#shes just like grandpa everything in the valley is aFTER ME | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

solecize · 14 days

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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 | 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. every summer on your grandpa's farm was real-life magic to your younger self, who left a piece of her heart in amber valley when the years went on and the town became nothing but a faint childhood memory. soon enough, you become rocked by his death and realize the dead end in your bustling city world. this leads to you making an abrupt decision. despite knowing nothing but designer purses and the corporate ladder, you uproot your entire life to take over your grandfather's old farm in the town you were desperately trying to remember - alongside a familiar face from your youth that permanently finds his way into your heart. 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: jungkook/reader 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒. inspired heavily by stardew valley, friends to lovers, childhood friends, cowboy jungkook, small town alternate universe, slice of life, grief, growing up, mutual pining, jungkook as a parental figure 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓. 9k 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒. i don't even know what to say. i normally don't talk a lot and i'm mostly very unserious, but this is the last chapter of the farmouse and honestly, i'm super emotional about it. i'm really grateful for those of you who took the time to read and support this fic, every kind word has meant everything to me. i wrote this fic during a tough time when i needed warmth and joy, so i hope that this fic was able to bring even just a little bit of that for you while reading. (the writing of this chapter was quite literally delayed because my three year relationship ended midway through lol) this was also my first piece of writing in years and it's safe to say that i was able to fall in love with writing again because of this fic, so it'll always hold a special place in my heart. thank you times a hundred again <3

part ten: the midsummer festivalㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ previous. epilogue. masterlist

xxiv. the midsummer festival

squeezing through bodies in the stands, it took all of your focus to not drop the popcorn and drinks wedged in your arms. you should have asked someone to come with you, but you were in such a rush, not wanting to miss a thing. finally, you made it to your seat, plopping yourself in between jiwon and yoongi, and your eyes remained fixed on the lawn the entire time.

amber valley had the most beautiful days you’d ever laid eyes on and today was no exception. you weren’t sure if it was because of the natural charm in the sleepy town or a biased sense of nostalgia towards the countryside that you carried. the midsummer festival was held at the peak of the season, where humidity was as thick as honey and not a single cloud escaped being casted away from the cerulean of the sky. you had no choice but to throw on a tank top and shorts because anything else would feel like suffocation.

“i didn’t miss anything, did i?” you didn’t mean to scream, but there was no other way for your voice to beat the crowd amongst yourselves.

jiwon shook her head, her hair splaying from underneath the baseball hat that she so obviously stole from her brother. “no!”

the show-jumping competition was one of the newest additions to the fair and it proved to be one of the most popular. not only did the majority of the town come out to observe, but the fair also drew in an impressive number of visitors from elsewhere - some of which attended the fair specifically to watch the show-jumping.

“LETS GO KOOKIE!” screamed hoseok at the top of his lungs, holding up a customized poster board with a printed picture of jungkook and leo, depicting the words ‘go jungkook!’

yoongi groaned, “can you sit down? they haven’t even finished setting up for the jump-off yet.”

at this point in the competition, it was down to jungkook and another competitor, a man a few years younger named yesung. up until now, they both achieved the same score after the round performance and both cleared nearly perfect showings. the jump-off was a shortened course with tighter turns and higher jumps, intended to break the tie and determine the winner.

the crowd began cheering when jungkook and yesung reappeared, standing and waiting for instructions. you found jungkook adorable in his outfit, a dark green show jacket and breeches that emphasized his leg muscles. you had to catch yourself from staring too hard at his thighs because it seemed like yoongi caught you, waving a hand in front of your face with a snicker. you only glared at him.

it was mayor kim with the microphone, explaining the rules to the crowd. “and, to decide the order for performance, we have conducted a random draw. as a result, we will see. . .choi yesung go first!” he proclaimed, eliciting another round of cheers from the crowd.

from where you stood, you noticed jungkook naturally relax his shoulders. for that, you also breathed out a sigh of relief. he stepped away to where leo was, making way for yesung to complete his round.

when it was time to begin, everyone rose to their feet. from what you saw and heard of yesung, he was also a well-seasoned equestrian. he wasn’t as decorated as jungkook, but he had the advantage of winning the last show-jumping competition in the spring. you didn’t realize jungkook was out for vengeance, but he was indeed looking to reclaim his name.

every fraction of a second mattered in the jump-off round and so, your eyes were glued. the pressure was on and you watched yesung charge ahead. he decided to take some risky turns, likely to shave off time. the first one was executed perfectly and you nearly jumped at the second, challenging turn. it was not calculated well, as it resulted in a rail down at the penultimate fence.

“oh shit!” one of the boys yelped, watching the unfortunate accident.

yeung finished the course at a respectable, but flawed time. it was shame, since his speed and ability could have easily secured a victory. he knew it, too, judging by the disappointment in his eyes. you almost felt bad for him, if it wasn’t jungkook off to the side and gearing up for his turn.

now, it was jiwon screaming as loud as she could. “YOU CAN DO IT!” she screeched, cheering for her brother and you joined in.

already mounted on leo, jungkook looked up, right at your section. he gave a small wave and you all went wild - even mrs. oh, who brought her own sign to cheer him on. you guys weren’t the only ones, though, as it seemed that jungkook was a favourite amongst fans.

“jeon jungkook, jeon jungkook, jeon jungkook,” chanted the boys and you weren’t sure who started it, but you also began chanting, too.

he readied himself and at the sound of the horn, blasted off. the tensions were thicker, with the stakes at hand and the pressure on a seasoned competitor looking to re-establish himself. you couldn’t imagine the weight of the crowd under the beating of the july sun, considering the heat made you already down your water bottle by the first hour of the competition and were in half the clothing jungkook was in. between you and jiwon was a shared usb handheld fan, as the two of you silently took turns holding it - eyes too glued to the show and shouting jungkook’s name.

he was fast and sharp, yet every movement of his was so well thought out. at full force was a risky approach, but was so far bearing perfect results. you felt your heartbeat getting louder and louder, making your head pound with adrenaline. the last few seconds, the world became quiet and all you could focus on was jungkook. then, the eruption snapped you back into reality.

“LET’S GOOO!”

if someone was somehow not on their feet watching the final round of the show, they certainly were now, as jungkook zoomed to the end with no flaws and an incredible time. even you had to blink a few times, trying to see the time recorded clearly and realize your eyes were not deceiving you.

“there’s no way that’s not a record!” you heard jimin exclaim and you didn’t doubt him.

there was a hushed murmur over the crowd, as mayor kim stepped to the podium once more. tapping the microphone a few times, you and the rest of the crowd winced at the feedback that came with it. then, mayor kim spoke.

“ladies and gentlemen. . .” he begun, loud and clear.

jungkook was still catching his breath to the side, having yet to even take off his helmet. all eyes were peeled on mayor kim, as he took an extra pause for dramatics. if you weren’t also about to jump right out from your skin, you’d roll your eyes.

“. . we have a winner AND a record setting time. jeon jungkook, young man, please join me on this stage.”

no longer holding your breath, you roared along with your friends and the earth practically rumbled. jungkook’s smile was as bright as the day, as he whooped in response and raised his fist in the air. you were filled with nothing but joy.

before he stepped up onto the stage, jungkook displayed his integrity by walking towards yesung and enthusiastically shake the other man’s hand. yesung didn’t look too upset, more bewildered at the quality of performance that his opponent put on. they exchanged words, smiles reaching their eyes.

“that’s my brother!” screamed jiwon, as if no one knew the obvious.

jungkook then took mayor kim’s hand in one and attempted to balance his new, golden trophy with the other arm. in a split second, your friends, jiwon, and the oh family began filing out of the stands and you could hear hoseok yelling for you to follow. you widened your eyes, shuffling out of your seat as quickly as possible.

of course, jiwon was the fastest and made it to the lawn first. she squealed, as jungkook embraced her in a hug and spun her around. the cheers didn’t falter and only grew when namjoon and taehyung momentarily put jungkook on their shoulders.

you trailed behind everyone, nearly stumbling on your way down. you couldn’t see much, tiptoeing as far as you could. the chatter was still loud, but then the small crowd parted as you heard jungkook call out. it was your name. he was calling for you to come to the front.

“oooooh,” someone said, but you ignored it.

there was no doubt in your mind that your cheeks were a cherry red, but you refused to look anyone in the eye - even jungkook. you and your friends gathered around the podium with jungkook, as the event photographer asked you to move closer for a picture. everyone made way for you, as jungkook gestured for you to be the one on his right side, while jiwon and mrs. oh were on his left.

“congratulations,” you finally said, straining for your voice to be heard over the cheers. you still did not meet his eyes, finding yourself in a kind of shyness that was unknown to your normally headstrong personality.

that was something that came natural to jungkook, having an innate ability to bring out parts of you that you didn’t even know existed. before moving back to amber valley, you walked around with your chin up, thinking that you knew everything you needed to know.

now, at 25 years old, you knew harvesting soybeans and playing cards at the local pub with your new friends. you knew the smell of the ocean in the sweltering summer and you knew riding horses in sunflower fields at sundown. looking at jungkook, you knew what it was like to be slowly, but surely, swept off your feet. the realization creeped up on you, a sneaky little thing.

namjoon was the one holding onto leo, as your group huddled together for the picture. you instinctively hugged into jungkook’s touch, holding them in front of the camera.

jungkook spoke, right into your ear. “i’m so glad i was able to have this moment with you.”

that made you finally look up at his eyes and in that moment, a flash went off. this is when you also snapped out of your daze and despite his stare unwavering, you turned back to the photographer.

“oh, maybe we should take another -” you started, knowing that neither you or jungkook were looking in the camera, but he waved you off.

“no, no! this picture came out perfect,” the photographer winked at you and asked for everyone to disperse, before you could argue. something told you that you were going to see a picture of you and jungkook gazing into each other’s eyes on the front cover of the local newspaper.

he proceeded to take a few more solo pictures of jungkook with leo, followed by some shots with the mayor. jungkook was supposed to be kept busy, but he continued sneaking glances your way.

it was mrs. oh who gently tapped your shoulder. “now’s the time, honey. come to the store quick before he notices.”

beside her, sangwoo rolled his eyes. “he’s going to notice, he hasn’t taken his eyes off of her.”

regardless, you scrambled to follow behind mrs. oh. you weaved through the crowd, who all wanted to take a look at their champion in disbelief of the amazing time jungkook scored. the show began relatively early in the day, too, so the streets were only now becoming more and more full with the midsummer festival in full swing.

the roads were blocked off for pedestrian access only, as the fair was one of the busiest times of the year for amber valley. today was a day that drew crowds from outside of town, as the festival was an adored regional celebration and served as a tourist destination. you wouldn’t be surprised if you were told that the midsummer festival attracted the highest visitors of any other day in the year for the town.

carnival games, market booths and amusement rides were already set up since the morning and it was already getting tiresome to navigate through the festival goers. but, of course, you were trailing behind the force that was mrs. oh, who made way with ease with her commanding voice.

“time to get to work,” she sighed, pulling out a key from her pocket upon reaching the general store.

you said, “it’s a shame you can’t enjoy the festivities, mrs. oh.”

“oh, i don’t mind. i’ve lived in this town all my life, i’ve been here, there and everywhere when it comes to the fair,” she mused, unlocking the front door for the two of you. “business is business, the traffic the store will get is more important.”

a cool blanket enveloped your skin once you stepped in and you were never more grateful for the invention of air conditioning in your life. she was right, though, as you noticed some people nearby the store and already eyeing it.

“most businesses are closed today, but not us!” mrs. oh smiled, as she turned the sign by the window from ‘closed’ to ‘open.’

this is how you knew how much jungkook truly meant to mrs. oh. “jungkook is real lucky for you to open late just to watch him,” you said, examining the front counter and spotting a pair of jungkook’s work gloves.

“the store opens late every time he has a competition. sangwoo adores him and that young man and jiwon are family to us,” mrs. oh mused, seemingly lost in thought, before blinking back into the moment. “ah, don’t mind me. i almost forgot why you’re here, sweetie - the flowers are in the back room!”

you thanked mrs. oh, following the direction that she pointed towards. jimin called you corny for getting jungkook flowers for your first official date, but you thought it was fitting, given the competition. it was even better with the results of the show and you could only hope that jungkook liked the ones you picked out. you figured that men deserve to get a nice bouquet of flowers at least once, too.

the bundle of fresh sunflowers were actually your favourites, but that wasn’t important. you grabbed them from the backroom fridge, wrapped in cellophane and yellow paper. this was when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket and your eyes widened, hoping it wasn’t jungkook just yet.

unfortunately, your hopes disappeared, but the text still put a smile on your face - just because it was him at the end of the day.

are you at the store? i saw you and mrs. oh lol i can be there in a few minutes.

you replied yes and came out to wait. the store already had its first customers within a few minutes of opening and mrs. oh was ringing them out. she met your eyes and winked, mouthing some encouraging words to you.

with the same smile on your lips, you mouthed a ‘thank you’ to her.

although you would have loved to loiter inside the store for the air conditioning, you were already bashful enough from everyone watching you and jungkook at the show and you would have rather met jungkook away from mrs. oh’s nosiness. she was lovely, but she appeared to be one of your and jungkook’s biggest fans and you didn’t want to act awkward, knowing that you were being watched.

the bouquet was hidden behind your back, as you patiently waited outdoors. you didn’t know what to expect out of your day, but the longer you waited for jungkook, you grew more and more nervous. it was odd, knowing that the anxiety pooling at the bottom of your stomach was because of your childhood best friend.

the thoughts were promptly swept away when you caught sight of jungkook approaching you. he changed clothes from his riding gear, sans his favourite dirty boots that remained on his feet, and was now wearing a plain white t-shirt and denim jeans. you always had to take a moment to admire the definition of his muscles and his sharp gaze that left you breathless, but you were distracted this time by the bundle of golden flowers in his grasp.

jungkook looked a little bit concerned at your expression, as you were stifling a laugh. you almost felt bad, but the sight was too funny for you to ignore.

“hey - uh, what?” he furrowed his eyebrows at you.

you revealed the identical bouquet from behind your laugh and he, too, looked dumbfounded. the wrapping and greenery differed from one another, but it was clear that the two of you picked your flowers from the same field by your houses. it was the same field the two of you rode on the past summer and played in as kids.

“congratulations again for first place,” was all you could manage to say, offering your flowers towards him.

jungkook finally broke out into a chuckle, shaking his head. “thank you. congratulations, for uh. . “

“for what? being jeon jungkook’s date to the fair?” you chided, as you took his flowers in your hands.

“shut up. am i not original or something?” jungkook asked. “like, come on, we got each other the same thing. i’m already failing at this date thing, aren’t i?” he joked.

you rolled your eyes and flicked his arms. “it’s been, like, five seconds.”

“ow!”

“we’re not just on a date today, jungkook. we’re on a mission to win some prizes,” you declared.

jungkook tilted his head slightly with a smile growing. “oh, are we?” he paused. “then, am i allowed to hold your hand during this mission?”

the idea startled you, but you didn’t shy away. nodding without a word, this was the signal for jungkook to pick up your free hand and interlock his fingers with yours. somehow, it wasn’t a moment that sent ringing sensations in your ears nor was it one in slow motion. it was familiar, almost, and felt. . . right. it felt natural, like it was coming home after a long day.

you leaned in to whisper in his ear, “and thank you for the flowers. you remembered my favourite.” you weren’t even sure how he knew, but you knew that jungkook would only give you a gift with a well-thought out meaning behind them.

this time, it was jungkook’s cheeks who reddened slightly. he didn’t say anything else, only squeezing your hand and leading the way.

***

jungkook was tired. you were tired of telling him to suck it up. you had gone two summers in a row without winning a single prize and you were determined to walk away from the fair with at least one thing. albeit, at this point, you ran out of tickets to play games and you knew jungkook had extra, since he received some from his parents, but your grandfather also gave him some. he was your last hope, as you begged him to use the last of his tickets to get you something.

“hoseok hyung told me these games are rigged. can’t we just go do bumper cars, bunny?” jungkook groaned, as the two of you walked away empty handed from balloon darts.

you pouted. “no. i just want one of those big charmander stuffies, i know you can win them!”

“why don’t you play the games?”

“because i’m bad at them, how do you think i lost all of my tickets so quickly?” you responded, crossing your arms over your chest.

jungkook grumbled more complaints under his breath, while you forcibly dragged him towards the ring toss booth.

“hey kids! giving the ‘ol ring toss a try?” beamed the booth attendant, who was the same every year.

you weren’t entirely sure what his name was, but you and jungkook collectively agreed on calling him “carnival man” and he recognized the two of you each time the festival was in town. though you were about four feet of fury at the time, you had quiet rage against carnival man. you were convinced he cheated you out of getting the xl sized penguin prize last year and you wanted revenge.

“kookie will do it!” you exclaimed, smugly pushing your best friend forward.

“yeah, whatever, kookie will do it,” jungkook rolled his eyes and handed over a single ticket to carnival man.

carnival man happily took the ticket from jungkook. “it’s nice to see you kids again. you’re always together, huh?”

“unfortunately,” the two of you said in unison, only for you two to shoot each other identical daggers.

at this, carnival man guffawed in amusement and gave jungkook his sets of rings.

here, jungkook did not win. in fact, he didn’t win you a single thing that summer and you didn’t speak to him for the following day because of it. only a day, though, since carnival man was right - the two of you were always together. you eventually gave in after the first day of silent treatment and showed up to jungkook’s house with your horse, marshmallow, and convinced him to join you by the sunflower fields. he had scoffed, called you stupid, and then without missing a beat, came outside to accompany you.

