you just met

- of course, you managed to escape, but when you came to the surface, you thought kokichi was there to catch you, so you ran away again, watching from the ocean

- midway into your story, kokichi spoke up

- kokichi : " speaking  of,, isn't it a little hard to breathe in the water ? "

- s / o : " why would it be hard ? can't you breathe in the water ? "

- kokichi : " i could, but only once. and then i'd never do it again. "

- s / o : " oh. i can breathe all the time in the water. air and water feel very different in my lungs though, so it's a little weird for the change sometimes. "

- kokichi : " why ? "

- s / o : " what do you mean, why ? "

- kokichi : " why can you breathe underwater ? "

- s / o : " uhm, to foreigners,, i think,, i think the word is, uhm, mermaid ? is that the word ? in my tribe, i was called a siamese fighting fish, or just the word betta. "

- kokichi : " oh. a mermaid. makes sense. "

- s / o : " what a strange reaction. have you never seen a mermaid ? "

- kokichi : " we don't have mermaids where i come from. "

- s / o : " we don't have you where i come from, either. but i don't react strangely to you. "

- kokichi : " you said i was dressed weirdly. "

- s / o : " oh, so i did. nevermind then. tell me more about japan. "

- kokichi spoke about japan, about the people there and the way of life. the good food ( although he tried to stay away from the whole concept of sushi, for your sake ). how school sucks sometimes, but you learn a lot so  you deal with it. how the park looks so pretty at night. pretty much everything.

- in the end, you decided to follow in his footsteps

- s / o : " can i accompany you ? to japan ? "

- kokichi : " i'm sure you could, uh, but why would you ? "

- s / o : " well, i'm the only one left alive in my tribe. if i come back to the ocean, i'll just get kidnapped over and over again. "

- kokichi : " why don't you just go to another ocean ? "

- s / o : " it doesn't work like that, dummy. "

- kokichi : " well SORRY for suggesting something, geez. "

- you laughed, standing up

- s / o : " alright, it's decided. take me back to japan with you. "

- kokichi : " i'm going to be pretty honest with you right now. i have no idea how to do that. i woke up today and was in your country. "

- s / o : " oh, so that's why you're considered a witch, kokichi. you're not from here. "

- kokichi : " so it may be. "

- s / o : " i would suppose,, you just go back to bed ? and then when you wake up, you could be in japan. "

- after agreeing with your terms, he took you to his little apartment

- you fell asleep in his bed, wearing his clothes, completely unaware that that was not the norm in japan

- but, you weren't in japan, so there wouldn't be much of a problem there, would it ?

- except his face was / very / red, which you thought meant he was getting sick

- eventually, you two somehow fell asleep,,,

- , , , , ,

- he woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing loudly, charged on his bedside table

- he reached his hand to grab it, but before he could, he accidentally smacked something in the face

- holy shit, that wasn't a fever dream

- kokichi : " huh ? s / o ? you're still here ? "

- he shook you a little bit, to wake you up.

- s / o : " if you shake me one more time i will personally send rain your way for fifteen years. "

- kokichi : " alright, sorry, geez. "

- did he,,

- did he just bring a mermaid from a different world to japan ?

- he looked at you as if you were the most amazing thing in his life

- no one was ever going to believe this one.

[dietaku]

