[Summary: The two dads discuss some fantasies with Kicchan. Final Fantasies, that is.]
[Author's notes: Minor spoilers for Final Fantasy 7/8/9. I guess? Oh, and this is based on Days Without Nights again haha.]
Day 20 - Fantasy
Kichirou loved video games! He especially adored the ones with epic stories, fun characters, and, most importantly, level ups.
Apparently, his uncle and his dad had loved this genre when they were younger too. Recently they'd started sharing their favorite games with him. Kichirou didn't mind playing retro games, though the menus tended to be harder to figure out. And the blocky graphics made it seem more like cartoons instead.
Anyway, they'd had him play the Final Fantasy series in order. He was currently playing Chocobo Hot & Cold in Final Fantasy 9 while they watched. His dad was in a chair he'd brought in from the kitchen and Uncle Seta was sitting next to him on the futon.
Uncle Seta was humming along with the minigame's music. He paused to say, "This is fun but I kinda miss the Chocobo racing."
"Eh," said Dad with a shrug. "I'll be glad not to hear the Golden Saucer music anytime soon."
Uncle Seta began to hum that song instead. Dad groaned overdramatically.
"Final Fantasy 7 is a good game, though," Dad said a moment later. "It was one of the first games I'd ever finished. I never really had the attention span, you know?" Kichirou smiled to himself. He'd already heard this whole story back when he'd been playing that game. "But that one drew me in so much, I played it a whole week straight. I even skipped dinner and my mom was so mad. But man... you know that game made me cry?"
"Someone spoiled the game for me," Uncle Seta said, "so I didn't cry."
"You totally cried anyway," Dad said.
"I cried," Kichirou said.
"Yeah," said Uncle Seta. "You did." He wrapped his arms around Kichirou from behind, drawing him into a hug. Then he touched the controller in his hands. "May I play the next round?"
Kichirou looked up and nodded. Then he snuggled back, getting comfortable in Uncle Seta's lap while he watched him play the minigame. Hopefully he'd find a chocograph piece!
"I think Cloud belongs with Tifa anyway," Dad said.
"...You only like Tifa because she's topheavy," said Uncle Seta.
"Wh-wha—no! She and Cloud are childhood friends, you know? That's cute."
"I like Aeris," Kichirou said. "Because she reminds me of Mom."
His dad didn't say anything to that. It was always hard for him when he brought Mom up. Uncle Seta was tense, too, he could tell.
"Because she's nice," Kichirou continued, ignoring the mood shift, "but... she's strong too."
"Very strong," Uncle Seta murmured. Kichirou smiled, because sitting in his lap, he could feel every word. "But I think Cloud belongs with Barret."
"And you only ship that because they're both boys," Dad said. The look he gave Uncle Seta then was hard, but he was smiling, so it wasn't really that hard.
Uncle Seta didn't answer, but Kichirou could feel that he was hiding a laugh.
"Well," Dad said, "regardless of who you ship there, it's still better than the whole romance in Final Fantasy 8."
Uncle Seta dropped the controller. Slowly he turned to look at Dad. "How dare you."
Dad snickered. "Are you going to tell me that game was flawless?"
"I'm aware it's not perfect," Uncle Seta replied. "But I think Rinoa's narrative is compelling."
"What's compelling mean?" Kichirou asked.
"Like you believe it," Uncle Seta said, "like you feel it, like it calls to you."
"Your Uncle Seta is compelled to make strawboballs every week," Dad joked. "But really man, you found Rinoa and Squall compelling? It felt more like Rinoa was rebounding onto him after that thing with Seifer."
Uncle Seta sat back. Kichirou took the opportunity to lean back with him. "A rebound? That's the first time I've heard that. I don't think it was a rebound. I mean, you thought *I* was a rebound."
"C-come on," Dad said. "Don't tell Ki-kun that!" He sighed, then frowned. "I mean, they made Squall and Rinoa happen in the end, but I didn't think it was convincing."
"Yeah, they could have told the story better," Uncle Seta said.
"It didn't feel natural at all, though I can tell they tried. You know, Seifer was good? They tried to make it seem like he was the assho—I mean, the jerk rival character, but he was just misguided. And the great thing was, his friends were there for him, you know? Even if he was heading down a bad path, they didn't abandon him. And that part where they thought he died..."
"Huh," Uncle Seta said. "I didn't think you were an Almasy Apologist. You're not wrong. He's a good character. It's almost too bad he didn't join the party."
"I like Squall," Kichirou said. "I liked seeing when he was a kid. And he had a big sis, just like you Uncle Seta! But she wasn't as cool as yours."
"Nanako is the coolest," Uncle Seta agreed. "But she's actually my little sister. I guess she seemed older when you met her."
"Sorceress Edea was so cool too! She was married to a really lame guy..." Kichirou hardly noticed his uncle give his dad a look because he was totally warming up to the topic. "She fell from the ceiling and went right through a wall and her hair was everywhere and she made LIZARDS" — Kichirou jumped as he shouted, throwing his arms up in excitement and nearly hitting Uncle Seta — "and she killed the president like it was no big deal! And everyone saw it! But they didn't care!"
"I dunno," said Dad. "Edea kinda gives me nightmares."
"And she turned out to be everyone's mom the whole time," Kichirou said. "And she really cared about them..."
"Kinda like Garnet, right?" Dad said.
"Huh?" Kichirou blinked, then glanced at the game currently playing on the screen. "Not really, Dad. Maybe more like Beatrix!"
"What about Vivi?" Uncle Seta asked. "Or Puck. They're about your age."
Kichirou thought about it for a moment. "Freya is way cooler. She's a dragoon! She can jump really high... and then land on the enemy... like this!" He smacked his hand against Uncle Seta's knee.
"Ow!" said Uncle Seta, but he was laughing. "I guess you won't care for Eiko then."
"Who's that?"
"Maybe you'd know if you progressed the game instead of playing with chocobos all night," Dad said.
Kichirou pouted. "We haven't found all the chocograph pieces yet!"
Dad sighed. "Little did I know my son was a completionist."
"Well..." Kichirou said. "If I do everything, then... you two spend more time with me, so...!"
"We all win," Uncle Seta finished.
"Don't worry, son," Dad said, "we'll have games to play together for a long time."
"Yeah," said Uncle Seta. "We haven't even started Legend of Dragoon."
Dad groaned.