#do you think penny would look at jas and think about all of the things she's been through but condensed into a smaller and younger girl?

[timdrakesbussy]

i legit cried making this

[glazedsnail]

Who wants to read Shane Girldadding?

I know you do.

Spring and Swing

A work I wrote while taking a bath. @whatdoidosatoru said the words "Jas wants to go on the playground but it's broken cause Lewis is an ass so Shane repairs it" or something close to that and it clicked. Cause of course he would do that for Jas.

The shy first rays of sunshine peek in the horizon. The melting snow slowly drips down the carrying trees and other rooftops, relieving themselves off their wintery burdens.

Today is the first day of Spring in Pelican Town. People, plants, and animals alike finally exhale the breath they were holding all winter. Routine prevails, as people are lucky enough not to need hibernation. Lucky indeed.

As the sun starts its journey to its highest point, breakfasts and coffees are being served. Quiet abode wake up at the rhythm of their rested bodies, bathing in a blissful comforting silence.

Unless you're at the ranch.

'I said: do you want eggs this morning?'

'Can I go outside now?'

'Buh.'

The three human residents manage to make the cattle and poultry think the for ever known ''What the heck are the neighbors up to.'' It's when you're noisier than a herd of dairy cows that you're grateful to live outside of town. At least the neighbors are.

'I wanna go outside!'

'You came home late again, is that it?'

'Aunt Marnie, can I please go outside?'

'I'm talking to your uncle, sweetheart.' Marnie answers cheerfully. 'Trying to, anyway.'

'But, I've finished my milk. I've finished my eggs. I want to go out and plllayyyy!!' The little girl tugs at her aunt's dress.

'For Yoba's sake Jas, since when do you need me to go outside?'

'I… I wanna go on the swing…' Jas' shyly says, twisting her fingers.

'The swing? On the playground? That's too far. Sorry but unless someone accompanies you'

'Uncle Shane could!'

Marnie scoffs, raising her chin at her half-asleep nephew whose own chin is about to fall on his breakfast plate. She opens her mouth, but, upon looking at the little girl shining eyes, she swallows her bile and grief, and offers her a smile. 'I'm sure he'll be happy to.' She says. 'Once you're freshen up and ready, he'll take you to the playground, ok?'

Jas nods with a muffled squeal. She's not been at the playground for so long! Miss Penny would sometimes bring them, her and Vincent, but the winter had been so harsh they would barely make it outside. Quickly hugging her aunt, she disappears in her bedroom.

'Shane, did you hear all that. Shane. Shane!'

'What?' The gruff man finally jumps out of his semi-slumber. Wiping his face with his hands he groans. 'What?' He repeats.

'You're taking Jas to the playground this morning.' She raises a finger to his slowly opening mouth. 'You are. No excuses. First day of Spring, you know what it means?' He raises an eyebrow, looking confused with his glazed eyes. Marnie sighs. 'Rebirth, Shane, renewal. You know? Making resolutions and all?'

Shane laughs. 'Sure.' He stretches, pushing his plate away, his bones cracking shamelessly.

'I'm ready!' The two adults turn to the gleeful voice. Jas skips toward Shane. 'Are we going?'

With an umpteenth groan, he looks at his aunt, quite ready to let her know it'd be a mistake to let his hangover ass take the kid out. But Jas grabs his hand, pulling softly toward the door.

'Let's go, uncle Shane.' She says with a big smile.

'This is a f…flying mess.' Shane remarks.

The small playground wasn't any sort of jewel on Pelican Town's fist, but the harsh winter had made a number out of it. The one slide had fallen on its side, bearing its rusted and broken bolts. One of the swing from the set had a broken chain, and the other was missing its seat which probably flew away up the mountain or into the lake. A fortnight of heavy snow and wind couldn't have caused this if it was at all a maintained park.

The only thing left was the springy ride. But its…unnatural features were scaring Jas at the best of times. Shane felt the squeeze of her little hand in his. He crouches to her level. 'Listen kiddo, I think we'll have to give the playground a miss today.'

'But I… I want to swing…'

'I know, little chicken, but look, the swings are only chains.' He sees her lower lip tremble, the creases on her chin. 'Oh boy. Jas. Listen. We can…Go to the beach? Would you like that? You like the tide pools right?'

Tears gathered in her big eyes start to fall. 'I want to swing.' She looks down, trying not to let her shoulders shake, keeping her sobs quiet.

'Sorry but there's nothing we can do.' Shane tries to wipe the tears with his thumb, struggling to remain crouched down to Jas' level, his knees screaming at him.

'You always say that.' Jas sniffles, turning her head away from Shane's hand.

'What?'

'You always say there's nothing you can do.' She says, raising her voice. 'But you never try anything.' After another sniffle, she wipes her face with her sleeve, looking away. 'Aunt Marnie says so too. And I…I need to swing today…'.

Shane felt the blow of his goddaughter's words, incapable of even blinking, his knees now pleading for him to stand up. He clears his throat, tries to open his mouth, clears his throat again. But he has nothing to say. He finally stands back up, grunting at the pain shooting down his legs. Why would he have anything to say. She was right. Painfully so.

'Look, er, Jas. You don't need to swing today, right?' She ignores him, slowly walking toward the bench, only thing intact apart from the terrifying…horse…duck? Shane sighs, watching her slouching herself on the wood. She doesn't need to swing today. But tomorrow the swings will still be broken. And, he would still be a piece of shit. He inhales sharply, taking in the crisp new spring air. 'Can you do me a favor and stay there, little chicken?' Jas slowly nods, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

Wrapping herself in her coat, Jas starts shaking. The bright morning sun is now covered by the white cotton clouds the soft wind was slowly bringing. She looks down at her feet, dangling from the bench. A clanking sound followed by a grunt takes her out of her mind. Kneeling on the sand, Shane is spreading tools around him.

'Uncle Shane?' She jumps down the bench to reach him. 'What are you'

'Can you hold this for me.' He cuts, handing her a pair of pliers. He then pulls out a sheet of boiled leather, and several nails.

'Uncle Shane?' She repeats, the heavy pliers in her hands. 'What's all this?'

He rolls his sleeves and stands back up, a smile on his face. 'Ok then!' He says, clapping his hand in anticipation.

Slowly, he lets Jas observe, hold the tools, hand the nails, tell him not to swear when one of the metal ring pinches his finger. And slowly, the added rings and support look like a swing again. 'You wanna do the other one?' Shane asks Jas, beaming. She quickly nods, bouncing in place.

'This one has no seat!'

With a triumphant "Ha-ha!" Shane pulls out the sheet of boiled leather. 'The weird old man near the lake had some leather lying around.' He says. 'Ah, don't tell anyone I called him "weird old man".' He quickly adds. Jas giggles, tracing her lips with her fingers.

Meticulously, he shows her how to pierce the thick material. He helps her handle the pliers to bend the metal, adding them to the chain to link the new seat, and the second swing is done too.

'There!' Shane looks at the two mended swings, proudly standing in front of the set. 'You wanna give it a try?'

'Will you swing with me?'

'I, ah, I'm not sure about that kiddo. You don't want me to push you?'

Jas seems to ponder, and shrugs. She'll get to swing after all. Shane helps her sit on the refurbished swing, making sure it's strong enough, and starts pushing. The little girl instantly starts giggling, asking him to go higher. He obliges, laughing too.

After a while, slowing down the swing, Jas jumps down. Finding her balance, she runs to her uncle who receives her in his arms. 'Thank you.' She says, a big smile showing her missing teeth.

'No sweat, little chicken.' Shane hugs her back. 'Happy you got to swing today?' Jas nods. 'Why did it need to be today?'

'Miss Penny read us a book that said that, on the first day of Spring, you could make a wish. But it needs to be whispered in the sky.' She twists her fingers, struggling to recount the words. 'It's also meant to make your family happy for the year coming.' She adds, playing with her foot in the sand. 'Wanted to make sure you…were going to be happy this year.'

The pinch in Shane's heart almost makes him stumble. He blinks tears away, and crouches down to hug his goddaughter properly. 'Well, thank you.' He whispers. He holds her at arm length, looking at her smile. 'D'you wanna swing a bit more? I have a wish to make.'

[jordaninthevalley]

Stardew Valley Age Headcanons [Marriage Candidates]

I tend to put my farmer character at about 23/24 years old, so this is based off of that!

Alex: 21 His obsession with how he looks, him being unsure of himself, as well as his cockiness just leads me to believe that he is younger.

Elliott: 38 He is an older Bachelor alongside Shane and Harvey. He, clearly, had enough money to not only uproot his life completely to move to a small town to focus on his book, but to also had enough money do so without getting a job in town, leading me to believe that he has worked a long time to be able to afford this.

Harvey: 42 Another older bachelor. With the idea that he went into college right at 18 to be a doctor and spent eight years in school, making him 26 when he graduated. However, alongside the secret notes, him talking about getting older during one of his cut scenes, and just his general way of carrying himself while in a relationship with the player it does lead me to believe that he is older. That and the idea that he might be going through a midlife crisis.

Sam: 20 A relatively immature resident of the village, this is shown with the whole egg incident and the skateboarding incident. Instead of just automatically owning up to it or apologizing he tries to get us to take the blame or laughs it off. He hasn't learned to cook, instead of learning to do farmwork he just says if he knew more he would help, he is okay with being a sloppy, all of this just leads me to think he is younger.

Sebastian: 22 He is in a band with Sam and Abigail, which leads me to believe that he is around their age as well, but with his career in programming it does make me think he is at least a bit older.

Shane: 32 The last bachelor mentioned in Secret Note 7. Jas being his goddaughter leads me to believe he was at least a young adult when she was born.

Abigail: 19 The third member of the band, Abigail is a drummer. However, it's her relationship with her parents and the way that she fights with them is what leads me to believe she is one of the youngest villagers. That as well as the joke she makes if you win the game during her two heart event.

Emily: 23 A seamstress and a bartender, I feel like Emily is the older one of the two when it comes to her and Haley, and I feel like it is a decent age due to differences in maturity, how they treat others, how they treat their living space. I also believe this since it seems that she has been practicing her spirituality for a decent length of time.

Haley: 19 I feel like Haley is a somewhat fresh highschool graduate, still able to get away with her self-centered attitude and how she treats others because her age allows more people to give her some grace. The way she talks to the player is dismissive, rude, and insulting at times. The way she handles the whole "cleaning under the couch cushions" issue as well just leads me to believe shes younger and a bit immature.

Leah: 27 I place Leah as the oldest bachelorette due to similar things as Elliott. She moved from the city to the country to pursue her art dream while not having to work a regular job within the village. She has worked hard over the years to save up enough money to do this. Though we do have to help her when it comes to selling her art, and she does mention that it's hard to make it by as an artisit, she did used to live in the city as well as have a previous, serious relationship which just leads me to believe she has more life experience than most of the other marriage candidates.

Maru: 20 While she does work at the clinic, she is a front desk person. She is, however, very smart and dedicated to robotics and science as a whole. This leads me to believe that she's younger and possibly even in an online college of some kind even if that isn't mentioned in game. She is also younger than Sebastian, as she is Robins daughter and his Half-Sister, and Sebastian was from Robins previous relationship.

Penny: 20 Having Pam as her mother has made Penny mature faster than most people her age, which is why even though I do headcannon her as younger she can come off as older and more mature in her dialogue. Especailly since she is the teacher for the town. I do, however, think that she is either in the process of becoming a teacher or is looking to start it due to her love of children and wanting to help others.

I also have age headcanons for the other villagers, I might make a seperate post about that at a later date.

[howlingday]

Dark au

If the interview was podcasted how many actually believe it's a legitimate interview cause the fact that the location it was taken at was raided by police and huntsmen almost immediately after with white fang present could Beacan not just say Jaune was told to say those thing under threat of death and Lisa was in on it for the most part clearing Jaune's name a little bit at least

"As it stands now, the validity of the interview is..." General Ironwood held the thought for a moment, searching for the right words before continuing. "...not confirmable."

"Not confirmable?!" Professor Goodwitch balked. "Jaune Arc was being held hostage by the White Fang and Lisa Lavender was interviewing with him in the same building!"

"Through a pirate network that hacked the airwaves and was difficult to pinpoint." Ozpin said, hands folded in front of him. "Whoever was working with Miss Lavender has been doing their homework, and unfortunately, she's too busy speaking on talk shows across Remnant to be available for comment. Unless, of course, someone in the audience cares to shed light on the dubious subject."

"Which they won't." The general said, turning to look at the devastated young man seated with his partner. "Because she's only the second most talked about in Remnant right now."

Jaune didn't respond. His eyes were glued to the floor, and although he heard every word they said, his mind was too focused on the words Miss Lavender herself said that day. Jaune Arc was a coward. Jaune Arc was a spineless, gutless, worthless coward who only cared about himself.

Penny sat beside him, trying to get his attention. However, he was too far gone for her to reach him. She tried every method she could think of, and she could think of a lot, but all of them failed to get his attention. Her focus on him then became distracted when a shadow loomed over her, and looking up she saw piercing blue eyes glaring back down at her.

"You were supposed to protect him." He nearly snarled.

"I was... distracted-"

"That's not good enough, Polendina!" He shouted, trying to keep himself from roaring. "Your mission was to assist and provide support for Jaune Arc and you abandoned him to be abducted by the White Fang! What was so important that you would abandon your partner?!"

"I was distracted," she repeated, "by betta fish."

"You would put your partner's life below that of measly betta fish!" He said, more accusing than asking.

"No, I would never!" Penny defended.

"James-" Professor Ozpin spoke.

"And yet you did!" The general continued. "You would choose fish over your assignment!"

"No!"

"James!"

"YOU DID!"

"General Ironwood, sir!" The moment diffused, the group, sans Jaune, looked to the dark-skinned young woman standing at the door. A hand to her head, just below her blue beret, she sounded off. "Student Ciel Soleil, reporting as instructed, sir!"

"At ease, Soleil." Ironwood composed himself, realizing he'd let his semblance get the better of him. In front and towards a student no less. "Are you aware of why you are here?"

"Sir, I was informed that my assignment was to be transferred to Beacon within one week, sir."

"It's only been two days, Soleil."

"Yes, sir. My apologies, sir. The assignment came so suddenly that I spared some time to say good-bye to my loved ones, sir."

"Ja- General Ironwood, what is this?" Professor Goodwitch asked, surprised by the sudden appearance of the new student. "Who is this girl?"

"This is Ciel Soleil, a first-year student at Atlas." The general explained. "I spoke about her enrollment at Beacon with Ozpin shortly after learning about the interview. We cannot afford any further mistakes."

Penny flinched at the accusing tone. She'd failed in her mission, and for the most miniscule reason, too. Looking to Jaune, she saw he still didn't look away from the floor. She clenched her skirt in anger at herself for letting things get this bad.

A hand covered hers, one that was all too familiar to her. Her hand loosened it's grip as she felt the warm embrace of Jaune's hand.

"Soleil, starting today, you will be enrolled at Beacon Academy until graduation to ensure that Polendina does not fail in her assignment."

"Now wait just a minute!" Professor Goodwitch argued. "These students are not soldiers under your command!"

"No, but they are children under your tutelage." General Ironwood argued. "Under your protection."

"General Ironwood, if I may?" The headmaster of Beacon spoke. "While I agree that the current standing is not ideal, I don't believe forcing the issue will best resolve it. Especially when you are assigning a team that is only one-third enrolled. If Mr. Arc and Ms. Polendina wish to enroll, then they are free to do so at any time within the next year. However, the sole-enrollment of Miss Soleil without other students to join her at Beacon in her first year is concerning, to say the least."

"Then perhaps Mr. Arc and Ms. Polendina should consider enrolling." General Ironwood countered. "The tragedy on that day is one thing, but the violation of Mr. Arc's privacy and security in an entirely different beast."

"And acting like a beast solves nothing, General Ironwood." Professor Goodwitch argued. "You cannot simply enter Beacon Academy and force Mr. Arc to-"

"I can speak for myself."

