#farmer thad

[reallyghostlypost]

Yay, fic!

Very self indulgent, explaining the way other adventurers see Thad and a few headcanons I have about the Badlands/Ministry/magic etc

"So? What do you think, mage?" Isaac was tensed beside him, hand still on his sword's handle, leaning slightly on one leg while blood was slowly dripping from a wound right above his left knee. Probably a slime burn, judging by the state of the pants around the wound. Unfortunately, all their efforts to control the void energies corrupting the Crimson Desert seem to be in vain as even the normal monsters were getting increasingly dangerous, their strength and speed growing with each season. Senior mages were starting to speak about this potentially representing the first stage of corruption, after all corrupted monsters are far superior versions of the common menaces found around the Void Zone, which would mean that the Corruption is getting more aggressive and that their job was about to get even more dangerous.

Lance sighed, they were already severely understaffed and stretched thin, he wasn't sure they could deal with an increase of corrupted monsters. He rolled the small gems in his palm, watching quietly how the light got refracted by the sharply cut facades, an unnatural sparkle resembling the starry night shining deep inside the unknown minerals. "They're definitely magical and you're the only wizard around until Camilla's council gets dismissed. So? What do you think?" There was a barely masked annoyance in Isaac's voice now.

The gems were darker than Lance remembered, and the stars inside much brighter. The ones Thad had on the table in his island cabin had a much more pleasant shade of purple. Less dangerous looking. They probably absorbed too much dark magic from the Crimson Sands. "Yes, they do seem connected with whoever is driving the Corruption, they have the same magical signature". Lance tried to keep his voice even; it was too early to jump to any conclusions. What is Thad doing this time? No fight with the adventurers here, no matter how bad, could justify destabilizing the Crimson Badlands even more, threatening thousands of people or worse if the Corruption gets out of hand. Surely even Thad has some limits in his revenge? "So, you said they dropped from the corrupted mummy Camilla slain?"

Isaac nodded eyeing the gems in distaste. "Must've been. I noticed them in the sand near the monster's body after she teleported away in a hurry. She didn't explain what was about this particular mummy that needed her intervention. Now give me the gems back. I'll wait for Camilla to finish with her meeting to report this to her". Isaac winced a little as he stretched to grab the gems from his palm.

"Let me keep one to show Thad". At Thad's name Isaac nearly growled, the two still couldn't stay in the same room without coming to blows. It took an entire team of adventurers to keep them from fighting. "He travels deeper in the Badlands than all of us, he might know something about this that we don't. I'll come back as soon as I learn anything useful." If Isaac noticed the unease in his voice he didn't react, too busy with trying to tie the four remaining gems in a piece of dusty cloth while muttering angrily. Everything was dusty in the outposts around the cursed desert, everything aside from the purple gems apparently, untouched by the sand and blood like they were spelled to repel anything that could cover their shine.

---

"Found this. Thought you might want to know." Lance tried to sound casual as he held the purple gem in his palm, eyeing Thad carefully for any reaction. Thad hummed in acknowledgment but didn't lift his head from the barrel he was scrubbing for a few more seconds. Lance waited patiently even if those seconds felt like hours. Eventually Thad looked up at him and then at his outstretched palm. He frowned a little, eyeing the gem carefully, then looked annoyed as he dived back in his barrel.

"Fucking Grandpa and his asshole associates! Those things are all over the farm, I swear that... " the rest of the muttered sentence got lost inside the wine barrel. Lance was surprised about the mention of Thad's grandparent, he usually avoided speaking about his family. "Drop the stupid thing, Lance. Put it on the table." When Lance didn't move, he pulled his head back out of the barrel and glared at him. "It's radioactive, stop holding it like that." Lance did drop the gem on the table near them, almost completely covered by crafting tools and sawdust, although he wasn't sure if the warning was a joke or not. The small thing was now reflecting a drop of purple on the dark polished wood, two small sparkles visible in the ring of light, despite the darkness of the shed.

"Is it really this dangerous? I've seen you holding other gems like this multiple times." Well, that was a lie, he only saw them once and they were scattered on a table that time too, but maybe he'll get some reaction out of Thad with it. Unfortunately, Thad just shrugged at him.

"I can heal any damage they do to me, unlike you. Did you kept it in your pocket all this time? Maybe you should take more health elixirs than usual for a while." Lance made a mental note to tell everyone in Castle Village to keep their gems in an isolated room, it didn't seem like Thad was joking. I hope Isaac got away from them before suffering anything unpleasant.

