The Maelstrom of Stardew
Year 0 (Winter)
Chapter 2 – Might As Well Take Advantage…
(Still) Saturday, the 27th of Winter, 2016
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
Taeko took the deviant option. His days in Souamil taught him a few lessons. One, never pass out. Two, if you do, make sure you lock the door. Three, don't drink to excess. In Souamil, this left you open to being robbed and then some. And since no one was looking, Taeko had a smile. The kind of smile that was crooked. The kind of smile that makes people take a few steps back. Call it a slasher smile. First, he started with the wallet on the nightstand. He found 1300 Gold in it, to which he stole 300 of it.
"Good, I'm back to 2,500." Taeko said.
Pam was still out, and a thought came to mind. He was with her six hours with her unconscious and at her mercy. The time was 8:40, leaving her out until 2. He came across a picture of her daughter, Penny.
"Cute, but I can see the look in her eyes." Taeko said to himself. "The look of frustration yet softness."
Taeko decided to return the Gold because of her. He felt she needed the money and made a mental note to give her daughter a gift occasionally. A text box came up.
[You're done a good favor to Penny despite not even meeting her! +800 Gold and Knowledge on how to increase friendship with her.]
Taeko smiled at the gold and was beamed information. He didn't even know who Penny was yet but got her likes and dislikes down.
"Guess, I'll be a melon farmer in the summer." Taeko said to himself.
He turned to Pam.
"Well then Pam, I was going to take it out of your wallet, but I guess I'll take it out of your ass." Taeko said coldly.
It was nine a.m. when Taeko left the room with a satisfied smirk. What did he do to her? Arguably, far nicer than what he could have done to her….
Taeko resorted to something he would remember. Finding a bottle of warm pale ale that she drunkenly left on top of the heater, he poured some into a glass and put her hand into it. The old warm liquid to piss yourself trick was an old one, but it was efficient. Getting a marker, Taeko wrote "酔った古い袋" (Drunk Old Bag) on her forehead. The best part of the prank was that Pam didn't speak or read Japanese. Ironically enough and unknown to him, Penny was reading up on how to. Taeko slipped out of the motel room, closing the door behind him and got out of the motel unnoticed. He was glad there were no cameras and that his sneaking and stealth skills he got from Souamil were still sharp. He had the rest of the morning to himself. His stomach growled. Gamer thing alerted him he had to eat something for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or he'll lose energy. He went back to the bus to check on his things before going back to Sandy. He did have to lie that he decided to wait for her instead of going after her.
"So, Sandy, tell you me you got food? I'm starving." Taeko said with his stomach growling.
"Oh jeez, I swear that bitch Pam only cares about herself. I'm tempted to go over to the motel to kick her face in." Sandy said upset. "You'd be at Pelican Town by now if Pam didn't stop for drinking and gambling."
"Leave her. Karma will get her soon enough." Taeko said.
"Either way, how about you come with me upstairs to my loft? I can get you some breakfast." Sandy said. "On me."
Sandy walked over to push a button that revealed an elevator and to which they entered. The elevator went to the second floor where Sandy lived. The place was rather lavish. Taeko took a look around but got another text box. Basically, telling him, he can peer into a person's bedroom when he reaches 2 hearts with them, and he could learn about them more.
"Care for some steak and scrambled eggs?" She said. "I'll be using a bit of barbeque sauce."
"Might want to make some for Pam too? She's a bitch, but I need her able to drive. Got any stuff for hangovers too?" Taeko said with a sigh.
"I sense you really don't want to help her, but I'll get to it. You get comfy." Sandy said as she started cooking.
"Now I'm regretting never buying a car. Joja always provided one." Taeko said bitterly.
He decided to have a look around the place as he found pictures and furnishings suggesting her likes. Her bedroom door was open as Taeko waltzed in. He found a pair of blue frilly panties on the floor which he picked up. It glowed blue before disappearing between his hands. A text box popped up to explain this.
[Mini-Quest: Panty Raid]
Collect the panties of all the women of Stardew Valley and gain a special prize from Kyu! Women must be over the age of 16.
"Oh joy." Taeko said before leaving the bedroom.
He took a seat on the kitchen table and had a nice meal with Sandy. They talked about their lives in Joja and had a couple of laughs.
"You seem trustworthy. Remember that incident where Joja secrets were spilled recently?" Taeko said darkly.
"Yeah, the guy who did it died in a blaze of glory." Sandy said.
"Oh no, he's sitting across from you." Taeko said with a smirk.
"Ehhh?!" Sandy said in shock.
"It wasn't Johnny, it was me. I merely pinned the thing on him because I knew he was going to die of an overdose soon enough." Taeko said smugly.
Sandy's respect for him shoots up like a rocket, and a text box indicated Taeko that his relationship with Sandy rocketed to four hearts.
"You have balls of steel. No doubt. I wish I could do that, but I only left raiding the break room of cola." Sandy said with a chuckle.
"Well shit, I did the same thing!" Taeko said with a laugh.
The meal was pleasant, and time flew quickly as it was already eleven. Sandy showed Taeko around the desert. This proved good for Taeko because he got five cactus fruits and six coconuts to add to his [Inventory]. Soon enough, it was 1:30 and the two headed for the motel where Taeko and Sandy entered Pam's room.
