#no but i don't like how they be cooped up in the garden for days either lol

[mi-dori]

The Milf Magnet: The Neighbour Next Door

Prompt of Series: You've recently finished high school and now you wanted to further your studies at a college that was a few cities away. You moved into a new neighbourhood and was met with all kinds of unexpected encounters.

Prompt of Fic: Your neighbour and you had a chat when she mentioned she had some work to you. Being the kind soul you are, you offered to help her which created a day of bonding with her.

Warnings: None

A/n: The Milf Magnet will be a little series I'll be writing and the chapters might be long so bear with me okay 🫡

HIMEKO X READER

"Good morning little one." You looked to the side to see your neighbour, Himeko existing her door and standing by the fence that separated her house from yours.

"Good morning Miss Himeko. You're up early." The soft chirping of the birds resounded throughout the quiet and peaceful neighbourhood. The older woman was clad in a white fluffy robe, her hair done in a messy bun. She smiled and watched as you took care of the flowers in your little garden.

"I am. I have a bit of work to do around the house as well as the inside so it's better to start early, no? And I told you to stop calling me 'Miss', I'm not that old," she chuckled slightly.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Do you need help with the outside work? I don't have classes today so I'm free the entire day." Her eyes lit up and she smiled fondly.

"Such a kind and hardworking young one," she smiled and sighed, "it's a shame my Dan Heng isn't like that. He's always cooped up in his room or out doing I don't even know."

The conversations exchanged between you two were always pleasant. Himeko was a lovely woman, she is the mother of Dan Heng, a fellow college mate. You don't know him that much but you've had a few interactions with him and in all honesty, you don't know how to describe those encounters. His mother on the other hand- that woman had your knees trembling and hands sweating but despite all of that, you somehow manage to always keep your composure. She was beautiful no doubt.

A beautiful red rose stood out in your garden and that's how you saw her. With slightly sweaty palms, you picked the rose and handed it to her. "Aw, you're so sweet y/n. And yes I'll gladly accept your offer for the assistance," she took the rose and you swore you saw her blush. "Have you eaten breakfast as yet?"

"Uh no. I came straight out as soon as I woke up. Why?"

"Come on over. I'll make breakfast for you." With a smile, you politely declined her however, she kept insisting and it was hard to keep refusing a woman like her, not when she gave you that pleading eyes.

Before you know it, you were already seated at the kitchen counter, admiring her well built house. It made you wonder what she does for a living but you dare not ask. "You have a lovely house Himeko."

"Hehe, why thank you. I'm glad your so fond of my house." She set a plate of Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast along with a fresh cup of orange juice. "There, if you want seconds, let me know." With that, you thanked her and dug into the food. Whilst eating, you saw her sneaking glances your way, her eyes made your weak, especially those 'certain' looks she sometimes give you.

Soon after, your plate was finished and with a satisfied smile, you took it to the sink along with hers. "Oh leave the plates sweetheart. I'll take care of it."

"No no I will. You've made the breakfast, I shall wash the dishes." You made quick work of the dishes before returning back to Himeko rested her chin on the palm of her hands. "What work do I need to do?"

"Oh yes! Alright, so the lawn needs to be mowed, the pool needs to be cleaned, and the roofs need painting. Is it too much?" She chuckled slightly at her perplexed face.

"Himeko, were you planning on doing those by yourselves if I hadn't offered?" She stopped smiling and sighed.

"Well yes, I don't have anyone else to do it. Besides, it's not like I can't hire someone, I just don't want too. I don't fee safe with strangers in my home when I'm alone. Dan Heng is with his father for now so it's me alone."

"Next time you need to do things like these, give me a call. I'll gladly help you, free of charge."

"Free?! No I need to pa-I'm not taking your money. I'll do it for free." Himeko signed and smiled.

"If only he had your attitude," she grumbled and shook her head. Who's he? It got you thinking and you wanted to ask if she was referring to her ex-husband but you decided that it's better to leave it alone.

"Alright! Let's get cleaning!" You clapped your hands together and pulled her up from her seat making her squeal. You made your way outside with the necessary tools and stared tackling the chores one by one. You made sure that each and every task was done with utmost devotion so that it wouldn't look like nothing has been done.

It took approximately about three hours before you finished the task of cleaning the pool; though it wasn't that big, you still cleaned each and every single spot there is. The other remaining chores took you until late in the afternoon as the sun was beginning to set. Himeko and you stood outside, all sweaty, admiring the clean house, if you hadn't known any better, you'd say the house was just bought. "Wow...this is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for your help!" Her eyes shone like stars as she admired the house. You sheepishly rubbed the back of your neck and smiled.

"I-it really wasn't anything. But either way, I'm glad to be of service."

"Why don't you take a bath and spend the night over?"

"My house is right over there-oh come on! It won't be a problem now would it? Besides," she took your hand in hers and walked inside," It gets lonely at night." Your eyes widened at the shift of her tone of voice.

You obviously couldn't deny such a pretty lady so you made yourself comfortable in her bath tub. But since it wasn't your house, you didn't make yourself too comfortable. A fresh change of clothes was already waiting as well as a hot plate of dinner. "You really didn't have to cook you know?" Himeko gave you a 'really' look before breaking off into a smile.

"It's fine sweetheart. It's the least I could do since you wouldn't accept any money from me."

"I still won't. I did this because I wanted too and besides, if I need something from you, you're gonna do it because now you owe me a favour." Himeko smirked at your statement.

"Oh really?" She leaned forward slightly. The two of you shared a moment of intense stare until she broke it off by saying, "well the food is certainly getting cold."

'Darn it.' Cursing yourself internally, you picked up your spoon and began munching away on the food that had you seeing stars. "Holy shit! This is amazing!"

"Really? I added a special ingredient tonight so I was hoping it'd turn out amazing." She smiled as she sipped her wine. The dinner was peaceful, the two of you chatted away, getting to know more about each other. When the little moment was over, you washed the dishes before joining Himeko in her room to watch a movie since she had a bigger TV in her room.

Half an hour later, the movie was still on but your attention was fixated on the naked Himeko sucking you off ;)

#himeko hsr #honkai star rail himeko x reader #honkai star rail Himeko #himeko x reader #hsr himeko x reader #himeko honkai star rail

[hauntedtrait]

🐴Once Upon A Time In Chestnut Ridge: A Bachelor Challenge

Meet Dakota Blue Heron, Chestnut Ridge's most eligible bachelor!

Dakota is 29, stands 6'3 tall, living on Crow's Head ranch, primarily a horse ranch that is open for guests in the spring and summer months. The ranch is owned and operated by the Heron family, being passed down through generations for over a century. Kindly, Dakota's parents have allowed the ranch to be used this season, in hopes that the show's popularity will help bring in more guests and customers.

Dakota accepted the network's offer to be Bachelor in hopes of finding a life partner, having little time to meet new people in his regular life. Also because, in his words, "this seems fun!"

Here's a few things he wants potential contestants to know about him: he spends his days working in various different parts of the ranch (in the horse stalls and gardens especially), he grows most of his food and whatever he doesn't grow he sources from local and ethical producers, he loves being surrounded by people (especially those he holds dearly), occasionally hunts (deer and invasive species mostly). He speaks navajo, navajo sign language, english and spanish, and is a tribal member of the navajo nation. Dakota wants kids and is looking for a partner with similar desires to start a family.

Keep reading below for more info!

Likes: fellow animal enthusiasts, physical contact (his love language), his grandmother's cooking, gardening, spending his days outside, being with family, cinnamon, old hollywood films, people who are connected to their families or communities, fry bread

Dislikes: being cooped up inside, snow days, musical theater, cilantro (he's got the soap taste gene), sudden loud sounds, stand up comedy, cold showers, people who don't like getting dirty, cops, cigarette smoke

GUIDELINES:

8 contestants will be accepted

contestants should have at least 5 likes and/or dislikes

contestants have 15 skill points to distribute as they wish

contestants can have 3-5 traits, except for unflirty or romantic, do give them at least one negative trait, it's more fun that way

unfortunately, only human contestants for this one. YA and adult only, any amount of story/backstory, any aspiration except for romance related aspirations, any gender (pleaseeee give them pronouns). include all this information in your entry please.

any cc and outfits, though try to keep to 1 outfit per category. maxis match or maxis mix is fine EXCEPT for alpha hairs, no alpha hairs please.

Download can be private or public, up to you, BUT please include ALL cc in the download!

i own most of the packs except for some of the kits, but i do have the ‘kits made bgc’ so i can replace stuff if needed

i will be changing skin details and giving them more outfits, if you submit a sim you are consenting to have them be changed to fit my sim style. honestly i highly encourage everyone to use sliders and custom presets, i think sims look a lot better with those and i dont love how vanilla presets look tbh

if you do not have the horse ranch pack but would like for certain skills, traits or aspirations from the pack to be used on your sim, let me know and i will add it in game!

tag me in your posts and use the hashtag #chestnutbc

UPDATE:

NEW DEADLINE: AUGUST 14

PLEASE READ:

As stated previously, Dakota likesmasculine-leaning sims. No strict gender preference, but I am looking for masculine contestants. Be it women who are more butch, masc leaning non binary, cis or trans men on the masculine side of the spectrum. Dakota's type tends to be people with muscles, masculine-leaning, who look like they could pick him up and throw him around. Dad types are a plus too. He prefers people who aren't very skinny, who have some meat on their bones. Strong types, protective vibes, and obviously people who can and are willing to work on a farm and live and deal with animals every day, it's not easy work!

#sims 4 bachelor challenge #s4 bachelor challenge #s4bachelor #sims 4 bachelor #ts4bachelor #ts4 bachelor challenge #ouaticr #🐴

[genderlessghoul]

Inspired by the recent puppy post from Motley Zoo and my undying love for animals, here's what I think each of the ghouls/ghoulettes would keep as a pet :

Phantom : He saw someone walking their dog his first week topside and made it his life mission to get one. After a lot of research and internal debate, he ended up adopting a pitbull/labrador mix from a local shelter. Her name is Petunia and she's the definition of sweet baby angel.

Mountain : He decided to fully commit to the farm boy aesthetic and he got himself some quails. They have their own coop and fenced little garden. They used to be have free range on the entire gardens but they'd always end up eating his vegetables. They look like tiny little chicks when he's holding them. He lets the other ghouls choose their name which unfortunately got him stuck with one called Cum. His favourite was affectionately named Nugget by Swiss.

Aether : Bunny. Tiny little miniature one too, all white except for a small black spot on its nose. It's free to roam around his room and Aether learned the hard way to hide any and all loose cables (more than once). He named it Dust. Because Dust Bunny. He swears it's funny.

Rain : AXOLOTL. She's albino and he named her Rose because of her pink little frill gills. He can understand her somehow, some weird water creature thing. She has a very simple brain tho and mostly screams at him for food. Dew and Swiss love to draw mustaches and hats on her tank with markers.

Dew : He has a black cat named Purrcifer. The cute little thing just started following him one day and Dew can't seem to get rid of him (not that he tried too hard). He says it's the Ministry's cat cuz he spends all day roaming around the ground and hunting mice, but the cat definitely sleeps in his bed every night.

Swiss : He swore he'd never get a pet, he's too unfocused to remember to take care of one properly. Until he accompanied Rain on a trip to the pet store and spotted a ball python. Love at first sight, just look at that puppy face. He spent weeks doing research and was pleased to learn that they only eat like once a week? Maybe every two weeks? That's perfect. He got a huuuge female and named her Fluffy. Fluffy is his pride and joy.

Aurora : Ferret. She wanted a cat at first but she discovered that they came in noodle format and was like !!!YES!!! She taught him fetch. They play with paper balls. He's stolen other ghouls' snacks on multiple occasions.

Sunshine : She really wanted a chameleon but she saw how high maintenance the suckers are and settled for a crested gecko. It doesn't officially have a name because it wouldn't recognize it anyway. Definition of no thought, head empty. Most times, she calls it NO STOP DON'T JUMP THERE. She loves it so fuckin much.

Cumulus : She has the cutest blue budgie. She taught it so many tunes that they sing together all day long. It loves nothing more than to hang on her shoulder all day and watch her do her tasks. One of its many favourite sounds to imitate is the ringtone of whoever's in the room with them. No one knows how it learned to differentiate them all.

Cirrus : She set up a pretty little saltwater tank in her room. It's home to two clownfish and their anemone. They're called Led Zeppelin and Metallica, no she will not take criticism on the name. The tank is very beautifully decorated and everyone keeps bugging her to put up a big one in the common room, which she always refuses cuz she doesn't trust any of them with salt water.

#the band ghost #ghost bc #nameless ghoul #nameless ghouls #swiss ghost #swiss ghoul #dewdrop ghost #phantom ghoul #rain ghost #mountain ghoul #aether ghoul #cirrus ghost #cumulus ghost #aurora ghoulette #sunshine ghoulette #ghost headcanons #nameless ghoul headcanons

[valley-of-headcanons]

hello fellow penny enjoyer (´∇`*)!!! i adore your writings, could i request penny helping around doing chores around the farmer's farm? i would love to read your headcanons on it! like what wuld be her favorite chore? what chore does she not really like to do etc :3 thank youu

penny helping around the farm || headcanons

penny loves to help others, of course she would help her spouse on the farm! <3

warnings: penny being a cutie, that's it lmao

requested by: @pan-pixie , thank you so much for the request! we stan fellow penny enjoyers. i love penny so much, and this request is really really cute!

