stardewvalleyficrecs

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

hi there! could i request any kind of fluff for sam? he’s my pixelated husband and i miss him 🥺🥺

I am sososo SO sorry this took me forever to post—it’s been sitting in my drafts for the longest time but I was never satisfied with the beginning or ending of the original so in the end, I just completely cut them off and made the middle as the full thing. I’m really glad you sent in this ask though! The truth is I’ve been wanting to write something for Sam for the longest time but didn’t really have a prompt to until your request. It did end up being a teensy bit more angsty than originally planned but I hope you won’t mind. I did attach a mini separate scene in the end to make up for it :D

—

Spring 1, Year 2

Word Count: 1034

A warm breeze brushed past their faces and lifted the hair from their necks, and falling into a silence, Sam and the farmer sat there for a moment, taking in the saltiness of the air and the quiet lapping of the ocean’s waves. Illuminated by nothing but the dimming sky and faint moon above, the waters seem as endless as ever. It was a nice break, he thought, amongst all the chaos and movement of the past few days. Leaning back, Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his lips curving into a tiny smile.

“This is nice,” He said. “I see why you come here all the time now.”

The farmer didn’t say anything, but he could feel them shift as they turned to him. After another second or so two, Sam opened an eye and gave them a sideways glance with a raised brow.

“Don’t tell me I have sand on my face or something.”

That prompted a quiet laugh from them. “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything but....” They leaned in and brushed away whatever sand had managed to get on his face, their hand gentle as it cupped his chin in the process. Sam’s eyes were on them the entire time. Even now, after being together for as long as they have, the tiniest action like this one was still enough to send his heart into a quiet frenzy.

After pushing a stray lock behind his ear, the farmer leaned back again. They gave him a thumbs up. “You’re good now.”

“Heh. Thanks.”

They smiled in response, but he caught a glimpse of hesitance of it.

“Actually Sam, I wanted to ask you something.”

Oh no. As if unlocked by the magic words, thousands of thoughts immediately began to play through his head, each going over every potential thing he might’ve done wrong to upset the farmer or prompt them to break up with him.

“Go for it.”

“I know you’ve been busy with the band and everything lately, but apart from that… you just seemed like you’ve had a lot on your mind. Are you okay?”

He blinked in surprise. The question caught him so off guard it took him a moment to actually register it. Was that really it?

“Of course,” Sam laughed quietly, though more out of relief than anything. “We’ve got our second gig coming up, and I’m here now with you… I couldn’t be happier.”

And it was true. Although it had taken them a while to finally settle together and figure things out, the farmer had been Sam’s ray of light from almost the moment he’d met them. Moments like these, the two of them just sitting together doing nothing but enjoying each other's company, they were some of his most cherished ones.

But the farmer didn’t seem convinced.

“You don't have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” They gave him a reassuring smile. “But I wanted you to know that I got a visit on the farm this morning. It was Kent.”

Oh.

When he didn’t say anything, they continued.

“I’m really glad that he’s back safe and sound, Sam. I know how worried you’ve been about him and everything these past few weeks. Vince and Jodi too. But still, today you just seemed…” They trailed off, trying to find the right word. “I don’t know. Sadder.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Sam turned back to the ocean. He really didn’t think they’d pick up on it so quickly. In fact, all through today he’d purposely been trying to showcase his cheerfulness more than usual to avoid getting people to worry about him like this, the farmer more than anyone.

“I’m…”

But the assurance died on his lips before he could even get it through, and Sam knew it was because it wouldn’t be true. Running a hand through his hair, he gave in.

“It’s nothing. I’m glad dad’s back too, and I’m sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner.” He gave them a sheepish smile. “It’s just that… I knew things would be different with him. But I guess I just didn’t realize how unprepared I was until we actually saw him.”

The farmer didn’t say anything, and Sam took it as a silent nudge to continue.

“I’m just worried about Vince. And Mom. When dad dropped by, Vince asked me if it was really him. He knew it was of course, I mean Dad looked exactly like all the pictures and everything. But he was like this whole new person.” As he spoke, Sam began to play with the sand, tracing little circles over and over in the ground while avoiding the farmer’s gaze. He felt his throat start to tighten up, but despite his best efforts to keep the mood light, it was as if now that he’d start talking, he couldn’t stop.

“Vince might not remember much, but he knew dad wasn’t the kind of person to lock himself away or stay quiet during dinner. And I didn’t know how to explain it all to him without ruining his excitement.”

He fell quiet for a moment, fingers still tracing out the sandy ground beside him. When he spoke again, his voice was soft.

“He was so excited. And Mom… She pretends like nothing’s changed. I know she does it for us, but Vince is smart. And I still hear her crying when she thinks we’re not around.”

Sam felt the farmer move as they shuffled closer to wrap him up in a sideways hug. He melted into it, resting his head on their shoulder as their warmth enveloped him. It was getting darker now, the navy blue sky turning something closer to black, making the moon above shine brighter than ever.

“What about you?”

Sam shifted his head to glance at them, confused at the question.

“Me?”

“You’ve been talking about Vince and Jodi, but Kent is your dad too. This can’t be easy for you either. Are you okay?”

Sam turned back to the waters then, watching it gently lap at the shore. He leaned closer into the farmer's embrace, and didn’t answer until after a long silence.

“I miss him.”

Bonus Scene!

They listened closely, gaze quietly locked on Sam’s face the entire time—the way his lashes brushed against his cheeks when his eyes closed, the way his lips moved while he silently mouthed lyrics that no one in the world yet knew but him. The way his hair curled against his face when it was freed of its usual gel, still in the process of drying from the shower he’d taken earlier. Sam could feel their gaze on him the entire time as he played, and although it made a little blush creep up to his cheeks, he didn’t mind. He’ll never admit it, but he liked the feeling of knowing their attention was focused solely on him, their relationship having moved far past the point of self-consciousness by now. Finally, with a gentle decrescendo and a tender final note, the song was over and Sam opened his eyes—and his gaze directly locked with the farmer’s.

They were much closer now, knees almost touching, and with the way they looked at him, Sam found it hard to breath. They both stayed like this, in silence, for a few seconds more, before he was finally able to muster out his words.

“So… what did you think?”

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

A Crossing of Bridges

By Mireia

Abigail has conflicting feelings after killing a monster, but she finds out she's not the only one.

Words: 2666 Chapters: 1/1 Language: English

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, Gen

Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)

Relationship: Abigail/Female Player (Stardew Valley)

Characters: Abigail (Stardew Valley), Female Player (Stardew Valley), Krobus (Stardew Valley), Robin (Stardew Valley)

Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Guilt, Religious Rites, Monsters

#stardew valley #stardew valley fic rec #fic rec #abigail x player #abigail sdv #stardew valley abigail #female player sdv #krobus sdv #stardew valley krobus #robin sdv #stardew valley robin

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

still on bedrest, still writing, have another chapter

Harvey faces his fears and his feelings

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Pride Month 2021~ Trans George And Evelyn + Gay Alex (Prompt: Postcard)

(This was originally going to be a BNL shitpost, I like this much better! Sorry it's a day late ;_;)

Alex was stressing. How would his grandparents feel about his relationship with the farmer? They were keeping it a secret, but Alex felt it deep down in his bones- he was gay, and desperately in love with the farmer. He couldn’t hide it from his grandparents forever.

“Alex, sweetheart?” His grandmother called, “Can you be a dear and help me carry this trunk?”

“‘Course, Grandma!” Alex’s mind would be taken off his sexuality for a little while as he got to do what he was best at- lifting up things with the muscles he’d tried so hard to nurture.

“What’s even in this trunk, Grandma?” He asked, lifting it up and visibly struggling. “This is like… 50 pounds!” That was less than Alex usually lifted, but this trunk was huge compared to him.

“Oh, it’s all the mail and letters George and I have collected over the years! I can never throw that kind of thing away, it’s so… interpersonal. That’s why I’m not much of a fan of this whole new email thing. It feels a lot less special.”

Alex was surprised his grandma even knew what an email was, but continued to move the trunk to outside, where Evelyn wanted it.

“Are you getting rid of it?” He asked, feeling a little melancholy at the thought.

“No, of course not! We’re going to have Lewis drive it down to our storage unit in Zuzu, since he’s the only one in town with a vehicle, except… oh, what’s his name with the motorcycle?”

“That’s Sebastian.”

“Ah, yes, him. Feel free to look through the trunk if you’d like. There’s a bunch of old stuff in there, if you’re interested in history.” Alex wasn’t exactly the most literate person in the world, but his curiosity got the better of him and he unlocked the trunk, popping open the lid to take a peek inside.

He shuffled through the cards, finding many, many Winter Star cards, but one card caught his eye. An old, tattered card that must have been almost as old as Evelyn and George themselves. It was a postcard from the Fern Islands, showing a yellowing picture of a tropical landscape with palm trees.

He turned over the back, and saw it was from Evelyn’s sister, who’d passed away a few years ago- Aunt Muriel.

“Happy Holidays! Enjoying the tropics :)”, the message read, but what caught Alex’s eye is who it was addressed to.

Everard. Not Evelyn. Everard. And not George, but Georgia.

He continued to search through the letters. Some addressed his grandparents by their proper names, but others by the opposite gendered versions. Lots of them were from Aunt Muriel- some were even addressed to his mother Clara and Georgia and Evelyn! That seemed completely improbable. This couldn’t be real…

“Alex? Are you okay?” Evelyn wondered, walking past him again.

“Grandma, why are some of these letters addressed to people that don’t exist?” Alex questioned.

“Such as?”

“Everard? Georgia?”

“Everard… That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Evelyn sighed. “Come on, Alex. I think we should have a chat with your grandfather.”

“Am I in trouble?” He asked.

“No, sweetheart, of course not. We just need to talk.” The two walked inside the house, and Evelyn called to her husband. “George, honey? Can you stop watching that darn TV for a second and come here?” George turned off the TV and wheeled himself over to Evelyn and his grandson. “What is it?”

“Alex was looking through our old letters, and well… He found out about Aunt Muriel.” “Aunt Muriel, huh? You mean that old codger who deadnamed us until death?”

“Deadname?” Alex knew what that meant, the farmer had taught him. It meant someone’s name before they transitioned. “Gram, Gramp, are you guys transgender?” “Yes.” George said bluntly. “We transitioned when we were 20, but your Aunt Muriel-”

“Excuse your grandfather, he’s still not quite over that. But, yes, your grandfather and I are both transgender. We met before we transitioned, but not long after decided that we were both born into the wrong bodies. We were some of the first in the entire Zuzu county to do so!”

“And… Aunt Muriel didn’t understand?”

“Never did.”

“Well, that’s rude,” Alex decided. “Did Mom know?”

“We told her at the same time we told her she was adopted. The two topics kind of went hand in hand.” Evelyn shrugged.

“Well, I guess on that note, I have something to tell you too!” Alex exclaimed. “I’m gay!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, dear!” Evelyn fawned.

“As if I didn’t know that,” George grumbled. “With all that time you’ve been spending with that farmer boy.”

Alex laughed at his grandfather’s bluntness. “You’re great, Gramps.”

“No problem, Alex. Just be safe out there, okay?” “I will be, I promise.” Alex got down on his knees to hug his grandfather. “I love you, Grandpa.” “And I love you too, Alex.”