Amazing Quest 1: Chapter 4

The fourth chapter. You know how it is. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: 2 Million Leagues Under the Sea!- We get another sepia tone flashback, this time of an only slightly-younger Hiro and Emilia. Emilia: Well… your form is good. But you swing your sword like a little girl. Hiro: I don’t like hurting people, sis. Besides, everyone knows YOU’RE the messiah the Pudding tribe has awaited! I’m only here because mom had that bottle of aged tequila lying around. Emilia: That has nothing to do with anything! You need to have more confidence! … Wait, I got just the ticket! Emilia runs behind Hiro and plays with his hair. Hiro: Um. What’re you doing? Emilia: I’m giving you a Pudding Warrior Knot in your hair. It’s an ancient custom of our tribe that when a Pudding Warrior comes of age, he gets one! Hiro: Oh. That’s pretty neat. Emilia finishes, presenting the now French braided hero, Hiro, we know now. Hiro: Somehow I feel more fabulous than before. Can’t quite place my finger on it. Emilia: It’s perfect! You’ll be beating up Dark Puddings before you know it! The scene fades, then returns, Hiro, Ozma, Kimyawa and Loyroll laid out on a beach. Hiro: Ungh. I wonder why I never dream in color. Hiro gets up and the others join him. You’ll soon discover this area is only one screen wide, so you’re left to exhaust every possibility until you investigate the water. Not just any water, though, the ONE specific square, just to the left of center. Many players wasted HOURS trying to find this event flag, and many people wrongly believed it was an anti-piracy measure. Nope. Just shoddy programming. The mermaid from before surfaces. Mermaid: So, thief, ready to pay up? Ozma: Hey! We don’t even HAVE a thief in this party! Hiro: Just a reasonable facsimile. Loyroll: You flatter me, as always. Mermaid: You yoinked the goods from that place without paying its rightful owner! Kimyawa: Isn’t that technically liberating it? Mermaid: QUIT CHANGING THE TOPIC! Kimyawa: What’s your name, Stranger-chan? Mermaid: I’m Mancala! Call me Manny and I’ll punch ya in the mug, got it?! I’m the number one marine merchant mermaid you’ll ever see in the sea! Ozma: Meh, mehmehmeh? Mancala: Ignoring that. The point is you took stolen property. So I’m gonna maroon you here until you pay up! Hiro: (Great. Now what do we do?!) You then get a prompt which can result in some different dialogue options. 1) Barter 2) Lie 3) Beg -Barter- Hiro: Okay. It was just a few things. Can’t be THAT expensive. What’s the tab? Mancala: Well… since you asked so nicely! Mancala brandishes an abacus and begins calculating. Mancala: The items total net value, plus the emotional damage to this delicate mermaid, plus interest, plus tax not withheld, plus tax withheld, social security, deducting the “asked so nicely” fee… it all tallies up to a measly 36 trillion gold! Ozma: Can I crush her head like an overripe melon? Hiro: T-trillion?! Are you MAD?! Mancala: If you’re nice, I’ll even include the “cute boy” deduction! That would knock it all the way down to 34! Loyroll: And certainly a deduction for yours truly, if I may be so bold? Mancala: I’m not into girls. … Much. Loyroll: Pardon? Hiro: There’s no way we have that much. That price is absurd. I refuse. Mancala: SAY WHAT NOW?! -Lie- Hiro: What if I told you I know of a great treasure?! It’d more than make up the difference! Mancala: Okay, I’m listening now. Kimyawa: Hiro-ni-chan! You DO?! You’ve been holding out on us?! Ozma: Hiro, how could you?! Loyroll: Most unfabulous of you, my friend. Hiro: … Mancala: … Hiro: Err. Friendship is a sacred treasure, above all material wealth in the Pudding society! Ozma: (So it was just a lie…) Mancala: *Sigh* -Beg- Hiro: Please don’t make me beg. I am not a proud man. Ozma, Kimyawa & Mancala: (This is about to get really hot…) Hiro: (Suddenly, my pride is flaring up within me and I don’t know why…) Loyroll: Well? We’re waiting. Hiro: On second thought, I think I’ll just take a moment to absorb the scenery instead. Mancala: (Darn…) Regardless of your choice, it comes back to here afterward. Mancala: This isn’t getting us anywhere! Hiro: Is there no way to come to an agreement on this? Mancala: Well… you could be my servants for a while! Y’know, help with this, that and the other for a bit and we could call it square! Hiro: I somehow get the impression you’re more ambitious than that. Mancala: Aww, you flirt~! Hiro: (Not the intended reaction. Why does it feel like my life is in danger now?) Ozma & Kimyawa: *Stare* Hiro: At any rate, we don’t have the kind of money on-hand to pay. So I guess we’ve no choice. Mancala: Well, you’re in luck! I just so happened to overhear some of the Dark Puddings talking about the Water Talisman. Hiro: You did? Where is it now?! Mancala: In the Octopus Garden. It’s some ancient ruins not far from my hometown, Mermania. Regrettably, those have been locked up tight since far back as anyone can remember. But I just so happen to know some juicy gossip that may lead us to a key. The Legendary Ice Key! Hiro: Sounds like a lead! Ozma: Or a diversion from the main plot. Poh-tay-toe, pah-tah-tow. Mancala: Either way, I need some henchmen and you need the talisman, right?! I knew it soon as I saw that birthmark! Hiro takes a moment to examine himself. Hiro: Okay, seriously, where is this birthmark you people keep going on about and why do I not see it? Mancala: But that whole “air-breather” problem… there’s only one fix for that! Hiro: Oh no, not another