This story is a work of fanfiction. As such, it owes a great debt to the creators of the characters used herein: Rumiko Takahashi, Matt Bozon, Erin Bell Bozon and the creative teams of Kity Films and WayForward.


( 。◕ シーンブレイク ◕。)


Chapter 13
Washing Up

Returning to the Uncle Mimic's workshop the party was greeted by the sight of Ranma who had found an open vest he was now wearing over his bare chest and had lost Ryouga somewhere. They had two seals gathered for now, Risky haven't shown herself. Must have spared five minutes to trashing Hypno Baron, then was brewing nefarious plans for the rest of her time, Shantae suggested.

Sky and Ukyou were busy somewhere else.

Mimic handed his niece her fixed top. She changed hurriedly with relief, hiding behind some big tinker-thing in a corner. Akane had to help her pull Ranma's shirt off: the inner layer got stuck to her sweaty arms.

Mimic tried pulling details out of the grateful Shantae: the future, her fight against the Pirate Master and so on. It seems there was no way now for her to shirk a thorough retelling of her adventures. But the young crowd, hungry after their heroic deeds, remembered the quest item they had saved from the boss. Tasty Meal was devoured in an instant. Shared between the seven of them, the huge dish of pilaf suddenly turned so small. Not yet done, they went to the eatery where they ate for fourteen coppers and a half. Which was more than a jewel, which turned to be equal to non-metric twelve coppers. Nabiki frowned recalling that Shantae's monthly income was eighty of these "jewels". The crowd of Nerimans was threatening to eat their generous host out of her house. If that happened, everyone would suffer.

The half-Genie waved all concerns aside despite her purse thinning out visibly. After the filling diner they went shopping. The sun was going to set, its reddening blaze a backdrop for the Sultana's palace outlined on its distant peninsula. It was Ranma's and Nabiki's first time in the shop, they took their time looking over rows of various merchandise stretching under the skeleton of some dinosaur hanging under the ceiling. Shantae and the big-eyebrows salesman were haggling with gusto. Which resulted in all semi-precious stones collected during this day's adventure returning eight coppers.

Then, spending again. Shantae was adamant on buying toothbrushes, towels, soap and other toiletries for six displaced people. Ranma barely convinced her not to count Ryouga because noone knew when he'd return. She bought for five — another jewel away — then began eyeing clothing "because we are going to the bathhouse!"

Seeing the price tags on clothing, even Nabiki was staggered. Akane was flat out horrified. It seems this world haven't even heard about such things as mass production. Simplest short shorts and tops cost from six jewels upwards while anything more complex would have to be ordered tailor-made.

They have also found that a pair of silk harem trousers Shantae was running around in cost more than a hundred jewels. The spirited gal wasn't broke only thanks to the fact that any forms of magical healing fixed clothing as well.

At learning this fact Ranma's eyes glinted so cleverly that Akane began eyeing him with suspicion eventually making the pig-tailed martial artist admit: he thought of lending his pants to the half-Genie from time to time for freebie repairs. He then dodged the topic by offering to sew clothing for everyone since anything ready made is so expensive.

Shantae approved the idea. Akane began frowning, gnawed upon by her feelings of inadequacy. Xian Pu inquired suggestively when was he planning to take measurements. Casting wary grances at the angrily huffing Akane, Ranma suggested he'd begin with something one-size-fits-all, like Sky's outfit. Why, the climate was hot anyway.

They set to buy a roll of fabric. Squabbled a bit about the color, wilted quickly after learning that any colors beyond drab or sandy doubled the price. Exploiting the fact she was a repeat customer, Shantae haggled for a long-kept dark red one with a good chunk off its price so it cost her not that much more than the drab ones. And still, twelve jewels were gone!

They also learned Shantae had another purse, this one with silver coins valued five jewels each. Which had been lean before but was now leaning towards famished.

Nabiki mumbled she now sees how sensei could blow five thousand dollars in one month. It seems the half-Genie did not just dislike saving money but the very idea was offense to her free and reckless life-style.