The room was silent. All eyes looked to the young man who spoke, tears threatening but never falling from his eyes. His voice was heard for the first time, both publicly for everyone in Remnant and privately for those in this room to hear. Jaune Arc stood up, leaving Penny in her seat behind him, and walked past Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood, not giving either a passing glance as he kept his eyes on the headmaster of the academy.

"I want to enroll at Beacon Academy." Jaune said with a voice that was only slightly shaking. "I... want to prove everyone wrong about me. I want to be a huntsman."

Ozpin smiled. "Professor Goodwitch, please bring me Mr. Ar- I mean, Jaune's enrollment papers."

[stardewrotsession]

Note: Thank you for the love on my last post! I’m not sure if this one is as good since I’m not that good at writing bachelorette headcanons. I’m working on it though! I opened requests in case anyone wants to send anything.

When the Bachelorettes realize they have a crush on you:

Maru

- She’s the type of person who loves working on and sharing her projects with other people.

- So when you started showing interest in her inventions? She‘a not complaining, but she’d be lying if she said she expected the new town farmer to be interested in mechanics.

- Still, she was exhilarated to show off her smarts and skills to you.

- You were always super friendly and really nice, at least with her. And she appreciated that.

- It would get to the point where she would randomly spot you by the community center or up by the mountains and ask to get your opinion on something she’s working on.

- She starts to really care about your opinions and critics, mostly because you find a way to be gentle about it but still be able to tell the truth.

- She’d start making little trinkets and gadgets to try and help you out on the farm afterwards.

- It was a way to show you she cares!

- …Maybe in more ways than one.

Leah

- You occasionally see Leah painting or admiring the view on the beach, the forest, or the lake.

- She loves the outdoors, just being outside and being in the moment while the breeze hits her face is what makes life worth it for her.

- She was always a friendly person, but once you started showing interest in her art she began talking to you some more.

- I’d like to think one day, you’d introduce her to the secret forest past the wizard’s house.

- After she watched you take on the slimes, she’d look around the forest in awe.

- “This… this is breath taking…” She’d say. “Do you come here often?”

- Ever since then, you two would plan to go to the forest together every week or so.

- Sometimes she’d bring some paper and paint with her so she could try to capture the natural beauty.

- But whenever she’d try to, she wouldn’t be able to paint it without picturing you with her, admiring her work and talking to her about your life before moving, and how much better it has gotten.

- You were all she could think about.

- She wouldn’t be able to get you out of her head for a while after that.

Penny

- So, Penny was always pretty shy around you.

- A new farmer, going out of their way to talk to her and get to know her?

- She was very overwhelmed.

- Slowly but surely, she would start talking to you, and she would begin to feel more comfortable around you.

- When you ended up talking to her about Jas and Vincent’s favorite gifts, you started to catch her attention.

- “Vincent’s favorite thing is snails right? I’m not sure if Jodi would approve, but I got a bunch that he could pet or play with if he likes that.”

- “Hey, can I come by later today to give Jas some cake? I remember Marnie mentioning she really liked cake, and I wanted to try to bake one for her.”

- The way the farmer would talk so fondly and kindly about the kids made her realize she really wanted to get to know you better.

- And when you began talking about how important education is?

- And especially when you’d listen to her venting about Pam’s drinking without any judgment?

- Yeah, she’s definitely going to go out of her way to see you a little bit more now.

Abigail

- Abigail’s hobbies are a little different compared to the other bachelorettes’ personalities. She’s not like other girls.

- She loves anything that has to do with adventure, and if she’s being completely honest, she was disappointed when someone moved into that old abandoned farmhouse.

- Not like she held it against you though. It was just one less place to explore for her.

- However, she notices a lot of things. And the new farmer carrying around a nice looking sword caught her eye.

- Ever since she approached you about it, you two have been talking nonstop about your adventures in the mines.

- It wasn’t until she went down with you when she realized just how brave you were, putting your life on the line to protect her and to let her see and fight the monsters lurking down below.

- Brave, awesome, amazing.

- And you were into video games on top of that?

- She was done for.

Emily

- Magical gem girly.

- If she were to fall for the new farmer, she would need the new farmer to be just as into crystals, auras, etc.

- You two would be able to talk about tarot cards and magical crystal abilities day in and day out.

- It’d definitely be a nice refreshing change to cleaning up for Haley, walking around the town, and working at the saloon.

-I’d like to think one day she invited you over to her house to read your palms at night.

- and unexpectedly, she’d get a little distracted by how soft her strong your hands were from working on the farm.

- Something about holding your hand in hers felt right.

- “So what’s my life line Em?” You’d say, interrupting her day dream.

- “…Hm? Oh, yeah. Let me see…”

- Her face was definitely red for the rest of the night.

Haley

- Haley never liked you at first.

- I mean, it wasn’t like she hated you, exactly. You were just another person moving to this boring old town without any malls to go to or friends to hang out with.

- She only really started to talk to you after you open a jar for her.

- I’m sorry, I just think she’s a bit superficial at first.

- Who was she to ignore a strong guy/gal?

- But after finding her great grandma’s bracelet in the beach and cheering her up a bit, she starts to open her mind a bit more.

- She hasn’t had the worst life, in fact she’s had a pretty great one. So she wasn’t the type to vent or look back in the past and have a lot of regrets.

- …But it still felt really nice to have someone there to listen when she felt a little sad…

- She may need to rethink some things after talking to you.

[theresnoturningback]

Year 1 - Summer - Breakfast

THIS IS PART OF A SDV FIC SERIES I'M WRITING, FEEL FREE TO ASK ABOUT IT, NOTHING WOULD MAKE ME HAPPIER

A/N: So I wanted to explore Marnie being a protective tutor, she has a special place in my heart and she deserves so much better than Lewis oh god.

Anyways, as always I hope you enjoy reading, and if you do please please please consider reblogging.

This is not proof read by anyone else besides me, because I really wanted it out today.

Little warning: contains lots of angst, depression struggles, some violence and alcoholism derived issues.

Mornings at the Ranch are usually calm. Everyday Marnie gets up and helps Jas get ready. She wakes Shane up, oftentimes with some difficulty.

She understands the current state of his world is practically ruins. He hasn't been able to recover from the accident that left Jas orphaned years ago. Despite being evident, it's hard for him to admit that some days he needs a little push, so Marnie does her best to make his nephew understand he's not alone.

One day, trying to think of ways to help him get a healthy daily routine, she decided that at least once a week, she's going to wake up extra early to cook something special for her family.

Jas was especially happy about it when her aunt made her plum pudding or served her a slice of pink cake. Cake for breakfast was her idea of a perfect morning. Other days, she wasn't so stoked about the food on the table, particularly if it was scrambled eggs with a touch of spring onion or fruit salad, but those days she focused on enjoying the company of her family. Seeing his uncle Shane smile at her still half asleep made her entire morning.

Shane, on the other hand, could see Marnie's intentions behind those weekly morning feasts.

Every Saturday morning, he'd wake up to Marnie's knock on his bedroom door. Most of the time it'd take him a couple of minutes to open his eyes, sit on his bed and stretch. He'd put on some clothes and walk to the kitchen. There, he'd find the little family he still had left.

"Morning uncle Shane" Jas would usually greet him in a cheery voice "do you want some eggs? You can have them all if you want"

"Thanks, kiddo" he'd answer offering her a smile to let her know she was one of the few things that have kept him alive so far.

"How did you sleep last night?" Marnie would ask, already knowing his usual uninterested

"Same old, same old" He'd answer

They'd continue to eat their breakfast, enjoying each other's company in comfortable silence.

There were darker days, though. One particularly difficult morning was a specially hot Saturday. The summer sun woke Shane up with its rays shining from his window and directly into his face. He tossed and turned on his bed, trying to find an angle comfortable enough to keep sleeping but he ended sitting up, groaning in frustration.

If that wasn't enough, three knocks on his door startled him.

"Shane! Breakfast!"

He scratched his face, looking around his room; one big mess he tried to fix countless times. Eventually, he deemed this task pointless because sooner than later chaos always found him.

He reached down to a half empty can of beer and took a swig to ease the dryness in his mouth. He remembered Harvey telling him that his problem was just a consequence of heavy alcohol consumption during his annual check up. He chuckled bitterly at the irony before taking another sip. It didn't bother him it had gone completely flat overnight. A disappointing drink to celebrate a disappointing life, he thought.

Three more knocks on his door made him roll his eyes, fall on his back and push a pillow against his face.

"Shane" Marnie insisted "Jas is already eating and your coffee is getting cold"

"That's OK, I'm not hungry" he answered

Marnie sighed

"Please, you need to eat"

"I'll eat later, Marnie, go away"

Marnie looked at Jas, worried she might have heard it. Her niece looked back at her, smiling.

"Jas, darling, Miss Penny will be waiting for you. Go. Don't forget your pencils this time"

"Yes, aunt Marnie" the little girl ran to her room to get her supplies and left the ranch waving goodbye.

Once Jas left, Marnie tried a completely different approach.

"Shane, open this door. We need to talk" she said in that stern voice she hardly ever used "Now"

Seconds later, the door opened and the heavy air hit her in the face.

"I swear... Would it kill you to open a widow?" She asked looking around the cluttered space.

"I would have tried that long ago" he mumbled, turning his head away.

"I heard that, young man"

"I'm almost thirty, Marnie, I'm not a young man"

"Then why do you insist in behaving like a dumb teen?" She opened the windows to let the fresh air in.

Shane huffed and sat on his armchair with his beer can on his hand. She started taking out the bed sheets and putting them away along with a small pile of Shane's dirty clothes.

"Marnie, no-what are you doing? I was going to-" he hurriedly tried to stop her, afraid she might find something embarrassing.

"Then do it, I have a whole ranch to manage and I'm wasting time doing things that are entirely your responsibility"

Her words stopped him in his tracks. Did she really just say that?

"Nobody asked you to waste your time on me! Why are you always like this?" he yelled.

"Because I worry about you, Shane!" she answered, matching the volume of his voice. She took away the beer from his hands and held it to his face "THIS. This makes me worried" Shane was too ashamed too even look at her but she still searched for his eyes "you didn't think I haven't noticed all these around your room, or well hidden in the trashcan? How long do you think before Jas finds out?"

The sole mention of her goddaughter made him lash out.

"GET OFF MY DICK, MARNIE, YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER"

She interrupted his yelling with a slap across the face so hard, it made him lose balance. She stiffened up while Shane pursed his lips, trying his best not to cry.

"If that is the language you want to speak to me, that's fine. Let me put it into words you can understand: If you don't get your shit together soon, you will hurt Jas and I will not allow you to do that. She's already lost her parents and I will not just stand here seeing how she loses her godfather, too" She made him look at her and spoke in a softer voice "I might not be your mother but she gave me the responsibility of taking care of you and you have the same responsibility to Jas. I love you like you're my own son. You both are so young and gone through so much that I can't stand the idea of seeing any of you in pain, so please-" she sighed to hide the little break in her voice" please, promise me you'll get better.

Shane fell silent since she hit him. All her words made sense, of course, but he was too ashamed to say anything in return.

He nodded and finally looked at her, with tears in his eyes "I'm trying..." he whispered before she held him to help him cry "I'm really trying, but it's so hard, I can't...I can't" he sobbed onto her shoulder

"Oh, little one... of course you can. You're capable of so much"

She walked him to the kitchen. Shane sat down in his usual place and Marnie poured some fresh black coffee in his cup as he started eating his scrambled eggs

"I know you came to this town unwillingly at first, but during all this time you have met so many people that care about you. I've seen you with Emily and Sam. They're kind and fun and you seem happier when they're around , but you never really hang out much with them. Even Lewis asks about you sometimes... Imagine how much they can help if you'd let them in"

"What did you put in the eggs?"

Shane's question caught her off guard.

"Uh, just the usual, eggs, salt, a little bit of butter, oh! And some chili peppers to give it a little more flavor"

"I didn't know we had chili peppers..." he managed to say with his mouth full

"That new girl Dahlia from the old farm brought them. She's been around the valley giving samples of her first harvest"

"I've never seen her" he shrugged, washing down his meal with coffee "she's got good produce, though"

"She came here yesterday, right after I closed. You were at the Saloon, thats why you didn't see her, but I think you'd be good friends, she came here to ask about our chickens, but she's afraid she won't be able to take care of them. Maybe you could teach her?" she elbowed him with a giggle before she began to clear the table.

"Marnie, please" he sighed half amused, half annoyed.

"That's aunt Marnie for you" she kissed the top of his head while she passed behind him "don't you forget again"

"I won't" he mumbled into his cup, smiling to himself.

[takadanobaba]

If you don't mind me making another long post, I'll talk about the current view I had for a part 2 and the what I thought of the characters first thought of the twins. Feel free to correct anything I miss interpretate, we currently don't have too much about the town's folks individual options on the twins and their Pok��mon.

I sorted the town's folks into categories based on their opinion on Pokémon instead of the twins themselves but quite a few probably would be cut from the actual chapter unless I made a part 3

Likes Pokémon:

Jas, Vincent, Evelyn, George, Wizard

(George likes Pokémon but doesn't appear to, kinda like the dog owner who insults their dog but still gives it a treat. He might like their Pokémon but he doesn't like the twins because he doesn't want them to mess up the train station.)

Lukewarm about Pokémon:

Alex, Elliott, Harvey, Emily, Leah, Maru, Penny, Caroline, Clint, Gil, Gunther, Linus, Marlon, Marnie, Robin, Willy

(Alex, Elliott, Emily, Maru and Penny are all scared of Pokémon but think they're interest/cool but will observe from a safe distance. Penny is the most scared but also most intrigued)

(Harvey, Leah, Caroline, Linus, Marnie and Willy are scared of Pokémon but have more a neutral option of them and see they more like unprodicatable animals. Harvey favours Klinklang since its the least dangerous looking (and I like to think the Klink line is associated with anything with mechanics like the air force). Linus has mixed feelings about Garbodor, he feels a kinship since they're outcast but has a dislike since she might steal his dinner.)

(Clint, Gil, Gunther, Marlon and Robin are scared of Pokémon but aware that they can be tamed and are often used in their jobs outside of Stardew. Clint would like Boldore. Robin would like Gurdurr. Gunther is aware of fossil Pokémon.)

Plain fear of Pokémon:

Sam, Sebastian, Abigail, Hailey, Gus, Jodi, Lewis

(Sam, Sebastian and Lewis try not to show their fear but would run away if a Pokémon got too close.)

Hostility towards Pokémon:

Shane, Demetrius, Kent, Pam, Pierre

(All hostility mainly stems from parental overprotectiveness but witha small. Since Pam was the original bus driver, she possibly had seen some Pokémon battles outside of Stardew and seen how strong they could get. Kent is probably the only one to never fully like Pokémon.)

HI! Doctorsparkle here! Takadanobaba showed me your ask and well ... he is letting me take the stage on this main replay! I got to say tho Kraken! You are on the right tracks! I have to say you are amazing for paying attention to so many details and nuggets we have placed throughout various posts!

Your fanfic based on the mod is amazing as well and we are glad for all the ideas you have thrown at us. It really helps us when we are stumped.

Few things about some characters.

George - George’s relationship with Submas Twins is - Tolerating their presence.

Ingo and Emmet have a good relation with their wife, Evelyn, and they know that Evelyn adores Pokémon. (He knew she had one, as did he... when they where in their younger years before Stardew got rid of them. Evelyn had a Bellosom. While George problem had a a Crab-Related Pokemon. Like Krabby or Dwebble, really family Pokémon. They weren't trainers, just average folk.)

And since they have a good relation with the wife, well, you know the saying, happy wife. Happy life. As for his views on the train station.. he really doesn’t care… simply due to his age, him being wheelchair bound... and there has been dialogue related to him how he isn’t religious but since he is up there in age he preys to Yoba. (To which I can relate to, George and Evelyn as characters based on my own personal experiences with older family members.)

