#i make over marnie and play dress up

[nihilismtrcit]

whenever i'm bored i open up cas and spin marnie around

[sdvshanewife]

shane headcanons

-SO shane is 6'0 (which isn't confirmed but it was measured as i said on my other post) when he stands upright, but i think that he slouches a lot and just has bad posture in general which makes him an inch or two shorter

-whenever he's at work, marnie cleans and organizes his room since he doesn't have the motivation to clean it himself and she gets tired of smelling beer and seeing cans all over his room

-shane sometimes plays dress up with jas but needs a day or two to recharge and spend time with her again because of his depression

-sam and shane both have an agreement to not tell morris that they steal things from joja mart. sam steals joja cola and shane steals frozen pizza.

-shane actually loves the clothes that joja sells. he thinks theyre really comfy, which is why we see him wear his joja clothes, even in his winter outfit

-he's the type of guy to wear shorts all season. it can be freezing cold and he'd still go outside with shorts on. he's just immune to the cold

[ash5monster01]

Hi!!! I literally discovered your blog yesterday and I'm in love with it🥰

I watched Dead poet's society last night for like the 16th time and I'm in love with Charlie, you portrayed so beautifully in your writing.

Anyway I'm babbling. Could I request him being a dad ? I just imagine him letting his little boy be able to explore his passions and his little girl breaking stereotypes

Thank you 😊😊😊

The Best I Could

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, mentions of past trauma, self doubt, super cheesy.

Summary: Charlie had his doubts about having kids knowing all the things he went through growing up, but as you watch him with your kids you realize he’s a better Dad than he ever thought he could be.

word count: 900

Masterlist

The warm breeze blows softly against your skin as you rock back on forth of the porch swing. It’s a beautiful spring day, the ease of the weekend enveloping you as you live in your blissful little world. The air smells like flowers and the sun is warm. Best of all, the laughs of your small children fill the atmosphere as your husband chases them around the yard. You can’t help but realize just how blessed you are.

“Charlie” you start to scold as your little girl dangles from his arm by her ankles. Her dress is flipped over her head, revealing the bloomers beneath, and he gives you a sheepish smile as he returns his daughter upright despite her happy giggles.

“Sorry baby” he says with a grin he knows could get him out of anything. You just shake your head, laughing as your son jumps on his back. It wasn’t hard but Charlie still manages to make a show of it and falls to the ground as if the boy had actually knocked him over even though he was only a quarter of Charlie's size.

“You’re getting so strong Eli” he says proudly, laughing as he rolls to his back in the dirt. The boys grins, eyes glowing with adoration towards his father.

“Daddy can we please play baseball?” your little girls begs, already equipped with the wooden baseball bat. Charlie smiles up at her from the ground, chuckling to himself at the sight and your daughters odd love for the mostly male sport.

"Sure Marnie, get the helmet though" he tells his daughter and you smile at how he doesnt question it. In fact you gave up on that a long time ago. You just let the girl be when she decided she didn't like dolls and liked sports instead. In fact Charlie never questioned it either. When Eli said he preffered art over football your husband had a paint set in the house the next day and as for Marnie, he'd pitch a hundred balls to her as long as she was happy.

You knew his freedom with them came from years of being told there was a specific way to do things. Some unwritten set of rules about society that had been shoved down his throat for a very long time. Charlie lived in that world, was suffocated by it, so now he let your kids explore any new hobbies they wanted. He hung every single one of Eli's paintings in his home office and had bought Marnie sports gear months ago so they could practice the things she wanted. You had even watched him fight the local coach when he claimed girls couldn't join the team. When Charlie showed him the rule book said nothing about gender, the coach begrudingly had to take her on anyway. You didn't care if you were the family that got weird looks in the stands, you and Charlie always cheered the loudest.

“Nice hit Marnie” Eli claps as his sister wails the ball Charlie just threw. You watch impressed as it glides through the air. She had a strong arm, you were in for a world of trouble when she gets big enough to fight Eli back.

“Eli why don’t you toss her a few while I sit with Mama” Charlie urges the boy and he happily takes over as pitcher, winding up to try and strike out his sister who was guaranteed to hit every single one.

“Tiring you out?” you question as he jogs up the porch and lands into the swing beside you. He smiles, arm wrapping around your shoulders as he moves in motion with you.

“Just a touch, I’m not as young as I used to be” he says and you laugh, leaning to rest your head against his shoulder as you watch the kids play in the yard.

“You’re the best Dad, they really love you” you tell him, absolutely bursting with love over the beautiful family you had been blessed with. In no way were either of you doing a perfect job, but at least they were happy.

“I wouldn’t say that, I’m doing the best I can” he mutters into your hair, pressing a soft kiss to your head. You roll your eyes even if he can’t see.

“You’re not them Charlie, you’re letting your kids be who they want to be and that’s a beautiful thing” you tell him and Charlie knows exactly who you’re talking about. His Parents, Nolan, all of his teachers. They had forced conformity on him for so long.

“I just don’t want the world to break them like it did me” he tells you and you sigh, knowing that life had taken a toll on him. You move your hand to rest on his stomach, holding him close.

“It won’t, because they got a really good Dad to keep them from it” you say and you can’t see the smile that covers his face or the tears that begin to rim his eyes. As he looks from you to the kids he realizes he made something of himself. Whether his Dad, Nolan, or anyone else thought different. He was happy and that was the only success he needed in the world.

“They got a really good Mom too”

[myloveforhergoeson]

ash's november 2024 reading round up

find all the books and fics i read (or didn't read...) this month under the cut with a link to the synopsis and my reviews/ratings attached :)

this is just for fun! i'm not a professional, i just like to read <3

booklist:

despite buying so many books this month. i finished none of them. currently working on funny story by my goddess emily henry....

fic list:

1. assorted works of @partiallypearl/ @praetoravila <3

promise me, i'm never gonna find you fake it

i know you know (i got your heart thumping)

it's nowhere close to closing time ch 2

all over again ch 9

the way you toyed with my emotions this month... jesus christ... from lolive to kogan i love my oblivious idiots in love so much. when i tell you i think about ikyk (igyht) like once a day im being so serious - that is peak lolive to me!!!!!!!!!!! promise me... is just so adorable as well. something about our sweet California girl olive not knowing how to dress appropriately for the winter especially in minnesota.... lord... logan is so attentive!! he loves his gf so much augh!!!! these snippets fuel me while the main timeline lolive are thrust into... whatever they're doing rn... olive's birthday chapter had me in tears ngl. if you need someone to come and beat up her parents, put me in coach! so masterfully written though, the emotions were swirling in my brain ages after i finished the chapter. augh! and nowhere close to closing time... save me... the introduction of the boys were so sweet - it's always interesting to see everyone's takes on majors/areas of study hehe early friendship kogan means sooo much to me... don't worry logan! those glances sure mean something!!!!!! <333

2. assorted works of @selangkir <3

jocy story!!!!

omfggggg god the way you write is just so gorgeous; painting pictures with your words is so hard to do and you make it look so EASY RAUGH!!!!! i really love how you take lucy and jo's typical characterization and flip it, where lucy is a lot more unsure + unconfident whereas jo was the one pushing her to start playing again. i can't really explain why that stood out to me, but i sure loved it!! excited to read more of your work in the future hehe!! <33

3. assorted works of @naquey / @ithinkyouhealedmyheart <3

ghostwriter ch 9-17

30 days of November!!

Drake loves Marnie

Carlos x Reader

such a productive writing month for you - i am so inspired by your creative spirit. the time and effort you put into each one of these projects is clear throughout the work!! wonderfully done and you always leave me wanting to read more... then just my luck a new chapter appears haha! though i'm slowly making my way through ghostwriter, this subset of chapters i read this month had me howlingggg kenonnie (affectionately) make me want to tear my hair out!!!! i love how ridiculous they are and reluctant to admit they like each other (even if i am admittedly team curt... just a teeny bit...) they compliment each other so well! the starstruck chapter was *chefs kiss* in addition, the 30 days of November prompts was such a wonderful way to get to know a lot of the other characters in the story, as well as some of your other characters too!! the flower series is woven together so interestingly + i can't wait to read more!! additionally, i loved getting to know more about drake + marnie in their wedding one shot, it was adorable! idk anything about drake and josh so i'm taking your word as gold on this one... i love them soooo much!! and of course!! your carlos x reader story had me rolling on the floor with laughter!! your take on rames is everything to me.... <3

4. assorted works of @icegirl2772 <3

Take A Shot In The Dark ch 17

AHHHHHHH!!!!!! IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!! STAY CALM EVERYONE IT'S HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!!!! to be here for this monumental moment in james and kaelyns relationship... wow..... AJFBAJFB im so excited for the next chapters... kendall is going to have to get cool w some things superrr quickly👀 this chapter had everything, action, romance, tension... augh.... like james, i feel similarly about neil. so it was great to see him get knocked around :) love it when my boys get into fights in the name of those they love :)))))))))))))) <3333

5. assorted works of @fiyero33053 / @fiyero0533

promptober one-shot 27!!

promptober one-shot 28!!

hello!!!! once again learning so much about TUA from your stories... prompt 27 was just adorable. had me kicking my feet and giggling and shit. the idea of such a tough guy still being able to get silly and mess around with his daughter.... leading into 28 too! from what i saw of the show, i don't remember diego and allison interacting a whole lot, and i never really got to see them as parents, so this was such a cute idea to bring the two of them together! such a great fall memory together too :)) diego on the phone had me laughing so hard. "[my kids] know when shit's lame" rlly got me rolling! so happy you found a little more inspo from my prompt list heheh!! <33

[shinsorokiri]

The Rockstar and The Farmer

Sam x Reader

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: language, spoilers for Sam’s 8 heart event, friendly Sebastian slander

A/N: Okay, so, I said a while ago that the wildest thing happened to me while played Stardew Valley, and it inspired me to write this. It’ll be two parts for sure, maybe three??? Depending on how I feel lol. But I LOVE Sam and this was pretty fun to write, hopefully, the second part will be out tomorrow/later this week. 

part 1 [2] [3?]

You opened your eyes, hearing your rooster scream as your own personal alarm clock. You lay in bed for a moment, reaching out and petting your pup, laying right next to you on your full-sized bed. The morning sun is shining in through your window and warming you up through the glass. These mid-summer mornings on your farm reassure you that you made the right choice in taking it over. You smile to yourself, sitting up and stretching out before getting up and beginning to get dressed for the day. You hear the pitter-patter of your dog’s feet as you prepare yourself a light breakfast, knowing you only need to supervise your crops since the newest gadget you’d made to water them. Honestly, those sprinklers are lifesavers.

You eat what you made, quickly slipping some additional food to your pet, and placing your dishes in the sink. You grab your gardening gloves and throw your bag across your shoulder, ready to go check your crops and animals. You throw open your door, looking down at your dog running out, only for you to hear a soft grunt. You look up to be met with the big eyes of Sam. His hand is up in a knocking position, telling you he was about to make his presence known before you opened the door. And the way he’s regaining his footing tells you your dog bumped into him while running out of the door. You giggle. “Hey, Sam.”

“Hi, farmer… guess what? My band is playing a show tonight. In Zuzu City,” he says, recovering quickly from the awkward start of this interaction, and quickly becoming excited again. “Sam, that’s great!” you say, and he nods, smiling. “Yeah! And you’re invited!” he wiggles his arms above his head in a dancing motion, causing you to laugh. If you were paying closer attention, you would have noticed the blush dusting his cheeks and the fond smile that formed on his face. After all, he did just hear his favorite sound. “Meet me at the bus stop around 12:00 this afternoon to leave for the show. You better be there!” he says, starting to walk backward off of your porch and pointing at you, a smile still on his face. You smile and nod. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, rockstar,” you tease, slightly, and see his expression get even brighter somehow before running off in the direction of Marnie’s ranch. He must be telling everyone in town about it.

Knowing that he got up early just to come let you know about his show makes your heart beat faster, but since he’s telling everyone, you were probably just a stop in the road. Nothing to dwell on… right? Your pup’s noises bring you out of your daydream, noticing them at their empty water bowl. “Okay, okay! I’m coming!” you say, stepping out onto the porch and reaching to your right to grab your watering can, only to notice it isn’t there. You glance behind you, spotting it next to your house plants, recalling that yesterday was watering day for your indoor plants. You walk in, your door closing behind you. As much as you love your grandfather’s old cabin, Robin was right, it’s definitely janky in some aspects. One of these aspects being that your front door will NOT stay open no matter how much you will it to. You grab the can and take a moment to check over your plants inside, making sure none mysteriously began wilting throughout the night, when you hear a knock at your door. Your eyebrows furrow, wondering who else would need to talk to you at this hour. You open your door only to see the mother of the person who just visited you. “Good morning, Jodi,” you smile at her and she grins back, clutching her side and letting out a large huff of air. You notice she has to catch her breath before she speaks, and because of it, she places her hand in front of her mouth, chuckling a bit. Probably an attempt to cover it up. “…hi, (Y/n)!” A pant. “Whew… that was quite a workout, walking all the way up here,” she says and you nod. “It can be a lot, especially first thing in the morning.”

She nods, standing up straight and taking another breath before speaking again. “Anyway… I came by to ask if you wanted to have dinner with us tonight! With Sam’s show and his birthday in two days, I figured it would be nice to have a fancy family dinner and since you two are so close, I figured he’d enjoy having you there too,” she says, and you grin. “Will Seb and Abi be there too?”

“Oh, maybe, you know them, never giving a solid answer to anything. But, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, don’t feel obligated I know it’ll be a hectic day. If you do decide to come, though, could you please bring a largemouth bass with you?”

