#oh they found the junimos

[lunargeist]

@ghostly-tart

For you twin

Grian had owned the farm for almost a year and a half and winter was just around the corner. He had even put the effort into an actual warm coat as the cold air started to linger after the sun had been up for some time. He had just finished up with the junimos to allow Pam to take up her actual day job as the bus driver. Morality of that women behind the wheel aside, he was actually excited to get his hands on some more exotic plants for the farm when the warmer seasons come back around. He had found an old book in the library and the idea of making sugar from beets rather than buying from Pierre was a skill he planned on cultivating.

He pulled the scarf around his mouth and nose as he exited the chicken coop after giving his chickens their daily pats and making sure that they had yet to make their way through the feed he had put out for them last them the previous night.

Well, HE hadn't put the feed out but he had asked his new farm hand to do it. Perhaps, hiring someone just before the slowest farming season might not be the smartest way of doing things, but Grian wasn't excatly known for his smartest decisions. He did give up his stable job for trying to be a farmer either little to no experience. Granted, it was a soul killing job for Joja INC but stable nonetheless.

Despite his questionable career choices; he doesn't think that hiring Scar is going to be one of those. He had already seemingly taken to caring for the chickens and had spoken to Grian about the idea of installing a well on the south west side of the property so it could be easier to water plants come spring. As much as he wasn't sure he appreciated some guy who he let's live in a cabin on the corner of the farm give his two cents on how the farm should be laid out in the future, Grian certainly appreciated the enthusiasm.

He made sure to lock the door to the coop behind him before Grian started towards the main entrance to his farm. It was almost ten am and Pam should be just making her way down the path from the main part of town. He rubbed his hands together, absentmindedly thinking about if he could perhaps talk to Emily about the prospect of gloves.

Maybe see if Scar would be interested in them too. Something told Grian he wouldn't care though.

"Grian!"

Grian jumped and turned as Scar called from Grian's front porch. As if to prove his previous thought on offering Scar gloves, despite the nearing freezing temperatures, Grian's farm hand was only wearing a light hoddie and his usual work jeans. He came down the stairs and approached the shorter owner of the farm. "Where you off to this early? Pierre isn't open on Wednesdays."

"The bus is up and running again," Grian said and stuck his hands into his warm coat pockets. "Today is the first day it is back in service and I was planning on going and getting some stuff from the store and merchant I heard they have near the stop."

Scar's expression brightened. "I haven't been to Calico Desert in quite sometimes. Would you mind the company? If not, I'd rather like to come along with."

While he hadn't been expecting to even see Scar today, Grian couldn't say he excatly minded the idea of having the company.

"Actually," Grian said after a moment of pause. "I would appreciate it."

Scar gave him a warm smile before falling into step beside Grian as they headed towards the bus stop. "Of course! Like I said, I am happy to go back."

Pam came up behind them. The two men paid for their tickets and the departed. "You said you hadn't gone in a while. Why haven't you gone back if you seem to like it there?"

The duo took seats in the middle of the bus on either side of the aisle. Scar shifted so he was facing Grian as he made a face. "It's sorta dumb."

The owner of the farm raise an eyebrow as he settled back into the bus seat. Grian pulled the scarf off and folded it to shove into his pocket. "How dumb?"

Scar cringed and Grian couldn't help but laugh. "Oh no. That seems ominous. What did you do?"

"So, you know the casino?"

Grian's eyebrows shot up. "Did you get caught cheating?"

His farm hand scoffed. "Of course not. They couldn't prove anything but they sure as heck seemed sure I was cheating."

"Were you?"

"You seen me play cards at the saloon on Fridays. What do you think?"

"I think you owe Shane three hundred dollars from last week. That was hardly fair. Man was already a few beers down." Grian snorted.

"That round of black jack was fair game!" Scar gasped in mock offense, leaning back and placing a hand on his chest. "It wasn't my fault he put it all in."

"Scar didn't even need to cheat at that game," Pam's grave voice called back to the men. "That was just Shane being a nitwit."

Scar gestured towards their driver. "Just as the lady said; I am three hundred dollars richer because of someone's bad choices."

Scar making money off of other people's poor choices... Where does that sound familiar...? Grian just laughed the thought off with his hired farm hand.

"Are you going to leave your coat on the bus? I can't imagine that will be comfortable."

Grian looked down at his red coat. "Is it already going to be hot?it's barely after ten?"

"G, it's a desert."

Grian spluttered slightly. "I know that but it's also almost November. It's cold!"

"It's a desert, G!"

"So is Antarctica!" The farmer defended slightly, but his hands come out of his coat to start undoing the buttons.

"Have you ever been to Calico before?"

"No!"

Scar rolled his eyes. "Grian."

"Shut up, Scar. I write your pay checks."

"Oh no," Scar said drily as Grian folded his coat up on the empty seat beside him. "Whatever will happen when I don't pay rent for living in the hovel and I can just raid your fridge at night while you're asleep."

"Don't make me change my locks," Grian threatened as they pulled into the Calico bus stop. "And that cabin is nice."

"You wouldn't dare change the locks. Also, I don't have a full kitchen."

"I don't either!"

Pam turned around. "Can you two continue this outside of the bus? I planned on taking a nap."

Grian rolled his eyes but got up with Scar following him into the dry wind. He instinctively raised his hand to protect his face agaisnt the sand.

"Have you really not been to Calico?"

"No," Grian clipped as he squinted around the barren bus stop.

Scar snorted beside him before putting a hand on Grian's shoulder and started him towards the street to their back to walk in front of the idle bus. A few small buildings sat off in the distance, the largest being a two story bright pink building with a sign labeled OASIS over the sign.

Griam quickly shook off Scar's hand and started towards the building. He felt Scar keep up behind him. The farmer had no intention on saying it, but he was already grateful for Scar telling him to take his coat off. Even with the heaviest garment removed, he was still reaching quickly uncomfortable temperatures as they took the almost twenty minute walk to the desert store and casino.

By the time Grian pushed the swing door open, he could tell he was just as red in the face as his jumper and could feel the sweat on the back of his neck. It took a lot of effort not to let out a sigh of relief at the crisp AC. He seemed to have failed at completely hiding his relief because Scar right behind him laughed.

A young woman behind the front counter looked up from her magazine. Sandy shifted in her seat as rhe two men entered her store. "Welcome on in guys. Hello to you, Scar."

"Hi, Sandy!" Scar called back to the pink haired woman. "How are you doing!?"

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking!" Her attention turned to Grian as he trudged to the front counter. "Hi, I'm Sandy, welcome to Oasis. Can I help you find something?"

"Beet seeds?" Grian asked, sounding a lot more tired than he felt.

Sandy smiled like she knew why he sounded out of breath. "From the valley? Their summers are even more mild than our winters. If your looking for seeds, they are in isle two, most of the way down. There is also a water cooler back there too."

He nodded and started down where she gestured to. Grian heard as Sandy and Scar seemed to pick up a friendly conversation before he decided not to pay it any mind. He felt a slightly uncomfortable feeling settle in his stomach at Scar's familiar tone he was using with Sandy, but it was easy enough to blaim the veugly nauseous feeling because of the heat. He moved passed the seeds to go to the cooler that he had been directed to.

At the end of the shelves, there is a short hall where a door with a bodyguard dressed in a dark blue suit and sunglasses. Grian stared at him for a moment and, when the gentleman didn't respond to his present, turned back to the water cooler to get something to drink. Once he had himself a paper cup filled, he quickly moved out of sight.

He didn't really like the idea of not knowing if the bodyguard was actually looking at him or not.

Grian browsed the small seed selection as he drank his water, picking out a handful of the seeds he wanted. He got not just the beets he so wanted, but a handful of starfruit to try his hand at in his small house while waiting for summer. Grian took his seeds back up the front counter.

Scar was browsing a small clothes selection in the first of the three aisle. He poked his head over towards Grian as he approached the counter. "Grian, I think you might want to get this."

He pulled down a white shirt that said 'My Went to Calico and Only Bought Me a TeeShirt' with a small little cactus emoji under the text. "It's short sleeve~"

"Thanks but no," Grian snorted before he turned back to Sandy to pay for his seed selection, tossing his paper cup in a small trashcan by his knees.

Scar laughed before disappearing back the shelf. As Grian was wrapping up, his hired hand came and joined him back up at the counter, holding a small potted cactus. Grian glanced at the small terracotta pot. "I'm not buying that for you."

"I wasn't going to ask you to." Scar sulked slightly in a way that very much implied that he was actually was going to ask.

"Sure." Grian chuckled as he took his bag and stepped away to wait by the front door.

Scar bought his cactus as well as some other things before joining Grian at the door. "Are we gonna go to Skull Caverns?"

"Skull Caverns?" Grian asked, sounding a little appaled at the name.

Scar hummed as they left the safe air conditioned store. "Yeah. It's this creepy cave that isn't that far from here but there is this door in the back that has a massive skull carved into it."

"Carved into it?" Grian raised his hand again to protect his eyes. "Is it a metal door?"

"I dunno. It looks old as hell. Might be metal might not. I've never gone back and touched the thing."

"No, we can come back for creepy cave later. Let's go back home."

"Really? We just got here?" Scar sounded disappointed but he continued to follow beside Grian. "Are we gonna come back when you have an appropriate shirt?"

"I'm gonna come back without you, I think."

"Awww, G."

The two headed back to the bus and climbed back onto the bus. Pam sat up in her seat, lowering the grimy book. "Welcome back, boys. Back so soon?"

"It's too hot here." Grian complained. "I can't imagine ever wanting to live in the desert."

"He is being dramatic," Scar called as Grian went to dump himself into his seat. "I heard him talking to Sandy about buying a vacation house here once his farm takes off."

"If I am buying a vacation house anywhere, it's going to be Ginger Island." Grian yelled dramatically.

Both Pam and Scar laughed as the farm hand made his way to take his seat back up. He put his bag beside him as he settled. The bus had started up and began moving before Scar had gasped slightly and sat up before turning towards his bag. "Oh, before I forget, I got you something from Sandy's."

Grian was not suprised when Scar pulled out a white shirt with a cactus on it out of the bottom of his bag and passed it across the aisle to Grian. Despite not being suprised, he still couldn't help the laugh that came bubbling up from his chest. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll treasure this forever."

Scar returned the laughter with a quirked half smile. "I'm just glad you have something that won't give you heat stroke next time we go visit Sandy."

"Yeah sure." Grian folded the shirt losely and put it in his bag with seeds and picked up his scarf he had left on the seat with his jacket. "We."

#scarian #stardew valley #here ya go ghosty #cranked this shit out just for you #im going to bed bow

[sp1tkink]

hey, sorry to ask, but could you do a sdv elliot x fisher reader 🤭 if not, that’s alright! i don’t wanna take your time from ya

of course! :D, im not too into elliot’s story but i’ll go based off of what i’ve seen and heard,,,

pairing: (sdv!)elliot/(gn! fisher!)reader

wc: 1.09k

cw: spoilers to elliot’s heart events, mutual pinning, fluff, gender neutral (no gender specific terms), use of platonic nicknames (bucko by willy), established friendship, friends to lovers

wiping your brow and setting your fishing rod to the side, you marveled at your small bounty of sea creatures. having caught three fish, combined with your walk through cindersap forest, plus your stops to greet your neighbors had worn you out.

an exasperated sigh flew past your lips as your legs dangled over the edge of the dock, you knew your work wasn’t done yet. turning back to check the clock on willy’s storefront, you were met with a certain long haired man walking by, gazing off at the water. “OH- my, goodness!” you yelled before chuckling nervously, “you scared me!”

elliot chuckled back softly before his gaze shifted back to the sea, “i thought you’d be used to seeing me by now.” he hummed, “i’m afraid not.” the man playfully chided much to your, just as playful, dismay.

you’ve been living in stardew valley for a while now and built up a decent relationship with elliot. he’d shown you around his cabin numerous times, played his piano for you, and invited you to a book reading he’d hosted in the local museum/library in town. he’s supported you too! in his own ways, of course.

he based a couple of scenes in his books on you, inspired entire books off of the interactions you’ve had, complimented you on your fishing skills along with other things of the sort. you enjoyed it, the brief gleam of joy in his eyes when you tell him you liked a song or excerpt he wrote, it made you want the dream of living in pelican town to never end.

you hadn’t realized it but in the midst of your thinking, elliot had walked away. maybe this was why you weren’t used to him, he’d always been disappearing just as quickly as he appeared. you knew he had his own schedule, but visiting his house was always an option, so you’d do it later.

standing up, you decided to pack up your things and head home, briefly stepping into willy’s to sell any fish that you didn’t need to donate to the junimo at the community center. on your way home, you made a took quick detour to the saloon only to be greeted by elliot once again. you ordered and found a seat with some familiars of the right-corner table of the place.

elliot was spewing his usual poetic nonsense which you couldn’t help but laugh at his slurred tone caused by the strong wine he often drank when he visited. sharing one last chat with clint and willy, you decided to focus more on your food, not wanting to be fatigued the next morning. though, you couldn’t help but notice the not-so-subtle glances elliot was taking from across the saloon.

given you’d been doing the same thing occasionally, you didn’t think he was too. admittedly you were a bit flustered and this didn’t go unnoticed by willy or even ‘the romantically oblivious’ clint. “you should talk to him.” he stated bluntly nearly prompting you to spit out your food. “it’s not like you don’t know the boy, and not to mention we all saw you leaving pierre’s with those flowers.” willy added.

you swallowed your food and grinning defeatedly seeing as your purchase earlier this week outed you. it’s not like you weren’t going to give elliot the bouquet, you’d just been building up the courage to.

“you’re the same person who told me to go for it with emily? seriously? i find that hard to believe.” clint grunted, taking a sip from his stein of beer. “okay, well, don’t act like that. you got with her didn’t you?” you huffed back, waving your fork around before hiding your face behind the glass of your wine—that elliot had bought you earlier that night—in even more defeat. “which is just the reason you should go and splay your feelings to elliot, bucko.” willy prodded matter-of-factly, moving the bottle away from your face.

standing up, you placed a pouch of gold on the table. “i’ll do it. tomorrow. and if i don’t! i owe you both double this!“ you announced catching the attention of sam, sebastian, and abigail—who’d just been a room away—causing them to snicker at your seemingly random announcement.

willy and clint laughed in amusement at the bet, “we’ll take it, i could always use a little extra cash, you haven’t stopped by to process any geodes lately.” clint chortled. “i won’t even owe you a silver dollar!“ you guffawed, snatching up your bottle of wine and heading to the door.

the next day came faster than you’d expected, it almost made you wish you never stepped foot out of that bar with the thought that the night would have gone slower if you hadn’t.

you took your time watering your crops and feeding your animals, hoping that somehow they’d convince you to go give the bouquet to elliot. fortunately you did it yourself, after checking your personal stash you realized you didn’t have enough gold to renovate your home and pay the men for the bet so you’d just have to perk up and confess.

on your way to elliot’s you greeted your friends around town, emily in particular noticing the bouquet and cheering you on before quickly sending you on your way by shoving you out of her house and on your way to the bridge. “you can do this!” she loudly whispered, the giddiness she’d been holding in becoming evident when she spoke. “okay… okay!” you reassured her and yourself.

walking onto the beach, you notice elliot dusting off the old boat that always sat next to his house and luckily enough he’s not quick to notice you just yet.

“ahem… uh. elliot!” you speak out, causing him to look up at you, flashing a brief smile before going back to dusting off his boat. “hello, the weather is just about right for a boat ride. willy says to give it another day though, something about those silly ‘tides’ and such.” elliot replied.

laughing dryly, you nod. “yeah… listen, um, i wanted to give you this.” holding the bouquet down to elliot, you notice his eye slightly widen and you couldn’t help but feel you made a mistake, but you waited for him to confirm your suspicion. “you really feel that way?” the question made you gulp, “i feel that way too!” he said cheerily. letting out an excited yelp, you hopped into the boat and hugged the red head tightly, “thank yoba!” sighing as you slid off of him, elliot gently ruffled your hair.

you felt relived that this was finally off your chest. smiling at elliot, you kissed his cheek and waved a pleased goodbye, breaking off into a run to willy’s not too soon after you left his eyeshot. “i told you i’d do it!” you yelled, swinging the door to his shop open.

THIS WAS LEGIT MY FIRST FIC(on tumblr), i really hope you enjoy, i did my best to proof read and everything

#bat 🏷️ s #bat’s asks 🥄 #sdv fanfic #sdv fluff #sdv elliott #sdv elliot x reader #elliot x reader #stardew valley #stardew elliott #stardew valley x reader #lord save me i’ll cry if this is bad #MY TAGS THAT I FOLLOW SHOWING UP IS DASTARDLY #i’m gonna cry #don’t flop please #bat will cry #i like the tiny words lol #stardew imagines #x reader #fluff #fluff fic

[garbagefarm]

Garbage Farm #50

2024-04-17, session #50 of Garbage Farm! Spanning Winter 16 through Winter 26 of Year 4!

cast:

me (@mothmute)

E.B. (@blueherin)

Kimi (@2kimi2furious)

Highlights include, but are not limited to the following:

Winter 16:

I'm gonna be tending the animals for a while, so everybody else can focus on getting their skills up to mastery

Ostrichard hatched!

doin' cheese chores!

I accept a BIG GAME FISHING quest from Mr. Qi!

—first, though, I need to do some submarine fishing! aaand accidentally miss E.B. who wanted to join, oh well.

Folks getting to bed late. "We do like to flirt with danger on the Garbage compound" "that's not all we flirt with 😉"

Winter 17:

Alex made Kimi pancakes! Alex keeps giving Kimi food to make her strong, because he wants her to carry him bridal-style. We all want Kimi to carry us, bridal-style. (She says she will get strong enough to carry all of us at once.)

(I remember Wizard's birthday!)

y'know, cindersap forest has regrown a lot since last time we deforested it......

Caught the Glacierfish Jr.!

Winter 18:

Starmas gift-givers announced! I got Pam, E.B. got Alex, and Kimi got Evelyn

having misplaced my own horse, Frucko, I borrow E.B.'s horse

I catch Mrs. Anglerfish and Son of Crimsonfish!

(Kimi deforests Cindersap forest)

Winter 19:

E.B. wants to open some of the mystery lootboxes, but Clint is nowhere to be found

Pam is also on vacation, allowing us to drive to the desert if we want

We failed fishquest. Kimi blames the ducks.

(Kimi is Possum's favorite)

E.B. tells me I'm tempting fate a lot these days. “that's not all I'm tempting 😉”

Winter 20:

Kimi wonders if we're on Pam's insurance. What insurance?? We had to get the Junimos to fix up the bus!!

Harvey says it's nice to live somewhere as relaxing as Garbage Farm

I deliver eggs to Gus — if I'm being honest, we probably would've gotten more for those eggs if we'd kept 'em.

E.B. finishes shipping the taro root that Caroline asked for!

Winter 21:

Caroline shares the secrets of solar power with all of us

it's a jelly day AND a keg day, I am busy all day

Harvey has nightmares about dragging E.B.'s limp body to the hospital

Elliott has nightmares about me giving him a buzz cut

(Alex never has nightmares, because that requires too many brain cells)

E.B. has been putting bombs in my fridge. “... thanks?” “you're welcome”

Winter 22:

I don't remember the context for this, but: how dare I suggest Kimi could read?

Pizza is missing... (maybe Shane found him, have you checked the mail?)

E.B. walks 10,000 steps, and would walk 10,000 more

Possum gives Kimi a snail!!

meanwhile, I'm mismanaging the cheese production for my own sick purposes, hope you don't mind. (E.B. accuses me of being a cheese deviant.)

Kimi finally finds Pizza: in bed for once in his gd life.

I set up a second water bowl, and get a turtle! Grandpa Jr.!

(I go on a late night stroll through the volcano, but return empty-handed)

Winter 23:

Kimi gets salmonella kissing Grandpa Jr. — “he's beautiful, so much better than the ducks”

E.B. makes rock crab rangoon, Marlon is very pleased.

—oh right at some point I activated the Danger Mines!

We all party up to conquer the mines!

E.B. dies due to disconnection, I die halfway into my bed. RIP I guess

Winter 24:

Finish the chores, and get back to the mines!

(those putrid ghosts inflicting nausea are awful!)