racket… Mancala: Calm down, calm down. It’s a Mermaid’s Kiss! Hiro: Oh. Is that some kind of stone? Or maybe a plant? Or— Mancala leaps from the water, her tail morphs into legs, allowing her to glomp Hiro. Accompanying in a loud, cartoonish “SMOOCH” sound effect, which always gets a giggle out of me. Hiro: W-whoa. That was… brusque. Ozma: *Furious* Kimyawa: *Envious* Loyroll: *Yawns* Are we ready to go now? Then we can enter the water and dive to the underwater map. Though, thanks to aquatic canyons, we can’t just go anywhere we want… yet. Our first stop is down south a ways at Mermania, a recurring city throughout the franchise. There, we can get the “Bikni” armors for our female party members, which give a serviceable boost in defense to each. Hiro and Loyroll can get the “Trnks” which are a step up, but not as huge of one. How does an armor that covers less protect more? It is one of the long, lost legendary mysteries of JRPGs. Anyways, if we talk around at the merchant’s guild here, we’ll learn that Mancala has lost her trader’s license 17 different times due to “questionable practices”. The others roll their eyes when they learn this news but refrain from commenting. After talking to enough merfolk, Mancala fans out from the party. Mancala: Okay! We got everything we need? The legendary ice key is held in the underwater volcano! Hiro: I’d question the physical possibilities but somehow I feel like I’d just be encouraging you at this point. Mancala: Oh, don’t be so glum, chum! It’s pretty much a straight line there! … With a few curves and bumps. And a giant, angry dragon at the bottom. Hiro: Ah. There’s the hitch. I was waiting for that. Loyroll: Slaying a dragon? It’s a tad cliché but I think we can handle that! Mancala: Then what’re we waiting for?! Let’s do it! Ozma: What? You mean stroll up to the dragon and punch it in the face? Mancala: … Yes? Ozma: Metal. Kimyawa: Sugoi, Ozma-chan! At this point we can move back to the ocean floor and the cave in the top-right area is open now. Had we gone he previously, Hiro would’ve met the Giant Sentient Block, a really existential gag that plagues AQ players for years to come. In fact, in the early-internet era, whether this pseudo-character even existed was up for debate, as most of his appearances in this game are very easily missed. The cave itself is pretty straight-forward, except about midway, where the current puzzles spell out great confusion for those who tried to brute force the puzzles, which would flush them down a comically oversized pit where you’d battle the Toilet Snake monster, which is obsessed with poison attacks. Otherwise, the local monsters like the Munchkinfish, Seaweeder, and Poof Fish are actually quite weak compared to other monsters around this level. Here you can find a Coral Abacus for Mancala, replacing the nonsense “TmSn” Abacus she comes with normally (the Japanese name is “Termite Snack” and I guess they were okay with letting everyone assume it meant “Thompson” or something!). Afterward, you just press on down the stairs… up until you enter the gameshow chamber. Yeah, that’s not a joke. The party fans out and stands behind a podium as a huge, anime octopus-man plops down in a suit and tie. Octopus: Welcome, ladies and gentlefish to Amazing Quest: The Game Show: The Video Game: Home Edition v. 1992! I’m your host, Otto! And you lucky heroes are in for a treat today! You get to try my quiz game challenge! Win and you’ll receive fabulous prizes! Fail and you get… well, nothing! Are we ready to play?! We then get a prompt of “Squid yeah!” or “Fin no!”, but obviously the game won’t let you progress until you at least TRY, so, yeah… Otto: Question 1 will be an easy one to get your feet wet! What tribe is Hiro from? We get a prompt between “Pudding”, “Protagonist” and “Team Laser Explosion”. The answer is quite obvious. Otto: Correct! Question 2: What is Ozma’s family name? This one is a little trickier, being given the possible answers “Trouble”, “Tohrubble” and “Toruble”. Just be aware of what her name REALLY is, and you’ll be fine. Otto: Great job! Really kraken ‘em up! Question 3: What mystical artifacts, when united, unleash a great and terrible power? The answers this time are: “The DisKord Stones”, “Hell’s Bells”, and “The Talismans”. Interestingly enough, the other options are shout-outs to DOS-era adventure titles, which AQ4 later also shouts out to. Otto: Whooo! Now we’re gilly getting into it! Question 4: What elemental affinity is the first boss of this game? The prompt is just Fire, Water and Pie, so the answer is obviously water as it was the monster in Fog Tower. If you say Pie, Otto’s arms drop to his sides, as he turns to face the player directly and will stare at you for 10 tedious, unnerving seconds before prompting you to try again. Otto: ALRIGHT! Last one and this one separates the squids from the suckers! Question 5: Which of these is NOT an element of magic?! The answer prompt this time is four options wide, including: “Music”, “Emotion”, “Boobs” and “Food”. You’d only know the answer to this if you read the instruction booklet – which specifically references the elements of magic in the AQ universe. This is kind of a jerk move by the game devs, as losing the manual in the early SNES era was a foregone conclusion by all but the most dedicated collectors. The answer is technically food, but the AQ manga series actually contradicts this during the “Great Pudding Cook-Off” arc. Otto: N-no way! What an amazing contestant we had on the show! Everyone, put your