"I found them in the Crimson Badlands." Mentioning Isaac was bound to derail any possible discussion and Thad didn't really need to know who discovered the gems anyway. And knowing that this wasn't the only one found might put some pressure on him. Hearing this Thad moved his eyes to the table without moving from his half-bent position. Lance watched his expression carefully but couldn't read any new emotions on his face. "Must've dropped them last time I went there, I got into a bad fight a bunch of corrupted serpents and spent some time on the floor while dodging them" and with this he seemed to have dismissed the event like it wasn't one of the most damning evidence the Ministry now had on him. "I'm sure some radiation can't do anything more to the mess there anyway", he chuckled.

Lance didn't find the situation amusing. If Isaac was right and the gems were found inside the corrupted mummy, just like the void shards are usually found, then Thad boldly lied to his face like it was nothing. And there’s no chance that Camilla just missed a bunch of objects carrying the magical signature of the one eating the Crimson Badlands from within right at her feet, no matter how small they are. What is he hiding? Did he actually corrupt that monster himself?

"They are some really interesting magical artifacts, seem to absorb the energy around them perfectly." Thad, who was just about to get back to scrubbing, frowned at him confused. "They hold the exact same energy as the magic corrupting the Crimson Sands." Lance explained slowly while staring Thad in the eyes. That did get a reaction. Thad's face became completely unreadable instantly and he straightened from his barrel and got up. Lance tensed, realizing that he was in a bad position for whatever might be next, still sitting for once and in a small, cramped shed with little room to dodge any attacks. And Thad could move fast. At how close they were Lance wouldn't have time to even teleport away. And he really doubted that a bolt of magic, no matter how perfectly aimed, would stop Thad from stabbing him. Or just ripping him to pieces, he saw Thad rip metal bars from stone walls almost effortlessly in his fits of rage. Unlike his colleagues Lance never had to face Thad's violent mood swings so he was often forgetting just how dangerous the man could be, but if Thad was indeed working with the mage threatening Castle Village, then he might be in a very real danger now.

But Thad just looked away from him and towards the door, for the first time looking concerned and maybe a little scared. Like he was in over his head and didn't know what to do. For how confident and aggressive Thad acted all the time it was too easy to forget that he was a lonely person with a nasty past and no friends to rely on while collecting enemies like they were fallen leaves in autumn. It wasn't the first time Thad's mask was falling like this, but Lance never managed to talk with him about it. And once again, as soon as that expression appeared it vanished, although he remained tense. Thad looked back at him from the corner of his eyes without moving his head from the direction of the shed's entrance and studied Lance in silence for a few seconds. While he avoided a violent outburst this stillness was still a bad sign, yet Lance couldn't back down now. He needed to find out if Thad was involved in the Corruption or not. "What are these gems, Thad? Where did you get them from?"

Thad didn't move and didn't change his expression or averted his eyes but answered in a carefully bland voice. "Told you, they're Grandpa's. I found a box of them upstairs when renovating the farmhouse and then occasionally still discover one or two scattered around the farm or the house. I don't know anything else about them."

Lance couldn't figure out if that was a lie or not. "I didn't think you'd put this much prize on your grandfather's heirlooms" Lance responded, trying to not sound mocking in any way, the discussion is as good as over if Thad gets defensive. But the man never cared about his family before, it was hard to believe he was just carrying a bag of gems with him all the time just for fond memories. "How did you even figure out they're radioactive in the first place?"

Thad shrugged his shoulders a little, but his frozen position made the movement look off, unnatural. Lance could feel his hairs raise on his back. "Gunther gave me a radar thing for radioactive materials a few months ago when I helped him gather some samples for some research. It pinged around the gems." He didn't look like wanted to offer any other details, so Lance decided to switch strategies. Maybe just getting to the point would actually help, it wasn't like the discussion can go anywhere from here.

