Everybody loves Jimothy, the Seattle-based celebrity raccoon. After going viral on Instagram, the adorable trash panda with an unusual gait has spawned countless memes and fan art. Now, after working his way into hearts and minds, Jimothy is coming to games like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Stardew Valley, thanks to the procyonid’s biggest fans.
Jimothy the raccoon fandom exploded this past week after Kiana Hall, who lives near the raccoon in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, captured the lil’ guy going on a stroll. Jimothy is uniquely shaped, as the raccoon apparently was born with short spine syndrome (SSS), a rare genetic condition that causes the spine to be significantly shorter than normal. The condition is more commonly seen in dogs, and “while some unique health issues go along with the condition, many dogs with spine problems like SSS can still live long and content lives,” according to veterinarian Dr. Elyse Macartney.
Thanks to a handful of modders, Jimothy will now virtually live forever, serving as wildlife in Skyrim and as a pet/livestock in Stardew Valley.
On Nexusmods, modder triptherift added Jimothy the Raccoon to Skyrim at the behest of members of their Discord group. “I made Seattle’s current celebrity mascot for Skyrim. Because I can,” triptherift said. Just imagine pressing E to speak to Jimothy. What will he say?! (“I should be a replacement for all dragons in Skyrim,” Jimothy would probably respond.)
Stardew Valley players can also hang with Jimothy — the real one should only be observed quietly and respectfully from a safe distance — thanks to two mods. Modder SmolHooman added Jimothy as a custom pet in this mod, while another modder named kirbysteaks added Jimothy the Raccoon as a purchasable farm animal. That means you can have an army of Jimothys.
Stardew Valley‘s modded Jimothy is purchasable from Marnie.
“Jimothy will mostly bring you trash and seeds, but if you take good care of him, he may bring you Treasure or an Artifact Trove,” kirbysteaks explains. “By default, Jimothy lives in barns. ExtraAnimalConfigs is recommended if you want him to be able to fit in coops or want to remove item quality from his drops so they stack nicely.”
When will Jimothy make an official appearance in a game? Maybe soon, as Blizzard Entertainment has already posted an in-game tribute to Seattle’s new star in World of Warcraft. Sure sounds like a good opportunity for a WoW charity pet…
With Fortnite going all in on cuddly and cute creatures, it can’t be long before Epic Games capitalizes on Jimothy fever. But who’s next? Resident Evil? Sly Cooper reboot? The possibilities are endless.