#jake-marshall

🍊- If you could change one thing in the franchise, what would it be and why?

HMMMM Good question… while the series is pretty good on brown male love interests, it’s pretty lacking in brown girls?? There are only 4 in the series and 2 of them are twins, vs… at least 9, brown guys, if not more. I think its getting better, but it still has a long way to go in that regard.

I think as far as other changes go, its things that are in some things but not in other, so I don’t think that counts.

🌽- What crops and/or animals would you like to see added to future game?

PLEASE GIVE MATSUYAMA THE PET TURTLES THEY HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR FOR 25 YEARS MARVELOUS. THEY DESERVE IT.

I love ToTT too and I have very few complaints about it but my BIG one is how hard it is to make money and coupling that with renovations only once a season.... (and being forced into building the tunnel). Lol it literally makes it that I can't recommend the game to people as an intro to the series bc of how absolutely frustrating that is. Shop inventory being random weirdly never bothered me but I HATED when it'd start raining midday and boom shops would close like COME ON.

Thanks for playing along! I had to do Frank/Miranda for an awkward kiss after a first date. I love those two and I wish the game did a little more with their relationship.

(Did maybe something experimental and did no dialogue with this one. Idk why it just started working out that way)

💋💋💋💋

It had been a lovely afternoon. There was at least that. If nothing else came from this day, at least there would be memories of a lovely afternoon spent in good company.

Miranda had long given up on the thought of Frank taking a fancy to her. After years of friendship, of singing and playing together, of professional partnership, of dropping hints that never got picked up, Miranda just had to accept that Frank was not interested. Whether he was disinterested in relationships in general or just in a relationship with her, she couldn’t say for certain. But she had stopped holding her breath for invitations to dinner or drinks at the bar.

But then Frank’s niece had moved in and in the process of settling into her own farm and life she’d shaken up a number of things in town. She’d revivified their sleepy little town, helping complete projects that had long been abandoned. She’d brought friends closer together and helped forge new friendships all up and down the mountain.

Miranda suspected she had Frank’s niece to thank in part for encouraging him to work up the nerve to ask her out. She’d also caught the farmer receiving pep talks from Wayne a couple of times, so the postman probably had some hand in it as well.

Still, the invitation had come to Miranda as quite a surprise. It was a quiet afternoon in the general store, Frank had ducked in to chat while he waited out a passing summer rainstorm. They’d shared the usual pleasantries and small talk until Frank took his hat in his hands, fidgeting with the brim as he stuttered out his desire to go on a picnic with Miranda.

There had been some back and forth as Miranda tried to probe out if this was a friendly picnic and Noel was expected to join, or something meant for just the two of them. Frank took a minute to admit it was meant as a date, but Miranda accepted instantly.

On her next day off, Miranda sent Noel off to play at Colin’s until dinner time, she’d put on a nice sundress, and made sure to prepare her contribution to the picnic. Frank had insisted he would take care of everything, but Miranda insisted she bring the lemonade and some fresh-baked cookies. Frank arrived promptly at one with a large basket tucked into the crook of one arm, wearing what looked like a new shirt. It was nice on him.

They walked together through town and then out heading off towards the waterfall. It was the height of summer, a beautiful day where occasional fluffy clouds crossed the clear blue sky. The greenery near the riverside was lush, flowers bloomed in abundance, birds sang in the brush and trees overhead, and when the wind shifted the cool mist of the falls blew over them, providing a moment of refreshment from the summer heat. The picnic was a lovely feast, if simple fare. Sandwiches and chips, fresh fruits and vegetables, sweet cookies, all paired wonderfully with the cool lemonade.

Their time spent together was lovely as well. The afternoon passed in easy conversation and light laughter. They treaded familiar topics, testing the waters of what this might become before they broached more serious matters. It was a first date, after all, not a marriage proposal.

As the afternoon began to turn to evening, they packed up their picnic, both Frank and Miranda had chores to do. The afternoon had been pleasant, but there was real life to get back to. Still, Miranda would very much like to have another pleasant afternoon like this.

Frank escorted Miranda back to her store. They paused on the sidewalk outside her door, lingering over a goodbye, over how to say it. It was Miranda’s turn to be brave.

She leaned in slowly, giving Frank the chance to pull back if he wanted to, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. He was clearly stunned by the kiss, freezing up beneath her, so Miranda didn’t linger. She looked into his eyes as she stepped back, he was surprised, but pleasantly so.

Getting back to my computer this evening! Thanks for playing!

Terrible crops up several times in my current WIPs (almost to the point where I'm sitting here going "oh no am I overusing it?" but not really, not when two of the uses are in the same sentence lmao)

Anyways this one's from my Hobbit WIP, How Far Ahead the Road Had Gone.

She had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

repeating the word for emphasis. Emphasis!

🍄 How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

Getting in the mood to write and actually wanting to sit down and start writing are two very different things, but they're connected, so I'll explain both.

To set into “creative mode” it helps me to do these things:

Listen to music that makes me think of a character/situation in my story/stories. I've got playlists separated by character and pairing. Sometimes I also just work on curating those playlists for fun and get my brain going.

Bounce overall ideas off of my friends and husband/editor (but he's my best friend, too 💗)

Reread old chapters or recent ones and future snippets based on what I want to do.

Once I actually want to put words down, I get a little more strict with myself. I get distracted verrrry easily sometimes and I have to fight the urge to open a million more tabs when researching a small detail.

I move to instrumental music (I have playlists for different moods like “emotional”, “soft”, “sad”, etc. I usually listen to “soft” as a general soothing background sound, as I can get pretty dang emotional when I write, especially with the stuff I've been churning out lately.

So, yeah, I need tissues within reach if I get upset. (Wow, I'm not making this sound fun at all, lmao)

After sound has been established, I like to eat a snack (something with protein) because I can be under for hours, lol. Eat it and finish it. Otherwise, I get distracted.

I also like to have drinks available. I always have a bottle of water, but I also like having a hot cup of tea. I think it's the time of year for me to switch to cold barley tea.

I write while seated on a recliner with my feet up. I have my laptop on a lap desk and it's a pretty cozy setup.

I basically try to remove any excuse I have to get up once I start writing, because I am the worst procrastinator I know.

🍑Do you/would you write smut?

Heheh... heck yeah, I do. Waaaaay more than most people realize. Stuff I've actually posted? It's pretty limited. I posted a couple pieces (Let Me Love You and You're Like the Sunshine) a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since. One of my planned stories literally has what I refer to as a “smut dump” in the draft where I've been experimenting with writing different moods. I like the intimate scenes to play a role in the overall plot or have it be a bonding experience.

Despite that, I do have a shameless Gray x Mary story I should just get out there that has zero plot, just two cuties in love. In my mind it's so naughty and kinky and I get flustered thinking about it (Mary is hot, okay?), but it's probably hella vanilla, lmao. I really am grateful that people have been really supportive about my writing smut despite what I usually write, and they've been so encouraging, too! I honestly feel like the smut I've posted is really stilted because I was so self-conscious about it. I don't feel like they are terrible for first attempts, but I have definitely grown more comfortable writing it.

Will The Shy Newcomer become explicit? I kinda really want it to, but I might separate the chapters for those who don't care for that content. Overall, I'd like to write more and post more, and I want to write more than just male x female smut as well. I have some of those in my planned pieces (more about them later).

📒 Any Fics Planned?

Firstly, I'm super tickled more than one person was interested in this. I copied the answer I wrote earlier.

Short answer: Yes. I also plan to bring more of my stories over from ffn to Ao3.

Long answer under the cut, heheh. I rambled quite a bit.

Ask me about my writing processes and stories!