“And so do I.” Evelyn smiled. “We’re going to love and support you no matter what, okay?” “Okay,” Alex said. “And I will too.”

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

title: lost umbrella

word count: 3036

summary: Something compels Edgar to go to the cliffs that morning. And even though what he finds there hurts him in a way no one else could possibly comprehend, he doesn’t regret it one bit.

commissioned by @edgar-selfships​ !! tysm for the interest in my work again, i hope you like this! also available on ao3 here

my guidelines for commissions are here, in case anyone else is interested

Edgar doesn’t know exactly what it is that compels him to go to the cliffs that morning, but it’s like they were just pulling at him, suddenly.

Maybe he was just looking for somewhere to sit down in silence at, staring off into the distance. His duties were barely completed, but the day had already been tiring. Maybe he wanted to reminisce about his old life at the city for a bit. Even though that hadn’t been good at all.

Maybe he just… wanted a second to be alone with his thoughts. Not only consciously but also unconsciously, it seemed, since before he could even notice, his legs had carried him towards the area, he was walking among the trees and catching sight of the fall in front of him, surroundings completely vacant. It’s almost comforting for a moment, a content, melancholic smile about to bloom on his face, but—

(It doesn’t look like a scene that should happen this early in the morning, but with the light rain and wind, the sky darkened, it’s almost like the scenario is set.)

On emerald-green grass, cracking the perfect image of what should have been a nearly heavenly place, somewhere where he got to be away from everything for a bit — Shane lies on the ground, dirt on his face, cans surrounding him.

Keep reading

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Masterlist

a collection of everything i’ve written

X Farmer Fics

Alex

Elliot

nymph farmer — drabble

Harvey

nymph farmer — drabble

Sam

Sebastian

Shane

Abigail

nymph farmer — drabble

Emily

nymph farmer — drabble

Haley

Leah

Maru

nymph farmer — drabble

Penny

Rasmodius

nymph farmer — drabble

AU Fics

nymph farmer

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

I joined a Stardew Valley writing group, and last week we had a prompt “if your muse could relive one moment again, what would they choose?” So here’s this one that I wrote of Elliott that I liked well enough to post here.

Title: Home

Word Count: 1,248

Summary: After a falling out with his family, Elliott decides to go off on his own and start anew.

Keep reading

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

this is the third part in a series i am ever so slowly writing on ao3

the last part was posted roughly this time last year

it takes me a little time to remember how a keyboard works in the intervening time

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

I loved your Marlon x Marnie piece! It’s so cute! Could we get something along the lines of the farmer, the bachelors and bachelorettes finding out about how big of a cunt Lewis is towards Marnie and going to cuss him out. And then Marlon and Marnie live happily ever after because queen Marnie deserves the best ✨

Marnie had never felt more bliss as she and Marlon cuddled together on the saloon couch the next day, and felt ever even better in a way knowing that her nephew and the rest of the townsfolk were watching, because that was not a privilege she’d had with Lewis. Lewis had always wanted to hide their relationships, and would rather stay in the shadows. But with Marlon, she was in the light. 

“Do you like showing me off or something?” She asked him as they cuddled. 

“Do you like being shown off? Because, if you don’t like all this public affection…” “No, trust me, Marlon, I love it,” she told him. “Lewis wouldn’t have been caught dead with me in public, but you seem to like being around me.” “Of course I do. When you like someone, you take them out on a date, no?” 

Marnie looked sullen. “Lewis never took me for dates.” “Marnie, love, that man treated you like you were nothing. You are more than nothing- to me, you’re a very pretty, intelligent, and strong woman. And you are to be treated as such.” 

“Aw, thank you so much,” Marnie smiled. “You’re a sweetheart.” 

“Anyways, I like showing you off because I feel like it’ll help you feel more confident in yourself. Lewis didn’t seem to care much about your confidence, no?” “No. He…” Marnie looked to the ground, seemingly embarrassed. “He told me I need to lose weight or he wouldn’t dance with me. All I wanted to do was dance…” “I’m sorry he said that. You’re wonderful just as you are,” Marlon told her. “It really seems like he was ashamed of you.”

“He was. And I can see why.” 

“Don’t say that,” Marlon objected quietly. “You’re nothing to be ashamed of. I’m proud to be with you.” Marnie smiled, and the two embraced on the couch peacefully. Marnie felt so relaxed in Marlon’s arms, and like she meant something to him. She wasn’t used to people in her life treating her like she meant anything to them, and kept brushing her and her problems off. Shane tried his best, but he was too wrapped up in his own world. And Jas was just a child. And Lewis? Forget it. Boyfriends in the past hadn’t been kind either. She craved the love and attention that Marlon was giving her, and it was just good not to feel alone anymore. 

“Another bachelor party? You’ve got to be kidding me.” “You should go! I’m doing a live read of my new fanfiction, and Sebastian’s bringing music!” Elliott told Shane. 

“You know what Sebastian’s music would entail.” Shane rolled his eyes, and mockingly said, “Insane in the Shanebrain!” 

Elliott laughed. “The boy is just trying to cheer you up.” 

“Well, Cypress Hill isn’t exactly happy music.”

“So are you coming?”

“Will the farmer be there?” Shane asked with a blush.

Elliott flushed and looked a little flustered. “You like the farmer too?!” 

Shane shook his head. “Doesn’t matter, will they be there or not?” “Yes, I invited them. Did I mention it’s a camping bachelor party?” 

“I cannot believe I, in my right mind, agreed to this,” Haley groaned, opening up a can of canned artichoke hearts and cold soup. “WHY did we pick a camping theme again?” 

“To look for bigfoot!” Alex exclaimed happily. “I know this will be the camping trip we find him.” 

“There’s no such thing as bigfoot,” Shane grumbled. 

“Um, yes there is?” Abigail looked up from her dish of quartz and amethyst. 

“Let’s not get into political discussion. The point of his is to get us to get along, not to fight!” Sam interrupted. 

“Sam, we are in the middle of the woods! We’re not going to end up hooking up,” Haley argued. 

“Speaking of hookups, the hell is up with your aunt and the eyepatch dude?” Sebastian asked Shane. “Isn’t she dating the mayor?” “That man was always a dickhead to her, and treated her terribly. He was embarrassed to go in public with her for various reasons, but none were valid. I noticed she stopped eating for a little while too, and I feel like it was because of him. I overheard them arguing about her weight once, saying that she needed to lose 20 pounds by the end of the season…” “What an ass! Your aunt looks great already!” The farmer said. “Yeah, really. Instead of hunting bigfoot, why don’t we hunt us a mayor? I saw him at the bar before I came here,” Harvey suggested, popping open a bottle of wine. “I have to admit, I know we’ll have more success with Lewis than bigfoot…” Alex thought. “Let’s go!” 

Lewis was drinking at the bar, thinking about the cute girl he’d hooked up with the previous night. Candi had to go back to the city, sadly, but it was fun while it lasted. After her, he expected to go right back to Marnie, but she’d been swept off her feet by Marlon, another older man. He found himself feeling a little hurt and betrayed. He’d treated her well, he’d never harmed her… so why had she left him? It was best not to dwell. He’d find another woman soon. One better than that poisonous little viper. 

“Say, hey there! Old man!” Lewis heard someone scream from behind. Someone Lewis recognized as Elliott. “Don’t call me old man,” he reprimanded, only to realize Elliott wasn’t alone. In fact, it looked like almost all the young singles in town, including the farmer, had congregated. “What’s this all about?” Lewis questioned, raising his eyebrows. 

“One, two three…” 

“FUCK YOU!” All 13 people screamed, which made Gus practically jump out of his shoes.

“What on earth…?” Lewis said as all the bachelors and bachelorettes, plus that new farmer, scurried away into the bar, taking their positions to give the mayor the death stare. 

“Fuck you, Lewis,” Shane threatened, confronting him. “You’ve treated my aunt terribly, and while there’s nothing I can really do about it now, but I hope you know that I’ll never forgive you for what you did. And I won’t let Marnie forgive you either.” “What are you talking about?” Lewis snapped. “She’s the one who sent a bunch of hateful children to harass me!” 

“We brought this upon you ourselves, Lewis,” Elliott told him. “Marnie has nothing to do with this. We just hate you, know you treated that woman poorly, and we’re not going to let you get away with it.” 

“So what are you going to do?” Lewis hissed. 

“Oh, you know. Tell the entire town about how awful you were to Marnie and get you disenfranchised as mayor.” Haley shrugged. “And before you protest, I’ll remind you I was the best slugger on my softball team,” Haley said, slamming her fist into her palm. 

“You think I’m going to be intimidated by some girl?” Lewis rolled his eyes. 

“Sexist!” Abigail yelled from the background. 

“You better be intimidated, or I’m going to punch you from here to next week.” 

“Now, Haley, let’s not-” 

But before Shane could protest further Haley’s fist went flying into Lewis’s mouth. “Take that, jackass!” 

Haley ended up punching him so hard that dentures fell out, which just made Haley laugh. “You get what you get for being an ass.”

#this is so funny #good for her #rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Marlon X Marnie Garbage

Marnie sat on her bed, looking to the mayor who she so adored with loving eyes. “Tomorrow’s the flower dance, you know,” she said softly, moving her fingers through her silk nightgown like a snail. “Are you going to ask me to dance?”

“Do I have to?” Lewis complained. “It could compromise my position, you know.” “What about me compromises your position?” This wasn’t the first time Marnie had asked this question, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you, I just want you to improve before we take our relationship public.”

“What do I need to improve on?” Marnie was determined to get the mayor to dance with her tomorrow. Yes, it was selfish, but she wanted it more than anything. She wanted him more than anything, and his approval.

“I don’t know. Maybe try losing some weight,” he suggested. “I have to leave now. I want to be ready in the morning.” “You know I’ve been trying to, Lewis. I’ve stopped eating breakfast and lunch. Can you please just dance with me tomorrow? I’ll do whatever you want after.” The words sat sour in Marnie’s mouth. She knew what “whatever Lewis wanted” would entail, and she hated using as leverage over him. But she knew it was a convincing way to get his attention. And, if she was lucky, his affection.

Lewis smirked. “How about you do it in advance, and I’ll dance with you?”

Marnie sighed happily. “Of course, dear.”

And so the two returned under the covers, but all Marnie could think about the entire time was how excited she was to dance with Lewis tomorrow.

“Flower dance!” Jas exclaimed, running around in her pretty white dress. “Uncle Shane’s going to dance with Emily!”

“We’re just friends, Jas. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you, silly girl,” he teased.

“Are you sure? Pinkie positive promise?”

“Yes, Jas,” he sighed with a smile.

“So why are you dancing with her and not the cute farmer you’ve been looking at?”

Shane looked shocked and didn’t answer that question.

Marnie overheard this conversation from her room as she was getting dressed and chuckled. She knew the real reason Shane was dancing with Emily today was to keep Clint away, and the real reason he wasn’t going to ask the farmer to dance was because he was too shy. Regardless, she dressed her best for the mayor, a champagne pink chiffon dress that she had bought especially for this occasion last year, when Lewis said he would dance with her and then ended up being a no-show. Luckily, it still fit, and she put on that and her best amethyst necklace to meet Lewis. She felt all fuzzy and warm just thinking about him, and how they’d dance together in sunlight, her hair down and his hat off…

She walked out of the room, and Shane was in awe. “Woah, Aunt Marnie, you look… Who’re you dressing up for?”