So really he doesn’t like the twins but as long as his wife is happy and the Pokémon are nice. He doesn’t care what they do… He's probably glad to have some form of company.

Harvey - Harvey is most definitely going to like Klinklang, however, he still views it as dangerous. Every Pokémon the Submas twins has is dangerous in their own way…. For Klinklang tho… well... giant spinning gears. And moving parts. If anyone who has worked with heavy equipment or machinery. Gears and sharp can be dangerous. Get your clothing stuck in there and well— RIP your arm or leg. Or your favorite outfit. He will still be wary and cautious about all moving parts on a Pokémon. Organic or Mechanical. Hence why he harps on the twins about their health more than anything. It's a hate-love relationship. Think of a nagging parent. He doesn’t outright dislike Pokémon but he just can’t turn off his doctor brain. Ya know?

Views on Job Related Pokemon

(Robin, Clint, etc) - LOVE THIS TO BITS! However, do keep in mind that Stardew Valley is isolated… it is a separate region. So, unless you're someone like Pam who travel across Stardew Valley. You're not going to see a Pokemon. Or a Pokemon Battle. I bet you no one even knows what a Pokemon Battle is.

I think they would learn about how Pokemon can help them with their own professions through casual talks with the Submas Twins when they have to say ask Robin for a commission or head down to Clint's to get some metal work done. The knowledge of Pokémon is lacking…. Which feeds into the fear and stigmatization of them. Knowledge is power. The government will most likely be censoring Pokémon related media... except for a few things that fall through the cracks like fashion magazines.

Which we’ll segway into… Hailey and Emily - They will most definitely fear Pokémon, however, we have some plans for the two with Elesa! They will know a little bit about Pokémon but only through fashion magazines. So think cute Pokémon like Happiny or Pachirisu. Anything bigger then a cat… forget it. They will be terrified of all of Submas Pokémon but over time it’ll dull down… they’ll still be jumpy but its not an outright dislike. Just... they prefer to see them from afar or in fashionable clothing in a book or magazine.

Gus - Definitely a fear of Pokemon... however! There are some exceptions. Joltik. And Garbador. Joltik I won’t go into details just yet, but one shows up in an event where Gus is. Garbador tho, think of Linus. Gus will most likely think of Garbador like Linus… so he isn’t scared of them. Plus. They keep the trash clean… so no raccoons or rats near the establishment. Lol. He'd be happy that no food/trash would go to waste and they make less of a mess than the other scavengers, so it's better to have it go to them.

Demetrius - Now he is a complicated one. I would say yes to hating Pokémon HOWEVER, there is definitely some character growth and development with him simply due to how Maru interacts with Pokémon and how much Stardew Valley is changing.

There is dialogue about Demetrius saying it's better that Stardew Valley- or this case the Ferngill Republic- is isolated. He could hate the Pokémon and dislike the twins at first because they are breaking the norm.

Maru, on the other hand, is absolutely fascinated about the changes. Scared and wary, but in awe of the Pokémon. The scientist in her is wanting to challenge the norm, while Demetrius is conservative and stuck in his ways… we’re also not a 100% concrete on this concept yet due to needing to double check dialogue and how his personality is in game but for Demetrius definitely a character development kinda guy.

As for how Stardew Valley relates globally with the Pokémon world stuff, I have been going off of the Setting article on this Wiki here

It shows a very pixel crude map of Ferngill Republic and Gotoro Empire. They are both continents or in this case regions.

You can’t drive to Ferngill Republic through Unova or any other Pokémon region. Only way to get there is by flight and then travel by bus. However when the train-station is up and running there will be Surfliner Routes, theoretical underwater train lines, or a giant bridge.

In Black and White and Black and White 2 there are the Wifi-Lines. I believe these to be international lines that connect to other regions. So, say for example, a train from Kalos deciding to go to Unova via this Wifi-Line or the Cyan Line. etc. etc. since Stardew Valley and Ferngill Republic has been isolated, banned on Pokémon etc. Passenger lines cannot travel on these train lines… also with the state of the station in Stardew, it probably isn't the best either.

The Ferngill Republic, however, conducts Agricultural and Economic trade with the other regions. Tomatos, meat, etc. due to possibly how taboo it is in some regions to kill and to eat Pokémon. Even though Magikarp and Slowpoke Tails might be a delicacy... the culture surrounding Pokémon as being our friends, family, partners in life... well you wouldn't want to murder Mr. Mittens now would you. That wouldn't sit right with some people.

So with the train station being rebuilt, expect a lot more economical benefits etc. and trade.

Hope this least clears up some things but also.. I just info-dumped like Ingo LOLOL. Aaaaaah…. Theres definitely a lot more I can write. Guess you can say… i’m like Lore Keeper Dani from Criticalrole. Anyway! Hope you enjoy this long reply to chew on!

[icarusredwings]

I'd like to point out that No, He didn't ever meet Jefferson, but the rumors were still relevant. He doesn't even know if it's true or not. Plus, the fact that Wade thinks he's that old makes Logan wonder how he ever passed second grade subtraction. He knows Wade is smart, so sometimes he thinks he acts stupid on purpose, but this?.... this just makes him want to face palm himself so hard that he gets a concussion.

Logan war headcanons. (Do I have to put a trigger warning? This is fucking war, you know what you're getting into)

@tired-dragon22

Saber once got into a bar fight with Willam Sherman, and of course, Logan had to back him up. He was young. It was stupid.

But this is actually the event that inevitably leads him to meet Lincoln. Somewhere, he still has one of the first Lincoln pennies, and if he's ever at a moral crossroads, he'll flip it. He doesn't actually litsen to it, but it makes it easier for him to make up his mind. "Sorry, Link. Not everyone can be saved." Before deciding to murder someone.

Once Logan got into it with Cap because he told him that he was tired of dogs getting killed because of the mines and that he smelled the landmines so why were they killing dogs?

Cap told him that was impossible and to stop drinking. Logan proved this, and when it detonated, Cap never questioned his smells again. Logan actually saved a lot of dogs because of this, and even got the honor of meeting Sargent Stubby. Now he has a fondess for boxers, american bulldogs, and boston terriers (but not french bulldogs)

He wasn't there for it, but when he heard the dog warned people of the gas, he got a bit pissed off that they believed a dog over him.

During his time as a soilder, a frenchmen brought up how many horrible things that Canadian soilders have done, how ruthless and untrust worthy they could be. It even went as far as dumping his canteen, stealing his food, just straight bullying along with framing most of the other canadians for things they did. Saber was planning to kill him, but Logan beat him to it. Logan doesn't remember it. Its why when hes drunk and Remy gets on his nerves he storms off before anything worse can happen, calling him François a couple of times if really deep in the bottle.

Saber talked about how proud he was of his little brother but Logan only remembers waking up panting and standing over a torn up bloody body, the way his platoon mates looked at him afterwards made him feel like a monster. He was treated and felt like a feral animal long before he was given the name of one.

After this, He isolated, saber put it in his head that they couldn't trust humans and that he was the only one who would ever understand him.

This was until he met a German who had ran away from his country to join the other side. He was seen as a traitor, a spy, someone not to be trusted. He remembered them sharing food and each time he'd turn and scarf it down. The german didn't mind, though.

He'd laugh and give him more. Not because he was making fun of him but because he knew logan was hungry more then the others. Have you ever heard a german laugh over the sounds of bombs and shouting while ravagening stale bread in the mud, blood filled trenches?

The Germans english was TERRIBLE but they managed. Despite not even understanding each other most of the time, they covered each others back, splitting meals and joking around (best they could with the barrier)

He even nicknamed him "Mien herr Vild"

"What?"

"Herr Vild."

"Vile?"

"Vviillldd."

"What does that mean?"

"Es bedeutet, dass du jetzt mein freund bist."

"Mean Friend?"

"Ja."

"Ha. Sure. Good enough."

He didn't know it at the time, but this was possibly one of his best friendships of all time. But also the shortest because Saber couldn't handle the jealousy and killed him. "What happend to not trusting humans!?"

"He was different! You saw it!"

"No, what I seen was you letting your gaurd down and eating out of the palm of his hand like a damn dog!"

"Im not a dog and you damn well know I do what I want!"

"He went around telling the whole camp that you're mean and wild Logan! What would that mean for US!?"

It wasn't until years later that he understood most of their conversations, translating them from blurry memory. Perhaps this is why he finds Kurts accent so comforting. Someone else that was treated like an animal but the kindest soul he's met. His spirit unbroken and a strong warrior. If he believed in reincarnation, he might suspect something. Thankfully, he doesn't.

do you guys think that Wade keeps Logan up at night asking him some random and ridiculous questions about history bc you know logan is OLD and not letting him rest a little, just mumbling about stuff like

Wade: 'so, what was the great depression like?'

While Logan is sitting there like:

[tranzfalgar]

okay it’s time for some stardew valley headcanons for the bachelor/ette(s) so let’s GOOOO

Alex:

- he always awakes before his grandparents, and on warmer days he’ll go down to the beach to watch the sunrise.

- friends with elliot! the two of them sit on the side of the dock sometimes and just chat about life.

- knows how to make cookies, as evelyn taught him when he was a bit younger

- wary of the saloon, as he doesn’t really like the smell of alcohol and only goes into it if he’s forced to!

- if you marry him, he can and will pick you up randomly to surprise you while you’re working!

- if married, he will “bench press” your kids once they become toddlers, and it always makes them giggle

- hates the winter and gets cold really easily. on the first day of fall he’s already bundled up wanting it to be summer again.

Elliot:

- willy is like a father to him. the two of them sit on the docks and watch the fish swim by together

- sometimes he’ll braid his hair, and leah will bring flowers from the forest and weave them into his hair.

- has a rlly pretty singing voice, and likes to record piano covers in his spare time

- if you marry him and the two of u have kids, he’ll always braid their hair in the morning and tuck flowers behind their ears.

- he brings home fresh fish he caught and makes himself dinner every night. that’s why he’s an excellent cook.

- has actually caught a legendary fish before!

- his eyes change color, they can go from blue to green to brown in the same day. people call them the “prismatic shard of eyes”

Harvey:

- he’s so clumsy that sometimes he’ll even trip over air. due to this, he has little bruises all over his knees and elbows.

- his favorite animals are birds. sometimes he’ll go outside and just give them some bird seed. he loves watching them fly around.

- not only is he fascinated with planes, but he’s also fascinated with the weather. as a kid he used to watch the weather channel, and he dreamed of becoming a weatherman.

- when he needs to focus really hard, he’ll pull his hair back with a headband

- him and his mother were and still are very close, and he writes letters to her at least once a week

- he cannot cook to save his life, but he’s an incredible baker! will make you little treats if you’re friends or married

- he always wears a wristwatch, but the time is always 6 minutes behind. he likes it because it has a plane engraved into the side against his wrist.

Sam:

- he had adhd, and his stims include flapping his hands, tapping his foot and strumming his guitar

- he has a beautiful singing voice, think like wilbur soot but a bit more high pitched?

- the reason he likes cactus fruit so much is because he just plants them and lets them grow. he loves succulents because they don’t give him an allergic reaction!

- cannot play video games for shit. sebastian and abigail have banned him from multi-player games because he just sucks so bad.

- love language is acts of service, simply because he likes singing for people he cares about and doing little things for them!

- if you marry him, he will bring his guitar into the coop and/or barn and sing to the animals. they have learned to run over a greet him, since they love his singing.

- his hair is actually curly, but you’re unable to tell due to how much he gels and straightens his hair.

- has mastered the art of the puppy dog eyes

Sebastian:

- loves the hell out of halloween, but is scared of literally everything. he nearly cried watching a horror movie with sam and abigail.

- really good with a slingshot! so if he were to go into the mines, he would wreck some monsters shit with his slingshot skills

- he had glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, but removed them. he used to love the stars and space, but came to resent them because it was his sisters thing.

- he like…irl blushes. like an anime character. when he’s embarrassed, upset, flustered, his face will go all pink. everyone picks on him for it.

- has/had a crush on most of the towns singles. he is a bisexual disaster and secretly a romantic so….take from that what you will.

- a natural born ginger, but dyes his hair. he also has freckles on his nose! and he has an eyebrow slit because of a scar!!

- for some stupid reason, he takes really good care of his hands? like he always makes sure they don’t get calloused, and his nails are always painted black, despite using his hands all the time for work.

Shane:

- he cannot cook. he burned pasta noodles because he didn’t know you had to put water in the pan.

- he still has a chicken plushie from when he was a baby, and it still sits on his bed. and if he cuddles with it at night? no one needs to know.

- has a huge birthmark on his side shaped like a heart

- really good at mixology, so i think that when joja gets shut down, shane works at the saloon and makes the drinks while gus cooks. he adds a whole new section on the menu!

- friends with sebastian. they paint each other’s nails from time to time, or sit in the rain together and just talk.

- kinda strong as hell? he lifts boxes in joja for work, as well as carrying around jas, so i’m assuming he could just….pick the farmer and his friends up?

- he has the most contagious laugh, it used to be a rare sound, but now that it’s a pretty common occurrence, shane makes people laugh all the time with his own laugh.

Abigail:

- buff. she is buff as hell. her and alex work out together sometimes, since she expressed a desire for adventure. she has picked up sam and sebastian with no warning and thrown them into the ocean

- can talk to animals due to her being the daughter of the wizard! so sometimes she’ll go to marnies farm and just chat with the cows or something

- if she sees a tree, she WILL climb it. she loves it so much, it’s just so adrenaline inducing for her.

- her and sebastian tried to go into the mines before but sam stopped them because it wouldn’t have been very safe. they were all 14.

- trying to learn to play the ukulele with a little help from sam. it’s frustrating, but she really likes the sound of it, and she’s determined as hell.

- absolutely cracked at any and all video games he plays. mario kart? she will kick your ass. animal crossing? her island has 5 stars. pokémon? she always wins. you can’t stop her, she’s too powerful.

- she has glasses, but prefers contacts, since glasses would get in the way of her adventuring.

Emily:

- not only can she sew, but she also makes her own soaps and candles! any form of creation she adores.

- loves flowers, and has a lot of little potted ones in her room. she raises them, gives them little names and personalities, and then brings them to sandy and tells her all about each flower

- she can roller skate, and it’s her preferred method of transportation. she can do a bunch of fun tricks as well!

- has an eyebrow slit

- making cute little baskets of homemade gifts is her favorite thing to do for her friends. sometimes she’ll just leave them on their doorsteps for no reason other than she wants to!

- can SPRINT in heels. like even 6 inch heels she can just RUN and it scares everyone who sees it.

- she loves the sounds of birds chirping in the morning, and she’s able to identify the name of the bird by its chirping and calls

Haley:

- is able to perfectly crack and drink from coconuts. that’s why she loves them so much.

- has the worst sense of direction. she’s lucky she lives in a small town, or she’d get lost all the time

- the spring is her favorite time of year, simply because she loves to capture life coming back in those spring months. baby animals, blooming flowers, her friends on the beach or just chilling in the sun, all of it

- her most prized possession is the very first picture her and emily took as kids on their parents polaroid. it’s taped to her mirror

- has a little beauty mark under her lip, but it normally isn’t visible due to being covered with makeup!

- she’s able to do her own nails! this is because she is ambidextrous, yet she doesn’t know, because it’s never been brought up

- she fucking LOVES learning about and identifying plants, trees and flowers. she knows so many it’s crazy. she has a great memory.

Leah:

- resident true crime enthusiast and ghost hunter. she drags elliot with her around town to go hunting for ghosts. they also watch documentaries together!

- has a bunch of little scars on her hands from her artwork

- to get inspiration for works, she’ll go on walks at different times of the day, different seasons, different routes, and she’ll turn each walk into a work of art. depending on all the environment and those who she runs into, each piece is vastly different.

- animals love her, and will sometimes just follow her around for no reason. she doesn’t mind at all, she kinda loves it.

- friends with emily. they are currently teaching each other their own forms of art, since they love learning from each other!

