The blog now has new banner art by the amazing and talented @moonfloat! This is my second time commissioning him and now this blog's banner matches my main. I'm so happy with the results, so please check out Ezekiel's works! 🧡
Elliott's summer fit is by @diversestardewvalley with a slight touch of the old Elliott design, which is his earring from the beta portraits (earring Elliott you'll always be famous).
This was based after a moment in Eury's save where, thanks to the Happy Birthday mod, Elliott ended up giving a single (1) orange to the orange farmer. I set myself up here since the birthday gifts you can get are entirely controlled by yourself, but it was still incredibly hilarious when it happened because in my head, by the time this happened he's already trying to (very nervously) woo her.
I finished two more portraits for Cheri recently (because the Nexus mod page editor is janky as hell and it's annoying) - revamped the iaido gear portrait, and designed a whole new outfit for the Shooting Star Festival date. This is the first time I designed an outfit directly on the pixel portrait itself instead of drawing one in my regular art, and a lot of that time was spent agonizing over how to tie/decorate the obiage.
These portraits are the edge-most of all edge use cases for a unique outfit. Cheri's schedule has her do practice only from 6-7AM every day. She starts at 5AM actually, but the player wakes up at 6, so there's only a short window of time to catch her in this outfit and read related dialogue. The date outfit is, well, only for the Shooting Star date, and this outfit is designed for an unmarried woman in mind (see the heavily decorated obi and the elaborate obiage design), so I imagine post-marriage she wears a different outfit instead. To be fair, I wanted post-marriage Cheri to have a unique Shooting Star date event where she takes you out riding for a picnic with Snow White, so she would have to wear equestrian gear, which her new summer outfit qualifies as.
For the iaido outfit revamp, I have once again bested kimono sleeves in single combat and came out victorious. Aside from the new base giving a better silhouette, I simplified the rendering on the sword, especially the grip, which in my opinion is the biggest quality improvement for the revamped portrait.
I've got some more thoughts about these two outfits, more design yap under the cut:
In some ways, these two outfits are diametrically opposite of each other. Cheri's iaido outfit is one of the most masc-presenting ones (with the low waistline and a men's hakama, while the date outfit is very strongly femme from its colors to its silhouette and accessories. In fact, it's so femme that it's a major outlier compared to the rest of her outfits, because Cheri is uncomfortable with wearing something so obviously feminine.
More importantly, the date outfit is also an outlier because Cheri does not wear blue, much less in softer shades, for her tops. Her tops are always either red, pink, or white, and blue is almost always reserved for outerwear or bottoms:
Red is Cheri's color motif, not just from what red represents as a color in general, but also because it's her province's color - something reserved for nobility (her Master is often seen in red or wearing red accessories). In fact, it's a not-so-subtle hint of how favored she is by her Master, because she wears a lot of red for a peasant and her sword is also very much red-accented as it's the clan heirloom sword that unofficially marked her as his successor.
There is always some amount of (dark) blue in Cheri's outfits, which for the present day is a hint of her connection with Balor. However, the iaido outfit is notable for being the only outfit Cheri has that entirely lacks any blue elements. It's monochrome with red as the accent color, which is also how I render all art related to/set in Cheri's childhood. It's my way of saying that Cheri in her practice gear, wearing dark red, is her expressing the core of her self: her Master's favored student, the bearer of his legacy, and an embodiment of the violence she lives and breathes. The unrepentant Blood-Red Swordsman.
Cheri may not be actively (or openly) committing the kind of violence she used to in Mistria, but that part of her never left either, no matter how she tries to pass her sword practice as one of the ways she meditates. She's a creature of habit, and she still does her sword practice out of fear of losing her edge; still someone who never really quit living in survival mode.
On the other hand, her date outfit has a very soft color palette with blue as the main color. I've yet to have 'proper' art for this part, but the date outfit's color palette is actually the most similar to the colors she used to wear while travelling with Balor and their friends as a teenager. Cheri still wore red accessories, but she also wears soft or desaturated blues as the main color. This is significant, because Cheri (or at least herself prior to living in Mistria) has come to view this part of her own life with deep contempt. She blames herself a lot for the incident that drove their little ragtag band of misfits apart and killed their friends. This separation from Balor, too, is the biggest cause of her incredibly poor mental state in the present day.
