Hi I'm Sunny, and welcome to my Stardew Valley sideblog! I'm new to the fandom, and am setting this blog up for a variety of content and I might take some requests for writing things 👀
Likes, replies and follows will come from sunshinedottv!
ey yooooo are requests still open?? if so, what are the bachelor/ette's first impressions of the farmer? who do you think has a crush right off the bat and who takes a little longer to warm up to them?
They are open! I’ll let y’all know when they’re closed, but you can still send in requests regardless—I won’t delete any, but I have to wait until I have time to work through them. This got away from me, it’s so long, and I really wanted to do a bit for everybody, but the post is a monster so I'm going to make the bachelorette's a little later, if that's alright! It also fell a little more toward “How The Marriage Candidates Fall In Love With You,” so. Uh. Whoops? I hope you enjoy!
This is super fluffy for some of them, others not so much, Shane is Shane, and Seb is Seb. There’s some little bits of dialogue here and there, but I didn’t go crazy, and I tried to stick to canon but also I did not stick to canon lmfao
Sam
Sam saw you on the first friday of spring, at the saloon
He thought you looked… pretty normal, actually
like, yeah sure, you had work boots caked with dried mud, and a backpack stuffed past-full with an assortment of busted up tools slung over your shoulder, but other than that, pretty normal
Besides, it wasn’t weird for people living on a farm to have a lot of tools, right?
He’s got the image of you seared into his brain for a few days afterward, but doesn’t talk about it with Seb and Abigail because they’re both weirdly touchy about the subject (more on that later)
Then you approach him at the egg festival to introduce yourself, and Sam’s curiosity grows that much more
Your boots are still filthy, your backpack is practically bursting at the seams, and he’s pretty sure he saw you drop at least 5000 gold on seeds at Pierre’s stand
He wants to talk to you more, but then Lewis starts the egg hunt, and for the first time since Sam moved to Pelican Town, Abigail loses—to you
Everyone is surprised, Abigail is bitter about it, Sam wishes he’d had the chance to talk to you again after the egg hunt was wrapped up, but he couldn’t find you
He’s even more taken aback when he hears about your stints in the mines to the north of town, because aren’t there monsters down there????
Not to mention you apparently have a nasty habit of falling asleep in town instead of at your farmhouse?? Where you should be sleeping?? Hello?????
Plus the acts of literal deforestation you’ve apparently been enacting outside of Seb’s house? (with robin’s permission, but still)
He is so confused
The flower dance rolls around
You don’t ask anyone to dance, but you do make your rounds, making sure to talk to everyone—even Clint and Mr. Mullner, and he’s especially surprised when he spots you talking to the homeless guy that lives behind Seb’s house
He’s interested to get to know you, but isn’t self-aware enough to examine the underlying intentions there
Over the course of your friendship, he starts feeling things he didn’t know he could
When you defend him with Lewis, when you take the blame for the egg incident—and when you arrive to the bus stop twenty minutes early for their gig in the city—even though you hate the city
You dressed up for the occasion, and Sam almost drops his guitar case in the dirt when he sees you
You help them load up their equipment into the bus, and Sam can’t stop looking at you
Asks to sit next to you during the drive
You share his earbuds and he shows their music to you
You both bob your heads to the beat, and your thighs are pressing together, but he's the only one who notices
He wants to hold your hand so bad
And then when he’s on stage, he’s got anxiety bubbling in his gut, but one look at you standing in the front row has him jumping headfirst into the set with a wild grin on his face
He catches you buying one of their band shirts and a CD from outside the venue
He gets breathless every time he sees you wearing it around town after that
You wear it when you hand him the bouquet, too, and he swears he could fall to his knees
Seb
He doesn’t like you
Even before you showed up, he didn’t like you
For weeks, you were all anyone could talk about
He couldn’t make it through one conversation without hearing about you, and it drove him nuts
He didn’t understand the allure, or the interest, and he was genuinely irritated every time you were mentioned
Like a song that you overplay so much that you end up hating it?
Yeah. exactly like that
When he meets you, he’s even more put off because he doesn’t understand you
He doesn’t understand why you’d leave the city to go to Pelican Town
He understands the allure of a gigantic swathe of land waiting to be claimed, but still.
