🌲💌 [ THE PAWTUCKET POST ]

[zissou]

Dear reader,​

One year, eight months, and sixteen days of living in a sleepy, idyllic village with a despicably slow wi-fi connection will do things to a girl. Can you imagine? That’s 626 days of quiet sunrises, sea bass casseroles, and building bookcases with my bare hands just to feel something.

Needless to say, you can’t blame me for waking up one day and choosing violence drama journalism.

Pawtucket’s residents need something to pull them together — to keep them informed, warn them of devastating renovation projects that may leave them homeless on the beach, and motivate them to do… y’know, something on Friday night other than watching a butterfly for three hours straight.

Join me as I scheme, schmooze, and schismatize my way through the tangled secrets linking the not-so-mild-mannered citizens of Pawtucket. Or just learn to appreciate peaceful sunrises and forming meaningful friendships. Maybe a bit of both.

Your faithful Editor-In-Chief,
Ishy

P. S. Feel free to drop comments, messages, or questions at any time!
I'd love to get to know my fellow TBT-ers

​

 

[zissou]

Pawtucket's Current Residents

Spoiler: Current Resident Biographies

LEGEND

= photograph given

= vacation home built

PAULA. March 2020 - present

Marches to the beat of her own drum (quite literally — was bass guitarist for a now-defunct punk band). Now retired & living off the land in Reicheru Farm. Constantly puzzled by new pop culture trends. Unafraid to stand up for anything or anyone she believes in.

ROALD. March 2020 - present
Intensely private about his feelings. People like his determination, kindness, confidence, and accidental humor. Working out is life, but wonders if there’s more out there for him (like medical school). Deeply admires Paula. Willing to take anyone under his very muscular wing.

TAMMI. March 2020 - present

Bubbly, outgoing, and extremely extroverted. Dreams of being a pop star but spends more time maintaining her social media following than practicing her singing. Sometimes feels an overwhelming emptiness. A fiercely loyal friend despite her fiery temper.

MARINA. March 2020 - present
Quiet, sensitive, lost in her own dreams of adventure. Hopeless romantic who suspects that the world will chew her up and spit her out. Is there a place for a soul who just wants to be? Overthinks others’ opinions of her. Dreams of being a writer. Best friend is was Merengue.

ERIK. December 2020 - present
Usually clueless; quite pleased with life anyway. Wanders the woods, making friends with people (and bugs) that he meets. Talented at making woodcuts and navigating sledding slopes. Estranged from his family for choosing the forest over law school. Tends to the campgrounds.

PORTIA. October 2021 - present
Elegant, sophisticated, and mysterious. Wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than designer. Rumor has it she designed the museum’s art wing. Has powerful distaste for those with a lack of class. Honest, sometimes with devastating consequences, but loves her friends deeply.

FLORA. November 2021 - present
Young heiress with extremely tacky taste. Cheerful in her darkest times. Goes through phases: constantly about town, then disappears for weeks. Wants to use her inheritance to start a foundation for disadvantaged youths, but presently too distracted by the band she’s trying to form.

FRETT. November 2021 - present
Amicable older fellow who wants nothing more than to go fishing, take long walks around the island, and write rambling letters to his collegebound daughters. Catches colds easily. Keeps sharp on the stock market. Likes the idea of being a mentor. Good at cooking; bad at fixing things.

BILL. December 2021 - present
Still figuring out who Bill is as a person duck.

HANS. December 2021 - present
Still figuring out who Hans is as a person gorilla yeti?

Spoiler: Past Resident Biographies

LEGEND

= photograph given

= vacation home built

LILY. February 2021 - December 2021.
A complicated soul who impulsively turned her vacation into a new home. Constantly teaching herself new skills; gets bored of them within weeks. Graduated top of her class, and disappointed she hasn’t made anything of herself yet. Kind, fiercely honest, and very practical. Can be moody.

MERENGUE. April 2020 - December 2021.

Adopted by Xtina!
Emotional, passionate, a true artist. Dreams of opening a patisserie in France, but started with a cake shop in her vacation home. Easily upset, holds grudges, cries often. Capable of discovering stunning, delicious flavor combinations few can imagine. Best friend is was Marina.

