Part 60: Waiting for Coquille
Update 60: Waiting for Coquille
ANETTE: Good morning! Rise and shine!
Morning, Anette!
Music: SpringIt's finally Spring 2nd once again. the day Bush arrived here. It's also Kross's birthday, so there's that.
And since it's a new year, how about a new narrator? What do you say, Anette?
ANETTE: Me? Are you sure?
MYSTERY: The viewers and readers want what they want!
ANETTE: Well, when you say it like that, how am I supposed to say no? Haha.
MYSTERY: Great, just look this way please. Don't want to confuse our viewers.
ANETTE: Like this?
MYSTERY: Perfect! Roll the film!
ANETTE: Back then, I had to leave early to go pick up the post every morning.
ANETTE: We'd meet in front of Erik's house and I'd give him his lunch and mail there.
ANETTE: I know it seems kind of strange, but it felt weird to not deliver it in person. That's just how we liked it.
ANETTE: From there, he'd go off to work on the farm and I'd finish my route.
ANETTE: That was the day he explained to me what "The Runey Situation" was.
ANETTE: The meaning changed over time, but the general idea is that the Spirits weren't able to make runes correctly.
ANETTE: It was scary back then as crops would wither away and there was nothing you could do about it.
ANETTE: It was a good thing he had so many of those Runey things kept in storage. It could've been really bad for the town.
ANETTE: He spent a lot of time working with Erik, Kanno, Candy, and that Kross guy on how to find a real fix for it.
ANETTE: I've still never met him. I just know he's a good friend and that he sends us crops each season.
KROSS: Thank you. The man that was lost on this day, whom I knew very well, would thank you, too.
(He has different lines based on what you give him, but I think this one for a neutral gift is the most intriguing.)
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~"The seasons have begun to change" - Lara~
The pleasant spring everyone was
waiting for is finally here.
However, it never hurts to exercise
caution. Keep yourself warm at
nigh, and taking baths may also
be a good idea.
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ANETTE: Of course, the one thing that never changed was the mail.
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~"The Clock Tower" - Anette~
Don't you think the Clock Tower
is too big for a small town like Trampoli?
I asked Sister Stella about it,
and apparently that tower has
never even worked once.
Even Kross couldn't fix it.
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ANETTE: We were still writing letters to each other back then too. It was to help work on my handwriting after all.
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~"Amazing!" - Tart~
I did not know you cook...
I think being able to cook is a...
very attractive quality in a man.
Like chefs.
I think... I think my mom is calling
me. Sorry, I have to go now...
but I'll write again soon. Bye...
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ANETTE: There was this girl back in his old town that wrote letters to him too.
ANETTE: Although, I think she stopped sending letters after that one. I wonder why?
ANETTE: There was also those strange requests from the Coquille family. They have some very specific cravings sometimes, but they always pay well.
(We still have that request from Bianca to fulfill, so we go catch a Carp, roast it, and turn it in.
You specifically need a Carp from Lake Poli, not the Pale Carp you catch elsewhere in Spring.)
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~"Next..." - Bianca~
I have recieved the Roasted Carp.
I guess commoner food is not
always bad. Here, take this token
of thanks. I don't need it anymore.
Next, I would like something even
more lowly. How about a PB&J.
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(This one's just Bread + Berry Jam. There is a reward this time, but it's just an Aquamarine of normal quality.)
ANETTE: It's not every day that a jewel falls out of a letter.
ANETTE: I had been wondering why it was so heavy.
ANETTE: What? Did you come back just to see me? Haha.
ANETTE: Even though that work and my studying kept us busy, he always found the time to stop by throughout the day.
ANETTE: That's why the weekends are the best. We spend the whole day together to make up for it.
ANETTE: Of course, he still takes me on the monthly dates even though we're married.
The Spring Date posted:
(The Spring Date is on the 13th of Spring, which is so early I think this is genuinely the first time you could ask anyone out for it. Anette arrives 30 minutes early as usual.)
ANETTE: So, Eunice told me that the tree on the little island in the lake is blooming beautifully.
And so we paddle over...
ANETTE: Wow...so pretty... Good thing we listened to Eunice...
BUSH: Yeah. I'm glad we came.
ANETTE: Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun gazing at the beautiful flowers.
BUSH: Cherry flowers sure are beautiful. I'm glad you had a good time.
And that's about it, really. It's rather short.
Although, oddly enough, it still gives the marriage prompt. Originally it only did this if you had the bouquet on hand.
And yes, we do leave her stranded on the island as per the Summer date. Whoops.
