Let's Play Atelier Rorona! Bonus Update 1
The Nightmare of Rorona
The night after the first assessment...
That was even harder than I thought it would be...
But Master should get serious now, right? So it'll be fine, even if the assignments get more difficult...
...munya...
But we just got here.
I know, but I brought lunch for us...
I don't want it to spoil.
We didn't come here for a picnic, did we?
But...I thought we could do this every once in a while.
Sure, I guess. Let's eat then.
Okay, hold on...
Ahhhhh!
Whoa!? Wh-what's the matter?
I forgot the lunch...
Are you serious?
You really are clumsy...
No, clumsy is when you're going to pick up the lunch, and smash it to the ground instead. The word you're looking for is "forgetful".
I thought I brought it...
Aww, I spent a long time on it...
Okay, okay, don't cry.
...Fine. Wait right here.
What? Here?
...Where are you going?
It doesn't matter.
Just wait there, okay?
Iksel disappears for a while... hey, isn't it dangerous to go alone?
...Well, there's nothing but Punis around here anyway.
Alright, I'm back.
There you are.
Where did you go?
I went to make something. Look.
Whoa, it looks delicious.
But...how did you...?
I made it with ingredients that I found around here. Luckily, I brought my trusty pan with me.
You didn't use the same pan you beat enemies with, right?
Right?
Try it out.
Okay... Mmm, it's so good!
Oh yeah? That's good to hear.
Yeah, it's great! Especially this meat. What kind of meat is this?
Well the only meat I could find around here is... *cough* *cough*
...Puni? The game does class them as a [Food]... for some reason.
Huh? What did you say?
Uh, nevermind. I'm glad you liked it.
...Aren't you gonna have some?
Oh, I had enough while I was cooking it.
Why aren't you looking at me?
Iksy, this meat...
Are you full? Let's get back to work!
Hey, wait! What did you make me eat!? Iksy!
Rorona spent too much time goofing off, and finally...
Panic!
Defeated...
Ugh...oh no! I'm not done with the assignment, and the deadline's today...
Wahhh! What am I gonna do!? Master is gonna be so angry at me if the workshop gets closed down!
So it'd just be an excuse?!
I never noticed those test tubes hanging on Astrid's belt before now. I wonder what they're made of that they don't break when she sleeps on top of them...
Agh! Wh-when did you...? I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!
Okay, okay, stop yelling. You're giving me a headache. I knew you would fail once or twice.
B-but...the workshop is gonna...
*sob*
As I said, I knew this was gonna happen. I already prepared for this to happen.
So...did you...do the assignment for me?
Why would I do that?
Th-then...! Ahhh, it's all over!
Stop yelling. Here, take this with you.
A letter...? But it's all worn out and dirty.
It's from over a decade ago. Just hand it to Sterk, and everything will be fine.
Okay...
What's the letter about?
You should ask him about that. It would be more interesting that way.
Astrid leaves.
Hmmm... Can I really trust her? I guess I don't have a choice...
...
...
So, umm...is there anything you'd like to say?
Huh?
You should know the answer to that.
Ugh...
It's very unfortunate, but I have to follow orders.
Your workshop will be...
Umm, about that! Master told me to give this to you...
Yes. I don't know what it's about. She just told me you would know exactly what it is...
It's from Astrid, huh? I don't feel too good about this... Hmmm, this letter looks familiar...
That was your first mistake.
...What's wrong?
I can't believe she kept this for so long... Is she trying to blackmail me!? Dammit!
Umm...so what was written on the letter?
Why would I tell you that!? I would only humiliate myself!
Aghh! I'm sorry!
...I mean, I shouldn't yell at you for this. You see...when I was younger...
Look, it doesn't matter! Anyway, let's discuss your next assignment.
The next assignment...? So...?
Is he... blushing?
...Even if I have to reveal my embarrassing past to the public.
Uh, okay...
Sterk leaves.
That was scary... I really hope there won't be a next time...
I wonder what was in that letter, anyway...?
I don't know if you can ever find out or not.
Remember me saying that I doubted Sterk has no influence on the evaluations? This is why. He seems to have no trouble making this one disappear without anyone else being the wiser.
More time passes...
Wow, there's such a nice view!
Should we have our picnic here?
Hahahaha!
Hahahaha!
...
Uh oh.
So...
It pains me to tell you this, but...
The workshop will be closed down, as of today.
So the workshop was closed down.
A great factory was built on the site where the workshop used to be.
People worked very hard there everyday.
Rorona left town with Astrid...
And they never returned.
Suddenly, Rorona sat bolt upright in bed.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
Whew, what a horrible dream.
...It won't really happen like that, will it?
Telling you this will be the worst thing I've ever done in my whole life...
What? You mean...
Mmhm... Unfortunately, you failed.
Your workshop will be closed down today.
Rorona was not able to complete the jobs given to her by the kingdom...
So the workshop was closed down.
When Rorona whent back to the workshop to collect her things, she found that Astrid had already disappeared.
Weeks passed, and it became apparent that Rorona's parents weren't going to return either.
For a while, she managed to make ends meet doing small jobs with equipment she had salvaged before the workshop was demolished, but not many people respected an alchemist who has to climb over their cauldron to get in and out of their house.
They built a factory saying progress was to blame...
Time passed, and more and more of her friends either departed or pulled away. Rorona spent more and more time thinking about everything she'd lost.
But she got mad...
And then one day...
And she turned bad...
She decided on a course of action.
WRECK-IT WRECK-IT RORONA
AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
Suddenly, Rorona sat bolt upright in bed.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
...
Maybe I should assume Master won't do anything to help... just in case...
...
...Would Master really blackmail someone like that?
Yes. Yes she would.
...
So. I came pretty close to writing an angstfic there. I am ashamed.
The basic goal of this update was to show off what happened when you messed up. Non-italicized text is canonical material (or my own comments), but I've taken some liberties with presentation.
First off, the scene with Rorona forgetting the lunch actually happened the first time I went anywhere during the third assignment.
Next, the blackmail scene only happens if you fail the first assignment, but I set this at the end of the second, so I switched out the "next assignment" screen.
The place with the nice view is from the last area we haven't visited in the Nearby Forest, and it doesn't actually have a nice view, but somehow it got stuck in my mind that it did while I was originally plotting this.
As for the scene with Esty, that actually comes from much later in the game, after an event I probably won't be triggering.
And then I started making stuff up. Plus forged one screenshot, which should be pretty obvious. Rorona having abandonment fears though, I don't think I made that up at all. I'm not sure I'm even exaggerating it.
This could also be considered the story of how my micro-managing became in character for Rorona...
Next time on Atelier Rorona: We now return to your regularly scheduled "not failing the assignments"...