***

“kookie! and. . .bunny? is that you?”

carnival man was a lot older than you remembered, but you weren’t sure if it was just the tricks of time playing a game on you. it seemed like everything was so much more youthful and bright in your childhood memories. however, the brightness in carnival man’s smile didn’t falter and it only widened upon laying eyes on you and jungkook. then, his eyes trailed over to your clasped hands together and it widened even more.

“you remember me?” you gaped, as carnival man took your hand and shook it vigorously.

“of course i do! well, i remember the two of you, specifically,” he exclaimed. “i see jungkook here, but i’ll always remember how you two kids came around together every summer! you’re all grown up now!”

although lines of age creased his smile and streaks of grey contrasted against his black hair, seeing carnival man again made you feel like you were ten years old all over again. the fair seemed so much more larger than life and this moment was one of those moments that reminded you of why you loved summer so much.

jungkook smiled, “it’s nice to see you, mr. lee.” he appeared to be a bit shy, as the older man was fixated on the sight of you two holding hands.

it occurred to you that carnival man was never his real name and meeting him as mr. lee felt like a call to the reality in which you were now a grown up. you realized that jungkook continued to see mr. lee at the fair over the years without you and didn’t feel the same rush of nostalgia.

the only reason why jungkook couldn’t also shake mr. lee’s hand was the abundance of prizes nestled into his arms. the two of you left your sunflower bouquets at the general store - luckily, it was now busy with tourists wanting water bottles or sunscreen and the two of you avoided any gushing or questioning from mrs. oh - and thank god you did because you did not expect to be carrying around so many things. a mini teddy bear, a sheet of temporary tattoos, a t-shirt, some gift cards, and a larger kuromi plush toy that was double the size of your head.

thankfully, jungkook held onto everything without complaint and remarked that you had no business carrying anything so long as he was there. the funny part was that you two had barely visited all of the games and the only reason why you’d won so many prizes was because you two were competing at each one.

“and you know i refuse to lose,” jungkook said at the first game, which was a basketball shootout.

with the same competitive spirit, the two of you both did very well at each game and walked away with a prize from almost every one. it also probably helped that you were now adults with disposable income and could pay to participate in as many games as you wanted. jungkook had announced that he was ready to make up for his past failrures, never forgetting the summer that resulted in your silent treatment because of his inability to win you a prize. you didn't think that meant struggling to carry around your prizes within the first hour.

now, mr. lee began setting up the ring toss for the two of you. “so, you moved back to amber valley, young lady?”

“yes, sir. i’m running the family farm now,” you replied.

“congratulations, bunny. that’s some hard, honest work, my best wishes to you!” mr. lee said. “you know, i always thought you two had quite a special bond, even at a young age.”

jungkook avoided eye contact. “mr. lee, you’re kind,” he chuckled, nervously.

“i mean it! it fills my heart with joy to see you two here after all these years.” there was twinkle in mr. lee’s eyes as he spoke. “for some people, their universes are stitched together with unseen threads that will always lead them back to where they belong.”

it was your turn to squeeze jungkook’s hand and neither of you said anything more, only exchanging a look.

***

jungkook wouldn’t stop pouting and you weren’t sure what to do about it. it really wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t help the fact that, like most young girls, you got your growth spurt earlier than your male friend. you were a few inches taller than jungkook at this point and he was deflated to learn that you were tall enough for the rollercoaster, while he had yet to measure up.

“sorry kid. maybe next year,” the ride attendant gave jungkook a small smile.

you were disappointed, as well, as you and jungkook had waited nearly thirty minutes in line. all for jungkook to not be able to ride the coaster. you turned to him, who sighed.

he said, “it’s okay, bunny. you can go on without me.”

a part of you did want to get on the ride, especially after waiting for quite some time, but you didn’t hesitate to shake your head.

“no. i won’t go on without you,” you stressed, to which jungkook looked at you in shock.

he shook his head. “no, it’s okay. just go, we waited for so long.”

“i said i’m not going,” you said, standing your ground.

instead, you walked off from the front of the line, ignoring jungkook calling your name until he ran up to catch up to you.

“hey! what are you doing?”

“i said i’d go with you. if you’re not there, there’s no point,” you shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “we’ll go next time. hey, wanna go see carnival man and do ring toss?”

you didn’t wait for an answer, as you made a beeline for the ring toss booth. jungkook jogged up to you and you noticed that he was trying to hide the smile on his face.

***

“jungkook. . .this is the kid’s roller coaster.”

everyone else in the line was about half jungkook’s size, unless they were one of the parents giving the two of you a dirty look for getting on the kid’s coaster. there was no explicit rule that adults couldn’t ride the rollercoaster, but it was a very popular ride and jungkook had the privilege of cutting the line, as the two of you were given a free “fast lane” pass by mayor kim for being local small business owners. the fast lane pass was costly and the majority of fairgoers opted to wait in the long lines.

jungkook didn’t seem to care too much, though. “yeah, so what? you picked the giant swing and said the next ride was my choice.”

“you’re pissing off the kids,” you whispered in a lower voice, as the attendant let out the last party from the rollercoaster. you guys were up next. “i thought you would want to do the drop tower or something.”

“you promised me that we could go on the ride the last time we were here. remember, when i was too short?” he casually whistled.

“jungkook, that was, like, seventeen years ago.”

he continued, “and i wrote it for our summer bucket list! you may have never seen it, but i was dying to go on this ride.”

and that was how you found yourself crammed into a kid-sized rollercoaster at the very front with jungkook. with impeccable timing, it looked as though some of the boys were passing by. seokjin caught your eye first and tapped taehyung’s shoulder beside him, who then got namjoon’s attention.

“oh my god,” you groaned, watching the three of them wave wildly at you and jungkook.

on the other hand, jungkook found this hilarious. he waved back and you covered your blushing face with your hands. you were already embarrassed from the cut eye given to you by the parents in line, now this.

“have fun, lovebirds!” called namjoon, as seokjin and taehyung proceeded to take several pictures of you and jungkook from afar.

***

“my tooth hurts!” you whined, shoving your cotton candy into jungkook’s hands.

at seven years old, it was on the later side for you to lose your first tooth. you’d been wiggling it for weeks, but cried when jimin offered to rip it out of your mouth for you. this happened just a few moments ago, before jungkook yelled at him to go back to his mommy.

jungkook didn’t seem bothered and was actually pleased to double fist two sticks of cotton candy. “thanks bunny!” he ignored your complaints and happily continued snacking away.

this was the first year that you and jungkook were permitted to roam around without adult supervision - kind of. as long as you were in vicinity of ten year old hoseok, who was sitting on a bench and playing on his gameboy advance, the two of you were free to play together.

“this isn’t fair, i’m not allowed to eat anything,” you huffed. your grandfather warned you that any sort of sweet will just hurt and you were better off enjoying other parts of the festival.

“don’t tell my parents, they said i could only have one cotton candy,” jungkook said, as he observed your sad appearance. “why do you look like that?”

“like what?”

“you look sad. it’s ugly on you,” jungkook mindlessly commented and you flicked his arm. “ow!”

you glared at him. “don’t call me ugly!”

“i said looking sad is ugly on you. so, don’t be sad,” jungkook replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

when your expression didn’t change, jungkook sighed and looked over to where hoseok was sitting. the older boy’s eyes were glued to his screen and was now joined by jimin, who was cheering him on in whatever game he was playing. then, jungkook turned back to you.

“what?” you asked.

“wanna go watch the magician show?” he asked, grinning. “so you can stop being sad.”

your eyes widened, as you took your turn to look over your shoulder at hoseok. “your mom said to stay nearby! what if we get in trouble?”

“i dare you to come with me to the magician show,” jungkook countered, knowing that was the secret word that made you do just about anything. you hated the idea of losing dares to jungkook and had yet to do so.

you knew you were going to get an earful if you left hoseok’s sight, who was supposed to be watching over you. then, you remembered that, earlier that day, hoseok refused to let you play a level of mega man on his gameboy and decided you didn’t care if you got him in trouble.

“okay! let’s go!” your features suddenly brightened and you let jungkook take you by the wrist - not the hand because, ew, it was jungkook - towards the other end of the fairgrounds.

the cotton candy had already been consumed and jungkook tossed the paper sticks into the nearest trash can, as the two of you quietly giggled about your mischievous sneak-away.

***

unlike jungkook, jiwon had no trouble tracking down her sibling at any given moment, even with the large crowds gathered for the festival. she also didn’t seem to care that her brother was in the middle of a date, as you were the one to first notice that she was dragging sangwoo by the wrist in your direction.

“is something wrong, jiwon?” jungkook asked and there was a tinge of annoyance in his voice at the appearance of the younger girl. the two of you were engaged in somewhat of a flirtatious conversation and jiwon’s premise immediately killed jungook’s mood.

“hi y/n!” she greeted and then she turned to jungkook wearing a sickly sweet smile. “oppa, may i have ten bucks?”

“i gave you twenty bucks this morning,” he raised an eyebrow at her.

meanwhile, sangwoo was in awe of the amount of prizes in jungkook’s arms. “woah! you guys won all of those?” at this point, there was an addition of a frisbee and a stuffed octopus.

“i won most of them,” both you and jungkook said at the same time, resulting in a shared glare.

jiwon cleared her throat. “so. can i have ten bucks, please? we wanna get cotton candy!”

“what did you do with the first twenty bucks?”

“we went on the teacup ride! oh, and we got rice cakes and funnel cake and actual cake,” jiwon explained and went a little too fast, so you didn’t doubt that the kids did, in fact, consume all that sugar.

it seemed like jungkook also didn’t doubt it and while you knew he wanted to scold her, you were taken aback to find him letting go of your hand to reach for his wallet in his back pocket. he sighed and, as he was still carrying all of your prizes, merely held it out for jiwon to fish a twenty out of.

“only because today is the festival,” he warned and muttered a second part under his breath, “and only so you can leave us alone.”

you also had the same feeling that jiwon and sangwoo were not going anywhere without their ultimate goal, especially since the former seemed to have the same persistence that her brother had.

“thank you, i love you!” jiwon declared, handing the wallet back to her brother and planting an exaggerated kiss on his cheek. “thank you, thank you! we’ll leave you alone now!”

the pair scurried off together, as sangwoo also yelled out his thanks. they ran through the crowd together, giggling amongst themselves. when jungkook took your hand again, you were still lost in thought, watching the two purchase cotton candy from far away. sangwoo handed the first stick to jiwon and the two talked with one another, cheerily enjoying their treat.

“don’t get me wrong, making sure jiwon is eating healthy is important to me, but today’s the fair. it’s special for her and sangwoo like it was for us, might as well let her off the hook for today.” he noticed you watching them and followed your stare. “they’re cute, aren’t they?”

“they are. how long have they been that close?”

“since they were born, basically. they’re always with each other,” jungkook shook his head.

“do you think jiwon has a little crush?” you wondered aloud, as jiwon shoved sangwoo playfully for whatever joke he might have had made.

jungkook asked, “did you?”

he was referring to the two of you as kids, as it was clear that your shared wistful stares at jiwon and sangwoo were a product of looking back at your own childhoods. two best friends that stood by each other’s sides at all times and grew up together. you had to admit, you saw your and jungkook’s reflections when you looked at jiwon and sangwoo.

upon hearing the question, you rolled your eyes. “you wish, jeon jungkook.”

but, you weren’t entirely sure. adults joked that you and jungkook would grow up to marry each other, just from watching you two play chess or ride horses together. there was a magnetic force that naturally stuck the two of you together, from day one. you cared deeply for jungkook before you could have a comprehensive understanding of what it was like to have love for someone beyond your family.

“pretty sure i had a crush on you. that’s probably why i was devastated when you stopped coming to the valley,” he casually mentioned, but you turned to him in surprise.

“were you really?”

“yeah. you were my closest friend.”

“i’m sorry,” you said. “you were mine, too. i just thought you would forget about me, i guess. then, i don’t know - “

jungkook cut in, “- we grew up. that’s what happened, it’s okay.”

that was the reality of life. it was sad to look back on, but it was overshadowed by the incredible forces that brought you and jungkook back together. never, in a million years, would you have ever imagined standing in the middle of the amber valley midsummer festival with jeon jungkook ever again.

“ever since i came back, you became my closest friend again. even with all the weird stuff going on between us,” you admitted the last part with the roll of your eyes.

although you were just teasing, jungkook’s expression turned serious. “hey, i am sorry about that. but, honestly. . . “ he sighed. “like you said, we became close friends again. and so fast, too.”

“it got confusing, didn’t it?” you asked, looking at your feet. “when things seemed like it could be more, i kept trying to convince myself that, you know, this is just how we are. we’re friends, this is how we act and nothing more.”

“you read my mind. you really did,” jungkook said, looking at you with a surprised expression. “i think i always knew, though. from the moment i saw you again.”

you thought back to the first time you met jungkook again. you remembered how soft his hands were and how he managed to make you smile on one of the worst days of your life. that was just jungkook, though, and his way of bringing sunlight into your life, even when it was raining.

“i. . .i think i knew, too. but, i thought you just saw me as the little girl who used to play with you in your backyard.”

he shook his head. “i thought you had so much on your plate. and, well, i’ll admit, i’ve had trouble even considering a love life since becoming jiwon’s guardian. she’s always come first in my life before anything else.”

“i don’t blame you, i can’t imagine what the past few years have been like for you,” you said. “but, you were a tad bit stupid. let’s be real.”

jungkook snorted. “yeah, i know i was stupid. believe me, the last thing i wanted to do was fully push you away. my childhood best friend came back into my life and i had to confront that she was now a strong, beautiful and incredibly intelligent woman that i had feelings for.”

this was the first time that things were finally being said aloud and it was as if a thousand pounds was being lifted off of your shoulders. you were light, you were flying.

“but,” he continued. “i also had to confront that you were still my closest friend, the person who i can turn to when things go wrong. you were my friend who i laughed with and shared things with and i couldn’t lose that. i have the guys, but no one compares to how in sync we are.”

“i know what you mean. we complement each other in this crazy way. . .” you trailed off.

mr. lee spoke about destinies stitched together and things meant to be. holding jungkook’s hand felt meant to be in a way that it was just natural. so did laughing with him and making him dinner and letting him do things for you, simply because he didn’t want you to do it by yourself.

jungkook said, “do you see why i was afraid of this?” he gestured to the two of you holding hands. “if i fuck this up with you, i’ll lose both my girlfriend and my best friend. if i fuck this up with you, i’ll have let you down during a time where you just moved to a whole new town for a job with all these expectations that everyone has for you.”

“you don’t have to be afraid of those things,” you murmured, gently placing your free hand on his arm.

“i’m not. not anymore, when the what ifs and the idea of missing out on something good with you is even scarier.”

suddenly, you took a look around your surroundings. it obviously wasn’t planned, but the two of you were having quite the intimate conversation just across from the face painting booth and the craft stalls. you tugged jungkook into a random corner, where there was a lone chair in between walls.

“can you put the prizes down for a second?” you asked.

jungkook was confused. “huh?”

“can you put the prizes down so i can kiss you?” you commanded, giving him a pointed look.

then, he chuckled and without hesitation, placed your various trinkets down on the chair. you rolled your eyes with a smile and jungkook hooked a thumb on one of the belt loops of your jean shorts, using it to pull you closer. he leaned in, placing his other hand at the small of your back.

jungkook, too, smiled into the kiss and like everything else, it felt natural. it felt like home. you melted into his arms as you always do, softly kissing back.

although you could have stood there forever with him, lost in his touch, you had to pull away. “you scared of that?” you raised an eyebrow.

“shut up man,” jungkook said, but stole a quick peck from you before he let you go from his embrace.

you thought you would never stand in the middle of the amber valley midsummer festival with jeon jungkook ever again. the world worked in mysterious ways and you were proven wrong. more so, you weren’t just standing with jungkook. you were a woman standing in the middle of the town that built your hopes and dreams. you were standing in middle of the fair that never shook off its magic, even years later. you were standing with the man who made you realize that home wasn’t just a place.

***

it was safe to say that you freaked out when jungkook showed you what he stole from his dad’s tool box. you were so scared that jungkook had to beg you to not snitch on him and even threatened that he would tell your grandfather that you’d been making him help you complete your chores in the chicken coop.

“it’s just a pocket knife, bunny.”

“it’s sharp! you could hurt yourself!” you hissed, stepping a few feet away from him like he had mad cow disease.

jungkook sighed and ignored you, walking over to where your sitting spot was. this year, the midsummer festival fell on what was easily the hottest day of the summer. the heat wave was unlike any other you’d experienced so far and you were surprised that the fair was still going on. the two of you had completed just under ten minutes at the bouncy castle before you insisted you needed a break.

the two of you had found a random tree to sit under, as you split an ice cream float to beat the heat. this is when jungkook said he had “something cool” to show you.

you had no choice but to leave your grumbles under your breath, finding your place beside jungkook since the ice cream float was in his hand. “you’re hogging it all,” you complained and he handed it over to you.

“are you done freaking out?” he asked.

“what are you even gonna do with that?”

it was as if jungkook was waiting for you to ask the question. “this.” he clicked it open and turned behind him, to the lower part of the tree of which you were leaning on.

your eyes were wide, as jungkook began scratching away at the wood. the first letter you could make out was “J” and you nervously looked around your surroundings. it didn’t seem like anyone was paying attention to the two of you, occupied with the festivities or trying to not pass out from the sun.

jungkook completed a “K” and moved on to slowly carving out your initials. “so we remember today!”

“it’s gonna be there forever,” you sputtered. “my grandpa says that trees last forever if no one cuts them down. . .so, since our names are there, we’ll be best friends forever!”

a toothy grin stretched across jungkook’s face. “yeah! we are. we’re going to be best friends forever.”