So the fact that Cheri goes on a date wearing these colors and an outfit that is pretty, soft, and absolutely not practical to fight in whatsoever is my way of conveying that it's a moment of both physical and emotional vulnerability for her. She's dropped her guard down, wearing something that she normally is uncomfortable in, just for the occasion... which is significant because I plan to make Cheri only truly romanceable after you hit 8 hearts, and to reach that point, she has to reconcile with Balor, too (i.e. you have to finish their special story arc).
The patterns for the date outfit are kawa (river), koi fish on the obi, and lotus as the flower motif. Many of these are symbols of perseverance and resilience. Lotus is also a deeply Buddhist flower, which I think is an appropriate motif because at this point in her character arc, Cheri has gone a long way into her personal path of enlightenment - she's moved on from or reconciled with many parts of her past.
So the TL;DR is that 'the curtains are just blue' is absolutely not applicable for Cheri in all aspects, because I'm very fond of symbolism and like putting many hours into thinking about them. As a bonus for reading this far, have these designs that I drafted for a younger Balor and Cheri! He's in his early 20s and Cheri is about 14 years old here.
(I personally headcanon Balor as Very Tall, which is unfortunate because he's canonically average height. At the same time, Cheri was also comically short as a teenager, so she would be a lot tinier than him regardless.)
More previews for my upcoming mod! I've got some fun customization options that are only possible thanks to (also upcoming) features included in Misc Map Actions Properties 🧡
After 2 full days of grinding through my current save (since I plan to get to the marriage content sans children and finishing the mines quest before restarting entirely)... I made it to the wedding day! It was frankly hilarious to finish the mines questline 2 days before the wedding, so I have to play more mindfully in the second run considering what happened on the day itself...
This is going to be a long ramble post where I'm more emotional than anything and I will not be sorry about it!
(FoM 1.0 spoilers, specifically for March's proposal and wedding event, under the cut! There's also some more personal thoughts as I felt like this is the ultimate payoff to the whole year I've spent building up Cheri's character, the ship, and Petals Upon the River as a whole.)
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The Wedding
Firstly, I cannot believe that Balor is actually standing on Cheri's side. I suspect that the game chooses the two characters on your side based on the first two characters whom you reach Best Friend status with. I remember Balor being my first because that was deliberate (him being my favorite, and him being the most important vanilla NPC to Cheri's story), but Reina was definitely not the second one.
We know from the trailer that Ryis—the only truly mutual friend between March and Cheri—will be on March's side (as his bestie), so if we're going to pick from the romanceables only, it should have been Balor and Reina on Cheri's side. To my consolation Reina is still on Cheri's side of the aisle 😅
I've talked about this with a friend, but if Cheri were an NPC in-game, the people on her side would be either Balor and Reina, or Balor and Landen; I feel like Uncle Landen would be honored to be the 'father' of the bride and amused that he's there for his honorary niece while his nephew is the groom's best man!
Secondly, wow am I glad for the wedding outfit options the game provides! Hilariously enough, this is the only time I could get as close as possible to how Cheri's sprite actually looks like using just the in-game clothing items (I refuse to mod the game because at this stage MOMI/mods break too often and I don't have time and energy for that kind of upkeep, and also farmer sprite scary). It even has the pink accessory—boutonniere? Pocket square? Who knows.
Thirdly, as seen from the first picture, I have failed to actually have a spring wedding lol. But since I will be restarting anyways (and to ensure Reina stands on Cheri's side the next time around), it doesn't matter much to me as a player, considering I, as a writer, already have A Vision for how March and Cheri's 'canonical' wedding happened. Which brings me to my next point...
The Engagement
(The issue with having an OC with a complicated appearance is that I cannot recreate them in game at all and thus had to edit screenshots like this for the sake of my sanity lol)
I did not expect March to not only forge something for you, but also intending the item to be a declaration of protection. While the item March made Cheri for their 'canon' engagement is a sword, the intent was the same; he made them a weapon because he knew a weapon is how Cheri could protect both themself and their loved ones to the best of their abilities.
