Fall - 10 - xxx1
It's another ordinary morning... After last night, I didn't get a lot of sleep.
My dad always used to warn me that one day I'd find a nice girl, and all my ways would catch up to me because I'd have no idea what to do...
I didn't believe him (about the part where I find someone I really cared about, I mean)...But if I had, I would have expected...Not to find, what? 4 or 5 (I still have not sorted out Ann.)
And when I get the impression they care for me...What am I supposed to do? (If I asked Dad, what would happen?)
Anyway, with nothing to harvest, the morning's an easy one. And then I check the mail...
It's...It's another photo from the photo jerk.
WHAT THE HECK?
How
does he always know this?
Is he a stalker? A spy for my dad? What...
WHAT IS THIS.
Also, this picture is...Not the best.
AND IT WAS TAKEN BY MY STALKER!
I also find another letter.
Of the earth! And who will be next year's King?!
This handwriting...My guess is Mayor Thomas's. It's the interrobang that does it -- he wants soooo badly to sell you on the idea that he's excited for this.
Anyway, up into the mountain. The old fisherman stops me.
"to make money. Great, huh?"
...I...I already knew that. I thought it was obvious.
"...Yeah."
I say, trying to hide my lack of excitement.
I notice the Potion Master looking about for something...
"What are you looking for?"
"Mushrooms, actually. Not ordinary ones...Something a bit more dangerous."
"...Dangerous?"
"The difference between a medicine and a poison is a matter of execution," The old man says with a nod.
"My medicine supply's been a little limited recently..."
In the cave, I find that dicey-looking mushroom, and figure if it's what the old man wants, let's see what he can do.
"This it?"
He nods.
"But let's try whipping something up."
I find Ann over by the goddess pond, too.
"What they want to say... Just looking at them stresses me out. I want to know what they're thinking!" She sighs.
"But that's being meddlesome, right?"
"Yeah, it is. That's the sort of person you are." She notices the expression on my face and looks ready to fly off the handle.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
I can't help be be amused by her face when she's angry like this; it's such an Ann-face, with everything she is balled up into it like a fist.
"I mean...You're a meddlesome person. You want to help everyone, and you're going to do whatever it takes to make them happy. Even if maybe they don't realize they want it yet."
She stands in silence, not sure if she's being insulted or not. I better keep going. It's all pretty much true, what I'm saying. Ann's been over to make sure I'm OK a lot, or to check up on Agros, or to give me advice when I come by...
I'm not sure if I should be, but...I'm grateful for it.
"Who cares if it's meddlesome, if you put your heart into it? I probably wouldn't be doing as well as I am...If you didn't help."
She smiles.
"Well, I can't just stand back and do nothing, right?"
I pause a moment.
"Still...I think Maria says what she wants to...It just takes some patience. Everyone's got their own pace; you just rush ahead a lot."
She laughs.
"That's right, I do!...When I can't, it just drives me up the wall; I just end up wanting to punch something!"
"I've noticed."
We laugh at this for a while; I don't hold this against her. Not when it means, on the flipside, I get to see that carefree laugh, that energetic push through life...It's so totally different from anyone I've met. I admire it, I think, even if it confuses me sometimes...
That's what I'm realizing, talking to her about it like this.
And more than that...I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying her laugh, enjoying seeing her pester people to change the world a little bit...Even if that person is me.
"...Maybe I'll be like that, one day."
Her laughter comes slowly undone, leaving a warm smile on her face.
"You, like me? Nah. You're way too mellow. You try and do everything, but inside, you're chill." She looks at me, a little nervously. There's a girlish, coy expression on her face -- shy as Maria, in her own way.
"B-but, the pace that you have...Paying attention to everything..."
She fidgets.
"That's the you that I like."
"Thanks, Ann."
Her shoulders sag like it was something that took a lot of effort to say.
As long as your pace is careful and shy about your feelings like now, Ann...The world won't fall apart just yet. I thank you, country, and your slow-paced girls.
(
"I will, I will."
Ellen notices my bag full of mushrooms and herbs when I head down into town. She smiles, a little sadly.
"The mountains must be bountiful now."
"up there?"
"Well, if there's anything I can get you, just ask."
"Well...There's this berry that grows in the light of a harvest moon. When I was young, your grandpappy and I would go and get it together...Ah, but that was before he met your grandmother, and before I met my husband..."
She smiles, lost in a wave of nostalgia.
"You look so much like he did back then... The roads seem so open for a man like that; it must get confusing."
Ellen laughs softly to herself. She's got me pegged; I put my hands in my pocket and shake my head.
"I'm surprised; I was so utterly seen through." I chuckle. "...What do you think I should do?"
The old woman rocks back and forth for a while.
"Don't panic. While it may be true you could lose things by taking it slow...Just take each day honestly, and don't rush into meaningless choices."
