Summer - 24 - xxx1
There's not much in terms of chores today -- no crops, nothing special...
Just the beach! I think I've mentioned that I was on the swim team (because no one tackles you or hurtles balls at you in swimming), but I've never actually swam...Dad never wanted to get away from his second wife, by which I mean 'working and pestering me.'
So I'm a little apprehensive...But hell! It's summer, right? Maybe there'll be some ladies in swimsuits, enjoying the salt air, the summer sun...
Doesn't violate neutrality just to look, right?
Buuut nope. It's just us guys. This is the worst-attended festival of them all, I think.
Part of me's thinking that it's just the satorial choices. Just looking up and down the line...
Well, I'm not the sort of guy who has a problem saying that Cliff's got a body to show off -- lots of surviving off the land and fresh mountain air, warm sun and hiking never look bad on a guy our age, particularly when he's got the long hair to work towards completing the 'Handsome Jungleman" look. But...
There's taking it a step too far and that step too far is called "loincloth." I....I really don't want to dwell on the possible non-wardrobe malfunction possibilities. Please. Please, brain. Stop making me dwell!
Uhhh..Uhhh....Oh, there's also Harris. That's less disturbing, so I'm reaaaaallly happy for it. But...Man, this isn't the Victorian Era. It's terrible, and yet...He looks so shy about being in a swimsuit at all...That I can't help but find his awkwardness there kind of endearing.
In contrast, Kai looks pretty sure of himself, either about being seen shirtless (Very nice. Someone's probably seen a few admirers in his day. I imagine tropical beaches are involved.) or about racing us in the water, I don't know. Jeff's nothing remarkable -- he's a bowtie guy to the core, even when he's not wearing a bowtie.
Grey...Looks like someone (I'm guessing his sister) forced him into this. The cowboy thing's working out pretty well for him...But the thing that catches my attention isn't what you'd expect. One of his legs has a big scar on it. I'm not an expert, but it looks old, and very precise -- it's straight, I mean. He sees I'm looking at it and turns himself away, folding his arms. Which is Grey for 'none of your business, damn city-slicker.'
...Oh. Right.
The mayor's been explaining the rules, like, this entire monologue.
...But I don't feel like I've missed anything.
...Wait. Isn't the end of summer a bad time to 'open' swimming season?
"The turnout may be...Less than stellar, but it looks like there's to be a great contest!
The winner will be the person who reaches that flag over there first!"
I turn my head. The flag's....A good way out. I'm not going to lie -- I have no idea what sort of current this place has.
"...Which does?"
"Well, according to legend..."
"That stuff aint real and you know it."
"It's a Katori and it's invincible! What more do you want?"
"I wanna be doin' somethin' useful..."
"I want to know what a katori is."
"It looks kind of like a pig."
"Some kind of pig-badger, maybe..."
"It's kind of got a pleasant look. It'd look good on a bookshelf. or a coffee table."
"Yeah, so it's a knick-knack?"
The mayor and Rick just sort of shrug at each other. The mayor laughs nervously.
"Well, why don't we take out places at the edge of the surf?"
Yeah, the less time spent contemplating how an pig-badger gets tested for invincibility, the better.
We're here...
And the flag is aaaaaaaalll the way there.
But I got this. I'm...Ok, I'm not anything that would help me got this. I'm determined! I won't lose and humiliate myself!
And then...Something whispers to me.
...No, not that!
Jeeze, after I've done all this to keep the fourth wall...
"I've heard your desire...Feel the water...And you'll know the way."
...The Goddess is...telling me to cheat?
Bull.
I don't want to win because my prayers were answered. I want to win because I'm trying my hardest.
That said...
Kai takes off like a dolphin, blowing the rest of us away with sheer speed.
As I swim...I begin to see what the Goddess was trying to say. There's...walls of current. Hurdles of waves. I see them as my head goes below a wave, looming in the distance. They don't look like anything...I just look and know they're there. The path of least resistance.
I could take it, and I don't even know how. Magic, I guess.
But hasn't that just made me miserable? How do you lead 'a wonderful life' if that's your solution?
No...
I'm just better off taking my path, and going for that flag with everything I've got!
...And I do. I let muscle memory take over, and forget the ocean...Mostly, anyway.
We all end up swimming a much easier pace back to shore. Harris is the first to break the exhausted silence with a ragged laugh.