Kimi hits level 10 mining! One step closer to mastery!

Winter 25:

Elliott says something to Kimi about smelling the sea?? Honey, you're on a farm, and it's not even the beach farm.

It's Starmas!!

I give Pam a beer; Maru gives me a pumpkin pie.

Kimi gives Evelyn a flower; George gives her a pink cake. (I'm glad she's getting along with her in-laws!)

E.B. gives Alex an egg.

On learning that E.B.'s secret gift-giver was Kent, Kimi and I both immediately ask if he gave her a bomb. Turns out he gave her wine. ...then we realize it's a DIY molotov cocktail, because of course it'd be a bomb.

Shane wants to give out more pizzas.

Vincent got a “stegosonaurus”

Sam got a "joja basket" — I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound great.

Winter 26?:

non-canon day

We decide to just have a fancy brunch this time. Drink some of our fancy ancient fruit wine, and eat our artisanal cheeses.

TO-DO

god we've still got so much left to do

need to find more of the jellies, so we can make a smoker

I'm still trying to set up crystalariums and preserves jars and kegs!

still— good garbage, everybody!

#stardew valley #garbage farm

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 26: Under the Golden Glow of the Sun

SATURDAY - SUMMER 27 

The Wizard had been out yesterday—or, at least, he had failed to answer the door, and after Achilles’ last encounter with an empty Wizard’s Tower, he decided it’d be best to not walk in without an invitation. The junimos, who had continued to watch him in increasing numbers since the pneumonia, had nodded in agreement and followed him back to the farm. 

But Achilles was eager for answers, so the next day, after the saddest, slowest, most pathetic morning jog he had ever run, he headed straight back to Cindersap. The path there was riddled with an extra pair of footprints today; someone else must’ve paid Rasmodius a visit. Someone with a rather dragging, limping gait, it seemed. 

Who in Stardew has a limp? Strange. 

He followed the unsteady prints up the dusty stone steps and knocked once again on the Wizard’s door. It opened instantly with a loud bang—Rasmodius, dressed in his usual black robes didn’t seem surprised to see him. 

“Back again are you, boy? Can’t take the hint?” he grunted, slamming the front door behind him and joining Achilles on the stone steps. 

“I just have some questions—”

“Oh I’m sure you do. Come on. Lay it on me, then. Quickly, I’ve got work to do.” 

Achilles was a little caught off guard by the Wizard’s grumpy demeanor—he had never been quite so brusque in their conversation before—but it was no matter. It would take more than a prickly exterior to intimidate a determined Achilles. That being said, he kept his recap short and to the point.  

“…and Corvus said… it was up to me. And I just supposed I’d get your thoughts on the matter, maybe you could teach me, tell me how I can help and what I can do, especially seeing as it all seemed rather time sensitive—” 

The Wizard rolled his eyes, already turning around to head back into the tower. “Of course that little brute said that. You listen here—you stay away from those mines. You haven’t got what it takes to confront spirits. I know what’s buried down there, and believe me, you won’t be able to handle it. Nobody can.” Rasmodius tugged his mustache and added in a low mutter, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell Marlon…” 

“Marlon?” 

The Wizard proceeded as if he hadn’t heard. 

“You pay no attention to the shadow brute in the cave. You can’t trust those things. They’re evil spirits.” 

“This one didn’t feel evil—”

“Oh, and you would know all about that, wouldn’t you?” 

Achilles shoved his hand through the door, blocking the Wizard from shutting it fully. He was here for answers, and he was going to get them. What the hell was with the total 180? “Well if you would just teach me—remember, you were the one who told me I had some sort of special relationship with the spirits here, that I, I don’t know, could be what Stardew Valley needed. You were the one who encouraged all this spirit talk. Corvus found me. He spoke to me. I think I have a right—”

“A right?” The Wizard wrenched the door back open—he seemed to rapidly swell in height, looming down darkly at Achilles who nevertheless stood his ground. “What right? Oh, a shadow brute made you feel special, boy? Like you could be the Savior of Stardew—bah, that’s what it wanted you to think, I never should have told you what I did—

“Look at you, an immature child who was never told no—your stunted gifts are limited. You have no training, no experience, no knowledge! And no potential. You have no destiny here.” 

After letting these words ring in the air for a beat, Rasmodius shrank back to his usual height. Curls of smoke emerged from beneath the door. He leaned against the frame, suddenly weary, and removed his hat, running the brim through his fingers as he continued in a softer tone. “Achilles, listen to me. This is not your job. Best leave it to the professionals and not ask too many questions. I have long been well aware of the problem, and I can assure you, I have been working on a solution to heal the Elemental Walls of this Valley for many years now.”

“But the Portal—”

“Stop. The best thing you can do is forget everything that shadow brute told you.”

The Wizard’s violet eyes were almost tender as they met Achilles’ brown ones. 

“I know how difficult that can be. How intense the spiritual pull can feel. But I’m begging you. Find a new passion. Lose yourself in something else. Anything else. Just forget about those spirits, and they’ll forget about you. Trust me. You don’t know what you want? I’m telling you now. That is what you should want. To forget. You’ll thank me one day, boy.” 

With that, Rasmodius gently shut the door, leaving only a cloud of glittering, lavender smoke to linger in the air. 

*****

Naturally, the meeting left Achilles in a rather rotten mood. Perhaps rotten wasn’t the right word, he thought to himself as he aimed a kick at a mushroom, nose twitching like it had never twitched before. A whole host of junimos were chittering alongside him as he stalked through the forest, but Achilles was deaf to their messages, too wounded to process anything but the resentment building inside him. 

What he hated most about the whole affair was that the Wizard was probably right—what could he have possibly expected to have done in the mines? He had been too arrogant, too focused on the spoils of victory rather than what battling any “spirits of evil” would actually require and entail. 

This was supposed to have been his Summer of rest and relaxation. Didn’t he learn anything? He was supposed to stop getting involved in shit. Not that there was much he was qualified to get “involved in.” Truly, what was he even good for? He hadn’t gleaned anything new or noteworthy about himself from his camping trip… he was just average all around. Jack of all trades, with most of the credit going to his wealthy upbringing. And yet still master of none. 

Head down, muttering curses under his breath, he had failed to see Alex waving to him from the path until they very nearly collided in a puff of citrus-scented apologies. 

“Heyyo! Perfect timing, I was just by your farm, just got back from Zuzu. I was looking for you.” 

Achilles glanced upwards—looking for me, you say?

It was almost laughable, how quickly his bad mood began to dissolve at the sight of him—ridiculous, really, but so was choosing to hold on to the deluge of self-loathing Rasmodius had inspired, and so the logical part of his brain allowed this welcome breath of fresh air to wash over him and soothe his spite. 

“Everything all right?” Alex studied him quizzically. A rather intense gaze, those green eyes were oft to give; Achilles unusually had to break eye contact first. 

“Hmm? Yes, I’m fine. Why?” 

“You look… well, you sure nothing’s wrong?” 

“I’m fine.” Achilles wasn’t exactly sure why he was lying—perhaps the two of them had had too many depressing conversations lately, and Achilles didn’t want Alex to think he was a mopey little puffin all the time. 

It was pretty clear Alex didn’t believe him, but, non-confrontational as he was, Alex chose not to further push. 

“I was going to go for a swim after lunch, thought maybe you’d be down to join if you’re feeling up to it. Second to last day of Summer, thought it might, I don’t know, be nice for you while the water’s still warm. If we go out far enough, we might be able to catch the early jellies before they start to come in.” 

“Jellies?” 

“Yeah, you know, like before the festival.” 

“What festival?” 

“The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies? You didn’t get Lewis’ letter? He usually sends one every year.” 

“I don’t check my—I must’ve missed it…” 

“Yeah, the jellyfish migrate west the last week of Summer, it’s really cool. It’s a little early for them to be close to shore, though, so we’ll have to go out past the waves.” 

Conquer the Sand and the Sea! 

Perhaps he could at least accomplish one thing before summer’s end… 

“This is just you making due on your threat to drop me in the middle of the sea, isn’t it? I’m in fragile condition, Alexander, don’t you know.” 

Alex laughed and swung an arm briefly around Achilles’ shoulders as they headed back to Strawberry Farms. “You got me there. Nah, you can just stay in the boat if you’re still not feeling great, although the water’s pretty calm.” 

“The boat?” 

“Yeah, I usually go pretty far out. Boat’s nothing fancy, though. Small wooden thingy, it’s def not those yachts you’re probably used to, am I right?” 

Achilles hesitated. It had been a long time since he had been in a boat. And it was the small ones that scared him the most—the ones where you could feel every rolling wave, every lurch… so close to the water, you could dip your hand in without leaning too far over. 

He remembered the cold. The blue light that blotted out the stars. The moon. The silence of a stilled motor. 

No. No thank you. He faced Alex, ready to turn down the offer, but, to his own surprise, found himself hesitating in his denial. 

There was an innate confidence to Alex that Achilles had always lacked. He was good at feigning it, but on the inside… Achilles had spent his whole life preoccupied with fixing his faults to better focus on building his future. Always anxious he was running out of time.

But Alex had a sureness that propelled him in the present. There was something in his eyes, maybe something in his jaw, that, at least at this moment, inspired some measure of confidence in Achilles. And so, to his own surprise, he said, 

“Sure. Let’s do it.” 

*****

The boat wasn’t as bad as he had thought. A rowboat. Yes, this was better, he could deal with a rowboat. That being said, he still needed a minute to catch his breath as he took a rocking step inside and sat tentatively towards the bow. 

Alex had (naturally) taken the oars. There being only one pair, in addition to being in “recovery,” gave Achilles a good excuse to sit idly by and focus on his breathing. He firmly grasped the sides of the boat to steady himself. 

“You don’t get seasick, do you?” Alex asked, watching him closely. 

“No… I just… don’t do boats. Or open water.” 

“Well it’s going to get a lot more open than this…” They were only a few hundred meters from the beach, Achilles could still just make out Tanya and another lifeguard watching over the day’s beachgoers. 

Except for the brief stretch where the waves began to break, the further away they went from shore, the calmer the sea became. If Achilles had been one to get seasick, perhaps he’d have felt a lot better the further out they rowed, but as the shoreline slowly disappeared from view, so did any remaining sense of peace. 

“We can turn back if you’d like…” Alex began uncertainly, watching as Achilles turned a shade not dissimilar to that of the seawater, but Achilles quickly cut him off with a halting shake of his head. 

“Nope. Nope, let’s do this. It’s fine. I just… need a few minutes.” 

Conquer, you fuck! This isn’t conquering… head in your hands little bitch…  

Likely in an attempt to distract Achilles from their increasing isolation, Alex quickly kicked off a conversation regarding the latest superhero film that MD Comics had announced just last week—not Nimbus, Alex and Achilles had long agreed they had to have been the only two fans of the weather-changing superhero saga in existence (though recent news Achilles had come across would perhaps change that for the younger generation…)—but even so, they still shared a casual love for the general genre. 

From there, they turned to grid ball, and from grid ball, they easily transitioned to the pros and cons of fame. Though “they” was pushing it, for Achilles, still somewhat mentally paralyzed, and even more so now with the topic at hand, was supplying perhaps about 2% of the conversation. 

And so Alex, taking note of Achilles’ uneasy glances at the vast emptiness of the sea, began to point out the small surrounding islands they were beginning to pass. All part of the Fern Islands archipelago, he explained, stumbling a bit over the word “archipelago.” Most of the islands were titchy—barely the size of Pelican Town, and obviously uninhabited as high tide often covered them up. Ginger Island was the largest one, but too far to row to. 

“It’s nice though. They got, like, parrots and stuff. Oh, and the resort has this amazing curry, I know you like hot peppers. Maybe we can go some time.” 

Achilles nodded. Another day, the casual invitation may have sent him into a bit of a tailspin, but right now, anything beyond the small motion would require him to break his concentration. If he focused on Alex’s voice—clear and warm, a nice baritone, really—he could maybe, just maybe, relax. Yoba, how pathetic was he, letting something that happened six years ago affect him to this extent. Embarrassing, really… 

After what seemed like an hour, Alex stopped rowing and set the oars back into the boat, glancing across the waves and shielding his eyes with his hands. 

“Good day today! It can get a little choppy sometimes, but looks like Yoba made things nice and flat just for you.” 

“‘Good day today?’ How often do you come out here?” Maybe, if he forced himself to talk, all his anxiety would leach itself out with his words. Yes. Exactly that. 

“Oh. Um…” Alex, who was taking off his shoes, flushed, the tiny dusting of freckles on his nose more apparent with the pink. “Yeah, sometimes, I guess… It’s nice out here. And there’s not much to worry about—some fish and turtles, but nothing that’ll eat you. Sam does swear he once saw a mermaid, though.” 

He unzipped his hoodie, tossing it to Achilles, whose brain immediately short circuited at the sight, concentration be damned. It was too much for his nerves, already frayed they were. In fact, they practically dissolved when Alex took a step closer and ran his hand just oh so casually through his hair. 

Throughout their swim lessons and beach parties, Alex had always had his lifeguard uniform. That being said, Achilles should’ve known what to expect, it’s not like it was difficult imagining what a former almost-Artemic athlete who now worked as a fucking fitness instructor looked like shirtless. No surprises. Exactly what he’d have predicted; smooth skin aglow with a light dapple of freckles, soft shadows outlining perfectly tanned muscle… nothing fancy. In fact, Achilles determinedly told himself, it wasn’t anything Achilles hadn’t seen before; truly, there wasn’t remotely anything particularly special to the sight at all. Except that it just happened to be Alex. 

But luckily for Achilles, his well trained poker face had reacted swiftly. And although his forehead had begun to sweat and his heart had begun to pound as the most beautiful person he had ever seen (and that included an ex boyfriend who had modeled for d’Attainville) continued to stand half-naked just a mere feet away from him, he managed to maintain rather nonchalant eye contact. 

“You gonna stay here, then, weather boy?” 

In the battle between lust and anxiety, apparently anxiety won. At Alex’s question, Achilles looked over the edge of the boat and dipped a hand into the water. It was, as Alex had said it would be, warm, but the touch still sent his already rapid heart beating even faster. 

“Maybe for a bit.” 

“Ok! No worries. I’ll just do a lap or so, I won’t go far. And lookiee here! Pear Pods!” Alex inserted the pear shaped, waterproof earbuds Achilles had gifted him into his ears and flashed a thumbs up.  

With that, Alex walked slowly to the edge of the boat, ready to dive in the water before pausing and straightening back up. “Actually—sorry. I won’t do that. It’ll shake the boat.”

“No, it’s fine—”

Instead, he climbed delicately over the side into the water before disappearing under the surface. Achilles counted the disconcertingly small number of ripples before folding the hoodie Alex had thrown his way and placing it atop the seat. Handling the fabric had left the faint smell of oranges on his fingertips, and he couldn’t help but give them a small sniff in order to… better help anchor him and his anxiety. 

Oh yeah, it’s totally just to anchor your anxiety you perv… 

“Heyyo!” 

Achilles looked out to the water towards the whooper who was treading water now and waving with far more enthusiasm than any open water ought to inspire—fuck, Alex really was fast if he had swum that far out in less than twenty seconds.

In just another 30 seconds or so later, Alex had returned, raising himself half-out of the lazy waves, (rather impressive) forearms resting against the sides of the boat as he pushed dripping brown strands, straightened and darkened by the water, out of his face. 

“Maybe the mermaid Sam saw was actually you,” Achilles said drily, watching droplets pool on the floor of the boat. “You are very fast.” 

Alex laughed, letting go of the boat (which pitched slightly—Achilles gripped the seat) and backing away a few feet to better tread water. 

“You said you come out here sometimes?” Achilles slowly clambered towards the side of the boat for a better view. “Why? There’s a pool at your gym.” 

“Yeah… but the pool is so… clean, you know? Well, not clean—well no, it is clean, but that’s not what I meant, it’s just like… lonely? And, I don’t know, it kind of reminds me of my old competing days… anyway, I like it out here. It’s rougher. Quieter. And sometimes you can race the dolphins, they even let me win every once in awhile.” Alex laughed again at his own little joke, propelling a jaunty little spin in the water. “I’ll come out here a couple times a week after work or after my grandparents go to bed.” 

“Alone?” 

“Ah… well…” 

“That’s a yes, I can see it in those guilty green eyes of yours,” Achilles declared, pointing his finger at Alex’s wide-eyed visage. 

Alex half shrugged, a clumsy movement in the water. “I don’t know, it’s nice to just… be alone, sometimes—”

“In the middle of the sea? At night? That’s so dangerous you don’t even have a radio in here, or a light. And there you were, always harping about swim safety to me—” 

“Hey now, in my defense, you’ve known how to swim for like, barely one season—”

“I know you still hold the freestyle record in the province and all—”

“How’d you find that out?” 

Ope. But Achilles, always quick on his feet, retorted with, “A lucky guess you just confirmed,” (a lie, he had looked it up) “but that’s not the point—what if the boat drifted away? What if you got caught in a current—they used to call the Gem Sea the Wild Wild West of the Water you know— ”

“Oh my god, of course you would have done research on Gem Sea history—I don’t go nearly this far out when I’m alone, I stay in sight of shore. And I tie myself to the boat if the water’s rougher—”

“And if the tether snapped?” 

“All right, grandpa—listen, Ash, I’ve been doing this for ages. But I do appreciate the concern.”Those words coming from anybody else’s mouth would likely have been some kind of sarcastic, snappy remark, but Alex seemed genuine and patient in his appreciation.  

Achilles, however, was still too vexed to let it go. And scolding Alex was distracting him from dealing with his own immediate champagne problems—hell, he could probably even bare to stand in the boat right now, his anxiety having found a different body to fret over. And stand he did, to better wave his hands towards the sky. “Do you let people know? That you’re out here swimming in the middle of the night?” 

“I mean…” 

“Alexander—”

“Well my grandparents know. Kind of. I don’t like keeping things from them, but I mean—“

“—kind of—?” 

“I mean, I don’t know, I like the privacy, all right?” Alex’s voice had raised in pitch. More weary exasperation than anger, it nevertheless quieted Achilles. Alex flipped over to float on his back, arms stretched to the side like one of the overpassing seagull in flight.

“I… come out here so I can practice. Kind of. I mean, not that I’m planning to try to go pro again, I just like swimming, and I’d have to do a lot more than come out here three times a week, but… I miss it sometimes…” 

Achilles waited a beat to confirm Alex wasn’t going to continue. This was an interesting development—so Alex hadn’t totally given up on it all, had he? 

“Well why aren’t you trying to go pro again, if I may ask? Especially if you miss it? Sure, I don’t know much about swimming, but you still seem pretty damn fast to me.” 

Alex floated closer to the boat, where Achilles gazed dolefully down at him from the side. 

“I don’t know, I guess I’m… kind of old to get back into it now. And my grandparents never really liked it, so…” 

Achilles cut him off with a series of sharp tap against the frame of the boat. “Perfect world, Alex. Pretend there’s nothing you have to worry about, nobody you have to take care of. Would you go for it?” 

“I… I don’t know. Maybe? Yes? Yes, I mean, of course I’d go for it—”Galvanized by his own words and now too restless to float, Alex flipped back over to treading water. “Who wouldn’t want to do what they love for a living? You got me, Ash, yes, I probably come out here so I can pretend to live out what could’ve happened in some private world of make believe. Is that what you wanted me to say? 

“If I tell people that I come out here, or if I came here every day, made a schedule, tried to actually take it seriously, it… it makes it real. Like I’m actually trying to do it. And I’m scared of that. Because if it’s real, it can fail. I can fail, mess it all up all over again.” 

“It wasn’t your fault—”

“No, it wasn’t. But I was still the one who got screwed over in the end, wasn’t I?” 

Alex’s voice, though still patient, was firm and final. For a minute, the only sounds were the seagulls cawing from above, until, in a significantly more tentative tone, Alex asked, “Perfect world. What would you go for, Achilles?” 

Achilles turned back to face the inside of the boat, bowing his head as he watched tiny rivulets of water slide across the bottom, and took a seat. 

