To The Moon

Part 8

BGM: Having Lived

The reception for the wedding is being held south of Anya.

: “Alright, ma. Tell her thanks for coming."

: "I will."

: "I'm so proud of you, Joey."

Johnny’s mom walks away.

(Nicholas): “'Joey'. . . ?"

: “Oh, that's my grandpa's name. He passed away before I was born. Ma calls me by it as my nickname."

: “How come you never told me about it?"

: “. . . Cause I'd rather you call me John."

: "What do you have against those anyway? I mean, you sure talk about your grandfather a lot."

: "What? No I don't."

: ". . . Whatever you say."

Johnny's nickname, named after his grandfather.

That earns us a link.

There are no more memory links on this screen. Let’s head south.

BGM: Metallic warbling fades in alongside Having Lived.

: "Wait, is that a. . . rabbit? Think this is the source of all those folded paper ones?"

: ". . . Why would she obsess over some roadkill? Not to mention so many years later. . . "

: "Don't ask me; you are the woman here."

: ". . . I'll be convinced that I'm the only one when you do a cordless bungee jump."

The conversation gives us the last memory link. Let’s hop on the, uh…

…dead rabbit memento.

Received Note: Dead Rabbit

A roadkill on Johnny and River's wedding day.

Unless there is an immense and vocal public outcry about it, I’m going to forgo showing the puzzle game from now on. There are many other things worth making gifs of and I think you get the idea of moving tiles around.

: "Hey. . . maybe she saw it as a metaphor for the terrible marriage!"

: "So years later, she began folding the rabbits because she was reminded of how rotten it was! Or, y'know, something equally pretentious."

: "Cool story, Neil."

BGM: Silence. Singing birds SFX.

: ". . . Don't you look at me like that."

: (Looking around) "Smells like a farm."

: "And roadkill. Deactivate the scent simulator or get away from here already."

There’s nothing over here. There’s also no safe way to walk along the road.

Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Over to the right…

BGM: The Bestest Detectives in the World

: "Whoooa. . . "

: ". . . Don't do it."

: "Don't do what?"

: "You know what."

: "Don't not ride this horse?"

: ". . . What're you, five years old?"

: "Okay! I won't not ride it!"

: “HYAAA!”

Neil and horse take off.

: "Quit wasting time, Neil."

: ". . . That can't be good."

: ". . . Damn it, this was not in the job description."

BGM: Fades to silence. Bird songs fade back in.

Village idiot.

Neil gets most of the good lines, but Eva knows how to hand out a good burn every once and a while.

Anyways – let’s go earn our paycheck. River and Johnny are over to the right.

: "She should be OK. She's not new to this anymore."

: "But she has never done it by herself before . . . "

: "I'll be fine. I'm not a child."

River’s horse takes off.

A tense moment passes.

(NEW) BGM (NEW): Take Me Anywhere

Looks like River’s gonna be just fine.

: ( . . . Huh, I wonder if Neil got off that horse yet. )

: "EeeEEeeVAAaA!! "

: "THIS IS NINETEEN PERCENT MORE THAN I CAN HANDLE!!"

: "What a moron . . . "

Eva pauses and looks at the horse beside her.

: ". . . Oh what the corncob."

And now WE get to ride our very own horse!

It’s hard to convey how fast-paced and wonderful this is in screenshots, so let’s just go over the basics. Our goal is to catch up to Johnny and River – there’s also a certain point in the field that gives a memory link too. We’ve also got to save Neil.

There’s going to be a youtube video at the end of this. It’s not highly-recommended viewing by any means, but it will give a better impression of what’s actually happening in this scene.

While I’m here, let me just point out that Take Me Anywhere is probably my favorite song on the whole soundtrack. In a sea of wonderful but sad tunes, TMA is like a breath of cheerful fresh air. In fact, this whole scene is my favorite - Eva finally letting her hair down a little, Johnny and River just being playful together for once, and - of course - Neil.

We’ve got all of the memory links now – let’s go take care of Neil.

We’ll save you, buddy!

: ". . .ow.”

Alright, enough clowning around on horses, let’s get back to business.

Vaminos.

Here's a link to the horse riding sequence!

Not exactly HIGHLY RECOMMENDED but it really gives you more a feel of it all.

Anyways, back to sad things!

BGM: Having Lived. The sound of a loud, ticking clock can be heard as SFX.

: “Yes, we've reached a consensus on the results. Unfortunately, like many cases of pervasive developmental disorders, this is a rather late diagnosis. Had you known when you were a child, Ms., it could've saved you a lot of trouble."

: “Do you have any books on it?"

: “You can borrow it free of charge for now; just don't elope with it."

River stands up and takes it before returning to her seat.

: "Thanks, doc."

: “Now. . . Are you two a couple?"

: “Unmarried and without any other current legal affiliation."

: “Yes, I see. . . well, I could give you a referral to a specialized counselor, if you wish. Is there anything unsettling in the relationship?"

: “No."

: “And you, sir?"

Johnny is clearly hesitant about this answer.

: “Nonetheless, sir, you should also give the book a read. It'd help you understand her condition."

: "I'd . . . rather not."

: “Why is that?"

There’s no response from either Johnny or River. A few awkward seconds pass.

: “. . . Well, it's your call. In the meantime, there is a thing called equine therapy that might help her. A ranch just north of here offers it; I can contact them for you."

So River’s been diagnosed with…something. It’s never mentioned in the game exactly what she suffers from, but Tony Attwood is an expert in Asperger’s Syndrome – this, taken with the clues we’ve been given throughout the game thus far, is the most likely explanation for what she has.