#look stardew valley is just my happy place okay? I love that game and the vibe and the community so i just push it in. <3

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Pumpkin Eve

Hello! I am back again! @spotaus

Gonna be real. I wasn't sure where to write the next drabble before i remembered i wanted to do this one. (look i was in the mood for fluff and nice times and not for angst so here we are!)

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Lets go! Also i know it is obvious i take inspiration from stardew festivals over our world festivals and events sshhhh

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Cross stops the truck and Killer grins at the babybones in his arms "Ready tiny bat?"

Nightmare shoots him a glare and Killer can't help but snort as there are now two tiny grumpy faces staring at him. One from Nightmare and one from Nightmare's hoody.

Dust huffs and pokes him in his neck and Killer shoots him a look. Really hoping the slight shiver wasn't obvious. Dust just looks ar him bored in his own cheap vampire costume "Don't annoy Nightmare." and he leaves their beat up truck.

Cross makes a curious noise as he quickly turns off the engine "Dust! Don't get out of the car when the engine is still running!"

Moments later Killer's door opens and Dusty easily picks Nightmare up. Dust shoots Cross a look as he tilts his skull "You were already parked." and he walks towards the side as Horror joins him.

Killer quickly undoes his seat belt and joins the two as Cross grumbles and locks their truck.

Their little group walks towards the main road of town and quickly see pumpkins and decorations everywhere. magical candles floating and all kinds of other spooky decorations.

Nightmare looks around to glance at everything at once.

Killer grins and leans close "Having fun tiny boss?"

Ngihtmare blinks and shoots him a look before answering "Never been to... something like this..." and he goes back to looking around.

Right. BEcause while the hide out had been save it wasn't exactly the hot spot for parties and events. And Nightmare had never been invited to any event of festival before. Well! Time to make this one rock!

Killer grins and pokes the chubby little cheek "Well! Ready to have afun time!?" Even if Killer has no idea what there is to do here. He is used to just trick or treating on halloween and those memories are spotty and from a very long time ago. One that he hardly remembers or honestly doesn't even care about.

Why would he care about half forgotten memories? When he has everythign he ever wanted and could want right here with him?

Killer however is happy it doesn't seem to be a traditional Halloween. Mostly for Dusty and H. Horror must have very bitter sweet memories about all the old parties and holidays from his own universe. How stuff just wasn't celebrated anymore as the food shortage got extreme. And well, Dust is still wrecked with guilt when something reminds him. It is good that this is a different type of party! They will just have to give Nightmare other childhood traditions to enjoy here!

A glance to the side and Cross is looking around in awe as well. Crossy had grown up in pretty much a military AU or base or whatever. It is no big surprise he hardly had fun festivals to enjoy. And even if those were there he probably only guarded and worked at those.

Killer grins as he glances around. Looking for a good spot to start. He sees a lot of games and little stalls to get sweet and nice treats.

They start with a few games. Some apple bopping is one of them, though instead of apples these people use oranges. Some spooky duck fishing game. They all got a kick out of the weird bowling game with a ball with a skull on it called Skull bowling.

After that came the treats. all spooky themed and with a lot of pumpkin flavours. Killer doesn't care too much for the flavour itself but Nightmare seems to really enjoy the more autumn flavours. Which together with his love for sweets makes these snacks perfect!

Killer does see the candy apples in the distance and makes sure they don't go near there. It is about having fun and enjoying their time together.

Killer grins as he leads them to the corn maze, they go in together and easily make it out again. Horror having lead them out of course, wiht Nightmare on his shoulders looking around.

They exit the maze just in time to see Ellie and Dani walk by. the two monsters see them and grin back "Hey guys! Having fun?" Ellie grins widely.

Killer studies the two. Dani and Ellie seem to have gone for some egypt kinda thing. Killer tilts his skull "Egypt?"

Dani sighs but nods as Ellie grins proudly "Yes! Dani is as Anubis! And I am as cleopatra" she grins more "Or better said. CleHOPatra." and she shoots them finger guns.

Killer snorts and hears both Dust and Horror chuckle as well. Cross lets out a loud sigh as Nightmare pouts unamused.

Ellie giggles as Dani looks around "How are you guys liking your first festival?"

Cross smiles brightly "It is amazing!" Nightmare nods his agreement and Killer feels like his soul is being squeezed. Nightmare looks happy and content as he is held by nay of them. Cross is actually enjoying himself instead of trying to force himself to be serious all the time. Dusty is relaxed as he is near and Horror is content and feels at ease.

This is exactly how it should be!

Killer knows he should care more about all they left behind but honestly? He is a pretty selfish person. Everything in the multiverse can crash and burn for all he cares. As long as those who are his are happy he is happy.

He will eventually talk about that... squeezing feeling in his soul whenever he sees them laugh and grin. or when they touch or hug him. Eventually. When he feels a bit braver. For now he just lets himself enjoy this.

The two girls wave their own goodbyes as they rush off to enjoy their date night.

Horror looks around curiously "Where to now?"

Nightmare, who has been tranfered over to Cross, points at a building "Maybe that?"

Killer looks over but knows all of them are already going in the direction of whatever it is. As they get closer they realise it is a haunted house and they share grins.

None of them are easy to scare after all that happened and they went through. They make their way over and talk with the human and monster manning the building.

THe human frowns as they see Ngihtmare "are you four sure you want to take the tiny kiddo in? I mean. It is scary."

Nightmare huffs and pushes close to Cross. Cross just hugs him close. Killer grins "Yeah it is fine! He loves scary stuff!" maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it will work.

the people manning the stall share a look but eventually agree to let them in. On the condition that they don't let go of him.

Which, ppppfffff. As if any of them would willingly let go of Nightmare! Killer is very aware all of them are very clingy when it comes to their babybones. It is alreayd a miracle they are all willing to share tiny boss wiht each other.

They go in and the haunted house has theme rooms. All centered around certain fears or scare situation.

THe first is about canibals which Horror just huffs at with a roll of his eye. They grin with him and Horror snorts a laugh as he mutters "They are using the wrong temperature for human meat." and they laugh as they move to the next room.

Something about a stalker and some lady sitting in the living room. spooky phone calls and shadows in the fake windows. sound track of footsteps. Nice enough alright.

Dust huffs "Way to stalk badly. Announcing your presence."

Killer laughs and hangs over his shoulders, his soul and magic purring at having one of the three this close and not being pushed away as he rubs his skull againt Dust's "Not everyone can be as skilled at stalking prey Dusty~"

Dust lets out a loud sigh but only gives him a small nudge to get Killer to let go. So no actual annoyance.

There is another room about medical experimentation which Nightmare just looks displeased as he mutters about the tools being dirty. Killer nods "I know! It is going to mess with the results." which causes Dsuty to snort as he walks past.

there is another room about spiders and that is just great! they laugh and relax as they walk through and go exit the house, and enter the next area.

Killer walks into the garden only to stop and start laughing. Cross frowns at him before looking and gasping, and then quickly covers Nightmare's sockets. Nightmare pouts "Hey!"

Killer snorts and leans heavily against Horror as Horror just pats his shoulders and back. Dust hums and mutters "naked skeletons. nice."

Becuase plastic skeletons are used for decoration. Which Killer knows is a halloween thing but it ALWAYS cracks him up.

Cross huffs and mutters "it is indecent. Come Nightmare. Lets quickly go."

Nightmare mutters about it being fake and silly but he doesn't protest as he is carried out of the naked skeleton area down the path to get back at the front of the house and the start. Killer does manage to glance around and realise it is set up as a graveyard of some kind with a witch hut and everything. but there are just so many naked skeletons that he starts laughing again.

They get to the start of the house again and Cross mutters about indecent while Nightmare eats one of the many snacks they bought him. Killer knows he is still grinning and giggles every once in a while while Dust and Horror just share amused looks.

They say their goodbyes but Killer makes sure to give the two manning the house a cheeky wink as he blows them a kiss "interesting yard. Didn't realise that were your types." the two share confused looks before looking around the side. Then they both look up shocked and stutter out protests.

Killer laughs as he walks with his friends. Cross shoots him a look "Don't do that!"

Killer grins and winks at Cross "It is harmless Crossy. You know I only mean it with any of you guys~" and he winks again.

Cross has this tiny adorable blush as he mutters about Killer having to be serious before rushing to catch up with Horror.

Killer sighs but smiles. It is fine. Eventually they will realise he is being serious. for now? They are happy and Nightmare hasn't stopped purring for almost two hours now. That is what matters.

*-----------------------*

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Also also! @mikimakiboo made a very cute drabble for my series! You guys should check it out! It is very cute <3 You guys are all so talented <3

[gigi-loveless]

Streamer!Hazel inviting her fan favorite girlfriend to play stardew valley and having to fight chat bc they keep calling her their girlfriend too

WHO TOLD YALL ABOUT MY STARDEW VALLEY ADDICTION 😭

reqs are open!!

listen to hazels spotify here ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

once you and hazel moved in together, her already chaotic streams were bombarded with curious messages about who the gorgeous girl bolting across the background was. you didn’t mind though, hazel found such confidence and joy in streaming, so you were happy to support her, even if it meant sprinting or crawling across the room to avoid making a fuss of your presence.

as you grew more and more used to hazels life being in front of the camera, you began to warm up to appearances, which to your surprise was oddly…a hit. her subscribers were obsessed with the way her girlfriend would scruff up her headset hair and the witty one liners she would shout from the kitchen when hazel would scream bloody murder at her screen.

you became a sensation, a staple of hazels streams being highlighted by the floods of comments when you would make an appearance to comment on her gaming skills while lounging in your pink chair.

she had been hyping this up all damn week. you are somewhat of a gamer yourself, just not as invested as hazel is, so she decided to revive her stardew valley farm that got her viral in the first place from screeching at the screen when she finally found the mayors ‘shorts’.

“so chat, i know i’ve been hiding who our special guest is tonight….but i think you’ll find the wait worth it!” as hazel excitedly drags your iconic pink gaming chair into frame, the chat blows up, with gay keyboard smashes galore.

HOLY SHDITNJEJWE

ITS HER

IM TOO GAY FOR THIS

you giggle from offscreen; the fact that just your chair can set them off like that is too much for you, it’s incredible and hilarious and heartwarming all at once.

“okay, okay goddamn….come on in babe.” she nods over at your chair, as you flounce over and plop in it, slipping your pink headset on.

“hi guys!”

“you wanna tell them what we’re playing?” hazel ponders.

“oh, yeah! okay guys so….drumroll my love?” you glance over at your girlfriend, who pounds on the desk. “we’re starting stardew valley tonight!”

the chat erupts.

damn, gays really do love stardew valley.

as you boot up the game, hazel scrolls through the chat, and notices a comment-

she’s our girlfriend now bestie 🤭🩷

“hey! she’s mine guys, get your own!!”

“haze, what are you talking about?”

“someone said you’re all of chats girlfriend!!”

“rightttt….okay honey.” you giggle as you click through the startup screen, creating a new save file.

“okay, so…what should our name be?”

she sniffs and gets this shit eating grin on her face, while your jaw drops realizing exactly what she’s thinking.

“you can’t say pussy hazel.”

“damn it!”

she settles on naming and modeling the character after you, but insists on taking control for the rest of the customization.

“hazel!!”

“what!!”

“you can’t say my favorite thing is ‘this strap!’”

“but it’s true!!! stop looking!!”

you sigh and turn back over to the chat, where you’re stifling back laughter over the comments.

hazel can’t handle her she’s OUR girlfriend now

OUR GIRLFRIEND FOR REAL

petition for us all to date hazels gf she needs a break 😭

“hey, what’s so funny?” she puts her hand on your back as she skims the chat. “HEY!! SHES MY GIRLFRIEND!!! MINE!!” the smile spread on her face is unlike anything you’ve ever seen from her before. she truly loves streaming, and she loves showing you off in them, but of course she’d never confess that to her subscribers.

never xoxo 💋

sorry she’s not our girlfriend

she’s our wife

“FUCK!”

this is gonna be a long night.

[devildom-moss]

You know that hit game FNAF?

I hope you do.

Anyways, could you write headcanons about how well the side characters would be at playing it?

Thanks <3

Okay, so I have never played this game - or really had any interest in playing it, so I watched some guy play one of the games, and I did a bit of research. Sorry this took so long! I did my best, though... I'm finally almost done with requests. I've got two more left (good news for the Solomon lovers).

The others playing FNAF headcanons (dateables + new sides)

Diavolo

Diavolo downloaded it after tuning in to one of Levi’s streams.

He found it amusing. Scary animatronics are so entertaining – although he thinks they’re more cute than scary.

Laughs in the face of jump scares and death. “Haha, look, Barbatos. The big fox one killed me. I’m dead now.” / “That’s very nice, My Lord. Did you finish your paperwork already?” / “. . .uhm.” / “You have ten seconds before we reenact your game. I’ll be the fox.”

Does not care about the lore. He’ll listen and might retain some details when Levi explains it, but he will not dig deep or look for easter eggs.

He kinda sucks, but he has a good time, and isn’t that what matters? He’s not super careful or watchful because it’s just a game. There’s nothing at stake, so he can relax and just mess around.

His favorite character is Foxy, and it’s genuinely as simple as “he’s red, and he’s a pirate.”

Barbatos

He has no interest in playing at first.

Slight aside: I think he’d like horror games, but he strikes me as more of a cinematic, artsy horror game guy – like Bramble or Little Nightmares. He also strikes me as someone who might enjoy farming sims, like he would love Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons. Pumpkin Panic would probably be a happy medium.

He’ll play if Diavolo, MC, or Luke ask him to; for anyone else, he’ll politely decline. Surprisingly, he’s not too bad. He’ll probably die once or twice, but he figures out what he has to do pretty quickly.

Barbatos doesn’t react to jump scares, and he avoids them as much as possible. He can play without moving his face – at least until one of the three people who could get him to play compliments him. In that case, he’ll smile a bit wider.