“The lake one? Not to be confused with the smaller variety of the same fish found in rivers?” you say, making a bad fishing joke. Like, really bad. Like, that might not even classify as a joke and could just be a thing that you said, bad. Willy is rubbing off on you. But luckily, bad jokes (if you can call it that) are Jodi’s favorite. She laughs, nodding. “That’s right. One of those big, slimy fish from the lake. I need one for the casserole I’m making,” she explains and you nod. “That is absolutely doable, Jodi.”

“Okay! Well… it’ll be at our house around 7:00 pm tonight… don’t forget the largemouth bass! Okay! Bye!”

With that, she starts her trek back to her house. You quickly run to your well, filling your watering can and rushing to fill up the water bowl. You have to go to the lake and fast. If you want to look good for Sam- er… good for the band, you have to set aside some time for you to get ready, and now you need to catch this fish. Luckily, you know exactly what type of bait this type of slimy guy likes, so it shouldn’t take too long. But still. You want to look nice and maybe not smell like a body of water. You do the time math in your head and quickly run around your farm, checking everything and making sure your animals look happy and healthy. As soon as you’re done, you run off to the lake. You silently curse at yourself, realizing you forgot to check the psychic on the TV, meaning you had no idea whether the spirits are happy or upset today. Would you have luck? Who knows. Well, someone knows... just not you. You wave and smile at Linus, who returns the wave with a grin, before settling next to the lake and putting bait on your rod. You toss it out and wait. While waiting, your thoughts wander off to Sam.

You couldn’t deny the feelings you’ve formed for him in your time here. He was constantly inviting you to things with him, Seb, and Abigail throughout your first month, and he would make sure to talk to you at least once every day. Not to mention he would send you memes and jokes all the time. The two of you are, in fact, very close. Some could even consider the two of you best friends. And you were fine with that until about a week and a half ago when you went to visit him in the morning. You figured you’d stop by and say hello and let him know you were heading up to the mines. It’s good to have someone know where you’re going, and you would get to talk to your bestie. Win-win, you know? Since you had such a great relationship with Jodi, you’re allowed to just let yourself inside their house, so you walk through the door, careful to kick your boots off as to not dirty Jodi’s floor. You know how hard she works on that. You sigh, knowing that you’re about to drip on the floors (which she assures isn’t an issue, it’s just the mud from your boots she worries about) and you walk through the empty living room to the kitchen. “G’morning, Jodi,” you say, and she glances behind her, smiling at you. “Good morning, (Y/n).”

“(Y/N)!” Vincent yells your name, running towards you from the hallway into the kitchen. You laugh and crouch down, grabbing him from under his armpits and lifting him up, spinning him around. He lets out a little giggle and you smile up at him. “Hey there, big guy, did you sleep okay?” you ask, placing him back down and he nods. “I had a dream, and you were in it! You, me, Sam, and Jas were all adventuring into the scary barred gate we saw that one time and you were protecting us from the monster!” he starts recounting his dream when you hear a chuckle coming from the hallway. You glance up from Vincent and your eyes land on Sam. He’d just woken up, so his hair wasn’t all styled and you could see how unruly his mullet actually was. But with the morning sun shining on him from the back and the front thanks to the wonderful placement of the windows in his lovely household. It literally made him glow. His green eyes were lit up, even though you could see the exhaustion in them. And has his smile always been that pretty? Or is the sun playing tricks on you? And you could swear there was a light blush on his face. Was that always there? You blink a couple times, realizing you’d been staring, and turn your eyes back to Vincent. “Sounds like you had fun in your dream, huh Vince?” he says, and you notice that not only is his voice deeper in the morning, but you could hear a bit of his Zuzu City accent coming through. And honestly, you wouldn’t be upset if you heard him talk like that every morning. Vincent nods, and Jodi places a plate of eggs on the table, causing him to jump up into his seat and eat his breakfast before going off to play with Jas. You turn your attention back to Sam, and grin, giving him a small wave. “Morning.”

“G’morning. The spirits must be happy today if you decided to visit us first thing,” he says, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. You feel your neck to your ears start heating up, but you give a small laugh. “Well, you know me, your good luck charm.” You proceeded to walk with him to his room and talk a bit before letting him know where you were heading. You could swear you saw his smile falter, but you were probably just imagining things. He made you pinky promise to come knock on his window after you were out (knowing that you stay in the mines decently late), and then you left. But ever since that day, you’d noticed just how… beautiful Sam actually was. And how much you enjoyed being around him and hearing him play his guitar, and sing his songs, and all his cute little quirks and how his city accent sometimes comes out when he’s drunk or too excited or angry or tired and- YANK!

You’re pulled out of your thoughts when you get a bite. You start reeling the fish in, a short but fierce battle before pulling it out of the water. To your surprise and delight, it’s a largemouth bass. And not only that, it’s a GREAT quality largemouth bass. You immediately toss it in your cooler and start to walk back to your farm. You check the time and walk faster. It’s 10AM, giving you about two hours to get ready and head to the bus station. That’s more than ideal, and you feel the excitement start to seep into you as you hurry home. It takes you about an hour and forty-five minutes to get all ready, making sure you look great. And you do. You double-check your animals and crops before hurrying to the bus station. You walk up to the bus, watching as Shane walks on. Sam, who is right next to the bus with Sebastian on Abigail on either side of him, looks around at everyone with his eyes narrowed and jaw set. He looks nervous. Like he’s searching for someone, and then his eyes meet yours. You can see him physically relax and a small smile stretches across his features. “Hi (Y/n). Thanks for coming,” he says as you approach him. You don’t notice the knowing glance that Sebastian and Abigail share before they slowly walk onto the bus and give you two some privacy. “I told you I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Sam, you don’t need to thank me. I’m always gonna be Goblin Destroyer’s number one fan.” You swear the look he gives you makes your heart skip. The fondness in his eyes causes you to smile and look down, too flustered to continue looking into his eyes. You both hear a loud noise, and he turns his head, seeing Pam give him a thumbs up. “Well, our gear’s loaded already. Looks like everything’s set,” he says, grabbing your hands and beginning to bounce up in down in excitement. You giggle and bounce with him as he glances around, using his “loud voice” to grab everyone’s attention. “Alright everyone… let’s get on the bus!”

Everyone starts loading on, and you can’t help but notice Sam doesn’t let go of you to let you get on by yourself. And next thing you know, the two of you are seated next to each other. The two of you just talk for a while, when you notice his leg start bouncing and he’s drying his hands off on his cargo pants. “Sam? You okay?” He gulps. “…I’m starting to get really nervous,” he admits, looking at you with a frightened expression. “Hey, you’re gonna do great! I’ve heard you rehearse so many times and I know how talented you are, okay? And nerves are just misplaced excitement when it comes to things like this. You just care so much, it makes sense that you just wanna do your best,” you assure him, and he gives you a small smile. You reach over and grasp his hand in yours, giving it a little squeeze. “And I’ll be in the front row, so if you start feeling like this at any time during the performance, just pretend it’s us in your room.” He smiles down at your hands and squeezes back. “…Thank you, (Y/n).” He doesn’t let go of your hand for the rest of the trip until the bus slows to a stop and Pam announces to everyone that the bus has arrived. The show was an early one, and they were the opening act of sorts. Of course, you would be staying for the other band's full performance, though. He glances at you, giving you a small grin. “Okay, here we are… wish me luck!”

Everyone gets off the bus, and you go over to Jodi and Vince, talking with them for a while. You also approach Shane, Emily, Penny, Maru, Elliott, and Leah before Seb, Abi, and Sam walk onstage. You hear the crowd clap and Sam jumps in surprise at how many people there are. You see him glancing around the crowd, before clearing his throat and speaking into the microphone in front of him. “Hi everyone. We’re from Pelican Town… er… and we’re called Goblin Destroyer!” More cheers, including yourself. Sam smiles and glances down at you before continuing. “This first song is about farming, mining, and chopping wood.” With that, Abigail starts counting them in with her drumsticks before they start playing. You’ve heard the lyrics a million times now, but you can’t help but smile and jump around with the melody the whole time. You do for every single one of their songs. Their set finally finishes, and the crowd cheers for them. Sam hypes up the main act for a while and lets the crowd know that their demos are for sale before they leave the stage, and come down to meet everyone else. Everyone crowds around them, yelling their praises. “Woooh! That was great!”

“Nice work, guys!”

“I really loved that heavy breakdown at the end.”

“Thanks, everyone,” Sam says, and then smiles at you, “But you really should be thanking (Y/n)! Without their help, we’d never have decided what kind of music to make in the first place!”

Penny turns to look at you with a pleasant expression on her face. “So you’re like an honorary member of the band then?”

“Damn right they are!” Sam exclaims, pulling you into a side hug. You have to pretend like you don’t want to be swallowed up by his arms right then and there, but luckily the main act begins playing and you all start vibing to their sound.  Though you can’t help but notice that for the rest of the performance, Sam’s arm barely ever leaves your waist.

By the end, everyone starts piling back in the bus again, and you take your seat next to Sam. He’s practically buzzing after his performance, and you can’t help but stare at him for a bit. He looks good. And, yeah, okay, he always looks good but he looks GOOD right now. You can practically feel the happiness exuding from him, and it shows. Not to mention he’s still a little sweaty from performing, and his hair has lost a little bit of its sticking up with gel style. To others, it probably looked like he needed a shower but to you? He looked absolutely breathtaking. “What are ya staring at, farmer?” His voice has a teasing tone to it, and you quickly look away. You clear your throat and glance back at him, only to see a smug smirk on his face. Seems like performing brought his confidence back at least. You awkwardly point toward his head and mutter out, “Your hair is a little messed up…” in a pathetic attempt to make it seem like you weren’t staring at your best friend because he looked hot as hell. He glances upwards, chuckling and running his hand through his hair. “I’ll fix it later… you did like the show… right?”

“Of course I did!” you reassure him, and he smiles. “Good. You know… I wasn’t lying when I said you were a huge help...” he brings his hand to the back of his neck and you grin at him. “All I did was suggest what type of music you should play,” you insist, and he shakes his head. “And help me with lyrics, and help me with song ideas, and sat in my room with me and helped me figure out what sounded good and what didn’t, and-”

“Okay. Okay, maybe I did help a lot.”

“You did,” he assures, gently knocking his shoulder into yours. A smile breaks out on your face and you glance over at him. “Seriously though, thanks for coming. Guess you really are my good luck charm,” he jokes and you smirk. “Obviously, who else would be?”

“Sebastian.”

“Um, excuse me? The forlorn wizard who is too scared to ask out his childhood crush,” how hypocritical of you to say, “and laments in the rain while petting frogs would be a better good luck charm? You know, I play wizard in The Solorian Chronicles, too, Seb always just beat me to it, and every time he’s the wizard I can’t help but notice he isn’t a very good good luck charm for you,” you huff, and Sam starts laughing. Hard. “Woah, woah, woah, calm down there mage. You’re right, it’s not him, it’s definitely you. We should really do something about getting them together, though, now that you mention it.” You nod and make an approving noise. “Fuck yeah I’m your good luck charm.” Cue more giggles from Sam, making a smile break out on your face. Little did you know, this whole time the two of have been talking, Jodi has been observing you. She’s not blind, especially when it comes to her son. She can tell that there’s something more than a best friend relationship between the two of you, and maybe, just maybe, she also is holding on to that idea because she’s also good friends with you. While, yes, she did just want you to come over for dinner tonight, she really was hoping tonight would be the night that you turned from her little boy’s best friend into his partner. She can tell that it’s getting consistently harder for him to pretend that he doesn’t like you romantically. He’s lucky you were too busy playing with Vincent to see the lovesick look he had on his face when looking at you the morning that Vince’s yells and giggling woke him up earlier than usual. She knew at that moment that the chance of you becoming her in-law was a high probability. Okay, maybe she’s getting a bit carried away here, but she can tell that there’s something going on there. Especially when she notices Sam not so subtly throw his arm around your shoulder and instead of responding negatively, you just lean into him further and lay your head on his shoulder. Jodi could practically die right then and there.

The two of you remained that way for the rest of the bus ride, formulating a plan to get Seb and Abigail together. “We could maybe do something tonight if they come over for dinner,” you suggest, and Sam raises his eyebrow. “I didn’t realize mom invited them over for dinner,” he says and you cock your head to the side. “Well, she invited me, so I just assumed she would invite them too, since... y’know… Goblin Destroyer and all…” you say, and Sam shrugs. “They didn’t mention anything to me, and neither did mom… but that’s fine! We don’t need to do it tonight… you said she invited you though, yeah?” he asks, his voice sounding a little nervous. You nod, “Yeah… yeah she came over shortly after you this morning. When we get back I’m gonna go grab the fish she asked me to get and then head over to your place and help her prepare.”

“Cool… cool, that’s great! I didn’t realize we’d be spending all day together, but… hey, I’m not complaining,” he says and you smile. “Me either.” Conveniently, you feel the bus come to a stop, signifying you’re back in Pelican Town. Sam reluctantly takes his arm off of you, and you can’t help but notice it seems a little colder without it there. “Seb, Abigail, and I are gonna unload our gear, so I’ll see you in like… an hour? Or so?” You nod. 

“Yeah, see you then.”

[moon-huny]

Feel Your Power - ScareActor!Buggy

CW: My content is not for anyone under 18. Minors DNI. cursing, p in v sex, afab reader, dom!Buggy, sub!Reader that type of dynamic at least

Word Count: 2.7K

Summary: Caleb and Blake throw a Halloween party at their place and a certain guest makes an appearance.