"I didn't think I'd win, so I'm happy with my effort."
"Well, you didn't give up halfway, so I'm thinking that's the right way to see it." Says Mr. Wants-to-Win.
Grey's shoulders are sagging.
"Yeah, but you were ahead of me for a while there."
"...You did good."
"Thanks, man." You take your Grey-credit where you can get it.
I nod. "...I think the ocean may have punched me."
I guess for not accepting its kindly offer.
"You feeling OK, Cliff?"
"Since I last went swimming. This feels great!"
Yeah, he looks like he could swim for a while longer. If we went another round, I'd totally lose.
"I didn't think I'd run out of my first wind so fast..."
"Yeah, we were sort of just discussing this."
I...I don't really care, Rick. I won. Winner-winner, sushi dinner.
"Of this special occaison! Everybody get in!"
He's so enthusiastic about what was sort of just a random swim meet...
That we sort of all end up lining up for a photo.
Wait.
Wait.
Who's this guy?
Is he...'The Wandering Camera Man'?
"Say Cheese!"
If I weren't socially obligated to smile because you have a camera, I'd be so angry at you.
The camera flashes. We disperse.
"Harris, didn't you worry about losing your hat?"
"What about you?"
"...I...I didn't really think about it. It's just sort of there on my head."
Grey nods sagely. For one minute, we are all Hat Guys, part of a sworn brotherhood.
The sworn brotherhood involves drinking. I hope someone brought an ice chest.
Summer - 25 - xxx1
Yup.
It's a useless knickknack.
The tomatoes (except the ones that are desynced) came in today. It's a real comfort, having crops to pick. It just...Well, for one, it feels like money in the bank.
For another, it just feels nice, picking each tomato, letting the stems snap cleanly in my hand. It feels like...It's so dumb, but it feels like the plant's just letting me take them, without any resistance. Soothing.
"And look forward to your actions in the future.
-The Wandering Cameraman"
CAMERAMAN!
Well, let's see the photo...
I'm not nearly tall enough to be in the back row.
Well, on to work today.
First off...Time to see the Goddess.
"Information...What was that, yesterday?"
"Why didn't you use it? Don't you trust my advice?"
"I didn't want to cheat, that's all."
"It's not cheating to use your arms, is it?"
"What's that got to do with...Wait. Let me try asking this differently. What exactly were you doing?"
She pouts.
"I was just giving you advice...And...Maybe a little nudge to help you use it."
"A little nudge."
"...Just a teeny one."
Yeah. Sure. Right.
"I was just trying to help." She hautily lifts her chin.
And I'm about to argue about it...But that didn't get me anywhere last time.
"Thanks. Thanks...I'm fine, though. Really. I like doing stuff on my own, now that I'm used to it."
"Alright, then! Do your best, Fox!"
A little cheered on...I spot Popuri on the cliff. Climbing the tree's easier this time...But I really feel the ocean's punch.
"Heya."
"But you're doing much better, so that's really amazing!..I kind of envy you."
"Wha?"
"You're on your own, and...You're growing so much, too. You smile more now...And it's an amazing smile. There's no one who'd call you childish..."
She looks down for a minute, gathering her thoughts like string around a spool. Then a bright smile comes along.
"But then, I bet a guy like you came out of the womb going 'huh' and not smiling it all -- so maybe you're just as childish as me!"
"Is it a bad thing, to be childish?"
She looks at me like I just unravelled her.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...Being able to think about things differently from other people, being able to enjoy something as simple as a mountaintop to the point where you drag me into it...I dunno. You bring a better and more interesting world with you."
She grins.
"Thanks. You...Bring a special world with you, too. It's a world where maybe things here...Can be different."
"Different?"
She giggles.
"You've got work to do, right? Get to it! Good luck!"
I really go through the rest of the day without incident, and have some time to go and maybe fish a little.
...Which is when my day develops incident.
"But...You shouldn't worry your mom and dad."
Karen turns away. I recognize that posture -- she's got her guard up...But also...She sounds like she's been crying -- her voice is worn out.
I wonder what sort of scene I've walked in on this time?
Elli shakes her head.
"They won't...They won't be around forever."
"Later...When you're all out of chances..."
Karen adjusts her hair.
"Nothing I can do can change what happens to them."