Their next step was the bath house next to the shop, on the same square surrounding the round pond.

Ukyou was limping in other direction, satisfied with something. Glad to see him, she glomped onto Ranma... And stayed attached. Akane and Xian Pu both had to accede she played the wounded doe part all proper like. When they reached the bath house, she was still supported by the pigtailed martial artist.

Inside, the bath house was beginning from a small room with a guard snoozing peacefully, guarding shelves for shoes and weapons. Proceeding barefoot from there, they got into the main hall with a big basin where townsfolk of both genders was soaking and socializing, wrapped in something akin to bed-sheets. Loaned by the bathhouse for the duration of your visit as Shantae explained before besetting the bathhouse lady. A spirited haggle followed.

Those unfamiliar with this place took a look around. Light was penetrating the shady hall through tiny windows under the dome. There were planters with plants in the corners. The basin was fed by a small waterfall, warm water flowing over a natural looking rock formation protruding from the back wall.

The Nerimans tried following the convoluted conversation the half-Genie had with the black-haired woman in a blue bikini with a pareo skirt. They learned that one visit cost six coppers if you came with your own towel. But such rip-off prices were aimed at travelers. For the locals there was membership costing the same six coppers for a whole month. So Shantae described the Nerimans in flowery detail as fellow troops who participated in defending the city and were such nice people in general. The bathhouse lady was inclined to agree.

Membership for the six displaced, including Ryouga, made the generous host side three more jewels poorer. Examining her membership card — a plastic card — Nabiki noted it was similar in size and shape to a credit card. Others had to trust her expertise because they newer saw such exotic luxury with their own eyes (note 1).

The payment taken care of, they proceeded into the bath proper, boys to the left, girls to the right.


( 。◕ シーンブレイク ◕。)


Feeling great relief because he could wash in warm water, not hot but not cold enough to activate the curse either, Ranma was also glad to see he could also wash his clothing. He only had to use his own soap. Busy with that, he didn't immediately notice a dirty little boy who made a hole in the wall. A real titan of perversion: the wall was solid stone! And whose suspiciously blue mop of hair is over there, hanging next to him...?

Bolo, how could you, Ranma asked looming menacingly behind the other guy. How could you call yourself a friend after this...! Why? Shantae's, of course.

Balking momentarily at the reply "but that's just Shantae!" — it seems this slobberer at anything female wasn't registering her as a girl at all — Ranma reminded the guy that his fiancee was on the other side as well.

Shedding a single manly tear, Bolo conceded. Strangling his dream, he smacked the dirty boy upside the head and plugged the hole with a convenient piece of soap.


( 。◕ シーンブレイク ◕。)


The girls were anticipating the reveal of Shantae's secret: how does she take off the flute-like hub supporting her hair? But they got distracted finding the proper corner for clothes washing, then staring at Nabiki under whose outfit of a movie archaeologist there was positively prehistoric looking underwear... When they looked back at the half-Genie, she was sitting with her hair down, lathering it up.

F-f-frustration.

"I hope this could be subjected to hand washing," Nabiki muttered, frowning, as she grasped to find the latch of her monumental brasserie supported by a wide band at the bottom. "Were they really still wearing these in the thirties...? Hand it to me, now!"

Seeing her younger sister going to wash her own underwear, Nabiki plucked these items from the other girl's hands:

"I will be the one doing the washing. Don't argue, we'll settle it later."

Hurt and intimidated, Akane turned around to help lathering Shantae's mane.

Xian Pu and Ukyou had the manes of their own, Nabiki was fumbling with trial and error washing clothing for the first time in her life. It took them awhile. Thankfully, the water was warm.

Then they began lathering up their skin, anticipating a long soak. Xian Pu finished in the blink of an eye and walked up with a sassy spring in her step, all daringly taut. But Akane would not be riled by such. Kneeling next to the unsuspecting half-Genie, the amazon suddenly wound her arms around her and lathered her up so rapidly that her arms blurred and Shantae rippled like jello, soap suds flying.