A/N: Ayo, this one is half the length of the original. But it is because I'll have a little epilogue published later on. I am still a bit eepy, but thank you all for your patience and understanding that this weekend was a much needed break from looking at a computer screen.

Happy Kinktober. Okay, that's all, enjoy.

Read Part One The Midnight Hour

“Come on, tell us more about him.”

“Yea, (Y/N), I want to hear every. single. detail.”

You, Lete and Marnie were curled up together on the couch at Caleb’s place – Marnie practically on Lete’s lap. The soft lights around the room reflected in shades of red, blue, green and orange. 

Though Blake and Caleb’s apartment wasn’t huge, they somehow managed to get quite a crowd packed into the small space. The two had been friends since diapers and you’re pretty sure they were third cousins … or shared a step mom … or some other miscellaneous familial thing that was hard to explain.

Marnie was Carrie this year. Her pretty pink slip dress was covered in blood as well as her forehead and neck. The tiara she wore was just a smidge too big and she’d had to readjust the sparkly headpiece all night yet refused to take it off since it would “ruin her look.”

Lete went with a classic Patrick Batemen costume. She had pulled her old school wired headphones down around her neck in the same place a little red tie hung. She wore a cute mini-skirt and suit-jacket combo with a clear raincoat covered in blood to complete the look.

You were a bit spooky last year in your Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas get up. This year, however, you’d decided to go full Halloween glam opting for the ever popular mermaid costume.

“I think he was just Caleb’s weird friend,” you said, brushing off the conversation. “He didn’t even give me his number or contact or name. I really can’t imagine we’d meet again much less … well you get it.”

This was not your first time talking about Buggy since the night of the haunt visit. You had rehashed the story over and over to Lete, Marnie and Blake after they asked where you’d gone on the way home and Caleb just had to open his mouth. 

Granted you only told the story in summary, but still your friends were so intrigued with the idea that some mystery man was on your mind 24/7.

“Why would you be so sure about that?” asked Marnie.

“Yea! Why not ask Caleb for his number or snap or something?” said Lete, exasperated with the fact you refused to make any moves when it came to a guy you were clearly obsessed over.

“Because, I am of the firm belief that when someone says ‘See ya next Halloween’ they aren’t exactly looking for a relationship.” You retort.

It wasn’t like you didn’t want to see him again, just that the idea of getting your hopes up for a guy in this economy was like putting all your chips on 23. You might spin the roulette wheel and win big or you might spend all your money gambling.

It was just then you felt a presence flop onto the empty space on the couch beside you.

“How you feeling tonight, sea queen?” said a very stupidly drunk Caleb dressed as the horror classic Ghostface. “Do you three know that Blake is in the kitchen right now absolutely cleaning house at beer pong? I lost *bur* so many times.”

Blake, dressed as a very glamorous Freddy Kruger, was in fact impeccable at most drinking games. Part of the reason why you and the two lovers decided that, unless you wanted to be face down on the floor, it was best to avoid Blake’s winning rampage until they got bored.

“We told you not to play with them Caleb,” said Lete.

“Hey, (Y/N),” said Caleb, hooking onto you like a backpack. “Trick or treat?”

“You smell like a bar, go eat something and drink a glass of water.” You replied. You were only slightly worried about your friend knowing full well that this was just how he was. A total flirt and a massive drinker.

“Answer my question, Little Mermaid,” he spoke into your ear. “Trick or Treat?”

You rolled your eyes, “I don’t know Caleb, treat?”

Expecting, at worst, a kiss on the cheek or, at best, another seltzer shoved into your hand you did not see it coming when he grabbed your head, rotated it 90 degrees to the left, and pointed out none other than the man who had haunted your dreams for the past week.

There he was plain as day on the other side of the room, only, he didn’t look like he had that night. He wasn’t even wearing a costume. No wonder you didn’t notice him.

Your eyes went wide and your deepest fears came true. He was a real, tangible person and he could potentially think you aren’t worth his time. All of your memories came flooding back to you. All of the super hot moments you shared in the moment began to color in your mind a deep shade of shame and embarrassment. You felt a hand reach over and touch your knee.

“Whatever you are thinking right now,” said Lete. “I need you to know you are the hottest person in the room.”

“Hey!” said Marnie.

“I’m in love with you, it doesn’t count,” Lete said back in an even tone.

“She’s right though, (Y/N) you look great and I am sure he’ll be happy to see you.” Marnie said, confidence in her girlfriend restored.

Eyes still wide in terror at the potential scenarios, he finally turned in your direction. You knew that had to have been your fault. Why is it that people can feel you looking at them? Getting up you swiftly ran into the kitchen.

Pushing past the tight knit cluster of bodies your eyes landed on Blake at the dinner table under soft green light.

“Yo! (Y/N)! Come watch me destroy these losers at this game,” They shouted to you.

If you hadn’t been on a mission to be anywhere but here, you would have called on Blake to stop bullying the other party goers. But these were different circumstances.

“Can I go up to your room for a bit?” you asked quietly so as not to draw attention to yourself while the other team set up their cups. 

Blake got a more serious tone, “yea dude of course. You good?”

“Yep. I’m fine, just need some quiet.”

“Okay, know where to go?”

“Yes, be down in a lil.”

And off you went, down the hall and toward the stairs. 

That is, until a certain someone had to get in your way.

“If you’re avoiding me that is totally okay just say the word and I’ll walk away and leave you alone. But parties aren’t really my thing and I came here tonight to see you so give me one sec?”

There were people all around you yelling over one another and in the small hallway. You really didn’t want to have to yell either. Plus, now that you had plotted a course for the quietness of Blake’s room you were hellbent on going there.

“Okay yea, come on.” You grabbed his wrist in your hand and pulled him up the stairs.

Reaching your friend's room and shutting the door, you turned around to see a somewhat flustered man behind you.

“You know I am more than happy to do whatever you want right now, but I kinda wanted to take a moment to talk beforehand if that’s okay?”

You were confused for a moment but when it all finally registered you let out a loud HA!

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” you said. “No, I just got overwhelmed with the crowd.”

“Oh! So we aren’t fucking right now? Okay no, that’s cool.” He tried to play it off.

“It’s cool?” you questioned.

“Well I mean it would be cool if we were about to fuck. No, shit sorry I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”

Someone tell you why you were preparing for the worst.

“I wanted to say that what happened between us was ridiculously unprofessional. I am so sorry and I know we both had a good time – or at least I assume we both did – I don’t want you to feel like I was out to take advantage of you. 

I mean I was cause you're incredibly hot and I would take advantage of you all night long if you let me but, shit okay, what I am trying to say is I hope I’m not some douchebag.”

You weren’t sure if you should take the apology or laugh. He seemed so genuine and it kinda melted your heartstrings a little. 

“You know,” you started. “I was a little worried you thought the same thing about me. I was super worried that you thought I was just using you for my own twisted sexual fantasy and that you never wanted to see me ever again.”

“Well I don’t want that,” he said. Genuine expression never leaving his face.

“Likewise.”

“So,” he made a few steps toward you, pinning you against the door with his body. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what you want.”

////

Kneeling before him, you’d been working on sucking his gorgeous cock into your mouth for the last handful of minutes. He gripped your hair in his fist and softly guided you down and around him listening to your little moans and gasps for air every time he stalled himself at the back.

“That’s a good feeling baby. I like feeling your little throat constrict around me. Almost feels just as good as that pussy.”

In only a few moments after you exchanged words was he able to work you into a pliant obedient putty in the palm of his hand. You could feel yourself getting wetter with every one of his praises coupled with the mean little things he would do to your body.

His words caused you to moan around him which in turn made him buck up into your mouth to chase that vibration.

“God, princess you suck this dick like a fuckin champ.” He started to work into you faster chasing that high and feeling himself get closer to snapping.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay!” He pulled you off of him and looked down at your stunning eyes, glazed over with desire and more than a little confidence with how quickly he was about to bust.

“You’re dangerous.” He looked down at you wiggling your ass in the air on all fours while he held his heavy cock in his hand.

The little giggle you let out coupled with his hand lightly squeezing down around the base of his shaft made Buggy feel like he’d died and gone to heaven.

He climbed down onto the floor beside you leaning against the bed frame. Both of you decided that to use Blake’s room was fine, but to have sex on their bed was a whole nother level of ‘don't-go-there.’

“Get right up close to me, pretty girl.” he said into your ear.

He sat you in between his legs so you were in his lap and spread out for him. Your hair and makeup was still elaborately done while the only thing you were left wearing was a pair of aquamarine colored lace underwear.

Your head turned to look at him over your shoulder. His hand found its way under your chin and guided you to meet his lips. His kiss was just as you remembered it. Warm and gentle and it made you feel like you were walking on air.

But then it turned darker, as it always does with him – like sailing into a storm. His kiss grew hungry, he bit down on your lower lip and you’d be lying if you said your tongues fought for any sort of dominance. He was the one to win, to take.

As he kissed you, his hands came up to your chest. His fingers quickly found your nipples and made slow soft circles while he kissed you. The little motions that Buggy made on the raised flesh of your breasts was the exact kind of motion he knew would feel oh so good just a bit lower at a different little bud.

The movements he made sent socks of pleasure straight to where you needed him to touch the most. And yet, Buggy refused to move any lower, opting instead to launch a full assault on your tits. But, what’s the harm in begging?

“Please, daddy,” you whined out. “Can you rub my clit like this, please.”

You used the nickname he liked and spoke as directly as possible. That ought to get you some brownie points, right?

“You little slut,” he said between breaths as his lips continued to dance with your own in a teasing way. “You need to learn some patience. I bet you’ll feel really good if I make you wait longer.”

The plan backfired.

“Feel what you do to me?” He asked. his cock jumping against your back at every moan and keen your let out. “You make me so hard it’s painful. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since that night. The way you cried out for me and all those nasty little thoughts you shared.”

He was beginning to turn you on past the point of no return. You tried to touch yourself for some relief, but Buggy had slapped your hand away. 

“Every night I’d dream about these tits and that tight little cunt. I’d have to pull on my cock every night just to have some peace.”

You wanted him to touch you, but all you could do while he played with you was rock your hips into the air and beg for more.

“Oh? Is baby feeling needy? You want daddy’s fingers in your pussy. You want me to rub your little clit till you come, s’at it?”

You nodded furiously, the feeling of his hard length pressing into your back made you picture all of the delicious ways he could stretch you out on it. 

“I want your cock now, please.” You could feel how sopping wet you were through your underwear.

At this point, Buggy was not inclined to say no. After edging himself in your mouth and now having you ask so sweetly for him to fuck you, there was no time to spare.

Turning around to straddle him, he hooked his finger around your lace panties and pulled his finger through your folds. He let out a groan at how wet you had gotten with just a little nipple play. It was like you’d never been touched before.

While he didnt take the time to stretch you out on his fingers – nor had he gotten you to cum yet – Buggy knew deep down that you were about to be so unbelievably tight. Sure, it might hurt you a little bit, but that feeling was about to be amazing.

You lowered yourself down onto him, but were met with some resistance. Even just the feeling of his tip nestled inside you made you want to push through the discomfort and just feel him already.

“You’re doing so good for me, my good girl, want you to cum on this cock and make this cock cum.”

His words were plenty to spur you on. Ignoring the stretch, you sunk down onto him and felt your eyes flutter shut.

“Yea, holy fuck, that feels so good baby. Can you feel that sweet cunt squeezing me?”

With that you started moving. Slowly up and down at first, but your confidence got the better of you and allowed for much deeper and faster movements.

Every stroke or so, he would whimper, whine, or let out some other form of gorgeous noise that would make you want more.

Soon you both began to approach your high. The string in your belly began to tighten until all of a sudden it snapped.

“Oh fuuucckk, yea yea that’s my girl. That’s my pretty girl. Good girls cum just like this, my girl cums just like this. Let me fuck you baby, I’m not done. You want daddy to finish don't you? You wanna feel my cum in you right?”

Completely dumb on his cock you just nod your head and allow him to finish inside of you. He cums with a growl and a deathgrip on your hips.

Epilogue Coming Soon

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taglist: @max-505 @kurinhimenezu

[spacesapphi]

YIPPIEE time to bring in my ideas for Jas' parents and talk ab the kind of ppl they were when it comes to my writing! I haven't finished drawing them in my style yet, but I have picrews here as a very basic idea of what they would look like !

Their names are Amelia and Jason Anderson and I think ab them so much.... Ty to my moot moonferry for helping me figure out names for them!!

ANYWAYS more pieces of info below the cut for em :3

Amelia

- went to college as an education major, wanted to specifically work as an elementary school teacher!

- genuinely believes in the concept of magic (which TBF is real in Stardew) and will defend her belief to death

- she was so excited to have a daughter so she could dress her up in cute costumes and outfits, Jas was about 3 months old on her first Halloween and she had the most elaborate fairy costume on Earth

- Took the film class she met Shane and Jason in initially because it was the only available class of a credit type she needed. She's happy she took it in the end

- Both of her parents passed, and like Shane, was raised by her aunt. That aunt passed away while she was in college though :(

- got into gridball to be a supportive gf to Jason at first, but soon became a huge enjoyer of it and the Tunnelers specifically!