• Penny loves helping out around the farm, anything to help the love of her life! Her love language is acts of service, so you can see her doing this a ton. She does little things for you all the time, so it's not uncommon to see her working on the farm.

• Her favorite chore is working in the barn. She loves the sheep, she thinks they're really soft and they're really sweet. She also loves the coop as well, mainly for the rabbits. Fluffy animals are her forte! You can often catch her sitting on the floor, stroking a rabbit, or softly talking the sheep through getting sheered. She talks to them like they were people, and it's really sweet to hear her. Sometimes you just press your ear against the door and listen if she's in there.

• “Oh, it's okay, Mr. Sheep! It's only gonna take a second to get all that wool off of you, we don't want you to have a heatstroke! I know, you might get a little cold, but that's what the outside's for! It'll be okay ...”

• She HATES chopping down trees and cracking rocks in the yard. It's not her thing at all, she's terrified of a tree falling down on her or a rock cutting her as she walks by. She would do it if you asked her to, but you refrain from it, not wanting to get her nervous or anxious. She's not as nervous as she was when she lived with Pam, but something's still get her a little worried.

• “Y-You want me to chop down trees? ... are you sure there's not anything else I can do? I'll go out and do whatever you were planning to do today instead! I promise I'll make it up to you- no, I'm gonna make it up to you! I know it's okay to say no ... but I want to. What's your plans for today?”

• Picking fruits and vegetables from the garden is also pretty calming for her, she often hums while she picks. She hates how dirty her hands get, but she'll deal with it. Usually your pet will come keep her company, rubbing up against her leg as she digs a parsnip out of the ground. She's especially happy doing it during the summer, and on breaks you can occasionally see her snacking on one of the freshly picked melons. Definitely a good reward after a long day.

• “Sweetheart, take a bite of this melon! It's perfectly ripe, I think you'll love it! ... Yay! Let's definitely save some, I'll go make room for them in the fridge! ... you don't have to thank me, love. I promise!”

• If you have a fruit bat cave, she doesn't like going in there either. It's all dark and there's flying creatures that could attack her! Yeah, that's an immediate fear factor in there. When you showed it to her, you had to hold her hand and let her hide behind you as she peaked over your shoulder. She's not touching that cave with a ten foot pole.

• “Sorry for acting like such a coward ... it's just, I'm not really great with those things ... I know I don't have to say I'm sorry, but- ... okay, I really love you, and thank you for respecting my boundaries. You're the greatest, my dear.”

• However, she loves you. She loves doing things for you, and seeing your reaction to when she does things for you is priceless. Make sure to tell her that her efforts were worth it, and give her a forehead kiss. And tell her that she did a good job, she can't get enough of that. She deserves it.

#stardew valley #sdv #sdv headcanons #stardew valley headcanons #sdv penny #stardew valley penny #penny #penny sdv #penny headcanons #penny x reader #penny x farmer #penny stardew valley #stardew valley penny headcanons #sdv penny headcanons #stardew valley penny x reader #sdv penny x reader #stardew valley penny x farmer

[strawberry-cowmilk]

Alright here's for you~

Now what if a new human exchange student arrived in RAD and was doing pretty well. He and MC got along pretty well. However there was something about him that was strangely familiar to the brothers.

Now one day Diavolo called over the brothers.

They arrived into the a meeting room which had a glass wall that could see the entire garden.

Once they were all seated. Diavolo started to speak. "I have made an interesting discovery of our new exchange student, Philip."

"And that is?" Lucifer said with a brow raised.

"Philip is the descendant of lilths lover."

How would they react to this

Hi, anon! Such an interesting concept you have thought of, I'll write your request! I hope you like it!

the brothers react to mc's friend being distantly related to lilith's lover

-> brothers x mc

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read

content warnings: spoilers for lesson 16, 5 and 6, angst, withdrawal

-----

Lucifer

he goes quiet for a bit, but there's a rage burning inside of him

lucifer kind of dislikes whoever lilith's human lover was, not only because he is her older brother, but also because he blames the lover for the war

but, the reason within him says he shouldn't blame your friend for what had happened

though he will keep more of a distance from him from now on

Mammon

he doesn't know how to respond to the news

mammon liked your friend too, he doesn't know how he should view him after learning this information

he will withdraw himself into his room for a while, which is concerning because he is, well, mammon

you have to go to him and let him vent his feelings

Leviathan

levi didn't talk to the new exchange student before, and now he thinks he never will

like lucifer, he kind of views his sister's lover as one of the root causes of a war that had brought him many problems

he needs to be alone for a bit after having heard diavolo's words

so, he camps in his room for a good two days, talking only to his pet fish

Satan

unlike his brothers, satan didn't know lilith very well

this fact was also something that caused him to feel a bit more alienated from his family

after learning the news, he is angry, of course, but not quite as much as other brothers

he knows he should be more upset, he is the avatar of wrath, and lilith was his sister, but he can't do so

Asmodeus

asmo also took a liking to your new friend, so learning this news was of course a shocker

he needs a moment to calm down and clear his mind

once asmo feels a bit better, he believes he shouldn't get upset with the new exchange student over this, he can't choose his ancestors, after all

asmo starts to re-build his relationship with your friend at an appropriate pace

Beelzebub

he is probably one of the brothers who takes the news the hardest

beel doesn't want to accidentally get caught up in the moment and hurt your friend, so he leaves to go somewhere alone

you go after him, because he clearly needs comfort

when you two are alone, you listen to beel letting all of his feelings out

he also knows your friend isn't responsible for anything, but he just can't look at him the same now

Belphegor

he gets really, really mad for a moment there

but then he remembers what he did to you that day in the attic, he can't make the same mistake with your friend, you'd hate him for it

belphie just wants to be alone for now, so he leaves the scene

you try to go after him, but diavolo stops you

belphie ended up cooping himself up in the attic for a week, and don't expect him to talk to your friend again

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me scenarios #obey me imagines #obey me swd #omswd #om #obey me x reader #obey me x mc #gn!mc #lucifer #mammon #leviathan #asmodeus #beelzebub #belphegor #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #beelzebub obey me #beel obey me #belphegor obey me #obey me belphie

[justaduckarts]

How did Eclipse and Sun react to Moon's transition? And was Pluto ever notified?

Hello!

This itched something in my brain, so here's a short lil drabble.

TW: Deadnaming (not intentionally), Dysphoria mentions

Nervous didn't cover it. Moon stood before the mirror, adjusting and readjusting his cap. Smoothing his tunic and turning this way and that to ensure the chest binding was secure.

The flatness of his chest brought him more relief- more joy than he could have ever imagined.

It was like he was meeting himself for the first time as he stood there. No more silken gowns. No more 'lovely young lady'. No more Mona. Just Moon. His truest self.

"Is my handsome son almost ready?" Luna propped herself in the doorway, a hand on her hip. Moon looked up at his mother and fidgeted.

"Forgive me... I just... What if the others don't like it?" He spoke so quietly. His throat was sore from pushing to deepen his voice. To sound less... Like Mona.

Luna gently cupped her son's face.

"My son, if your friends cannot support you and love you as Moon? They are not worthy of you." She kissed his forehead. "But I sincerely doubt Sunny and dear Clipsy would ever be anything less than supportive."

Moon nodded, sighing softly.

"I know, mother. I just..." Moon looked into the mirror.

"I understand," Luna wrapped an arm around him, "sometimes, it's difficult to quiet our uncertainties. I assure you, I'll be there every step of the way."

The two shared smiles. Moon couldn't be more grateful for his mother. His rock. Someone he knew would encourage him no matter how silly or strange the endeavor.

Glancing in the mirror one last time, Moon took in his appearance.

"Look at that," Luna's smile brightened, "my wonderful son. You're already such a fine young man."

Young man.

It felt right. It felt nice.

No more days of throwing all of his clothes on the floor or hiding in oversized sweaters or avoiding looking at the stranger in the mirror.

At least, he hoped.

.

"Mona!" Sun came striding up to greet his old friend, only to be caught by the bicep. Obscura dragged Sun back to her side and began frantically whispering at him.

Moon felt his heart pounding.

He'd spent the whole summer cooped up in the tower studying. He'd only seen Sun for the Solstice Celebration, and at that time he'd still been going out as Mona.

But he'd been Moon for months, and he hadn't been prepared to hear his old name again.

A gentle hand settled on Moon's shoulder. He glanced up at his mother. She smiled at him, confident and cool-headed as ever.

"Hello, boys!" Luna waved, "and Obscura. A vision, as ever."

"Oh, you," Obscura chuckled. She guided Eclipse and a now sheepish looking Sun across the entryway and they stopped at the temple's front step.

"Are we waiting on Solaris?" Luna glanced around for the radiant king. Obscura's smile faded. Eclipse crossed his arms- and Luna noted his second pair were noticeably absent again. She frowned.

"No, he's not attending. But let's not worry about him," Obscura's eyes glowed even through her dark veil, "why don't we go ahead and have lunch in the garden?"

"Sounds lovely. Oh, but first," Luna gently nudged Moon forward, "Obscura, Sun, Eclipse. I'd like you to meet my son, Moon."

Shyly, Moon waved at Sun and Eclipse.

Sun took a step forward, extending a hand. He grinned, showing off that chipped tooth of his. A battle scar from one of his sparring matches with Eclipse.

"It's nice to meet you, Moon."

Tears pricked the edges of Moon's vision as he shook the hand of his longtime friend. Finally being seen as himself by the world for the first time.

"Likewise," Moon said quietly, voice nearly cracking. He smiled. Sun released his hand.

"We're happy to have you, Moon," Obscura gently patted his shoulder, "you are such a fine young man, I'm so proud of you."

Eclipse moved towards Moon and Moon yelped as he was suddenly lifted off the ground.

"Who knew the Star Mother would bless us with another brother?" Eclipse squeezed Moon. The smaller god laughed, patting Eclipse's back.

The fledgling god of darkness was still young, but already so big. He was well on his way to being as impressive as Obscura someday.

After a few more hugs, the group was finally on their way to the garden. Once they entered, the smell of daisies and fresh cut grass washed over them.

Seated on a large blanket near the statue of the previous sun god was Pluto and her mother. Terra was absent, likely holed up in the forge as usual.

Pluto shot up like she'd been bitten and darted across the garden, unconcerned about the ends of her dress growing grass-stained.

"Moon!" She slammed into the meek blue fledgling god with such force that they both tipped onto the grass.

"Pluto," Moon wheezed, "hi."

Giggling, the lavender-skinned girl sat up. All around the two, soft pink flowers began to bloom. A show of Pluto's enthusiasm.

"I finally get to see you! Look at you, a whole new man." Pluto got to her feet, dragging Moon with her.

"And you're the same brute as ever," Moon stuck his tongue out at her. Pluto responded by sticking her own tongue out, crossing her arms.

"A man now and still can't stop me from bowling you over?" She taunted.

"Please, not even Obscura could stop your dragon-strength." Moon rolled his eyes, "you're going to kill someone by accident."

Pluto gasped, "I'd never!"

"Pluto, where are your manners?" Ursa set a hand on her wily daughter's shoulder, smiling at Luna and Obscura. The lesser spring goddess was so much shorter than the greater gods. Shorter now than her own daughter, not that that ever deterred Ursa from scolding Pluto when it was needed.

"Hm?" Pluto looked at her mother, then back at the other goddesses. "...Oh! Stars above, sorry! It's nice to see you, Luna, Obscura." Pluto bowed her head.

"That's quite alright," Obscura waved off Pluto's worries, "we're all friends, there's no need to be so formal."

"Oh, I know," Ursa sighed, "but that's still no reason to be running around-

"Ursa," Luna took the hands of the lilac goddess, "let them be children a little longer."

As the three goddesses began to chat about parenthood, responsibility, and other nonsense that teens don't really care about, Pluto turned to the gaggle of boys around her.

"Tag?" She grinned.

Sun's blue eyes shone with excitement. Eclipse was already backing away from the group, intent on a head start.

"You are so on," Sun bounced, "I'm not losing this time!"

"Ha! We'll see about that," Pluto put her hands on her hips.

Moon couldn't help but laugh, too.

He'd been so nervous, but things felt so normal.

No, they were better than normal.

Because now he was finally feeling like himself. And his friends, his family, still loved him. They loved Moon.

And Mona could be laid to rest.

