#felicity cooper

[holydrawingbatman]

The Southern Chapter + Alice (minus some others)

#Legendborn #Bree Matthews #Selwyn Kane #Alice Chen #Nick Davis #Greer Taylor #James Whitlock #Victoria Morgan #Sar (Legendborn) #Felicity Caldwell #Russ Copeland #Fitz Baldwin #William (Legendborn) #Evan Cooper #tracy deonn

[cheerstotheelites-if]

Forget the soldier poet king alignment, which Enneagram song by Sleeping At Last do the ros (along with our parents and bb owlet) most relate to?

I love Sleeping At Last and his Enneagram album. Pleasantly surprised to find someone who knows him too! :D

I'll add the song then the lyric that goes well with them

Weylyn:

Two

No, I don't want to talk about myself, Tell me where it hurts, I just want to build you up, build you up, 'Til you're good as new, And maybe one day I will get, Around to fixing myself too.

~•~•~

Fleur:

One

As if I could earn God's favor given time, Or at least congratulations, Now, I have learned my lesson, The price of this so called perfection is everything.

~•~•~

Zephyrine:

Four

Maybe I'm hiding behind metaphor, Maybe my heart needs to break to be sure, One day I'll wear it on my sleeve, The insignificant with the sacred unique.

~•~•~

Eliseo:

Eight

I want to break these bones 'til they're better, I want to break them right and feel alive.

~•~•~

Cooper:

Seven

How nice it'd be, If we could try everything, I'm serious, let's make a list and just begin, What about danger? So what? What about risk? Let's climb this mountain before we cross that bridge!

~•~•~

Ophelia:

Three

And I finally see myself, Unabridged and overwhelmed, A mess of a story I'm ashamed to tell.

~•~•~

Emery:

Seven

But I want to be here, Truly be here, To watch the ones that I love bloom, And I want to make room, To love them through, and through, and through, and through.

~•~•~

Zeke:

Six

I wanna believe no, I choose to believe, That I was made to become a sanctuary, Fear won't go away but I can keep it at bay, And these invisible walls, Just might keep us safe.

~•~•~

Felicity:

Six

To trust that there will be light, Always waiting behind, Even the darkest of nights, And no matter what? Somehow we'll be okay don't be afraid.

#RO ask #Character ask #curious anon #Weylyn #Fleur #Zephyrine #Eliseo #Cooper #Ophelia #Emery #Parents #Zeke #Felicity

[puphoods]

i need more fucked up toxic dyke ocs ive said this hefore but i need it so bad

#chirps #i dont have many ocs that are i relationships in the first place like... cooper and elliot claire and amber asha and felicity... #maybe thats it? oh um dot rebecca and aelyn too #and drew taylor and (i didnt name the other one theyre not rewlly proper ocs) #and vanilla and lilypad hashtag furry pride #um im just listing ocs now oops. anyways point of the matter. i need more ocs to thibk abt having fucked up gross dyje sex #sorry typos im in a car (NOT. drivimg)

[chenfordsrollisi]

Filtering or Unfollowing

I'm going to be cleaning up my list of blogs I follow, soon.

I'm either going to be filtering out posts from blogs I follow where they talk shit about Chicago PD's Erin Lindsay, Chicago Fire's Gabby Dawson, Riverdale's Betty Cooper, Arrow's Felicity Smoak, and other characters I enjoy that have most of the fandom hating them. Or, I'm going to unfollow those blogs. It's as simple as that. I don't want to read or see hate about characters I enjoy.

I wanna state for the record, I'm not trying to tell someone what to post or not post on their own blog. I'm not an egomanic.

But with that said, I reserve the right to not have to come across posts that talk shit about characters that I loved on the show, and still love even though they're never going to return to the show again, or are just hated because of shipper BS.

Like who you like, hate who you hate. I'm all for free speech, but I'm also for curating my own experience and my experience means I don't want to read bullshit about Erin, Gabby, Betty, Felicity, or any other fictional character that I like.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. I'll get off my ranty soapbox now.

#RollisiCarisi's TED talk #Erin Lindsay #Gabby Dawson #Betty Cooper #Chicago PD #Chicago Fire #Riverdale #Arrow #Felicity Smoak

[imjustheretoseetheprivateblogs]

So, I just watched Julie Taymor’s version of the Tempest for the second time in my life and I have to say I enjoyed it more this time around.

Especially after watching the “Raising the Tempest” documentary and finding out about the passion and work that went into the project from the crew and the cast, as well as the director.

But still, there were parts I liked and parts I didn’t. My biggest problem is that I wish Taymor had more of a budget to do with as she liked it might have been a bit more interesting. I was also a little bored with Stuart Dryburgh’s cinematography, but not always.

Part of me wonders what it would have been like if this had been a TV series presented as “the story that inspired William Shakespeare” or something like that. Kind of Lost meets Game of Thrones if you will.

#Personal #the Tempest #The tempest 2010 #Julie Taymor #djimon hounsou #ben whishaw #felicity jones #reeve carney #russell brand #alfred molina #chris cooper #alan cumming #tom conti #david strathairn #elliot goldenthal #william shakespeare #shakespeare #tempest #fantasy

[robynsassenmyview]

Ode to that child on the pavement

TERRITORIAL felony: A young Lukas (Alejandro Cooper in an ochre shirt) is accosted by the thugs on the street, for infringing on their piece of cardboard. Photograph courtesy Imdb. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE an ugly propensity to be cruel to one another. To throw children to the proverbial wolves out there. To lack basic empathy. The Namibian film Lukas, puts a human face on all of these horrors.…

View On WordPress

#Lovemyselfie #Adriano Visagie #Alejandro Cooper #Capernaum #chapter 2 section 9 #Dawie Engelbrecht #Felicity Celento #Frankie en Felipe #Gobabis #Hernandes Gaonakgosi #homelessness #Imdb #Janet de Kretser #Lucky Peters #Lukas #Mara Baumgartner #Mikiros Garoes #Namibia #Oliver Twist #Philippe Talavera #Roya Diehl #Sibikwa #southern Africa #Ster Kinekor #Sydney Faroa #The Bad Bishop #The Bush Knife #Treazurique Titus #Windhoek

[sugarlywhispers]

idk why, but the thought of Bakugou Katsuki and his s/o's first time making him so fuckin' nervous to the point his lil–fuck you!, very big and monstruos friend down there it's not cooperating with him when the time for the deed came. He has dreamt and imagined this moment so many times, apparently his dick couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"Fucking, stupid, traitor..." He curses, strocking his own dick almost with anger now, trying to make it go up again. The fucking fun didn't even started yet!

You want to laugh, as you watch his naked back. He is kneeling, his body away from yours that's laying naked in the middle of his huge bed surrounded by his pillows, your hair a glorious halo around them. The imagery itself could even be considered Saint like; an image it would make any man fall to his knees and pray for. Fuck, Katsuki is fucking praying right now.

Another curse leaves his mouth and you definitely want to laugh. Not in a bad way, definitely not mocking him. This things happen sometimes, you want to reassure him. Sometimes the desire is so strong the human body just... shuts down. It's okay...

But you know if you say something, or even breathe in a way he considers different or petty, it's over. This whole situation, all the steps you have finally climbed together, everything would be over.

"Tsuki-..."

"NO. I can, I am going to do it. Just..."

His voice. It's barely noticeable, but you can hear it. All this time taking your time to actually get to know him helps you realize. It hurts.

So you approach him from behind, your hand first caressing his back and shoulder.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, love."

The strocking sound stops and he sighs, deep and tired, almost choked up. He leans back against your body when he feels you right behind him, head thrown back a bit looking up at the ceiling. You're both naked, and neither you or him had ever felt such normalcy or content just by feeling each other like that.

"I wanted this to be fucking special... Not this fucking emb-..."

You grab his face in your hands, the tenderness making him melt completely as he turns towards you to make the position more comfortable.

"It is special, simply because it's us." He doesn't answer back, but the look in his eyes say enough.

He is utterly and stupidly and madly in love with you.

You smile. "Come lay down with me."

He looks defeated, but he obeys. You both lay on your sides one in front of another, impossibly closer. Legs intertwined, torsos touching, noses kissing each other, breathes colliding and mixing in the scarse space between you. One of his big and heroic arms is around your waist, calloused fingers caressing your soft back. One of your hands is slowly and softly scratching the back of his head, making him doze off a bit, relaxing him in a way no one had ever done.

And he gets it there.

You're the one. You're the love of his life.

You both take a small nap, apparently Katsuki hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days. So when he wakes up, he feels brand new... and he fucks the daylights out of you.

Y vivieron felices por siempre.

Fin.

#lol i dont know what is this but it happened bye🙃✌🏻 #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #katsuki bakugo mha #mha bakugo katsuki #mha drabbles #mha bakugou #mha imagines #mha smut #mha bakugou smut #bnha bakugou #bnha bakugou x reader #bnha bakugou katsuki #bakugou katsuki smut #bakugou katsuki x reader

[sflow-er]

Canon background info: Henry and Walter

So I thought it would be interesting to list what little info we have learned from canon about these two - and what we can infer from it! More specifically, about their family backgrounds, because they seem like pretty typical examples of the student population of Hillerska.

Okay so, let's start with the guy we know more about.

Henry: aristocratic

Oldest son of a noble family (S1E4, Society scene):

This is the very definition of an elite background; the aristocracy only makes up 2/1000 of Sweden's population.

He may have been raised in a relatively patriarchal and heteronormative environment. Only noble men can pass their rank on, and only to biological children by a wedded wife. Traditionally, the main responsibility for the survival of the house fell on the oldest son.

Statistically, Henry's family is likely to be untitled and from somewhere around Stockholm. The Swedish House of Nobility reports that there are 657 noble houses left, 480 of them untitled. Twice as many live in Stockholm and the surrounding region as the rest of the country combined.

It's also quite likely that August's comment in S3E2, on going to "a school in the city, with sossar and new-money white trash" refers to the elite schools in Stockholm rather than just any city. The fact that August originally addresses Henry could imply that Henry is indeed from the Stockholm region, but this is just speculation.

Politically right-leaning (S1E1, social studies):

Henry was likely raised liberal-conservative. In Sweden, this usually means the Moderate Party - they support things like tax cuts, the free market, economic liberalism, and civil liberties. (Note that this usually includes same-sex marriage, for example!)

Family estate (S1E1):

This isn't a farm as such, but grounds belonging to a manor house. (Or at least there will have been a manor house in the past.)

The EU subsidies mentioned by Simon are agricultural subsidies. People with big inherited estates are eligible for huge sums.

In his PRP interview, Fabian said he imagined Henry's family owning some forest. It's possible, but just his headcanon.

Dad on the Hillerska parents' council (S2E1, outside church):

This isn't a decision-making body, just an interface for cooperation and contact between the parents and school. In real life, families who have been attending for a long time are often represented on the school board too.