fins together for our new winners! A bunch of fish suddenly leap-on screen and shake about excitedly as the SNES strains to emulate the sound of uproaring applause. Then they retreat to whence they came. Otto: How do you feel? Hiro: A little drunk? Otto: YOU HEARD IT HERE, FOLKS! Now, enjoy your fabulous prizes! For answering all five correct, we get 3 “Fishy Hats” which are helmet upgrades that anyone in the party can put on. We’re then booted from the quiz room and resume our trek through for a few more rooms up until we reach the boss chamber. There, there’s a huge hole in the center of the room, glowing red. Hiro: I have to assume this is where the dragon awaits us. Mancala: Better go up and check just to be sure, Hiro! We’ll wait back here, where it’s safe! Hiro: *Sigh* Very well. One moment. Hiro walks to the lip and looks down. Hiro: Deep. But I don’t see anything. Hiro kicks a small stone from the lip down below, then puts a hand to his ear to listen for it. Hiro: … Deep. Very deep. But I still don’t— The screen begins violently shaking. Hiro: Well, I’ve been wrong before. -Boss Fight!- Trench Serpent LP: 7500 MP: 1000 This gigantic beast is a real threat at last! I hope you took the time to level up on your way here! Your best bet is use Kimyawa’s Fox Flip, if you’re leveled high enough to have it by now, which can briefly confuse the monster to some considerable effect. However, it mandates being quite a bit over-leveled to use here, so she may be money ahead to spam the Mirror of Kii. The serpent’s most dangerous move is “COWABUNGA!” which sends a killer tidal wave over the party – never mind that we’re already underwater during this fight. Your Pudding Swirls should be sufficient, provided you’re not careless. If you monitor your HP burn, you should come out on top. -Boss Fight!- Hiro: Whew… that was surprising. Mancala: Look! The Ice Key! A banana in a block of ice floats down to Hiro’s hands. Hiro: I lack the words. As usual. Mancala: We have it! Now we can go to the Octopus’ Garden! Hiro: Tell me it’s not a quiz game. Mancala: Probably not! Loyroll: Life is far more fun when you never know what comes next, right? Hiro: I guess so. At this point we –can- go on to the next area, if we wanted to. However, a hilarious and easily-missed Easter egg awaits those who return back to Zaius and Heston. The people gather at a neutral ground once you walk into one of the cities. Hiro: Okay. Everyone. Watch very carefully. I’m gonna bring peaceful resolution to this once and for all. Hiro brandishes his sword, then cuts the Ice Key clean in half. Mancala: HIRO! WHAT THE HELL?! Hiro: Just watch. This is going some place. Hiro takes the banana free of the ice, then peels it from center-out on both ends. Crowd: WHAT?! N-no way! No one has ever… how did he DO THAT?! Hiro: See? Now you understand: there’s more than just two ways to do something! And each is equally valid. And now we all learned an important lesson, right? Crowd: HE HAS ANGERED THE VOLCANO GODS! Hiro: Beg pardon? The camera pans out as a nearby mountain erupts into a volcano, the magma pours out and wipes out both villages in a flash. It then cuts back to the party. Mancala: Oh. Right. This place is ruled by the twin brother gods of volcanoes: Rilk and Klir. They also had very particular food habits. And banana peeling was one of their sacred doctrines. Hiro: … How was I supposed to know that? So with two more destroyed cities under our belts, we find the Melted Blade, a new sword for Hiro as we return to the sea for the Octopus Garden. The garden is a 3D maze, using a really curious fixed-perspective isometric view and water spouts that move Hiro up and down as you run through. People have wasted HOURS of their lives here due to the numerous deadends and confusing layout. This is also only the first screen. The second area has moving platforms which Hiro must traverse in order to cross a river. For some reason, this ordeal seems quite nostalgic, doesn’t it? The third area introduces the garden’s true gimmick – the octopus jars and the red and blue octopi. When you get here, the party fans out. Mancala: Ah. I’ve heard of this room. We have to approach it from a certain angle! Hiro: I don’t suppose you know what it is? Mancala: Grandma said this: red octopi are friendly and will pull you near them for a closer look! Blue octopi are shy and if approached, will politely move you away from their homes! But don’t fear – neither will harm you! Hiro: What on Earth does THAT mean?! Mancala: I dunno. Why? Hiro: … Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think I understand! The octopi-tachi are different colors here. Red will pull us near from far away and blue will push us from near to far. And the room is full of holes in the floor. So, to progress, we need octopi-tachi to move us from one spot to another. Hiro: So the riddle lies in the color and the distance. I see. This is the most head-scratching moments in the game, not due to the base mechanics, but to how fiendishly clever the rooms that lie ahead really are. As explained, red octopi reach out three or four spaces ahead to grab us, but will ignore us if we’re one or two spaces out from them, and blue octopi ignore us at distances of three or greater, and will move us away from them three to four spaces if we approach. Using this knowledge we must move about the map step by step to progress. The first room is very simple and just a test of how each works. The second room adds more walls and holes in the floor to test your critical