That would be a great tradition for my MC and R then! Though as much as my MC loves cats, she probably find R’s abundance of his love for his cat both sweet and a bit too… much? She didn’t expect a wardrobe full of holiday grab? XD
I’m really looking forward to Fernweh Saga. It will be the starting off gaming/reading saga of 2023! After that, Persona 3 Portable and then Fire Emblem Engage. January 2023 is already a great year for me!
@EvilChani (and Evil Chani’s mother 
), that cake is absolutely stunning! It looks so decadent and the glossy finish on that fudgy icing is begging someone to carve into it to savor a nice stack of chocolatey goodness. I also like the golden cake tray; it makes it look even more professional and festive.
Oh, wow, I would be incredibly interested in both the recipe and your tips. It’s something I’ve always wanted to bake after hearing the stories about it that seem more like legends—more than 10 layers is epic, imo. (I love how your mom wouldn’t have a 13 layer cake! 
I intentionally made Book One 13 chapters for the ~spooky~ vibes of it that link with the story, which made some chapters quite hefty.) The use of the cast iron skillet sounds ingenious; I think my great-grandmother used a small-sized, steel pizza pan that she had one of her grandchildren ‘borrow’ (pilfer) from her job at a Pizza Hut, haha. I’m keen to know more about your method; no rush or pressure since the holidays are upon us, but thank you (and your mom) so much! 
The MC would be welcomed into the kitchen by Mrs. Dorran given her natural disposition to be kind to even the most, er, challenged of cooks. glances over at J for a second >.> She isn’t one to shoo someone out, though she may ‘gently suggest’ that the less experienced cook maybe take on a sous chef or lesser role, if not sit at the bar top and observe. (I could see her giving them something easy to do like peel carrots, lol. She wants them to feel included without jeopardizing the meal.)
B naturally has some familiarity with the MC given their initial, canon friendship, though you can change this with your choices to weaken or strengthen it over the course of the series. Because of that, I would say the MC and B would naturally fall into a rhythm and know who needs to do what; therefore, it doesn’t feel too crowded. So, B might take on a particular dessert, while the MC cooks up something else. The two of them would likely chat, offer help, and so forth, but there would be a nice synergy overall thanks to time spent together. It’d be familiar.
I’m glad that you’re curious about the friendships; relationship and group dynamics are important to TFS.
(Also, I might use this question/reply on Tumblr later on. It was fun to think and type up!)
@resuri08 Oh, yes, R and their cat… There is a backstory that you will learn about as we progress through the series that will better explain their dynamic and why he means so much to R. Meanwhile, R enjoys putting a collar, a kerchief, or an occasional sweater on their feline friend. Don’t worry, your choices will impact the MC’s level of engagement with the cat. 
It’s encouraging to hear that you’re excited to play Book One! Thank you. 
@Velve You too! Thank you for the well wishes, and I hope you stay warm. 
Happy Holidays!
I hope you all stay safe and have a wonderful time. I can’t wait to see you in January, especially on the 5th, when you will get to return to Fernweh! 
Of course, I’ll still be around before the release date.
Christmas void!!!
Merry Christmas 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
@Snowflower Oh, yes, but this void will peer right back at you, possibly appearing extra cute and shadowy if you have any treats. 
@FleurJane Thank you for the well wishes! 
(Love the aesthetic of your new icon too.)
Early Romance
You doing this to B would make them crack up a little, especially if it’s really random or out of the blue. They will briefly laugh and then wink back way more normally than you did (lowkey failing at winking with only one eye since both close a little, but they tried! It’s kind of cute how their face scrunched up with the attempt.) They are now smiling at you, waiting to see if you wanted their attention or were just joking around with them.
Originally posted by lesbiantory
S wonders what you are trying to convey, narrowing their eyes when you again wink at them with the same level of exaggeration. You are distracting them from what they are doing…Not that they mind it as much as they should, which may be why their tone isn’t as exasperated as it should be at the lack of a clear answer. “What?”
Originally posted by klaroline-4ever
R would wink right back with even more drama and exaggeration; they are not going to let their confusion be apparent. However, they do wonder if you are trying to give them a covert signal or something. Are they missing something? Is this a game? (Your and R’s past games, challenges, competitions etc. are all memorized by them. When has competitive winking ever been a ‘thing’ between the two of you?) They pretend to know exactly what you mean and just go with it without saying a word.