Marnie blushed shyly. “You know who, Shane. Don’t tease.”

“Jas, can you go get my bowtie?” He asked, which caused her to scurry off as Shane looked to Marnie with concern. “Are you sure he’s not going to ditch you again?” He whispered.

“He promised last night,” Marnie assured.

“But, Auntie, he’s a dick. Dicks don’t keep promises.”

“He will! Come on, you’re too hard on him,” Marnie argued. “He’s a good guy, he’s just worried about his positions. And…” Marnie looked down at her body. Her brain was telling her the truth. He’s embarrassed of me. I’m not fit for him, and he probably knows it. But Marnie couldn’t tell that to her nephew, because it wouldn’t help her case.

The three walked to the flower dance together, and Marnie was nervous. What if Lewis didn’t show? What if she wasn’t good enough of a dancer and disappointed him?

But, when she arrived at the flower dance, she saw Lewis! He actually turned up!

“Marnie!” Jodi ran over to Marnie’s side, another woman in hand. “This is my sister, Candi!”

“Hello, Candi,” Marnie greeted, looking at Lewis from behind Candi’s. He was drinking punch with Clint, laughing and having a good time.

“Aunt Marnie!” Jas whined. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“There is no bathroom,” Marnie sighed. “Do I need to take you home quickly?” Jas nodded.

“Marnie, I can take her,” Shane butted in. “You can go dance.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go take her,” Marnie told him. “If you go ask the farmer for a dance.”

Shane blushed. “Of course.”

So Marnie took Jas home to go to the bathroom, and came back to finally speak to Lewis. And there he was, talking with Candi.

“Lewis?” She interrupted, pushing her way through the crowds to get closer to him.

“Not now, Marnie, I’m busy. So, you’re single, you say?”

“Yeah. My husband and I just got divorced,” Candi told him. “And you?” “I’m also single.”

Marnie felt the tears come to her eyes as soon as he said that. She could almost feel her heart shatter and drop into her chest in millions of painful glass shards. Lewis…?

She looked at him, confused, but he didn’t return her gaze. His eyes were focused directly on Candi, ignoring her entirely. In her mind, she wanted to say he just made a mistake, or that he was lying to protect his position. But, deep down, she knew that wasn’t the case. Lewis had lied about being single, was ignoring her, and was talking to a younger, more attractive woman than herself. And now he was taking her hand, and now they were both holding each other’s hands, and she was twirling her…

Marnie wanted to scream. She wanted to rage and attack Lewis, her blood boiling. How could he treat her this way? What had she done so wrong? She found herself trembling, from sadness, anger, pain, hurt… It didn’t take long for her to collapse on the ground, crying. She was probably making a huge spectacle, and, like Lewis had always said, was being needy and annoying.

“Hey, are you okay?” A deep, accented voice asked her. She didn’t recognize the voice right off the bat, and just hoped and prayed it wasn’t one of Jodi’s relatives. But, when she looked up, she recognized Marlon, the leader of the adventurer’s guild. Marnie was never much of an adventurer, but she’d seen him around. His hair was grey and tousled, and his beard and mustache were perfectly trimmed.

“No, not really,” she admitted, looking to the mayor. She noticed Marlon was also looking at the man who had hurt her so, with a scowl on his face. “I’ve never liked that man very much, and I know you’ll justify how he treats you at any moment. But I’ve seen the two of you together for years. I know what your relationship is like… I think. He brushes you under the rug, doesn’t he?” “...And then goes to dance with someone else,” Marnie replied softly. “He promised he’d dance with me today. I kept up my end of the promise, but he…” Marnie sniffed. “Oh, I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this, Marlon. It’s not your fault that I’m so… so…”

“Beautiful on this particular day?” Marlon smiled, the heat rushing to his cheeks.

That actually got Marnie to crack a grin. “You sound just like my nephew. Maybe you’re an even bigger teaser than he is.”

“I’m not teasing, Marnie. That dress is gorgeous, and so are you. Er, at least… I think so. In my opinion.” He looked away nervously.

Marnie looked to him, tapping him on the shoulder. “Marlon? Would you like to dance with me?”

He nodded excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to dance with you. Come on, let’s go.”

So, when all the young’uns went out to dance, Marnie and Marlon went on the dance floor, not having a care in the world as Marnie twirled in her pink dress and Marlon danced in his green suit. Lewis was probably watching, and Marnie was worried that he’d be angry. In fact, the thought made her feel sick. What if he was mad? What if they’d be over after this?

“Marlon?” She whispered. “What if Lewis is angry at me?” “Let him be. That man has never treated you like he should, and you deserve someone that does. Whether that be me or anyone else. And if he dares to try mess with you? Don’t let him. You’re a strong woman, and you can take him. As can I.”

“Geez, Marlon,” Marnie grinned. “Getting a bit antsy to beat up my secret boyfriend, huh?”

“Not really,” he touched the back of his head with the hand that wasn’t around Marnie’s waist. “I just want to keep you safe. You know some men can be violent…”

“Obviously. But I’ll be fine. Like you said, I’m a tough girl.” She gently punched Marlon in the arm, just hard enough to show that she had some power without hurting him. “Hey, want to go to the saloon tomorrow?”

“Of course, why not? It’ll have to be when Gil’s sleeping, though, since I’m kind of his caretaker. But that man sleeps all the time, so we should have no trouble at all.”

Marnie’s thoughts were pulled away from Lewis for the rest of the day as she laughed and drank and danced with Marlon, and, almost as soon as the day had started, it was over. “That was possibly the best day I’ve had since moving into the valley,” Marlon told Marnie, his cheeks rosy pink. “I had a good time too.”

Marlon gulped, and quickly bent over to kiss Marnie, ever so softly and gently on her lips before grabbing a hold of her hand to walk her home. “I know I already said this, but I think you look stunning.” “And you look adorable,” Marnie told him, walking even closer to Marlon’s side as the two traveled back to the ranch.

They kissed one more time before Marnie went back into her home, and she collapsed on the bed, looking up at the ceiling with her still watery eyes. The mayor’s underwear were still on her floor from last night; his bright purple boxers. And she threw them in the garbage, just where they belonged.

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Your shane x reader are some of the first I read when i got into sdv, and they still hold a li special place in my heart <3 I love the way you wrote shane, jas, and the farmer (you kept the farmer rather neutral, but you still gave her moments of personality, rlly great stuff!), anyway, I'd love any shane related stuff you would do, but if your looking for a request, the reader teaching him abt farming/gardening (planting hot peppers together eee) i think would be rlly cute-ok bye lysm!!!

A/N: hey lovely!! If you're still around, thank you so much for this. I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get to your request, but here it is! Hope it lives up to your expectations xx

Shane can feel you hovering behind him.

"What is it," he groans, not bothering to turn around.

"Sorry," he hears you say. "Just, be careful with the roots, please? I don't want all your work to be for nothing."

Well, he can't exactly fault you for that. If anything, he's ashamed because he was distracted while you showed him the whole thing about the roots.

He turns to look at you. "Would you, uh... mind showing me again?"

His stomach twists as you smile at him, thoroughly amused. "Sure thing. Here, let me get in there..."

You kneel beside him, knees firmly planted in the dirt beside his. You proceed to show him how to dig around the roots instead of into them for a second time that afternoon. For a second time, he finds it hard to focus with you so close, but he fights that a little harder this time.

"Here," you hand him back the trowel, "give it another shot."

He can't miss the way the look you give him is so damn encouraging. You've given him plenty of variations on that look by now, with various degrees of concern thrown into the mix. He proceeds to try digging up the pepper plant again, the sun boring down on the back of his neck as he does it.

"Am I getting it right, now?" he asks, glancing up at you quickly.

"Couldn't do it better myself," you nod exaggeratedly, and he fakes throwing dirt at you in retaliation.

It gets a laugh out of you, clear and joyful. It stirs something inside him, the feeling that's been nagging at him sort of often these days. It hits him like a ton of bricks in that moment that this is the feeling he used to chase all the way down the bottles, the sort of rush he used to think would make up for everything else.

He must've made a face when he realized it, because your brows furrow in concern.

"Are you o-" you start, but you're cut off short by a girlish squeal further down the field.

Him and you both shoot up, surveying the surroundings.

"Jas?" you half-shout, concerned.

"I think I need some help," her voice pipes up sheepishly, and the two of you finally spot her, fallen on her butt among the sunflowers.

You huff, relieved, and tell him you've got it with a brief touch on his arm before you leave in Jas's direction. Now that he knows she's not hurt, he can go back to making sense of his thoughts, yet he barely registers the lingering feeling of your fingers on his forearm.

He kneels and gets back to work, distraught. His first instinct is to worry. The therapist Harvey connected him with cautioned him pretty early on about the way some addicts replaced one addiction with another, and that all good things should perhaps be enjoyed in moderation while he was on the road to recovery.

You're the best thing in his life by far, but he failed to keep you at arm's length a long time ago now. He's not dense enough to be unaware that he's developed some pretty strong feelings for you. But this particular feeling is new-ish, and he doesn't quite know what to make of it. As his fingers dig up the pepper plant out of the ground and he gently removes chunks of dirt from the roots, Shane hopes really hard this doesn't mean he's allowed himself to veer all the way of the right path he's been trying so hard to stick to.

He hates to think about it, but maybe he needs to cool off on seeing you so often so he can at least get a grip. He can't even recall the last time he went a day without seeing you. Sometime in the spring, probably? It's the very end of summer now.

After he's transferred the plant to the wheelbarrow, Shane stands up and looks around. You're still helping Jas uproot some sunflowers, even though her initial job was just to collect the stray seeds. Officially, he and her were there to help you wrap up the summer crops so you could transfer some to your greenhouse. In reality, he was helping you; Jas was causing more trouble than she was helping, but you didn't seem to mind at all, more than happy to show her over and over how to handle things properly.

He didn't know how you did it. It's like you had an endless well of patience, and he knew he ought to have reached the pit of it by now. And yet, he had not. There were depths to your kindness that reached far enough that even after dealing with him through his recovery, you still had plenty left for Jas in all her fumblings and ill-advised adventures.

For the rest of the afternoon Shane managed to clear his mind and just keep working somewhat efficiently. Marnie came around just before dinnertime to get Jas, who was too exhausted from running around by then to protest. Marnie had also let him know she'd save him a portion of dinner for when he came home, but to take his time, which he'd made sure to thank her for.

It wasn't long until Jas left before you and him moved on to replanting the uprooted plants into the greenhouse. He liked that part more than the digging up; liked the hazy warmth of the greenhouse more than the blaring heat of the field. The two of you worked mostly in silence, both exhausted, him perhaps more than you.

After you planted the last of yours and he was halfway through his own last plant, he heard you clap your hands together to shake the dirt off your gloves, before you fully shrieked.

"What's wrong?" he quickly turned towards you.

"Your neck!" you replied, walking over to him. "Did you not put on sunscreen like I told you to?"

Shane instinctively reaches for the back of his neck, and while the sunburn doesn't hurt yet, he can feel the tell-tale heat coming off of it.

