Another Spring Thanksgiving married to Vaughn...

As stated in a previous post, Vaughn will not remain on the Island every day of the week after marriage, but his schedule changes completely. When single, he would visit the Island only on Wednesdays and Thursdays. When married to you, he will be absent from the Island completely on Wednesdays but returns Thursday, spending the morning at Mirabelle's Animal Shop, returning home after noon and remaining at home until the next Wednesday.

In the 5th Year, the Spring Thanksgiving Festival falls on Wednesday. Vaughn therefore was conspicuously absent throughout the day. I thought to myself, 'Oh, no, there's going to be a repeat of all the romantic occasions I had to spend by myself...'

Much to my delight, after I went to bed, Vaughn appeared somehow in the darkness to slip Chocolate Cookies into my rucksack as he had done the previous year. Apparently, he returned home early in order to be able to perform his romantic duties to me.

In a very odd twist, however, I awakened to discover that the Chocolate Cookies had lost half a day of Freshness. I suppose that is the price you pay for being married.
When delivered into your hands as a single woman, they would be completely fresh rather than being slightly stale!

A very Special Gift on your Anniversary

There are a number of Festivals that are celebrated differently after marriage as well as new Special Occasion Events that do not exist while you remain single.

The Thanksgiving Festivals and Pumpkin Festivals no longer bring any visitors to your house after marriage. Instead, your Spouse will bake special sweets for the Pumpkin Festival for a feast at home, even before you have a child. If you are a girl, your husband will slip Chocolate Cookies into your rucksack after you go to sleep on the night of the Spring Thanksgiving Festival. If you are a boy, your wife will slip Chocolate Cake into your rucksack on the night of the Winter Thanksgiving Festival.

All family birthdays are celebrated once you are married. If you have a child, your child's birthday will be celebrated for the very first time on the actual day of his/her birth. You need to enter your house after 6.00 p.m. to initiate any birthday Special Occasion Event.

Once you have entered, your Spouse will ask if you have finished work for the day. If not, you will have the option to leave the house to complete all unfinished tasks.

Once you tell your Spouse that all work has been completed, he/she will ask if you know what event you are celebrating. You must give the correct response if you wish to participate in the feast! Otherwise, your Spouse will be disappointed and you will be sent to bed with nothing. At the age of 2, when your child is old enough to accept gifts, you will be given the opportunity to give him/her a birthday gift on his/her birthday. (This occurs in ToT as well.) If you give an item that your Child dislikes, heart levels will decrease. A girl's taste differs from that of a boy, so you need to know what your Child likes. Lists are included in my Characters Guide.

It is on the occasion of your Wedding Anniversary, however, that you have the opportunity to obtain a very special gift from your Spouse. I do understand why players often do not like to read guides for a game, even though I write guides myself. It is rather thrilling sometimes to be surprised. Vaughn surprised me on our Wedding Anniversary by giving me an 'S' Rank Wonderful!

The Event ends the day and you awaken the next morning with all Stamina and Fullness completely restored, and an 'S' Rank Wonderful in your rucksack. The colour of the Wonderful you receive, like those obtained as prizes at Festivals is determined by the current number of points earned towards your Farming Degree. If you wish to obtain a specific colour, therefore, you can use a Tool BEFORE you enter the House to experience the Special Occasion Anniversary Event.

(A Tool can be used on nothing to increase point total as well as increasing your income if the tool is set with a Purple Wonderful. Each use of a Tool set with a Purple Wonderful will increase your earnings by 2G. It's not much, but...)

Here's the text of the Anniversary Event. For those who are as enamoured of Vaughn as I am, you will see that he demonstrates all the sweetness one could desire:

A Special Occasion

Vaughn: You’re home.
You finish work for the day?

Okay. I’ll wait till you finish work.

So, what’s today?
Very important day for us.

Our anniversary
My birthday
Your birthday

Our anniversary
Vaughn displays a big red heart.

Vaughn: Uh-huh.
Gotta celebrate together on a special day.
Got you a gift.
Thanks for everything.

I walk to him and take the gift. (with music)

My thoughts: The gift made me so happy.
What a great anniversary.