***

considering jungkook’s victory earlier in the day, several people stopped to congratulate him throughout the afternoon. he was hard to miss and he was also just a generally well-known person around town.

that was precisely why you were scared shitless that someone was going to recognize either of you committing vandalism.

“you’re covering me, right?”

“i am, but can you hurry up?” you demanded through gritted teeth, trying to look over your shoulder to see if anyone was looking your way without looking suspicious.

from the unassuming eye, it looked like you and jungkook were merely engaged in conversation. . .but facing the tree. you were sat cross-legged, turned to the tree as if it was another person talking amongst yourselves. instead, you were trying to cover jungkook carving into the wood.

you shook your head. “i can’t believe our names are still on this.”

“we did say it would be forever,” jungkook reminded you and if he wasn’t holding a pocket knife in his hands, you would’ve shoved him over.

you always remembered that your and jungkook’s names lived on the bark of a random tree in town. there was no way you could forget the scolding the two of you received for defacing town property.

“what if they notice? we’re adults now, we could get charged for this,” you said.

“then we say it was always like this,” jungkook concluded and caught your eye. “what? what are they gonna do, tell my mom and your grandpa?”

at that, you did let out a laugh. “i can’t imagine what they’re thinking, watching us from up there.”

then, jungkook clicked his pocket knife close and scooted over on the grass, as he’d been blocking his work from your view the entire time. he made the initials deeper into the wood, ensuring that it wasn’t going anywhere, and added a heart around the letters. once depicting you and jungkook as friends “4ever,” it was now framed by the heart and shifted its meaning altogether.

“they likely made a bet about us getting together and the winner is probably rejoicing,” you suspected and jungkook nodded in agreement, snickering under his breath.

your hands grazed over the carved design and you thought back to the moment where the two of you first sat under the same tree.

jungkook said, “pretty good first date, huh? scammed some booths out of their prizes, pissed off the entirety of amber valley elementary and we vandalized town property.” he looked pleased with himself leaning against the tree and wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

with your legs stretched out and the crime completed, you were able to relax underneath the protection of the leafy branches. “mhm, definitely a first date that i’ll never forget,” you laughed, placing your head on jungkook’s chest.

the two of you bought an ice cream float for old times sake and jungkook brought it closer to you, so that you wouldn’t have to move. it seemed to be a constant - jungkook doing things for you just because. just because he didn’t want you to do it yourself. just because he wanted to do something for you.

“i have arms, you know,” you joked, but took a sip regardless.

he responded, unfazed, “i know.”

the smile the two of you shared confirmed your thoughts. whether you were kids and jungkook walked you home every time just because or you were adults and jungkook wanted to spend his whole day fixing your windows just because. that was just how he was always going to be for you.

“well, do you know that a first date implies that there’s going to be a second date?” you decided to be bold for once, as all your anxieties evaporated when you accepted that jungkook was both your best friend and a person you held feelings for - a coexistence that you realized was possible and even exciting.

jungkook scoffed. “second date? did you not see the tree, you’re stuck with me forever.” his joke resulted in you playfully hitting his chest.

“did you just curse me with some witchcraft on this tree or something?”

“rock hard, huh?” he asked, ignoring your accusation and was referring to you hitting his chest. “trust me, i know.” jungkook flexed his arm muscles and although he was kidding around, it was quite impressive and distracting.

“i’m totally objectifying you right now, by the way. i can admit that now, right?” you smirked. “‘cause i’ve been checking you out for months.”

at that, jungkook genuinely appeared to be a bit sheepish, his ears first turning pink like they always do. “drink your float, man,” he insisted, using it as a tool to shut you up. you nearly choked from holding in your laugh as you took another sip, which made him laugh, too.

you sat up slightly, but still mostly laying your body weight on your jungkook, only to crane your neck to see the letters carved onto the tree. the carving waited for you two for years to return. a part of you couldn’t believe that it was jungkook you were stealing kisses and blushing from.

“but, for real,” jungkook spoke, now also looking at his handy work. “a second date is nothing when the tree says you’re stuck with me. that means you’re my girl.”

he held your chin with his free hand so that you could look into his eyes as he declared the last part. jungkook’s gaze was warm and you now understood what it was like to feel butterflies in your stomach. it was always one of those things that you read about in books and couldn’t comprehend. you understood the moon and stars and you understood economics and science. this moment with jungkook was a pair of fresh eyes that opened your heart to a feeling of completeness that felt like it had always been there.

“wow, you’re not even going to ask me? this is the worst confession ever,” you managed to tease, your smile failing to fight the happiness spreading throughout your body.

jungkook retorted, “i saw it in your eyes, you were about to ask me first. i had to beat you to the punch, you know i hate letting you win things.”

“i think i won either way here,” you beamed, placing your head back onto jungkook’s chest. you could feel his heart beating loudly, but he didn’t seem to mind and planted a kiss on your forehead. jungkook wanted you to know how much this moment meant to him, too.

your first summer back in amber valley was nothing you expected. your grandfather’s last wishes for you were for you to discover nature and what it meant to make real connections with people. it was a head first journey that you embarked on, all by yourself. yet, months later, you found yourself surrounded by a family you found yourself and the beauty of a town that you thought was forever going to only live in your memories and dreams. you found belonging.

jungkook taught you that home wasn’t a place. home was the sunday market with friends. home was doing things you would have never imagined yourself doing, like salsa dancing and paddle boarding. home lived in watching your hard work bloom into something greater than yourself, with each harvest and each morning you spent feeding your animals. home was even a person - a horse-riding man who was unselfish at his core and loved breakfast for dinner.

you dreaded the end of the night, as it seemed like the midsummer festival was a blissful magic that you never wanted to end. you could have lived in this moment forever.

“goodnight, bunny. i’ll see you tomorrow,” jungkook said, as the two of you stood at the doorstep of the farmhouse. he leaned down and met you in a soft kiss, where he murmured a thank you against your lips for the perfect day you shared.

there, you realized that the magic didn’t have to end. there was always a tomorrow to look forward to when everyday was a new day to fall more and more in love with your best friend. the magic in the air didn’t even have to end when the last of the summer heat turned into the first chill of autumn, amidst the shifting hues of the leaves. the magic kept you warm throughout the winter and blossomed in the springtime.

for the first time in your life, you no longer had to walk away from jungkook come the rain of september. when you were younger, it seemed like the magic of amber valley only existed in the warmer months. summer was a special place in your heart and the memories of your youth, but home was something that stood by you through the changing seasons.

𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓. @shellyyy177 @myseokjinji @teddybeartaetae @jalexad @sstrongstyle @wobblewobble822 @seokout @taiwan0618 @firelcrds @xwniazx

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook x reader #kpop fanfic #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #bts x reader #bts imagine #bts au #bts series #jungkook imagine #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenario #jungkook x you #jungkook x oc #bts scenario #bts fluff #*** / the farmhouse.

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mosneakers · 5 months

Text

Just a simple blink. And when Coraleye opens her eyes again, she and Agnes have transported to a new location.

Momentarily disoriented, Coraleye gasps in awe as recognition dawns upon her. Coraleye: Oh, I've been here before! This was your home in Moonlight Falls, wasn't it? A really sweet girl named Janie lives here now; she let me stay over once.

Agnes: Oh yes, Ms. Books. I have a feeling you'll be revisiting this house again very soon, sweetheart. [Smiles]

Agnes: [Continues] To answer your question, honey, Erik loved it here. We crafted a charming life for ourselves in this house. Our daughters thrived, we had good jobs. It was a time of contentment—a lovely chapter in our lives, really...

Coraleye: But something was missing...

Agnes: [Frowns and softly nods] Yes. And my goodness, did the guilt weigh awfully heavy on my heart! I had everything a poor widow could ask for: two darling daughters, a roof over my head, I was reunited with my beloved husband, for goodness sakes...

Coraleye frowns, offering comfort by softly grazing Agnes's back. Coraleye: [Softly] Grandma... Sometimes the heart wants what it wants, and it doesn't care about how things are "supposed" to go.

Agnes: I was so young... just like you, darling. And at that age, I still yearned for the finer things in life. Though I never said it aloud, Erik knew. He'd write about it occasionally. If it were up to him, we'd have stayed put, and put our savings towards expanding our family. But for me, I was just fine with two daughters. I would've much rather put our earnings towards offering our children a more comfortable lifestyle in Sunset Valley.

Coraleye: Well the difference is clear to see; you are beaming here! And it looks like those guests are really enjoying Grandpa's company. Agnes: Oh yes, that's Pauline and Hank Goddard. Erik was always the life of every party. Had almost everyone in stitches.

Coraleye: I couldn't help but notice lots of whispering going around when you weren't looking, though... Agnes: My, my... you are quite astute, babydoll. No, truth is I knew all about the whispering. Hank Goddard's in law enforcement; he was there when Erik was pronounced dead. The story we presented them was that Erik miraculously recovered from a lengthy coma through the power of prayer. Christopher Steele has his suspicions, but kept quiet about them since that dreadful incident.

Coraleye's glowing eyes widen with intrigue. Coraleye: ...The Sunset Valley Massacre?

Agnes: [Single nod] That's the one. Come darling, our time is fleeting, and there's much more to explore. After all, we wouldn't want to leave two hearts vying for your attention alone together for too long. I've read my fair share of novels where such scenarios end disastrously. [Wink]

#ts4 #MD4season10 #MD4 #Coraleye Darling #RealmOfMagicGetaway #Agnes Darling #Many Moons Ago #GIF #Many Moons Ago: Gen 1 #MMA Gen 1: Ch. 16 #Erik Darling #Gwendolyn Darling #Persephone Darling #Christopher Steele #Pauline Wan #Hank Goddard

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sircesimblr · 4 months

Text

Manon: Because, dear Rachel, Mr. Orbin Les, as a child, brought home every animal in need he found on the streets. From dogs, to cats, to birds and even a rattlesnake once, he found them and they found him, and then, because his family home already was overcrowded with the four sisters this gentleman has, and an aging old grandpa as well, his troubled parents decided e-ve-ry-time, that little Orbin could not keep them, but had to bring them to the animal shelter instead. From then on, he visited the shelter, played there, grew up there. Whenever he needed to escape the busy hustle-bustle at home, he went to the poor little animals to give them some love. And they gave it back.

Orbin: That's right. I've found I can think a lot clearer when I'm holding an animal. I am very much at ease with them.

Manon: Now, this, Rachel, is a man after my own heart. And I am sure yours as well. I have my poor, sweet, abandoned little nibbles, and he has his little furries, springies and barkies that are just as much in need of love as my children. Now he only needs some human love himself.

Orbin: I feel very grateful for how my life is now. It is full, and happy. A woman like Rachel would be very, very...

Manon: Come now, Mr. Les, you are fretting about it. Day and night. About that one thing missing. And it had to be your sister, putting you on the spot, to connect with our sweet Rachel, before you'd be too old and rusty. You would've spent your life convincing yourself more and more that only animals can give you love. Because that's what you are best at. Fret and choose what you already know.

Orbin: Well... yes... that is... a tendency... But I truly feel happy at heart, Miss de La Haye. It's just... things happen to go wrong. Sometimes.

Manon: You spent a great deal of your life in the animal shelter and when your education called for it, you thought you'd best become a veterinarian, like Rachel! You applied to the same college she is in, and failed after the first year! A few years later, you tried again, and failed again! You gave up! Because you were always cuddling animals, at the cost of your own prospects!

Orbin: Still, that got me the job I have now, and am very good at. Honeycomb Valley's Animal Shelter does not only run most efficient on its subsidies, it also has been awarded year after year as the best and happiest and healthiest...

Manon: It is, but you...

Stam: Cut it out, Miss. Shouldn't you promote the guy? He's a man after your own heart you said. This isn't a very sensitive way to go about it, is it?

Manon: These are things Rachel should know.

Stam: And she will. She's perceptive, and caring. She will understand and she will see he is happy. And I have a feeling he will be even more happy, seeing her succeed at those studies he failed at himself.

Manon: Well, I don't know. I, myself... I... My goodness, you gentlemen really are NOT from Praaven. How! how can you be so considerate? You are gentlemen! You should not care! Prospects are everything. Achievements! Reaching something before anyone else does. Earn the love of a lady!

Orbin: By being honest, and interested. It is all I wish to do for Rachel right now.

Orbin: So, hi, Rachel, I am Orbin. We may have a lot in common and it would be really nice to get to know each other. It doesn't have to be a date yet, either. Just come by at the shelter some time, I will recognize you and I'm sure you will recognize me. We'll each pick up a cat and we could talk. I'd love to see you around. Bye!

Klaus-Ove: Hey Orbs, are you alright? That was a little short - and tough?

Orbin: Yes, I'm fine. Thanks, guys. Thank you too, Miss de La Haye. It's all on Rachel anyways.

Manon: ... Again, my humble apologies... I got carried away. You don't know how it is, for a spinster woman in Praaven. It really isn't all sunshine and dewy mornings.

Stam: I think we get the idea...

Manon: Yes, I'm sure you do. You considerate bunch of friendly ... oh, I could just as well call you my nibbles too! My lovely modern grown up nibbles, please, next one, do stand up and don't fear my ramblings. Miss Rachel, I present to you: Mister Stam Hardenes, who, in my opinion is the most rounded package you can get, and also, as it seems, already bubbling with love for your lovely little self!

(meet him tonight, and Klaus-Ove tomorrow, in the next episodes of this little AU ministory!)

(prev)

#a man for rachel #@kimmiessimmies #ts3 #sims 3 #intermezzo au mini story

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sbk-zgvlt · 11 months

Note

Grgrgrgr thinking about the inherent tension between Lilia and Baul. Like. Idk, I think the Neige and Sebek thread sparked this thought but. Lilia and Baul had to have worked together tbh (and I think Baul’s gonna appear. Like I think that’s unavoidable. Maybe not in the main story (should be in the main story tbh/hj) but maybe in a Briar Valley event?

Anyway Lilia adopting Silver and slowly falling out with Baul because he’s just so judgmental. This is a baby, it’s not a monstrosity or w/e. Anyway he ends up distancing himself from Baul reluctantly while Mr and Mrs Zigvolt (forgot your hc names and I’m two paragraphs in, sue me/lh) help him with Silver.

And then Mrs Zigvolt gets pregnant/has an egg/whatever again.

Perhaps it’s sort of Lilia’s fault that Sebek grows up around his grandfather? Perhaps he thought that if he could change because of a little bundle of human joy, a little bundle of half-human half-fairy joy could do the same for Baul. Perhaps Lilia encouraged Sebek’s parents to get Baul to help raise Sebek after being somewhat out-of-touch with Sebek’s siblings.

But then it doesn’t work. And by the time they realize Baul didn’t change and Sebek’s reflecting him he’s already got the bad mindset ingrained in him. So Lilia decides to have him over to hang out with Silver more.

It curbs it, yes, but not as much as they’d like. Sebek’s still got the bad mindset, he’s just less… cruel about it? Something. Idk.

And all of this because Lilia wanted to rebuild a bond with someone he was so close with

This was kinda just me word vomiting but :(! Idk

OH MY GODDD Lilia being a huge contributor to how Sebek is in the present.

You think that Lilia lowkey resents Baul for how he strained their relationship over his own prejudice? This resentment becomes worse when Esme has another child, and Baul never dares to be in the same room as the young, innocent egg swaddled in blankets.

But one day, Lilia spots him in Sebek's room, hand a few centimeters above Sebek's egg, but not really touching. He looks unsure. Scared. Vulnerable. And Lilia thinks, "Oh." There's hope.

So, he tries to get Esme and Lidaeus to drop off Sebek by Baul's from time to time. They reluctantly say yes, looking over at Sebek's egg with some concern. Then, Sebek hatches.

And he inherits everything from his father.

Before, Baul voiced out his dislike for Sylvie and Soleil. Now, he refuses to even look at Sebek at all. The resentment returns, but Lilia can't let go of the Baul that looked at Sebek's egg with an adoring look in his mind. So, he gives him another chance. He tells Esme and Lidaeus to leave Sebek by Baul's whenever they're too busy or out of town.

And they're always busy.

By the time Lilia has realized that his friend will always be stuck living in the old times, Sebek has already taken after Baul. His smug smirk. His passionate fire. His way with words.

And his hatred for all things human.

But all Lilia sees is wrong. Because Sebek is just a kid. A half-fae, half-human kid. Who hates a part of himself that he can't even control. All because of the sins of a grandfather.

Esme and Lidaeus are surprised when Lilia suddenly demands for them to stop bringing Sebek over to Baul. Esme readily agrees, already seeing Baul's personality in Sebek and she does not want that for her child. It's far too late, though.

It doesn't help that they live in a town where everyone's mother, father, sister and brother dislikes humans. They let Sylvie and Soleil into their community only because they're much more fae-like, but Sebek looks far too human.

And Sebek, with his young, developing mind, hates that he is human and hates the fact that's all everyone sees. He can't even rely on his mother, who only casts a disapproving look his way whenever he acts too much like his grandfather. But, Grandpa Baul always told him that being human was being filthy.

So, why was mama thinking him filthy for acting fae? Was it just him? Was being fae and human only filthy if it was Sebek? Why was everyone trying to pull him to one side? He just wants to be.

But he is too young to form the right words out to explain how he feels, and can only bury himself deeper his father's side as he fights with the snake fae's parents next door, smearing the blood from his head on Lidaeus' right pant leg.

His father's grip on him tightens when the snake's mother snarls out why a weak, pathetic half-human like Sebek was allowed to be born.

All Sebek can do is cry.

