farming in the dead of winter; [OTA]

[thishurts]

Who: Jimmy (thishurts) & YOU

What: Jimmy setting up his little farm

When: Early-Mid December

Where: Library, Around Town and in the Farmlands, and at his own Farm

Warning(s): dyslexia frustrations and depression mentions



[I've got problems; Not just the ones that are little]



Jimmy’s never been much for reading.

But getting an AI to read him websites out loud really isn’t much of an option anymore. And if he wants to pull any of this off he’s going to have to do this the hard way.



And he hates that, he really does.



He’s in the library. Gritting his teeth. He’s tried to pick out the easiest books he’s been able to find on animal husbandry. He really has. He even has a small notebook next to him, trying to take notes on the important bit like he’s in high school again, like he’s going to be tested on it.



Jimmy can’t even remember the last time he actually applied himself, put in effort into something he wanted to do, and now that he’s actually trying? It’s fucking hard. And discouraging.



The words on the page muddle together like fucking soup and his eyes are exhausted.

He sighs. Slams the book shut. Resists the urge to throw the damn thing. He rests his hands in his forehead.



Later he’ll end up checking out a few of these books. For now, he’ll continue to struggle a bit longer.




[It's those people problems; That's something to consider]



You may see Jimmy in various parts of town around the Winter acquiring different things. Mostly purchasing livestock, from the looks of it. Not the whole Noah’s Ark by any means, but certainly enough. Though unless you know Jimmy, you’re unlikely to notice the trend, and honestly, it’s not as if the man stands out by any means.



Or really has any friends to speak of.


Because he doesn’t.



Not many, anyway.



He purchases goats, a few hens, and two bunnies over the course of two weeks, arranging transportation for said animals in the process. You’ll find Jimmy walking across town, one end to the other, carrying individual hens in his arms trying to make sure they don't just fly away, rabbits tucked into his winter coat with their heads sticking out, and at one point pulling the goats behind himself on leads fashioned out of rope.



It’s all going about as well as it sounds it would.




[When you come for dinner at my place]



It wasn’t exactly Jimmy’s brightest idea to set up a new farm in the dead of winter. 

He’s realizing this now as he’s in his front lawn, trying to fix up the fence around his property. His animals are presumably inside his own home as he’s out with a hammer and nails in hand, a few boards at his feet, hammering away.



His hands are numb and aching. It’s so damn cold out. But surprisingly, this feels, good? He feels good. It feels good to do something with his own hands. His fence looks like fucking shit, frankly, and he knows it, but he doesn’t care. He’s fixing it with his own two hands. It’s tangible results that he can see, in real time, and honestly, he’s impressed with how good it actually feels to be doing something with himself.



It beats the hell out of any job he’s done so far. And it certainly beats the hell out of sitting around in the Oak & Iron, staring at the ceiling, doing nothing, napping the days away.



This feels good. It feels important. Right.

If you would have told him a few months ago that he’d be content working on a farm, Jimmy would have laughed. But now. Now? It was starting to feel like an actual real possibility that he might enjoy this kind of work.

Comments

[thishurts]

Jimmy follows warily. He also is looking for several ways to be able to get the fuck out of there if need be as they walk back and he leaves the gate open. You know. Like a normal dude. We're all just normal dudes here.

But once he does see what Bart's been up to, he looks mildly impressed. He nods along, looking at what he's been up to, taking mental notes of what Bart might need help with physically to get things further along.

"What's Paradesium?" He asks, suddenly realizing that Bart's said something he knows nothing about.

[theresalwaystheview]

At least the only thing that Bart is worried about is actually still safe and snug inside, keeping warm by the fireplace. Good little grass-types should not be subjected to frigid temperatures.

Bart bends to pick up a length of cord to wrap around his elbow and step back up onto the stepladder he'd been perched on while he worked. "There's a separate biome beneath the geology up at the north end of the island that's generally much warmer, supporting wildlife adapted to a jungle environment. The Stag Beetle's crew trades with us for the fruit that we can bring back from there, and it's well worth the risk."

[thishurts]

He nods. He understood at least half of that. Jungle in northern part of island, some risk involved, different agriculture there. Who or what Stag Beetle is, he didn't know. And maybe he didn't need to.

Better to keep his nose out of things that don't involve himself, Jimmy thinks.