[ prior residents under construction ]
[ mostly because i forgot who lived here and i need to go through like a million pictures to piece it together don't mind me ]

 

[zissou]

Spoiler: Daily Updates

Spoiler: December 2021

12/01/21. from laden boughs, from hands. (one / two)
12/02/21. like no leaf that ever was.
12/03/21. but a brief, dreamy, kind delight.
12/04/21. whose love would follow me still.

Spoiler: January 2022

January 2022 doesn't exist yet, silly.

Spoiler: Historical Editions

No historical editions yet!

Spoiler: Goings on About Town

No events yet!

 

[zissou]

12/01/21. from laden boughs, from hands. (one)

​

Dear reader,

There was a gorgeous, fiery afternoon sunset searing the sky when I finally left the house. When I see such things, I think: the meaning of my life was to see this sky, this window, this leaf. No matter what happens after this, living my life, long or short as it will be, was worth something.

​

It felt like the sunset had stunned everyone with its quiet radiance. I joined Flora below a pine tree to admire the orange haze over the beach. Later, on my rounds, I ran into the boys in front of Resident Services. Those losers better make me a cup next time.

[ Fun fact: I love soup. ]

​

I bumped into a very pensive Tammi on the beach. Turns out that she’s been having awful hallucinations, and rather than seek medical attention for this turn of events, she invited me over to her house.

Earlier, I bought a ton of outdoor generators to give as presents. I didn’t think about it twice, back then. “Everyone will need these come winter,” I thought—how innocent! I didn’t think my sins would catch up with me so fast. There it was, looking absolutely horrid in Tammi’s cute, color-coordinated place.

[ “Invited” with a very strong grip on my arm. ]​

Screw the winter—I bought it back in a heartbeat. I bought other random things in Tammi’s house, too, just to amuse her. (She wouldn’t sell me her bed, go figure.) Before I left, she gave me a duplicate copy of Imperial K.K., the song she has on repeat 24/7, which was… sweet, I suppose. I hope she doesn’t expect me to listen to it when I sleep.

On my walk home, lugging the outdoor generator behind me, I wondered what I was going to do with this thing.

[ Don’t judge me, reader. He’ll need one come winter! ]
​

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

 

[zissou]

12/01/21. from laden boughs, from hands. (two)

Dear reader,

On my late shift at the resort, Megan contracted me to design a “Place for Dreamy Thrills”. This color scheme was out of my comfort zone. I start every project out being awfully frustrated before I hit on a few good arrangements and then get my stuff together. She loved it!

[ That’s a lot of stuffed animals. ]

​

And then… guess what, dear reader? I’m pleased to announce, in the Post, no less, that Pawtucket has just opened its very own Innsmouth University!

We were in negotiations with Pecan to serve as professor for a few tense hours. As we presently only have the budget for a single teacher, we needed someone all-purpose. Pecan, however, has a Ph.D. in computational behavioral neuroscience and will teach nothing else. In the end, we decided having Pecan was more important than providing a well-rounded education. We’ll round ‘em out… eventually.

[ Bonus points if you get the reference. Double bonus points if you get the double reference. It may only make sense to me… ]

​

Drunk off my newfound power and riches (designing a facility don’t come cheap), I bought out Wardell’s entire stock at HHP before flying to Harv’s Island and doing almost the same to Kicks’ weekly collection.

After a long, busy day, I couldn’t help but nod off a bit in front of the bonfire. I blame the combination of smoke, crackling logs, and satisfaction from several jobs well done.

[ Being a shopaholic ain't easy. ]​

Good night, dear reader! Do stop by at Innsmouth if you’re interested in our one, incredibly specific focus of study.

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: From Blossoms, Li-Young Lee
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43012/from-blossoms

 

[zissou]

12/02/21. like no leaf that ever was.

Dear reader,

It was dark when I awoke today. For the first time, it felt like winter. Not the anticipation of winter, the thrill of first snows and gift-giving and storytelling around the fire, but the actuality of winter. Darkness, ice, and the silence of the snow-muffled streets.

I’m not sure how it makes me feel. Sad isn’t the right word. I know that this is a necessary part of life, but I will miss the sun.

​

Portia dropped in today. And when I say dropped in, I mean “lingered awkwardly in the doorway the entire time, occasionally gifting me sporting equipment”. I think it was the state of my home. I’ve been spending so much time landscaping and working at the resort that my home has turned into… a shambles, shall we say. And Portia, well… that girl wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than designer, so I’m pretty sure the crumbs and roaches and random holiday items weren’t doing it for her.