- very much the level-headed and chill one in the relationship, she keeps Jason down to Earth

- loves storytelling, and was great at it. She had a genuine gift for doing different voices and making the books she read sound fun. Her students loved it

- like Jason, is fairly tall, standing at 5'10

- Jas looks JUST like her, just with Jason's hair color. Everything else is like an exact duplicate of Amelia though

- loves jewelry, specifically fun and funky earrings! She has a decent collection of them

- an amazing cook, she just generally has the knack for it! She can look at pretty much any dish and know what she needs to do to make it

Jason

- he was a visual arts major, like Shane! He genuinely wanted to be a movie producer one day

- He was also on a gridball scholarship like Shane, and while it was a big passion, he didn't plan on going pro with it

- a very goofy and funny guy, flirted with Amelia using the corniest pick up lines (they worked though so he considers it a win)

- TOTAL WIFE GUY he loves Amelia very much and would do anything for her

- also a total girldad, he was so excited to find out he was having a daughter, like running down the street cheering excited

- his family disowned him after he came out as bisexual, so he really doesn't have anyone. This fact also helped him bond a lot with Amelia and Shane,, given that all three of them didn't have much family in life.

- he absolutely has a motorcycle and would take Amelia on scenic drives for their dates. She thought it was so romantic!

- he is VERYYYY tall, like 6'4

- very close with a lot of the guys on the varsity gridball team. He's a total social butterfly and has an easy time connecting with a lot of people

- he helps Amelia get out of her shell, just like she helps him stay more grounded

- tried to play a love song for Amelia on guitar for one of their dates. He does not know how to play guitar. She thought it was cute anyways :)

- was very nervous the first time Marnie invited him and Amelia over to the ranch for Winter Star. Since she looks more "traditional" and is religious it reminded him of his family and he was initially worried she'd be like them. She thankfully is not and is a very understanding and accepting person (Shane had to go "dude she helped pay for my top surgery what the hell are you worried about")

- worst cook on earth, he pours cereal into a bowl and it lights on fire (/j but he's BAD at it)

- dormed with Shane in college, they got up to so much stupid antics while rooming together /pos

BONUS height chart for the trio. Shane is so short bro

[kawaiichibiart]

Tenma Sibling Headcanons (ft. Honorary Tenma Siblings Minori and Kohane :))

Movie night usually happens on the weekend while they have school and throughout the week during any breaks. This is because they have 4-6 movies to get through depending on who shows up.

If you wanted to know their movie choices: Tsukasa - Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper | Saki - Barbie Fairytopia | Toya - Cinderella (sometimes he chooses the Princess and the Frog instead) | Kanade - When Marnie was the There (or like any Studio Ghibli movie tbh) | Kohane and Minori have the most misc. movie pick, from Disney to very old horror movies to animal documentaries.

Kohane and Minori mainly sleep in Saki's room whenever they're over.

Sometimes Kohane will go into Toya's room if he isn't spending the night with Tsukasa, the two like to cuddle in their sleep.

They have duo days where they each pair up and do something together, such as Toya and Kanade working on music or helping Toya learn to feel comfortable playing the piano again, Saki and Kohane going shopping to find new accessories or try new foods, maybe get some things off of Saki's bucket list, Minori and Tsukasa usually stay at home in his room playing dress up or working on making some of Minori's idol outfit ideas a reality (she designs, he sews, Minori tried sewing but kept pricking her finger and struggled with the machine).

Biggest supporters of each other. Kohane has a live show? Toya is by her side, the rest of her siblings are in the audience. Nightcord released a new song? Kanade is taken to celebrate at a place that sells really good ramen. Saki is performing live with Leo/need? Her siblings are all there watching and cheering her on. Minori and the rest of MMJ are livestreaming? She can see her siblings support in the chat, encouraging her throughout the stream. Toya plays the piano for the first time in a long time? His siblings are there for him when he starts crying because the piano is finally starting to feel familiar again. Tsukasa is putting on a show with WxS? His siblings rush backstage to congratulate him on another successful show.

Akito almost laughed when Kohane invited An to meet her siblings. She glared at him and she accepted the invite, she knew Tsukasa (and no, she still isn't used to hearing Kohane call him Onii-chan) and Toya obviously (which was another surprise), she hasn't met her sisters besides Minori (okay who started this? Tsukasa Onii-chan, Kana nee-chan says he collects us like how some birds collect shiny rocks. ...of course it was him). Game night was fun since all the S/Os also showed up.

As the eldest, Tsukasa is usually the one taking charge of things, he's even stepped in for their actual parents at times whenever they need to be seen or aren't available. The students at Miya Girls have gotten used to seeing him walk in for a meeting with one of his sisters teachers (doesn't he only have one sister? I heard Hanasato and Asuzawa call him big brother once....do you think he'd take me in if I asked? What the fuck? Come on, it can't be that bad to be a Tenma!!).

Kanade knows Minori and Kohane more from whenever they spend time in the LEAD Sekai than anything else, so it took some time for her to get comfortable and used to be being called big sister by the two of them. Saki she was used to, Toya usually just called his siblings by their name, and Tsukasa referred to her as his little sister, which she wholeheartedly accepted. But this? Yeah she needed time to get used to it.

Minori and Kohane will sometimes bring their pets over for play time. Some days they're all in the house together, other days Minori, Tsukasa and Saki take Samo-chan out for a walk while Kohane, Kanade and Toya stay at the Tenma's house and watch Count Pearl.

Since they're the ones who visit most often and were given a copy of the house keys, it isn't surprising for a member of Poly/need and/or Rui to walk in a massive cuddle pile on the floor. Some days everyone is still in their school uniform, Kanade in her usual sweats. Some days you can see a lot of what they were doing on and around them. Tsukasa has scraps of thread and fabric on him, Minori largerd scraps of fabric on her, either they were working on a new idol costume for Minori or some new cosplay. Saki and Kanade are surrounded by papers covered with music, new songs for their respective groups. Toya and Kohane are cuddling on the couch, gluestick finally falling out of Kohane's hand, the unfinished scrapbook she and Toya were working on sitting on the table, photos, stickers, fun paper, etc. spread all around for them to pick and choose from. Some days the room they're in is bright and some days the only light is that of the sun as it goes down, giving the room a warm, orange, glow.

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Seven

I adjust the cat ears on my head for the fourth time, despite only being there for ten minutes. They’re a bit slap-dash, the construction isn’t great, because I made them by following a YouTube tutorial on my laptop the night before the party with bleary eyes and a bit of a tension headache. Izzy let me borrow her glue gun so that I could attach triangles of white foam to black and curl the ears around an old plastic hair band I had that I had lying under my bed, but I’ve been finding myself pulling glue strings off it constantly.

“You look nice.” She assures me now, dressed as a pirate. “Very cute.”

I feel too cute for Halloween. Everyone else is dressed either scary or funny, while all I’ve done is paint whiskers on my face, the result being that I’m neither, I’m just lazy. The tight pleather skirt and corset that I never gave back to Marnie after I borrowed it two years ago makes me feel naked and self conscious, too uncovered, too done up, like a little girl play-acting like an adult. Nobody else is even wearing high heels, not even Claire, who’s in a witch costume from Dealz, and I feel ridiculous in mine. It’s only Shane’s house anyway, Shane’s friends, who I don’t know, and are certainly not bothered about the fact that I can balance in five inch heeled boots that come all the way up to my thighs and have me paranoid that my mother will somehow appear and ask me to change. 

Shane is dressed as Darth Vader, helmet under his arm, because when he’s wearing it he’s not able to eat or drink anything. Someone already got a video of themselves trying to shove Doritos through the tiny mouth slits to no avail, and now there’s crumbs all over the floor that nobody will take responsibility for. Every time he walks into a room, be it the kitchen or the living room, somebody chants “Shane-oooooo” and then all the boys make these weird animalistic sounds with the grace and decorum of gorillas at the zoo. He just grins like he’s used to it. 

“Eviiiiiieeee.” He musses up my hair as he saunters by, as if to subtly remind me that while I might have made an attempt to be sexy tonight, I’m still perpetually twelve in his eyes. He’s also been drinking, and Shane, on account of the rules of the football team, is not allowed to drink. We’ve all been warned that if his coach finds out he’ll be in trouble, hence why nobody is allowed to take a picture of him with a beer in his hand. I’ve seen the scene play out about three times already. The flash of a digital camera and then him, waving his hand around. “Nah, man, delete, delete.”

I think it’s been three years since I’ve seen him this way, and while he’s the merry kind of drunk, I can’t help but wonder if all of this has anything to do with the argument I accidentally overheard between him and Claire earlier this evening. I haven’t asked her about it, as she will deny it, but as I watch her from across the room, her body seems wound tight, tension emanating from her like an aura. Even as she’s laughing with the guy in a cow costume, I can tell her heart isn’t in it. I know her fake laugh from her real one, when she really wants to be somewhere and when she’d rather be at home snuggled in blankets and watching Say Yes to the Dress. 

I wander into the kitchen and take a moderately warm beer out of a box. The fridge is full up with lunchboxes of chicken and rice meals and eight litres of milk, a carton for each of the four guys who lives here and refuses to split one with anybody else. I go into the living room but vacate soon after I come in, as some lad with a big square UCD head has cleared the room by trying to show everyone how he can rap the song from the end credits of Men in Black without looking up the words.

Michelle and Simon are just arriving, and are unloading a shopping bag full of mixers onto the cluttered counter when I return. They wave me over when I wander in. “Are you drinking Galahad?” Simon says in a voice caught between outrage and disgust. I stare down at my hand. I suppose I am. 

“It’s all that was going for free.” I admit. “I didn’t bring any of my own drink.” I’m too cheap. And trying not to drink, clearly unsuccessfully.

“You like that shit?”

“Um.” I crack it open for an experimental sip. “Not really, no. It’s not the best.” 

“Oh, have some of ours then” Michelle says brightly. She lightly grabs my forearm and pulls me closer to them, out of the path of another man in another obstructing helmet who cannot see where he is going. I realise, as she’s rummaging in her giant handbag that there’s actually something quite disarming and pleasant about her. I never thought she seemed particularly friendly before, there’s something tough and no-nonsense about her, but now for the very first time she seems rather sweet. 

She yanks out a bottle of El Jimador Tequila and my palms prickle at the sight of it. I didn’t really intend on diving right into spirits tonight, but something about the way that droplets of condensation are clinging to the outside of the cold glass bottle while the can of Galahad warms even further in my hand makes my mouth feel twice as dry. 

“You alright with tequila?” She asks, reaching around for a few plastic cups stacked on the counter. 

I shrug. “I’ve no issue with tequila.”

“Grand.” Michelle unscrews it and starts pouring glugs into a cup. “I know someone who vomits at just the smell of it, which is why I asked.”

“Great image to have while you’re serving it up to me.” I comment, and she laughs. “Sorry, yeah, I just can’t really think about tequila without thinking about that.” I help her by reaching for a nearby bottle of orange juice. It’s what Marnie and I would always mix it with when there was nothing more sophisticated to be found. As I pour it into the cup, Simon gets distracted by someone nearby and strikes up his own conversation, and I take advantage of my moment alone with Michelle. 

“Hey, sorry if it’s awkward, but I was talking to Jude the other day…”

She nods, still looking at the cup. 

“…and he was wondering if he could have your new number. He said you’ve changed phones or something? He didn’t say why or anything, I just told him I’d get it for you.”

Her eyes flit to mine. “Oh yeah, no worries. You have your phone handy?”

“Uh, yep.” I wrestle it out of the tight waistband of my skirt, embarrassed by the imprint on my skin on the screen. She taps in her details, then I offer his number to her, and transfer the details from one phone to the other. The middle man, just here to facilitate whatever weirdness this is without any insight into why. 

“He didn’t say anything to you about Jen, did he?” She asks, a tinge of vulnerability behind her words, and I blink. “Um, no, he didn’t. Not really.”

“Alright cool.”

“Should he have?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing, like, I was just wondering. She hasn’t replied to my messages in a few days. I thought maybe he might have heard from her.”

“Isn’t she coming tonight?”

“I doubt it. She was invited, but she didn’t respond to the invitation, as far as I know.”

“Oh. Well, Jude didn’t mention that he heard from her, but I have a feeling he hasn’t. I didn’t think they were talking at all.”

“Yeah, well, they’re not not talking. She’s just a bit off the grid at the moment. He said something to Pamela once that pissed her off, but honestly, I can’t really keep up with everything that’s been said or not said…” She fiddles with the torn collar of her zombie school girl costume. “I just hoped that since she’s not replying to me she might have replied to him.”

“Well you can ask him yourself now.” I say with a smile that I hope says please don’t involve me, which prompts her to smile back. A wide, even smile that calls to mind a photo I saw in the depths of her facebook profile before where she was wearing braces. I wonder if Jude’s dad was her orthodontist. They’ve made her look very pretty, but even with crooked teeth I think she’d still be. As if somebody like Jude Turner would have ever settled for anything less than the prettiest girl at his school. As if he’d ever have to. 

She looks down at her phone, staring at his number in her contacts. “Yeah I’ll text him tomorrow, or he’ll text me, I suppose. Whichever. It’s honestly a bit weird to see his number in my phone again, but…” her eyes flick to mine. “What’s the story with you two anyway? Jen said you liked each other, or you’re together or something?”

I bark out a laugh, surprised. “No, well, I fancied him once, and he didn’t like me back. That’s all, nothing really happened.” 

She frowns. “Oh right? Because I-”

“Well, okay, that’s a lie. We kissed once.” I blurt out. “Twice, actually, but it was like, I heard he kisses all of his female friends so it’s a bit classic, you know? I know it didn’t mean anything.” I bury my nose into my cup and take anxious sips from it. I probably shouldn’t have said that. She probably doesn’t need to know it, but her face softens into a smile. “Right. I know how he is. He can get a bit swept away.”