#sebek zigvolt #twisted wonderland #twst #twst sebek #sebek twisted wonderland #twst sebek zigvolt #my asks!#lilia vanrouge #twst lilia

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birds-nest-on-the-roof · 1 year

Text

Clay Making

You help Leah make sculpting clay of clay you found in the valley. Sam joins you when it is time for the actual sculpturing.

In the grass where the sun has yet to touch, the morning dew still linger. But the sun is up and so are you. Only now you are not out enjoying the good weather, nor are you working on your farm. Instead you are inside Leahs’ cabin with your entire upper body draped down an uninstalled kiln.

“Hey! Hand me the screwdriver.” Your voice is muffled but still loud enough for Leah to hear you.

“Have you ever put something like this together before?” Leah asks as she hands you the tool down the hole.

“No, not really. But we do have this blueprint to follow and I have put together quite a few of Robins assemble yourself furniture.” You say and hop out. “There, I'm done. I think.”

“Me too, juuuust a sec.” You watch as Leah tightens the last screws on the lid and then takes a step back to admire your hard work.

“Great! I can't wait to give it a try.” She says as she starts to look around. “Have you seen the other box?”

“What other box?”

“The box with clay I ordered together with the kiln.” She looks through every piece of cardboard and plastic that is scattered around the room. Then she checks under every piece of art she has laying around, throwing everything she picks up over her shoulder, creating a hurricane of art and trash.

“I don't think it is here then. Have you double checked that you ordered it?” You say as you watch the cabin become more and more of a mess by the second.

“Yes! I ordered everything I thought I could’ve possibly needed to start working.” Leah walks over to her computer and opens up the website she ordered from. You have barely gotten a peak at the screen before Leah shouts.

“What!? The clay order was canceled! Oh, what a bummer, now I have to wait another four weeks for that to arrive.” She says with a disappointed frown. “Do you think Pierre sells some? I’d hate to go check Joja Mart." You think for a second, placing a finger on your chin. Then an idea strikes you.

“Oh I know! What if we just made our own! We could go check if there are some here in the river.” You say with a bright smile. Leah too shines up at the suggestion and both of you excitedly hurry out.

You struggle a little to get your boots off and roll up the end of your pants but you're not far behind Leah into the water. Together you waddle around in the still cold water searching. You do end up finding quite a few spots with alot of it. You two decide on one spot where the clay doesn't look too dirty to dig some out. Leah runs back to her cabin and returns with two buckets. You proceed to fill them up only halfway to leave some space for water per Leah's directions.

Then both of you sit down in the grass, wet from the work with a few stains of brown-red clay on your clothes.

“All we have to do now is wait for the clay to soften up to mix with the water. It probably won't be done until tomorrow though and we will need to find something to strain it with by then.” Leah says and lays down to gaze up at the sky.

You rummage through the attic. You look through box after box of old clothes and cloth. Dust particles are flying around you. In the far back you find something left behind by your grandpa that you think might work. You hold the piece of fabric up to inspect it further. You smile to yourself as you place it under your arm and make your way back down.

Your cat Miso awaits you by the end of the stairs, too wary to actually join you up there. While your other cat, Misty, happily follows you back down, satisfied to have explored yet another part of the house despite you telling her not to follow you up there.

You hurry down and out of the house already done all the chores for the day, excited to continue the work with the clay. Your cats follow you as you take a shortcut over the fields and down the path down to the forest and Leah's cottage. It's first when you wave at Leah who is already out working the clay that your cats turn and run back to the farm.

“It's like they just wanted to make sure you got here alright.” Leah laughs.

“Yeah, they are probably on their way back to play in one of the cherry trees.” You watch as Leah is elbow deep in one of the buckets separating any remaining chunks of clay with her hands. You hold up the piece of fabric.

“What do you think about this?”

“That’ll do great. I hope you didn't put on any clothes you care too much about.” She says pointing to her already clay stained clothes. You chuckle and shake your head. You start to prepare another two buckets by putting on the straining cloth and securing it with a piece of rope. While you work Leah thanks you for all the help.

“Oh it's no biggie. It's just fun to work so close to nature like this.”

“Right! This is nothing like living in the city where everything is store bought. It's amazing working with something from start to finish and seeing the whole process. You know, yesterday after you left I wondered what else I could do. Then I got the idea to try making my own paint from natural pigments.”

“You really should! Would give your art a whole new meaning.”

“Yeah, I thought I would go to the library after this to do some research about it when we are done.” Leah says as she starts to pour the clay soup through the makeshift strainer. “What are you going to do for the rest of the day?”

“Oh, I was thinking of going down to the docks. Maybe do some fishing.”

“If you see Eliott, tell him to bring my sketching papers back. He borrowed some when he visited last, he needed it for his book and I am not one to hold back creative outbursts.” she says as the two of you finish the straining.

“I'll make sure to ask him when I see him.” You beam as you help Leah pour the buckets onto trays that she says will make the water evaporate faster, leaving them with the final product.

“But this process will take a few days. I promise to let you know when it is done so you could give sculpting a go too.” She says and smiles. You wash up and give her a wave before departing from her once again.

It's been a few weeks since the start of the clay project now. Everytime you and Leah have either bumped into each other or you have paid her a visit, you've been updated on the state of the clay. Everyday getting closer to finally see the end results. You are not as excited as Leah of course, but seeing her so thrilled about something you have helped her with warms your heart. And today you woke up with a letter in your mailbox.

Dear Y/N

I think the clay is finally done!

Come over whenever you have time so we could test it out.

-Leah

You figured that you would take the way through town checking if there is anything new going on. You stop and talk for a moment with Evelyn who is just about finished putting up the new flower arrangements for the summer. You compliment her flowers and her hard work before continuing your stroll through town. You are just about to turn the corner of Haley and Emilys’ house when you are almost run over by a certain skater.

“Whoa, didn't see you there.” Sam says with a smile.

“Yeeze Sam, you scared the hell out of me.” You laugh.

“Oh, Sorry I really didn't mean to.” He gives you an apologetic smile and scratches his neck.

“No, it's fine. What are you up to?”

“Not much, just skating around. Hey, do you want to hang out maybe? I could teach you some tricks.”

“I would love to but another time maybe, I am on my way to Leahs to do some sculpturing. You can tag along if you want.”

“Leah? Don't know her too well, seen her around a bit. Are you sure it's fine though?”

“Yeah, of course. Come on!” You say and drag Sam with you.

Leah is outside her cottage, a sketchbook in hand with her focus entirely on painting the scenery from right outside her home. Something you have seen her do a million times over, but this time you notice she’s trying something new.

“Hey! Are you testing out the paints you were talking about?”

“Hey Y/N! Yes! I have made yellow, orange and red colors so far, so I have a very limited palette.”

"Wow, what a cool drawing.” Sam compliments while peaking over Leah's shoulder.

“Thank you, it was quite the journey too, seeing what would work and what not. It still needs some improvement, but so far I like it.” Her eyes go between Sam and you as she is thinking. They light up slightly as she continues. “Are you joining in on the sculpting?”

“Well yeah, if it's fine with you.” Sam's eyes dart slightly between the two of you.

“Oh, of course. There is plenty of clay to go around.” Leah gestures for you and Sam to follow her inside. She hands each of you a box before she takes the two buckets with clay herself. Your box is filled with what looks like the cardbords from unpacking the kiln and some newspaper.

All three of you go back outside and start to set up. Leah uses the cardboard from the boxes and the newspaper to make a makeshift worktable. When you are done setting up you take a seat in the grass together with a decently sized clump of clay in front of you.

“Sooo, I've never really done this before, any tips? What are you guys making?” Sam says as he throws a piece back and forth between his hands.

“Maybe a vase or a pot. What are you making Leah?”

“I was thinking of going in a more abstract direction. See where the shapes take me and if it is something I will like.” Leah's hands work the clay with ease, with a bit of water she moves the clay upwards then makes little arms pointing up towards the sky. Sam on the other hand tries doing something similar, his clump is not looking as smooth and with a little knife he tries to scoop out a face but accidentally stabs it, with a chuckle he smashes it back together leaving him once again with a clump.

“Just think of it as a process, something that has to be worse before it gets better.” Leah says as she peeks at Sam's work.

“It's fun, do you always do stuff like this?” He says while he once again scoops out a face out of the clump.

“I always do art, but the whole ‘using the natural resources around you’ is a new concept. Despite it being such a new thing I feel really connected to both the nature around me and my art. It's totally different from what I did back in the city, here I never stop being inspired.”

“I bet it gives individuality too, going the extra mile and all.” You chuckle and Leah nods enthusiastically.

“So, what do you do besides skating?” Leah says and nods to his bord.

“I work at Jojamart and besides work, I play the guitar in a band.”

"What? How cool! I have to come see you next time you are performing.”

“We have actually never played in front of people. But we are planning something soon, I'm happy there will be someone other than my mom there.”

“Hey! I will be there too!”

“Yeah, you two and mom, slowly building up a fan base.”

“Do you write your own songs too?” Leah asks.

“Yeah, I write the lyrics then me and Seb work out the music together. Oh and Abigail helps out too!” Sam is practically beaming over being recognized as an artist.

“How fun to find a fellow artist here in pelican town.”

"Ehem." You give Leah a look.

“Oh, well I suppose farming could have some artistic strokes to it.”

“No, I didn't want you to leave out Elliott but it’s nice to get acknowledged too.” You all laugh. After that Sam declares his sculpture finished. It looks sort of like a stub with an all too happy face on it. All the while Leah's sculpture has worked its way to become something that reminds you of a galaxy with what used to be arms pointing upwards now flowing in a circle. You feel as if your pot’s done too.

“I like your pot. It has a nice shape to it.” Leah says as she places the sculptures and the pot in the kiln. “I'll promise to come by with them once they are done.”

As both you and Sam say your goodbyes and take different ways home you think over what Leah says. You really too feel as if life has become more inspiring here. New plans and ideas feel like they come to you just by looking around. While being in the city you felt stuck. And now everything you do makes a difference, even if it is as small as picking weeds and in the end you get to watch your flowers grow even stronger and prettier. You kind of feel that you have done the same moving from the city here. You have finally found soil that makes you grow into the person that you want to be.

#leah stardew valley #stardew valley #sdv #farmer stardew valley #sam stardew valley #stardew valley sam #sdv sam #sdv leah #sdv farmer #stardew valley leah

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paperzombiie · 3 months

Note

How is Nohreh doing?

he's... surviving(?) this is gonna be a long post bc i've been wanting to talk about this so i apologise in advance fndjksnfjd

right now his story and the rp is on hiatus for numerous reasons but to summarize it:

-original rp discord group closed suddenly bc admins were antis, threw a hissy fit and didn't want anyone to have fun if it wasn't on their own extremely sanitized """moral""" terms (like, every time a character did anything wrong we had to clearly state we didn't support what they did... and other even worse things like that ugh)

-we (the users) made a new discord group to continue with the story as we pleased (hence the change from "azalea valley" to "rhododendron island". the tag is now called "rhodo island")

-we had a few rp events but eventually we all got busy with our jobs/uni so we had to make a pause

story wise, Nohreh has:

-found out Demian bit Coni on a full moon and went hiding from everyone

-went looking for him when he didn't reappear after a week and become closer after taking care of him

-had a period of "peace" until they uh... let's say they both fucked up and had sex again when they didn't even know what they wanted from each other. that put a strain on their friendship, Demian refused to talk to him but only bc he was so afraid and anxious (he doesn't hook up with the same person twice to avoid getting attached and this went against all his own internal set of rules), Nohreh thought he was mad at him, communication issues ensue

-they finally talked about it (or at least tried to) and both concluded they needed a bit of time away from each other to think but agreed to talk about it again after some time passed

-Nohreh took that opportunity to go to the sea and finally dare to search for his grandpa following a lead he obtained a while ago

-not only he did find him but he also found his grandma! they were both alive living in a mermaid city but grandpa couldn't go back to the surface due to a curse. his grandma was actually the mermaid witch who lifted the seal that suppressed his mer self from birth on this comic (she's the one saying "welcome back")

-spent some time with them catching up and learned a bit of his own family history, along with the reason they decided to stop living as mermaids and forget the rest of the family (said reason is still a WIP, sorry 💦 let's say it was just good ol' family drama with a mix of magic in it)

-came back to the island and reunited with his friends and Demian. they talked, agreed to take things slow and take care of each other

-had a halloween party organized by the villagers and almost had a date night with Demian. as the island is located in the southern hemisphere that means it was summer storms season... a particularly bad tropical storm quickly developed on halloween night and plunged the whole island into chaos. lighting caused the lighthouse to malfunction and the electricity of the whole place went down for a couple of weeks. a dense fog seemingly undisturbed by the storm engulfed the town and strange things started to happen, with voices being heard at night and weird silhouettes seen stalking the villagers in the fog

-Nohreh and his friends had to go through a few chilling adventures to restore the power to the lighthouse and the island, and finally succeded! the fog disappeared and everything went to normal... or at least as normal as one can be after a strong tropical storm

-in the process he discovered the lighthouse acts as a guardian for the island that keeps the paranormal fog at bay. it's inhabited by a lady who's some kind of brazilian fairy whose name escapes me at the moment, the thing is, she controls electricity and provides the whole island with power

-he's helping rebuild a few places and trying to return to his normal life... but things feel different. dead animals keep washing ashore on the beaches and Fay has told him he had a premonition about a new danger lurking in the island after the storm awoke it...

aaaaand that's all i have for now lol

i suspect this is not the kind of answer you were expecting, maybe something with a little drawing on it but i honestly been too caught up with what's happening with my country so i apologise for the lack of drawings ;__; still, it fills me with immense joy to know someone still wants to know about Nohreh so, thank you for asking!!

#eze talks #nohreh #rhodo island #editing the tags to say i feel i have reached the end of season 1 of Nohreh's story fkdjsbfk #let's hope i can continue with season 2... i have lots of things planned for him #some spoilers: he'll come face to face with that new danger and his brother might make an appearance on the island

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klaprisun · 5 days

Text

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley) (Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 1

I storm through the front door of my house and stomp my way towards the stairs to go to my room. I slam the door behind me and that's when my mom is alerted. She leans her head back to look through the kitchen entry way to see what I am up to.

"Another rough day, dear?" She hollers across the house.

"I don't think I can keep doing this. I hate the classes, I hate the professors, I hate university!" I shout back. It is the middle of my second year of university and I cannot stand it. The first year was tolerable, but I just can't take another second of it this year. I storm upstairs and fall onto my bed in defeat. I sit up after a few seconds and look around for a distraction. I ruffle around the side table to see what kind of stuff I have in there to take my mind off things.

Suddenly, a white envelope falls loose from where it was lodged against the drawer wall. It catches my attention immediately. I pick it up and start looking it over. I push the two stray strands of my auburn hair out of my face to get a better look at the envelope. It was the one from my grandpa a couple years ago. I read the address and trace the lines of the envelope until I come across the note written upon it.

"Only open when you need are in need of change"

I thought for a moment. I put the envelope down and stand up off the bed and pace around my room. I run my hands through my hair and down my face. I even go over and peer out the window for a couple minutes. I finally cave and rush back to the note. I take a deep breath and tear it open. I take the letter out of the envelope and begin unfolding it:

"Danny, If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong."

Along with that there was an address. It was located somewhere called Pelican Town. I take the letter and rush down to my mom who is still in the kitchen.

"I finally opened that letter from grandpa I got a couple years ago."

I passed the letter over to her so she could read it. I watched her eyes glide along the page and take everything in. I notice her eyebrows furrow slightly, and the corners of her mouth turn downwards. She doesn't seem too happy about this letter.

"I don't understand," she begins, "he is giving you his farm out in Pelican Town?"

"That's what it seems to sound like. I can't believe there has been no one looking after it for this long." I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"Are you sure you want to go live out there all on your own? You don't want to finish university first?"

"You have to be joking, mother," I look at her with the most 'are you serious' face I could muster

Her face is unreadable. I can't tell what exactly she is thinking or how she is feeling. I hope this decision isn't killing her on the inside. I love my mom and I'd hate to leave her, but I am in desperate need of change and to start over in life. Besides, she has my dad and younger sister to keep her company.

"You know I'd come back and visit you guys here in Zuzu City as often as I can, right? I will take good care of myself and you won't have to worry about me at all. I will be alright out there on my own. I know it." I pleaded with my mom.

"We can talk about it over dinner with Chloe and your father," is all she says back.

🌻 🌻 🌻

I make my way to the dinner table to join the rest of my family. I sit down and begin to fill my plate with the food set on the table.

"I hear you want to move out to your Pop's old farm?" my dad questions me.

"Yeah, I finally opened the letter that I got several years ago. The address is to the farm in Pelican Town and it says if I need a change I can go live there. I think I want to do that. I am so sick of university and city life," I reply.

"You're lucky. I want to move away too. I want to come with you," my sister, Chloe, says.

"You aren't going with her. You just started high school. You aren't going anywhere any time soon," my mom tells Chloe.

Chloe sighs in defeat and shovels a fork full of food into her mouth. She is in her angsty teenager phase right now. She tries too hard to fit in with her fake friends and always wants to buy the trending items of the month. I swear trends never changed that fast when I was her age.

"I think it is a good idea. Someone needs to look after grandpa's farm. It is just wasting away otherwise. Working all day and night at the farm will keep you in great shape and eating fresh food will keep you healthy. Maybe you will even make some friends there," my dad says.

My mom drops her fork onto her plate and stares daggers at him.

"What about university? That will just be a big waste of money and time and she would've completed her first year for nothing! I thought bringing you into this decision would be a good idea and you'd be on my side!" my mom shouts.

My dad shrugs, "I think it will do her good."

My mom looks down at her plate and picks up her fork and takes a bite of food. We all wait anxiously for her reply. It went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a few seconds pass and she finishes chewing. She grabs a napkin and wipes her mouth. She places it gently back onto the table and looks up at us.