Thing is, I think she’s really cool and don’t want her to have this impression of me. I want to do pilates and read art textbooks with her or whatever it is she spends her time doing. I’ll do better next time, I swear. Give me another chance!

[ Portia counts down the seconds until it’s socially acceptable to leave. ]

​

Housekeeping: I popped Imperial K.K., the record Tammi gave me yesterday when she forced invited me over to her house, into my collection, and was surprised to find that I didn’t have it already! The first lines ascend like an acoustic curtain that shrieks Tammi.

[ Or, better yet, remind me of Tammi’s shrieking. ]​

I’ve known her for over a year, and she only just gave me her photograph (pictured, since I have nowhere to put it currently). I’m getting the feeling that she’s in a nostalgic mood. And, uh, not to be weird or anything, but when she went to the bathroom for the third time yesterday, I saw her laptop open (I wasn’t snooping, I swear!) to a Zillow search for cities on the mainland.

Who knows when it’ll happen? Should I bring it up to her? I don’t want her to go, but I also want her to, y’know, be successful and follow her dreams and all of that jazz. Sigh. I’m going to miss that kid. Okay, I’ll stop being dramatic. She still lives here!

​

I ran into Merengue at the roundabout, and when she didn’t immediately launch into a speech about the book she’s currently reading (Chicken Soup for the Odd-Toed Ungulate’s Soul, if you’re wondering), I was extremely suspicious. I eventually wheedled it out of her.

Of course I said yes. I couldn’t even imagine the courage it must have taken for that soft soul to decide to leave the comfort of home. She cried when I moved her house leftward by two spaces last week, for pete’s sake. But I had one last gift for her.

[ I wasn’t prepared for this! ]​

Now I'll have a bit of her around forever. Wait, that sounds creepy.

Merengue confided in me, long ago, that her dream is to open a pâtisserie in Paris. The archipelago ain’t exactly Paris, but I’d like to think I did my darlin’ proud.

[ Too much pink? Impossible. Introducing Sweethorn Café!]
​

That’s about it. A happy day in a dark season. I miss my friends even though they’re all around me. Tell me, reader, what should I do about it?

​

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: Approach of Winter, William Carlos Williams
https://poets.org/poem/approach-winter

 

[zissou]

12/03/21. but a brief, dreamy, kind delight.

Dear reader,

It’s Friday! [Editor’s note: it was Friday at the time of writing this. Now, it is Thursday afternoon and I am decidedly not overwhelmed with joy.]

Now that I work a full-time job, the joy of Fridays has returned to me. They set the world alight with a new kind of magic: the knowledge that you don’t have to wake up with your alarm the next day. Predictably, I still fall asleep around midnight. It’s the principle of it.

​

First order of business: saying goodbye to Merengue! Last night she’d been texting me overly detailed questions about bathroom furniture, the way she does when she’s nervous, but today she had calmed down.

[ She’d made her decision and knew there was no turning back now. ]​

Well, mostly. She still had no idea where to go. Needless to say, I wasn’t about to let my dear friend just move anywhere, so I made a few calls. Bada bing, bada boom, Xtina came to invite her to their village!

[ Goodbye, sweet Merengue! You’ll be missed! ]

​

Marina gave me a new nickname today. I love her and her singing so dearly. She’s one of those villagers whose very existence comforts me. (Paula, Roald, and Tammi are the other ones — my starter four, so there’s no surprise there).

[ Somehow, the idea of Marina on /r/wallstreetbets is hilarious to me. #diamondtentacles]

​

On my daily rounds, I dropped by at Lily’s house, only to find Paula there too! Huh. I didn’t know they were friends. Lily is so put-together, and Paula is… well… a little rough around the edges, shall we say.

Thing is, Lily was absolutely enraptured by Paula. Literally. She wouldn’t stop following Paula around and smiling. The. Whole. Time. Even Paula, who isn’t exactly the most observant, was getting weird vibes. I gotta catch Lily alone… y’know, if she’s got a crush, I can be her wingwoman.

[ She’s literally watching us right now. Play it cool. ]​

Before I left, Lily told me that Frett was sick, and I decided to pay him a visit. Decided is the key word here, because I got awfully distracted and ended up forgetting entirely. Oops. Maybe he’ll still be sick tomorrow and I can help then! Uh, or, I mean, I hope he’s not sick…

​

So you might have noticed I’ve been naked (or what passes for naked in this town) for a bit. I’m not a creep, I swear! Instead… I was preparing for a 2.0 item cataloguing party that night! That’s right: in order to ensure that no 2.0 clothing items were accidentally worn instead of catalogued, we had to come in wand outfits.