It's also March's way of accepting that part of Cheri. Cheri is rooted to a fault to a preconceived notion of herself; that she's nothing without her past and all the bloodshed that has followed her through life. The worst part is that she is correct, as without her Master's teachings and the brand of ruthlessness he beat into her, she would not have survived first her war-torn homeland and later her vagrant lifestyle in Aldaria. She would not even have met Balor, because her skills as a blade-for-hire was what brought her to take the advert he put up.
At the time Cheri was doubtful if March realized what it meant to give someone like her a weapon. Even for the sake of survival, a blade has always been a tool of violence to her, and noble intentions will not erase the history she has with one. But to March, in all the time she's spent in Mistria, Cheri has never once drawn her sword for anything but to protect him while they were in that mineshaft and in her mission to help the townsfolk. As a craftsman, he would not have wanted a tool to be denied its purpose, and the purpose for a weapon is not for its purity to be preserved. The sword can be deadly in the right hands and Cheri possesses them, but above all else March trusts in the judgment of the hand that will wield it. It's a proof of trust, understanding, and acceptance.
(Cheri is very smug about that sword, because not only it is beautiful, it's also a damn good sword. She's allowed a lot of pride in the matter. Art by Araimin!)
Plus, it will take a while for Cheri to discover this, as she has to dismantle the sword first for cleaning, but March wrote a message on the tang (the part that slots into the hilt) that is a very simple wish: 'may this new blade protect you as the old one has protected me'.
He originally wanted to write some sappy poetry on it but quickly gave up; he never was much of a wordsmith. So it was very vindicating for me that March's actions and intentions in the official proposal event was pretty much the same as within the ship material I've written both as my spin on canon and for future mod content, regardless if the proposal was an accident in the project 'canon'!
Because story-wise March and Cheri's engagement is the point where they also started dating, they ended up having a long engagement (~2 years) while they figure things out. They are enthusiastic about the wedding, but it's not as intense of a reaction as it was in-game because by that point, the topic has become more of a 'so, is it time for us to get married soon?'/'I suppose it is, isn't it?' casual discussion. Besides, the accidental proposal did come after a near-death experience, so March was more relieved than anything. I do think it's funny and cute that he's basically yelling about his upcoming marriage to everyone in a 10 meter radius in the game though 🥺
Final Thoughts
It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but the moment the shield came up I burst into tears. I was touched and excited and just so SO happy throughout the entire engagement (heh, get it?) and cried again during the wedding event because Cheri is personal to me. Perhaps not exactly me me, but rather my feelings, journey, and relationship with someone dear to me who is very much like her, and Cheri's character and relationship arc is essentially what I wished for that person to have one day.
They are more than a bit of a vent character, and after an ENTIRE YEAR (A YEAR! UNBELIEVABLE!) of my time, passion, and most importantly emotions invested in the project, the in-game events felt like all my efforts were worth it.
I'll be 25 this year. It has been almost a decade since I shared my art to this degree. I've written and drawn practically all my life. I used to be so much more confident in my early teens. I've shared multiple multichapter fanfics when I was 11-13 years old. At one point, due to artistic burnout, the pressure of my education and personal life, and growing misery from how modern fandom culture has evolved and real-life events, I've lost almost all that motivation. I started again bit by bit through making mods for Stardew Valley, but none of those works are as personal as Petals Upon the River is.
I'm so glad that I found Fields of Mistria—and Balor, March and this ship too—because working on Petals Upon the River pushed me into growing and improving as an artist. Not just that, it pushed me to share my more personal creative projects with confidence. And I'm excited to share many more, until Cheri is fully realized as a custom NPC and beyond!
Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you guys find as much joy in this game as I have. And if you do, I'm happy for you too! 🧡
Recently finished a tilesheet commission for a custom NPC house interior! 🧡🌼
It's been ages since I did some proper Stardew style pixel art and I forgot how hard it was to draw very tiny things. I'm very pleased with how the divider and desk turned out.
I also made a little usage sample. Tatami shapes are fun!
I am so bad at keeping track of time that I never realized that the project is officially 1 year old, counting from the date I first shared Cheri's portrait to the unofficial FoM server. She's come so far (and so did my art!).