"Fair enough." He says, "So you'd need help setting up some of this shit, yeah?" He says, pointing out areas that aren't fully constructed yet.

[theresalwaystheview]

Well, at least Bart is used to the blankness on Jimmy's face that tells him something had flown way over the man's head. He's able to continue and elaborate in due time when he's asked, or it becomes relevant again.

Something about Jimmy reminds him a lot of Marguerite. In spite of the foul mouth and perceived prickliness, he's still offering help in exchange for something that he needs, himself. Bart knows how to work with that.

"This would come together much more quickly with two of us working on the skeleton of it," he confirms, and points up to the flexible wooden rods that are arranged nearby. There's a sketch with copious notes on a worktable on the covered little porch as well. "If you could plant the next lateral support beams I can show you how to tie them."

[thishurts]

"Sure, I can do that." Jimmy says, looking over the sketches. Looks simple enough, even for him. "And in exchange you can help me get my garden up and going."

Bart is right about Jimmy. This is something that he's a lot more comfortable with. This way he at least feels like the arrangement isn't going to bite him in the ass later on.

[theresalwaystheview]

Bart is honestly quite content about all this. He smiles to himself as he finishes tying down his little archway before climbing down the short stepladder to show Jimmy how the support needs to be posted and then tied. There's nothing demanding or patronizing in the way that he does it, just trying to make it a simple enough process that if need be, it could be repeated elsewhere by others. He's happy to help, and to teach.

He's starting to get quite cold in spite of the physical labor, and he can imagine the same is true for his impromptu helper.

"What would you say to a break?" he asks cheerfully, peeling off his gloves as he moves back to Jimmy's side a few yards down from where he'd tied more of the supports. "I've managed to secure some coffee, or tea if you would prefer. I've even got some hot chocolate courtesy of the wonderful mister Maximum."

[thishurts]

Jimmy follows along as best as he can, for a beginner. He keeps expecting to get set off, to snap, but he doesn't. It's actually sort of difficult to be mean to someone like Bart, someone who's willing to show him the ropes, take his time, and not be an ass about it.

When offered a break, he nods. "Coffee's fine." He says. Who the fuck drinks tea anyway? British people? No one he grew up around drank tea, and now Jimmy takes his coffee just like his dad used to. Black.

[theresalwaystheview]

Bart is kind, earnest, and genuinely likes people, in spite of his track record with them. Jimmy is of course no exception, and Bart holds the door open for him to come inside the little home he's made for himself. It's warm inside, and a large green creature rests by the fire with its stubby legs stretched out in a sploot. Its leaves shudder lightly in the draft from the open door.

"Please, have a seat," Bart offers, gesturing toward the simple wooden table set back against the wall in his kitchen. A pair of earthenware mugs are prepared with filters that are heaped with coffee ground to be poured over with boiling water from his little kettle. While he waits for that, he turns back to Jimmy. "Thank you again for your help. I appreciate the extra pair of hands. What did you do before you got here?" He could see Jimmy doing some kind of maintenance or handyman work.

[thishurts]

Jimmy follows Bart inside, notices the creature, decides that asking about that is just entirely too much for him today, and ignores it, taking a seat at the table instead. Everything is nice in here, and much more put together. He must have been here for awhile.

"Lots of different stuff." He lies. Well, it's not entirely a lie. Of course his stint on the Tulpar was his longest running job, but before that he really did just do anything that would hire, and subsequently fire him. "I was in shipping the longest." He clarifies a bit. That's been his go to. He doesn't have to say what kind of shipping, that it was in space, just none of that. It's easy and doesn't connect him to the rest of the Tulpar crew at all.

[theresalwaystheview]

Such is the nature of someone encountering a Pokemon in person for the first time with no prior knowledge or shits given to the idea of a Pokemon in general. At least the rest of Bart's home is more immediately recognizable, and rather cozy at that.

Bart nods in acknowledgement. Sometimes you moved through different occupations to find out what you wanted to be, after all. "A little experience in a lot of things is good, I think. It means you can be more flexible in the way you approach future projects. I've had to be a bit more specialized, but I was lucky that I arrived here at a time when such a thing would be helpful. Biological study is important when records have been lost." Also not explaining that his specialty is in spacefaring projects.

The kettle is taken off the stove and the water poured over the coffee when it has just started to whistle. The larger mug is handed over while it steams and brews.

"It occurs to me I should ask, do you prefer Jimmy, or James?"