"Ah, shit. Think I missed a spot."

You tut at him, shooing his hand off so you can take a better look.

"You big idiot," you chastise him affectionately. "You're lucky I have an infinite amount of aloe in the house from last summer."

**************

As Shane steps out of the shower and into your steam-filled bathroom, he can already tell he'll be sore from all this work. He doesn't know how you do this every day. He tries to get a look at himself in the mirror, but it's too fogged up. Probably better that way, he thinks.

He's used your shower plenty of times before, and he's glad that at the very least it doesn't feel as awkward as it used to. While he was still in the pits of getting sober, you'd graciously let him stay over on your couch so Jas didn't have to see him struggle when it got too hard. He still doesn't know why you did that, or how to repay you for it.

After putting on his clothes, he steps out into your living room, where you're waiting for him with a huge tub of the goo you intend to smear on his sunburn. You've showered too, and made him do it after you because otherwise you claimed he'd just wash off the aloe later, which was probably right.

"C'mere," you beckon him over to sit on the arm of your couch.

He chuckles. It's funny to him, how bossy you get when you're trying to take care of him. Nevertheless, he does as he's told and dutifully sits down like you instruct him. And waits.

Nothing happens.

"You okay back there?" he asks, looking over his shoulder.

You raise a brow. "Aren't you gonna take off your shirt? How am I supposed to get this on you otherwise?"

He feels a bubble of panic rush up. He's in better shape than he used to be, but he's still not much to look at, and he doesn't like the idea of you finding that out like this. "Is that really necessary?"

You sigh, and he knows there will be no convincing you. He feels the tips of his ears burn as he lifts his shirt over his head, dropping it at his feet and taking precious care not to look back at you. "Happy?" he mumbles.

"Hmhm," you hum quietly behind him.

You bring your aloe-coated fingers to his burning skin, and instantly he feels consumed by ice-cold flames. He was not prepared for you to touch him quite so gently, to work the gel into his skin in tiny, careful circles. His throat runs dry as he's reminded of his earlier conclusion that he needs to take some time away from you, for both of your sakes. If the way his body is reacting to this isn't proof, he doesn't know what would be.

You let him know you're done, and he promptly puts his shirt back on. He wishes he hadn't when the stickiness gets a hold of the collar.

"So, just a heads up," you start, screwing the jar of aloe vera shut, "I'm gonna be really busy tomorrow I think. So maybe hanging out in the evening when I'm done would be better?"

He's taken aback by the way this is coming up faster than he anticipated. Still, No time like the present I guess, he thinks to himself.

"About that," he clears his throat, "I think it might be better if I spend some alone time for a while."

He watches you still. You look up at him slowly, visibly confused. "Have I done something wrong?" you ask, and it kills him. "I'm sorry if I have, I know I can be a little overbearing sometimes," you start to ramble, but he cuts you off.

"No, no, none of that," he tries to reassure you. "It's just, uh, how do I say this," he scratches at his head, genuinely at a loss. "Remember how I told you my therapist said I should, like, maybe be careful about things I enjoy a lot? And about... strong emotions?"

You nod, but he can tell from your slight frown you're still confused.

"Well, it's kinda like that. I feel really good when I'm with you. Maybe a little too good. Strong stuff. But I don't wanna depend on you to feel... good. I wanna keep this healthy, yeah?"

You ponder his words, and he can tell he hasn't really gotten his point across. "I mean, I think I get where you're coming from, maybe? But Shane, I think it's okay for you to have a support system. Is it really so bad if being with a friend makes you feel good? I think that's how most people feel."

He shakes his head, huffing. "No, it's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

His eyes meet yours, and he feels weak. "Please don't make me say it," he whispers.

"Shane," you reach out to touch his shoulder, "You're worrying me."

He swallows. Before he knows it, it tumbles out of him. "I have feelings for you. I have for a while. And lately it's gotten a little out of control. So I need some time away from you to get over it, okay? I don't want things to be weird. I need you too much to have things be weird. So I need to figure it out before it gets there."

You stare at him, and he sees so many emotions run across your face that he gets dizzy.

"You... what?" you say quietly after a while.

He feels heat rise from his chest all the way to his ears, like some twisted type of nausea. "Forget it, alright? That's not the point I'm trying to make. I just..." he breathes, "I'll see you in a few days, yeah?"

He doesn't wait for a response. He goes for the door right away, in a real hurry to leave this place where everything is so blatantly yours, down to the smell of your lotion lingering in the air from your bare legs.

But you don't let him leave. He feels your hand on his arm, a real grip this time, and the next thing he knows you're reaching for his neck and bringing his mouth to meet yours. Shane thinks he's forgotten how to make his blood run, how to make his lungs breathe, how to make his limbs move. You're pressing your lips on his with a fervor he didn't even know you had in you. Then, with an instinct of its own, his body kicks back into gear, and he feels himself wrapping his arms around you, bringing you closer yet as he pours all the energy he has left into kissing you back.

It's desperation that compels him, because he never imagined this would ever happen outside of his mind, outside of his daydreams. He's not even convinced he'll ever get to do it again, so he's making this one count.

He genuinely has no idea how much time has passed when you break away from him, panting. You're not saying anything, just searching his eyes with yours.

"Please say something," he eventually breathes.

He watches as you swallow, then exhale loudly. "I don't want to see you in a few days only. I wanna see you now and in the middle of the night and every moment of every day. I don't want you to go and get over me, because I don't think I'll be able to get over you if you do, Shane. So don't leave me. Stay. Please."

Your words fluster him a great deal more than he already is. "Okay," he nods, in a half-daze.

"Yeah?" you make sure, still catching your breath.

"Yeah," he confirms. "Anything for you. Of course."

#rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Maru dealing with golden child syndrome with nb farmer?? idk if requests are still open

I’m SO SORRY this took me so long, I was very stuck on this one! 

Maru sighed, looking at herself in the mirror, disappointed in herself. She’d messed up some prescriptions in the nurse’s office today- she’d nearly charged Shane for George’s prescription, but luckily he pointed out her mistake. She felt like crying. What an embarrassing mistake! She wasn’t usually supposed to make mistakes. She was supposed to be perfect. She wasn’t used to making mistakes. Luckily, her partner came in to disrupt her momentary distress.

“Hi, honey, what’s wrong?” The farmer asked softly, coming to Maru’s side and putting their hands on her shoulders from behind. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” Maru sighed. “I kind of messed up at the clinic today, and it reminded me of how much of a failure I felt like when I was younger,” she admitted. “There was always so much pressure on me to be the perfect child, and, well… I felt like I didn’t hold up. My grades were never as perfect as I would have liked, but I still tried my best to be his perfect little girl. I really tried, but it never felt like it was good enough.”

“Maru, you’re certainly good enough,” the farmer assured. “You built MarILDA, remember? Maru, you created sentient life out of scrap parts. You’re a very talented woman, not to mention you’re a nurse and an amazing inventor. You have two very useful skills, and I love you for that,” the farmer promised, kissing Maru’s cheek.

“You… you really think so?” Maru lifted her head, looking to the farmer with wide, love filled brown eyes. “Of course I think so. You’re the woman I chose to spend my life with, and I think you’re incredible in every means of the way. Never think that you’re not good enough, because you are.”

Tears started to fall from Maru’s eyes as she smiled. “T-thank you, Y/N. You’re the best.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” the farmer kissed Maru once again. “Why don’t you come hang out with me in the kitchen? You’ve been mentioning you’ve been craving strawberry shortcake, so why don’t we make some together?”

Maru grinned. “You always know how to cheer me up, don’t you?” “Isn’t that why you married me?” The farmer replied smugly, walking towards the door and looking back on Maru.

“That, and so many other reasons. I love you, doofus,” she teased.

“And I love you too, my beautiful, intelligent wife.”

#maru supremacy #rb

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Zort: Chapter 1

(TW for swearing and violence)

Farmer Evan was not a person anyone ever wanted to mess with. A new farmer, yes, but tough as nails, and equally as devious.

It was one night, Spring 9th, when she first heard the strange noise. It was a noise that was otherworldly in nature, that sounded like if someone had combined motorcycle engines with synthesizers. Of course, that led to her first thought. Sebastian’s probably fucking around on the property. Let him. I don’t really care. She turned over to go back to sleep, not caring if he crashed into a rock hidden among the long, uncut grass. Evan, of course, needed to cut the grass, but didn’t bother doing so when she knew it would make good feed for the animals she soon planned on adopting. Of course, she already had one animal, that being Sergeant, her trusty German Shepard. He was a coward of a dog, except when it came to fighting monsters. Because that was something Evan had learned about her wilderness farm almost immediately after inheriting it from her dead grandfather- it was completely infested with monsters. Bats and golems appeared at night, and she’d quickly discovered this would be a problem, as they had nearly attacked her that first night. So, of course, she went to Marlon to get some training in fighting.

“Practice on this target,” he’d said, setting up a stuffed scarecrow. “You always want to aim for a point that’ll be detrimental to a monster. For example, on bats, you want to go for the wings, since if they’re immobile they can’t really hurt you. As for wilderness golems, you want to go straight for the heart.”

So she’d slayed monsters on the farm that night, but albeit felt lonely doing so. It would be nice to have a companion on her farm. Yes, a companion… So she asked Mayor Lewis for his truck and drove off to Zuzu City looking for companionship. And she’d found it at the Happy Tails Pet Rescue in Zuzu. A brown eyed Shepard, big for a puppy, who immediately caught her eye. His name was Sergeant, not her personal favorite name for a German Shepard (oh, how she wished people would stop associating them with police! Anything associated with police was painted in a negative light), but he was looking at her so innocently and desperately she couldn’t help but to ask to adopt him.

“I’d like to look at Sergeant,” she asked a volunteer politely.

They’d played ball for a few minutes, and everything was set in stone. Sergeant would be her dog, and he’d help her protect the farm from the forces of evil. And he did a fine job at that, barking his head off whenever there was a monster around. He wasn’t a fighter as much as he was a tracker, but he was still useful.

But back to the noise. The noise barely disturbed Evan, but it threw Sergeant for a loop. He immediately started whining, pawing at the door.

“Do you need to go out, boy?” She asked, opening the door. But he just snarled, bearing his teeth as he growled.

“I take that as a no?” He started barking, and only stopped when offered a treat. “Come on, boy. It was probably just Sebastian on his bike.”

But he barked all night, not allowing for Evan to get a wink of sleep. So, she figured she might as well go outside and see why Sergeant was barking so much. “Come on, let’s go outside.” Evan grabbed her rusty blade, just in case she needed it.

Sergeant immediately got to his feet, his hackles raised as he closely followed Evan's side, pacing through the tangled grass and avoiding rocks and fallen branches. That was when she laid her eyes on the pulsating blue capsule, in the middle of the chicken pen she’d been building.

What the hell is that? She asked herself, squinting to get a closer look. At this part Sergeant was going nuts, barking and snarling at the strange object, putting his paws up to it and clawing at the glass. This must have been some new monster they hadn’t seen before. So, Evan tried to pry it open with her sword, putting the sword under the lip of the lid of the capsule and used it as a lever, and ended up flipping the top off. Although, there was a large tube connected to the top, which was connected to…

Evan allowed herself to scream. The creature in the capsule was something like she’d never seen before, an amorphous blue blob, but not like a slime. More like an embryo…

She decided she knew what needed to be done. She smashed the glass of the capsule, and the blue gel from inside the container leaked out, causing the embryo to be suspended by nothing but the tube connected to its back. It didn’t seem suspicious, but who knew what it would grow into? So, it must be… taken care of.