“Honestly? I don’t know. That’s why I’m a little jealous of you, really. There’s not like, a thing, that I’m really good at. I’ve tried so many things, and I still don’t know what I want… 

“Having something that you’re good at and that you like and that people appreciate… I don’t know. I just think you… owe it to yourself. If something feels right like this, there’s no harm in ‘making it real.’ Like, just do it. How can there ever be harm in trying? And if you do decide to try to go for it, you should go for it as hard as you can.” Ah, yes, spoken like a true child of privilege. “But I don’t know, perhaps that’s a toxic mentality… ‘course, there’s tons of other factors at play…” 

“Mmm…” 

“I just…” Achilles was prepared to further expound his philosophy—he knew his views on success were flawed, but even taking a step back from all of that, he still staunchly believed in the power of not half-assing anything. But seeing the melancholy shadow on Alex’s face regrounded him, and he pivoted in a brighter tone. “I just still can’t get over you coming out here in the middle of the night. I mean, bold of you to criticize me for going into the tide pool without supervision while you’re out in the middle of the sea racing sharks!” 

“Hey, I said dolphins! There are no sharks—okay, you know what, Mister, why don’t you show me your stuff and I won’t insist on supervising you in the tide pool anymore.” 

“That is not the message you should be taking away—” It was hopeless, but Alex, whose mood seemed to be capable of transforming at enviable speed, was back to grinning like a fool, so Achilles’ tactic at least, in that regard, had been successful. 

“Come on, get in! We’ve been practicing all season for this.” 

Achilles took a deep breath and stood to look over the edge again.

Immediately, the anxiety that had been pushed aside during their little spat returned—the turquoise water was eerily clear, but even still, it was impossible to see the bottom of the sea. On and on it stretched, down below like a bottomless, dark blue pit. Dark. So, so, dark. Tiny waves sloshed steadily around the side of the boat, each gentle rock kicking off an avalanche of dread down his spine. 

His legs buckled, and without realizing it, he collapsed back into his seat, beads of cold sweat sending his body into shivers.

“Oh shoot, shit, shit—” There was a splash, and within a second, Alex had appeared atop the side of the boat. It careened to the left with the sudden added weight, sending Achilles sprawling nearly overboard to the side. 

But a hurried hand steadied his forearm just in time. “Shoot, I’m sorry—you don’t have to come in. We can head back, I shouldn’t have pushed, especially with you still recovering from pneumonia —”

Achilles cut Alex off with a raise of his own unsteady hand. “Right… ok, let’s not blame the pneumonia, we both know it’s just me being a coward.” 

“Here, I’m going to get back in, we can row back—just brace yourself, it’ll tip a bit, let me know when you’re good— ”

“No, no.” With a small groan, Achilles buried his head in his hands. Pathetic. Utterly embarrassing. In a slightly muffled voice, he managed, “We don’t have to head back. You keep… doing you, it’s fine. Just… give me some more time. I didn’t realize the water would be so… deep.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Achilles looked up from his hands and forced a tight-lipped smile, making sure to keep his voice as steady as possible. “Yeah. Really. I’m sure. Look at me. Thriving.” 

The tilt of Alex’s head and the small furrow in his brows betrayed his disbelief, but perhaps understanding Achilles’ silly little need to keep up appearances, he ultimately offered Achilles’ white-knuckled fingers a little encouraging tap and said, “Well… all righty, then… You let me know if you want to head back, though, okay? It’s really not a problem…” 

With significantly less gusto than before, Alex reinserted the waterproof Pear Pods and dove back into the water. 

What was wrong with him? Achilles buried his head in Alex’s hoodie this time, taking in the scents of citrus and salt, clutching the cotton as if it’d hold him back from careening off the edges of anxiety. He thought he had made so much progress this season… but the tide pool had been one thing, he should’ve known the whole damn Gem Sea would’ve been another. 

It wouldn’t do. No, it wouldn’t do to sit in the boat like a chump. Pathetic pathetic pathetic. He’d go in the water or die trying—probably not the best turn of phrase, he thought to himself with a wry smile. He was safe here. He was better here. Alex wouldn’t let him drown, not in a million years, he’d never seen a more dedicated lifeguard… Really, this was honestly probably the best case scenario, all things considered. If his mind and body decided to betray him and he ended up hyperventilating and flailing in the water, the only witness would be Alex. His… friend. One who had already seen him at his near-worst, that Spring night. And not to mention one who could deliver CPR. 

He tentatively took off his shirt, folding it and setting it neatly atop the refolded the hoodie, now suddenly somewhat hyperconscious of how inferior his physique must’ve been compared to Alex’s. Achilles was typically quite satisfied with his appearance; it was, after all, highly and minutely calculated—scheduled haircuts, a personal tailor, a personal trainer (well, in his Hyacinthia days), an eight step skin routine, and whatever else his money bought him, semi-narcissist that he was. But now that he was in front of Alex… even the pneumonia aside…

You look like a dinky green bean. This if what you get for jogging all the time, you should start climbing again… or breaking up boulders and cutting down trees again… 

The water may have been warm, but the breeze was still just cool enough to send a prickle of goosebumps down his arm. It was fine. All was fine. He slowly stood, bracing himself against the sides of the boat, focusing on his immediate surroundings rather than the expansive, never-ending horizon. 

“The jellies are out!” Alex, who had been swimming steadily for the past half hour, re-approached the boat just as Achilles had been ready to stick a leg into the water. “Look!” 

Look he did, but he had to look closely. The sun would be setting soon, and the orange light it was casting across the water made it difficult to make out the pale, translucent bodies, little clouds of lavender and aquamarine. 

“Don’t worry, they don’t sting.” Alex danced carefully around the bobbing shapes, cupping one gently and holding it up to Achilles for a better look before quickly returning it to the sea. “Most of them won’t arrive until tomorrow though, these guys are just the early birds. Or… too soon jellies,’ if you will.” At Achilles’ bemused look, Alex added, “Hey, I’m not the one here that’s good with words.”

He ran his hand through his hair again, water droplets sparkling in the sun as they dripped hypnotically down the curve his bicep, but Achilles forced himself to instead follow Alex’s gaze down towards the jellyfish. 

“They’re easier to see from the water, I think… but no pressure,” Alex added quickly. “You’ll see them tomorrow night from the pier, they’re super beautiful under the moon, they, like, glow and stuff.” 

Tomorrow night? Nope, nope, he was going to do this. He was going to see them now. Jellyfish didn’t scare him—in fact, knowing there was another living thing in this great expanse of water was comforting. 

He steeled himself, gritting his teeth and focusing on Alex’s calming presence, the man’s youthful delight at the jellyfish. There was no hope of him climbing out of the boat nearly as gracefully as Alex had, so he wasn’t even going to try.

Just fucking do it, already.

Eyes half-closed, fists clenched to his sides, he dropped into the water with an awkward splash. 

A piercing shock instantly ricocheted through every corner of his body. His mind screamed for him to get back to land. His chest tightened, his heart was threatening to absolutely burst—but the instincts Alex had relentlessly drilled into him during the previous weeks sprung into action as he automatically started to tread. But every breath was a shallow, choking gasp, and something was dragging him, dragging him down—

There was a hand on his back—he could barely feel it, numb as he was rapidly becoming—but he could see Alex, slightly blurry, treading water close. 

“—hey, hey, hey. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. We’re in the water right now, but we can head back as soon as you want to.” 

This went on for a minute longer until his embarrassment had somewhat overcome his panic. His vision slowly restored itself, his breaths became slower, and he became dimly aware that Alex was gripping his hand. He must’ve still been out of it, for he could not quite bring himself to let go just yet.   

Another handful of minutes… the initial violent shock gradually wore off and he regained full function of his senses. He released Alex’s hand and raised his arm to clutch the side of the boat for temporary support. 

“Panic attack?” Alex asked. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Achilles fired a curt nod in his direction, warning Alex to keep a bit of distance as Achilles scrambled to recover his pride. “Just need another minute, you don’t need to run through the next 80 or so steps they taught you in lifeguard school… fuck. Fuck me…” 

Humiliating, was it. And just what he had predicted in that imaginary scenario of his. 

Well. At least you didn’t need CPR… 

He stared resolutely at the jellies, focused on the warmth of the water, the sweetness that was so, so unlike the waters in Monstera. He was here. In the Gem Sea. With Alex. It was fine. 

After another few minutes, he let go of the boat and began to tread water again. Slowly—he probably shouldn’t over exert himself. Alex, he noticed, was staying close. But not too close, likely conscious of the remaining scraps of dignity Achilles was desperate to hold tightly to. Kid was probably worried he’d have another tiny panic attack and keel over and drown…

He focused his gaze on the closest waves, now fully basked in gold; he could feel the heat of the setting sun against his neck. Alex had been right. You could see the jellyfish much better from here. 

There must’ve been hundreds—maybe even thousands—slowly bobbing their way through the shallower depths of the water. They easily parted when passing him, tentacles sometimes just barely brushing against his legs, tickling his chest as they made their gentle swim north. Some of the jellies were as big as his head, pulsating through the water with a vigor unmatched by the tiniest ones, barely the size of Achilles’ thumb. 

After a few minutes, Alex paddled smoothly over, now just half a foot or so away. If Achilles were brave enough to pause in his strokes and reach out a hand…  

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah…” 

Alex, probably now confident that Achilles was not going to drown anytime soon, dove under the water. Though the sun’s intense setting glare made it a little more difficult than before to see through the crystal clear depths, Achilles could still make out Alex spinning among the jellies, maneuvering through the crowds with an acrobatic ease. He seemed at home here. In the water. A reminder for Achilles of what a real shame it must’ve been to have had to give it up. 

Achilles tried a couple strokes himself, mostly just so he could officially declare he had “swum” in the sea and cross off those damned post-it notes. His arms and legs were getting tired, but he didn’t want to be the one to call it in. Despite all his anxiety earlier that day, to finally be in the water, with the jellies, with Alex under the golden glow of the sun… it felt nice. A warmth was now spreading through his chest, melting the numbing buzz of his nerves and humiliation. 

When Alex finally resurfaced, it was only a foot away from Achilles. He shook his hair like a dog, whipping droplets that ruthlessly pelted Achilles, who chuckled and threw an arm up, half-cowed against the boat. 

“Hey, you ready to head back? It’ll be getting dark soon.”

“Oh yeah? Doesn’t sound like that’s ever stopped you.”

“All right, all right, all right. Good grief, I’ll buy a radio or something if it’ll make you happy…”  

They both laughed. Alex hurtled up the ladder (which Achilles only just now noticed had been hammered into the side of the boat) first so that he got the brunt of the small boat’s nauseating tilt.

“Here,” he exclaimed, shoving a fluffy orange Orange Grove towel into Achilles’ chest after the latter had clambered slowly in to wearily drop like a stone into the wooden seat. “Better dry off good, if you get sick again, Harvey will kill me.” 

Alex himself didn’t towel off, but instead grabbed the oars and began slowly rowing back to Stardew, paying special attention not to bonk any of the jellyfish on the head.

Exhausted (though he’d never admit it), it took a few minutes before Achilles realized he’d been watching Alex. An unfocused, almost detached stare, as if he were observing in an academic sort of interest—the freckles across Alex’s nose, the patch of mild sunburn below his right eye. The water running down his chest through the maze of well defined muscle. His arms flexing with each stroke of the oars. 

Oh, but was it academic? 

There was something else inside him—something beyond a surface-level appreciation for Alex’s obvious physical charm, something fuller; gratitude for Alex’s encouragement, appreciation for his care and concern, and… 

Uh oh. 

“You’re rowing next time, pal,” Alex exclaimed, pointing an oar, perhaps having mistakenly believed Achilles was watching their steady, up and down motion rather than their wielder. 

You’re in trouble now, buddy. 

They rowed through the remainder of the sunset in comfortable silence. The gold turned to red turned to dusty violet. Under the early moonlight, the small handful of jellyfish that were leading the pack—the promptest of the “too soon jellies,” to use Alex’s term—glowed luminescent, neon beacons following them under the water. 

What to do, what to do… 

What can you do? 

The answer, he knew, was nothing—and so Achilles, stubbornly pragmatic as always, forced himself to pack up his little emotional revelation and stuff it deep down in the basement of his mind. 

Outwards, he only leaned forward, forearms resting atop his thighs. With an easy smile, he swept aside the murmurs of his heart; it was easy to pretend nothing had changed. It had always been easy for Achilles to pretend. “So tell me about the festival—do I need to prepare anything this time?” 

“Nah, no food. It’s pretty chill, folks will light lanterns, but it’s mostly just watching the jellies pass by. Not a super crowded festival, mostly old people, you know? But it’s popular first date stuff, if you can get the timing right. I suppose it can be… romantic…” There was suddenly something slightly tense in the arc of Alex’s eyebrows. 

“Oh yeah?” 

Alex frowned, tight lipped as he broke eye contact to glance at the jellyfish down below. There was definitely something going on here…

“Yeah… I’m going with Tanya.” 

“Oh!” And to Achilles’ own surprise, despite the fact that he had somehow, in the span of one afternoon, realized he had fallen wholeheartedly in love with Alexander Mullner, he didn’t feel… bad at the news. Not even the slightest smidge of jealousy. 

For days—weeks, months, really—even the slightest, accidental touch from Alex had, despite all his efforts, sent a flurry of static up his spine. He had told himself—repeatedly—that it had been stupid. He had told Haley and Emily it was nothing. But he was wrong, now. Yes, now he knew. This was more than mere physical attraction, more than just a stupid, helpless, juvenile crush.

And yet, this dramatic realization seemed to have somehow quieted the desire that he’d refused to fully acknowledge since that very first, rainy evening of the year. Calmed him. Paradoxical perhaps, but to Achilles’ logic-based mind, it seemed that finally coming to terms with the full extent of his feelings had allowed him to also finally truly come to terms with the outcome. Or, rather, lack thereof of one. No more stringing himself along, even subconsciously. Nothing more would ever arise from this, so Achilles might as well revel in what they did have. There’d clearly been a reason he’d fallen in love. Alex was, simply put, a good man. And Achilles would be lucky to keep him in his life, even if the role he played in it was a platonic one. 

And so it was without a trace of either jealousy or needling anticipation that Achilles took note of Alex’s befuddled expression, delicate lips drawn down in almost a bit of a pout, and remarked, “You… don’t look happy about that.” 

Alex shrugged, lurching the small boat ever so slightly to the right. “Haley doesn’t approve. Apparently she knew Tanya back in school, she doesn’t like her.” 

“Okay, but do you?” 

Another shrug. “She’s… pretty. Has a nice nose.” 

“Wow—really, a nice nose, hmm? Truly, a five star review.”

A chuckle this time. Alex set the oars down, letting the boat coast for a moment with the evening tide. “I just feel like… I don’t know. I haven’t been on a date in awhile—”

“I find that incredibly difficult to believe.” 

“Oh, no, I’ve had offers,” Alex said, biting back a smile as he shook his finger in mock consternation. “Obviously. I’ve just been… I don’t know. Busy? I don’t know, it’s fun sorta just doing your own thing, I guess, but you and Haley kept going on about Tanya though, so I figured, well… I mean. I don’t know. I just don’t think we have that much in common, and shouldn’t your girlfriend be like, I don’t know, your best friend? But I’m probably getting ahead of myself, I mean, it’s just a first date, right? Low stakes. Doesn’t mean I’m going to marry her…” 

“Yeah, for sure. You’re just using it to get to know each other.” 

*****

“Well, hooray! Congrats to you! How about we grab a bite at the saloon, I think you deserve a celebration, don’t you?” 

They had rowed in below where Willy had his beachside shop, pulling up next to another, smaller, and significantly leakier rowboat. Achilles stepped out onto the boardwalk first while Alex tied the boat firmly to the dock, before the two sprinted up the stairs to the main level.

“What calls for a celebration?” 

“You! On a boat! Swimming! In the sea! Obviously!?” With each exclamation, Alex waved both hands in the air to emphasize the unspoken “duh” of the situation. 

“Oh geeze, I don’t believe having a panic attack on a boat necessarily calls for a toast—”

“Maybe not having one, but getting over one is. Hey—” Alex grabbed Achilles’ shoulder, spinning him around in the middle of the sand, and for a wild second, Achilles thought Alex was trying to kiss him.

Not so, however. Obviously.

“You don’t have to win an Artemian gold medal to justify feeling good about yourself, you know that, right? Swimming in the sea? You’ve never done that before. You’re allowed to celebrate the small wins, too.” 

Right… 

Ultimately, it was Achilles’ empty stomach that was predominately the reason why he allowed Alex to lead him by the arm to the saloon for a (nonalcoholic) drink. The celebration of it all still felt unearned. So he took a dip in the sea, so what? Vincent and Jas were probably doing that as soon as they could walk…

But at the Stardrop, Emily was just as excited as Alex after he had shared the news with her, and agreed wholeheartedly that a celebration was well deserved. 

“It’s nice to have someone to bully you into it, I suppose,” Achilles said after the waitress left to grab their lemonades. 

“Yes, those people are called ‘friends,’ Ash.” 

“Well. It’s nice to have a friend, then.” 

And the words left him warm. 

*****

Achilles returned home feeling more at ease than he had in years. Strange, really, given the day’s start—Rasmodius’ lecture felt like eons ago. And stranger still, given the pervasive flurry of panic attacks that had followed him throughout his dealings with the open sea. 

After taking some time to digest both the day and the Stardrop Saloon’s famous chicken caesar wrap, Achilles finally concluded Alex may have been right—he did deserve to feel proud. It had been quite an achievement, really, taking a swim out there. An overdue one, perhaps, but an achievement all the same. The thought added to the pleasant little glow already sitting in Achilles’ stomach, as he drew a smiley face next to the “Conquer the Sea and the Sand” and “Learn to swim, bitch!!!” notes on his mirror. 

Maybe the evening’s serenity was merely the “winding down” of it all, a mellow denouement after the chaos of the day. Honestly, what had he and Rasmodius even rowed about that morning that had made him so upset? What did it matter? Nothing that an afternoon with Alex and a hearty saloon meal couldn’t help alleviate…

Achilles couldn’t remember what he and Alex had discussed at dinner—it was nothing too deep, just casual conversation, really, between friends. Perhaps something about the latest season of the House of the Phoenix TV adaptation that had just dropped… he only remembered that he had made Alex laugh. 

Nevertheless, whatever it all was, after a late night shower he found himself, to a bit of his own disbelief, at his candlelit desk, a fountain pen in hand and a brand new notebook open and creased. 

As he had told Elliott what seemed like a lifetime ago, some people wrote from pain—insisted that their best work could only be found after tapping into the darkest recesses of their mind for inspiration. Believing that only with suffering, with self-torture, the depths of despair, could they adequately bare their truths and create art that was worthy of being deemed “great.” But for Achilles, pain had always been paralyzing. No, Achilles wrote from peace. 

#llnks #sunspraypeak #my fic #stardew valley fanfic #sdv fanfic #stardew valley alex #alex sdv #sdv farmer #stardew valley oc #aspec fanfic

[morrisredemptionarc]

post-recovery has-his-shit-together shane hc's :0

Oh I LOVE this prompt I got u bb

Okay this is technically a while-in-recovery hc but shortly after he started going to therapy, Shane found out about emotional support animals and started the process to register Charlie as his

He makes a day out of his weekly trips to Zuzu City! His sessions are fairly early in the day, so he always treats himself to food afterwards (specifically food trucks) and a trip to a video game store to check out new releases

Speaking of food trucks, he especially likes Tex-Mex and has started learning how to cook! He's still struggling, but Marnie and Jas appreciate his early attempts at huevos rancheros

Shane started to get back into playing gridball! He's not as good as he used to be, but he and Alex sometimes hang out by the park near the community center and play

If the movie theater is available, Shane and Jas have a new tradition of going to see a movie every month and having two goes each at the crane game. Shane got lucky the first theater day and won Jas 2 junimo plushies

#stardew shane #sdv shane #stardew valley #shane hcs #i'm obsessed with the idea of happy healthy shane #also at a certain point in my life i wanted to know what animals can be registered as esa's and chickens are one of them #as you can tell i think shane having some traditions would be good for him #my post

[ever-fics]

A Sebastian x Farmer Stardew thought I couldn’t get out of my head....

The farmer shows Sebastian thay the magic he’s lived his whole life is real and adventure is at his fingertips.

____________________

You both were laying on Sebastians little black couch in his little stone basementroom.