#justaduckarts answers #star holder au #moon is trans #ftm drabble #lore

[ramlightly]

Curious Souls asked: I'm gonna indulge: characters, how I'd date them & why we break up Basil: Long walks & picnics, we keep trying to care for each other but don't know how to ask for care Dandelion: Basically just hooking up, stops hanging out after I ask to "snarf his tube" Ginger: Sitting & chatting in the garden, I'm not rly an outdoors person & they feel cooped up indoors but it's pleasant while it lasts Thistle: I think cuddles & sharing music, I think the opposite of Basil kinda, we never rly learn how to be there for each other when we need it. Figg: It's very transactional, it's very transactional. Hollyhock: I let them suck my blood & fuck me & all, but I think I try to show them movies & art & music, but I can't tell if they're enjoying it or tolerating it for my juices. That or like, I die mid-infodump about 70's experimental German rock.

So many relationships loved and lost, anon! May you one day find a love that will last. I suggest at looking beyond demon and priests with complicated sexual histories. If you haven't been drained dry by Hollyhock first, as they are known to do that. 

(https://retrospring.net/@ramlightly/a/111143805749435038)

#ask #long #sorry I don't have much control over how this looks lol

[gretchensinister]

Ask and ye shall receive 👀👀👀 my words: receive (lol), serendipity, magic

Receive

Note: This is in the Garnetting AU. But SkekGra and UrGoh don't know that in this little fic about their experience of the Great Conjunction.

~*~

When the light comes, they whispered to each other, we will accept whatever it brings us as a gift. We will trust, and our hands will be open. We will receive whatever fills them with joy. And they looked into each other’s eyes and thought: even if that gift be death.

They did not want the gift to be death, not exactly, though they were both very, very old, and the thought of death as a gift did not shock either of them, anymore.

They had become oh-so-fragile in the past few trine. Unum by unum, they watched each other lose substance, felt each other grow shaky, saw absences and blanks spread that had always been filled before. But one remained patient, and one refused to be defeated, and they did what they could.

Their days grew simple, as tasks that had once been simple stretched to fill the hours.

They did their best to feed each other, from a garden sung lush by magic and a coop of karatick with a faded sign affixed over the little door that said “Barracks.” They were no longer strong enough to go meet the caravans, and they had not seen any signs of them for many trine now, at least the lifetime of a gelfling.

They held and massaged each other’s ever-more-delicate flesh, finding that hands shook less when pressed against each other, that they still had some power to ease the aches and pains that had multiplied so grandly in such a short time. They held each other to share what little warmth they had between them—though they could not help but be troubled that they did so even under the full light of the desert days, now.

(And sometimes, even now, this care could startle their bodies into the remembrance not just of warmth but of heat, and it was with delight they took these moments, and one or another, as gifts into each other’s hands. Hands, above all, as other flesh more and more rarely aligned with desires of the mind and heart.)

They created, still, songs and poems and a record of what it was like, with the two of them so old and the world seeming old, too, their certainties and uncertainties, fears and hopes and wonders. Most of these, naturally, touching on that final journey, of which they had no orthodoxy to turn to, which would bear no wandering on the way, which could not be conquered. But there were jokes, too, mixed in with the rest. And when words got lost, and sentences broke, they wove over each other’s gaps, for the taking up of such snapped threads was as right as it was troubling that the threads had snapped in the first place. They would always have at least one, whole mind between them, of that they were sure.

Every day, the suns drew closer.

I’m not ready.

I feel the Song humming in my bones. At least I think I do.

Hold me.

I wish we could have one more night when we were young.

One more feast?

And everything after.

Hold me.

Whoever comes after us, I hope they understand.

How good it was.

That we did our best.

Hold me.

I hope.

I fear.

I love you.

I love you.

Hold me.

Hold me.

When the day of the Great Conjunction dawned, they knew it, as undeniable as the suns’ very rising.

They put what they’d written over the trine into a chest that would keep out the sand, along with a few other things—marionettes of each of them, a small, graceful wooden carving of one, a miniature painted with the eyes of love of the other, still luminous with the finest pigments that had ever been carried on a Dousan caravan route. The chest would rest in a place where the suns would not touch it directly, but where it would not be hidden to anyone who found this place at all.

Most of what they had created over the years would have to be left to the desert, though. Their hands skimmed over much of it as they moved through the Circle of the Suns on that last day, fingertips saying farewell to the beautiful and practical, to the lovely evidence of their peaceful hours and days and unum and trine.

They put the hearth crystal together, and placed it with a note pressed in clay that explained in as many languages as they knew what it did when the halves were separated.

They fed the karatick, and shooed them away and out of the Circle of the Suns.

And then. Then it was almost time.

I think we should go out the way we came in.

And I would like as little separation between us as possible, when it is time.

The suns climbed higher, drawing ever closer. They took off their clothes, not bothering to fold them.

A moment, a pause.

A long time since the night of the storm.

But it still comes to mind so easily.

They still suffered chill, in the heat of this last day, and so one brought their largest blanket out to the ledge where they’d spent entire gelfling lifetimes in each other’s company. The other joined with the last of their bread, spread with the last of their parga-fruit jam, the greatest sweetness they could manage without the caravans. Draped under one blanket, they fed each other, and after they had eaten they leaned against each other, holding each other’s hands.

The three suns touched over the desert.

I’m thinking of the flowers.

So am I.

And the three suns shone as one, suffusing Thra with the all-transforming light that had not been seen for a thousand trine.

When it shone on them, the light of the Great Conjunction warmed their ancient flesh all through, just like sunlight should. Every pain ebbed away. The hum that had been in their bones grew louder, stronger, clearer, resolving into a chord that seemed to go beyond hearing into every sense, the final, glorious note of a symphony they had—they had—been a part of. And the light shone brighter, brighter, brighter, until it felt like it was shining through them. They looked at each other to see if it was so, and when they saw each other they saw what no other being in the universe had ever seen before.

And what they saw was good.

What they saw was wonderful.

One tiny part of that final chord: Oh. Oh. Two small and perfect sounds of awe.

The light shone brighter yet, until nothing at all could be seen.

For a moment, there was silence. Deep, true, complete silence. Just a moment. But a moment long enough to create a world.

And then the Song started again, everywhere in and on and above Thra, life roaring back, the Song clear and strong as it had not been in a thousand trine, rushing and cascading through the healed Crystal like snowmelt in spring after the hardest winter a world had ever seen.

But what notes were first played at that place in the desert, when the new symphony began and the suns parted from each other in their dance once more?

It was a small sound that broke the profound silence: a nail falling onto stone.

And for a time there was only the wind through the stones. Anyone watching—though who could possibly have been there to watch?—could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps that the clink of that dreadful piece of metal on that well-loved stone would be the final sound other than wind to ever be heard at the place once named the Circle of the Suns. Would it not have been enough?

But Thra was, is, and ever shall be, abundant. Profligate. And, too, possessive of what has come to belong to it.

And soon enough, a laugh rang out. A single laugh, that was also a harmony, fitting in so perfectly with all the chords of the world at that moment that no one could be wise and say that it was not meant to be there. A laugh loud enough that it seemed the sound should reach to a far, far distant world and shatter something there. A laugh that came from the throat of something—someone—new. Good. Wonderful.

#skekgra #urgoh #gragoh #the dark crystal #the dark crystal: age of resistance #garnetting AU #doodlinglina #yes I am scheduling this post to roughly coincide with the eclipse #so read it later! after the eclipse!

[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?"

____________

Full in-progress fic here!

#a03 fanfic #a03 writer #ao3 fanfic #stardew shane #shane stardew valley #stardew farmer #stardew sam #stardew abigail #stardew sebastian #stardew fanfic #stardew fic #reader x shane #shane x reader #shane x farmer #shane x the farmer #fanfic #read on a03 #writing on ao3 #stardew valley #stardew #shane #sdv farmer #sdv shane #sdv fanfic #sdv fandom #sdv #rated mature #read on ao3 #x reader #fluff

[rederiswrites]

Did manage to plant out the rest of the Solomon's Seal, mulch and water the strawberries, and do (some of) the dishes. Also found the mutilated corpse of my White Pearmain apple tree, which actually popped apart at the graft like a fucking Lego. So, like, nevermind about that touching story. BUT, all four of us together made relatively easy work of moving the grow-out coop to fresh ground, and the chicks are now nicely ensconced outside. PHEW!

Then I put in a new garden bed! Don't get to do that every day. Finally took all the ferns and heucheras and hostas I've been collecting, put them together with the Solomons Seal, and started putting in my "sculpture garden". Quotes, because lacking any actual sculptures, it's better described as "that goofy nook where the utilities hook up to the house, that gets no sun". We'll get to the sculptures someday.

When everything fills out, I am confident it'll be awesome.

Now, it being 11:30 at night here, I'm only halfway done making dinner, and still have to prepare a bunch of pieces of jewelry for an art gallery drop-off tomorrow morning. Don't worry about it! It's fine! I do not know how to do that!

[wordsbymae]

Oh what about Farmer with a horse girl? Does he have horses. My dream is to basically be a hometeader so I keep wondering what his farm has.

Oh yeah, he has horses!! Ok, so this is how I view his farm. He has the homestead of cause, which is this pale yellow colour (for some reason? it's not even a colour I like, but it's what I imagined it as when I wrote the first one). It's two stories with a wrap-around porch and has big white shutters with those pretty shaped cut-outs.

Then the infamous barn is the stereotypical red and white barn. But it's seen better days. The red is more of a dull/brownish red and the white has chipped away and now it's more wood than paint.

I see him having a few fields of wheat/barley. This is more of a way to feed his animals rather than a profit. But if he has enough left over he will sell.

His main profit is his bulls. I don't see him being able to sell cattle for meat or anything too intensive. It's mostly just him and he only gets seasonal workers to help with the harvest or just when he needs them. So instead he runs a bull stud. Breeding the best bulls in the state. It's a small operation but he charges a hefty price for quality so it works. He has about 2 bulls he keeps for 4-5 years before replacing them, and about 30-50 cows/heifers depending on the season.

Then he has his pigs, thats how his father made his money breeding boars, but pigs are noisy as all hell, so the farmer has it more as a side project rather than the main source of income. He has a pair he keeps and he then sells the litter.

Then he has his chickens, a good 20 of them. One big red rooster and all the rest hens. He sells the eggs he doesn't want either as produce or as incubator eggs. He has this huge chicken coop he built himself.

Then he has one or two dairy cows. He breeds them with his bulls and shares the milk with the calf. Or sells the calf depending on if it's a bull calf. Doesn't sell the milk, but uses it for himself (after pasteurisation of course). He'll most likely sell the heifer calf later on.

Then there are the horses. He doesn't have many. Maybe one or two and they're used as transport mainly through his fields or to round up the cattle. They aren't anything special either just quarter horses, but they get the job done. I can see the horse girl reader just falling in love with them and getting mad when they find out he calls them Horse, and Also Horse. Reader will braid their hair and beg farmer to let them go for rides. He agrees as long as he's with them.

Then he's got a cat that just roams around. He doesn't even own it really. It just showed up and never left.

Then there are his working dogs. If I hadn't implied he was from the Us south/Texas, I would have given him kelpies. They are the best working dogs! At least in my biased australian opinion. I was thinking of giving him cattle dogs (blue/red heelers), cause they are recognised in the States but cause his cattle are breeding stock he won't want the dogs to be overly aggressive and bite their heels (they can be trained out of them but easier to get another breed).

Ok, I did some googling and cause I have three kelpies myself, I'm giving him some. I don't care if the us doesn't recognise the breed (rude) but it's not unheard of for them to be used in the States. So yay! Anyway, he only has two cause he has such a small herd. They aren't inside dogs cause they are primarily working dogs so they get this nice kennel outside. And cause I love country music and by extension, he does too, they are called Pancho and Lefty.

He also has a veggie garden and grows most of his own food. If you are a vego/vegan DO NOT go into the small shed out the back. That chicken he took in there does not come back out alive.

Anyway! Hope you liked it. I got a bit over the top

tag list: @floraroselaughter @psyche-entwined-in-love

#star :) #farmer oc #farmer yandere

[sanguineterrain]

On Wings of Fate (2) - s.r. | b.b.

Series summary: You meet a kind stranger one day in the marketplace. He's a pirate, but a good man, he swears. Your knight isn't so sure, but oh, what does he know? You like the pirate; his eyes are like the sea and his smile... oh, his smile is trouble. Yet from the moment he docked at your kingdom's port, you just may have bargained for more than the three of you could ever imagined.

Pairing: knight!Steve Rogers x princess!fem!Reader x pirate!Bucky Barnes

Word count: 7.8k

Warnings: war, violence, reader is grabbed briefly, Alexander Pierce.

I do not do taglists anymore! You can follow @sanguine-marvel for new updates on all my Marvel fics.

divider by firefly-graphics

“Sigh.”

You shifted, crossing your elbows on the table. Petunia didn't so much as glance at you. 

“Siiiiiigh!” 

You swung your legs. Petunia continued embroidering her stack of napkins. You’d long since put down your own stitchwork, choosing instead to stare longingly out the window. It was sunny once again, a gorgeous day. Far too gorgeous to spend cooped up inside, stitching napkins. 

You took a deep inhale. Petunia raised a brow.

“Ssssiiiiii—”

“My lady, is something the matter?”

