Player Diary: Erin's Farmer Fantasy
As you are all aware, I have been away from Stardew for some time. In that time I've changed a lot of my mods to make things run better, and to try new things. That being said... this will be a new story. We can imagine that Erin had a fabulous time in her world, had a hard time choosing between all the hot bachelors, and had a blast learning her farm life.
That being said.. I will start the newest save probably next week. For now, though... Let us set it up, shall we?
Chapter 1:
Did you know.. being of magical blood in a large town, working for the biggest corporation in the entire area.. well.. IT IS HELL!!
On the plus side, I've been able to increase my salary by a ton, a little pixie dust here, a subtle *word* there.. and things just go my way. It's nice on the side of money.. and I do not overuse my abilities, nor do I go out of my way with them.. but. But.. I'm suffocating. I can't be myself. Everywhere you look, there's eyes watching you. Everything you do and say is weighed and measured. It's exhausting, just being alive.
At any rate. Hello. My name is Aria. I have a familiar, I call him Jin, he seems to like the name, so that's a relief. Jin is a rather large raven.. and mischievous as he can be. He's a loyal friend, though.. and sometimes he likes to fly off for a while, and come back with news from other places. And that, is how everything got started.
Jin came up to me one night, after a frustratingly long day of work, and started chattering about this little town he'd found. "Aria! No, listen! This place is called Pelican Town. It's close to here, shrouded in mountains."
"Ah come on Jin, I deal with the surrounding area all the time, I haven't.. oh wait, I do remember a little place near here with one of our shops."
"That's it! You're not listening though.. LISTEN!!"
*sighs* "Fine, you're not going to let this go. What is it? I'm exhausted." .. I let him go on, not paying much attention.. hmm.. maybe I'll have a frozen dinner.. I have some... "Wait.. WHAT??"
"Heh, knew you weren't listening. Wizard. Dwarven technology. Dwarves. Earth Spirits. I've heard there are dragons. There's hints of mermaids. I saw a man with tail and ears walking around in the forest. There's a feeling of something extremely dangerous rising from the ground. Adventuring guilds. Monsters...
Aria.. magic permeates that land. ... and you just dropped your fork. .. I will leave you to think about that. Goodnight."
I.. have no idea when I went to sleep. When I did, I dreamt of my Grandpa. I haven't seen him in so long, I miss him. He was the one tie that kept me grounded in this mayhem of a world. And here he is in my dream, pointing at a mountain before giving me a hug.. as the alarm goes off.
I got dressed, somehow got my food and such ready, stared at the still asleep Jin, and went to work. My boss spent the morning yelling at me about profits that didn't meet his expectations. Of course they don't, you can't expect a tiny town to give you that much.. wait, that's Pelican town...
It's like everywhere I look, there's a sign to go. I sat down at my desk, opened up my computer, and saw news about strange meteor crashes in the vicinity of.. Pelican town.
You know.. maybe it's time to leave. I've worked a long while, I have quite a bit of money saved up. There's no one holding me here.. Jin will happily fly off to adventure with me. Ah, and Grandpa had left me something... told me to open it when I'd had enough... wait, it's in my desk somewhere...AH!
.. It.. it... WHAT
A deed, grandpa? Elysium Falls.. a farm. Grandpa was a farmer? How did I not know this? Then again, that's been a long while now. I remember him and dad arguing over weather I should practice my "talents" as he called my magic. Dad wanted me to fit in. Grandpa wanted me to be me. .. I miss him..
Well.. where is this farm at? ... you.. seriously? Pelican town. Seriously??
Well.. I have packing to do. I have a bird to get moving.
I have a boss to magically pour hot coffee on.
Let's see what trouble I can get myself into when I seriously do not care what people think of me.
Day 1:
I had the weirdest dreams. Dante's Inferno style dreams. They ended in a melody so beautiful that the almost nightmare turned into something even pure sunlight couldn't compare to, and I woke up with a smile and tears in my eyes. As far as omens go.. I'd say that was a good start.
Yesterday was.. long. I got on the bus going from Zuzu out to the country. Jin hopped on the top of the bus while no one was looking.. should have seen the stares from people watching the bus go by, it was kinda funny. It was a long trip, so I napped some.. the problem with remembering the past is that it doesn't stay buried once dredged up.. so I had some dreams about the fighting between my father and grandfather over my well being. Snippets of a song I barely remember from a beautiful woman.. I like to hope and believe it was my mother. Grandpa told me she was a fae, of royal blood, and that her family realized that she was with humans and pulled her back to her home. Apparently they threatened my life, if she went back.