You had been together at least a year and a half. Today being one of Sebastians famous comic days... Meaning he got the newest issue. Which resulted in you tucked under one of his arms your head on his shoulders. He had stroked your hair with one hand and held the comic in the other so you could both read it.

There was scilence but it was ....

Comfortable silence. Lovely silence...

The kind of silence where any conversation anything that need to be said didn’t need to be said. It was just known. The way you had just known you wanted it to stay like this... forever. You wanted to marry him. Sure you could have waited around for him to propose but,that wasn’t the custom here. Nor was there gendered expectations of proposals.

Best it was told to you is that only certain people can see the ghost of the Mariner. Best it was told to you it was the responsibility of that person to do the proposing.... so you bought the shell. Keeping it somewhere in your house cuddled in cloth as tightly as you cuddled him now.

There was still one thing you had to do with Sebastian before you could propose... one last thing to tell him...no this would take showing him. So when you had both finished the comic.

“Seb? Can I show you something?” You asked watching his face knit in confusion as to why you even felt you had to ask.

“Sure.” He responded in his usual game for anything attitude.

“Meet me at the farm ok? If I were you I’d look in your drawer at my place to see if you have anything ... durable to wear.” You smirked

“Umm ok... cool see you in 20?” Seb scratched the back of his neck.

_____________________

Sebastian had always loved fictional adventure stories and magic and Dnd honestly. It was one of the major things you loved about him... his open mindedness, his imagination in storytelling, his beautiful unapologetic geekiness and his shy little smile when you complimented it.

Although if Sebastian was in the loop the others had to be as well.

So you texted Sam ,Abigail ,and Seb in the group chat...

You: Come to farm wear something durable be ready for anything...

Sam ,Abigail ,and Seb however had not been ready for anything. As when you greeted them at your door with a sword for each of them. Some healing potions and a map they looked dumbfounded.

“Y/N what’s going on?” Seb questioned.

“I want you all to know me all of me including the fact I really haven’t just been a simple farmer. Also Seb I love you and I want to share this part of my life with you as well... especially as a lot of the time I work late and I would rather you don’t worry about my loyalty to you,my safety, and my love for you so..

I want to take you all to my work...

And before you ask no I didn’t do this before I actually did work at Joja mart.” You explained.

Leading them to the mines.

“So your leading us in like a suprize Larp.” Abigail chimed in.

“Sure... I guess.” You said leading everyone to the mines.

There was a little green Junimo trying to get the dwarves attention.

The Dwarf just cussed loudly in Dwarvish.

“Um...let’s address the elephant in the room ...Holy Shit that’s a dwarf like an actual proper dwarf.” Sam

“Yup... I’m trying to learn Dwarvish to speak to him for now I figure best not although he has seemed please when I bring him Dwarvish relics I find so ...”

“What’s the green thing?” Abigail asked.

“Oh that’s a Junimo they are woodland spirits like will o whisps almost. The wizard in the woods asked me to come to his tower and gave me a potion to communicate with them they help me with things in return for items they want like goat cheese...” you explained.

“The wizard in the woods the WIZARD IN THE FUCKING WOODS!! That’s so cool. This is awesome.” Sam exclaimed.

“That’s what that tower is ... I thought it was some weird Forrest lighthouse.” Abigail chimed in.

“Forrest lighthouse?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. Causing you to chuckle a bit before ushering everyone in the elevator and pressing level 75.

“So when you say your going mining?” Sebastian questioned.

“ I’m actually going monster hunting.”

You answered.

“And I thought You couldn’t get hotter or more impressive..” Seb laughed to himself.

“Careful I might try to steal her from you.” Abigail winked.

“Fat chance.” Sebastian laughed

“If everyone is done I would just like to let you guys know drink the healing potions seriously you’ll need them.”

The elevator opened to a ghost rushing towards you all as soon as you stepped out.

“Swords up swing.” You chuckled as your friends seemed to have the same thrill you have when you come down. They smashed skeletons and ghosts.

And you found a frozen tear.

When the fighting cleared... you tapped Sebastian on the shoulder although he was listening to Sam who was whispering to him and slipped him something.

“Hey Seb I found this for you and I know they’re you’re favorites so I wanted you to have it.” You smirked.

“This isn’t what you’ve had to do to Bring me those right? Risk your safety in some monster infested mine?” Sebastian felt a pang of guilt.

“I’m a sucker for adventure and a sucker for you so I even thought I didn’t have to I’m sure I would’ve ended up doing this anyway.” You cupped his face with you’re hand.

“I just I thought the cuts the bruises might’ve been from some of the animals getting territorial. I also thought you were a lot clumsier than you are apparently.” Sebastian laughed.

“Hey!” You retorted.

“In all seriousness... Don’t ever risk your life for me like that again. The gems are nice ,but you are the only treasure I’m looking for.Seriously Y/N Stones can be replaced you ... you can’t I’m an introverted person. There aren’t many people amazing enough to be worth the risk.

You have ALWAYS been worth the risk. You listen. You have done more for this town than they give you credit for. You made me realize I am not Mom and Demetrius expectations. That I deserve to be myself. That myself is enough. That I don’t have to give up being a programmer or move to the city to be happy here. Actually I am realizing I’d be miserable in the city because the city wouldn’t have you.” Sebastian explained.

“Seb ....” you reached for the blue shell in your pocket .

“I have a gift for you one that is long over due.”

You smiled.

“And I you.” Sebastian responded which took you off guard.

“Umm... ok then let’s exchange them and open them together on the count of three.” You suggested befor you both did just that.

Both unwrapping paper.

Both revealing a blue shell.

Both cry laughing..

“Marry me?” You asked him.

“You don’t even have to ask I’ve wanted to marry you for a while now I just haven’t gotten the nerve. Thank you foe being the coolest actual adventurer Fiancé ever.”

Seb kissed you

#stardew valley sebastian #sebastian #stardew farmer #Stardew #stardew fic #stardew oneshots #Sebastian one shots

[bledsun]

lukayuk - stardew valley wiki

birthday: summer 2 lives in: cindersnap forest address: abandoned house the variq home family: mother, father, brother (eldest), brother (middle) friends: dwarf, junimos, krobus, evelyn, linus, pierre, alex(?) marriage: yes best gifts: spicy eel, fire quartz, complete breakfast, gold bar, sunflower, whale meat soup

schedule varies by season, varies by year. typically returns to father’s home island beginning of winter & returns in either spring, summer, or fall of that year. each year is different based on her father’s fishing schedule back on his home island. obsidian isle is a relatively small island nestled in the middle of the gem sea between the ferngill republic and the gotoro empire. although it is technically gotoro empire territory, the island itself has been a neutral ground for decades. it’s fishing and mining industries supplies both the gotoro empire and the ferngill repubic with much needed resources. each season, her schedule varies. sometimes, she picks up shifts at the bar. other times, the library/museum. sometimes even pierre’s store. most often, she can be found at the community center or the cindersnap forest near her home. she frequents the mines adventuring. on rare occasions, she may be found in the secret woods or witches swamp/hut. she is never seen at the beach or near bodies of water except during festivals/events (this may change after the eight heart event).

relationships she has a complicated relationship with her parents, who are fairly strict. she is pretty close with her brothers & often talks about missing them since they’ve moved out & moved on with their lives. she flirts with just about everyone. she has very few close friends. morris is her sworn enemy. she often gets in trouble with mayor lewis. pierre has a soft spot for her thanks to her anti-joja corp antics. she has an innate connection to magic and the supernatural, making herfriends with the junimos, dwarf, and krobus. she enjoys picking flowers to give to evelyn whenever she is in town as a thank you to looking after her for some time while she was younger and she often offers linus food she forages. verse dependent: timeline dependent, she and alex spend time growing up together when evelyn is her caretaker, her parents are very busy working and needing the support.

gifts- birthday

loved:  ❛ wow, this is a pretty great gift. thank you! ❜

liked:  ❛ a birthday gift? for me? thanks! ❜

neutral:  ❛ i’m surprised you remembered my birthday. ❜

disliked:  ❛ what a weird birthday gift. ❜

hated:  ❛ ...are you kidding? ❜

gifts

loved  ❛ for me? really? wow, thank you! ❜ spicy eel. fire quartz. complete breakfast. gold bar. sunflower. whale meat soup.

liked  ❛ oh, sweet. thanks! ❜ anything foraged. all flowers. all cooked food. all animal products. 

neutral  ❛ hmph. thanks. ❜ all fish. alcohol. shells. anything related to magic.

disliked  ❛ ha! seriously? ❜ seaweed. algae. white algae. seafoam pudding. monster items. void items.

hated:  ❛ this is a joke... ❜ anything bought at joja mart. joja corp products. trash. scraps.

movies & concessions

loved: natural wonders, it howls in the rain fries. ice cream sandwich. nachos. personal pizza. truffle popcorn. sour slimes. stardrop sorbet.

liked: the brave little sapling, journey of the prairie king cotton candy. hummus snack pack. kale smoothie. popcorn. star cookie.

neutral: wumbus, the zuzu city express apple slices. jasmine tea. jawbreaker. salmon burger. salted peanuts. rock candy.

disliked: the miracle at coldstar ranch  panzanella salad. chocolate popcorn. black licorice. cappuccino mousse cake.

hated: mysterium joja corn. joja cola.

heart events

two hearts: enter the cindersnap forest anytime during fall year 1.

four hearts: enter the community center anytime while she is there.

six hearts: enter pelican town between 11pm and 1am at the end of spring year 2.

eight hearts: enter the beach between 8am and 10am during summer year 3. luka is standing by the water. as you approach, she explains she has been afraid of the water since a terrible accident where she almost was swept out to sea as a child. she takes your hand, saying she wants to be brave and trusts you. you both slowly wade into the water.

ten hearts: enter the secret woods. when you enter the secret woods, you will see luka practicing her sword skills and chatting with the junimos. she is surprised, however says this is the perfect time to tell you her secret. she explains her connection to nature, keeping the balance, and the junimos. she states that she is grateful to find someone with a similar connection, you kiss under the stars, and fireflies sparkle around the screen.

group ten-heart event: luka does not participate in the group event.

fourteen hearts: exit the farmhouse between 5:30am and 7:30am on any day in winter. since its close to the holidays, luka will admit she has been working on your gift. she states she can’t wait until the holidays to give you your gift. luka takes you into her workshop space and gives you your gift: a small set of hand crafted clay figurines of whatever is listed as the farmer’s ‘favorite thing’.

note: if you choose to destroy the community center and replace it with the joja warehouse, there is no way to earn any of luka’s heart events. joja corporation is the enemy and if you choose joja corp over the community, it will not be possible to trigger any of her heart events in the future or even become her friend.

marriage once married, luka will move into the farmhouse. like other marriage candidates, she will add her own room to the right of the bedroom. she’ll also set up a small greenhouse workshop behind the farmhouse where she'll sometimes go to study magic and work with the juminos on improving the town, working on art projects, and protecting the wildlife. when she leaves the farm, its often to go to the community center. on rainy mornings and mornings when luka stays inside the farmhouse all day, she may offer you ginger ale. on rainy nights, she may offer you dinner: roots platter, chowder, autumn’s bounty, super meal, or fruit salad. on new years' eve (winter 28), she'll give you a bottle of wine.

quests

vandalize joja mart: luka will randomly request help with a ‘secret project’ by bringing her an egg (any size/quality) to the east side of pelican town between 11pm and 1am. if you walk into pelican town with the item in hand at that time, you will have a cutscene where she is egging jojamart. she will ask if you’d like to join. if you say yes, you will receive 3x item value and 1 friendship heart. if you say no, you will receive 50-100 friendship points and 1.5x item value.

art project: in winter of year 2, you will receive a letter from luka requesting 100 pieces of clay upon her return in summer of year 3. completing this quest will reward the farmer with 1000g and a handcrafted piece of jewelry.

#ㅤ ⁽ ☼ ⁾ ㅤ verse: dew． #ㅤ ⁽ ☼ ⁾ ㅤ musings． #ㅤ ⁽ ☼ ⁾ ㅤ character study．

[purpleandgreen13]

Stardew Valley Inktober 2021

Inspired by @buttonso 's SDV Inktober list, I'm writing a one shot every day for October. I have done 4 already (the fifth will be later today) but thought I would post them here too.

October 1st Junimo

Inspired by the Star Trek original series 'The Trouble with Tribbles'

Dammit Lewis, I’m a doctor not a vet.” Grumbled Doctor Harvey at his clinic where he, Marnie and Mayor Lewis are stood looking the five tiny figures laying in a large cardboard box on the examination table. They are covered in scratches and making distressed cooing noises.

“Please Dr Harvey?” Pleads Marnie, her eyes filling with tears, “I found them in the barn, the cows didn’t mean to rough them up, they were just curious.”

“What are you doing with these creatures anyway Marnie? Junimo’s import to Ferngill is strictly controlled.” Doctor Harvey peers over his glasses.

Marnie looks shifty all of a sudden and Mayor Lewis shuffles uncomfortably, “Lewis got me a special license!” Marnie protests a little too loudly, “We’re breeding them as pets. Look how cute they are! People are going to love them!”

“You are aware of their other reputation?” Harvey asks, “They’re prodigious breeders. They can have up to seven litters a week and they’re banned in some places. In the wild they have plenty of predators but in domestic situations you can easily get overrun."

“Please Doc. We can make it worth your while.” Lewis wheedles.

“Lewis. I don’t want your money, except for the medical bills. I don’t like seeing any creature in pain. Leave them with me, I’ll make sure they’re well looked after and I’ll patch up their wounds, give them a course of antibiotics and they should be right as rain in about four days.”

“Thank you so very, very much, Doctor Harvey.” Marnie gushes with relief as she clutches Harvey’s hand. Harvey frowns. This is very much against his better judgement, but the animals need care and he WAS the closest thing this town had to a vet, he supposed.

Once Marnie and Lewis left, Harvey lifted the blanket covering the box.

“Oh Yoba.” He muttered quickly lowering the blanket again. Already the junimos, which he had to grudgingly admit were cute, were In flagrante delicto, busy at work in the cardboard box creating the next generation of apple-like creatures.

Harvey mused that the small animals were getting more action than most people in the valley, including him.

He fetched his medical equipment and carefully lifted each Junimo out of the box, whenever one was free from its activities. Each one squeaked in protest as Harvey checked it over, applied antiseptics to cuts and grazes, then administered antibiotic in a small pipette to each of the five Junimos. They’d need a few days care, but they were mostly badly shaken up. They would all be fine, he was confident.

He supposed he should separate them into males and females, but honestly, Harvey had absolutely no way of telling them apart, so he left the blanket on the box after giving them some guinea pig food provided by Abigail and a bowl of water, and retired for the night.

Maru was first in the clinic the next morning and when Harvey entered the reception area, still a little bleary-eyed from sleep, she looked furious.

“What- what’s up Maru?” Harvey asked nervously.

“Why are you keeping so many animals in such a tiny space Doc? It’s downright cruel!”

“What are you talking about?”

There are almost 50 Junimos squished into a cardboard box in the hospital section! I can’t believe you left them like that? You do know it’s illegal to keep them without a license?” “Fif-FIFTY? Harvey suddenly felt a bit faint. “There were only 5 yesterday!”

Well, there’s about 50 of them now. We’ll need to find them better housing.”

After searching through the clinic for boxes big enough to house 50 Junimos, Maru makes a decision, that Harvey mutely agrees with.

They let the Junimos loose in the hospital wing of the clinic, leaving them food and water. At the end of the day locking the door behind him, Harvey couldn’t help but feel he’d made a terrible mistake.

‘Junimos reach sexual maturity within 24 hours of birth’, he read in one of his encyclopaedias, ‘as beings who derive their bright coat colouring from magic in the air around them, they live relatively short lives and breed as much as they can to ensure survival of the species. The magic that sustains them, makes them attractive to female junimos also kills them. Their twin purposes in life are to procreate and eat.’

In the morning there were more than 500 Junimos on the hospital wing. Maru could barely open the door and then could not close it. There were junimos everywhere, in the pharmacy cupboards, under every chair in the waiting room. Maru found two in the drawer of the till.

Harvey was going spare. His beautiful clean, sterile clinic had turned into a zoo. He coped as well as he could, but that evening, he called Lewis in a panic. His first attempt to pick up his phone he picked up a Junimo instead, he swept 7 of them off his chair in his office. Several of them piled on his warm lap once he sat down. There were several of them sleeping on the examination table. The noise of Junimo mating was cacophonous.

“Hello!” He bellowed into the phone when Mayor Lewis picked up. “LEWIS! It’s Harvey here! You’re going to have to do something about these Junimos! There’s hundreds of them!” “Sorry Doc! I can’t hear you! Are you having a party? I will come and pick up those Junimos from you on Friday! You said 4 days for the antibiotics to work didn’t you? I’ll see you then!” and with that the line goes dead.

Harvey has had enough. He wades through the Junimos lining the stairs to his apartment, grabs his jacket from the hook behind the door, empties the pockets of Junimos that have settled there, and makes his way gingerly out of the clinic and to the saloon. He stays far later than he should and he dreams in junimos the entire night.

Wednesday is hell. Exponential Junimo growth means that every surface is covered with squeaking, breeding and pooping animals with no regard for Harvey’s cleaning routines. He opens his kitchen cupboard for his coffee mug and is rewarded by e seemingly never-ending shower of small apple like creatures bouncing off his head and scurrying away. He tries to count them but here are far too many. That night he goes hungry because there is not a crumb of food in the house. When he climbs into his bed, he is surrounded by the creatures, cocooned in a kind of living Junimo blanket. The sleeping creatures start snoring. By itself a junimo snoring is a sweet sound, like sighing, but by the thousand, the noise is deafening.

When Maru arrives on Thursday morning, Doctor Harvey is a broken man. She pushes the door of the clinic open with some difficulty, the sheer weight of the creatures holding back the door.

Harvey is seated behind the counter, asleep, head in arms, dishevelled and unshaven. Junimos on his lap, his shoulders, in every one of his pockets. The squeaking and chirruping is so loud that Maru has to cover her ears as she approaches the sleeping man covered in the apple creatures.

“Doc!” She shouts above the row. “Doc!”

Harvey jolts awake. The junimos on his lap fall off, but are replaced with many more, jostling for a place on the doctor’s warm knees.

“I’ve brought someone who might help!”

Through the mounds of apple shaped bodies Harvey can just about make out a large cowboy hat and a purple beard. He scoffed to himself, the crazy guy from the tower? What was he going do here? Set traps? Give them all contraceptives. (Harvey had already considered it, but he calculated that the cost would be more than he made in a year).

With some difficulty the self-proclaimed wizard moved to the wall of the waiting room and in chalk drew a large circle with undecipherable symbols within its parameters. He yelled one word “Quiet!” Which made Harvey and Maru both jump. Surprisingly, the Junimos still and there is peace in the clinic for the first time in days.

He grinned at the medical staff, “Couldn’t hear myself think in here.”

Harvey has to keep himself from rolling his eyes when the wizard gets out a wand. Seriously? He’s muttering something that Harvey can’t quite catch and is sure is gibberish. He almost wants to laugh when the man turns around and makes an extravagant gesture with his arm. Harvey takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, feeling overwhelmingly tired. When he opens his eyes again, the Junimos are gone.

He blinks. Not a single Junimo remains.

The place is a mess however. Chairs are overturned, the plants have all been eaten. Magazines shredded. Harvey dared not look at the damage in his neat pharmacy and sterile hospital room.

“Where did they go?” He stammers, his entire belief system shaken.

The Wizard smiles enigmatically, “Somewhere I think they should be.” With a dramatic swirl of his cape, he exits, leaving Harvey and Maru to clean up the mess. Harvey thinks he can smell sulphur, but blames his overtired fevered brain.

**~~**~~**

In the Mayoral Manor, Lewis is doing his weekly book work for the town finances. A little bit off the top here and a little added to his own bank account. No-one ever asks to check the books. The amounts would not be missed.

There is a flash and suddenly Lewis is surrounded by small apple shaped creatures. They’re everywhere. A heaving mass of Junimos covers the floor and already some of the creatures are getting into his food cupboards, locust-like they start to methodically eat everything they come across.

Over in the clinic, broom in hand, Harvey swears he can hear screaming coming from Lewis’s house.