Pelican Town???
Also weirded out by how eager you are to make friends, and the first time you gift him a quartz crystal, he doesn’t know how to react—mainly he’s just afraid about how you knew he liked them because he knows for a fact that he's never told you
But even though you make him uncomfortable at first, he’s not going to be outright rude to you or go out of his way to be a dickhead
And honestly, you’re still nice
You’re weird, and he’s never seen the land around his house so devoid of trees before, but that’s really as far as his opinion goes
his mother isn’t stressing nearly as much about bills anymore due to your commissions, so he’s kind of glad about that
But you’re so different from him, and he’s pretty committed to getting the hell out of pelican town, so what does it matter? He’s not going to be around for long enough to make a real friend out of you
Oh, Sebby
He immediately changes his tune the first time you give him sashimi
It was surprising that you didn’t make up a story or give an excuse for it, either
You waltzed into his room like you owned the place, waited until he was finished with work (which was… a new experience for him) and set the container on his corner shelf
“You like sashimi, so I made this for you. Tell me what you think. Have a good day, Seb.” and you smiled at him, and maybe you didn’t notice the way his ears flushed bright red, or maybe you were just too nice to point it out
And it was good sashimi
It wasn’t a special occasion, it wasn’t a prank, and he was dead confused because you’d only exchanged a few hellos and stilted conversations that altogether totaled a grand three minutes, so he had no idea how you knew again
Worked up the courage to ask
Everything clicked into place when you told him that his mother and half-sister mentioned it to you
And then he was stuck with the knowledge that you talked about him to other people—that you even asked about him
You’re respectful of his time and boundaries, you speak kindly to him, show an interest in his hobbies, and he’s amassed a small collection of frozen tears and quartz crystals lined on his shelves
He orders stands for every last one, dusts them all regularly, and when you give him an obsidian stone, he starts carrying it around with him in his pocket, just because
He fights with himself for months before he can admit to himself that he has a crush on you
Definitely has that “oh no” moment lmao
Can’t look at you for a little while, but once he gets over that, he can’t stop looking
Takes longer to admit it to anyone else, and doesn’t intend to admit it to you
You throw a wrench in that plan eventually :)
Alex
We all know he finds you attractive right off the bat
Which—obviously, why wouldn’t he? (<3)
But unlike Shane, for example, he’s readily kind and eager to talk to someone other than his grandparents or Haley
He might be attracted to you, but he’ll try his best not to let that color his interactions as much
There are moments where he slips up, but there’s no negative intentions there
And because he knows himself, he figures whatever mini-crush he’s developing will eventually go away
When it doesn't, he gets really down on himself
Starts thinking about you constantly, and rethinking all of your interactions so far
Kind of ashamed of how he treated you
You’ve always been so kind to him, and so supportive of his goal to go pro
But he’s never really… reciprocated that
It takes him a long while to work up the courage to apologize
He wishes he didn’t do it while in the middle of a workout, but the moment felt right otherwise
It helped that it was just you and him, because you’re so damn popular with the rest of the town that he can rarely get a moment alone with you
And just like he figured you would, you accept his apology without any fanfare, and then turn right around and encourage him again
He’s got hearts in his eyes, trust
His crush builds over the course of months, and the moment it’s solidified is when you catch him on the beach, reminiscing about his mother
You don’t judge him for his tears, and even though you laugh when he asks you to keep it under lock and key, the sound is bright in his ears like wind chimes
And you still kept his secret
Alex is gone on you from that moment, 100%
You’re kind, and attractive, and you treat him so well it almost makes him feel insecure
When he’s working at the ice cream stand during the summer, there are plenty of times where he’s almost scooped out of the wrong tray because he was busy thinking about you
He’s never felt this way about anyone
All of his crushes have been super shallow in the past, but this is different
They were all physical, but he fantasizes about living on the farm with you, and wonders what kind of partner you’d be on the regular
Sticks his face in the freezer when his thoughts veer into less innocent territory (he thought about how you might like to kiss him)
Haley makes fun of him about it lmfao
Y’all don’t figure your shit out until year two, probably during the dance of the moonlight jellies
You ask him to watch them with you, and with the glow of the ocean illuminating your face, you hand him the bouquet
He accepts it (duh) and tries to play it cool, but he’s cheesing for the rest of the night
Elliott
Sees you fishing on the beach after an early morning spent in the mines