“Right, because you were together… how long?” I say, even though I already know the answer. I’ll have to do this dance, regardless of how stupid and awkward it makes me feel so that I won’t have to admit that I scoured her Facebook page with the kind of intensiveness that could only be rivalled by a full time private investigator. 

“Eleven months. We broke up when he got into that Berlin school, he just didn’t want to do long distance with me, so,” She shrugs, pouring herself a drink. “It didn’t feel great but I got it. I get it. You either have the personality for it or you don’t. Maybe I could have done it, but he couldn’t.” She exhales a laugh. “He definitely couldn’t. He needs too much contact with people. I think he’s a bit ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”

“Still, mustn’t have been easy.”

“No. I liked him a lot. It just felt really hard to understand why we broke up at the time, like there was nothing wrong with our relationship and it felt like he was just chucking it out and that pissed me off for ages.”

“I get it, like if he was your first-”

“Oh, no.” She interrupts. “We weren’t each other’s first anything. He was just my friend who became my boyfriend and then all we ended up doing was making things weird for Jen when we split up. The whole thing was a stupid idea, honestly. I was just young and I was…” She trails off in search of the right word. “Enticed by him.”

“He’s enticing.” I agree, and she nods.  “He is. He’s always had that specific american brand of charisma, we all used to make fun of his accent and stuff when we were younger, I mean, to the point that he tried to disguise it, but actually it was one of the things that made him interesting. You know?”

“I do.”

“And if it means anything to you at this point, I mean, I don’t know how much you even care, Jen told me that he fancied you once.”

“Hm?”

“Ages ago.” She waves her hand dismissively. “Like, years probably. I forced it out of her when we were hanging out, I dunno why, like, I suppose I was feeling self destructive or something, I asked her if she knew about any other girls and she’s so bad at keeping things in, I knew she’d eventually just tell me, and she said that he liked this girl he met on the beach.”

“Oh.” I say with deliberate neutrality, “Well, it was so long ago, I suppose it hardly matters now.”

“Bit late, yeah?” She says with a laugh. “But I think it’s nice to know those kinds of things. It’s good for the ego. I was mad jealous, by the way.”

“You were?”

“Yes of course! I looked up your Facebook page and everything.”

“Oh God” I shield my face. “The state of my Facebook page back then. I bet that made you feel better about yourself.”

“No! I was raging, you were so pretty.” I roll my eyes but she insists. “There was this one picture I remember fuming over, where you were standing by the edge of a swimming pool, and I just thought ‘for God sake, her legs.’”

I stare down at my legs now, poking out of the bottom of this pleather skirt, and they look perfectly average to me. Paler than average, maybe, but that’s about the extent of their uniqueness. “My legs?”

“Yeah obviously. They’re perfect. I almost cried looking at you, like, knowing that he’d never want me again when he’d already wanted someone like you. Then we ran into you that time at that horrible cocktail bar and I had to pretend not to recognise you, I was so scared that you’d somehow figure out what I’d been doing.”

“God, Michelle, that’s so crazy. I did the same thing as you. When I found out who you were I stalked your Facebook for hours.”

“You didn’t!”

“I swear to God.”

“What did you think?”

I tell her, and we laugh about how silly we were, and how much cleverer we are now, and all the things that used to fill our heads and ruin our days, and it’s the most strangely healing thing to know that I wasn’t the only crazy girl, and even she, the sharp, intimidating person I pictured, was unravelling on the inside just like me. 

When I finish my drink she pours me another, and I find myself warming to her utterly. She’s funny, she’s honest, she’s charming, which only makes me feel worse about the horrible, envious thoughts I had about her years ago. Eventually Simon rejoins our conversation, so we pivot to other things, like art and film. The party swirls around us and the music gets louder, and eventually, by the time Macklemore’s Thrift Shop is on its fourth rotation and my cup has been filled and emptied twice more I excuse myself and head out to the front steps for some fresh air.

Beginning // Prev // Next

[birds-nest-on-the-roof]

From bud to blossom

It’s your first flower dance! You mingle and are having a good time. It's after an incident involving spilling some punch on both yourself and Haley that things take a turn. Shane comforts you and  brings you out to dance despite telling you earlier he wouldn't be. 

It's mostly fluff. Shane is a little bit annoyed in the beginning, but sweet in the end.

Your senses are filled with music and the sweet smell of the blossoms that surround the field. Dandelions and violets have spread in splotches of yellow and blue. The many pots and vases overflowing with flowers are scattered around the many tables and sitting areas. Evelyn has gone out of her way to make this year's flower dance a momentum over how beautiful the spring truly is. 

A light breeze is making your dress flutter, it’s pastel blue with a checkered design on it. The people around you are just as beautifully dressed and happy as you are, enjoying the good company through chatting or dancing. You stop and talk with as many as possible. You talk to Robin about fixing up your house. Vincent and Jas tell you a story about one of Marines' cows. Sam stops by and asks you to come and help him get Sebastian on the dancefloor. 

You run into Gus who tells you about what the snack table has to offer. You, who are already making your way towards the other side of the field, decide that your next stop will be the snacks. The table is set with all types of different goodies all with in season produce. Cauliflower popcorn, Garlic bread with a kale dip, fries with roasted parsnip and many more dishes. You settle on starting with pouring yourself a glass of fruit punch. 

On a chair right beside a big tray of deviled eggs sits Shane. You greet him like you always do when you encounter him but the only thing you get in return is a small nod. Which to you is a big improvement considering his earlier answers used to be ‘Why are you talking to me?’ and ‘Don't you have better things to do?’.  

“Not a fan of the flower dance?” You ask as you take a sip of the sweet drink. 

“Don’t like dances in general. I wouldn't be here if Marnie had’nt forced me.” 

“Oh, so I won't be seeing you on the dancefloor then?” 

“What do you think?” He gives you a skeptical look. You smile and shake your head. 

“Not even with Jas? I’m sure she would love to.”

“Marnie said the same thing and no, she has the other kid, what's his name?... Vincent right? She has him to play with.”  

"I'm glad you came at least. Well I probably have to go, I'll see you around.” 

“Sure.” 

You give him a little wave before you turn to walk away. But just as you turn you walk straight into Haley. Through some miracle you manage to redirect your falling cup so close to nothing of the drink ends up on Haley’s beautiful flower patterned dress. But much to your dismay most of the contents end up on your own dress. You look down on the red splotch at the end of your dress and decide that there is no harm done. A wash and it would be as good as new. 

Your attention turns back to Haley who makes an audible gasp and holds up the end of the dress. Despite your sacrifice a few drops manage to make their way to her dress, but they would barely be visible over the floral pattern. 

“Oh, I'm really sorry Haley.” 

“You should watch where you're going!”

"I'm sorry! It was an accident, here, let me help." You turn around and grab a few napkins from the table, but Haley snatches them from your hands. 

“I don't want you touching my dress, you just make it worse.” She squeezes out as much as she can, but a few light red drops are left behind. 

“My dress is ruined!” 

“No, I promise it's barely noticeable. A good wash and it will be fine again.” You try to calm her down. 

“You don't know anything do you!” She throws her hands up in frustration. 

“Oh, shut up! It was just an accident, not the end of the world.” Shane who has up to this point just been observing the interaction, stands up from his seat and walks up to you both. Haley looks slightly stunned by the intervention but she quickly collects herself and continues. 

"What do you know about clothes anyways, you wear the same outfit everyday." 

“Why don't you run off to your sister and let her help you. Come on, we're leaving.” Shane takes a hold of your wrist and pulls you with him. 

“Urg! You know what, you are not worth my time.” And with that Haley turns and stomps away. 

“Oh no, I'll have to talk to Emily later. Maybe she can talk to her?” You say more to yourself than to Shane as he leads you away. 

“You don't have to do anything. Everything can't go her way all the time.” 

“I feel guilty.” You tell him. 

“If you ask me, she deserves some humbling.” You try to give him a stern look but your lips betray you and you break out in a small smile. 

“But she got sad over it. I still feel bad.” 

“It was an accident, leave it.” 

“Yeah… I will.” As the two of you make your way over the dancefloor Jolene by Dolly Parton starts to play over the speakers. A few people gather around you to dance, slightly trapping you both. 

“I know you said you wouldn't dance but you can't drag me out here just to ditch me.” You tease and it's enough to make him cave. 

“Fine.” He makes a big dramatic sigh before he holds out his hands for you. You smile at his gesture before you take it. A small red tint graces both your and Shanes cheeks as you both move to the music. 

There is a silence that falls between the both of you. It’s until you misstep and slips slightly, Shane tenses up and you start to laugh that breaks the silence. 

“Be careful.” He says but even he can't hold back a smile and the earlier tense shoulders have softened. 

“And you told me you wouldn't be dancing.” The comment makes Shane's face almost glow red. 

“Hopefully it will be over soon, with the way you're moving we both will tip over before the next chorus.” 

“As you can tell I'm not that good of a dancer, I apologize in advance if I were to step on your feet.” 

“You don't have to apologize all the time.” You look up at him expecting him to be annoyed but his face holds no such emotion. His sincereness caught you off guard. 

“No, I guess not. It just happens sometimes.” 

“Well stop that, with me atleast.” 

“Okay, I will.” You give him a reassuring smile before you continue. “Lewis said the egg festival is coming up soon, anything you're looking forward to?" 

“It's better than dancing at least. Although, this wasn't that bad. It’s still bad, having the constant threat that you'll crush my feet. But Gus always makes the snack table a hit.”

“Did you try the deviled eggs?” 

“Oh, I had way too many.” Just then you feel a tap on your shoulder. 

“Sebastian is talking about ditching and he hasn't even had one dance. Are you going to help me or not?” Sam points over to Sebastian who stands over by a few trees crossing his arms. 

"Right! I'm coming.” You say and let go of Shanes hands. He instantly shoves them down his pants pockets. 

“See you” He says and hurries back to his chair over at the snack table. 

“Bye Shane.” You say as you follow Sam back to Sebastian. On the way Abigail joins the two of you. 

“You got a dance with him? Didn't think he would like that sort of thing. How did you convince him?” Abigail has a curious look. 

“Pure luck I guess. 

“Well save some of that luck for Seb!” You stop in your tracks as you catch a glimpse of Vincent and Jas talking to Jodie. 

“I'll meet you up in just a few minutes.” 

“Hurry!” Sam says after you as you hurry up to Jas. 

“Hey Jas! How's the dancing going?”

“Good! But Vincent doesn't want to dance anymore.” 

“Why don't you go ask Shane?” 

“I did earlier, but he didn't want to.” She says shyly. 

“Try to ask him one last time.” You tell her, she nods and runs off to the snack table. 

As you talk to Sebastian, Sam and Abigail you catch a glimpse of the other side of the field. 

You watch as what you guess is Jas asking Shane to dance with her. You can't actually hear their conversation but you guess that Jas must have mentioned you or maybe Shane just figured out this was your doing because he looks up at you and for a moment you two lock eyes. Then like a miracle Shane stands up and much to Jas and your own joy he follows her out. They stay in the far corner, slightly away from the rest. He spins her around a few times and a smile grows at his face, and so does yours. 

After a while of Sam fighting Sebastian to go out and have at least one dance, ( while you and Abigail are just standing around enjoying the interaction) Emily and Haley approach you. Emily tells you everything is fine and that there are no harsh feelings.  

“I have this!” Emily holds up a small white tube. “ We are out in nature, of course we are bound to get dirty and this gets any spots out. Do you want me to try and get your stains out too?” 

“No, it's fine, just have to wash it.” You say and smile.

“Yeah and I wanted to say sorry for lashing out like that.” Haley says and looks with her big blue eyes.  

“No worries.” You tell her. 

As the flower dance is approaching its end you take one last good look, taking in the beauty of it all. Spring is finally here, flowers are blooming, the nights are still cold but the days are getting warmer. Despite living such a short time here you can't do anything other than feel like you are just like spring. You are warming back up to the life that you used to have at your grandpa's farm.

[trashcanplant]

Many Well Wishes for the New Year

It was getting late as all of the neighbors piled into Paulette’s observatory. They greeted everyone at the door with a smile, all dressed in hues of blue and yellow and star themes. It was the yearly Turnover party after all!

He walked quickly up to the platform she had set up, decorated in silver tinsel and golden stars.

“Is everyone here? I’d appreciate if everyone would listen, please” Paulette began, holding a small cup of fruit juice in the air. She scanned the crowd, smiling at each of his neighbors and friends.

“I want to say that this year has been a very good one. I think we’ve all made a lot of friends, and in turn, grown for the better! I know that there are people who couldn’t be here tonight to witness the turning over of the morning star, but I believe that they’re here with us. In spirit.” They smiled, making eye contact with a morose Penny who was standing next to Poppy.

“I’d like to thank my cousin, Howdy, for helping me set up all these decorations. I’d also like to thank the Fruitbat family, who aren’t with us right now, but who gave us the fruit punch that we’re drinking tonight. And I’d like to thank.. you. Thank you for being here to witness this incredible celestial event with me. It means a lot that everyone has so graciously welcomed me into this neighborhood. I truly love each and every one of you.” She smiled and raised his glass.

“To the new year!” Paulette toasted, looking down at their neighbors as they cheered. She then turned his eyes to the skylight and watched as a colorful aurora rose across the sky. It cast blues and pinks and greens and teals all across the observatory. They smiled as shooting stars painted the night sky. The party could truly begin now!