ANETTE: How do I get back off the island without the boat?
ANETTE: Well...
ANETTE: That's a post office secret.
ANETTE: It wasn't long after that we had some more strange things happen to the town.
Tactical Fluke Incoming posted:
BUSH: Whoa!
*Our view moves to see a huge, dark shaded Golem in our fields!*
BUSH: Oh, no! I can't wave weapons around in the field... What should I do?
Bush, you literally cut wood with weapons
it's not even near the actual crops
just hit it or tame it
*Before Bush can act, it sparks!*
*And falls apart in an explosion!*
BUSH: Huh? What was that?
The end result is our field is minorly damaged. We lose a couple crops, but that's about it.
Why would there be a Golem in our fields? Well, spontaneous monster spawning in fields is a rare but not impossible phenomenon. But that always happens on Spring 2nd when a conveniently amnesic Earthmate walks up to a farm.
...But we both know there's a more likely reason.
BRODINK!
BUSH: Brodik! Did you release monsters into my fields?!
BRODIK: What are you talking about?! Why would I...do...such a thing?
BUSH: Oh... I'm sorry I doubted you.
BRODIK: W-why...? How...can you just trust me like that...?
BUSH: But you said it wasn't you, right?
BUSH: I'll believe you. I'll believe you because you're a member of our village. You're a friend of ours.
BRODIK: A friend...? I...
And so he was rendered speechless through either Bush's obliviousness or well masked forgiveness.
Bush wins this round again.
ANETTE: I never saw much of Brodik either. I know he occasionally helped the kids with chores, but I guess he was too shy to do it in person.
ANETTE: Whenever we had lessons, Marco and Candy used to mention how he'd be laughing about something as he helped clean up the town at night.
ANETTE: What a strange guy.
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~"Participate in my festival" - Bianca~
Tomorrow is the Sainte-Coquille
Festival, sponsored by me.
Everyone, participate.
I'll be waiting at the public square.
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ANETTE: Sainte-Coquille? I don't remember any kind of festival like that before...
ANETTE: Oh, so it's new.
ANETTE: I don't think the golem incident bothered my husband too much. We had the new Sainte-Coquille festival coming up.
ANETTE: You know how he loves his festivals.
ANETTE: Oh yeah, of course I remember how it went! It's routine now, but the first one was a huge surprise!
BIANCA: Tomorrow is the Sainte-Coquille Festival.
BIANCA: The festivals of this village are so uninteresting that I made my own. You better show up.
BUSH: Sure...but Bianca, what kind of festival is the Sainte-Coquille Festival?
BIANCA: You'll find out when you come. It'll be much more exciting than the other festivals here, so you can look forward to it.
ANETTE: The announcement was really sudden. We had no idea what it was going to be.
Music: FestivalANETTE: Say, are you going to join in the Sainte-Coquille Festival, Bush? Good luck!
ANETTE: I was going to cheer him on no matter what it was...
MARCO: Today's that Sainte-Coquille Festival where you get to eat Tabatha's cooking.
MARCO: Maybe I should join...
ANETTE: ...But we really didn't know what it was until it started.
STELLA: Bush, are you going to participate in today's Sainte-Coquille Festival?
STELLA: I will. Bianca went through a lot to plan for this festival. I have to acknowledge her hard work by giving it my all.
ANETTE: I don't know if Sister Stella even knew!
ANETTE: Anyway, this is what happened...
The Sainte-Coquille Festival posted:
BIANCA: Are you thinking about participating in the Sainte-Coquille Festival?
BUSH: Of course.
BIANCA: Great attitude. Do you want to hear the rules?
BUSH: I'm all right.
(Let's do this. The rules are pretty simple.)
*We get a dramatic zoom-in from up high...*
BIANCA: All right. Then let's begin the Sainte-Coquille Festival!
Ready and waiting is Turner, Bush, Danny, and Erik, lined up in front of a rug with plates of food on it.
*We fade out and fade in...*
BIANCA: Let's see... I'd like an appetizer to start.
BIANCA: Now, listen. Bring me a Curry Bread.
[60 minutes left!!]
And we're thrust into the competition. Presumably everyone else has taken their turns already, we're the only one here.
Despite the calendar saying we cook for Bianca, most of the town suggesting we get to eat Tabatha's food, and some of the congratulation dialogues suggesting an eating contest...
That's not what this is.
Instead, this is a contest of butlery/waiting on food orders. We're given 5 options and we have to identify the food by it's appearance. No names appear on the items, so we just have to know 'em. From there, you pick it up and give it to Bianca.