thinking. The third room adds floors that collapse once stepped on (which reset if you leave and come back) and the final room adds conveyer belts for a touch of twitch-reflex testing! Even with random encounters turned off for these moments, this still routinely gets ranked in the top 5 most hair-pullingly frustrating dungeons in the series. Once you get to the end, we see another pit not unlike the underwater volcano end area. Mancala: Oh? Is this the center area of the Octopus Garden? Ozma: Ugh. Not a recolor boss fight. How uncreative can you get? The area rumbles as a large, purple Trench Serpent rises from below. Kimyawa: Ozma-chan, Snake-san didn’t like that comment. Hiro: Get ready, everyone! Before the battle can begin, something flashes across the screen, and the serpent roars, sinking back into the abyss. Hiro: Wait, what? Who was that?! ?: Light Puddings! Prepare yourselves! Ozma: Uh. Strictly speaking only one among us is a Pudding! A tall, slender man with an oversized tower shield on each arm stands before the party. Man: I am Praetorian Mih! Hiro: Of course you are. Loyroll: I understand your frustration, my friend, but you must admit, he’s got style! Mih: You’ve done enough damage, Light Pudding! It’s time your little escapade— Hiro: Excuse me. Mih: What? Hiro: How are you breathing right now? Did you kiss a mermaid too? Mih: Huh? Hiro: We’re underwater, so I just wanted to know if we did the same thing is all or if there was a better way. Mih: Kiss a mermaid? What are you on about? Everyone knows mermaids aren’t real. Mancala: *Ahem* Mih: Bah! I tire of this. Enough banter! Have at you! -Boss Battle!- Praetorian Mih LP: 8800 MP: 750 Praetorian Mih is every bit the human wall his massive design and dual-wielding shields might indicate, coupled with by far the most LP of anything we’ve yet encountered. The best thing to do is to use Ozma’s Table Flip in hopes it reduces this giant’s defenses and use Pudding Swirl with Hiro and Kimyawa in order to give him the offensive edge needed to compete. Loyroll should use the Mirror of Kii, exploiting Mih’s middling magic defenses. Mih’s most annoying ability will be “Safe & Sound”, a special technique accompanied by an unusually cool trumpet solo which will render him virtually invincible for two rounds before he opens up with a party-wide physical blow. However, if you can weather this, he has a 3 turn cooldown on the ability, so he cannot spam it. You’ll have to play the endurance game just as much as he does, but if you keep it up, you’ll send him packing. -Boss Battle!- Mih: Hahaha! Not bad. Not bad at all. But it will take way more than that to defeat the Human Wall, Praetorian Mih! Hiro: How many more times are you going to introduce yourself?! Loyroll: It seems our unstoppable tempo has met with an unmoving mountain! Kimyawa: Nii-chan, I think you’re mixing your metaphors. Ozma: Don’t give up. I have an idea! But I’ll need your help, Mancala! Mancala: Huh? Uh. Okay! Lay it on me! What’s the plan?! Ozma palms Mancala’s head in her hand. Mancala: Eh? Wait, what— Ozma then hurls Mancala head-first into Mih, who slides back as she impacts, coming to the rim of the pit behind him. Mancala falls flat, stars circling her head. Mancala: BARF! Mih: Hahahaa! You must be truly desperate to resort to such flailing, desperate measures! Ozma: Oh, am I? Mih: Huh? What did you…? Oh no! Mih panics, desperately attempting to run as the cliff below him gives out and he plummets into the pit below. After a few seconds of a whistling, falling sound, we hear a violent crash below. Kimyawa: Yatta! Hiro: That was, uh, a creative way of dealing with that. Ozma: I’m pretty pleased with myself. Mancala: My poor head… I’m gonna feel that for weeks! Ozma: Oh, walk it off. Mancala: How do you walk off a headache?! Hiro: C’mon, guys. The water talisman must be… huh? Do you guys hear something? The area rumbles distantly. Suddenly, an explosion rockets up from the pit, sending the party skyward. Hiro: He exploded?! Loyroll: Not just him! The serpent too! Hiro: BECAUSE THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, RIGHT?! Something shiny flies among the party. Kimyawa: Sugoi! The water talisman! Guy-nii-chan! Ozma: I got it! Ozma grabs Mancala’s tail and swings her around, causing Mancala to grab it. Mancala: STOP THAT, YOU CRAZY BITCH! Ozma: But it just feels SO RIGHT! How can it be wrong?! Ozma learns the Dual Tech – Fish Slap! She’ll grab Mancala’s tail and swing her about like a flail, dealing great damage to a single target. This move deals water-type damage. And we get the Water Talisman! Ozma: The important thing is that we got the Water Talisman now, right? Hiro: No! The important thing is that we’re ABOUT TO FALL AND DIE!!! Ozma: Such a gloomy gus… The party is then viewed falling, crash-landing in a seaside village on the opposite side of one of the underwater canyons that previously prevented our passage from Mermania. They pick themselves up and survey the town. Mancala: Oh! I know where this is! This is Trackland, the town known for its enormous race track and horrible, crippling gambling debt! Hiro: That seems… informative. Never heard of a place that bagged on their own town when they were naming it. Ozma: Might as well have a look around. I don’t see anything else we can do for now. Here we can buy some upgrades, like Kimyawa’s CatCap helmet, Ozma’s Blaz Knuckles and Hiro’s Shing Sword, provided you didn’t find the Melted Blade earlier. By talking to the locals, we learn the Dark Puddings have