Title: "Ray Day", or, "You're Likely to Get Carp-al Tunnel That Way"
Author: Yes, I wrote this, where "I" is the entity known on as "Halla Theguil T. Pleasures", "Halla", or various forms of "this idiot who can't write".
Original work information: Based on characters (or at least a character) from "Harvest Moon: Magical Melody" (developed as Bokujo Monogatari: Shiawase no Uta for Warudo" by Marvelous Interactive and translated by Natsume). Do not own, yada yada.
Pairings: Ageless, faceless, gender-neutral (Schrodinger's yaoi!), culturally-ambiguous narrator X Ray. Or AmandaXRay. Or Your PC X Ray. You choose.
Rating: M
Genre: Humor, Adult Humor, Romance, Outdoor Sports, WAFF
Author's note: Not only do I accept constructive criticism, I thrive on it. I'm a perfectionist with an inferiority complex, if you didn't believe the first sentence upon reading it. I didn't think this was amazing, and there is a particular bit that I think could have been done in a much better way, but I think it's one of my few stories that are actually worth sharing (even if it does seem like smut).
Authors of Note:Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Louisa May Alcott, Sun Tzu, Charles Dickens (a hack, but sometimes fun to read and certtainly notable), Hiromu Arakawa. Not that this has anything to do with the story.
Word Count: 443, not counting the introduction.
It was Spring First, and I found Ray standing near the delta. We had become close in the year since I first moved to Flower Bud Village, and I had been saving an ear of corn all winter just for today. His face brightened as I held out the corn, and he began to say something I had never heard him say before.
"You know I really like corn. I also really like..."
A questioning look crossed my face at the pause.
"I like... you." Ray looked at the ground for a moment as though the admission had taken a lot of effort. "I wanted to return your kindness, and do something for you that nobody else will ever have." He pulled out his rod and I gasped. Ray's confidence returned for a moment, and he grinned while saying the words "It's practically mythic".
I reached forward and carefully took the rod from his hand. I had seen Ray using it before, and held others, but had never had the chance to work his with my own hands. After a short time of me fiddling with the two-segmented ball, Ray said it was ready. He held my hands to guide me at first, but soon I became used to the feel of it, able to react and respond to the merest shiver or pull. I had ceased to over-think my actions, and he shortly found no need to guide me, as we found ourselves following the rhythmic motion of the sea lapping against the beach a few yards downstream.
After about ten minutes, Ray's pole began to twitch furiously, and I pulled it as he had told me to. A burst of exertion, and something shimmering and silver-white flew through the air. I released the rod and caught it in my hands. It smelled funny, and I sniffed at it, wondering if I was really supposed to eat it like that.
"It's a river carp," explained Ray. "19.5 centimeters, which is pretty good for a beginner. It's rare but not impossible for them to appear in the brackish water near the end of the river, but they usually don't last long enough to catch. I know you're used to things you grow on your farm, and sashimi, but before you eat it," (it was as if he had read my mind), "you need to cook it in a pan or over a fire."
Ray started a fire, and before long we had finished our fish. It was delicious. The next day he was nowhere to be found, but the morning after that he had returned to his usual spot- waiting for me, a blue feather in hand.