"You can go." she finally answers.

I straighten my back, fix my posture, and smile at her.

"Thank you so much. I promise to take good care of myself when I'm there."

"When do you plan on leaving?" My dad asks me.

"I think I will leave on Sunday. Gives me enough time to process this and get my stuff ready... and to resign from school..." I sheepishly look at my mom who frowns ever so slightly at me.

I finish my last bite of food and bring my plate over to the sink in the kitchen.

"I am going to start getting things ready since I have about 4 days to gather everything up. I don't want to forget anything crucial," I say as I start walking towards the stairs. I stop for a second and look back at my family. I notice my mom and dad whispering to each other, and Chloe is just texting away with not a care in the world for what is going on. I see my mom lower her head and slowly shake it back and forth. I take a deep breath and walk up to my room. My life is about to change drastically in the next 4 days.

#sdv #stardew valley #haley x female farmer #fanfic #sdv fanfic #stardew #haley stardew valley #haley stardew #stardew valley fanfic #haley x farmer #pelican town

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dat-carovieh · 11 months

Text

In dire need of change

Ship: Geraskier

Rating: T

Wordcount: 5.8k

Chapters: 5

Tags: Stardew Valley AU, Farmer!Geralt, Elliott!Jaskier, musician Jaskier, Getting together, Fluff, First Kiss

Read on AO3

Chapter 1

The city was loud, like it always was and Geralt should be used to it, he grew up here but the longer he was working in this office, the worse it was getting. Nearly daily he had a headache, it started when he got up and got worse over the day. He did the same thing every day and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He had never known what he had wanted to do with his life. Vesemir had tried everything to help him find his calling but maybe for some people this just wasn’t a thing. He got up from the couch and went to his cupboard, somewhere there his phone charger was buried. He rummaged through the drawer and pulled out the cable. His eyes locked onto an envelope he had nearly forgotten. He remembered, he had gotten it from his grandfather, Vesemir’s father, shortly before he had died. He had told Geralt to open it, when he felt crushed by his life and needed a change.

He took the envelope and went back to his couch. He didn’t believe, it would help him at all. What could a letter do to change his life? Roach jumped on his chest as soon as he had thrown himself back onto the couch and cuddled against him, purring. He ripped it open and started to read the short letter.

“Geralt,

If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So, I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Kaer Morhen Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my boy.

Good luck.

Love, Grandpa”

Geralt looked up. A farm? What was he supposed to do with a farm? Probably farming, he thought with a sarcastic laugh. Roach looked at him offended at the movement of his chest. He petted her head apologetic as he reread the letter, before he called Vesemir.

Vesemir seemed to think it was a great idea for Geralt to move to Pelican town and take over the farm, Vesemir grew up on. It had been empty for a while now but he was sure, Geralt could make something great out of it. Vesemir had promised him to take care of his flat and getting his furniture to the Valley soon. Apparently, he knew some people living there and made some calls, to make sure he would be welcomed to the town as soon as he arrived.

He had packed his bag and convinced Roach into the cat carrier. It had nearly cost him a finger, but now she was safely secured on the bus seat next to Geralt, sleeping through the bus ride.

He stepped out of the bus and was greeted by a redhaired woman with a bright smile. Vesemir had mentioned he would be picked up from the bus stop. He wasn’t sure how he felt about interacting with people just after arriving but he would suck it up and it would probably be good to have someone showing him everything.

“Hello! You must be Geralt!” she explained happily.

“Hmm,” Geralt replied and nodded, hoping he didn’t come off too rude.

“I’m Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home.” Carpenter sounded nice to Geralt, he liked people who did work with their hands.

“The farm’s right over here, if you follow me.” She didn’t seem to have issues with him barely replying, worked for Geralt. True to her words, the farm was just around the corner.

“This is Kaer Morhen farm,” she announced as they arrived at a house. Geralt looked around and his stomach dropped. The house looked fine but the land was fully grown over. This would be a lot of work. Good thing his grandfather had left him some money as well to get him through the first couple of weeks until he hopefully could make some money. That was if he didn’t give up on the farm before he gotten along far enough to actually plant something.

He had quit his job for this so he should probably try to make it work.

“What’s the matter?” Robin asked as if she wasn’t seeing the mess. “Sure, it’s a bit overgrown, but there’s some good soil underneath that mess!” Geralt surely hoped so. He didn’t know jack shit about farming so that whole thing would be a fun experience. “With a little dedication you’ll have it cleaned up in no time.” No time sounded a little too positive for Geralt but he suspected, manual labour would be good for him. “And here we are, your new home.” It looked cosy, maybe a little run down but much better than the crap apartment he had lived in before.

An old man came through the door of the farmhouse, he had an impressive grey moustache and wore a brown hat.

“Ah, the new farmer!” he said cheerfully, as he looked at Geralt. Geralt nodded at him. “Welcome, I’m Lewis, the Mayor of Pelican Town. You know, everyone’s been asking about you,” he explained. Geralt raised an eyebrow.

“They do?” He should have expected in a small town like that people would talk about everything. That was a thing he would miss about the city. He couldn’t vanish between everyone. People usually found him weird and here everyone might be talking about this soon. He immediately felt the anxiety rising.

“Oh yeah. It’s not every day that someone new moves in. It’s quite the big deal! But I assure you, everyone is really nice, I’m sure you will fit in greatly,” Lewis assured him. Geralt hoped so.

“So… you’re moving into your grandfather’s old cottage. It’s a good house… very rustic.” They all turned to the house, that surely could use some work.

“Rustic? That’s one way to put it…” Robin answered. “Crusty might be a little more apt, though.” Geralt couldn’t suppress a small snort.

“Rude!” Lewis exclaimed. Robin also laughed. “Don’t listen to her, Geralt. She’s just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades,” the mayor explained. A business woman, Geralt could respect that and who knew, maybe he would take her up on that if the farm would run smoothly.

“I might think about this,” Geralt answered. Robin looked happy about this.

“Anyway… You must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest,” Lewis tried to steer the topic somewhere else. He also was right, Geralt felt tired and a little overwhelmed with everything. “Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself. The townspeople would appreciate that.”

“Alright thanks,” Geralt answered, nodding.

The introducing was something Geralt really dreaded but he would have to get through this. Before they said their goodbyes, Robin explained to him, she had left some tools for him inside so he could start working tomorrow. Finally, they left Geralt alone. He took a full turn looking at everything that now belonged to him. He would not panic right now. He would manage somehow, he would.

The door creaked as he entered. The cabin looked incredibly cosy. There was only one room but he probably wouldn’t need much more. There was a small bed, a TV, a table with benches and even a fireplace. To the left there was a small kitchenette. Just a fridge and a small stove and a counter. One more door was there, probably leading to the toilette. He threw his bags to the ground and let Roach out to explore their new home.

In the fridge he found some food, the mayor must have kindly left for him and after a quick dinner, he went to bed early so he was ready to start working early in the morning. It had been exhausting and he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Read the other chapters on AO3

#Geraskier #Geraskier fic #my writing #my Witcher writing #The Witcher #Geralt x Jaskier

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emo-sebastianstardew · 1 year

Text

Demolition Lovers Part 1 Sebastian x Farmer Stardew Valley Fanfic

(I do not own the art in photo. Credit to original I could not find a source)

(this is my first time getting back into writing so bare with me. might be a bit rocky at first but I promise I have great story for ya'll. So please sit back and enjoy I'm not sure how this gonna play out just yet I have a couple of ideas but as of right now we are just going to paint the picture for you. We are going to start on year 1 first time at the farm. So please enjoy.)

You arrived to the bus stop. You looked down at your wrist to check the time. The bus would be there in 15 minutes. You started tapping your foot. The bus finally pulled in and you got on. You sat in one of the back rows there was a girl sitting across from you. She was tapping her foot and was on her phone. She had long blonde hair and she was in a blue shirt with a pink skirt. There were shopping bags all around her. You sat back in your seat and closed your eyes this was going to be a long ride....

The bus came to a screeching stop and you jolted awake. You grabbed your bags and hurried off the bus. Outside was two people waiting to greet you. A man in a green shirt with suspenders and a hat. A woman with ginger hair and tan jacket. They smiled and waved at you.

"Hello (farmers name). My name is Lewis. I'm mayor of Pelican Town and this is Robin." Lewis said.

"Hello (farmers name). I'm Robin like Lewis said. I'm the local carpenter. I live at the top of mountain with my husband and two beautiful children." Robin said.

"Hello Lewis and Robin. It's very nice to meet you both. I'm excited to be here and see grandpa's farm he left for me." You said.

"Well we just wanted to say hi to you before you got all settled in. You should meet the rest of the towns folk today. We have a nice little community here. Have a great day." Robin smiled and walked away with Lewis.

You smiled and waved goodbye to them. You left the bus stop and made it to the farm. It almost took your breath away at first. Yes it wasn't much. However it was so much better than the city. You stood there just for a second to take in how quiet it was. You took a deep breath and let it out. The air was much cleaner here than in the city. You went inside the farm house and began unpacking your belongs. Took you a couple of hours but you were satisfied with what you got done with. You decided that now would be good time to head into town and say hi to some people.

You started making your way to town square. You were about to pass the clinic but you had the urge to go inside real quick. There you met a kinda nervous fellow named Harvey. He told you he was the local doctor. You said your goodbyes and decided to check out shop called Pierre's general goods. You met quite a few people in there. You said your goodbyes to everyone. You continued to explore the town meeting all of its colorful characters in it. After exploring everything in town you'd thought you'd go visit the mountain. You made your way up to it. There you saw a large wooden house and man outside watering the plants. He waved at you. You were hesitant at first because you felt an off vibe about this man but you approached him.

"Hello my name is Demetrius. You're that new farmer right? I'm the local scientist. I live here with my beautiful wife Robin and my beautiful special daughter Maru." He smiled.

You squinted at him for a second and scratched your head.

"Robin said she had two children..." You said looking at him confused.

"Oh.... haha... right there's Sebastian. He lives in our basement." He's whole demeanor changed when he said Sebastian. You saw nothing but anger in his eyes when he talked about him.

"Right........." You said and just walked away.

You walked around the house and saw a pretty decent sized yellow tent and campfire. There was an older man sitting by the fire.

"Hello..." You smiled and waved.

"Erh...." The man just grunted at you.

"My name is (farmers name). I just moved into town." You tugged slightly at the collar of your shirt.

"Hello. I'm Linus, the towns people just call me the wild man who lives in the woods." He mumbled.

"Well are you?" You asked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess so. I chose to live like this." He muttered.

"Well I'm very happy for you then. I don't want to take up to much of your time. I gotta head down to this Saloon everyone is talking about. You have a Goodnight Linus." You smiled and waved goodbye.

You started walking back down lost in thoughts you didn't really see HIM coming. You bumped right into HIM.

"Hey watc-.... You're the new farmer right? Sorry I wasnt really paying attention to where I was walking... Lost in my thoughts...." A man with dark long purple hair stood infront of you. He had gages and dark purple hoodie with skin tight black skinny jeans on with leather boots. You were just staring at him. Lost in his dark purple eyes for a second. He moved his hair out of his face.

"Iiii.... I'm so sorry. I wasn't really paying attention either. New place and all." You smiled even though you could feel your face getting flustered and your hands were starting to sweat.

"Cool. Out of all the places you could of chose to move, why the fuck would you chose here?" He asked blankly staring at you.

"I needed to get away...." You said softly then looked away. Thoughts of pain and sadness from the city started flooding your mind.

"Hey sorry.. I wasn't trying to um.. be an ass. I understand that the city doesn't give a positive effect for everyone..." He smiled slightly, you turned back and looked at him.

"I should get going I've taken to much of your time up already. I gotta get to the Saloon anyways." You smiled.

"Oh... Stardrop?"

"Yeah.."

"I can walk with you and give you a slight tour if you wanted... no pressure.."

"Sure it would be nice to have some company."

To be continued.....

#sdv sebastian #stardew valley #sdv #stardew #fanfic #sdv farmer #sdv fandom #sdv fanfic

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mymelodyisme · 1 year

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If I understood it right you have sdv oc's? I'd love to know a few fun facts abt them🤗

Hiiiiii :) I apologize now for the length this post will take upon your screen.

I really only have Mys and the few people in her backstory 😭 (I can come up with some fun stuff for them now though :D)

Mys is mostly a self insert because I’ve gotten really into making her one but here’s a few fun facts about her!!

1. Before she moved into the valley she was actually way less colorful and looked a bit more classy and put together. Her boyfriend was a bit of a minimalist and snob and wasn’t a huge fan of bright colors. So she wore pale clothes, lots of skirts and dresses, her hair was usually long and tied up neatly, etc. I’d argue she also dyed her hair a few times to make it look more like a natural color (it’s naturally that pink/red shade). Three days before moving she bought a pair of overalls and had a wild time just adding a bunch of details to them, even if it wasn’t super well put together ☺️ (the space halo heart is my own logo btw lol)

2. Mys came into the farm life clueless, friendless, and lonely 100%. It’s why she’s so eager to befriend the townies and comes off a little strong. It’s also why she can’t say no and so quick to overexert herself if someone asks her for help 😭 if she knew that most people in town had no faith in her based off the way she looked and acted when she first arrived, she would likely cry. She’s probably a little too nice sometimes too 🥺 if you’re mean to her she’ll take it and cry alone later on.

3. She talks A LOT. When she gets to know you well enough she’ll just start talking about something she’s really into and go on for hours always finding something new to point out (poor Shane lol). I once said if she was a real character in the game one of her heart events would be her holding the farmer hostage as she explained the entire lore of her show after she invited them in to watch it with her. (I have done this myself so many times.) 😭 She’s also a bit of thoughtless speaker sometimes. Saying things a little too quickly before her brain processes it.

4. On her slow farm days she’ll stay inside and catch up on tv. She really likes trash tv drama and novellas. Adding to that, she’s a huge romantic. She swoons and sighs and hopes that someone would love her so strongly. Especially after what she went though with her ex 🥹 Other hobbies include: gaming, journaling (she picked this one up after she moved), taking as many photos as possible of everything, reading (comics, romance novels, and mysteries) daydreaming, and collecting things (stuffed animals mostly)

5. She loves a good lemonade and pizza! She doesn’t really drink (at least not until she met Shane 😭) and will go into the saloon to chat with Emily over lemonade. To win Shane’s friendship she started buying a pizza to share with him, and she’d sit patiently at a booth until he came in (on easy days.) she also goes around and says hi to everyone at least once. If she’s just having me-time, you can find her in a booth writing + doodling in her journal with a bunch of candy around her.

6. I just think this little fun fact is really cute but when she found out Shane loved peppers she planted some in her greenhouse so she’ll always have some to give or use for food. 🥺 (I have that in game 🤭 and she only gives him high quality ones)

7. She’s magic babey! ✨ the day before she moved her mom gave her a red brooch. After her grandpa passed away, he sent it to her mom with instructions to only give it to Mys when she decided to move to the valley. She only found out about it when the wizard pulled it towards him and suggested that someone in her family must have arcane experience.

😭😭 sorry that was so long. I’ll write like two facts about the others

The ex: dark brown hair, brown eyes, suits (lol idk)

1. Has no name yet 😩 Can he even count as a character?? Literally the worst boyfriend ever. He and Mys dated in high school up until he ghosted her a month before she moved. He been sleeping with her best friend, Celia, and then proceeded to elope with her. This man kept Mys around with jewelry, promises, and guilt.

2. He was an executive for Joja. Mys worked for the company because of him, and ultimately had to leave for that same reason. She found out about the elopement at the office, and had a long cry in the bathroom stalls. (Btw he totally gets his butt kicked by Shane at some point)

Celia: Blonde, thin, very pretty and model-like, wears a lot of tight clothes and has that one fake best friend voice

1. The “best friend,” the betrayer. She clung onto Mys because Mys was really easy to manipulate. 🥺 Wasn’t very nice to her at all but made her believe she loved her like a sister. When Mys met Haley it was like meeting a younger Celia. 🥹 I guess mys still missed her because she tried to be Haley’s friend despite how mean she was. Luckily, Haley actually becomes pretty nice and apologizes for her rude behavior.

2. She would absolutely be a modern day influencer. Perhaps she is (if phones exist in this interpretation 🤔 I like to think they do but pelican town can’t host then or something 😭)

Todd: 7ft tall, thin but definitely works out, looks like he has money and works with money, very serious and classy 😭

1. Mys’s Boyfriend year 3? She and Shane are already pretty established as smitten by the town but they’re both stuck at the fork in the road of to be or not to be. (At some point Mys finally makes her move only for him to reject her out of fear 😭). Anyways!! She was asked by mayor Lewis to take an important business trip into the city to meet with an investor who wanted to open the land for expansion and more agricultural work. He figured Mys, as the local farmer, would have better input. Shane was supposed to accompany her into the city but they got into a bit so she left alone (Shane realized he was being stupid and ran to catch the bus but jsut barely missed it, his missed opportunity at love 😭). The investor turned out to be a guy named Toddrick Theodore Tapps. He was quickly taken with her because she was just so lively of a person. He could not believe she was the local farmer. He decided to head back into the valley with her to visit the land and ended up staying in one of Mys’s spare rooms at the farmhouse. He didn’t help her on the farm at all, mostly just walked around took notes, and inspected the quality of everything.