It makes me wonder if she's still alive.. and if I may someday get to meet her again.
Ah well.. those are thoughts for a more morose day. This was moving day. I don't have a lot, most of what I actually own is in a suitcase, what furniture I did have was sent on ahead of me.
When we arrived, Jin seemed to know exactly where I was heading.. who knows, maybe he knew grandpa? I got off the bus to meet this seriously pretty, and very buff redheaded lady named Robin. She was very friendly, and started chatting about the old farm, and how much work there would be, and that mayor Lewis.. (yes, he DID remember my grandfather, and apparently had no intention of dying any time soon), had asked her to help patch things up for me with the money I'd sent on ahead.
Let's be honest here. I had no idea grandpa had a farm. I don't remember a farm. I've never met a cow, and I've never done anything but potted plants. So.. when I was shown what appeared to be the *start* of a massive farm with a rundown house.. I.. had no idea how to start.
Robin was nice about it though, told me a few things about the area, and then teased me about the house. Lewis scared me by coming OUT of the house and scolding her for making fun of it, before patting me on the shoulder and heading out.
I walked around the initial area, picking up a few rocks and such before heading into the little cabin. It was actually pretty cozy inside, with a fireplace lit for the chilly spring weather. I found Jin outside a window, apparently having a chat with a few of the other birds around the farm, so I left him to it, had a bit of chicken that had been nicely left for me in the fridge, and passed out on the bed.
Which brings us to today. I found tools in the dresser, of all places.. with a note from Lewis, saying they were my grandpa's old tools, and should do to start with. I also found a little box with parsnip seeds from him, to help me get started, the note said.
Well.. it's as good a place to start as any, right? I wonder if there are books on gardening....
Stepping outside was a surprising but wonderful thing. Birds were chattering all around. I could hear a waterfall somewhere close by, the beat of the water hitting stone sounding like percussion to the birds song. There was a sweet smell in the air, and a soft wind blowing, like the farm was telling me good morning.
Well.. let's see. I have a hoe.. I'm supposed to dig with it, right? ok so.. I'll make a plot of soil to plant these seeds in right.. about here.. and.. OOF! .. Ouch.. I didn't know we had muscles there!!
I mean.. I could use magic but.. I feel like that's cheating.. this.. is gonna take a while.. I'll talk to you next time reader.. this is gonna take some concentration.
Day 2
Well. It isn't exactly day 2, is it? I will admit, reader, I've been a very busy fae of late. I've been digging, chopping, hacking, watering, and spending the evening soaking in the water behind my house.
Why the water behind my house? Turns out the water there is like an onsen almost. Waterfall is almost right there, but the water is bubbly hot, so when the water from the waterfall hits, the cold water creates steam and.. well.. my extremely sore muscles are extremely happy.
I have calluses on my hands. Calluses. I've never even seen a callus before.
Anyway. Robin had told me if I got her enough wood and stone, she could upgrade my house to hold enough room for children later if I wanted, and could make me barns, coops, and other things. So... that's what I've been doing. Planting, selling everything I don't eat that I've found, and saving up for it.
I finally got it done, and harvested my first turnips. They actually grew. I was in shock. And Pierre, he sold these new seeds, "heirloom potatoes". I planted some, along with regular potatoes.. the heirloom ones look.. rainbowy, somehow.. it's the strangest thing, I can't wait to see how it goes.
That's not what reminded me to tell you how things are going though. Nope. What reminded me was. Well. I got the house upgraded. Right as Robin was working on it, Marnie.. who I found out a few days ago is the lady I'll get cows and chickens from.. she seems like one of those sweet ladies that would hug you almost too much and offer you way too much food if you were crying... and you'd never want to see hurt.. you know.. one of those sweet aunt types? Well, she came by with a stray cat. She'd named it Miso. It's a pretty little thing, I almost named it something else but.. eh, why not? Although.. now I want soup all the time..
I adopted her. She's currently hiding under my bed, Robin's hammering outside keeps scaring her, and it's making me half laugh, half worried.
So... here's how the last 2 days have gone:
Marnie leaves, Miso sees the half open door behind me, just as a nail hits the floor, I hear the loudest screech ever as fur stands on end, and see nothing but a streak as the cat goes flying past me. Robin, who had taken out part of the wall so she could build out, peers through, we look at each other, and then look around, until we just... crack up. There under my bed is nothing but a pair of very very wide cat eyes glaring at us, with a hint of a tail twitching at the edge of the bed.
