RSV - Blog Posts

"RSV" g. house/j. wilson Oneshot

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The cold atmosphere surrounding the two men dampened the mood plenty, and the harsh coughs of the patient in front of them made it worse.

House had taken a case of a seven year old girl who hadn’t been able to walk since she was three. Whenever pressure was put on her left leg she would get a shooting pain all the way up to her spine.

No doctor knew why, other than that it was immovable and that she would probably never use it again. She and her mom had come into the clinic due to a respiratory infection, and House found her background ‘interesting.’ 

After a plethora of examinations and not-so-legal operations, he and his team found a tumor in her calf and in the middle of her spinal cord. How all of her other doctors missed them baffled the man, truly.

But that was how he was now sitting next to the girl showing her magic tricks as Wilson discussed with her mom possible treatments. 

“We could remove them and the dead tissue that surrounds the tumors, but it’s a tough and long operation that doesn’t have the highest chance of working.” Wilson stated lowly to the crying woman.

“How high?” She choked out, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

“A good, twenty-percent chance.” He estimated and thought about the severity of the girl's illness. “Her respiratory infection also doesn’t help much in the process, but if we don’t take those tumors out now, they might not be able to come out at all.”

The mother looked over at her daughter and watched as House pulled out a card from behind her ear, and then she saw him flick the girl’s forehead when she said it was the wrong card. Her mother laughed slightly, and then looked back at Wilson.

“Where do I sign?” Wilson smiled at her words and nodded to the door, “I’ll show you the reception.”

=======

The woman came back to the room and hugged her daughter, kissing her forehead. “Are you ready to get better, sweetie?”

The girl nodded her head and grinned, a tear falling from her eye.

Wilson walked in and snorted at House, who had fallen asleep in the chair with cards spread out all over him. 

“House.” He called out to the man, repeating it louder again. House still didn’t wake up, and Wilson scoffed before looking at the girl and the woman. 

“It’s about to get a little loud.” He warned them before he stood in front of the girl and offered his hand out. She took it, and he used his other to take off a cord that connected her to her heart monitor. It beeped loudly, repetitively, and House jolted awake. 

“Huh?”

“Welcome back, we almost lost you there.” Wilson said sarcastically, and House rolled his eyes. Wilson looked back at the girl, and he and House both grimaced when she coughed on his face. 

“I am so sorry.” The girl said and covered her mouth as she finished coughing. 

Wilson smiled tightly at her and connected her back to the heart monitor, “It’s all right, it happens more than you think.”

=======

“Where’s Wilson?” House barged into Cuddy’s office, completely ignoring the man she was with.

“House!” She scolded him, gesturing to the other man. “I’m in a meeting with someone. Knock next time.” 

“Oh, really? In that shirt I thought you were trying to proposition him a little something-something, if you catch my drift.” He raised his eyebrows to punctuate his sentence and grinned.

Cuddy gritted her teeth, and excused herself from the other man before walking out of the office with House trailing behind her.

“Wilson is at home sick with RSV. I told him to leave when I saw him this morning with eyebags heavier than yours and when I heard him cough his lungs out in his office from outside his door.” 

House looked at her and hummed before taking off without a word. The woman groaned and turned around, stopping one of the assistants. “Clock Dr. House out of work, please.”

=========

House lifted his cane up to Wilson’s door and knocked to the tune of ‘Shave and a Haircut’. He didn’t get a response, so he jiggled the handle and opened the door when he noticed it was unlocked. 

“You know, I could kill and rob you right now.” He shouted out as he walked into Wilson’s living room. It was eerily quiet, and he didn’t like it. The man thudded his cane on the ground three times and heard a faint cough as three other knocks followed from Wilson’s bedroom wall.

House’s eyebrows furrowed and he went to see the sick oncologist, roughly opening the door and turning on the lights. “Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey.”

Wilson groaned loudly and grabbed one of his pillows to cover his head with, coughing underneath it. He groaned even louder when House poked him with his cane, right before House jabbed it into his side.

“Ow! House!” Wilson uncovered his head and looked at the other man, holding up his hand to the light above them. He coughed a bit, and House let out a quick ‘yikes’ when he saw just how bad Wilson looked. 

The man in question had eyebags darker than his own hair, and his eyes were incredibly red and puffy. His lips were dry and cracked, and he had dried drool on his chin. His cheeks were red as well, and his hair was tousled like he just got thrown off a bull. 

“Jesus Christ.” House murmured, taking in the sight of his best friend. The said man had only grunted and thrown his face back into his pillow, coughing into it. 

“If you’re gonna gawk, at least turn the lights off.” His voice was muffled, but House understood it enough to flick the light switch and leave the room.

The man stood there for a second, staring at the door before going into the kitchen and grabbing Wilson’s keys from the glass bowl, and leaving to go to his own house.

=======

Wilson’s eyes opened when he heard his front door slam shut, and he inhaled deeply and sat up. He ran his hands through his tangled hair and carefully stood up, making his way to his bathroom. Washing his hands when he was finished with his business, he turned off the water and dried his hands while trying to sniff the air.

He couldn’t smell or breathe very well, but there was a slight smell of Thai food that caught his attention. He fixed his hair and left the bathroom, and wobbled to his kitchen, where he saw House sitting down on his sofa and eating noodles while watching ‘General Hospital.’

“Save any for me?” He croaked out and cleared his throat. 

“Fridge.” Was the only thing House said through a mouthful of noodles, and Wilson made his way to his fridge.

He pulled out a box of more noodles, and noticed the grocery bag on his counter. He reached out for it, and pulled out a bottle of Nyquill, Aspirin, Tylenol, allergy medications, and Motrin.

He opened the bottle of Tylenol and grabbed two, tossing them into his mouth and fitting his head under the sink to down them with the tap water. He grabbed the Thai noodles and sat down next to House, digging into his food. 

They both sat there in enjoyable silence until Wilson noticed all of the new pillows and blankets that sat on his reclinable sofa and spoke up.

“What’s all that for?” He mumbled through his noodles. 

“Doesn’t matter.” House said simply, pushing himself off the couch with his cane and taking his trash and bowl to the kitchen. Wilson stared at the cushions and shrugged, continuing to watch the TV. 

When he was finished, he got up and also took his bowl to the kitchen, and he coughed into his elbow as he placed his bowl in the sink. “Are you going to pay rent, at least?”

“Nope.” House popped the P and typed away on Wilson’s laptop, not bothering to look at the man. Wilson deadpanned at House until he decided to walk away and go back to his room, flopping onto his bed and falling asleep there.

The other man was searching for drug cocktails that he could inject his friend with to get him better, and he grinned devilishly when he found one that he had access to all of the drugs.

He leaned over slightly to see if Wilson’s door was open or not, and stood up and quickly made way to his bag when he saw it was closed. He pulled out what should have been a med-kit, and took out the drugs in it. He chose what he needed, and made sure all of the right ingredients were put into a syringe.

He slowly limped to Wilson’s room, opting out of using his cane so that he didn’t cause too much noise and wake him up. House opened his door carefully, and his nerves eased when he heard the loudest snore he’s ever heard in his life.

 He ticked his tongue and made his way to Wilson, pulling out a sanitisation packet from his pocket. He lifted the sleeping man’s shirt and carefully rubbed it onto his back, freezing when he stirred. Pulling out the other packet, he wiped down the needle slowly and injected Wilson with the cocktail quickly. 

He froze again, expecting Wilson to wake up and yell at him, but he didn’t. He was still fast asleep, and still snoring. House smiled in success and tossed the syringe into the trashcan by Wilson’s bed, and covered it up with crinkled tissues. He then left the room and closed the door, and went back into the kitchen where the laptop was. 