While this wasn’t my first rodeo catalogue party, it was definitely the biggest one. Thanks to G for hosting (and for the cool nighttime decor that entertained me while I picked up a million items).

[ My thighs are huge now. Roald would be proud. ]

​

I’m supposed to be on a budget, but you know what I do when it’s late at night and browsing Reddit isn’t doing it for me anymore? Online shopping. I binge-ordered a ton of stuff that I catalogued at the party. Goodbye, wallet. Hello, retail therapy!

[ Just another naked night in Pawtucket. ]

​

Good night, reader. Today was a good one!

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: Never give all the Heart, William Butler Yeats
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57306/never-give-all-the-heart

 

[zissou]

12/04/21. whose love would follow me still.

Dear reader,

Oh, Saturday. Arguably the best day of the working man’s week—although tinged with the sadness that the best is not yet to come. I think I just think way too far in advance and spoil any chance of present happiness for myself.

[ I need to be more like Erik. He just… vibes. But he also doesn’t have a job. Hmph. ]

​

Mom sent me a letter today! She’s a woman of few words, and yet, her short letters change my perspective on the entire day. I have the opposite problem. I write far, far too much, exceeding every word count limit on applications, essays, and posts. (Which reminds me of the classic quote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”).

[ She also sent me a hand-knitted sweater, which I promptly wore for the rest of the day. ]

​

These villagers gossip way too much, I swear. Marina just gave me that nickname yesterday. But I’d prefer it to Roald calling me a goon all of the time (Who taught him that? Definitely wasn’t me) so I agreed. It is cute, after all.

[ You look more like a cupcake than me, Roald. ]​

I haven’t shown off the layout of Pawtucket too much in the Post so far, so here’s a little tidbit: Roald and Portia live in a little apartment complex behind Nook’s Cranny. They’ve both chosen to decorate their halves… rather differently, I’d say.

[I love this part of the neighborhood. ]​

Guess who I caught lacking this morning?

I feel less bad about Portia seeing the decorating disaster that is my house a few days ago. At least I was awake, goshdarnit! There she was, drooling all over the French wallpaper. Poor thing must be stressed from her classes she’s signed up for at the recently-furnished school.

[ So she's not perfect all of the time? Quelle surprise! ]

​

I used to give stacks of coconuts to my villagers. Then I used to carefully craft and wrap iron wall lamps so their homes wouldn’t be cluttered with junk. I went through a cooking phase, but I got tired of seeing three week-old spaghetti genovese rotting on their desks.

Now I just buy up whatever’s in Nook’s and throw it around like candy, junk be damned. If their houses start getting too crazy, I hope I’ll be able to convince them to let me redecorate.

[ That’s a problem for later. Squat toilets for all! ]

​

I finally had time to stop by at Frett’s house. Thankfully (thankfully?) he was still stick, and I had the forethought to bring him some medicine. Hey, I just want him to know that I’m a wonderful friend who totally cares about him and would never forget if Lily told me he was sick and needed medicine. Nope, that is a totally imaginary situation!

[ You’re SO welcome, old man. ]

​

Today was rather sleepy and uneventful, which was fine by me. Reader, I am sure we all need some rest in the interim between Halloween/Turkey Day and Toy Day. I have to start on my holiday shopping, jeez…

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: Mother o’ Mine, Rudyard Kipling
https://poets.org/poem/mother-o-mine

 

[zissou]

12/05/21. loneliness does not meet for lunch.

Dear reader,

I could barely find anyone today. Paula, Tammi, Flora, Roald… where the heck were they? Resident Services was desolate. Pawtucket felt a lot lonelier without the boys drinking soup, or Marina singing, or Portia doing pilates, or… anyone doing anything, really.

I went to the museum, planning on running through the exhibits (against Blathers’ express wishes—sorry, old chap) to locate the homies, but as soon as I stepped foot inside, I felt the existential weight of Sunday pressing against my shoulders. It took every ounce of spirit within my body to keep myself from collapsing right then and there at the blustering owl’s feet.