Marnie sat down on one of Paulette’s couches, idly sipping her punch. She noticed that no music was playing, which was truly a disgrace. All this beauty with no scenic score? Marnie reached into her tote bag and took out a record. She walked over to the player and started spinning the songs. It was gentle instrumental music that had an heir of wonder around it. Light theremin followed in the song. She was sufficiently satisfied and sat back down. If someone wanted to talk to her, they would find her.

At the food table was Antoni and Dandy. They were laughing and serving their neighbors food. He turned to his sister for a moment.

“Hey, Dandy.” He spoke as a cheesy grin spread across his face.

“Yes, Antoni?” She asked, her rhinophores twitching slightly as she listened to the twinkling of the stars and the sound of her brother.

“What’s your plans for the new year?” He asked, taking one of the saltwater taffies from her side of the table. Dandy grinned.

“Well… probably not a lot. Maybe get out of the shop more often. But overall, I think I’m happy keeping you safe and making candy.” She replied, giving her brothers hair a ruffle.

“Hey! You stop that Candace Dandelion Pizzario!” He shouted with a tease. Dandy gasped at her full name being used before putting Antoni in a headlock.

“Only if you make me Antoni Bluebell!” She shouted back.

Frank, who just wanted some pizza quickly turned away and walked back over to where he was standing with Deirdre.

“Those two always play so rough, don’t they, Ms. Dewmoore?” He asked, rubbing his temple. Deirdre looked up from her book and over at the twins.

“I think they’re just like that. Similar to you and Julie, just more physical, wouldn’t you say?” She asked in turn. Frank chuckled lightly.

“I suppose you’re right. Speaking of Julie, where did she go?” He asked, looking around before his eyes found her talking to Marnie on the couch. The musician was braiding her hair.

“Looks like it’s a Turnover miracle. It seems our best friends are friends, Mr. Frankly.” Deirdre smiled, walking over to them and sitting on the couch with them. Frank followed in suite.

“—And I was telling Eddie that the right dance to do during a Turnover party is the Hokey Pokey! Oh! Hiya Frank! Hi Deedee!” Julie said, waving at them.

“It’s Deirdre, Ms. Joyful.” Deirdre said with a low chuckle.

“Right right, I’m sorry! Frank, Deirdre, what do you think is the right dance to do at a Turnover party?” Julie asked, tilting her head. Marnie looked on from behind the mass amounts of hair.

“Quit moving so much, Jules.” Marnie chided as she gently wrapped the braid in a hair tie. Julie mumbled an apology, looking at the academics.

“Well, I think it depends on the party, Julie. I like a dance like Ma Navu myself, but I think there’s plenty of dances that can be done at a Turnover party.” Deirdre said. Julie tilted her head and Marnie gave it a light pat as a reminder. Frank chuckled.

“Oh yes, a folk dance like that is perfect! Maybe that’s a bit slow though?” Frank asked while Julie rolled her eyes in boredom.

Sitting by the window and looking onward at the stars was Penny. She was waiting for Poppy to return from the food table when a gentle furry hand patted on her shoulder.

“Hey. You alright there, Penn?” Barnaby asked. Penny nodded slowly. She didn’t really talk to Barnaby often, and was confused why he was talking to her. He sighed lightly and sat down.

“I get how you’re feeling right now. That silly scarecrow just makes everything better, y’know? It’s been almost a month, but it’s like he’s still around. Just sayin’, he wouldn’t want ya to be all sad. So perk up, okay?” Barnaby spoke to her, patting her back before he noticed Wally in the corner.

“Hold on a second-“ Penny interrupted his standing. The comedian simply sat back down.

“Yeah?”

“Does Grover like Turnover? Is he… celebrating right now with his other friends?” Penny asked a bit sadly. Barnaby took a breath. He didn’t know the answer, really only knowing that Grover’s favorite holiday was Mail-In-Times day. But seeing Penny frown made him want to make her feel better.

“Of course he does! He’s sitting under the stars right now and celebrating with us. Just in his winter town. If he coulda been here, he woulda.” He said. The answer seemed to soothe Penny’s conscious and Barnaby left. Poppy approached her with a small plate with of star-shaped cookies.

“Peachpie are you okay? You look upset.” Poppy asked. Penny immediately took a cookie and felt better as she bit into it.

“I’m just peachy, dearie!” She responded with a smile. Poppy smiled worriedly and wiped crumbs from Penny’s lips.

Up the split level was Paulette and Howdy. The two caterpillars were clinking their glasses together lightly.

“I gotta say Paul, this sure is one good party! The whole neighborhood’s here!” Howdy said with a guffaw. Paulette smirked gently and put the glass against her lips.

“I certainly did my best. If anything, I owe this party to you! Thank you for advertising for me.” He thanked. Howdy scoffed lightly and pat Paulette on the back.

“Of course! I know how nervous ya get when ya have to talk to a lotta people. Nice job on the speech, by the way.” He complimented. Paulette smiled carefully and sighed.

“Happy new year, Howdy.” She said.

“Happy new year, Paulie.” He replied.

(penny and dandy belong to @cherrythepuppet)

[sunspray-peak]

Ch. 53: Stardew Valley's Highest Honor

WEDNESDAY - WINTER 3 

He took a shower. Shaved his face. Managed to scrounge up an old tube of concealer to hide the circles underneath his eyes. 

Achilles spent five minutes wrestling himself one-handed into a linen button down before clumsily tugging on a sweater vest and some slacks. He covered the scent of cigarette smoke with cologne and dragged himself to the kitchen to nibble on a stale scone. 

For thirty minutes, he steeped his tea and steeped in dread before three missed calls and two angry voice mails from Lewis finally dragged him to Pelican Town.

****** 

“You’re late,” Lewis hissed, quickly shoving him into a small tent that had been erected behind a raised stage in the town square next to the saloon. “You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago!” 

“There are 20 people here, Lewis, I don’t think they’ll particularly care if we happen to start a bit late…” 

But it was like talking to a ghost—Lewis had already high tailed it back to the waiting crowd (it was actually 30 townsfolk, not 20, and a dozen or so tourists and small town reporters).

Abigail, who had been waiting patiently playing some game on her phone, gave him a hearty wave and rolled her wheelchair over to him. “Why the long face, my dude?” She slapped him on the lower back. “Come on, cheer up, Achilles! We’re heroes!” 

“Right… any idea how long this is supposed to take?” Achilles glanced at his watch—or, fuck, Alex’s watch, he still hadn’t gotten around to giving it back… 

“Sheesh! So impatient! Busy busy bee, huh.” Seeing that Achilles’ face remained stony, she punched his hip. “Come on, what’s the matter with ya? Whatever’s bothering you, forget about it, this is our time to shine! Look at us.” She jabbed the cast on his arm and motioned to her broken leg and ankle. “We deserve it! Bruh, honestly, we should get our own freakin’ deakin' holiday…” 

“We” is a strong word… 

*****

“My fellow citizens. We gather here today to honor two of our finest members of our community…” 

Lewis voice, magnified by a slightly screechy microphone, came trailing through the open flaps of the tent. Abigail, all attempts at making conversation having been repeatedly rebuffed, had muttered “sourpuss” before returning to the tile-matching game on her phone and was now humming a jaunty tune. 

Can’t be more than half an hour…

“…braving the mines, braving the spirits, all to save our humble town…” 

Though who knows with this man, he’ll likely prattle on for years unchecked… 

“… and now, let us give the warmest round of applause to Stardew Valley’s very own heroes: Abigail Maison and Achilles Robinson!” 

“Seriously, Lewis, you couldn’t get a ramp for the stage?” Achilles snarled as he pushed Abigail’s wheelchair out from the tent and towards the platform. The criticism fell on deaf ears, however, though whether that was because Lewis chose to willfully ignore it or because of the crowd’s exuberant applause, Achilles would never know.  

Abigail was unabashed, however. She took Lewis’ outstretch hand and (to Dr. Harvey’s dismay) hopped one-legged up the steps, leaving Achilles behind to carry the wheelchair up. 

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I can carry a fucking wheelchair, believe it or not…” he grumbled, shoving aside whoever it was who had stepped forward to assist. He hadn’t bothered to look, he didn’t care. The sooner this was over the better. 

Marnie, dressed in her finest (and perhaps only) collared shirt, directed him to stand to Lewis’ right with Abigail, who was now seated once again. 

Achilles surveyed the crowd of villagers and curious tourists and wondered if Lewis had threatened them all at gunpoint to attend—there was Sam, hooting alongside an actually beaming(!) Sebastian up in the front. Shane in the second to last row, clapping slowly and slightly off beat compared to the rest. Haley right below the stage, snapping photos, the flash near blinding. And Alex… 

“Today, we humbly invite you…” 

Oh lord, he’s still got more shit to say, huh… 

“…I ask each and every one of you: where would we be now if it weren’t for these brave souls…” 

Where would I be now if you just shut the fuck up… how much longer can you go on for, man, what is there more to say… 

“…forever shall our town be in your debt. You two deserve our everlasting thanks and gratitude...”

The fuck did I do? It was Abigail, all Abigail… 

“…we bequeath you Stardew Valley’s highest honor…” 

Achilles stifled a snort. 

Bequeath? Bequeath?? Stardew Valley’s highest honor my ass, you made that up last night, didn’t you… 

“…presented to those who have made outstanding contributions to the Stardew Valley community…” 

If you don’t shut up soon, I’m pushing you off the stage… that’ll be my real outstanding contribution to the community… 

“…and outstanding service…”

I’ll kill myself right here, right now, I swear to Yoba, light myself on fire—

“…we are honored to have such upstanding, admirable, accomplished representatives of our community…” 

This was too much. 

All the decorum that had been drilled into him from a young age had been seeping out over the past five minutes, and he was nothing now but a hollow husk of a man with no filter and nothing more to lose. He laughed. 

“Achilles?” Lewis paused from his speech. “Do you have something to say?” 

But Achilles only continued to laugh—a high pitched (and highly unflattering) wheeze that sent him sinking to his knees and cackling until his eyes watered. 

With an irate wave of his fingers, Lewis directed Marnie to present each of the two medals, but Achilles only continued to laugh maniacally as he bowed his head and presented his shaking shoulders for her. 

He couldn’t stand being here a moment longer. He didn’t need interviews or his picture in the paper. Didn’t deserve them. This was all ridiculous—why was he here? what had he done? No outstanding contributions, far from accomplished… 

When the townsfolk and tourists broke to crowd around the buffet table, he slipped quietly away and returned to his home. 

*****

The laughs hadn’t yet bubbled their way out of his system. All the way back to his farmhouse, he found himself erupting into crazed bouts of giggles, until he was safe behind his front door and the snickering turned suddenly to a torrent of tears. 

His knees had grown weak, but he managed to stagger blindly to the living room, collapsing into the sofa as Voltaire leapt in his lap.  

You’re not a hero. You’re not anything. Not a writer, not a farmer, couldn’t even be a corporate drone for more than a handful of years. You are pathetic. You are nothing. 

He wanted to call his mom.

The phone was in his hand, her number punched in, when he faltered, remembering a headline from his phone’s news app that morning. 

It’s Monstera Fashion Week. Fuck. Of course it’s fashion week. Couldn’t even time your mental breakdown well, huh? Can you do anything right? 

Not that she would care. She’d answer in a heartbeat, hell, she’d probably take the next plane out if he asked her to. 

Lord, how did his parents end up with such a fucked up failure of a son. 

This is a you problem. No use bringing other people into this. 

Hey now—Eva wouldn’t be too happy with you for thinking that way… 

Well Eva’s not here anymore, is she? 

Maybe he ought to give her a call instead. See if she did virtual therapy sessions.

Nah. You have the tools—you figure this out yourself. 

Well a refresher on said tools can’t hurt… 

Yoba, why was it so hard? To even just think clearly, to organize his clashing thoughts. 

He stood to grab his lighter from the coffee table but in his haste, tripped over one of Voltaire’s cat toys, and in a sudden, near comical series of errors, went crashing into the corner of the table, the collision shattering a small ceramic vase. 

Muttering under his breath, he tried to dodge the pool of water seeping among the shards, but his socks were quickly sodden as they danced tip-toe among the wilted corpses of flowers he’d once treated himself to weekly, back before he’d gone down the mines. Before everything had gone downhill. 

Lord, was that mold? He bent down to better examine the fuzzy cream clouds among the broken ceramic, but lost his balance and began to teeter straight into the table once again, right into the corner.

Yoba, I humbly ask for you to just cut me some slack just for the rest of today —

But it seemed like Yoba was sleeping in. The resulting fresh cut on his arm led him to retaliate with a painful kick to the table’s legs, which only served to send a shockwave up his shin and a pile of neatly stacked pages scattering haphazardly to the ground. 

An anguished screech died in his mouth. Instead, he watched the pages flutter, half of them settling in the moldy vase water. He slowly bent to gather the semi-sodden pages. Couldn’t help but read over the damp words of his novel’s first draft, scrawled in his second favorite fountain pen, the ink already beginning to cloud and bloom. 

What were you even thinking? Trying again. That door’s long closed, buddy. 

He tossed the manuscript into the fireplace and set it aflame. 

He didn’t want to move anymore. He didn’t care about progress, didn’t care about what was next. What was the point? 

Achilles buried himself under his covers, and for the second time in a week, cried himself to sleep. He could stay here forever. 

