Rival Heart Events in Cute... all the reasons why I didn't want to marry these guys

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Experiencing the 2nd or Blue Rival Heart events in Cute in my 2nd year (after taking a break to play Harvest Moon Boy & Girl), in some cases reminds me of all the reasons I really DIDN'T want to marry these guys. In particular, Marlin and Gustafa in their 2nd Blue Rival Heart Events, display their more unsympathetic personality traits.

The events occur in the original Harvest Moon DS (boy version) game as the 2nd Rival Heart Events for Celia and Nami. These events cannot be experienced before the beginning of the 2nd year and they will not trigger if the eligible girl or bachelor respectively are at Green Heart level or higher.

In my game, I had to LOWER the bachelors' heart levels from deepest red to experience the events, as I had raised them originally in order to experience all proposal and marriage events (without saving the results). As I wished to receive Spring Thanksgiving Cookies from all the bachelors, I did not begin to lower their heart levels seriously until after 14 Spring. I then used the 'Secret Weapon of Hate' item on each to bring them down to Blue Heart Level.

I will be able to raise them easily back to Green Heart Level in order to experience next year's 3rd Rival Heart Event... (Sometimes, in my eagerness to wed Skye, I tend to forget that, if I wish to contrive the marriages of all other couples, I must wait at least until the third year to marry, in order to experience the 3rd Rival Heart Event and then raise bachelor heart levels another level so that I will be able to experience the 4th Rival Heart Event in the fourth year. Once you are married, both in the original HM DS and in Cute, you no longer can affect ANY ONE's heart levels. You only can affect FP or Friendship levels after marriage. This applies to Keira and her Heart Events in both games as well. You must experience her heart events BEFORE you marry if you wish to gain all rewards. There is some evidence to the effect that the 4th Mine cannot be unlocked AFTER marriage, so make certain to unlock all 4 mines before you propose to some one and marry.)

In Marlin's 2nd Rival Heart Event, he is outraged on Celia's behalf by some comments a customer made about the quality of Vesta's vegetables. Celia is not particularly bothered and is more concerned to maintain goodwill with every one. Marlin tends to display excess machismo in his desire to balance his fragility or 'weakness' in physical terms. In the course of the event, Celia essentially is reduced to BEGGING him not to confront the customer.

I personally would not like this role...

In Gustafa's 2nd Rival Heart Event, he visits Nami as she stands at the shore of the ocean in the early afternoon. Bear in mind the fact that it is HE who visits her and that his own schedule 'requires' him to stand at the shore of Turtle Pond all afternoon meditating or drawing inspiration from the 'natural beauty' of the place.

He begins one of his usual self-centred rambling monologues about why he loves the Valley and always returns to it. He then solicits a question from Nami as to why he returns...

Here is the dialogue:

Gustafa: Even if I leave, I always end up coming back to Forget-Me-Not Valley. Do you know why?
Nami (obligingly): (?) Why?
Gustafa: Because I love this place. The air, the sea, and the people. That's why.
(This is such a general answer. It does not make any reference to Nami specifically as being a reason for his love of 'this place', nor it is particularly poetic or lyrical in nature.)
Nami (evidently NOT inspired by Gustafa's confession): Yeah.

At this point, Gustafa evidently realises he should bring Nami into the conversation a little more, so he asks her why she returns always to the Valley.

Gustafa: Nami, you've lived here a long time. What is it that keeps you here?
Nami: (...) I...

Gustafa has NO patience to wait for a proper response and now displays what I consider his indifference to any one apart from himself, except insofar as they act as 'inspiration' for his music.

Gustafa: Ah, I've gotta go. See you later.
Nami: Ah.....

Where on earth could he be going??? Only back to Turtle Pond to stand!!! He isn't the most handsome of men, but if he were sensitive and attentive, it would count for much. As it is, witnessing this event, I was reminded of all the reasons he would be my LAST choice of spouse in ANY world.

Forgotten Marriage Vows...

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I almost forgot that I had neglected to go through the actual marriage ceremonies with both Griffin and Gustafa after I brought them to red heart in order to be able to record successful marriage proposals with each of the Valley bachelors. I had gone through the weddings with Carter, Marlin and Rock, but it is a rather time-consuming process and emotionally stressful as well. I put it on hold temporarily after doing three in a row, but then it slipped my mind that I never had experienced marital bliss either with Griffin or with Gustafa.

