HM: ANB Fanfic topic

Okay, Dino, I'm finally done writing out the backstory for you.

As I’ve already explained to a few others, when I start a new Harvest Moon game, I usually pick some kind of theme. Some game, or show, or story that I like. I’ll do that because then naming all the animals is really easy – I’ve already got a big bucket of names to use.

For this game, I thought of Firefly. I haven’t watched it in a few years, but it’s still something I really like. After the show first got taken off the air, my friends and I put together a tabletop roleplaying game for it. We played that campaign for a few years, and it was an amazing story.

After choosing to use Firefly, I decided to make my character the same one from the old tabletop game, instead of using one of the original show characters. Following that, I discovered how likeable the people on this board were, and created a GameFAQs account just to join them. Since I made the account purely because of the game, I just carried the character over to this username. That's where Tross comes from.

Since I’ve been asked to actually write a background for him, I’m just going to use the story that Albatross came from, and cross it over into this Harvest Moon world. It sounds like a challenge, given that the story we played in was rather dark and gritty, while this game is bright and happy. But it’s a good challenge, and I eagerly accept. A caveat of this is that since our game ran for years, I’m obviously going to trim a lot out. I’ll summarize with only the main events. Think of it like chunks of detailed flashbacks.

The many posts that follow outline parts of Tross’ story.
---
Albatross

When they met, she was fifteen,
Like a black rose blooming wild,
And she already knew
She was gonna die.

“What’s tomorrow without you? Is this our last goodbye..?”

***

“That ain’t no name, that’s a bird, you loon!” The old man growled down at the boy before spitting over his shoulder. His filthy trenchcoat stank of musk, and the boy was fairly certain it hadn’t started off as such a dirty brown.

Barely seventeen, the boy shifted his shoulders back defensively as he scowled, straightening his stance. “Course it’s a bird, you overgrown twit! Surprised you ain’t picked up a better name what with ‘Dagmar’ bein’ your badge of pride!”

The old man stiffened, sputtering spittle as his face reddened with rage. “Gimme your REAL name, boy, ‘fore I slap the nonsense clear off your face!” When the boy merely glared up at him in response, Dagmar grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back against the wall. “Now LISTEN here! You ain’t gon’ take me for no ruttin’ IDJIT. You runnin’ from somethin’, then you ain’t got NO business runnin’ with us. Got a mark on your name, then you best tell it to me now, or I’ll dump you right off this ship! Hell, I got a mind to right n—”

“Ain’t got one.” The boy spoke calmly as he kept a cold glare on the old man.

Dagmar narrowed his eyes, skeptically. “What do you mean, ‘ain’t got one’? What name’d your momma give you, boy?”

“Never knew. Been makin’ my own way.”

“Yer own way, huh? Sounds like you been in some ki—”

“It’s a fine name,” said a sweet voice, from behind the old man. “And it’s prob’ly got good meaning, too, if you’d let ‘im talk a minute ‘stead of firin’ off your words like that.”

The old man growled over his shoulder. “Gorrammit, Marlie, stay outta this! Found this wu ming shao jwu bunkered down in one of the crates. Who knows how long he’s been stowin’ away?”

“Then he’s probably hungry! Ain’t no one gonna talk to you while you’re grouchin’ off like that. Now put him down, else I ain’t makin’ dinner tonight.”

The old man slowly lowered the boy to the ground, and stepped to the side. Behind him stood a young pale girl in a plain, dirty, grey dress, all torn at the edges, with green pants underneath. Her amber hair was cut just above her ears, sticking out in every which way. She smiled at the boy with her bright green eyes. “It’s alright, he don’t mean nothin’ by it. He’s just protective for the lot of us. Kinda like our Pa.”

When the boy didn’t answer her, Marlie stepped toward him, dusting herself off. “How come you picked a bird for your name?”

The boy eyed her suspiciously for a moment, before he spoke warily. “Came from a story. It saw some men on a boat, and tried to lead them out. But then they all got antsy ‘bout how long it was takin’ and th—”

“Someone shot it.” The girl nodded. “They blamed that ol’ albatross for their bad luck.” She smiled. “Heard the tale told before, but ain’t never heard it said from the bird’s thoughts. How d’you know he wanted to help the sailors?”

He frowned, speaking as though the answer was obvious. “They was lost.”

***

Tross jumped a little as he startled himself awake. Reaching up to feel the sweat on his brow, he sighed.

How many years gotta go by before I stop dreamin’ ‘bout you…?

He flipped his pillow over to the fresh, cool side and pushed the blanket off of him, closing his eyes.

You’re restin’, Marlie… I wanna rest, too.
---
Albatross

***

“What’s wrong with her?” Tross shoved Dagmar’s thick arm out of the way, but the old man held him back and turned to face him. The boy shifted up on his tip-toes, trying to peer over the old man’s shoulder. He was a tall boy, but Dagmar could have equated to a giant.