- really good at dancing, she’ll dance while she’s working on projects and she’ll hum a song to herself

- her favorite statue was created after she went on a walk, ran into abigail, and the two of them went swimming in the ocean and stayed there as the sun set and the stars came out. she has a little crush on abigail.

Maru:

- her hair is ALWAYS tied up, it’s impossible for her to work if her hair is in her eyes

- when she was a kid she wanted to be an astronaut, because she loves the stars, but she found she prefers the science and math behind it all

- she pierced her own ears, she has little star earrings!

- watches cartoons and geeks out about them with penny when they meet up in town!

- for some odd reason, she is terrified of butterflies. no one who knows her, or even maru herself have ANY idea why, but she will run away if she sees one.

- her favorite memory was the one night her and sebastian stayed up really late as kids and snuck outside to look at the stars (back when sebastian still loved them) and they ended up seeing a meteor shower

- she presses flowers as a hobby, and just keeps them in a little notebook alongside her ideas for projects and gadgets.

Penny:

- while she’s cleaning her and pam’s home, she finds herself singing to herself. she has yet to be caught by anyone

- each day, her hair is done ever-so-slightly different. each morning, she likes to change it up, and sometimes jas or vincent will give her something to put in her hair

- also interested in ghosts, will occasionally join elliot and leah on their adventures

- she is naturally really warm, so she doesn’t have to bundle up as much during the winter. the kids cling to her because she’s like a human space heater

- has a bit of a geeky side, and she loves to watch cartoons a lot. when she can find the time, she always watches them. they being her lots of comfort.

- has a small scar on her side from when she tripped over as a child onto something sharp. she likes it because with two freckles, it makes a little smiley face

- loves the water and the feeling of sea wind in her hair. she secretly wants to learn to drive a boat, so she can feel that wind in her hair whenever she wants.

[sdvharveybby]

How the Bachelors handle farm work

So, I got the inspiration of this from the parking lot of Walmart. Don’t ask- I don’t know.

Also, these are hella long but I just LOVED writing this. I really did- they all are just so cute. I hope y’all enjoy reading this!!

 Alex

Ever just wanted to move a straight up cow? Then boy do I have the man for you!!

Honestly, because Alex trains so much he has the stamina and strength of a bull. He will help you move anything you need him to for as long as you need him too. Hay bales? He’s got it. You need help hoeing, planting seeds, and watering? Literally no problem. Because he hasn’t been so big on book learning- he loves learning through his physical strength. He loves when you teach him the basics of crop growing and how to properly take care of animals, and once you teach him- you can just let him run wild. He’ll then realize how physically stressing your job is and will soon put ‘working on the farm’ as part of his regiment. (Plus seeing him chop down trees shirtless isn’t such a bad sight, heh heh.)

You soon realize that he just loves all the cows. He moo’s back to tease them almost all the time, but genuinely enjoys feeding them and giving them pats on the head. His favorite way of showing off to you is going, “Hey, honey!” when you turn around, you’re always surprised to see him just holding a calf in his arms. His beaming smile makes your heart flutter.

Alex is always willingly to help you out on the farm in any way he can- sometimes you don’t know if it’s because he loves you or it’s because he thinks of it as training. With time though, you see that it’s actually both. He loves when you ask him for help because he enjoys knowing that you depend on him too and showing off his muscles in some way just makes him smile. He loves making you laugh, so while you take care of the chickens- he likes to make funny voices for the cows.

His constant help on the farm and his drive to make you laugh, has you loving him even more.

Sam

Sam doesn’t know a whole lot about farming, but he absolutely loves working with the animals. I’d imagine goats would be his favorite because they’re just so weird. I mean, he’s fascinated by the fact that they just want to eat everything in sight- soley because they can and that they don’t know any better.

Another reason Sam loves working with the animals is that once he realizes they’re safe and relatively easy to handle- he brings Vincent along to show him how to pet and take care of the animals. Sometimes you’ll see Penny, Vincent, and Jas on a field trip to the farm so that Sam can actually be a guide to them (of course Jas also gets the opportunity of showing off what she knows since she lives on a farm herself.)

There is nothing more wholesome than seeing Sam’s goofy smile when working with the kids. He loves feeling like he’s a part of the children’s lives and enjoys teaching them lifelong lessons.

Although… Seeing him fighting the goats as they try and eat his shirt is one of the funniest parts of your day. You can’t help but laugh as you watch him tell the goats to, “F*CK OFF!” (only sometimes do you actually help him.)

Sebastian

Sebastian wasn’t to keen on helping you out on the farm when you first asked for his help. “I’ll just screw things up.” He kept saying to you, but one day, as a present you give him a pure black egg with freckles on it. You tell him that it’s a very special looking chicken that’s hard to obtain, but that when it grows up it’s black. Oh man. When you told him this, he was ALL about this chicken. He placed the egg in the incubator and every single day- he would check up on it until it hatched.

The chicken and him were absolutely inseparable. You’d find him talking to himself all throughout the day until you find out that he puts the little chick in his sweatshirt pocket and literally carries it around everywhere with him. He shows off his little chick to everyone he knows- what made the chicken and him even closer was that people were just as weirded out by the chicken as they were of Sebastian. “I want to call my chicken, Midnight” He explains one day, “I actually feel like Midnight understands me as much as you do.”

Sure, Sebastian wasn’t great help with any of the other tasks on the farm, but the fact that he gives you the biggest, goofiest looking smile whenever he holds Midnight- it makes it all worth it. You’re happy that you could give Sebastian something to look forward to each and every day. It’s not long until you have a pet bed in your own house- just for Midnight, but you can’t complain. Seeing Sebastian smile as often as he had been was enough for you.

Harvey

The physical work was not Harvey’s specialty. After trying to assign him different tasks- you figured that you should let Harvey do what he wanted to do. After all, you married the goofball because you enjoyed his independent and nurturing side. (Getting patched up or given a deep tissue massage after a long day was wonderful.)

It wasn’t until you saw him grumbling over some paperwork that you asked him what he was doing, “I know I don’t have the endurance and strength to help you out on the farm, but I wanted to help you out at least in some way.” When he hands you the papers- you find out that he had been tallying every single expense made on the farm. In short, he decided he wanted to handle all of the farms finances whilst also checking crop prices each season and dating them back through the years to see what crops made the most money. “Grow potatoes in Spring, blueberries in Summer, and cranberries in the Fall.” He started, “As you can see here-“ and that’s where you lost him. Going through all the numbers made your head spin, but the fact that he did this all on his own and that he wanted to do it gave you so much relief. After a flurry of kisses- he was happy to know that he was doing a good thing.

Although you also find that when you patch up the Greenhouse- he gets excited. You find out that the expansive farm was just overwhelming to him and he didn’t want to get sunburned or heat exhaustion (which happened to you often.) You give him the territory of the Greenhouse and tell him, “Just work on it on the days you want too. You’re not required to do anything.”

You soon find it extremely touching though when he routinely presents you with flowers that he grew himself. He explains that he only wanted the Greenhouse to gift you flowers all year long.

Elliot

Elliot finds the farm relaxing and fascinating. Having only lived on the beach- the farm was an entirely new territory that he got to explore. Every day, you’d find breakfast on the table with a note on it. You understood the general theme within each note being about ‘beauty’. He’d ask you the same question every day once you finished reading it, “Do you understand it yet?” What does he mean by ‘yet’, you wonder? Sheepishly you finally understood what every single note meant, and he was writing about you the whole time. When tiny snowflakes covered your hair in the Winter when you came in in the evening to how the sunlight glistened on your skin in the Summer. You finally get that his real fascination was watching and admiring you while you worked.

That’s not to say that he didn’t help you sometimes. Working on the farm humbled him greatly and inspired him to continuously write every single day. Before you knew it- he had multiple books published that became successful, all because he had you and your farm as inspiration.

His biggest physical help on the farm was taking care of the plants that grew each of the three seasons. He loved working on the farm with you because his enjoyment was discovering the new leaves that grew over night- or that a flower would bud on the potatoes. He was routinely in awe at the new discoveries in plant life that he couldn’t give it up. You would give him a section of the farm to take care of- only come to find out that when you finished your section, he was too distracted by about the third plant that you would have to finish it for him. He would always profusely apologize about it, but you found it touching that even something as simple as a plant was just so exciting to him.

Sometimes he looked like a little kid- mouth agape and eyes sparkling when he’d see a plant, he personally took care of growing bigger and bigger. As a gift, you gave him planters so he could better watch the plant life grow. His big, sweet smiles stick in your mind, making you smile too. He was just too cute.

Shane

You expected him to basically fight you over the chicken coop. But with everything that Shane had been through- you didn’t want to stand in the way of what made him happy. He complained about his body a lot, but you will never see this man run harder just to tell you that a new chick hatched overnight. You’d find yourself just watching him as he would chase the chickens around the pen only to then get swarmed by them- knocking him in on his ass every time. You would just laugh amongst all the bawking as he’d try to free himself. Now, he never hurt a chicken, and they’ve never hurt him- they just swarm him because they want too. It’s like one minute you’re watering your crops, just to turn and hear him scream as a mass of feathers cover him. You’d wash his clothes and routinely find feathers stuck in his pockets- you decided to collect them. One day you’ll make fun of him for it or cover the entire side of his bed with them. The feather prank was all in your hands.

Now, you thought he just had an affection for the birds until you get him to talk about them. Shane knows EVERYTHING about chickens- when’s the best time to feed them, what to feed them, how much to feed them, how to take care of their feathers, how to handle an egg-bound chicken, how to care for newly hatched chicks- this man knew everything. It wasn’t long until he knew the exact spot each chicken loved to be scratched at.  He’d explain that every chicken had a different spot that they loved being petted at- it was mind boggling.

Now Jas knew a whole lot about farming, but Shane would consistently bring her to the farm. She loved it too! Jas got to see Shane genuinely happy all the time and it brought her a lot of comfort to see him mess with the chickens (and the chickens mess with him back.) She was so happy to know that Shane was content and satisfied with his life now- instead of lonely and depressed. He expressed joy, and even to Jas- Shane was teaching her new things about chickens every time she came over. She’s smart, but there were things that he shows her that blows her mind.

Through it all- you knew Shane wouldn’t be big on helping out on the farm, but you knew if you could get him in the chicken coop, it would make him undeniably happy. That was enough for you- you didn’t marry him to make him work on the farm- you married him because of his goof ball smile and nerdy talk about chickens and it made you so so happy.

It also helped that he could take a joke and that you two could tease each other- filling his side of the bed with feathers cracked you up at the twisted face he gave. He was happy, and that made you happy.

[pelican-town-imagines]

Farmer got into a bad accident in the mines! The town steps up to help take care of the farm as they recover!

The farmer looked up at the ceiling of the clinic. They woke up here earlier and Harvey explained to them how they had been dragged in unconscious from the mines. He then berated them about dangerous activities and said they were on strict bed rest. They had tried to explain that they couldn't waste time lying in the clinic and needed to get back to their farm, but the good doctor was hearing none of it.

Rapidly their mind cycled through their chore list and their planned projects. How far behind schedule were they going to get? Who was going to take care of their animals? How many crops were they going to lose while stuck in here? Hands clenched in scratchy blankets as the anxiety grew.

"Hello, Farmer." a voice called out, breaking them from their anxious thoughts. Turning their head the farmer saw Marnie and Jas, the child giving a shy little wave.

"We heard about your accident," Marnie continue, a sympathetic expression on her face. "and I don't want you worrying about a thing. Harvey asked us to look after your critters."

"He did?" the farmer asked, eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Oh yes, he's been running around gathering anyone who can offer help." Marnie said with a big smile.

"You need to get better." Jas added.

"And the best way is to stay put and let us handle things," Marnie said with a nod. "So you don't have to worry about your animals. I'm sure the others will be dropping by soon to take care of other chores."

After double checking where the animal supplies were stored Marnie left, with Jas trailing behind her. She was right about the rest of the day. People kept trickling in, offering their well wishes and services.

Caroline offered to do the laundry. Sam and Abigail were on weeding duty. Gus was going to pick anything that was ripe. Willy was going to check the fences. Maru promised to sweep the farmhouse when she was done with her nursing shift. Penny offered to bring meals while the farmer was stuck in the clinic, but they politely declined, so she instead decided to make Get Better Soon cards and get everyone to sign them.

The farmer was a little overwhelmed that so many people came together to help them. It ended up making them a little misty-eyed.

"Busy day," Harvey said, walking over to their bed with a tired smile on his face. "I don't think the clinic has ever had this many people going through it in one day before."

"Thanks." the farmer said, their voice a little thick.

Harvey's smile grew a little and he replied, "I know how much the farm means to you. We all know how much it means to you. You've become a part of the community, we wouldn't leave you all alone."

The farmer simply nodded, not sure what else to say or if the words would even come out if they tried. Harvey put a hand on their shoulder and gave a squeeze before heading back to his office.

"Let us know if you need anything. Get some rest." he said as he disappeared out into the hall.

[soullistrations]

okay, so after courting all the singles in sdv and experiencing their 10-heart events (and also getting the cold shoulder from the girls for a week because i didn't know about the rabbit's foot trick), here are my impressions. i still have no idea who i'm going to marry, but i've managed to narrow it down a bit.

haley: i screwed up her 10-heart event--should have tried to kiss her! but i liked her character development a lot. she's actually pretty sweet!

penny: i love penny, i do. but i want her to travel the world and get the hell out of town. she's so sweet, and i just want her to figure out what she wants for herself beyond doing things for her mom or the kids in town. like, clearly she wants a little danger and adventure or she wouldn't have invited the farmer to the secluded pool after dark to confess her feelings. yes, i know she's a video game character.

leah: leah would thrive on a farm. had lots of fun watching her punch her ex for stalking her. i think she's a sensible choice who would make my character smile and help out on the farm, even if she doesn't tug my heartstrings like some of the others.

maru: maru is the BEST. however, i already married her in my other save file, and i'm doing something different this time around. sorry, i love you!

abigail: a true badass. i think she would be a lot of fun to be married too. and also pierre sucks. but she also seems really young compared to the others sooo idk.

emily: very sweet, and i love talking to her as a friend, but not my type.

elliot: eh, i feel like he likes the idea of things a lot better than their actual execution. very put off by him implying that writing was harder than 'just being a farmer.' a little too self-absorbed for me.

harvey: he's fine, but i'm not into mustaches.

shane: look. shane has one of the best arcs in this game. i love seeing him pull his life together, and i was so happy that shutting down joja meant he didn't have to work somewhere that sucks his soul out anymore. that being said. i think he should stick around the farm for jas, since he's always saying that he finally found a family in marnie and jas. and also, i looked it up and his bonus room is sooooo ugly. his final date was a bit meh for me too.

sebastian: surprised me! i spent way too long giving him cheese (a little out of spite) before i got it together and actually started to get to know him. I think he'd flourish on the farm away from his family, and i really enjoyed the 8-heart and 10-heart events with him. even though he's friends with sam and abigail, for some reason he doesn't strike me as nearly as young as the other two.

sam: a manchild. love ya jody but give this boy some chores. and the fact that his 10-heart event was trying to canoodle in his bedroom with the door open while his mom was in the living room...do better, man.

alex: alex really surprised me!! he was another character that i took a minute to get to know because i was kind of unimpressed by first impressions, but his beach scene and backstory was really nice, and i really appreciated the effort he went to in the 10-heart event. a really nice date! owning his affection in front of other people after shoving it down for so long!

so i think i've narrowed it down to alex, sebastian, leah, and penny. i really think it may come down to who has the most fun bonus room.

[glazedsnail]

Dolls it's fanfic time!

Ya know the drill:

Misery Loved Company

ShanexOCFarmer (♀️) 18+ / swear words/substance misuse/explicit/suicide ideation/mention of abuse.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

And have a screenshot of that time I wanted to cut Shane cause he gave me a beer.

No it's not a weird sex thing.

Who the hell could that be this late. We look at each other, puzzled, until it looks like the penny drops in Shane’s head.

