a slice-of-life game set in a small town with a focus on romantic, platonic, and family relationships
After getting laid off from your swanky job in the city, you are left with no choice but to move back to your rural hometown, Bridgewater, while you get your life back together. Your parents let you move into the apartment above their bar, with one condition- you pick up some shifts and help their once-popular bar get more customers again. But life in a small town can get messy quick, and even though Bridgewater comes with a lot of mess, it’s hard not to get attached to the small town and the people that reside in it. As you start to build a life here, you realize you have a big decision in your future: will you stay or will you go?
Play as female, male, transmasc, transfem, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi, aro, or ace.
Customize your mc’s appearance
Develop your personality over the course of the book.
Romance one of 4 romanceable characters: your best friend, their (moody) twin sibling, a single parent, or the kind but mysterious bartender.
Develop friendships with the cast.
Customize the bar: choose a theme, decorate, set the vibes.
Make a big decision: do you stay in your hometown, or move away again?
Make decisions that impact your reputation in the town.
Get involved with the town: volunteer at local businesses, help plan town events, and get to know the people of Bridgewater.
Apply for jobs in the city… or procrastinate.
all gender selectable
Spencer | 28 : Spencer has been your best friend since childhood, but you haven’t lived in the same place since you were 18. For the last ten years, you’ve stayed in touch, but living 2 minutes away again will be completely different. Spencer is kind, funny, and creative, and there’s not much they wouldn’t do for you.
Spencer has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. m!Spencer has medium length wavy hair and is 5’11. f!Spencer’s falls to her chest and is slightly wavy. f!Spencer is 5’8.
Arden | 28 : Arden runs Bridgewater’s community center and is the glue that holds the town together. They’re generous, patient, and mature- or so you’re told. They’ve never acted like that toward you. Arden is Spencer’s twin, and you’ve just been their sibling’s friend who’s always around, and always annoying. Moving back to Bridgewater could be a chance to start fresh, or you can pick up right where you left off.
Arden has dark brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a small scar above their right eyebrow. m!Arden has medium length, slighty wavy hair and is 5’11. f!Arden’s hair is mid-back length and wavy and she is 5’8.
if Arden and Spencer are the same gender, they are identical twins.
Noel/le | 31 : Noel/le is a history teacher, the coach of the local high school’s football team and an occasional musician at the bar. A relative newcomer to Bridgewater, N moved here after the birth of their daughter, Tatum, in order to be closer to Tatum’s other parent. Noel/le is gentle, responsible, active, and cautious- especially when it comes to who they let into their life.
Noel/le has pale, freckled skin and green eyes. Noel has short light brown hair, broad shoulders, and he stands at 6’1. Noelle’s hair ends between her jaw and shoulder, and she stands at 5’10. Noel/le has a toned build.
Kit | 30 : Kit moved to town a few months after you left and works for your parents as a bartender when they aren’t studying at a nearby college. In your absence, they became close with your parents. Despite this, Kit is one of the few people in Bridgewater who doesn’t seem to be here permanently. Kit is hardworking, intelligent, and extremely driven. They have a lot they want to achieve, and romance just doesn’t fit into that.
Kit has rich brown skin and brown eyes. m!Kit has buzzcut and is 6’0, and f!Kit’s long hair is in many braids that reach mid-back and is 5’9. Kit has a lithe body.
smalltown, nowhere is rated 18+ for (optional) NSFW scenes.
what are some casual things the MC could do unwittingly that would accidentally get the ROs all hot and bothered? And how would they actually act in the moment?
Arden: any amount of taking care of them. Arden hasn’t had anyone take care of them in…. a long time. like at all. so anything like, filling their water for them, asking how they slept, giving them a granola bar. genuinely MC could do the bare minimum and it would probably be more than they’ve experienced in a long time lol. or when MC is like super stubborn about something.
Early on they’ll be like “oh. cool. thanks” and then avoid MC’s eyes. As their feelings progress they’ll give a more heartfelt thank you but then straight up exit the situation lmao. their heart is poundingggggg
Spencer: friendly, casual touch. one of the first things that makes Spencer realize they have feelings for the MC is that they start reacting differently when the MC touches them- they’ve touched a million times, but now Spencer feels all the air is sucked out of the room when MC so much as brushes past them.