2. He’s very jealous. He and Shane are constantly at each other’s throats. Mys told him all about her best friend Shane :) and he knew immediately that Mys was in love with him. 😭 he did NOT expect Shane to be so dingy tho which is funny. He mentioned that to his face too. (It doesn’t help that Todd TOWERS over the both of them and looks like he comes from old money.) He polices mys’s friendships a bit commenting how some of the townies are rather immature, some seem like terrible people, and in particular, that Shane is a bad influence on those around him. When she gets upset at his obvious disrespect he apologizes for saying things that hurt her feelings 😭 the man literally only puts up with Shane for her. I do think he is romantic though, and definitely what Mys imagined being romanced would be like. He’s pretty rich so he spoils her, and buys the town’s approval with generous donations.

3. He’s a bit of himself. He’s not a bad guy, but he does think he’s a quality man and he loves what he does. So when he asks Mys to move to the city with him where he’ll spoil her for the rest of her life he’s surprised that she actually wants to be a farmer dealing with dirt, grime, monsters, and all the things in between. This man genuinely tries to convince her to give up the farm, and even tries to make a compromise that the farm will still be up and running but they’ll hire people to tend to it. (He probably also suggested changing the name to something more serious). He and Mys get into a fight over it, and he tells her what time his bus to the city will be leaving. She wishes him well, and a happy life with a wife who shares his values, and doesn’t show up that day.

4. I like to imagine years down the line Mys and Shane are in the city doing some work and play when they run into him. Both parties find out that the other is engaged/married. And they make up. He still can’t believe Mys chose Shane tho 😭 “I thought you would choose him, but I’m still surprised. You seemed so smitten with him, but he didn’t look like he was ever going to make anything of that.”

#LOL I WROTE A LOT ANS THERES LIKELY MORE I CAN ADD #I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS 🥹♥️#i hope this is what you wanted too 🥺#I’m sorry again that there was so much #IM SORRYI CANT GIVE BETTER DESCRIPTIONS THEYRE JUST GHOSTS IN MY HEAD #🥺ty for asking btw I appreciate it!#♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️🥺🥺#Stardew Valley: Poochencia Farm #edit: crying it’s so long #long post #IM SO SORRY ABOUT THAT #Farmer mys #you said ‘give me a few fun facts’ and I wrote a whole essay

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sunspray-peak · 11 months

Text

Ch. 27: The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies

SUNDAY - SUMMER 28

Achilles had a late start the next morning, having stayed up all night writing. But even so, he found some time in his not-so-busy schedule to brave the aisles of Joja to purchase a radio and a dual battery and hand-powered lantern.

At least let someone who doesn’t go to bed at 7pm know you’re out there drifting about the Gem Sea, will you?

He stuck his note inside the shopping bag with a dramatic flourish witnessed by nobody before shoving his purchases into the Mullner’s mailbox and walking away with a satisfied dust of his hands.

*****

To a rather significant degree of surprise, Achilles had received a text that afternoon from none other than Shane asking if he wanted to head down to the beach with him and Jas for tonight’s festival.

He met the pair down by Marnie’s ranch (Marnie herself had gone down earlier to, supposedly, assist Lewis with the set up), and with a small nod, asked Shane, “How have things been?”

An empty beat filled only by the soft thump of Jas’ footsteps as she ran ahead. Shane watched her spritely sprint down the path before taking another moment to wipe his chin and responding with his usual sloppy shrug, “Not bad. Or at least, better, I guess…”

“Good. You look good.”

And he did. The bloat had almost entirely disappeared from Shane’s face and the hand grasping a can of cola was sure and steady. Even the bags under his eyes seemed lighter, and his stubble was as neatly shaved as Achilles had ever seen it.

“Welp… thanks.”

He had addressed the ground, but Achilles knew him well enough at this point not to take the lack of eye contact as a sign that Shane considered the conversation over. “Everything going all okay with Joja?”

“Buh.” Shane fiddled with the ties of his blue Joja hoodie—for someone who hated the company as much as he did, he sure provided them with plenty of free advertising. “Same old soul crushing crushing-ness… But I’ve gotten better at coping, that’s somethin’ right? Just taking it day by day…”

Soul crushing… Once again, those words seemed to ring a bell in Achilles’ head. But this time, now out of the hazy, pneumonia-clouded woods, he quickly recognized why the phrase was so familiar.

“That’s how I felt. At BRLO,” Achilles said, more for his own benefit and clarification than Shane’s. “It’s wild how different I felt after I quit… lighter…”

“Oh yeah?” Shane now turned to look beadily up at him. A small crunching noise revealed Shane had gripped the can of cola just a smidge tighter. “Welp… some of us don’t have that luxury…”

“Fuck, sorry, that’s not what I meant.” You idiot. But maybe he could redeem himself, for an idea had just struck him. Oh, perhaps he ought to take some time to think more about it… oh, who cares, why the hell not?

“Actually—well. Shane, you mentioned once you wanted to get into farming. I… clearly do not use my farm. Would you be interested in doing anything with it? I’d pay for any equipment, any seeds, you’d be free to use the land however. We could maybe split the profit, say… 65/35?”

Shane froze mid step. The can of cola in his hand completely crushed in his grip, rivulets trickling down his fingers.

Achilles had pulled the percentage out of his ass. This was what happened when one was impulsive… had he just offended Shane with his offer? What was a typical rate? “The 65 would go to you, just to be clear. I mean, if you don’t think that’s fair, I’m happy to negotiate—”

“No, that’s… Do you mean it?”

“Oh. Yeah, for sure. Of course. I’m not using any of it, and Pierre and Lewis are always giving me shit for “denying the valley fresh produce”—which, for the record, I don’t really understand, you’d think they’d be used to it since the Valley hasn’t had that since my grandpa moved out like 20 years ago… Just tell me what you need, come by anytime. Perhaps we can work out a schedule.”

“Ah yes. Maybe a Sacred To-Do List, too?”

It seemed Achilles wasn’t the only one with a good poker face, though Shane’s nostrils were still flaring slightly as the man struggled to hold back one of his usual one-note chuckles. Achilles shot him a goodhearted glare.

“Sure. Why not. Fall’s coming up tomorrow—I’ll actually be out all day, but just let me know what you need…”

Shane snorted and resumed walking, a new bounce in each of his steps. It was small—barely perceptible—but it was there.

“Thanks. This is great. Thanks a lot.”

*****

Alex had said the “Dance of the Moonlight Jellies” (who had come up with the name? Lewis?) wasn’t the most popular of festivals, but even so, the docks and beach were crowded with a still-impressive number of tourists. Mostly older folk, as Alex had mentioned, although Achilles also took note of the high percentage of nervous young couples.

“Over here!” came a cry.

They glanced over to Elliott who was waving to them both from one of the emptier docks.

“Best views over here reserved for townsfolk family and friends!”

They gently pushed their way through, stepping on a couple of toes in the process. Shane followed Jas to stand by Jodie and Vincent. Most of the villagers hadn’t yet arrived. Why bother, Achilles supposed, if their spots were reserved.

There was Pierre, his arm around Caroline, while Abigail huddled around a lantern with Sebastian and Sam. Penny was also there early, holding hands with a man Achilles didn’t recognize. Huh. Good for her.

Achilles made his way over to Elliott who clasped him on the back.

“This is my most favorite festival,” the man said. “The most glorious, majestic of sights… I had to arrive early to obtain for us the utmost, best seats on the dock. I’ve purchased lanterns here for us and Leah so we can make sure to get a prime look at the jellyfish. Water soluble they are, of course—all the lanterns for the event are. Specially designed by Miss Maru and Demetrius—we’ve got to keep pollution out of the sea!”

The sun began its descent and the beach continued to slowly fill up. Leah joined them shortly, but with her own custom decorated lantern, to Elliott’s slight chagrin.

Alex arrived, as Achilles knew he would, with Tanya, the two of them taking spaces behind Pierre and Caroline. Her arm was clasped tightly around his, although Alex, who Achilles had most definitely noticed awhile ago was generally a fairly touchy person, looked a little stiff. Though perhaps, he thought to himself with a wry smile, you’re overthinking it.

Haley, who had arrived shortly after them, caught Achilles watching the pair and shot him the most dramatic eye roll. Although whether that was at him or in solidarity with him (given her thoughts on Tanya)… with Haley, he was never quite sure.

Just as the sun disappeared over the horizon, a cascade of candlelight and accompanying gasps flickered across the edge of the docks and down the sandy shore, illuminating everyone and everything in a soft, warm glimmer.

Lewis cleared his throat and began to make his way towards a tiny stage that had been set up right by the water, a torch in his hand.

Elliott suddenly squeezed Achilles’ hand in anticipation. “Oh, this never fails to disappoint! Prepare your lanterns, my friend!”

Lewis had reached the shore where, after gesturing for everyone to quiet down, he untied a tiny boat—scarcely a foot long—with a candlestick inside, and set it off into the sea. At this signal, the lucky folks who had brought their own lanterns sent theirs drifting into the waters as well.

“Just a few minutes more,” Elliott whispered, “But they’ll be here soon! Oh, my dear friend, I cannot wait for you to see them!”

Achilles hadn’t shared that he had technically already seen them the day before—swam with them, actually. It would break his heart to spoil Elliott’s secondhand excitement. The man was now bouncing on his heels and clasping Achilles’ forearm in both his hands.

Eagle eyed Jas saw the first jellies bobbing from the horizon. Illuminated by the pale candlelight, their shimmering bodies flickered and glowed, ranging in colors from creamy white to pale blue to indigo and violet as they swam just inches beneath the waves. Gasps and oohs and aahs swept across the beach, but they quickly subsided as the onlookers moved to observe in wondrous silence.

Elliott had chosen a most perfect spot—they were as close as they could be, just a few feet away from the gentle jellies floating underneath their feet. Even through the cracks of the dock, Achilles could make out their neon luminescence.

It was beautiful. There was absolutely no denying that. A unique, shared moment of calm among a crowd as all observed the hypnotizing allure of the vibrant jellies’ slow, pulsating motion under the silvery light of the full moon.

And yet, Achilles couldn’t help think to himself, none of it quite captured the same magic he had felt swimming in the golden glow of yesterday’s sunset with Alex.

As if he heard his thoughts, Alex, whose arm was now around Tanya’s shoulders, broke his gaze from the waters to turn and catch Achilles’ eye.

In response, Achilles nodded to Tanya and flashed him an inquiring look, to which Alex merely winked and, grinning, gave a one shouldered shrug before turning back to the jellies. It was a brief interaction, just something small between them two. Nobody else seemed to have noticed it.

Well, at least not Elliott, that was for sure. The sight if the jellies was too much for the man, who, despite this being his fifth year of residence in Stardew Valley, had withdrawn a handkerchief and was now struggling to blow his nose softly.

“Oh how Mother Nature blesses us! It is all just… so beautiful,” he whispered to Achilles, a crack in his voice. “The romance of it all…”

Ah yes, the romance of it all. Achilles had to stop himself from laughing at the sight of Elliott dabbing his eyes, and instead snuck another glance at Alex and Tanya, who was now resting her head on Alex’s shoulder.

He had expected to feel irked at the sight, or, at the very least, a little sad. But instead, he felt… fine. Good, even. Perhaps last night’s peculiarly good mood hadn’t yet fully seen itself out.

He was, after all, never going to actually be with Alex—not in that way. He had known from the beginning, his feelings had been instinctual—as physical attraction often was. And even though he had since fallen in love now, well—he still didn’t think himself ready for a relationship, and the fact of that matter was, Alex was straight anyway.

Logically, there was no reason for any late night pining or journaled manifestations or heartfelt confessions. He had always refused to let his mind go anywhere down those paths—what was the point? No, there had only ever been a message in a bottle. Nothing more. Nothing reciprocated. And that was fine with him. Yes, Achilles was, for once, grateful for what he had here.

The festival was short, scarcely half an hour, for, as Elliott explained, they ought not disturb the jellies on their journey home for too long. And so, Achilles bid him farewell, returning to the farm by way of Cindersap with Leah, Shane, Marnie, and Jas.

His Summer of rest, relaxation, and recreation was over. He had learned how to swim. Nice! He had gotten pneumonia. Not so nice. Quite a few post it notes could be checked off with a smiley face.

He had had a whole season to stop and smell the flowers, and yet, he wasn’t sure what exactly, if anything, he had learned from it. The feeling of dread that had plagued him at the end of Spring was beginning to stir again. It was time for business, he supposed—although what the business would be, he still wasn’t entirely sure.

Perusing the notebook in which he had been scrawling his various “self-discovery” lists proved fruitless. There was simply nothing there with potential. Oh those lucky few, who were actually good at what they liked…

But a Summer’s worth of nothing had already been far too much nothing. It was time to cast aside any remaining delusions of grandeur and commit to at least something for the “meantime.” He had told Elliott that sometimes one ought to just plow ahead, even through the shit, to overcome writer’s block. Perhaps it was the same with life. Perhaps it was time to get a job.

Perhaps Camille could help him sort himself out. She was good at that, if you could get her to do it. Yes, he had, at the very least, concrete plans for tomorrow. Seeing her would be good.

All being said, he went to bed with relative peace of mind, given the circumstances, although the same couldn’t be said for his subconscious.

Was it simply simmering anxiety that was cause for the whispers and wraiths and shadowy figures that weaved through his nightmares that night? Or was it something else that was lurking in the wings of his mind as Summer quickly faded into Fall?

Ultimately, it didn’t matter—for when he woke the next morning to Shane knocking on his door at the crack of dawn, he had already long forgotten his dreams.

#llnks #sunspraypeak #sdv fanfic #stardew fanfic #stardew valley fanfic #aspec fanfic #stardew alex #sdv alex #alex stardew valley #sdv oc #stardew oc #sdv elliott #sdv shane

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elvenstar146 · 2 years

Text

It’s Time

Happy 503 week everyone. So this takes place in Spring, 1941. Edward and Winry are older and some of their children are grown. This does follow my other story, “Life after the Promised Day” but you don’t need to read it to read this one. Enjoy!

“Ed, it’s time,” Winry said as she shook Edward’s shoulder.

Edward groaned. The sun was just coming up and the sky was starting to lighten. “Time for what?”

“You idiot, Lucy’s in labor,” Winry said.

Edward’s eyes shot open and he sat up. “Seriously? Now?!”

“Yes! I can’t believe you didn’t hear the phone ring. Come on!” Winry said already getting into some day clothes.

Edward jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. His eldest daughter was in labor with his first grandchild. It was weird to think that this kid would call him ‘grandpa’. He didn’t feel old though his joints begged to differ.

And over the years, Winry and Edward had managed to have five children. Ben, the eldest, was in Rush Valley finishing up his apprenticeship in automail. He had just gotten married a few months ago to a nurse named Julie. They had a quick engagement due to the bride being in the family way so Ben had to make it right by her.

Lucy, the eldest daughter, stayed in Risembool and worked as a seamstress under her mother-in-law. Her husband, Wesley, was a local grade school teacher. They were married a year ago and were about to have their first child.

Edward and Winry walked down the hall to their second daughter’s room. Sophie was 15 and took after Edward in every way. She was studying to be an alchemist, and she was hoping to get into university next year. Her long golden hair flowed over the side of the pillow. Edward knocked on the door, and her golden eyes met his. “Hey Soph, Lucy’s in labor so we’re heading over. Watch over the boys while we’re gone.”

Sophie groaned. She didn’t like being the babysitter. “They’re 12, they can take care of themselves.”

Winry crossed her arms. “Sophie, just make sure they don’t burn down the house cooking breakfast.”

“Fine,” Sophie groaned and turned over to go back to sleep.

Edward shook his head. He checked on the last two of his children. Their twin boys, Hugh and Henry. Winry gave Edward one more chance to have another boy, and they ended up with two. After that, Winry was done being pregnant. Hugh and Henry were good kids. Both had bright blonde hair but Hugh had green eyes, just like Trisha. Edward and Winry were surprised by this but Edward was really glad to see some of his mom passed on to the next generation.

They walked swiftly to Lucy and Wesley’s home watching the sun rise. Lucy and Wesley lived closer to town, which had grown some over the years. It was where the school and seamstress shop were so it made sense for them.

Wesley opened the door before they had a chance to knock on it. He had light brown hair and kind brown eyes. “Oh thank god you’re here.”

Winry came in worried. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, she’s just in so much pain. She just really wanted you here,” Wesley explained.

They heard Lucy cry out from up the stairs. Edward ran up there followed by Winry and Wesley. He ran into their bedroom and saw Lucy’s face scrunched up in pain and then she relaxed. Her blue eyes teared up as she saw her parents. “Mom, Dad, you’re here.”

Edward took Lucy’s hand. “Of course, we’re here.” He kissed her forehead.

Winry went straight to business. “How far apart are your contractions?”

Wesley answered. “About 8 minutes.”

Winry nodded. She figured they still had some time. Plus, they needed to get the room ready. “Let’s get everything ready. Lucy, why don’t you walk around for a little while? It’ll help speed up your labor too. We have to get your bed ready.”

Lucy groaned. “Walk around? I don’t feel like walking.”

Winry put her hands on her hips. “Do you want to have a long labor? Trust me, you’re going to want this over sooner than later. Get up. Come on.” Winry was helping her up. “Wesley, take her and walk around. Ed and I will get the bed ready.”

Lucy reluctantly got up. She didn’t handle pain well. Winry found the delivery basket from the midwife and started setting newspaper and pads on the bed so their mattress wouldn’t get ruined in the birthing process. Edward saw all the baby stuff set up. The little clothes that were picked out for today and the bassinet just waiting to be used. He hadn’t dealt with these items in what seemed like an eternity.

Lucy came back in and sat on the bed. They timed her contractions and soon they were down to six minutes. Winry told Edward “Call the midwife. We’ll need her soon.” Edward phoned the midwife, who said she would be there soon.