I figured someone would be chugging a frappuccino in The Roost, but alas. Only me. I drank my coffee extremely slowly in the hopes that someone would join me. Brewster was giving me the side-eye, but that’s because he hates it when anyone drinks it at any temperature below that of boiling lava.

[ Then I got a cup to go, just to have something to do. ]​

I walked around Pawtucket. It’s kind of nice to be alone—the neighbors have taken to breaking into my home lately, and I’m not a hundred percent sure how they all learned the art of lock-picking within a week—but I still missed everyone.

[ Codependency. We love it! ]

​

Y’know when you’re so bored that you decide to be productive? Yeah, that’s what happened today. Graham contracted me to design an “Office for a Venture Capitalist”. I think I captured the desperation of private equity financing quite well.

[ The bare bulbs… chef’s kiss! ]

​

After Merengue moved out, I wanted to finally go island-hopping to find some interesting villagers. I haven’t gone hopping since the early days of moving to Pawtucket (we’re talking March 2020), mostly because I don’t have "dreamies". I just like getting to know folks, hideous or not, and seeing what relationships form.

But someone snapped up the plot already! I suppose Pawtucket must be prime real estate now that we actually have, y’know, facilities. (And working plumbing.) Guess who’s moving in?

[ I’ll give you a hint. ]

​

Not a lot to report today. I am not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, but at least I had a decent weekend. I also impulse-ordered five variations of the same checkered skirt, so… those will be fun to open tomorrow.

Again… I have to start my Toy Day shopping! For other people and not just me. Ugh. [Editor's note: Yes, I know these editions are quite outdated now that Toy Day has passed, and New Year's Eve is looming. We will catch up soon!]

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: this end of the world **** is making me sick, Sean Bonney
https://my-blackout.com/2020/02/24/sean-bonney-poems-after-katerina-gogou/

 

[zissou]

12/06/21. how like an arrow the good intent.

Dear reader,

Today marks the 300th day that I’ve woken up in Pawtucket! I phrase it like that because I’ve actually lived in Pawtucket for well over a year (the town was founded on March 20, 2020!), but have I actually gotten out of bed on all of those days? No. I essentially hibernated for winter 2020. How did I survive without eating for three months straight, you may ask?

[ No, you don’t get an answer. Moving on. ]

​

And how best to celebrate? Well, reader, I finally put my beret and whipped out my camera. It was time for Pawtucket portraits!

[ Paula was a little camera-shy at first, but warmed up quickly. ]​

Here are a few of my favorites. The rest, as you’ve probably seen, are displayed in the “Residents” section on the front page of the Post. Which one is your favorite?

​

Bill moved in today! I brought him a platter of pumpkin cupcakes (one of the few things I know how to make), but when I told him it was real pumpkin and not pumpkin-flavored whey protein mix, he told me he couldn’t spare the calories, since he was on a “cut”.

[ I don’t think you have much more to lose, man. ]​

From what I gleaned, he’s a recent graduate with a business degree and several awful fraternity tattoos. Looks like his senior year internship didn’t turn into the job offer he’d expected (Bill took pains to emphasize that it had nothing to do with the partying and gambling, thank you very much), and his father shipped him out here so he can work on landing that Wall Street job without any distractions.

Kinda feeling like now we have to distract him, just to prove that Pawtucket isn't the podunk town Bill Sr. thinks it is.

​

Things have been a little weird between Portia and I after our last few encounters. First, she dropped by my house and refused to go more than three steps inside; then, I dropped by at her house and caught her drooling all over the wallpaper. So when I ran into her at the Able Sisters’, I was hoping for a chance to have a normal conversation and smooth things over.

[ Can we get a vibe check on this? ]​

Unfortunately, I’m… still not sure if we were able to do that. Her pride is still wounded, and perhaps she wanted to take me down a few notches to get us on the same level. Girl, you wear the same three outfits. Me, on the other hand?

[ Flawless, gorgeous, never-been-done-before, every single day. ]

​

Everyone was in a melodious mood today. I know Tammi sings, but Frett was a surprise. He takes requests, but only knows Nickelback songs.

[ I gave in and asked Frett for “Rockstar”, which I unfortunately know all of the words to. ]

​

A few nice snaps to round out the day.

[ A peaceful sunset for helmet-head. And guess who I saw at the resort today? ]​

Your faithful Editor-in-Chief,
Zissou

P. S. Poem of the Day: Loss and Gain, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
https://www.hwlongfellow.org/poems_poem.php?pid=262