#stardew valley #stardew harvey #stardew valley harvey #sdv harvey #sdvharvey #harvey sdv #harvey stardew valley #sdv #inktober2021 #inktober #SDV Inktober #Stardew Valley fanfic

[chain-unchained]

December 12 - Part 4

Guys this part is ridiculously long and I am so sorry. I never meant to drag this out for this long and I just wanted to get it done. It’s important to the plot but I will be glad to get back to soft fluff. Anyway, hope you can enjoy this long ass read!

The spirits must have been on their side that day, for the impact of the Slime didn’t kill them outright. There was time to cut them free, and then he could hopefully use a warp totem to get them all out before the mine came crashing down upon their heads.

‘Just stay calm. You’ve trained with Marlon, you can do this.’

He held his sword aloft before him, then dashed in and cleaved the slime in two. Thus divided, it split into two smaller but still large slimes—Sam and Abigail were trapped in one, Sebastian in the other.

From the split also came several much smaller blobs, which eagerly latched onto Ashe’s legs in their fervent attempts to hug him.  The more he cut the big one, the more smaller ones popped out and clung to him. In seconds, he had dozens of them weighing down his limbs; he couldn’t even move.

“No, please—let go!” He was begging, desperate, and he didn’t care. “Please!!!”

His friends were just one cut away from freedom, and they were just out of his reach. The quaking was unbelievable, and with the weight of the little slimes on his body he lost his balance and fell to his hands and knees.

And then came forth dozens of monsters from deeper within the mine; it was seconds that felt like minutes later that he was deafened by the sound of the ceiling and walls collapsing from where the monsters had fled.

A piece of the rocky walls dislodged and struck him on the back, knocking him flat down to the earth and pinning him there. The wind was knocked from his lungs, and his sword tumbled from his grip.

‘Is this it?’

It was impossible to get his breath back. The rock on his back crushed his chest more each time he tried. The larger slimes carrying his friends danced in a panic just out of his reach as more chunks of the walls and ceiling came crashing down around them.

‘I really just got us all killed by slimes... It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have ever brought them here with me.’ His head drooped, his cheek resting against the uncomfortably warm earth. For a brief moment, he could smell the forest. ‘I’m sorry guys… I’m sorry Shane... I'm sorry Mom… and Grandpa… Am I… gonna be reincarnated as a slime…?’

 ####

 The world had gone dark, but now was swimming back into view. A clinical white ceiling greeted Ashe as he forced his heavy eyes open; his eyelids felt bruised. Actually, his entire body felt like it was just one massive bruise.

‘I’m… at the clinic?’

Gingerly, he sat up and looked around. The other beds in the recovery room bore Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail—all breathing. All alive. He sighed, relieved.

“…and that’s how I found them. Just like that.”

He heard Marlon speaking beyond the curtain dividers, and could faintly make out his silhouette along with Maru’s through them. They both spoke in hushed voices; Marlon was as composed and calm as ever, while Maru seemed to be borderline panicking.

“Thank Yoba that you did!” She wrung her hands anxiously. “Of course this happens on the one day Harvey’s not here.”

“Strange, that. He’s not one to leave town.”

“I know. But there’s a seminar being held in Zuzu City that he said he couldn’t miss.” The wringing intensified.  “This is a worst-case scenario.”

“Were their injuries that severe?”

“No, somehow—bumps, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and Sebastian managed to break his foot. But I’m not—I’m only an assistant. I’m not qualified to administer any aid without Harvey present.”

“A bit late to worry about that now. Besides, you seemed to know what you were doing to me.”

“I mean—I have a basic understanding of first aid, but like I said, I’m not allowed to perform it without Harvey being here.”

Ashe’s shoulders slumped as he looked down at his lap. He’d gotten so many people involved in this mess. Gotten his friends hurt, and almost killed. Put Maru at risk of losing her job.

The curtains abruptly were tugged open, and he jumped a little.

“Oh—you’re awake!” Maru sounded relieved, though still anxious. “Thank Yoba. How do you feel?”

“Uh—f-fine,” he fibbed with a meek smile, “just fine.”

He looked to Marlon, and the smile faded. The old swordsman’s face was as stoic as it ever was, but he could see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Never thought you’d lose to a slime, of all things. I suppose there’s a first time for everything, though.”

Ouch. That stung.

Across from his bed, Sebastian began to stir, and Maru quickly rushed to her half-brother’s side. “Sebastian…?”

“Ugh…” He groaned and lightly pushed her face away. “Give me a little space, would you?”

“Oh, Sebastian!”

Without warning she flung her arms around him in a tight hug. “I was so scared! I thought you were going to die!”

“Fuck’s sake—why does everyone try to choke me—” He tried in vain to pry her off of him. “Why the hell do you care, anyway?”

“What do you mean, why do I care?!” She pulled back, an angry expression on her tearful face. “You’re my big brother, of course I’m going to care about what happens to you!”

A flicker of guilt flashed across Sebastian’s face, and he looked away. “… Half brother.”

“Oh my Y—like that matters! Geez! You could at least apologize for scaring me and mom half to death!”

“I didn’t ask you to worry ab—” He stopped mid sentence. “You told mom?”

“Well, yeah!” She curled into herself a bit. “I kinda panicked and… maybe called Jodi too. And Caroline.”

“Yoba damnit,” he rubbed his forehead, “it’s not Mom’s business what I do. It’s not any of our mom’s business.”

Maru poked her fingers together. “I know. Look, I’m sorry, but I just—panicked, like I said. Harvey’s not here, and I didn’t know what to do. Besides, they were going to find out eventually, and they’d be even more upset then.”

“Shit, our moms are gonna finish the job for the slimes.” Sam had been awake for a minute at that point, just lying there listening to things play out as he came to.

Same for Abigail, who pushed herself to sit. “Well, fat lot of good putting fake names in the logbook did,” she said in a deadpan voice. “It’s been nice knowing you guys. Any second now they’re going to come bursting in through the door.”

“Er, actually… they’re in the waiting room.”

“Great.” She looked to Sebastian and Sam. “Might as well get it over with.”

Looking somewhat apologetic, Maru stepped out to fetch their mothers. There was a heavy air hanging in the room. It was awful.

“… How did you know we were in trouble?” Ashe asked of Marlon, who was still standing off to the side.

“Rasmodius reached out to me. Apparently the Junimos asked him to help you, and he in turn asked me.”

To say it was surprising was an understatement. Ashe didn’t think that the little spirits cared all that much for him, especially not since he hadn’t done much to fulfill their requests yet—

Once again the curtains were yanked abruptly open. There stood Robin, and Jodi, and Caroline, all wearing the look of mother bears on the rampage in search of their cubs. Terrifying didn’t even begin to describe the aura radiating from them.

“What were you thinking—”

“You nearly got yourselves killed—”

“How many times have I told you how dangerous those mines are—”

Their voices all overlapped in their attempts to admonish their children. There was no doubt that they were relieved to see them alive and well—the fact that they were so incensed was proof of that.

The heavy ball of guilt weighing down Ashe’s stomach compelled him to speak above them. “It’s not their fault.” In that instant, all their heads snapped to look at him instead of their children, and memories of such reprimands by his own mother flashed in his minds’ eye. “It’s mine,” he continued, somehow managing to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. “I’m the one who brought them into the mines with me.”

“Wh—it is not your fault, Ashe,” Sam insisted emphatically.

Sebastian nodded. “We’re the ones who asked to come along.”

“And I’m the one who got us into that situation,” added Abigail. “You told us that it was dangerous.”

There was a long moment of silence—awkward, heavy, painful silence. It was broken by the sound of Harvey all but skidding into the recovery room, looking mightily disheveled and thoroughly winded.

“Dr. Harvey!” Maru was relieved, and quickly sought shelter behind him.

“Ladies—” Hastily he attempted to straighten his lopsided tie and glasses, “I understand that you are concerned for their wellbeing, but I cannot allow you to stress my patients out. Much less before I’ve been able to examine them myself.”

“How can you expect us to be calm about all of this?” Robin gestured angrily towards her son, who was lying there with a look that begged to be put out of his misery. “We’ve told them countless times how dangerous those mines are, and they still went in!”

Harvey chose his words carefully. “With all due respect… they may be your children, but they are no longer children. At some point, you have to allow them to make their own decisions. Even if they still live under your roof. If you don’t, then they will be pressured into doing things like this behind your back.” He cleared his throat. “Now, please. I need to be able to examine them myself. Maru, could you bring them back to the waiting room?”

His tone left no room for arguments, and they reluctantly followed Maru out of the recovery area and back to reception. The four in the beds were stunned.

“Uh… Thanks for sticking up for us like that,” Sam said as the doctor pulled his wheely stool over to Sebastian’s bed.

“Hm? Oh, there’s no need to thank me for that. I only did what I felt was in your best interests as my patients.” With a faint smile curling up the ends of his mustache Harvey started to examine Sebastian. “I only got a little bit of the story over the phone with Maru—what exactly happened?”

Ashe swallowed guiltily, and began to recount the misadventure to him before the others could. Harvey just listened and nodded his head, moving from examining Sebastian to setting his broken foot in a cast. For a mercy, it was a brief summary. “… and Marlon brought us here,” he finished in a soft voice, picking at the thin white blanket covering his legs. “That’s pretty much it.”

“Well,” Harvey scooted over to Sam, “we can thank Yoba that things weren’t any worse. They could very well have been.”

Ashe cast his eyes back down to his lap. “I’m sorry…”

           “I didn’t say it to guilt you.” He smiled again. “Rather the opposite; there’s no need to dwell on what might have been. You’re all alive and safe now, and that’s what matters. That being said,” he swiveled around to Abigail’s bed, “it might be a good idea to stay out of the mines for the time being.”

“That won’t be an issue.” Marlon finally spoke again. “There was a massive collapse in the lower levels. Joja will want to close the mines to the public indefinitely.”

“Well there we go then.”

After a minute, it was Ashe’s turn, and he sullenly allowed Harvey to give him a thorough once-over. All he’d wanted was to fix up the community center; he didn’t want to put anyone in danger.

‘But that’s not really true. What I really wanted was something to distract myself from thinking.’ The community center was just a means to an end, an excuse. And maybe, just maybe… maybe he’d hoped something like this would have happened. Maybe he’d really hoped that one of these times he wouldn’t end up coming out of the mines.

As soon as that thought came into his mind, he physically shook it away, earning himself quite a look from Harvey. ‘That’s not true! Not even a little! I’m only thinking like this because I feel so guilty.’ He looked down at his hands resting on his lap. Abby had been right; he couldn’t keep carrying on like this. It was tearing him apart.

After a few more minutes, Harvey was satisfied that Sebastian’s broken foot was the most severe injury among the four. He still needed to set the man up with a pair of crutches and show him how to use them, but was content to let the rest filter out of the recovery area and towards reception.

“Ugh, I’m not looking forward to getting home…” Sam’s voice dripped with dread. “Even if Mom listens to what Harvey said, it’s still gonna be awkward as hell. She’s probably gonna want me to pay for my bill.”

Abigail’s face fell at the thought. “Ugh, tell me about it. And we didn’t even get to bring back anything from the mines so we don’t have anything we can sell.”

Well, there was something that Ashe could do to start repairing the damage he’d caused. With the both of them lulling behind him, he pushed the swinging doors to reception open.

The mothers’ heads popped up at the sound, and the conversation they’d been having ceased at once. There was a sort of muted look on each of their faces, and Caroline and Jodi rose to give their kids what was a much-needed hug.

“Harvey’s helping Sebastian with crutches,” Ashe said to Robin, who had gone a bit pale when she saw that her son was not among them. “And, um… I’d like to pay for everyone’s medical bills.”

Surprise flickered across the faces of everyone in the room. He could see that Sam and Abby were opening their mouths to protest his offer, and so he hastily added, “It’s the least I can do.”

“Honey, the thought is appreciated,” Caroline put her hand on his shoulder, “but the bills are already taken care of. Just please, be more careful next time.” She turned to her daughter. “Let’s go, Abigail. We have a lot we need to talk about…”

One by one Ashe watched his friends file out of the clinic with their mothers. He did his best to put on a smile and wave them off; after all, they were able to leave on their own two feet (well, Sebastian on one). That was worth smiling about, wasn’t it?

“Are you gonna be okay?” Maru asked as he turned to pay for his own bill. “To walk home, I mean.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, still managing to smile, “I’ll be fine—”

No sooner had the door swung closed behind Jodi did it swing back open. “Ashe?” panted Shane, his face red from exertion and the cold of the evening air. He was still in his Joja uniform, which was disheveled from his haste to get to the clinic from the mart.

“Shane?” Ashe’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to face him. They only widened further as the man strode forward and folded him into a gentle hug.

“Thank fuck…” he whispered in between breaths. He was shaking. “Maru made it sound like you were on your deathbed.”

“Oh, er—” Behind the counter, Maru fidgeted guiltily. “Sorry.”

A new lump formed in Ashe’s throat, taking the place of his voice so he couldn’t speak. It hit him in that moment just how differently things could have turned out, and how happy he was to see Shane again.

“I-I…” His chin quivered, and tears began to well up in his eyes as he brought his arms up to squeeze Shane back. “I-I’m sorry…!”

 ####

 It was a slow walk back to the farm. Shane insisted on it, wanting Ashe to take it easy despite his insistence that he was just a little sore.

“Easy, easy does it,” the older man coaxed, helping Ashe up the front stairs—it was at that point that the pain really was catching up to him, and it showed. “I’ve got you.”

“Th-thanks…”

The stairs cleared, Shane held the door open for him. It was pleasantly warm inside the farmhouse, a welcome change from the bitter cold. Mr. Blue jumped over the back of the couch to greet them as they stepped inside, wending his way through both of their legs with audible purrs.

“I think he was worried about you.” Shane carefully nudged the orange cat out from around their feet so they could make it over to the couch. “Where do you keep your medicine and shit?”

With a wince Ashe let himself be lowered onto the cushions, the pain easing up just a touch when he did. “Uh… in the kitchen. Top left drawer next to the sink.”

“Okay. Sit tight.”

Ashe watched him root around in the drawer. “What are you looking for?”

“What do you think, dweeb? I’m looking for pain killers.” Shane looked at him. “You’re hurting pretty good, and don’t even try to deny it.” His fingers closed around what he was looking for, and he brought two small tablets back to Ashe along with a glass of water. “Here.”

“Oh, uh—thank you…” Ashe popped them into his mouth and took a sip of the water to help them down. “… I, um… I’m sorry.” He mumbled into the glass.

“You already said that, you know. Three times. On the way here.” Shane sighed and shook his head. “Seriously, what am I gonna do with you?”

“… I don’t know.” Setting the glass on the end table to his left, Ashe tugged his knees up against his chest and buried his face into them.

After a moment, Shane took the cushion next to him. “Ashe, what’s really going on here?” He asked. “There’s obviously something bothering you and making you not act like yourself.”

Silence. Then, “I miss her…”

“Your mom?” He wrapped an arm around Ashe’s shoulders as the farmer gave a tiny nod of his head. “I had a feeling. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I-I do, b-but… I-I’m scared that it’s gonna mess up your recovery somehow…”

“Bud, that’s not—those two things have nothing to do with each other. Seriously. And even if they did,” he gave a gentle squeeze, mindful of Ashe’s soreness, “I’m in a place now where I can handle it. And that’s got a lot to do with you. I’m not gonna force you to talk about it if you really don’t want to, but I’m here for you. You can lean on me for this.”

More silence. “I don’t remember what that’s like…” He sniffled, trying his hardest not to start bawling again. “I-I was taking care of Mom for so long that I forgot how to rely on others.”

“She was sick, right?”

“Y-Yeah. Cancer. I ended up taking her place at Joja so she could stay on their insurance.” There was another pause as he drew a deep shuddering breath. “I-I didn’t even get to attend her funeral. My b-boss wouldn’t give me the day off for it. It was the worst way to start the year.”

“Wait, this happened on New Years? This year?”

Ashe nodded again. “I-I didn’t really… y’know, have a chance to process any of it. Work, work work. And then I remembered Grandpa’s envelope, and… I came here. It was nice, having so much to do and people to distract me from… everything. But I can’t ignore winter no matter how hard I try…”

His voice broke, and the tears that he’d been trying so hard to hold back burst forth. “I-It’s not fair! She was all I had! I was all she had! A-And I was working so much that I couldn’t even be there for her most of the time! I had to watch her waste away from a distance! And now Joja wants to take even more way from me! It’s not fair! It’s not fair!!!!”

The room became filled with his anguished sobs, and Shane gently pulled him into another hug. “It’s not, you’re right. It never is.”

For what felt like forever, Ashe cried. He cried out the feelings that he’d kept pent up over the year. And when he had no more tears left to shed, he rested against Shane, completely spent.

“Did that help at all?” Shane’s voice was low and soothing as he brushed the bangs from Ashe’s face.

“… I don’t know…”

“That’s fine. It takes time.” He held him close. “Look, if you feel like you need to cry, come and cry on me. Okay? Doesn’t matter when or where it is.”

It took a moment, but Ashe nodded. He wondered if this was what Shane felt like when he was looking out at those cliffs on that rainy day…  

#stardew valley #sdv #stardew #sdv fanfiction #stardew valley fanfiction #stardew fanfiction #sdv fanfic #stardew valley fanfic #stardew fanfic #sdv fic #stardew valley fic #stardew fic #sdv shane #stardew valley shane #stardew shane #sdv farmer #stardew valley farmer #stardew farmer #tw mourning #tw grief #remind me never to write a day this long again

[simplycomplicatedwriting]

Here’s a mini thing I got carried away with (Shane x Farmer)

I was playing with an idea I had for an imagine and pitched it over discord. This is just a copy-paste of the messages I sent about the prompt which turned into a half-assed mini story. It starts off as a prompt but goes into more detail and Yes the tense changes at points- sorry about that, but I was writing this over the course of a few hours between doing other things. I really liked the idea in the end so I thought I’d share :)

Shane x Farmer OC/You except it's an alternative POV Groundhog Day-esque mystery, where Shane's anxiety and low self-esteem makes him question why on Earth the farmer wants to be friends enough that he starts to notice how they can act a little weird. Weird as in the way they pause at random moments before something happens as if they were expecting it when there was no way they could have known, or how they seem to know everything he likes but play it off as a "good guess". Then, of course, the Farmer and Shane fall in love and start dating. Shane notices the Farmer goes to Cindersap forest a lot, and always in a sneaking manner. He hears from Lewis about the weird man who lives in a tower and those insecurities kick in once again. Shane and the Farmer have a fight about it, with the Farmer flatly denying any suggestions and tries to defuse the situation (and they seem to know exactly what to say to calm him down, which only frustrates him further). Shane then goes to investigate on his own and see if the Farmer is cheating on him (which is what he suspects). He finds the wizard in the tower,

[completely out of character dialogue but you get the gist]

Rasmodius: Ah, [Farmer's name]'s husband... what do you want?

Shane: ... husband?

Shane: Who- we're not married. I'm not their husband. Who are you?

Rasmodius: A-hah, finally divorced you, have they? I'm not surprised. If you want a love potion to win them back, that's not how this works

Shane: What are you on about? We have never been married- I've barely known them a year!

An awkward silence ensues and a look of concern washes over the Wizard's face. He mutters something to himself and makes a wave with his hand. Shane is pushed out of the tower against his will and the door slams firmly shut. He goes home confused and still, if not more, upset.

The next morning Shane wanders onto the farm hungover from the night before, him having drunk himself to sleep. As he approached from the upper right from town, he can hear loud voices. Once he gets close enough he see's the wizard on the Farmer's doorstep and the Farmer in the doorway. They're having a heated discussion. The farmer looks like they've been crying. Being the caring boyfriend, Shane goes to the Farmer's defence without hesitation. The wizard gives the farmer a look, which causes them to cast their eyes down. They don't look at Shane.

"You need to fix this," the Wizard states firmly. The harshness and obvious anger in his voice makes the Farmer wince. Shane goes to intervene, but the Wizard leaves too quickly for it to matter.

The Farmer doesn't invite Shane into their house like they normally would. They keep the doorway blocked with their body and come off as reserved. The sight of them causes a pain in Shane's head, like a memory fighting its way to the surface. It makes him blurt, "We've been here before." The Farmer sobs. Shane doesn't comfort them, only looking on in shock and confusion.

"We're were married," The Farmer confesses. 