‘Oh shit it’s probably Marnie.’ I remove myself from Shane and, ignoring the shake in my thighs and the soreness in my knees, prop myself up.

‘Hello?’

‘Fern! It’s Marnie!’ I nod at Shane to confirm he was right. ‘Is Shane with you?’

‘Y-yes he’s right there, do you want to talk to him?’ I hand him the receiver as he stretches out of the couch. I sit back down. He put back his blue hoodie, and nothing else. 

‘Hi…Yeah no, sorry. We were surprised by the rain. No you’re right I could’ve called. Huhuh. Ok. What do you mean? Is she still up? No it’s fine it’s oh hi Jas. How come you’re not in bed little chicken? Yeah I’m with Miss Fern. I’ll… Yeah I’ll let her know.’

I giggle listening to him speaking with his goddaughter. Adorable. I sigh like a teenager gawking over a dreamy poster.

‘Sorry ‘bout that.’ Shane comes back on the couch and wraps his arm around me. ‘Jas says hi.’

‘Was she waiting for you to come home?’

He nods.

‘I didn’t really expect the evening to… go that way.’ He chuckles. ‘Then again, nothing turns out the expected way with you, does it?’

‘Is that a bad thing?’

He shrugs.

‘Never been too fond of surprises. This one’s the best yet.’

‘Look who’s corny now.’

He laughs, pushing me away on the couch, grabbing back my arm to pull me back to him.

‘Marnie was wondering why we didn’t stop at hers to get out of the rain.’ He says, planting kisses on my neck.

‘She’s kinda right, her ranch was closer to the beach.’

He lifts his head back up in a smile.

‘Oh? Would you have been able to conceal those sweet little screams of yours?’ 

My cheeks turn bright red, but I can beat him at his own game.

‘There’s only one way to find out now, is there?’ I try to say in a sultry voice, nibbling on his earlobe, feeling a tad ridiculous.

He blushes, blinking rapidly. I think I won.

I kiss him and let him rest his head on my bare chest, playing softly with his hair. He seems to completely relax, letting his weight fall on me. 

The rain is still going strong outside. The thunder rumbles in the distance. The only other noises are the tick-tock of the grandfather clock, and the slow breathing of Shane resting on top of me. In my arms. I let out a content sigh, continuing to play with his hair, and start humming.

‘Mmh, this is nice.’ He whispers, close to falling asleep. I feel happy. I am happy. For the first time in Yoba knows how long. Moving to the farm right after leaving the rehabilitation centre was risky. At least, that’s what they all told me back then. All alone, in a different place, far from everything and everyone. They all saw this as another way to end my current life. If they knew. If they knew about the growing happiness in my heart. The pride of working with my hands and being slowly self-sufficient. The pride of grabbing my new life by the freaking balls.

I acknowledge all I did, and yet, in this instant, my biggest joy is having this man in my arms, dozing off as he is feeling safe, cared for, loved. I love that man so much.

‘Mmrrm you ok?’ he mumbles, hearing my sniffles.

‘Shh… Everything’s fine Shane. Everything will be fine.’

I keep stroking his hair, letting the tears fall on my temples.

I do wish life had a fade to black option.

We must have fallen asleep for a few hours. The thunder cracks right over my house, waking me up. I’m in Shane’s arms, pressed against the back of the couch. I nuzzle back into him, burying my face in his chest, his open hoodie.

‘Thunder woke you up, baby?’ 

I shiver at his raspy voice calling me “baby”. I nod, and he tightens his embrace.

‘T’s ok, you’re in my arms.’ He adds, still eyes closed, gently kissing the top of my head. Damn right I am.

‘D’you want to move to the bed?’ 

I nod again, rubbing my sleepy eyes. I’m having a hard time sitting up. His arms are so comfortable. His body warmth is enveloping me so entirely I completely forgot I was butt naked. He stretches and helps me up, bringing my body to him. I grab his face in my hand. I want to tell him how much I love him.

I will. At some point. I will.

We walk through the living room to the bedroom. I feel oddly excited to fall asleep in Shane’s arms in the comfort of my bed. In Shane’s arms.

The lightning throws our slowly moving shadows against the bare walls. It seems like it’s a real storm outside. I hope my animals are ok. ‘Marnie said the pond overflowed.’ Says Shane in a yawn, as if he heard my concerns. ‘The road to the forest is completely out.’ 

I shake my head in understanding, before it hits me.

‘My hens!’

My former sleepy eyes open wide. I rush to the bedroom and grab the first clothes I can find.

‘Fern? Are you seriously going out in this weather?’ 

‘The coop is down near the pond, Shane. I have to check on them!’ I reply, struggling to get my foot through those blasted joggers. 

I run out, ignoring the previously hastily discarded blanket and bags. The rain is already soaking me as I run against it towards my chicken coop. Soon after, fully dressed Shane appears beside me, holding his blue hoodie above my head. The water is almost up to my ankle and I fear the worst. I don’t want to open the door and risk flooding the maybe, hopefully, dry coop. But I have to check in on them.

‘Shane, help me reach the window.’

‘You’re gonna fall on the other side!’ ‘Who cares, come on, give me a boost.’

He helps me up and I squeeze myself in the tight opening, feeling a loose nail taking another go at my holey trousers. Like Shane predicted, I fall face first on the floor.

Dry floor.

I’m so relieved. My three chickens are peacefully sleeping, beak in wing, none the wiser. The top of the coop door slowly opens in a creak. I forgot they did that. Shane’s upper half appears.

‘Fern…’

‘Shut up.’

He strides over the closed bottom half and halts to take a look at me gently petting my sleeping hens.

‘You’re a mess’ he whispers.

I look at myself. I’m wearing an old promo tank top, the most repulsive pair of sweatpants now covered in mud. In my haste I didn’t tie my shoes properly and one of them probably decided to have a solo holiday somewhere in the mud. I laugh awkwardly. With a smile, he moves my damp hair away from my face. I wince.

‘Are you hurt?’

‘I fell on my face.’

He bites his lip, trying not to laugh.

‘Well I’m grateful for your concern’

‘I’m sorry Fern, it’s, your outfit, you climbing out the window instead of, hey!’

I throw mud covered hay at him.

‘So I get a concussion and all you do is laugh at me?’

He chuckles, patting the mud out of his jersey.

‘Lemme see.’

He slowly pushes back my hair again and has a look at my forehead he kisses gently. 

‘I’ll bring you to Harvey in the morning. In the meantime, you let me know if you’re at all nauseous, ok?’

I simply nod, trying not to wince from the movement. He’s looking straight at me with those kind eyes that made me fall for him in the first place.

He looks around at the chickens.

‘See, they’re fine. We were obviously right to trust you with them.’

‘I actually had to replace two of them. I think I’m on my third brown hen over there.’

He laughs and pushes me.

‘Don’t joke about that.’

I take a deep breath of relief. Can’t believe the run I just had trying to reach them.

‘Thank you for caring about them.’ he says.

I grab his hand.

‘Of course.’

We sit down on the bench between two of the sleeping hens, both breathing slowly. 

‘You’re doing great.’ Shane starts, looking straight at me. ‘It looks like you’ve got this farm thing in the bag.’

‘Haha. I do try my best. Thank you.’

‘In another life I could see myself becoming a chicken farmer.’ he adds, slowly petting a chicken.

‘In another life?’

‘You know, with the good start, the know how, the non fucked-up brain.’

My heart pinches.

‘You’re not fucked-up, Shane.’

He sighs.

‘Somehow, I know. There’s still a voice that knows that within me, but it’s just so faint compared to the others. You know as much as me how drinking at least dulls the voices. But I can’t do that anymore. For myself, for you, and more importantly for Jas. Fern, how do… How did you continue on?’

I take a deep breath.

‘I just had to. For weeks I woke up knowing that I was such a failure I even failed to kill myself. I was staying in a rehabilitation centre, you know, so they could make sure they could release me without fearing I’d cause more trouble and waste taxpayers money.’ I laugh, looking at Shane, hoping to get at least a smile.

‘Fern…’

‘I don’t have a satisfying answer, Shane, I’m sorry. All I know is that now when I wake up I wonder what will happen in amazement instead of dread. I think, in a twisted way, having no family kinda helped rewire everything in a way.’

‘No family at all?’

‘Not one I want to speak to anyway.’

‘I see.’

‘It’s different for everyone. You have Marnie. You have Jas and she has you. Gosh, if you asked her if you were a screw up she’d probably kick you in the shin.’

I get a soft laugh.

‘She absolutely would.’

‘You’re working on yourself, Shane, those things take time. No one is expecting you to change overnight, or to change at all. After all is said and done, you’re working for yourself after all.’ 

‘What if it’s all in vain?’

‘You wouldn’t know unless you try.’

‘Do you believe that yourself?’

‘I have to. And I believe in you. Shane, that night, at the cliff’

‘Fern.’

‘No, listen, I know you don’t remember much, but you gave yourself a choice. Despite it all you chose life. I didn’t drag you to the hospital against your will. You realised you needed help and asked for it. It takes an incredible amount of strength to do that. And every day when I see you, and I see Jas smile, it makes me feel, I don’t know, proud of you.’

He snorts, snarkily.

‘You’re proud of me for not killing myself?’

‘Yes, I am. Take that as twisted as you want.’

I look at my feet dangling from the bench. One shoe and one lump of mud. I wish I had the words, I wish I had the power to make him understand that it gets better. That despite everything, the doubts, the everlasting deep sadness within, life is still worth living. That no matter what happens, I want to see him smile.

‘Shane, you’re fighting such a tough battle, that I know you will win. It’s exhausting, and you’re allowed not to believe in yourself. But on those days, do know that I’m here to believe in you, for you.’ 

He takes my hand in his and gently brings it to his lips. 

‘I can’t let you do that, but I’m grateful for the thought.’

‘You will let me do that!’

‘What about yourself?’

I laugh.

‘I am focusing on myself, don’t you worry about me. I’m very much a work in progress, so are you, I’m aware of that, and I know it might not be the healthiest thing for any of us but… So’s pizza, right?’

‘You’d make millions writing a stupid self-help book, I think you missed your calling wanting to raise chicken and sheep.’ he quickly says, laughing.

‘I want to knit my own yarn and teach people how to make sweaters, that’s a good kind of therapy you don’t think?’ 

‘It sounds great.’

He lifts his arm, letting me snuggle against him. I have no idea what time in the very early morning it is. 

‘I know Jas would love a pink sweater.’ Shane says, breaking the silence.

‘Hey, I can show you how and you can make it yourself!’ 

‘Right, by the time I’m done she’s all grown up and off to college.’ 

‘I can make it for her but she’d like it much more if it came from you. That girl really loves you.’ 

‘I think she likes you a lot.’ He says, kissing the top of my head. ‘Caught her calling you Auntie Fern the other day.’

My dangling feet freeze in place as I blush. I feel Shane tensing up. I quickly glance up at him. He looks like he regrets everything that came out of his mouth.

‘Cluck.’

We both look down, relieved. One of the hens is checking in on us, or probably trying to let us know she wants to sleep.

I jump down and crouch at her.

‘Sorry Cranky. Mama just wanted to make sure you were ok.’

Shane joins me down.

‘Cranky?’ He asks, extending his arm to pet the curious hen. I blush.

‘Do you remember bringing the chicks here? Maybe about two weeks after I moved to the farm?’

‘Yeah?’

‘When I took that little one out of the crate she had bits of straw stuck to her face. It looked like a frown. I…I tried to show you for a laugh but. Well. You know.’

‘Mh. Yeah.’

‘So I went for Cranky. You’re not mad are you?’

‘Ha. No. I was a complete dick to you wasn’t I?’ He simply says, petting Cranky who’s making happy noises.

To her disappointment he stops the pets and takes my hand, helping me stand back up, not breaking eye contact, a sad smile on his face. He brings me to him and kisses me, holding me against him with strength.

‘I think I should go.’ He says, now holding me at arms’ length. ‘W-what?’ I stutter. ‘I’ll have to go the long way through, y’know, because, the pond, and the forest path, and all’

‘Shane?’ ‘I had an amazing time, Fern’ He makes his way backward to the door. ‘You can keep the hoodie for now, it’s not raining anymore, I’ll be fine.’

My one shoed feet are unable to move. My mouth feels like it’s full of sand.

‘Shane?!’

He quickly opens the door, letting the water flow in the coop.

‘Fuck. I’m so sorry Fern, I…I’m sorry.’ 

He disappears out of my sight. I’m in shock. It all happened so fast. Something I said? Something he said? Fuck…Fuck. FUCK! I fall to the straw covered now damp floor, right buttcheek straight in the water trough.

‘Oh that is just PERFECT! Excellent!.’

I can’t even cry. I can’t move. I can’t scream. 

Cranky let out a concerned ‘cluck’, or so that’s how I choose to believe it sounds. I let her climb on my filthy laps. She rubs her face against mine, and the tears silently fall on her feathers.

[istoletheluckyshorts]

Stardew Valley theory(ies) part 2

The old teacher

Something I haven't seen being discussed in the Fandom since I got here and I think is because is one of those things you need to see the detail and stop to think about it.

Currently the children in Pelican Town are all being taught by Penny, but who was there before her to teach the other marriage candidates? And who was schooled by this said person, and most importantly, do we know who that is? Well, today I'll try to find out about this, so let's get to it.

1- the students

Before speculating just who was the teacher i would like to dive in into who was being taught, as in, who were the original children of Pelican Town, for that we'll have to go through each bachelor and Bachelorette to see who lived there long enough to have been schooled.

Alex- According to his dialogue, Alex started living with George and Evelyn after his mom passed away due to some sickness. This could be interpreted as "Alex couldn't stay with anyone else but his grandparents because no one else in his family was available" or "Alex chose to live with his grandparents after his mom passed", for the sake of keeping this in the subject we're handling let's say Alex was sent to his grandparents house when he was pretty young, maybe being 10 at least to 12 at most, so he could have been schooled in Pelican Town while there.

Elliott- We can cut him out of the class because he said in the game he moved in a year before the farmer did, so he's already a adult and thus couldn't be a part of the class of Pelican Town.

Harvey- another less likely candidate, mostly due to his (headcanon) age and a quote he has that says " i came here because I liked the small-town atmosphere, and the potential holistic to patient care." So we can assume he was already a adult and a doctor when he came to Stardew Valley, at most he would be a young adult while the rest would be in their teens.

Sam- On the other hand we have a possible candidate for being a student there, the most revealing thing I can think of is his friendship with Sebastian, from their dynamic we could guess these two have known each other for a long time, leading me to believe they are childhood friends, making a case for Seb as well, another thing that could solidify this more is his mom's relationship with Caroline, who we can guess is the youngest mom in the Valley so not only Jodi was there first, so was her son, Sam.

Sebastian- I believe he also studied in Pelican Town, not just because of what I stated when I mentioned Sam, but also because of his original ambition to want to go to the city, he is probably tired of the routine because he has been there for a long time and doesn't seem to see anything else there as exciting as it was when he was a kid, like how he would go to the train track and watch said trains.

Shane- he wouldn't be one of the students there, according to quotes said by Marnie, Shane has been staying there for months, however there is one thing that...to say the least, makes this all a bit confusing, there's a photo or Marnie holding the hand of a baby when she was younger, by the look of the hair we would assume that it's Jas, but look back to what she said before, Shane has been there for MONTHS, there's no possible way of that being Jas at all, even if we take the in-game time into consideration, Marnie would have to have her current appearance if that was Jas, making people of the Fandom believe that the child is in fact Shane, which means he was in Pelican Town when he was younger, which is possible but I still don't think he lived there, maybe he would be there just to visit his aunt like most kids do when they have a relative that lives in the countryside.

Abigail- I touched a bit of past when I mentioned Sam, and I belive she's a likely candidate to have studied in Pelican Town, not only that but we can also assume her age, in the game Abby is said to be doing online classes, making me believe that she's the youngest of both her friend group and the whole town in general, not currently but at the time before Jas and Vincent came into the picture.