House re-skimmed over the article with the side effects and he stopped when he saw something slightly alarming.

“Patient may fall unconscious for any time ranging from 16 hours to 2 days. Watch closely and monitor all the time. Any illnesses that the patient may have when the cocktail is injected will dimishness.”

“Shit.”

=======

Wilson woke up after twenty-six hours with cotton mouth, a diaper on, and no idea where he was until he saw House sitting on a chair reading a magazine. 

“House?” He grumbled, lifting himself up to look at his clock. It was late, 1:24 in the morning to be exact. He looked back at House, and the man stood up and slapped the back of his hand onto Wilson’s forehead and held it there. 

“Feels fine.” The man said, and he grabbed his cane and left the confused Wilson to his own devices. 

Wilson didn’t know what happened, or what to do, so he chose to take a shower and freshen up. When he was done, he saw a glass of water on his bedside table and downed it immediately.

He sighed and stood there, unsure of what to do once again. That was until he noticed he felt much better than when he fell asleep.

He went to find House, and saw him in the kitchen again making what he assumed was an omelet. Staring into the back of House’s head, he felt that something was wrong.

He went to sleep with RSV and the worst headache and cough of his life, and now he felt like he could run a marathon.

“What did you do?” He questioned, and locked eyes with House when he turned around.

“What, no ‘thank you?’ No, ‘Oh my goodness, House. I feel so much better, thank you for your help and kindness?’” House mocked, tossing the omelet onto a plate and holding it out for Wilson.

Wilson felt iffy taking the food, but he still did and he sat down at the table as House served him a glass of orange juice. 

“It’s two in the morning-” “I don’t care, eat your food.”

“M’kay.” Wilson didn’t argue and he grabbed his fork and ate, huffing down all of it and drinking every drop in the glass. “So, what’d you do?”

“I drugged you with seven different drugs.” House told him, grabbing Wilson’s plate and putting it in the sink before filling his glass back up with more juice. Wilson sat there and stared at him in disbelief, no words could come out of his mouth. 

“Right.” Was the only word he could say, and he downed the drink in his glass. His mind was racing with many things he wanted to tell his friend.

He was in awe that he would put him so close to death, and that he would even think of doing such a thing that could one again, put him so close to death. It was insane of him to do, and he was flabbergasted. But what came out instead of yelling was, 

“You cared that much?” House turned on the water to the sink and grabbed a sponge and soap and started doing the dishes, ignoring Wilson’s question. 

That was the only answer Wilson needed, though, and he smiled at the back of House’s head. 

“I’m telling your team when I go into work.”

“No the hell you aren’t!”

“Oh, yes the hell I am!”

𝚃𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙾𝚞𝚝 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚅𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔

Okay, so I finally downloaded the Sunberry Village mod and let me just say, it was totally worth it. I’ve been eyeing it for a while, and after seeing all the gorgeous screenshots and hearing people rave about it, I knew I had to try it out for myself.

That said… I did have to remove East Scarp from my mods folder. As much as I adore that mod, my poor little laptop just couldn’t handle everything running at once. (RIP, memory.) But hey, it’s not goodbye forever just a temporary pause until I get a proper upgrade. Hopefully soon! (Also, fun fact: I heard that the Always Raining in the Valley mod was integrated into Sunberry Village now, so if you’re like me and want to pursue Sterling, you’ll find him here instead. One more reason to dive in!)

Now let’s talk about Sunberry Village itself, what a gem of a mod. The new map is just chef’s kiss! Lush, vibrant, and full of cozy details that make the whole place feel alive. The NPCs are super well-written and diverse, each with their own personalities and stories. And there's even marriageable candidates here. I’ve already had a few cutscenes and honestly? I’m hooked. I can tell a lot of love went into their design.

There’s also tons of new places to explore, including little hidden spots and secret passages that make wandering around feel like a proper adventure.

And yes, they even have their own mines! I tried them out and I’m kind of obsessed. Every level has a fresh layout, different biomes, and brand-new vibes. It’s not just your average mine crawl, it feels like stepping into a different world with every floor.

If you’re looking for a rich, immersive expansion that blends perfectly with other mods like SVE, RSV, ES or VMV, this is it. Whether you’re into farming, fighting, exploring, or just getting to know new characters, Sunberry Village has something for you.

If you want to play it too, you can find the mod here on NexusMods

[SDV] "The Nightingale"

Give your thanks to anon!

Summary: You didn't expect leaving the life of an assassin to be easy. But upon arriving to Pelican Town to take care of your late grandfather's farm for a time, the dream became more and more tempting by the passing season, especially when a steadily blossoming romance was another factor.

Warning(s): [AU where the Farmer/Reader is an assassin and not a former Joja employee] Jio is a lil' gentler in this fic (still blunt though),❗️Explicit scenes where the Reader kills members of her organization❗️(Nothing too gorey though), Gentle sex, Fade-To-Black One-sided attraction low-key (The reader likes Jio more than Jio likes the reader), Jio still has sex with them out of curiosity though.

Side Note(s): God I love former assassin tropes. I had to take extra time on this one since I was in the mood for writing a bit of a short storyline, but I hope you like it anon!

P.S: Sorry that this may not be *exactly* how you wanted it anon. I had a narrative in mind and I just ran with it 😔

“The life as a Nightingale is one that is to be lived amongst the shadows. From now on, you live only to serve this organization and to never yearn for a life amongst the sun again.” 

The life of a Nightingale was...lonely.

When you were of age, this was the oath you had taken. It was a harsh one but, this life amongst the dark underbellies of society was the only one you had ever known.

Your parents were assassins, from the day of your birth, all you had known was the shadows and the oath they had taken, never once being allowed to think of walking amongst the common population. You weren’t afforded the opportunity to attend regular school and instead attended night school where every student in the school’s population was in a similar situation to yourself, a life where circumstances were…unusual, to say the least. It was hard to make friends, and when you did, you weren’t allowed to keep them. The chance to go on field trips sounded like something out of a fairytale and when you had finally graduated night school, the opportunity to go to college wasn’t afforded to you. 

Combined with the years of learning how to wield different weapon types, to the point where you could find a way to make a weapon out of a mere stick if you so wished. Not to mention learning different killing strategies such as the usage of poison, the use of allergens or other people around you if need be. 

Becoming a Nightingale was a given, and when you swore to abide by the Nightingale’s oath. It was an all too easy choice to make. Since then, you’ve been a walker of the shadows. You had taken out targets from all walks of life, from the humble poor man to elites whose pockets hung so low that you feared it touched the core of the very Earth. Because of this, you’ve dabbled in every type of illegal activity you could think of, some activities taking you places such as underground cities where the “common” law was flipped upside down to gang-run territories where each step you made could have easily been your last. 

Yet each and every single time, you completed your mission professionally and without too much trouble aside from a few new scars lining your body.

You never dared to dream much less think of life outside the realm of the Nightingales. You couldn't dream of a different scenario! One that wasn't rife with death and blood, shadows and silence. Where, instead of a bright moon looming above your head, there was instead a great yellow ball of fire. So, one night, when your leader had called you into their quarters to discuss your next job, you didn't have a mind to think of this job as too different than the other ones you had undertaken until...the location's name was spoken.

"You'll be taking a target known as 'Mr. Qi' located in Pelican Town."

Pelican Town? You had to repeat the name over in your head at least three times to really let it settle in. The name of the location wasn't something that whispered a more nefarious nature, nor did it strike you as a place that was familiar in the realm of drugs, gang activities, or trafficking. No, instead, it struck you as a place where you'd go fishing or maybe even farm a few plants here and there.