Nothing in that game could be more horrifying to Barbatos than Chuck E. Cheese – a real human world place where people take their children for some unfathomable reason. It’s run by a rat! That’s one of the reasons he won’t play if Solomon asks him too. One time Solomon loaded a Chuck E. Cheese mod version of the game that he asked Levi to make, and Barbatos nearly broke the control from fright.

Luke

The game is a little too scary for his liking, but he still plays it occasionally – just not alone. He gets more paranoid and jumpier for a few days after he plays, but he’ll insist that he’s fine to keep playing if anyone asks.

He’s not great, but he’s still the best out of everyone at Purgatory Hall. He tenses up and just either goes wide-eyed or starts yelling at the characters in the game, but other than that, at least he knows what he’s doing.

Luke likes all the toy versions of the animatronics because they look cute, but the nightmare ones freak him out.

A wave of relief washes over him once he beats a game. He’s so happy that he can finally turn the game off.

Simeon

This poor man does not understand how to play – at all. He forgets which keys do what constantly, so he can’t react fast enough.

It’s a very stressful experience for him when he tries to play – all 10 minutes or so before he loses. Simeon doesn’t get scared so much as he just repeatedly asks what he’s supposed to do with increasing urgency.

Simeon would prefer to watch someone else play, but overall, he isn’t that interested in the game.

However, Simeon does find the lore and story interesting, so if he watches Levi or Luke playing, he’ll ask them questions about the plot.

Somehow, watching Luke play makes him more anxious than when he plays – probably because he doesn’t want Luke to lose and be disappointed.

Solomon

Solomon enjoys it because it’s supposed to be dark and scary, but it doesn’t actually scare him at all – barring a few cheap jump scares. Still, he kind of likes it.

Unfortunately, Solomon kind of sucks. Like Diavolo, he finds the game so amusing that he just chuckles when things get stressful. He’s the type to hear or see something spooky in the game and do nothing just to see what happens. Okay, so maybe Solomon doesn’t suck, he just likes to see how the animatronics are going to get him – a real “oh boy, I sure hope I die” approach.

Solomon loves watching Luke play. It’s hilarious when Luke freaks out – and it’s even funnier to watch Simeon get nervous on his behalf.

Unironically thinks the nightmare versions are cute.

Thirteen

She hates jump scares so much.

She played once, and at the first jump scare, she let out a stifled shriek, pressed esc, put her cat ear headphones down, and left the room (to go find MC, probably).

No thank you. She doesn’t need that stress in her life. She will not try that again. She might watch someone else play but only if MC is there to comfort her or if it’s to laugh at Mammon for being scared.

She’s not afraid of the game, per se, she just doesn’t like being startled. She thinks the characters are cute, in a way - like creepy cute.

Raphael

He thinks it’s stupid, and he doesn’t understand why it’s so popular. Raphael doesn’t care for gaming in general – but especially horror. He doesn’t want to simulate a stressful situation for no reason. If he wanted stress, he’d call Michael.

Raphael will try the game if Luke asks him to, and he does alright, but gets bored right up until he messes something up and dies. You wouldn’t even be able to tell he was in trouble. An immoveable frown sits on his face the entire time.

When Luke asks if Raphael would like to try again, Raphael tells him that if he wants a spear-free computer, he won’t make Raphael play anymore. The message was received.

Raphael will only watch if Luke, Simeon, or Lucifer play, and even then, he would probably pass most of the time.

Mephisto

He doesn’t strike me as much of a gamer, either. If he does play games, he’d probably choose games that are visually stunning and at least semi-relaxing, like Journey or Flower (probably Zelda games too).

He would play it if Luke asked him to or if he wanted to do research on it for journalism purposes.

Mephisto does relatively well, but he likes to investigate a lot, so he gets a bit distracted and takes it slow sometimes. Unfortunately – or fortunately – he has a habit of stopping after losing once. He’ll pick up the game again some other day, but once he loses, he stops that game for the day. On one hand, Mephisto does not allow himself to get pulled into games that he loses, but it makes his progress slow.

When Mephisto plays, he bounces his leg the whole time to contain his anxiety. He appears relaxed, but he flinches at jump scares and his eyes widen when he’s actively trying not to die.

He’s super into the lore – call it journalistic curiosity or just call him a nerd.  

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: Everything okay?

Yeah, I'm doing pretty good. Catching up on Tumblr is really difficult though. Every time I take a break to do anything there are like 30000 posts to look at. I might just have to contend with the fact that there's no catching up. Internet FOMO. My brain keeps going "Well what if someone made a really funny post while I was away?!" And like... If it was really that funny it would come back around.

I still have no idea where that ask I answered went and I'm too burnt out still to try to retype it.

I am still cranking out fanfic and I am enjoying the 1.6 update of Stardew Valley though. And I made a yummy pasta dinner yesterday.

So overall I'm just... Tumblr exhausted. Everyone makes too many good posts all the time and the need/desire to tag all of them appropriately is massively kneecapping my ability to interact. Couple that with my IRL responsibilities of taking care of my Mom and handling my own adult life just means I spend my limited free time on meatspace tasks like knitting/crocheting and embroidery or on actually gaming or writing instead of my old routine which was... scrolling tumblr until I caught up for the day, usually dumping more than half of the posts in my drafts for future me, and then using whatever free time I have left to write or game. So I'm okay. But I think I'm honestly just... not going to be able to be available on Tumblr indefinitely. This legitimately might have to just be a hobby place now where I pop in to check up on friends, post notable things like finished projects, and then just dip out and ignore most posts. there's simply not enough time in my life to engage with all the fun things I want to.

But even though I'm a bit burnt out, I'm happy. I get to eat better food now that I cook more, I get to make more cool things now that I knit and crochet and embroider more. I get to handle more of my life which is honestly needlessly complicated (I will rage against taxes being obtuse on purpose forever), but it means I have more control over what happens which isn't much, but it helps me feel like a functional adult instead of a leaf in a stream. And I still have time for fun stuff. That fun stuff just... isn't on Tumblr so much.

All my fruitless efforts to "catch up" on here have done is just give me more drafts to dig through than I can manage and kept me away from doing more of the things I love.

So I'm going to try to do more targeted things on here. Post more original content, reblog a bit less, give up on catching up, and just try to give whatever energy I have on here to specific friends.

Feel free to keep sending me DotNW stuff. I almost always have energy for that. But I don't think I have the time and energy in me to go over a bunch of new things.

Physically I'm drained, mentally I'm fried. But it's okay. I think that I just have to let go and deal with the fact that having to step up and be an adult means I have to choose what's really important to me. And scrolling through memes on Tumblr is fun. But it's not fulfilling. I don't really want to spend 6 hours every day just catching up on what everyone else is sharing and then another 10 hours some other day scrolling through stuff I saved for later because I was too tired to read it the first time.

I want to spend more time creating my own things.

So I think from now on I'm just going to be extra picky about what I engage with on Tumblr, especially because engaging with stuff on here with only half my brain because I'm exhausted means I can only give half the attention to things that they deserve. I will try to post more of my own things so you know I'm still around and I will try to answer more often. But I think including Tumblr in my routine is no longer a sustainable thing.

It's like trying to live at a themepark. There's a lot of good stuff here, but very little of it helps me be the person I want to be. I don't want to just consume other people's content. I want to make stuff.

So I'll be around. But I think I'm going to start making really hard decisions about what I can and can't give attention to.

That said, seeing you build your own little community by hosting polls and engaging with other fandom blogs is really nice. I'm glad you're able to reach out and connect with so many new people. Tumblr is really great for that. I'm happy to be your DotNW contact, but I think I may have to trim down my engagement on Tumblr to just that. DotNW, maybe some legend of Zelda, maybe some cat memes and positivity. I'm going to trim away a lot of political stuff first and foremost because I'm pretty bad with that and I'm going to try to limit my meme engagement and long posts and see how that does. And if I need to trim down even more, then I will. But from now on, I think I just have to be decisive.

And I've decided the best use of my time is much less Tumblr.

I'll still be around, but it's definitely going to be sporadic. Doesn't mean we're not friends. Just means I'll get to all the fun things you want to share in a much longer timeframe.

I hope you are well, too. I think this is just one of those things where I have to completely transform my life. It's not bad. It's just different. I'm still doing all the things I love. I'm just putting more effort into the things that I love more.

Sorry for the long post. I think this is as "back" on Tumblr as I can be.

Thank you for loving me and sharing your joy of gaming with me! Even if I can't be on Tumblr as much, I will try to make space for you in my life!

[crushingcasanova]

AHABSBDHDHSHSHD rhbdhdhd i feel so special that you were talking to your friends about me.. fbbhdhf okay im. so normal. okay!! youre so sweet to me >.<

yes, im a big fan of markimoo!! hes a comfort for me, and i think hes really funny. i only really got into him this year but its been nice, especially since i love fnaf and he plays every single game :D

AAA i really hope you like the book, if you can read them! theyre so good. and stephen king is an incredible author?? i once read all of dreamcatcher in five hours

GASP thats evil, i think its a complete mistake that people believe ice cream is only a summer treat, it should be around all the time. i mean.. maybe not in the winter, for the actual outdoor ice cream places. but there was a frozen yogurt place in the um. town? that i just moved from recently, and theres a lot of sitting spots on the inside so its open like all year round, which is THE BEST. and you totally should have some of the gelato, its so good brbfbg

my minecraft user?? umm i think its tiramisoob#143,, i might be wrong, but i should come up under tiramisoob anyways with an enderman pfp thingy!! ID LOVE TO PLAY DTI WITH YOU!!! its okay that youre not good, neither am i.. ive only won once and i was third place

i just finished playing stardew valley!! i made a lot of progress on my farm and in the mines, im now on mine level 50, and my farm has a lot of cleared out trees and a big garden. plus my chickens are really happy! i love stardew so much, its such a good game. what about you though, lovely?

-🫧

Hehe, don't get too flustered! I need you to be able to answer me, after all >_< I'll definitely look into some of his stuff later, too! I've never been a big fnaf fan but I had friends who were really into it, so I know a bit about it. I like it casually! I've played an FNF Mod where he was in it though, it was kinda funny! I so agree! I eat ice cream year round, no matter the temperature. I love froyo too but I never get it... there's a good one in the town next to me that I love going to when I get the chance though, and near my school is a pretty good gelato and ice cream place. I'll add you on minecraft in a bit! My user is SoviNight, in case you want to add me too ^^ You'll definitely have to tell me if you're free sometime, we could totally play some games! I think I might even play DTI tonight so I can practice for you, haha,,, Stardew sounds like fun! Level 50 is so high :0 congrats! And I am happy your chickens are happy! I am now home after my friends left for the night, and I'm on call with a friend of mine as we do our own things. Parallel play stuff, if ykwim! I'll probably practice a bit on games and then end up going to bed pretty late, and I might even sketch if I can get some motivation!

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

a slightly more in depth look at potion permit

okay actual “low play time hours” review of potion permit let’s go; this is obviously not meant to be exhaustive because I’ve only played it for four hours but I think I’ve gotten the gist of it

here’s the link ahead of time, it’s 20 bux: Potion Permit (Steam)

and another reminder that This Is Not Meant To Be A Super In Depth Total Overview Of Potion Permit; some of these issues may be resolved naturally as the game progresses or is developed

okay let’s go

For starters it is indeed pretty much just a harvest moon-like with alchemy instead of farming, and this was my primary draw personally. After harvest moon got a major competitor in stardew valley (rip shepard’s crossing taken from us too soon) the next big step I wanted was to branch out into a sort’ve more expansive “casual sim game” genre and potion permit is a step in the right direction so Hey I’m happy to hear about that because that’s what I came here for! I could get into a big rant about how innovation in games is important event if I’m not a fan of the specific innovation because it’s a big chain of inspiration between developers and players and any innovation feeds into that chain in a positive way but I won’t. Just know that I love the genre is being innovated on and even if this game does not end up surviving I’m hoping the ideas it puts out will.

Ultimately right now not too many complaints besides...

- the NPCs can look a little samey; there’s at least two female NPCs that look very similar and it seems like half the cast has silver hair. Maybe there’s a plot reason for this or something; it certainly sticks out in an odd way.

- Additionally the gameplay loop is a little shallow; it’s essentially harvest moon/stardew valley foraging all the time with a few extra steps (mostly enemies) and a more lightweight NPC relationship system. I didn’t mind because honestly stardew valley got a little intense on the time management side of things for a chill out after work game and I was ready to take another step back on that front, but I admit it does end up making the game a little thin in places. With that said I don’t think it’s a deal breaker if you’re into the concept, I’m not very far into the exploration of the island, so things might get more interesting in the gathering portion of the game. Maybe dungeons or rare mats or interacting with gathering spots or something? I dunno.

Though we can’t get too far into the gameplay loop without entering into the crafting system for potions and such, along with actually treating people and I was pleasantly surprised with it! Potion crafting is essentially a block puzzle where you’re trying to fit ingredients with certain block grids and colors (AKA elements) into a premade pattern. Once you craft a potion five times you can lock in the recipe you used as a “quick craft”, so there’s room for optimizing potion recipes too if that’s your bag. It’s not an Incredible Innovation In Crafting Mechanics, but it is a fun little minigame I don’t hate playing a hundred times in a row. This also helps motivate the gathering portion of the game as obviously most of the items you gather are potion reagents and they have different patterns and colors. I find myself looking for new items just to see what new crafting qualities they have which I think is exactly the sort’ve thing you want in a game with a crafting focus.

As time goes on I imagine the grids get more complex and finnicky and more color restrictions are placed on the crafting, which probably makes the ingredient count limit more relevant.

Oh also, there’s a dog, he’s cute, press O to make him intractable and then interact with him to give him food from the submenu. I thought that was a smidge obtuse but I guess I did figure it out. Maybe Dog gets more functionality as time goes on. The game certainly seems to be drumming it up.