Wesley met Edward. He had to call his mom to let her know of the arrival coming, and that Lucy would be taking her maternity leave finally. Lucy was a week overdue but had still worked until yesterday. Wes’s mom would take care of the shop today and come over that evening after closing time.

The midwife arrived and check Lucy. She was only 5 cm. Wesley walked around with Lucy stopping for contractions every now and then. Edward took over on timing them.

Lucy sits on the bedside for a break. Winry told Edward that they somehow needed to distract Lucy. She was too focused on the pain. Edward then remembered something that might help. He found Lucy’s hairbrush and hair tie. He went to Lucy and asked her “Want me to braid your hair?”

Lucy looked at him like he was crazy but she relaxed. “Okay.”

Edward sat behind her and brushed her hair. Lucy smiled. It felt good having her hair brushed.

“You know I did this for your mom when she was in labor. She liked having it pulled back.”

“Really? Yeah, I guess it does feel good,” Lucy told him. Wesley admired their interaction. He hoped he would be a good father like Edward had been. Though he had no clue how to braid someone’s hair.

Lucy started talking more to distract her from the pain. “Mom, what about the shop?”

“Don’t worry, I called my assistant. He’ll be taking over for this week. It’s still okay if I stay here and help with the baby, right?”

Lucy and Wesley answered together “YES!” They were both excited and nervous, and were grateful for Winry’s help.

Winry continued “And pretty soon, your brother will be helping me. I’m glad him and his wife are moving here. He’ll be a licensed automail engineer soon.” Plus, with Ben’s wife being a nurse, she could help with surgeries.

Eventually Lucy’s contractions were in shorter intervals and it was time for her to push. Edward was asked to step out by Lucy. He was grateful that they both agreed that Edward didn’t need to see that part of Lucy. Though it was harder hearing Lucy cry out.

The door opened and Wesley stepped out looking pale. “Need more towels.”

“Wes, you okay?” Edward stood up because Wesley looked like he was about to pass out. He didn’t like the sight of blood. “Why don’t you have a seat?” Edward guided him to the chair he had been sitting in.

“Thanks. I’m just nervous.” Wes breathed out.

“Did you eat anything?” Edward asked. Wesley shook his head. “Why I don’t I make a sandwich real quick? Can’t have you passing out on Lucy.”

Wesley nodded. Edward went downstairs and made a quick sandwich that Wesley quickly devoured. Edward told him “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it.” Edward handed him the towels and Wesley went back in with more color on his face.

After hearing Lucy crying out, Edward heard an infant cry. ‘Finally.’ Edward breathed out. He was still worried about the wellbeing of Lucy. He paced up and down the hall until Winry came out of the room.

“Congratulations! You’re a grandpa. Mom and baby are doing great.” Winry said and Edward took her in his arms.

“That’s so awesome! It’s just so ….. awesome!” Edward exclaimed.

“You still call the miracle of life awesome,” Winry chastised him.

“Well there’s no better word for it,” Edward said.

“I guess you’re right.”

“So what is it?” Edward inquired.

“A little girl. We have a granddaughter,” Winry told him. Her eyes moistened slightly.

“Awww Winry, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it. I’m really happy. I have to help clean up but we’ll bring you in soon.”

Edward nodded. ‘A granddaughter. I still can’t believe it,’ he thought. He couldn’t wait to spread the news so he called Alphonse, who residing in Risembool also with his wife Mei and their two kids. Then he phoned Ben, his eldest son, who was ecstatic that his sister had her baby. Edward hung up when Winry came to get him to meet the newest family addition.

Edward walked in, and saw Lucy in bed holding a bundle of blankets. Wesley sat on the bed next to her, proud as he looked down at the infant. Edward smiled as he saw Lucy crying happily with her new baby. He came over next to her and looked at the baby. She had light brown hair from her father and bright blue eyes from her mother. “Well, look at you. Aren’t you just gorgeous?” Edward told the baby and he looked up at Lucy. “Great job Lucy. You did awesome.”

“Thanks Dad,” Lucy said wiping her tears and getting herself more composed.

Winry asked “So what are you going to call her?”

Lucy looked over at Wesley. “Does she like Elizabeth to you?”

Wesley nodded. “Yeah, Elizabeth it is.”

Winry put her arm around Edward, who naturally put his arm around her too. Winry looked at the baby “Well hello Elizabeth.”

The four of them each had turns holding the baby. Edward was last in the group that was there to hold Elizabeth. He was sitting in a rocking chair with Elizabeth when there was a knock on the door. Sophie, Hugh, and Henry had finished their school day, and came by to check on Lucy. They saw Lucy sitting in bed, and Edward holding the bundle. Lucy’s siblings crowded around Edward and admired the baby.

Sophie looked at Lucy. “Wow, it’s so awesome.”

Winry rolled her eyes and laughed. “Sophie, you’re just like you’re father. Calling childbirth awesome.”

Sophie and Edward looked at her with the same annoyed look. But they both let it go. Edward saw most of his children before him and the new baby, he felt an emotion that he hadn’t felt in a long time. All the pain they had been through, especially when they were younger, was worth it for this moment. To hold a new life in his arms was precious. One of the best moments that outweighed the negative events that had happened.

#503week #edward x winry #fma winry #winry rockbell #fullmetal fanfic

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mosneakers · 5 months

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The spirit of Agnes and Coraleye enter the elegant Sunset Valley estate. Vintage melodies from a record player swirl, enveloping Coraleye in a sense of nostalgia that she had only known from classic romance films up until this moment.

Agnes: Welcome home, darling. 230 Redwood Parkway, fondly known as "August Moon" by some.

Coraleye: Wow, that's such a magical name. This home is breathtaking, Grandma!

Agnes: It's always been my envisioned haven for raising children. Coraleye: And you owned it? Even while you lived in Moonlight Falls? Who took care of it when you weren't here?

Agnes: My sister, Cornelia, tended to her in my absence. This home held a special place in my heart, and she, understanding its significance, made occasional upgrades, just in case we ever decided to sell. Or, perhaps... return.

Coraleye: Return? As in move back? Agnes: Come, dear. Looks like dinner is finished, and now we're clearing up. I want you to hear this conversation.

As they step into the kitchen, tension hangs thick in the air. Erik diligently washes the dishes while Agnes busies herself preparing ingredients for tomorrow's meals. Neither utter a word, until Agnes finally breaks the silence.

Agnes: Erik, I... I must apologize for snapping at you during dinner. That was quite unwarranted. You were right—I ought to have shared the news with you about the fire. I know the Seymour house was so dear to your heart. It was for me, too. I hope you're not angry with me.

Erik: Ain't mad at ya, Aggy. Gee, I suppose I overreacted too. It's not just about the house; I can live without that. My decent paying job in Moonlight Falls, no chance nobody here'll pay the same. Cost of living's a lot higher, and...well, I've been hoping you'd eventually come 'round to having another baby with me, honey...

Coraleye: [eyes misting] Grandpa really wanted another baby, didn't he? Agnes: [Smiles fondly] Oh yes. But I was quite stubborn. Coraleye: I think Janie mentioned a bit about the fire being the reason for you moving back here. Did you figure out how it happened? Agnes: No, we never did. But the Crumplebottom Sisters informed me that it destroyed everything. Even their great powers couldn't reverse the damage. I had planned to tell Erik, but Belinda beat me to it with a telephone call.

Agnes: [Continuing with Erik] You know I've always said that I'm content with our two. Erik: I know baby, I've just had my fingers crossed one day you'd change your mind. Just a pipe dream, that's all. Agnes: [Sighs] Well, darling... We'll need to sort through our finances. It seems you might just be getting your way, after all...

Erik: What are you telling me, woman? Agnes: It's still early yet to, but... I find myself a tad late.

Erik: Late for tea and crumpets with the ladies at the country club, or are we talking more along the lines of a bun in the oven? Agnes: It could be. Again, it's still very early. Just three days.

Erik joyfully sweeps Agnes into his arms, twirling her as they share a tender kiss. A soft giggle escapes Agnes's lips.

Erik: Aggy baby, you make me the luckiest man to ever live or die!

Coraleye's heart swells with emotion as she witnesses her great-grandfather express his unconditional love for Agnes with such passion and honesty. They follow the Darling pair into the living area to join the girls, particularly Gwendolyn, who are engrossed in the television.

Coraleye: Gosh, look at how you two lovebirds are gazing at each other. TV not holding your attention much, is it? [Grins]

Agnes: Well, I've always preferred books. [Smiles] The television often broadcasted troubling news, especially that year when the government confirmed the existence of aliens. I made the children turn it off promptly if I heard any talk of extraterrestrials.

Coraleye quickly averts eye contact, wondering how much Agnes knows about the current state of the world, particularly Sunglo, his abduction, and how those events resulted in the birth of his beloved daughter.

Knowing her great-grandmother's well-documented phobia centered around extraterrestrials, Coraleye opts to change the subject for the time being.

Coraleye: Hey, Grandma? How did you and Grandpa know to bring the family photos along on your trip to Sunset Valley? Most people don't bring all their family photos on vacations.

Agnes: [Grins] My, I did say you were observant, didn't I? Coraleye: Well, astute. But yes. I hope to land a career in journalism, just like Grandpa! Agnes: [Nods approvingly] A journalist in the making, just like your Grandpa. No, the decision to take the photos along was merely a coincidence. Like you heard your Grandfather say, I make him "the luckiest man to ever live or die!"

#ts4 #MD4season10 #MD4 #Coraleye Darling #RealmOfMagicGetaway #Agnes Darling #Many Moons Ago #Many Moons Ago: Gen 1 #MMA Gen 1: Ch. 16 #Erik Darling #Gwendolyn Darling #GIF #Persephone Darling

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naturalborndragons · 11 months

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New Dragon’s World Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Eig'nia, Second-in-Command Time had passed and still Titus remained in the exact same spot, not moving an inch, just staring into the sky. His friends and family watched him, curious as to what he was thinking about. Ben walked up to Titus and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Look, Titus…I know how you feel. It hurts. It hurts terribly. But we need to keep going, man. Your mom and dad, and Lucas and his boys are all waiting for us. C'mon." Ben said. "Yeah…" Titus agreed as he rubbed his eyes. Ben walked Titus back to his car and opened the door for him. Titus sat down, grabbed the steering wheel, and plopped his head on it. "Titus…How about I drive?" Asked Sarah. Without saying a word, Titus removed himself from the driver's seat and walked around to the back of his car and opened the back door on the right side. Everyone else piled into the car soon after. As they made their way to Baker Valley, almost everything was dead silent. All but the sound of the car engine and the tires on the dusty road. Eventually they had come to the desert. Titus leaned against the car door. He dully watched the mountains, cactuses, and rocky terrain pass by as he shifted around in his seat and folded his arms. His face was pressed against the window, and he sighed to himself. Jessie placed a hand on Titus' shoulder. "Titus?" She asked.