We do Tabatha's job for an hour and sate Bianca's highly specific unending hunger for an hour, basically.
BIANCA: I'll try it right away. *chew*
TABATHA: Miss Bianca has finished 1 plates.
Bush's pick up speed is already slow, but now it feels really slow with time pressure. Ideally, you hand it to her from the edge of her (notably large) interaction range.
BIANCA: !!
BIANCA: That's correct. Not bad.
If you get it wrong she's initially confused, realizes it's not what she asked for, and questions your eyesight.
BIANCA: Are your eyes working all right?
BIANCA: Next will be... soup!
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Cheese Fondue!
And so a new set of 5 items appear.
Fondue gotten.
Fondue begotten.
BIANCA: I'll try it right away. *slurp*
TABATHA: Miss Bianca has finished 2 plates.
BIANCA: !!
BIANCA: That's correct. Not bad.
BIANCA: Next will be... fish.
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Pond Smelt!
Smelt smelted, smelt smolted
BIANCA: I'll try it right away. *bite*
wait that's raw
raw freshwater pond fish
TABATHA: Miss Bianca has finished 3 plates.
[*Do not try this at home*]
BIANCA: !!
BIANCA: That's correct. Not bad.
well i'm not sure the disclaimer will help her from the diseases, but sure
BIANCA: Well, I just had fish... So I would like to refresh my mouth before the main dish.
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Choco Pudding!
I think you have the idea on how this works now. I'm not half bad at this, considering we haven't cooked most of the meals in the game to even know what they look like.
We don't miss a single one on this run, so let's just start running through the orders.
This is the Choco Pudding.
BIANCA: It is finally time for the main dish!
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Bamboo Rice.
...yes really. That's her main course today. We've seen enough of Anette's rice to know what this looks like immediately.
But as we pick it up...
[50 minutes left!!]
ANETTE: I'm getting hungry just watching this.
EUNICE: I wonder if Miss Bianca won't gain weight after eating so much...
not a gram
she's a food black hole
But yeah, we get these little commentaries every 10 minutes.
BIANCA: I like having something light, like vegetables, after the main dish.
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Pickles!
Ah, a palate cleanser. Good choice.
This is also a dish Bush is extremely familiar with.
BIANCA: Next is dessert, naturally. You haven't prepared it yet? How slow.
BIANCA: Bring me a Cookie!
Misleadingly, there's 2 cookies on the plate.
BIANCA: After dessert is fruit.
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Orange!
This one's so obvious I'm not even gonna screenshot it.
BIANCA: Next, hm... Ah, yes. Next I'd like something to drink.
BIANCA: Listen. Bring me a Tropic Punch!
So she asks while three glasses of vaguely yellow color get set out. Yowza, this is a hard one.
[40 Minutes left!!]
CINNAMON: ...Hang in there.
CANDY: Keep it up! You're doing great!
This is it. It looks identical to the Pineapple/Apple Juice on the right. Because there's a lot of indistinctly yellow juice.
That makes 9 servings of food in 20 minutes. Not bad.
TABATHA: Miss, today's meal will end with this Tropic Punch as the final course.
BIANCA: Wait, Tabatha. I have just gained some appetite. I won't allow you to let this end!
TABATHA: But, Miss. The rule states...
BIANCA: We still have some time, so I'm changing the rules!! Tabatha, bring me seconds!
Aaand we start over again. This keeps going as long as time is left on the clock. Let's just go over the time dialogues in interest of sparing you redundancy.
[30 minutes left!!]
ERIK: Okay, do it now!! Use the secret technique I taught you!
DANNY: What technique?! You never had one!
[20 minutes left!!]
TSUBUTE: It can't be... That's the legendary dish, Vegetable Ole!!
UZUKI: Old man, do you know it?
He'll say this no matter what the current dish is. Legendary Ole is funny, but I wish this happened on something really simple like an Apple or Spinach.
Did want to take a note out to show that this is Pumpkin Cream, and the nearly identical thing next to it is a Pudding. The only difference is the plate it's on.
[10 minutes left!!]
LARA: Bush, you'll need to pick up your pace!
SELPHY: Just a little more! Keep it up!!
These two say this regardless of how well you're doing.
[Time's up!!]
BIANCA: Stop what you're doing!
TABATHA: Great work, Master Bush.
At last, the time catches us. I will say that while this is a good gameplay festival, it's really exhausting compared to Quiz Day.
BIANCA: Here are the results of this year's Sainte-Coquille Festival...
*She gives a little cheer.*
BIANCA: Erik, congratulations!
ERIK: As expected. This is a result of my daily training.