There are flaws here, mostly in my desire to interact with the town and NPCs. I admit the plot has me mildly interested, with it depicting an isolated island city that’s been alienated from the capital (and by extension modern medical care) by a terrible accident incited by the capital chemists in the past. Regardless It’s the sort’ve plot that I think I know where it’s going, so my interest is moderate at best. I’ve found NPCs I personally like, but most of them feel a little dry, and the addition of a generic “gift” item sort’ve sucks the fun out of finding out what people like for me. Unfortunately at least part of this feels pretty rooted in the design so I don’t think it’s going to get “fixed” outside of a major overhaul effort, that I feel like it probably won’t get. It’s not the worst thing in the world, there are NPCs that I think people will get attached to based on their personal opinions, there are NPCs I personally want to see more of their little subplots, but it doesn’t live up to stardew valley in this regard. Though to be fair it’s a hell of an act to follow.

Ultimately, pretty good! The flaws are not glaring and the positives feel fresh and interesting. We’ll see if the gimmick can hold up for however long the game ends up playing for.

tl;dr: Good crafting system, good execution of the concept, NPCs and socializing feel a little dry, combat is a much bigger part of the game as monsters drop reagents. There Is A Dog. He’s cute and you can feed him mushrooms. Maybe he does other stuff eventually.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Farming Sims

Was up most of the night because ow, woke up far too early. Exhausted but can’t sleep. This seems to be a theme. At least the pain’s a bit better now. Though I’m going to have to go out later to pick up some bits and pieces.

So anyway, I’ve been sliiiiiiiightly whittling down my wish list lately. One of the games I picked up was Wylde Flowers, which was named A Witchy Life Story when I picked up the demo (I guess they didn’t want to give the game away too soon with the title). It’s ... I mean, okay, it’s basically Stardew Valley with the magical elements from various Sims games, but it’s ... a lot more than that, in ways I did not expect. So here’s the bullet points.

It’s honestly a good thing that most of Those Gamers (TM) wouldn’t look twice at a farming sim because “it’s not REAL GAMING”, because those same Those Gamers (TM) would biiiiiiiiiitch about this one. They’d yell about “forced diversity” and “SJW CUCKS” or whatever they call it when there’s, like, more than one POC or LGBTQAI+ individual in a game. As a for-instance, just attended an in-game wedding between a gentleman who’s definitely got some Scottish in the family woodpile and a gentleman of Mexican descent. Which was nice. (I was originally going to have the player character, Tara, go for the classy Iranian doctor lady but the really sweet Black dude from South Africa who runs the local bar kinda got there first and he was adorkable and I figured Tara was high-strung enough to want someone a bit more laid back so I went there instead. He calls Tara ‘kitten’. It’s adorable. Anyway, we also have a lady of Russian descent as the local blacksmith, an Indian lady from London doing meteorological studies, a Native American dude running a farm down the road, a native Hawaiian surfer dude running an exotic luxury goods stall, a family whose origins begin in Italy, a somewhat ... interesting Polish gentleman who I think has some serious shit in his past and is older than he looks, and a non-binary individual who’s originally from Japan who runs a butcher shop. (Their reaction to being given sushi, one of their favourite foods, is hilarious and adorable. Maybe I should have held out for Kai, romantically. Ah well, maybe if I do another playthrough.)

We also have Mayor of Smarm and I hate him. His wife’s probably okay, though.

Also there’s the “faith leader”. Basically this place has Scientologists by any other name. I don’t like him much either, and I am not happy about how many people follow this faith. At least one of them is a little less ... devout, if you can call it that? ... than the others. Just faith groups like that creep me out because of a lot of childhood baggage.

Then again ... in case you thought the witchy thing was just a sideline ... oh gods NO. There are there the quests that basically send you into the Fade (they call it the Gloaming, but whatever) and some Fae creatures. And even those are diverse as fuck. We have a fairy and a goblin (I have purchased farming bots from this lovely individual), and a werewolf originally from Alaska who comes by the nonbinary individual’s butcher shop for an epic amount of meat twice a week ... and then we have a curupira. They dug out an old Brazilian mythological creature for this, and did it right - backwards feet and a thing for mischief. I am impressed. Especially since animating backwards feet is probably a bitch.

Oh, and did I mention the witch hunt? I should probably mention the witch hunt. See, this faith group has ... views. Like, “We hate the Summer Festival that’s really just about promoting community bonding and unity because PAGAN”. And “There are ‘witches’ but we don’t use that term; we call them Malcontents and they are DANGEROUS”. There was a whole thing where something escaped from the not-Fade and possessed the blacksmith and she went around accusing poor single mom diner-lady of being a witch and we had to gather a whole bunch of stuff to do a (very quiet, very stealthy, very non-contact) exorcism just as possessed-blacksmith was about to give testimony at a literal, actual, everyone-in-town-must-attend witch trial. Funnily, no one has actually pointed a finger at an actual witch yet. The coven includes our Tara, the cute bar owner guy, the lovely lady who runs the general store, the local florist lady (not sure where she’s from but also not white), the classy doctor lady and the old gentleman from probably-Poland. But the entity possessing the blacksmith shouts ‘WITCH’ at the lady who runs the diner, who was only out after curfew to look for her wander-happy daughter who was out past curfew. (Oh, yeah, apparently we have a curfew and a Neighbourhood Watch set up to catch people wandering into the forest at night. Joke’s on you motherfuckers; I have a broomstick and can fly right over your bigoted judgemental asses. And by the way, witches - by which I mean me - ENDED THE DROUGHT YOU HAD OVER THE SUMMER, so you can fuck all the way off.) Apparently this is going to get dumber at some point.

I think that’s the thing - you can get a little bored with the average farming sim after awhile, but this one has plot, and that plot is ... fairly wild, all things considered. Deals with themes of intolerance and persecution while still being diverse, does its homework about other cultures, and while there are fetch quests of a kind, they’re spaced out with enough fairly meaty and occasionally time-sensitive quests that there’s more investment than just “you know, crops”. Though I am currently celebrating as how I finally got enough compost together for rich soil to have a hay field, so I won’t have to rely on smarmy grifter dude for my animal feed anymore.

Also some of the farm animals have weird favourite treats. WHY THE FUCK DOES A SHEEP WANT TO EAT A LEMON?!? WHY DOES A CHICKEN WANT TO, FOR THAT MATTER?!?

Eh, I should probably throw clothes on and head out for a bit. See if I can nap after some time spent on a bus and a trawl through a grocery store. Might see if I can pick up the fixings for one of the dishes from my Baking Dish cookbook. I’ve been a bit too wiped to do anything this week - for which I entirely blame being stuck with more of the long typing than is feasible because of the combination of Scruffman, Temp, and Violet. At least I booked myself some time off in the not-too-distant future. Fine, it’s in like three weeks, but I can manage.

[shadow-laviko]

Ok, so, about games, mangas and animes I like- I'll join animes and mangas together And add my favourite character(s) for each, because I think it helps see my type I guess, lol? I'll try to only give one chara, but might give two if I really can't decide) Animes/Mangas :

Ajin (no one really)

Balance Unlimited (Kanbe Daisuke)

One Piece (Trafalgar Law)

The Promised Neverland (never finished, but I liked Ray)

Anohana (no one really)

Assassination Classroom (Karma Akabane)

Black Butler (Ronald or, Grell too, since we know less about Ronald... Okay, maybe Undertaker too. But Ronald first I think)

Blue Exorcist (I'm not up to date, but Amaimon and Mephisto were cool, Rin too)

D.Gray-man (do I really need to say? Just look at my name. Do I really need to say it? Fine, It's Lavi. But uh... Tyki too... and Debit... And Wisely... Too many ikemen... But Lavi really first. My boy... Go watch/read D.Gray-man, it's great!!)

Death Note (... Matt... listen, I know we saw him like 3 seconds, but darn it, I love this man)

Death Parade (long time no watched, but I liked Clavis, the elevator guy (I think?))

Dororor (no one really)

Dr. Stone (Senkuu Ishigami)

Durarara (I'm sure you can tell now, but of course it's Izaya Orihara (and Erika and Celty for women))

Fairy Tail (... Sting- ok, and Levy)

Food Wars (I don't know, I keep forgetting)

Free! (Rin Matsuoka)

Haikyuu!! (Kuroo

Horimiya (Miyamura)

Jigoku Shojo (Ren)

Jujutsu Kaisen (no one really)

Kuroko no Basuke (of course it's fucking Akashi Seijuro (and Aomine... And Hanamiya Makoto for some fucking reason because he appeared in one of my dreams and took my brain hostage ever since))

SnK (of course it's Levi... I swear, Kamiya Hiroshi dubs so many characters I like, I can recognise his voice in just a few seconds, it's crazy)

Ouran Highschool Host Club (Hikaru and Kaoru, but mostly Kaoru, because HAVE YOU SEEN MY BOY IN THE MANGA???)

Osomatsu-san (no one really)

Servamp (oof, I'm not up to date and it's been a while, so I kinda forgot)

Saiki Kusuo (Saiki)

Games :

Professor Layton ((all of them) do NOT test me on the games, I'm a Layton nerd, you will lose. That being said, Clive my beloved)

The Lengend of Zelda ((all of them) Link and Dark Link)

Stardew Valley (Elliott and Sebastian)

Pokemon ((all of them) N)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Toko and Mukuro)

Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair (Nagito. Of course it's Nagito. And Ibuki for girls I think)

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Kokichi and Rantaro both on 1st place... And honestly maybe Korekiyo in second- LISTEN TO ME- my boy was weird but fine until his chapter. If you forget how dirty they did him in his chapter, he's fine!!)

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code (of course It's Yomi... I'm not okay with this man)

Genshin Impact (Kaeya since day one. Call me a simp, the luck goddess blessed me with the luck of winning him three times on the standard banner) (I have him C6 fully leveled up- I SIMP FOR THIS MAN)

Slime Rancher

The Sims 4

Among Us

Minecraft

Rune Factory Frontier (I will play the other Rune Factory at some point, I promise)

Others :

Kagerou Project (and all other derivated works) (Saeru/Kuroha and Kano and Ayano for the girls I think... Although most of them are really cool... Kido is cool too... And Ene... darn it)

Homestuck (it's been a while but I used to really like Gamzee (is anyone surprised at this point?))

Danganronpa Ghost Despair (a french fanganronpa available on YouTube with subtitles) (Jacques who is my comfort character, and Maxime, because of course I like Maxime, I mean, have you seen this man?? But Jacques has no right to be so high in my tierlist, but for some reason he is comfy...)

I know I'm forgetting something

Almost but not quite exhaustive list

[gotmeringinghellsbells]

Blue to Purple

Trigger Warning: Talk of suicide and depression.

Fandom: Stardew Valley

Characters: Sebastian/Jesse (Oc)

A/N: I’ve fallen into this game so hard. Before work, after work, all day on days off. This is a very addicting game.

Description: During another depression spell, Jesse confides his recent causes of stress in his husband who assures him everything is fine.

__

Sebastian looked over from the kitchen sink as he heard the door of the house open and close. He was a bit confused to see his husband home so early. Jesse generally would search for him to give him a kiss or hug, if not just a wave whenever he reentered the cottage; but something seemed off.

Behind the gothic farmer, a curious German Shepherd followed slowly before jumping on the bed after staring at it a moment. Putting the soapy sponge down, Sebastian washed his hands before looking to investigate what was happening. He made his way across the living room into the shared bedroom to see Yoshi laying on his side of the bed, being eaten slightly by a blanket monster.

The dog glanced at his new daddy before pressing his snoot back into his first daddy. "No, you stay," Jesse's voice groaned. Sebastian chuckled before walking around to his husband's side of the bed. "Alright, what's going on?" The emo gently rubbed the blanket covered back as he sipped his morning coffee. There was silence before a thumbs up snaked out from under the covers. This, in turn, freed their first son of the farm, as Yoshi ran across Jesse to greet Sebastian happily.

The smaller giggled before gently petting the dog and kissing his head. "Yosh, can you get down?" The dog cocked it's head. This was his bed. Why was he being asked to get down? Sebastian was a bit scared of the dog but respected Jesse's rules about the fur baby. What was Jess' was Yoshi's.

Sebastian sighed before patting his leg. "Come on." Jesse groaned as Yoshi jumped off of him and earned some praising pats. With the dog down, Sebastian moved to lay on top of the lump of seemingly depression. "One of those days," Sebastian asked softly as he gently rubbed the head part of the lump. Jesse shrugged before peeking out carefully as to not make him fall.

Jesse shrugged before moving a hand out to gently rub the face of his lover. They mad eyes contact. Sebastian's purple eyes widened a bit before falling slightly he noticed how bagged, blood shot, and puffy his husband's turquoise one's were. "Were you.... crying?" Jesse paused a moment before turning his head with a small frown. "I'm fine Sebby. Do what you gotta do today, okay? I just want to rest for a few hours."

Sebastian frowned before moving the hand off his cheek. He moved off the lump before setting the coffee on the night stand. "Keeping secrets," Sebastian asked with slight disappointment in his tone. "I'm just tired Seb. Night," Jesse sighed as he curled up in the messy blankets. The emo crossed his arms and nudged the lump of sadness. "You were crying," he accused. "Your eyes always get lighter and brighter when you cry. It's not just tired. What's wrong?"

Specific observation. Jesse shook his head. Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Jesse come on. I can't help if you can't tell me," he reasoned softly. "Hun, I'm aright," Jesse assured sweetly. He looked so tired. Had he been over working himself? Sebastian frowned. "Is there anything I can do while you rest," he asked. "Unless you know how to work the mayonnaise machines," Jesse sighed.

Sebastian frowned. He didn't. "The crops were harvested and watered via sprinklers. Animals petted and fed. Eggs collected and put in the mayonnaise machines, milk gathered and wool gathered. Yoshi's water bowl is filled and that's basically it." Sebastian frowned even more.