I had begun the process of lowering their heart levels in the 2nd Spring in order to be able to trigger the rival heart events before I remembered! Actually, lowering heart levels is a little more tricky in Cute than it is in the original HM DS, particularly if you still are trying to RAISE Mineral Town bachelor levels. If you recall, changing your outfit daily will raise every bachelor's AP by 2000 points. This is great when you are courting a bachelor but rather frustrating when you are trying to persuade him to go for your rival instead!

I had lowered both Gustafa's and Griffin's level to orange when I realised I still hadn't experienced weddings with either. I returned to Griffin, blue feather in hand and a gift that would bring him up again to red, only to discover he HAD returned to red heart level without any active encouragement from me. It was because I had changed my clothes, not for him but for the Mineral Town bachelors!
The same situation existed with respect to Gustafa when I visited him later. He had bounced right back up to red heart level overnight...

In any case, experiencing marriage with Griffin was very positive and quite touching. I am inclined to marry him for real someday... I have added the full wedding event to my Courtship Guide as well as his dialogue after marriage, but I will share the comment that touched me personally.

When you are married to Griffin and speak to him after noon, he will tell you: 'Once I started my family, it feels like I found my reason for living. That's what marriage does. No, it's probably because I married you.'

Even Skye could not have said anything sweeter... Nevertheless, I reloaded to my pre-marital state and went through the entire Gustafa proposal event again in order to experience marriage to him.

Having been pleasantly surprised by Griffin's romantic sensitivity, I began to hope that my negative prejudice against Gustafa was equally misplaced. I expected music to figure into the scene and indeed he broke into song both at the wedding and at the table after we found ourselves together at the farmhouse.

He did say one thing that I found rather satisfying, simply because it was so apt. When he asked me to choose a nickname, I typed 'Muse', thinking that this would fit Gustafa well. In fact, he responded with great enthusiasm: 'Oh, that's good! From now on, I'll call you Muse!' Although I realise he would have given the same response even if I had chosen something awful or cruel like 'Rubbishmusic lover', a part of me felt he really did appreciate my gesture.

I do have to say though that Gustafa remains as egocentric after marriage as he was as a bachelor. He does not begin badly in the afternoon when he remarks that: 'The atmosphere influences music composing.'

My hopes rose a little there, thinking he would tell me that my presence created the greatest atmosphere and that I was his Muse indeed. But no! All he said was: 'The scenery here is best for composing music. This is great.'

This is one man I don't wish to marry in ANY of my games, sadly. Of all the bachelors, he is the only one that I find truly off-putting. It is not so much his appearance, although I do find him singularly unappealing. It is his personality, which reminds me of too many artists I have known personally. It is as though his humanity is funneled into his music and nothing is left for real interactions with other people. If I recall all his events, there have been moments when he said something flattering to Nami or to me, but on the whole, he is too self-centred for my taste.

Requiring myself to experience all these marriages without saving the results is more stressful and unpleasant than people may realise, chiefly because I have to get through a week of waiting before the wedding will occur. The first time, I waited until Popuri's Poultry Shop and Yodel's Farm opened to sell off all my animals and then simply slept through the remaining days until the wedding. Selling all my animals is time-consuming though, so the next time I simply slept through the days, ignoring the animals. THAT was truly horrid, as each morning, I would be forced to deal with a disappointed and rather irate Harvest Sprite who would inform me that Animals had become 'sick'. Ultimately I would be visited by Takakura and the funeral music would play as he lectured me about my neglect...

My underlying fear that I would save my game absentmindedly, depriving myself of a chance to marry Skye as well as shackling myself for life with some one like Gustafa was compounded by the fear of having to live with the results of killing off my animals by sleeping through the week...

Fortunately, my trial has ended, for the time being. I have reloaded back to my single state, with all weddings recorded fully in my Courtship and Marriage Guide.

I still have to go through the Mineral Town weddings, of course. So much for my hopes of marrying Skye this Spring! It probably will be Summer before I have all four heart events for each of the Mineral Town bachelors under my belt. At least I can get down to serious use of Weapons of Hate now though... and bring my rivals closer to marriage with the objects of their desire.

