m a r i a n

Hello, welcome to Zephyr Cafe! I'm Marian, and I'll be your waitress. Would you like to hear about today's specials? [part of the Harvest Moon Masterlist!]

[woodsmokeandpumpkins]

[autumn-whimsy-blog]

Halloween Tea Party by à petits fers on Flickr.

[the-october-country]

Joan Crawford on the cover of the Mid-Week Pictorial, 29th October 1927. 

[in-my-mouth]

Triple Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

[maudelynn]

1930s Halloween Print 

via http://anostalgichalloween.blogspot.com

[sunflower-sunbeams]

Customer Service? [Marian/Marlin]

    Almost… almost..

Sir? 

He lost it. With a frustrated sigh, he only glances up at the woman for a brief second with the constant scowl he’d been sporting for the past several minutes. “No, I don’t need any help.” He huffed, trying to get his overworked hands to cooperate with him to untie the damn knot.

"What about you?" He murmurs, trying to cut out the edge in his voice. "Need any… help?" It wasn’t what he usually did. This wasn’t his job at all. He was supposed to be working out in the fields but he was stuck inside trying to untie bags that he wasn’t supposed to tie in the first place. It’s like his sister was punishing him by making him sit where the costumers who came in and out were able to see him.

[self-made-marian]

His gruff tone didn't shock her, as he was visibly frustrated, but she was slightly taken aback by his defiant no. Marian saw no reason to try and further prod, even though she thought she may have a solution to his predicament somewhere in the purse that she was carrying.  Why?  Because men were stubborn, some to the point where not even logic could sway them, and a stranger she'd met but a few seconds ago would be even less receptive.  If he continued to be...unfriendly with her, however...she wasn't sure she would be able to hold her thoughts. She shifted the purse on her shoulder, both hands on the strap, looking around the shop and not at the disgruntled man near her. "Oh...well, I was just looking to buy a couple pounds of peppers."  Her eyes roved around, as if she knew directly where the vegetables might be.  The store wasn't huge, and her gaze settled briefly on bins full of sweet potatoes.  Likely, the peppers would be near there.  "And I thought I might browse for other...things."  She chanced glancing back at him with a small friendly smile.

[lest-go-adventuring]

Cooking 101: Royal Edition

[lest-go-adventuring]

    Lest nodded after hearing her statement. “Then it’s settled! I’ll run some errands while you take some time to relax and get to know the wonderful place known as Selphia!”

He laughed awkwardly. “Ahah…yeah, I did! Luckily I hadn’t gotten far, so after I got the splinter out of my tongue, it was especially nice to eat something like pudding.” He looked at the spatula curiously, and he grinned when she mentioned eating cake batter right off it. “Well yeah, maybe I should make the investment!”

"Oh, I know. Besides, I was left to my own devices when that happened! Not that you’ll be stuck babysitting me or anything…but I can tell you’re gonna be a great teacher! So I’m gonna do my absolute, very best!"

[self-made-marian]

"Oh, well that works." Marian was tempted to seek out the people she already knew, but it was the middle of the day, and she didn't want to be interrupting their work without warning. Then she remembered... "I know you mentioned that restaurant and...I am a little hungry.  Maybe I'll check it out to pass the time."  She wondered, as well, if the owner of the restaurant - she couldn't remember his unusual name! - would have any extra supplies to borrow.  She would have to ask. She sighed quietly, guessing they didn't have electronic mixers here in Selphia, and could not imagine how enticed Lest would be to lick batter or frosting or whatever from the metal whisks of one of those contraptions.  Marian forced herself to ignore the "babysitting" part, which just made her envision him doing something as absurd as putting his hand on a hot stove. But his confident declaration did give her an idea, at least.  "If you do well enough, maybe I'll let you kept this...No pressure, of course.  There's no punishment if you don't...do well.  No punishment other than lousy food, that is."  She waved the spatula lightly as she spoke, sorely wanting to reach out and boop Lest on the nose with it, like a naughty puppy.  "So off you go, I'll come by in an hour or so, okay?"

[self-made-marian]

Marlin doesn't look up when the bell jingles above the door of the shop. He's too focused on the tied up bag in his hands. Sitting atop a crate, he's bent over with his elbows on his knees, trying to untie the tight knot around the bag with no avail. Having been going at it for some time now, his scowl and glare is harsher than usual and he's grumbling under his breath. "Stupid... knot..."