"Do you need help around the farm? I could take on some chores. " Jesse shook his head. "No, you work on your coding. I got it baby, promise." Sebastian wasn't convinced. "Are you stressed?" Jesse sighed. "Seb, please let me sleep." Sebastian felt a bit hurt by that and moved to walk around d to his side of the bed. He noticed a bare foot poking out of the blankets and swiped at it on his way over.

Jesse jerked his foot away with a squeak before peeking out from the covers as Sebastian giggled and finished coming around. That was a sign to put his foot back. "Don't, " Jesse pouted. Sebastian frowned again before sighing. Still in his pajamas, he crawled back into bed and scooted so his butt was against the other.

He wanted to be spooned.

Jesse sighed, guilt hitting him for his rather unnecessarily mean behavior. "Sorry," the farmer muttered as he moved up to do his duty. Sebastian shook his head as he took Jesse's arm and held it lovingly around him. "Nothing to apologize for." Jesse grunted in response as he moved to bury his face in the other's hair.

Sebastian made a bit of a face. "Jesse, please," Sebastian pushed. "I heard you muttering last night. What's going on?" The goth nuzzle closer before saying something into the dark locks. "Honey," he sighed, "you need to move out of my hair." "Just a nightmare. Don't worry about it." Sebastian gently kicked at his leg.

"Jesse," Sebastian huffed. The farmer was quiet a moment before sighing. "I keep having bad dreams. The mumbling in my sleep you've been commenting on is a result of stress dreaming." Sebastian huffed. "I knew it. Why don't you give me some chores around the farm? That would be less stressful, right?"

Jesse gently kissed the back of his husband's neck. "Your sweet. But that's not the source. Coming here from the city, from a stable 9 to 5 was a huge toll that I didn't realize until I got off the bus my first day. I left behind help, I left behind stability, and I was left to a sinking ship." Sebastian blinked. He had never heard this before. He heard about the financial struggles during the first two seasons of Jesse's first year in Pelican Town but nothing more in regards to his move.

Jesse started to play with the fingers that held his hand on the other's torso. "Sinking ship?" Jesse hummed in conformation. "Your mom never mentioned it to you? The cottage was old and quite.... well.... wasn't very well taken care of. The farm was over run by rocks, trees, and weeds galore. I was give some old tools and left with 500 gold to my name to make something of the place or risk poverty."

Sebastian was quiet. He didn't know about these things. They talked on a daily, even before dating and marriage. How hadn't he heard this before? "So I've been stressed about money. I have plans but then the resources don't play out and nature isn't always in my favor and things fall apart. But that's the farm g life. You take risks and gamble your income in hopes of a better income." Sebastian was quiet. He gently rolled over and snuggle into the other's chest.

"Why haven't you mentioned this before?" Jesse kissed his head lovingly. "I don't know, honestly. Guess me joking about how broke I was and just wallowing in my now worsened depression with you got me by it. Not like I can really get my meds up here." Sebastian pushed him a bit. "Harvey," he started, but was cut off. "He's very expensive. No, I will be fine."

The smaller pouted before sighing. He reached up to feel the long, black locks of hair. Jesse merely pouted before his eyes watered again. "I'm just scared to loose it all. After all, I bonded with each of those animals. They're like my kids. I couldn't think of having to sell them.

"Yoshi was a stray whodunit found lingering by my farm. I don't know if I could get him off the farm if I were to fail. If I had to move back with my mom, he'd be miserable. Cramped in a small apartment? Yeah right." He paused as he notice Sebastian look a bit confused. "I don't think I could force you into such instability like that Sebastian. I know you didn't feel you know.... at your parents but it would be better than being stuck with Yoshi and I as we fall back at my mom's place."

"No. I wouldn't be leaving you! What the hell Jesse?" He gently slapped at his boyfriend's arm. "What you come up here, then plan to ditch me if you can't stay?" Jesse frowned, he hadn't thought of it that way. "I'd find a job and help us back on our feet. Regardless of how cramped it is and full of people, as long as I'm with you I can handle the city. I can handle wherever we end up." He pressed his face in the built chest as he finished, hugging the other slightly.

Jesse felt tears well in his eyes. "Guess that brings us to issue three then. Finances, farm fears," he sighed. "I.... I feel like I ripped you away from your family." Sebastian froze. "Come again?" He didn't want to look up. "We new each other two seasons before I asked you out. Then we dated for like half of that fall, all of winter, and most of the following year's spring. Then I asked you to marry me.

"Just.... I was so in love with you. I could relate so much to you. Your just so sweet, dorky, nerdy, considerate, just.... your amazing and.... I feel like I rushed it with you. We've only known each other for a year and two season yet.... here we are. I just... I don't know. Between you, our farm, I just feel like I've.... just rushed everything for progress.

"I don't think I've done anything right." Sebastian felt his eyes water before he glanced up. "Are you.... questioning our marriage?" Years of just wallowing in self pity, depression, suicidal thoughts, never fitting in, never feeling like family to his family. This was really hitting hard. "Ah, no, no, no! Sebby no, I'm not.” Jesse panicked as he moved to wipe the tears away and gently kissed each, delicate eye lid. Sebastian blush a bit before being pulled into a tight, loving hug.

"You seem so happy now and I know you love it here. I'm just.... I feel I've messed up as a person is all. I'm so happy with this marriage and I know your in better health now. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have worded it like that. Same with excluding you from moving worst case scenario. Just.... city and three room apartments with two tiny bathrooms.

"I just didn't want you to feel caged in." Sebastian frowned before nuzzling into the other. "I like to feel small. A cage is something that can be used to contain something, but also protects it from the outside world. It's a misrepresented safety." There was a moment of silence before Jesse kissed the purple hair sprouting off his chest.

"I love you. I'm sorry." Sebastian shook his head. "Your an idiot," he sighed before leaning up to steal a true kiss from the other's lips. Jesse kissed back softly before they separated with small smiles. "Are... you good? I mean I said a lot and," Sebastian cut him off. He poked his forehead. "Is the farm failing?" Jesse shook his head. "Are we financially burdened?" Another shake. "Do you love me?" A nod. "You understand we're together through thick and thin?" Jesse paused before nodding.

"I accepted your proposal. I accepted your initial confession of love. I reciprocated it. I was so excited when you proposed, to be with you on you, 'sinking ship’. I love you, don't just brush me off like that next time your thinking of future plans. It really hurts. But if there's anything you need help with, ask me. Even if it's going into town and applying for a job."

Jesse kissed his head again. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I didn't mean it like that. Your right." Sebastian sighed before nuzzling into the taller gently. "I love you, I really do." Sebastian sighed. "I know you do, your just dumb," he laughed as he hugged him tighter. He was trying to get the taller to drop the subject. Jesse soon found himself giggling as opposed to whimpering as a finger traced gently down his ribs.

"Shehebby," he squealed as he shifted slightly, still holding the other. "Yes," Sebastian asked as me moved his finger up and down the ribs, scratching now and then. Jesse squirmed, giggling all the while. "Oh gosh it tickles," he snorted out, wiggling his feet. "Ah, it tickle, it tickles!" He was curling and really starting to wiggle his feet as he giggled softly. His stomach filled with butterflies and his chest felt lighter. As he gained muscle, his body had become quite .ore sensitive. What would normally only slightly tickle was now really leaving lingering sensation down his side.

"I'm hardly doing anything," Sebastian teased as gently added another finger. Jesse squeaked, holding him closer as his legs failed about. "Nhahahao! Oh gosh! S-Sebby please! Hehehhe!" Sebastian felt his own face heat up from the reaction. He stopped momentarily to sit on the other's waist; this would then warn a large blush followed by a shy look. "What are you doing," Jesse asked softly as he wiggled his feet a bit in preparation.

Both knew if he really wanted to. He could over power the smaller; but both knee, he would never do that. "I think you need to relax huh? Too mush stress isn't good for you." He was smiling gently, eyes looking over the taller fondly. Jesse felt his heart explode with butterflies from the delicate gaze. "Maybe some.... physical therapy will help?" Sebastian paused before cringing with a snort. "Sorry, I'm not very good at these.... things. Just... too dumb and sappy. Just, I'm going to tickle you." Jesse squealed just from the word. "No, Sebby," he whined before really giggling as fingers gently traced his forming pecs.

"Yes, Sebby. You need to smile more~." Jesse giggled, gently holding the other's arms as a brace. "Oh man, that's really sensitive! Mmmm!" Black hair was strewn about the pillow case as Jesse pressed hard into it. Sebastian giggled, giggled. "I would hope," he replied happily before moving to scratch around the soft forming bumps. "Eek! Hahahahha! Mmmm! Pfff! hehehe!" Jesse was such a gentle giant with him. It made Sebastian's heart swirl as he watched this man who could easily apprehend him just take the gentle, playful torment.

He never used his strength to his advantage or slight height difference. He was always so caring and sweet to Sebastian. Maybe a bit secretive and forceful now and then but never anything bad. When Sebastian was depressed, Jesse would just reply "same" before inviting himself to join the other in bed and cuddle him with a "but your not dying today." He would randomly bring him Jesse and his favorite foods, he was just.... an overall sweet guy.

He was covered in tattoos Sebastian loved to trace and rehear the stories behind, piercings that he'd have to free Jesse from when they'd get stuck in something, and had many scars; each with their own story too. They were similar yet different. But Sebastian was in love.

"Ah! Not the armpit! Eek! Nahaho please!" Jesse started snorting and gasping as he laughed hysterically and rolled around. His husband merely rode the bucking bronco with a smile as he tried to get through clamped arms to the gold spot. "No? Not going to let me in? That's alright, your thighs seem more appealing." Jesse froze as he felt the hands leave him. No. Not the thighs!

He gently took Sebastian's hand and smiled with residual giggles slipping out. He looked so tired yet so happy. "Oh no you don't." He gently moved Sebastian down, now hovering over him. "I made you nearly cry today. What kind of a husband would I be if I didn't cheer you up?" Sebastian blushed before feeling his stomach now flip with butterflies. "No, that's alright," Sebastian giggled out. God the anticipation could be the worst part.

"No, no it isn't. I love you and I need to make this right. I see you smile everyday now, laugh at our animals antics. But the laughter is never long lived. Don't tell me our home is starting to bore you." Sebastian shook his head vigorously.

"Oh no, Jesse please!" Jesse merely snorted before kissing each eye lid softly. "And where was my mercy?" Sebastian squeaked, squirming around slightly now. Jesse knew all of his weak spots having tickled him many times before, this was going to be hell!

"Coochie, coochie, coo," Jesse whispered into Sebastian's ear as fingers started to move gently under the cloth covering his love's torso. Sebastian immediately burst into a giggling fit, unable to suppress his laughter when disgustingly cringe worthy things are whispered into his ear. "H-Hey! Ahahaha! I wen-honey! Hehe he! Too much!" Jesse giggled as he let up, switched to just tracing with a single finger.

Sebastian calmed down significantly, covering his face as a wide smile was forced upon his lips. His feet wiggled as his hips turned from side to side. "Aw, is my darling husband too sensitive for even one, little finger? Is he? Man you are adorable," Jesse squealed out the last part. Sebastian's face was bright red from the teasing, his body going into affection and attention overload.

"Coochie, coochie, coo~! Ah, tickle, tickle, tickle my adorable Sebby~!" Sebastian shrieked from the teasing as he treated from freedom. Jesse paused to lift the pajama shirt up more to repeat the pale torso in all it's glory. Sebastian peeked out through his fingers, eyes watering and face radiating heat from his blush. He merely whimpered from the new child before giggling softly as fingers moved up towards his underarms, before moving back down again.

"Honey," he squealed as he gently tried to catch the intruding hands. Jesse merely giggled before lifting and arm overhead, causing Sebastian to panic. "Wa- wait! No pinning! Honey please, not there!" Sebastian was shyly trying to hide himself away as his husband slowly released his grip. "Really? Because last I knew, you pinned me by sitting on me, and didn't complain when I did the same," Jesse teased as he gently traced the underarm.

Sebastian shrieked before kicking his legs and shaking his head while covering his mouth. "T-This is unfair," he snorted out. "Oh? But I let go of your arm, pumpkin. There shouldn't be any issues now." Pumpkin? Rare as it was it made Sebastian melt. "Your killing me," he whined between giggles in response. "With love," Jesse reminded before slowly taking his arm back and re lowering the arm that was gripping the head boards to keep from closing. After a few moments of recovering, Sebastian noticed the lack of after care..... which meant.... oh no.

He dared to peek up, blushing more as he saw the other looking at him with such loving eyes. God they were both so gross and sappy since marriage. "Honey, what are you doing," Sebastian giggle out nervously. Jesse said nothing, just moved down a bit to sit on Sebastian's thighs. Wait.... why would he- no!

"Ah darling no!" Sebastian shrieked as he launched up to stop the other. Not the knees, please, not the knees, he giggled as he held Jesse's hands. "I... I can't! It's too ticklish!" The taller blushed before giggling a bit. "All the more reason to just gently trace it," was Jesse's reply. "Or fetch that duck feather out of the sell bin and just gently flick it here and there under your sensitive knees. Just dusting, crease cutting, feathering~?" Sebastian was as red as a tomato as he resisted the urge to cover his face. Once he let go. He knew it was game over.

"Or maybe.... we could play that game again? I know how much to enjoy thus~. I could just gently strike at your soles and toes while we play DnD again? A stock punishment? The feather u got today would really have you giggling." Nope, he couldn't do this. "Don't talk about it like that," Sebastian whimpered.

"Why? I like it too. It's relaxing, it's fun, it feels nice." That was really the only bonding he had with his mom that he could remember though. Demetrius never really bothered with him aside from telling him what to do and he was jealous of Maru so that only left his mom. She would tickle him to tears as a boy and young teen.