Sergeant backed up as Evan drove her sword into the embryo, causing a blue membrane to split, and for the creature inside to be revealed. It was some kind of bright blue monster, only a little lighter than the gel inside the capsule. It was still partially asleep and covered in slime, as if it’d just been born.

It looked around, confused, and eventually it’s frenzied gaze fell on Evan, and moreso Evan’s sword. “Wait, no, don’t kill me, I’m not going to hurt you!”

But it was too late. Because, before he’d even started speaking, Evan had slashed him with her sword, causing him to bleed blue blood.

“Stop! I’m not going to hurt you!” He assured, touching his wound. “Please don’t hurt me! Where even am I? What are you?” “You’re on my farm,” Evan told him. “Fine. Then I’m bringing you to the doctor’s.” “The… doctor’s?”

“Yeah. Now shut up.”

And so she bashed him over the head with a rock, and he was immediately knocked out. The tuft of orange hair on his head was now being bloodied. Instead of ears, the creature had fins on his head, which she assumed must be connected to his inner ears. His eyes rolled back in his head, and then closed.

Hopefully I didn’t kill it, Evan worried, picking the thing up on her shoulders, and carried it to the doctor’s office. Although, if she did kill it, the thing was probably better off dead than alive.

He woke up in a room, feeling pain in his back and his head. His vision was blurry, but he could make out faces staring up at him. Strange, alien faces. He was immediately terrified.

Play dead, he immediately thought, closing his eyes and going limp as possible. He was better off dead. He remembered everything since he arrived here, he’d met that crazy alien and she’d cut him and smashed him over the head! These aliens were violent. It was best just to stay limp, let them poke and prod him until they brought him back home. To a home he had very blurry memories of. Why couldn’t he remember why he was here? Or what his life was like before he was here. He tried to recall any memory of home, but the first thing that came to mind wasn’t family, friends, relationships… No, it was blue goo that he used to eat. What was it called? He’d forgotten. It was in a language he no longer remembered.

“And you said it knows our language? That’s incredible!” A deep pitched voice exclaimed.

“It’s not an it,” another deep (but higher than the last) voice interrupted. “If their biology works the same as ours, it’s most likely a him. Or a they. It’d be most polite to use them, most likely…”

“Oh, fine. They’re a very fascinating specimen. Can you take a blood sample for me?”

That was when he decided no, he wasn’t going to be playing dead. There was no way he was letting some randos take blood samples from him! So, with his eyes just barely cracked open, and when the man with the paler skin put his arm close to him to take his blood, he chomped down on his arm with his razor sharp teeth, which caused him to yell as he zoomed out of the white room, running as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was going, and knew he was going to be caught, but he wanted to get away from there, away from those evil aliens that were going to dissect him and draw his blood and inspect him.

He saw the alien settlements, close enough to the houses he remembered that he knew to twist the doorknobs to open doors. The first house he tried was locked, and then the next one, and then the next, until he finally opened the door to a dinky metal trailer, which was unlocked. He stood in the living room, touching his back and panting. There was a hole in his back where the tube in the capsule had been attached, and the cut on his chest from the alien’s sword. He figured that, since there were probably people in here, he should probably look around for clothes to wear. Because that was something he remembered about his past life- clothes were always needed. So, he found a gray skirt and put it around his hips. That was better.

He hid in a corner, trying to ignore the pain and the blood seeping out of his back and chest, when he saw a dark shadow step out of the corner. He tried not to scream from fear as he trembled, as the flashlight shone in his eyes.

“Um… Hello?” The voice was high, and calming. Soothing, almost. He found he was a little less afraid.

“P-please don’t hurt me,” he whimpered, making himself as small and innocent as possible.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, but… who are you?”

That was a good question. Who was he? He tried to get a name to come to mind, and one did. It was familiar, but wasn’t sure if it was his. Well, even if it wasn’t, it was worth a shot. “I’m Zort.”

“And I’m Penny. Um… may I ask… Why are you… Blue?”

“It’s just my natural skin color. Why is your skin so pale?”

“Well… I have a very low amount of melanin in my system.”

Zort wasn’t sure what that meant. “You must be pretty smart, huh?”

“Y-yeah, I suppose,” Penny stuttered. “Oh! Are you bleeding?” “Yeah. There was this crazy alien who cut me with their sword, and pulled a tube out of my back.” “Oh, Yoba! I should I take you to doctor Harvey-”

“No! No doctor!” He cried. “Just heal me yourself.”

“Um… I’m not a doctor, Zort. I know someone who could give you stitches, though!”

And so, the night ended with Zort being sewed up on the bed of a blue-haired alien.

“So you’re telling me that I have to give stitches to an alien you found in your trailer who claims to have been injured by farmer Evan and nearly dissected by Demetrius and Harvey?”

Zort nodded, eyes tearful. The blue haired girl, who Zort later found out was named Emily, tried to give him stitches as best as she could. The pain was immense, but at least these two aliens were respectful of him and treated him like a sentient, intelligent life form, and not a lab specimen. He’d much prefer the kind touch of Emily and Penny than Harvey and Demetrius.

“Oh, I promise Harvey isn’t mean or cruel or scary, and neither is Demetrius,” Emily assured. “Demetrius was probably just excited, and Harvey was probably just going along with it. Harvey’s really shy and sweet, once you get to know him!”

“He seemed pretty scary to me,” Zort decided. “But I’ll give him a chance.” “Do you know why you’re here?” Penny asked, letting Zort squeeze her hand as Emily stitched. “Like… Where did you come from?”

Zort tried to recall, but couldn’t remember anything from his past life. “I don’t know, Penny. I don’t remember anything. I don’t know who I am, or where I came from, or why I’m here-”

Zort yelped with pain as Emily made a stitch, which brought tears to his eyes that otherwise would have been brought by the fear of the unknown.

“You’re here now,” Penny assured. “And you’re going to be okay, all right?”

“All right,” Zort agreed. “You’ll keep me safe?” “Everyone in the valley will,” Penny promised. “Me and Emily and Harvey and everyone else.”

“Well, okay…” Zort was suspicious of the nice alien’s claims, but decided it was better to think on the bright side for the time being. “I believe you.”

“That’s good,” Penny said with a smile. “I think you’re going to fit in here in Pelican Town.”

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

9 // under the skin

My hand hovered outstretched toward the clock, its shrill ring fading into the whisper of rain on the roof. The glowing green face of Harvey’s watch shone from the end table. Twiggy purred in her half-sleep, tail wrapped around her, the tip of it twitching from side to side. I nestled back into my pillow, and Harvey’s arm circled me again, pulling me back into our calm little cocoon.

keep reading

razing doubt

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

i finally got some writing inspo!! here’s something for my fellow haley simps <3

plot: when haley feels indebted to the farmer for helping her find her great grandmother’s bracelet, she invites them over to give them a gift.

word count: 1.3k

notes: ok gn!farmer like usual but… mmm tried to do a lil something w/ haley’s character but that’s kinda if u squint!! i’ll also post this on ao3 just cause why not am i right?

The farmer knocked on the girl’s front door, waiting anxiously for someone to appear behind it. There was muffled talk behind the door. In a few short moments Emily opened the front door with a large smile, greeting the farmer with a quick side hug.

“Hey! Sorry, I’m getting ready for work,” she apologized, running back off to her room with haste. 

Haley had appeared next from the kitchen, a frilly apron tied around her waist and neck with a spatula in hand. “There you are!”

The farmer nodded, walking further into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table. Haley spun herself back around to check the timer atop the counter. She murmured to herself something about five more minutes before setting her weight against the counter with a smile.

“Thanks for coming, it’ll be done in just a few moments.”

“You made me food?” The farmer questioned, memory lingering back to the handwritten note that had made its way into their mailbox, covered in stickers and sweet perfume. 

She scoffed, trying to hold back a shy smile. “Well, yes,” she sheepishly admitted, “I wasn’t sure what else to do for you. I told you in the letter I wanted to try to show you how grateful I am for finding my great-grandmother’s bracelet.”

The farmer smiled at her, shaking their head gently. “Haley, really, it’s fine.”

“I need to show you I’m thankful. So many people wouldn’t have helped me out, and I understand why; but still, I’ve treated you like dirt and you still helped me out.” She kept herself quiet for a moment. “I don’t like the feeling of being indebted to someone.”

 There was no use in talking back to her, leading the farmer to quietly accept her gesture. She talked idly as the timer clicked rhythmically, mentioning the stickers she had adorned on her letter in passing with an excited expression. Emily had emerged from her room with her bag thrown over her shoulder, waving a quick goodbye to the farmer and to her sister. As she closed the front door, Haley turned her attention back to the farmer.

“I also made her some. She’s been pretty generous to me recently, I feel like I need to pay her back too. It’s always tricky when others are nice to me. Maybe I don’t like the feeling of being less than someone else,” she shrugged, “or maybe it’s nothing.”

Her self reflection had made the farmer spiral into their own thoughts. She hummed to herself unknowingly, turning herself back around and moving dishes in and out of the sink. The farmer looked at her apron. Haley’s initials were embroidered on the ribbon tied around her waist, likely a gift from her sister. Music was playing quietly from the living room, just barely above a whisper. The farmer turned their head from the living room to Haley’s figure.

“You’re a very kind person, Haley, I just don’t think you think of yourself that way.”

She placed the dishes down suddenly, all of them clattering against each other in the sink. Seconds of silence had passed before the timer snapped to a stop, ringing its shrill ring. The surprise of the timer had made Haley jump slightly, leading her to grip the edge of the counter for a couple breaths. Despite her new sudden behavior, she turned around with a smile, her hair flying with her. “It’s done!”

Haley pulled the oven mitts over her hands, bending over into the oven with a shaky breath. She nearly dropped the dessert onto the counter, ensuring it was on a stand before pulling her covered hands back and waving them by her sides with an exasperated sigh. Pulling the door of the oven closed, she messed around with the controls, shutting it off and throwing a smile to the farmer over her shoulder. 

“Just gonna let it cool for a sec before I bring it over!” She called, grabbing knives and forks to set in front of the farmer and the empty chair across from them. The farmer left a lingering look on the second set of silverware, their eyes trailing up to look at her inquisitively. “What? I never said anything about giving the whole thing to you.”

This seemed more like Haley. The farmer peered over at the dessert, and the ceramic pan that only half hid the farmer’s thank you present. The top looked like baked crust, easily giving away what Haley’s gift was. She rushed over to the pan, pulling the oven mitts over her hands once more and moving the pan to the center of the table. It was what the farmer had guessed it to be: a pie, but decorated much better than they had expected from Haley’s abysmal baking skills.

The farmer tilted their head, marveling at the cut out hearts and braids atop the pie. “Wow, Haley! This looks amazing, I almost don’t even want to eat it.”