The half-Genie let out a pleased gasp of surprise.

"Hey!" Akane jumped up in alarm recalling the amazonian brainwashing technique.

"Just a friendly hand." Xian Pu was backing away gesturing disarmingly. "For the friend of the tribe and stuff. It's enough we have a postponed duel hanging over our heads, so awkward but there is no helping it: the warrior's word."

"Don't worry, I'm eager!" Shantae replied. "As soon as we save the world, let's rumble!"

Akane was left with glaring at the smug Xian Pu and wondering what was that just now.

They stayed soaking in the women's half, too lazy to get wrapped in towels. Even the temptation of a half-naked Ranma wasn't enough. Or maybe they stayed because of him. The ambiance here was amazingly serene and relaxing, they didn't even want to banter.

Finally it was time to leave. Shantae set the style by donning well wrung beach bottom and wrapping herself in a towel. Ukyou put the whole bikini on tying the towel like a skirt. Nabiki used hers as a cloak because her vintage brasserie and underpants resembling boxers weren't a suitable beach wear. Akane simply put on her unwashed dogi. Xian Pu was content with the same combo of ragged short shorts and a chest wrap of a towel she wore during the day.

The sunset was fading fast, night holding dominion. The houses surrounding the round pond were lit with lamps and candles, the windows reflecting in the calm waters. A chorus of cicadas was sounding from the darkened park.

One glance at the Shantae who was walking behind them proved her hair already up in her traditional ponytail. The mystery of 'how does she put that thing on' was itching with unsatisfied curiosity. The girls came to unanimous decision to watch the half-Genie like hawks when she will be going to bed.

After waiting for Ranma — who, it turned out, had finished washing long ago and had visited Mimic's workshop — the crowd began strolling lazily towards the lighthouse. First deeper into the park, then along the beach to the left. The warm wind from the hills was carrying aromas of grass and wild flowers.

Xian Pu noticed, to her surprise, that Akane kept glancing at her suspiciously. But she was feeling too lazy for needling the other girl.

"What did you do to her?" the kitchen destroyer finally asked, unable to hold it. "To Shantae?"

Xian Pu was taken aback at first, but then recalled teasing the crook-handed one earlier. Was she seriously thinking...? She was.

And so Xian Pu couldn't help it.

"There is a special amazon technique," she 'explained', "a heritage of our tribe's millenia of history. Only allowed between girls!"

Amassage technique, naturally, but only omitting that insignificant detail... Three... Two... One...

Seeing Akane's face twist in disgust Xian Pu flexed her willpower almost to the point of spraining it, holding herself from snickering like a horse. Why? That worked as poker face training too. Anything could be training.

The youngest Tendou was tense now, prone to holding Shantae's hand and interposing herself between her and Xian Pu.

Ranma noticed the friction and made hasty effort to defuse the situation lest the crop of bumps ripens and falls out onto his head:

"Aren't those coconuts over there?" He pointed at the crown of a nearest palm tree. "How comes no one is selling them around here?"

"Who would buy these?" Shantae replied, surprised, like they were talking about annoying trash.

"They don't look like coconuts," Akane noted doubtfully while still keeping one eye on Xian Pu. "Too bright... Like huge apples."

Telling the color in the fading twilight was hard, but it was definitely not brown.

"Because in the stores, they sell them already cleaned of flesh," Ranma explained patronizingly. "Bare stones, simply speaking. But most people naively think these are growing on the trees that way, peeled." He glanced around shadily. "Would someone cry out if I pluck a couple?"

"You could pluck them all," Shantae waved his concerns aside. "Just be careful not to break the palm. In the park and on the beach they have to tear these off anyway, so that no one takes a ripe one to their noggin. They bear them all the year round!"

"So, the analogy with Mediterranean was off," Nabiki noted. "Interesting."

Ranma jumped up the palm tree, pushed with his legs... And landed tumbling once, hugging a cluster of greenish yellow fruits the size of half himself.

