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username: honeystorm.wishes
name: ella jae
gender: cis female
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ella's hair fell loosely over her face, her striped tongue poking through her
lips as she hauled a second cardboard box that had been marked 'college' i
nto her arms, her brows furrowed in concentration. she nudged her bedroo
m door open with her shoulder, attempting to unsuccessfully blow a lock of
hair from her face as she headed downstairs to her car, passing her mother
(who was currently standing on her toes to reach the top shelf) on the way
past. pushing the car boot ajar once again with her elbow, she dunked the
box into the boot, shaking her hair free from her face and tucking it behind
her ear in a more comfortable manner as she padded back inside.
why she hadn't pulled the entire thing into a bun and chose to leave a dec
ent portion of her fringe out, she didn't know, but it was annoying the hell
out of her right at that very second, and she was in the middle of making a
mental note to fix that as soon as she damn well could.
scoffing as she passed the kitchen once more to see her mother now stand
ing on a stool, ella shook her head, a soft laugh leaving her lips as she wat
ched her mother struggle to reach her favourite tea-cup amongst the rest,
the older kalon's tail swaying furiously behind her.
"mum, do you need any help there?"
"no, ella, it's fine- i've got this..."
"...are you sure?"
"yes, yes, i'm sure! just-" a grunt, "go finish packing your stuff into y'car. i'll
be there in a bit."
ella rolled her eyes, giving a brief, "alright, i'll take your word for it," in res
ponse to her mother's words before walking back upstairs to gather the last
of her boxes. however, when she reached her room, her gaze fell to a purpl
e rectangular shaped object where behind the boxes were previously sitting
within the diminishing mess of her bedroom. walking toward it, she dropped
down, her tail now aimlessly swishing over the faded carpet, her head tilted
out of pure curiosity. brows furrowing, ella picked up the object, almost dro
pping it when she realised what it was.
her old ds, in perfect (well, almost. both screens and the top of the lid were
dusted with scratches, and the right hand speaker's plastic seemed a little c
racked but
whatever) working condition now sat in her paws. she hadn'
t seen the little console in years, and suddenly finding it just as she was mo
ving out was- it was almost like a breath of fresh air.
the dark-coloured kalon glanced over at the few remaining boxes and sighed,
taking a moment to come to the decision to leave that as a problem for futu
re ella. jumping back onto her bed, the covers already tousled from boxes p
reviously stacked on there, ella opened the ds and flicked the power switch,
the opening chime ringing through her ears. the next few moments felt like
a blur as the game chip that was in there loaded up, the all too familiar pix
ellated opening title sending her swimming back into her memories, her pup
ils dilating and ears pricking as a familiar warmth came rushing over her.
'
animal crossing: wild world' loaded up, her old save file she has started about
eight years ago still within the game's files. she pulled out the stylus from th
e side of the console, tapping on her profile and watching the game come to
lIfe around her. her village was half empty by now, many of the villagers hav
ing left in her absence. her mailbox was filled with letters, the flowers she h
ad planted around her house were wilted and brown.
however, this didn't deter ella from being determined to fix it. pulling out h
er watering can, she wandered around, watering the flowers and talking to
anyone she came across. she emptied her mailbox, sold a few unnecessary
things, changed up her overall look and the aesthetic of her house within th
e matter of the hour, nostalgia bringing her back to all those nights she wou
ld spend awake playing this game and bringing things to perfection.
she found herself humming along with the backing track after fifteen minut
es, not wanting to put the console down and continue her work, purely bec
ause she was too wrapped up in how good this game made her feel about h
erself. she could look after her own town, be able to talk to a bunch of cut
e animals, run businesses and talk to her friends in ways that were enlighte
ning to a twelve year old ella- an ella that found enjoyment in fantasies of
far away lands and towns and villages unlike her own.
this game was her childhood, she reminded herself, and despite being in he
r first year of college now, she wasn't planning on leaving that behind again.
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