"You're aware that your grandfather seems tied to the magic threatening to destroy Castle Village and whole Galdora, while you visit the Crimson Badlands with dangerous magical artifacts that resonate with the corruption there, aren't you? How do you think Camilla or the Ministry will take this news? Your grandfather might be dead, but you aren't and you'll be the one held accountable for this." Lance sighed, hoping that the last part won't be taken as a threat. Thad looked back towards the entrance but seemed to focus his eyes further in the distance, moving them like he was fixing something darting on the horizon. Like a cornered animal looking for a way out, Lance realized tensing even more. Would Thad try to run? But he dismissed that thought immediately, Thad really wasn't backing down from anything ever no matter how dangerous it was for him. And this was dangerous, the idea of simply killing Thad to be done with him has been floated around the Ministry multiple times and was only rejected do his unpredictable magic. The Ministry didn't want to risk whatever magical fallout Thad's death might cause. But if Thad was involved in the Crimson Badlands, they might decide they didn't have an option anyway, better a predictable fallout than risk losing control of the Void inside the Crimson Desert.

Thad moved from his position finally, leaning against a preserve jar at his back and was now looking at the floor of the shed while licking his lips slowly. Lance learned by now that this was a sign that he was unsure of something and was analyzing his situation, so he waited patiently for Thad to reach a conclusion. Finally, Thad looked back up, his face still unreadable but much more relaxed, like it was at the beginning of their discussion. "Yes, it seems to be the same energy", he admitted and Lance wanted to ask why he never said anything before, but Thad continued while running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, Grandpa was involved in some bad business while alive, all right? This place was a hotspot for gangs of smugglers, and he was involved in the operation. Wild coastal area with more caves than you'd what to do with, perfect for moving stuff around secretly." Lance frowned trying to figure out what this had to do with the discussion at hand, although it was admittedly an interesting information. "This magical signature was present in some tunnels used by the smugglers, probably belonged to a member. I assume he's the one who gave the gems to Grandpa in the first place."

Lance tried to fit this new knowledge with everything he knew about the Valley. He had never heard about this smuggling business before, so the gang wasn't involved with magic. At least not obviously enough to get the Ministry's attention. Were they still active? Was Thad with them too? Was smuggling, of all the things in the world, responsible for the Corruption in the Badlands? But how? An attempt to cover their tracks that got badly out of hand? Who would even try to use the Crimson Badlands as a smuggling den? The place was full of hellish monsters and watched constantly by adventurers all the time. He has to speak with Magnus about this, if there had been even a hint of magical activity among these smugglers the old wizard would’ve definitely noticed it. Thad shifted a little, now looking at a wall of the shed and nodding towards it. "Far off to the east, there's an old, abandoned vineyard. It used to be covered in slimes, all having traces of the same magic, similarly to the monsters in the Badlands but less corrupted."

Lance got up from his chair at this revelation, too shocked to be truly angry. "And you never told anyone this? It could hold important information about the Corruption -"

"At the time when I discovered the vineyard, I didn't know anything about the Badlands. And now the magic doesn't exist anymore, the Junimos restored the building and with that removed any trace of the old magic in it." Thad spread his hands a little, like he wanted to show he wasn't holding anything.

"You should've mentioned this to someone; any new information is vital for the chance to solve this dangerous magic once and for all." Lance couldn't keep his anger from his voice this time. Who knows what important information hides in this vineyard, maybe some important clue that could finally allow them to unravel this mystery or find a solution for the spreading Corruption. How many adventurers that lost their lives on those cursed sand dunes could have been saved if that vineyard was explored earlier? He glared at Thad, but the latter didn’t seem bothered.

"And get accused by everyone for no reason again? The Ministry was convinced I worked with Rasmodius' wife to collapse the wards around her swamp for who knows what reason. I have better things to do than visit the Ministry to give explanations for every weird event that has no connection with me, Lance." And with that Thad seemed to get over their discussion completely since he grabbed his barrel and his sponge again.

"You got accused because you were caught brewing similar potions as hers and you're visiting the swamp often enough. Highly illegal potions I might add." Lance had to swallow his anger, there was no point in trying to shame or guild Thad about anything, and he needed to leave Thad in a good mood if he was to get any more information or help about the vineyard in the future. At least he was quite certain now that Thad wasn’t trying to create his own army of corrupted monsters. But he did quickly grab the gem from the table just to make sure Thad wouldn’t get it first, although he seemed more interested in preparing his shed for another wine batch than he was in 'Lance's' discovery. Still, it was a vital clue, and Lance didn't want to risk losing it. "And you'll still end up accused for this because nothing about your story explains why you brought these gems to the Crimson Badlands in the first place." He tried once more to get Thad's attention back to the discussion at hand although he could already tell it was in vain.