"Yeah but, you make it sound perverted," Sebastian huffed. "Oh, my bad," Jesse replied as he gently slipped his hand away. "Huh? Wait no! Jesse," Sebastian argued before freezing as a small squeeze was delivered to the under side of his knee. Oh no.

He glanced nervously at the other who smiled lovingly and did it again. A squeak. Sebastian was holding himself now, shaking his head. "Truce," he asked shyly. Jesse paused before sighing and giving a nod. If the other really didn't want to be tickled to death. He wouldn't force him.... at the moment. He moved to hold the smaller who quickly leaned into him. The flustered man quickly gave into the hold and went back to hiding his face in his husband. "Your so mean," he sighed as he started to calm down.

"Rude! I am not," Jesse replied as he gently tickled Sebastian's back. The giggles started up again as Sebastian fell into the other's chest. "Jess, stop it," he squealed. Jesse did before giggling himself and gently kissing his lover's head. "You know what sounds really good?" Sebastian peeked up from his chest like a kitten. "Hm?" "A power nap." Sebastian smiled before nuzzling in close to be held closer. "I love you," he hummed. "I love you too, Sebby."

[zehecatl]

rec post for @f-eef that got too long for its own good, and is now just. a general rec post i guess

(as of writing, today is the steam summer sale! writing this before that goes live, so no guarantee everything on here is on sale, but! most of these are older games, so it’s likely. keep them in mind~)

- Iconoclasts my absolute favourite game, ever (along with OFF, but shh), if you check out one game from this list, let it be this one. it’s a genuinely almost flawless package, with gorgeous pixel art, fun gameplay, a really good story, and a cast of characters i just. adore. it’s so so so good, and three years later, i’m still not over it

- The Binding of Isaac so there’s this genre called roguelikes, wherein the whole gimmick is that, when you die, you gotta start from the Very Beginning; and the ‘point’ is getting better and better at the game, until you win! it’s super easy to just, play a few runs (they generally don’t last that long!), and then go on with your day, so it’s a really fun game to just waste time in, if you just wanna chill with some game. and, in my personal opinion, Isaac is the best roguelike game, with so much stuff to unlock, a whole slew of items to play with, and so much content it’s kind of unreal. i definitely think the DLCs are worth picking up, but it’s mostly for more content than like. actually being necessary

- Terraria it’s minecraft, but 2D. unlike MC, it’s got a bit of guidance, which i personally prefer, with bosses to fight and such. an absolutely BLAST with other people too

- A Hat in Time a 3D platformer, ala Mario, that’s just. super charming. it’s also really fun to play. i haven’t actually played the DLC’s, since i played it way back, but i’ve heard good things about Nyakuza Metro, which does look super slick, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Slime Rancher you are a slime rancher. you ranch slimes. it’s honestly just wholesome as hell, and just exudes happy vibes. mostly for running around and collecting slimes, ngl

- The Messenger really funky retro game, wherein you play a ninja on a mission. it’s primary draw is definitely in its gameplay, but there’s a surprising amount of story for this kind of genre? i honestly really just like this one. it’s neat

- Underhero you play as a cute minion, who kind of like. managed to kill the hero. and whoops, guess you’re doing his job now? it’s got that undertale vibe, though i’d say it’s less polished than it. HOWEVER, it’s absolutely lovely and it’s climax is REALLY good

- Hatoful Boyfriend bird dating sim. trust me. the ‘secret’ finale route is just. *chef’s kiss* fantastic

- Night in the Woods if you don’t mind having a very poignant sad time, oh my god, i could not recommend NITW more. it perfectly captures that period when you’re done with school, and suddenly your whole life is stretching before you, and you feel so so fucking lost, and overwhelmed and pained with it. it’s just. so good. a sadness worth experiencing 

- Shovel Knight another retro game! this one is, pretty much, the king of the genre, and for very good reasons. the first one (shovel of hope) doesn’t have much story, but the latter ones really add on it. they’re honestly just, really solid games! with funky knight characters!!!

- Hyper Light Drifter man, it’s just a masterpiece. everything about it is perfect. it’s been like, five years, and it’s still one of the very best indie games

- Tell Me Why it’s currently free for june! and it’s a story game! plus, if you like the genre, the devs got the ‘Life Is Strange’ serie(s) to delve into!

- Cat Quest honestly, i just really like this little game. the gameplay is SO much fun, and everything else is just. really charming :’)

- Yoku’s Island Express metroidvania, where you play as a dung-beetle post officer, and the gimmick is that it’s pinball-y! it’s really fun, and very cute and just an all around good time :)

- Owlboy you play as an owl boy! named Otus! and you can fly around, and there’s GORGEOUS pixel graphics, and a neat story, and just. the BEST cast of characters. it’s delightful

- Yuppie Psycho + Count Lucanor just gonna bundle these two together, because they’re both REALLY GOOD. YP is the newer one, and is therefore probably ‘the better one’, but i like them both a ton! they’re 2D horror, but i wouldn’t say they’re that spooky? though that might just be because they’re pixel games! you explore spooky place, and weird stuff happens around you. just a really fun time :)

- Angels of Death my FAVOURITE rpgmaker game, it’s main draw is, a 100%, the main characters and the relationship that develops between them. i just love it a whole lot, and it’s got that lil’ tinge of horror that i, personally, fucking adore. there’s actually an anime based on this, but i haven’t seen it myself!

- Celeste curve ball! it’s a 2D platformer! it’s really good, got a ton of accessibility features, and has like. the tightest gameplay- and, on top of that, surprisingly emotional story! 

- Bastion putting Bastion here, because it’s actually the only one i’ve properly played, but you could probably buy any of the Supergiant Games, and come out satisfied. Bastion is the oldest of the bunch, and is definitely a bit less polished for it, but i personally adore it; the gameplay probably hasn’t aged that well, but i think the story and presentation more than makes up for it

- The Darkside Detective funny point and click adventure, with great wit, and a pair of characters i kind of simply adore. it’s main draw is definitely its humour

- Littlewood very wholesome and chill farming game, that feels more like an RPG than something like stardew valley- i’d not recommend it over SV, but if you want more of SV, Littlewood might scratch that itch!

- Pony Island + The Hex absolutely adore both of these, though if i had to rec only one, it’d probably be Pony Island? they’ve both got that undertale-off vibe, though Pony Island definitely leans harder into it. very interesting plays, both of them

- Oxenfree another horror-ish game! primarily story-focused, but oh boy, what a story! i’m a BIG fan of this game, and the sequel was recently announced too! definitely worth a look if you like ghost shenanigans

- Creature in the Well wasn’t a 100% sure if i should rec this, but beside the finale boss, i really enjoyed my time with this! it’s this weird pinball inspired hack and slash, with some amazing vibes

- Kindergarten 1 + 2 they’re just fun little games okay. the 2nd is much more fleshed out, but the 1st one is really fun too

- the Henry Stickmin collection I JUST... LIKE THESE GAMES A LOT... i think you can find the old versions somewhere on the internet, if you wanna check them out first? idk, they’re fun!

- LIMBO + INSIDE personally, i like INSIDE more, but both of these are classics, and also they’re made by a danish team, and i like them a WHOLE LOT

- The Final Station i could not tell you why i like this game as much as i do, but oh my god. i love this game? it’s got a dying world, neat pixel graphics, big zombie apocalypse vibes, and a weird little story

- Year Walk i love Year Walk :)

- Smile For Me if you liked undertale’s lovely cast of characters, oh boy, you’d likely LOVE this game! it’s really, really, fantastic, and the epilogue (not in the actual game lol) hit me right in the feels

- Pikuniku just a fun little game! there’s not really much there, in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a wonderful little play, one of those games that just sets out to give you a good time, and absolutely success. i like it a lot :’)

- A Short Hike wonderful game, where it’s more about exploring the island than actively finishing the game. it’s real wonderful

- ULTRAKILL ANOTHER CURVEBALL! no idea if you like FPS, but oh my god. ULTRAKILL is so fucking good. just an absolute blast to play. there’s a demo to check out, and i’d definitely recommend it, because if it’s a genre you might like, you’ll love this one (OH also it’s in early access, which means it’s not finished yet! personally, i don’t mind that, especially considering this is more gameplay focused, but ya’ know!)

- My Friend Pedro it’s honestly just really fun to play, and sometimes i still think about the implied lore, and go all !!!!

- Little Misfortune another point and click! this one is pretty short, and is set within the same universe as their other game, Fran Bow, which is much bigger, but idk. i like this one. it’s dark cute

- This Strange Realm of Mine i honestly dunno how to explain this one, because it’s kind of weird and a bit odd, but i really like it, in all its weird poetic glory. it’s neat!

- Donut County you’re a terrible racoon who’s ruined the whole city with holes. it’s great and i love it

- OneShot another ‘gives me undertale vibes’, though this one was in development before UT, if i recall correctly! it’s so good, and it’s got some fantastic meta bits, and i love Niko. i love Niko so much

- Inmost gorgeous vaguely spooky game with a neat story... my favourite genre

- Sayonara Wild Hearts i’d call this more of a spectacle than anything else, but oh my god. what a spectacle it is! the OST is amazing, everything about it just hits right, and even if you suck at the gameplay (which i did), it really doesn’t matter, in my opinion? it’s just great all around!

[emeraldhazeart]

For the character breakdown ask, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Harris and/or Gotz! ^-^

Thank you for the ask ❤️ I'll do Harris, since you asked about him first:

●How I feel about this character

Okay, so you already know I ADORE Harris. I've only met the FoMT versions of him, though, so I can't speak to the HM64 or BTN versions of his character.

I love this big ol' woobie. He's so compassionate and considerate that I just want to give him a massive hug every time I run into him. I love how he's such a good friend to Gotz, and it breaks my heart that he's got an unrequited love for Aja (hmm, I wonder if anyone's written a hanahaki disease fic for him yet...)

●All the people I ship romantically with this character

I wish he'd been a secret bachelor in the SoS remake, because I would have totally married him in one of my save files!!!! So I absolutely ship the farmer x Harris (even if it is a total rare-pair).

Harris x Aja is an obvious one, but it's hard to really get a feel for Aja's personality since we never meet her in game. The idea of her returning to Mineral Town because she realised that he was what she's been looking for all along is just too cute, though 😊

I've never played HM64, but the idea of Harris x Mary/Marie is also growing on me. Especially after checking out their rival events online 💕

●My non-romantic OTP for this character

Definitely Gotz. I picture these 2 having the same kinda vibes as Undertale's Sans and Papyrus (which is mostly why I don't ship them together, personally). Harris has got Papyrus' pure outlook on life and determination to cheer Gotz up, while Gotz has a tendancy to fall into a Sans-like melancholy and isolate himself from the rest of the world. They need each other.

●My unpopular opinion about this character

He's cute. Like, I wish he was a marriage candidate cute. I like the fact that he's not as classically bishonen cute as the other guys, but more than anything I'm attracted to his personality. I'd take Harris as a secret bachelor over Won/Haung any day!

●One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish they'd given him more events. I know he's just a non-romanceable villager, and very much a secondary character among the cast. But I'd love to know more about his backstory. Who was his mother and what happened to her? Did he choose to stay in Mineral Town or does he feel obligated to stay there? Has he ever had to arrest anyone, maybe at a festival that got out of hand? What made him want to be a police officer in the first place? And more about his love for Aja, even if it is unrequited (like Clint's events regarding Emily in Stardew Valley, for example).

—-----------------------

Anyway, thank you so much for playing. If you'd like me to write about Gotz as well, I'd be happy to do a part 2 ❤️

[what-the-witch-stuff]

Allright. Elliott thread that nobody asked for. Part 4

The words you read seem to be some alien gibberish? Try these first:

Part 1   |    Part 2     |   Part 3      

Don’t worry guys. It will be over soon, I promise.

Bevore we start: This happened yesterday.

And I basically turned into that iCarly gif, where she’s on the Computer, sippin’ her drink and goes: interesting.

Because look who we have here. Our future husband acting all self-aware? Right after I assumed in my last post that he never talks about the possibility of his failure...

Elliott, do you know that I talk shit about you on Tumblr?

Please stop breaking the 4th wall...

To safe at least some of my ‘credibility’, he followed this up with something along the lines of:

“No, no...I am not fishing for compliments. Which does not mean I don't appreciate them ;) “.

Sure. Whatever.

In comparison to that:

A few in-game days previously, I had a cut-scene with Leah, where the player can suggest that she should organise an art show. And there, Leah openly communicated her fears of ppl not liking her art. I was surprised about how open she was, given that it was probably her 2nd heart event or something (?). It's interesting, how Leah (who I perceived to be more reserved than Elliott), was so willing to let us know about her insecurities. Meanwhile, Elliot seems to brush these thoughts aside rather quickly and returns to his nonchalant, graceful self.

I always thought that from the two of them, it might be Elliott who is more vocal about his emotions. But now, Elliott doesn't seem to wear his heart on his sleeves as much as I thought he would. Which changed the way I think about him quite a bit. Maybe he is more likely to hide behind platitudes and a self-assuring smile, after all.

And what can we take from this, when we would want to write, let’s say a scene with Leah/Elliott friendship dynamic?

What do you guys think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyways, before I was so disgracefully exposed, I was roasting Elliott’s life choices. To which I now gladly return to.

You see, the "issue" I see with Elliott is, that he plays into a trope:

The brooding hermitic author, who turned his back onto society in favour of finding inspiration in nature.

While this might sound thrilling and "romantic", we know that Elliott is not the best candidate to conform to this lifestyle. Just compare, how we as the player, manage to form quite strong relationships with everyone in Pelikan Town just by talking to them regularly.

We see Elliott outside the beach-area quite often. But aside from Leah, he does not seem to interact with anyone much. I don't know if there are statements about Elliott made by other characters, to have some inkling on how they feel about him. But its quite remarkable, how all other friendships outside to his connection with Leah, are not explicitly known as canon (?).