If MC were to look closely they’d realize Spencer is perfectly frozen still. Internally Spencer feels annoyed at themselves and is focused on trying to make sure MC doesn’t notice they’re acting weird lol
Noel/le: any slight implication that MC has thought of them when they’re not around- like “N i saw xyz and it reminded me of when u said xyz!!!” or, if MC has long enough hair, when they play with it- pushing it out of their face, twirling it around their finger, running their hand through it, putting it into a ponytail. if MC has a buzzcut or bald head, when they skim their hand over it.
Early on, N has to look away. They’re embarrassed. As the feelings progress they might look, maybe blushing a tiny bit, looking away if MC notices
Kit: knowing any sort of random impressive fact. like something no one else would know. or when MC leans on their forearms on the bar. they go crazy for that. OR when Kit and the MC are making fun of each other, like teasing each other- especially when it’s like almost flirting, but not quite.
Kit has a hell of a poker face, MC will have no clue. Inside, they feel a bit of a thrill- they’re scared of these feelings but also feel kinda like someone might feel when they go skydiving
What are the ROs love languages? (If this hasn’t been asked Already)
Also
Do the ROs like PDA or no? (Public displays of affection)
Good luck with your writing!!
🌃
Sky
Arden:
giving: acts of service, quality time
receiving: physical touch, words of affirmation
PDA: they’re in the middle- they’re quite private. i think they would like more secretive displays of affection- pulling MC away to kiss where no one else can see them, or having a hand on MC’s leg beneath a table.
Spencer:
giving: physical touch, but mostly gift giving!
receiving: words of affirmation
PDA: yes!!! if MC likes PDA too, they would love to be holding hands or having an arm around MC as much as they can.
N/oelle:
giving: acts of service
receiving: acts of service
PDA: i think they like PDA in theory, but maybe not in Bridgewater lol. they’re very conscious of how people perceive them, and they’re also mortified at the thought of a student or parent seeing. maybe if they go somewhere on a day trip!! in private they’re very affectionate though.
Kit:
giving: physical touch, words of affirmation
receiving: physical touch
PDA: yes, they love showing MC off!! i can also see them being really playful behind the bar- brushing their hand against MC as they walk by, tickling them or pressing a kiss to their shoulder. they spend a long time denying themselves of MC… so they are very enthusiastic after
i'm already in love with this if ughh. what tropes are we getting into with the ROs? 👀
thank youuuuu <3 i love this question, i can’t say everything because of spoilers but what i can say:
Arden: childhood enemies, dislike to lovers, best friend’s sibling
Spencer: friends to lovers, childhood friends…. possible first love? who said that?
Noel/le: single parent, found family, jealousy (there will be possibilities for jealousy in all routes but i would say there’s the most possibilities in N’s route)
Kit: fear of commitment, coworkers to lovers, some amount of forced proximity
sooo excited for this, looks so good!! any fun facts abt the RO's you can share? <3
thank you!!!! :D these are a bit random but:
Arden:
Arden loves to hike- their ideal first date would be a hike on one of the trails near Bridgewater.
Arden doesn’t enjoy reading, but finds it an attractive quality for someone to have. they don’t have the focus for it but admire it in other people.
Arden’s sense of style is definitely practical and comfortable. Jeans/sweatpants, t shirts and crew necks. i picture them wearing a lot of dark, cool colors- specifically dark green and navy. they start wearing colors they know they look good in if they know they’ll see mc.
Spencer:
Spencer (and Arden) are conversationally fluent in simplified Mandarin. Spencer knows a decent amount more than Arden.
Spencer loves giving gifts. this is shown very early on, especially when romanced! but also in a friendship route.
Spencer is a major people pleaser
they are a huge movie buff lol- occasionally pretentious about it
Noel/le:
Noel/le is the only RO with a bachelors degree (so far)
Noel/le was not dating Tatum’s other parent when she was conceived- they live nearby and are very involved in Tatum’s life. they have joint physical custody, with Noel/le having weekdays and every other weekend.
Noel/le works out everyday (and it shows). They are very active and love spending time outdoors. they are very very very strong
Kit:
Kit is close with their family, but they live on the other side of the country. they moved near bridgewater for college
Everyone hangs out at the bar when Kit is technically working because Kit always feels like they need to be doing something productive and will get antsy if they feel like they’re not doing what they ‘should’ be. maybe they could make time for mc, though…
Kit has a tattoo, it’s very nerdy and i can’t say more right now on that!!!!
For the ROs, who is clingiest and who is not at all from a scale of 0(being the least) and 10 (being the most )
And what’s your favorite part about your game?
🌃
Sky
Hi!!