"This is all I know about the gems or the situation, and the Ministry can bite me. You can easily find the abandoned vineyard in East Scarp if you're curious about it but don't expect much. Especially since the Junimos like Ministry workers just as much as I do." And with that Thad dived back into the barrel and started scrubbing. Great, so they’ll definitely need to get Thad to help them here. The Junimos still mostly avoided Magnus’ attempts to communicate with them, and Camilla will probably just scare them off. He didn’t know any other mage that had a good relationship with the small forest spirits, or any other mage capable of using forest magic for that matter, it was a rare talent, one almost impossible to learn if you were not born with it.

Well, there is nothing else to do here. Lance looked again towards Thad who was now completely ignoring him, apparently too absorbed in his scrubbing quest to notice his presence anymore. Out of options, decided to return to Castle Village and report his findings to Camilla. The sun hasn't even started to set yet he could tell neither of them will get any sleep at all tonight.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

More Farmer OCs as a memes! (Part ???):

Farmers Willow @vilochkaaa, Thad @reallyghostlypost, Wren @bungiri, Rain @silly-farmer, Marley @mmarggsstuff, Asra @sapphicastral, Hestia @g0atmama, Skylar @justashamwithwastedpotential, Myra @seharuuchan (special thanks to you for some meme template! 💕), Ziana and Astelle @nimilla and Julian (my OC).

[reallyghostlypost]

Mr. Qi and Joja - a weird theory

So, Mr. Qi:

blue

morally questionable

the only mage we know that really integrates magic and modern technology:

casino with lots of machines

shops and currencies and capitalism

has a hidden room full of cameras and other espionage tech

messes around with radioactive materials

knows how to pilot a small plane

You know what else is blue, morally questionable fully evil and represents technology and modernity in the game? Exactly, Joja! Besides we know drinking Joja Cola can give you blue skin, what more do you want? Clearly Qi is the secret founder of Joja and the one who controls it from the shadow!

Still, it might not be that much of an exaggeration since the 1.6 update

created am interesting connection between Qi and Joja, namely that suspicious Joja employee you can find on Ginger Island who sells you perfection waivers signed with Qi's own signature that work. There should be no way for Joja to access Qi's room, let alone mess around in it enough to find his signature without him knowing about it, and in the end Qi even accepts the waivers without problems. That guy even knows details about Qi's ideas for perfection.

I mean sure, Qi might accept the waivers out of amusement that the Farmer had the guts to even try it in the first place, but we're still left with the question on how Joja found out about and accessed his secret room in the first place. And if Qi simply contacted them for this job then they do indeed work together.

This situation is even more absurd in SVE where Lance, a fully trained mage, doesn't know anything about Qi's secret project but Joja is running around with his fake signatures and tapping at his computers whenever they feel like it.

But in the end, Qi working with Joja does make some sense. Again, he's the most 'modern' magic user we know and he's fully adapted to technology to the point where his bases can best be described as 'technology augmented by magic' than vice versa. Even the Farmer's meetings with Qi outside of them show his love for technology - Qi watching a monitor on the 100th Skull Cavern floor and his introductory quest being hidden behind a battery pack. Qi working with a corporation is only a small step further than that. He pilots a small plane for fuck's sake.

Only problem would be the Junimos, after all, even without much connections with nature, it's hard to believe that Qi wants them and nature magic in general to be permanently destroyed by Joja, right? I mean, he seems to be on friendly terms with the magical birds on Ginger Island since they influence each other's shops. And besides, Grandpa was friends with the Junimos, he wouldn't want to kill Grandpa's friends, yeah? Well, probably not, but then again… neither does the Farmer when they choose to side with Joja. And yet, it's hard to deny that the Farmer benefits more if they side with the megacorporation than with the Junimos. Restore the Community Center? Junimos give you some gifts and leave forever. Turn it into a Joja warehouse and help Joja get a foothold into one of the last unpolluted refuges for forest spirits? They have no choice but to work for you on the farm for no payment just to survive. The Farmer's forest magic ensures their survival even if Joja expands so they're stuck with you. At least you're nice so you're just asking them to pick crops…

So, if the Farmer chooses Joja they basically benefit from both sides. Which is something Qi would do too. And it's hard to imagine Qi negotiating with Joja's demands at any point, so him controlling Joja makes more sense. He can easily use Joja's influence for his plans, whatever those are, without Joja being tracked back to him in any way and without needing to get too involved with the corporation's boring day to day business. The last one would be a problem for Joja's legal owners.