"It's a farming town out east. Nothing dangerous there aside from some monsters. You're to research the whereabouts of your target and kill him, he's an elusive bastard."

You cocked your brow. "And what will be my disguise?"

Your leader chuckled gruffly. "Guess."

Your gaze narrowed, racking over your brain for ideas until your jaw dropped slightly. "A farmer?"

"Inconspicuous, there's plenty of farmers there and a new one coming into town won't be unusual." Your leader sighed before they pushed themselves from their desk and went to their bookshelf, your eyes following the way their hands trailed over their collection of books and notebooks before they landed on a single parchment of paper. When the paper was handed to you, you took it with a single nod of thanks before you opened it. "Your late grandfather was a farmer, apparently, he wished to give some land over to you but your parents were against it."

You had heard conversations here and there when you overheard your parents talk late at night. However, all you understood was that your father didn't want you to go into the life of farming, that it was a waste of your potential and talents as another future addition to the Nightingales. Perhaps he was right, you'd never know but...you wouldn't deny that the idea of going to a farming town unnerved you a little. "I can't farm."

"You won't, you'll simply find the target and slit the bastard's throat. You'll return here and then get your payment per the usual. This is no different from your other jobs." You had a mind to argue but the leader's word was law. If they were to say that you needed to throw yourself from a cliff then you wouldn't have a single choice but to obey. But, this farming town was nothing more than that. A farming town.

No danger nor enemies to look over your shoulder for. No having to nearly throw yourself into the arms of death in an effort to get closer to your target or to simply get within better range of killing your target. The objective was simple, pretend to be a farmer and research the whereabouts of this 'Mr. Qi', once you had his blood on your hands and dagger, you'd collect evidence of his death and return back to your home amongst the shadows.

Nothing would be any more different than how things used to be.

"I'll be back soon," Was your eventual answer, stuffing your late grandfather's letter into your pocket. Your leader responded with a stoic nod before he dismissed you with a wave of your hand. "Report to the bus stop tomorrow night, you'll have someone waiting for you. Don't be late."

. . .

From then on...the rest was a blur, strangely enough.

When you had arrived in Pelican Town, under the sun no less. You had a pair of people waiting for you, an older man and a woman. Robin and Lewis, the mayor of the town. They were...friendly, and strange, but...this town was full of nothing but simple townsfolk and farmers. They commented on how they assumed no one would ever take your late grandfather's old farm and that they had bids from all over from people who wanted to take the place for themselves! The farm itself was a mess, with overgrown shrubs, and trees as far as the eye could see.

Creatures and critters made their homes in different spots on the farm too, for the past few days, you had spent time just trying to chase them all out! You weren't accustomed, much less ready for this life at all. It was like throwing a fish onto land and expecting them to excel without any training or adaptation prior. Yet you managed, when the farm was decent to the eye and you had planted a few crops to further sell the look, you then begun the process of looking for your target.

And, as if the world itself were mocking you, you only ran into more issues.

A wizard watched over the valley, the community building was in shambles and you were seeing jumping apples. People bothered you and talked to you at every turn, seeming not to understand that you had a job to do! These townsfolk were hopeless, you wondered how they managed to get on for so long without being dragged into the mud via monsters or their own incompetency yet.

'A mixture of the local wizard and Adventurer's Guild' You thought.

And the Adventurer's Guild...that was a totally different story.

Before you had even realized it, you had been within the town for months. You arrived in spring and suddenly, it was nearing the end of summer, the slight chill in the air already beginning to whistle along to signal the changing of the seasons. A job had never taken you this long, were you off your game? Or had you become busy with boring farm work all of a sudden? Or...perhaps you should stop distracting yourself with the whims and festivities of the townsfolk, however...they were so friendly. Even when you were so cold to them at the beginning, when you first arrived in town, you'd scowl and tell them that you weren't interested in mild chit-chat. Whenever you'd visit the Saloon in an effort to try and obtain more information on your target, people would try to talk to you and get to know you! In return for their efforts? You'd either ignore them or order them to leave you alone.

Now? You were starting to enjoy their conversations.

The way they'd show up at your doorstep with nothing but friendly intentions and gifts. The friendliness was nearly overwhelming, you had friends, for the first time in your entire life. Life amongst the shadows, surrounded by nothing but death and blood...quickly, you were beginning to prefer life under constant daylight and warmth. And your love for the daylight only grew when you had, one day, decided to wander into the forest that grew just outside Ridgeside Village.

It was peaceful and quiet, nothing but birdsong and the sound of a waterfall in the distance. And— "I know you're there." You said when you had stopped in front of a pond to admire the strange fish that only this village's waters contained. The stranger that decided to hide himself in the shadows of the trees...he was shocked, when he heard the news that the grandchild of the late farmer of that abandoned farmstead was coming to the valley. His lady had told him and the others to keep an eye on the newcomer. Yet rumors from Pelican Town, as well as the way you carried yourself the moment you stepped into the Ridge, said that you weren't simply a newcomer who only sought after trying to restore their relative's farmland.

Thus, the ninja decided to answer. "You saw me?" He asked.

"It was easy enough, I'm used to having to pick things out of the darkness." You answered before you turned around, only for your jaw to drop ever so slightly when the stranger had come into the light. Tall, with light brown hair that only seemed to become even lighter when exposed to the rays of the sun. Although a mask covered the lower half of his face, it wasn't hard for you to tell that he was handsome while the rest of his outfit made it clear that he wasn't a normal civilian of either Ridgeside Village or Pelican Town. And that wasn't all— "Your ears...are you an—"

His brow rose, his hand instinctively reaching to cover his ear despite the fact you had already seen the true nature of them. You were capable of sensing that he was watching you, not to mention being able to see the true nature of his ears? His lady was correct in ordering that you were to be observed. "Who are you?" You decided to ask.

"You may call me Jio, farmer. Who are you?"

You could easily tell that there was more to that question than simply inquiring about your name. Information that you weren't willing to give. "You may call me Y/N, I'm new to my grandfather's farm. I'm just here to restore it, nothing more." His head tilted, you were bad at lying. But, for now, he wouldn't pursue the question. It was good enough for now to understand that, while you may have been here to restore your grandfather's farm...that wasn't the entire story.

"You should turn back then, farmer. Beyond this forest, lies the Ridge. There's nothing but danger that no simple farmer such as yourself should see."

Danger? Though it wasn't shocking, you had seen the slimes and shadow people within the mines, you hadn't expected danger to lurk so closely to this village. "I can handle myself." You answered.

"Don't be a fool." He said harshly. "That is unless you don't value your life." And without another word, he disappeared in a puff of grey smoke. Yet, your interest in the elf lingered.

. . .

Having an...infatuation was an unfamiliar thing to you.

Back at your headquarters, there was no one good-looking enough to make you glance back at them twice much less make themselves linger in your mind for as long as that elf who called himself Jio did. All of a sudden, you found your feet unconsciously taking you back to the forest every other day, hoping to either talk to him or simply catch a glimpse of him as if he were some rare firefly! Your brain was torn apart, you wanted to focus on the farm but also on the friends you were making in Pelican Town, you wanted to see Jio again...to explore this weird feeling that was building up inside of your chest but—

The mission.

The mission.

You won't forget about your purpose.

Never once had you left a mission unfinished but...what if...just this once— "No." You scolded yourself one night as you lied down in your bed, staring up at your ceiling while your new cat, a tiny stray that Marnie had brought to your doorstep one day, slept peacefully on your stomach. "Focus Y/N." You continued before you sat up, gently placing your cat aside as you decided to step out of the house for some fresh night air. Perhaps the light of the moon would help you refocus, help you remember that these people of the daylight weren't of your concern. That Jio wasn't your concern, as well as this feeling in your chest! And as you stepped outside, the moon's light immediately soothing your rushing mind whilst the calls of nighttime critters helped you feel more in your element.