“No, no, nothing’s the matter. I’m just sighing, Petunia. As one does.”

“So I hear.”

You leaned forward, frowning at the sun and sword emblem on the single napkin you’d almost managed to finish. 

“How many more of these do we have to do?”

“Three dozen. Though you don’t have to work on these, my lady.”

“It’s not like there’s anything else to do,” you grumbled, slouching in your chair. “Father’s basically put me on palace arrest.”

“My lady, any of the knights would be happy to…”

“They’re training.”

“Only a few are. Sir Steven, Sir—”

“Yes. As I said, they’re training.”

Petunia smiled. Your pout deepened.

“I see. Well, until he’s finished, you can always help in the gardens, or the kitchens. Don’t you want to see what they’re making for the festival, my lady?”

“Yes, I do. In the city. In the stalls. Where the festival food is. Not whatever nonsense Father forces to impress the delegates and officials.”

You picked up the needle, poking it through the napkin once again, filling in the yellow sun. You sighed. 

“I’m sorry, Petunia. I sound wretched, whining about a feast. I’m simply restless.”

After what had happened with the so-called spy, your father had decided that it was too risky for you to be on your own. So now the guards watched you like a hawk. You hadn't wreaked your usual havoc in nearly a week. It was hell. 

"I understand, my lady, but the king only wants to keep you safe."

"At the expense of my sanity."

Petunia hummed. She, like Steve, knew your dramatics enough to skirt around them. 

"I hear they're making apple cake for the feast."

You straightened. "Are they?"

"That's what I was told."

You leapt from the chair, pushing it in. Stalls or not, apple cake was always a yes. Petunia chortled.

"Enjoy, my lady."

"I'll save you some," you promised, dashing to the kitchens. 

It was busy. You stayed close to the wall, not wanting to get in anyone's way. The chefs worked hard year-round and you respected their craft. They didn't need you skulking about. But, well… apple cake.

"I made you your own, Your Highness," said the head chef, pointing to a parcel. 

You darted forward, taking the cake. It smelled divine, rich with spices and sweet summer apples. 

"Thank you, thank you. For my maid, could I…"

"Petunia gets hers too," he promised with a chuckle. "I will send it to her. Your knight ought to stop by too. This is Sarah Rogers' recipe after all."

"I—but he's not my knight. He's for the kingdom."

"Of course," he amended. "My mistake, my lady."

Steve did like apple cake, though. Even more than you, with all the memories attached to it. 

"I'll be in the gardens," you decided, collecting your treat. 

"Please don't try to hop the gate again, Your Highness. They just trimmed the topiary."

"That was one time!" 

Damn your father. And whatever gardener had ratted you out. 

The gardens were mildly busy, what with the festival preparations. But you were able to walk and eat by yourself, thinking. You longed to go back to the docks and taste the salty air, feel the spray from the waves. Your father had warned you not to go to the docks anymore, lest there be spies. Steve might take you… he was more lenient when he could be by your side. Still, fraternizing with a pirate was pushing it. Even for you. 

"Lovely day, eh?" 

You looked up to see one of the gardeners standing before you. He wore all the proper attire, and nothing would've been out of the ordinary… only he had two gold hoops in his right ear. You stiffened, one hand clutching your skirt in case you needed to run. 

"Now it's alright," he said, holding up a hand. His dialect was unfamiliar to your kingdom. "Ain't 'ere to 'arm ya, Princess Y/N."

"You're not one of the gardeners."

"Not exactly. Dunno shit 'bout flowers, really. The name's Albatross Goodwin. Alby, if y'please. Not me given name, 'course, but it's what I pr'fer to be called."

"You're a pirate."

He grinned, showing off two gold-capped front teeth. 

"Hear you're fond'a pirates, Highness. And that they seem to be fond back."

"You mean Bucky?" 

Alby laughed heartily. 

"First name acquaintance, are ya? Barnesy doesn't let just anyone call 'im that."

He took off his hat, bowing slightly. 

"Y'saved one of our own. A decent man, and I'm sure we both know how hard those are to come by."

"Yes," you said, glancing at the rows of fresh poppies. "We do."

"That's why 'm here. Usually I spit on royals, the lot of 'em. No offense, Highness. Lost me pops to a dirty king."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Alby."

Another flash of gold teeth. "Yeah, God rest his soul, whatever corner of Hell he crawled into. Anyway, I got a letter. Barnesy paid me a lot to deliver. Sure must think you're worth it."

A thrill shot through you. Bucky had gone all this way to write you?

"I didn't know he'd keep in touch."

"Mm, well, he also said to show your knight and no one else. You know what he means?"

"Yeah," you smiled. "I do."

Alby pulled out an envelope, speckled with seawater and sealed with a messy press of wax. You took it eagerly, gears turning. 

"How will I send him a letter back?" 

"I'll come back to your garden tomorrow, Highness. This whole venture is on Barnes' dime."

"Thank you, Alby. Are you hungry? Would you like some apple cake?" 

You took your second cake from your pocket, handing it to him. Alby bowed low, returning his hat. 

"A real palace delicacy, eh? Maybe not all you royals are so bad, Highness. Guess Barnesy knew what he was talkin' about."

"Did he mention anything about what's in the letter?"

"Nothing. Just that it's important and for me to deliver it immediately. Got some sort of festival going on?"

"Yes," you said, tracing the wax seal. "The Solstice Celebration."

"Must have a lot of imports, then. No one batted an eye when I came here. Busy boys."

"That's odd," you mused. "Plenty of them were assigned to the docks. The king made a big deal about it after Bucky escaped."

"Small mercies," Alby shrugged. "I won't complain."

"Your Highness!" 

You froze. Fifty yards away was Captain Jones and two other guards. Alby grimaced. 

"You ought to return to work. Go, I'll cover," you pushed, stepping around him. 

Alby slipped by, pushing his wheelbarrow. You took your time crossing the veranda. Jones stopped in front of you, fully-armored. 

"Your Highness, was that one of the gardeners?" 

"Judging by his wheelbarrow and royal gardener patch, yes, I would say so, Captain Jones."

He frowned at you, then squinted at your hand. You put the envelope behind your back but it was too late. 

"What is that?" 

"What is what?"

"The letter. All mail must be checked, Your Highness."

"It was checked," you huffed, like he was the idiot. "It came from another kingdom."

"Pardon my boldness, milady, but who might be writing you from outside the kingdom?" 

"A prince," you answered quickly. "We met at the banquet last month."

"Is that so."

"Yes. Prince… Johnathan."

"Prince Johnathan," echoed Jones. "From the Storm house?" 

"That's the one. Would you like to read his letter, perhaps? Decide if his poetry suits your expectations?" 

"I didn't think Prince Johnathan was much of a poet," mumbled one of the guards. 

"Well, he is. He's full of surprises. We are in love. If you'll excuse me, I must return his message. I was in the garden searching for the perfect flower to send him." 

For extra measure, you giggled, tossing your head. Jones gave you a strange look, but he didn't seem suspicious, which was enough for you.

"Of course, milady. Carry on."

You nodded, perusing the rose bushes as if you had all the time in the world. The letter burned a hole in your pocket. You had to find Steve. He and the knights were likely still training. If so, you had to cut across the castle to the training grounds. 

You decided to stop by the kitchens first for more apple cake. Petunia was inside, delivering the napkins. 

"Did you enjoy the gardens, my lady?"

"Oh, yes. The gardeners are very friendly. Did you try the apple cake?" 

"I did. I considered bringing some home for Delilah, though she just had her birthday last week."

"A little apple cake never hurt anyone," you decided. Delilah was Petunia's three year old daughter, with big brown eyes like her mother and a penchant for getting exactly what she wanted. You could relate. 

"That's exactly what she might say if she could speak," Petunia sighed. "I wonder some days if I've reared two princesses."

"Well, you did a lovely job with the first, if I do say so," you grinned, swiping two cakes from the counter. 

"For your knight?" asked the chef. 

"But of course," Petunia answered for you. 

You rolled your eyes. 

"Don't be cheeky. He'll be hungry after training. Any of them would."

"And yet, you only seem to be bringing enough for one, my lady."

"I will not dignify that with a response," you replied primly. "...Do you have any milk?" 

They both laughed heartily. 

"That all you got, Rogers?" crowed one of the knights. "A fish flops better than that!"

Metal clanged, ringing in the air. You opened the gate, going to wait by the fence. Steve had removed his helmet, sweat on his fringe. He moved swiftly, powerful with his sword. You liked watching, had done so since you were young and Steve was first training to be a knight. He fought like he was on a battlefield, yet remained in control and merciful. Your father regularly claimed him as his best soldier. 

The knight who teased Steve went on the offense, too cocky. Steve dodged him, sword whistling. In an instant, said knight was on his back, sword knocked to the side. 

"Do you yield, Sir Valan?" Steve asked calmly. 

Sir Valan grumbled, crawling out from under Steve's hold with a sulk. Steve pulled him up, then sheathed his sword. 

You clapped, drawing the attention of everyone, including the other palace spectators. Some of the Ladies liked to watch the knights fight too, waving their handkerchiefs and dainty parasols. You waved, not paying them any mind. You were the princess, after all. If you wanted to cheer for Steve, you could. It didn't mean anything. 

"That's enough for today," decided another knight. "Good work, men."

"Well done, knights!" you called. 

A few nodded in your direction. You hiked up your skirt, standing on the lower rung of the fence. 

"Steve!" you called when he began to walk away with the others. That was odd. Hadn't he seen you? 

Steve paused, seemingly working something out. Finally, he walked over to you, posture straight. You grinned, leaning over the fence. 

"Hi."

"Princess."

The smile slipped from your face. 

"Princess? Since when do you address me by my title?" 

"Sir Steven! Oh, Sir Steven?"

One of the Ladies waved her flowery handkerchief as she approached. Her maid held Steve's helmet. 

"You left this. Would you like my handkerchief to clean it?" 

You stiffened. It was no secret that Steve was well-liked. Not only by your father, as well as the other knights, but by women too. Anyone could plainly see that Steve was a handsome man, strong and smart, a fine match for any lucky lady. 

You'd asked Steve once if he ever accepted any favor from the Ladies in court. It had been a casual question. Steve was a knight—it would make sense. But he'd met your gaze, serious as stone. 

"My duty is not to them. I serve you."

You'd never asked again. 

"No, thank you. That is very kind, my lady."

She looked disappointed, but when she saw you, she remembered herself, bowing quickly and leaving. Steve tucked the helmet under his arm. 

"Y/N, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm not causing trouble. Aren't you proud of me?" 

"Miracles happen everyday."

"I got a letter, Steve."

"So I heard."

His tone was startling. The fence caught on your knees. You squealed, flapping your arms. Steve stepped forward, catching your waist. He still looked stern, but was softer when he spoke. 

"I've told you not to lean on this," he sighed. 

"And I never listen," you retorted, arms around his neck. "Ask who wrote me, Steve."

"I know who wrote you, Y/N. The whole kingdom knows, for gods’ sake."

"They do? But how? I was so careful!"

"You call telling Jones careful? You practically made a royal decree."

"What? What are you… oh. Oh, no, Steve!" 

You burst into giggles, clapping a hand over your face. Steve's expression switched into bewilderment, which was better, at least. You shook your head. 

"Is that what all this Princess business is about? Do you really think I've given my heart to Prince Johnathan of all people?"

"That's what…"

"I only said that so Jones wouldn't snoop through my letter. Oh, Steve. Johnny? Really?"

"Well… it did cross my mind that you could do better."

You smiled, nudging his cheek with yours. 

"I certainly could. His own sister would tell me so!" 

"Then who sent the letter?"

Your lips went to his ear, pulling him close. Steve braced one hand on the gate, cheeks going pink. 

"Bucky."

"Bucky!"

"Shh! He wrote both of us, technically. It’s what Alby said."

"Alby?"

"Albatross Goodwin. Not his birth name, of course."

"Albatross?"

"Yes. Apparently they all get nicknames. What do you suppose they'd call me, Steve?"

"Them? Are you—did you meet with pirates?" 

"There was only one pirate."

"You snuck to the docks? Y/N, you've really—"

"I didn't sneak out! He pretended to be a gardener. Goodness, Steve, you act like it's all my doing. I can't control what pirates disguise themselves as palace workers."

Steve clutched his forehead, closing his eyes. Oh, gods. That was his lecture face. You began to untie the cheesecloth the chef had given you, settling on the fence.

"Gods, of all the stunts you've pulled, Y/N, this is the worst. If I'd known what helping him would've done, I'd have never—mmph!"

You retracted your hand, dusting the crumbs from your fingers. Steve chewed confusedly. You smiled. 

"Apple cake?" he asked through a mouthful. 

"Good, right? I brought some for you. And milk."

He swallowed, glancing down at your hand. You immediately fed him another bite. Steve's cheeks grew redder. 

"Y/N, you shouldn't—this isn't right."

"No, don't worry. The chefs made extra."

"I meant—” he swallowed, “a princess shouldn't be bringing a knight cakes. And… feeding him."