“You gotta leave ‘er be, for now, boy. Already sent someone off to town for her, fetch her medicine. You jus’ sit tight and stay outta the way.” The old man frowned, softening up a bit when he realized the boy didn’t look any less tense. “Look, Marlie’s jus’ sick sometimes. Doc knows what she’s doin’. She’ll have her outta there in a couple days. She always does.”

***

Raymond, Tross’ black haired buddy, punched him playfully in the shoulder. “Come on, it’s been months! Clear as day to anyone watchin’. She’s prob’ly ‘bout to burst, waitin’ for you to say somethin’. Just tell her!”

Tross scowled. “Knock it off, would you? ‘Sides, if that was true, we wouldn’t be fightin’ all the time.”

“Tross, come on. You guys only fight ‘cause you ain’t good with words. Besides, she still cooks for you when you fight. She gets mad at us, and we gotta cook dinner ourselves. She cares ‘bout you plenty, you just…sound mean sometimes.”

***

“Look, I don’t always say what I mean to, but at least I protect you! He don’t care what happens to you!” Tross balled his hands into fists, his face red with anger.

Marlie looked at him for a moment. She stood completely opposite from him, calm as a spring breeze. Then she smiled. “I guess that’s close as I’ll ever get to hearin’ you call on me.” She leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek.

Tross felt his anger melt into a puddle of complete incoherence. His mind desperately tried to grasp onto words to give the girl, but they all slipped away like an oily fish. He pulled her close, hugging her tightly, and closed his eyes.

***

She got weaker every day,
As the autumn leaves flew by,
Until one day she told him,
“This is when I die.”

“What was summer like for you?” she asked him with a smile.
“What’s tomorrow without you?” he silently replied.

She said,
“I will always be with you.
I’m the anchor of your sorrow.
There’s no end to what I’ll do,
‘Cause I love you… I love you to death.”

***

“It’s been lot of six weeks, now… You sure that doc ain’t missin’ somethin’ this time?” Raymond frowned, speaking softly. He knew Tross slept in the next room over, and with as little as he’d slept lately, Raymond didn’t want to wake him.

Dagmar sighed. “No, that woman knows what she’s doin’. I think it’s Marlie… Doc said this is one of those things ain’t never goin’ away. Lupine, or somethin’. You live with it, you know? Marlie told me she don't like troublin’ us so much… Maybe she don’t wanna fight it no more.”

***

Tross’ eyes fluttered open as he felt a soft touch on his arm. He lifted his head, and sat up when he saw that she’d woken up. “Marlie…”

She smiled tiredly at him. “…thinkin’ Pa was right after all. You ain’t no albatross, you’re a loon. Why ain’t you in bed?”

He frowned. “..I wanted to see you..” He hesitated a moment, before he could continue. “I’m worried for you. You been sick all summer, this time, Marlie… It’s always gone by now.”

The girl reached up, running her fingers gently through his hair. “Oh, Tross…” She shook her head, smiling a bit. “I’m so tired, Tross… I jus’ wanna rest. It’s always so peaceful, when I do. Ain’t nothin’ hurtin’ me... Ain’t no fever, where it’s nice and cool… An’ you never stop singin’ to me. That’s my favorite part, Tross. Your voice jus’ keeps singin’…”
---
Albatross

***

But the sorrow went too deep,
The mountain fell too steep,
And the wounds would never heal,
‘Cause the pain of the loss
Was more than he could feel.

He said,
“I will always be with you,
By the anchor of my sorrow.
All I know, or ever knew
Is I love you… I love you to death.”

“What’s tomorrow without you? This is our last goodbye..”

***

Tross covered his ears frantically as explosions rocked the walls around him. Crouched behind a crate, he closed his eyes, waiting for the ringing in his ears to subside.

Six years since he’d left Dagmar’s group, Tross still hadn’t gotten himself on track. This group seemed nice enough at first, but then they started picking up dishonest jobs. Dirty ones. The kind that involved killing folk who didn’t deserve it. Of course, he’d tried to leave, but they always seemed to find him again.

As his ears started to recover, he heard shouting from outside the shack.

“You ruttin’ idiot, the boy was in there! He ain’t come out yet!”
“Ain’t my fault! He’s supposed to be out by now! He comes out, fine. But he don’t, that’s his own mess.”
“Boss ain’t gonna take well to that. You know where he wanted to drop him. Gonna miss that deal, now.”
“Ain’t my gorram fault! Boy’s too slow, that ain’t our problem!”

His heart started pounding in his chest, as Tross widened his eyes. They think I’m dead..?