You remembered that you hadn't checked your mail.

Yet another thing you had to become familiar with, having a mailbox...where all your personal things were sent to.

It was an odd little system.

Yet...useful, it seemed. Because when you opened the box to check inside of it, all that was contained was a single black letter. You knew immediately what it meant, and the contents of the letter only read— "At the end of fall, one of our own shall visit you. Report your findings to them." And that was all that was in the message. A nervous sweat dripped down your back, you were no closer to finding out more information about your target than you were when you first came to this valley! You had allowed yourself to get distracted, accidentally focusing more on your disguise rather than the importance of your mission. Tonight, with the moon as your witness, you swore to yourself that your tolerance for distraction ended tonight.

You had to remain focused.

Thus, when the next day came around, you didn't allow yourself to speak to anyone. For the entire day it seemed, you had tracked down every possible lead you could think of whether it was scoping out the Wizard's tower in the wee hours of the morning or sometimes even observing the townsfolk during the night, all in the hopes that you'd spot something, anything that looked out of the ordinary.

But you found nothing, nothing aside from accidentally encountering the local drunk when he was in one of his stupors again, and having to waste time taking him home and lightly telling him off that he needed to stop drinking. And when you had laid him outside of Marnie's door, walking back to your farm to call it another failed investigation for tonight, your mind drifted back to Jio and you wondered if he knew anything. Although he didn't strike you as an assassin like you were, you knew that you both shared something in common. A something that unconsciously motivated you to skip walking up to your front door and instead make the short trip to the Ridgeside mountains, praying to whatever god was listening to you at that moment that the elf was around and willing to talk to you.

"Jio?" You softly called out once you had reached the forest.

Nothing, aside from the hooting of owls and crickets that is.

Your eyes narrowed in determination, remembering how he warned you to not venture beyond the forest and into the Ridge. Blindly walking into danger, especially when one had the courtesy of previously warning you about it, was foolish, that much was told to you constantly as you grew up, and from that, you learned to avoid unnecessary danger unless it counted towards you getting farther into your mission. Walking into a dangerous forest in the hopes of finding more information about this 'Mr. Qi' target...you decided that it had to have counted, and thus you made your way deeper into the woodlands. Slowly but surely, the calls of the night began to grow quieter...and quieter...until there was nothing left at all but the sounds of your shoes moving across the grass.

The scent in the air was strange as well.

Like an oncoming thunderstorm mixed with the familiar smell of iron and a little bit of fire smoke. You prepared yourself for a fight, your hand reaching to rest on the hilt of your weapon that you always kept on your person as you started to make your way out of the thick shrubbery and woodlands and out onto a clearing. You slowly scanned your surroundings for anything strange as your steps became slower and more calculated, wary even as you suddenly began to feel as if you were being watched.

Yet when you stopped briefly next to a tree, a snarl was your only warning before something lunged at you. Experienced, you took out your sword and cut the creature down without nary a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of your face, looking down at the slain beast however...you quickly plunged the end of your blade into its chest before it stopped its twitching and—

A sharp clang of metal meeting metal rung out in the otherwise quiet clearing, your eyes meeting a familiar set of green. "Jio?" You gasped, taking your blade away from his own. "Apologies, I didn't—"

"You shouldn't be here," His voice was even more muffled now thanks to his scarf covering the lower half of his face along with that mask of his. "You've ventured beyond the Ridge, the mountain spirit's protection ends here."

Your brow cocked. "I don't need some fairytale's protection, clearly I can handle myself." You tipped your head at the fallen beast. Jio crossed his arms, in his opinion, besting a mere red serpentine beast was indeed impressive but not enough to prove that one was deserving to explore this area further. But, for you, one that had taken down the beast with ease and experience, perhaps...there was something to be gained here. "Maybe," He responded vaguely. "This area holds secrets, perhaps—"

You stopped where the conversation was heading right in its tracks by holding up a hand. "I'm only here because I wanted to find you."

"Me?"

"Do you know anything of a...Mr. Qi? I need to find him."

He briefly heard his lady mention the name of the man, a strange and elusive man whose skin was blue and seemed to be intertwined with the very fabrics of this reality. But...why did you need to find him? "Why?"

"Does it matter why?" You retorted. "Simply tell me where he is."

Jio cocked a brow. Were you secretly an agent of Gabriella? No, maybe not, his lady wouldn't have trusted you if you were, but—you looked panicked. You hid it well enough, for anyone who wasn't trained to pick up the signs of nervousness, you'd appear calm and perhaps even a little bit winded. But, he could tell there was something more underneath the surface. "Tell me why you need to find this Mr. Qi then," You clenched your jaw. "No."

"Then we have nothing to discuss, you should go home. It's dangerous—"

"W-Wait." You said just as the elf turned around to probably disappear in a puff of gray smoke. "I need to find my target—"

Target.

The ninja hung onto the world tightly, that single word telling him more things about you than you probably intended to. That is, if you were even trying to hide it, to begin with, you were strange that was for sure. You were talented with a weapon as if you had been honing your skills for years and could pick him out from the shadows as easily as one would pick out a cloud on a bright day. The story of you being a former Joja employee...he didn't believe one word of it. "—my organization demands it, I must find him." You continued to insist.

"Then you will continue to have no hope here," He sighed. "Even my organization, we do not know where he is. You should give up for the time, tell your organization—"

Your eyes shot open even wider. "No." You firmly said. "They can't no, I'm not supposed to fail. They—" You words began to get choked up in your throat when Jio turned back to you, the harsh and almost commanding look he pierced into you making you snap your mouth closed and stand a little straighter as if you were suddenly placed back into the arms of the shadows, staring at your organization's leader as they scolded you for being reckless or failing at your mission. And failing as a mission? It was not tolerated.

Even now, you could still feel those lashes upon your skin.

And the memory of having to go through such a thing again, humiliated by the stares of your guildmates and your aging parents, disappointed and ashamed as they believed that they had taught you better than that. To be a perfect and willing member of the organization and nothing less— "Y/N." Jio spoke to you, snapping you from your thoughts before you watched him rub the back of his hand against your cheek. You shakily placed a hand to your face, gasping at the fact that you hadn't realized you'd been crying in front of a stranger.

Jio let out a heavy sigh as he crossed his arms. "...You have a chance to get away from your past."

Why was he saying this?

He should have been encouraging you to stay with your organization.

It seemed to be useful, worth it even. They instilled discipline and good skills into you. He was even tempted to go back to his lady and tell her that your organization may have been beneficial to converse with, however...he saw how much this valley seemed to have rubbed off on you. He saw it in your eyes, that your loyalty was crumbling and that a new one was beginning to forge, one that rested in this valley.

"This chance will only present itself once, take it or leave it." Jio continued. "If you are not ready to leave your organization, steel yourself and prepare to face them with the truth that you have not found your quarry." The harshness of his words made beads of sweat begin to prickle your skin and run down the sides of your face, yet, the elf offered little to no reassurance afterward and simply turned away again to disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving you alone with a monster corpse at your side and a whirlwind of thoughts running throughout your head.

To leave or not to leave?

When you looked around you, thought back to Pelican Town and Ridgeside Village...the first thing that came to your mind was the people. Their warmth and acceptance of you, how they made an effort to welcome you into their fold despite how cold you were to them firsthand. You thought of the festivities and holidays, you thought of your late grandfather's farm, and how you had realized that you loved caring for the farm, the crops, the animals, and every single hardship that came with it! Then finally...your mind wandered back to Jio and the crush you harbored for him. You thought about how you wanted to explore this feeling and find out exactly why the elf made your chest warm the way it did, why every time you met his gaze, your heart skipped a beat and you felt like your breath was stolen right from your lungs.