After a whole year living in this town, previous to our arrival, I would suggest, that Elliott might still be very much an outsider. He even remarks how, with our arrival, it will be nice, to no longer be "the new guy" in town.

But the problem with that might have been Elliott's reservedness, to begin with. Polite, but yet, maybe, quite impersonal. All pleasantries and platitudes as mentioned above. It all plays into Elliott's refusal to experience the comforts of a normal lifestyle in favour of pursuing his art.

And I love how Elliott just brushes that aside as if its nothing. I'd really love to know: what would have been his plan b, if his debut failed?

Worst case cenario: What would he'd done, if he ended up stranded in Pelikan Town, penniless and unsuccessful?

Where would he go? Is there a place he can return to? A previous home, previous friends?

I don't think so.

But, dedicated, impuslive, sweet, dumb Elliott just thought to himself:

“I can do that. How bad can it be???, it will be fi~ne.It will be marvellous!

Authentic, truly!

It will be superb pictouresque and that is all I need to write my novel....”

Thanks Yoba. You’ll keep doing that please.

And then we also have interactions of the likes of:

“People have scaped a living off the sea for thousands of years....

I just go to the grocery store.”

A different thought I had on Elliott kind of plays into what I already said previously. But I will adress it as its own topic.

The downside of Elliott’s ego.

As much as we explored the rather whacky / chaotic elements of his character and how he does stupid shit for prestige itself, it is interesting to see what happens when the player challenges his self-dramatisation.

I keep re-thinking if and to what degree Elliott can laugh about himself.

He is not one for self-deprecating humour, I think.

I can imagine that to be more Shane’s thing.

We see different scenarios, in which Elliott reacts differently to things not going his way. One of the positives is the whole “A tiny crab made a home inside his coat pocket”- story. I have seen two interpretations of this scene. And both are dependent on the tone, in which you read his dialogue. One group thinks he is just complaining yet again.

On the other hand, you could read it more like:

“My, look what we have here. Can you believe that [y/name]?!“.

I think that Elliott does not appear to be angry or annoyed at all in that scenario, too. He could have vented to the player, how he needs a new coat, now.  But he simply leaves it at that. And you know what?

But, there are other times, where Elliott reacts negatively to the player not doing what he wants you to do. Meaning:  your reaction to him or your behaviour in a specific situation. Let's look at his 2nd (?) heart event at the Stardrop Saloon. He comes up to the bar, finds himself in the mood for company, and orders wine for you and ale for himself. 

New Headcanon:

That little crab still lives there! It will probably live there long after you two get married. And he will feed it scraps from the dinner table even though you ask him not to.

Whatever...Sounds Cute. 

My first reaction to that was: “aw, wHaT a GeNtLemAn!!!”. My second reaction was my inner feminist having a temper tantrum because: “how dare a man, to assume what I want to drink!” 

New Headcanon on Elliott and gender roles, anyone? Or is it given, that with him being a good old fashioned lover boy, his expectation on any relationship dynamic might be more traditional?

As much as I find Elliott charming and all, this could be a great red flag and, again, beautiful material for character-conflict. Maybe Elliott needs to learn to not take everything at face value. Maybe he needs to learn, how to take a joke. Especially those made at his expense.

However, when the question arises, what the two of you should drink on, he will not laugh if you say “your doom”.

This is not something he sees as sarcasm or as a joke. In fact, you lose 50 friendship points! Like holy shit. That in itself is not much, but its a game-penalty. He is actively reacting negatively toward you. This is one of the few times, where your decision actively has an impact on the friendship-metre. Of course, that statement could be delivered in a non-joking matter. Which then justifies his reaction.... sure.

But even the fact that Elliott chooses, to not downplay or gloss-over your comment, leaves me with the following interpretation:

He hoped for a charming, flirtatious interaction. All you had to do, was to play along. But you ruined it.

Just imagine a situation with a little bit of miss-communication and a version of Elliott that is a little too proud for his own good and *chef's kiss* we have drama.

Me to Elliott and Farmer-OC: fight! fight! fight! fight! :D

All of you reading right now:

omg can't you just chill??? We are here for the fluff :(((

Also: depending on how it's written, that could be one of Elliott's major character flaws. The one that is not cute at all!

__________________________

I wanted to take some jabs at Elliott's likes and dislikes. But as it turned out: Yes, you can turn Duck feathers into quills. I had this funny headcanon that Elliott wanted to be extra special by choosing duck feathers as his preferred writing instrument. And I was all like: “use a pen!!”.

But then I found out about the Unobtainable Weapons-List and Elliott’s pen is one of them. Okay, whatever. 

And then I asked google how to make quills. And while duck feathers are not the preferred or most popular option, there is also nothing that would speak against it, as long as the feather’s shaft is durable enough. So that theory has flown out of the window pretty quickly as well.

The only thing that comes to my mind instead is, how Elliott would still need a digital manuscript for publishing. But me screaming: “Where is your Laptop Elliott??? You need a computer! Its the 21 century!!!” is not half that funny anymore.

I guess I’ll end it here.

I hope you enjoyed this completely useless stream of consciousness.

I will now continue playing Stardew Valley and indulge in all my other quarantine-born obsessions.

I wish you a wonderful day and happy farming.

[ukiyoart]

Soooo I wrote a kinda rough draft story based on my stardew character so here it is :D

Starts off with the beginning of Elliot’s story, then there’s the sound of a foghorn and it switches to Elliot, startled out of his focus. He looks out the window, but there is only gray (see what I did there hehe)

Then it’s Anni, sitting on the mountain with Sebastian. She feels happy as she leans against him and watches the twinkling lights of the far of city she used to live in. Sebastian lights a cigarette, which Anni tells him he should quit. He grumbles that she’s probably right, but smiles, puts it out and kisses her. And etc, something like the mountain scene.

Anni is at first only friends with Abigail, Sam and Sebastian who is her boyfriend. She’s also acquainted with Emily, though she’s mostly just friendly.

Elliot is friends with the old fisher living on the docks, and Leah, a fellow artist who likewise came out to the country to focus on her creative works.

Elliot has seen the new resident of Stardew Valley around, but never really spoken to her. But one day they bump into each other at the supermarket, quite literally. Anni apologizes for hitting him and Elliot says he’ll only forgive her if she gets coffee with him.

“I have a boyfriend...” she says deadpan, but he assured her he only needs a break from his writing and someone to share his ideas with. Anni agrees if he’s going to pay the bill.

So he asks her what kind of books she likes and they talk about books for a while.

The next time they run into each other, Elliot finds Anni drinking in the back corner off the bar, and asks if he can sit with her. She agrees. After a few verbal exchanges, he finally asks her what’s wrong. Slightly buzzed, she vents about paying the bills, and Elliot relates that the most he can afford is his shabby cabin on the beach, but it’s charming in its own way and it’s the perfect place for his writing. Anni thinks it seems like a nice place to live, far away from other people. Like her boyfriend, she says, then starts complaining about how he sometimes seems like he could care less about her. Elliot assures her that certainly can’t be true, to which Anni just shrugs and takes another swig of beer. Elliot orders a whiskey, and they both drink and laugh till the bar closes.

The next day Anni appears at Elliot’s door with a basket of Apricots, apologizing for her whining last night, and thanking him for talking with her all night. He smiles and says it’s no big deal, and thanks her for the fruit. He asks her where she got it, she sheepishly replies that she grew them. He smiles and invites her in, she politely refuses saying she’s got plans with her boyfriend

She goes to the fair with Sebastian and Sam and Abigail. They go on the Ferris wheel and several roller coasters. Finally at the end of the night, they all get ice cream and watch the boats light up the river. Everything seems wonderful, but when Anni gives him a little flower, he is unenthusiastic when he takes it, then runs to catch up with Sam and Abigail. Anni rationalizes he just doesn’t like flowers that much, which she already knew, then goes to catch up too. When she gets home she lies on her bed and looks up at the ceiling, her anxious thoughts catching up with her once again. Does he really hate flowers that much? It was only a joke! Or was it her that he was unenthusiastic about?

She asks Abigail about it, who only says that Sebastian is an independent person, and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.

Sam says not to worry about it.

Back to Elliot, he is hanging out with Leah at the beach. She’s painting, and he’s writing down ideas for his story. Leah asks him how his story is going, which he enthusiastically says he’s gotten some much needed inspiration. Leah asks where he got it from, and he asks if she knows the new girl from the city. Leah hasn’t really interacted with her either. Elliot tells her about their coffee trip, and mentions that she seemed genuinely interested in his book, and had some great ideas. But mostly, it was her that inspired one of his characters. Leah teases his admiration of her, which Elliot waves off by saying writers tend to romanticize everything. He goes back to writing and periodically staring out at the sea.

Leah, intrigued by Elliot’s description of her, seeks out Anni and introduces herself. They talk as they shop, then She asks what kind of things Anni likes. Anni isn’t sure how to answer, she starts off with staple things like board games, hanging out at the bar with friends, then gets more comfortable and says she enjoys gardening and watching the fog rise from her pond in the early hours of the morning when it’s still dark. Leah says she would love to paint it sometime, and suggests they go apple picking. Right now? Anni is surprised but goes. They talk a lot and start becoming good friends.

Later Anni and Abigail Sam and Sebastian are trying to figure out what to do, Anni low key suggests apple picking. Sebastian shuts her down, saying he doesn’t really enjoy being out in the sun. Abigail agrees, saying she doesn’t want to get a sunburn. Anni is a little disappointed, but doesnt show it. They decide to play pool at the bar, which Anni still thinks is fun so it lifts her mood a bit. She has a good time, and Sebastian buys her a drink and tells her he’s sorry if he seemed kind of rude earlier. Anni tell him it’s fine and thanks him for the drink.

The next day, Anni goes with Leah and Elliot to skip stones across the lake. Anni tells them about how her other friends didn’t seem very interested in apple picking. Leah points out that not all people are interested in the same things. Anni expresses that she shares a lot of interests with Sebastian, but she wishes he wasn’t so emo sometimes. She brings up how he barely sets foot in the sun, at least not without a hoodie over his face. Elliot says that it’s great to share interests with someone, but in the end it’s shared values that makes them a precious friend. So even though Sebastian will not always agree with you, as long as you share a view of what’s important, you’ll be okay. Anni smiles and says that’s good advice. They continue skipping stones, until Anni gets a text from Sebastian saying “come immediately it’s important!” She apologizes and says she has to go. After she leaves, Leah says Anni is so cute! And Elliot agrees that she really is a sweet person.

Anni gets to Sebastian’s house and finds him grinning in the wet grass with a frog in his hands. “This is the emergency???” Anni asks, puzzled. “I never said emergency” Sebastian laughs, then shows her to frog, explaining how he found it by a little puddle. Anni thinks it’s cute that he’s so excited, but tells him not to make her worry. Sebastian laughs and tells her if he’s ever in trouble, he’ll use all Caps. Anni shakes her head, but laughs.

Next day Anni is working at the coffee shop, Leah comes in and says she didn’t know Anni worked here. Anni explains that she didn’t, she just applied for part time the other day to help with the bills. Leah asks her what her main job is. Anni doesn’t want to say at first, but after some prodding she admits that she’s a farmer. Leah thinks it’s awesome and asks why she’s shy about it. Anni tells her how Sebastian and Abigail and Sam aren’t really country people, and it rarely comes up. Leah asks if Sebastian knows, Anni says he does, but he’s never really come to the farm. He probably thinks it’s just a family business I help out with. Leah is concerned, but Anni says that she doesn’t plan to be a farmer forever anyway, she’s taking an online course for computer science. She and Sebastian might even open up their own business someday. Leah still isn’t convinced, but leaves it alone.

Some stuff in here, Anni tells the squad she likes farming and they are supportive, she introduces them to Elliot and Leah, they do some fun stuff together and become friends. Elliot helps Anni realize there are some red flags in her relationship with Sebastian, not that he is bad but they just might not be the most compatible for the long term. Meanwhile, Anni starts to catch feelings for Elliot, and battles with her growing love for him and her attachment to Sebastian. With the help of Abigail and Leah, and even Sam, she gathers the courage to work it out with Sebastian, and they decide that they should break up. Things are tense between them for a little bit, they still want to be friends but Sebastian is hurt that Anni doesn’t love him anymore, and Anni wants to reassure him but isn’t sure how to make him understand. Elliot finds her crying and she tells him about their breakup, and how she doesn’t love Sebastian any less, she just has realized they would only be unhappy if they continued a romantic relationship. Elliot comforts and hugs her, reassuring her that he only needs time to come to terms with it, and with enough patience and understanding hopefully they can patch things up properly. Anni hugs him tightly, then looks up at him before kissing him on the cheek. Elliot is surprised, but thinks she’s just emotional because of her situation.

The next day Anni apologizes, slightly embarrassed. Elliot tells her it’s alright, that she’s going through a lot and he understands. Anni can’t tell if she’s grateful he didn’t think anything of it, that’s one less thing to worry about right now, but she’s also kind of disappointed he doesn’t think of her that way. She moves on and asks Sebastian if they can talk. He agrees, and she lets him know that she never fell out of love with him, she just realized they wouldn’t be very happy in a long term relationship. Sebastian expresses that he thought he just hadn’t done enough for her, and that was why she didn’t want to be with him anymore. He’s relieved that’s not the case. They seem to get along better after that.

After that Anni continues talking to Elliot a lot, but now their conversations are much more relaxed and not about drama, many are about books and places they would love to travel, etc. Elliot finishes his book, and everyone comes to listen to his reading. He thanks everyone for their support, and thanks Anni for agreeing to have coffee with him one day, without her he would never have thought to write what he did. Soon after, Elliot invites Anni to go with him on his rowboat after he fixed it. Anni agrees, and they talk about his book for a while. Elliot starts to thank her again, then starts acting a little flustered and confused. For once I don’t have the right words.. he says... for the way I feel about you. He ends up kissing her on the cheek to convey his affections, asking her if she feels the same way. Anni happily agrees, and they share a kiss.