"...Bad thing. It's worse when a child falls victim to their parents, and ends up trapped in their lives. That's..."
"But I guess that's something you wouldn't know, right? That sort of love...Is easier when you can't see faults anymore."
Elli shakes, and turns away. She turns, and sees me on the path to the beach. She looks into my eyes, and her warm chocolate eyes melt into tears, shining rosey in the sunset. She stares at me as she speaks.
"Not working to love people whose love made your life possible...Not being there when they need you..."
I can't tell who she's talking to...But she's talking from herself.
She walks towards me. I reach out a hand towards her. If she meant that for me, then what should I say? If she meant that for Karen, whose defense do I go to?
Maybe she sees it in me, or maybe I'm paranoid. She just turns her body away and brushes past me.
Karen, though, doesn't turn to see me. Which is good -- I kind of want to run away.
"I'd regret it? Haaa...Ha." She lets forth an unsure laugh.
Yeah...I hope you make the one that makes you happy. And not just...What you think will make you happy.
Then again, how'd I know the difference?
But I'll miss her, if she leaves.
I leave the beach, and don't come back until I'm sure she's gone.
Then I do my fishing...
And even catch a fish!
And I head to the bar. Karen's in better spirits there.
"Yeah....I sort of forgot that last night."
"I can tell. On someone else's dollar, you go hog-wild, don't you?"
"Not normally...It's just been a while."
She laughs.
"Don't forget your limits -- that makes you no fun to drink with, and I intend to have some with you when we get the chance."
"Oh? You've still got plans here?"
She blushes.
"W-well, just a few...But I certainly can't leave without seeing if I can't drink you under the table!"
"Oh, one day, it will be so on."
"I'll be counting on it."
I till some soil and call it a night.
Summer - 26 - XXX1
There's a door in my wall. That's really, really creepy when you think about it -- I'm guessing it leads to the kitchen, and I'll check it out later, but...
While I was asleep someone cut into the side of my house and put a door there.
Thanks, carpenters, for the nightmares.
I turn around. The house does, in fact, have an extension attached. It's even bigger on the outside and everything!
I guess I knew that from the door, but...Come on.
"Thanks, guys."
I head inside...
They even added furnishings. And a little rug. And a fridge!
I stand in front of it and bask in the chilly glow.
That is amazing.
I go outside and realize Agros isn't where I left him.
"Agros! Agros!"
I whistle.
Agros comes running from the lean-to.
"Hey, boy! I hope all the sawing didn't scare you..."
Or whatever they were doing. I guess they put him up so as to not be in their way?
Aaaaug! But all my animals are inside, too. That's rather inconvenient, to be honest. They were in a safe pen, there was no need to move them...
Welp, there's my evening already determined.
I put a load of corn into the fridge. It'll cut into profits...But Ann will be thrilled.
And I find another little letter in my mailbox. The handwriting is...certainly...Energetic? Yeah, that's a nice thing to say.
-Ann
They seem to be doing alright...But I'll try and do my brushing-down in the evening, when the work's done and the sweat's started to pile up on Agros.
I head up into the mountain...
And find Popuri on the ground by the tree. I rush through the distance between us.
"Are you alright?"
"...You were climbing the tree, weren't you?" I resist the urge to deadpan....Mostly.
"I guess I shouldn't have gotten too proud of my tree-climbing..."
"They do say pride goeth before the fall, after all."
"Yeah...I guess walking home on this ankle's the price I have to pay."
She tries to laugh it off. That doesn't surprise me...In fact, given how pouty she can be, I'm surprised she's so dignified, instead.
"Then you'll have to pay your penance some other way. I'll bring you home myself."
I dunno...With the leaves in her hair and a streak of green on the side of her face...I can't help but think she looks like some innocent and wild creature, a delicate and bright flower, with pink petals and a roselike center as her pink little cheeks redden in earnest.
"You always look good when you smile like that."
That's what I'd like to say...But I'm not sure about an what impression that'd give her, and I don't want to do that...
So I don't say that at all.
What I find myself saying is:
"You look cute."
Oh, like that's any better! All my body parts betray me!
"You know, your dad once compared women to flowers..."
"It's not that good a comparison. I mean, flowers don't do things like fighting, and they don't fall out of trees and make people carry them, either."