You wanted to see him more, get to know him.

So...you made your decision.

. . .

One that was easier to make than you had expected, of course. To stay in Stardew Valley and attempt to forge a new life away from the shadows of your organization. Although it was easier said than done, as the day to meeting a representative from your organization loomed closer and closer with each passing day, you tried to soothe yourself by thinking of how much you wanted to stay and how you were willing to do anything to achieve that goal.

Even if it cost you your life.

Life underneath the sun's warmth was far more welcoming than the coldness of the moon. And you let that line marinate in your mind all the way until the day you were supposed to meet a representative finally dawned upon you. You couldn't get an ounce of work done the entire day, and with the Spirit's Eve festival coming tomorrow night, you had found yourself trying to figure out what costume would fit you best rather than worrying yourself sick over what the representative would do in the face of you preferring your life here in the valley than back home!

You were hoping that they'd be understanding.

Surely they hadn't expected you to dedicate your entire life to the guild...were they? After all, how were you supposed to find love? Marry and have children?

How were you supposed to truly get to know the world around you if you were stuck in one place all the time?

It was madness— "Report your findings." The representative asked you in that same cold voice that all the members of your organization had. A black mask covered their features along with the rest of the equally colored outfit, though, you could almost see that your fellow member appeared to be...confused? Here they were in the typical attire of a Nightingale while you? You had kept on the farming clothes that you had worn throughout the day! It would've been funny had this entire situation, one that was taking place in the Ridge of all places, wasn't so nerve-wracking.

"I..." You trailed off for a moment, trying to figure out last minute if you were going to lie or if you were going to be upfront about what you wanted. "...I haven't found anything."

"Nothing?" They spoke with an even more obvious tilt of their head. "What have you been doing these last few months? Your only priority is to assassinate the target and return home, your disguise as a farmer is only something to fool the locals."

You narrowed your eyes. "I know, " you said. But I like it here." The representative was quiet for a long pause, giving you the courage to continue talking. "I want to stay. I've realized that my position in the organization isn't something that I want to be in for the rest of my life. I'm doing well here. I'm happy."

The representative was silent still.

"My grandfather entrusted his farm to me and I deserve to continue caring for it! The target be damned, I've spoken to other sources here and they said that even they haven't found the man!" The more you spoke, the more insane this all seemed. You were participating in a wild goose chase for a man who probably wasn't even real to begin with! All for an organization that probably knew this and maybe even expected you to fail! Was this a test? To see if you'd be tempted by life outside the shadows or simply want an excuse to get rid of an extra member?

You didn't even know if you truly wanted answers.

Just...anything, anything that may have helped you figure out if your organization truly cared about you—the same one that saw you grow up—and didn't secretly want you dead. Thus, you turned to look back at your representative. "Well? Say something!"

"What is there for me to say? Traitor." Your eyes shot to their hand slowly reaching for the dagger that rested obviously on their hip. In turn, you attempted to reach for your own weapon only...in your ignorance, thinking that your organization would be so understanding, you didn't bring your weapon. And the resulting conflict was bloody as you were forced to think of a hare-brained solution and simply charge yourself at your assilant, gripping the representative's hand and trying to wrestle the dagger away from them.

All the while though, you couldn't help but think about how...all you wanted was a new life.

Certainly not...this, this eventual outcome where you stood over the body of your organization's representative with cuts torn into your shirt and your handy bloodied from constantly having to grip onto the weapon's blade until you finally got the upper hand and managed to slit their throat. "Yoba..." Was the only thing you could whisper to yourself as you looked at the corpse, thoughts of the repercussions you'd face rushing through your mind as well as the question as to how you were going to dispose of the body.

What would you do to defend yourself?

How would you defend yourself? Especially against the wrath of your entire organization!? It was— "So you took control of your fate." Without thinking, you directed the dagger in the direction of the voice, only getting a glimpse of the owner until you felt a presence appear behind you before an arm tightly locked around your neck, yet, not too tight to be deadly. "Calm yourself," You blushed at Jio's voice being so close to your ear.

You huffed. "I'm calm, let me go." Without waiting, you pushed yourself free of the elf, grumbling and mumbling to yourself while Jio simply eyed the corpse before looking at your bloodied and cut-up form. It was interesting to him, seeing you be completely free of that "cleanlier" look you typically had when you massacred as a normal farmer around Pelican town. Tonight, he saw a side of you that no other in this valley would be able to see unless they wished to meet their end on the exact same night.

"You're staring," You said. Jio shook his head. "You're injured, let me help."

You scoffed. "I don't need help, I need to figure out how to get rid of this body..." Perhaps you could go beyond the Ridge and dump the body in the woods there? No one would ever go beyond that point and it was a bonus as well as that the monsters would probably eat the body and effectively get rid of the evidence in the process! Yet Jio was having none of it. "Don't be foolish," He said. "I'll get rid of it, go home and I'll help you with your injuries." And...be it from your wounds beginning to hurt thanks to the adrenaline starting to fade from your body, or the fact that you were tired and stressed from what lay over the horizon from this forbidden killing.

You simply nodded your head and turned on your heels to begin walking back to your farm.

. . .

When you arrived home, the first thing you did was strip yourself of your bloodied clothes before tossing them into a hamper for later and washed as much blood you could from your hands and other small wounds across your body as you could. In the process although, you tried not to think too much about how Jio was coming over to your home for the first time...the two of you didn't know each other that well besides the few interactions you both had, all you knew was that he made you feel warm inside your chest and left you wanting more and more each time you saw a single glimpse of him. It was almost similar to an addiction except...you weren't sure if there was a cure exactly for this other strange feeling you had.

The only clue you had was to touch him.

Even placing a hand on his shoulder would have been enough, and yet...how were you going to do that? "Hello?" You suddenly heard followed along with a few knocks.

"Come in!" You called as loud as you could as you walked back into the living room area, just finishing pulling down a brand new shirt before you sat on the couch. In Jio's arms was a small basket filled with medical supplies, herbs, and potions it seemed as well as enough bandages to cover your entire body it looked like! You chuckled at the sight. "You didn't have to bring so much, I've patched myself up with lesser items." You said softly.

Jio set the supplies down on the nearby table before he sat, already gesturing for you to give him your hand. "Maybe so," He answered. "But, it seemed like this battle that ensued between yourself and your fellow from your guild seemed to have been close." You responded with a confident click of your tongue. You had been caught off guard, that was the only saving grace that the representative had and they still lost in the end! You were perfectly molded and trained to be a weapon for the guild and nothing more, to be taken down by someone who wasn't even on equal footing in terms of skills would have been an insult to your memory.

Still, Jio began to patch you up, pouring tonics over your wounds before pressing green herbs to the cuts and bandaging you up. You took the opportunity to let your eyes roam over the elf's form, a little more slowly now that you had the time to just...look. However, your focus was mostly directed to his hands as you took notice of how they appeared to be a little larger than your own, his fingers long and lithe yet scarred and calloused from possible years of wielding a weapon. Then your eyes dragged up to his emerald eyes, focused on your wounds and bandaging you up rather than looking at you the way you were looking at him. But ever vigilant, Jio wasn't unaware of your stares.

"You're staring." He pointed out bluntly.

You blushed. "Sorry," You quickly said. "I'm just looking at you, can I not?"