Soon after they start dating, making it publicly known. Abigail, Leah and Sam are supportive. Sebastian tried hard to be okay with it, but he resents Elliot.

They all go for a picnic by the lake. Sebastian acts defensive and rude around Elliot, and Anni is upset. She goes to talk to him, worried that she’s hurting him and sad that he can’t get along with Elliot. Elliot stops her, and says to let him talk to Sebastian. Anni is reluctant, but Elliot says that she doesn’t need to fix everything herself, and he wants to help. He goes and talks to Sebastian. Sebastian is annoyed at first, but after realizing Elliot truly loves Anni, he admits that he wants Anni to be happy, even if it means she isn’t by his side. Elliot suggests he let Anni know, so that she can be free of worry and released from her romantic ties to him. Sebastian ponders this for a moment, then frustratedly says he doesn’t want to let her go yet and storms off. Abigail walks up next to Elliot and says she’ll talk to Sebastian. She goes off, then returns with him, motioning him over too Anni. He pulls her away privately and tells her that he still loves her, but he can see that she’ll be a lot happier with Elliot. Anni hugs him and thanks him for understanding. Sebastian hesitates, then embraces her back for a moment, before she pulls away and takes his hand, beckoning him back to the rest of the group. Sebastian tells Elliot to treat her better than he could have. Elliot laughs and agrees, then goes over to Anni and hugs her from behind. Sebastian watches wistfully, but smiles and looks towards Abigail, who nods approvingly.

And so on and so forth, a happy ending :)

[asriels]

hey ellie, this might be a little forward but I was just wondering if you had any recent book recs to share? i’m honestly in love with the way you write and your fics have definitely helped me a lot with getting back into reading, so any pointers or suggestions would be helpful!

Hey hey! I’m so sorry, this is such a slow reply – I’m on tumblr very sporadically these days. I have actually been reading a fair bit in lockdown so I hope I can help! Not forward at all, I love talking books any time! 

Also thank you so much, I’m so thrilled you like my fics and it means the world they’ve been able to help you. If you’d like to read some of the fics that brought me back to writing, I particularly recommend Brushfire by elo_elo (I read this without having played more than an hour’s worth of any DA games, still superb) and Ruin of a Place by the same author (I do play Stardew Valley but I don’t think you need to have in order to enjoy this). Also Renovations by @bettsfic is really just Something Else and it took me to a better place. If you ever read The Hunger Games, read her fic A Standing Engagement too, you will not regret it.

Okay, and as for books:

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott – this is not as well-known as Abbott’s other teen girl books Dare Me and The Fever I don’t think (which are also v worth reading if you haven’t), but it squirmed under my skin and stayed there. Very dark so please be mindful of trigger warnings before you go in; happy to warn you what these are before you decide whether to go for it or not. Classic Abbott though and one that really stuck with me. 

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli – kind of confusingly written but I let myself just go with it and not worry too much about whether I understood it 100% and I ended up loving it, though admittedly did not Get the whole thing. Two sound archivists take a road trip with their children, knowing it’s the swansong of their relationship. The narrator is increasingly emotionally caught up in the stories of children trying to cross the border from Mexico illegally.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (tr. Antonia Lloyd-Jones) – this one is a bit unusual but go with it, it rewards by the end. An old woman in rural Poland who believes heavily in astrology narrates. The members of a local hunting/poaching club start turning up dead.

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma – very cool use of unreliable narrators and a look at intense female friendships. A ballet dancer about to go to Juilliard and an inmate in a juvenile correctional facility swap narration. A girl called Orianna ties them together.

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater – I’m not sure if tumblr is for or against MS these days, but holy GOD was this good. Interestingly, I read her article recently where she explained that she’d been in the grips of a truly horrible illness when writing the end of the Raven Cycle, which explains a lot of the reasons why fandom might have gone off it a bit. CDTH is Stiefvater back at her absolute best, like Scorpio Races levels of excellent. I loved it. You don’t need to have read The Raven Cycle to enjoy it IMO.

I’m going to mention two books I didn’t actually end up enjoying at all too, because no matter how I felt about the narrative, the writing was excellent from a technical standpoint: In The Woods and The Wych Elm by Tana French. I gave In The Woods a chance bc I thought the writing of The Wych Elm was so good even if I hated the plot arc, but it seems that French just really likes to do the opposite of most writers and have her characters start out in a good place and gradually (and almost entirely due to their own inability to take responsibility for themselves) lose everything that matters including their jobs, relationships and happiness. I did my best, but I just don’t enjoy that in a book, and I found them both inordinately frustrating. However, for a masterclass in How To Write Real Beautiful, you might find them worth a read. 

[sanchoyo]

Looks like you’re gonna have to gush some more cuz I meant in general uwu🌸

🌺😌🤟 Always happy to! Okay here’s just some General bnha Thoughts ™ Mostly Lov centric. You asked for them, and you said GUSH about them, so here’s. A Lot! :)

This isn’t a lov one but it’s really funny so I thought I’d put it out there:

-when bnha was first gaining traction on tumblr, it was all art of Tsuyu. I have no idea why. People were talking about the funky frog lesbian superhero anime. Maybe it was just the people I was following, maybe it was a general trend, but I LOVED her design!!! my fav color and frogs r super cute!!! And I already loved superhero media, so I was like. I’ll watch it. For Her. SO. FROPPY IS THE REASON I WATCHED/READ BNHA. I went in thinking she was the protag and I was sooo confused when Izuku was... tbh I still think it’d be more interesting if she was lmaooo aus where? ...seriously if anyone has good aus where this is the case send them LOL

-I don’t actually feel that bad abt what Shigaraki’s doing. I still feel bad for him. I’m this post. yes im an apologist. its not my fault hes sexy and has been running around shirtless. hes a lesbian icon like thor is. I want to touch his hair. hes never done anything wrong in his life. he could kill all might, deku, bakugo, whatever, I’d still be sayin this. I don’t feel bad for gt. like. was anyone genuinely attached to him? lmao

-well u know how spinner’s quirk is just sticking to things? We haven’t seen him use it in canon except like, (1) time iirc?? I think this is probably bc he’s embarrassed about it even in front of the league... I loooove the idea that he gets more comfortable with it around them :”) and also how shigaraki. um. does that falling asleep thing while standing up with his eyes open, canonly? (which I still love lmfao) Imagine someone in the league walking in a dark room, turning on the light n just seeing. Spinner upside down, stuck to the ceiling asleep bc heat rises and its Warmer Up There. (cold blooded thing like tsuyu?? come ON give him a big fuzzy coat and scarf...) and Shigaraki in the center of the room, slouched but still standing, eyes open and motionless. Theyre both sleeping. Whomever sees it just...slowly walks out. LMAO

-Toga roller derby au. No deep thoughts I just think she’d be good at it. 

-Toga 100% is a social butterfly and could befriend anyone if they didn’t just judge the fact she was trying to stab them smh :/ (ok but seriously anytime I see cute friendships with her n the other kids im like :) aw. I feel like her and Camie...would be good friends. Camie feels chill enough to be like ‘ok whatever thats totally fine I forgive you!!’ LMAO we love airheads here)

-HOW DID TOGA GET SO GOOD AT FIGHTING? We know she’s been on the run since middle school or so, but good enough to pin Deku down after he’s been formally trained at a ~hero school~ for a while? (she pinned him TWICE I think, once when his arms were messed up, but, the other time as Camie, so? AND THEN WAS ONE OF THE 100 PEOPLE TO GO THRU TO THE 2ND ROUND OF THAT? even tho she didn’t bc she had to leave) good enough to beat Aizawa in a fight and stab him? A professional hero and teacher for YEARS? Is that seriously just street training??? Can people acknowledge how amazing her combat skills and reflexes are??? More Toga appreciation when?? Also her backstory??? SO subversive and incredible, hate when people reduce her to just a ~typical anime yandere~ :/

-Tomura doing stuff with his hands/fingers to train his quirk!!! And to learn to be careful with it!! obv I’m a Big Fan of him playing piano to do this and video games are prob the canon answer, but like, guitar or any stringed instrument that requires Hands would work too. Or knitting/sewing? EMBROIDERING? ??? Please, let me give you the mental image of him knitting aggressively while mentally scheming, watching a twitch streamer or smth too while doing it. (Doing stuff with your hands is a great way to let your mind come up with creative stuff, that’s how I come up with writing/drawing ideas 70% of the time)

-Tomura actually PREFERS cutesty, relaxing games. I mean, he does fighting and bloody stuff irl, games are a way to relax...he’ll play shooters and gta type games with The Lads, but. on his own?? animal crossing. pokemon. kirby games. mario. zelda. BIG ZELDA FAN (not saying this bc I, personally, am biased, but,) slime rancher, stardew valley, funny simulator games... he really enjoys those :”) God forbid he has a kid bc they’re 100% getting named after a viddy game character unless someone can talk him out of it LOL. Toga and Tomura are that animal crossing /doom meme where she’d be asking for doom and him asking for animal crossing :”)

-Bits and pieces of Before are kinda stuck in Kurogiri’s brain, but like. mostly useless stuff the doctor didn’t care about removing. Like, types of clouds. So Tomura kinda picks up on stuff like that. He can just look at clouds and tell you what type they are because Kurogiri used to take him up to high places in the city and point them out to calm Tomura down from a panic attack when he was younger. He can tell you if the sky looks like it’ll rain with a 80% accuracy rate too. 

-Kurogiri left food out for kitties in the alley beside the bar. They weren’t allowed in for Health Reasons (it IS a bar with sanitation standards!!) And Tomura really wouldn’t stop it or encourage it either way so long as Kurogiri did his job, but occasionally would stand outside with Kurogiri and just watch the kitties from a distance. If any approached he’d go back in (lowkey afraid he’d hurt them by touching them :( ) They kinda kept that between them tho, bc they both Know AFO is a big bag of dicks and no fun

-people have pointed out how similar aizawa and tomura look. this was 100% the intention. tomura has a hatecrush on him. THIS IS SO FUNNY AND HORRIBLY AWKWARD FOR KUROGIRI LMAO

-Sako??? Mr. Dramatic?? Opera fan. Drama kid. Like, obviously, but. Really. He is. I feel like he can speak a dozen languages. I also feel like he used to be an overachiever but got too ambitious. He was def some kind of leader at one point of a diff Group or something that fell apart. I LOVE how creative he is with his quirk and the magician theme??? incredible. I don’t show him enough love but I Love Clowns :o)

-I don’t care what their canon heights are. Spinner and Dabi? short kings. My height hcs are (tallest to shortest) Kurogiri, Twice, Sako (who also has heels on his boots and a tall hat, keep in mind), Tomura, Magne (Tomura and Magne are about the same height imo) Toga, Spinner, Dabi. LISTEN. Dabi has short energy. Sorry. it’s true tho

-This is a semi-popular hc I think bc I KNOW I’ve seen it before, but Dabi having Terrible Vision and needing glasses is so so good. (seriously, with burns THAT close to his eyeballs, how could he not?) 

-he tries to be a tough loner coolguy. you’d think he’d smoke, but I hc his ‘weak constitution’ comes with weak lungs (esp from years of a flame quirk?? inhaling smoke over so much time is SO bad for you, most people who die in fires actually die of smoke inhalation...) so he’s got like, an inhaler, can’t smoke, actually gets carsick, needs glasses, overuses quirk to save friends constantly, likes napping, a little awkward and rude. Tomura put him in charge of the vanguard so he’s smart, and good with strategies too, like a nerd. this is the Dabi I wanna see, not the popular fandom version of him tbh also step on hawks one more time sir :”)

-I wish all the lov fics weren’t?? villain!deku like I said earlier, but also, chatfics? I have nothing against them but most of them are just a bombardment of Memes with NO PLOT!!! Listen. text/chatfics CAN have plot and be an interesting way to tell a story. I almost want to write one just to show what I mean...

I know I’ve said I like spinaraki and blackmagic, but I am a multishipper, so a few ships I don’t talk about that I like that involve the lov in some way:

-toga/any of the 1A girls??? or Camie??? super interesting. ALSO in the radio drama, bakugo’s voice actor said Toga was his favorite girl??? so?? bakugo/toga ?? I WANT TO SEE IT. but specifically my fav dynamic with her is when someone ELSE is the one to like her first, it’s what she deserves.

-Kurogiri/aizawa/mic?? any variety of that is also 👌🏻 I also kinda wanna see kurogiri/all might bc. Dads. COME ON. they bond over ‘well, I raised him, and you want to have a part in his life now?? ok. earn it. prove it. I’ll screen you first’ or something LMAO they’re both genuinely concerned for the boy, and SOOO biased. let them bond.

-WAIT WHERE IS THE MIC/COMPRESS CONTENT. THEYRE BOTH DRAMATIC. ENEMIES TO LOVERS?? HELLO??? SOMEONE?? ANYONE. rarepair hours

-giran/twice is cute. like he was hyping him up so much and so ready to go save him...

-dabi/magne where is the content. when. why not everywhere??? I’ve also seen magne/compress which was cute!! or twice/magne? they’re the big sibs of the lov...

-dabi/spinner?? come ON dabi could get over his learned biases and spend time with him and they could hold hands. I want them to.

-dabihawks. Obviously bc the Drama. yes even still, don’t @ me. (also, shigahawks, seen some REAL interesting fics with it tbh) or spinahawks?? adding hawks to a ship is like adding extra chili powder. makes it SPICY dramatic)

-nine/tomura don’t @ me once again. both kinda afo’s playthings, nine obviously was the test for tomura’s new upgrades...they both love their friends...That Scene in the Flower field </3 hmmm tragicships are fun.

