I see you made Sterling Cooper from Sunberry Village, can you make headcanon pre-dating (Sterling falls in love and doesn't know if farmer feels the same, but want date them) and what is he like in relationship/as boyfriend? if you want to do this, thank you!
Hey hey, dear anon 👋
If you meant it like I “made some headcanons for Sterling,” then yeah, I did write a little bit about him earlier. But I'm not the creator of him and the mod (I mean, that's obvious, but I wanted to clarify that, just in case!)
Your question gave me a perfect opportunity, because he’s such a cool character and I’ve been getting more and more interested in him and wanted to write more about him 👀💕 (free love mod, save me). Thank you for your ask, and have a good day! ✨
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Pre-dating:
Talk of the new resident arriving at the old farm was the hottest topic during the last week of winter before spring began. Practically everyone was chatting about the newcomer and trying to guess what they were like. Sterling heard about it from Mia, as his friend and roommate bustled back and forth across the kitchen, busy preparing her signature dishes for Farmer to show off her hospitality. At first, Sterling wasn’t really listening, trying with all his might to forget about his hangover headache, but later he found himself speculating about Farmer.
And so, on the very first day of spring, he was at work as usual, and the first customer walked through the door of Pierre’s shop — that very same new farmer. And holy macaroni, they weren’t what Sterling had imagined... they were even better! A real gem, a feast for the eyes, hot stuff — those were probably the most appropriate words in his head.
As they got to know each other and Farmer settled into Stardew Valley, they and Sterling started hanging out more and more, getting to know each other better. Which surprised Sterling a bit, because, to put it mildly, he hadn’t exactly shown his best side at certain moments. That incident with the trash can near the Saloon would definitely stay with him for the rest of his life; it was very embarrassing… And yet Farmer didn’t push him away, but continued to invite him for walks and give him fruit and flowers. Heh, they're such a good friend...
Of course, he had Shane, with whom he could always have a drink or two and share his problems, as well as Mia and Henry, but with Farmer, it was different. Their conversations on all sorts of topics, their playful rivalry in festival competitions or just seeing who could run to Sunberry Village first, their silly tickle wars or water fights in the ponds when they tried to splash each other… All of it was a warm, comforting feeling… Better than all that crap Sterling pumped into his body to feel good.
He likes Farmer. He likes them a lot. Their attractive appearance, their charisma, their kindness, compassion, and care for all people and animals, their boundless generosity, their sweet smile and the penetrating gaze of their beautiful eyes... But Sterling is playing it safe, not wanting to jump to conclusions and screw this up just like he did in his past relationships.
The only problem is, the poor guy couldn’t make sense of the mixed signals. One day Farmer called him a good friend, and the next one they gently rested their head on his shoulder; one moment Farmer gave Sterling a friendly pat on the shoulder, the next day they wrapped their arms tightly around his waist as they rode on the motorcycle. Sterling couldn’t figure it out, and he was afraid to ask directly. Afraid of misinterpreting them and ruining his friendship with Farmer, afraid of revealing that he’s only hanging out with them to transition into a romantic relationship, which isn’t true, but at the same time true but not like— Ugh... He needs a drink to forget his problems, at least for a little while. Though that won’t be easy, since Farmer is also a regular at Saloon...
At that very turning point, when, overcome by despair and self-loathing, Sterling collapsed to the floor in Pierre’s shop, clutching his head with both hands and trying to hide from Pierre, who was twisted with rage, from the rain pounding down outside, from Henry and Mia’s gentle words, from the soft touch of Farmer’s hand. Why, of all people, did Farmer have to be right there... Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe they’ll see what a pathetic loser and addict he is and leave before it’s too late.
But that wasn’t the case. They visited him, offered words of comfort, continued to cheer him up with bouquets of sunflowers, giving him the warmest hugs, listening silently as he apologized for everything and poured out all the pain that had built up inside him. And in Farmer’s eyes — not pity, but sincere concern for the person dear to them. For him…
And yet, a signature bouquet that can mean only one thing came as a surprise to him. Do Farmer really want to be with him? With him, of all people? After everything— No, they’re right, he’s being too hard on himself. Sterling admits that he’s actually had feelings for Farmer all this time… and is completely shocked when Farmer shyly tells him that they’ve felt the same way, for a very long time too, but were afraid of being misunderstood. Heh, in that case, Sterling suggests they make up for lost time.
As a boyfriend:
Sterling loves surprising Farmer by taking them to new and wonderful places. Sometimes they’ll go to a carnival, spending the whole night on all the amusement rides; other times they’ll stop by a small village to take in the local sights; or they’ll head to the beach, have a little picnic there, and reminisce about that very first time they came here. He always tries to take his dear partner out from time to time so they can take a break from the hard farm work and spend time together.
No matter how hard Sterling tried to act like a super-cool boyfriend who could make anyone blush and giggle with his flirting and jokes, it was his cheeks that betrayed him with a blush when his partner handed him a bouquet of sunflowers, his favorite flowers, it was he who was left speechless by his beloved’s counterattack to his flirting, it was he who so often had butterflies in his stomach and goosebumps when Farmer whispered something romantic and tender in his ear, or promises of a fun and wild night at home.
Caring and gentle Sterling would spoil his dearest Farmer with delicious treats at every opportunity. He was still a long way from Mia’s skill level, but his desire to delight Farmer with a slice of cake or a fragrant cappuccino filled him with the determination to try his hand at cooking, no matter how many times he failed. Look, he made pancakes and drew a cute bear’s face with chocolate syrup — all by himself! …Well, okay, Mia helped a little, but everything else — he did it all by himself! To tell the truth, he gets nervous with every dish, but seeing how the Farmer happily devours all his culinary creations makes him incredibly happy.
Sterling will never stop telling Farmer how much he loves them, how beautiful and hot they are even in their grass-stained overalls, how worried he gets for them when they set off on their adventures, and how much he missed them, even if Farmer was only gone for a day. With his beloved, Sterling no longer pretends or hides behind yet another mask of cockiness, but shows his true self (In other words, being such a dork 💕)