Mind you, it is rather sad to spend so much time, energy and so many good ingredients fixing dishes that individuals detest! It would be a lot less expensive and labour-intensive simply to make the rounds each morning with Bird Feed in hand. Every Valley bachelor HATES a gift of Bird seed, although it lowers AP only by 800 points rather than 5000. With the 2000 point bonus of changing clothing each night, though, a reduction of 800 points per day becomes rather meaningless... If I do NOT opt to change my clothing, however, it will take much longer to bring the Mineral Town bachelors to yellow heart. At least with the clothing change combined with a Most Favourite Item, I can raise a Mineral Town bachelor a full level now each time he visits the Valley...

The Spring Thanksgiving in Cute

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As far as the romantic Thanksgiving Festivals in Harvest Moon are concerned, playing as a boy rather than a girl really does have some early advantages.

There are two Thanksgiving Festivals in FoMT/MFoMT and in HM DS/HM Cute DS. The Spring Thanksgiving is an opportunity for boys to give Chocolate Cookies to girls they fancy. The Winter Thanksgiving is the corresponding Festival where girls are given the chance to present boys they fancy with a piece of Chocolate Cake. If you are playing as a boy, you DO have an advantage in Friends of Mineral Town but not in Harvest Moon DS. In FoMT, a simple gift of chocolate would suffice and would be recognised as a Thanksgiving gift. In Harvest Moon DS, however, nothing less than Cookies or Chocolate Cookies will do.

In Spring of your first year in ANY of these games, you will not have a kitchen and therefore will not be able to bake Cookies or Chocolate Cookies. You will have access to the Supermarket and be able to buy chocolate. In Mineral Town, you can give chocolate to EVERY ONE, and individuals of either gender will be pleased on the occasion of the Thanksgiving Festival, even those like Karen who ordinarily detest chocolate.

As a boy in Harvest Moon DS, you will feel very frustrated in your first Spring, not being able to give Chocolate Cookies to ANY ONE. As a girl, it is even worse, though, because it can hit your sense of self-esteem very hard not to receive a single visit from a boy... Even though you are a newcomer, it is one of those seminal events in life that can leave a nasty scar. Girls who didn't receive Valentines at school when other girls did or who weren't invited to a Ball... and so on...

Even so, by the second Spring, you can have every bachelor at your door with a gift of Chocolate Cookies. It is a rather heady feeling to be loved by every one! It does make up somewhat for that lonely first Spring Thanksgiving when all doors were locked in the Valley and you did not see a single soul, let alone receive any visits from aspiring bachelors!

In FoMT/MFoMT and HM DS/HM Cute DS, there is a schedule for visitors on Festivals like this.

In Cute, the visits occur as follows:


Marlin arrives first at 6.00 a.m
Gustafa will be at your door at 8.00 a.m.
Rock is amazingly early at 10.00 a.m.
Carter is willing to leave his research to appear at 12.00 noon
Griffin arrives at 2.00 p.m.
Skye braves the dangers of the law enforcement community and vigilantes of the Valley to arrive at your door at 4.00 p.m.

As previously posted, Magical Girls, despite their Winter promise to reciprocate, DO NOT do so!

I am absurdly sentimental about my Harvest Moon gifts. I have a 'page' in my Refrigerator and Shelf menus devoted solely to special gifts. In the refrigerator, the Big Fish from Mukumuku now has been joined by a stack of Spring Thanksgiving Chocolate Cookies from all bachelors apart from my darling Skye. My plate of Chocolate Cookies from Skye rests in a slot of its own! In the Shelf, I have a piece of Golden Lumber from Thomas on 2 Winter next to the Diamond that I found in my sock on 25 Winter. As the years progress, the slots will fill... I never, ever use any of these special items, no matter what their commercial value may be.

The Star Festival and Gustafa

Oddly enough, spending the Star Festival with Gustafa is a rather interesting event. I did not choose to do so in the end, as I was determined to spend it with Skye but I did experience it temporarily.

I was the only girl there, by the way. Gustafa organises an event that includes all the men in the Valley without family there. Cody and the Twins are his guests. He apparently invited Daryl as well but Daryl was unable to come for some unspecified reason. No one but my character is aware of the presence of a mermaid in Daryl's Basement, and I said nothing...

Gustafa serves pizza and wine to his guests at his rather bohemian gathering, then offers to play a song for you while you eat. Any excuse to perform!

At first, I was very uncomfortable, expecting Kassey to hit on me as usual, but he behaved himself and in fact, it would have been a fairly decent party if I had not promised myself that I would spend the evening with Skye.

Gustafa's Marriage Proposal Event

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Here are some screenshots of Gustafa's Marriage Proposal Event. I have to say that the expression on his face when he asked me to show him the Blue Feather again may surface in my nightmares for decades to come.