Most to least clingy:
Spencer, Arden = Noel/le, Kit
Spencer is easily the clingiest- they enjoy things more when MC is around, and I think when MC is around they’d always love to be touching them in some way! They would invite MC everywhere and be like “it’s a date”!!! “come with me to the grocery store mc it’s like a date :) i’ll get you something from the bakery section :)”
Noel/le is pretty clingy i think but also has a lot of responsibilities- mostly Tatum- that take up their time so the clinginess would mostly come out when it’s just them and MC! It wouldn’t be “i want to spend all my time with you” but instead “when i get to spend time with you i want u with me every moment”
Arden, specifically early on in the relationship, loses themselves in the MC a little lol- they won’t be able to get enough. They’ll want to be with MC as much as they can, stealing them away to kiss where no one can see, pulling them back to bed in the mornings when MC stays the night, etc. I put them lower bc I think this will lessen as the relationship continues but they definitely still have a bit of a clingy side!! They would be soooo embarrassed by this being acknowledged tho. they’d (mostly jokingly) sulk but it’d be a ploy to get MC’s attention lmfao
Some of the why for Kit’s answer is spoiler-y but they aren’t as clingy for ~reasons~! They still love and crave the MC, it manifests in different ways though!!
My favorite part of the game is the romance system, it’s very much tailored to me TBH hahaha i hope everyone likes it- i’m going to put out a post explaining it soon i think!!
I was wondering how experience are the Ro's with romance and sex?
Also, how do they feel with a Mc who never had any experience?
Answer under the cut!! ty for the question :)
Most to least sexual experiences:
N, Spencer, Kit =Arden ?
Most to least romantic experience:
Arden, Kit = Spencer, N
Arden: Arden rarely has had sex outside of relationships, but I think it’s probably happened once or twice. Arden has been in one longer relationships from age 17-19. They also had a shorter relationship in their early twenties, but it ended because of…. things to be revealed. And has not had any romantic experiences since. Arden said ‘i love you’ in both relationships but they were never fully sure.
I think Arden would be a bit nervous about making it a good first experience and I think would do a very good job at making the MC feel extremely safe! They’d be very observant of the MC and responding to their little reactions. I think they’d be extra observant with an unexperienced MC
Spencer: Spencer’s never had a long term relationship, but a few shorter ones- less than 6 months each probably. Not for any bad reasons they just… didn’t work out. Probably mostly Spencer ending them. I think they quite want to be in one but also want to be very sure they’re the right person. As far as sex goes, they’ve had a decent amount of sex both in and out of relationships.
They’d be so happy to share this with you- they’d be completely focused on you, helping you figure out what feels best- they’re very eager to please!!! and they’ve always been most eager to please MC.
Noel/le: Surprisingly, N has never been in a relationship. (Not for lack of opportunity!!) However, they are probably the RO who is the biggest romantic! N has also slept with a fair amount of people. This was before Tatum- they haven’t had any romantic or sexual experiences since then (like 4-5 years). Tatum’s other parent, Harper, is a long time friend of Noel/le’s. This will all be explored of course :D
N is not only kind and gentle but extremely confident in their skills- they would make sure it was the most perfect experience ever for the MC. genuinely i don’t think there’s a better person to have your first time with.
Kit: Kit has had one relationship in their mid twenties. They’ve had a bit of sex outside of that, but I see it as mostly being with friends? Like here or there after a night out or something. Somehow I also feel like Kit is really good at making it not awkward after. They’re quite charming :) it’s hard to make Kit feel awkward or uncomfortable.
Kit would be honored to share this experience with you, but also intimidated. I think that that pesky fear of commitment might be trying to set off alarm bells in their head- making them feel weirdly guilty, like they aren’t worthy? They’d make it very special though! They’d be good at matching the mood- being a little silly, or serious, or romantic depending on what the MC seems to want.
How do the RO's feel about MC leaving hickeys/ giving MC hickeys :p
TY for the question :) answer under the cut
Arden I think they’d prefer leaving them versus receiving. not visible ones, though. Lower abdomen, hips, thighs most of all. they would LOVE to find them later. The more i think about it the more i think they’d be kind of obsessed with leaving little hidden hickeys on the mc lmao
Spencer I think they wouldn’t mind giving or receiving them, visible or not!!
Noel/le: Hidden ones!! on the thighs & chest. Noelle would LOVE hickeys on her chest. They would prefer to leave hidden ones, too. NEVER visible!! they’d be soo self conscious if anyone saw them lol
Kit would love to leave hickeys on the MC- wherever MC wants!!