You may actually end up being the one confused in this instance…
J blinks owlishly at you, nearly glancing behind themself to see if that was meant for them or not. “…Yes, MC?” They are kind of oblivious in an endearing way. You will likely be moved to either explain or say something more because J is looking at you with an honest attentiveness as opposed to confusion.
Originally posted by barbiereactionimages
Hopefully you all had happy holidays; January is almost here! 
I’ve been wrapping up the long-form character description document I mentioned previously. I saved Ms. Verner, Mrs. Dorran, and a few other characters for last since I know the ROs would likely be getting the most attention from readers/artists/fanfic writers, etc. I still really enjoyed finding those reference images!
I think A was especially fun to work on. I am looking forward to you all meeting them in Book One, partially due to the level of variation the MC can have with J’s sibling, but also because they are fun to write. 
Besides staring at models, actors/actresses, and other reference images, I worked on my launch post gif! 
It was only recently I realized gifs can work on the Forum when I posted that ask about the MC being sick and having seen @E_RedMark’s use of gifs. I hope I can figure out how to make it post here along with my Tumblr announcement; it’s more colorful to hopefully be eye-catching. Anyway, it’s a lot of crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s to ensure everything is truly ready to go on January 5th.
But we made it; Book One is finished, so it’s just a matter of waiting a bit longer together for its release. 
My friend’s little present of a void is very similar in behavior. Although she’s more motivated by cuddles.
You’re welcome and thanks!
R really is the cutest.
really? I get pinged to be told ‘I can copy you! Look at meh…Weeeeee’ 
At least be gentle with this Lesbian and give me some Hottie winking!
Now that’s better lol
All them winking romances, reminded me of something hilarious that happen to me. Back then, it wasn’t so funny but you know…with old age, you look back and think ‘Geez, I was so stupid…’ lol
So, I and my best friend and roommate (RIP) went to visit a friend of hers. For the sake of this story, I’m gonna use the 1st letter of their names.
J = Best friend and roommate who is dead now. (RIP)
S = The friend we visited for a Weekend, so we stayed over at her place. The last time I heard from her, she gave up all her pets because she had the beginning of Alzheimer’s.
Anyway, we were sitting at her kitchen table. Both S and J deep in conversation and I were half listening to them, nose-deep in some sweet coffee.
That’s when S turn to look at me and wink at me. So, the dummy over here frowns and ignores it.
She winks again, and I take a good look at her and think maybe her eye is itching. Thankfully, I have a handkerchief in my pocket which I slide toward her without a word.
She look at it and smile a big smile which just made me wonder ‘What the hell is she smiling about?’. Anyway, she picks it up and gets up to refill her tea. I use that moment to whisper and ask a question to J: Does S has a tick?
J look at me in a weird way, so I point out how she was sort of winking with one eye and if it was some kind of spasm or a tick.
She just shakes her head with a smile on, again I’m frowning and wondering if these 2 are in cahoot against me.
S comes back with more tea, sits down, and throws me another wink. At this point, I was baffled as to why.
I decided to be blunt and asked her if her eyes were irritated or if she had a tick of some kind. She laughed her ass off, along with J, leaving me grumbling and calling them ‘Old hags’.
The phone decided to ring and S got up to answer it, giving J a chance to explain she told me that S is and has always been a Flirt, therefor she though I was a ‘Cutie’ and was ‘Winking’ at me.
When S came back, she again threw another wink at me before sitting. J just smirked at her looking at us. That was embarrassing, so I asked S if she had a shovel and she said yes. And I said 'Good, ‘cause I got some stupid to shovel away’, and I did that. I went outside and shoveled her driveway for 2 hours out of embarrassment.
I was never good with Flirting. Meaning, I can flirt but when someone hit on me? Totally oblivious lol
Ah, to be young again.
As you can see, it really can be just as embarrassing as in your story @lacunafiction 
Mine likes cuddles when he is in the mood, but other times he likes to gallop down the hallway like a horse or roost on high furniture and peer down at us. XD Ours was definitely a surprise gift! He showed up one day, but we managed to coax him into staying and earn his trust with tuna fish with continual love and care.
I think they would emphatically agree with you as well.
Yes! You taught me something new.
@E_RedMark The kitty is adorable! 
