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Hone Your Very Farming Abilities

The Harvest Moon Meme!

Sometimes your character just needs a break, either from the frantic pace of their games, or from their chaotic canon lives. Lucky for them, they have a chance to relax and unwind out in the country, where there's plenty of fresh air, good food, and friendly company to be had. So push pause on those busy lives and spend some time in the world of Harvest Moon.

ROLES
1. The Busy Farmer - Classic. You have animals to take care of, crops to grow, people to make friends with, harvest sprites to ignore, and so many things. It's hard to keep track of it all, but somehow, you manage.
2. The Rival Farmer - You've been here long before the clever new upstart appeared. But it seems like they've got a natural talent for this stuff you never realized. Maybe you can ask them for advice, or challenge them for the rights to use a public field.
3. The Farming Specialist - Maybe you'd rather concentrate on just one area of farming that you love. Do you grow only vegetables? Orchards? Are you solely into animal husbandry? Your skills might be more limited, but they're sharp and focused and you're at the top of the list.
4. Shopkeeper - Whether you run one of the town markets or visit from afar to sell exotic wares, you're always up for a good bargain.
5. Restaurant - ~~You are a restaurant.~~ Whether you prepare the food, serve it, or both, hospitality is the name of the game, and you've got plenty to go around. Feed the poor starving farmers who can't afford to build their own kitchen yet.
6. The Harvest God/Goddess - Kindly and watchful, you make sure the farmers are getting all the help they need...so long as they keep up their offerings, after all.
7. Mayor - This town is yours, and you rule with an iron fist! Or maybe you just organize events and festivals and mediate town arguments. That works too.
8. Doctor - When farmers collapse in exhaustion after stupidly refusing to eat or sleep, you're the one who has to patch them up. Is it annoying? Maybe you love being there to take care of everyone.
9. The Visitor - Whether you wandered in with amnesia, washed up on shore, or just decided to stay at the inn and stick around, you're part of the town community now. You might also be secretly dateable.
10. The Kindly Veteran - You're here to teach the newbie farmers all the basics. You're also probably doomed to die as soon as winter rolls around.

EVENTS
1. Tutorial Time - Water the crops. Brush the cows. Feed the dogs. Harvest the babies. Put chickens in the beehives. ...Maybe you could use a little help.
2. Courtship - There's a special someone in town you've got your eye on. Bring them their favorite gifts and they'll have no choice but to like you! ...That IS their favorite gift, right? Because if it's a horror gift, you're doomed to die alone.
3. Competition - Who grows the best crops? Who's got the best sheep? Who can cook the most delicious Cheese Drink? Put your skills on display and impress EVERYONE.
4. Marriage - You're tying the knot, and everyone is invited to the wedding. Come wish the happy couple good luck ~~because the wife is going to be pregnant in just 30 days~~ and give them a gift.
5. Friendly Festival - Not all of the events are slated for farmers to show off at each other. There's the flower festival where people give floral gifts, the snow festival where everyone gathers together to build a giant snow castle, and of course eating buckwheat noodles in the town square to ring in the new year is always popular!
6. Sick Friends - Uh oh, you forgot to put the cow in last night and it got harassed by a wild dog. Now it's stressed out and unhappy! Grab someone to give you advice or sell you some medicine.
7. Typhoon/Blizzard - The storm outside is so rough, you don't dare venture outside unless there's an emergency. Better stay in, hopefully with some good company, and take it easy for just one day.
8. Fulfilling Requests - Sometimes people post job requests on the board. Maybe there's something you can help with. Maybe there's something YOU need help with. List a reward, and see if there are any takers.
9. Overdoing It - Did you forget to eat again? Or sleep? Oh, you! Now you've caught a cold, and you can't possibly get everything done in this condition. Either you need to see a doctor, or recruit some help from a friend until you feel better.
10. The Blue Feather - This is it! This is when you finally confess your feelings to the person you cherish most. Will they accept? Or did you just flash the feather to be a complete troll and anger someone who never wanted it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I rolled a 5, a 7, and an 8. I'll write a starter, but do you have any preferences on which one of those and what role you want Sheik to have so I can get us started?]

