"...they call me the Flaming Amarant."

I'm just going to keep spamming posts until somebody responds. >(

Found something else to boggle at in the Ultimania guide. All of the character timelines end on March 17, 1800. Zidane's is blank, clearly, because his last entry is on the 10th, which is apparently when he goes back to try to rescue Kuja. The 10th for everyone else says that they escaped on the Hildagarde 3. All well and good, but back to the 17th - we see where all the characters go back to after the final battle:

Vivi: returns to the Black Mage Village
Dagger: returns to Alexandria Castle
Steiner: returns to Alexandria Castle
Freya: returns to Burmecia
Quina: returns to the Qu's Marsh on the Mist Continent
Eiko: stops in Madain Sari, then returns to Lindblum
Amarant: returns to Alexandria

...Wait, what? Alexandria? What would Amarant go there for at the end of the journey? One could maybe make the argument that he used the gargant there to get back to Treno, but why bother when they were on an airship in the first place? And besides, if Eiko's entry is any indication, Amarant's would say "stops in Alexandria, then returns to Treno" or something, if that were the case.

So he goes to Alexandria, of all places. And then eventually to Treno, since that's where he's coming from at the end of the game. But Alexandria first. And I want to know why.

Part of me thinks maybe seeing Dagger safely home was his way of showing the respect he's gained for Zidane - since Zidane stayed behind and can't do it himself, Amarant stepped in to do it for him. Then again, that seems like kind of a big jump for his characterization (doesn't it?). Plus Dagger can take care of herself, and even if she couldn't, that's what Steiner and Beatrix are for. The more cynical part of me thinks he was hoping to collect whatever bounty Brahne had promised him for returning the pendant to Alexandria. But probably not.

DISCUSS! *hopes that people will*

No fic today, because I'm still brainstorming. Trying to get back into the swing of writing cuz I actually haven't been doing it much at all lately. In the meantime, I've been scribbling down plot points that might make decent fic fodder and started wondering...

Why did Amarant decide to leave the party at Ipsen's Castle, of all places? Obviously he's sick of the group by that point, but the castle's at the bottom of a canyon on a continent that can only be accessed by airship or chocobo. So leaving the group is all well and good but where did he think he was going to go?* Was he planning to hijack the airship and leave them all stranded there? Or does he secretly have his own chocobo that he trained? (Wouldn't THAT just ruin his reputation...)

*Obviously we all know Amarant is a total badass and could scale the cliff no problem and then probably swim to that island Daguerreo's on and climb the mountain or something, but for the purposes of speculation...

What do you guys think? Plot hole? Bad decision-making? Or something else?

Also, for anyone who may be interested, I had a moment of nerd-spiration a few nights ago and decided to translate Amarant's specific timeline from the FFIX Ultimania guide. My Japanese skills are nothing special, so it took quite a while, but it's available here as a Word doc if you're interested. Let me know if the link goes down and I can re-upload it. :) And if anyone with better skillz than mine has corrections they think need to be made, please let me know!

Long time no see! I hope that the release of FF9 on the PlayStation Network will spur some more activity in this fandom... *crosses fingers*

Anyway, I've had this one sitting around for a while, but I wasn't wholly satisfied with it. I'm still not entirely sure I nailed the characterization, so any input on that would be greatly appreciated!

Cross posted from madain_sari

Title: A Child's Logic
Theme + Number: 99. Silence
Claim: Amarant Coral
Characters/Pairings included: All eight party members appear.
Rating: K+
Warnings: None.
Summary: Zidane may have been willing to just accept Amarant back into the group after his stunt at Ipsen's Castle, but the rest of the group requires a little more convincing.
Timeline: Takes place directly after Ipsen's Castle, but before they go to the four shrines.

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Because I'm being too slow in the fanfic-writing department at the moment, I come bearing a poll. In discussing FF9 with friends IRL, I have come to the conclusion that we can't seem to agree on how Amarant's name would actually be pronounced. (Ah, the joys of games with no voice acting.) So, out of curiosity, I'd like to know how you all would pronounce it if you said it aloud.



Thanks for humoring me; carry on! XD;

So I was wandering the Dealers Room at Anime Boston yesterday, and I came to a booth with a couple little bins beside its display. "This bin only $1.50!" proclaimed one. "This bin only $1.00!" cried the other. Cheapskate that I am, I looked in the dollar bin, which was full of keychains and other trinkets, and who do I find? Garnet. Suddenly excited, I dig deeper and...

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( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

This is the third and final part of my little saga regarding Amarant, Lani, and their hunt for Garnet's pendant. Reading the previous two is not a prerequisite, but I did mean them to all go together. This one starts with the two of them reaching Madain Sari before the party does, and goes right up to Eiko getting kidnapped.

Cross-posted from madain_sari, as per usual.

Previous in the set, for those interested:
1. Through Hell and High Water
2. Alternative Thinking

Title: Two's a Crowd
Theme + Number: 43. Moogles
Claim: Amarant Coral
Characters/Pairings included: Lani, Quina, Eiko and her moogles
Rating: K+
Warnings: Minor swearing.
Summary: In which the straw breaks the camel's back.
Timeline: Takes place from the time the party's at the Iifa Tree to Eiko getting kidnapped by Lani.
Canon: FFIX

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SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT.

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I'm conscious of not having posted anything in ages >>

I recently designed a character who comes across as somewhat barbaric, using the name 'Barnadine' after Shakespeare's character from Measure for Measure, and realised today that Amarant and the original big B have a good amount in common. You know, other than one being a raving hermit drunkard while the other is a hired killer at the peak of his proffession. This is he: http://shakespeare-art-museum.com/Watercolors/bf17.html
Perhaps in a way Amarant does represent chaos and I don't know... hermithood at the deepest point? At the end of the game with his un-change, he's proving as stubbornly uncaring as Barnadine?I like the idea of Amarant as something untamed, a wild man who's unconstrained by society's pettinesses. And I keep thinking of him as Kyo from Fruits Basket, and Zidane as Yuki : (


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Well, I held off for a little over a week, but here I am, spamming you guys again, with yet another cross-posted fic from madain_sari. T__T

This could be considered a sequel of sorts to my previous fic for this challenge, "Through Hell and High Water," since it continues the story of just what Amarant and Lani were up to between the fight in Fossil Roo and the kidnapping of Eiko in Madain Sari. Reading that is not, however, a prerequisite. This time, I decided to tackle Conde Petie, which they would have had to pass in order to get to Madain Sari.

Title: Alternative Thinking
Theme + Number: 65. Clever
Claim: Amarant Coral
Characters/Pairings included: Lani
Rating: K+
Warnings: Minor swearing.
Summary: There's more than one way to get through Conde Petie.
Timeline: Takes place after Zidane and Dagger get "married" but before Amarant joins the party.
Canon: FFIX

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