*She crosses her arms and looks away, snobbishly.*
BIANCA: 7 points? Are you kidding me? I guess I should commend you for not running away.
ERIK: *tsk* I guess i need to practice more...
owned
(for some reason he starts hoeing the ground following this)
BIANCA: Danny this time!
DANNY: Man! So close!!
BIANCA: You have ranked 3rd by acquiring 12 points. Perhaps you'll do better next time.
you were not close
BIANCA: 2nd place was Turner with 24 points. You're not as good as Tabatha, but not bad.
TURNER: Well, I guess this'll do.
BIANCA: And, finally, the winner!
*DRUMROLL*
BIANCA: Bush, congratulations! You acquired 27 points. A clear victory, indeed.
*He cheers and basks in the spotlight for a moment.*
BUSH: I won! I did it!
BIANCA: As a reward for victory, Bush will get the privilege of partaking in a premium Main Dish.
*And so the carpet is filled with 5 hearty meals.*
BUSH: This looks so good!
BIANCA: All others that lost, you get to merely look on as Bush enjoys this great dish.
DANNY: Darn it! It should be me up there!
we're standing at the same height
i'm starting to think you're just bad at estimation- it's no wonder the store went under
TABATHA: Miss... That's a bit harsh.
*Bianca gives another snooty, crossed arms pose.*
BIANCA: Fine, if you say so, Tabatha. I shall allow the losers to partake in some appetizers. Be grateful.
[A High-grade Appetizer Set]
TURNER: Haha, what an honor!
TABATHA: Also, Miss Bianca has finished 27 plates. It's a new record!
Or rather, 27 plates from us. Altogether she ate 70 plates if you combine everyone's score.
The appetite of a Sainte-Coquille is to be feared.
Our final haul is a En Papillote, Steam Pumpkin, Bamboo Rice, Egg Bowl, and...
A Pickled Turnip!? The mafia leader hates these- is this a threat?
...Or is it a sign of protection from the Sainte-Coquilles?
We'll need to consider this carefully...
ANETTE: She ate plate after plate of food like it was nothing!
ANETTE: And she didn't gain any weight!
ANETTE: I wondered if that had anything to do with how I can't grow taller, but...
ANETTE: There's no way I'm eating that much.
ANETTE: You won the Sainte-Coquille Festival? Wow...
ANETTE: I wanted to join that festival, too...
ANETTE: Maybe I should jump in next year?
ANETTE: I have competed a few times myself, but I've never been up against Bush. It's way harder than it looks.
ANETTE: Why? It's not because I don't want to, he just stopped competing officially.
ANETTE: It's to keep the competition fair.
LUTE: I really have to thank you for always buying my paintings.
LUTE: You're the only one that buys so many of them.
LUTE: If only I could make a living off of painting...
LUTE: I'll be doing just fine. I hope you'll come again.
ANETTE: Anyways, he came home with some good food and a child's bed that day.
ANETTE: We hadn't really talked about having kids yet, it was just because he was supporting his friend's business.
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~"Well?" - Anette~
You know, I feel like my writing
speed has improved a lot lately.
What do you think?
Is my writing legible?
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(The options are "Your writing looks very neat" and "I cannot read your handwriting at all." This is possibly the best formatted letter we've seen all game, so there's no way we answer the second.)
ANETTE: Haha. It's nice seeing these letters again. Really goes to show how much better I've gotten since.
ANETTE: It is still a little embarassing though. I can't even read some of my own old school notes.
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~"*snicker* Thanks." - Anette~
It makes me happy to hear
from you that you think I've
improved. I'm actually enjoying
this a bit now, so maybe I'll start
writing to other people as well.
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ANETTE: I'm surprised at how many pen pals I ended up with.
ANETTE: So much goes on across the world that I never would have heard about if it wasn't for them.
ANETTE: Oh, yeah! It's also been a real help in fixing the problem with the Runeys.
(also whoops)
(environment's dead again)
ANETTE: I have to make the deliveries every single day. If I don't, it completely screws up my body rhythm.
ANETTE: Mailmen have to get up early for deliveries. Most people aren't awake at this time, but I often see Eunice.
ANETTE: The other day, I was late and went without breakfast so she gave me some rice balls. They tasted great.
ANETTE: Hm...
ANETTE: Oh, sorry! I'm just thinking if anything else happened in that season.
ANETTE: The part about the body rhythm really is true. When my schedules changed it messed me up soooo much.
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~"Fresh Green Festival Around the Corner!" - Stella~
Tomorrow is the Fresh Green Festival.