Marian might have walked right past the building marked as Vesta’s shop, had it been for the fact that there wasn’t any other building in sight - so this must be the store.  It was smaller than she had thought, but the farm surrounding it was a considerable size, and was full of crops in various stage of growth.  She had heard from a reputable vendor at the bazaar that Vesta’s farm here in Forget Me Not Valley had some of the freshest, tastiest vegetables available ,other than Gretel’s, of course.  But Gretel hadn’t any of the peppers that Marian had been hoping to incorporate in a few test dishes for the café, so remembering the vendor’s recommendation and recalling the travelling red-haired girl she’d met at the bazaar, Nami, speaking so fondly of her temporary hometown, Marian’s choice was travel to Forget-Me-Not Valley.The door was open, and it was welcoming enough inside, if not a bit bare, other than the vegetables, seeds and tools.  Minimal was the style here.Welcoming until she noted a broad, black-haired man struggling with a large bag.  Clearly, he worked her - or would be working, were he not so occupied with the bag in front of him."…Sir..?"  She approached him, not too hastily in case he hadn’t noticed her (which was likely, given his attention completely taken by his task).  Here, she was the customer, yet she was the one asking…"Do you need any help..?"

[maudelynn]

"Before the Wedding", by Michael Rougier - c.1962

via Life.com

[self-made-marian]

Watching the windmill turn [Marian + Ivan]

[self-made-marian]

ivan-t-your-love:

  "He certainly isn’t any trouble." Ivan chuckled, watching the cat play with Marian’s flowers. Harry looked to be having quite a lot of fun; it was a very cute sight for him.

"Oh, I see, but thank you." He smiled. "I feel he might, but I wouldn’t want him digging into the snow and getting hurt. He does like to wander and explore, which is alright when the ground is visible, but I do worry about him…"

Easily, Ivan could be talking about either his cat or his brother; wandering around and exploring and of course the worrying part.  "Cats are a lot tougher than you would think, though.  There's a reason why they say they have nine lives.~  They have...instincts, things like that.~" Not that Marian had ever owned a cat, so she was no expert.  "It's ultimately up to you, of course.  But what about what Harry wants, hm?~"  Harry didn't seem to even notice that they were talking, too busy with the flower dangling in front of him.   Marian wanted so bad to just snatch the cat up and hug him forever, but....that would probably put her in poor favor with Ivan.

[inallenableright]

Lights That Stop Me [Marian/Allen]

[inallenableright]

    Had Allen had a little more time before noticing Marian’s tears, he would have thought about Grandma Vi yelling at him to go to bed before 9, making pancakes for him and Riley at 7 am sharp. He would have thought about her teaching them how to fly a kite (as she lived by the beach) and how the sand had always been warm underneath his bare feet, the kite lodged somewhere halfway between the earth and sky, endless potential, sunshine, and heat…

But Allen did not have time to reflect before he noticed the woman’s tears, her eyes wet with what he refused to show—not that he hadn’t cried at his own grandma’s funeral. Because he had. 

It was just that now, in the presence of somebody he only half-knew, who at one point loathed him, probably, he couldn’t feel anything but an awkward sense of…understanding. She said she had not yet lost somebody herself but that she was trying to get it. 

And that was far from disrespectful. So he shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the same clump of reeds she was blindly staring at. 

"That’s morbid, maybe, but…it’s not disrespectful." He shrugged. "At least I don’t think it is. But, like…what do I know of respect?"

He scratched behind his left ear, then sighed. Loudly. “…Guess I shouldn’t be running off the mouth about it. I just—” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. “—I think your intentions are good.”

[self-made-marian]