With the v.3.0 portraits finished, revamping of the gift tastes, and writing the new intro, the biggest part of Cheri's latest revamp is finished! So glad I had that off my shoulders, because it's quite the art debt to have. Now I can be a bit more relaxed in making new stuff for the project. Maybe I'll finally get to proofreading my writing to put on the wiki, too.
All in all, thank you to everyone who's supported me throughout developing this project! The design and character brainstorming, lore discourse, silly headcanoning that became serious, and of course, just plain enthusiasm and joy about Cheri. These kept me not only creating art, but also sharing them, as Petals Upon the River is the first fanwork I've shared publicly on the internet since nearly ten years ago. It means a lot to me 🤍
In celebration of all this, here's some development FAQ and fun facts under the cut!
FAQ
Q: What software do you use?
A: Aseprite. Generally, I recommend doing pixel art in software made specifically for pixel art. They're more lightweight than regular digital art softwares like CSP, there's pixel perfect settings for cleaner lines, and it helps with exporting faster (through use of frames) and lossless resizing. Good alternatives are Libresprite and Pixquare (iOS).
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Q: How did you do all the stuff for the project wiki?
A: Carrd Pro Plus subscription (unfortunately), getting back into CSS/HTML, learning a little bit of JS, and a ton of patience as I try to NOT rip my hair out due to Carrd's limitations even with Pro Plus.
The most intensive custom codework I've done so far are for the conversation topics in the Dialogue tab (i.e. the dialogue lines where you are offered choices and the topic resumes in later times you talk to the character again, like Balor's 'strawberry milk' conversation), and for the character bio tabs.
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Q: How did you make the fake screenshots?
A: Taking in-game screenshots at 1x display resolution for the backgrounds, manual editing the rest. At 1x, the true resolution is still at 200%, so I had to do the dialogue box/portrait/sprite work in a separate file, export those 200%, then smack them into another .aseprite file where I keep the screenshots.
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Q: Is the custom journal background for Cheri's bio a template?
A: No! I did edit that based off of the vanilla journal UI, but I edited colors, added the wear and tear on the pages, bookmark and tabs, and the receipt (based off of a part of the shop UI) to better match the look of Cheri's in-universe accounting ledger. Most of the additions are hand-pixeled, as opposed to frankenspriting.
Q: Is Cheri's house interior real in-game footage?
A: No. It's a drawing. I'm too scared to open the game's map files after seeing how the assets are organized.
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Fun Facts
Cheri was first announced as a concept in the unofficial FoM server on June 24th 2025, and their first portrait concept shared on July 4th 2025. It's been a year of development by now!
It took me a while to name the project, but I settled on "Petals Upon the River" because it's a reference to a rare but very much real hamon (temper line) design called Yoshinogawa ("Yoshino River") depicting cherry blossom petals and water ripples - example here. This pattern is also what Cheri has on her new sword's hamon.
(Art by Araimin on VGen!)
Speaking of petals, early on during development, sometimes I have thoughts that it would be too on-the-nose and maybe tropey in a lame way to have a Japanese OC with cherry blossom motifs — especially considering I'm not even Japanese. I think the direction that Cheri has gone towards is pretty cool by now, but that thought is certainly part of why I decided to give Cheri and their home province a more specifically Buddhist background/worldbuilding rather than Shinto. I also thought that the system of spiritually uplifted people and deifying them instead of a pantheon of unknowable, all-powerful gods is more in line towards the canon faiths we have in FoM (i.e. the dragon worship).
As of currently, the project has three focal characters across several arcs of Cheri's life (Cheri themself, their Master for the "past" arc, and Chihiro for the "future" arc), and 5 full-fledged members of the supporting cast (Snow White, Nagamitsu and Shizuruhime from the "past" cast, and Balor and Cheri's two travelling partners, whom I have not revealed officially yet). There's also quite a bit of background characters, like the old Master's parents, who are decently developed.
I've always been someone who makes worldbuilding in service of the characters and story, so I tended to work backwards to make them. My first devised worldbuilding material is the marital blade tradition, which genuinely started as a joke and rapidly became serious.