already ransacked their town, and now their sole joy remains in the race track – famous for being so long it’s also the main highway to the next town! We then go to talk to the operations manager to find a means down said road. Hiro: Hello. We were wondering if it would be alright to head down the race track to the next town. Ops Guy: No, no, no. You don’t “head down” the race track. You RACE down it! That’s why they call it a RACE track! Mancala: Yeah? Then why do they call something you drive on a parkway and something you park on a driveway?! Ops Guy: Look, I don’t make the rules – I just enforce them. If you try any funny business, I’ll run your butts down and drag you back here for the biggest lecture of your lives! So race properly or don’t race at all! The party leaves the room, then spreads out again. Hiro: Well, so much for the direct route. Ozma: Anyone have any ideas? Loyroll: Why not do what he said? After all, a race sounds like fun! No one can keep up with our tempo! Mancala: We can’t just run the track. We’d pass out from exhaustion before we hit the midway. We need something we can ride. We need a pack mule! Hiro: A town renowned for its race track? Well, there has to be a ranch nearby with animals for such an occasion. Let’s ask around. Heading over to the ranch on the east side of town we can talk to the rancher – a strangely feminine man in a long, white trench coat. Hiro: We need— Rancher: A monster for the race, right? Hiro: Wow, you’re— Rancher: I am pretty awesome. Moreover, you’re wasting your time. The Dark Puddings raided my ranch last month and I’m still putting the pieces back together. Hiro: Isn’t there anything— Rancher: Yeah, if you get a few million going spare, I could lend you one of my thoroughbreds I’ve been raising. Hiro: We don’t have— Rancher: Neither does anyone else, bro. If you want the bargain bin, you’re in luck. This way. Hiro: Are you going to let me— Rancher: No. The rancher leads us over to one particular pen where a sad, squat lizard-like creature with a camel’s hump, two wings and two tails, weighed down by mace-like appendages crawls out. It coughs out dust on Hiro’s boots. Hiro: Is it dying? Rancher: I can only hope. This here is the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. This is the last of the Griffohumps. Hiro: Okay, you’re gonna need to explain that one to me. Rancher: It’s half griffon, half camel-dog. Its eyes also don’t align properly and it’s wantonly flatulent. I’ll let you take it for 100 gold. Take it or leave it. Hiro: Well, that’s a very reasonable price. For an unreasonable animal. I was thinking more of something like a horse… Rancher: Then you’re out of luck, chum. What little I have left other than this guy is for rebuilding and repopulating my ranch. Hiro: Looks like I don’t have much of a choice. We then get a Yes/No prompt, which is entirely pointless as saying no means we just walk around town until we go back and say Yes. In the GBA remake, however, if Kimyawa is level 37 (really, only a few levels higher than the average for this segment) and knows her Fox Inferno technique, this entire segment takes on an entirely DIFFERENT connotation as Kimyawa can replace the Griffohump as our pet in this minigame. But that’s creepy. So I’ll stick with the SNES version, thank you very much. The Griffohump is then dropped into a special Virtual Pet-style menu, which we can access whenever we want by speaking with the rancher. We’re then prompted to name the little guy – his default name is “Stinky”. We can feed it either mundane items, or special items the rancher will offer to sell us, which influence its stats. We can train it in minigames, or by fighting it like it was a monster encounter – which is the most effective means to raise it. Unequip the party and let it beat on the party and its stats will skyrocket, especially if it KOs the party. We can also have Hiro pet it and talk to it, which makes Hiro spout off nonsense jokes that were poorly translated from their original Japanese counterparts. You may persist in doing this as long as you’d like or until you hit the ludicrous 999 stat caps. Really, if you get it to around 150 in everything, Energy, Speed, Acceleration and Defense, you don’t need anything more than that. Return to the ops guy. Ops Guy: You again?! Didn’t you hear me?! Hiro: We’d like to enter the race properly now! Ops Guy: Really now? Well, that’s an entirely different story. Ready to begin? We then get a Yes/No prompt. Select Yes to continue. Ops Guy: Alright! To the starting line! This cues up the race minigame, with Hiro sitting astride the Griffohump, who is barely larger than his owner. The race itself involves running to the right-hand side of the screen as other racers try to jump on/over us. We’re ranked as we go and we must be in one of the top three places in order to win the minigame. Failure to do so drops us off where we started the race and Hiro mumbling something about “Not being on his A-Game today”. Clearing in higher ranks nets us better money and item rewards, but nothing worth freaking out over just yet – but they do get better as the plot progresses. But if we manage to win in 1st, 2nd or 3rd, we reach the chapter’s end! Narrator: And thus, Hiro and his party, riding gallantly atop Stinky, gracefully coast across the valley. What awaits them ahead? Only time will tell… We then get the Griffohump Feather, a key item we can use to access the virtual pet minigame from anywhere, anytime! Don’t forget to feed him from time to time!