Dad once dated Walter's mum (S1E3, after Parents' Day):

They must've lost touch. Henry's dad recognised Walter's last name, and the dub tells us he asked if Henry knew Walter or his family. Also in the dub, Walter goes, "That explains why there was a flirty vibe!" to which Henry replies, "It was really like, like they knew each other."

Henry and Walter probably wouldn't be talking so openly if it was their dads who dated, and their dads definitely would not have flirted at Parents' Day. We see in the show how same-sex relationships are often kept quiet even today, and this would've been 20+ years ago. Also, even if Henry's dad was interested in guys, I doubt he have openly dated one for a whole year (his upbringing will have been a more conservative version of Henry's).

There's more to be said about this, but let's move on to...

Walter: business elite?

Likely not noble (S1E3 + gossip scenes in S1E6 & S2E4):

Walter may have his mother's last name, which would not be the case if he was from a noble family. It's also possible his dad is the guy his mum dated right/soon after Henry's dad (but the focus seems to be on his mum).

If he is noble, he must have an older brother, since he's not a member of the Society.

On a more speculative note, Walter and Henry's reactions to gossip about Wille could also be significant. In S1E6, Walter eagerly gossips about the video, while Henry at least tries to act supportive when Wille returns to school. In S2E4, Henry only tells Walter about Wille/Felice and is ashamed when Vincent puts him on the spot in front of Wille, whereas Walter promptly tells everyone and is amused by the tabling speech. This could just be a difference in character, but it could also point to a difference in family background. The aristocracy's wealth and status goes back to their past service or allegiance to the Crown, which prompts more loyalty and support for the monarchy and royal family than, say, wealth and status of bourgeois/tradesman/business origins.

Not new money either (S1E3):

Walter's mum was part of the same social sphere as Henry's dad, possibly even went to school with him, since they dated for a year in their youth.

She could've technically been new money at the time (meaning her parents made their fortune themselves), but her son would already fall in the space between old and new. Old money means inherited wealth, sustained over multiple generations, and Walter is at least two generations removed.

Politically right-leaning; potential business elite (S1E1):

Walter's political views are similar to Henry's, but his perspective is that of a wealthy business owner (he thinks tax evaders have already contributed by creating jobs).

It's likely that there's a family company. They may still be involved in the daily business operations, but it's at least as likely that they just own shares and sit on the board. (Different from Alexander's dad, for example.)

This makes Walter's background less elite than Henry's - but the richer they are and the longer they have been rich, the smaller the gap is. At the real boarding schools, the richest kids are just below the nobles in the hierarchy, and in society at large, the non-aristocratic elite is still very much part of the elite.

I'm sure his family isn't meant to be Wallenberg rich, though!

...and I think that's about all we know about Walter's background so far!

---

Hope you enjoyed this dive into their backgrounds! As always, please feel free to let me know if I missed or misinterpreted something. Especially if you are Swedish, as I am just from one of the neighbouring countries.

Sources: S1-S3 of YR, the website of the Swedish House of Nobility, Agnes Hellström's book Att vara utan att synas: om riksinternaten Lundsberg, Sigtuna och Grenna; the general experience of me being interested in history, society and politics at home and abroad (and having learned quite a bit more since getting into YR).

#young royals #henry young royals #walter young royals #young royals analysis #young royals meta #swedish nobility #henry yr #walter yr

[rendezvouz-fling]

Celebrities you share placements with Pisces Placements Edition

Pisces rising:

• Whitney Houston

• Michael Jackson

• Gwyneth Paltrow

• Ryan Gosling

• Richard Pryor

• Billie Eilish

• Andrew Garfield

• Ringo Starr

• Tony Hawk

• Kourtney Kardashian

• Ellen DeGeneres

• Zayn Malik

• John Stamos

• Demi Moore

• Antonio Banderas

• Jay-Z

• Brandy Norwood

• Nancy Spungen

• Amanda Bynes

• Phylicia Rashad

Pisces sun:

• Elizabeth Taylor

• Eva Longoria

• Victoria Justice

• Kurt Cobain

• Trever Noah

• Steve Jobs

• Adam Levine

• George Harrison

• Camila Cabello

• Stephen Curry

• Olivia Rodrigo

• Shaq

• Queen Latifah

• Cindy Crawford

• Floyd Mayweather Jr.

• Terrence Howard

• Rebel Wilson

• Dakota Fanning

• Becky G

• Kat Von D

Pisces moon:

• Prince

• Axl Rose

• Lacey Chabert

• Jhene Aiko

• Bad Bunny

• Erykah Badu

• Freddie Prince Sr.

• Shailene Woodley

• Jason Statham

• Dylan O'Brien

• Felicity Jones

• Robert De Niro

• Kidada Jones

• Sarah Michelle Gellar

• Luke Mitchell

• Vanessa Hudgens

• Macaulay Culkin

• Joey King

• Kevin James

• Matt LeBlanc

Pisces mercury:

• Heath Ledger

• Lady Gaga

• Lily Collins

• Reese Witherspoon

• Shay Mitchell

• Ashley Greene

• Jennifer Grey

• Joan Crawford

• Daniel Gillies

• Michael B. Jordan

• Vida Guerra

• Pharrell Williams

• Jenny Slate

• Matthew Lawrence

• Luke Evans

• Vince Neil

• Eddie Murphy

• Jackie Chan

• Jennifer Love Hewitt

• Christina Ricci

Pisces venus:

• Selena Quintanilla

• Brandi Quiñones

• Drew Barrymore

• Orlando Bloom

• Michelle Pfeiffer

• Kristen Stewart

• Barbra Streisand

• John Travolta

• Emma Watson

• Jon Bon Jovi

• Diana Ross

• Iggy Pop

• Alice Cooper

• Victoria Beckham

• Celine Dion

• Justin Bieber

• Michelle Obama

• Samantha Fox

• Dave Grohl

• Dove Cameron

Pisces mars:

• Denzel Washington

• Rowan Atkinson

• Tom Hanks

• Marilyn Monroe

• Shirley Temple

• Tina Turner

• Bob Dylan

• Phil Collins

• Heidi Klum

• Paris Hilton

• Elton John

• Enrique Iglesias

• Eric Clapton

• Ellie Goulding

• Ricky Martin

• Lisa Marie Presley

• Paco Rabanne

• LL Cool J

• Kelly Rowland

• Big Pun

#astro community #astroblr #astro posts #astrology #astro blog #rendezvous-fling #pisces placements #pisces venus #pisces mercury #pisces sun #pisces rising #pisces moon #pisces mars #pisces

[froottalks]

Masterlist

Started: 18/08/2023

[Requests are OPEN, you may suggest people that are not on this list.]

Fandoms I write for:

Arrowverse

The Flash

Caitlin Snow

Fractured Promises {Alternate version}

Iris West

Jessie Wells

Supergirl

Kara Danvers

Guiding Stars

Unreachable Skies

Healing Hearts

Unveiling Hearts {part 2 to Healing Hearts}

Twisted Desires

Alex Danvers

Lena Luthor

Tangled Deceptions

Elegance Unveiled

Shadows of Redemption {part 2 to Tangled Deceptions}

Samantha Arias

Maggie Sawyer

Arrow

Felicity Smoak

Mia Smoak

Thea Queen

Laurel Lance

Melodies of the heart

Dinah Drake

Legends of Tomorrow

Sara Lance

Zari Tomaz

Ava Sharpe

Amaya Jiwe

TVDU

The Vampire Diaries

Elena Gilbert

Unexpected Connection

Caroline Forbes

Veiled Secrets

Bonnie Bennett

Katherine Pierce

The Originals

Hayley Marshall

Moonlit Bonds

Rebekah Mikaelson

Freya Mikaelson

Davina Clair

Legacies

Hope Mikaelson

Josie Salzman

Lizzie Saltzman

Penelope Park

Teen Wolf

Allison Argent

Lidiya Martin

Malia Tate

Marvel

MCU

Natasha Romanoff

Sparks in the Ring

Igniting Desires {part 2 to Sparks in the Ring}

A Flame Ignited {part 3 to Sparks in the Ring}

Enigmatic Desires

Countryside Love

Countryside Affection {part 2 to Countryside Love}

Forever Love {part 3 to Countryside Love}

Wanda Maximoff

Serendipitous Hearts

Echoes of Affection

Threads of Fate

Shadows of desire Part 1 - Enchanted obsession Part 2 - Desires Unleashed Part 3 - Veil of Shadows

Whispers of Fate {part 2 to Threads of Fate}

Shattered Bonds

Carol Danvers

Watching Your Back

Kate Bishop

Hello, You

Scream Franchise

Scream VI

Sam Carpenter

Tara Carpenter

Riverdale

Betty Cooper

Veronica Lodge

Whispers of Lost Love

Cheryl Blossom

Harry Potter

Hermione Granger

Ginny Weasley

Fleur Delacour

The Witcher

Yennefer of Vengerberg

The Mortal Instruments

Shadowhunters

Clary Fray

Isabelle Lightwood

#masterlist #arrowverse #the flash #supergirl #green arrow #legends of tomorrow #tvdu #the vampire diaries #the originals #legacies #marvel #mcu #marvel mcu #riverdale #harry potter #the witcher #caitlin snow #felicity smoak #black canary #kara danvers #kara zor el #alex danvers #maggie sawyer #lena luthor #shadowhunters #x reader #x y/n #x male y/n #x female y/n #x female reader

[cheerstotheelites-if]

Felicity and Zeke's opinions on MC dating the ROs? (their opinion on each of the RO)?

I think I did something similar to this before…? Unsure, and I don't want to scroll the long ask list to make sure :']

Weylyn

Zeke: Ah, Lycoan's son!

Felicity: Good choice, I have to admit.

Zeke: Plus, good food!

Felicity: Is food really your aim here?

Zeke: What? You have to admit, he makes good food!

~•~•~

Fleur

Felicity: …

Zeke: … Felicity…?

Felicity: … I never liked the Heartsteins.

~•~•~

Zephyrine

Zeke: Ah, an eccentric type! Weren't you like that before, Felicity?

Felicity: Zeke!

Zeke: Following in their dad's footsteps. I'm so proud!

~•~•~

Eliseo

Zeke & Felicity: No.

~•~•~

Cooper

Felicity: He's… an odd one.

Zeke: The bad or me kind?

Felicity: The "I'm-not-sure-about-them" kind. Plus, he's a foreigner. He might go back to his country one day, and I'm not sure if our child can handle the long distance.

Zeke: I'm sure they'll be fine.

Felicity: What if he cheats while abroad?

Zeke: … Ah. Fair point.

~•~•~

Ophelia

Felicity: Zeke, she's like you!

Zeke: Clearly, our child has good tastes!

Felicity: Pfft—they got it from me.

Zeke: Exactly!

#Character ask #curious anon #Parents #Zeke #Felicity #Weylyn #Fleur #Zephyrine #Eliseo #Cooper #Ophelia

[in-pleasant-company]

Here's some of the things I learned from the American Girl Fan Podcast that I thought were the most interesting. I've sorted them by character, but they were not necessarily revealed in the order I have them listed.