Emily and Haley - Emily mentions that her parents have been traveling abroad for two years and the house was now under their care, and Haley says that she doesn't think living in the country is that bad, thus both sisters could be students in Pelican Town, so maybe Haley and Alex are also childhood friends, meaning they have been the local mean girls for as long as time.

Leah- Leah is a bit tricky, cause looking qt her quotes alone is hard to tell wether or not she has lived there as a kid with her parents, but since this is a free space to speculate, I think is a bit more believable to think she moved there as a adult, possibly to try and get away from her old life.

Maru- she was probably studying alongside her brother, and maybe their little one sided sibling rivalry started way back then, Seb mentions that he and Maru used to fight as kids (admitting most of the time was his fault), maybe she was a top student like our next and final student.

Penny- she definitely lived there, her mother has been working as a bus driver before in that town for a long time, and furthermore, maybe whoever was teaching them inspired Penny to also start teaching the kids in the town.

Now that we have established who is and who isn't in our little classroom, let's start with the possible teachers of this class.

You'll be happy to hear that I have boiled down to two people that could possibly be said teacher, and depending on who you think is most likely, then you get to choose who is it, but a little side note, this is leaving the speculation and theorizing area to a more headcanonish zone.

Evelyn- she's a very sweet young lady so it isn't too far-fetched to think she was like that in her adulthood and with children too, her own daughter entrusted her with her son so it wasn't hard to picture her a possible candidate to be a teacher, however given her position as someone who takes care of the gardens in the town things start to become a bit complicated, but that still isn't enough to throw the possibility out of the way, gardening could be something she started to do after all the kids "graduated" as a way to still lend her hand to the community she has been a part of for a long time.

Gunther- there isn't much to say about him because of the lack of clues and dialog we have od him, we don't even know if he's from the town itself, but let's say that before of taking care of both the museum and library he was just a librarian and was assigned by Lewis himself to teach the children of Pelican Town since he was probably very familiar with the books he possess, this might explain why there are lost books in the town to begin with, they probably got lost because he and the kids would move from place to place in town while listening to what he had to say.

In conclusion, now I have a explanation for my urge to draw a Pelican Town class photo and post it here.

[sheerfreesia007]

Finding Love In Legacy OaIs pt. 12

Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 12

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Author: @sheerfreesia007​

Words: 8,768

Warnings: Fluff, mention of injury, mention of cheating, mention of mental & physical abuse

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo, @athalien

Author Notes: I’ve used the Old Farmer’s Almanac for the flower meanings since there are so many different cultures that have different meanings for the flowers. (I used a different meaning for Daisies though because I needed a get well soon flower) And I love Es calling Jack out on upping his flower game. “Tough nuggets” came from teaching myself and my husband not to curse in front of our son when he was younger, we came up with tough nuggets and the kid even started to say it which is super cute! We learn about the ex-husband, dun dun duuunnnn. He’s another piece of work just like Cynthia.

Gif Credit: Google

Stepping on the brake slowly Jack came to a stop at the guard shack as Jeremy stepped out of it early on Saturday morning with a slightly confused smile on his face. Jack lowered the volume on his radio and rolled down the driver’s side window so he would be able to talk to Jeremy as the man leaned against the doorframe of the shack.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be home until tomorrow afternoon?” Jeremy asked curiously about the obvious change of plans. Jack nodded his head before looking over at him.

“Work wrapped up earlier and I wanted to surprise the girls. How’re they doing?” Jack replied with a question of his own. Jeremy smiled softly at Jack’s question before sighing softly, he crossed his arms over his chest and settled against the doorframe more securely.

“Well Es is still upset about Bunny breaking her ankle. Still feeling guilty that it’s her fault even though Bunny and I have told her that it’s not. Bunny’s been trying to keep her occupied and busy to keep her mind off of it. But Bunny’s drained, between the pain of her ankle and having to do things while on crutches it’s hard for her. Much harder than she was expecting I think. But you know Bunny she’s gonna put a brave face on and not show you how she’s really feeling.” Jeremy explained conversationally and Jack nodded along to his words.

“But Bunny’s big on checking in on everyone else and making sure that they’re all okay, who checks in on her?” Jack asked knowingly and Jeremy nodded his head in agreement.

“Well Penny Rogers checks in on her every once in a while and then I’ll call her at least once a week to catch up. But I don’t think Bunny has anyone who checks on her every day.” Jeremy said truthfully and Jack sat back in his seat for a moment silently contemplating that info.

“Her siblings don’t reach out to her? Or her parents?” he asked concerned and Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.

“Every once in a while but not all the time. Sometimes it’ll be months between her siblings calling her. And I think her parents call her about once a week. Her sister keeps up with her more because of her nephew but again I think it’s once a week. So she’s got people who check in but not every day.” Jeremy advised. Jack nodded his head at his words and sat there wondering if Bunny would think it weird if he began to check on her every morning or afternoon.

“Okay, well I know she’s probably gonna give me shit for it but I’ll help her out with anything that she needs done.” Jack said with a soft smirk and Jeremy scoffed before laughing knowingly.

“Oh yeah she’ll give you shit for it but I’m pretty sure you’re the right guy to put her in her place and let her know what’s what.” Jeremy said with an ecstatic glint in his eyes. Jack laughed loudly at Jeremy’s words and shook his head at the thought that he’d have to put Bunny in her place.

“Hey anyway, here I got this for you on the way here. In thanks for helping Bunny and Es out when that all went down.” Jack said as he turned to his passenger side seat and pulled out a plain bagel, some butter and cream cheese packets, as well as a large coffee and the sugar and milk containers. Handing it over to Jeremy through the window Jack smiled softly at the pleasantly shocked face of Jeremy.

“Oh wow! Thanks man, this is great.” Jeremy said in thanks as he took the food and drink from Jack.

“Yeah figured I’d pick ya up somethin’ since I stopped there for breakfast and just to say thanks and I appreciate you helping Es and Bunny.” Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders when Jeremy came back to lean against the doorframe with a soft smirk on his face.

“You care a lot about Bunny don’t you?” Jeremy asked knowingly and Jack instantly felt as if Jeremy was interrogating him. Jack looked over at Jeremy quickly who was still smirking at him. Feeling his anxiety rise slightly Jack tried to find a way to not divulge to Jeremy just how much he liked Bunny.

“Well yeah, I mean she’s been a huge help to me with Esme ever since we moved here. And she’s always so nice to everyone around here. How can I not like her?” Jack reasoned unassured as he watched Jeremy’s smirk widen on his face.

“Uh-huh, but that’s not what I’m talking about. And I think you know that.” Jeremy said cryptically and Jack knew that he had been caught out by the man standing before him. “You don’t have to on guard with me man. I’m loving that you two are feeling something out together. I think it’d be good for the two of you. I mean I don’t know your story but if you two wind up together it’d probably be great for Bunny.” Jeremy told Jack still sounding cryptic and Jack sat there wondering what he meant about it being good for Bunny to be with him. Jack also felt a seed of hope settle in his chest and he took in a deep breath feeling it start to pulse.

“I’m still trying to figure it out what’s going on between us.” Jack blurted out truthfully and looked over at Jeremy shocked. The man was nodding his head knowingly before he smiled softly down at the ground.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He admitted. “Plus I don’t think Bunny’s there quite yet either. You gotta give her a little bit of time to warm up to a romantic relationship. She’s been hurt really bad by her ex-husband, so she’s cautious and doesn’t trust easily when it comes to that type of relationship. So if you’re still figuring it out just know that so is she.” Jeremy advised softly and Jack got the feeling that Jeremy knew everything about Bunny’s past with her ex. He wondered silently why Jeremy knew everything and how the two had bonded over something like that to become such close friends.

“Thanks.” Jack said nodding his head as Jeremy cleared his throat softly and shuffled his feet underneath him.

“Just know that if you hurt her I’m coming after you and then I’d let Bunny adopt Esme once you’re taken care of.” Jeremy said nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders and stood to his full height. Jack burst out laughing at that and slid his car into drive.

“Well at least Esme would be well cared for that’s all I’d want.” Jack said jovially and Jeremy shook his head laughing at Jack. Jeremy then waved at him as he pressed the button to raise the gate at the entrance.

“Alright I’ll see you later. Tell Bunny I’ll call her before I leave work.” Jeremy said in farewell and Jack nodded as he slowly eased his car through the gate after waving at Jeremy.

*-*-*-*

Parking his car in the driveway to his house Jack stepped out of the car and stood next to it for a moment gazing around the quiet morning in the neighborhood. It was still too early for anyone to be up and about as the sun was just rising from the horizon. He smiled softly as he heard birds chirping before he saw they darting and dashing through the air. He relished in these quiet moments where he was able to reflect and just take in his surroundings as time slowly creeped by.

Shaking his head softly still smiling he moved to the passenger side of the car and opened the door so he could lean inside and pull out the bag of bagels and condiments, as well as the large bouquet of flowers he had ordered. Standing tall once more he nudged the car door shut with his hip before turning and walking across the street to Bunny’s house. Jack was reminded once again of the quiet morning as the only sound was the heel of his cowboy boots landing on the pavement of the street. It almost made him feel lonely as he listened to his footsteps, but then he heard the soft music playing as he neared Bunny’s house and he smiled as he saw the front windows were opened and he could hear Esme calling out to Bunny from somewhere inside the house.

Grinning widely he knocked on the front door as he came to stand before it. There was a loud call from inside and Jack heard running footsteps from the other side of the door. He chuckled softly when he saw the curtain on the side window shift and fall back across the window as a loud squeal was heard.

“Daddy!” Esme shouted loudly as she grinned up at him happily. Jack set the bag of bagels and the bouquet on the ground before kneeling down and opening his arms up to her. She quickly dashed forward and wrapped her small arms around his neck tightly as her small body collided with his. Jack wrapped his arms around her quickly and held her to him tightly.

“I missed you peanut.” He said fondly into her wild hair and she giggled softly.

“I missed you too. Love you lots like jelly tots.” She said softly and Jack felt his heart melt instantaneously as his arms tightened around her slightly more.

“Love you lots like jelly tots.” He whispered back to her before pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Esme took a step back and looked down at the flowers and bag of bagels before grinning up at him.

“Good thing you bought breakfast.” Esme said knowingly and Jack tilted his head to the side confused.

“Why?” he asked curiously and Esme hooked her thumb over her shoulder to the inside of the house.

“Bunny didn’t get a lot of sleep and she’s not used to her crutches yet.” Esme explained softly and Jack nodded his head in understanding. Just then there was the loud sound of crutches hitting the floor and a loud hiss of words that couldn’t be made out. Jack quickly grabbed the bagels and flowers before ushering Esme inside so he could see if Bunny was alright.

“Es, who was at the door?” came the called out question and Jack turned the corner to see Bunny leaning back against the kitchen island grimacing as she rested one of her crutches against the front of her body. Jack stood there in awe as he stared at an adorably bedraggled Bunny. She was dressed in an oversized long black sleep shirt that had the words ‘Amazing in bed, I could sleep for days’ on the front in white lettering. Her hair was piled up high on her head in a messy bun and she had a bunch of hair falling out of it around her face. Her right foot was in a large clunky white cast and the other was barefoot. Her left wrist was wrapped tightly in a bandage as she clenched and unclenched her fist. Jack’s eyes danced down her body and felt a warmth settle in his stomach as he imagined waking up to her like this every day. His eyes lingered on the lettering on her shirt as she finally looked up at him and he felt desire start to bloom inside him as he saw her eyes widen at seeing him standing in her kitchen doorway. “Jack!” she said shocked before he watched her cheeks flush with a pretty pink color as she tried to hurriedly move from her position over to him. Once more he dropped everything he was holding as he saw her try to twist and began to fall forward when her crutches escaped her hold.

Easily catching her around the waist Jack held her close to his body and gazed down at her trying to see if she had hurt herself with her movement. She grimaced softly with her eyes closed before opening them and looking up at him. He smiled softly at her and her cheeks seemed to flush once again.

“Second time you’d had to the catch me.” She said with embarrassment tinging her tone of voice as she grimaced softly up at him.

“I’ll always be here to catch you.” He promised softly and watched as her eyes sparkled with appreciation of his words. “Are you okay?” he asked as he began to straighten her posture against him. He bit his tongue harshly when he felt her soft body lean into him and he felt that she wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt. Arousal spiked inside him and he felt the warmth from earlier begin to boil under his skin. His hands came to rest at the base of her lower back on her hip bones and the urge to drag her body into his was almost too great for his will power. But he managed to hold back on his desires as he watched her nod her head at his question.

“Yeah just a little clumsy with the crutches still.” She said a little dismissively.

“Well you did only get them yesterday Bunny.” Esme said self-assuredly and Jack was instantly reminded that it wasn’t just him and Bunny in the house. He turned his head to watch Esme set the bag of bagels and flowers on the kitchen island as she hopped up onto the stool at the island. Jack felt Bunny begin to pull away and he regretfully let her go as she took a step towards the kitchen island and grabbed her crutches again. “You still have to get used to them.” Esme said before she began pulling out bagels and the different cream cheese that Jack picked up.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.” Bunny said a little dejectedly and Esme looked at her with a sure confident look making Jack bite his tongue once more waiting for the gem that was going to pop out of his little girl’s mouth.

“Tough nuggets.” Esme scoffed and Bunny’s head whipped to her as she burst out with shocked laughter.

“Excuse me?” Bunny asked amused and Jack grinned as Esme squared her shoulders.

“Tough nuggets. You shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself.” Esme said assuredly and Bunny laughed happily at Esme’s words.

“Alright, alright.” Bunny said shaking her head as she held her hands up in faux surrender to Esme. “Jack these are beautiful.” Bunny said as she took hold of the bouquet and lifted it to her face to take a whiff of the pretty flowers.

“Yeah Daddy! They’re really big!” Esme said eyeing the flowers. “Bigger than the last ones.” Esme said as her eyes darted over to Jack who instantly felt like an ass for only buying grocery flowers the last time for Bunny.

Jack stood there silently watching as Bunny laughed amused as Esme called him out on his flower buying skills before she moved to the sink and awkwardly began to try and bend over to get a vase from under the sink. Jack quickly moved to grab one of the larger vases to hold the flowers. Bunny grimaced slightly and Jack knew she was feeling frustrated with needing his help so quickly. He nudged her hip with his and she looked up at him and he smirked down at her before speaking.

“Tough nuggets.” He said and her eyes widened slightly before she burst out into laughter.

“I’m gonna be hearing that an awful lot from you two aren’t I?” she asked amused and Jack grinned before nodding.

“Yep.” Esme said from behind them making Jack and Bunny burst out into laughter at her quick wit.

“Alright let me get the flowers and I’ll cut them.” Bunny said as she hobbled over to the island before leaning the crutches on the counter before moving back to the sink with the flowers in her hands. “They’re beautiful by the way. Thank you so much.” Bunny said as she set the bouquet on the counter and pulled out a pair of scissors from the drawer.

“I figured they’d brighten up your mood after breaking your ankle.” Jack said smiling at Bunny who nodded her head. “How are you holding up by the way?” he asked watching as she cut open the brown paper package and string tied around the flowers.

“Last night was rough. In a lot of pain. Had to sleep down here in the second guest bedroom last night. Wasn’t able to get up the stairs to the bedroom.” Bunny relayed to him and Jack nodded along to her explanation.

“Do you need me to move anything from upstairs down here for you? It’d probably be easier for you if you stayed down here until you got used to the cast more. Don’t want you to take a tumble down them stairs.” He said contemplatively as he looked over his shoulder at the stairs that were just outside the kitchen doorway.

“I’d have to check the bedroom to know what I’d need. I do have to go out shopping though. Get some baggy pants or shorts to be able to get them over my cast.” Bunny said as she pulled out two purple hydrangeas from the bouquet. Jack watched silently with baited breath as Bunny peered at the flowers in thought before snipping the end of it and handed it to him to place in the vase.