[yukiwrites]

Ryoma, Unmarried

Thank you so much for commissioning me again, @xpegasusuniverse! This was so much fun to write açksjdlasd I hope you like it! ;D

Summary: A few months passed after the war, and Ryoma is still the only royal left without a marriage partner. Or rather, the only person in the entire army! He feels ashamed and pushed aside. When he was about to choose an arranged marriage partner, a friend from the past visits and takes him out drinking...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

The war against Nohr had ended and, with it, another unexpected battle: against the incarnation of a Silent Dragon long forgotten.

Corrin led the hoshidan army to defeat the possessed King of Nohr, Garon, as well as his remaining loyal forces. It was a hard-fought battle, one that would have been impossible to win without their strong bonds of love and trust.

Of their bonds of love and trust.

After the battle was over, Nohr crowned a new King: Prince Leo, who had signed a peace treaty with King Ryoma of Hoshido. From then on, both kingdoms would only know peace.

... Indeed. Peace.

Peace and bridge-gapping opportunities went very well together, as princess Hinoka said so, mere weeks after the war was over. She wanted her relationship with the nohrian knight to be known all across Hoshido and Nohr, so the people from both kingdoms could come to understand that the war was now a thing of the past: and that love could blossom from between them.

Without a reason to dislike nohrians as the new age of tranquility began, Ryoma could do nothing but acknowledge his sister's claims, publicly announcing her marriage to their people.

'The First Princess is marrying before her Lord Brother, the King? What's happened?' The tongues wagged whenever they had the opportunity, poking Ryoma at places he never thought they would. It was custom that the oldest sibling would be first to marry, then the second oldest, and so on, until the youngest.

And yet, Ryoma blessed not only Hinoka's, but Takumi's and Sakura's marriages both, while still being an unmarried King.

Mere months had passed since the peace treaty, and yet the people and the court already talked about King Ryoma's inability to conceive a heir or of finding a marriage partner.

'There are hundreds of noble girls eager to claim the position of Queen of Hoshido! What is King Ryoma waiting for?' Were their constant words, making the newly crowned King even more burdened with his siblings' marriages.

Of course, he should’ve been happy for them, but the circumstances of their relationships as well as how they conveyed their feelings to him... Still made him bitter to this day. He couldn't forget the shame he felt that fateful evening as he shared the same table of the siblings who kept their affairs from him.

He had always looked forward and only forward, never making time for his heart to find place with someone. He saw as each of his subjects found love, one after the other: Saizo took Mozu back to his village so she could learn how to be the wife of a ninja, as did Kaze and Kagero with their loved ones.

Corrin, his brother by heart, left for the Fire Tribe to undergo their rigid training in hopes to be accepted to marry Rinkah. Sakura herself left a short while after her marriage; to live with her young husband back at the Wind Tribe -- one that she would lead in the future, alongside Hayato. Hinoka brought Silas to live in the castle, though they also had a house at the border between Hoshido and Nohr so they could always be aware of the great step their relationship meant to both kingdoms.

Azura left with Kaden for the kitsune hamlet.

Every single one of the royal siblings had married before their King could even fathom finding something akin to love in his life. He wouldn't have been bothered about it if the circumstances had been different, but to this day he could not stop thinking about it. As a King, he had to find a partner so as to bring his subjects the peace of heart of knowing that he would deliver an heir to his rule. As a Prince, it was his duty to oversee his siblings' marriages and give them to their partners with a still heart and a smile.

As a brother, it bothered him to no end that his siblings worked behind his back to bring shame to him!

... No, that wasn't it. He knew his siblings only wanted to be with their loved ones. As a man, he couldn't help but feel betrayed because while he had his efforts focused on the war, his family found even stronger bonds than their brotherly ones. They each found someone more important to them than him.

The anxiety of having to meet his people's expectations as well as the utter feeling of abandonment made Ryoma battle a headache every single day.

He was already going through some of the noble women willing to rise to the crown. If he wouldn't marry for love, he would for convenience. Anything to stop feeling like this.

"Gah, what a sour face I come to find the day I decide to visit!" A familiar and disgusted voice sounded from the door, making Ryoma look up from his desk.

His shoulders sagged immediately when he laid his eyes upon the blonde woman giggling by the entrance. "Scarlet! You didn't tell me you were going to visit."

Scarlet never lost her smirk, entering the room without waiting for invitation. "Yeah, well, I didn't know I was gonna visit, either. I remembered I owed you something, so I just came here on a whim to give it to you!"

"Owe me something?" Ryoma frowned. "Scarlet, the one indebted to you is me. Without your help back then-"

"Ookayy, stop!" She raised her palm right in front of Ryoma's nose. "I said I was gonna give you something, but the moment I saw your sour face, I changed my mind. I mean, I'll still give it to you, but somewhere else! C'mon, come with me." She pulled him by the arm, making him get up from his seiza.

"Scarlet- I cannot leave right now, I still have many duties-"

"Isn't a Kingsly duty or whatever to receive foreign guests? There you have it. You're gonna show me around RIGHT NOW."

Ryoma felt the burden so long over his shoulders to dissipate. "I can never win against you, can I?"

The wyvern knight smiled widely, a faint shade of pink covering her cheeks. "That's right, ya can't! Although I asked you to 'lead the way', I already know where we're going -- I found a smashin' little bar just behind the western gate: it was a stand-and-drink thingy! You hoshidans are so creative with the small space you live in."