While carrying these to the lighthouse, they drank half of their haul. Ranma was showing off piercing the nuts with his pinky. Xian Pu snorted and repeated after him, although she was nursing her pinky later, when no one was watching. Shantae lent Akane her dagger, then accepted the coconut milk eagerly despite her earlier verbal disdain. A couple more was given to kids who ran away merrily with these gifts.

Later they were splitting the fruits in half, eating the nut layer inside until the whole company was laying on the grass around the lighthouse like sated boas under the starry sky.

"Not a single familiar constellation," Nabiki noted. "I wonder how is that related to archaeology? I only knew Orion before."

There were oil lanterns burning along the wharf, the windows of the town glowing with soft light. Nothing compared to Tokyo, but still brought a sense of lived-in habitat. Barely audible scraps of music were reaching on the night breeze.

"I'm very sorry, ..." Akane stuttered awkwardly, then whispered something into Shantae's ear.

"Oh!" the other girl jumped up, hurried into the house to return with a kerosene lamp. "Here!" She whipped at the porch. Creaking, the porch swung up revealing a steep descent into musty dampness of a basement.

"So you have basement?" Ukyou was intrigued.

"Can't use it for storage." Shantae shrugged. "Everything rots instantly, too close to the sea."

Akane dove into the narrow passage, the lamp in hand. The kindhearted host slammed the porch shut cutting curious folks off.

"Aha," Nabiki noted with satisfaction. "A full-fledged civilization, then. Well, let's leave doing it in the woods to the bear."

Shantae frowned calculating something in her mind: "Hmm, we need water! For washing up, cooking, laundering and so on. I usually bring a couple jugs and that's enough but there's a lot of us now!"

Ranma volunteered to bring the water, just in case. Leave this to the fiancee brigade and they'd make it into a competition on flimsy hanging bridges drowning all the jugs and maybe Akane too. So he hastily grabbed the first suitable vessel, the huge wok from the kitchen, and sped towards the pond. He returned poising across the bridges with the wok on his head, insufferably smug because he made it back without splashing any and without transforming,

Shantae busied herself with providing bedding for everyone. Ukyou and Xian Pu began casting assessing glances at Ranma making Akane tense. The pigtailed one excused himself so hastily all the worlds blurred together. Then the big wok full of water was the only sign he had been there.

"Too bad but what else could you expect." Xian Pu shrugged. "Don't fret, I can sleep here on the grass."

"You can't, not outside," the half-Genie warned while pulling yet another bed cover from somewhere. "Even if nothing eats you, the mermaids won't let you sleep. This place is homely and peaceful during the day, but night is the time of monsters."

Something big splashed invisibly down in the sea shrouded in darkness.

"Allrieeght, I admit, that wasn't the best idea until I learn the local bestiary," the amazon drawled.

"We also need to hand our washed clothing up to dry somewhere." Nabiki lifted the wet bundle of her suit from the grass.

The five of them climbed the rope to the upper floor. Shantae, going last, has closed and barred the door. Her silk pants took place at teir usual ceiling beam. Nabiki's shirt and trousers next to them were... dripping. The dense fabric retained too much water. Which posed a serious problem: there was barely enough space for everyone in the tiny room without lying on each other. The welcoming host hat to take a clothesline and climb onto the protruding roof. She nearly fell, dangling on her hands for a moment.

"I wonder..." Nabiki ducked under the branching construct of various knick-knaks on threads to approach the lone bookshelf. "Yes, I can read this. At least, the titles."

"You can?" Akane approached and looked over her shoulder. "No, for me these are still squiggles."

Xian Pu and Ukyou got curious, but for them the book edges were adorned with unrecognizable gibberish as well.

"My wish differed from yours," the middle Tendou reminded them. "I'm surprised I even landed here with the rest of you instead of, say, somewhere in the Amazon jungle in the thirties."

There was knocking from below: Shantae, obviously, had jumped down to the ground forgetting she couldn't transform yet. Akane hurried down to unlock the barred dooor.