Let's present flowers to those we
are indebted to!
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ANETTE: Foliage Festival! Yeah, that was the year it started!
ANETTE: Some of us were still calling it Fresh Green Festival then, I think. It always takes the town a while to decide on a final name.
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~"Tomorrow" - Minerva~
Hey, how are you?
It's me, Minerva!
I'll be coming by to visit tomorrow!
So see you then!
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ANETTE: I still wonder how a queen finds the time to visit our little festivals. Minerva never talks about business when she's around.,
ANETTE: I mean, I guess I wouldn't want to talk business on a holiday either.
ANETTE: So I tried asking her in a letter once and she sent her reply in Elvish!
ANETTE: I'm not a spy or anything, I'm just curious what a queen does!
ANETTE: The Foliage Festival started when Eunice started giving flowers to everyone on this date.
ANETTE: That's why I'm going to give one, too. Here you go.
[You got Toy Herb!]
(best wife ever, those things are expensive, slow to grow, but oh so useful)
ANETTE: Sure, the Foliage Festival isn't much, but it's a really nice sentiment. You can't help but give a genuine smile when you get a flower.
(We have quite the flower to gift in return. We're still growing generations of roses from the ones we used to make the bouquet.)
ANETTE: Thanks! I don't often get flowers from people so I'll be sure to take care of it!
ANETTE: I always keep it alive until just before winter arrives. They don't grow past that, so we turn it into seeds and regrow more each year.
ANETTE: You could say it shows how our relationship will never wither.
ANETTE: Haha! I don't care if that sounds really cheesy, that's how it is!
ANETTE: ...But really, it's a nice festival and I'm glad we have it.
Foliage Festival Highlights posted:
SELPHY: Thanks.
BUSH: Huh? Why?
SELPHY: Well, today's the Foliage Festival. You're going to give me a flower, aren't you? I'm just saying thanks beforehand.
alright you win with that one, have a flower
SELPHY: Wow, thanks! Maybe I can make bookmarks with this.
Let's be honest, Selphy's gonna be the weird but fun aunt for our kid no matter what we do. Hanging around the house looking for free food, eyes glued to a romance novel.
LUTE: So today is a day when people give each other flowers. Would you like one, Bush?
LUTE: I used this to practice painting. You can have it if you like.
[You got Moondrop!
LUTE: Take care of that flower, you hear?
Can do, my dude!
MELODY: Bush, you can have this. Now go concoct some strange medicine.
[You got Red Grass!]
*On talking to her again...*
MELODY: Did you make a potion from the grass I gave you? Did you?!
Melody's on her path to becoming Marian.
ERIK: Did you know, young man? Today is the day we receive flowers from girls. Did you get one already?
ERIK: Me? Never mind me! Hahaha!
As always, Erik is too hopelessly single to not interpret this as some sort of Valentine's Day.
UZUKI: I would like to give this to you, Bush.
UZUKI: This is called "Cherry Grass" and it is very similar to the "Sakura" of my country. Please accept it.
UZUKI: Every time I see the Cherry Grass, it feels like spring. I really like spring.
The Cherry Grass is the most valuable flower you get today, being worth 6,800g as one of those flowers that take too long to grow. I'm sure there's a recipe that uses it you'd be better off keeping it for than selling it though.
KROSS: Flowers... These days remind me of my friends...
KROSS: I thought we would always be together. But now they're all gone...
We have a flower for him of course.
KROSS: Is that for me? Thank you...
MINERVA: There's a flower I do want. I don't know its name though...
MINERVA: I want the flower that Sister wears in her hair. She never takes it off even during a bath.
And so here's Minerva as well. She's hanging out with the kids.
That about does it for Foliage Festival, and for Spring, really.
We've made a decent profit off of Golden Turnips, Strawberries, and White Roses, so I ready the field to transition over to mostly fodder. Gotta keep our animals fed.
ANETTE: I think that's all I've got for that spring. Was that enough?
MYSTERY: Plenty! No matter what the agency ends up saying, it was a nice change of pace.
MYSTERY: And I hope our viewers and readers agree! At least you've learned a thing or two about our town's historic festivals!
ANETTE: Thanks for having me!
MYSTERY: No, thank you!
ANETTE: Oh, I wanted to ask something.
MYSTERY: one second
MYSTERY: Join us next time for the events of Summer and Autumn!
MYSTERY: Aaaand... cut!
MYSTERY: Okay, you're good now.
ANETTE: Um... are you almost finished with... this show thing? It's been going for a while.
MYSTERY: Yep! Then I have to work out what comes next...