"No, but...Isn't that a little superficial?"
"Hey! You're stealing my job! I'm supposed to say insightful but odd things to surprise you!"
She shakes me a little, and we both end up on the ground, laughing.
"But...I think I see what you mean. Flowers don't fight...But there are people who make the world brighter. That sort of person's like a flower...Being a flower like that for someone, that should be everyone's goal."
When she says that as I lift her stem-like body, she gets an idealistic look...I guess it makes the thing my mouth was going to stir up trouble with, some trite little, 'you're like a flower to me,' sound really...Petty.
Beaten again.
I deposit her at the flower shop, where her parents begin to fuss.
Ellen turns her head in her chair to watch this. She chuckles.
"Things moving a bit fast for you again, dear?"
"...Maybe just a touch."
She nods.
"There's advantages to that flow of time..."
"Hmm....I bet you look back and see someone like me navigating the rapids, and know where all the rocks are."
"Yes...But it doesn't do any good to call back. There's no reason to rush your choices, Fox...You'll end up ramming into rocks like that."
I nod. So at least Granny gets what I'm at...
Though I'm not sure there really is a choice but to break all their hearts. So maybe not...
"The river meets the sea, rises into the sky, then..."
The river of a life, rising into the sky...
I'm suddenly reminded again of Grandpa's funeral, the smoke ascending up over the mountain...
"Life's the same, eh?"
I look back down to see the old woman, staring at the sky with an expression I can't read. She's smiling, faintly...But her eyes seem so lonely. I wonder if she's thinking...
About a trip to the sky she'll have to take herself one day. It seems so far off to me...
She doesn't move from there for a long time, and I wander away, back into the mountains.
"Hey, hey! I heard you got a thing!"
"A thing?"
"Yeah! For your dwelling!"
"A kitchen."
"That's right. One of them...So we all got together last night and made this!"
he pulls out a sheet of paper. It tingles on my skin when he hands it to me.
"What is it?"
"Open it when you get there! Happy Itchen-Kay!"
"...But...A kitchen's not a..."
He looks at me with full excitement.
"...Thank you."
I find Ann near the goddess's pond.
"Hey. I got a kitchen today, so I can finally put that recipe you gave me to use."
"Oh, really? Well, I'm guessing that means you officially beat me at cooking."
"I haven't even tried yet, besides my rice balls in the morning..."
"Still better. I'm hopeless at that stuff."
"Well, I guess we all have weaknesses, right?"
"I guess...Still, it's such a pathetic weakness for a girl to have."
"Eh, does it matter if you're a girl?"
She turns and shouts at me.
"Of course it matters! Dummy!"
I cower as she retreats.
I go home and look at what the elf gave me...
It's a tree. With...berries on it? Were they trying to give me a list of magic berries or something?
Well, I'll put it in the kitchen for now.
And go to tend my animals.
I think...I think Clara's actually grown up now. Certainly, the big cow who's in her stall is a totally different scale than my little Clarabella.
"I guess...You're ready for me to milk you, huh, honey?"
Clara moos.
"I'll take that as 'yes.'"
She's very patient with me as I fumble around with the milker...I don't really know how this works, but she's an absolute sweatheart about it.
"You're certainly much nicer than the first human girl I got to mess around with." Ugh, that was a terrible joke.
But I end up getting enough milk to fill a bottle. Victory! For now, it'll go into the shipping bin.
And I bring my livestock outside for the night. And work on my chickens, too.
"Remember when it was just you, Agros, the dog, and me?...We're coming along pretty well."
It's wierd to talk to a chicken about your accomplishments, huh?
Well, I guess I'm just a wierd guy.
So be it. Go my own way.
You'll regret it later!
No I won't. I definately won't. Right? Right....Right?
Summer-27-XXX1
Another ordinary morning. It's pretty peaceful here, and mornings like these tend to blend together.
On the other hand, summer's almost over, and I'm not really sure about something...Unlike my spring plants, they stay after a harvest. But to everything there is a season, right? So what should I...?
Well, I guess I'll ask Basil for advice.
"Hey, Basil. Any advice?"
What, not everything needs a shpiel.
"Advice, huh? Well, Fox, sometimes you need to compromise when a difficult choice comes along."
"...What?"
"When your heart's telling you one thing, and your sense of who you are is telling you another, it may seem like you have to cave one way or another. This isn't the case."