-tomura/mirko. more enemies to lovers. big fan of her and bunnies. remember when he wore bunny ears in bnha smash. (ok its crack but. CUTE.) 

-I’ve also seen shiganatsu and shigafuyu and I’m like. these are cute, but also Dabi’s reaction always makes me cry laugh. so good.

-MOST EVERYONE IN THE LOV IS LGBTQA+!!! heres my personal headcanons:

Toga: pan or bi (CANON BASICALLY)

Magne: transwoman (CANON BABEY) bi, leans towards men. (her crush on dabi in bnha smash... uwu content where)

Shuichi: gets sooooo flustered canonly, I think he’d go for the first person Who Hit On Him (I can see him being the target of those mean pranks where someone says ‘my friend likes you!!’ and the friend is like ‘eww!!’ :(((( ) he’s super hesitant for romance, lots of repressed stuff. gay but takes sooo long to realize it bc he thinks most women are conventionally pretty Aesthethically, feels obligated to Like Them, but has bad self esteem so never goes after them, then only likes (1) guy so hes like?? is this allowed?? is this allowed???? (HES LIKE. IN LOVE WITH SHIGARAKI)

Dabi: bi but rly hasn’t ever gotten to date anyone, so he’s actually more reserved about it and while he’ll tease, he absolutely is absent and kinda oblivious (again, I KNOWWWW bnha smash isnt canon, but. my god. when magne is hitting on him and he Just Doesnt Understand.) also hes ace

Tomura: doesn’t care. (just prob says ‘its whatever’) trans/nonbinary (i’M NOT PROJECTING, BUT. :’/) probably goes with like, the label queer if any but doesn’t care much for labels

Kurogiri: bi??? kind of??? I say kind of bc well, I hc U Know Whom as bi, I feel like thatd carry over but he’d be really avoidant to date anyone bc hes gotta Watch His Kid u know? this is gonna sound surprising but I think he’d be the type to be like ‘ok we can have a one night stand/fling BUT it cant get personal bc I have a Job to Do for my Son so don’t get up in your feelings’ and act a little coldly at first or very ..not personable... depending on who it was he’d prob turn around eventually, esp if that person valued his feelings/job :”)

Sako: that mans Not Straight. I hc him as gay and also trans :3c

Twice: Bi and HAS dated prob more than anyone else in the league imo, super comfortable with his sexuality and supportive of everyone else’s :)

ok that’s about all I can think of atm, come back in 5 minutes and my brain will refill with lov headcanons :3 thank you for asking!!

[ren1327]

Sweater Weather ch.3

Emerald Isle was covered in moss and rocks where they docked, the rocks and sand giving way to grassy hills and a dense forest of pine trees and shrubs where the side of a large house peeked out from behind them.

Owen took their bags after he had tied off the boat, Kenji leading Ben up some wooden stairs and on a brick path through the trees.

“Wow.” Ben said. “It smells amazing out here.”

“Smells amazing?” Kenji asked, glancing at Ben.

“Well, I…I haven’t been around real pine. It’s either been a candle or something already dying slowly for the sake of a holiday.” Ben said, shrugging at the end.

“Oh…I never thought of it like that…not a lot of traditional pine trees in Cali.” Kenji said. “You probably haven’t even seen snow.”

“No. And the funny thing is, my parents are, well, were, Seattle natives. I’ve lived in Texas and California my whole life. I’ve always wanted to come here. We planned to when my mom got better but…”

Ben’s smile fell and he looked at the trees in pain, closing his eyes for a moment. Kenji looked around to see Owen making his way up the path towards them. He grabbed Ben’s hand and led him along.

“Uh…M-My Dad likes the trees and we even have an orchard in the back. I think we have apples, peaches, almonds and a pomegranate tree in the green house.” Kenji said. “In summer, I bring back so much fruit from here.”

“That actually sounds great.” Ben said with a smile. “Smoothies galore.”

“Mom loves her trees and uses them for teas and jams, so…indulge her for me?” He asked. “She hasn’t really…nailed the flavor…”

Ben chuckled and hugged his arm as Owen got closer.

“Got it, Honey.” Ben said and Kenji nearly tripped.

“On your left, Lovebirds!” Owen called and walked past them with their bags.

“W-What?” Kenji asked once Owen was out of earshot. “Why did you…what was that?”

“A pet name?” Ben asked, raising a brow. “What would you call me?”

“Ben…ny?”

“No. Something else.” Ben said quickly.

“Babe?”

“That’ll do.” He said.

They continued to walk up the path, then stopped, Kenji noticing Ben staring at the house as they came up to it.

It looked like a Californian lake house; wooden with large glass windows and a balcony with a sturdy awning, a fire pit on the second floor awning, wooden steps leading down to another area where there was sand going into the dark blue water, a huge porch and yard and so many trees around it, as if hidden.

“Is that a lighthouse?!” Ben yelled when he looked up the hill.

“Yeah. Just in case.” Kenji said and Ben looked up at the regal looking stone structure.

“C…Can we go up it?”

“Yeah, sure. We can explore tomorrow though. Parents and sister.” He reminded Ben, who nodded, but let his eyes linger on the lighthouse a few seconds longer.

Kenji led Ben to the porch and knocked on the door despite Owen walking in a few seconds earlier.

A short, plump Mexican woman opened the door and cried out excitedly, scooping Kenji into her arms and despite being a full foot shorter than him, lifted him up and spun around.

“Mom!” He squawked and blushed. “Not in front of Ben!”

She dropped Kenji, who staggered before standing straight. He cleared his throat.

“Mom. This is Ben. Ben, this is my mother, Candela Kon.”

“Oh, baby, you can call me Candy!” She said and hugged Ben in her soft warm arms, Ben getting a whiff of cocoa butter and vanilla.

Candy, indeed.

She had the same golden skin and dark hair Kenji had. But hers was curly and in lose spirals that was tied back into a high ponytail with a white velvet scrunchy. She wore a thick red tunic over brown yoga pants and furred boot slippers. She had on tinted lip balm Ben often used on interviews and…

“It’s great to finally meet you!” Ben said, smiling brightly when she put him down.

“Oh? Has Kenji told you anything about me?”

“He may have mentioned gardening and teas.” Ben said. “Of which I am eager to see and taste.”

Candy giggled and elbowed Kenji. “You got yourself a keeper, Mijo.”

Kenji let out a huff but smiled regardless.

“Your Father is on a call right now, but I know someone in the sunroom who would be sooooo excited to see you!”

Kenji grinned and sped past her.

“Son?” She called.

“Yeah?”

“Your boyfriend?” She asked.

Kenji sped back and took Ben’s hand. “Right, sorry Babe.”

“It’s Carmen, I get it.” Ben said dismissively, noting how Candy beamed at Ben’s reaction.

“Aw, you’re still a doting brother!” Candy teased.

“I think it’s cute.” Ben said and Kenji smiled at him.

“Ready to meet the most important lady in my life excluding my mother?”

“Good save.” Ben teased and Kenji chuckled, leading him past a large sitting area with a plush red sofa set and armchairs around a curved tv and sound system mounted on the wall and a fireplace to the left, burning away fragrant wood.

They walked down a wide hallway, the walls decorated with family pictures and photos of the ocean and various sights around the island and Seattle itself.

“You guys really like Seattle.” Ben said.

“It might be a little farther, but Dad has an office building there and a condo where Mom and Carmen chill during summer weekends. We used to live in Cali, but after I left, I guess they relocated to Washington for good. Especially after the bullying…”

“It’s amazing. What parents will do for their children.” Ben said softly.

Kenji paused outside a door and closed his eyes before sighing. “Yeah. It is.”

He opened a white door with a large glass panel with a soft gauzy white curtain with reflective green sequins stitched in them in patterns that looked like ivy or vines on the inside. The walls of the room were a light minty green with metal work on the walls of sunflowers, daisies and chrysanthemums. Two walls had large windows that opened inwards to let in the cold air, another fireplace sheltered from the breeze and with a low back black cushioned wide bench with thick legs looked to be made from bleached driftwood before it. Most of the furniture looked to be made from sturdy carved driftwood, pale gray cushions and blankets on it, along with a basket piled high with furry or fleece throws and a few bookshelf cabinets with thick glass sheltering the treasures inside.

But before the fireplace on the wide bedlike bench, with green led light cat eared headphones over her head and staring at her switch as she played what Ben noticed was Stardew Valley, was Kenji’s treasure.

She was also plump and short like her mother, with her big brown lashed eyes and full lips. Her skin was very pale and her waist length black hair pin straight. Her hair was dyed green about five inches from her scalp and in two high pigtails. And her lips were chapped from how she was biting them.

She wore blue jean capris despite the cold weather, a black t-shirt and red and pink socks with a pink cartoon lion and a thick looking sword on them. She laid on her stomach and Ben saw her phone was on a podcast; episode 68 of King Falls Am, so she couldn’t hear Kenji go behind her.

Kenji poked the small of her back, causing her to scream and pull her switch to her chest, kicking out as she rolled over.

“If I die in the mines, I’m so gonna…Ji?” She looked down at her game to pause it and place on the back of the bench as she jumped up and ran around to hug her older brother.

“You did come!” She squealed.

“I did!” Kenji yelled back happily. “I missed you so much!”

“Dad said you would be coming, and I was so excited because I thought you were still in India. How was it? Did you eat a lot of spicy food? Did you pet an elephant?”

“Uh, I kinda just bummed around a camp, kiddo.” Kenji said. “I was…I wasn’t in a really good headspace…”

“Oh. I get it.” She said softly and rubbed her arm, then noticed Ben.

“Hi, Carmen.” Ben said nervously.

“Hi?” She asked.

“Oh, Carmen, this is Ben. He’s my…my boyfriend.” Kenji said.

Carmen looked from Ben to Kenji and back.

“Oh, no, he’s way too good looking for you.” She said, shaking her head.

“Hey!” Kenji yelled.

Ben watched them bicker for a bit and smiled as Kenji pulled his sister close and started giving the smaller Kon sibling a noogie. He reached into his book bag and quickly plucked a receipt out of a bag, holding it out to them.

“Kenji?” He called and they both paused, Kenji grinning when he saw the black bag.

“We found something you might like.” Kenji said and took the bag, giving it to Carmen.

She reached in and pulled out a small Miles Morales plush gasping and hugging it to her chest.

“Oh, my gosh! I love him! How did you know?”

“It was mostly Ben.” Kenji said. “He made me watch the movie and I saw your snapchat posts and we saw it, so…”

She hugged Kenji, then Ben. “Thank you guys so much! I’ve asked Owen to keep an eye out and I’d pay him back, but he never understands what I mean!”

She smiled and hugged the plush again.

“Kenji, get in here!” She said, picking up her phone to take a picture with him. “Ben, you too!”

Ben awkwardly stood next to Kenji, who threw an arm around his waist as Carmen held up the plush and snapped a picture, Ben happy he smiled at the last second, not looking too awkward.

“Um…can I post that Ben’s your boyfriend?” Carmen asked, lowering her phone to look at her brother. “She…She kinda follows me still.”

“Yeah.” Kenji said. “Go ahead.”

“Ben?” She looked at him.

“I’m out and good. Go ahead.” He said, waving his hand.

“Okay. Annnnnd…post!” She said and smiled at the picture. Her smile fell and she touched under her chin.

“Carmen?” Ben asked.

“Oh!” She blinked and smiled. “So um…was the flight alright?”

“Yeah. Hey…” Kenji hugged her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am. I promise. I start my new school after break so, that’s fun.” She said.

“New schools are fun.” Ben said. “I had to start a new school too.”

“Oh. Why?” Carmen asked.

“…I was bullied. Really bad. Like, I could’ve died from an asthma attack bad.”

“What?” Carmen squawked.

“I was left outside overnight with my hands tied. I couldn’t get to my inhaler while I was panicking.” Ben said, looking at the floor. “No one really knew I had asthma. Inhalers cost like…six hundred dollars. And my bullies…I was scared they would take it or use it as ammunition.”

Carmen hugged Ben tight.

“You’re okay, right?” She asked, voice wobbly. “Like…now?”

“Yeah. My mom moved us to San Antonio where I met the coolest people and even moved to California with them. They’re going to move back again, so…I guess I’ll just find my own way from there.”

“You could move in with Kenji!” She said. “Since you’re boyfriends and all!”

“Uh, I think he wants to go back to Texas though, kiddo. That’s where he wants to set up shop.” Kenji said awkwardly.

“Long distance sucks!” Carmen huffed. “And besides! You can move into our old neighborhood when I was a baby!”

She turned to Ben. “We moved to Cali when I was like, six. And now…”

“Washington is really pretty.” Ben said with a tilt of his head.

“And I get to have so many cute raincoats and boots!” She said excitedly.

“Carmen hates the sun.” Kenji said.

“If you live in Texas, we can visit you as much as we want with Daddy’s plane!” She said. “And then you guys can come see us when summer gets too unbearable.”

Ben smiled.

“Any excuse to see you, Carmen.” He said. “You’re really cool for a high schooler.”

She blushed and smiled. “Thanks. I um…thanks.”

There was a knock on the doorframe and Ben felt his face heat when he saw the man.

“Hello.” He said, looking at Ben. “We have yet to meet. I am Kenji’s father, Kosei.”

He held out a hand and when Ben shook it, in engulfed his own smaller one in a warm, strong grip.

The man looked just like Kenji, save lighter hair with streaks of gray and a close trimmed beard. Ben would say he looked like a neater version of his favorite Overwatch character.

“Ben Pincus.” He said softly.

Kosei made a puzzled face. “Pincus? I feel like I know that name.”

Ben shrugged a bit, noting how the man had released his hand.

“Welcome to our home, Ben.” He said and smiled warmly, Ben blushing harder.

Kenji blinked. And paled when he saw how pink Ben’s blush was.

‘…left overnight with my hands tied…’

He remembered something he had long buried away.

“Fuck.” He said out loud.