Jio's hands paused in their work momentarily as he considered his answer. You were an attractive person, that he would admit to himself but to be so openly admired—it was...unusual. Not new nor unheard of, after all, Daia did the same thing to him each time they trained together but he knew that her telling him he was attractive was born from a place of playfulness rather than something genuine. As for you, however? In this moment...it made him feel warm, in a good way. Not a rush of heat born from annoyance.

"...You may," He said, almost shyly as his eyes briefly snapped to your own before looking back down again and continuing to bandage a cut on your hand.

With his permission, you continued to do so with a little more amusement in your eyes. You were in love with the way that the elf suddenly had the faintest tint of pink on his face, how his eyes seemed to struggle between focusing on what he came here to do or looking you in the eyes as well. And there were so many other tiny quirks that made the feeling in your chest continue to blossom. "...Jio." You spoke, breaking the silence. "Do you...like anyone?"

Once more, he paused. "Like anyone?" He parroted.

You nodded your head yet remained silent, anticipating his answer as his eyes narrowed in thought. "There is...one, that I'm mildly curious about." Your brow rose a little, your heart speeding up out of a sudden hopefulness. "She's fierce in combat, observant, and sharp yet surprisingly shy." Your eyes began to narrow in thought, you almost wanted to ask if he was talking about you but...you didn't want to get your hopes up too suddenly. Once you had mustered up enough courage, however, you opened your mouth. "Do you mean...me?"

He nodded his head. "I do."

You let the revelation hang in the air for a few minutes afterward. The reveal that the both of you had feelings for one another wasn't something out of a storybook nor anything decorated with rose petals and sparkles in the background. It was simply the truth of the matter, a truth that made your heart sing and your face warm while Jio simply looked to the side with his heart beating faster than it normally would! In the cult, it was drilled into his head constantly that love was something that had no priority and shouldn't take priority over any missions that the Lady gave to him and his fellows. But, for this moment at least...even if he didn't know you that well and had only managed to catch mere glimpses of you here and there when you came to the Ridge's forests.

Something about you told him that he should pursue this, just this once.

And that idea alone was only solidified when you scooted closer to him, the elf's eyes widening ever so slightly as his throat felt weirdly dry all of a sudden. "May—May I kiss you?"

It was unlike him to be shy. Blunt and cutthroat was a more appropriate term for the ones who knew him yet, as he slowly nodded his head. He felt like a fawn taking its first steps as he watched your head steadily move to tug his mask down before your lips were upon his own and...they were surprisingly soft. Not that he expected them to be anything else, but they felt like clouds and he could feel every single emotion that you put into the kiss. The nervousness, the tension, and the blossoming care that you held for him, and the only thing he could think about at the moment was how he wanted more.

Something that only grew as you slowly pulled back and smiled at him. "Your lips...they're soft." He whispered, strangely breathless although the kiss hadn't lasted long.

You blushed at the compliment. "T-Thank you, your lips...they're soft too."

Once more, the two of you fell into silence as each of you thought of what to do next. While you both buzzed with the feelings of budding romance, Jio spotted how your thighs clenched together as if your very body was begging for you to do something more.

Perhaps it was rude seeing as the two of you barely knew one another, your newfound romance barely even in the beginning stages yet but, the elf was suddenly curious about what other parts of your body were soft. Thus, he placed a warm hand on your thigh before he started to draw circles into your skin with his thumb. "...Can I kiss you again?" You didn't even consider the question for even a second before you nodded your head, Jio leaning in faster then you previously did, all the while his kiss had a lot more force and desire hidden underneath the surface of it. In your organization, although you were familiar with the concept of sex...it was forbidden to do so unless the intention was to create another member for the organization. Another future assassin was supposed to be the end goal always and never for pleasure. So, the steady heat that you began to feel between your thighs...while unfamiliar, it wasn't unpleasant, only serving to make you easily open your legs to the elf the moment his hands began to gently try to pry them apart so he could slide himself between them.

He parted himself from you. "Have you ever done this before?" Jio asked breathlessly before he started to pepper kisses on your face before he started to begin trailing kisses down to your neck.

A soft moan left your lips. "Ah...n-no..." You whispered as you felt your sex begin to throb more and more in tune with Jio's kisses as well as his hands starting to gently slip up your shirt.

"H-Have you?"

He considered the question for but a moment. "Once." And that's all he would answer upon the matter. You gasped when you felt Jio's hands graze across the undersides of your breasts, his hands simply touching and cupping them in his hands for a few moments before his thumbs started to gently move across your nipples. "Jio..." You breathed, his eyes glued to your expressions as he tried to ignore his own throbbing desire that begged to be free from its confines. He wanted to make sure that you were taken care of and comfortable first, his own desires could wait.

"So warm..." Jio whispered as he lifted your shirt, exposing your pebbled nipples to the chilly air of your living room before his mouth latched onto one of them. You moaned at the feeling, a breathless and soft sound that made Jio groan against your chest as he licked at your chest as if he were savoring a delicacy.

And in his eyes, it was.

The more he lapped your chest, let his hands explore your body, and listened to your moans. The more he began to believe that you were something to be savored and cared for until the very end. However, you could hardly stand to bear through the almost painful throbbing of your sex anymore. "Down there..." You begged quietly into his ear. "H-Hurts..." Jio briefly took his lips away from your breast to focus on where you claimed your pain was, a gentle smirk creeping onto his lips as his hands then traveled to the shorts you wore before he began to try and tug them off. You raised your hips to aid him, your blush only increasing as you were left only in your underwear and the obvious damp spot in the center made Jio hum in quiet amusement. "So wet from only kissing both your lips and your breast?" He poked at the damp spot, your thighs instinctively twitching in response to the unfamiliar touch. "How lewd farmer."

You blushed. "D-Don't tease..." You murmured.

He chuckled. "Allow me to play with you a little longer..." He whispered as his own hand started to reach for his pants, the sound of him unzipping his pants making your eyes shoot to his crotch before your eyes widened to the size of saucers at his length. It was long, with just the right amount of girth and leaking with pre-cum as well as twitching as if it had a heartbeat of its own! The very sight made your mouth water and your cunt suddenly ache to have it inside of you, however...as Jio continued to tease your sex and prod at it as if he were testing a new toy. You did your best to be patient in the face of your crush. "Please..." You found yourself whispering.

Jio chuckled at your begging as he hooked a finger around your underwear and started to pull them down. "Please?" He repeated with a mocking lilt to his voice. "You're begging already? We haven't even done anything yet..." He continued, trails of your slick still connecting you to your underwear even after they had been pulled down to the middle of your thighs.

It was a lewd sight, Jio thought. Your cunt clenched around nothing and seemed to leak even more of its slick now! Your clit was hard and throbbing, one swipe of his finger against it and your breath hitched and nearly stopped completely as if you had been shocked.

"Hurry." You murmured.

"Don't you want me to prepare you?" You shook your head, taking a bold step to wrap your arms around Jio to gently pull him closer to you before you rolled your hips closer to him, trying to entice him to finally fuck you rather than tease you for a second longer.

"I'm fine," You assured him. "Just—please." You whispered. Jio hesitated for only a second longer before he pressed his lips to your own, gently pushing you to lay down on the couch before he lined his cock up to your waiting cunt before he plunged himself in. You hissed quietly at Jio's cockhead beginning to enter you, the steady feeling of feeling so full making you tighten your arms ever so slightly before Jio began to pepper kisses along your face.

"Relax," He said. "Otherwise I won't be able to move."

Easier said than done, you thought.

But...as you stared into his eyes. You found yourself relaxing more and more until Jio let out a soft moan when he was finally settled inside your cunt. The last thing he was going to do now, was let you go, especially if it was anything before the arrival of the sun the following day.