"But your hands are all dirty from the training. Besides, how else would I have impeded your incoming lecture. I really ought to set a limit on those. How about one per week?" 

"How about you stop doing things that prompt my lectures?" he retorted dryly. 

"How about no?"

You hopped off the fence, waving the letter in one hand, cake in the other. 

"Come on, aren't you the slightest bit curious?"

"No."

"But it must be important if he told Alby to hurry. Anyway, you have to follow me if you want more cake."

"I don't want more cake," he lied.

"No? Well, alright. I thought this was your favorite, but if you really don't want it, I guess I'll go see if the other knights would…"

Quick as anything, the cheesecloth was out of your hands. Steve was a blur as he shot past you. 

“Hey! That’s cheating!”

You heaved up your skirts, giving chase. Steve turned with a giant grin, jogging backwards.

“Come back here! Those are my cakes!”

“Oh, really? Not saving them for your secret admirer?”

You panted, slowing down. Your attire wasn’t exactly built for running long distance. Taking out Bucky’s letter, you flopped down on the grass. Steve stopped, walking back to you. He took another bite, using the cloth as a utensil. 

“Gave up already?”

“I am a princess, and princesses do not run without good reason, Steven.” 

You tore the seal, sliding out the letter. Steve settled next to you. Immediately, you leaned into his shoulder. He braced himself on the ground so you could comfortably slouch against him.

Dear Princess, began the letter. Are you well? No more close encounters with carts, I hope. Hello, Sir Steve. Practicing hard? I’d hate to best you yet again—gets boring after a while, winning all the time.

“This is ridiculous. I’m going inside.”

“No, Steve, wait! There’s more. I promise that’s the end of the teasing.”

Steve grumped, finishing his cake. You continued reading.

I am writing you from a port off the coast of Oplor, not far from your kingdom. I am fine, not to worry. I must warn you, however. Last night in the tavern, I overheard some whispers about an armada. These men were burly, scarred, and not ones you’d want to be enemies of. One of them had a patch that looked like this:

Below, Bucky had drawn a crude drawing of a lion’s head. Steve stiffened.

“That’s King Faleron’s flag.”

“Why would Faleron’s men be there?” you asked.

“I don’t know. Has your father officially declared war?”

You shook your head. “He wanted to wait until after the festival, when the city is more alert.”

I don’t know if that means anything to you. I don’t dock often, and am unfamiliar with this cluster of kingdoms. I heard the name of your king. They left shortly after. I’ve instructed Alby to return immediately after with confirmation of your safety. 

Be careful. Tell your knight the same, eh?

Bucky. 

You stared at the letter, tracing the ink. Steve ran a hand through his hair.

“It might not mean anything,” he mused. “There have likely been rising tensions in Faleron’s court too.”

“But why would an armada be traveling the coast?”

“I don’t—”

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!

Steve snapped into action, carefully moving out from under you and putting on his helmet. Those were the sound of warning bells. The two of you raced to the castle. You quickly stuffed the letter into the lace of your skirt. 

“What’s going on?” Steve asked one of the knights.

“Intruder in the castle,” replied the knight. “But he’s been found.”

“Stay here,” Steve ordered, nudging you behind him.

“They already caught him, Steve,” you huffed. “I think I’ll be fine.”

"Make way, prisoner coming through!" bellowed Jones. 

You pushed closer, trying to get a better look at the prisoner. Gold earrings, a gardener's uniform… no.

"That's him!" you whispered to Steve. 

"The pirate?"

Alby met your eye as he walked past. His face revealed nothing. Your stomach dropped to your toes.

“Y/N, no—”

Your feet were already moving, coming to stop in front of Jones and his men. They stopped, more out of surprise than anything.

"Who ordered his arrest?" you demanded. "No one has the authority to imprison anyone besides my father."

"Lord Pierce did, milady. He is the acting crown while the king is away."

"Since when?" 

"For several days now, Your Highness. It is under his order."

"I want to speak to him at once. Where is he?" 

"He is in the throne room, milady, but Lord has requested not to be disturbed. He's working hard on his duties."

"I don't care,” you said, already on your way. “He will answer to me."

The doors to the throne room were shut. What’s more, they were guarded by four men. As if Pierce had anticipated this exact reaction. Steve had insisted on accompanying you. You didn’t resist. With your father away and Pierce helping himself to powers beyond his title, it was best not to take any chances. 

“I want to speak to him,” you said, planting yourself right in front of the guards.

“Apologies, milady, but Lord Pierce is not permitting visitors.”

“Visitors? I am the princess.”

“As I said, he is not—”

The doors boomed as you pushed them open, racing in. Several pairs of boots chased after you.

“Princess Y/N!” 

You stopped halfway through your storming. Pierce was seated on your father’s throne, as if it belonged to him. The guards paused at your side, not touching you, because they knew what was best for them, disruption or not.

“My Lord, we apologize. She came in and—”

Pierce held up a hand, smiling.

“That is fine. Leave us.”

They did so. Steve remained where he was. Pierce raised a brow.

“Sir Steven, you’re not needed here.”

“He’s with me,” you said. “He stays.”

“Very well,” he grit. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Your Highness?”

“What of the gardener you arrested? You do not have the authority.”

“On the contrary, Your Highness, while the king is away, I oversee this kingdom’s safety. This so-called gardener has been charged with treason.”

“On what grounds?” you cried.

“On the grounds that he is a pirate,” Pierce replied calmly. “And a pirate pretending to work in the castle is treasonous.” 

“What proof do you have that he is a pirate?”

“He was reported to be traveling a route that is favored by pirates.”

“That isn’t proof,” you scoffed. “You cannot hold him on that.”

Pierce stood, stepping down the dais. He tilted his head, squinting.

“A pirate sympathizer is not a good look on anyone, Your Highness.”

“I am not a pirate sympathizer,” you snapped.

“No? And I suppose it was a coincidence you were so near last week’s events at the docks.”

“What are you implying?” 

“Just as it is a coincidence you were speaking so intently with the prisoner earlier this morning.”

“He was telling me about roses,” you replied. “And warning me about their thorns.”

Pierce chuckled, eyes glittering. 

“I see. Well, regardless, I cannot have a pirate running amok.”

“You speak like this is your kingdom, Lord Pierce. It is very dangerous to indulge such fantasies,” you said. “And besides, even my father would give the gardener a fair trial.”

“Your father would not fraternize with pirates,” he sneered.

“Better a pirate than a crook.”

Pierce grabbed your wrist, forcing you forward. You struggled but he held fast.

“I wouldn’t be so bold, Your Highness,” he warned darkly. “We never know where our allies lie.”

“Let go of her.”

Steve’s sword was already drawn. Pierce studied him through slitted eyes.

“You dare draw your sword on me?”

“If you’re wondering where my allegiance lies, Lord Pierce,” Steve began, blade pressed to Pierce’s neck. “Here’s a closer look. Let. Go.”

You let Steve guide you away, still in shock. Pierce had never been so openly insolent before. Why he felt so confident now, you weren’t sure you wanted to know.

“Apologies, Your Highness. I meant no harm. I simply forgot myself.” He smiled. “You are right. It would not be in good habit to be so quick to punish, pirate or not. I shall await the king’s judgment, as soon as he returns.”

“He will hear of this,” you said. 

“Of course.” Pierce bowed deeply, bent at the waist. “I understand, Your Highness. My sincerest apologies.”

Your hand searched for Steve’s. He looped your fingers, taking them firmly as you left the throne room. Pierce’s smile was the last thing you saw as the doors shut. 

“Are you alright?” Steve's voice was hushed as you stopped at an alcove in the hallway. He took your wrist, inspecting gently. Your heart hammered in your chest.

“Yes, I’m alright. Steve, he’s never… he was so bold. Like he was king.”

“I know,” he replied grimly. “I don’t like this. But if you give Pierce the opportunity, he’ll monopolize on everyone’s fear. You can’t fight for the pirate.”

“What difference does it make? He already suspects me. Oh, I’m sorry, Steve. You’re probably distrusted too, because of me.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“But—”

“But nothing. As long as you’re safe, I don’t care what they think of me.”

“And I’m the reckless one.”

Steve smiled. It quickly faded.

“Y/N, listen. If anything happens, you need to run. There is a war brewing, and if what Bucky said is true, we may find actual spies in the castle.”

“I won’t leave you, Steve.”

Steve sighed.

“If it’s between me and you, you must choose yourself.”

“Says who? Last time I checked, I’m the princess here.”

“Y/N, please. Promise me.”

Your grin dimmed. Steve’s eyes were wide, pleading. 

“Alright, Steve.” You took his hands, squeezing. “I promise.”

“Do I really have to wear all of this?”

Your neck ached, heavily adorned with gems and the crown on your head putting pressure. Petunia had woken you up two hours earlier to prepare you for the solstice ceremony. Because your father was away, it was your job to light the torch and draw the flag. It was a tradition that went back centuries, and though it was unusual for the princess to carry out the duty, it had been agreed it would be wrong for anyone else to do so. 

“He said he would be back,” you said, wincing as another maid accidentally pinched your wrist. It was still sore from yesterday.

“Apologies, milady,” she whispered, quickly moving on.

“It doesn’t look like the king will return in time,” Petunia replied, taking pity. “You’ll do a wonderful job, my lady. The king said you are ready.”

“What does he know?” He couldn’t even choose a trustworthy advisor.

You let her fuss for a moment more, then stood, sighing. 

“Please, no more, Petunia.”

“Okay, okay, my lady. It’s… well, you look just like your mother.” She smiled like she was stuck in a memory. “Your father insisted she be the first to light the torch when they were married. She was radiant. Just like you.”

“I hope I will make her proud,” you murmured.

“You will, my lady.”

She handed you the golden scepter, then helped you walk across your room. 

“Would you like me to help you down the stairs?” she asked, opening the door. “Oh. I see you already have your escort.”

Steve stood outside, his back to you. He’d stayed in front of your room for nearly the whole night after what had happened with Pierce, until you forced him to go to sleep. Petunia picked up your robe train. Steve turned, blinking for several moments.

“I know,” you sighed. “I look ridiculous.”

“No,” he breathed. “Not at all.”

You stood there, Steve watching you and you watching Steve, until Petunia cleared her throat.

“The princess will need aid going down the stairs, Sir Steven. If you would be so kind…”

“Uh, right. Of-of course.” He gave you his arm, walking slowly. You practically waddled away, waving at Petunia. 

“I’ll see you downstairs!” you called, then turned, focusing on not tripping down three flights of stairs.

“You look great. Beautiful. I mean, um, you always look beautiful. ‘Cause you’re a princess—n-not that you’re beautiful because you’re the princess! But—” 

“Steve,” you laughed. “What’s the matter with you? I’m only lighting the ceremonial torch. It’s not like I’m getting married.”

He coughed. “No, of course not. I just meant… you look like a queen.”

You stumbled. Steve was quick to pull you upright.

“You really think I could be queen?”

“I do. A spectacular one.”

“I might be terribly bossy. Wouldn’t be much fun to be around, running a kingdom and all. Would you love me anyway?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “I would.”

Your arm tightened around his as you stepped into the sunshine. Steve’s grip was solid and warm, despite your stupidly puffy sleeves and all the layers you were wearing. His hand lingered on your back as you let go.

“I’m nervous,” you whispered. 

“I’ll be right here,” he assured. “You’ll be great. You always are.”

“Even when I’m chasing pirates?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Even then.”

He slipped away as you walked up the steps to the stage. Hundreds of people had gathered in the citadel to see you.

“My citizens,” you greeted. “As is tradition, I will light the solstice torch. With this comes another year of good bearings and joyful times. May this kingdom live in peace and promise.”

The crowd cheered. You lowered the long match to the golden torch. It burst into a large flame, and you stepped back, cowering at the heat. 

“Let the festivities begin!”

Music rang throughout town. A guard extinguished the match for you and Steve helped you down the stairs once more. 

“Nothing to it, right?” he said, nudging you.

“Nothing to it,” you agreed, smiling. 

As the crowd dispersed, you followed Steve towards the booths. Everyone was joyous. You couldn’t help but feel guilty knowing it wouldn’t last for much longer once your father returned.

“Princess!” 

A young girl, no more than six or seven, handed you a small flag. You accepted it, smiling. She beamed back, then handed Steve a flag too, a little more shyly. He took it and bowed. She giggled happily, skipping back to her family.

“Perfect,” you laughed, bumping his hip. “Just like a prince.”

“I’m no prince,” Steve admitted. 

“No,” you agreed. “You’re better.”

“Y/N, I—” 

“Oh!” 

You hurried forward, spotting a booth with peach dumplings. The seller happily gave you a cup and you left more coins than necessary, moving away before he could try to give you your change. They were warm, not too hot, sweet and crisp. The peach filling oozed out, a ripe orange color.

“Want me to feed you some of these too?” you teased, holding a dumpling in front of Steve. He huffed at your jest.

“No thank you.”

“You ought to try something before it’s all gone. How about just one—”

Steve accepted the dumpling with a sigh, popping it into his mouth. He nodded, chewing.

“It is very good. Happy?”

