Tear Jerker / Flower Knight Girl

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In General

• It's emphasized in plenty of Flower Knight Vice-Leader lines that the world of Spring Garden, despite its overall appearance, is a land facing eternal war with the Pests. And with war, comes the inevitable casualties — plenty of Knights recalling friends, families, and even loved ones that they lost to a Pest attack, influencing who they are today for better or for worse.
  • Ivy is a particularly tragic case: her Chuunibyou front is implied to be her way of coping with her "unforgettable day", where she lost her entire family on the day of Christmas.

Main Campaign

Chapter 4

• The Carenthus chieftain's death, reducing Khepri to a crying mess while Serket quietly. Made even more bitter with the revelation that they faked their death so they could secretly sacrifice themselves to revive Marici.
• The reveal of Marici being infected/demon possessed results in Khepri and Serket's belief in them being up-ended, with them in the following mission exchanging slaps to jar them out of their funk.

Event Missions

The Hidden Treasure that Sleeps in the Wastes

• The Flashback Japanese Felwort has in response to seeing Cowberry willing to sacrifice herself instead of the former. In her first meeting with Cowberry, she promised them that she'll always protect their village with her fellow knights despite being a rookie. With the sudden attack on the village growing dire, she is forced go leave for back-up at the request of her Senpai knights, going against her promise to Cowberry, which is made worst by her efforts still leaving the village destroyed and many dead — including Cowberry's mother. By the next time they both meet afterwards, Cowberry only had outrage for Japanese Felwort betraying her expectations of them.
  Japanese Felwort: Cowberry-chan...
  Cowberry: ... Don't fuck with me... Now... You come limping back... What were you going to definitely protect!? Where were the reliable senpais!!? My mother's dead! Most of the villagers are dead! On top of that, all of your allies are dead!! And where were you when all this happened!!?
  Japanese Felwort: ... I'm sorry... I'm, sorry...
  Cowberry: Don't cry like a bitch! You're so annoying! Those who flap their gums but can't do anything are the ones I hate the most! If you can't live up to expectations, then you shouldn't have made that promise in the first place...!!
  Japanese Felwort: ...

Knight Specific

• Daisy is an otherwise cheerful, energetic and innocent young girl who's at times comedic with her antics. Though, the fact that she's far more perceptive than her Language of Flowers (Innocence) would indicate makes for some surprisingly somber moments, particularly in her Character Quest:
  • One day, while fighting Pests like usual, Daisy wonders why the Pests would cause bad things to happen, since it conflicts with her general mindset of the world being filled with nothing but good. While the idea of fighting Pests to preserve the good set her mind at ease, the next day would draw an even bigger concern: the possibility that the Pests would make those she cares for "disappear", with Daisy expressing concern over having people like the Commander disappear almost like with her parents. Far cry from the otherwise Cheerful Child she presents herself as.
    • What's worse is the fact that this is the first mention of her having parents before living with grandpa, with the possibilities to why they're gone ranging from merely leaving, to being dead — the latter discredited by the Commander noting that she retained her optimism after the fact, but the possibility remains nonetheless.
  • With her uncharacteristic navel-gazing at the beginning of her Bloomed Character Quest, the Commander is certain something is amiss with Daisy, to which she shares her moral dilemma: she fought and killed some Pests that were attacking a family of three, a mother and father with their daughter, but then realized while doing so that those Pests consisted of two adults and a child that they seemed to protect — in other words, she killed a family to save another family, making her feel like the bad guy despite doing what she can to save lives.
• Maple's motivation to becoming the best Flower Knight stems from her sister, Kaede, sacrificing herself to save a victim from a Pest ambush. She hopes to one day truly surpass them as number one to make them proud, and maybe meet up with them again somehow. Things get further complicated and tragic with Fullmoon Maple in the picture...
  • Fullmoon Maple was the surviving victim from the Pest attack that Kaede sacrificed herself for. Feeling indebted to Kaede, she would go on to both become a Flower Knight and take on the appearance of Kaede to fill the void.
  • Maple and Fullmoon meeting up in the event story "The Valley, Red Leaves, and Gathering of Fallen Leaves". All Maple could do upon seeing them was stare at what seemed to be the splitting image of her dead sibling — One can only imagine what goes through Maple's head as she processes Fullmoon's appearance, only to suddenly see them run away in a panic.

