#i wrote this in 10 minutes. it's probably riddled with typos 😂

[thebeckster]

Casual Prompt Fill June 2024

Got another casual prompt fill from @love-bokumono-fics

This month's winning choice was Hurricane, which was already lots of fun to play with, but I was also eying the First Day on the Farm prompt for the month too. I had some idea of doing a really nitty-gritty detail walking through of the first day. But then the two prompts combined and I had that thought about starting a game in a different season, and I said "lol what if?"

So this idea was born! (I think it would be objectively hilarious if you started a farm sim in summer and day 1 ended up being a hurricane). (I also think Claire completely ignoring what others might see as Cosmic Signs You Shouldn't Do Something or at best seeing them as minor inconveniences is funny too. Might need to write a longer fic with someone Completely Ignorant of Higher Powers trying to steer them in one direction)

Enjoy!

Hurricane/First Day on the Farm

Claire was SO ready to be a farmer!

She’d been planning this change for so long. Ever since she saw that advertisement for an idyllic life and the idea seized her, she’d dreamed of nothing else. But due to a series of unforeseen circumstances and setbacks, her move-in day had kept getting pushed back.

She was supposed to start her new life at the beginning of spring, starting just as the weather turned warm, with plenty of time to get used to her new life and find her feet.

Now, it was well into summer. Not the easy start she’d been hoping for.

But Claire was not daunted! There may be new challenges, but she was ready to face them, whatever came. At least her delays had given her time to prepare to hit the ground running.

She’d moved in the day before, unpacking all her belongings into the tiny house and getting a tour around town in sweltering summer heat. She was thrilled to see there was a lovely little beach a short walk from her house, and cool, shady forests for her to spend an afternoon exploring. But of course, most exciting to see was her own farm.

Before she went to bed, she stayed up late with a pad of scratch paper, plotting out her plans for the next day. (Her TV antenna wasn’t hooked up yet, so she didn’t have much else to do in the evening).

First thing in the morning, she would take her new tools and begin clearing out her fields. They were overgrown with weeds, and filled with other debris that had to be removed before she could hope to plant anything.

When the day became too hot and she needed a break, then she would head into town and go to the store. There she would buy her seeds, something that would grow quickly, since she’d already lost half the season. Anything slow to grow would just have to be passed over.

She’d do another walk around town and make her introductions, maybe get lunch at the Inn or at the snack shack she’d been told about at the beach. Really she’d try to find a way to pass the hottest hours of the day someplace cool and relaxing.

The late afternoon, she’d go into up the mountain, exploring there, seeing what she could find to forage, as Mayro Thomas had mentioned there was stuff to find up there either to eat or sell. Supposedly there was a natural hot spring as well, which Claire felt like she’d get a lot of use from in the cooler seasons, but in the sweltering heat of summer there was no way she wanted to touch any hot water.

And then when the sun started to go down, and the weather started to cool, she’d go back to continuing her farm work. Sowing her seeds and beginning her life as a farmer. Then she would retire for the night, probably exhausted but satisfied with a good day of hard work.

She went to bed giddy, with her alarm set for the crack of dawn, ready to start her new life in the morning.

Mother Nature had different plans for Claire.

Her alarm went off at 6AM sharp, and Claire jumped out of bed, ready to go. She only stopped when she realized there was a strange noise outside. It took her a moment to realize she was hearing rain drumming against her house, beating against the roof and the windows, and the wind outside was howling.

Her heart sank into her stomach as she hurried to the door and wrenched it open. She stared with dismay at the heavy clouds, the lashing rain, flashing lightning, and wrenching wind. It was a hurricane. Claire knew they were possible in this region, living on the coast meant there was a chance for severe weather. And she’d done her research to know that at least one hurricane would hit this region per summer.

She just never could have imagined it would happen today of all days.

The wind shifted and Claire was showered with cold rain before she shut her door against the storm. With a sigh, Claire leaned against the door and slid to the floor. There was no hope in going out while the storm raged, and she certainly couldn’t get any work on her farm done.

So much for hitting the ground running.

She took a bracing breath, standing up and dusting off her hands.

Fine. She’d faced a number of delays already, what was one more day lost to the weather. Today she could finish getting her house in order. And tomorrow she would be even more prepared to start off!