He walks out of his cabin to stretch his legs after a long night sitting at his writing desk
He’s only been in Pelican Town for a year himself, but he notices a new face right off the bat
You’ve got your legs hanging off the edge of the pier, fishing rod in hand, and two buckets next to you (one for bait, the other for your catches)
Elliott knows you’re the new farmer immediately
Though he’s not entirely sure why a farmer would need a sword, or a shoulder guard
He’s not intending to introduce himself to you, but when you look up and lock eyes with him, there’s a sudden tug in his chest
He believes in soulmates, I’ll just say that
Then you wave at him and smile, and he walks up without thinking about it
You take your fishing rod out of the water and set it aside, getting up to introduce yourself, and Elliott is fond of you already
Anyone who prioritizes the person they’re speaking to is going to be very attractive to him
And because Elliott’s a little sensitive, he tends to take it the wrong way when the person he’s speaking to doesn’t give him their full attention
One of my personal hcs is that he came from a rich family that never paid any real attention to him or valued his input
So when you give that to him without a second thought, he knows he’ll get along with you just fine
He’s curious about you in the beginning, but that’s as far as allows himself to take it
He thinks of you as a friend, or at least he tries to
Maybe it was the way the sunlight streaming through his windows caught your eyes as you inspected his struggling rose, or maybe it was the soft smiles you gave him when he would find crabs in his shirt pocket, but he’s constantly catching himself thinking about you
He plays it cool for the most part
But then you gift him a bottle of squid ink, mentioning how you noticed his stock getting low during your last visit, and the gears in his head make a funny noise
During the long process of writing his book, there were many times he was cemented in place by his writer’s block
But when his brisk walks through town and his piano breaks weren’t enough to spark inspiration, even a short conversation with you was enough for his fingers to twitch
You make him enjoy his art again, and he doesn’t care if someone notices the similarities between you and the protagonist of his book
Finally embraces it and dedicates his book to you
He knows he’s probably being so obvious about his feelings, but your face flushes brightly when he tells you during his reading at the library
If I’m honest, I don’t think he’s actually capable of having crushes on people
He feels everything so deeply that he might just fall straight into the ‘smitten’ category, but he swears that something about you is different
When you hand him the bouquet, he doesn’t blame fate, or any cosmic forces
None of them hold a candle to your power over him, anyway
Shane
We know how this guy is
Or rather, we know how he acts
He’s not at all curious, and he would rather you leave him alone entirely, but it’s not because he hates you or anything
He just doesn’t know you
But most everyone in town looks at him with pity, and he can’t stand another person looking at him like that
He’d rather you just not like him at all, so at least your expression will be different
Except you’re a persistent little shit
Every request he sticks on the board outside Pierre’s will be completed within the first few hours of the day, and he knows every time that it’ll be you, with whatever he’s asked for in your hands and an eager smile on your face
You always make time to talk to him, you smile at him on your way to whatever it is you get up to in your free time, and he’s pretty sure you’ve spent a small fortune on pizza and beer for him at the saloon
You laugh at his jokes, you listen to him rant about Morris and shitty customers without a shred of complaint—you make him feel like he’s actually worth listening to
The first time he’s properly mean to you is when he’s on his way to work
He’s finally accepted that you want something to do with him, and you’re tentative friends now, so it isn’t on purpose, but it’s still his fault
It’s cold outside, he hasn’t had a drink in two days, and he can’t drink before work if he wants to keep his job, so his withdrawals are bad
The wounded look on your face when he snaps at you swims behind his eyelids for his whole shift
He’s fighting tears back for the rest of the day, and his self-talk is the worst it’s been in a long time
He’s convinced he’s driven you away for good, and while part of him is almost glad that he’s managed to do it, the other, much louder part of him, is breaking apart because he’s really and truly fucked up with you
He’s at the saloon that night, already two beers in, when you waltz in
He makes eye contact with you out of habit, and your smile falters, just a bit
He feels like shit immediately, and looks down into his pint
For the first time he realizes that having you hate him feels infinitely worse than how it would if you pitied him
But with that knowledge, he reserves himself to his fuck-up
Even though he knows he should apologize, because that’s the right thing to do, he figures it’d be better for you if he just kept to himself and left you be
Until you plop down on the stool next to him at the bar, with a drink of your own
“Hey, grumpy. Do you feel like tolerating some company now?”