I enjoyed you sharing your past memory; you being totally oblivious is relatable, especially to how J can sometimes respond in the game. I think J would go shovel snow or lift bales of hay to work off some of that flustered energy if the MC was that committed to winking at them.
Today marks that it’s only a week to go until the release date, yay!
In honor of that, I’m going to post another RO reaction later on today.
My Ms. Kitty looked like that cat 
My poor baby passed away a month after my best friend did.
Also, every time you say ‘We are almost there’…I feel like this cat!
Yes, you are witnessing the crazy cats lady beginning…dun dun dun, this is how it all started 
And that is why they are my favorite.
This sounds like mine. She’s a little gremlin although she’s also still a kitten. I’ve only had her for two months and she’s about 5 months old. Still, she runs around all night and first thing in the morning she just wants to rush up and down the halls for no reason. Earlier this week, she found my old feather boa, and now there are feathers everywhere.
Aww. this is so cute. I got mine because some jerkface abandoned four kittens in a church parking lot. The pastor and his wife took them and helped find good home for them, and a mutual friend connected me. She hid under my bed for the first several days, but now she’s a gremlin. It’s amazing what love and care will do isn’t it?
We can start a crazy cat lady club.
Edit: There are now pictures in the Fur Baby thread.
Hiss How dare you hide cutness from meh! POST PICTURES!
In the furrball thread that is… 
J has always been a hard worker and very self-disciplined even as a kid; they prefer to take care of things themself and not burden others by slacking or failing to fulfill a commitment. This is partially due to how they were raised and also is an innate thing to them personality-wise. How they were as a kid will be touched on more in the series, but I can say that they were kind of quiet, if not shy, but the MC still eventually befriended them, and J never forgot that (they think the MC took a chance on them in some ways…).
But to answer your question more specifically: J was not always ‘all work, no play’ to the extent of what we see in the demo. Some other factors over the years (and even in recent weeks according to the game’s timeline) helped push them into that mode. Their personality helped to further cement it too.
Here is the bonus ask/RO content I promised earlier today since we’re so close to the release date! 
What I love about this is that mine isn’t a kitten, but he still likes to gallop around. XD We aren’t exactly sure of his age because he was on the thin side and then grew more after proper nutrition. Your kitten’s reaction to the feather boa sounds precious; Midnight is partial to treating housecoat ties as fluffy snakes. 
It’s so sweet that you took in the kitten; it’s a shame someone would leave them out, but it sounds like they found good homes.
I’m going to go check out those pictures now!
military parents?
Give me the vibe lol
Aw my heart is melting… 
Probably peoples, some overbearing snarky boss and maybe a failed attempt at saving someone…those are my guesses
So J kinda try to be the best citizen-cop this town Need.
It’s fine…
My Mc is irresistible and I have a Goddess Poweh of Smoochie at my fingertips. I’ll have J in a puddle and bring out all that warmth 
Fan self Are we there yet?
@lacunafiction Hope you had a great holiday! As promised, here’s the 14-layer cake recipe:
14-Layer Cake
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup vegetable oil (not canola—it tastes weird)
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk (whole milk, don’t use skim!)
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
*note: You can use self-rising flour. If you do this, leave out the salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Old Fashioned Fudge Frosting #1:
2 cups sugar
8 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2 sticks butter
2 cups evaporated milk
5 dashes salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Notes:
Don’t make the layers too thin or they get too difficult to work with, but they shouldn’t be thick. If ¼ cup of batter doesn’t cover the bottom of the griddle, add a bit more. Make sure to spread it evenly or your cake layer will be lopsided.
Cooking the cake layers in an iron griddle is important.
If you need a gluten free cake, you can substitute the flour with Gluten Free Jules flour. Or, if you want an easier route for gluten free, use Krusteaz Gluten Free Pancake Mix—sub it directly for the flour. Turns out really well!
Make sure to stir the frosting constantly, unless you like burnt crap on the bottom of your pot.
When the frosting starts boiling, it can pop and burn you. Using a long wooden spoon helps.
The frosting will harden as it cools. If it gets too hard before you frost the cake, you can keep the pot on the stove and put it on warm to keep it from hardening.
As for J being all work and no play… well, someone has to do something about that…
@E_RedMark I had stuck one up before. We ate it all! Here’s how it looked before we wrecked it. XD
Not you! You just moan about J being like Ava
And where is the pic of the cake? Come on, I wanna see!