. . .

Jio was unaccustomed to waking up to the sound of birdsong. Usually, the sky was still dark when he woke up for his morning training before he'd set off to perform his patrols for the day. However...after last night's events, he awoke feeling strangely more relaxed and rested than usual, and he expected to see you sleeping soundly beside him until—"Hm?" He hummed sleepily, rubbing his eyes and moving strands of hair from his face when he saw that your side of the bed was empty. You did have a farm to tend to, he applauded your dedication but...he wanted to see you, talk to you more.

It was what inspired him to roll out of bed and find some clothes to put on before he walked outside and...nothing.

No clucking of chickens nor the mooing of cows. Although he saw that the sprinklers had come on and that there was evidence of you being out there due to the footprints on the ground. Something was...off.

As he followed the tracks, your footprints led farther and farther away from your farm and closer to the path to Marnie's Ranch. It was then that another set of tracks joined you before...it stopped.

He tried to steady the sudden worry that began to sneak into his being. You were a fierce combatant as well as a former assassin, surely you wouldn't have been—no. Jio shook his head, Yoba had allowed him a newfound chance at peace, it'd be cruel of him to rip that away from him so suddenly, especially when he had given his everything to you last night and wanted nothing more than to do the same today and all the days afterward! He was willing to face any scolding from his Lady and whatever it took forward to make sure that he was ensured that he continued to see you! And that hope was his sole drive as he quickened his pace through the forest, his eyes wide and scanning for any signs of your person, perhaps you were fishing? Collecting wood or even visiting the Wizard for some reason.

Anything was better than...than the worry that was starting to take over him, especially when he started to see spots of blood.

They led further and further into the woodlands until the elf found himself in the depths of Cindersap Forest.

And, at the river's bank...there you were. Lying in a pool of your own blood that began to seep into the river's waters, turning its crystal clear colors into a murky red whilst a single dagger stabbed into your chest with a note in the center of it.

"A true Nightingale never yearns for a life in the sun. Those who do will be returned to the shadows once more, whether in death or in life."

Heyyaaa Mousey! How are you feeling right now? Hope its well. (◍•ᴗ•◍)

Okay soooo remember that one headcanon you posted its about that how would the spouses react if Mr. Qi threatened them to divorce the farmer… because I think the blue dude is practically bored and his only entertainment is the farmer going action but since farmer is busy with his family life. And Mr. Qi thinks that romantic feelings or family life are “distracting” to them. And since you wrote a headcannon with the vanilla marriageable npcs. Then how about a reaction from the SVE & RSV marriageable candidates. Imagine the chaos this brings. And sorry about my english. 😅

Hey hey Hime 👋 I'm doing fine, thanks for asking 😃

Another headcanon about Mr. Qi kidnapping Farmer's spouse? Hell yeah :) Funny, while I was writing again hedcanons about this topic, I remembered that one of the most important conditions for achieving Perfection in game is the wedding/getting a roommate, so that Farmer gets a Starfruit in 12 ❤️ And now Qi is like no no no, that's it, I've changed my mind, you have lived a married life a little bit and that's enough, go back to perform my tests. And he shouldn't be threatening Farmer's spouse/neighbour in general... just increase the reward for the test and Farmer will come running, lmao.

Oh well, I got a little distracted... Anyway, good to see you again, thanks for the ask! Have a great day ☺️

I'll take Qi's speech from the previous headcanon with vanilla characters, so we'll skip that part here!

_________________________________________

Stardew Valley Expanded:

There was no sight of terror on Lance's face after Mr. Qi's ultimatum. He kept his composure, confidently clutched the hilt of his sword with his right hand, in case anything happened, but was in no hurry to pull the weapon. The pink-haired adventurer carefully considered his future move, calculating the chances of winning the fight or chances of escape. The situation was complicated, but in the name of protecting his family, Lance had no right to panic.

"Nice to finally meet you... Mister Qi." Magnus knew that the mage community would sooner or later encounter this... person (was he even a person?), but he didn't think that this 'honour' would fall to him. And the immediate threats, of course... Qi may have taken Rasmodius by surprise, but he's underestimating the talent of the wizard, who is ready to instantly disintegrate the insolent man who dares to threaten Magnus' spouse. He's not about to back down...

"W- what?" Victor stood stiffly, unable to digest all the information that had been dumped on his head. This man was claiming that Farmer owed him something? To perform some kind of test? And Victor is getting in the way of all of this way?! Victor don't understand... but he's not about to let someone force Farmer to do it and threaten them and Victor. But at the same time he's scared, for there is definitely magic involved, and he doesn't know what else this Qi can do...

Mr. Qi was a little amazed that Claire was practically calm. Too calm. Naturally, surprise splashed in her eyes, but nothing more. Qi even got curious, so he asked the cashier if she was scared at all. Claire replied that "this is one of the most strangest dreams ever" and pinched herself on the arm. The unpleasant sensation made her twitch... and quickly her calm was replaced by horror. "No, my dear. Not the dream," Qi replied, "should I repeat everything I've said all over again?"

Olivia will be confused to the core of her being that she won't immediately respond to Mr. Qi with such a bold ultimatum. However, after the meaning of his words reach her, the former Joja accountant will be overwhelmed with anger. How dare this creep kidnap her and threaten her and her spouse! Her family! A fraction of fear is present, but more Olivia will be angry and demand to take her back, or else Qi himself will have consequences.

Sophia fell to her knees and covered her face with the palms, holding back her screams and tears. This person was slowly approaching her, the clomping of his heels echoing in the room. Sophia clutched her eyes harder and began to mutter something. Only when Mr. Qi got close enough to her, he heard what the pink-haired young woman, who was scared to death, was whispering. "Wake up, wake up, please.... it's just a nightmare..." "Are you sure about that?" And then Sophia screamed as hard as she could.

The frightened Scarlett didn't say anything to Qi, took a few steps back, trying to get as far away from him as possible, but afraid to make any sudden movements. The urge to run far away, anywhere, just so she wouldn't have to feel someone else's gaze on her, was overwhelming, though. "You're not going anywhere until you choose-" "I DON'T WANT TO CHOOSE! LEAVE ME AND FARMER ALONE!" Scarlett interrupted Qi with scream, shivering and trying to figure out where to run to find Farmer, Sophia, her parents, anyone who could help.

Ridgeside Village:

The muzzle of the gun pointed at Qi gave Bryle some confidence in this strange and frightening situation. Though after this mysterious blue man had laughed at the Governor bodyguard's 'toy', Bryle's confidence began to slowly evaporate. Shit, what is going on, who is this creep and how does he know Farmer? 'My warrior,' what the hell is this!? "Fuck you." He probably shouldn't have snapped at him, but the desperation was making him start to panic a little. Fuck, he need to warn Farmer...

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can come to an agreement," in truth, Zayne didn't want to negotiate anything with this man and his brash demands, but he realised that the situation wasn't on his side. Qi himself had to give Zayne credit - the young head of a wealthy family didn't chicken out, didn't beg for mercy by bargaining for his life, and clearly loved Farmer enough. Impressively... But not enough for him to leave the 'problem' of Farmer's abandoned trials unresolved.

Jio didn't reply anything to Mr. Qi, only lightning-fast drew his katana from its sheath, getting into a fighting stance. He realised that the person before him was a dangerous opponent, the very one his Lady had been trying to find for a long time. Not a human, an anomaly. But the elf would not allow anyone to threaten those dear to him, his soul, his mate... His spouse and children... If fate has decreed it so - so be it, but Jio will protect his family to the last drop of blood.