For the first time in months, Ryoma let out a heartfelt laugh. "Hah, very well, then, Scarlet. Lead the way. I'm eager to find out about this 'smashing little place'."

Scarlet snorted loudly, "even your tongue's too used to this flowery formal speech! Loosen up, you!" She slapped his back and laughed, quickly making her way outside.

With a smile, Ryoma followed. He hadn't felt this free in so long!

Only after setting foot outside did the King notice the time: it was already evening! How long had he been staring at those miai pictures for?

"C'mon, Ryoma, I can't pull you the whole night!" Scarlet's voice brought him back from his thoughts, her hand pulling his across the deserted corridors.

"How do you know these alleys? I assume this is the first time you've visited..."

"I'm used to alleys and stuff from back in the resistance, yeah? I'm just good at finding my way, I guess."

"What a curious skill to have. You'll need to teach me some other time." He chuckled, squeezing his hand on hers.

Scarlet felt her entire head explode from embarrassment after finally realizing she had been holding his hand that entire time. "W-what, you want me to visit even more? Or do you wanna know how to sneak out by yourself?" She tried to play it cool by not looking back, feeling her hand sweating.

"A little of both, I think." He admitted, "sneaking around is always a good skill to have."

"But you are pigheaded!" She choked on her breath, not believing at how dense a man could be. "Oh well, whatever, I came prepared for this, anyway."

Ryoma blinked in surprise. "Forgive me, did I offend you somehow-"

"Naw, don't worry about it. Lemme just get a bit of sake in my blood to loosen my lips a bit. Then we'll talk."

"A-alright..."

They arrived not too long after to the booth: it was indeed a stand-and-drink little place, with a few customers keeping to themselves at each corner of the counter.

Full of energy, Scarlet ordered the strongest soju they had, confident that she wouldn't be brought down to a hoshidan drink as opposed to the swill she was used to back home.

"Pwahh, this is some good stuff!" She slammed the cup on the counter, giggling. She could already feel her cheeks reddening from drinking only five cups. Maybe foreign sake was indeed strong even to her, after all.

Ryoma kept drinking modestly -- he was on his second cup -- and laughed by only looking at Scarlet. She was someone who could have fun with so little. If only he were able to be like that, then he wouldn't be so burdened.

"There you go again, making that sour face. Is my company that bad?" She poked on his forehead, in the middle of his furrowed brow.

Once again Ryoma blinked in surprise, downing his third cup immediately. "Pray, forgive me. I did not mean to worry you. This is just such a great breath of fresh air, I couldn't help but think of the things I still left unresolved."

Scarlet felt her heart thump, her hand reaching to her bag. "Yeah, about that stuff with your siblings, right? And... with you, too, I guess."

The King hardened his chin, his hands stopping midway to pouring himself another cup. "So you do know."

"Well, yeah, that's kinda why I'm here too. Remember the thing I was gonna give you? Here." She shoved her hand inside the bag, taking out a tuft of flowers and slamming them over Ryoma's chest.

"Flowers?" He tilted his head to the side, placing the cup and bottle on the counter so as to examine his present.

Scarlet chewed on her lip, the flush on her face not only because of the drink. "Yeah. They're daffodils. They grow around these premises, or don't, I don't know."

"That's... not very informativ-"

"Whatever, where they came from isn't important. But seeing as you didn't react as I knew you wouldn't, I'm also gonna give you this." Once again she shoved something out of her bag into his chest, but this time, it was a book. "It's a book that contains the meanings of the flower language."

"Scarlet, I'm-"

"I'm not done, sheesh, lemme talk 'till the end, alright? I just need some time to," she breathed in and out, psyching herself. "Alright, I'm good."

"R-right..." He looked around, trying to check if someone was watching them, but even the barman made himself scarce the moment Scarlet started talking.

"You remember back when we first met? You gave me something because you said that it was rude to meet without giving presents or whatever? It was a flower."

"Indeed, I found it only natural to give a beautiful flower to someone so strong-willed and gracious as yourself."

Scarlet left her mouth open in shock, midway to finishing her sentence. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, anyway. The flower you gave me, do you remember which kind it was?"

Ryoma looked up in thought, holding both book and flowers carefully. "Hmm, they were orange blossoms, if I remember correctly."

"Good, then you know." She smiled, then smirked. "Alright, your homework for after you go back is look up the meaning of orange blossoms and daffodil, you hear?"

"Homework-"

"Yeah, for later! Now, we drink our sorrows away!" She poured another cup for herself and for him, "be sure to tell me your answer tomorrow, ya hear? I'll be waiting!" She winked, then downed another cup. "Pwah, this is really some good stuff!"

Utterly lost about the entire conversation, but not about to deny spending time with his friend Scarlet, Ryoma placed his presents in his pocket, inside the haori he wore, and followed suit.

For the first time in months -- or rather, for the first time since he had last met Scarlet -- Ryoma finally loosened himself and smiled, the meaning of the flowers a secret to be revealed only later that night...