Friendship Levels can be found in Dialogue

Even if eligible bachelors and girls did not display their heart levels in bright, bold colours, you could tell where you stood with any individual by his/her conversation. This is true both in Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not Valley. In each case, however, you must discover the location and time when you can speak to a person in order to assess heart levels.

In Harvest Moon DS and Harvest Moon Cute DS, you can buy a Love Bangle at the Casino window and wear it whenever you speak to any individual, but in Mineral Town, you have to judge most individuals, apart from eligible spouses, by their conversation.

Even in Forget-Me-Not Valley, however, it is interesting to speak to individuals at every level in order to obtain the maximum information and enjoyment of the game.

I know I have written other posts about this, but I wished to share some of the things that bachelors in HM Cute will say when they are madly in love with you.

For example, when you speak to Marlin at Vesta's house, his dialogue will not vary, but if you find him at the Storeroom, his conversation will change as his affection for you rises.

As Marlin is shy and inarticulate at the best of times, it is not so much his conversation as his expression that will indicate his state of mind. At red heart level, he will blush fiercely as he says, 'Oh, I was just thinking... It's okay, don't worry about it.' It would be evident to the least sensitive of women that he has been thinking about YOU at this point.

The dialogue both of Carter and Flora will not change if you encounter them in the Tent, but when you speak to them in the Excavation Site, you will obtain an indication of their feelings for you.

Carter at orange heart will say: 'I work much better with you by my side, Freya.'
Flora says, 'Oh Freya... I've been waiting for you. It's so much fun digging with you, Freya. You're my best friend.'

Meet Muffy in her bedroom and her dialogue remains constant. Griffin's dialogue changes in his bedroom only according to his FP level but not his AP or Heart Level. It is when they are behind the counter of the Blue Bar that you really know where you stand with them.

Muffy at maximum FP of 255 will tell you: 'I've never had as good a friend as you, Freya. I hope we stay the best of friends.'

Griffin at red heart becomes touchingly lyrical when he says, 'You're like the sun, Freya. When you come to the bar, everything just lights up.'

I suppose one shouldn't forget he is as much a musician and poet as Gustafa, although he hides HIS light under a bushel most of the time, unlike Gustafa. Few are they who have heard Griffin play...

One of the earliest events involving Griffin's hidden musical talents occurs in 'A Wonderful Life'...

Gustafa' 4th Heart Event

Shaggy has asked for a photograph of Gustafa's Yurt. As Gustafa's 4th and final Heart Event occurs in the yurt, this will be a good opportunity to discuss it and display a couple of photographs of Gustafa's home.

For me, the Yurt represents the most appealing aspect of Gustafa. I love nomadic dwellings of any kind and Gustafa's yurt both in 'A Wonderful Life' and in HM DS is charming. The exotic musical instruments he owns add to its appeal.

I wish I liked Gustafa himself a little better. Perhaps one of the reasons I dislike him is the fact that my own family has more than its fair share of musicians and artists, all of whom believe that the rest of the world exists mainlyy to provide them with all the necessities of life.

In his Fourth Heart event, Gustafa will ask you to tell him about your life on the farm.

You will have the option either of agreeing to his request or telling him that 'it's a secret!' I laughed outright when I saw that option. I always experience all possible outcomes if possible in any event. Telling Gustafa that the details of my farm chores were 'a secret' was most amusing. I got his disapproving face for that one! (You will see it in the photograph of Gustafa with downgraded green heart if you tell him that your life is a 'secret' that cannot be revealed to an outsider such as he.)

The correct response, of course, is to give him a glimpse of the life of a devoted farmer. As you show him evidence of the back-breaking labour it involves, he will exclaim that he thinks life with you on your farm would be 'fun' because it would inspire him with material for many songs!

There is no indication that HE wishes to perform any farm labour. He tells you simply that: 'After hearing you talk, I kind of feel like living on a ranch now! I bet it'd be fun to live with you... I'd be able to write a lot of good songs for sure.'

One imagines him lounging about strumming on his lute or guitar, watching me fuel his poetic imagination by tilling the fields, harvesting the crops, chopping wood and smashing stones...

I think NOT! The worst part of this event is that after you have spent endless time showing him all the tasks you perform, he tells you that while you have given him the inspiration for a great song, 'I'll need some time to finish it though.'

I had hoped at least for a musical performance!