Stares at you in surprise for what feels like a minute before he stares into his pint again, squinting and trying to find anything wrong with it
You chuckle at him and guide him into setting down his beer
“No one spiked your drink, knucklehead, it’s me”
Was convinced that you’d want nothing to do with him, but then you order a pizza for the two of you, and he’s struck clean through by how… normal you’re being about him
Apologizes while you’re waiting for your food, and asks pretty bluntly why you’d still want to talk to him after that morning
“I figured you were just in one of your moods,” you shrug, taking a long drink from your glass, “Besides, I’ve had my moments, too. It’d be pretty hypocritical of me to get on your ass about it. But I forgive you, so quit beating yourself up about it, yeah?”
Probably doesn’t believe you’re capable of any “moments” because you’re always busting your ass to be the kindest you can possibly be
He used to think it was weird, and probably took you as the manipulative type when you first arrived, because you gave gifts and started conversations undeterred, desperate to win affection
But looking at you right then, he finally figures it out—that that’s just you
Maybe you do want everyone to like you, but your interactions with everyone have never been shallow
His chest gets tight, and he sets down his pint. He doesn’t intend on finishing it, because his vision is blurring around the edges, and he really wants to remember your conversation
Usually you’d ask him about how his shift went—if Morris was an annoying prick again, but he beats you to it while you’re in the middle of a sip
“Tell me about your day?”
The surprise coloring your features makes him feel guilty, but he shoves that aside in favor of listening to you talk
He didn’t know you went into the mines as frequently as you did, and he has no idea what the hell a “skull cavern” is, but he hangs on every word
You both walk home together, dropping him off at Marnie’s as you go, and he flops into bed with his head swimming and a dopey smile on his face
He wakes up the next day with a hangover, but he’s off work, and he’s still got the image of your smile tattooed on his brain
“Fuck.”
Y’all he’s so dumb
Harvey
You have this man stressed out from day one, and it takes him longer than the others to realize his feelings—or develop them (longer than Shane, too. Wild isn’t it?)
He’s a little impressed with your complete lack of anxiety about most things
He’s been the valley doctor for years now, but he still doesn’t have a very personal relationship with most of the townies
But you moved in three months ago and you’re already on your way to being besties with half of the town
The only thing he’s not sure about is your apparent lack of self-preservation instincts
You’ve passed out in every part of the valley at least once, and he’s treated several broken bones and serious injuries of yours by the time summer rolls around
he’s worried about you—as the valley doctor, he practically holds everyone’s lives in his hands, and there are patients that he’s lost in the past and can’t forget about
So making sure everyone is taking care of themselves is already nerve-wracking enough without throwing someone like you in the mix
You, who can’t go one week without some incident happening
He’s started up a tentative friendship with Marlon up at the guild, if only for the many times he’s carried you down to the clinic with varying level of injuries littering your skin
But you’re aware of the stress you bring him, and over time, you start improving
You get better at defending yourself in the mines, and he hasn’t found you passed out in front of someone’s porch in at least two months
That doesn’t sound like a long time, but given your track record, it’s impressive
And you’ve made a habit out of bringing him a coffee twice a week as a silent apology/thank you
He appreciates the caffeine, and your efforts to not stress him out
And during your check-up, he’s surprised to find that you’re actually—all things considered—pretty healthy
You bashfully admit that you’ve been trying to take better care of yourself so he doesn’t have to worry, and even though there’s no way he won’t worry, he appreciates it nonetheless
He properly realizes his feelings when you watch the plane fly overhead together
You’ve got your head poked out his apartment window, trying to catch a glimpse of the plane
He’s watching you carefully, making sure you don’t lean too far out, when it hits him
He’s not sure why, but you’ve got the sun shining on your face as you squint through your fingers to look at the sky, and the smile on your face when you spot the plane is brilliant
His breath leaves him in a silent gasp, and he doesn’t really care that he doesn’t get to take a good look at the plane, because he’d rather look at you
Over-explains his model planes to keep you around longer, but thinks about it for days afterward
Can’t stop thinking about how you looked, listening to him talk with your full attention
He doesn’t have many friends, and no one has ever shown a real and true interest in his hobbies—most people have found him dorky for it, but not you
He can tell the model of a plane based on the shadow of it in the sky and the sound of its motor, and you never fail to point one out and ask him which one it is
The glee on your face when he picks it out easily will never fail to make him smile
For what feels like the first time in his life, he can impress someone
His family is full of successful people: lawyers, musicians, a few unsavory cousins of his have turned to politics, and there’s more than a few pilots as well. Him being a doctor was never impressive to the people around him growing up—it was expected
He didn’t get much praise, forever overshadowed by everyone else in his family
Fake praise grinds his gears, but he knows it’s never anything but the truth when it comes from you
And the fact that it comes from you, who took up the mantle of your grandfather and turned the farm around from its steady decay and deterioration with your bare hands?