"Even if it means I might be leading people on?" I don't know why I put it like that, since, after all, one of those people is her granddaughter... Still, I feel like she's not going to judge me. That feeling's one I sort of have to toss back and forth in my hands, unable to do anything about it. I don't know how to handle acceptance, either.
"If you're really being honest with yourself...Even if it doesn't work out, I think they'll understand you didn't decieve them..."
As she says that...I feel better. Like the weight's sliding off of me, and replaced with something warm and safe...
"Thanks, Granny."
I'll have to get her that berry...Somewhere in the mountain, huh? I'll go hunting.
I buy a cake and head on my way.
Most of the day passes quietly. I tend my animals, talk to people, sell my things, finish watering my plants...
It's late by the time I get to go into the mountain again. I feel like I know it pretty well, but... I haven't seen this special thing.
So I start by checking up the main path...But it doesn't seem like there's anything like that here.
Instead...Well, there's the cliff by the tree....
I climb the tree in the dark, scrambling along hand-holds...
And find myself scouring the path in the night. The air is full of the sound of owls, and little things that scurry in the dark. I stumble on an old-looking building, standing alone at what feels like the top of the world...
I find myself knocking on it gently.
If there's anyone there at all...It feels like it was something for a long time ago, something that happened and was forgotten...
Why did I even try that door?
I turn around to see something in the bushes by it. I pick it up, not seeing what it is until I wrest it free into the moonlight.
This is it...Probably. It's something, anyway.
I hate jumping in the daaarrrk!
Ow. Hopefully I don't need someone to pick me up and carry me home...
I manage to get back, and fall exhausted into bed.
Fall-11-XXX1
Oh, is he here about the festival?
Called it in one.
"Is tommorow? So I heard."
"You should come."
"Yeah, how does that work?"
"That's a surprise for you to see if you come, Fox."
He said, as if lording it over me. I wonder if he realizes this is not that big a mystery.
...Nope. He totally doesn't. *sigh* Maria, your father is totally guileless.
I go to pick up another generation of fine eggplants when....
I hear Elli's voice calling out to me. I haven't seen her...Since...The other...(the heat of her lips on my cheek, her hand on my hand)
Uhhh...Then.
"Good morning, Elli. Need something?"
"Oh, no. Well, not exactly."
She looks shy, even as she admits that what she was doing what she does every day.
Unless...
"Your cakes are a part of the festivities?"
"That's right; they're King Cakes!...Literally.
So be sure to come, OK?"
King Cakes, huh...So they're use to determine the king?
...This really does sound like one of those blood-king nature cults thing.
"Of course I'll come; I can't wait to taste a King Cake made by you." I hope it's one of the ones with Nutella filling. And good icing, none of that cheap stuff.
I guess a solid one would be alright, or one with a really good home-made jelly, maybe...
She nods happily.
"See you then!"
Instead of the usual 2 I was expecting...
I end up with 4 plots of eggplants.
...My eggplant schedule appears to have gotten desynced. I am a bit cross.
I go up into the mountains, as per standard. It's Elli's day off, so she's fishing by the river.
"You always fish on your days off, don't you?"
"It's...very important to me."
"He was saying I was always too little to fish, especially on trips that he'd take with Jeff or the men of the village... But I thought, maybe one day, we'd go together..."
Her smile is tight as a violin string, playing a lonely note that makes me want to wrap my arms around her.
"So when I fish...I feel closer to him."
I suddenly picture it; a young Elli of a few years ago, dangling her line in the water, trying to wrap around her the feeling of her dad... There's an honesty to that image I envy; I can't say I mind Dad and I's way of moving on...But there's an honesty to that idea I can't think I know how it'd be in my life.
"That sounds like it must be pretty nice, then."
"It feels peaceful and calm."
"I can't say Dad and I really bonded...Even though I only met him once or twice, I feel like I probably would have been closer to my grandpa than him."
"So do you feel closer to knowing what he was like, working his farm?"
I flash back, suddenly, to my grandfather's deathbed...Him, mumbling in his delirium, clutching my hand...He said a lot of things, but only the last stuck with me...
Even though I've been chasing it, I don't know what he meant, or even if he knew who he meant it for...
I shift my feet and realize something else.
"...Hey, shouldn't you be making those cakes?"
"I do it in the evening; it's sort of a tradition."
"I'll let you go to your fishing, then."
"Come join me sometime, alright?"
...Would that be like meeting her dad, in some crazy metaphysical way?
"You're going to be the king, right?"
"...Uhhh...Maybe, I guess. Is it luck?"
"For most people, most time...But you're definately going to be the king at least once. It's destiny."
"Destiny? How is a random festival position destiny?"
"Because it used to mean something. And you've already done the job, so you're a shoo-in!"
"...Already...What?"
"Don't worry your pretty giant head, Mr. Fox! We'll make it happen!"