I shouldn't be so nasty about Gustafa. He is an amiable character, although there are hints that he is a bit judgmental towards non-vegetarians. Try giving him a fish sometime and you will see what I mean... God forbid you ever should speak to him of the glories of a good steak and potato dinner!

(If you give him a raw fish or sashimi, he will tell you that he hates raw fish and will cook and eat it later, but he obviously has no intention of eating it at all as, when you give him Grilled Fish or Fish Stew, his mouth will turn down and he will say: '.................... I want to sing a sad song.')

As I detest fish myself, I really should not be so hard on poor Gustafa... What is it about the man...? Rock cheerfully declares his intention not to work for a living, but I find his honest laziness rather appealing... Oh well... I'll still marry Gustafa one day and treat him well, feeding him his Most Favourite 'Hot Milk' every morning when he awakens. I don't expect I'll go so far as to have a child with him though. Life, even in Harvest Moon, is far too short to spend years with a man who doesn't appeal to one.

I have included a photograph of the exterior of Gustafa's Yurt in response to Shaggy's request for one. All photographs are taken from my own gameplay. It's rather an onerous process and they are not professional at all, but they are not intended for any commercial use in any case. I simply am sharing them with fans as a sort of preview of the upcoming English version of Cute.

I will try to obtain a better one of the exterior. It is far more difficult to take a good photograph of the upper screen than the bottom one with my little camera.

Easygoing Kai... It's just my way of saying 'Hi'

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With all the excitement over Skye, I almost forgot that Kai had his own special brand of nonchalant charm. In his first Heart Event, he will tell you that he tends to pat you often on the back but, not to worry, he isn't flirting! It is nothing more than his way of sayiing 'Hi'.

When he first greets you and you confess that you have come for his food, he will exclaimed that he is 'so stoked!'

Perhaps the time period in which this game is set is so far in the future that very old expressions such as 'stoked' once more have become the very last word in slang. Kai, for all his youthful appearance, seems to be steeped in the culture of the decade of the 1960s. One would expect these expressions to trip from the tongue of Gustafa, but although Gustafa LOOKS the part, his conversation is less colloquial.

As Kai only frequents the Valley in the summer, if you wish to court him, you must work feverishly to increase his levels as much as possible in the course of that season. To make matters more difficult, his Most Favourite Item is the Pineapple, a fruit that takes 21 days to mature. That means that your most powerful weapon in the gift arsenal will not be available before 21 Summer. Fortunately, he is very easygoing for the most part where gifts are concerned, and you can find a multitude of fairly inexpensive items that will boost his AP by 300 points and his FP by 9 until you reach the fourth week of Summer.

Speaking of Gustafa, his 3rd Heart Event alas is rather dull even if slightly poetic. Your character isn't allowed to get a word in edgewise as he takes her on his own personal tour of the Valley at night. He does not even include you in his experience: 'Aren't the stars reflecting off the water beautiful? It's like a small universe is right there in front of me.' Me, me, me... although he does thank you for listening to him at the end of the evening when he leaves you at his door.

I admire players who choose to marry Gustafa because obviously they are not as superficial as I am. When you see him with this expression on his face, it has to be for his heart and not his looks that a woman chooses to marry him. Or perhaps it is the yurt... I confess I find the idea of living in a yurt intensely appealing and I do love his collection of exotic instruments. He's a decent chap but even with yurt and instruments included, he never will be my first choice.

The ordinary Valley Bachelors of Harvest Moon Cute

I feel rather ashamed of myself today after I may have appeared to slag off the bachelors of Forget-Me-Not Valley by referring to them as 'older men'. They definitely ARE older men, but each has his own charm. I personally may prefer the young boys of Harvest Moon but I ultimately do try to marry each and every one of the potential spouses in my games. I certainly experience ALL the Heart Events of each in EVERY game I play...

I often receive emails from players asking me who the best wife or husband would be in any Harvest Moon game. The fact of the matter is that all are equal in most of the games, apart from 'A Wonderful Life' and 'Another Wonderful Life' where the identity of your spouse DOES influence your child. In Harvest Moon DS, it only influences the physical appearance and clothing of your child... and the appearance of the child is randomly chosen if you marry Skye or become the 'Best Friend' of a magical girl.

In any event, I thought I should give players a little idea of the personalities of the various bachelors.