Titus mumbled incoherently. "Titus, please listen to me. I know how bad you're hurting. It's never easy to lose somebody close to you. But you can't let Theian's death be what defeats you." Said Jessie. "Aunt Jessie's right, Dad!" Drake said, beaming. "You're stronger than this, I know it! You're the strongest dragon ever! And I know you can beat Saulstrance no problem!" Titus unfolded his arms and looked at his family. They all looked back at him with warm smiles. Smiles that showed love and understanding. Sarah pulled the car over and turned around in her seat so that she was facing her husband. "Uncle Titus, remember when Grandma and Grandpa died? Back then I didn't even really know what that meant. When I was a little older, dad explained what had happened and what dying really meant. And I just cried. I didn't know what else to do." Said Kyle as he looked into his uncle's eyes. Kyle rubbed his left eye. "I can't even remember what my grandparents looked like. But I do remember that the one who helped me the most when I was grieving was you, Uncle Titus. I looked up to you as a kid, and I still look up to you. You've helped me so much and now I want to be able to help you." Titus shut his eyes as he smiled and nodded. Where would he ever find friends and family like them? He placed his left palm over his eyes whilst still smiling. Under his hand, his eyes started tearing. With his palm still obscuring his eyes, he tried to wipe the tears away. Everyone else had no idea what he was doing but it looked sort of funny to them. "Thanks guys." He said as he took his hand off his face. "Are you feeling a little better, Titus?" Asked Sarah. "It still really hurts. But I'll be okay." Titus assured everyone. Sarah smiled. "That's good. So should we get going?" "Yeah. Let's go get Luke." Sarah licked her lips and gripped the steering wheel. With a gleam in her eye, and no other cars on the road, she pushed down on the gas as the car zoomed off to their destination. Everybody grabbed onto the car seats and screamed for dear life. Kyle, Drake, and Crystal tried to tighten their seat belts as they prayed that they make it to the next town. "Sarah, stop!! For the love of God, please slow down!!" Titus exclaimed. Sarah slammed on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt, kicking up dust and pebbles. Sarah turned around in her seat to see everybody panting, wide eyed and clutching their chests as they took in deep breaths. "Please…Sarah…Drive slower." Ben said with terror in his voice. "Yes…please…" Rick said trembling. "We have to get to Baker Valley as quickly as possible, don't we? I mean what if Saulstrance got to Luke and the kids? What if he killed Titus' parents and destroyed the town?" "Gee, thanks for that, Sarah!" Titus said sarcastically. "What?" She asked. "Can we just get going?" Titus asked just as Sarah placed her foot on the pedal. "And no more speed demon stunts! I don't wanna be a pancaked dragon when I fight Saulstrance." "Alright, guys, I promise." Sarah said as she started the car once more. As the car continued on its way, Drake was still wide eyed. "Your mom can be really scary sometimes." Crystal said to Drake. "She can be a lot than a lot scarier than this. I know." Drake replied. "What was that, Drake?" Sarah asked, batting an eye to her rear-view mirror. "N-nothing, mom! I was just telling Crystal how nice you are!" Drake said as a bead of sweat trickled down his neck. "Oh, that's what I thought." Sarah said, smiling. "See?" Drake whispered to Crystal. Crystal nodded. Time passed and eventually, the car had pulled up to the entrance of a small town. The sign read "Baker Valley, pop. 556." They had finally made it. Sarah parked the car as Titus stepped out, advising everyone else to stay in while he looked around. Titus slipped his hands into his pants pockets and looked around. Things were awfully quiet, even for a town with such a small population. There were no traces of life to be found anywhere and no sign of Lucas or the others. Were they too late? Had Saulstrance already seized the town's population? "Fwoo!!" A dusty wind blew past Titus. He shielded his eyes with his arm so as not to get dust in them. He continued to look around while still slightly covering his eyes. However the dust storm made it hard for him to look around. He waited for it to die down and once it did, he continued his search. Just then he heard footsteps behind him. He swung around, ready to attack. However… "Gee, it doesn't seem like anyone's here, dad." "Drake! What are you doing?!" Titus thundered. "Well…I just wanted to help you look for everyone, that's all." Drake said meekly. Titus placed his hands on his son's shoulders and looked him square in the eyes. "Drake." He said. "I don't need help looking around. What I need you to do is look after everyone and make sure they're okay. These are really dangerous people we're dealing with, Drake." "I know, dad…I'm sorry." Said Drake. Titus patted Drake's shoulder and smiled. "It's okay, buddy. Come on, let's get back to the car." They drove around for some time, looking all throughout the town, hoping to see at least one person. They checked through all of the small town's buildings, from the small convenience store at the entrance to the town, to the schools, even to the bars. Not a single individual was to be found anywhere. Their search eventually brought them to the town medical center that was perched atop a small hill. They made their way inside and proceeded to search every inch of the medical center. They searched the front desk, the many rooms, even downstairs, believing somebody to be hiding in the basement. As before, no one was to be found. As they left the center, Jackie stopped at the entrance. "What's up, Jackie?" Asked Kyle. "Well, I've been thinking: Doesn't this town seem a little strange?" She asked. "Well of course it's strange!" Kyle replied. "We're the only people here!" "No, not like that! What I mean is…well just look around. Notice the buildings? " Jackie asked. Everyone carefully observed the buildings, not understanding what it was they were supposed to be looking for. "See anything unusual?" Jackie asked again. Everyone took another look at the buildings. At that moment, it clicked. "Now that you mention it, Jackie, those buildings are just fine!" Titus exclaimed. "Yeah. The other town that Saulstrance and his goons hit was completely ransacked." Jackie explained. "As was the mall back home." Kyle added. "Exactly! But these buildings are just fine. We haven't seen a single demolished building in this town yet." "Well then Uncle Lucas and the others must have got here before Saulstrance!" Drake said with utmost optimism in his voice. "That's definitely a possibility. But if that is the case, then where are they?" Rick asked. Kyle frowned. "Wait, wait, hang on guys. How do we even know that they did get here in time?" "What do you mean?" Titus asked as he leaned against his car. "Well, it's just like Rick said: If Uncle Lucas, his boys and Uncle Titus' parents did get here before Saulstrance, then why haven't we seen him? Could something have happened to him?" "Kyle." Jackie tried to interrupt. "I think one of two things could have happened: 1) They were successful in getting here before Saulstrance and evacuated with the people of this town…" "Kyle…" Jackie tried to interrupt in a slightly louder and sterner tone. "…Or 2) They were captured along with everyone in the town. And the reason the town wasn't destroyed was because the people gave up like a bunch of Fre- -" "KYLE!!!" Jackie shouted. "What?!" He shouted back. Fuming at her brother, Jackie pointed to their uncle, who slammed his fist on the car window as he held his head in his other hand while pressing it against the window. Jackie grabbed her brother by his shirt sleeve and pulled him closer so to whisper in his ear. "Good going, Kyle." Kyle looked back at his uncle again. His hand was still covering up one side of his face. Everyone went to Titus' side to try and cheer him up, assuring him that Lucas, Sean, Tim, and his parents were just fine and waiting for them. "Oh, man, I- - Hey, Uncle Titus!" Kyle called out in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, I was just kidding! I'm certain they're all okay! No, I mean, I know they're all okay! I know they weren't taken by Saulstra- -Oh, God." Kyle clumsily said. "Kyle, just shut up before you end up saying something that you, or us will end up regretting." Jackie commanded with irritation in her voice. Titus sighed and brushed his hair back. "Well, standing around and talking about whether they're okay or not isn't going to solve anything. So, what's say we keep looking around?" "I have an idea." Ben chimed in. "What if we check the police station?" "Hey yeah, that's a good idea! There's gotta be some policemen left in this town!" Titus exclaimed. "And Luke and the others might be there too." Added Sarah. Everybody huddled into Titus' car and drove around the town in an attempt to find a police station. As they drove around the town some more, they observed the passing buildings. Each one of them was just fine! There was not a single destroyed building to be found. Everywhere they turned, all the buildings remained intact. After a few minutes, they came to a small building that resembled a reddish-brown country house. In front of this building read a sign that said, "Sheriff's Office". Everyone stepped out of the car and walked to the police station. Titus walked up to the front doors and peered inside. While the lights were on, it appeared as though no one was here either. Maybe Kyle was right, Titus thought, much to his chagrin. Maybe they were too late. Titus walked from the police station and headed over to his car. But just as he opened the door, he looked ahead and saw a car that looked just like Lucas'. Believing it to be Lucas, Titus slammed the door shut and ran towards the car. Everyone followed behind him. As he got a little closer, it was still hard for him to tell, but it looked as though everyone was seated in the car. The person he made out to be Lucas was clutching the steering wheel. "Lucas! Mom, Dad! Sean! Tim!" Titus called out, hoping to get their attention. As Titus neared closer to the car, a wave of fire shot out from seemingly nowhere, completely enveloping the car which also caused it to explode. Parts of the car flew into the sky as the charred license plate landed right Titus' feet. Titus fell to his knees and starred in disbelief. "No! Sean! Tim!!" Drake exclaimed. Drake and Crystal ran towards the burning car. Ben and Kyle grabbed the kids and tried to restrain them. "No, my friend is in there, let me GO!!" Drake shouted with tears in his eyes as he struggled to get free of his cousin's hold. "Sean!!" Crystal shouted, also struggling to get free. Titus clenched his fist and jolted up. He gritted his teeth as a fierce expression appeared on his face. He looked into the sky, hoping to find the source of that fire. In the sky he saw another dragon. It was one of Saulstrance's men! "Get back to the car!" Titus commanded. Everyone scrambled back to the car, except for Drake and Titus who watched as the dragon began to make its descent. The dragon made its landing, standing between Titus and Drake, and the burning car. This dragon had dark silvery scales, two fierce, razor sharp fangs hanging out of both sides of her mouth, and the leather in her wings were a beautiful, dark ocean blue which greatly complimented her scales. "Eig'nia!!" Drake exclaimed. Sarah tried to start the ignition. After a few tries, the car finally started up. She stepped on the gas as the car sped forward. Titus and Drake jumped out of the way as Eig'nia's wings quickly unfolded and she took to the sky. They watched as the car made for the exit of the town. Both Titus and Drake turned into their respective forms and took to the sky as well. Just as Eig'nia prepared to give chase, Titus flew right at her as headbutted her in the side which caused both of them to fall from the sky and plummet back to earth. With a loud thud, the two dragons landed on the ground. Drake swooped down and landed next to his father, who had just gotten back on his feet. Likewise, Eig'nia effortlessly got back on her own feet and watched the father and son duo. Titus glared at Eig'nia with contempt in his eyes. His front legs began to shake with anger and he clenched his left paw into a fist. It shook violently as he bit his lip. He unclenched his fist and took a deep breath. "Drake…" Titus said. "go catch up with everyone. Leave Eig'nia to me." "But dad!!" "Don't argue with me, Drake…I am NOT in the mood." Drake looked into his father's eyes and froze up. He knew what his dad was like when he was angry but he never saw him like this. At that point, his father had the most ferocious eyes he had ever seen. Eyes full of scorn and rage. "GO!!!!" Titus roared. "What are you waiting for?!?!" "Ye-yes s-s-sir!!" Drake said in a stutter. Drake took to the sky and flew off in the direction of the car. Just as Eig'nia opened her wings and was about to give chase just like before, Titus rushed her, headbutting her once more and knocking her off her feet. Titus watched as his son disappeared into the distance and sighed a sigh of relief. He turned his attention to Eig'nia, who had again gotten back on her feet. Titus began to hyperventilate. He let out a fierce, ear-piercing roar as he swung his mighty tail at Eig'nia. Eig'nia took to the sky, just barely dodging Titus' tail. Titus launched himself into the sky and flew above Eig'nia. He flew so high that soon the sun had obstructed his form. Eig'nia gazed into the sun but its piercing rays quickly bothered her retinas, forcing Eig'nia to squint her eyes shut. She opened one eye ever so slightly and looked back up. Somehow, the sun was getting bigger and bigger by the second. She soon realized that it wasn't the sun that was coming at her. It was a large ball of fire! Eig'nia quickly flapped her wings and flew a little to the right. She watched as the fireball passed her by and collided with the ground, starting a fire which in turn lit two trees. She turned her attention to the sky again to see more fireballs raining from the sky. She flew every which way she could, doing her best to try and maneuver through the vicious barrage of fireballs. One eventually managed to hit Eig'nia's tail which in turn started to slow her down. Soon after she was being pelted by fireballs. She started to lose altitude until the fireball onslaught inevitably stopped. She descended to the ground and tried to catch her breath. As she got air to her lungs, she looked into the sky to see Titus also making a descent. Titus landed on the ground. He was breathing heavily, worn out from the fireball assault. "Doulstraz, what are you doing?! Are you trying this whole town ablaze?!" Eig'nia asked in a surprisingly shocked tone. Titus panted. "What do you care?! You and your friends are looking to destroy this world anyway!!" Titus lowered his head so that his horns were pointed right at Eig'nia. Like a raging bull, Titus charged at her at full speed. Eig'nia lowered her head as well. The two dragons' heads collided with one another, momentarily stunning both of them. As soon as they came to, they struggled to overpower the other, their horns scrapping against the others' horns. Soon Eig'nia overpowered Titus, lifting him into the sky, and sending him flying into the Sheriff's office. The entire building fell on Titus, completely covering him from head to toe. "So, I guess that's that." Eig'nia sighed. "That's a real shame. And here I thought you'd be the key to taking Saulstrance down…" She said in an oddly disappointed voice. Her wings unfolded into the afternoon air and she took to flight. As she had gotten airbourne, she was unable to notice, but Titus shot out from amongst the rubble. He launched himself into the sky as he flew above Eig'nia, curled up into a ball, and just as soon as he was directly above her, kicked her in the back of the head with his hind leg. Not knowing what hit her, she fell out of the sky and landed right in the road, leaving a decent sized crater where she had landed. Titus swooped down at superfast speeds with full intent on finishing Eig'nia off and avenging his fallen friends and his parents. He watched as Eig'nia struggled to get back on her feet. A wave of fire launched from her throat. Titus tried to fly away from it as it barely missed his tail. Thinking up a quick idea, Titus flew about ten feet higher into the sky. He noticed that the flame was unable to get him at this height. He waited until Eig'nia tired herself out. The flame soon died down, and just like with Titus, Eig'nia panted and wheezed, trying her hardest to breathe. Her vision went blurry for a little bit, so she shook her head and soon after, her vision started to return. She looked up and saw Titus spiraling down. She tried to get out of the way, but her body was too worn out. She only managed to move a few inches before Titus collided into her, sending her flying into a house. Part of the house came down, covering all but Eig'nia's head, left paw, and tail. Tired, beat, and his strength nearly gone, Titus walked out the hole that had been left from where Eig'nia had landed and made his way over to where the defeated dragon lay covered in the destroyed remnants of the house. She got back to her feet, shaking the rubble and debris off of her. Weakly, she walked over to Titus, breathing heavily. Soon, her body was unable to take anymore, and she fell to the ground, the last ounce of her strength gone. With so little strength left in his own body, Titus sat down and stared at the dragoness. Eig'nia stared back at Titus. "Even if I'm the one laying on the ground like a defeated dog, that doesn't mean that you won." She said. "Geez, talk about a sore loser." Said Titus, glaring at Eig'nia. Eig'nia sighed in annoyance. "No, that's not what I meant. You let yourself be too easily swayed by your emotions. Doulstraz, you need to learn to control your emotions. Otherwise, you WILL lose to Saulstrance. If you go in fighting him, roaring like a crazy dragon and flames spurting all around, then you've already lost." "I…I don't get it." Titus said, confused but a little calmer. "Why are you telling me this? I mean, you're the enemy. You're supposed to want to see me lose. But now it seems like you're trying to help me. Why?" Eig'nia's lips started to quiver. She squinted her eyes as she tried to fight back tears. Titus couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could have sworn that this was the first time he ever saw any emotion from her. Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Eig'nia started to cry. "Saulstrance…he's been my friend since we were hatchlings." She said tearfully. "Doulstraz… Would you believe me if I said…" She sniffled. "that Saulstrance used to be kind?" Titus shook his head. "I'm sorry. But even if he was kind at one point, that doesn't change what he did. He's killed innocent people who did nothing to him. He's destroyed families, killed baby dragons for their blood, and he killed somebody very close to me! Even if he was kind, like you said, I still can't forgive him." Eig'nia lay on the ground quietly for a few seconds. Then finally spoke. "I don't expect you to forgive him for his sins. And I don't expect you to forgive me either. I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done. But… will you at least listen to what I have to say?" She asked. Titus shut his eyes and was silent for a short time. He pondered over whether or not he should listen to what she had to say. And even if he had decided to listen to her, what good what it do? It wouldn't bring Lucas back. Or Sean, or Tim, or his parents. Finally, he opened his eyes…and gave his answer. "No." He said coldly. "After you killed my friends and my parents, you just expect me to just sit down and say 'Sure, Eig'nia, I'll gladly listen to what you have to say'?! NO! Nuh-uh! If you expect me to listen to you, then give me back my friends!!" He roared. Eig'nia's eyes started to tear up again. "I'm sorry, Doulstraz…I really am…" "Well, I'm sorry too, I really am, but I need to get going. The friends and family that you didn't kill are waiting for me." Eig'nia shut her eyes and sighed heavily. "Well if you really want to protect them…then why don't you just kill me?" "What?" Asked Titus. "Go ahead and do it. I don't care anymore. I don't have anything left for me." As angry as he was, and as badly as he wanted to make her pay, something was restraining Titus from finishing her. He didn't know what it was, or why he was holding back, but something was telling him not to do it. Unable to bring himself to kill her, he allowed Eig'nia to tell him what she wanted to say. "Long ago, when we were just children, we had another friend. He was slightly older than both Saulstrance and I and we saw him as our older brother. Our friend had a dream: He wanted to create a world where humans, dragons and half-dragons would all be able to live together peacefully." Eig'nia explained. "So, then what happened to this friend?" Asked Titus. "A horrible incident took place. And as a result of that incident…our friend ended up losing his life." Said Eig'nia as tears streamed down her face. Titus took a moment to contemplate everything Eig'nia had told him. It was all too hard for him to believe. In his mind, Saulstrance was the epitome of evil: no remorse for his actions, relentless, and cruel. How could somebody like that have actually been good at one point? Titus just couldn't see that being possible. Eig'nia continued. "Saulstrance believes he's fulfilling our friend's dearest wish. His aspirations of turning this world into his kingdom are his own twisted perception of our friend's final wish. But this isn't what he wanted." "You didn't agree with what Saulstrance was doing?" Asked Titus, still perplexed. Eig'nia slowly raised her head and shook it. "But then why were you with him? I know he was your childhood friend and everything, but this isn't making any sense!". Titus asked, now even more confused than before. Eig'nia shut her eyes and lowered her head to the ground. She took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly through her nostrils. "Because I was going to kill Saulstrance myself…" She said mournfully. Titus' eyes widened in shock. His mouth dropped. He was absolutely speechless. He watched as Eig'nia continued to sob. Only this time, her sobs started to get louder. "I love Saulstrance!!" Eig'nia cried her heart out as tears tricked down her face. She felt a lump in her throat. "But I just…I just…I just can't stand seeing him like this anymore…" She said, her voice becoming more and more strained. "I wish I could have saved him!!" Titus watched as the dragoness continued to cry. Despite all the crimes that Eig'nia had committed, despite her killing his best friend and his parents, he may have had a hard admitting it to himself, but deep down, he truly felt bad for Eig'nia. He even felt a little ashamed of himself for yelling at her before. But he still couldn't forget what she had done to his parents, Lucas, Sean, and Tim. Titus didn't know what to do. What was he to say? What choice should he make? Should he let her live? Maybe killing her would be the only way to stop her pain. Weakly, Titus stood up and took ten slow steps from where he was sitting. His back legs tingled with slight pain as his front legs went a little numb. He winced in slight pain as he put pressure on both his front and his back legs. Just as he proceeded to unfold his wings, he looked back to see Eig'nia, who was still lying in the exact same spot, still crying. Titus sighed and called out to Eig'nia. "Eig'nia!" At that moment, Eig'nia's sobbing had ceased. She slowly turned her head around and looked at Titus, who stood before her with apologetic eyes. "Look…If you really want to save Saulstrance…then please…help us stop him!" Titus said. Eig'nia didn't say anything. She looked to the ground, unsure. Titus turned away. "It's your choice. But if you do decide to go back to Saulstrance…then I'll put an end to both of you myself. I won't let any more of my friends end up like Lucas." Titus said. Titus unfurled his wings. But just as he was about to take flight, Eig'nia called out his name. His wings folded back onto his back, and he turned around to see her holding her head up slightly. Eig'nia stared at him with sad, melancholic, and regretful eyes. "I'm sorry…" She said. Titus nodded. He turned around and once more, opened his wings. "Like I said before, if you really want to make up for it…then please help us stop Saulstrance." With nothing left to say to her, Titus flapped his wings. He began to ascend into the sky and set off to rejoin his friends, leaving Eig'nia to contemplate just what is was that she should do. Meanwhile, about ten miles outside Baker Valley, Titus' friends waited anxiously for his return. The car was parked on the left side of the road, and everyone stood around it. Ben, Jessie, and Rick kept watch in the direction of the town should Titus come back. Drake sat in the driver's seat with the door open while Crystal sat in the passenger's seat. The cool air from the air conditioner blasted on their faces as they sat motionless and silent, just staring out at the dirt road in front of them. The two children couldn't believe it. They couldn't believe that Sean and the others were really gone. No one could. Since leaving Baker Valley, no one had talked to one another. Crystal sighed and stepped out of the car. She made her way over to Sarah and called out to her. "Ms. Flamel?" She asked. "What's up, Crystal?" Sarah asked, in a motherly voice. "Sean's not really dead, right?" The little girl asked as she clutched at Sarah's shirt. Sarah frowned and looked away from Crystal for a second. "I'm sorry, Crystal…" She started to say before being interrupted. "IT'S NOT TRUE!!!" Drake shouted as he slammed the car door shut, his outburst startling everyone around him. "Sean's not dead! He's stronger than this! Right, Crystal? Remember? Before I found out I was a half-dragon, he always used to protect us from kids who tried to bully us!" Drake exclaimed as he rushed up to his mom and Crystal. "Yeah, he did!! He always stood up for me and Drake! And he always kicked those bullies' butts! That's gotta be proof that he's still alive!!" Crystal exclaimed as tears started to build up in her eyes. Sarah felt her heart begin to break. She clapped her hand over her eyes. She whimpered and bit her lip as she started to cry. She kneeled down and hugged Drake and Crystal tightly. "I'm sorry, kids…" She said tearfully. "I'm so sorry…" Tears started to stream down Drake's face. He placed his face on his mom's shoulder and cried, his arms wrapped around her. "He's not dead…" Drake whined. "He's not…dead…" "What are you crying about?!" An angry voice called out. "You're a half-dragon, you're better than these humans! So why are you crying!?" Everyone looked up to see somebody hovering in the sky. The person made a quick descent and stood before the grieving friends and family. This person was a young boy, no older than 14 years. The boy had long light brown hair that covered his ears and dark brown pupiled and slitted eyes. His long, red tail whipped around behind him, its spikes growing all the way to where his tail attached to his body. Two crimson wings hung behind him, growing out of two large holes left in the back of his shirt, a white jersey with the number 14 on the front. "You're Alex." Drake said. "Who's that?" Crystal asked. "He's a half-dragon, like me. He was with Jake and the others the day the mall was destroyed." Drake explained. "Everyone, get back! He's with Saulstrance!" Shouted Drake. Everyone froze in place, carefully watching Alex. Alex batted an eye at each one of them and then turned his attention to Drake. Drake didn't know what he was supposed to do. With his father back in Baker Valley, and his grandparents deceased, he was the only one who could defend his family. But could he really protect them? This would be his first real fight by himself. Drake broke away from his mother and walked up to Alex. Everyone watched as Drake slowly walked up to his fellow half-dragon. His legs shook and his palms started to become sweaty. He rubbed all but his index fingertips against his palms, wiping away some of the sweat. He stood before Alex, eyes filled with uncertainty but also with an understanding of what he had to do. He would have to fight Alex.

#Dragon's World #New Dragon's World #animeboye #abandoned town #Battle #Fight #Written back when I was a teenager #original writing #dragon #dragons #Desert #Desert Town #Dragon Hybrids #Dragon Hybrid #Eig'nia #Revelation #TF #Pupiled and Slitted Eyes #Alex

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