“Yes,” you smiled. “Very.” 

“Sir knight?”

A man approached, clutching his hat.

“Sir knight, I apologize for my interruption, but we’re having trouble with our horses and we don’t have enough hands to help…”

“I am sorry, but I’m accompanying the princess. I cannot—”

“Oh, Steve, you can afford to go for five minutes,” you urged. 

Steve glanced at you. You nodded, smiling at the man.

“He’d be happy to help. Go on, Steve. There should be more guards helping the citizens, but…” 

You looked around. Where were all the guards? 

“I really shouldn’t…” 

“Pierce isn’t here,” you reminded in a whisper. “I’ll be fine, Steve. Honest.” 

He looked between you and the man, then sighed.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! I have my dumplings to occupy me.”

“Don’t go anywhere, Y/N. I mean it.”

The man coughed at the use of your first name. You grinned.

“Where would I go, Stevie, besides the castle?”

He frowned at you for another moment before reluctantly following the villager. You drifted slightly, walking to the next booth that was filled with jewelry. One stone caught your eye—blue, just like the one on Bucky’s ring. You touched it gently, caught in a memory. Hopefully Bucky was okay, wherever he was. Maybe you could send a letter when everything died down…

“Fire!”

Immediately, your eyes went to the torch, worried you’d somehow lit it wrong. But it flickered on, flame blowing in the direction of the sea.

“Please, please! Help us!”

A woman with ash on her face trudged up to you, fingers leaving marks on your robe. The dumplings fell, crushed under dirty shoes. She pulled on your skirt, and you stumbled to your knees, horrified. 

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“There’s a fire!” she sobbed. “It has been burning in the square for ages. None of the guards have helped us in the attack!”

“Attack?”

“Men from ships,” she gasped. “Horrible brutes. Please, my princess, please help us!”

“Why has no one rung the bell?” you wondered. 

“They are killing livestock and laying waste to our crops. Please do something, please please—”

“Alright, alright, yes. I will go and alert the knights now,” you promised. “Flee, if you can. I’m sorry, I don’t…”

BOOM!

A house down the road exploded, debris showering its neighbors. Screams and shouts rang in your ears. The soldiers were getting closer.

“Run,” you told her, getting up. “Please, run. Save yourself.”

She began to cry, hysterical, but you couldn’t wait and comfort her. You needed to warn the rest of the city. 

“Go!” you shouted, hiking up your skirts and running as fast as you could. “Run, flee! The city is under attack!”

That sent people into a panic, but there was no time for an orderly evacuation. Bucky had been right, but who had let the soldiers dock here?

Sulfur and fire burned your eyes. Something exploded near the stage and the torch tipped over. The wood burst into flames. No one was at the castle gates, which was not good. How would the guards already know to flee? 

Inside was quiet, but even the heavy doors could not muffle the chaos outside. You kept going, though your lungs protested. You had to reach the bell tower. That was your only chance of warning the city. 

“Princess Y/N!” 

You whirled around at the voice, on the defense. Sir Gouven watched you with wide eyes.

“The city is under attack,” you wheezed. 

His eyes widened. Not a traitor, then.

“Gods! We must evacuate the city.”

“They came in on boats,” you said. “Get the citizens out someplace else. The woods perhaps, if it’s safe. Use the tunnels if you can.”

You started up the stairs for the tower.

“Milady, what are you doing?” he cried. “If you stay here, you’ll be trapped in the castle!”

“I am doing my duty. Now go!”

Gouven ran. You climbed the stairs. It was only a flight, but in your dress, it felt more like five. The tower, predictably, was also empty. From this height, you could see the ocean, and the madness that swarmed. Half the city was aflame. People’s screams carried up. But still, there was a village at the very back of the city that was still untouched. They wouldn’t know until it was too late. 

You grabbed the rope and yanked with all your might.

The bell chime made your teeth rattle. But you kept pulling, hands raw from the rope. On and on it rang until you could no more. You fell to your knees in the corner, panting. Should you even try to go and escape? The soldiers would storm the castle no doubt. 

But there were servants and maids in the castle. If you could help them escape, that was all the more reason to go back. 

You stood, shedding a layer of your dress to make you lighter on your feet. Then you opened the door—and slammed into a suit of armor.

“Y/N? Oh my gods, Y/N.”

Steve yanked you into a hug. You put your arms around his neck, humming.

“Found me already? You’re getting better at this, Stevie.”

“I told you to run!” he burst, clutching you by your shoulders. “You could’ve died, Y/N! The entire city is in flames!”

“I had to warn them. Most of the guards are working with the enemy, I think. And Pierce…” you frowned. “I think Pierce is the leader. He must’ve tipped Faleron off.”

“We need to go now. Come on.”

You stumbled after him, limbs exhausted. But Steve kept you walking, one strong arm keeping you steady.

“Gouven’s not a traitor,” you said as you went down the stairs. “Isn’t that nice?”

“Probably because he couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it,” Steve grunted.

“I still think he should get a medal,” you decided. “I’d give him one.”

“There they are!”

Seven palace guards all had their eyes on you. You relaxed until they drew their swords.

“Not on our side, then.”

“Take her, kill him!” ordered one. 

Finally, you ran. A sword slashed your dress. You screamed. Steve grabbed you and you both took off. 

“Where do we go?” you panted.

“I don’t—there! In there, quickly!”

You followed him into one of the many gathering rooms your father used for smaller meetings. Steve tugged you in and you each slammed a door shut. Steve slid his sword through the handles just as the guards began banging on the doors. They stopped, only to reveal their plan.

“You two, get the battering ram! If we have to drag them out, so be it!”

Steve got behind one of the heavy wooden desks and pushed. You caught on, helping him move it against the door. The banging was nonstop. You shedded another layer, tearing off the already tattered underskirt, leaving you in your petticoat. Steve’s brows went to his hairline.

“Uh… Y/N, what—”

“I can’t move in these things,” you sighed, kicking the fabric aside. “Your armor is slowing you down too. You should remove it.”

“No way. When they come in, get behind me.”

BAM! The wood began to splinter. Wildly, you searched for an escape. Nothing. No windows, no closets, nothing. You felt your hope begin to shrivel. This really was the end.

“Steve,” you whispered, wincing at every crunch of wood. “Steve, I’ll run first and distract them. Then you’ll escape, okay?”

“No!” he cried. “No, no way.”

“Yes way! They want me alive, not you. You must take the chance where you can.”

“I am not—”

Flump!

You both froze. Every sound stopped. No splintering or shouting. You could hear the blood pound in your ears. Steve stepped forward, slipping out his sword from the barricade. You grabbed a letter opener from the table, on Steve’s right.

BOOM! The desk flew back, knocking into the table. You went to one side, Steve on the other, crouched behind the doors that were now open. He attacked.

“Oomph!”

Both men landed on the floor. Steve had his sword aimed at the other’s throat.

“Well. I see you’ve been practicing your right parry.”

“Bucky,” you gasped, landing on your knees by him.

“Hey there, princess,” he grinned, hands behind his head. “Miss me?”

“You came back,” you said, face inches from his.

“Wasn’t sure if you got my letter. When Alby didn’t come back last night, I got worried. Hey, Stevie, y’mind climbing offa me? Not that I ain’t pleased to have a lapful of handsome blond, but…”

Steve rolled off immediately, cheeks blooming scarlet. You took Bucky’s hand, helping him up. He sprang to his feet, briefly touching your wrist in thanks.

“Seems I came in the nick of time.”

“You took out all of those guards?” gaped Steve.

“You’re not the only one who looks good with a sword,” Bucky winked. “Got an inkling after I overheard that guard from last week panicking in the market about how he’d get hanged for not savin’ the princess.”

“They didn’t stop you at the docks?” you asked.

“Nah. Splash of gin and I’d look and smell like one of those barbarians. Well, ‘cept for my loveliness.” 

He batted his lashes. You giggled, nudging his arm.

“I’m so glad you came back, Bucky. Despite the circumstances.”

“Well, it’d have been a damn shame to lose my favorite princess and her valiant knight. So I’m glad I did. How’s about that rescue part, hm?”

“There’s no way we’ll make it to your ship,” said Steve. “They’d never let her off.”

“Leave that to me, Stevie. I’ll get you both outta here. Put all your armor on. Princess, y’mind putting that dress on again?”

“It’s ruined,” you frowned.

“That’s okay. Better, actually. It’ll make this work.”

“What about Alby?” you asked. “Pierce arrested him.”

“Oh,” Bucky laughed. “Don’t worry ‘bout him. He’s already on his way out, trust me. Sweet of you to worry though, even if he’s a dog.”

“I like pirates,” you said.

Steve not-so-subtly grumbled. Bucky grinned.

“Yeah? I’m pretty fond of princesses m’self. And their stuffy knights.”

You made it out of the castle with minimal injury. It turned out Bucky had had a lot of practice escaping places he shouldn’t have been in. 

“Now, I docked at the very edge of the shore,” he said. “Not at port. We should be unbothered ‘long as we stick to the outskirts of the city.”

“Help! My baby, help me, please!”

You stopped. One of the houses down the road was on fire. A woman was screaming, a little boy tugging to her skirt. You ran without another thought.

“Y/N!”

“Princess!”

“My baby, my baby!” the woman wailed, pointing. “She’s too scared to come out, please, help me!”

“Mama, mama!” begged the little girl, crying at the flames. 

The foundation began to groan under the heat. Bucky pulled out his sword and handed it to Steve, then took his hat and gave it to you. He took a deep breath, then ran… into the flames.

“Bucky!” shouted Steve. “What the hell are you doing?!”

Another beam broke and fell. Your heart leapt to your throat. The woman began to weep, her son clinging to her shoulder. 

“Move, move, it’s going to collapse!”

And there was Bucky, a small bundle under his leather coat. He handed the girl to her mother, then dragged both you and Steve away. The house gave one last groan, then fell. 

“How did you do that?” Steve asked breathlessly. 

“Not my first time,” was all Bucky said. “We gotta move, c’mon.”

You were slower with the extra layer and your pinching shoes, but soon, you saw the horizon and the familiar white wolf flag.

“Oi!”

And in the second it took you to turn around, Bucky had taken Steve’s sword as well as Steve, pressing the blade to his neck. You landed in his other arm, blade flat against your hip, Bucky’s arm tucked around your waist. He felt warm, unusually so, likely from the fire. 

“Bucky,” you whispered urgently, a tiny bit of fear trickling in.

“Shh shh, princess,” he soothed, lips brushing your ear. “You’ll be okay, I promise.”

He grunted as Steve wiggled, clearly not so reassured. 

“Relax, Stevie,” Bucky murmured. “Ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

“Think I’d be worried more about me hurting you,” Steve snapped.

Bucky laughed. “Sure thing, doll. Boy, you knights crack me up.”

“Tell the Captain we got the princess!” ordered one of the soldiers, big and ugly.

“You don’t have anybody, pal,” said Bucky. “Or have you not noticed whose swords they’re under? That’s alright; you don’t seem much like the observant type.”

“Give ‘em here!” said another. “They’re comin’ with us!”

“No,” growled Bucky, grip tightening. “They’re mine. I found ‘em first. Stole ‘em right from the castle, see? She’s even got her one of a kind dress.”

“What d’you even want ‘em for?!”

“I like pretty things,” Bucky grinned. “Bit of a collector, actually.”

“Oh, for gods—just kill them! Keep her alive!”

“Sword is all yours, Stevie,” Bucky whispered.

He let you go and you ran. This, unfortunately, caused two soldiers to chase you. 

“Hold on, princess!” 

You grabbed a bucket from a stable and swung it hard, knocking one soldier’s hand. He cursed in pain, and you took that opportunity to fully knock him out. The second lunged at you, then froze, blade piercing his shoulder. He groaned in pain, falling to his knees. Bucky nodded, taking your hand and pulling you in the direction of the boat.

“C’mon, Steve, we don’t have all day!”

“So sorry I’m interrupting your tight schedule!” grunted Steve, knocking out the last soldier with a well-placed elbow. 

He sheathed his sword, following you to the ship. Bucky untied the rope, heaving up the anchor with Steve’s help, and you were off. More soldiers gathered at shore, but you’d be long gone by the time they set after you. For now, you were safe.

“Well, that was fun,” said Bucky, smiling brightly.

Three explosions went off at once, this time inland. You all flinched. Flames erupted from the palace. Tears sprung to your eyes. This was the last time you’d ever see your home—in ruins. All the adrenaline from the afternoon was fading, leaving exhaustion and sorrow in its wake. What had truly happened was now setting in.

“Y/N?” Steve asked quietly. “Are you alright?”

“Father,” you choked. “Father, he–he’ll be walking straight into a trap. I have to warn him, I need to—”

“Y/N. Easy, easy.” 

Steve caught your hand, speckled with blood and ash. He removed his helmet with his other hand, passing it off to Bucky. Your foreheads touched and your eyes fell shut. 

“We’re going to find out what happened to him. As soon as we dock again. Right, Bucky?”

Whatever his face read prompted Bucky to hum, gingerly laying a hand on your shoulder.

