Audio + Open

[keyofelde]

WHO: Souta Suzukaze
WHERE: Network / Stardew Valley
WHEN: August 24
WHAT: Showing off his summer garden
WARNINGS: Probably nothing

[The video turns on just as Souta finishes carefully positioning the phone so it's leaning on something. Clearly outside, since the sky can be seen above him.]

Ah.

Hello, everyone! [He waves.] I know this month has been difficult, so I thought I'd share what I've been working on this summer.

[He stands up and off to the side so the camera can see behind him. Those who have been to Stardew Valley might recognize the farmland. Things have changed a bit. In this section is a small yet thriving garden, full of various summer plants. Melons, radish, cabbage, corn, tomatoes, a blueberry bush... There is also a separate section with various flowers, the sunflowers starting to tower over the rest. Plastic pink flamingos can be seen on the border of the patch.]

[The camera moves as Souta picks up the phone to bring it closer to the plants.]

Isn't this great? They've all grown wonderfully this season.

Anyway, there is more land available on the farm. So if you like gardening or just want a break from the city, the train station can take you here. Just look for the one outgoing for Stardew Valley.

Oh! And if you want one last summer beach trip, there's one here now.

[If anyone takes him up on the farm visit, they'll find him carefully picking out a melon for harvesting. Feel free to say hi!]

Comments

[keyofelde]

No. I was thinking since we helped the little spirits from this valley and got to stay on the farm afterward, I'd be like the shoemaker... living well after gifting tiny shoes.

[...Sir. That is a slightly concerning statement to be making.]

...Why that one? Do you feel others take advantage of you when making agreements?

[He's trying to take a charitable interpretation. Which considering the number of variations on that tale, the devil role could differ wildly.]

[serpentinthegarden]

What little spirits? Are you saying there are actual elves living there? I must have missed that part... Do they really repair shoes?

[ He has so many questions about this! ]

I picked that one because it has a demon in it.

[ His reasoning was as deep as a puddle. ]

I don't usually make deals, other than... hey watch my child, here is the amount I'll pay you for it, oh by the way you can live in the bonus bedroom.

[keyofelde]

The spirits who contacted us about helping the Valley.

[Perhaps he should have mentioned them sooner.]

I don't think they're elves. They are little, round, and have a high pitched squeak when they communicate. I never saw them repair shoes, but they'd help bring people to bed if they fell asleep while farming.

Oh. [Is this the type of adult who thinks demons are cool? Maybe it really is that simple.]

You have a child?

[serpentinthegarden]

Several.

[ A beat. ]

Not mine. I watch other people's kids. I'm a nanny.

That's wild about the elves. I really thought they were only stories. I had no idea they gardened...

[keyofelde]

Oh, I see! So the deals are your job.

[He had assumed the example was hiring a baby sitter.]

[Souta isn't correcting him about the spirits vs elves again. It shouldn't hurt anyone.]

I'm not sure if they garden, but they certainly seem to live outside. They would disappear into the woods when they left the farm.

[One day he will remember elf royalty and be able to say that, yes, elves do garden. ...But these aren't elves.]

[serpentinthegarden]

Eh?

[ He did have to made a few deals in order to watch other people's kids, there were contracts, so maybe that made sense.]

If they live outside they have to garden! The whole of 'outside' is a garden.

[keyofelde]

I guess. It would be quite the sight to see them gardening, they are so small.

[Carrying the seeds one by one is what he imagines.]

I hope we get to see them again.