This is even more important in SVE where it's pretty probably that Camilla is of some threat to him. And where Joja's tentacles would be an easy way to hide dark magic experiments from curios eyes.

Sure, this is probably just a way for CA to offer a quick perfection shortcut but that Joja guy puts lots of emphasis on perfection and Qi's signature, so everything about this is fair game for funny theories :D

[reallyghostlypost]

Since Eli and Dylan always struggle with money, Thad took it upon himself one day to sew/crochet them both a new full set of winter clothes one autumn. (Dylan was looking very sad working on the windy beach the winter before).

It involved lots of cursing and wasted wool while he learned how to do it and lots of slapping his little void helpers away because they were eating his thread when he wasn't looking (he was spending a lot of time in front of the loom/sewing table and they wanted attention).

But the results were worth it... if you ignore the slight void smell on the clothes because he had to pull some of the thread out of the critters' mouths. Probably only Eli can smell it anyway <_<

[reallyghostlypost]

Remade Thad's backstory! 🥳

(Technically the image is from a picrew, but it got deleted at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Basics:

late 20's - early 30's

really tall and slender

vary pale, to the point where he looks unhealthy and corpse-like

soft wavy hair that won't sit in any way no matter how much he tries

pitch black hair and eyes (eyes so dark you can't distinguish the pupil from the iris)

as he'll start controlling his magic better his hair will start to turn purple from the tips up and his eyes will start getting purple flecks until they completely change colours (but that will be decades after moving to the valley)

Detailed backstory:

Thad moved in the valley after causing massive chaos both at Joja and the Ministry. (Not his fault, he did exactly what he was told to do.) Not that the townspeople know that, or anything about him, really. He lives alone deep in the woods and visits the town rarely. Despite that they consider him a helpful and cheerful neighbour. He's a good listener but will carefully avoid saying anything about himself. He also pays really close attention to everything that goes around him, has a really good memory and will dig through everyone's personal objects, but most people haven't figured out that yet. (Old habits die hard.) He's very curious and always down to try or learn new things.

Had a mutually beneficial deal with the Ministry while working at Joja - they help him get out of there while he helps them investigate if Joja is illegally messing with magic. (Of course they were.) An agreement everyone at the Ministry ended up regretting after it was revealed that multiple mages from the Ministry were secretly helping Joja. Part of the reason the situation in the Badlands got out of control this horribly was because everyone at the Ministry was busy with the fallout of the newly discovered corruption within their ranks. They also regretted getting Thad out in general, since they're pretty sure he's not even human any longer, but Thad considers it payback for forcing him to work at Joja in the first place.

He and Magnus already know each other since it was Magnus who 'hired' him to help with the Ministry's investigation. (Magnus is also now responsible with keeping Thad from messing with magic too, but everyone already know that's not going to happen in a depressed acceptance kind of way.) Every mage and adventurer knows about him and about the whole mess, and a few blame him directly for all the paperwork and investigations they had to go through.

His presence in the Valley causes weird things to happen due to his contradictory and unstable magic - life/forest and void/death. (Qi and Grandpa are to blame for the odd combination.) He has trouble using his magic because of it. Ever since he moved to Pelican Town dark magic is starting to get stronger, monster are more agressive and more likely to breed and leave the mines, and dark creatures almost unheard of before have been spotted in the woods. But nature and forest magic are also getting stronger - plants grow faster and healthier, rare or nearly extinct animals are starting to thrive, pollution is disappearing or at least affecting the environement less, and magical creatures that were droved away by humans and especially by Joja are tentatively moving back into the Valley, like junimos and fairies. (This means lots of interesting research opportunities but also lots of extra worry for the already overworked Ministry/Order members.)

Like his magic, Thad has a very contradictory and changing personality, but keeps most of it hidden (despite seemingly having no filter). He doesn't trust people and never opens up. He's generally mocking and sarcastic in a playful way, doesn't take anything seriously and always wastes his time instead of working. Very smug and annoying, will start fights by saying things people don't want or need to hear. Doesn't apologize or regrets what he's done no matter how bad the situation gets, he'll always choose to double down instead of backing off. But he can also be surprisingly calm and obedient. His personality changes fast, sometimes within minutes, and makes predicting his reactions hard. Which is a problem since he has violent tendencies, especially when his dark magic is stronger than the forest one. Gets along weirdly well with Lance, who's often called to calm him down or get him out of some place.