Tross quickly found a place to hide, and he stayed there until he’d heard nothing but silence for hours. As the sun was starting to set, he finally stood up, brushing himself off. He looked around the rubble of the building and realized his arm was stinging. Glancing down at a new gash, he sighed.

He started looking around the rubble of the building when a piece of parchment caught his eye. It sat on a dresser, with a large stone holding it in place. That corner of the building remained relatively undamaged, but Tross was still surprised to see the parchment intact.

He walked over to it and moved the rock, picking up the paper to read it. After he finished, he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He looked around the room, and realized that part of the mess over by the bed included a couple of bodies.
With his mind suddenly racing with an idea, he opened the drawers until he found a blank sheet and a fountain pen, and quickly pulled them out. He tried to still his shaking hands as he started writing.

“So sorry to hear your town’s gone through so much trouble, Dunhill. It’s been rough here, too, but we’re managing.

It’d do him some good to send him out to some new fresh air, so we’re going to send our son your way. He’s educated some, and he’s strong enough to manage any kind of work you got for him. If no one’s taken up on our old farm, yet, he can work on restoring that first.

Ain’t the name I birthed him with, but he calls himself Albatross. He likes it well enough, so we let it stick.

We’ll ship him off straight away, so be on lookout for him. He should be there within the week.”

Tross stepped away from the dresser for a moment, his heart pounding now with excitement. He could finally escape. He could make an honest name, and life for himself.

I’ll make you proud, Marlie… Just like I promised.
---
Albatross

And because I know people will ask...

Yes, those are lyrics. The song is, "Love You to Death," by Kamelot.

The girl's condition is lupus. In systemic lupus, a person's antibodies will mistakenly attack their healthy tissue. Muscle, organs - the whole body is affected. It comes in flares throughout someone's life, but it can be managed with regular treatments and a preventative lifestyle.
---
Albatross

Thanks, Dino! It felt good to write again. Thanks for asking me to.

And Sono.... Of course. Kamelot is my favorite band. Also, thank you very, very much for your compliment. His background is sad, but all of the filler in there that I skipped over wasn't so bad. It may have been a dark, gritty world, but it was still a very moving and epic story.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.
---
Albatross

Dinosaurrawr posted...

TrossOfTheBlack posted...

Thanks, Dino! It felt good to write again. Thanks for asking me to.

And Sono.... Of course. Kamelot is my favorite band. Also, thank you very, very much for your compliment. His background is sad, but all of the filler in there that I skipped over wasn't so bad. It may have been a dark, gritty world, but it was still a very moving and epic story.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.

Are you going to continue, Tross?

Er... Well, I left off where the Harvest Moon game would pick up. His "parents" send him to Dunhill, and the game starts from there.

Do you mean the parts I skipped over?
---
Albatross

Dinosaurrawr posted...

TrossOfTheBlack posted...

Dinosaurrawr posted...

TrossOfTheBlack posted...

Thanks, Dino! It felt good to write again. Thanks for asking me to.

And Sono.... Of course. Kamelot is my favorite band. Also, thank you very, very much for your compliment. His background is sad, but all of the filler in there that I skipped over wasn't so bad. It may have been a dark, gritty world, but it was still a very moving and epic story.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.

Are you going to continue, Tross?

Er... Well, I left off where the Harvest Moon game would pick up. His "parents" send him to Dunhill, and the game starts from there.

Do you mean the parts I skipped over?

I really wanted know how he fared in the towm and whether he was ever discovered.

Well, I'm still playing it, so he's alright for now.

I didn't even think about writing past that.
I suppose if you liked it enough, I can think of some ideas and keep writing.

I'll post back when I think of something good.

Thanks for your interest, Dino!
---
Albatross

Dinosaurrawr posted...

*hugs tross* I can't wait to see your next ideas!

Ai ya...alright, alright, get off!
*grumbles*

I guess... What do you guys think you'd rather read?
Stuff I skipped over, or to continue from the game?
---
Albatross

Sono_Phoenix posted...

TrossOfTheBlack posted...

Dinosaurrawr posted...

*hugs tross* I can't wait to see your next ideas!

Ai ya...alright, alright, get off!
*grumbles*

I guess... What do you guys think you'd rather read?
Stuff I skipped over, or to continue from the game?

Aww, can't handle the love.
Since most of us have played the game, we already would know about the restoration plans, but I think it would be interesting to see Tross' interactions with other the other characters

I suppose that's a good point.

Alright, I'm not sure where I'll find time for it, but I'll make it work. I'm flattered enough you guys liked it that I feel like I owe it to you. Plus it is nice to write again.

Just be patient with me, use the hugs sparingly, and we've got a deal.
---
Albatross

Dinosaurrawr posted...

*lets go of tross and signs a contract to hug Tross less*
Aw sorry Tross!

.....

Gwai ma jeow, don't be ridiculous...
---
Albatross