Kaya (Kaya's Story/Aug 10 episode)

All plot lines in Kaya’s books are based on real stories that were either passed down through oral tradition or actually happened to members of the advisory board. Kaya’s special whistle for Steps High is based on the story of an advisory board member who reunited with his beloved horse in the same way.

The Cooperative Extension Educator program has a Kaya Club and produced a Kaya cookbook. (I think it may be this book, which is free.)

Rebecca (All About Rebecca/Aug 17 episode)

Rebecca’s school is PS 64. Jacqueline Dembar Greene mentions going to visit it, but the building is currently abandoned/condemned.

Author Jacqueline Dembar Greene, met two sisters in their nineties who showed her a photograph of their mother, Rebecca Rubin, who arrived in America from Russia in 1914.

The samovar in the back of Candlelight for Rebecca belonged to the ancestors of editor Jennifer Hirsch. (I checked Candlelight for Rebecca and there is no photo of a samaovar.) Her ancestors also had tea towels embroidered in Russian. (This photo appears in the back of Meet Rebecca.)

Kirsten (The Inside Scoop with Valerie Tripp/Sept 7 episode)

Kirsten was originally “Kristen” and from Norway. She was changed to be from Sweden because Pleasant found a Swedish sweater she liked.

Samantha

Pleasant Rowland’s niece suggested a character should be an orphan, leading to Samantha.

Valerie thinks another story about Samantha could involve Samantha’s other grandparents would come to take her to live with them on “a hardscrabble farm in Nebraska.”

Felicity

Writing Felicity’s adventures with Penny was wish fulfillment for Valerie. She wanted a horse as a child and used to give her bicycle grass pretending it was a horse.

A girl wrote a letter to Valerie Tripp after she broke her arm asking her to write a story about a girl breaking her arm. That led to Felicity Takes A Dare.

Does Felicity marry Ben? There’s a store in Williamsburg called the Davidson store.

Josefina

Josefina’s personality is shaped by the New Mexican landscape. Homes are quiet and subdued on the outside but the inside is filled with music and noise and the smells of delicious food.

Kit

Kit’s scotty dog pin inspired Valerie to create Inky.

Some details from Kit’s stories are based on Valerie’s mother’s childhood like her family running a boarding house and her brother not being able to go to college. Her mother’s thriftiness also inspired Aunt Millie.

Molly

The hula girl costumes on getting ruined on Halloween in Meet Molly really happened to Valerie but it was a neighbor who sprayed her and her friends with a hose, not a brother.

Valerie suggested Molly might go on to run the Red Cross.

Emily

Valerie used to change the numbers on her practice chart like Emily does in Brave Emily.

#american girl fan podcast #american girl #kaya'aton'my #felicity merriman #josefina montoya #kirsten larson #samantha parkington #kit kittredge #molly mcintire #emily bennett #rebecca rubin

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Felice Giani, Angel, 1800. Drawing, pen and ink on paper. Via Cooper Hewitt

* * * *

“The key players, it turns out, are those who refuse to be credentialed or curbed by traditional modes of power, who understand that the transformative power of truth is not a credible companion for consolidating modes of established power, but that truth characteristically runs beyond the confines of such power.”

― Walter Brueggemann, Truth Speaks to Power: The Countercultural Nature of Scripture

#quotes #theology #Walter Bruggemann #Truth Speaks to Power #Felice Giani #Angel #drawing #illustration

[daylightaftertherain]

interesting how wille's initiation into hillerska composed of him being dragged away from the safety of his room kicking and screaming, tied to a statue, gagged, and hazed, while sara had significantly more fun, was able to laugh and talk, took pictures, and actively cooperated with the girls to pass her initiation.

with hillerska being a metaphor for status and influence, wille was born into the life and had pressure and expectations shoved on him. he didn't have a say in most of the decisions surrounding his life, and he was the one humiliated by august, who organized the initiation as well. sara on the other hand, is desperate to fit in, and she does anything and everything she can to get a spot with the rest of the school, whether that means keeping august's secrets or setting fire to a flag.

also the fact that both initiations were seen as tradition and normal, but while wille was an unwilling participant, sara went along with her test despite felice assuring her she didn't have to. it represents their arcs this season - wille tries to break away from the traditions trapping him, and sara gets into a relationship with august even though he's a complete fucking asshole who she didn't have to be involved with any more than necessary.

#the parallels sdjklfhkhkhdjkfhjkdjkdljkslds #young royals #yr s2 spoilers #young royals analysis #young royals season 2 #young royals season two #we need a wille and sara interaction in s3 lisa I know you're here so just putting it out there #they're objectively really similar characters and I want them to help each other #sara eriksson #prince wilhelm #august of årnäs

[jbuffyangel]

A Leap of Faith: Arrow 1x14 Review (The Odyssey)

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!! FELICITY KNOWS!!! HALLELUJAH!

Hello to those who are reading this review right now.  I appreciate your dedication and patience as I have FINALLY resumed writing. HUGS!! I hope I remember how to do this. DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

Let’s dig in…

Olicity

This is a heavy flashback episode, so much so they had to render Oliver unconscious so Stephen didn’t have to pull double duty in the past and the present. The writers at least came up with a better idea than Joss Whedon did when Sarah Michelle Gellar hosted Saturday Night Live. He turned Buffy into a rat (which now that we know his disgusting and abusive behavior on set towards women this really tracks, but I digress). 

Arrow went a simpler route. Moira shoots Oliver.

Can we just talk about Moira shooting Oliver for a sec? Cool? Cool. So, Diggle has bugged Moira because he added 1 + 1 = THE BITCH IS SHADEY and decided to deal with the math, which is something Oliver likes to avoid, but the recording is damning enough to warrant a visit from the Hood. Oliver crashes through the window, takes out some of the office dudes and aims an arrow on his mama.

Moira holds up a picture of Oliver and Thea, begs the Hood not to kill her because she’s a mother and Oliver lessens the tension on the bow. AS IF YOU’RE GOING TO SHOOT HER OLIVER PLEASE. LIKE YOU MOMENTARILY FORGOT THIS WAS YOUR MOTHER AND THE PHOTO REMINDED YOU??!!! Come on dude.

Side note: I’d like to point out that Moira literally uses Oliver and Thea’s photo as a shield against the Hood, which is what she always does. She uses her motherhood and children as shield to justify her bad behavior. Moira is not the only person to give birth on this planet, Oliver. It’s not a free pass to murder people.

Oliver is bleeding out and the person he asks for help is not Diggle (even though he’s a phone call away), L*urel (the writers would prefer not to further integrate her into the plot in a meaningful way) or Tommy (they have to save that golden nugget for another time). No, the person Oliver goes to help is FELICITY MEGHAN SMOAK.

Source: @oliverxfelicity

The scene where Felicity finds out Oliver is the Hood is iconic primarily because she has the best reaction of all the characters in the show. Emily Bett Rickards plays the scene with pitch perfect comedic timing, vindication and genuine compassion. It marks Felicity’s full integration into the show. There is no going back now.

The rewatch is funnier now than it was live because Emily has recounted numerous times that Stephen didn’t fit into the back of Felicity’s Mini Cooper. I have the visual of Stephen’s bottom half hanging out of the side door the scene plays out. 

Felicity brings Oliver to the Foundry as instructed and this is no small thing. Oliver has been shot enough times to know he was losing a lot of blood and would be unconscious soon. He doesn’t make any kind of contact with Diggle to let him know what happened. Oliver’s life is truly in Felicity’s hands. She could bring him to the hospital, but they both know that would result in revealing The Hood’s true identity. Oliver has no guarantees Felicity won’t immediately go to the police either, and yet there he is in the back of the Mini Cooper.

Source: @westallenolicitygifs

TRUST is a central theme in Olicity’s relationship. It’s examined from almost every possible angle over the course of 8 seasons, but these early episodes are the building blocks. You don’t get to 1x14 without 1x12. Felicity took the first step. She confronted Oliver about his lies, admits she had no real reason to trust him, and yet there she is in the restaurant handing over Moira’s copy of The List. Felicity takes a leap of faith and so Oliver does the same.

This revelation has been steadily building from the moment Oliver walked into Felicity’s office and presented the bullet ridden computer. 

Source: @swifterly

Arrow has many missteps, particularly when they are not invested in a character, but when the writers are invested they can produce really profound character arcs. They slowly and rather painstakingly build Felicity’s character and her relationship with Oliver, step by step, moment by moment. It doesn’t feel rushed when Felicity discovers Oliver’s identity, but it doesn’t feel overdue either.  

It’s Felicity herself who asks the most fundamental question in “The Odyssey” and perhaps in the show.

Source: https://gfycat.com/discover/1x14-gifs

I think one of the more remarkable aspects to Arrow is that the writers often anticipate the audience’s questions and literally answer them in the show. More often than not, Felicity is the voice of the audience. It’s difficult to explain how dismissive some viewers were of Felicity now that we know how the story played out, but Olicity shippers really had it rough back in Season 1 and Season 2. 

It was LUDICROUS to even consider Felicity as a potential love interest for Oliver - not when you had the queen of comic canon L*urel L*ance right there. This was the Green Arrow’s origin story and there was no other possible ending other than Oliver ending up with the Bl*ck C*anary. 

Anyone who dared to question the presumed trajectory of the story was on the receiving end of a lot of ridicule and hate. Olicity shippers were idiotic. We were delusional. Felicity Smoak was comedic relief and the Girl Friday. THAT WAS ALL SHE WAS EVER GOING TO BE.

And yet… we hoped because of scenes like THIS. The writers were challenging their own narrative by asking the very question some of the audience was asking. WHY FELICITY? Why does Felicity find out the truth and not L*urel? Why does Oliver go to HER? If this was really about her ability with computers and becoming his Girl Friday then Diggle would’ve answered that way, but he doesn’t.

John’s answer contains a lot more depth.

“As hard as it is for him to admit, even Oliver needs help sometimes.”

Oliver NEEDS help. He cannot do this alone, even though that was his very intention in the beginning, but as the mission evolved so did Oliver. He went to Diggle first and now Felicity. Yes, they both have skills that are useful to the mission. Diggle is a trained solder. Felicity is a tech genius. (Oliver clearly had some computer skills in the pilot that the writers rapidly backed off of once they discovered the gem that is Emily Bett Rickards.) We can easily right this off as skills are the only qualifications that matter answer.

But Diggle didn’t join Oliver’s mission because he thought Oliver needed back up in the field. John recognized Oliver’s trauma because it was the same as his trauma. Diggle knows the hole Oliver is in because he was in the hole too. Diggle’s mission was always to save Oliver Queen. Whether or not Oliver is capable of acknowledging this is the help he truly needs from John (and he’s sooooooo not capable at this point in the story), it doesn’t change the truth.