He has lots of animalstic and inhuman traits or behaviours, like making weird noises, especially when talking with other supernatural beings, smelling magic more than feeling it, and his eyes sometimes glow in the dark like a cat's. Also lots of horror-like traits, like his face sometimes looking wrong when someone is watching him from the corner of their eyes or looking at his reflection, but normal when they look directly at him. (He's not aware that this happens and doesn't understand why people suddenly react weird to him when he's not doing anything.) He died while working at Joja and his body sometimes forgets he's alive again, so randomly he'll stop breathing or won't have a pulse. (He's not aware of that either and doesn't feel it, his magic just takes over until his organs start working again.)

His farm and house are full of void creatures, spirits, junimos and other weird beings, most invisible even to other magic users. They feed off his magic and help him with his chores in exchange. Really doesn't get along with Isaac (or most adventurers/mages really). Has been banned multiple times from Castle Village already. (But they have to let him back because he's the only one who can safely fight in the Badlands. He's very annoying and smug every time they call him back, and generally gets banned immediately after he's done with cleaning the Badlands.)

[reallyghostlypost]

The Old City AU: notes. Part 1

So, quick notes on the setting in some vague semblance of order:

General Setting

Most of the setting is intentionally vague, so there's this constant feeling of impending disaster or a war happening or something but no one will give any clear explanation about it.

Ferngill Republic is still recovering from some disaster in the past that levelled nearly half of Zuzu. Same disaster also severely weakened the Ministry of Magic and removed most of its influence on the country.

The new government that formed after the disaster destroyed all evidence of it and forbid anyone from even mentioning it so no one knows what actually happened then. But the ruins of the city became corrupted with monsters appearing there and trying to enter the rest of Zuzu or weird magical effects appearing on people living bordering the abandoned area.

The Old City is a new segment that was build on the ruins of a couple of destroyed neighbourhoods of Zuzu (hence the name) before the corruption was discovered but most of the ruined city is still abandoned and off limits.

Only a couple of years after it was built the Old City got quarantined too and the bridges leading to it are now guarded by the army. None of the original residents are allowed to leave while few people are allowed to enter and only with permission from the government. The military is managing the segment. The Old Town became a buffer zone between current Zuzu and the destroyed half of it (occasionally referenced to as the Lost City).

Politics

The government, the current dominant faction, is mostly responsible with the military and keeping order. They're also the ones dealing with monsters in this AU.

Most administrative and logistic duties have been taken over by Joja who raised to power by proving indispensable for rebuilding the Republic after the disaster. It's basically a semi-official part of the government but kept on a short leash much to its displeasure.

The Ministry has fallen out of grace after the disaster and it's now sidelined by the other two factions, only dealing with wards or magical diseases, with very little room for research. Most magic knowledge was also lost, either destroyed by the cataclysm or eradicated by the government after. It's unclear if the Ministry had anything to do with the disaster but most people assume so considering how much hate the government has for the Ministry. Magic is mostly forbidden now, with mages being closely supervised by the government. Anyone being found using magic outside of their duties or without being registered as a mage gets executed.

Basically I wanted this to be a cozy mystery AU rather than the more fantasy approach of Stardew and I can't have that with Camilla around so I depowered magic to keep things more complicated. Magic is also unreliable in the Old City due to the huge amount of magical residue around that makes spells misfire. Lance only rarely will fight monster while Thad almost never fights and will always back down from a battle.

So Lance will have trouble moving around since he's the only Ministry employee in an area controlled exclusively by the government (and a very touchy area at that) so everyone is suspicious of him and will brush him aside. He'll also avoid attracting any more attention to himself and will follow orders as much as possible since he isn't sure that Camilla can get him out of trouble so his investigations take much longer than they should. But his colleagues are trying their best to smooth things out for him as much as possible.

Joja has a complete opposite approach with Thad. Officially he's just a normal worker who moved in to work at a Joja factory in the Old City. Joja told him they don't want any friction with the government so if he gets in any trouble he's on his own. Unlike Lance Thad is a lot more reckless with his investigation, breaking any rule possible and entering any forbidden area without hesitation despite having a lot more to lose than Lance, who at least has the Ministry covering for him. So he has a huge advantage over Lance when it comes to investigations.