“You most definitely are, that’s for sure,” she teased, sitting down across the farmer. She brought her finger to the crust gingerly, poking it gently to see its texture. She nodded to herself, still propped up on the table with a sweet smile. “We’ve got, like, thirty minutes to kill before we can eat it.”

She sat back in her chair, beginning to chat with the farmer about herself and them, and the upcoming fall festival. Haley talked about what a bore it usually was and how she only truly cared for the pigs and other farm animals that Marnie would bring. The farmer talked about their planned grange display, trying their best to make it interesting for Haley’s sake. Thirty minutes had passed, leaving Haley more giddy by the moment to have the farmer try her pie.

Haley cut the farmer a slice of pie, insisting it was her responsibility to do so, also cutting herself a piece and placing it on her plate with little care. The farmer grabbed a fork, pausing and looking at the spilling contents of the pie. They looked at Haley, who had followed their train of thought and made it apparent on her face.

“Apple pie?”

She nodded. “Mhm.”

“Like the apples you had asked for me to give you a couple days ago?”

Haley had already put a piece in her mouth, nodding to not speak with her mouth full. It was good timing, leading the farmer to think it must have been intentional. They nodded with her, matching her slow, yet knowing nod. The farmer stuck their fork into it, the warmth and flavor making them sigh through their nose with a delighted roll of the eyes. Their reaction had made Haley perk up, loving the silent compliment of her baking. 

She swallowed quickly, propping her elbows up onto the table with a bright smile. “It’s good?” The farmer nodded. Haley kept her smile, flipping some of her hair behind her shoulder and bringing another piece up to her mouth. “I’m so glad, but it’s definitely— at least partly— due to your apples! Those things were so good, I couldn’t keep Emily off them!”

“Thank you,” the farmer spoke in between bites, wanting to continue the conversation without the temptation of more apple pie. 

“So, are we even?” 

The farmer rolled their eyes and brought a napkin up to their mouth. “Haley, I’ve already said you don’t need to do anything for me in return. It’s completely fine, you don’t owe me anything.”

Haley shook her head, biting back her smile. “Hmm, how upsetting. I guess I’ll have to do something else for you so you agree with me.”

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Love Song - Sebastian x Farmer

Newcomers did not come that often to Stardew Valley, therefore Mayor Lewis announced that a new farmer was moving from Zuzu City, it was all that Sebastian heard about.

“Oh Sebastian, I heard a rumor that the new farmer moving on the old farm property is someone around your age!” Robin teased. Sebastian rolled his eyes. His mother was reacting the same way the rest of the town was at the announcement of a new person moving to Stardew Valley. Surely if the farmer was originally from the city, they would not survive as a farmer or last a full year in this town. And why would they? There is nothing here to look forward to for anyone.

*********

Sebastian was pleasantly surprised when he met the farmer. He was outside of his house in early Spring, smoking on by the Mountain Lake when he could hear footsteps.

“Hello, I don’t think we met yet!” Sebastian slowly turned around to see a red head standing by him with a smile on their face. They were not a ginger, but their hair was legitimately red - like the colour of a fire hydrant. Sebastian gave a subtle nodded at the farmer and replied, “Oh. You just moved in, right? Cool. I’m Sebastian.”

Before Sebastian could prepare for any small talk, the farmer opened their picnic basket, pulled out a plate of sashimi and handed it to Sebastian. Speechless, Sebastian put out his cigarette and took the plate of sashimi from the farmer. "I really love this. How did you know?” he asked.

“A farmer never reveals their secrets,” they replied with a wink and tapping themselves twice on the nose. “I will see you around, Sebastian." 

Sebastian watched as the farmer walked away and down at his plate of sashimi. He shook his head as he walked back in to his house, down to his room. He reluctantly decided to try the dish of sashimi and it was admittedly some of the best he ever had. 

It was that first time in awhile that Sebastian met someone who peaked his curiosity and he was looking forward to seeing the farmer around town.

*********

Sebastian had the occasional run in with the farmer over the following weeks. Sometimes during his evening smoke, the farmer would come out of the mine, all dusty and with some scratches, while always having a smile on their face.

"Here, I thought you might like this,” the farmer said as they offered a frozen tear to Sebastian.

“Thanks… I really love this. How did you know?” Sebastian asked, giving him deja vu of his first encounter with the farmer.

“Sebastian, do I need to keep reminding you that I have my ways and I do not plan on sharing them?” The farmer laughed as they began to head home. “See you around Seb!” they shouted as they waved and walked out of sight. Sebastian looked at the frozen tear in his hand and smiled down at it as he softly ran his thumb across the gem. Maybe this farmer from the city had the potential to actually like living here…

***********

The Flower Dance was perhaps, the stupidest festival in Stardew Valley but Robin would never let Sebastian miss a year. He hated the ridiculous outfits they were forced to wear and he did not like the idea of having to dance with someone. Sebastian did not dance and he did not like the gossip that surrounded these events. However, he was curious to find out who the new farmer would partner up with. Surely, they would not have any issues finding a partner and although Sebastian hated to admit it, part of him was wondering whether they may dance with him.

“Hi Farmer!” Sam greeted enthusiastically. Sebastian snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at the farmer that approached himself, Sam and Abigail. 

“Hi Sam, Abigail and Sebastian!” the farmer replied. “Do I look as ridiculous as I feel right now?” Sebastian caught his eyes wandering over the farmer. The answer was yes, they did look ridiculous but at the same time, they made something so ridiculous almost look beautiful. 

Sebastian quickly became aware that he was silent and not saying anything when he heard the Mayor’s voice announce that the flower dance would be commencing shortly and for everyone to couple up. This was Sebastian’s cue to figure out what he was going to do, but before he had a chance to say anything, he heard the farmers voice.

“Hey um… Sam? Would you like to be my partner for the flower dance? I can’t promise that I will know what I am doing but I think we will have a good laugh about it.”

“You want to be my partner for the flower dance? Okay. I look forward to it,“ Sam replied. 

Those words unexpectedly to Sebastian felt like a little dagger in his heart as he watched Sam and the farmer walk away. Why was he so bothered by this? He wasn’t entirely sure. The flower dance was stupid and meant nothing, however for the first time ever, he felt like it could have meant something. 

Instead, he nodded when Abigail asked him to be his partner and did not dare look over at Sam and the farmer once during the dance. He liked Abigail, she was one of his closest friends. However, he knew that he would never have romantic feelings for Abigail.

***********

Ever since the flower dance, Sebastian noticed that Sam and the farmer appeared to becoming closer friends. She even began showing up at the end of their pool games at the Saloon to hang out with Sam afterwards.

“Hey Sebastian, we are headed to Sam’s to hang out. Would you like to join us?” the farmer asked Sebastian. In the corner of his eye, Sebastian watched as Sam missed his shot and therefore beat him in another game of pool.

“Uh… no that’s fine. I better get home. But thanks,” Sebastian responded as he turned towards Sam. “Nice try Sam. Maybe you will beat me next week.”

“Actually…“ Sam started. “The farmer and I have been working on a song together and Gus is letting us perform this song at the Saloon next week during our scheduled pool time. We would love if you would come to support us!“ 

“Oh please do come, Sebastian! It would be so nice to see a familiar face and someone to focus on if I start to get embarrassed,��� the farmer added. Sebastian could have sworn that he saw a bit of redness in the farmer’s cheeks but he suspected it was because she was nervous about performing. 

Sebastian found the energy to force a small smile and nodded. “Of course I will be there.”

Before the farmer or Sam could respond, Sebastian got up and left the Saloon. He did not want to intrude on Sam and the farmer’s plans, nor did he care to see Sam and the farmer flirting in front of him. Of course Sam was his best friend and he wanted to support him, but Sebastian couldn’t help but notice his heart would beat harder when the farmer was around. They were probably just being nice - it was obvious that they were spending so much time with Sam and that they learned all of Sebastian’s favourite gifts from Sam. He knew that they were just giving gifts out of the kindness of their heart and to get closer to Sam’s friends. And Sebastian appreciated it. However, he couldn’t help but feel awkward and admittedly jealous that Sam was getting all of this attention from the farmer - the farmer that he knew in his heart, he had a huge crush on.

**********

The day of the concert finally arrived and Sebastian was dreading it. He was a creature of habit that was thrown off that he would not be playing pool with Sam that evening, but even more so, he did not want to see Sam and the farmer serenading each other on stage. Despite these feelings, Sebastian put on his coat and began to make his way to the saloon. 

Upon his arrival, Sebastian immediately spotted Abigail. He gave a slight nod and made his way over towards her. Before he could say anything, the lights dimmed and Sam and the farmer made their way on stage. Instead of Sam’s usual electric guitar, he sat down on a stool with an acoustic guitar. Shortly after, the farmer followed him out and sat down on a stool next to him, while holding a microphone. Sebastian noticed their eyes scanning the room, until they locked on his. Sebastian held their gaze and gave a reassuring smile. They smiled back at Sebastian and quick whispered something in Sam’s ear.

“Hi everyone and thank you for coming,” Sam announced. “The farmer and I have been working on a little song together that is particularly important to the farmer. So thank you farmer, for allowing me to be a part of this special project.” Sebastian could see Sam smile at the farmer. Sebastian took in a deep breath as Sam began to strum the guitar.

Sam’s guitar playing was nothing like the loud thrashing he is used to hearing. The music sounded soft and slow - a completely different style then what Sebastian was used to. He must really have fallen for her. Sebastian’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard the farmer beginning to sing. Sebastian kept his gaze on the farmer as he listened to their lyrics. Fuck, this is a love song. As soon as the farmer’s eyes met Sebastian, he had to look away. The lyrics were beautiful, her voice was beautiful. Hell, the farmer looked beautiful. The whole situation was perfect - for Sam and the farmer. As the song continued on, Sebastian did his best to listen to the lyrics but he couldn’t help but feel that ping of jealously in his heart growing larger and larger. Thoughts raced in his mind. How would he handle Sam and the farmer being together? Are they going to display PDA in front of Sebastian? What if this feeling of jealousy did not leave?

Sebastian’s thoughts were interrupted by clapping and the sounds of cheers. Sebastian’s eyes locked on the farmer’s momentarily, before they turned towards Sam and hugged him. Sebastian had become painfully aware of how uncomfortable he felt in this moment and he made his way out of the saloon and south, towards the town’s river. With shaky hands, he tried to take out a smoke and fumbled it on the ground. Fuck. Before he could pick it up, Sebastian saw a hand in front of him, reaching towards the cigarette and handing it back to him.

“I think you dropped this.” The farmer stood up and offered the cigarette back to Sebastian. They locked eyes and Sebastian quickly looked down as he began to play with the unlit cigarette in his hand. 

“Thanks,“ Sebastian mumbled. The silence lingered uncomfortably as Sebastian debated whether or not to light the cigarette in front of the farmer.

“So… what did you think of the song?” the farmer asked. Sebastian looked up at the farmer and nodded. 

“It was a good song. Really good. You and Sam make a great pair,“ Sebastian responded, as he decided against smoking for the time being and put the cigarette away. 

“Yes Sam was surprisingly a good writing partner,” the farmer agreed, “but the song wasn’t about Sam…” As the farmer’s voice trailed off, Sebastian frowned slightly. What was the farmer trying to say?

“Oh… who was the song about then?” Sebastian asked.

