video;

[punshots]

[ Cue the video feed, which begins with a way-too-close-up of Prompto's face. What can be seen of his face, which is mostly just his eyes and freckled nose, looks excited as hell. This is sort of an impromptu broadcast, but he can't not share this. This is a big, big moment for him.

Everything is about to freakin' change. ]

Heyaz! It's ya boy, Prompto. [ ......... ] Uh, so, y'know that special magic chalk you can get from the Ware Wolf guy? Oh, shit, is that supposed to be on the DL? A-anyway. I got some of that biz, aaaaand now — well, I'll just let it speak for itself.

[ The video then turns away from Prompto's face and to a chalk drawing on the ground: a near-complete rendering of a chocobo inside of circle. That's it. It's literally just a poorly-drawn chocobo inside of a circle, with a bit of its tail missing. It'd been near completion when he decided to share this monumental moment with everyone he possibly could, and he still holds a piece of the chalk in his hand, ready to finish off the last of the drawing. Let's all beseech the summoning gods to not bring forth a chocobo as disfigured as the one that Prompto drew, but its shape is at least recognizable to those who are familiar with the species. ]

Bam. Check it! If this actually works, I'm gonna be the proud papa of a brand new chocobo! One that's alllll my own! But I'll let you guys ride it, if you ask nicely.

[ Anyway, enough chit-chat, it's time for action!!! As he squats down near the drawing again, the feed catches him drawing the last bit of the chocobo's tail. For a moment that stretches into eons, nothing happens, but then —

There's a flash of light that temporarily blocks out anything from come through on the video, but as it begins to fade, there is the distinct, unmistakable sound of a kweh.

In the center of the crudely-drawn-but-apparently-effective summoning circle stands a majestic, bright yellow chocobo. ]

Holyyyyyyy shit! It actually — a-are you guys seeing this? It actually worked! Holy shit, he — she?? She's beautiful, have you ever seen a more fluffy, sweet, perfect animal in the whole wide multiverse?! C'mere — wait, what am I gonna name it? I gotta name it —

[ ...The chocobo turns and starts to trot away. Bye! ]

— aaaand it's leaving. Okay, uhhhh, leave me some name suggestions, look forward to my 24-hour livestream of chocobo life coming at'chu soon! Crap—

[ And the video feed cuts off as he breaks into a run to catch his wayward son or daughter. ]

Comments

[punshots]

[ Is his favorite dish yellow? Yes, when it's yellow curry, but it depends on what mood he's in that day. What if it's not a yellow curry kind of day? ]

Fair enough! I'm smellin' what you're steppin' in. But...what's French?

[ He needs to be cultured! ]

[ringlette]

[ Ah, so many people blissfully ignorant of what's the best thing that ever graced the universe.

It's Marie's job, as a certified francophile, to enlighten their minds with knowledge! ]

French comes from France, the country I lived most of my life in. I love everything about it, including the food!

[punshots]

[ Good thing he's willing to listen to just about anything anyone is passionate about. ]

Yeah? We don't have France where I'm from. [ At least, he doesn't think.......he was never very good at geography. ] What kinds of food do they have there? Besides omelettes, anyway.

[ringlette]

Oh, there are so many, I could just list a few not to overwhelm you!

[ And then, counting them off her fingers, one by one, without pausing a second: ]

Coq au vin, soufflé, cassoulet, beef bourguignon, flamiche, escargot...!

[ There is a lilt of excitement at the last name. I mean, who wouldn't like to eat cooked up snails? ]

[punshots]

[ Prompto. Prompto would not want to eat cooked up snails. Fortunately for Marie, he has no idea what escargot is so he can't spurn it outright. Actually, he...has no idea what most of those things are. ]

Iiii'm gonna be real, the only two things I recognized there were souffle and beef. What's a bour...a bourguign..

How do you say it again?

[ He's sorry for butchering your beautiful language, Marie. ]

[ringlette]

Bourguignon is the french name for burgundy, and it's named after the cooking process of braising the beef stew in red wine. It looks and tastes heavenly, I'd say!

[ Not like she's the maximum cuisine expert - she just eats and then looks the recipe up at a later time. ]

[punshots]

[ He is also not the maximum cuisine expert, but Prompto has seen Ignis do something like that before with using wine to cook certain meats. Prompto may not have tried bourguignon specifically, but hey, it's hard to go wrong with any kind of marinated meat, you know? ]

Ohhh, I bet! My mouth is watering just thinkin' about it. What about...flamiche? And escargot?

[ In before he makes a "look at that S car go" joke. ]

[ringlette]

Flamiche is a pastry tart made with leeks and cream. It is especially great if you prefer vegetables!

[ And, wait for it... ]

But Escargot is one of the best delicacies out there! The ingredients are even easy to find, since it's mostly made of up of cooked and marinated land snails. It also tastes the best with wine!

[punshots]

[ She had him with the veggie pastry tart, but...but then... ]

Uh. Come again? Did you just say..."marinated land snails"? Are snails the same thing where you're from as where I'm from?!

[ Because if so, he is VERY CONCERNED about France. Then again, his aversion to slimies and creepy-crawlies of all kinds is maaaaybe a little extreme. ]

[ringlette]

Oh? I am afraid I have no clue what land snails are like in your home.

[ His reaction is weird, but not as extreme as the other people literally recoiling at even the slight mention of snails being eaten. Which she has yet to understand, because they're delicious??? ]

[punshots]

They're basically just like...lil' slimy dudes that, uh, snail their way around gardens, eating vegetables and stuff. Salt makes 'em melt. Are yours anything like that?

[ Maybe her snails are slimy bugs at all! He can only hope... ]

[ringlette]

Now that you meantion it... yes, they are! Although I knew nothing about them melting with salt... that one is interesting.

[ Sorry for crashing your dreams like this, Prompto... ]

[punshots]

[ Oh.........well.

He is not so sure about French cuisine anymore... ]

I-I guess it'd be one way to add more flavor! Heh... [ A beat. ] What do they even...taste like?

[ Does he want to know??? ]

[ringlette]

They're absolutely delicious, of course! [ That doesn't describe anything, Marie... ]

Especially when they're marinated with red wine! They can also be served while covered in chocolate, and it's a joy for the palate!

[ She looks at the camera all dreamily... the Queen has quite a few feelings about snails. ]

[punshots]

[ Chocolate....on snails......somehow this doesn't make things any better, but much, much worse. ]

I'll, uh, I'll have t-to take your word for it on that one. Does a lot of French food involve...bugs...o-or just escargot?

[ringlette]

Oh, no! The ingredients vary a lot, but escargot is one of the most popular! [ She chuckles, so unaware of his feelings about the matter. ]

Other bugs, however... eating them may be encouraged, but I am not sure I would try them myself. [ She has her limits too!!! ]