[pleasurebuttonwrites]

the privateer & me

Chapter 1 sturmhond x ofc | 2.3k | rating: teen Masterlist

Saskia Zimová is part of the crew aboard the Volkvolny. At the annual captain's party, she gets some face time with Captain Sturmhond.

author's note: this is set prior to the events of shadow & bone. first of 6 chapters. content: alcohol use

~~~

I had been part of the crew for the better part of a year. I had joined just after the last annual captain’s party, and endured the many stories about all that I had missed. Needless to say I was pretty excited to attend tonight.

The annual captain’s party wasn’t as lavish I expected. Sure, the captain himself was dressed in elegance, looking like some kind of nobility. But for the rest of us, we didn’t have any fine clothes. For one, there were no other occasions for it — more likely it would get ruined just being on the ship, or stuffed into our packs in the small space allowed us in our quarters. And for two, none of us had the extra cash to purchase something just for the night. And if we did we wouldn’t waste it on that.

The captain’s quarters — where he held the party — were beautiful. A gorgeous fireplace, surrounded by bookshelves filled with books with leather covers and glittering spines, polished tables and chairs with plush cushions set up for various games, a large seating area with couches and chairs, a long dining table filled with delicacies — which I had been in the galley helping to make all day —  and wines and liquor and ale. 

When I showed up — after fixing and re-fixing my hair half a dozen times — the party was already in full swing. A few of the crew had brought their instruments and were performing a hearty jig and people were gathered around them dancing. I went straight to the buffet and loaded up a plate. The scent of the food had been tantalizing me all day and we’d had express orders not to sample anything.

I was making the rounds, trying to decide where I wanted to settle for awhile, wolfing down the food, when he came up to me.

“Miss Zimová, welcome,” Captain Sturmhond said. “How are you finding the evening so far?”

He held his hand out to me in greeting. I had to pull my fingers from my mouth and wipe them quickly on my pants before placing my hand in his. I was cursing myself for not grabbing a napkin. To his credit, he didn’t appear to mind.

I chewed quickly and swallowed around the lump of food, which was a pity because I was hoping to savor it. I had to clear my throat before answering. “It’s lovely, Captain. I’m very grateful for your generosity.”

“I’m happy to hear that you find it satisfactory. Please enjoy yourself.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d spoken to him, but it was the first conversation — however brief — that wasn’t about my duties on the ship. 

After clearing my plate, I found an open spot at a card table. I played several happy rounds, winning some, losing some, but having fun the whole time. I hadn’t realized Mac was so funny, he was always so grumpy while going about his duties. Marnie promised to show me how to shuffle and spread cards like that. But after a couple of hours, everyone seemed to be well into their cups. What had been funny turned into incomprehensible nonsense. Conversation, connection, severed by glassy eyes and sullen silence. Arguments over the game flared up and no reason or sense could put them out. I excused myself and walked a lap around the room. The dance floor no longer resembled dancing, there were only fools stumbling over each other. The other tables similarly had red faced revelers, swaying unsteadily to some rhythm in their hearts. The crowd had thinned considerably. I had heard that some come for the good food — only made once a year — and wine, and to have their minute of face time with the captain, then leave.

After hearing about the festivities for so long I didn’t want to just leave. After all, what was I going to do? Just go back to my bunk? I spent every night there. Instead, I ignored the people and took a special interest in the room itself. The captain had a special collection of figurines I found rather intriguing. But the man himself was across the room, deep in conversation, and without him to ask about them, there was nothing more to gain from staring at them.

I left the books for last, my true interest. I resolved that if I should not find his taste compatible with mine, I should leave. I was surprised by what I found. I had assumed they would all be tedious novels about man’s love affair with the sea. Instead, there were books about adventure, mysteries, and even romance. It was one of these that I selected from the shelves. A book by a beloved author of mine that I hadn’t had the occasion to pick up from a shop.

There were still some attendees in conversation in the seating area, others were half-asleep and some were lip-locked. I found a seat unattended on one of the couches. I cracked the book and lifted the pages to my nose. It smelled fresh and comforting and full of possibilities.

After a while I had the couch to myself and I laid across it, my preferred position for reading. I was somewhat aware of people leaving, indeed Marnie came over to say good night, as did others I knew from the galley. But I was not aware of time passing.

I turned to the last page, sad that the story was ending, but with my heart full from the events. After I had finished I shut the book and held it to my chest. I wasn’t ready to return to life, wanting to grasp at the ever-dissolving tendrils of the story world instead.

“What did you think?”

His voice pulled me firmly into the real world. I startled and looked over to find Captain Sturmhond seated in one of the arm chairs near the couch. He was facing me and I had the sense that he’d been there for some time.

I sat up quickly. “Forgive me. I-”

I was suddenly aware of the quiet. With a small sense of foreboding, I cast a glance around the room to find it completely empty.

I stood up. “I’m very sorry, Captain. I didn’t realize how late it was.” 

I made to go but he said, “Sit.”

I did as I was told. He didn’t seem angry, but my heart was beating fast. I had done something I wasn’t supposed to, I felt that acutely.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

My mind was completely blank and I struggled in my panic to remember what he had asked me.

A smile played on his lips as he said, “What did you think of the book?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry-”

“Miss Zimová, if you apologize to me again, I shall have to make sure there is something for you to be sorry about.”

My breath caught, but something about the mischief in his eyes told me he wasn’t serious.

“S-” I began again and had to bite my lip to stop myself. I think he chuckled.

I cleared my throat and started again. “I found it surprising.”

He leaned forward at that. “How so?”

“Well,” I said thinking, “I was sure Valerie would choose Avery.”

He seemed to find that delightful. “Is that who you would choose?”

I tried to hide my shock. It seemed like such a personal question. I didn’t mind, exactly. I just wasn’t expecting it. “If I felt the way that Valerie had, yes, absolutely.”

“Even though Barnaby could give her the life she deserved?”

“But she didn’t love Barnaby! Not like that. She loved Avery, still loved Avery even as she married Barnaby.”

“But she would’ve had to live a very different life than she expected with Avery. I am sure she would have been miserable.”

“No, she’ll be miserable with Barnaby. Who cares about what kind of life you’ll have if you love someone as passionately as she loved Avery, and as Avery loved her!”

He watched me in silence and I came back to myself, suddenly aware of where I was and who I was talking to. I blushed, and hoped that the light from the fire wouldn’t be enough to show it.

“I’m s-” I almost said it again, but caught myself, swallowing my words. “I should be off to bed, now,” is what I said instead.

He nodded.

“Thank you for allowing me to read your book. I most enjoyed it.” I extended it back to him but he made no move to take it.

“Keep it,” he said. “Since you appreciated it so much.”

“No, I couldn’t,” I tried to protest, but he wasn’t having it.

“In fact,” he said, “since you’ve finished that one, I have another I think you’ll like.”

He got up and went to his bookcase. He seemed to know exactly where the book in question was because he went right to it. He brought it back to me and I recognized the author. I had no idea she’d written another book. It must have been very new.

“Thank you! I’ll take good care of it, and return it to you soon.”

There was an amused twinkle in his eye as he said, “I’m sure you will. I will bid you good night.”

He took my hand, and this time he pressed a kiss against my knuckles. He moved toward his private chambers but paused to say, “Please, have another apricot puff before you go. I believe we have one left.”

He slipped into his chambers, and I was thankful to be alone to lose my composure over the fact that I had been eating an apricot puff when he greeted me several hours earlier.

—

I didn’t go directly to my bunk. I didn’t think I could sit in the small space with the big thoughts I was having. I found a quiet place on the deck — there were still revelers out, singing and drinking from their own lesser quality stock of liquor and ale — but I was able to find a spot apart from them. I licked the last bit of jam off my finger tips and leaned on the railing.

The stars overhead were like bright jewels. The wispy clouds in the sky looked like pieces of a veil, and the cosmos were coyly trying to cover themselves so that when revealed, the majesty was all that much greater. Even with that beauty, I couldn’t stop picturing Captain Sturmhond’s eyes. The gold flecks in his hazel eyes, and the way they lit up during our conversation. I would rather be staring into them right now.

The sea was relatively calm tonight. Just a slight breeze and steady rocking waves. We were the only ones out here for miles around, but somehow, in the night it didn’t feel as lonely as in the day. The darkness was like a soft blanket that hid how large the world was. At night, this ship was the whole world and we were the only ones in it. When put like that, it seemed totally possible that the captain could want my company. I knew that when the sun rose and the world was once more out there, that possibility would seem so far away. The captain probably preferred someone as devastatingly beautiful as he was. Someone refined, someone feminine. But right here, right now, I could pretend. I could easily slip into a story world where tonight wasn’t some aberration, a result of a once in a year camaraderie with the crew.

I clutched the book he had lent me tighter in my arms. Before I left, I had returned the other book he had given me. I just couldn’t keep it. It didn’t feel right. Besides, where would I put it? I already had to keep my book collection thinned down to only my favorites. No. Better that it stayed on his shelves where it belonged.

I stayed out on deck until the chill made me long for my blankets. I wasn’t actually tired, but I thought I’d be more comfortable dreaming in my bunk.

I found my way inside quietly, trying not to disturb the three other occupants. A quick listen to their snores told me I hadn’t needed to be so careful. The more they drank, the louder they were, and I could tell they had drank considerably that night. I climbed into my bunk and sat on something hard. I retrieved it from underneath me and could tell right away it was a book. But why was it in my bed? I sparked the lantern next to me and dialed it bright enough so that I could see. I didn’t want to let myself believe it but it was indeed the captain’s book. Had he really noticed that I put it back?

I thumbed through the pages to smell it once more, and something caught my eye. I turned to the first page. There was some writing scrawled in black ink. 

Miss Zimová, I don’t think I fully expressed my opinion of this book. I, too, believe Valerie would have been better off with Avery. However I was not surprised when she chose Barnaby. Such things happen all the time. - Sturmhond P.S. Next time I give you a gift, I expect you to accept it.

I stared at it in disbelief. I must have read the damn thing seventy times. It crossed my mind — more than once — that I might have already been dreaming. But when I woke in the morning, the book was still in my hands and there were two words on my mind: Next time.

[aiden-newbury]

He laughed a bit more than he probably should have and caught himself when she joked about the button on the stove. It just felt so nice to be teased by her and he tried not to think too much. Instead pretended to fumble as he turned on the burner before settling himself. "Maybe that's something I can do a lot more of this summer. Cooking. God knows I'm spending way too much on lunch when I actually eat it," he added, his days usually too chaotic to stop for more than little bites. In his earlier days Lana would stop by and they would always have lunch together. They were some of his best memories but that all gone to hell when he got busier and Lana stopped trusting his assistant. Which she had every reason to.

"He really does. I think if he could have conversations in all gifs, he would. That sums him up so perfectly, especially now, hey!" He laughed and shook his head but she was right. He really was an old man a lot of the time. He had to agree with her but he had seen Brodie in such messy times it was still kind of hard for him to believe. What Aiden couldn't admit that he was a little jealous. He had always been the friend who had it slightly more together and now Brodie was lapping him in every way. He knew it shouldn't have been a competition but he couldn't help himself. As he started cooking, he glanced at the freezer and clear adoration came over his features. "God I love you and that brain of yours," he said without thinking and went back to making breakfast. In order to level out the mood, he put some music on.

"Ah so you're saying I can wear crocs? I'll make sure Brodie and I wear our matching ones then. If Colette lets him," he joked, actually getting excited for the day the more they talked about it. He just hoped he didn't fuck it up but having Brodie and Willow there was always good for him and Marnie added to that. Plus, maybe Colette's family would remind him that a real family was loving. He was trying not to put too much into this one moment but that didn't stop him from making a damn good breakfast as he sang along to the rauw alejandro and rosalia playing from the mix on his spotify. He smiled as he set the plate of food in front of Lana, clearly proud of it. "Enjoy, baby," he told her softly before moving to serve himself. "You thinking of wearing that new dress you got last week? I liked the colors."

Lana wondered how Aiden wanted her to respond to that. To coddle him for having to slept in a perfectly designed guest bedroom? Where he had his own bed and bathroom? But she also had to take into account that her husband had been so use to sleeping by her side— she could see where he'd find it much different now a days. But that rang true for her as well. She found herself tossing and turning often now a days. Yes, with the thought of what she was going. Also because their bed was so big without Aiden in it.

She had no idea how to sleep in it without him.

"It's not often that you do get a Monday off," Lana had to agree with him. "well, let's see what you've got." She told him, her tone lighter than it'd been before. As much as she wanted to be tough and cold, it just wasn't in her nature. Yes, she wanted to just drink her coffee, thank him for it, and go on her run. But what would that do for their living situation? As angry as she was with Aiden, she still have to live with him. So maybe she could be a bit more receptive to him trying. "Well, if you don't, that button starts it up." Lana said, teasingly as she pointed over to the on button.

"That man loves his gifs, doesn't he? I've never someone so young yet so old at the same time." Lana said with a small laugh. "Actually, no I lied. I actually do know another someone like that." She let Aiden know, before pointing at him. "Really? I kind of always knew this would happen. Yeah, Brodie when Brodie was out and about was a menace but he'd always been one to lead with his heart." Lana shook her head. "No need, I did it yesterday." She let him know, as she opened their freezer to show off the results of her shopping trip yesterday.

"You just focus on picking out the least offensive crocs today, everything else has been handled."