Griffin is the barkeep at the Blue Bar. He is an older man who is both sensitive and shy, extremely polite and considerate. He actually has a creative side and is a 'closet' musician, as players of AWL and AnWL will recall.

In Harvest Moon Cute, you become aware of this facet of his character when you experience his first Rival Heart Event on a rainy morning, when he confides in Muffy:

Muffy: Hey, Griffin.
Griffin: What?
Muffy: Griffin, didn't you used to be a musician?
Griffin: Yeah.
Muffy: How did you get into music?
Griffin hesitates, then turns to face her.
Griffin: Hmm... I just happened to find an old guitar in the back of this store. It was like it was calling to me to come and play it. And when I asked my dad about that guitar, he said it was one of our ancestor's. Maybe it was that ancestor telling me to play?
Muffy (with music): Yeah. That's a wonderful story. Hey, play for me next time.
Griffin: Got it. I will, sometime.

Speak to him after the event and he will say:
Griffin: I know we promised... I'm a little shy, though.

(This event is Muffy's First Rival Heart Event in the original HM DS)

Gustafa is another one of the 'older men' whom you can marry in the game. He is the resident poet of Forget-Me-Not Valley and is a musician as well, from a long line of musicians. In fact, he will tell you about his heritage when you reach 100 FP with him either in the original HM DS or Cute:

Gustafa: Hey, Freya. How have you been? Is work still busy?
I nod.
Gustafa: Hahaha. You're very straightforward. But I really admire life at the ranch. You always get to pet animals and pick crops, right? I can think of lots of songs. Oops, did I say music? I guess it's in my blood to be a musician after all.
Me:?
Gustafa: My ancestors had been minstrels for the king in the country that they lived. It seems that every one in my family has had jobs involving music. That's why I've been making music since I was born. Since birth, I have followed this chosen path of becoming a musician. That's why you and I are similar. The life at the ranch was chosen for you before you were born, too.
I nod.
Gustafa: There is no 'if' in this world but if I wasn't born into a musician's family, I wonder what I would be doing now. Knowing me, I would've chosen the musician's path. After all, I love music. You probably would've chosen life at the ranch, too.
I nod.
Gustafa: Hahaha. I guess this means that things are good the way they are. Sorry to make you listen to something this boring.
I shake my head.
Gustafa: Now then, I guess I'll go sing.

If you speak to him after the event:
Gustafa: Let's both do our best.

The event that truly epitomises Rock's character is one that occurs in Another Wonderful Life when he faces your dog and later crafts an improbable tale of heroic battle against the pet he has renamed 'Crusher'.

In Harvest Moon Cute, you will discover his nature when you experience his first Heart Event at the beach:

Rock: (!) Hey, Freya. Did you come to look at the sea, too?
I nod.
Rock (with music): The sea's so nice. It's so expansive... Just so beautiful and blue! I love to look at it. Plus, it matches my personality perfectly! It's so big and beautiful. Just like me.
Me: (...)
Rock (?) What's wrong, Freya? You got quiet all of a sudden.
Rosk (with music) Oh, I know! You've been taken aback by how cool I am, huh?

My choices:

Yes, I'm mesmerised.
You disgust me.

With some amused affection for the boastful boy, I chose: Yes, I'm mesmerised.

Rock (with music): Yes, I thought so! You can look at me all you want! I'm not shy! But you have to let me look at you too, then.

Rock: ................

......................
.......................
Rock: (with music)
Me: (?)
Rock: Hahaha, you're pretty funny, Freya. You won't even look at me. Haha!
Me: (!) (displaying large red heart)
Embarrassed, I race from the beach.
Rock: Aww, you're so shy that you're leaving! How cute!

There is no malice in Rock and he is unabashedly lazy and irresponsible. In the original Harvest Moon DS game, it was only Kai who possibly challenged his position as the ultimate charming but rather irresponsible bachelor, although Kai does work hard at his stall at the beach in the summer. In Harvest Moon Cute, however, both Kai and Rock are relegated to the shade by the smooth-talking cat burglar Skye.

It is the 'older men' I intended to showcase in this post, however, and it is Carter and Marlin who need to be discussed now.

Carter is a devoted archaeologist who is driven by the belief that he will discover facts about his ancestors and heritage through his work. He is an avowed
sun-worshipper, as players of AWL and AnWL may recall. He actually shares a tent with his assistant Flora, but although she cooks for him (very badly!), their relationship is properly platonic. You will not be courting a married man if you court Carter!