“Are you really going to make me say it? Sebastian, the song was about you…” the farmer said while blushing. Sebastian had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts, he did not realize the farmer was holding a picnic basket. It took a couple seconds to register what the farmer was saying and before Sebastian could respond to the farmer, they had held out a bouquet to Sebastian.

“Sebastian, ever since I first met you, I had a crush on you. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but Sam has been helping me find the courage to have this conversation with you.” Sebastian noticed the farmer was blushing even harder, as he tried to get his own thoughts in order.

“But the flower dance… and all the time you spend with Sam…” Sebastian slowly questioned.

“I asked Sam to be my partner because I knew you thought the flower dance was stupid and I didn’t want to force you to do something you did want to do,“ the farmer answered. “And I have been spending a lot of time with Sam because we were working on this song that I could sing for you, but I also know you are not a fan of big public gestures… so I was not going to single you out as the person the song was for. I was planning on asking you to walk me home after tonight so that I could you this bouquet during our walk, and that way if you rejected me, I could just run home and be awkward alone.” While hearing these answers, Sebastian was finally piecing things together. He knew Sam was always a good friend to him, but he could not help but feel an extra level of love for his friend. I’ll definitely have to repay him for this one.

“So… have I misread everything and begin walking home?” the farmer asked awkwardly, interrupting Sebastian’s trance. Sebastian noticed the farmer was still awkwardly holding the bouquet. He smiled and took the bouquet from the farmer, and gently put it down next to him. 

“…You want to get more serious? I feel the same way.” Sebastian watched as the farmer’s expression turned in to a smile. He slowly placed his arms around the farmer’s waist, allowing them to back away if they wanted, but pulled them in tightly when Sebastian could feel their arms around his neck. 

“I promise I will be your partner at any stupid festival” Sebastian said softly in their ear. “As long as you are my partner, I will do anything to keep you happy.” Sebastian pulled away slightly so he could see the farmer’s face in front of his. He leaned in cautiously and place a soft kiss on their lips. The farmer reciprocated that kiss until they both pulled away with a smile.

“If you would like to keep me happy, please do not ever take that long to react to me professing my love for you again,” the farmer half-jokingly responded. Sebastian let out a short laugh at this statement as he separated from the hug. While not letting go from one of the farmer’s hand, he bent down to pick up the bouquet and smiled at the farmer.

“I promise. Now let’s get you home safely.”

[stardewvalleyficrecs]

Chapter Three: (Overdue) Introductions PT. I

Author: ambiguoslyambitious (me!)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3,839

Summary: Today's the day that Bela will finally make her debut in Pelican Town and meet some of the townspeople. Will she be able to salvage her reputation or has her fresh start already began to expire?

“Wait, so you’re telling me that the townspeople have been trying to welcome me all week?” Bela lowered her eyes in shame, her face reddening once again. Yoba, they must think I’m some stuck up city bitch.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Victor answered reassuringly. “However, none of us knew that you were...hearing impaired.” Victor rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look sweeping across his face. Something Mayor Lewis failed to mention. Thanks a lot.

“Oh, Yoba,” Bela shook her head. “The whole town must think that I’m so rude.” So much for a fresh start. Maybe I should just become a hermit. No socialization. Just me and Mother Nature.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure we can clear this all up.” Suddenly, Victor’s dark eyes brightened. “Would you like to accompany me into town? I know that my mother wanted to invite you over to our residence for dinner. I-if you aren’t too busy, that is.” He quickly looked away, cheeks flooded with pink.

“Oh, uh,” Bela also averted her gaze briefly. “T-that would be lovely.” Shit, meeting the mom already.

Victor shot her a sheepish grin. “Splendid! Hopefully, we’ll be able to run into a few of the townspeople and try to salvage your reputation.”

The pair proceeded to exit the farmhouse.

“I must say, Bela,” Victor said, sweeping his gaze across the farm. “You’ve done a magnificent job so far.”

“Thank you,” Bela responded shyly. "I admit, I hadn't realized how much this old farm had gone into ruin." She stared out sadly out towards the other islands she hadn't reached yet, remembering when the farm was bustling with activity. And I still have so much work left to do.

Sensing her sadness, Victor tried to lighten the mood. "You used to visit this farm, right?"

"Yeah," Bela gave a sad smile. "When I was a kid, I used to spend the entire summer here, helping Grandfather tend to the chickens and cows, and watering the crops each morning."

"Sounds like you two were close."

"Not really," Bela admitted. "Summertime was the only time I got to see Grandfather. He and my father weren't very close. The last summer I spent here was ten years ago. Before he got sick and..." Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Victor apologized, looking over at her worried. "I don't mean to remind you of such sorrowful things."

"It's fine," Bela offered a half-smile. She brought her gaze up to the bright afternoon sky, taking in the sweet scent of grass and the warm spring breeze. "Not all of my memories of him are sad. I know that there were really great times that are just easy to forget now that he's gone."

This time, Victor was the one to offer a half-smile. "I suppose it is easier to remember the bad times. Remembering the good times forces you to remember how much you miss the ones you've lost."

“HELLO, VICTOR!” called out a frantic, yet cheerful voice. “OH MY YOBA, IS THAT THE NEW FARMER? HI!” A bubbly young woman, adorn in bubblegum pink rushed over to meet them on the dirt path across from the defunct bus stop heading towards town.

“Tabitha, this is Bela.” Victor smiled, knowing that Tabitha was one of the friendliest people in town to meet. She had a habit of making even the grumpiest people smile. Thank Yoba, we've run into Tabitha. She can quickly turn around this somber conversation.

“Hi, Bela! It’s so nice to meet you!” Tabitha giggled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “My twin brother Theo and I moved here a year ago and run The Stray Café across from the bus stop. Hopefully, you’ll be able to meet him soon, though he isn’t much of a socializer.”

“Hi, Tabitha.” Bela smiled unconsciously, the young woman’s happy energy was infectious.

“Those are cool headphones!” Tabitha said, taking notice of the devices in Bela’s ears. “Listening to any good music?”

Victor quickly glanced over at Bela before responding. “Um, Tabitha. Those aren’t headph-”

“These are actually hearing aids.” Bela interrupted.

Suddenly, Tabitha’s face fell. “I’m so sorry! I hope that I didn’t offend you!” The poor woman looked close to tears. Yoba, how can I be so stupid and insensitive?! Theo always tells me to never assume. I'm sure she hates me now.

“It’s ok!” Bela quickly reassured the young lady. “It’s an honest mistake.”

Tabitha visibly relaxed at Bela's words, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm glad that I didn't ruin our chances of becoming best friends."

"Hold on," Victor laughed. "Who says that I'm not already Bela's best friend?"

Tabitha rolled her eyes playfully. "I guess then we will all just have to be besties."

Bela let out a laugh, with the pair soon joining in. Maybe meeting the townspeople will go more smoothly than I thought. At least I 've managed to make friends with these two.

"So, besties," Tabitha glanced between Victor and Bela. "Where are you guys headed?"

"I was just bringing Bela into town to meet everyone." Victor responded. "My mother invited her over for dinner and I figured that I would take her to the saloon afterwards."

"That's a good idea. Why don't you guys come with me to Pierre's first?"

"Sure," Victor nodded. Then he looked over at Bela sheepishly. "That is, if it's ok with you."

Bela smiled at them. "Yeah, that's fine. You guys know the town better than me."

_____________________________________________________________

The trio continued their way into town, heading east towards Pierre’s General Store. As they entered the store, Pierre looked up from the catalogue he was reading at the register.

“It’s farmer Bela!” Pierre greets excitedly. “Welcome to Pierre’s! If you’re looking to buy seeds, my shop is the place to go.” Finally, a new customer.

Bela offered a small smile. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Bela’s eyes swung around the small shop, taking note of the tall shelves filled with different kinds of seeds. Small containers held fresh produce with labels containing the names of all the local farms.

“I’ll also purchase whatever produce you make on your farm for a good price.” Pierre’s grin became slightly more forced as he continued making his sales pitch. Hopefully, this city kid will be able to produce crops worth selling. Can't be any worse than anything Andy brings.

“Hopefully, I’ll have something worthy to sell soon.” Bela awkwardly joked. “ Yoba, this guy is intense.

To the right of the counter, a door suddenly slammed open. Pierre rolled his eyes as a purple-headed figure stepped out looking annoyed.

“Really, Abigail?” Pierre glared at her.

Abigail shot back a similarly annoyed look. “What? You know the door gets stuck. It’s not a big deal.”

She dramatically rolled her eyes, walking towards the exit. She shot a quick glance at Victor and nodded, coming to a stop once she laid eyes on the new farmer, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Who are you?”

Victor smiled, seemingly unperturbed by the young woman’s rudeness. “Abigail, this is Bela, the new farmer.”

“Hi,” Bela waved awkwardly. Well, she definitely doesn’t like me.

“Oh, I heard someone was moving into that old farm,” Abigail said, looking Bela up and down without meeting her eyes. “A shame, I liked exploring around there.” Without another word, Abigail walked out of the store.

“Ms. Rivers?” called out a small, quiet voice from the right. Bela could barely hear the man even with her hearing aids turned on. She turned to look over and was surprised to see a tall man, with thick glasses and an even thicker moustache. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Harvey Hickey, the local doctor.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Hickey.”

“Please, call me Dr. Harvey.” He offered an awkward smile. “I work, well and live, in the clinic next door with Paul, the town’s optometrist.” Suddenly his ears burned red. “A-as roommates of course!”

Bela just smiled politely. And they were roommates.

“Uh,” Harvey rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Well, um, please, uh, make sure to, uh, schedule your annual check up at, uh, some point. It was, uh, nice to meet you.” He awkwardly made his way up the register, a simple protein bar in hand.

"Well, I've got to pick up some things for the café," Tabitha said with a smile. "I'll see you guys around!"

"You're not coming to the saloon?" Bela furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh, uh," Tabitha started stammering nervously. "T-that's not, uh, really my scene." I hope Bela doesn't think I'm lame.

"That's fine," Bela replied reassuringly. "Since we're neighbors, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other often. I'll try and visit the café soon."

"Oh, you should! I can't wait to introduce you to my brother!" Tabitha's eyes lit up once again. “Bye. Bela! Bye, Victor!” Tabitha waved goodbye, as she proceeded to gather supplies for the café.

"Well," Victor said, a hint of nervousness creeping into his usually calm voice. "Now it's time to meet my mother."

_____________________________________________________________

Bela and Victor exited the store, making their way east to the Jenkins’ Residence, which happened to be located directly next to Pierre's General Store.

“I told you this would be a short walk.” Victor smiled as they approached the giant, two-story manor which was painted a beautiful shade of robin’s egg blue. Bela’s eyes widened at the vastness of the manor, whose front entrance was guarded by a set of beautiful bronze gates.

Victor pushed the gate open and gestured for Bela to head inside. She followed the ornate crystal path until she reached a set of giant oak doors.

“Allow me.” Victor again held open the door for Bela, who stood in the entryway desperately trying to take in all the grandeur. Directly across from her was a beautiful wooden staircase, hinting that more beauty was yet to be seen. To her left was the living room, adorned in rich red and gold curtains and rugs. To her right, a kitchen with a large mahogany table sat with matching chairs.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful in here.” Bela’s eyes glowed with wonder.