Sub-Story Missions

Aqua Shadow

• The fate of the Sakura and Japanese Apricot Aqua Shadows at the end of the first episode. Despite being willing to cause havoc and mayhem, their slow death is definitely not a pleasant way to go, especially with the way Aqua Japanese Apricot begged for water in a Madness Mantra fashion.
• By the epilogue of their respective mission, the Aqua Shadows of Lantana and Pepo/Summer Squash are on the verge of death after the scuffle with the Knights instigated by the command of their mastermind. Not wanting to see their friend die, Aqua Lantana transfers her remaining life-force to let Aqua Pepo live on, literally falling apart before them afterwards. All Aqua Pepo could do is slowly walk towards where her friend was as she processes what happened, before emotionally breaking down into unconsciousness.
  Aqua Lantana: Hehe... I'm so tired... I don't have any strength left... Hey, Eliza Pepo the 22nd...
  Aqua Pepo: I'm sorry Lanata-chan... If I had just done the bad deed and destroyed the country myself, this wouldn't have happened... But if I'm with Lantana-chan, I'm not afraid of disappearing... I guess... Ehehe.
  Aqua Lantana: No... Pepo will live.
  Aqua Pepo: Ah? [gets rejuvenated with one touch from Aqua Lantana]
  Aqua Lantana: I... gave you... the rest of... my strength... don't mind me... it's fine... [fades to white] See you later... Pepo... Get along with... everyone now... alright... [gone in a splash]
  Aqua Pepo: ...Lantana-chan? [beat, moves closer] What did you do? [once more] You're kidding... [one last time] Hey... Lantana-chan... [beat] Lantana... uuuuu...! [faints]
• Aqua Black Baccara shares that her kind are fueled and motivated by the dark emotions of their counterparts, and her counterpart has a potent dark emotion in her heart. After being sent away injured off a cliff, Black Baccara recalls what they're talking about in a nightmare: seeing Cattleya as a child at her low point, with her desire to protect her fueling her Language of Flowers "Resentment". Doubles as Nightmare Fuel.
• Aqua Pinkladies, like prior tame Aqua Shadows, is much like her original counterpart without the evil desires. In her case, she merely wishes to date the Commander rather than mercilessly fight the other knights like Aqua Corn Cockle, which unfortunately forced the latter and their creator to take away their subconscious and make them an obedient Empty Shell. While she manages to snap out of it to avoid killing the Commander last second and take out Aqua Corn Cockle instead, the prior scuffle already done the damage and left her slowly dying. In her last moments, she expresses regret about being unable to be with the leader because she's a fake, despite her feeling being as real as Pinkladies', and asks the group to prevent any more lives of unrequited love like hers from being born.

The Sealed Ancient Flower Knights

• The backstory of the individual Ancient Flower Knights, subject to the mercy of destiny.
  • Japanese Honeysuckle, despite her unruly nature in present, initially had a hopeful second chance at life alongside her clan when she secured a mutual deal with the Winter Rose palace, serving her country as its protector along with finding a mutual and caring rival in the nation's strongest Flower Knight. Things took a turn however when a surge of magic had driven her clan psycho, resulting in Winter Rose almost getting reduced to nothing by the time the assassins were suppressed. Japanese Honeysuckle was then made the scapegoat for the magic incident, destroying any hope she had in life as her history was sealed.
  • Adlay was born in an unfortunate time where Flower Knights weren't yet commonplace, where the settlement she lived in made a custom of warding off Pests with human sacrifices. Children were among the sacrifices, with a group of them alongside Adlay having their lives narrowly saved by lightning bolts smiting the surrounding Pests and granting the Ancient Flower Knight her signature healing ability, and would thus commit a revolution on their settlement to create a paradise worship their "Lightning Lord". Despite the cult-like religion Adlay built up that garnered concerns from neighboring nations, its not hard to sympathize with her and the group of kids due to the immoral acts they were subjected to by their village's adults.
  • Common Zinnia had a beloved Childhood Friend in Zinnia, who was regarded as a talented hero of their time and have become known as an everlasting legend in modern times. Tragically, Zinnia would meet their end at their latest mission on the front-lines of Kodaibana, with Common Zinnia falling hard into despair and anguish from the news that she developed a Split Personality of the hero along with Fake Memories of them being alive. Upon learning the truth in present day, Common Zinnia undergoes another mental breakdown that forces Zinnia at the forefront of her subconscious, forcibly keeping the spirit of Zinnia alive at the risk of sacrificing her very being.
  • Bamboo had a sister known as the moon princess, who was subject to the death sentence by the corrupt individuals of the royal palace, who greedily wanted the far-seeing magic mirror for themselves. Bamboo has since turned to taking vengeance against the whole of Bergamot Valley, thanks to her Revenant Warriors influencing her hatred into a murderous desire.
  • Corbett had a lot going for her in her time, being talented in all manners of combat and having her goal as the captain of the Queen's elite guard in sight. But things changed once she experienced a magic-based mishap as part of her training, an explosion that weaken her constitution and destroyed the limiter on her magic. This not only ruined her chances at achieving her goals, but her attempts at offsetting said constitution came to a head when this unlimited magic in combat against an Ancient Pest practically wiped it out to such an extent that she was reviled by all after the fact, labeling her a monster and having all related records erased from history.
• As part of the Great Spirit's plan to congregate their powers into one powerful being, the Ancient Flower Knights are turned into souls trapped in a recreation of the happiest point of their past lives. This happiness would come to an end when they realize, with the aid of the Commander and the Lotus Lake Knights, that they're stuck in a memory and have to willingly depart from their long absent loved ones.
  • Common Zinnia's interaction with her sister Zinnia is more bittersweet than the rest, with the latter being nothing short of supportive for the former despite not knowing of her true nature.
  • Corbett's mother was only previously known for disowning her daughter, so for her memory's depiction to show her in a more supportive light makes Corbett's choice to leave and her prior established backstory all the more tragic.
  • Bamboo in particular had to leave behind her deceased younger sister, who tearfully begs her Nee-sama to not leave after coming to terms with this "cruel dream".
    Bamboo: I'm so happy to be able to meet after so long and to speak to each other. But it's about time that I went.
    ???: N-no way... Nee-samaa! I want to be with Nee-sama forever...!
    Bamboo: Farewell princess. I will always love you... I will always always miss you.

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