The antis aren’t entirely wrong. Felicity Smoak was nothing. She was a throw away comic book name that Marc Guggenheim tossed into a little scene with an unknown guest star to give it some extra pizzazz. But that’s all it was ever supposed to be – one scene. What happened next was completely unexpected for the writers and the actors. Emily’s performance sparked something in Stephen’s and thus lighted the path the writers were struggling to find in Season 1. Felicity wasn’t supposed to matter, but that’s exactly why she does.

Oliver’s story is not about how many comic book characters Arrow can produce. It’s not about reproducing a comic canon story directly from the issue page onto a television screen. It’s not about a predetermined ending. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. It’s about a broken man finding his humanity again. Arrow is about saving a man’s soul.

If we are to truly believe Oliver is a changed man then he must see beyond what’s on the surface. He has to see value and worth in all people – particularly those who are perceived to be nothing.  This is an origin story. He’s not the Green Arrow yet, but for us to believe in his hero’s journey then Oliver Queen must see people’s humanity. The sum total of his mission is not crossing off a list of names.

Felicity Smoak is the first person who sparks something in Oliver when he returns home. This inconsequential human being, who is a means to an end to catch a bad guy, finds a way past Oliver’s cold and detached demeanor and makes him smile. We see Oliver’s humanity. We glimpse the warm, kind and deeply good person Oliver is. We see his light. Felicity makes Oliver feel something he cannot quite put into words, but he keeps coming back for more.

People are dismissive of Felicity the same way so many of the characters are dismissive of Oliver. One of the main reasons he’s able to keep his identity secret is because so many of his loved ones believe it’s ludicrous to ever think Oliver is a crime fighting vigilante. He’s too selfish and stupid for that. Nobody bothers to look past Oliver’s surface other than Diggle.

I mean… why not L*urel? The woman is a friggin lawyer and she has helped the Hood before. Doesn’t it make more sense at this point to bring her into the team? Shouldn’t Oliver rebuild his relationship with L*urel by allowing her to know the person he truly is? Their relationship fell apart because of lies and betrayal, so wouldn’t the fix be honesty and complete transparency? The answer to those questions are clearly yes, but Oliver has absolutely no intention of ever telling L*urel his true identity, so there’s a solid 75% of his life that she will never know about. What kind of relationship is that?

Oliver has told two virtual strangers his identity while keeping those he loves most in the dark. Why? I don’t think he trusts L*urel. He doesn’t trust she won’t turn him into daddy. His identity is safe if he’s in her good graces, but if L*urel decides she hates Oliver one week then it’s a trip to the slammer for him.

Before anyone jumps on the whole “Oliver is keeping his identity secret to protect L*urel” bandwagon, I’d like to point out that Diggle brings up this very point to Oliver after he is revived.  

I really don’t think Oliver is ambivalent about Felicity’s safety, quite the opposite is true. So, if it’s really that simple then why can’t Oliver protect L*urel? He literally chucks his number one reason for a secret identity right out the window.

Oliver doesn’t want to tell L*ruel because there’s too much pain, loss and guilt. There’s too much bad road between them. Oliver doesn’t have anything to atone for with Felicity and Diggle. The fact they didn’t know pre-island Ollie is a real friggin plus at this point. Oliver can just be who he is. It’s a clean slate.

Source: @westallenolicitygifs 

LOOK at how ambivalent this man is towards life. He just survived death AGAIN and he can barely summon any appreciation beyond “Cool.” But the very next scene is Oliver shaking Felicity’s hand and welcoming her to the team. 

Source: @westallenolicitygifs 

Did y’all fangirl over the handshake? These are the seasons where seasons where shoulders are Oliver and Felicity’s erogenous zones, so an actual handshake is practically second base.

Oliver extends the same invitation to Felicity that he offered to Diggle. She’s pretty much a member of Team Arrow at this point anyways. But like Diggle, Felicity has her own reasons for joining up with Oliver. Her goal is to save Walter simply because he was nice to her. Felicity is as loyal as they come.

Source: @andjustforthismoment

We can breathe a sigh of relief. The show is on the upswing because Felicity is finally officially on the team. From the moment she enters the Foundry, it feels like Felicity is coming home.  This is where she was always meant to be. Her bright magenta sweater (with matching lipstick naturally) is like a burst of colorful sunshine amongst all the grey, black and green. It’s been thirteen episodes of just Oliver and Diggle yapping while shirtless. Don’t get me wrong, I like the shirtless, but this show is in major need of a feminine injection. I wonder if she’ll decorate a little.

Source: @swifterly 

Felicity is the ONLY woman in Oliver’s life who knows who he truly is. This is no small matter. I disagree with Diggle. Oliver did have a choice. There were other people he could have called for help, but he chose Felicity. He doesn’t have to pretend with her anymore and I think that’s in large part why he tells her. Oliver lies so convincingly with everyone in his life, but not Felicity. He is terrible at lying to Felicity because he doesn’t want to lie to her. It’s just that simple. He cannot quantify what he feels at this point, but it is Felicity who reminds Oliver what it means to be human.

And if you’re truly paying attention to the show the writers tell us why Felicity from the very beginning. We weren’t delusional. We were right.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

Felicity and Diggle

Stephen Amell is pulling full time duty in the flashbacks, which allows for a long overdue quality Diggle and Felicity scene. These are always so wonderful and so rare.

Source: intrepidmare 

Diggle catches Felicity up on the previous thirteen episodes and confirms everything she already knew. The fact that she’s the only character to figure out who Oliver is BEFORE he reveals his identity speaks volumes about her. Felicity is brilliant of course, but you don’t need to be a genius to piece this puzzle together.  I appreciate the writers don’t treat her like an idiot for the sake of keeping an identity secret from someone who clearly should’ve figured it out by now (*cough*Laurel*cough*)

Not that I’m taking anything away from Diggle, but he was a hell of a lot more shocked when Oliver revealed he was the Hood. I think Diggle knew there was a lot more to Oliver Queen than he was letting on and he was up to some shifty behavior, but I don’t think Diggle believed that meant he was murdering criminals with a bow and arrow on a nightly basis.

As they wait for Oliver to recover, Felicity decides to pass the time by asking John how he feels about all the murder. It’s one of the few times we hear about Diggle’s experience in Afghanistan and we get a clearer understanding on where John’s moral compass is pointing lately. 

He tells Felicity about the time he killed a young boy in order to protect a warlord in Afghanistan. There’s nothing more righteous than fighting for your country and yet Diggle had to do terrible things. He wanted to be an honorable solider, but came home feeling like he lost his honor. He couldn’t see what good he truly accomplished.

Diggle: I killed this kid to protect this human piece of garbage and I thought am I still good? Am I still a good man? Doing this with Oliver, doing what we do, I feel good again for the first time in a long time.

It is seriously one of David Ramsey’s most underrated performances.

John’s explanation is simple. Yes, Oliver kills but they are bad people. John isn’t thrilled about the murder, but it’s not like he enjoyed killing while in Afghanistan and he knows Oliver doesn’t enjoy it either. Loss of life is the cost of war, and sometimes a necessary evil, but at least in this war John feels like he’s actually accomplishing something. Diggle is finding his honor again. If he has to break the law to win the war then it’s a cost Diggle is willing to pay.

Source: @swifterly

This scene is key to understanding why Felicity joins the team. Yes, she wants to save Walter, but it means a certain level of acceptance with the way Oliver does business. We’re going to flesh out Felicity’s attitude about Oliver’s killing a lot more in the upcoming episodes, but he may need to take some lives of VERY EVIL PEOPLE in order to save Walter’s life. Felicity is not stupid. She knows this.

One of my annoyances in later seasons is whenever Oliver does something bad to Felicity it can be treated like the worst thing he’s ever done. Whereas I remain firmly entrenched in torture and murder being the worst things Oliver has ever done. Homegirl not only joined up with Oliver while he was dropping bodies left and right, she also fell in love with him while he was doing it. 

Felicity Smoak is not pure as the driven snow. Her moral compass skews slightly left of dead center, no different than Oliver and Diggle. But we have to ask the same question Diggle asks himself every day – what is good? Oliver operates in a world of grey and watching Felicity navigate it with him is what gives their dynamic the necessary push and pull.

Flashbacks

Shockingly, everything I talked about previously is not the main focus of the episode. The Flashbacks are the main focus, but my investment in them was minimal when I watched Season 1 live and they’ve plummeted further upon my rewatch.

Island Ollie is such a pain in the ass. Honestly, I cannot believe Slade and Yao Fei put up with his ass for so long. Could you blame them if they just bitched slapped the hell out of Oliver and left him for dead? No. They deserve medals. Oliver is so whiney & entitled. How did any woman find this man attractive enough to sleep with him? The hair alone is ... 

WOMEN OF STARLING CITY I HAVE QUESTIONS.

Slade and Oliver are going to commandeer a plane and fly off the island. Oliver would also like to save Yao Fei, but Slade is not convinced it is worth the effort. Oliver’s refusal to abandon Yao Fei gives us a glimpse of the hero he will become, so I am willing to give credit where credit is due. But Ollie is right back to his old tricks when he tries to buy off Billy Wintergreen to save his own life.  

Dear Ollie,

These people are psychopaths. You are in Purgatory. You are paying for your sins. You will not be able to buy your way out of it.

Love,

Me

Slade’s training is not a total loss. Well, that’s not true. Oliver screws up virtually every job Slade gives him, but he is able to disarm a bad guy so that’s progress at least. Slade kills his ex BFF Billy Wintergreen too so Team Island is also on an upswing.

I wondered how much I was going to have to write about The Odyssey since the name of the episode is “The Odyssey” but leave it to Arrow to be subtle about it. It’s the book Fyers is reading on the island and the only book Oliver read in college, so he knows the secret challenge code when the pilot tries to verify their identity.

For those who never had an English literature class, The Odyssey is a Greek poem written by Homer about Odysseus’ 10 year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. The challenge code Oliver repeats from the poem flat out explains what Arrow is about. 

“Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.”

Homer is acknowledging that humanity is weak by our very nature, especially when compared to the gods. We are powerless against the pain the gods inflict upon humanity, but more often than not we are the makers our own suffering. Yet, it is this very weakness which makes our victories so sweet. The gods‘ immortality & power ultimately renders their lives meaningless because they have nothing to lose.

Odysseus doesn’t have any magical powers. He survives by his cunning & will, which makes his journey home EARNED. Odysseus appreciates life and those he loves because he suffered. This appreciation for life is something the gods can never have.

“The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.” — Homer, The Iliad

Oliver = Odysseus. Here endeth the lesson.

Stray Thoughts

Oliver making Mama Queen off limits is really one of his stupider moves and sets up a lot of the disastrous things coming up.

I’m really trying not to read into Diggle’s “hickey gone wrong” comment in the episode Felicity officially joins the team, but alas I am failing. I will find my Olicity sexual content wherever possible.

Felicity ordered the sample of Oliver’s blood destroyed. Damn she’s good. And we get this adorable gif.

The bathroom is upstairs in the club? That seems inconvenient.

Yao Fei has a daughter. A daughter with the same tattoo Oliver has on his shoulder. The plot thickens.