This past mission with Tequila had been an interesting one. They had an intel agent on the inside of a religious cult who was deep undercover and hadn’t been able to communicate with them in the traditional ways so they had to get creative. When Jack and Tequila had first visited the religious cult Jack had noticed all the large flower arrangements that filled the main building on the compound where the agent lived. He and Tequila had then put together a plan to communicate with the agent through flowers by slipping a flower of significance to reflect if it was safe to meet with them or not to relay the information they needed. Jack had done a lot of research on the language of flowers and their meanings. Which was why he had decided to order a special bouquet for Bunny.

As Jack placed the hydrangea in the vase he silently thought of what the flower meant, gratitude. He waited patiently as Bunny handed him the next bunch of flowers he had chosen. When she handed him a bunch of sunflowers he smiled down at the large flowers, adoration. Jack wondered silently if Bunny knew what each flower meant or if she just took the flowers at face value. The next bunch she passed over to him were some fern and basil leaves that he had asked the flower store clerk for specifically, fascination and good wishes were the respectful meanings of those two. Jack had to admit he had a lot of fun creating Bunny’s bouquet and felt like a secret that he had specifically created this bouquet for her, he was a little giddy that she might not know what he was saying with the flowers.

White daisies were the next flowers that she handed to him and he smiled down at the delicate looking flowers in his hand, get well soon. Jack looked over and saw that Bunny was looking down at the next bunch of flowers which were coral peonies. Jack sucked in a breath because this flower had numerous meanings to it but he was going for good fortune and compassion when he had chosen it. Bunny looked up at him with lightly pink dusted cheeks as she handed him the flowers, her reaction to the flowers making Jack wonder if she did know what the flowers symbolized. Jack’s eyes landed on the next two flowers and he felt his body tense with anticipation of Bunny noticing them. Two white gardenia flowers sat on the brown paper and as Bunny picked them up in her hands Jack avidly watched her reaction. She stood there staring down at the flowers as her cheeks heated up to a deep red color and her mouth parted softly. Her head snapped up to look at him and Jack felt like he had just been gut punched as her eyes were dilated and her breaths were coming out in soft pants. Secret love or you’re lovely was the symbolism for these flowers and while Jack was still figuring out how deep his feelings were for Bunny he had a feeling that it might easily morph into the first meaning.

“Jack.” She said softly and he smiled fondly at her waiting for her to say what she was thinking. “Do you know the language of flower?” she asked with her eyebrows slightly furrowed and he nodded his head grinning softly as her cheeks heated even more. “Oh.” She said in a soft shell shocked voice. Her eyes darted down to the flowers in her hands before looking up at him. “I-“ she began to say something and Jack rested his hands on top of hers.

“Right now I’m saying I think you’re absolutely lovely. And something is developing between us, but I’d like to take it slow if that’s alright with you. I’m still not sure what exactly I’m feeling and it’s been two years since Maria. I’d like to be close friends first before we explore this other side that I think is forming between us.” He said softly so that Esme didn’t overhear him. Bunny looked up at him with soft tender eyes and he could see the uncertainty swirling in her orbs but there was also longing at the edges of her eyes. Jack took in a relieved breath when he watched Bunny nod her head at his words.

“I’d love that.” She said softly and Jack felt like his heart just exploded in his chest with happiness. He nodded his head as he took the flowers from her hands and placed them in the middle of the bouquet. Bunny’s bright smile spread across her face and Jack watched as her eyes looked happily on the flower arrangement that he had created just for her.

*-*-*-*

“Alright so let’s talk about how we’re going to help you out with things you need done.” Jack said as he stood from the kitchen table and picked up the plates that they had used for breakfast.

“Jack you don’t have to do that.” Bunny protested as she began to ease herself out of her chair. Jack whirled around on his feet and pointed his finger at her.

“Sit. Down.” He commanded suddenly and Bunny stopped short in her ascent from her chair to stare at him with wide shocked eyes. She slowly lowered herself back into her seat and watched him silently in shock. “I got this. I think I can handle a few dishes.” He promised her.

“But Jack I’m not helpless.” Bunny protested as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“No you’re not but you’re injured and need to rest and heal.” Jack said firmly as he stared at her.

“But Jack, I can do that myself.” Bunny tried again to protest and Jack shook his head.

“Nope.” He responded. Bunny opened her mouth to retort once more and Jack shook his head quickly. “Tough nuggets.” He said before whirling on his heel and walking over to the sink. Esme’s happy giggles burst into the air and Bunny’s soft grumbling could be heard making Jack grin softly at the antics of them.

“So you’re not going to let me do much are you?” Bunny asked in a sour tone. Jack shook his head and chuckled lightly.

“Bunny, you need to heal and if you’re constantly on your feet aggravating the break it’s not going to heal quickly or effectively. You gotta let us help you as much as we can. Keep your ankle elevated and stay off your feet as much as possible.” Jack said adamantly. “I’ve broken bones before, recovery sucks but I’m gonna do my damndest to make sure that you heal as quickly as possible.” He leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. Bunny was looking at him with soft eyes and Jack felt himself being pulled into her gaze from across the kitchen. “Besides, now Es and I can spoil you a little bit.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Bunny ducked her head quickly as Esme squealed in her chair with happiness. Jack smirked as he saw the soft blush on her cheeks at his words and Jack knew he won her over.

“Alright fine.” Bunny conceded and Jack beamed over at her as Esme clapped her hands happily.

“How often does Butter have to go out?” Jack asked kindly before turning back to the sink to wash the dishes quickly.

“Oh well, I normally take him around the block twice a day once in the morning and then once in the afternoon or evening. But he can go out in the backyard for now until I get into a boot.” Bunny said and Jack shook his head as he finished drying the dishes and stored them away in the cabinets. He turned and leaned back against the sink and sighed softly as he shook his head at Bunny.

“Will you let us help you? Please?” he asked softly as he looked up and over to her. “You’ve done so much for me and Es, it’s our turn to help you when you’re in need. Let us.” He implored her and she looked at him surprised. She sat there in her chair her eyes darting from him to an eager looking Esme for a few moments before nodding her head in compromise. “Thank you.” Jack said softly and Bunny pouted her lips slightly but nodded her head. Jack knew that she didn’t want to burden them and she was being stubborn but Jack was adamant about helping her and making sure that she was well taken care of. But while he was ready to fight her and glad that she was allowing them to help her, when she pouted her lips like that overtly all Jack wanted to do was walk over and kiss the pout off her mouth. Blinking his eyes rapidly he tried to erase the image from his mind of them kissing before he spoke again. “So Es and I will come over before we walk to the bus stop and we’ll take Butter with us. Same for in the afternoon.” Jack informed her and Bunny reluctantly nodded her head. Jack grinned and winked at her watching as she blushed and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Oh yes! I can totally walk Butter.” Esme said happily and Bunny chuckled softly.

“You’ll have to show your dad the doggie bags and everything.” Bunny said as she looked over to Esme who nodded eagerly. “Thanks Es.” She said softly before looking over at Jack who nodded his head. “Alright so that’s taken care of do you guys want to hang out? Or do you have things you have to get done?” she asks making Jack look at her with a disappointed look. “What?” she asks exasperatedly as she raises her hands in the air.

“We’re not done. But we do need to go food shopping. Are you up for a trip to the store or do you want to stay home?” Jack asked as he looked over at her. “Oh and we have to figure out what you need from your room upstairs moved down.” Jack suddenly clapped his hands together and rubbed them together eagerly. Bunny shook her head and Jack began to nod his head at her. “C’mon Es, head upstairs and get dressed while I help Bunny up the stairs. Pack up your stuff so that we can bring it back to the house before going out.” Jack instructed easily and Bunny looked at him offended as Esme quickly hopped off the kitchen chair and raced upstairs to her room.

Jack walked over to Bunny and set one his hands on the back of her chair, the other sat steadily on the kitchen table in front of her effectively caging her in her seat. He leaned forward and watched as Bunny took in a sharp breath as her eyes widened at his closeness.

“Look, I’m not trying to make you feel like you’re an invalid. But I don’t want you hurting yourself again because of your pride. You broke your ankle Bunny. That’s no joke and I really want you to heal. I want you in no pain. So please don’t think I’m just trying to take over here. I’m just trying to help you. I promise.” He said softly as he stared deeply into her eyes. He smiled softly as she silently nodded her head at him. He then stood to his full height and took a step back to grab her crutches for her. He stood a step away from her chair holding the crutches out for her as she stood from her chair. She took a hold of the crutches and began moving towards the stairs. When they had both reached the bottom of the stairs Bunny turned and looked up at him as she was hunched over her crutches.

“Let me try to do this. Just stay behind me in case I fall.” She said determinedly and Jack nodded his head in agreement.

“I’ll always be here to catch you.” He promised her and allowed her to do it her way.

*-*-*-*

Jack smiled as Esme chatted easily with Bunny as the two of them walked ahead down the aisle. He was stuck pushing the cart but he couldn’t complain as he was able to surreptitiously observe Esme and Bunny’s relationship right before his eyes.

Jack could feel his heart swelling in his chest as Bunny talked with Esme about everything the little girl brought up. And while Bunny was knowledgeable in a lot of things there were some topics that puzzled her. Like right now Esme was going off on a tangent about one of the shows that she watched and Jack had to bite his tongue as Bunny looked down at his little girl with a lost look on her face. He was shocked when he noticed that Bunny wouldn’t interrupt Esme in her ranting about the show and let her get it all out first. He chuckled softly when he heard Bunny begin to question Es on the show once she was done.

“So you mean her parents don’t even know that she’s a witch?” Bunny asked confused and Jack bit his bottom lip as he watched her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disbelief.

“Yeah she’s been able to keep it a secret from them.” Esme explained, nodding her head. “She’s had some close calls where they’ve almost figured it out but not yet.”

“Oh okay, but her grandma knows?” Bunny asked, still perplexed and Jack was absolutely charmed as this woman before him took time out to understand more about his daughter’s favorite show. “Oh hold up, hey can you grab that box of crackers for me please?” She asked stopping next to the crackers and pointing them out to Esme, who eagerly grabbed the box and placed it in the shopping cart. “So how come the grandma never told the parents? Wouldn’t that be something she should tell the parents?” Bunny asked and Jack shook his head silently at the scene before him. He was relieved that he and Bunny were now on the same page for their relationship because now he was gifted with watching his two favorite girls discuss a tv show while the three of them shopped for groceries.

*-*-*-*

Jack finished putting the last box of pasta in the pantry and turned with a grin to Bunny who was leaning against the kitchen island with her crutches leant next to her hip on the island. She smiled softly at him as she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. He walked over to her and let his eyes dart over her face to look for any discomfort. Standing in front of her he watched as her eyes darted up to his quickly.

“Are you in any pain?” He asked softly and she grimaced slightly at the question.

“A little, I was thinking of taking one of the pain meds and then sitting out in the backyard with my ankle up.” She answered him truthfully. Jack nodded his head at her response as he heard Esme coming back into the house from the backyard.

“Do you want us to head home? Or are you up for some company for a little longer?” Jack asked as Bunny hooked her crutches under her armpits and moved to the sink and leaned up to grab her medicine and a glass.

“Oh I’d love your company for however long.” Bunny said easily and Jack nodded his head as he opened her fridge and pulled out the iced tea that they had bought at the store earlier.

“Okay we’ll stay for a little bit longer. Wanna order dinner and have it delivered?” He asked as Esme walked into the kitchen and hopped up onto the stool at the island.

“Ooooohhh! Can we order pizza?” Esme cheered and Jack laughed happily as he set the iced tea on the island before turning to Bunny who moved to the island and set the glass down on it.

“Good choice!” Bunny said happily as she opened a drawer and pulled out a local pizzeria menu. “Here, pick a pizza and I’ll call them.” Jack watched as Esme peered over the menu while he poured Bunny a glass of iced tea that she thanked him for. Jack watched as she popped her medicine into her mouth and took a swig of her drink swallowing down the pills. With a grimace she blew out a breath after swallowing the pills and Jack chuckled softly.

“Don’t like pills?” He asked understandingly and Bunny shook her head.

“I don’t like the aftertaste they leave.” She explains as she takes another sip of her drink. Jack nods his head and looks over to Esme who’s still pouring over the menu.

“So what are we gonna eat tonight peanut?” He asked fondly as she looked up at him with his question.

“I wanna get a taco pizza.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders. “It sounds cool.”

“Oh, that’s a good one. They also have a good margherita pizza. And their garlic knots and mozzarella sticks are really good.” Bunny said as she pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and began dialing the pizzeria number.

“Hey Es, c’mon. Let’s go walk Butter while Bunny orders and then we’ll come hang out once we’re done.” Jack said as he ushered Esme to the front door.

“C’mon Butter! Let’s go for a walk!” Esme called happily as she quickly made her way off the stool and towards the front door. Jack laughed as he watched Butter leap out of his dog bed in the kitchen and ran as quickly as he could to the front door where Esme stood holding the leash. Jack looked back at Bunny and she smiled and waved at him before focusing back on the phone call.

When Jack reached the door he saw Esme with her jacket on and Butter with his leash on. Esme handed Jack the doggy bag holder that was in the shape of a red fire hydrant, Jack laughed amused as he looked down at it in his hand. Esme smiled and turned to open the front door.

“So do you know Butter’s normal night time walk routine?” Jack asked as he began walking down the steps with Esme.

“Yeah, they normally walk to the bus stop before mine and then back taking the long way around the block.” Esme instructed and Jack nodded his head as he fell into step with Esme.

“Sorry that we’ve been with Bunny all day and haven’t had much quiet time together. Bunny just needs a little bit of our help since she broke her ankle. So we might be spending a bit of time with her.” Jack said softly as he looked over at Esme. He watched proudly as his little girl looked up at him with a furrowed eyebrow.

“Daddy, I like Bunny. I like being with her. I’m not mad that we’re spending time with her. Besides, she gives us time to be together even when we’re with her.” Esme explained reminding Jack of when Bunny wandered off in the grocery store leaving Esme and Jack to themselves to talk and check in with each other.

“I know, I just don’t want you to think that I’m ignoring you or paying more attention to Bunny.” Jack said insistently and Esme shook her head.

“Daddy, I-“ Esme began to say and then shook her head silently before looking up at him with a smile on her face. “I don’t think that. I know you’re not ignoring me. And Bunny needs our help, she's hurt.” Esme reassured him softly with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Ok, as long as you know that peanut. So how was school while I was gone?” He asked softly as they continued to walk towards her bus stop.

“It’s okay. We’re starting to do some projects in Science and I’m gonna need some help with that soon.” She said and Jack nodded his head along with her words.

“Ok, that’s no problem. You let me know what you need and we’ll go pick it up. And I’ll help as much as I can.” Jack said easily. “Anything else happen while I was gone?” He asked softly trying to see if she wanted to talk about what had happened at the sleepover.

“Are you asking about the sleepover?” Esme asked suddenly after being quiet for a moment. Jack turned his head to look down at her shocked, he was surprised that she had picked up on his leading questions, but he shouldn't have been as surprised since she was his little girl.

“Only if you wanna talk about it.” Jack offered easily. He watched Esme shrug her shoulders before letting them slump forward.

“I called Bunny Mom.” Esme said softly. “I didn’t mean to and Bunny said she wasn’t mad about it at all. But Cynthia wasn’t very nice to me about it. Said that I shouldn’t be spending so much time with Bunny because then I’ll get confused.”

Jack felt his heart clench in his chest at how lost Esme sounded. He stopped walking as they came to the bus stop before Esme’s and he kneeled down to be at her eye level. He placed his hands on her shoulders gently and turned her to face him.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with calling Bunny Mom. I mean she’s been taking care of you while I’m away so I’m not surprised you did call her Mom. And I think that’s great that you’re getting so close to Bunny that you might see her that way. Don’t listen to Cynthia, I’ll talk to her and tell her to mind her own business. She has no right to say anything to you about that, okay?” Jack reassured Esme as he stared into her eyes softly. “I just want to make sure that you’re okay. I know we don’t talk about your Mom that much and we probably should talk about her more.” Jack said softly and Esme tapped his nose gently making him look up at her after his eyes had fallen to the ground.

