Posted July 19, 2025 by Stardust_and_Snowflakes
#climate jam 2025 #yuri #josei
I've been working for about a month on the Climate Jam 2025 and I'm excited to formally announce my title for release on July 21st, Olepi and Willow! This is a mythology-based and fairy-tale styled yuri short story that is grounded in tragic reality.
A brief summary from my game page:
Olepi and the Willow takes place in an unnamed creek and based on one of the most intense droughts in California’s recorded history (2011-2017), the story is told from the perspective of a Sacramento Blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus) who hatches near the drought’s end. Olepi struggles in a changing world, sheltered only by the young willow whose shading boughs rest atop her rapidly dwindling pool.
The Jam's theme is "natural and unnatural disasters" and so I took a look at a recent real life event: long term, intense drought.
Introducing the Characters
Olepi and the Willow is a small scale game with two primary point of view characters, the titular Olepi and Willow.
Olepi
An inquisitive fish surviving against all odds.
A Sacramento Blackfish (Orthodon microlepidotus), a species known for its incredible resilience and the ability to survive in conditions that would kill most other fish. In the region these fish live it is common for there to be long periods without rain and so native flora and fauna are highly drought resistant - for freshwater fish, that means having the ability so survive in high salinity, low oxygen, and high temperatures. The Sacramento Blackfish is no exception.
There's nothing particularly special about their appearance or diet, they're just a fish like any you'd find in a river - and this was my intent. I wasn't trying for a special species, but one that anyone, anywhere in the world, could relate to despite the non-fictitious setting.
public domain image of a (likely male) Sacramento Blackfish from the USGS.
Olepi is the last survivor of her clutch, which was laid near the end of the drought. Her small creek relegated to only a stagnant pool, she must survive its rapidly decreasing waters. Despite the dire state of her world, it's the only home she knows and Olepi strives to protect it.
Willow
A willow who weeps.
Due to the aforementioned long periods without rain - even during normal years - in California's central valley, the typical "cartoon" willows are not commonly found - which is perfect. This region has been faced with constant invasive wildlife and plant introductions by humans, and Willow is one such entity.
Surviving only because the older trees at the creekside fell to the drought, Willow is granted a Boon by their souls and the Land - a knowledge of her surroundings and the horrors faced by her struggling world.
Unable to move and act, Willow can only observe as the creek she was born beside evaporates, her shade the only succor remaining to its young aquatic inhabitants.
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