[stardewremixed]

More random Halloween headcanon

Olivia would make a kickass Jessica Rabbit. That glittery red dress would look stunning on her. 💃

Robin could pull off the Rosie the ariveter. Freaks Demetrius out. Embarrasses Maru. Seb wouldn't care. Just another day in the Valley with his weird mom swinging her ax. 💪

Harvey is a bit of a Trekkie. Has a uniform he pulls out at Halloween. Oh Doc Bones. Laughs halfway through his line. Damn it, Maru, I'm a doctor not a rocket scientist. 🦴

Caroline is a bit of a prankster on Spirit's Eve. A sugary spider in the orange Jello, anyone? 🕸

Pierre hates the holiday, but it's a great way to make money. All the pumpkin and candy sales. Abigail calls her dad a grinch. Wrong holiday, sweetheart. 😁

Elliott would make a dashing swashbuckling pirate. Complete with an eye patch borrowed from Marlon, a sword borrowed from Lance, the 18th century tricorn borrowed from Willy, and the parrot 🦜 from Emily.

Willy dusted off the old Sherlock Holmes outfit. A good excuse to smoke his pipe. Plus he's solved a mystery or two at sea, and reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helped pass the time. 🕵️‍♂️

Marlon doesn't really like dressing up, but he does it for the kids. Jas especially lights up when he arrives with his purple glowing orb. , Fortunes abound. It brings a smile to Marnie's face too. 🔮

Lance can't go as an Adventurer. It would be too obvious. Instead he cosplays another famous Arthur - a king from Camelot. The Round Table does sound ideal. Plus he hopes to tempt a pretty townsperson to play his Guinevere. 👑

Morris drunkenly crashes the festival, dressed as Daddy Warbucks. 💰 🤑 💸 Bald is not a good look on you, dude.

(Somehow I headcanon Claire as his neice. She was attending as Marian the Librarian from the Music Man musical. And she is beyond embarrassed when her uncle shows up). 📖

Gus came as a cowboy and rides to the rescue, offers to drive Morris home. 🤠

Sam and Shane, fellow Joja buddies, both try to make a distraught Claire feel better, after they find her hiding out on the beach. Well really Sam with his quips and Shane smoking and leaning against the rocks, offering to TP Morris' home nonchalantly. 🧻

Penny makes an amazing Amelia Earhart. Famous pilot who disappeared over the ocean somewhere. Cute coiffed curls peeping out from her aviator cap. Random aviation facts gathered from her library research. Harvey is smitten. 🛬

Clint wants to impress Emily. He goes as the Karate Kid. 🥋 Nearly gets wiped out during Marlon and Gil's annual demonstration.

Gunther tries juggling. He keeps dropping the ball. Everyone appreciates the effort. 🤹

Leah makes an appearance as Diana, alter ego Wonder Woman. She looks incredible in leather. Alex is drooling. He can't believe he's never noticed her before. 🦸‍♀️

[xxdereksfanficsxx]

Shane/Male Reader part 1

Okay, so I'm already four pages deep on google docs, so... I might as well make this a series (or mini series? Not sure how many parts this will have yet). Anyway, sorry the ending is a little rushed... I'm a bit sick, and just started writing this on a whim, but hopefully I'll have part 2 up sometime soon.

Pairing: Shane/Male reader

TW: Death mentions of a family member, alcohol use

Summary of part 1: A few years after your grandfather's passing, you decide to finally move into the farm he left you. You meet a few familiar faces, and some new people, and begin to rekindle an old friendship.

Disclaimer: I don’t own the character or series

You had recently moved onto your grandfather’s old farm. This was a fresh start for you, and you were thankful. You didn’t have much going for you at home anymore, just a friend or two. You could always send a letter to them. It was nice to be somewhere where nobody knew your face, save for a few people you had met as a kid, visiting your grandfather who had passed a few years ago. You were hesitant to move in for a while, knowing it would dredge up memories, but you were ready now. You sat up in bed- it was six in the morning. You took in the old farmhouse… It felt nostalgic, living here. You could remember you were always excited to come visit grandpa on the farm. You knew that’s why he left it to you. Your love for the farm.

It had been a few years since you had been to Pelican Town, though you had spent enough summers here to figure out quickly where things were, which made settling in for the first few days a breeze. It helped that the few familiar faces around, were warm to welcome you, Like Marnie. She helped Mayor Lewis introduce you to some people. You remembered though, that she had a nephew, who was around your age, and now that you had been here for a few days, you were beginning to wonder about him. You remember playing with him as a kid, because he didn’t live far from your grandfather, going fishing, and hanging out together as teenagers… You hadn’t seen him in the visits you had made leading up to your grandfather’s passing. Shane… That was his name. You wondered if he still remembered you. Well, he probably would, but… Your appearance changed enough that you were wondering if he would recognize you.

You stretched, and finally made your way out of bed, done reminiscing for the morning. Maybe you would go pay Marnie a visit later, and see about Shane. You said you would drop by soon anyway- she wanted you to meet her niece, Jas. You got dressed, and made your way outside to tend to the crops you started. You finally finished clearing out the space yesterday, and had begun planting, which you planned to finish doing this morning, as well as go around, and make sure everything gets watered. This was… Definitely a start.

It was about twelve o’clock, by the time you were done tending to your farm, and you looked everything over, hands on your hips. It looked like a job well done, today. Things were already starting to shape up a little bit. You went inside to make yourself a little lunch, to replenish yourself- this was very manual work, afterall. You got a lot of stuff planted. After you ate, you decided you would make your way to Marnie’s. You ended up taking the long way, since you had yet to clear your shortcut path to her house. Not to mention, you were still refamiliarizing yourself with the town, so it did you good either way.

You approached, and knocked lightly on the door to be polite, before letting yourself in. When you walk inside, you’re met with the store, Marnie behind the counter. She greets you with a smile.

“Well, hello there ___. How can I help you?” She asked, and you returned her smile.

“Hey Marnie. I came by to say hello, and meet that little niece of yours, who you were telling me about.” You responded, and her eyes lit up a little.

“Oh, that’s right! Let me go get her. Jas!” Marnie called out, vanishing deeper into the house for a moment, before returning with a little girl, who hid timidly behind her aunt, clutching the fabric of her pants. You knelt down, and offered a hand.

“Well hello!” You said kindly to her, and Jas looked up at Marnie.

“This is ___, he just moved here. I remember when he came around when he was your age, visiting his grandfather! He used to play with Shane all the time.” She explained to Jas, who’s eyes widened a little.

“You know Shane?” Jas asked you in awe, taking your hand with a little leftover caution. You gave her hand a little shake, and chuckled.

“Sure do! And, speaking of,” You said, standing back up for a moment to meet Marnie. “Has Shane been around lately? I’d like to catch up with him, if he’s interested.” You told her.

“Well, you’re in luck then, he just moved in with me a few months ago! He’s not here right now, but he usually stops at the saloon when he gets off work, before he comes home, if you want to see him. Sometimes he… Comes home a little late, and I wouldn’t want to keep you held up here waiting for him.” Marnie responded to you warmly, though there was a tinge of… Something else in her voice, almost as if there was something about Shane that she didn’t want to tell you. You didn’t look too hard into it though. You’re still kind of refamiliarizing yourself with Marnie, and for all you knew, it was probably nothing.

“That’s great that he moved in! I’ll definitely go visit him at the saloon later. I could use a drink, and maybe I can socialize a little too, while I’m there.” You replied. You glanced at your watch.

“I should probably get going, but I’ll be around. I will be back tomorrow.” You told Marnie, before returning your attention to Jas for a moment.

“It was nice meeting you, Jas! I’ll bring something special, just for you when I come tomorrow. If it’s okay with your Aunt Marnie here?” You asked, glancing up at Marnie with a little twinkle in your eye, and Jas gasped in excitement, looking up at her aunt, her expression begging for permission for this new person to bring her a promised surprise of some sort. Marnie chuckled.

“Well, of course that’s okay.” She replied. With that, you left, and made your way to Pierre’s. You had a few errands to run, before you could head on to the saloon.

It was around four o’clock, when you finally finished up everything you needed to do, and you headed on down to the saloon. When you entered, you were met with a cozy atmosphere. It wasn’t too busy- there was a blonde woman sitting at the bar, who’s name you recalled as Pam, whom you had met a day or so prior, and working behind the bar was a young woman with blue hair, and an older gentleman. You approached the bar, and sat down on a barstool near the fireplace at the end of the bar. The girl with the blue hair made her way over to you.

“Hello! I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. My name is Emily! Can I get you anything?” She asked. She was incredibly friendly. You were sure you could be good friends with her.

“Hi, Emily! I’m ___. I just moved here a few days ago. Do you think you could start me off with a beer?” You asked, and she obliged, pouring you a draft in a frosty mug. She set the mug in front of you.

“Oh, really? What brings you around here? I could show you around sometime, if you’d like,” Emily offered, and you gave her a warm smile, pulling the beer closer to you.

“Well, actually, I’m already kind of familiar with the area.” You said sheepishly. “I moved here, because my grandfather passed his farm down to me after he passed away a few years ago.” You explained, and Emily frowned a little.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She replied, offering her condolences. You waved a hand.

“No, it’s okay. It was a few years ago, now. I only waited, because I wasn’t sure if I was over it, but everything is okay now. And besides… I really needed a change anyway. Too much hustle and bustle where I come from. And there was nothing there for me.” You said, finishing with a chuckle and an eye roll. Emily brightened up a little.

“Well, I’m glad you had an opportunity to get away! Hey, your farm… Is it that one all the way on the other side of town?” She asked you, gesturing in the direction of your farm, and you gave her a nod.

“Oh, I knew your grandfather then! He was a nice man. I know exactly where that place is. Hey, I hope it’s not weird, but maybe we can hang out sometime? I can always use another friend,” Emily added.

“Sure! I don’t really know anyone around here, except for Marnie and her nephew, and the mayor. I never really got to meet anyone when I used to visit as a kid, so I can definitely use a friend too.” You said to her.

“Oh, you mean Shane?” Emily asked. “He should be coming in soon, actually. He comes here every night.” She explained to you.

“Oh, really?” You asked, and speak of the devil, Shane walks through the door. You take a swig of your cold, foamy brew. Shane doesn’t notice you at first, walking up to the bar, and you take the moment to take him in. He definitely changed a bit, since the last time you saw him. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days, and his face was scruffy, his lips curved into a deep frown. He looked… Miserable. It broke your heart a little bit. Sure, he was never the happiest guy… That showed when you were kids and teenagers. His parents were never really around, so he spent a lot of time with Marnie, especially in the summer. He used to talk to you about it, too, how things just kind of sucked, but he was still jovial despite his rough family situation. You knew though, that it all takes a toll as you get older though. You didn’t come from the easiest circumstances yourself, and you suffered from your own mental illness because of it.

“My usual please, Emily.” Shane muttered when he was close enough to the bar for her to hear him, and he was close to you. Emily obliged, and poured his drink. Shane hadn’t really looked up to notice that there was a familiar face near him, until now, when he noted there was a body on top of the barstool that he normally situated himself next to. He was about to tell you to shove off, because really, he just wanted to be alone to mope, but something in his gut told him to get a better look. So he did. He approached, and took a good look at you, raising an eyebrow, because he recognized you, right away. He just about did a double take.

“... ___?” Shane asked, and you shot him a smile. It felt good that he instantly remembered you. He glanced away from you only for a second, to take his beer from Emily, before his sight landed back on you.

“In the flesh. How’ve you been, Shane?” You asked, and his face dusted a light pink, a little embarrassed that your first meeting in several years, he was donned in his awful work uniform, and he looked like a total wreck, and here he was in the bar about to drink all of his problems away.

“I’ve, uh… I’ve been okay,” He replied to you, still a little stunned by your sudden presence. He glanced around quickly.

“Um, so when… Uh, are you just visiting town?” Shane asked, snapping back into it, and taking a seat next to you. You shook your head, and explained everything to him that you had just explained to Emily.

“Oh. And you already visited Aunt Marnie? Then I guess she must’ve told you I moved in… Guess that makes us neighbors then?” Shane replied, taking in everything. He had heard about your grandfather’s passing through Marnie a while ago, but he didn’t know the farm was now yours, or that you had any intention of moving, well… Here.

“Sure does. Hey, it’s really nice to see you again. Also, I wanted to tell you, I’m going to come over tomorrow, and I promised something special for your Goddaughter… What does she like?” You asked, and Shane rattled off a list of some stuff he could think of off the top of his head. All in all, this first meeting with Shane after so much time went very smoothly. The pair of you shared several rounds of beer, before eventually leaving the saloon together.

“Hey, let me walk you home.” You insisted, as you and Shane made your way to the town square. Shane shook his head.

“You shouldn’t, it’s getting late, and you’re a little drunk…” He said, stumbling a little with you.

“So are you… I want to make sure you make it there safely, is all,” You replied, and he waved a hand dismissively.

“No, I… Make this walk every night. Don’t worry.” Shane responded, and you faltered a little.

“Well… Well, okay…” You hesitated for a moment. “Hm… Can you give me a call then? When you’re home?” You asked, and… Why were you so worried, anyway? It was a small town, this was a nightly thing for the other man, and as it was, you kind of hardly knew him as an adult. Maybe it was just the alcohol making papa bear come out. Shane paused for a moment, before nodding slowly.

“Sure, I can give you call. Uh, what’s your house phone?” Shane asked you, and you wrote it down for him. With that, the pair of you separated, and you stumbled your way back to the farm. On arrival, you pushed the door open, your body heavy, and you sat down at the table, waiting for Shane to call. As if on cue, the phone rang, and you picked up.

“Hello?” You asked.

“___? It’s Shane… Uh, I’m home. I see you made it home okay too.” He said, and you responded with an ‘mm-hm’.

“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow.” Shane said.

“Okay. Will you be home?” You asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be off, so I’ll be home.” He replied.

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you go… Goodnight.” You said.

“Night.” He responded, and you hung up and sighed, rubbing your head a little. You stood up, and made your way to bed… Shane was still a nice guy, even if he had a little bit of a prickly exterior. You changed, and slipped under the covers, drifting off to sleep.