A new Baby in Island of Happiness

****************************************************************
I mentioned the birth of my son in the previous post with reference to two of the rival Weddings, but what mother would not wish to brag a little about the birth of her child? I think it merits a post of its own. The fact that many players share my intense interest in Vaughn as a prospective Spouse gives me more reason to devote a post to the Birth Event in Island of Happiness.

If you keep your Spouse at 10 hearts and expand your house to the largest Extra Large Size, you will find a Kid's Bed at Chen's Market a full season after your Wedding. Buy it instantly if you wish to experience the Pregnancy Event the next morning. If you do not purchase the crib, you will not become pregnant!

The earliest the Pregnancy Event can occur therefore is a full season after Marriage. After the Pregnancy Event, the birth of your Child will follow after two full seasons. The actual date will depend on any intervening Events that occur in the same week, such as Rival Weddings or Festivals. My own Child was due to be born on 10 Spring by my calculations but by experiencing two of the final Rival Heart Events at the beginning of Spring, the Calendar had to change to accommodate them.

The birth of my son occurred only after both of the Rival Weddings had been celebrated, on 11 Spring.

On 10 Spring, after the second Rival wedding of Pierre and Julia:
Vaughn: The baby should be coming soon. Be prepared!

11 Spring:

New Family

Vaughn is pacing back and forth in front of Mirabelle.

Mirabelle: Stop pacing around. A man needs to keep himself calm during times like these.

He ignores her and continues to pace relentlessly.

Mirabelle: It’s okay! Freya will give birth to a healthy baby.

Vaughn: How can I not be concerned now?!

Dr. Trent: (unseen): Keep pushing… Come on! A little harder!

Vaughn: (!) Hang in there, Tesora… I wish there was something I could do to ease her pain.

Mirabelle: (…) Yes, all we can do is wait. I’m sure that everything’ll turn out just fine!

The cry of a newborn infant rings out clearly, then:

A baby is in the infant bed above the Husband Bed.

Dr. Trent: Thanks to Felicia’s help, the baby was born safely.
Congratulations, Freya. It’s a healthy baby boy.

Mirabelle: What a brave-looking child!

Felicia: You did very well, Freya.

Vaughn: Is the baby?
Our baby?

Vaughn: Hey, let’s name the baby.
Any ideas, honey?

After you have chosen the name, your character will display a big red heart.
You only are allowed six letters.

Vaughn: Attila, eh?
Good name.
I like it.

Vaughn: Tesoro, Attila and I are a family now.
Having a new family member makes me so happy.

I nod.

My thoughts: It just sank in… I’m a mother! Attila, I’m so glad you were born!

No time passes here…
It is 6.00 a.m. still after the birth.
Go to the baby bed and tap on it.
The baby will cry and you will see a prompt:
‘I hope our baby grows up well!’

One sad aspect of Marriage to Vaughn

Although it made my first IoH game 'flawed', in the respect of preventing 100% completion in terms of the Individuals List, I am glad that I married Vaughn. Well, of course I am glad on a personal level, as I fancied him desperately but beyond that, I now can convince myself that it was a necessary experiment in order to be able to let players know precisely what to expect from the one Eligible Bachelor who is not on the Island every day of the week either before or after marriage.

As a bachelor, Vaughn visits the Island only on Wednesdays and Thursdays. You therefore have only two opportunities to raise his heart level each week, unless he appears at a Festival (which does occur occasionally). Speaking to any character at a Festival will raise his/her Affection/Friendship Level a little.

After marriage, Vaughn will be on the Island every day BUT Wednesday. On Thursdays, he works at Mirabelle's Animal Shop until noon and then returns home.

In the 3rd Year of the game, I was married to Vaughn at the time of the Starry Night Festival. It fell on Wednesday that year and despite my hopes that he would hurry home in time to share that magical night with me, he failed to appear! I re-entered the House at every hour to see if there were any possibility of triggering an Event. Alas...

Players should know that, however sweet Vaughn may be as a husband, he will not sacrifice his work for you even in honour of the Starry Night Festival.

Oh well, there will be other years for the players who marry Vaughn. As I included all the delightful Special Occasions with Vaughn as a husband, I thought it only fair to include this one small negative aspect of marriage to him.

Fortunately, he was present for his birthday which was rather a touching affair, as he confessed that no one ever had done anything special for him in the past. He was present as well for the Harvest Goddess Festival.