“Why, thank you.” called out a sultry, yet sophisticated voice. An elegantly dressed woman appeared to cascade down the stairs effortlessly. “You must be Ms. Bela Rivers.” The woman extended a hand in greeting, which Bela immediately took.

“Yes, it is nice to meet you, Mrs. Jenkins.” Bela smiled nervously. I can’t believe this is Victor’s mother.

“Please, call me Olivia.” She gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Is this really the same girl who ignored Caroline and Jodi? She seems polite enough.

“Well, Olivia,” Bela said awkwardly. “Thank you for inviting me over. I appreciate your hospitality.”

“Don’t worry, Bela.” Victor chimed in. “My mother loves any opportunity to entertain guests.”

”Well, I wouldn’t want this manor to go to waste!” Olivia gives a dry laugh. “Let’s head over to the kitchen.” She quickly turned on her heels and elegantly strutted away. Victor offered a small smile to Bela before following his mother.

As the pair took their seats, Olivia brought a large platter with a covering on top of it.

“What fine dish have you prepared this time, Mother?”

“Well, since, I heard that our guest used to live in Zuzu City,” Olivia smiled coyly as she lifted the top. “ I decided to prepare pan-seared butterfish over a plate of assorted vegetables from the garden.”

Both Bela and Victor stared at the platter in absolute wonder. The butterfish was a brilliant shade of gold, contrasting the rich greens of the cabbage and lettuce underneath.

“This looks amazing!” Bela exclaimed, remembering the holidays when her mother would prepare this. Her heart tinged with sadness, as her eyes began burning with unshed tears. I need to think about something else.

“Is something troubling you dear?” Olivia asked inquisitively, eyes narrowing as she glanced over the newcomer. She noticed a faint glint emitting from Bela’s ear, eyes widening in realization. She's deaf! That's why no one's been able to get in contact with her. Can't wait to clear that up with the ladies.

“Oh, i-it’s nothing.” Bela offered a flicker of a smile before lowering her gaze.

Olivia shot her son a look, to which Victor responded by shrugging.

“Perhaps,” Victor looked between his mother and Bela. “I should pour us each a glass of wine.”

Olivia nodded, stealing another glance at Bela. “Why don’t you grab some pomegranate wine from the cellar? I’m sure the tartness will compliment the sweetness of the butterfish wonderfully.” The young woman also nodded in agreement. Oh, Victor, please don't leave me alone with your mom. There's just something scary about her.

Victor glanced over at Bela once more. “Of course. I’ll be just a moment.” He gracefully walked away from the table, disappearing down the stairs of the cellar.

“So, Bela,” Olivia clasped her hands together. “What brings you to Pelican Town?”

“Well,” Bela nervously met the older woman’s gaze. “I decided that I wanted a fresh start.” Bela purposely kept her answer vague. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk about her parents just yet.

“A fresh start?” Olivia’s gaze hardened. There must be something this girl is running from. Why else would she need a fresh start so young?

“Yes,” Bela responded, meeting her gaze. “I found that life in Zuzu City just wasn’t for me anymore.”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “But, what about your career? If I’m not mistaken, I heard that you had a very promising job at Joja in their corporate office.”

“I did.” Bela responded. “However, I’ve found the work to be...unfulfilling.”

Olivia’s eyes widened and she leaned back in surprise, a hand raised up against her chest. “Unfulfilling? By Yoba, I spent thirty years working my way to become an accounting manager and accumulating all of this.” She gestured with her hand carelessly.

“Mother,” Victor chided, walking up the stairs from the cellar with a dark red bottle. “Not everyone wants to be a corporate monkey.”

“Didn’t this corporate monkey earn enough to give you a full-ride to one of the finest universities in the entirety of the Ferngill Republic?” Olivia shot back, her tone icy.

“Yes, Mother,” Victor’s tone softened considerably, as he began pouring the wine, “But, money shouldn’t be the only thing you work for.” Why can't she understand that money isn't everything?

“Oh, really?” Olivia retorted, condescendingly taking a sip. “But was it not money that afforded you this life of privilege?”

The room suddenly went silent. Well, this has gotten awkward, Bela thought to herself, her fork lazily moving some of the greens in front of her.

Victor's jaw clenched, struggling to maintain his composure. Why can't my mother just realize that I'm not trying to be ungrateful. I just want to be happy.

"I recently lost my parents," Bela said quietly, interrupting the momentary silence. "A-and I didn't know what to do with myself. One day, I just found this envelope from my grandfather that said that one day I'd be in need of change and that I had this farm for when I needed it."

Victor gently placed a hand on her shoulder, as she fought to keep tears from streaming down her face. "I'm sorry for your loss, Bela."

"I'm sorry." Olivia said, glassy-eyed as well. She quickly grabbed a napkin, dabbing her eyes delicately. "Part of the reason why Victor and I moved to Pelican Town was due to my husband's...passing." Yoba, I should've been more sympathetic instead of interrogating this poor girl. I should've recognized that she was also going through loss.

Victor exchanged a somber look with his mother before looking back over at Bela. He reached over and grabbed his glass, raising it up in a toast. "To new beginnings."

Bela and Olivia followed in suit, each taking a long gulp of wine to help assuage some of the emotional pain caused by their respective grief.

_____________________________________________________________

"Well, that could have gone more smoothly," Victor shook his head as he and Bela left the manor for the saloon.

"It certainly was an interesting dinner," Bela responded gently. The rest of the dinner had been eaten in an awkward silence. "Your mom is a really good cook." And an even better interrogator. Maybe she volunteered part-time at the Zuzu City PD?

"Yeah, well she's usually an even better host." His eyes looked apologetic as they met Bela's. "I'm really sorry for the way dinner turned out. My mother can be...a lot."

Bela gave him a smile, playfully pushing his arm, "Don't even worry about it. I'm already making memories in this town."

Victor pushed open the thick oak door of The Stardrop Saloon, a barrage of sounds and smells overwhelming the new farmer. Bela was hit with the warm, bitter scent of beer as a jaunty folk tune played in the background, accompanied by the sounds of glasses clinking and laughter.

“Why if it isn’t the new farmer, Ms. Bela Rivers,” a kind voice greeted. “Welcome to The Stardrop Saloon! What can I get for ya?”

“Hello, Gus,” Victor smiled, taking a seat at the bar and gesturing for Bela to join him. “Why don’t we just take two glasses of wine to start?” The mustached man glanced over at Bela.

“Uh, yes,” Bela smiled. “Thank you.”

Victor leaned closer and whispered in her ear, his breath warm and gentle, “I hope you don’t mind me ordering for you. I figured you’d want to still be coherent while meeting some more of the townspeople.” He let out a small chuckle as he pulled away.

“What,” Bela teased, as her cheeks turned pink. “You think I can’t handle more than a couple glasses of wine?”

Before he could respond, a perky blue-haired woman arrived back with the two glasses of wine in hand. “Here you go!” She gently placed them before the pair. As Victor reached for his wallet, Emily gently shook her head, “This one’s on the house.”

She turned to face Bela, her blue eyes glowing with kindness. “Hello, Bela, I’m Emily!” Ooh, she has a nice aura. I'm sure we'll be good friends.

Bela smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well, if it isn’t the new farmer,” came a sultry voice from the right of the bar. A beautiful woman slid onto the barstool next to Bela, while Emily placed a glass of wine in front of her.

“Yeah, I’m Bela,” Bela responded, still taking in the woman’s striking appearance. Her face was like a porcelain doll’s, smooth and pale with only a single mole marking her otherwise unblemished skin. Something about her seems familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

The woman extended her hand, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Shiko.”

Bela’s eyes widened in partial recognition. “Shiko? Shiko Takahashi?”

Shiko smiled back dryly. “Ah, so you have heard of me. Makes sense since I heard you’re from the city.”

“What's a model doing here?” Bela’s jaw dropped.

“ Former model,” Shiko flipped her dark locks over her shoulder carelessly. “I decided to retire and live the simple life.” She smiled at Bela, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Kind of like you, huh?”

Bela returned the smile. “Something like that.”

Victor raised his glass, taking a careful sip before looking over at Bela. “Well, it’s always a pleasure seeing you, Shiko. If you don’t mind, I’d like to introduce Bela to some of my friends.”

The pair got up from their stools, heading over to what appeared to be a game room. Two old school arcade games greeted them at the entrance, where the angsty, purple haired teen was violently shaking the joysticks and shooting out creative combos of curse words.

“Obviously, you’ve already met Abigail.”

The girl shot a dirty look at Bela. “Victor, you done showing the new girl around? I need your help. I can’t get past this damn level.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “I was just bringing BELA over to meet everyone.” Why does Abigail ALWAYS have to be so fucking rude?

Bela gave an awkward smile as Abigail turned her attention back to the game in front of her. What is this girl’s problem with me?

“Bela?” Suddenly, a messy-haired blonde was standing right in front of her, his eyes gleaming with recognition. “Yo, Sebby, it's really her!” His arms quickly enveloped Bela into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. It took everything in her to not spill any wine as the young man gently rocked her.

When he finally put her down, Bela was overcome with memories of her young self playing at the beach with a pair of blonde and black-haired boys. “Sam?”

His green eyes glowed with happiness. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s been, what, like ten years?” He looked over to the pool table where the raven-haired fellow was still poised with a billiards stick. “Fuck the game, Seb, come over here, it’s our Bela!”

Sebastian flinched when Sam said “our Bela”. Abigail’s head whipped over, shooting a venomous glare at Bela. “What do you mean, ‘our Bela’? I thought she just got here.”

Sam shook his head. “Don’t you remember? Bela used to visit every summer when we were kids.” Suddenly, Sam burst out into laughter.

Abigail’s eyes narrowed defensively, “What’s so funny?”

“Of course you don’t remember,” Sam managed to choke out. “You were too busy being besties with Haley.”

Even Sebastian let out a small laugh as Abigail’s pale face turned beet red. “Whatever, that was a long time ago.”

“Well,” Victor smiled, breaking the awkward tension that was beginning to form. “I hadn’t realized that you already knew each other.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sam smirked mischievously. “Bela and Seb knew each other REALLY well.”

Both Bela and Sebastian flushed red, ears burning hot. Abigail looked over in curiosity, annoyance written all over her face. What the fuck does that mean?

Victor raised an eyebrow quizzically, glancing between the two. “Really?”

“Sam,” Sebastian rolled his eyes, the red refusing to leave his face. “Why do you have to be such an ass?” I bet she doesn't even remember.

Bela looked over at Victor sheepishly. “It was just a middle school fling. We were kids.” I doubt Seb even remembers.

Victor burst out into laughter, while Bela and Sebastian bore similar mortified expressions. Sam joined Victor in laughter, with Abigail continuing to shoot death glares at Bela.

"So," Bela said in an attempt to break the awkwardness. "How've you been, Seb?" Yoba, I don't know what to say to him.

Sebastian avoided Bela's gaze, preferring to maintain eye contact with the wooden floors. "Oh, you know, nothing's new." Dammit Sam! Why'd you have to bring THAT up?

"Seems like there's been quite a few changes since I've been here."

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded, stealing a glance at her. "But, most things are still the same." Like how much I've missed you.