Long ago, in another life, the Farmer had met Shane in the secluded Pelican Town in Stardew Valley. It was like a whole other world, so cut off from the rest of society. The war hadn't reached the valley, nor had it been consumed by modern technology. The other threat to it was Joja mart, which the Farmer swiftly put an end to with the help of the Junimos. Shane and the Farmer married in the Summer of the Farmer's third year. Their love was sweet and naive. It took the Farmer a long time to gain Shane's trust, to learn what he liked and what he didn't, but they enjoyed everyone second of it. Of course, married life was much different from dating. Very quickly the threads of their relationship came undone. Tempers were tested and their love was challenged. Snide comments turned to midnight screaming matches and neither could find common ground. The Farmer was hard-working, but at times struggled to empathise with him. Shane was passionate, but still struggling with his mental health and found it difficult to have any motivation. 

That was their first marriage.

With a quick deal, the Farmer was given a second chance to start again. A new life in the same old Pelican Town. A completely clean slate. They knew what they were doing this time. They knew how to woo Shane while also keeping the Farm in good condition. They were like a machine. The two married in the Winter of the Farmer's first year. Shane, unaware of the upper hand the Farmer had, was smitten. He'd found his soulmate. They were perfect together, so of course, when the topic of babies came up, they were quick to make a decision. 

"We had kids...?" The memories Shane was getting back were faint and hard to interpret, but he knew the Farmer was telling the truth. He felt sick. The regret that washed over the Farmer's face when he spoke only made it worse.

"You- We, hated it. We were terrible parents. I wasn't fit for it, I-I was too busy all the time, and it stressed you out so much. We weren't happy." The Farmer's voice began to crack. "It just wouldn't stop crying... no matter what we did... it just wouldn't stop."

The Farmer had found themselves on the Witch's doorstep again, ready to make a deal. They had remembered what the Witch had offered them last time and decided to take them up on one of their offers. 'Only you, I and the wizard will have any memories of these events you are about to erase'. With a hefty fee, the Farmer wished for their troubled child to be set free, to be turned into a dove. 

This was no easy fix, though. Somehow, in some way, Shane figured it out, and he stood in the rain where he was standing now, looking at the Farmer as they stood in the doorway, hoping- praying for some kind of answer that would make it all better. He relied on the Farmer for that. They always seemed to fix his problems for him, but all the sudden they were the cause.

"You were going to hurt yourself... I couldn't let you go. I had to stop you." 

Shane had gone to the cliff edge like he had done times before, but nothing the Farmer had said changed his mind. They were the problem, not the solution anymore. 

..

One more time. Just one more time and they'd get it right. Things would be perfect, and they would be happy. But the Farmer couldn't restart again. They felt themselves getting older both physically and mentally from the constant stress. A different deal with the witch, and with a little extra. Erase the town's memory of Shane and they're relationship. Any trace that they had been any more their friends would be gone. Additionally, for the price of their soul, Stardew Valley would continue to be a secluded, untouched miracle in a war-torn world, where no ill would come to the valley and its inhabitants would stay in their happy little bubble. There would be no death, no ageing, and the outside world would only resume when interacted with. It was a strong spell, but it was worth it for an eternity of paradise. The Farmer could start again with Shane while keeping their progress on the farm and with the rest of the town, that way they would be ready for anything.

"So here we are," The Farmer said with a forced laugh. They looked like how Shane felt- complete and utter shit. Hopeless, lost and hurt was a good way to put it. By now the hidden memories had come back just like any other memory, but it didn't ease Shane. Somehow he could comprehend it all, but what does one do in that situation? Knowing knowledge that shouldn't be known. Sure, the Farmer told him of two instances where they had reset their relationship (and practically time itself), but how many other times had they toyed with this power? How could one determine what was genuine and what was a forced lie implanted into the mind? Shane thought of the child he now remembered. He felt guilty for forgetting. He felt grief for the child he had lost. He felt betrayed, oh so betrayed, by the one he thought he cared for so deeply, who had used and toyed with him like he were some program that could be edited and reset at a whim.

"I hate you,"

Those three words. Three words the Farmer thought they could never withstand hearing from him... but they had. They had more times than they would ever acknowledge. The naive Farmer who came to Stardew Valley would have never survived the heartbreak, but that person was gone- consumed by the determination to fix things. They were barely fazed by the words at this point; the phrase was like a paper cut, it hurt, but only for a moment. Why should they worry, anyway? They'd get it right next time. 

"One more time," they said. "It'll be the last and I'll get it right. We'll be happy. I'll wipe the slate clean this time."

#stardew valley #shane #sdv shane #x farmer #oc #reader #imagine #just for fun #gender neutral reader

[delightfulstarlightparadise]

Stardew valley Imagine. Reader/ Sebastian (?)

-Before we start, oce again I remind you that English is not my main language, but I am doing my best.

“I didn’t think you were so tired to the point of passing out in that sofa.” Sebastian says while taking a drag of his cigarette. “If I knew we would have come earlier.”

“Aw... I shouldn’t have drink that beer.” you say, feeling sick to your stomach.

“If you are going to throw up, please do it in some bush and not near me.”

You didn’t even bother answering him. Next thing you knew, you were kneeling down barfing behind a tree. You were not very used to drinking.

“Sorry.” you say when you can finally talk.

“What about?”

“Everything.”

He shrugs and helps you stand up.

“You are... different.” he says.

“I know, I am weird.”

He laughs.

“You think you are weird? My best friend is the weirdest person I know. Being different in a town like this is not a bad thing you know?” he says.

You stare at him for a while too long, he blushes showing is uncomfort.

“You didn’t pass as a supportive type at first.” you say.  

“Don’t get used to it.” he says smirking at you.

When you arrive the farm you can see that the seeds you planted in the morning had turned into little saplings already. You shake your head, sure that it is a prank of your dizzy mind, but they are there.

“Sebastian, can you see those or am I really wasted?” you ask him, pointing at the saplings.

“I can see them, but I am also pretty sure you ARE wasted.” He mocks you.

“How can it be?! I planted them this morning!” you look at him completely astonished.

“So what?” he asks.

“They were not supposed to grow like this… I mean, this is crazy!”

“Oh really? I don’t understand much about farming.” he says while getting another cigarette from his pocket. “I will be going now, ok? Thanks for the game, I had fun. Destroying Sam every time was starting to get boring.

As he goes, you sit down on your porch staring at those little saplings.

…

You have a dream.

You are playing with your cousins by the mountain river. A younger Sam and a younger Sebastian are there too. Sebastian is ginger back then, but Sam’s hair still challenges gravity somehow. There is a third boy that is not from your family, he is brunette, very alethic and seems to like you a lot.

Sebastian challenges you all: who can go up a tree by the shore faster. You are the first to run there, before anyone even agrees to the bet. He doesn’t like it and runs as fast as he can, followed by the other boy and your cousins. Sam kind of gets left behind.

You start climbing the tree so fast, you didn’t even remember being so agile, you feel like a feral squirl. The other boy is right behind you, he even tries to hold your foot and tickle you, but you don’t give up. As you laugh together, Sebastian gets to pass you, but you quickly follow after him.

Somehow you manage to get to the top first, Sebastian is all sweaty and puffing. The other boy comes after and congratulates you on the win. He kisses you on the cheek and you get all red about it. Sebastian doesn’t like it, actually he seems really jealous. You think it is about you having won and start mocking on him.

You call him gingerbread man. He hates it and pushes you. Because of your weigh the branch you fall on cracks and you fall on the river. You can see both Sebastian and the other boy reaching towards you.

Your head hits a rock and you get unconscious. But actually, you just can't move, you still can see... everyone is jumping on the water after you, but you feel like you are nowhere to be found. Maybe that is it, your short life has come to an end.

You hear a funny sound and turn your head to the left. You see an apple.

The apple has two eyes and pink cheeks.  

There are others, they are all around you, making that funny sound and lifting you up from the bottom of the lake.

Next thing you see, a hand grabs your wrist, lifted by the little apple spirits. You are pulled out of the water by Sebastian, he has almost drowned too. He is crying and doesn’t stop apologizing, but you aren’t able to say anything to him, the words don’t come out.

You spend some days in the hospital, all your vitals are ok, but you keep seeing those little apple spirits around. The adults are afraid you had too bad of a concussion and no one believes in you... except for... grandpa?  

He says you were saved by the forest spirits, but your mother and father tell him not to incentive these kind of thoughts in you. Eventually, they stop taking you to Stardew valley.

The longer you are away, the more you forget about your time there.

When you wake up, the dream seems like a shadow, but you feel very different.

…

They were even bigger! From one night to the other, the saplings have grown as much as they should in a week.

“Am I going insane?” you ask yourself.

You water them and put some extra fertilizer, then you decide to go to the city and buy some food for the farm. When you arrive there, you see Mayor Lewis in front of a big old house behind the square.

“Oh, hi y/n!” he calls you, as you two seem to be the only people around. “Come here a second.”

You feel a little annoyed. Is it going to be like this now? Every day that amount of interaction in your life... how can you handle it?

“Good afternoon, Mr. Lewis.” you say.

“Call me Lewis.” he says with a gentle smile. “Do you remember this place?”

You take a look at it. Everything is so broken and old you can swear it is probably haunted. You can’t seem to remember anything like it.

“I see.” he says. “You were so young, but you, your cousins and your grandpa used to come here. This is the community center of Pelican town. Well... it used to be. Come on in.”

You follow him inside and it looks even worse than the outside.  Bindweed has taken over the walls, there isn’t a single piece of wood that is not broken or rotten and there is even a tree fully grown in the corner of the main hall, but even that tree seems to be decaying.

“This used to be the heart of the town, everyone in the community gathered here for parties, birthdays and even city events.” he says. “But as time went by... it seems like these kinds of things are not as important nowadays.”  

He starts a discourse about how people would rather watch TV instead of gathering with the community, but you can’t follow because... there is an apple jumping by the window.

“Y/n, what’s with you?” the mayor asks turning to the place you are looking.

It immediately disappears.

“It was...” you are about to tell him about the apple but, why bother? “I think I saw a mouse.”

“This place is probably infested by mice, it has been closed for so long.” He says and sighs. “It is sad to see it like this. But I think that is what happens to old things, see Paradise farm, for example. Good that now you are there to rebuild it. Too bad for this place, there aren’t people willing to do it.”

“Did you ask people?” you ask out of curiosity.

“Unfortunately, every time we set to rebuild everyone was busy with something else. Eventually, I think everyone just gave up.” the mayor let go a long sigh. “And since Joja Mart came to town, they keep making offers to buy it and turn it into a warehouse. I am thinking about selling it by the end of this year... the city could use the money.”

You look around once more. It does seem sad to let ANYTHING that once was good end up in Joja corporation’s hands. Wasn’t this what happened to you.  

You feel a strange connection to the place.

“Anyway, I must be going now. Have some mayor duties to accomplish. Thanks for giving an old man some time to be nostalgic.” he says and chuckles. “I will leave this place open if you want to take a look, maybe you can find some of you Paradise kid’s old toys in the crafts room.”

It is weird because you wouldn’t usually do something like that, but as the mayor went away, you started exploring the rooms and they seemed to bring you back some blurry memories. Maybe you played with your cousins in that corner. Maybe you attended someone’s birthday and ate cake by that old table. Maybe you sat with your grandpa in front of that big fish tank and he told you stories about fishing.

You hear a sound and it immediately makes you turn to the decaying tree in the corner of the main hall. Your heartbeat increases as you see not one, but many apple spirits jumping around and waving at you. They seem to be talking but you can’t quite understand.

“What the hell is going on with me?” you say, rubbing your eyes and shaking your head.

They are still there.  

One of them, a green one makes you a sign for you to follow it Still uncertain, you do, and it takes you to a golden scroll in the middle of the crafts room. You see there is something written there, but you can’t quite understand it.

“Junimos?” is the only thing you can discern.

The little apple starts jumping and making that funny sound as if it is agreeing to you.

“You are Junimos?”

It seems even more excited. The more it makes those funny sounds, the more it seems like it is saying your name.

“You know me, isn’t it?”

It seems to agree.

“You saved me that day.” you say. “So either everyone was wrong and I didn’t go crazy back then, or I am going crazy right now.”

“You are certainly not going crazy, my dear.”

You yell as you listen to a voice come from behind you and a figure comes from the shadows of the corner of the room. A purple bearded wizard dressed up in a fine robe walks towards you.

“Don’t be afraid. I am Rasmodius, the Wizard, keeper of the secrets of the forest, master of the elemental’s knowledge... you get the picture.”

“Where did you come from?!” you yell as you try to step back, but you end up tripping and falling.

“I have been paying close attention to you for the past couple of days. You are the one whose arrival was foreseen by the valley. The one connected to the forest powers, the one to change the valleys destiny... well you, my friend, are a hero to become.”

“What the fuck is going on here? Am I dreaming? Am I dead? Am I dreaming in a comma?” you star hyperventilating. “I have gone crazy, that is it. I finally lost it!”

“Please, calm down.” the wizard says as he can see you going pale.

“Oh my, what if I never left Zuzu city? I must still be in bed, I need to wake up to go to work, that is it! I am not crazy I am just sleeping...”

The little Junimo beside up jumps and slaps your face with his little stick hand and it hurts way more than it seems to be possible.

“What the...” you say, but it seems to take you away from your anxious thoughts.

“As I was saying...” the Wizard cleans his throat. “You were brought back to this valley to help it heal from the many hazards it has been imposed by both mankind and witchcraft. Also, I have seen, to change the destiny of the people who live here.”

“Me?” you screech with unbelief. “Man, I can’t barely fix my own life.”

The wizard chuckles.

“Well, sometimes to help another one is the best way of helping oneself.” he says.

“What the hell is going on?” you say rubbing your temples.

“You will understand when the time is right.” the wizard replies. “For now, drink this.”

He extended to you a cup filled with a green liquid.

“You are kidding right?” you say.

“No, you are supposed to drink. These are the ingredients from the forest, it will help you understand the language of the elementals.” he says.

“I am not drinking it.”  

The Junimo beside you starts jumping and puffing in a way to demonstrate impatience and he seems so angry that you take the cup from the wizard’s hand and, after taking a nauseated look at the content, you drink it.

You feel dizzy and things start moving a lot slower. You can see the memories of yourself as a kid running among trees, playing in the river, collecting and eating savage berries. You see yourself playing with animals, riding a horse, rolling in the mud with grandpa's pig.

You see the faces of some people from the town. You are beside them, helping them and doing nice things, things you had never thought you would do in your life. You feel happy to help, you feel like a part of something. And then... there is this someone you suddenly see yourself kiss.

“If you might ever need me... meet me in the towers west Cindersap forest.” you hear the Wizard’s voice.

As you open your eyes, you see the image of a man and a girl, both with glasses in front of you.

“Y/n? Are you ok?” you hear Maru’s voice coming from the distance. “Oh my Yoba, what a scare you gave me!”

“What? Where am I?” you say slowly sitting down and looking around.

“You are in the clinic. Maru found you passed out near the fountain. You have symptoms of an insulation, perhaps you have been working too hard in the farm.” the man says, adjusting his glasses. “I am doctor Harvey.”

“Insulation? Last thing I remember I was drinking that green thing from the wizard...”

Both Maru and the doctor stare at you, looking concerned.

“I mean, I probably had a bad dream while passed out. Thanks for bringing me Maru, sorry for the trouble.” you say.

“No problem, I am stronger than I look.” she says. “Now lay down, you are taking intravenous medicine, you seem to be very poorly nourished. Have you been skipping meals?”

She gently pushes you into laying down.

“I forget to eat sometimes.”

“That is very hazardous! Even more being a farmer and working a lot in the sun and with so much physical effort!” says Harvey, looking very angry.

He gives you a full lecture about the importance of eating healthy and says that he is going to give you some supplements. You are actually worried about how you are going to pay for the treatment.

…-

Next part here:

Credits for the pose reference: https://snuffysbox.tumblr.com/post/160658875287/have-another-angsty-draw-your-otp-%E1%95%95-3-%E1%95%97-please 

#stardew valley #stardew valley fanfic #stardew #stardew valley fanart #stardew valley Sebastian #sdv #SnufkinWasHere #stardew valley rasmodius

[dezemfarm]

Year 1 Spring 7 part 2: Meeting Rasmodius, Seeing Magic, Junimos and Drinking goo

I walked in and I directly smelled something I couldn’t place. Just around the corner on the left was a big cauldron, the source of the smell. The fire underneath made whatever was inside slightly boil and it gave of greenish smoke. On the right side of the room there was a big circle drawn. No a sigil. Candles all around. It was kind of scary to see but weirdly enough it felt safe. Behind it was a man. Looked like he was meditating. “Uhm... Hello?” I carefully said. He opened his eyes and stood up. Taller then what I thought, purple hair and big moustache with long goatee combination. If he didn’t had the purple color I would have thought he had walked out of a Tolkien book. “I am Magnus Rasmodius... Seeker of the arcane truths. Mediary between physical and ethereal. Master of the seven elementals. Keeper of the sacred cha-... you get the point.” He said with the deep voice I had heard earlier. “And you... Dezem. The one whose arrival I have long foreseen.” “Me? Stop the mumbo jumbo...” But before I could tell him I didn’t believe in fairytales anymore he turned to the sigil and said “Here, I’d like to show you something. Behold!”

He raised his hand and with a bright flash the creature appeared in the middle. I must have jumped a few feet in the air! How!? What!? This wasn’t possible. I raised my hands in front of my mouth in shock. “You’ve seen one before, haven’t you?” Rasmodius said. I couldn’t speak so I nodded. “They call themselves the ‘Junimos’...” he continued. “Mysterious spirits, these ones... For some reason, they refuse to speak with me.” Then a flash and just as sudden it appeared it disappeared as well. Rasmodius turned to me and saw my shock. “I’m not sure why they’ve moved into the Community Center, but you have no reasom to fear them.” “I... I don’t know if this is important but I saw an other jun- uhm...” I finally found my voice only to forget what he called them. “Junimos...” “Right! An other Junimo left a gold thing with what looked like writing in the Center...” “Really now... Most interesting... Stay here. I’m going to see for myself. I’ll return shortly.” “I’ll walk with you...” “Oh dear walking will be to slow. I’ll be right back again.” He smiled. Again a bright flash and he was gone! I looked around the room... Really gone! He must be the real deal then!? An actual wizard? No way... Then a loud bang and there he was again. In the middle of the sigil. “I found the note...” he said like nothing happened. “The language is obscure but I was able to decipher it...” 

We, the Junimo, are happy to aid you. In return, we ask for gifts of the valley. If you are one with the forest then you will see the true nature of this scroll.

Rasmodius walk over to the cauldron, deep in thought. “Hmm... ‘one with the forest’...What do they mean?” He said as he sniffed up the green smoke from the cauldron. “Ah-hah!” He smiled brightly. “Come here!” He gestured me. “Oh I’m fine here...” I hesitated. “Oh come on now nothing to be scared of. My cauldron is bubbling with ingredients from the forest.”

Slowly but surely I walked closer as he named the ingredients. “Baby fern, moss grub, caramel-top toadstool... Can you smell it?” “Yeah it’s hard to miss...” I said as he filled up a cup. “Here.” He gave it to me. It look so gross. “Huh?” “Drink up... Let the essence of the forest permeate your body.” He said impatiently. “But I... “ “Come on now...”  “Fine...” I took the cup and drank it all. It was soo gross! I could have sworn I was as green as the smoke rising from the boiling goo in the cauldron. I thought I was gonna vomit... and then...

It was like a summer sun on my face. The warmth... I was walking through the woods. No, not walking. I wasn’t moving. Everything was green. I could only see trees. Millions upon millions. It was peaceful. I didn’t want to go. The forest... it’s magic. I could feel it. Was this real? Or was I tripping? I did drink some goo I didn’t know what it was. But something inside me told me it was all okay. 

#stardew valley #stardew story #New Hope #Dezem's farm #y1spr7 #DON'T ACCEPT SHADING DRINKS IRL! #just to be clear on that :p

[xochiipills]

"You found a ⭐stardrop! You feel an unwavering connection to the valley itself.."

