Hello, I'm Alexander Moon. I've been writing since 2013, and I'm currently writing two stories so far (Pokémon Uranium fan-made game and Starbound respectively) and poking some ideas around for a third story revolving around my experiences in Stardew Valley. I've decided to come to the Chucklefish forums to share what I have of the semi-complete introduction to the currently unnamed Stardew fic. Thanks to Rauchschwalbe for helping me figure out how to hide stuff. Let me know what you guys think of the concept! It was so long ago now... fifteen, sixteen years? The cloudy night when my grandfather was laying on his death bed... I was a young boy at the time, so I naturally don't remember it well... But I remember the envelope he had handed to me that night. He had told me that, one day, there will be a time in my life where I feel like I've hit a dead end. Like I'm replaying a broken record. That I'm going nowhere, just spinning my wheels, sinking into mud. He told me that, only when that day comes, could I open that letter. That day came, sooner than I expected. I had been working for the Joja Corporation for a few years, and everything I was told by my grandfather those many years ago suddenly came back to me. That day is where this story begins; The day when I finally decided to change my life forever. Winter 23rd, 2018... "Damien, look alive today, the boss will be coming around for inspections." Says one of my coworkers as I walk in the door, half asleep with a thermos of coffee in my hand. "Hmmph? Come again?" I reply groggily. "Inspections today." They repeat. "Alright." I shamble my way to the same elevator that I've walked into for the past few years now. The plain stainless steel and blue accents have gotten old to me. The harsh florescent lights beating me down day after day, ten hours straight... I glance over at one of the countless Joja Corp posters plastered on the walls with a pang of disgust. The motto of "Join us. Thrive." is such a lie... I'm barely making enough to pay the bills in this damn city. Maybe if I lived in a small town off in the country someplace where I didn't have to worry about housing that costs a fortune, then maybe I'd thrive. But no. I'm stuck in this craphole of a building. I step into the elevator and press the button to the eleventh floor almost mindlessly. As the elevator ascends, I'm left with my thoughts, alone in this metal box for the millionth time. "Something needs to change," I think to myself as I take a few hefty gulps of coffee from my thermos. "I can't keep this up forever..." The doors slide open, and I step into the disappointingly familiar atmosphere of the eleventh floor. I sigh and walk towards my cubicle for yet another long day of sitting in front of a computer screen. Minutes stretch to hours as I sit there at my desk, endlessly tapping away with this crusty old keyboard, taking calls, drinking coffee... Sleepiness eventually overcomes me, and my head falls to my desk. "Damien Ballard," Says a familiar voice. "Huh- wha? Oh, hello, boss." I say, startled awake. "How long have you been asleep?" "I was just resting my eyes." I lie, glancing at the clock and realizing that nearly an hour had passed. "Hmm, alright. Well, you've been doing great, Ballard. Keep it up." He says, walking away without another word. I let out a huge sigh as soon as he's out of earshot. "I. Need. A. Break." I say silently to myself, lightly tapping my desk with my forehead and sighing again, though out of frustration this time. How long have I been working here, without a raise or a promotion? I'd go up to my boss and ask him for some sort of commendation, but I can already hear him deflecting my inquiry with some sort of comment while saying that I've been doing a good job, and to "Keep it up." My head hits the desk a little more audibly this time. 'Keep it up,' he says. Every damn time. I feel like I'm hitting a dead end. Like I'm replaying a broken record. That I'm going nowhere, just spinning my wheels, sinking into mud... I lift my head from the table, suddenly remembering something. A spark in my brain that hadn't fired in over a decade, helping me remember something important... I need to find that letter. If there's any day to open it, it's today. I scour around the various drawers and filing cabinets in my cubicle until I eventually find the old envelope with it's yellowed parchment and purple wax seal. I stare at it for several moments, contemplating it... After so many years, I've finally found myself needing this. My grandfather is already long gone... But now, with this envelope in my hands, I can almost sense him looking over my shoulder, wondering if I'll finally break it's seal. I pry off the wax from the envelope and take out the letter inside to read it. "If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. My wonderful grandson Damien, I leave to you my farm. It rests on the western-most edge of Stardew Valley, just north of Cedarsap Forest. Take the bus to Pelican Town, and find my old friend Lewis; He'll help you get settled into the valley. You should be able to send him a letter in the mail, just adress it to the town's Mayor. May my old residence help you build a better life. --Many wishes, Grandpa." So that's it, then... A plot of land in the Valley. It... might be worth checking out. Farming doesn't exactly sound very... well, interesting, really, but staying here in Zuzu City working for Joja doesn't sound too terribly pleasant, either. I think I'll give the Valley a shot... After all, this farm is something that I've inherited. Welp... In the meantime, though... I've gotta complete the next six hours of this shift...
Welcome to the forums, Alexander! At first I want to help you, because you were wondering how to use the tags to hide text and stuff. If you want to know everxthing about how to use tags: Click me! If you just want to know how ti hide text: (SPOILER=Spoiler Title)Spoiler with a title(/SPOILER) In the first breaks you have to enter the title (i.e. Wonderful story I want to read more about) and instead of "Spoiler with a title" you insert your text. You need to use angular breaks instead of the curved ones. I couldn`t use the angular breaks because you would not be able to see the html tag (it would read it and use the spoiler then). And that`s it! And now about your first part: I really like it so far. Reading your words I can imagine the flow of the story like a movie and that is always a good sign for me. If a story doesn`t start a movie in my head, then I don`t like it. I hope you wil continue with your beautiful story! You have one eager expectator now!
Thanks for helping me with hiding the massive text wall, haha. And yeah, I like having my stories written like they're plots to movies. It's just a more interesting way of formatting it, in my opinion.