It’s really amazing Diggle didn’t shoot Felicity by accident.

Me: UGH. They never include L*urel in the flashbacks. Also Me: UGH. L*urel is in the flashbacks. KEEP IT.

“Do you think you can sleep with your girlfriend’s sister and make it right?” Slade wins all the awards this episode honestly. Finally someone said it.

***No more commentary from the child. She is a teenager and is way too busy to watch a show with her old mom. She will always be an Olicity shipper though.

Listen to the @watchover-podcast reaction to 1x14!!! 

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If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

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[definitelynotapossum]

Felicity

Chapter 2 of All the Shades of Black: A Stardew Valley fanfic! You can find the full, in-progress fic here!

___________________

Springtime in the valley had its ups and downs for the townsfolk. There were plenty of fish to be caught in the rivers, and the weather was warm enough for walking outdoors, but sudden cold snaps tended to hit the valley, freezing crops and stunning the local wildlife.

 

Stardew's newest addition to the town, the farmer girl, was recovering from one such snap, planting rows of parsnips and potatoes out by her house while her four hens watched, intrigued. She was toiling with the garden hoe, frantically tossing up dirt and clumps of dead plants in preparation for the next harvest. There was only a little over a week of spring left, and she wasn't even sure if half of them would be fully grown by then.

 

"Fuckin' weather around here. Won't stay put for two god damn days…" she was mumbling curses to herself as she buried the seeds in the ground and watered them. "Another cold front and I'll be out a couple thousand. Pierre sold me those seeds at a markup too. God fucking shitty cold weather-"

 

Several hours and a symphony of profanity later, the garden was finally complete. In a few days, hopefully, the plants would be ready for the spring harvest. The farmer wiped some sweat off her forehead with her sleeve, and stood back, hands on her hips, admiring her hard work. She nodded, content, before heaving the copper hoe over her shoulder and trotting over to the chicken coop.

 

The four of them, Cinnamon, Peachy, Angel, and Tiny, were huddled around the coop's little entrance door in a small, feathery pile. Thinking that they were just hungry, The Farmer didn't question anything until she heard their low growls and chitters, eyeing something in the coop.

 

"What is it, girls? Your feathers are all standing on end." She threw open the door, brandishing her garden hoe, ready to lash out and yell at either a fox or raccoon. Instead, she came face to face with absolutely nothing, and she sighed. "There's nothing even in here. What are y'all scared-" Then she saw it. "-of."

 

Sat in the middle of the coop, in a little thatch of golden hay, was the oddest-looking chicken egg she had ever seen. A little soot-black thing with red, glistening spots. None of her chickens laid that , and she bent down to examine it. "What on earth...?"

 

Meanwhile, while the Farmer was busy examining the strange egg that had appeared overnight, Shane and Marnie were having their own complications with their unruly barn animals. 

 

It had started when Marnie had called Shane over to wrangle up some stray sheep that wouldn't cooperate for their shearing, butting them with blunt horns and knocking them over. While they were busy, one of their goats had, once again, managed to escape the pasture, enticed by fresh berries on the opposite side of the fence.

 

Covered in mud and dirt, Marnie sighed, continuing to shear the ewe she had caught. "Shane?" When he walked over, Marnie handed him a few cave carrots. "Could you call Sweetpea back to the barn, please? She got out again." She pointed over his shoulder where a young, black and brown goat was munching on the leaves of a blackberry bush out in the yard. "I don't know how the little devil keeps getting out, but it's driving me crazy!" The sheep squirmed and tried to butt her again, and she pinned it back to the ground, taking the shears to the wool.

 

Shane sighed and reluctantly took the cold, hard carrots from her hand. "You know, I don't really think she likes me very much."

 

"Oh, she's an old goat. She doesn't like anyone. Go on now." She said, now done shearing her sheep, and she darted off to catch the next one. He laughed as he watched her fail a tackle and went face down into the dirt, then bolted upright, red-faced, and went to chase after the ewe.

 

Sweetpea, despite her name, was an ornery thing who did what she pleased, which Shane thought was funny when he wasn't on the receiving end of her indifference. He bent down next to her, watching her snag some more berries off the bush, chewing loudly before she turned to look at him with an unimpressed expression.

 

"Don't give me that look. You know you're not supposed to be out here." When he pulled the carrots out from behind him, he watched her eyes go wide. "Yeah, you like this stuff, don't ya'? Only if you come back to the barn, though." He waved a carrot in front of her face, her head moving to follow it, and she took a step forward. "Yeah, come on now, let's get you back-" She suddenly jumped forward, snatching the carrot from his hand, and chewing it up in his face. "You little shit." He hissed, and she snorted at him smugly.

 

While she was busy eating, the bush shook slightly, and the two of them turned to look at it, intrigued. Shane thought that maybe there was a bird's nest in its center, and they had disturbed it. Suddenly, the bush rattled violently, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whine had both Shane and the goat jumping back, wide-eyed. Sweetpea, startled by the bush shaking, bolted past Shane, running back towards the barn without looking back, and Shane felt himself shake a little. "Did that bush just… yelp?" Shane bent down towards the bush, the squeaky sound and trembling leaves drawing him in. Slowly, he bent down onto his knees, reaching out to push up some low-hanging twigs at its base, peering into the sticks. "Hello?"

 

He jumped slightly as a small, wet snout poked out from between the leaves, sniffing at his hand before a little tongue darted out and licked at his fingers, and Shane's mouth fell open. "No way…"

 

From the bush emerged a small, black and white, sheepdog puppy, no more than a month old, at least, with sticks tangled in his fur, and a tear in his left ear. He yapped at Shane happily, tail swishing back and forth. "Where on earth did you come from, little guy? You look like you've been through hell and back." He said, plucking a burr from his matted fur.

 

The dog then began running at his feet, lowering its head to the ground, and eyeing him while doing so. It was only a puppy and it was trying to herd him! He stumbled backward, away from its sharp puppy teeth that just barely grazed the leg of his pants. "H-hey Marnie. Aunt Marnie!" Shane called out to his Aunt, who was working in the barn. "Marnie! Hey, I need your help with something!" 

 

She stumbled outside a few seconds later, clutching a basket of eggs. She was still covered in wool fibers and dirt. "Gracious, Shane, what are you yelling fo-" Hearing her voice, the puppy lost interest in Shane, and bounded over to greet the older woman, yapping excitedly, and running in circles around her feet. Marnie put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my goodness."

 

"Think he got dumped like the last one?"

 

"Oh, I'm afraid so. Look at him, he's all dirty and matted. He's lucky he's alive. Aww… Aren't you a good boy?" She patted him on the head.

 

Scratching the back of his neck nervously, Shane looked down at the puppy, a question bubbling in his mouth. "Can we keep-"

 

"No."

 

"Ah, worth a shot." He muttered. He had always wanted a dog, but Jas had a small fear of them, especially larger dogs. Marnie, holding the egg basket up where the pup couldn't bite at it, placed a hand on her cheek, and a pensive look spread across her face. "What 'chya thinking, Marnie?" Shane questioned.

 

She stayed silent for a moment, before snapping her fingers when an idea popped into her head, and she patted her leg, signaling the puppy to follow her. "I'm thinking that he needs a good home. C'mon, Shane. I do know who might be able to care for him!"

 

"Huh? Who?" His heart dropped when he saw the direction she was walking in: towards the Granger's farmstead. "Oh no…"

 

"C'mon now, you can't avoid her forever."

 

"Yes, I can."

 

"Shane-"

 

Oops, that was her serious tone. "Alright! Alright! I'm coming." He reluctantly trotted over to Marnie's side, twitching his feet as the puppy nipped at the ankles of his shoes. "I'm not gonna talk to her though." Marnie just shook her head.

 

Back at the farm, The Farmer had taken to a tank top and shorts as the sun began to crest in the sky above, bringing the daily temperature to its peak. Though it was cooler in the mornings now, the temperature had a habit of shifting a good twenty to thirty degrees in the afternoons, before dipping again when the sun went down. This meant long sleeves and pants during the mornings, and the bare minimum of clothing in the afternoons when sweat began to trickle down her face and neck.

 

She was inside, with the house door and windows wide open, letting in a breeze from outside since her years-old air conditioning unit left much to be desired. "If I don't fix that before summer gets here I'm gonna roast." She had been moving boxes of stuff that came from her old apartment: books, trinkets, silverware, stationary, and the like, she was almost completely done with setting up and furnishing her entire house. Soon enough, she would be able to bring Robin the materials needed for a couple of rooms to be added on. She could hardly wait.

 

She heard a knock on the doorframe, and turned to the sound of Marnie calling into the house. "Granger? Mrs. Granger! You home, dear? Your doors wide open!"

 

"Right here, Marnie!" She popped up from behind the veritable mountain of boxes and furniture, trotting over to the door. "Just letting a breeze in. Smells stale in this old farmhouse, ya' know?" She set a small box of photo frames on the counter, all of them being pictures of her and her family. "So, what's brought ya' here?"

 

"Well, about that." She smiled, a bit forcefully. "We had something, er, someone show up at our house, and we don't exactly know where to take him-"

 

The farmer gave her a questioning look. "Him?" Now, what did she mean by, "him?"

 

"I know you just got your chickens and all, and your hands have been full with the cold snap, but we thought maybe you'd-"

 

There was a sound of a bucket and tools being knocked over, as the muffled sound of someone talking around the corner from the corner of the house made them both look over. Shane hopped out from behind, kicking a metal pail off his foot, while eyeing something in the grass. "Uh… Marnie. Marnie! He's herding me again! Marnie!"

 

The Farmer watched confused about what had him stumbling. "What the-" Only when a little puppy, no more than a foot tall, bounded after him, did she smile wide. "Well, I'll be damned." Snapping at his pants, teeth digging into the fabric, the canine did his best to drag Shane towards Marnie. He stepped towards them to make the puppy think he had won so he could pry his sharp teeth off of him.

 

Seeing the farmer, the puppy immediately lost interest in terrorizing Shane and went to greet the young girl, trying his best to jump up the steps, which might as well have been walls for the pup. When he finally got to her, the Farmer bent down and scooped him up, bringing him up to her face. "Well hi there, little one." The puppy licked her nose. "What's your name?"

 

"He… doesn't have one. Yet."  Shane locked eyes with the farmer, and rather than a scrunched-up face of disgust as he had expected, he was instead met with a gaze he couldn't quite decipher. She almost looked… a bit sad? Worried? He figured maybe fretted was the word, though he couldn't imagine why. "What?" He snapped when he felt like she had looked long enough, and Marnie scowled at him.

 

"Nothin'! Nothin'." She continued talking to Marnie like nothing had even happened. "No name then. Yoba… he's a stray. Where did you find this little one?" She said, bending down and stretching out her hand for him to sniff. "He's all matted and dirty!"

 

"Shane found him outside in a bush. We don't have any idea where he came from. No collar or anything, and there hasn't been word of a lost dog around town either." Marnie sighed. "I think he might have been dumped."