His confidence always jumps a level or two when you compliment him, because if you like him and think he’s cool, then he must be, you know?
A few weeks later, when he sees you standing outside the clinic through the window, he’s a little confused
He’s pretty sure you’ve already given him his caffeine for the week, but when he walks out to ask you what’s up, he sees the bouquet in your hands
He’s your doctor, and because he’s your doctor, he knows the blush on your cheeks and the scattered eye contact isn’t indicative of anything but nerves
You’re both practically steaming with how hard you’re blushing, and he gently takes the bouquet out of your hands
He doesn’t mind that he didn’t get to be a pilot. If he had, he doesn’t think he would’ve met you, and with the scent of flowers in his nose and your image etched into his memory, there’s nothing he’d hate more aw you guys are so cute
based on this post i made about shane being an older sibling figure to the younger bachelors & bachelorettes. he's the disgruntled mom friend.
1. sam
Shane slumps into a chair and takes off that dreadful cap as he begins his legally designated 15 minute break at work. He knows if it weren't for the literal law that he wouldn't be given a break at all, especially with Morris stressing about customers that never show up. It's the same two or three people from town every day. Morris isn't going to get that through his thick skull, though. Shane sighs as rubs his eyes roughly with his palms, trying to fend off his exhaustion and mild hangover.
He's getting better. He hasn't cut himself off completely, but he's getting better. He can remember his nights now instead of select moments and then blurry images and distant noises. Shane sighs. He has a therapy appointment in a couple of days. He isn't enjoying therapy but it is starting to give him relief in a way he's never felt before. It's better. It's better, he reassures himself, despite the pressure in his chest yelling at him that he's a failure for not going cold turkey.
Shane slouches further down in the chair and tips his head so it rests on the back of the chair. These cushioned armchairs, as cheap and small and obnoxiously colored blue as they are, are the best things JojaMart has ever gotten. He shuts his eyes and listens to the sound of absolutely nothing in the break room. He's saved from the terrible repetitive pop music playlist on the floor. It's just him and the whirring of a nearby fan.
Until the door swings open and Sam comes barging in with a giddy smile and something in his hands. He's going to come over and try and show him isn't he?
"Shane!"
Shane groans and covers his face with his cap.
"C'mon! I gotta show you something!"
"No." Shane grumbles from under his cap. "Go away."
"Please?" Sam asks nicely, "I promise you will like it."
Shane grabs his cap and swings it down onto his lap. "What is it?"
Sam holds out a flier and beams. Shane sighs and snatches the paper and takes a look at it. It's an advertisement for a show in Zuzu City.
"Who's 'Goblin Destroyer?'" Shane asks.
"My band!" Sam says excitedly, hopping from foot to foot. "We got a gig! It's a small show but it's still in Zuzu City!"
Shane blinks and nods. "Alright, cool." He looks up at Sam, who's got the biggest hopeful puppy dog eyes he's ever seen. Sam is giving Jas a run for her money. "Uh… good job." He tries to say it and mean it. It's exactly what Sam is looking for, because Sam somehow grins even wider and giddily jumps up and down.
"You totally gotta come!"
Shane purses his lips together. Go to their concert? He can't remember the last time he'd been to a concert, especially given how tickets usually cost more money than he has. Except, Sam and his band can't be expensive. It's their first show and probably at a small concert venue or in a club in Zuzu City, which most of the time is free. He has no reason to not go other than he doesn't know if he wants (or can handle) being in a potential crowd.