So, Robin hammers, cat runs to another corner. Robin moves sides, cat runs between my legs. The funniest part was by far the last morning of building, however.
Robin had finished for the night, and I had coaxed Miso out of the corner she was hiding in with some fresh fish I'd caught and cooked for dinner. Willy had given me a fishing rod. I will explain Willy to you another time, reader, as he is.. a very interesting person in his own right. But for now.. Miso.
I finally got her to eat with me, and coaxed her into letting me pet her. Jin was even being nice enough not to tease her, letting her get accustomed to the place. (to be honest, I think he was just tired of the noise). When I laid down for the night, exhausted from the day's work, I coaxed her up with me to curl up on the bed, and fell asleep.
Now Robin apparently gets up earlier than I do. I woke up to hear her clanking around outside with tools, and just fought getting up. I knew I had things I needed to do.. just.. ugh. Then there was a loud BANG!! as she started on the roof. Well... I was awake. So was the cat. She had gone from sound asleep to a curled up porcupine, hissing in a ball that had jumped straight up in the air and was currently trying to cling to the ceiling before falling down onto the bed again. Only she didn't realize the bed wouldn't hurt her, so she was struggling to break her fall, at the same time. I have never seen a cat more terrified before in my life. And Jin, sitting on a windowsill, was cackling like an old witch.
The cat finally realized the bed wouldn't kill her, ran under the covers I'd just vacated, and stayed there the entire rest of the morning.
That, everyone... was my introduction to my home being built. I won't forget it, that's for sure.
Day 3
You know, there's nothing like waking up in the morning, stretching out under nice, warm, comfortable covers, listening to the birds chirp outside as you breathe in fresh spring morning air. Stretching and getting up to face the day, the first glimpses of a nice day peeping through the windows as you blink awake, gratefully accepting the coffee and cookies handed to you by... a butler?
Well.. that woke me up. Standing by my bed is a cute man dressed smartly in a full butler's outfit, holding a tea towel. I swear his eyes are glowing slightly, and to his side is a coffee pot hovering, with piping fresh coffee steaming inside.
Jin, sitting in the windowsill, is looking at him as though it is the most natural thing in the world, as I'm blinking, trying to adjust to the idea of a butler at the side of my bed.
"Um. .. who.. who are you???"
"Begging your pardon madam. I was only instructed that you were out of the city last night. And so I was portaled here just a couple of hours ago, not enough time to greet you properly. I do apologize for the sudden appearance. My name is Minu, I come from a long line of butlers, trained for royalty and the rich alike.
I was trained to become your butler several years ago, but as we are magical in nature, I could not be dispatched to the city. Therefor we had to wait until such a time as you grew tired of being there. I was quite happy to finally be allowed to serve you."
Eh? "Jin? Did you know about this? You don't look upset at all?"
My dear caring friend just snorted. Didn't know ravens could snort. Guess I should add that to the list of "Things to shock Aria at 6am"
Wait. "You said rich and royalty? I'm neither rich, nor am I royalty? I had a bit of money, but what I had went into this farm. And I'm just a .. well, we won't go into what I am, bloodline wise."
He stood straighter. "Indeed, your parents may not have married. However your mother is royalty. Your grandfather on your mother's side refuses to acknowledge you, however neither your mother, nor your grandmother do. They have both been watching over you from afar. There are actually many of your family that may come from time to time to make friends with you, and many of other nationalities and races that will come to know you because of who and what you are. Believe me, you are a fae of royal blood in and of your own right, wether or not you have human blood in your veins. And as for your human side.. even that is not completely human. Your grandfather was from here, in Pelican Town. This place is not as it seems. I believe you will find yourself to be much more than you realize. I have faith in the person that I have come to serve."
Reader. It's now 6:30 in the morning. I have a hot cup of what turns out to be the most delicious cup of coffee ever in my hand, a magical butler in front of me, looking quite proud to be there, a talking raven outside my window, a cat on my bed ignoring the whole thing, sound asleep. I should be freaking out. What comes out of my mouth? "Hope you like farming."
To which, he chuckled and replied... "I do hope we may have some roses around the house at some point, they are beautiful flowers."
Huh. I.. ok then.
TBC
If you'd like to comment, please do use the talk page, would love to hear comments as we go along :)