“Of course, princess. I’m sure we’ll find someone somewhere who knows something. After this, there’s no doubt others will have overheard whispers.”

Steve’s thumbs brushed your cheeks. You sniffled, opening your eyes.

“Okay?” he murmured. “It’s alright.”

You nodded. “I hope Petunia and Delilah are safe.”

“I’m sure they escaped.”

“I should’ve done more. I could’ve warned her, told her what we found out. I should’ve—”

“Y/N. Come here.” 

Steve took your hand and led you to the rail. Bucky got the hint, busying himself on the other side of the ship. 

“You did plenty. It’s a miracle we even made it out of there. If it wasn’t for Bucky, I…” he shook his head. “Regardless, we’re out.”

“But what good did it do? Assuming it was Pierce who orchestrated the whole thing, now he has what he wants. I’m the princess of a fallen kingdom.”

“But we’re alive. And that’s enough for now. And…” Steve glanced at the other side of the ship, sighing. “We need to prepare for when Bucky’s grace runs out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Y/N, he’s not going to want us to stay on his ship forever.”

“Oh.” Of course. Steve was right. You just hadn’t thought to face that reality so soon.

Steve cupped your cheek. “It’ll be alright, though. Whatever happens. Perhaps we can visit the other kings and seek asylum there.”

“It’s as good a plan as any,” you agreed. 

“I’ll ask Bucky for a map.”

Steve squeezed your wrist, kissing the back of your hand before slipping away. You smiled at him, then gently returned your gaze to the horizon. You couldn’t bear to watch the flames in the distance any longer. All you could do now was look forward.

#bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x yn #stucky x you #stucky x reader #stucky x reader fics #stucky x y/n #royalty au #fantasy au #steve rogers fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction

[irlguppy]

Slime Rancher Guide

Slime Rancher is a really important game to me since the OST used to help me fall asleep when I had a bad day or just trouble sleeping at all. This game just makes me really happy so I thought it'd be fun to share a silly lil guide!

Slime Rancher Achievements (57/57)

A lot of these achievements will just be collection based so I'll list them out with how much you need + what you need then get to the rest of the achievements! (Location tips will be this color)

Plorts!

All of these you should earn easily just by playing the game casually!

Plort Peddler - Sell 100 plorts

Transplorter - Sell 500 plorts

Plort Authority - Sell 1,000 plorts

Plort Powerhouse - Sell 2,500 plorts

Plort Tycoon - Sell 5,000 plorts

Collect 50 plorts in a single day

Newbucks!

Earn over 5,000 newbucks

Earn over 25,000 newbucks

Earn over 100,000 newbucks

Earn 5,000 newbucks in a single day

Buck Buck Bagu-

Feed 100 chickens to slimes on the Ranch. This one is easy as you come across chickens a lot and will need a corral for them anyways!

Fruit Cocktail

As you play you'll find lots of fruits and veggies around the place. Plant three different fruit trees at your ranch.

Salad Bar

As you play you'll find lots of fruits and veggies around the place. Plant three different veggie gardens at your ranch.

Up All Night

Stay awake from 6 AM to 6 AM the next day, just don't sleep! This will be easy to get if you explore for long periods of time.

Not My Morning

Get knocked out before 10 AM, just jump off one of the cliffs after storing your items to get this one.

While You Were Away

Spend a full day (24 hours) away from the ranch.

Catch!

Feed an airborne slime. This is one I got by accident, you can do this a bit easier if the slime is a flying one though.

Omnivorous

Feed pink slimes 10 different types of food. This one is easy but you'll probably get it later since it takes some time to get around different areas and bring food back

Tasty!

Feed 50 slimes on the Ranch their favorite food. To make this easier I'll put an image of slimes + their favorite foods.

Credit for Image: https://www.reddit.com/r/slimerancher/comments/8kiyr7/favorite_food_chart_super_quick_thing_i_made_for/

Mine, All Mine

Discover the Quarry in this location. Not difficult since the map is pretty easy to read !!

On the Other Side

Discover the Moss Blanket, again will just post a picture of the maps location.

Smoke, Fire, and Mirrors

Discover the Glass Desert.This one might be a bit tricky as it requires a few things before you can access it. First you have to find the Ancient Ruins. Go through the Indigo Quarry until you find a door (you need a Slime Key) and unlock it. Go left from there and you'll be in the Moss Blanket with a huge gate surrounded by slime statues. You will need to bring one of each : Boom, Honey, Rock, Rad, Tabby, and Phosphor plorts then insert them into the matching statues.

Once you enter the Ancient Ruins you need to pass through the weird doorways until you get to the end of the zone. There is a temple you need to enter (don't go in the portal it will send you home) and you will need another Slime Key. You will need five Quantum plorts to activate the portal in the newly unlocked room. Once you've unlocked it you're able to go to the Glass Desert! Congrats!

Jelly Belly Burst

Burst a Gordo Slime! They look like this and you should find the pink one first since it's around the starting area. You need to feed it until it explodes, so cruel.

Open Says Me

Open a Slime Gate! (This is where you use the Slime Keys earned after murdering Gordos).

Carousel & You... Monser!

Toss an elder chicken & baby chick into an incinerator... thats messed up bro.

Fully Loaded

Max out at least one of each : Corral , Coop, and Silo on your Ranch. Fairly easy just save up cash!

Hasty Exchange

Complete a request between noon and 2 PM. These are easier to complete the further you get into the game as you have an easier access to more items.

Free Rangin'

Collect 50 plorts on the Range in one day. After upgrading your corrals and getting a lot of slimes this should be super easy.

That Only Works in Comic Books

Stand in a rad slimes aura for 15 seconds (If you don't know what they look like here you go).

Once Bitten, Twice... Bitten

This seems like a bad idea but hold onto a tarr slime for 15 seconds.

Boop!

Let a tabby slime headbutt you on the nose! Super cute I love the tabby slimes a lot. Just stand near one (or a lot) and they'll eventually jump at you lovingly!

Fireworks

Shoot a boom slime largo into the air and let it explode before landing. Just grab one and shoot it straight up into the sky as it starts looking bright!

Six Pack

Have 6 different types of slimes in the same corral. Super easy! Just make sure you don't feed them while they're in there.

Risky Business

Have 3 largos in one corral (again don't feed them unless you want some tarrs).

Diversification

Have at least 10 types of largos on the Ranch (you'll do this overtime super easily!).

Ball Pit

Jump into a corral with 40 slimes+ ! Make sure you get a large corral with a roof to make it easier.

Into the Past

Discover the Ancient Ruins! Go back to the "Smoke, Fire, and Mirrors" achievement to figure out how to open the gate.

Onward... to SCIENCE!

Make your first Slime Science gadget ! Collect plorts to toss in the machine in the back, then use the other buttons in the room to learn blueprints and other things.

One Person at a Time

Keep going into your hut / house and you should notice that you've been getting mail! Keep checking until you get invited to the club! Welcome!

Color Me Impressed

Use chroma packs earned from the 7Zee Rewards Club to change the color of your house , tech, and vacpack.

Mint in Box

Purchase 10 different types of slime toys. Upgrade your Ranch to get a shop for slime toys.

Renewal

Bring life back to the Glass Desert. This one is a bit tricky, you need to find all four fountains (they aren't active yet) and reactivate them using plorts like when you opened the Ancient Ruins. Use the water from the fountains to water the red buds on the ground.

Doors Like These

Discover where Hobson's journey ended, and started once again.

Use this video guide to get this achievement, itll be easier than explaining I think https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6g-A229x4

Burstin' at the Seams

Store 50 items in a fully upgraded silo. You'll probably need to store food for slimes so just fill it up!

Hat Trick

Get 3 plorts from a single gold slime. Golden slimes will spawn randomly and will ONLY eat Gilded Ginger

Controlling the Chaos

Constrain more than 15 slimes in your vac stream at once while on the range. Just pile them all up on the ranch and suck them up again.

Pool Party

Put 5 different types of slimes in a pond on the ranch.

Bea the Builder

Similar to the "Onward... to SCIENCE!" achievement you need to make gadgets, this time you have to make at least 35 of them!

Never Stop Creating

Make up to 100 slime science gadgets !! so many omg!

Best of the Worst

Put a tarr on the #1 slime pedestal ! For some reason!

She's on Fire!

Score 50 points in a game of slimeball. You have to craft the slimeball gadget for this one.

The Hunter Has Become... The Other Thing

Put the slimes favorite food down on a master snare to capture a gordo !

Pro Style

Fill out the ENTIRE Slimepedia. All the treasure crackers, all the foods , slimes , ALL OF IT BABYYY.

The Adventure Continues!

Complete Adventure Mode! Congrats !! You did it!

RUSH CHALLENGE ACHIEVEMENTS

Rush Challenger : Reach 10,000 newbucks in Rush Mode

Rush Champion : Reach 35,000 newbucks in Rush Mode

Rush Plortmaster : Reach 75,000 newbucks in Rush Mode

Congrats on beating Slime Rancher !! YIPPIEE!!! Thank you for reading and sharing my guides!

#slime rancher #IRLGuppy Guides #beatrix lebeau #completionist #indie vtuber #virtual youtuber #playstation #steam #gaming #video games #achievement hunter

[lovelymindescape]

Hi, this is for our LOTR matchup trade!

I’m Tori, a 20 year old autistic girl (pronouns she/her) who would prefer a ship with a man. Also, I tend to prefer the humans in middle earth (so like Aragorn, Faramir, Boromir and Eomer) so if you could kindly ship me with one of them specifically I’d be very grateful.

I’m really short, only like 4’ 10” (142 cm) with wild, long and wavy auburn hair and really light blue eyes. I’m slender but very toned, and I also wear glasses. I'm pretty neutral about both my appearance and myself in general and I don't think I genuinely hate anything about myself. I'm generally neutral about most things actually. I have chronic joint pain all over, scoliosis and some other illnesses but I stay very active regardless. I’m really polite and try my hardest to be nice to everyone, but if you cross me or give me a bad vibe I can be a little cold and aloof. I’m a tad awkward, but I’ve been told I can be charming and I’m really good at making others laugh with witty comments. I tell amazing stories because I've had a lot of experience with different things during my life. I’m very generous and don’t mind helping others or doing nice things for them. I’m also extremely energetic and always have to be doing something, to the point where I’m honestly not sure I really know how to rest. My friends say I give really good advice and am very wise, and also that I have warm, inviting energy. I could lowkey befriend anyone if I really tried. Though I'm also very sensitive and don't enjoy being teased too much, so I don't tease people much either. I hate seeing people, or really anything, upset.

Where I really shine is with my large number of hobbies and interests. Because I always like to keep busy, I have a lot of different activities and side gigs to keep me occupied. In Middle Earth, I’d probably be some sort of ranger who picks up a bunch of odd jobs here and there. I currently work as a librarian but my other hobbies include:

🦉 Falconry & befriending crows

🦉 Caring for horses (I've always been a horse girl lol)

🦉 Cheesemaking, Cooking and Baking

🦉 Gardening and Plant Identification

🦉 Writing, Journaling and Drawing

🦉 Sewing

And a couple other things. I’m generally a very skilled, knowledgeable person and I’m very proud of it. I love being outside and can’t stand being cooped up indoors for too long. However, I do enjoy having somewhere nice to return to when I get tired from being outside all day.

Alright, I think that’s about it! Thank you so so much, take care of yourself and drink lots of water!

Hey , i'm so so so so sorry it took so long , but i had stress the last days and forgot about it <3 anymore i hope you like this

I ship you with

ARAGORN

your both rangers so that works

you probably met while you both were roaming around middelearth

you had the same route for awhile so you stayed together

you parted the work you had like , you would cook while he looked out for possible danger , then you would eat and you both switch

he soon was considerate to your illnesses and would have respect for what you do even with this

he would love that you are neutral about most things cause he kinda don't likes people who are

before you'd go to bed you would tell eachother stories

he would make you rest even if you don't want to

when decisions would get make he would ask you before anyone else

the confession was very blunt but calm while you to were heading to the next stop to sleep

it's basically the same afterwards but with more romance <3

he would be impressed by how much hobbies you had and always ask if he could help somehow

if your being to nice to someone , who doesn't is very nice , he would step in

he throw compliements and i love you's at the most random times

all in all it's a loving, protecting and supportive relationship

It's a bit short i know , i hope you liked it

#lord of the rings #matchups #matchup request #middle earth #the lord of the rings #aragorn son of arathorn #aragorn x reader #lotr #the fellowship of the ring

[marshmallowprotection]

Kait!! Look, Saeyoung will be in heaven!! They are around like.. 15-17 cats in general lmfao

Wanna know the most fun part? YOU CAN PET NEARLY EVERY SINGLE ONE. In fact, most of them even follow you around for head pats and cuddles! The 5 kittens here will think you're their parent and the others usually want some head scratches!