But Sam is waiting patiently and quietly. This means a lot to him.
Shane sighs, "Yeah, I can go. I just need the date and time."
"Really?!" Sam nearly shouts. "And everything is on the flier, plus everybody from here who's coming will be on the bus together. Pam agreed to it," He explains.
"Ah," Shane says, reading the flier again and seeing yes, all of the information is there. "Erm, your mom going?"
"Her and Vince are going, yea," Sam sounds less excited but he's still happy. "I'm not sure Mom will like the music too much, she doesn't like it when we practice in the house, but I think my dad would like it."
"Mmm," Shane hums.
"My dad isn't going to be home until next year," Sam says, his demeanor shifting into what Shane can only describe as sullen. "It's been weird, getting ready for it even though it's a whole two seasons away."
Shane isn't sure what to say to that. He never had much of a family growing up, and what little he remembers of his father are more images than true moving memories. Flashes.
"He's been gone since Vince was a toddler," Sam says. "We had just moved to the valley when it happened." Shane knows all of this already, this isn't the first time Sam has told him about it. Sam tends to repeat it a lot.
"I mean, I'm an adult now, y'know?"
"You're an adult?" Shane teases dryly. He smirks as Sam leans over and gives him a light slap on the knee.
"I'm being serious, dude," Sam says, "I just… I'm doing great things and he's not even here. I've been told he didn't have a choice but then there's so many people whose dads are here and weren't shipped off to the war. Did he have no choice?"
"Sam there wasn't a draft, and there hopefully won't be one anytime soon. So no, your father wasn't forced," Shane states matter-of-factly. He didn't plan on continuing further, but Sam's look of defeat…
"But, by 'no choice', probably meant in looking for a job. People who aren't doing well sometimes feel like the military's all they can do and be guaranteed some benefits at the end of it. Why did y'all move to Pelican Town?" Shane asks.
"It was too expensive in Zuzu," Sam says.
"Do you know why I moved to Pelican Town? Why did I move in with my aunt?"
"Because it was too expensive in Zuzu City."
"Right, and that was just me and Jas," Shane says, "Two of us. Y'all are a family of four. I can't imagine how hard it was."
"... Yeah…" Sam murmurs.
"Look, your old man was doing what was best at the time. He's gonna be different when he comes back."
"Yeah, in his letter he said he was different. I found it in my mom's room."
"Don't go snooping in your mom's room," Shane scolds. He clears his throat to switch off the "talking to Jas aka a child" mindset. "All I'm saying is, maybe this," Shane passes back the flier. "This'll be something he can enjoy when he gets back."
"I hope so," Sam says. "I don't know what I'd do if he doesn't like it."
"He'll like it," Shane says, "And even if he doesn't, he'll still be proud. He's your dad. He'd be crazy if he wasn't proud of you."
"You think so? Sometimes I don't even know if my mom is proud of me."
"She's going to be proud of you when she sees you on that stage. I know I'd be."
"... You would?"
"Mhm."
Sam looks at the flier and his face scrunches, deep in thought. Shane checks the clock and sees he's a couple minutes past his break. He sighs and he stands up, stretching his arms up to try, popping his back. Before he can leave, Sam is wrapping his arms tightly around Shane and squeezing.
"Sam?!"
"Thank you," Sam breathes.
Shane awkwardly pats Sam's back. "Er… you're welcome?"
Sam lets go and hurries off out of the breakroom. He probably wasn't even supposed to be back here, let alone for an entire 15 minute break. Shane sighs as he drags his feet to the door.
"That was weird," He murmurs to himself. He ignores the lightness in his chest. It was weird.
As long as the kid's happy though, right?
Shane questions if it was worth it as Morris yells at him for being late coming back from his break. He sees Sam behind Morris, mopping as usual as if he hadn't gone to the breakroom and is the reason Shane is late. Shane sighs again.
He'll take the blame for it this time.
This time, he tells himself, despite it not being the first time.
My main farmer, Claire! I unfortunately don't have the links I used to make these things 💔 but here she is! She's the subject of my fanfic that I posted before
