Here’s a mini thing I got carried away with (Shane x Farmer)
I was playing with an idea I had for an imagine and pitched it over discord. This is just a copy-paste of the messages I sent about the prompt which turned into a half-assed mini story. It starts off as a prompt but goes into more detail and Yes the tense changes at points- sorry about that, but I was writing this over the course of a few hours between doing other things. I really liked the idea in the end so I thought I’d share :)
Shane x Farmer OC/You except it's an alternative POV Groundhog Day-esque mystery, where Shane's anxiety and low self-esteem makes him question why on Earth the farmer wants to be friends enough that he starts to notice how they can act a little weird. Weird as in the way they pause at random moments before something happens as if they were expecting it when there was no way they could have known, or how they seem to know everything he likes but play it off as a "good guess". Then, of course, the Farmer and Shane fall in love and start dating. Shane notices the Farmer goes to Cindersap forest a lot, and always in a sneaking manner. He hears from Lewis about the weird man who lives in a tower and those insecurities kick in once again. Shane and the Farmer have a fight about it, with the Farmer flatly denying any suggestions and tries to defuse the situation (and they seem to know exactly what to say to calm him down, which only frustrates him further). Shane then goes to investigate on his own and see if the Farmer is cheating on him (which is what he suspects). He finds the wizard in the tower,
[completely out of character dialogue but you get the gist]
Rasmodius: Ah, [Farmer's name]'s husband... what do you want?
Shane: ... husband?
Shane: Who- we're not married. I'm not their husband. Who are you?
Rasmodius: A-hah, finally divorced you, have they? I'm not surprised. If you want a love potion to win them back, that's not how this works
Shane: What are you on about? We have never been married- I've barely known them a year!
An awkward silence ensues and a look of concern washes over the Wizard's face. He mutters something to himself and makes a wave with his hand. Shane is pushed out of the tower against his will and the door slams firmly shut. He goes home confused and still, if not more, upset.
The next morning Shane wanders onto the farm hungover from the night before, him having drunk himself to sleep. As he approached from the upper right from town, he can hear loud voices. Once he gets close enough he see's the wizard on the Farmer's doorstep and the Farmer in the doorway. They're having a heated discussion. The farmer looks like they've been crying. Being the caring boyfriend, Shane goes to the Farmer's defence without hesitation. The wizard gives the farmer a look, which causes them to cast their eyes down. They don't look at Shane.
"You need to fix this," the Wizard states firmly. The harshness and obvious anger in his voice makes the Farmer wince. Shane goes to intervene, but the Wizard leaves too quickly for it to matter.
The Farmer doesn't invite Shane into their house like they normally would. They keep the doorway blocked with their body and come off as reserved. The sight of them causes a pain in Shane's head, like a memory fighting its way to the surface. It makes him blurt, "We've been here before." The Farmer sobs. Shane doesn't comfort them, only looking on in shock and confusion.
"We're were married," The Farmer confesses.
Long ago, in another life, the Farmer had met Shane in the secluded Pelican Town in Stardew Valley. It was like a whole other world, so cut off from the rest of society. The war hadn't reached the valley, nor had it been consumed by modern technology. The other threat to it was Joja mart, which the Farmer swiftly put an end to with the help of the Junimos. Shane and the Farmer married in the Summer of the Farmer's third year. Their love was sweet and naive. It took the Farmer a long time to gain Shane's trust, to learn what he liked and what he didn't, but they enjoyed everyone second of it. Of course, married life was much different from dating. Very quickly the threads of their relationship came undone. Tempers were tested and their love was challenged. Snide comments turned to midnight screaming matches and neither could find common ground. The Farmer was hard-working, but at times struggled to empathise with him. Shane was passionate, but still struggling with his mental health and found it difficult to have any motivation.
That was their first marriage.
With a quick deal, the Farmer was given a second chance to start again. A new life in the same old Pelican Town. A completely clean slate. They knew what they were doing this time. They knew how to woo Shane while also keeping the Farm in good condition. They were like a machine. The two married in the Winter of the Farmer's first year. Shane, unaware of the upper hand the Farmer had, was smitten. He'd found his soulmate. They were perfect together, so of course, when the topic of babies came up, they were quick to make a decision.
"We had kids...?" The memories Shane was getting back were faint and hard to interpret, but he knew the Farmer was telling the truth. He felt sick. The regret that washed over the Farmer's face when he spoke only made it worse.
"You- We, hated it. We were terrible parents. I wasn't fit for it, I-I was too busy all the time, and it stressed you out so much. We weren't happy." The Farmer's voice began to crack. "It just wouldn't stop crying... no matter what we did... it just wouldn't stop."
The Farmer had found themselves on the Witch's doorstep again, ready to make a deal. They had remembered what the Witch had offered them last time and decided to take them up on one of their offers. 'Only you, I and the wizard will have any memories of these events you are about to erase'. With a hefty fee, the Farmer wished for their troubled child to be set free, to be turned into a dove.
This was no easy fix, though. Somehow, in some way, Shane figured it out, and he stood in the rain where he was standing now, looking at the Farmer as they stood in the doorway, hoping- praying for some kind of answer that would make it all better. He relied on the Farmer for that. They always seemed to fix his problems for him, but all the sudden they were the cause.
"You were going to hurt yourself... I couldn't let you go. I had to stop you."
Shane had gone to the cliff edge like he had done times before, but nothing the Farmer had said changed his mind. They were the problem, not the solution anymore.
..
One more time. Just one more time and they'd get it right. Things would be perfect, and they would be happy. But the Farmer couldn't restart again. They felt themselves getting older both physically and mentally from the constant stress. A different deal with the witch, and with a little extra. Erase the town's memory of Shane and they're relationship. Any trace that they had been any more their friends would be gone. Additionally, for the price of their soul, Stardew Valley would continue to be a secluded, untouched miracle in a war-torn world, where no ill would come to the valley and its inhabitants would stay in their happy little bubble. There would be no death, no ageing, and the outside world would only resume when interacted with. It was a strong spell, but it was worth it for an eternity of paradise. The Farmer could start again with Shane while keeping their progress on the farm and with the rest of the town, that way they would be ready for anything.
"So here we are," The Farmer said with a forced laugh. They looked like how Shane felt- complete and utter shit. Hopeless, lost and hurt was a good way to put it. By now the hidden memories had come back just like any other memory, but it didn't ease Shane. Somehow he could comprehend it all, but what does one do in that situation? Knowing knowledge that shouldn't be known. Sure, the Farmer told him of two instances where they had reset their relationship (and practically time itself), but how many other times had they toyed with this power? How could one determine what was genuine and what was a forced lie implanted into the mind? Shane thought of the child he now remembered. He felt guilty for forgetting. He felt grief for the child he had lost. He felt betrayed, oh so betrayed, by the one he thought he cared for so deeply, who had used and toyed with him like he were some program that could be edited and reset at a whim.
"I hate you,"
Those three words. Three words the Farmer thought they could never withstand hearing from him... but they had. They had more times than they would ever acknowledge. The naive Farmer who came to Stardew Valley would have never survived the heartbreak, but that person was gone- consumed by the determination to fix things. They were barely fazed by the words at this point; the phrase was like a paper cut, it hurt, but only for a moment. Why should they worry, anyway? They'd get it right next time.
"One more time," they said. "It'll be the last and I'll get it right. We'll be happy. I'll wipe the slate clean this time."