"...Ummm...You're not going to mess with Elli's cakes, are you?"
I sense this going very badly.
"We're elves! We'll be discrete!"
"..."
Yup. This is going to be a disaster.
Anyway, I head off into town, where I find Harris picking up some letters spilled from his bag. There are lot of them.
"Wow, you must be busy."
"Well, I kind of take on a bigger route than just this town; I deal with people along the roads and on the other side of the mountains, too... It makes me feel like we're all connected. Our happiness, our advertisements --"
"Our advertisements?"
"I'm reaching there, just a bit..."
He admits with a laugh.
"Serious letters...And sad letters. But that's why I..."
"And stuff like that."
"That does sound nice."
I head into the church, next.
"Hey, Kent. How's schooling?"
"It's alright, I guess..."
"If you drop by sometime and I'm around, I could show you what little I know...But you're probably better off going to Grey."
"...But Mr. Grey doesn't *talk*."
"He does so! To the bunnies and the foxes and the cows and sheep and horses and stuff...He likes flowers, too."
"But not to people!"
"He talks to me."
"Yeah, but bro...Your name's Fox, so he probably thinks you're an animal, too."
...I don't think it works that way.
Awww, that's cute.
"That's nice, May."
I will not express this cuteness through words. That would sully it.
The pastor, however, looks a little worried...
"Is it good enough?"
"Well, you're at least doing what you can, right? Maybe there are books you can get on better upper-level homeschooling or something."
"...That may be an idea. Thank you, Fox."
He still looks troubled. I guess now he's wondering where he'll get the money for that sort of thing...
And then I go deliver that fruit to Elli's Granny.
"Aaaah, this does take me back...It's such a sweet fruit, to only grow by the light of the moon...Still, it's been a long time since anyone's come down with one. I bet they're quite expensive, these days..."
She holds up the berry and smiles at it.
"The memories I have of it are so lovely and so sweet...A little bit of me doesn't want to taste it, and know if the fruit is so sweet anymore or not..."
"Oh, come on! You mean I climbed that hill for nothing?"
She laughs, a dry, husky sound.
"Oh, my...Please, don't be upset. I didn't mean it like that. Remembering the fruit, knowing it's still continuing after all these years...That's precious to me. I think I'll give the fruit to Elli for you...And she can decide if the berries now are sweet enough for her."
She pats me on the head like I'm a child.
"Well...If Elli gets it, I guess that's Ok, too."
I smile fondly, and head on out.
I get another one when I'm done my chores, and find Harris sadly nursing a drink at the bar.
"Something wrong?"
"But it's not easy...I'm not any good at putting words to what I really mean to say."
I think about it...I'm not much better, probably.
"Yeah, it's tough. I guess when it comes to talking to someone, you just have to do your best."
It's trite, but it's all I can say.
And then I get some water, talk around with Karen, and head home to bed.
Fall-12-xxx1
I harvest two things of eggplants, and take care of everything, before heading off to the festival. It's...Pretty crowded, particularly in contrast with the other festivals, which were a bit subdued.
"Wow...I guess a harvest festival is more important out here..."
Kai, behind me, laughs at the idiotic city-slicker.
"For the weather and everything... What else can you do but pray?"
Does putting in eggs at the goddess pond qualify as praying, I wonder?
Anyway, time to make some rounds!
"And you? You enjoying it?"
"Dance. I bet you're in high-demand this festival, huh?"
I laugh, awkwardly.
"Well, we'll see..."
"You're a good dancer, so I'm looking forward to see how you do."
I suspect that what I taste is, in fact, not actually 'stamina juice,' but rather some form of alcohaul...
"...Hmmm...This stuff is pretty good."
"Who could ask for anything more?"
Cliff's clearly interested in the food aspects. What more do you want than a festival of food when you're a wandering woodsman?
"But that's probably not the only reason."
"I wish I had known there'd be food; I feel like I should have brought something."
I've got recipes and I'm not afraid to use them!
"Like that when I grow up."
"Oh, I bet so. Maybe Elli can teach you."
I can really easily see her as the sort of person to want to do stuff like that, even if it means a smaller customer base.
...That you...Washed off?
Is washing them an accomplishment now, Ann?
"Don't give me that skeptical eyebrow! Here, have one!"
I munch on the vegetable offered.
"They're good. I mean, they're clean vegetables..."
I guess she's worried that she could mess up washing things...
"I tried not to damage the clean flavor...Or something like that."
"Well, at some point, probably...But if you just get the basics down, the rest should fall in line."
But knowing Ann, she'd probably rush into trying to make complex stuff if she really wanted to learn.
"Nature. We need to remember that."
Your propaganda has worked well, oh Harvest Goddess.
In all seriousness, I nod.
"Yeah...I'll say this much about living out here versus the city...In the city, you don't really think about that sort of thing; it just sort of never occurs to you...So I can see why remembering the world we live in matters more, now."