{ Hi :3 I think Sheik works best as 9. The Visitor, the classic aloof, gender fluid ninja. }

[Yona has never left the town. Partially it's because she's kept busy with her harp and dance lessons; mostly it's because her father, the mayor, is an overprotective worrywart. So when word comes that they've received a visitor from the outside, she can't quite contain her curiosity, and she makes an attempt at ditching some of her lessons to go meet this person.

(It doesn't work. One of her servants is annoyingly good at tracking her down and bringing her back, and she's treated to more than one lecture about how she can't just run out on her lessons on a whim.)

It isn't until a few days after Sheik's arrival that she actually has the chance to see him. It's the annual Music Festival and pretty much everyone is gathered in the town square to take part, though the festivities haven't quite begun yet. Yona takes the opportunity to slip away from her father's side and seek out the one person whose face she doesn't recognize. She peers out at him curiously, half-hidden behind a planter of sweet-scented flowers.]

Do you play any instruments?

[ A travelling minstrel by nature Sheik had seen a number of small villages and this one was like many of the others he had seen; quaint, charming but nothing that appealing... That was until a young, fiery-haired maiden caught his eye. Something about her gait or perhaps it was the manner of her speech tugged at his curiosity. In most cases, he would stay exclusively for the annual music festival but something kept him at the fete a while longer.

Flashes of red and bright, wide eyes caught his gaze from time to time. Shy and recluse by nature he rarely made a point to initiate conversation with anyone so he was pleasantly taken by surprise when he heard that silvery toned voice ask something of him.

Sheik's expression was, for the most part, hidden, but his dark eyes were remarkably expressive; they showed a quiet approval. Any talk of music was a guarantee of his appreciation. As his eyes smiled he replied, voice audible despite being obfuscated by his scarf. ]

Yes. [ He paused for a long moment before adding. ] Something in the melody of the harp speaks to me.

[It's probably for the better that Yona has no idea he'd noticed her, too; she would be unbearably embarrassed if she knew her attempts at ditching her lessons to meet him had been witnessed by someone other than the servant who'd kept her from running off. Since she doesn't know, she smiles at his response.]

Are you playing in the festival then? [She hopes so, and though she doesn't say it, that she'd voiced the question at all is probably enough indication that she'd like to hear him play.] I'm learning to play the harp a little, but my teacher says I can't play in the festival yet...

[Though maybe if she hadn't bailed on her lessons she'd be good enough, who knows?]

Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name? I'm Yona.

[ Sheik averted his gaze for a moment, notably pleased at the response if not slightly bashful. Although quiet by nature there was nothing sinister in his momentary pauses for thought, he often communicated more with his eyes and expression than with his words which often came out either too flourished or just not at all. His gaze caught a few inanimate objects as he carefully phrased what he wanted to say in his head before uttering it. ]

Then we share a love. [ The intimate nature of that comment hit him seconds later and he added with a careful calmness. ] The harp is arguably one of the most testing instruments but that which we pour our hearts into yields the sweetest of sounds.

[ Another pause passes before he finally adds. ] I am Sheik, nothing more than a travelling bard, of no note to any but those who I share music with.

Eh?

[He has a poetic way of speaking, and she can feel her cheeks warming with a blush at his first four words. Blushing so easily is a little embarrassing, too, and she brings her hands up to try and hide the flush of her cheeks with her long sleeves, peering up at him through her lashes as he continues.]

Uh.. uh-huh. It's always worth it when you practice hard and are able to play a nice song...

[And just like that, she resolves to not skip out on her practice anymore. Maybe she'll improve enough that they can play together before this traveler moves on to his next destination.]

Do you... do you share music with very many people?

[She's still a little embarrassed, because while it's an innocent enough question, to her ears it sounds like she's asking something else even though that's not her intention at all. But then, she does have a habit of reading too much into things when she's flustered to begin with; it can't be helped.]

—that is, you must have seen a lot of amazing places, if you travel so much...!