 

Shane dusted some puppy prints off his pants and shirt. "Yeah, besides the only dog I know around here is that mutt of Alex's." Shane added. "We've had people throw their dogs in the water upriver before, from Zuzu City."

 

Her face suddenly dropped, and she looked at the two of them solemnly. "Before?" She muttered, looking down at the dog, who was now chewing on her finger, his little paws wrapped around her wrist. "Sweet Yoba…"

 

"We understand if you can't take him." Marnie sighed. "We just thought it would be worth a shot, you know? He's clearly a farm dog and all-"

 

The farmer raised a hand, holding the pup in her other arm. "You won't have to worry. I'll take him. I have more than enough room, and I've always wanted a dog."

 

"It's not too much trouble?"

 

"Not at all, Marnie. So, sheepdog, huh?" The little puppy licked her nose, and she giggled. "We'll call ya' Shepherd, eh? How's that sound?"

 

"Shepherd! Oh, that's a lovely name! Right, Shane?"

 

"Whatever."

 

"This sweet thing's gonna have a nice home here, I know it." Marnie scratched Shepherd on the head, and the farmer set him back down on the porch, looking over at the chicken coop, where the hens were scratching and pecking at the dirt.

 

Shepherd hadn't seen them yet, so she gently picked him up, and turned him in their direction, watching his eyes go wide at the sight of the birds. His tail began to wag excitedly. "Go get 'em, Shep! Go get 'em! Go on!"

 

With a high-pitched bark, he vaulted down the steps, landing face first in the earth, making everyone chuckle, before scurrying off towards the coop. The three of them watched as the little dog began to run in circles around the chickens, who couldn't be less bothered by the sight but were curious about the new face. Shepherd lowered his head to the ground, stalking around the birds, who began to back up at the sight. He then bolted in the opposite direction, rounding up Tiny and Peachy from the other side. The chickens were now packed together, and the dog zigzagged towards them, backing them up to the coop door.

 

The Farmer whistled, a cue to stop, and the puppy lifted his head, and bolted back to the steps, immediately flopping over onto his back, allowing The Farmer to scratch his belly. "He's a natural. That'll make getting them into the coop at night a lot easier. He'll fit right in, Marnie."

 

"Wonderful! I was worried he wouldn't find a home here." She bent down to the puppy, scratching him behind his ear, making him shake his leg. "Be good to Miss Granger, little Shepherd. She's a hard worker." Behind her, Shane rolled his eyes. "I'll let Mayor Lewis know of the new addition. I'm sure he has some blank adoption certificates somewhere. Oh, and a collar! I wonder if Pierre has a blue one."

 

Shane was already walking down the steps, eager to get back home. Seeing The Farmer with her new pet made him miss his own. That and just seeing the girl drained his social battery. Getting the hint, Marnie followed close behind, waving goodbye to the Granger girl and Shepherd. "Good luck! Having a dog is a life-changing thing!"

 

"Thanks again, Marnie! Thanks, Shane!" 

 

He had no clue why she was thanking him. Bringing the dog there was all Marnie's idea. "Hey."  She bumped him in the side. "She said, "Thank you."

 

Sighing, he mumbled, "You're welcome," and Marnie nodded in approval. He could feel the girl staring at his back. He just knew and, sure enough, when he turned she was looking at him with that same expression from before and just like last time, he couldn't quite place the look. He simply shrugged, turning back towards the path and keeping his eyes forward. " Weird girl. At least she took the dog ."

 

"Hey! Hey, Shane! Wait up!"

 

" Oh no… " She was back, and running towards him. "What the hell does she want with me?" He tried to ask Marnie to take care of her problem but, before he could even ask, she turned and began swiftly walking towards the trail back to the barn. "Marnie! Don't-!" Too late, she started walking at a faster pace, leaving Shane to deal with the farmer, and he swore she was smiling. "Goddamn it-!"

 

"Shane!" The Farmer screeched to a halt in front of him, throwing up a dust cloud that he fanned out of his face. She bent over, placing her hands on her knees, and huffed, out of breath. "Before… you say anythin'… I don't wanna talk to you either."

 

"Then why are you?"

 

Straightening up, she took in a lungful of air before continuing. "Because… I have a problem-"

 

"Then get someone else's help."

 

"Look. It's somethin' with the hens. You're the only person knowledgeable enough about chickens to help me. I don't think even Marnie tops it."

 

His eyes suddenly had a glint to them. "A… chicken problem?" He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was flattered. " Most knowledgeable! Hey… I've made something of myself! " He cleared his throat. "Yes. Well… I've raised them for years. I know a lot."

 

"Yeah. Yeah. Look, there's something in the coop I really want you to look at. I've never seen anything like it, and I have no idea where it came from, and I'm not getting close enough to it until I have some idea of what it is."

 

"Is this, "thing," gonna try to eat me or something? He grimaced. "What the hell is it?"

 

"Well… that's the thing."

 

Back at the coop, the egg remained untouched by both The Farmer and the other hens, who were now piled up in the corner, still eyeing the strange little egg with uncertainty. She and Shane were hunched down, both staring at the egg on the floor, perplexed, and even he had to admit that this was a new one. "What the fuck?"

 

"I know, right? It just… showed up. Scared the girls half to death. They won't go near it." She gestured to the pile of trembling feathers in the corner. "What d'ya think it is?"

 

"An egg, obviously, but it looks… burnt?" He reached out a tentative hand, brushing his finger along the hardened shell, before he gasped and abruptly pulled his hand back, startling her. 

 

"What? What?! What is it?!"

 

"It's warm!"

 

"I mean, it was laid this morning, but-"

 

"No! no! I mean-" He picked up the egg, cupping it in his hands and pushing it towards her. "Feel it!"

 

She jumped back. "Are you crazy!? I ain't touchin' that thing!"

 

"I'm serious!"

 

"Ok. Ok… fine." She cupped her hands, and Shane slid the egg in, and her eyes widened at the feeling. "What the shit?! It feels like it's been microwaved or somthin'!"

 

"Exactly! How could a chicken even lay this?"

 

"Wasn't one of mine. I swear. They're terrified of the thing." The Farmer handed the egg back to Shane, who gently turned it in his hands, inspecting the way the red flakes glistened in the light. "It almost looks fake, but it feels so real. I really don't know what to tell you. Look, Gunther has some books on chicken breeds and stuff. You should try and get your hands on one and see if you can find a match in there. Maybe it's just… I don't know, an unusual breed."

 

They both went quiet, deep in thought as to what to do. It certainly wasn't normal, that was for certain. "What kind of chicken do ya' think would come outta it if it hatched?" They both gave each other a look of mutual agreement and trotted over to the incubator. Shane gingerly placed the little egg in the hay, watching as the little red speckles seemed to glisten slightly. 

 

"I don't think I'll be able to look into it with a flashlight. That black shell won't allow it so I guess just wait and see what happens." He shrugged, not speaking any further than that. He seemed genuinely interested in the strange little egg. Hell, he seemed interested in anything that had to do with chickens, or farm livestock in general. Even though their first meeting was a bit rough, The Farmer smiled, happy that she had someone knowledgeable about animals as her neighbor. She might be a bit lost otherwise.

 

He glanced at her, just barely catching her staring, and she turned her head, pretending to be interested in a little feather on the floor. Shane cleared his throat, the quiet moment growing to be unbearable. "Well… um-" He shook his head, walking towards the coop door. "Just… let me know what becomes of it."

 

The Farmer raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to meet the other hens?" 

 

He stopped momentarily in his tracks, a piqued expression on his face, but he ultimately ignored the feeling. "I've gotta get back to Marnie. She needs help shearing the sheep today."

 

"Ok… alright." 

 

Shane closed the door behind him, not once looking back, and The Farmer sighed. "Well, better than nothing." She felt something soft brush against her leg, and she looked down to see Tiny huddled up against her leg. The other hens had moved from their pile and were now strutting around the incubator, purring at it quizzically. Angel, the smallest of the group, hopped up on its edge, cocking her head at the sight and trilled. "What? Is that your egg or somthin'?" Sure enough, little Angel hopped into the hay, and strutted a couple of circles around the egg, before plopping down on top of it, puffing up her feathers and clucking in contentment. "Well, I'll be damned. How on earth did you- ya' know what? I don't wanna know. You just keep doing your thing, Angel." She scratched the little hen on the head. "Let's see what happens, eh?'

 

Angel was undaunted by the sight of the little egg, that The Farmer learned quickly, as she refused to get off of it no matter what, and the little hen vowed to stay there no matter how long it took, even after spring began to draw to a close, making way for the summer season. The flower dance came and went like every year, hailing at the end of spring. While dancing with Emily, Shane watched out of the corner of his eye as Jas demonstrated a, quite wobbly, but pretty accurate flower dance that The Farmer watched intently, and tried to copy, which she ended up putting her own spin on some of the moves. "You made your own special dance!" Jas squealed, before tugging on her pant leg. "Can you be my dance partner for today, Mrs. Granger? I really want to try it before it ends!"

 

She was a little surprised but shook her head and laughed. "Of course, but I can't say I'll be perfect at it. I've never done this before."

 

"Neither have I!" She grabbed her hand and impatiently dragged her into the lines of dancers, pushing her to Sebastian, who was dancing with Abigail.  "C'mon, C'mon! It's halfway done already!'

 

They both chuckled at the sight. "Aww. You got yourself a dance partner after all!" Abigail mused, and The Farmer got bashful, her dancing not exactly like everyone else's. Though he wasn't exactly fond of her, Shane was admittedly happy that Jas liked the girl, and the two seemed more alike than he had previously realized.

 

"It's good to see Jas finally join in." Emily said. "She never could get Vincent to dance with her. He always stepped on her toes."

 

Summer hit the valley at full force, blasting the town with record heat and turbulent rainstorms. Her spring crops died back, and the days grew more hot and humid. The Farmer had invested in hot peppers and melons, planting rows upon rows of them in front of the farmstead. Around the land, she grew beautiful golden sunflowers that made the farm look so much more delightful, and she would give them out to some of the townsfolk, Haley being the main beneficiary, as they were her most beloved flower.

 

At the Luau, The Farmer showed up with an enormous basket of giant, shiny, red habanero peppers, and Shane had to fight not to drool at the sight. " When did she start growing peppers?! Those ones are huge !" 

 

Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail were at her side, observing her unusually large crops, and congratulating her on the harvest. Sam swiped one of the peppers from the basket and popped it into his mouth as a joke, but the farmer simply smiled knowingly as she watched his face form beads of sweat, and go bright red. He quickly excused himself to nearly drain the punch bowl. The three of them cackled at him the whole time, while Mayor Lewis shook his head at his antics. "At least he didn't bring-"

 

"Anchovies?" The governor laughed. "Yes, indeed."

 

Ascending the ladder up to the pot, she waved hello to Marnie, who was stirring the batch with a comically large wooden spoon ."You made it, and you brought those delicious peppers."

 

"Sure did! They're the best I've ever grown! The soil here is really somethin'." She looked at the governor, the basket tilted over the potluck. "This won't make it too spicy, will it?"