“I miss Mommy. Every day I miss her and wish she was still here. But I have you Daddy and Bunny may not be Mommy but she’s a really cool babysitter and I like her being my babysitter.” Esme said softly as she smiled at him. Jack felt tears well in his eyes as Esme’s words and he nodded his head.

He knew that they should probably talk more about Esme calling Bunny Mom but he wasn’t sure of his own emotions and feelings in regards to that. On one hand it had only been two years ago that Maria was taken away from them and he wasn’t sure if he was truly ready to have another “mom” in his life yet. He was comfortable with flirting and figuring things out with Bunny right now but he wasn’t looking too far in the future just yet. But on the other hand, Esme was forming a bond with Bunny that seemed to be very deep, strong and meaningful. It was the first time since Maria’s funeral that Esme had become close to another woman that she hadn’t known before Maria’s passing.

It was a convoluted situation and Jack knew he was going to have to address it but wasn’t sure if he was ready to do that just yet. So while he was relieved that Esme was okay with her slip of tongue he would hold off on the more in depth conversation for another time when he knew for sure what he wanted with Bunny.

“She is a cool babysitter huh?” Jack asked softly and Esme grinned at him as she nodded her head eagerly.

*-*-*-*

The sun was slowly setting as Jack stepped out of the back door and moved down the back steps of the house to where Bunny was sitting in one of her outdoor chairs with her right ankle propped up on the ottoman. On the small table next to her chair sat a tray of three glasses and a pitcher of peach flavored iced tea. Esme was standing not far on the brick patio in front of her easel and paints while Butter lazed about in the grass in front of Esme.

“You gonna paint Butter for me?” Bunny asked Esme as she nestled back in her chair. Esme turned to Bunny grinning as she nodded her head. Bunny grinned as she nodded her head at Esme and rested her head back on the chair, closing her eyes slowly.

Jack felt the urge to sneak up on Bunny and press a soft kiss to her lips to surprise her, but then he suddenly felt insecure of his intentions. So he walked up behind Bunny letting his fingers trail along her right shoulder before moving to the chair on her left. He saw her warm smile as she turned her head to watch him take a seat next to her.

“This is nice.” Jack said softly as he sat back in the chair and settled himself. Bunny nodded her head as she grinned over at him. “So we talked about the whole sleepover incident.” Jack said softly as his eyes watched Esme begin painting Butter, she was far enough away that Jack felt comfortable bringing this up with Bunny.

“Does she still feel badly about it?” Bunny asked softly as her eyes landed on him and stayed there steadfastly.

“She doesn’t feel bad about calling you Mom. She feels bad about what Cynthia said to her.” Jack said with a hard edge to his voice at the end of his sentence. Bunny nodded her head in thought and Jack saw her left fist clenching tightly. Leaning over he placed a hand on Bunny’s fist and she slowly released it.

“Sorry, I just get so mad about what she had the nerve to say to Es. She had no right to make a comment and it had to be an ugly one at that!” Bunny ranted heatedly and Jack felt his heart swell once more as he saw how angry Bunny became on the behalf of his daughter. “I mean she’s already a mean spirited woman when she doesn’t get her way but to say something cruel to a child? That’s unnecessary and uncalled for.”

“I agree. I don’t like that she said something mean to Esme. Especially if it was a slip of the tongue.” Jack said as he nodded his head and watched as Bunny grew quiet and almost turned in on herself. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked concerned and Bunny shook her head at his question.

“It’s nothing.” She deflected and Jack grew curious of what was running through her mind but ultimately chose to table the questions for the time being.

“Say, you’re awfully good with kids. How come you don’t have any?” Jack asked curiously as he turned to see Esme giggling at Butter who began to wiggle in the grass on his back with his feet up in the air. He got lost in just watching his little girl that when he realized that he had asked a question he turned back to Bunny, surprised she hadn’t interrupted him. He saw her smiling sadly at Esme and Butter, her eyes somber as she gazed at the two of them acting silly. “Bunny?”

“Oh, uh, well, you see my ex-husband wasn’t the greatest guy to have kids with. For the six years that we were married he cheated for four of them.” Bunny said bitterly and Jack looked over at her surprised. He couldn’t believe someone would look at anyone else when they had Bunny right in front of them. “Yeah, we got married right out of college after being together for two years. We were young and dumb, thought we were in love. I mean I was, but for him it was more of a power trip. He liked that I didn’t ask questions when he said to do certain things, even though I knew that I didn’t want to do them. I always thought, I trusted and loved him why would he hurt me?” Bunny explained softly. “I slowly started coming out of the fog around the fourth year of marriage, but by then he had the manipulation so ingrained in me that I couldn’t quickly break free from it. It was a whole process of getting away from him, took two whole years to finally pull the trigger and send the divorce papers.”

Jack sat there in shock as he listened to Bunny’s retelling of her past. He sat there shocked to his core that this wonderful, confident woman next to him had been manipulated and abused by her ex-husband, someone who should have protected her from all others. But then as he thought further of Bunny’s mannerisms and character he understood the burst of confidence he would see from her when interacting with him. She was still so unsure of herself when it came to men, and he was instantly glad that he had asked her to go slow with him as they explored their relationship.

“It got really ugly towards the end.” Bunny said solemnly and Jack whipped his head to look at her. “He tired to convince me that it was all my friend’s Mercy’s fault for putting it in my head to get divorced. He lied about the numerous affairs he had and was still having. He kept telling me that I wouldn’t leave him, that I couldn’t leave him. I developed some serious panic attacks and anxiety attacks because of him, but thankfully they pretty much disappeared once I was away from him. But the worst was the night he was served the divorce papers, I had moved out that day while he was at work and the courier delivered the papers once he got home from work. He was livid, to the point that he found out where I was living and shoved himself into my apartment when I answered the door. Came in screaming and yelling about the papers, shoved me down onto the floor and the way I landed on my right wrist broke it in a few spots.” Bunny explained as she slowly and calmly took in a few deep breaths. Jack tapped his fingers along the back of her left hand that he was still holding in his hand from before, letting her know that she was alright and he was here for her.

Taking a deep breath in and slowly blowing it out she turned and looked over at him, nodding her head gratefully at him. Jack smiled softly and nodded his head at her as well. He didn’t know firsthand what she gone through but after all the missions that he had been on he had seen quite a few men and women who fell prey to their loved ones abusing them.

“Had to go through the whole divorce with a cast on my arm that he kept saying was for show. I managed to get a restraining order on him and still have it to this day because he’s tried to pop up a few times in my life since the divorce.” Bunny said solemnly and somber. Her head suddenly perked up when Esme giggled loudly as Butter began suddenly running around the backyard chasing the lightning bugs that had started appearing and lighting up. “I probably should have told you that before babysitting Es, but he hasn’t bothered me in almost a full year now.” Bunny said suddenly and quickly as she looked over at Jack worriedly.

Jack shook his head slowly as he gently cupped her hand in his, trying to reassure her. He gazed at her for a moment before clearing his voice.

“Bunny, relax. Your past is yours to divulge however you see fit. I know for a fact that you wouldn’t let anything happen to Esme if it was in your power to prevent it. I know you’re careful with her and hold her well being over your own. And I know you would tell me if something was happening that you couldn’t stop or protect Esme against.” Jack said confidently as Bunny nodded her head. “It’s alright Bunny. I’m just sad to hear that someone treated you that horribly. You shouldn’t have had to go through that. And I’m so sorry that you did go through that.” Jack said softly.

“It sucks that it happened, and I understand that it didn’t have anything to do with me that it was all him and his choices. But you gotta get through it and let me tell you therapy works wonders.” Bunny said before chuckling softly and Jack nodded his head at her words.

“Yeah, we’ve done some therapy after Maria passed to help Esme and I express ourselves properly to each other.” Jack said softly. “He really cheated on you?” He asked suddenly and Bunny chuckled softly as she nodded her head. Jack just shook his head in silence and Bunny chuckled again.

“Yeah, I know. I never understood the whole cheating thing, if you’re unhappy in a relationship just leave it.” Bunny said softly. “That’s why I don’t get along with Cynthia, she isn’t faithful to her husband and I don’t know if she ever has been. At least since I’ve known her she never has been.” Bunny said bewildered as she shook her head slightly.

“Don’t get me started on her. She’s already on my shit list for that and now for being mean to Es.” Jack said darkly and Bunny nodded her head. Jack tapped his fingers against the back of Bunny’s hand once more to gather her attention. When she looked over at him he smiled softly at her. “Thanks for sharing.” He said softly and watched delightedly as Bunny’s cheeks flushed deeply.

“Just answering the question.” She said softly and shrugged her shoulders at him. Jack shook his head at her deflection and gazed at her fully as he shifted in his seat.

“Not many people want to share that type of information about themselves.” Jack said knowingly and Bunny shrugged her shoulders again.

“Figured it’d be something to help get to know each other.” Bunny said as she turned and watched Esme dancing around the backyard catching lightning bugs. Jack watched Bunny a little longer in silence as Esme giggled while Butter barked happily in the early evening, he was surprised by her candor but he surmised that he shouldn’t be. There was still so much that he needed to learn about Bunny and so much he had to share with her. Settling back in his chair he began to look forward to learning more about her.

[somedew-fictions]

15 w/ Shane apologizing to the farmer

1462 words - Shane x GN Farmer (pre-relationship) [WHOLESOME ALERT]

#15 “Please stop and listen to me.”

The farmer steps into the clearing in the woods, dressed for the flower dance. This is their second ever flower dance and they know exactly who they are going to ask to dance: Shane. Last year he had originally declined, forcing them to instead take up Emily’s kind offer instead, but now they are better prepared to ask him.

Shane has grown a lot over the last year and the farmer has actually gotten to know him to the point that now they are actually friends. The farmer knows Shane isn’t one for dancing, but when they mentioned it the week before he had given them a small smile and mused to them with a “maybe” behind a suppressed chuckle of amusement and slight rosy cheeks.

The farmer goes around and greets their friends in town, complimenting everybody’s attire and mentioning how beautiful the weather is to keep conversation light. Time always seems to stop during town festivals, but that is just because of how fun they are; time flies and before you know it, its 10 pm and everybody has to head home.

Across the clearing the farmer spots Haley practicing her dance moves as Alex watches, the slightest hint of color across his cheeks as he tries to keep his calm composure. Close by, relaxing in the shade of a tree, is Shane. He is watching Jas play with Vincent near by, his body completely relaxed.

The farmer excuses themselves from their conversation with Gus about his cooking before they begin to move across the grass towards him, their smile growing into a genuine grin. His face is freshly shaven, his shirt is free from wrinkles, and his tie is miraculously not already undone. He has cleaned himself up so nicely, and the farmer secretly hopes they are the reason behind it.

As the farmer approaches they can suddenly see Penny standing on the other side of the tree, her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. She leans across the tree towards Shane and whispers something close to his ear which makes his calm expression crack into a smirk, an eyebrow raised at her before he begins to chuckle.

Penny proceeds to laugh but Shane beacons her back in close where he whispers something back. She throws her head back into a fit of giggles, serving a perfect slap to Shane’s shoulder playfully as he continues to chuckle, his smile radiating.

The farmer stops advancing towards him, their smile thinning away. They don’t know how to react, and before they know it, watching Shane and Penny converse for who knows how long, Mayor Lewis calls for the dance to begin.

The farmer watches as Shane glances around before scratching the back of his head and looking back to Penny. He offers his hand to her and she takes it, accepting his offer.

The farmer’s heart drops into their stomach, their jaw falling slightly agape in disbelief. Had they read Shane wrong this entire time? Was his “maybe” really just a polite way of declining their offer to dance last week? The farmer feels their body tense, unable to move their limbs as the couples of youth line up to dance.

If it wasn’t for Emily once again swinging in, heading quickly over to the farmer and taking their hand to line up with the others, they would have probably just watched the premiere like an idiot, all alone on the sidelines.

“Is everything okay?” Emily whispers to the farmer as they dance, but the farmer is at a lost for words, turning on auto-pilot as they dance and completely zoning out of the whole song. Their thoughts are buzzing wildly in their head, a thousand and one thoughts fighting to be the central point that they don’t even notice Emily whispering to them as they dance with one another.

Soon after the dance is done, the farmer is sitting in the grass with a cup full of punch, deciding they want to be left alone. Leaving a festival early was always deemed as rude, so they stay only to make polite chatter with whoever ventures over to them and to keep an eye on Shane and Penny.

Time crawls by but the Sun finally sets and the air becomes cold, signaling to all the villagers that it is time to head home. The farmer stands up and helps clean up the decorations with Gus and Lewis, packing away everything into boxes and putting them away in the back of Lewis’s pickup truck for him to drive back to town.

By 11 o’clock everyone is gone and the farmer walks home alone. Wanting to get home as soon as possible, they take the short cut by Marnie’s ranch to their property, assuming Shane is already asleep.

The farmer hugs themselves to keep warm as they see the lights of Marnie’s house in the distance, breaking free from the shroud of the forest’s trees into clear view. The farmer begins to walk faster to quickly pass by her house, but to their unfortunate luck they hear the home’s door swing open and somebody’s footsteps in the grass.

“Is that my neighbor sneaking by?” Shane’s voice calls out to them, catching the farmer red handed. They step dead in their tracks, knowing they can’t make a run for it to their farm if they ever want to be able to face Shane ever again.

Taking in a deep breath, the farmer calls back, “yeah, it’s me! Just heading home!”

“You have a second to talk?” Shane asks, pulling on his jacket and approaching the farmer with a friendly smile on his face. 

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” the farmer’s words come out bitter, harsher than they intended them to be. Their words cause Shane to stop in his tracks, his smile falling away and a confused chuckle arising from his throat.

“Did...” he chuckles awkwardly. “Did I do something to make you upset?”

The farmer bites the inside of their cheek and turns their head away from him, unable to think of what they should blurt out next.

“I didn’t really get to see you at the dance,” Shane continues, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I was looking for you but-”

“But you were too busy flirting with Penny,” the farmer cuts him off, their tongue soaked in poison. They don’t know where these harsh statements are coming from, the words forcing their way out of their mouth before they can take them back.

Shane’s jaw falls agape in surprise before shaking away the punch the farmer had just thrown at him. “What are you talking about?”

“It was obvious, Shane,” The farmer sighs heavily, believing Shane was playing innocent. “You even asked her to be your dance partner- I thought you didn’t dance, Shane. That’s why you declined me last year, remember?”

“Please, stop and listen to me,” Shane’s voice sounds hurt, his eyes begging the farmer’s to meet his gaze. The farmer falls silent, their eyes darting around his, allowing him to speak. “Penny and I were watching Jas and Vincent playing and she was telling me embarrassing stories about them in class, not wanting them to hear. I told her some stories of Jas at home too. She is Jas’s teacher and we never really talked before because of the whole ‘drunkard’ thing,” he sights heavily. “I was waiting for you to come ask me to dance like you said you would. When I didn’t see you, I guessed you finally realized what a loser I am and changed your mind, so I asked Penny because I knew you would probably dance with Emily and Marnie would kill me if I didn’t participate.”

He drops his hands to his side in defeat, having said his piece of the story. The farmer is now left without words, their thoughts changing from targeting Shane to now targeting themselves. They were so stupid, having read everything wrong- doubting Shane...

“Shane,” the farmer meets his gaze, a frown across their face. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Shane sighs, opening his arms for a hug as the farmer quickly rushes to him to accept it. They share a tight hug, the tenseness from the entire day melting away into thin air as they realize how stupid they both had acted.

“Can I still have that dance?” the farmer whispers into his shoulder after a long pause.

“Maybe,” Shane chuckles softly, unable to hold back his smile. “Only if you promise not to tell anyone we are dancing out here in the dark like idiots.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” the farmer smiles, the two of them slowly letting go with one another.