"...plants. And then one day, I met my wife in this little mountain town. It was love at first sight, and I wanted to set roots here...
But travelling's in my sap,"
Uhhh, what? You know what, I'll forgive it as a bad pun and move on.
"In the end, I couldn't give it up completely...It may not be perfect, but it's the best I can do for everyone."
I'm not sure I can apply that to my lady troubles...What, I love all these girls but sleep with them indiscriminately? That...That sounds pretty terrible.
"I hope that helps."
"...I meant more, like, what I need to do with my tomato plants."
"Oh, just take a sickle to them at season's end."
...See? Was that so hard? Geeze, Basil!
I find Elli at the beach, fishing today. I guess she was trying to fish the other day, when that went down.
"Hey, Elli...About the other day..."
"I got a little heated there, didn't I? I just wanted ...Her...To realize that the time they can have with the people who care about her...Is precious."
"...Because there's things you didn't get to do with your parents?" Is it insensitive for me to ask that?
She thinks about it, and smiles.
"Maybe I did...I don't mind."
Heh. That's certainly a healthy outlook...Probably. She smiles a bit more firmly and waves me off.
"You've got recipe collections to hang, young man!"
"You sound like an old woman when you call me that!"
"Just go!"
I walk away with Elli's laughter at my back.
At my farm, by contrast to all this complicated feeling stuff, seems to be going just fine.
"Well, Clara. You..."
I guess she likes being the biggest thing on the farm, basking in the sun like this...
"I'm glad I can make my favorite lady happy, Clara. Good girl."
I head up to the mountain after taking care of that...And I find...
Elli on the ground, looking at her foot with a concerned expression.
"You OK?"
Are these the world's most clumsy girls, or what?
"These banks can get a little slippery sometimes."
"I see..."
It's the perils of the mountains, maybe? And the vineyard. And bookshelves.
"Well, up you go."
"Elli... You're not that heavy." I laugh. She really isn't -- she's maybe a bit rounder than the other girls...But I guess a girl who works around sweets all the time gets worried.
"Besides, it's getting late. Even if you can walk home, it'll get really dark before you make it back."
"Then...Treat it as a favor for me. I'll be up worrying if I don't see you home."
"W-welll....I don't want you to worry."
She clings to me as I walk -- it's probably an uneasy feeling, being carried by someone...Or maybe she likes the contact? Ok, no. I'm definately not a girl like Elli's type.
Eventually, we arrive safely at the bakery, as the night falls. When we get there, I deposit her in a chair behind the counter, and then she smiles.
"Oh, Fox...I...I wanted to give you something."
"What?"
She looks modest and fiddles with whatever she has behind the counter.
"Well, I heard the carpenter's apprentices saying the work was done on your kitchen! And I decided to actually do what I said I was going to do, and give you a place to put your recipes."
"Wow, that's pretty neat."
"I asked around to see what you might have from around town and wrote them down...And when you get more, you can just untie the ribbon and add them. The hook means it'll hang..."
She looks kind of shy, like she's uneasy with offering me something that...Effortful. I don't think anyone's put that much work into something just for me before.
I take it eagerly, to try and put her at ease.
"This is...Amazing!"
She looks taken aback. Ack. Not enough at ease. Play it cool, man.
"I mean, I could have gotten a binder..."
"I know, but...I wanted...Ummm...Well, a kitchen's what makes a home..." She doesn't finish that. Her face just goes redder and redder as she talks.
"I like it. It's homey for my home."
She smiles at last, and I put her project in my backpack. It even has a little cover -- a few illustrations of elaborate cakes and cupcakes. It's hopelessly girly...But it feels so much like Elli that I can't help but like it.
I go back out and do some fishing, with great success.
...I'm not good at Fishing, so this is success, OK?
And when I get home, I hang up Elli's present.
The room seems bright, with the Harvest Sprite's present and Elli's gift.
They're little things. I've had better stuff -- my whole life was surrounded by better stuff.
But...I find myself looking at my little kitchen, that I worked hard for, with the presents of my friends...
And I feel like if I don't work hard, I'll lose it. And it'll be the biggest loss of my life.
Re: 64 Times the Harvesting: Let's Play Harvest Moon 64
Originally Posted by Herpestidae
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