Both the Ministry and Joja want to research the magic in the Old City since it's one of the few magical sources they can still access. Joja also wants to find the truth about the disaster to use it to at least escape the government's control if not to take the power for themselves.

The Old City

It's separated from Zuzu by a huge river. There are multiple bridges connecting the tow parts but they are closely guarded by the army.

Sirens can be heard occasionally and everyone has to go inside immediately until further notice but no one knows what they mean since they are so many dangers around - actual bombs? poisonous gases? monsters on the streets? someone was found dead so everyone has to go inside until the authorities can investigate? What everyone knows for sure though is that people who don't take cover when the sirens start either disappear forever or are found dead later.

Very few people are outside at any given time so most places look abandoned.

Sometimes the ones walking the streets act like zombies, dazed, stumbling and suddenly getting violent for no reason.

TVs, radios etc. don't work most of the time so there's no way to know what happens in the Republic. Whenever they broadcast something it's about happenings inside the Old City and tend to be only negative news about some dangers or new orders from the authorities.

Planes can be occasionally heard flying above but aren't visible due to the cloudy sky. Nobody knows what purpose they serve or even if they belong to Ferngill so most people go inside when they hear them.

It's a mostly misty and cloudy area and sunny days are rare.

The Old City is segmented in smaller parts by tall walls or natural stuff like rivers or cliffs. This way it's easier to manage the residents and dangers can be isolated and dealt with faster.

Sounds of fights or screams are common at night despite the strict curfew. No one asks questions about these incidents or checks for the source of the noises next day.

Mysterious blood puddles or dead bodies on the streets are common. It's recommended to not approach them even if it's someone you know. Sometimes people that died months or years ago can reappear looking like fresh corpses. Definitely don't approach those.

Sometimes cops or soldiers will walk from building to building to question the residents for clues about some event or another.

The Old City is bordered by the military zone separating it from Zuzu City proper on one side, the sea on another and a forest on a third side.

Deeper in the forest there's another section of the old Zuzu city that got overgrown after getting abandoned. The forest is strictly off limits to anyone and it's closed off by tall fences or walls and guarded by military outposts. Anyone trying to enter (or found inside) risks getting shot on sight. You need permission from the government to visit it and even then you have to be accompanied by soldiers at all times.

There are monsters in the forest even in broad daylight, including the reanimated corpses of those who died there (basically the fallen adventurer mobs). Things in there will try to lure passerby or soldiers in and sometimes they'll try to storm the fences and enter the Old City. That is an important enough event to warrant sounding the sirens to warn everyone to stay inside until the invaders get found and killed.

There are lots of secrets to be found in the forest - old abandoned villages, ruins from factories, buried bunkers, half collapsed mines, secret government research facilities, and the gates to other parts of the Lost City. A half whispered urban legend mentions another city hidden deep in the forest, one that perfectly mirrors this one but the people there are wrong. Unnatural. Of course, nobody can prove or disprove this and speaking about this might get you beaten up by the authorities.

Thad visits the forest often in his search for documents or ruins from before the disaster. He accepts the risks of getting killed either by the military or by monsters each time. Lance visits it rarely and only after Camilla manages to wrestle a permission for him.

Pelican Town Apartment building

Only one other building in its segment and they're separated by the rest of the City by tall thick walls. The segment also borders a wide river with tall banks on one side further isolating it. This is one of the border segments of the Old City, and you can see the forest from the building when it isn't covered by fog.

The Governor is responsible for this segment.

Lots of green areas inside the walls and between the two buildings.

No one is ever seen exiting or entering the other building. People can be seen moving inside their apartments but no one is seen using the door. Occasionally strangers can be seen walking around the segment. It's assumed they are the people living in the other building.

If the weather is bad the building isn't visible at all from the apartments here, or only its lights are.

Both buildings are tall with a still unknown number of floors. Officially the Pelican building has ten floors but some extra floors appear and disappear randomly.

The further you climb the more dilapidated the floors and apartments look.

The elevator drops you off in a small antechamber with windows and two benches. Immediately after exiting the antechamber you find the doors leading to the stairs on your right and on your left is a long hallway with multiple doors on either side.

At the end of the hallway there's a 'common room' where the people living on each floor gather. Basically the last two apartments on either side got their walls removed and got merged with the end of the hallway to create a large single room. It has furniture like couches, windows with drapes and a radio or TV depending on the floor.

