There are ALL KINDS of extras to be read and seen in Holiday Star, so let’s take this interlude to check one of the two things that opened up after finishing the Christmas Thieves.

Hato radio!

 

The How and Why of Saint Pigeonation’s! Question Box!

 

Hi, everybirdie! I’m Kawara Ryouta, a rock dove from 2-3.
I seem to be in charge of the question corner.

I think you all can tell what we’re doing here just from the name, but… since it’s the first time, I’ll explain.

In the How and Why question box, I’ll be answering letters you’ve all sent in.

Not just questions, though! It looks like we’ll be doing shout-outs, random asides…
All sorts of things!

It’ll be pretty relaxed.
Bear with us!

Because this is the first time, I’ve made sure to pick things which don’t spoil any of the BBL route from the full version.

If you haven’t finished yet, spoiler landmines can be scary!
But don’t worry, there won’t be any of those here.

Let’s get started, then!

Now, for our very first letter, from one ‘Aviophile’. This is a historic moment, everybirdie!

“If you get married to Hiyoko, you’ll be the one wearing the wedding dress, right Ryouta? Right?!”

…y-you seem awfully sure about this…!

Umm… actually, Hiyoko told me a little about her dream wedding a long time ago.

She said she wanted a bungee-jump wedding.
I can’t remember where, but apparently where you can have the entire ceremony while oscillating several meters above the ground.

If she still wants to have a bungee wedding, a dress would be risky for either of us…
It would be nice if we could wear our streetclothes.

Anyway, next letter!

This one is from a miss “Bird LOVE”. Let’s see…
“Did birds’ lifespans change at all when they were ascended?”

I don’t know what life expectancies were like before, but some have increased over the past 100 years or so.

Larger parrots and things were always long-lived, and so didn’t change much.
But smaller birds, like quails and things, live several times as long now.

…doves still have much shorter lives than humans, though.
That’s just how it is.

Oh, sorry!
We’re getting gloomy already.
Let me change course a little!

Let’s regroup and move on to the next letter.

This is from one “Kanako Mikan”.
“To Hiyoko. Nice to meet you.
I have lost my heart to your wild lifestyle.

“Being a hunter-gatherer must be hard, in a lot of ways.
Have you ever had trouble with some particular animal, or had to live through something really difficult?”

I was told to answer anything for Hiyoko as best I could.
Umm…

Hiyoko’s really something.
She’s been wild and rugged ever since we were very young… I’ve always admired her, too.

She never really complains, so I’m not sure of anything that’s really given her trouble.

The one thing I can think of would be the one time her den got hijacked.

Once, her house got invaded by a bunch of jackals while she was at school!

It looked really tough.
As long as there are living creatures, there will be turf wars.

She said the fight with the boss jackal lent an entirely new meaning to the phrase “domestic violence”, so maybe that’s a good example of a quarry which gave her trouble, as well.

Then again, in the end they reconciled and she was welcomed into the jackal tribe as a brother, so maybe it was more like a pair of yankees having a sunset fistfight on the riverbank than a hunter and her prey.

…the next letter is addressed to Nageki.

From one “Hatoful Charis”.
“What do you wish for on Tanabata? I always felt sad not seeing your card…”

I think we should have him answer this himself.

Nageki! Nageki, are you here?

 

…what?

Oh, good! I was worried I’d have to call you on the announcer.

…

Is that microphone on?

Yup! We’re on the air right now.

…

 

W-wait! Don’t leave yet!

No. I don’t want to be recorded.

Just answer one question!
Please?

…
Fine.
But once I’ve answered, I’m leaving.

Thank you!
This letter was asking if you make wishes on Tanabata.
I’d like to know what you wish for, too…

I don’t. Wishes are for superstitious children.

Doctor Iwamine always makes one…

Oh!
Did you make them when you were younger?

…yes.

What sort of things did you wish for back then?

…

…nothing.
Nothing special.
Things like “I hope my family stays happy.”
Harmless things like that.

I’m always hoping for the same thing… I know how it is.

…are we done?
I’m leaving.

Oh, yes. Sorry for holding you up. See you!

…right.

He really cares about his family.
I wonder what they’re like? They must all be quiet, calm birds, like him.