At least he was being honest - if he had told her no, it wasn't morbid, she wouldn't have believed him anyway.  And his comment regarding herself made her exhale a small laugh through her nose. "No, I don't mind."  She told him, still focused on the river.  She didn't, because at least he was being candid about everything.  Not trying to sugarcoat.  "I'd be concerned if you weren't...'running your mouth', I mean." She let out a shaky breath, as she began to find words to express the thoughts she never let herself think on for too long.  "It's not like I want...think about it a lot, losing people, but...I've lost people in other ways."  She already knew that if Allen prodded into that question, she wouldn't tell much, because it was supposed to be vague - that she'd lost friends as well as someone who was so much more.  Which wasn't the same as someone she loved dying, except for how she had felt dead inside.  "And I wasn't ready, and that...that is so horrible to...deal with.  But I guess you can't ever...really be ready to lose someone..." What if something happened to her parents when she was in Zephyr Town?  She thought about that a lot, with no siblings to help her carry the task.  If things had gone how she'd originally hoped, she'd still be in the city, less than a half hour from her parents, not several hours by train.  But no, she had decided to live a life she was not at all ready for - and so far it'd gone quite well, except for the parts. But her life had gone so well before, until it was upended without warning. And now the tears that had momentarily subsided returned.  Why was she talking to Allen about this even in this cryptic manner?  Allen, of all people?  Someone who thought she was she was too prim and proper for her own good.  She probably sounded so dumb, so sheltered. She brought a hand to her mouth to cover a sob. "I...I'm sorry..I shouldn't...talk about this."  Marian turned, starting to walk back to the table they'd been at.

[self-made-marian]

{ Just A Little Lost } || Marian&Meryl

[self-made-marian]

  [Thinking it over, she could remember the name Marian from an old story but she couldn’t remember which. Deciding not to bring it up, Meryl stayed lost in her thoughts until the lady returned with the candy and crayons]

[Meryl’s eyes quickly moved to the pink candies, trying not to look directly at the kind lady who was letting her stay here.] [About to reach for a candy when the lady instructs her to write her name. Slowly retracts her empty hand from the bowl, her balled fist laying to rest in her lap]

[Staring at the sheet of paper for a minute the child fidgeted out of worry that her writing wouldn’t be good enough. Finally she mustered the courage to pick up a crayon, Tickled pink, and slowly spelled out ‘Meryl’ in sloppy and disproportionate letters]… I’m not very good…at writing….

[studying the child's scratchy, squiggly writing, able to pick out the 'M' and...either a capital I or lowercase l there at the end.   The fourth letter looks very much like a 'j" but it makes more sense that it'd be a 'y'][listening to her statement, and though it makes he sad to hear it, Marian knows well enough to keep the smile on her face as she tells the girl:] I think you did a fine job writing your name...is it Mee-rill? [hoping she's close to the girl's name, otherwise she will likely make her feel worse] And not being good at something doesn't mean you can't do it and have fun...see, watch... [picking up a bright violet crayon, curving her hand awkwardly to draw an oval, four little lines sticking out from the bottom of the oval, and then a smaller set of circles and lines on top of the oval - a very horrible, fat purple smiling dog (?)]  See...?  That's the best of my drawing ability.  [laughing a little at just how bad her art is...in her head, she'd pictured it much more...dog-like] But I like him...I think I should name him, what do you think?

[maudelynn]

Saturday Evening Post Oct 9, 1932  by W. Wilkinson 

via thesaturdayeveningpost.com

[sydneyflapper]

Postcard by Bianchi, 1917. Feels just like this in the street where I live now that autumn is coming on…we have a lot of European trees in the neighbourhood, and they’re colourful and carpeting the ground.

[self-made-marian]

((guys, Phillip sent me this link to a japanese fanart blog that has tons of supercute Hansel/Marian art INCLUDING WEDDING PICS (and my new avatar) and maybe I'm the only one who hella ships them but the art is so so cute so if you wanna look, just click there ^.  The second square is regular shippy pics and the third square is the wedding pics))

[self-made-marian]

What sorts of books do you enjoy reading? Is there a specific reason why?

I don’t read a whole lot, but I really like mystery..I believe they’re called “cozies”?  Just mysteries but nothing with a lot of gore and violence.  A lot of them are set either in historical settings or cafes or tea shops or the like.  They’re so cute!  ♪

[self-made-marian]

Is there anything that really frustrates you with out fail?

Anything?  Well, I do get frustrated when I spend time reading a book or watching a movie and it has a horrible ending.  I don’t necessarily mean an unhappy one, just one that doesn’t make sense.  But I get over it quickly~As for traits in people?  I find it frustrating when people are rude but don’t even realize it. Because I can’t really correct them without feeling rude, myself.  For example, I’ve had a number of customers order by saying “I need a salad,” and no please, or thank you.  But in a perfectly friendly tone.  It’s just so…it boggles my mind that they don’t even think about how that sounds and say it so casually.~