Rooms like this are used to gather all the floor residents for official announcements or interrogations or to herd them in a safe area in case the building becomes dangerous. It's also used as a meeting and socializing space. Sometimes official communications are only sent through the radios and TVs placed in these rooms so people gather here for news too.

Maybe it has some version of the bulletin board too? Like a place for neighbours to leave notes and complains for each other. A general non-floor specific one exists at the entrance of the building too.

Five apartments on each side of the hallway? Plus a communal storage area. Sometimes more doors may appear. Haven't decided where to place each character yet.

Lewis is the building administrator and the one responsible with keeping everything in order. Unfortunately I had to kick Marlon and Gill out and make them part of Lance's team outside of the Old City. Government wouldn't have accepted a permanent Ministry members here. Might still appear occasionally though, especially to deliver important items or ingredients to him. Maybe they were the former Ministry agents to live in the Old City?

When Lance moved it the 'townspeople' were still scared because someone at an upper floor was found murdered in their own apartment. There have also been recent incidents where some people tried to violently enter the building. So they were happy when Lance moved in and promised to protect them.

Other

Outside of the small segment where everyone lives is a general store opened at all times. It's always empty and dark, with lights either not working or flickering.

The man at the counter never speaks, just scans items without even looking at customers. Sometimes he's not even there and people scan the items themselves. Rumours are that if you try to leave without paying either the doors won't open for you again or you'll exit in a different empty part of the City with no way to return home.

Weird things happen in the store. Faces can be seen on the fruits or veggies there, a body was in the freezer once, and items from other periods of time or places are sometimes sold.

Since the entry into the Old City is guarded by the army Thad uses the sewers to sneak inside Zuzu. They're a huge maze of corridors and tunnels that sometimes change so he never really knows where he's going.

Lots of other places I didn't thought about too much yet. While a part of the beach can be used by people most of it is off limits too. All sorts of things can be found washed ashore but it's difficult to investigate since you're exposed with no place to hide from being found by the army.

Past the forest lies most of the ruins of the old Zuzu city. There's also a mountain range further beyond.

[reallyghostlypost]

Creepy city AU

Because I love horror set in soviet style cities I made this originally small AU - creepy Stardew Valley set in a spooky cold war atmosphere with ghosts and monsters thrown in for good measure. Now it's a much bigger AU with lots of ideas and details.

I have lots of scattered notes but basically all the residents of Pelican Town live in the same commie apartment building in an isolated part of Zuzu. The city used to be much bigger but decades ago some tragedy happened that destroyed nearly half of it. The ruined city was shut off from the outside world with no one allowed to go in or out. Details of the incident are still unknown to this day, some lost in time and some kept secret by the government. Years ago authorities tried to expand Zuzu over the forbidden zone and rebuild the city over its old ruins, this part now known as the Old City, but after awhile they realized the area has been corrupted by dark magic.

Still, due to lack of space (at least officially), people have been allowed to move to the Old City and start a life there. But the area itself is still kept separated by the rest of Zuzu through a militarized zone and people living here don't have almost any contact with anything outside their part of the city and don't know anything about what goes on in the rest of Ferngill Republic.

Every few years the Ministry of Magic is sending an agent to live in the Old City for a few months to check up on things and research how the situation evolves - this time it was Lance's turn. But his stay in the Old City got indefinitely prolonged due to him discovering that Joja sent its own men (Thad included) to research the corrupted magic there and to try to uncover the secrets of the old disaster to use for political blackmail.

So now Lance needs to fulfil his original duty and take notes on how the dark magic is still affecting the Old City (things got much worse since the last time the Ministry checked), has to uncover what Joja is planning and what they managed to discover so far, and has to keep his own mission and research a secret from Thad who's there for the exact same reasons as Lance (just working for Joja instead of the Ministry).

And generally has to survive the chaos and dangers of the area considering something crawled out of his closet in his first night there and tried to kill him in his sleep.

(This is a very self indulging AU so it's mostly just Lance or Thad dealing with creepy things while occasionally stumbling upon each other to chat)

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Our Farmers as a memes, because Idk what the fuck I'm doing (part 2):

Hey, @boinurmom13 (yep, again), @bungiri, @vilochkaaa, @seharuuchan, @nimillaarts, @silly-farmer, @reallyghostlypost. Your OCs farmers are the victims of another one of my shitposts (I love y'all 💕🫰)