The next one is for San!
It isn’t signed.
It’s a little long, but I’ll try to read it in one go.

Okosan! Okosan! Okosan! Okosan!
OkosaaaaAAAAAaaawaaaAwauauaAAAN!!!
Aaaaaaaaaa… aa… aaaaaaah! Aaaaaah!
Okosanokosanokosanokosaaaaaaan!

Aaah! Hiff! Hif-hif! Hif-hif!
Sniff… sniff! Smells good! Hiff! Aaah!
I want to hif-hif Okosan’s pure white plumage! Hif-hif! Aaaaaaaaaaah!

Wait, no! Not hif-hif! Mofu-mofu!
Mofumofumofumofu! Crunchy crunchy mofumofu… ah! Ah! Aah! My heart!
Festival Okosan so CUTE… Aaaaaaah!
Aaaaah… aaaaaah…
AaaaaakjjdshfgkjhdboaksdALKSDFJ!!!

Okosan’s voice is decided! Yay!!! Aaaaah!
Cute! Cute! Too cute! OKO SAN… AAAAAHHH!
I’m so glad that the drama CDs are going to be sol NO… WAIT… THIS CAN’T BE…

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! The drama CDs are… are not real! Wait… the games aren’t real either??? O K O S A N is not R E A L?? AAAAAAAAAAH!
ASkjsljdklALSHKKJFJLASKjkjsaA!!!

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
NnnnnoooooooooooooOOOO!!!
C… c… coooooo! Cooooooo! No! Darn it! I’m… quitting! I’m quitting reality… wait??? He’s… looking at me? Okosan… In my monitor… is looking at me???

(they must have the same desktop background as me, available in the steam collector’s edition!)

He’s looking at me! He’s LOOKING at me!
The Okosan! On the blog! Is looking at me!!! He’s talking to me! In the game… Thank puddi… I’m glad I’m still here…!!!

YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! I have… OKO SAN!!! I did it! I did it, Louise! Could that be done alone?!? Ah! The drama CD OkosaaaaaaaaannnnAAAAAAAGHHHksdgjkgh!!!

Aaaaaaaasnfdgwaaaaaa!!! Anghel!!! R-Ryoutaaaaaa! Sakuyaaaaaaa! Yuuyaaa! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! Deliver my love to Okosan! Deliver it to him at Saint Pigeonation’s.

I hope we can all bond over this.

Aaaah… I felt like I was gonna suffocate reading that!

 

Cooooooo!
(It has been delivered!)

Coo, coo!
(Your love has been delivered!)

Coooooo!
(Will you accompany Okosan on a journey? True pudding awaits!)

I think he understands.
That’s good!

On that note, the last letter here is for San, as well.
From one “Ori”!

“I love Okosan too much and my heart is turning into a hato-heart ( ＊´∀`＊ )

“Is it easy to keep doves at home? I want an Okosan all for my own, to stroke gently around and around. My goal is to have him ride on my shoulder.
I know it isn’t a casual decision, but do you think I could do that?

“No one around here has kept doves for some decades.
The pet shop does not sell them, either… where did Okosan come from? It is a mystery. Would you terribly mind telling me?”

Umm, I think I should start by talking about San’s actor.
This will get a bit meta.

San is modeled off of a dove named Okosan kept by the creator.
Of course, his portrait is a picture of the bird himself!

In reality, he isn’t interested in pudding at all.
Please don’t try to feed a dove pudding!

Doves aren’t particularly hard to care for. Anyone who’s kept a budgie or a sparrow should find it pretty easy.

A racing bird would be a little more difficult, but for a fantail or the like a fairly small cage is fine. A rabbit cage works very well.

However, doves aren’t very common pets, so there aren’t many veterinarians who know how to treat them.

Doves are usually very healthy and rarely get sick, but you might want to make sure there’s a clinic nearby which will receive them just in case.

They’re not common in general pet stores, but there’s usually sections for doves in places that specialize in birds.
Have a look around!

Good luck, Miss Ori! I hope you can have a wonderful birdie life!

That’s all for today.
Thank you all for sending us letters!

*~ Return to Gateway ~*