"I stretched it from the weathercock to the palm top," the host informed them merrily as she climbed the rope. "They won't get it there!" She began pulling thick bed covers from her ki pocket laying them on the floor.

Nabiki took a book from the shelf, flipped a few pages. "Hmm, manga... Almost entirely action, too. Understanding the crashes and smashes doesn't require much skill." She grabbed another book, then another. "Only manga...? Why am I not surprised. Aha...!" She pulled a block of notes sewn together from between the books. Good morning, Uncle! Sky finally let me borrow one of her messenger birds. Please keep your windows open... Is this personal?" She looked at Shantae questioningly.

"Don't worry, read it anyway," the other girl replied lightly, without turning. "These are my letters to Uncle Mimic from my first epic adventure!"

"All right. Tweet? What is this bird chirping about? Could only carry letters of 140 signs or less? One could think I am using the ink of a kraken!"

Shantae shrugged: Sky's birds have their quirks.

Nabiki flipped the page: "If you look closely, my lighthouse is so rickety. But the view from my window! And I'd never trade my personal diving cliff for anything!". Then another one. "Just back from swimming. Someone stole my clothing! The lighthouse key was in my pocket! I can't even call for help, got nothing to wear."

Nabiki stared at Shantae who was beginning to squirm uncomfortably. "Considering the local mores, this 'nothing'... Were you skinny-dipping, by chance?" She lifted her brow.

The half-Genie let out a squeak, flushing rapidly.

"Hmm..." Nabiki flipped another page. "What a rotty day! Still stuck outside with no clothing, my hair had dried already. P.S. An idea: I saw some mermaids wear star fishes... Maybe we should leave it alone?"

"No, no!" Xian Pu interrupted her impatiently. "Read on!"

"A fascinating adventure!" Ukyou added with unhealthy enthusiasm.

Akane was gradually reddening as well. No doubt her overdeveloped imagination was running wild.

"Shantae?" Nabiki tried to get a response.

"No, read it," the dancer managed. "The real adventure goes after that. How did I forget that debacle..."

"Aren't skinny dipping anymore, aren't you?" Xian Pu teased her.

"No, never!" Shantae replied. "I always have a swimming suit in my inventory... I mean, my ki-pocket... I mean, I don't have one right now, I gave both to Ranma and Ukyou, but I usually do. In case I suddenly want to swim."

"So..." Nabiki continued reading. "I had tried all kinds of sea critters. No use, I just got wounded all over..." Everyone present cringed in sympathy. "When I find who took my clothing, they won't get away alive!"

Akane grunted in agreement.

"Too bad you aren't home. I'm bored with sunning. Seems I got no choice but break the door with my hair. But fixing it later... Frustrating!"

It was obvious that when Shantae's hair was down it couldn't serve as a weapon so everyone stared at that flute-like thing of hers wondering how does the half-Genie put it on and why wasn't it with her clothing.

The purple-haired girl blinked in confusion, then realized what got them so intrigued: "Oh! well, I only let my hair down in the bath. Well, and when I'm going to sleep."

The guests were in anticipation of learning her secret at last.

"Mystery solved:" Nabiki continued reading. "Bolo came by, saw my clothing, concluded that I had melted and buried it. Why! I got no words. He's in the surgery now.". (note2)

Shantae got stared at again making her scratch the back of her head sheepishly. Only Akane grunted approvingly: such stupidity could only be cured like that.

"You and Little Sis have more in common than I thought," Nabiki stated.

Reading continued. Next was Risky Boots' attack on the town. Shantae began reminiscing, adding to the sparse lines of her diary. How she fought the hordes of tinkerbats swarming everywhere, while only knowing only one spell at the time, the Storm Puff. How tinkerbats razed Uncle's workshop and absconded with his invention, the steam engine...

"Steam..." Nabiki interrupted their host's monologue. "The ship we fought, it was self-propelling, with a steam engine, right?"

"Right!" the half-Genie nodded. "Everything began with it! Until Risky stole that thing, she was riding a common pirate ship, a sailing one, with cannons in its sides. But after, it was like she got unleashed. A giant robot tank, a steam-powered tub, then that snail of hers, howzit, P.O.O.P T.O.O.T...?"