♡

Oh gosh !! This was honestly such a fun piece to do. I know in some folklore, fae can become fond of children, and the junimos somewhat reminded me of them ! I have no doubt my farmer has seen one when he was a child and exploring his grandfather's fields at night. 🥺

Inspired by that one screencap in howl's moving castle! 💞💞💞

#stardew valley #sdv #sdv fanart #sdv farmer #farmer oc #stardew farmer #stardew fanart #stardew valley farmer #stardew valley fanart #junimo #junimos #sdv junimo #sdv junimos #fanart #my art #my artwrok #digital art

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 13: Quiet

SATURDAY - SPRING 27

It had seemed like forever ago when Emily had invited Achilles to her birthday party at the saloon—in fact, despite jotting it down in his planner, in his present condition, he would have forgotten about it completely had it not been for Shane. 

The three days following the Flower Festival had been rough, to say the least. Desperate to find something to do, to plan a new project—or, at the very least, brainstorm a list of things to do Next (with a capital “N”)—he had plunged himself into “work.”

And by “work,” he really meant (if he were actually honest with himself) immaterial, made up chores to ward off the restlessness barging at the gates of his antsy brain. At this point, Achilles could have likely won Zuzu’s annual Home & Garden Landscaping contest with how polished his grandpa’s old property was. But although Achilles firmly believed there was always room for improvement, in this specific scenario, one could only realistically polish something so much before it reached its maximum shine. 

Somewhat unsurprisingly, his anxiety could see through the sham of odd tasks and disingenuous jobs—it didn’t matter how many DIY shelving tutorials he watched or how often he scrubbed the floors. How many times he moved the garden gnome or how many one-sided conversations he was having with the junimos, who were now visiting him with increasing frequency.

Or perhaps he really was now going mad. 

With each day, he could feel that itchiness, that irritating, antsy static, begin to creep further and further into his skull. The voices in his head asking asking over and over and over again, louder and louder What’s next what’s next what’s next? The only thing that managed to keep it somewhat at bay was his morning jog, which was becoming increasingly longer with each day. Didn’t someone on some TV show once say that, really, as long as they kept moving and kept their mind occupied at all times, they would avoid falling into the bottomless pit of despair? Well it was true, although for Achilles it was more anxiety right now than depression. 

He had even considered braving his anti-group-fitness-stance and heading back to Zuzu for another class at Orange Grove for this very reason (well, among others)—it would give him something to focus on. But with the commute time, he just couldn’t make his mind see it as immediately “productive” in the wider scheme of things, as stupid as he knew this was. But anxiety wasn’t logical and thus, he abandoned the plans. Besides, Alex didn’t need to see him sweaty and anxious… 

So instead, he had continued to invite Shane over for breakfast, under the pretense that he was simply getting farming advice to pass on to prospective buyers. But he knew in his heart it was mostly just another flimsy excuse, especially as he found his jittery self lulled by the man’s silently sullen disposition into chattering at length on nonsense completely unrelated to farms. 

“You wanna come to Emily’s party tomorrow night? I don’t think she’ll care if I invite you, just sounds like you need a distraction,” Shane had finally grunted, which honestly was the politest way Shane had ever asked somebody to shut up. 

“Hmm? Oh—yes.” Achilles had taken the hint, gulping down the elderflower soda he was now somewhat addicted to (he did not provide Shane beer anymore, although that hadn’t stopped the man from bringing his own) to give his mouth something to do besides talk. “She actually invited me.” 

“Huh. Even better. Now I won’t get in trouble.” 

Fuck. He had forgotten. But hey, a real something-to-do, if a relatively quick one. After scouring the internet, he had put in a call to his mother who had in turn gotten her contacts to overnight Emily’s gift, which he delicately wrapped in periwinkle tissue paper. 

And so that was how he started his penultimate night in Stardew Valley. It was to be a long one. Standing in the living room, tapping his foot a mile a minute, barely comprehending a word of Joseph Queen’s latest novel, and rubbing circles into his wrist as he fidgeted with the gift bag handle, all while waiting for 7:30 to arrive. 

*****

But at a certain point waiting became too hard and, eager to do something instead of sitting around the immaculately clean farmhouse, he had decided to leave for the saloon early and simply take the long way to town, through Cindersap. It was an unusually cool evening, fresh and breezy, and no signs of rain, thank Yoba. 

He bumped into Leah, dressed for the weather in a beanie and a spritely green jacket that reminded him a bit of his garden gnome. 

“Hey there.” She nodded at the gift bag in his hands. “Going to Emily’s? What’d you get her?” 

Achilles shoved his ear pods into his windbreaker and handed the bag to Leah who promptly removed the tissue paper and peered inside. “Nothing much, to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what she’d like.” 

“Nothing much?” Leah had stopped, one hand balancing seven spools of thread, the bag, and the tissue paper Achilles had so particularly arranged; the other holding up a 12 pack of markers. “Achilles, these are Tannics.” 

Achilles’ nose twitched. You idiot. An oversight—of course Leah, as an artist, would recognize the brand. What to do… He chose to downplay.

“Ah, they’re the brand my mom uses and Emily’s a fan of her work. I just figured they’d be good.” 

Leah returned the items to the bag, stuffing the paper unceremoniously on top, and they resumed their walk. “‘Figured they’d be good…’ They’re the best. That pack must’ve been $70—and you yourself just said you barely know Emily.”  

“I didn’t say I ‘barely know’ her, we’re friendly—” 

“You pretty much implied it when you said you weren’t sure what she’d like. Who gets a $70 shot in the dark gift?” 

“She likes designing clothes, I grew up around fashion designers. What’s wrong with getting tools you know are nice? At least I know she’ll put them to good use.” Achilles tone was growing sharp as the ants in the back of his brain began to wake at the rumblings of a row. He took a deep breath through his nose, flexing his fingers in attempt to calm himself and the incoming anxiety.

She whipped her red braid over her shoulder and half-shoved the bag back into Achilles’ hands. “Yoba… must be nice…” 

Achilles knew she wanted him to respond, he could feel her eyes on him as they walked, but he resolutely bit back his tongue. He knew it was nice—to have money, to come from money—of course it was nice. 

“Explains a lot, really. Your mom’s in fashion, your dad’s in television, and Elliott says you were a writer before all this?” 

A short, rather jerky nod. “Wasn’t for me. More of a… hobby, I suppose.” 

“Hmm. Must be nice…” 

He took another deep breath. Just one foot in front of the other…

“For sure. I’m very lucky and exceedingly grateful to my parents, I doubt I would be here without them.” 

“Yeah… but you don’t really get it, do you? You know, just… being able to quit your day job and get the fuck out of town for a season to just do something you’ve never done before for shits and giggles? You’re going to, what, sell the new farm for a cool couple million, and then what are you going to do after that? What’s your plan?” 

Achilles new it would be better to stay silent, but the mere presence of ants in his brain was a reminder of the truth, and the words spilled out before he could bite them back. 

“I don’t know.” 

“You don’t know.” Leah shook her head—was she merely irritated or incensed?—and flipped her  braid to her other shoulder. “The fact that you can say that is just… so fucking unbelievably crazy to me. That there’s a world where people just… don’t know. People who don’t need to know.

“Writing didn’t work out for you long term—like you said, it was a hobby, sure, so you went into corporate, and clearly that wasn’t for you either, so you just… moved on to the next thing. 

“Art isn’t just a hobby for me. For Elliott. For Emily. It’s not something we can just abandon and pick up or move on from without a plan. To be able to just… take a break? We don’t have something to fall back on. We have to worry about our literal survival.” 

“Leah, I bought Emily some nice markers for her birthday. That’s it.” Achilles struggled to keep his voice even, even as Leah’s had rose in urgency. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand what you want me to say.” 

But even as he said it, as he heard Leah’s sharp inhale as she geared up for the next round, he knew there was nothing she wanted from him, specifically. This was a vent, it was clear as day, and unlucky timing for Achilles, he seemed to have been the unlucky trigger of it all. 

“I just… to be able to blow $70 on somebody you barely know without a second thought while the rest of us are choosing between next week’s groceries and tools… ”  

The pseudo, and mostly one-sided, argument carried them to the saloon where, as politely as he could, he excused himself to the restroom as Leah all-too-gladly made her way to the room Emily had reserved. 

It was a private stall, thank goodness. He stumbled over to the mirror, his hands grasping the sides of the porcelain sink. The gift bag swayed, again chafing his wrist as he leaned into the cold water flowing from the faucet. 

He hated not knowing, he hated the unknown, he had done everything in his power to never have to feel that way for the past six years—but he couldn’t tell that to Leah because the truth was, in the grand scheme of things, it was fine that he didn’t know. That he didn’t have next steps planned, that he wasn’t thinking about making next month’s rent or next week’s groceries. 

He hadn’t had to use his parent’s money since he was 19—that was something he could confidently say. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t, if he needed it—and he knew his parents would help him in half a heartbeat if it ever came to that. And despite what Perry had insisted, Achilles had known that his last name had gotten him his agent much faster than it would’ve taken someone whose father wasn’t the show runner for primetime’s longest running procedural. 

In a way, the pressure of his parents’ success and the career expectations they had unintentionally set were likely what was feeding his next step anxiety. It wasn’t anything his parents had demanded from him, not at all, they had always been nothing but supportive, and for that, he knew he was lucky. But he had always been haunted by the pressure to make a name for himself, to achieve a level of public notoriety, much like his mother and father had. And for most of his life, that idea had constantly sent him running down the road trying to commit fully to all sorts of different projects to find something that he wanted—or, at least, was “supposed” to want. 

The realtor was coming tomorrow, and from his copious research he had deduced the farm wouldn’t stay on the market for long. So really, what was next? Looking back, this “excursion” to Stardew Valley was always going to be a temporary thing. The clock had really been ticking the moment he had quit BRLO and left Hyacinthia. He had just refused to listen to it. 

*****

When he eventually found his way to Emily’s reserved room, he had nearly succumbed to the ants crawling in his head, to the voices penetrating his mind, to the coldness that was seeping into his core, and as he took his third, his fourth, and his fifth shot, he told himself the only way to win this mental battle was to drown them out. 

“Are you all right?” 

The voice, soft but firm, managed to pierce the warm haze of alcohol. There was a hand at his back—Alex, of course, they had been next to each other most of the evening. 

“Yeah, why?” he murmured. He was fine. Totally fine. Better than some of the other folks here, right? His eyes searched wildly for the Shane, desperate to prove to himself that there was someone, always someone, worse off than he was. 

But instead, he found Shane somehow laughing, his hands clasping what must’ve been his sixth beer of the night, sandwiched between Emily and a pink-haired woman who had introduced herself as Sandy. Did anyone in this damn town have a natural hair color… 

Achilles glowered, but forced himself to quickly recover—this was a party, he couldn’t be upset. 

Someone—maybe it was Leah—broke out a deck of cards. 

Why not? he thought to himself, pulling up a seat to join the game. You’re good at these things… 

Not good enough, it seemed. He lost—fast, too. And while he forced himself to laugh (get the stick out of your ass, what will people think), inside, he cursed himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. So tight he was gripping the handle of his drink that his fingerpads had grown numb against the chilled glass.  

God, why do you care so much about a stupid fucking game. Stop. Just stop. Get yourself together. 

Someone made a joke. He laughed. Someone told a story. He asked questions. Someone stood to leave. He stood to say goodbye, and immediately the world tilted. 

Fuck. It had been six years since he had been drunk, it must have snuck up on him. But it was fine, he just needed a minute… or twenty… 

“Achilles, are you ok? I’m sorry about what I said earlier.” 

He looked up. It wasn’t Alex after all, but Leah. Or perhaps, it had been Alex earlier, and now it was Leah? How much time had passed? 

She took a seat next to him—where had she been sitting before? 

“Achilles, come on, I said I was sorry…” 

He mumbled something indecipherable. 

“Come on, man, let’s get you back.” 

Someone was taking his arm, but he shrugged them off. He was fine, he could still walk for Yoba’s sake… 

“Happy birthday, Emily!” he said as he stood for the door, giving the willowy blue-haired girl a hug. 

“Thank you for coming, Achilles! And thank you so much for the gift, I can’t believe you’d do that for me, you’re amazing.” 

He smiled, glancing smugly at the figure waiting for him by the door—take that, Leah—and see, everything was fine. Emily probably didn’t even notice he was… buzzed. Well, maybe a little more than buzzed…

“Let’s get you some air…” 

In the dim lamplight outside the saloon, he could just barely make out the flash of a green jacket and red braid. Ugh. Really not who he wanted to be with right now, but he wasn’t in much condition to escape. 

He stumbled a bit, but her firm hand held him steady. He considered shaking off his arch-nemesis, as he was apt to calling Leah now as of three hours ago, but the world was already spinning enough, and he rested his eyes half-closed and let himself be guided along the path. She really must be feeling guilty. Not that anything she had said had been false, per se… 

Soon the crumbly cobblestone turned to sand, and whether it was the sudden drop in temperature or overwhelming smell of salt, he wasn’t sure, but he bent over and immediately began to dry heave. 

“Oh fuck.” 

The beach? Of all places… leave it to fucking Leah to choose here of all places… 

She dragged him into the water, despite Achilles’ protests, her hand rubbing his back as he vomited into the ocean. 

“I’m so sorry fish, I’m so sorry.” Achilles groaned. Fuck, he loathed the feeling of nausea, and watching the black tides churn under the weak moonlight only made him more dizzy. He stumbled backwards in the shallow water, trying to make for shore, but his stomach seized again and he had to close his eyes as he bent over to throw up, one hand begrudgingly flailing for Leah’s jacket for support. “The fish…” 

“It’s ok, I really don’t think they mind. But we could ask Willy if you—” 

“Hey now, what the fuck?” 

Achilles looked up from the spray and saw Alex standing next to him, jeans rolled up in the shin-high water. The letterman combined with the red scarf tied loosely around his neck—he must’ve mistaken it for Leah’s red braid. Wow. Perhaps he really was drunk. 

Dulled as his reflexes were now, he still managed to recover (with the darkness’ help) fairly swiftly from this stomach-flipping surprise.

“Better you than her,” Achilles grumbled while simultaneously waving him away. 

Achilles turned and sloshed his way back up shore and onto the boardwalk. The sturdy wood was steady beneath his feet, grounding him as he watched the waves through half-closed eyes. Lulled by their crash, he lay on his back, face up towards the half moon. 

“Hey, let’s get you back up, you don’t want to throw up and suffocate on your own vomit.” Alex was still there, apparently. 

“What the fuck, man?” 

“Sorry, I… saw that on TV once.” 

Achilles managed to clamber back up onto his elbows before painstakingly lifting himself to sit at the edge of the boardwalk. He leaned his head against the post as Alex took a seat next to him. A water bottle was in his hands, as well as a small bag of crackers. 

They sat in silence. Achilles likely would’ve fallen asleep had his doze not been punctuated by two more bouts of vomiting. It splattered grossly into the water ten feet below. The sound really only made Achilles more nauseas… but at least Alex seemed unbothered. Oh, but the fish… 

A half hour after the the second attack, when it seemed like Achilles’ stomach (and most of his mind) had settled, Alex handed him the water and crackers. 

He had little energy to refuse—it was getting colder and he was shivering—and so he accepted it wordlessly, taking a long sip after wiping off the salty spray that had accumulated on the cap. The pressure in his head was building, a dull thrum beating rhythmically with his heart. 

After a minute, he closed his eyes and once again rested his head against the wooden post. Even with nothing to see, he could still feel the world spin. 

In a forced conversational tone, Achilles broke the silence. 

“Well. This has been an embarrassing evening, and I pray thee, never speak of it to me again. Please send dear Emily my deepest apologies for ruining her party. She shall never have to see my face again, for I depart with the Spring.” 

From somewhere on his left, he heard a dry chuckle. 

“You didn’t ruin her party, don’t give yourself too much credit. She probably didn’t even notice— it’d take more than one drunk little man to ruin Emily’s mood. I mean, she’s friends with Shane after all, isn’t she? Besides, if it makes you feel better, half the people there were more wasted than you…” 

And yet he was the only one Alex had chosen to help? Achilles bit back a lazy smile, though Alex wouldn’t have been able to see it in the dark anyway. The sharp pain in his lip helped clear his drunken cloud for just a second.

Eh. Maybe Achilles had just seemed the most pathetic. That was the more likely scenario. 

You dumb, drunk bastard…  

“Can I lie on my back now?” 

“Do you think you’ll throw up again?” 

“No.” 

“Hmm. I’ll allow it.” 

Achilles bit back another laugh as he collapsed backwards. He was still lightheaded—a peculiar sensation against the incoming migraine—but he loved clouds, and those currently illuminated by the moon were traveling slower than the waves. As he tracked their movement, the world began to slow back to its usual speed. A dull thump announced Alex had lain down as well. 

“You’re going to have a wicked hangover tomorrow, my friend.” 

“Fuck…” Tomorrow. Somewhere between the fifth and sixth shot, he had somehow forgotten. He rubbed his eyes, tempering his groan into a sigh. “Realtor is coming tomorrow morning.” 

“So you’re really going to sell the place?” 

Achilles turned and could just make out Alex’s face peering at his. If he reached out, he could probably just barely touch him, a few feet or so away he was. Instead, he faced the sky again. 

“I’ve been saying it all season, you didn’t think I’d commit?” 

“I just… I guess we all hoped you’d change your mind.” 

Achilles sighed through his nose. “I don’t know what else to do.” 

And suddenly, there it was—the burn surging up his neck, the sting behind his eyes, the lump in his throat. But he refused to cry. He loathed crying—especially in front of other people—so he bit it back as he bit his tongue, stubbornly, mechanically, again using the pain to keep control. But the pressure was too much, and while he successfully fought to keep back tears, words broke through his damn, spewing out in an explosive rush. 

“I didn’t know what to do after I decided I’d stop writing. It was very abrupt. The decision, that is. 

“I thought I had had my life all figured out at 17. Sure, I started in kiddie lit, but I had it all planned out—I had mapped out stories for the next decade, I’d make the jump to real shit before 25, get a film adaptation, maybe win a Pulitzer. Yeah, I know how that sounds. Listen, I was young, dumb, arrogant, and ambitious. Great combanation. 

“Obviously, that didn’t happen… like I said, the decision to stop was… sudden, to say the least. I wasn’t prepared for it. 

“I went to BRLO, eventually, of course. But the year in between—when I was trying to figure what the fuck I was going to do next—was, I think, the worst fucking year of my life.” 

Achilles paused to swallow the catch in his throat. He was sure even the smallest voice crack would invite sympathy, and that was not at all what he wanted. Taking a deep, and only slightly shaky, breath, he continued. 

“And I’m scared it’s going to happen again. The situations aren’t… identical… but they’re similar enough that even just thinking about tomorrow, about what’s supposed to be next, I just want to scream. I don’t what else to do.” 

 It was Alex who broke the brief silence. 

“You once told me you came to Stardew for a fresh start—” 

Achilles cut him off with a scoff.  “And a start was all it was ever destined to be, see that’s my whole fucking problem here. I didn’t leave BRLO with a real plan. And I… I need a plan. 

“You know, I don’t even know what in the world I was trying to achieve at all coming here. The cover of Better Gnomes and Farmin’? Let’s be honest, as I’ve already been reminded this evening, I don’t need whatever money the farm is going to bring in. Looking back, the farm was never going to lead to anything, at least, not anything worthwhile, not anything particularly noteworthy. The farm just… is. 

“I couldn’t admit it to myself until these past few days, but coming here—it was always a distraction. A pretty good one, I’ll admit it, but a distraction all the same to keep myself from, I don’t know, going insane. But cleaning up a farm was never going to keep this feeling at bay forever. There was always an expiration date. This was always inevitable.” 

 He paused again, this time to lightly lick his pointer finger. He had rubbed it raw tracing it against the damp grain of the dock.

“Would you ever consider going back? To BRLO?” 

Achilles snorted. “BRLO… I hated it there from the moment I arrived. But I refused to believe it. I told myself, you’re 23 can you really not handle a 9-5 job? Look at all the other people in the world that have to do it, how pathetic are you? And it was better than doing nothing. So I stayed. 

“To be honest though, looking back, it was probably exactly what I needed after everything with Apparition. The stability of just something… linear, something always present, something I was actually good at, that I could focus on.”

Achilles shut his eyes and paused to chew somberly on a bit of cracker. Alex said nothing. 