 

"No such thing!" He bellowed, and she dumped the basket full of peppers into the potluck. Later, the governor declared that year's potluck was one of the best he had ever attended.

 

Now, at the end of summer, word of the Moonlight Jellies' arrival swept through town as it did every year, and Jas, just like every year before, begged Shane repeatedly to take her to the docks, which he agreed to every single time. "I take you every year, you know. You don't have to beg."

 

At the farmstead, the Granger granddaughter got a letter in the mail alerting her to the event. " Join us at the docks around 10 pm for a rare and beautiful event! The moonlight jellies will be passing by Pelican Town on their long journey south for the winter ."

 

"Moonlight Jellies… I've never heard of such a thing." Curious, and wanting to see such a rare event for herself, she made it towards the docks at sundown, wanting to claim the best spot on the docks for herself. She was glad to see that everyone in town was already there, eagerly waiting for the lantern boat to launch. Mayor Lewis greeted her. "Glad you could make it! You definitely won't regret it. The moonlight jellies are a spectacle you shouldn't miss."

 

She had also spoken to Miss Evelyn and George. "We've never missed a single year. I've been coming to see the moonlight jellies ever since I was a little girl. I'm glad you get to see it all for yourself."

 

"Hmph. What's so special about these slimy little balls of goo anyway?" George huffed.

 

Soon, the sun had finally rested below the horizon, leaving the people of Pelican Town in near complete darkness, only illuminated by the one, small lantern, and the millions of stars in the sky, untouched by the blinding lights of the nearby Zuzu City. "Wow… you can see almost every single star out here. I could hardly see just the planets back home."

 

Mayor Lewis had untied the rope to the lantern boat, waiting for the signal to let it loose. "You think it's time to launch it, Miss Granger?"

 

"Absolutely!"

 

With that, he let the boat slowly drift out to the open water, and the docks were shrouded in opaque darkness. It was oddly quiet, the only thing being the murmurs of excitement in waiting for the migrating jellies to arrive. The minutes passed, yet there were still no signs of their arrival. "Does it usually take this long?"

 

Suddenly, Vincent grabbed onto his mother's sleeve, jumping up and down on the pier. "Look! Out there! Out there!" The still, clear water began to glow an eerie, white color, and the people on the docks began to "ooh," and "ahh," at the sight. One by one, little round jellyfish began to appear from the distant water, the glow becoming ever more bright the closer they got until the entirety of the beach was lit up like the fourth of July. They looked like stars in the ocean, glowing vividly against the deep backdrop of the sea, or snowflakes on a clear winter's night.

 

The Farmer stared in awe. "All my life I've never seen anything like this. It's beautiful." Nothing back home or nearby could compare to that moment of seeing the Moonlight Jellies, or Lunaloos, as the Wizard called them. She felt like he was right when he said they possess a magic aura stronger than other sea creatures. It could be felt just from watching them.

 

Abigail watched her smile wide as a trio of baby jellies came to the edge, along with one giant, basketball-sized parent. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "So… what do you think of your first Moonlight Jelly Festival?

 

"I know I 'aven't seen the other festivals yet but… I think this one is gonna be my favorite." She said, gazing out onto the water with a look of pure wonder and curiosity that reminded Abigail of a little kid. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and Abigail pretended not to see when she ducked away to wipe them. "You know… it makes me kinda homesick. The ocean."

 

"You grew up near it, did you?"

 

"I did. Everything here reminds me of it, but this is so much better in every way." Bending down, she just barely stuck her fingers into the water, giving one of the jellies a gentle pat on the head, and the gelatinous animal seemed to glow brighter for a moment.

 

Sebastian stepped over to the two of them, watching some of the jellies gravitate towards The Farmer curiously. "They like you."

 

"Who wouldn't." Sam trotted over and ruffled up the hair on her head, making her smile as she swatted him away with her free hand. "Call it animal magnetism." Sebastian swatted him on the shoulder while she giggled. "What?" He whined.

 

Soon, the water was filled with jellyfish in every direction, spanning the entirety of the beach. Vincent was running up and down the waterline maddeningly, hoping to spot his elusive green jellyfish, Willy took a moment to cast a non-lethal line out into the bay for Dimitrius, who wanted to observe and tag a specimen to track its migration patterns, and though Linus kept his distance, The Farmer smiled as he waved hello to the jellies that came close enough for him to see.

 

Dimitrius and Robin were now curled up on the bench, hand in hand, watching the beautiful moment together with Maru leaning up against them. Alex had pushed George's wheelchair out to the edge of the dock, to which he kept responding "If you dump me in I'm gonna haunt you for sure," but he ever so slightly smiled at the sight of the jellies. Even he had to admit it was a breathtaking sight. Evelyn nodded a thank you to Alex and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Nana…" he groaned. 

 

Elliot had rushed into his home to grab a journal, hoping to scribble down the memorable moment for a story one day, and even Pierre had abandoned his pop-up shop to sit with Caroline on the pier, to which Abigail beamed at.

 

Jas and Vincent both crowded around the edge of the pier, while Shane gripped the back of both their shirts, afraid that one of them would fall into the drink. "Easy you two. I'm not gonna be the one to fish you out."

 

"But I wanna see the babies!"

 

"You can see them close enough from here."

 

Only Sam could rival the kids' enthusiasm, grabbing the other's shoulders and pointing whenever a jellyfish came close, to which they would nod their heads and say "I see them too."

 

A faint, green light began to glow below the dock as a stranger-looking jellyfish swam out from underneath it. "Look! Look! Right there! Hey, Vincent! Come here! There's a green one! There's-" Before Sebastian could tell him to back up, Sam's foot slipped off the dock, and he let out a high-pitched yelp as he went face-first into the sea, sending up a giant spray of water, and Shane rolled his eyes as the jellies in the water swam away from the disturbance.

 

"Nice goin' Sam." Abigail shook her head.

 

The Farmer gasped, and jumped upright at the sight, shucking her jacket onto the ground. It was clear that she knew nothing of the moonlight jellies other than the fact that they were jellyfish and, jellyfish being jellyfish, that they probably sting. "No, wait! They don't-" Before they could tell her not to do it, she bolted forward and jumped into the water, sending up another spray of water that Sebastian shielded himself and Abigail from. "You've got to be kidding me." He mumbled.

 

"Why on earth did she jump?" Shane questioned.

 

Some of the people around the dock started howling with laughter while they were under the waves, and Leah piped up from the other distant dock. "So who's gonna tell her that Moonlight Jellies don't sting?!

 

"I have to admire her bravery."

 

"Did no one tell her?"

 

"Oh c'mon guys! Cut her some slack!"

 

"Hey! Here they come!"

 

Both Sam and The Farmer burst out of the water, Sam clinging onto her for dear life with a bewildered look on his face, his usually spiky hair now a blonde mop covering half his face, and The Farmer's clothes were now ruined with seawater. What caught everyone's eye, of course, was the moonlight jelly that sat atop her head like some sort of weird hat, its glow bouncing off the water's surface. She was confused as to why everyone was laughing at her. "What?! What is it?!" 

 

Dimitrius huffed a breath of laughter and bent down on the dock to look at her, amused. "Moonlight Jellies can't sting you, Mrs. Granger. Sam was in no danger."

 

Shane and Jas giggled, while the others roared with laughter, as The Farmer's face went bright red, and she covered her face with her hand. "Oh, mon dieu…"

 

"Mon dew?" Sam questioned, only to find himself plunked back into the water as The Farmer swam over to where Jas was watching, and Sam doggy-paddled back to Sebastian and Abigail. "You could have carried me back!" He called to her.

 

"Your legs work! You can swim."

 

Sebastian was bent down at the edge of the dock, stretching a hand out to Sam for him to grab onto. "You know, it's a toss-up between this and the potluck, Sammy. We're not gonna let you forget about this either."

 

"Like I need any other embarrassments to my name." Sebastian was ready to hoist him out of the water but Sam had other ideas. With a swift yank, he pulled Sebastian into the water with him, the cigarette he had between his teeth being left behind mid-air, only to be extinguished by the water that splashed up afterward. The Farmer and Abigail cackled. 

 

When they breached, Sam sported a dorkish smile at the sight of Sebastian absolutely drenched, clinging to his shoulders. His hair was plastered to his face like some sort of shaggy dog, unable to see anything except his mouth, which was pulled down into a frown. "You know I hate swimming."

 

"But we're swimming with glowing jellyfish!"

 

"That's even worse."

 

On the other side, Jas was bouncing up and down, while Shane kept a death grip on her hand so she wouldn't meet Sam's same fate. "Did you see any baby jellies under the water, Miss Granger?"

 

"Jellyfish were all I could see, Jas." She saw Shane doing his best not to crack up with laughter, and she glared at him with a displeased look on her face. "What are you gawkin' at?" She barked.

 

"I like the hat. Suits ya'" he said, gesturing to her head, and snickering, flashing a sharp-toothed grin.

 

She placed a hand on her head and felt the squishy jellyfish jiggle at the touch, making her grimace, and Shane laughed even harder, while Jas hid her giggles behind her hand. The Farmer about had enough, and she placed the poor jelly in her hand, leaning back and grinning. "Hey Jas, watch this." 

 

When Shane opened his eyes, his fit of laughter almost finished, the wet, gelatinous creature was hurled right at his face, hitting its mark with a wet, sopping splat. The entirety of the docks burst into laughter, Jas probably laughing the loudest of all, as she doubled over at the sight of Shane with a jellyfish plastered onto his face. Behind them, Marnie shook her head. "Not again."

 

"Serves ya' right." The Farmer smirked.

 

Shane peeled the slimy blob off his unamused face and plopped the disoriented critter back into the water to join its family. " Good thing these guys are tougher than most jellies ." He strode up to the edge of the dock, eyeing The Farmer. "Right, you son of a-" Right before he could snatch her up out of the water to throttle her, she used one of the docks wooden beams to push herself backward, barely avoiding the swipe of his hands, and Shane panicked, flailing his arms about as he lost balance. "Oh no- no-! Ah! ope-!" With a giant splash, Shane was the next to go into the drink. The Farmer pointed and cackled at the sight, still swimming backward, hoping to not get strangled because of her little stunt. Shane emerged from the water, coughing and sputtering, his hair no longer spiked up in certain places, and droplets of water clung to the stubble of his face. "Holy shit! It's freezing! I should drown you!"

 

"What? You should thank me. You're swimming with Moonlight Jellies. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

 

"I could have gone several lifetimes without this."

 

"Speak for yourself." She splashed a spray of water in his direction. "You're smiling ." With that, she ducked back under the water, swimming away with a speed that impressed him.