There are these 3 gray and white cats who only follow you for head scratches (the third one took a bit to trust me and today I head him purring for the first time, he has such a quiet purr though-)

They are these two very identical white with some black cats who start licking you even if all you did is stroke their head like.. one time. They keep rubbing your leg and meow at you. (Although they'll mostly lick whatever skin they find on you AHAHAHA)

Saeyoung will be so happy LMFAO. Wait until I tell him that we have like 50 or so chickens and a BIG ASS field! We got like.. infinite eggs!! There's even a garden here where we raise vegetables as well~

We used to have two dogs and goats but they aren't here anymore. Honestly, I would have LOVED to see Saeyoung do the same thing my uncle did with a goat LMFAO

My uncle basically sat on a goat's back and did a gesture like he was riding a motorcycle by touching it's horns ANDHWHDH

And you actually need a car or to use a bus to get around here where I am. So I think that Saeyoung would be very happy driving around here! Although he'll need somewhere to park his car and sadly, I don't think he can bring his whole collection T_T

We even have a beach near us so I think he'll also be very happy to go and relax there! I remember someone fishing one day while I passed by my grandma to dive in. So I think Saeyoung would be really happy about it!

Ah, I wish I could also ride the bike with Saeyoung! Would be fun doing races! The current ones we have are uncomfortable to ride sadly.

The bittersweet thing is that while no one is riding their bikes here like back then, the house in front of us has two kids and even some relatives who come with their own kids and today they played outside! Reminded me so much of the old good days.

It's funny how it used to be one or two kids from nearly each house but now it's only one house, although they don't play that often outside. I had a smile watching them, though.^^

I was originally gonna ramble a bit about Yatora but I think I'll leave it for another ask, Kait! I have a lot to ramble about him as well SKDHWJD

It's been a while since I rambled about doing things with Saeyoung, hehe. I love both Saeyoung and Yatora so much, I'm so happy they are in my life! I wanna shower them both with so much affection and make them a flustered mess~!

I hope you have been doing well, Kait! It's really warm these days so stay hydrated and take care! <3

See, that is also a literal heaven for me. I would love to just flop over on the ground and have a dozen cats decide to be my best friend. Honestly, who doesn't want to do that? Who doesn't want to be swarmed by a dozen cats? I'm sure maybe somebody who is allergic might feel that way, but that ain't me and I am here to pet some kitties. But, I think it's worth saying that Saeyoung would eat this up, too.

He clearly is the kind of person who wants to enjoy the outdoors. He loves animals more than anything so if you put him in a chicken coop and tell him to go crazy, I'm pretty sure the situation will turn into something where he is either getting chased down by the entire flock or he's helping them get exercise. Either way, you're going to laugh at him when he inevitably trips in the mud. Farm life is not for him but he's going to fight for it.

Can you imagine that? I don't know if Yatora would do that to you but... It's still funny.

#mod kait #ask #stormflypirateskin

[my-shields-are-down]

Tooth 🦷

#one word prompt #Chenford one shot

REMINDER: send me a singular word prompt, and receive a Chenford one-shot back.

Thanks for your patience! This took me a hot minute to complete.

=================

Prologue - assignments

#1 Ohhh my god….how many more of these do we have to go through? Don’t I complain about this every time…. About the importance of modernizing?

#2 Yes, you complain every time. Which is why I am choosing this time.

#1 What?! No, I always choose. I’m older so I get to choose.

#2 You have chosen for the past several times, yes. And where did we end up?

#1 Come on… the chicken coop was fun!

#2 The mass murderer was not.

#1 Well… no…. That wasn’t fun…But the ice cream man was!

#2 Dude! He was a pedophile!

#1 Did you just “dude” me?

#1 We are not going back to those stoners in Iowa. Took me 5 days to feel my face when we got back here. … The race car drivers were fun.

#2 They were fun, but so long ago.

#1 True.

#2 AHA! Found them. Check these ones out. Oh we could do so much good here! Look how cute they are?! Ooh and it’s a double booking so we could go together- no trying to find each other across Montana.

#1 This again? I thought all the cities were lumped together alphabetically. It’s not that uncommon.

#2 Really? Name one place- just one - where that actually happened?!

#1 Rhode Island! Hahahaha. Everything was close together.

#2 For crying out loud. Will you come look this over? Let me know if this will work for you.

#1 Ohhh I can see why you want to go. You are so predictable.

#2 What?! What’s wrong with wanting a California adventure?

#1 You do realize they are nowhere near the beach. They might not even like the beach or the ocean. Ha! That’d be funny.

#2 That’s ridiculous. Who doesn’t like the beach and ocean? Plus, look at the length of this one? We’ve never done such a long assignment before. Yep, we’d get promoted if we do this one well.

#1 I dunno.

#2 If we don't get promoted, I’ll let you pick until we do.

#1 What? Seriously? You spit swear on that and I’m in.

#2 So gross and juvenile. Ok fine. (Spits on hand). Eww. Give me your hand already.

(#1 spits on hand)

SHAKE!

++++++++

Chapter One - Preparation

Tim can’t stop smiling… he’s been in a daze for 7 months straight. Ever since Lucy told him she was pregnant. How did he get so lucky? Sometimes he just cannot believe how his life has turned out.

In the past 15 months, he began dating the love of his life, he got married, he found out she was pregnant, and they found out they were having a boy. They sold his house and bought a larger house, they moved in, they tore out a wall, built a nursery, built a couple closets, bought and installed a second washer and dryer for the nursery closet, retiled two bathrooms, painted the whole house inside and out, hired Tamara to paint a mural in the baby’s room (magical farmland creatures abound), they planted and weeded a garden, they redesigned and installed a sliding deck/pool cover, they got a new dog and the older one got jealous.

They read all the books, took in all the hand-me downs, folded a thousand onesies, bought a mini-mart worth of diapers, onesies, high chairs, binkies, pumps, pads, swaddling clothes, strollers, play pens, wipes, books, stuffed animals, blankets, burping clothes, filters, etc.

He and Lucy took baby food and semi-solid cooking classes, baby yoga, Lamaze and somatic breathing classes, birthing massage, learned baby cpr, did kegel exercises, babysat their friends’ babies for hours, and Tim bought extremely weird food combinations for his hormonal, waddling, cankled, beautiful wife.

Tim could not believe how much he loved Lucy. Once she said yes to that first dinner invitation and she joked about grandkids and the sky exploded in light and color and awe during their first real kiss, his heart cracked open and all the love and emotion he’d buried since she was his rookie came out and overwhelmed him with happiness. He’d sat in his truck in that parking lot after she drove away, crying and gasping as wave after wave of joy and happiness and YES FINALLY crashed into him.

The next day he went and bought a ring. Looking at the multitude of options before him, one shone brighter than the others - it sparkled like the sun, like his Lucy. But the design was very modern, very surprising - like the fact she maybe could love him back, so he didn’t worry about it. He chose the stones, found out her size and bought them.

He had proposed (and she squealed with happiness and said yes) the same day she found out she was pregnant.

Finally, they felt ready.

Weston Thorn Bradford - named after the two young black men, fellow police officers -their friends- who died in the line of duty protecting their colleagues - was due to arrive shortly.

They were excited.

Well….. Tim lied about that to Lucy. A little lie and not even a lie really. More like a wistful pang he knew would go away once he met the lad.

Sure, he was excited to meet his son, he swore he’d be a better Dad than his own Dad.

But Tim had been hoping for a little girl who looked like Lucy. To be surrounded by love and light. For dresses and tea parties and fairies and princesses, ruffles, bubbles, bows, giggles, and well, all of it, all of the baby girl stuff he remembered from when his sister was little.

But he sucked it up, stuffed that pang in the deep recesses of his heart and focused on all the firsts he’d have with his little boy- bugs, dinosaurs, mud, trucks, trains, exploring, sports, camping, sleep away camp, and mostly a deep and shared love of Lucy. That would be more than enough.

So when Lucy’s water broke, they didn’t panic, they calmly loaded up their car and meandered over to the hospital ready to get him out and then get him home - quickly and easily.

Well, that false sense of confidence bit them in the ass,didn’t it?

====

Chapter Two - First Night

What the hell just happened?! How? How do you MISS a baby? For fucks sake.

How many ultrasounds did we have? How many heartbeats did we listen to?

The last half of Lucy’s pregnancy I think we were at the doctor or on the phone with her OBGYN every other day.

Even the weird alien baby ultrasound scan thing didn’t find a SECOND baby.

And yet, there are currently TWO tiny people snuggled up on Lucy.

TWO tufts of black hair.

TWO lumps wrapped in blankets.

Two PINK blankets.

TWO GIRLS.

Two fat potatoes - almost identical twins - both mini Lucys.

One had a mole on her left cheek and one had a mole just below her left nostril. The doc said their eyes were also likely to be different colors, and that they’d probably be different heights, different by an inch, maybe two.

No boy wonders. No singular males. No Weston Thorn. Not this time anyway.. shock… awe…. Complete surprise.

Although…. Maybe twins aren't that much of a surprise. Lucy did gain an above average amount of weight.

His sweetheart overachiever .

Oh god… that wasn’t a shadow heartbeat or an echo, was it? No… that had to be baby #2.

Wait, that also explains the unexpected and unexplained high blood pressure. We had no idea where that came from. Now we do.

Holy crap. He’s the dad of two little girls. TWO LITTLE GIRLS!!

Tim hasn’t stopped crying since he held both of his girls (BOTH!), cut their umbilical cords, held one in each of his hands, hugged them, kissed them on their heads and handed them to Lucy. To their mom.

Lucy is the most beautiful mom he has ever seen - with two sleeping potatoes in her arms.

———-

The doctors say his love is spending the night as her blood pressure hasn’t yet dropped all the way back to normal.

So when their nameless lumps get whisked away for a bath and new snuggly clothes, he first texts Tamara “We have an heir!” Telling her to alert the masses that mom and spawn are exhausted, please no visitors-we will see everyone tomorrow as planned and places a food order for Lucy and himself: later he asks Tamara to deliver the food in person as they have some last minute details to work out for the party tomorrow when everyone gets to meet the newest Bradford(s).

Next, Tim takes his love to the shower on the floor (along with her IV stand) and lovingly washes her skin, massaging her scalp, and holding her close in gratitude congratulating her on such a great job producing not one but two miracles today.

Their babies each have ten fingers and ten toes (He counted).

In return, she washes his smelly anxiety sweat laden body and soothes his hyperactive heart with her love.

They stare at each other for what feels like forever under the hot water in awe, in wonder, crying and then uncontrollably laughing.

Because of course everything goes against the plan.

Finally, Tim dresses them both in matching LAPD zip up sweats sets with comfy socks and leads them (and her blasted IV stand) back to their room.

The nurse unhooks Lucy just long enough for her to finish dressing. Lucy is then given another full saline bag and told she’ll have to finish this one and another one tonight and she’ll be free by morning.

As the nurse turns and leaves to go get our girls, Lucy looks at Tim and says, “Do you remember what you told me when I gave you that positive pregnancy test? You said that you wanted to be surrounded by love and light.”

Tim nods - he remembers how she looked in the moonlight, if not the exact words he said. Lucy continued, “So how about these names:

1- Sunnisa - which means “gift of sun” - Love; and for our bonus baby girl

2- Lenna - which means love/“heart of a lion” - Joy

Tim is so overwhelmed that something he said in passing is coming true. Again.

Nodding at Lucy, he leans down to kiss all his girls, his loves, on their heads and glances at the time. “Oh-oh-oh! Tamara should be here soon! They’ve been fed right? Could he grab Lenna?” Tim has wisdom to impart - and he also wants to surprise Tamara.

Lucy looks back at Tim and rolls her eyes, “Still so ridiculous…. Yes, they’ve been fed. They latched on no problem and filled themselves up. Both are drunk on milk - they’ll sleep for a bit now. We are one step closer to those grandkids I promised you.“

Lucy pats the back of the young lass on her right side, her Lenna - the younger (by 5 minutes) and slightly smaller of the two bundles of joy. Tim gently picks up his already favorite child and zips up his sweatshirt around her as he sits and then leans back in the recliner across the room from Lucy.

Tamara won’t see them when she walks in and will likely freak out when she notices he’s holding a second bundle of joy in his arms.

As he feels his daughter’s breath on his chest, and hears her gurgle and coo for the first time, he gets a glimpse of his Lenna as she grows up - covered in cake, swim classes, losing her first tooth, school projects, cheerleading, learning to drive, father-daughter dances, prom, college, first love, first heartbreak, wedding and ultimately to her own kids.

Tim silently thanks Wade Grey for pairing him with his hotshot Rookie love.

———

Two hours later after the delightedly hilarious reveal to Tamara and another feeding, Lenna opens her eyes and sees Sunny now on her dad’s chest as she herself is on Lucy’s, on mom. Sunny’s eyes open and their eyes lock onto each other - and their first twin communication happens when #1 sees and recognizes #2 and grins while thinking, “we are definitely getting promoted after this assignment.”

#chenford #tim bradford #lucy chen #tamara collins #wade grey #i'm in chenford withdrawal #i love them #chenford fanfiction #one word prompts #one word gets you one shot #tooth #lots and lots of fluff #the rookie #busting through writer’s block #andreawrites