“But, as I said, I hated it. I had jumped into bed with something I knew I didn’t love, but by the time I finally let myself take a step back and see the bigger picture, it was too late to just… let myself let go. All sunk costs, sure, but… still.

“You know, I was the youngest executive BRLO had ever had in 50 some years? I won two CLIOs.” 

It felt hollow to say that. He had worked hard, that was indisputable—too hard, really. It was a title he had achieved mostly because he had been willing to give up any semblance of a personal life. Nevertheless, he had always liked titles. Like awards, he found them to be more tangible measurements of success. 

“And how many people actually love their jobs anyway? How many people are actually doing something they want to be doing? That’s what I kept asking myself, day in and day out of pitches and brainstorms. I thought, maybe, if I just really… dove into it all, really committed, I’d eventually find something that I liked. Just something to latch on to that would help make all my success there taste more sweet than bitter. 

“So I just digging myself deeper and deeper into this hole in the hopes that somewhere at the bottom I’d find… something.

“Some people have epiphanies. You hear about those lightbulb moments where they’re sitting in their office and just suddenly realize they’re being crushed by the burden of modern life, they realize they’re spirit is fading, that this isn’t the future life their six year old self had envisioned and they needed to drop everything now and head for the hills that are calling for them and become a farmer and be one with nature. 

“I didn’t have that. That… yearning for something else. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted it—I mean, I still want it, a sign, anything, to just point me in the right direction of what the fuck to do—but I didn’t have it.

“No. I think I just hit a wall one day. Finally hit the bottom of that hole, I guess, and saw that there was nothing there. There had never been anything there. I had a title. I had money. I was doing shit. But I didn’t want it.” 

And how privileged it was that you could just leave. And here you are… ready to do it again. 

“And so I turned in my two weeks notice, and that was it. Leaving was all push for me, no pull.” 

He had eaten all the crackers and was now thumbing the bag between his numb fingers. Alex hadn’t said a word. Perhaps he had fallen asleep. Achilles wouldn’t have blamed him. Nevertheless, the floodgates were wide open now. He kept going. 

“If I had learned anything from BRLO it was that there’s no sustainability in hate. I know it’s obvious. And I know it’s stupid and selfish and entitled, but it’s why I was so against farming, against those fucking strawberry seeds, I didn’t want to waste another six years going down a path that was doomed from the start. I hate worms, Alex. I hate them. 

“I loved writing. I did. And when I switched to advertising, well—I wanted to want to love it. So, so badly, you don’t even know, I think that’s why I was trying so hard. Diving in all the way, full commitment to things, it’s... it’s important, because how else can you make adequate progress? How else can you maximize what you’re trying to achieve? 

“But I think at some point in my life, it became difficult for me to distinguish between being busy and being content. I learned you can’t force how you feel. There’s no sustainability in artificiality either.

“I’ve always just wanted to do something important. Like my parents, just be someone… have an impact, a real impact. Is that pathetic? Probably. Maybe I don’t deserve it.” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Anyway, I don’t know why I ever thought I’d find whatever that is out here painting farmhouses. Regardless, whatever it was, that’s all done anyway, and now I’m at an even bigger loss of what to do because I still don’t know what the fuck is next and I’m… tired.” 

Achilles stopped. The only sound he heard was his own breath, rapid and weary and, he hated having to admit it to himself, whiny. For a few minutes, all was quiet. Perhaps Alex really had fallen asleep… but then—

“Why don’t you just stay?” 

“I just said I’m never going to farm—”

“Well, you don’t have to farm. You just said you don’t need money. You can just… stay. And, I don’t know, wait—”

“—fuck no, waiting is the last thing I want to do. You can’t just wait around and count on success finding its way to you, and besides, I don’t do well with waiting, and I don’t do well with quiet, and that’s two things this Valley’s got going for it. 

“The city—and I mean, the real city, not like Zuzu—it’s loud, it’s fast, it’s always demanding something from you, and I think all that chaos, all those distractions… some people find it draining, but the horns and the yelling and the sirens, I found it all comforting, I think it helped me… focus? Commit? Helped sideline those voices in all our heads that ask us, what else is there? What more could you be doing? What more should you be doing? 

“The Valley here, it’s so quite. So, so, quiet, you all may call it calming, but to me it’s maddening. There’s just too much empty space; anxiety and dread, they thrive here, and it’s like they’re pushing me out. I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t feel welcome.” 

“Everyone here likes you though. Do you not like us?” 

Achilles rubbed his eyes again until he saw double the number of stars in the sky. “It’s not the people that’s the issue. It’s, I don’t know what you want me to say, the general environment? There’s just… not enough here. Just all the voices in my head that are now free to take center stage and tell me that I’m nobody. Let’s be real, Alex, why am I even here? What am I doing here? Nothing. 

“I mean, who knows, maybe I’m just burnt out, and that’s the real reason I’ve felt like shit. But at 27? Again, that’s so incredibly pathetic. And yet somehow, I still feel like I’m running out of time. 

“My parents are so, so passionate about their work, and they’re both so good at what they do—both their careers have long grown to something beyond them now in society. And they both started when they were way younger than I am now, and for them to be so incredibly successful for so long, and here I am just… I don’t know.” 

“You really don’t think you’ve succeeded at anything?” 

“Not in a way that means anything.” 

Achilles immediately regretted snapping at Alex—it was rude, and the kid didn’t deserve it. Needlessly aggressive, much like Leah had been earlier that evening… in fact, Leah’s own words were now pounding in his head, and, after a beat, Achilles continued in a more meditative tone. 

“What do we do with our lives when we don’t have to worry about our survival? What do we choose to do? To work towards? What motivates us? I have money, fuck, Alex, I have so much money. I’m well aware I’m exceedingly lucky to be in a position where I don’t ever have to do anything I don’t want to do for the rest of my life. But I still want to do something. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to want to do anymore.” 

Achilles paused again, wishing he could take back the words, words that reeked of entitlement and privilege. But he attempted a wan joke instead. 

“I know what you’re thinking. Poor little rich girl, what does she know about misery?” 

He tore his gaze from the clouds and glanced towards Alex, but his quote received only a blank stare. 

“Titanic?” 

“…the boat?”

“What—no, the movie. Jimmy Cameron?”

“Haven’t seen it.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Grandpa always said it was for women.” 

“For women—?” 

“Have you ever thought about writing again? You said you loved it…”

“You promised me you wouldn’t ask that.”

“Hey now, I don’t remember saying promise…” 

“I had wanted to be a writer since I was quite young. I was lucky—in a number of ways—to have briefly found success, and it turned into something bigger than me. But then I let it turn into something I did for me. I started listening to the wrong things, to the wrong people, the whole thing just… became selfish. I was selfish, Alex, I know I am. And that, I think, is why it failed. In the end.”

It wasn’t the only reason what had been admittedly quite a strong start to a career had been violently derailed, Achilles thought wryly. Some of the blame ought to go to a Mr. Eddie Bloomsbury—although, if he were really honest with himself, even the consequences of that had really just been rooted in his own selfishness and pride. 

Isn’t that what it all came back to in the end, though? His failed writing career. Staying at BRLO. Leaving BRLO. Even his absurdly intense dedication to fixing a farm he’d never call home. Sure, that was to keep himself busy, but was it also not partly motivated by a nagging self-interest, by his overwhelming preoccupation with controlling how the world perceived him? All in order to—hopefully—find and earn his place in some faraway spotlight. 

Regardless, wherever it was he was meant to be doing, he had surely taken 3 steps back with this silly little detour to Stardew Valley. He lay his hand over his chest, tight with unease, feeling his heart pound through the fabric of his windbreaker. Yoba, what was he supposed to do next… He thought back to his grandpa’s letter, the one that sent him to Stardew in the first place. Honor the family name… Bullshit, with every project he poured his heart and soul into, he still wasn’t on track to honor anything. 

“I think you should stay.” Alex’s voice was soft, but Achilles still jolted with a start. Nearly ten minutes had passed and he had been halfway to finally finding a minute of peace in sleep.  

“I know it’s probably not the same noise you’re used to, but I’ve never found the Valley to be all that quiet. I think you just have to learn to listen to a new kind of sound.” 

Achilles closed his weary eyes again, allowing Alex’s words to settle in the air for a minute before finding himself surrendering to their proposition. 

The soft buzz of the fireflies darting about the boardwalk. A cawing seagull or two, back from a late night snack above the roaring waves. Cattails rustling in the sea breeze. He could even just manage to make out Willy drunkenly bellowing late night sea shanties from his cabin, and maybe, if he listened really, really closely, he could hear Alex breathing. Soft, peaceful, steady. Calm. 

#llnks #sunspraypeak #stardew fanfic #stardew valley #stardew alex #sdv alex #sdv oc #sdv fanfic

[cozykhaos]

A New Sun Part 13

Saturday morning I woke up to my head throbbing, my vision blurred every time I moved. My stomach lurched if I moved too quickly and my mouth tasted and felt like I had licked the field from one end of the farm to the other. After brushing my teeth several times and many cups of coffee I started to feel normal again. I spent the rest of the day in the Community Center writing lists of what I need to find. I realized I would need help. What was a Fiddlehead Fern? Where would I find an Eel? I obviously needed animals on the farm. Did someone have 25,000G laying around? I sure didn’t. How the hell do you grow a pomegranate?

I laid back on the floor, the ground underneath me groaned with my weight and the carpet squished against my body. I dug my palms into my eyes, what had I gotten myself into? Asher put his head on my shoulder and sighed.

“You’re telling me,” I looked at him. He had spent the days chasing the Junimos, every time he was close enough to catch them they would disappear in a cloud of sparkles. My dog would stare at the spot in confusion, once they reappeared they would start the game over.

I frowned at the list, if I had checked the mail sooner I would already have two bundles done. At this point it would a year before I finished. I pinched the bridge of my nose and headed out. Tomorrow was the first day of Summer and I wasn’t prepared at all. I would have enough money to buy seeds but until my first harvest it would be tight. Sitting on the front porch of my house I looked across the fields, the sun was starting to melt behind trees, the crickets started to chirp.

I remembered coming here the first day of my Summer vacation. Grandpa would always buy corn seeds, telling me how they lasted all the way through Fall. The fields would be blossoming with life.

Blueberries, melons, sunflowers, peppers, radishes, tomatoes. It was a lot of work, but now I was starting to realize that grandpa didn’t make me do that much. He would always let me go off and hang out with the others. Letting me enjoy my Summer.

Eos Farm wouldn’t have half that life this Summer.

Next year. The little voice inside me said and I agreed with it. With that in mind I went inside and rested up for the next day.

I made sure to be waiting outside of Pierre’s when it opened. I had a long day ahead of me and I was ready to get to work. As soon as the door unlocked I pulled it open, Asher darted inside, Pierre looked at me, shock written across his face.

“Good morning Kit!” He said.

“Morning!” I shoved a to go cup of coffee at him.

“Oh, thank you,” he took the cup. Ash had found a bone on one of the lower shelves, he marched up to me, drool already all over the bone. I frowned. “Not like we can put it back now.”

I picked up the seeds I needed, remembering the bundles I pulled out my list. My frown deepen.

“Everything okay?” Pierre asked from behind the counter.

I looked at him from over the shelf and gave him a thumbs up. I needed tomatoes and hot peppers to complete the bundle, I hadn’t considered budgeting for them. I put back a couple of corn seed packets.

I went to the front and paid.

It will all be worth it. The voice encouraged as I walked back home, bag in hand. Ash paraded in front of me, bone in mouth. My footsteps came to a halt as I noticed a black pick up parked outside the farm gate. Ash was now at my heels as I ran the rest of the way.

“Hey there Sunshine!” My dad waved from the front porch. I blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. “What are you standing around for, let’s get to work.”

We sat on the porch the sun was melting behind the trees. We drank water infused with mint and lemons and ate cucumber and ranch sandwiches. The was valley was still, a few birds nested on my fence post, chirping.

“You know, this farming thing is hard,” my dad spoke in between bites of his sandwich.

“Yeah it is,” I nodded. “I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, helping grandpa out all those years. Turns out I have no fucking idea what I’m doing.”

“I don’t know, it looks like you have some fucking idea,” Dad nudged me with his elbow, shoving his chin towards the field. We had planted in neat rows, each mound damp with water. I had made little signs for each row and carved the name of the crop then shoved them deep into the soil.

“I wish I would of paid more attention when I was here. I wish I would of helped him more,” my voice broke.

“Sunshine, you were the light of your grandfather’s life and he appreciated you so much. He lived for these summers.”

Then you stopped coming.

Then he died.

Then Eos died.

I shook my head and focused on my fields, my farm.

“You’re going to be alright,” Dad said.

I looked at him and smiled. “Yeah, yeah I am.”

I slept that night in my old sleeping bag, Ash betrayed me and snuggled up to my dad who snuggled the pup to his chest and kissed his forehead goodnight. I don’t blame him, the bed was way more comfortable than the floor. One day I’d need a guest bedroom and a bigger bed.

My internal alarm didn’t fail me and woke me up before the actual alarm did. I woke dad up by pulling the pillow out from under his head. He bolted upright, Ash fell to the floor, scrambling under the bed. Dad had his gun out and was aiming it at no one. He blinked up at me. “Why would you do that!?”

“Power hour!” I yelled and started squatting, my knees popped loudly in protest.

His eyes went wide before he burst into laughter. I did my morning routine and met dad outside, he was  sitting on the porch with Ash, coffee cup in hand.

“Sunrises are something else here.”

I looked towards the horizon, it was ablaze with golds and burst of pink.

“There is something else about the Valley.”

Dad left that afternoon, deciding that I had everything under control. His fair Irish skin was burned, his red hair disheveled and red beard was already grown out. I called him a pansy and hugged him goodbye. I finished weeding the field, and broke down more stones adding them to the pile next to my house. Sweat dripped down my forehead and into my eyes, stinging them. I pulled my boots off and set them by the front door. Ash stuck his head in one immediately pulling it back out and rubbed his nose on the ground.

“I’m gross, why would you even do that?” I asked him. He responded with a sneeze. I headed towards the mountains, barefoot. I’d search for the Foraging bundle that I needed for the Community Center. It was just the start of Summer and the heat was overbearing. The dry heat pressed down and very little of the ocean breeze reached the farm.

I passed in front of Robin’s house, I hadn’t talked to Linus since the Egg Festival and still wasn’t sure about the older man. I paused spying my dark haired friend in front of the mountain lake, looking out over the still glassy water. I thought back to when we would spend the morning in that lake, then running to the beach in the afternoon, ice creams in hand. I started running towards the water, passed Sebastian and canon balled into the lake. I heard a cry of surprise as I plunged downward into the crisp, cool water. I let myself sink to the bottom of the lake then kicked back to the surface. Sebastian was kneeling down, cigarette between two fingers. “A little warning next time?”

I beamed at him and swam to the edge of the lake. Ash and Asha were just off the shore playing together.

“Next time I scream while I’m running through the mountains.”

“Oh yeah, really set off the small town murder vibe,” he took a drag off his cigarette. “You know that water is gross.”

“Yeah, I heard fish pee in here,” I scrunched up my face in disgust. Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at me, but let out a little chuckle. “But seriously, I was disgusting just a few minutes ago, my stench alone probably killed a few plants on the way over.”

This time he snorted and shook his head. The dogs stopped at the sound, observing us then going back to their play time.

“So you came all this way to swim?” Sebastian asked. He was still kneeling down, his face hovered right above mine. I could easily grab him by the front of his shirt, pull his face down to mine..

STOP IT.

I shook the thoughts from my head. “I was actually looking for some things.”

“Ooh, scavenger hunt.”

“Not an exciting one.”

“Can we go into the mines?” Sebastian asked.

“Maybe later,” I thought back to my list that was in my bag at home. There was a lot I could use from the mine, slime, solar essence, quartz, a copper, iron and gold bar. “Right now I just need a grape, spice berry and sweet pea.”

Sebastian furrowed together in confusion. “What?”

I raised my voice. “A GRAPE, A SPICE BERRY AND A SWEET PEA.”

“Damn woman I heard you, I’m just confused.” Sebastian rubbed his ears. I chuckled, letting go of the side and floated backwards.

“A girl has to eat.”

“Can you even eat sweet peas?”

I thought back to a show I had watched the other night, ‘Living off the Land’ sweet peas were edible, but had no benefits. I shrugged then swam back over to the side and pulled myself out of the water. My clothes clung to me and water puddled around my feet. “So, are we going on this adventure?” I asked Sebastian.

He didn’t answer. I felt his dark eyes drag over my curves, roam over my body, ending at my bare toes.

“Bash?” My voice was barely a whisper, suddenly gone under his gaze.

“Kit,” my name coming from his lips caused a zip to run up my spine. “Kit,” he echoed and his eyes snapped to mine. “Towel?”

“Oh uh,” I looked down at toes, wiggling them in the puddle. Ash came over and licked at my legs. I glanced up and noticed Sebastian swallow and suddenly become extremely interested in a near by plant. “I can just go home and change, I probably should before I catch a cold.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian let out a nervous laugh. “We have to go by Marnie and Leah’s any ways. Best place to look is in that field.”

I was surprised, I expected him to back out. We walked back towards Eos, in silence but a comfortable one. At one point our hands bumped together, Sebastian withdrew his and buried them into his pockets. My heart clenched. Rejection. My greatest fear.

#A New Sun #Stardew Valley #Stardew Valley Fanfic #Stardew Valley Sebastian #Sebastian Stardew Valley #sdv sebastian #Sebastian SDV #Stardew Valley OC #Sebastian Stardew Valley Fanfiction #Sebastian x Farmer #Sebastian x OC

[robbybirdy]

Chapter 62: Briella’s Pantry Baking #7 Junimo Sugar Cookies (and Plumbob cookies)

Sul Sul, Gerbits! Today we are going to be making a recipe that most of you are familiar with, but it has a twist. We are going to be making our famous Pink Cookbook Sugar Cookie recipe, with one pear. I love this recipe because it is so easy, time-consuming, yes! But easy, nonetheless.

Oh and I asked my kids what shape they wanted them to be and they told me that they needed to be Junimo sugar cookies. Even though I was a newbie for Stardew Valley, I was up for the challenge. This challenge made me appreciate cookie artists out there, it is very tiring work.  

The first thing that you need to do is preheat the oven to 375. 

For the cookies, you are going to need: butter (margarine), Sugar, eggs, flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, and milk. To make the Junimo’s you are going to need green and black food coloring. 

In a large bowl, you are going to cream together the butter and sugar. Just for those who are new here, when I say butter, it is a loose term. It could be butter, margarine, or any butter substitute, depending on your dietary needs. 

Add the eggs, one at a time. Until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

In a bowl that can hold six cups of flour, combine the dry ingredients. Which includes the flour, the salt, baking powder, and nutmeg.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the sugar. Add alternately with the milk. 

If the cookies are too sticky, add flour to handle. 

Divide the cookie dough in half. Dye one green and the other black. Roll out the Cookies. With a normal circle cutter, cut the green-dyed dough. Roll the black cookie dough out and make the arms and legs for the Junimo’s. You can use candy eyes or what I did was I used mini chocolate chips, for the eyes. 

You are going to bake these cookies for eight minutes. You are going to need to use ALL of your cookie sheets. There are A LOT of cookies.

I think they turned out cute. I don’t usually do game-themed cookies or themed cookies. They did take a while, but they were worth it. I hope you like the recipe. Make sure to like and subscribe to see more recipes like this one. Vadish, Dag Dag!

I also made Plumbob cookies (but I thought it was strange to have Briella make them) 

Snack – Holiday Cookies 4: Snowman Cookies by Leniad: found here

Ponder-ing Life Description

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Galilee’s Goodies Galore, Galilee Baptist church: 1996. Pink Cookbook Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 ¼ cup soft butter

2 cups of sugar

2 eggs

6 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup milk

Instructions

Cream butter and Sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Stir together dry ingredients. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. If the dough is too sticky, add flour to handle. Roll ¼ inch thick on a well-floured pastry cloth.  Cut into shapes. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Cool on racks. Makes approximately 75 to 100 cookies.

#TS4 #Random Alphabet Legacy Challenge #Generation B #Briella's Pantry Baking #Sugar Cookies #Junimo #Stardew Valley cookies #these were so cute #and so good