 

It took a moment for her comment to register, but she was right. " I… I am smiling ." The water caressed his body, he only had to move his legs slightly to stay afloat, and though the jellies had scattered when he fell in, they now returned, wandering up to him and curiously floating around his legs and arms, glowing brightly. He reached his hand out to a little baby and allowed it to settle in the palm of his hand, and it felt like a little blob of jello. "Woah…"

 

On the dock, Jas unclipped the bow from her hair and gingerly set it down. "Me next! Me next! I wanna swim with the jellies!" Before Marnie could tell her not to, especially in her good dress, Jas jumped in next, nearly landing right on top of Shane.

 

The Farmer screeched, "Jas!" but calmed down after she appeared out of the water in front of her immediately after, her hair now loose from the twin buns, cascading into the water. The Farmer sighed in relief. "Oh… you can swim."

 

"Really well!"

 

"I see that."

 

Another loud splash came from behind them, and they turned to see that Abigail had also abandoned her jacket, and shoes, as she too had jumped into the water with a perfect swan dive, and a few onlookers clapped. She waved to Alex and his grandparents on the dock, since he seemed just as eager to do the same. "C'mon, Alex!" The boy tore his shirt off, tossing it to Haley, who just looked at him, disbelieving, and he sprinted down the dock, cannonballing into the water, nearly soaking poor Dimitrius and Robin.

 

"I didn't know this year's theme was "swimming with jellyfish." Lewis grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

 

"Oh, let them have their fun." Marnie giggled. Looking around before doing so, she threaded an arm around Lewis', watching Jas and Shane in the water with a warm smile. "It's been a moment since I've seen Shane and Jas having this much fun anyway."

 

Looking around the bay, the overall tone seemed to change from serene and quiet, to a magical, otherworldly feel as people laughed and splashed water at each other, being joined by the jellyfish who were all too curious to check out the new company. Shane had never seen them as anything remarkable, but the night had completely changed his way of thinking. He would be looking forward to next year's celebration. "Now look at what you've done." He said to The Farmer, gesturing at all the people in the water.

 

"I'd say I've made it better." A jellyfish swam up against her back, and she jumped, laughing away the fear. "Hey Jas, how long can you hold your breath for?

 

"Thirty seconds! That's half a minute!"

 

"Sure is." The Farmer ducked under the water, and popped up a few seconds later next to Jas, splashing some water in her direction. "Climb on my back!"

 

Doing as she said, Jas clung to her soaked shirt and puffed up her cheeks with a deep breath. The Farmer nodded in question, to which Jas held a thumbs-up, and with that, they both disappeared under the waves and into the cloud of jellyfish.

 

When she opened her eyes, she almost opened her mouth in wonder too. In every direction, left, right, up, and down, there was nothing except glowing white jellies. Unable to speak, Jas tugged at The Farmer's jacket, pointing excitedly at the babies that swam past them, little bubbles floating upwards from her nose. From their left, something bright green danced near the corals, and the two of them caught sight of the green jellyfish that started the entire journey.

 

It all ended too soon. She signaled her inability to hold her breath any longer with another tug to her shirt, and they both rocketed up out of the water, taking in lungfuls of air. "That was amazing! There were so many jellyfish! Shane, we saw a green jellyfish under the water!" Jas shook her hair, droplets of water flying in all directions. "You swim like an otter, Miss Granger! Where did you learn that?"

 

"I grew up 'round the water. Natural habit of mine. Though the jellyfish back home stung. Badly. Me and my friends used to do this when we were little."

 

Sam and Sebastian swam up to the two of them, absentmindedly chatting with them while observing the jellyfish, and Shane smiled at the sight of Jas grinning from ear to ear, enamored with the jellies. Abigail paddled up next to him. "Thinking of strangling her for pelting you with a jellyfish? You're lucky they don't sting."

 

He chuckled. "No. Jas thought it was funny. I guess it's alright." He huffed a breath, allowing himself to lean back into the water. "You know something? She's not so bad after all."

 

The Moonlight Jelly festival ended around midnight, when the water became too frigid to continue swimming, and everyone who had jumped in bolted home to change into warm clothes and huddle up around a cozy fire. The next day, the leaves began to change, sporting varying shades of amber, burnt orange, crimson, and gold. Geese could be seen in the sky, flying southward along with the jellyfish, in search of warmer waters.

 

It was The Farmer's favorite season. Free from the scorching grip that summer had on her, she was free to tend to her fall crops without working up such a sweat and doing so without Harvey constantly worrying about heat exhaustion. Pumpkins were her main crop, as she hoped to grow only the biggest and best for Abigail to use as a jack-o'-lantern, and for Evelyn as an ingredient in her Spirit's Eve pumpkin pies.

 

Flower-wise, she had taken to growing beautiful fairy roses for Jas. They came in shades ranging from baby blues to deep, violet shades, and light pinks. They were by far, the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen so, of course, she bought some seed packets from Pierre and began to grow them herself. When she heard that Jas had a special place in her heart for them, she planted an extra patch just for her.

 

Along with the seasonal changes, The Farmer found herself taking long walks at night with Shepherd, autumn's magical night air having called her into Cindersap Forest, where amber and hazel leaves coated the ground in a blanket of fall colors. Blackberries were growing in abundance now, and she had no shortage of them when she ventured out into the woods, snacking on them the whole way through. Once, a fox darted out onto the trail in front of them, and they got a moment to admire its beautiful red coat and plush, bushy tail before it darted back into the bushes. " Oh, if only I had a camera ."

 

Tonight, they were alone with the stars and crickets. She had wanted to sit out on the pond dock for a while and stargaze, hoping to see some meteorites that The Wizard had talked about earlier that week. " I feel an arcane power radiating from them ." He had mentioned.

 

A sharp click snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked up at the pond ahead of them. It was Shane sitting alone at the water's edge with a beer can in hand. Seems the dock was already occupied. " I should go ." Rather than leave she found herself taking a couple of steps forward. Shepherd whined, looking up at The Farmer as she stared out at the dock, eyes trained on the familiar figure. Unsure of what she was thinking, but following her gut instinct, she tentatively stepped forward, walking out onto the dock. Shepherd paced in a circle before lying down, not exactly fond of being above the water.

 

She found herself taking more careful steps out onto the dock, unsure if he was in need of company or not. Whatever the true reason, it felt like something was pulling her out there, begging her to stay, like someone was tugging her by a leash and, for some insane reason, she was obeying. When her foot hit a creaky plank, making him perk up, she froze. He looked back over his shoulder and, for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a slight smile, but he ducked back before she could confirm. She inhaled sharply and walked up behind him, fixing her gaze on the lake, not wanting to know of the look on his face.

 

"Up late, huh?" He questioned, and she finally stepped up beside him, looking out onto the water.

 

The final fireflies of fall had just begun to emerge, the nights nearly cool enough for them to disappear. They blinked their mesmerizing, glowing patterns in the night in search of other fireflies, painting the forest with little, golden flickers of light. Joining them was the chorus of crickets, vocalizing in unison with the whooperwhills to create nature's nighttime symphony. It was all so very beautiful.

 

A sharp click snapped her out of her thoughts and made the crickets go momentarily silent. Shane had opened another beer, but pushed this one in her direction, the earthy smell of wheat and rye making her mouth water. "Here. Have a cold one."

 

"Oh, bless." She said, taking the can from his hand. "Thank you."

 

"No problem."

 

She regarded the fish in the water below, taking an acorn that had fallen onto the pier, and tossing it into the water, watching as the fish swam up to it expectantly, and even a small turtle joined in. She giggled when the two would chase each other around.

 

Shane sighed, watching a bass snap at one fish that was much smaller. "Buh… life." That she could agree with. Life never showed her any mercy, that was for sure. "You ever feel like no matter what you do, you're gonna fail?" He sighed. "Like you're stuck in some miserable abyss and you're so deep you can't even see the light of day?" Her heart ached at the thought. It was a feeling she used to know all too well, and sometimes that same feeling would rear its ugly head in her most vulnerable moments. She nodded solemnly, looking over at him. He kept his eyes forward, not wanting to see the look on her face. " She probably thinks I'm mental… " Either way, he kept on. "I just feel like no matter how hard I try… I'm not strong enough to climb out of that hole."

 

Memories began to trickle into her mind, eating away at her hardened exterior as she remembered how she felt the same way before moving to Stardew Valley: the smell of alcohol and cigarettes, not showering or brushing her teeth for days, her messy, smelly room, pushing herself to work until she fainted, spiraling deeper and deeper into that pitch black abyss until everything collapsed in one big clusterfuck.

 

She shook her head and tilted back with the beer can, chugging its contents so fast she hardly tasted it. When she finished it, she let out a small, undignified burp. It was impressive, but it also worried Shane. "Fast drinker, huh? Woman after my own heart."

 

Her ears perked, and if the alcohol hadn't already done so, she definitely would have blushed from that. " Ain't I the same woman that tried to beat the shit outta you ?" She held her tongue on that one.

 

"Just don't make it a habit. You've got a future ahead of you still."

 

"Still?" She questioned. "Shane, you're as young as me."

 

He didn't reply, and instead took another sip out of his can, finishing it off. "Well… my liver is begging me to stop. Better call it a night." He turned to The Farmer, meeting her gaze for the first time that night. Partially illuminated by the light of the fireflies, he saw the look in her eyes: that same look she had when he stepped onto her porch weeks ago, in the spring. He couldn't decipher it, whether it was pity, fear, or anything of the sort, it didn't matter. For once he was just glad she wasn't looking at him with that face of hatred that she gave him on day one. Standing up, he dusted off his pants, extending his hand to take her empty beer can, when his fingers brushed her own ever so slightly, he could almost feel the warmth the alcohol was causing coursing through her blood. " Why did I give her that? What if she's like me ?" She caught his gaze right before he turned, sensing a faint air of guilt. "I'll see ya' around." With that, he took wobbly steps off the dock, patting Shepherd's head before heading back to the barn, leaving The Farmer all alone on the dock with her thoughts eating her alive. She never thought she'd see the day, but she found herself wishing he had stayed. Even if it did stress her, it was better than her own solitary company.

 

A wet nose pressed into her hand, and she stiffened, until she realized it was just her loyal dog, who had braved the terrifying dock just to be with her. Shepherd laid his head down on her lap, whining until she placed a hand on his head, scratching behind his ears, and a little smile appeared on his face. She sighed, tilting back to look up at the stars blazing bright above her. 

 

Old memories bubbled up in her mind. Memories from long ago, when she thought all was lost. Now, she was seeing distressing similarities with Shane and his bad habits. He was going down that same, dark path that she had trekked herself, and unless someone tried to pull him off of it, there was no telling how he might end up. " Though I have a pretty good idea ." She thought, gazing out at the cliffs in the distance. A beer can still sat out in the grass from the months before, on that dreary night.

 

He might end up just like her. " Just like me …" A breeze blew through the forest, sending a chill down her spine, and that's when she decided to call it a night. "C'mon, Shep." Leaving the docs, she took one last look at Marnie's ranch, watching the last light go out as Shane headed to bed. From then on, she would be hoping, every single day, that he would wake up the next.

 

"There's more to ya' than what meets the eye, isn't there, Shane?"

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Full in-progress fic here!

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