[ He noticed the blush, there was no way for him to miss it. The gesture that she coupled with it drew more attention to it than she may have realised. That said, there was something endearing in her coy nature that Sheik found quietly appealing. She may not have noticed the appreciative expression in his eyes but there was a chance she would hear it in his voice. ]

Indeed, music communicates what words cannot.

[ Her additional question caused Sheik to exhale something akin to a soft chuckle, the easily misinterpreted nature of her question coupled with her reaction were too amusing to ignore. ]

I share what is asked of me, yes, but there are limits to what I offer. And yes, you're right, I have seen many far off lands. Deserts to jungles. Woodlands to marshes. The beautiful and the unique.

If you've seen so many unique places, why come to a place like this..?

[She doesn't get it. It's not that she doesn't take pride in her town, because she does, but ultimately it's a small town without a whole lot to offer someone as well-traveled as Sheik. The Music Festival may be part of the draw, but Yona, having grown up with it, sort of takes it for granted.

On the other side of the town square, some of the musicians taking part begin to tune their instruments. Yona wonders briefly if that means the festival is so close to starting that she'll be missed if she doesn't make it back to her father's side soon, but she doesn't feel quite ready to stop talking to Sheik just yet; she didn't spend the better part of the last few days trying to create an opportunity for it to end this so soon.]

[ A quiet moment of contemplation at the question left a moment of silence between them before Sheik finally answered, genuine notes of affection in his voice. ]

Everything has its own charm, a beauty unique to itself. Just like people.

[ The bands were warming up, sweet melodies filled the afternoon air mixed with the aroma of village delicacies. Local farmers had brought in their fresh produce and the villagers were contentedly chatting amongst themselves. Yes, there was great beauty to such provincial life. ]

I guess it is pretty nice here.

[On days like today, she can see it even if she does tend to take what she has for granted. The people gathered in the town square all seem to have smiles for each other; everyone is genuinely happy to be taking part and spending time with their friends and family.

...the food smells really good, too.]

Where are you going to go next? [She fiddles with the hem of one of her sleeves and tilts her head to one side curiously.]

[ Sheik silently agreed with her, his dark eyes catching her gaze for a moment then flitting away, past her eyes as he noticed a single, pale petal had drifted from the tree overhead and caught in the curls of her hair. The final, pink blossom of spring hanging delicately in the locks of her crimson hair. Without a second through he stepped closer, breaching the gap between them, and reaching slowly he brushed the petal from her hair with the backs of his long, elegant fingers. ]

... Who's to say? Maybe I'll decide to tarry here a while longer.

[Yona's breath catches in her throat as Sheik steps closer, and she looks up at him with wide eyes and slightly flushed cheeks. What is he...? Her unspoken question is answered a moment later when he brushes that flower petal out of her hair, though, and almost unconsciously she brings her hand up to brush her fingertips against where it had been lying a moment before.

She smiles, feeling a little foolish for getting so flustered. Of course he was just brushing something away. Her hair is always causing problems; she's sure on anyone else that petal wouldn't have gotten stuck.]

Well... my father likes to speak with visitors. If you stay for a little longer, maybe you could have dinner with us?

[ He carefully measured her reaction with a sense of warmth in his eyes. There was something sweet and delicate about Yona that he found captivating.

Sheik's hand returned to his side and a moment later he unhooked his small, Celtic-style harp from a latch at the base of his back. ]

Upon your father's agreement, I would be delighted to join you for dinner, Yona.

[ An affectionate nod followed before he turned to join the festivities. ]

My time approaches, I would be... delighted if you listened to me play.

I'm sure he'll agree! So... I'll see you at dinner.

[It's as good as a promise as far as she is concerned, and she'll be holding him to it whether he likes it or not. She watches as he turns to go join the other musicians; since he's turning away, he'll probably miss her nod, but she speaks up to make sure he knows she's agreeing.]

I'll listen to you! Be sure to watch me and the others when we dance at the end, okay?

[With that, she finally returns the searching glances her father has been throwing in their direction, and goes to take her place by his side. When Sheik's turn to play comes up, she'll be watching and listening intently to his performance, as promised.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hone Your Very Farming Abilities

The Harvest Moon Meme!

Sheik | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | OTA

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let me know if you want me to change anything!

I love it!

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