"Poop... Toot...?" Akane echoed, taken aback.

"Well, it's how the abbreviation came out," Shantae explained. "If I remember... Part Omni-Organic, Partially Titanic, Ocean-Optional Tinkerslug...? It feels like Risky Boots had deliberately chosen the name to get a stupid abbreviation so she could swear to her heart's content at anyone putting it together..."

After discussing the pirate lady's weird naming ideas, the reading continued. Shantae retold her getting to the ship and battling tinkerbats on its deck while dodging cannonballs. Akane felt queasy imagining a cast-iron cannonball speeding towards her belly. Her friend's levity in mentioning that part was just as disconcerting.

"Then they opened an iron door to rush me," Shantae continued without a care in the world. "But I sent then flying. I then looked past the door and saw some sort of tinker-machinery. So, I whipped it. How could I have known it would explode...? The baboom was terrific, threw both me and Risky Boots clean off the ship. I tried getting back up, of course. Climbed atop a pole that was sticking next to the pier's end. But tinkerbats opened those hatches in the ship's side, how they call them..."

"Gun ports," Nabiki hinted.

"Right. So they opened those ports and began aiming explosive kegs at me. I, naturally, blew these right in their hands, some with my hair, others with the Storm Puff. There were only holes left of those ports. But while they were stalling me, the entire ship swam by. Its side ended suddenly and there was only Risky Boots climbing up a chain, all like ho-ho-ho, next time I'll be steam-powered and unstoppable... Well, they swam away."(note3)

Following next was a disjointed retelling of Shantae traveling to the Water Town in hopes of catching up with the pirate. Nabiki came to conclusion that getting a sequential, logically sound story out of Shantae, without jumping back and forth across topics and events, was an epic task for a legendary scribe. Only the sewn together letters serving as a rough outline let everyone follow the story.

Bolo was living in the Water Town at the time. The half-Genie required his help to get into some place called "Dribble Fountain". Well, it quickly became obvious that that was a dungeon name. Fighting mysterious "wetmen", dodging jumping jellyfishes, Shantae was delving deeper until she met a caged girl:

"I realize it now she was a Dance Spirit — I don't know how are they related to Genies, just seem like kindred spirits. But I didn't know that back then! Imagine, a naked girl sitting in an iron cage, her hairdo is like mine. I thought up such horrors...! No, wait, let me finish. The Dance Spirits assume the form of she who comes to them. Minus such triviality as clothing. I know that now. It's like looking into a mirror. If I paid more attention back then, I'd have noticed she had pointed ears like me. So... In gratitude for freeing her, she taught me a transformation dance. And then I could turn into a monkey! Still can't forget how cool and amazing that was!"

"Wait," Akane interrupted her. "I thought you were always able to transform?"

"No, I wasn't. I could only do that since, hmm, a couple years ago, close to three now...? I always felt something missing but couldn't figure out what. But she, the Dance Spirit, said 'I feel a restless energy deep inside you' and simply showed me the dance. My first transformation dance!"

After that Shantae began climbing as a monkey, going through narrow shafts and labyrinths. At the top of the dungeon she found the Dribble Stone and Risky Boots preparing to abscond with it. But then a tentacle monster surfaced and the pirate lady was simply washed away.

"Who surfaced...?" Akane repeated, shuddering.

"Well, a tentacle monster," Shantae explained. "Huge and slimy, ew, yuck. Don't worry! I heard those stories too, so I kept far, far away from the tentacles! These were danging unter his middle when he was rising from the water and floating in the air. I was running around like crazy doing my best to not let that thing touch me. Because ew...! Well, I was also whipping his eye on occasion. He kept rising up and diving, making such huge waves I'd surely be washed down if not for the monkey dance. And who knows how it would it have ended with me helpless in the water! But I always managed to transform and climb the walls... Well, he got bored eventually, or his eye was hurting too much. Anyway he left and never came back. I got the Dribble Stone..." She yawned widely. "Let's go to sleep, all right? I'll tell you the rest of my adventure tomorrow."