"Oh Yoba, the woman pissed herself." Sandy said, trying not to laugh. "And the marking on her face….I think it's Japanese."
"Means, "Drunk Old Bag"" Taeko said as Sandy broke into laughter.
"I didn't know you read Japanese." Sandy said to him.
"I'm half-Japanese to be specific." Taeko said proudly. "Combined with African-American, and a tiny percentage of Latin and white. I'm a real mixed bag."
Taeko did had the dark skin from his father's side of the family, but his mother's green eyes and hair. And at 5'9'', he was a tall one. Taeko subtly snagged a bottle of vodka to put in his [Inventory] for he'd gift it to Pam later. Taeko got an open bottle of wine to pour into a glass. He was going to throw it in Pam's face, but instead decided on an alternative.
"Wake up, you bitch!" Taeko raged as he flung the glass at her.
It hit Pam in the face before she tumbled off the bed, awake. Pam looked up to Sandy and an angry Taeko at the door.
"Oh, damn it, I completely forgot to wake you…up…sorry." Pam said weakly.
"Ugh, just shut up, eat, and take the hangover pills. On a side note, change your pants." Taeko said putting the food and pills down on the nightstand.
The two left, and Pam looked down to realize she pissed herself. Pam called for the manager, Lexi. Lexi came annoyed that her reading was interrupted and sniggered at the markings on Pam's face. Pam asked her if she had left any clothes here to change into.
"Only a skirt." Lexi said dryly.
"Just a skirt, no pants…. Do I even have underwear?" Pam said franticly.
Lexi shook her hand and Pam hung hers. She liked wearing pants for a reason. She had to pay extra for the cleaning bill. As she left, Lexi dare not tell her about the markings on her head. Pam walked back to the bus where Sandy and Taeko waited for her. A gust of wind blew, and the two got an eyeful.
"Geez, Pam. I don't mind a bit of bush, but it's a jungle down there." Taeko said.
"Shut the hell up!" Pam screeched.
"Oh, you are no position to yell me considering I could tell Lewis about your drunk driving." Taeko threatened.
Pam pleaded Taeko to not speak of this, and he got another karmic choice. Ultimately, he chose to keep his mouth shut without any cost. This got a one friendship heart with her. Before Taeko departed, Sandy asked for his address to which he give. They bid goodbye as Pam and Taeko departed. Taeko leaned back in his seat glad to be back on the road when a text box came up.
[Friendship with Sandy at 4 Hearts, she will now send you gifts in the mail on occasion.]
"Awesome." Taeko mused.
Taeko would arrive in town by the 1st of Spring, but at least he'd get to tilling the land at the start of the Spring proper.
Between dimensions/universes
Kyu and Tora were watching the events unfold. Kyu was laughing at Taeko's little practical joke. Tora was sniggering as well.
"We should help Taeko, a little. Clear out the bushes, stones, and trees around the silo and coop. That way, he'll be able to put up a fence and start planting." Tora said.
"Of course, just a small space. How's 4 by 12 sound?" Kyu remarked.
"Good enough." Tora said.
-Player Status-
Taeko Kiba Maelstrom
Occupation: Farmer/Freelancer Ronin
Age: 20 years
HP: 500/500
Energy: 300/300
Overall Level: Greenhorn
Farming Skill Level: 0
Mining Skill Level: 0
Foraging Skill Level: 2
Fishing Skill Level: 0
Combat Skill Level: 10
Gold: 3000
Total Amount Earned: 0 Gold
Taeko is a former employee of the corrupt Joja Corp. Screwing it over, he got away with it free to chase his dreams and ambitions. An anti-hero and a roughneck, he won't take crap from no-one. Now he's the head farmer of Shadow Farm along with being essentially a ronin. His favorite food is pepperoni pizza. His favorite gifts tend to center around gaming, manga, and combat.
[Taeko's Perks]
The Gamer's Mind - Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of Mind. Immunity to Psychological Mass Effect and Hypnotism.
The Gamer's Body - Grants the user a body to live life like a video game, Immunity to Physical Damage, but not the pain. Sleeping in a bed fully restores HP/Energy, Sleeping in a tent restores HP/Energy by 75% of total amount, and sleeping on an improvised surface (a couch, the ground) restores HP/Energy by 50% of maximum amount.
Made of Iron – You can survive your HP going down to zero, and you only need four hours and ten minutes of sleep to function perfectly. (Downside, you have to bed before 2 A.M. or else you pass out.)
Fighter - All attacks deal 10% more damage. (+15 HP)
Brute - Damage is increased by 15%
[Relationships]
Sandy – 4/10 Hearts – 1000 Friendship Points
Pam – 1/10 Hearts – 250 Friendship Points
(A/N: Any Stardew Valley player will understand what advantage I just gave Taeko. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was meant to build up some character. I'll be adding my own flair to the characters. As for the "friendship" with Pam, don't think much about it. Taeko still detests Pam, but he needs the benefits.)
(Remastered A/N: I had set this chapter up to establish Taeko's character as someone who could be kind, but not a complete pushover and had he had zero tolerance for bullshit.)