Many of Carter's statements deal with Flora's cuisine. In fact, it is the focus of his first Rival Heart Event:

Carter was facing the northern wall and Flora was behind him.
Flora; Professor?
Carter: What's the matter, Flora?
Flora: How about Curry Rice for dinner tonight?
Carter (with cross): What?!
Flora: Don't be so picky!
Carter: I'm begging you! Anything but that!
Flora: Grrrr! Are you trying to make me mad?!
Carter: (...) Umm, n... no... Oh no...

Carter evidently is too pedantic for most people as when you visit him at his tent, morning or night:

Carter: Ah. Thank you for coming. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like to talk of ancient ruins? What? You'll 'pass' on that? Very well then...

Apparently, he never has been able to persuade any one to settle down for a long session of archaeological dialogue. One feels rather sorry for him sometimes...

Marlin, if anything, is even more shy about himself than Griffin. He is thoroughly tongue-tied, a little abrupt and unapproachable. I happen to know that many female players are attracted to these qualities, although I would not include myself in Marlin's fan group. In Another Wonderful Life, where there were but three choices in terms of potential spouses, he was my second choice after Rock. (The wedding event with Gustafa, with Gustafa hopping along on his buttocks, just was too awful for words. I cannot look at him even in Cute without recalling it! Gustafa is the ultimate laid-back hippy from the 1960s. Ironically, I really like his character, but find his personal appearance off-putting. I never have liked beards for a start.) This paragraph was supposed to be about MARLIN, not Gustafa...

Marlin demonstrates his almost pathological reticence in his First Heart Event in Cute:

Marlin: (!) ... Hey.... sorry, but Celia is upstairs sleeping. Vesta is looking after Celia right now... If you want to meet with Vesta or Celia, please come another time... Or did you come for me?

My choices:
Want to talk?
OK. I'm leaving, then.

(N.B. In any heart event, your character has two choices of response. One will raise the affection level of the bachelor and the other will lower it. I am including both here. The first response was the correct one obviously.)

I chose: Want to talk?
Marlin (startled): I don't really have anything to talk to you about...
Me (with tear):
My choices now:
Wh... what food do you like?
What do you think of Celia?

Wh... what food do you like?
Marline: ... Why do you ask that?
Me (with tear)
Marlin: ... Well, whatever... Yeah...
... What's my favourite food?
I nod encouragingly.
Marlin: (...) ... I never do have a good answer for that...
I nod again encouragingly, desperately hoping to get SOMETHING out of him.
Marlin: (...) ........................
... My favourite food is...
I nod once again with infinite patience.
Vesta now comes down the stairs:
Vesta: (!) Oh, Freya! You're here. You and Marlin together? Well, that's unexpected! What were you talking about?
Marlin: (Freya... This conversation is over.) Nothing, really... It was no big deal... More importantly... How is Celia feeling?
Vesta: Well, it's no big deal. She's just worn out. I think she'll wake up soon.
Marlin: ... Oh, I see. ... I hope so.

After:

Marlin: ... Let's talk again later.
Vesta: Don't worry! I'll be better soon!

If I had said: OK. I'm leaving, then.
Marlin: ... Oh, OK. ... Fine. Sorry that every one worth talking to is busy. .... See you.
Vesta comes down the stairs after I leave.
Vesta: ? Oh, is somebody here?
Marlin: It's not important. How is Celia feeling?
Vesta: Well, it's no big deal. She's just worn out. I think sh'll wake up soon.
Marlin: ... Oh, I see. ... I hope so.

As you can see, you will not even discover Marlin's favourite food in this event. Oddly enough, it was an important question, as each individual in any Harvest Moon game has a 'Most Favourite Item' that, when given, will raise his/her affection and/or friendship level. For any one who may be interested in Marlin, I happen to know that his 'Most Favourite' is Elli Leaves, a concoction that is more potent than any other Medicine available in the game. This makes sense when you realise that Marlin's health is as precarious as his ability to socialise. If you meet him outside the farm, he will tell you:

Marlin: Our farm was near town at first, but my ancestors came here looking for more land. It looks like my ancestors were sickly too. It must be hereditary...

I dealt with Skye exhaustively in an earlier post. I will discuss the bachelors of Mineral Town later. Any one who has played Friends of Mineral Town or More Friends of Mineral Town will be very familiar with their characters. Moreover, unless you insert a cartridge of FoMT or MFoMT into your DS, you never will meet any of them in HM Cute...