She smiles.
"Say, did you make anything here?"
She looks into her hands and nods.
"Maybe...You could try everything, and see what you'd guess..."
I look over the foods and try them. I notice something about one of them...The salad has cabbage in it, which isn't what I'd normally suspect...
"It's the salad. And maybe some rice balls, too."
She nods.
"That's right! I-I'm glad...That you can guess my cooking..."
She blushes, and then pulls a little wax-paper wrapped cookie with some walnuts in it from her apron pocket.
"U-umm...I also..."
I take a few bites. It's an oatmeal cookie, which I generally find I prefer...As long as it doesn't have raisins. It's got that slightly-burntness that marks a homemade cookie, and makes it feel a little warm.
"It's a really tasty cookie, Maria. Why's it not with the other stuff?"
"W-well...It was my first time, making a sweet like this...I-I'm practicing...For..."
She blushes and trails off, unable to complete the sentence properly. Instead, she goes for:
"Foods?"
"Not much, not much at all."
"So I eat too much."
"Her initial King Cakes got destroyed by something...We're not sure what, but something went ripping through it... We had to do something a little less perfectly-aligned."
I know what did it.
HAAAAAAARVEST SPRIIIIIIITES!
YOU HAVE DENIED ME CAKE!
Thanks, Mayor. Couldn'ta guessed.
"Have a good time."
"Thanks, think I will."
You know, I at least harvest pretty much in every season. It's more like we have harvests...
Oh, who am I to spoil the fun?
"I try."
Except when the blessers of the earth destroys my King Cakes.
I try a fork-full. The bitter taste of the herbs mixed with the strong vinagrette...
"...It's...Unique."
"Is the taste too strong?"
That's a way to put it, I guess.
She sighs, but brightens.
"So this was a fun experiment for me <3."
"...Well, I'm glad you had fun, anyway."
She does look really excited about this, that certain bubbling Popuri charm rising to the surface.
"Next time, I'll try it on rice!"
Grey quickly tries to cover up anything resembling human feeling for me.
"I know you're fine just by looking at you."
"He's fine. I think we're still sort of getting used to each other..."
"He liked your grandfather a lot. He needs a little love to get by."
"I'll do my best."
It's what I always say.
"...I know that just by looking at you, too."
"But I don't like the taste. How can grownups drink..."
"Heh. You'll get used to it; I don't think it's something kids really get the flavor of...And that's...Probably for the best."[/color]
Remember, kids: don't drink until you're of legal age! (Guess who has two thumbs and is a hypocrite: this guy.)
"Because he ate too much."
"It's a real risk...But such risks must be taken by those men who call themselves truly daring!"
"Wow, really?"
"No, I just say that because I don't want to feel bad about eating too much myself..."[/color]
That said...Isn't the whole point of this festival over-eating?
When I head back up towards the center, I find that Elli's stepped out into the square from the hidden "employee" area.
"Heya, Elli. Sorry to hear about the cakes..."
"These things happen, I guess. And they turned out so nice...Well, you came here for cake, not sobbing about baked goods."
Oh, what could have been...
"you're the next King."
I take a few bites, nibbling cautiously...I'd hate to...
clink
Owowowowowowowow! My teeth! Ugh, it's got that 'biting tinfoil' feeling, too! Sons of monkeys!
I remove the offending substance...
Well, I guess that means I'm the king...
I'd wonder if the Harvest Sprites had something to do with this...But we already learned *all about* their efforts.
I guess he needed to announce this for everyone else, too.
Hey, what happens if a girl gets this coin? Does she get to be the King?
...Oh, boy. Well, I saw the Sowing Festival....But I hope the Spirit Festival's not too much...
The mayor continues after everyone's eaten some cake.
"Everybody, choose your partners."
Well now, well now...
I spot a lot of eyes on me, and feel my skin crawl. Still...I think at one point, I promised Karen we'd dance next time...And she is good at it...So let's go with that.
"Karen, care to dance?"
"Always, always."
She laughs and takes my hand as a piecemeal band starts up.
Karen's light on her feet, which is the sort of thing that really makes a difference with simple dances like these.
She's quick and knows the rhythm. She winks at me, sending a little shiver up my spine. I take her in my arms for the brief second the dance lets us close, and I spin her and dip her.
There's a smattering of faint applause, and then we're both spinning off our own ways. Come to that, that's the way it's always been for me;
it's a dance and you just change partners now and again...
But as she comes close, her hair whipping around her... I don't know what I feel; I'm just watching her face as it comes and goes, pulled by the dance, her face bright and wild with the joy of movement.
And we slow to a stop, and eat, and begin to go our seperate ways...
Good sleep...
Re: 64 Times the Harvesting: Let's Play Harvest Moon 64
Originally Posted by Herpestidae
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