Her yawn proved to be infectious, soon all girls were yawning, except Nabiki who kept poker face. Someone observant would have noticed her jaw spasming, though.

They began going to bed. Shantae quickly donned cotton jammies consisting of a crop top and baggy pantaloons reaching her knees. And no one, not even Nabiki, saw her pulling that hair support thing off. Just a moment ago she sported a high ponytail but her hair hung freely down to her feet now.

Disappointed, Xian Pu and Ukyou laid down on the bed covers along the walls. Nabiki nested under the window, grumbling. There were one place on the floor and the hammock bed remaining. It was a no-brainer, right? But Shantae was by some reason determined to sleep on the floor giving her hammock to Akane. Who was adamantly against this: it was wrong! She hadn't been a proper host either, letting Shantae sleep on a rug in her bedroom next to her bed. Also, Shampoo's words were bothering her: she was afraid for her friend's virtue if she shares the floor with "that rotten girl". Shampoo snorted derisively. They were arguing for so long that Ukyou and Nabiki began grumbling if they go to sleep already.

In the end the hammock stayed empty, both girls laying on the floor on the same bed cover. The youngest Tendou was shielding her friend with her body from pernicious influence.

Then both fell fast asleep.


( 。◕ シーンブレイク ◕。)


A.N.:

1. The eighties are such eighties. Everything was already there but was exceptionally rare. Later mangas by Rumiko Takahashi employ such plot devices as a credit card with a PIN code scratched on it or bystanders with smartphones.

2. True, that diary if fashioned after the Shantae_WF tweets, BUT there is a key difference: the WayForward tweets were made in such a way to introduce an unfamiliar reader into the series, with many extraneous explanations. While in my story the messages are as they should be if the heroine wrote about things well known both to her and the recipient. Also, I first retold these tweets in Russian — while strictly adhering to the 140 character limit — then translated them to English with the rest of the chapter while still keeping to the limit. That was a fun challenge.

3. Shantae is canonically atrocious with nautical terms. Referring to a ship as "swimming" instead of "sailing" is quite tame for her.

4. The second game (Risky's Revenge) is flawed, rushed and only has 3 transformations. That's because the dev team was struggling for years trying to find a publisher (Nintendo are fools: no one wold play a female protagonist, they said). The WayForward team made several half-complete versions from 2005 to 2010, AFAIR. There are low-quality videos of these versions somewhere, including such mechanics as a much taller lighthouse rock, cliff diving animation and lighthouse basement (opened up by hair-whipping the stairs). I use these to expand the world in chapters 13 and 14.

The third game, Pirate's Curse, is absolute pinnacle even as it has no transformations. These two form a single story line, have identical graphical style and can be considered chapters of a single story.

The fourth game, HgH, is sort of a reboot. It has less attractive HD graphics with 2.5d backgrounds, tons of transformations (a gold mine for a fanfiction writer like me) and had horrible balance (at least it was that way in 2016 just after the release) because the devs mostly used speedrunners for testing. Going for collecting everything gives your Shantae more HP than the battleship Yamato leading to boooring boss fights where you can simply tank everything. And the armored bikini, which halves the damage received, could be purchased early. But the worst offender is the reward for unlocking the entire gallery. It gives you mana regen so strong you can keep Invulnerability almost indefinitely. They then added hardcore mode where all enemies inflict tons of damage and adventure modes where your character has fixed 12 HP and levels up by collecting gems and levels down by taking hits.

I, personally, have completed Pirate Queen's Quest DLC with only 4 hearts (16 HP) as you level Risky up RPG style, choosing yourself where you put the dark magic points.

There is going to be a fifth game, Seven Sirens, but it haven't hit Steam yet. I've only seen partial gameplay videos on YouTube.


( 。◕ シーンブレイク ◕。)


Published in Russian: June 04, 2019. Translated to English: January 05, 2020.