"Or you could ask them politely to fulfil, uhhh.... your challenge?" June tried to find a way out of this difficult situation, trying to convince this... stranger not to make any hasty decisions. But truth be told, the pianist doesn't want Farmer to perform any (most likely - dangerous and illegal) tests of this weirdo at all. Aloud, of course, he will not say, because what if the threats of this "Mister Qi" are not empty....

Anton almost gave his consent to Qi's ultimatum, when the mysterious blue man began not only to manipulate the architect, but also began to humiliate him. The phrase 'you don't deserve someone like Farmer anyway,' definitely left a huge crack in Anton's heart. But only he wanted to open his mouth to agree to the divorce, at that moment remembered the moment when Farmer handed him the Mermaid pendant that now hangs around his neck. No, he couldn't betray them that easily... "Screw you." He's already prepared for the worst.

"Ahahahahaha, great joke, very funny. So, where's your hidden camera?" Oh, Sean was scared for a minute at all of this, but realised it was just a prank (a bit dumb prank, by the way) and waited for the lights to come back on and everyone to come out shouting "Gotcha!" Who ever came up with this stupid idea for this prank in the first place..... With a snap of his fingers, Qi made Sean fall to his knees from the sharp pain in his chest. "Still think this is a joke?" Now the handyman believed him.

Shiro remained silent and didn't want to agree to such an ultimatum . But he's not going to say something not very decent either, as unfortunately his current state of health won't allow him to defend himself against the attack of this deranged man. His mind says that he should give his consent to save Farmer and himself, but his heart screams refusal. Still have to listen to the voice of reason though. Even if he agrees, Farmer will still be in danger.

"Okay, now let me go!" Yoba witnessed, Jeric didn't want to agree to any demands, but realised that the chances of escaping or defeating this Qi were very slim. Agreeing to anything, just so he can warn Bryle and Farmer about this madman. "Then sign it." Some paper with finely written text and a pen formed, hovering right beside the young farmer. There was no way he dared to take that pen. "I'm waiting." Damn, what should Jeric do...

Philip only laughed nervously and took very slow steps backwards. The situation was bizarre to the point where he even thought for a moment that this was some kind of horrible nightmare and Qi was a sleep paralysis demon. "You're not leaving until you file for divorce," and dozens of pairs of eyes glared at the physiotherapist, forcing him to stand still. "I'm still waiting," Mister Qi's voice became more impatient, making Philip shake all over. He didn't want to, but he feared for himself and his spouse.

Rivers of tears were running down Ian's face, it was all too much for the poor man. "Why are you doing all thi?! Why?! What have we done to you!" His voice trailed off into a scream that echoed throughout the dark room. Just his life was starting to get better, he'd found his soulmate, everything was great, and then - fate handed this man who was ruining his and Farmer's lives just because he was bored. Ian falls to his knees and begins to sob quietly.

"If you care so much about Farmer, you'll have to go along with it. You'll save both them and your own life. You're smart, kid, sure you would do the right thing," Qi is definitely right about something: Kenneth is indeed smart. Smart enough to realise that Qi won't just leave him and Farmer alone, even if Kenneth divorces his spouse. Maybe the electrician himself won't interest Qi anymore, but Farmer... Kenneth hates to think what the bastard has in mind for Farmer with his "trials." But he still has to agree to Qi's demand - if he doesn't save himself, he won't save Farmer either.

This Mister Qi is greatly deluded since he thinks he can scare Corine so easily. She and Farmer aren't puppets for someone to play, toying with their lives like it's all just a game. The waitress won't be able to defeat him, that's for sure - she can feel Qi's strong, dark aura. But she's not going to give up either. In the left pocket of her work apron is a miniature totem, a small relic given to her by that elf she met recently. Who, by the way, she's also going to ask for help before she escapes from this place.

It's impossible to imagine the effort it took for Daia to suppress the urge to spit some insult or sarcasm in Qi's face after his words. Because the ninja realized that she wasn't in a position to be frivolous and arrogant. She had a very dangerous opponent in front of her, the same one her Lady had mentioned earlier. Daia is not going to abandon Farmer, but she definitely needs to play along with Qi in order to get out of this situation alive and warn her spouse and the Cult members.

"I'm not afraid of you," but Blair's teeth chattered, showing her fear. She held her fishing rod tightly, preparing to swing it like a weapon. Except that didn't give her much confidence. Only a minute ago she was fishing in peace and preparing to go home to Farmer, and already this stranger is demanding her divorcing her spouse or face the consequences of refusing. The fisherwoman wants to attack Qi first, to take him by surprise, but.... she's terribly afraid.

Mr. Qi didn't even have time to say anything to his 'guest' before Alissa interrupted him with a heartbreaking scream, terrified of her being kidnapped straight from the Ridgeside Village to this, this... dark and strange place. Qi even cringed at the high notes of the girl's scream, Farmer's partner really did have... a striking voice. Alissa didn't understand what Qi was trying to say for the second time, she was gripped by terror.

"You... You... How dare you, you brute!" Faye, out of anger, threw her fan with all her might right into the face of her insolent captor, hoping that the thrown object would hit his eye or nose. The fan hit Qi's face, but the mysterious blue man didn't even flinch, just continued to stare at the waitress. His smile slowly slid down, giving Faye goosebumps. Perhaps it was a rash act, because this Qi was angry and would hurt her and Farmer.

"Is this what you do for a living? Destroying people's lives just because you feel like it?" Kiarra's words were full of bitterness and hatred for the man who stood before her in dark space. The graphic designer felt absolutely defenceless, broken, unable to somehow resist this evil man who stood there smiling contentedly, guessing what she was about to say to him. Kiarra could only hope that Farmer would forgive her for breaking their heart, but she needed to save their life. And she definitely needs to survive to find someone who can help her.

Letting out a cry, Maddie threw her bag at Qi, and when the blue man dodged, clenched her fists and started throwing punches. Miss, miss, miss, miss again, but Maddie, cornered, was gripped by rage and fear. Until unknown threads tied her hands behind her back, and Qi, completely unaffected by the lab assistant, stood by while she calmed down. There was nothing left for the poor girl but to fall to her knees and start sobbing.

Irene thought her past kidnapping for her further ransom from the Amethyne family had been the worst experience of the cook's life. The mere bandits that got her caught up and thought they would get their money's worth, but ended up getting justice, as messing with Maive wasn't good. Qi on the other hand was demonstrating magic, a power unprecedented to Irene that she realised: not even the head Amethyne and Farmer would find her here. She would either die or have to leave Farmer for good. Yoba, why it's not just the bandits again, why...

"Tsk, you're smarter than that, kid." Mr. Qi shook his head disapprovingly as Paula pulled out her army knife and prepared to hurl the weapon at her captor. He could have guessed that the doctor wouldn't listen to him so easily, this stubborn girl. "I'll have to take your toy," and after these words the knife, as if it had a will of its own, was yanked from the hands of the shocked Paula. "Now back to our problem-" "You're the only one with a problem, scum!" Sigh, Qi will have to quiet Paula down before threatening her.

Flor tries her best to read Qi, tries to see if he's bluffing or not when he promised very unpleasant consequences to her and her spouse if she doesn't do as he demands. If Farmer is, as this stranger himself claims, his "hero," "the chosen one," what's the point of him harming them? Logically, carefully, she tries to change Mister Qi's mind. Because she realises that, at this point, words are her only weapon.

Ysabelle looks at Mr. Qi with horror, turns around and runs away. Wherever the girl's eyes look, there is almost total darkness, and immediately in that darkness forms the silhouette of a blue man, smiling mockingly at the frightened girl. "Where are you going?" Poor Ysabelle runs in different directions, but in the end the outcome is the same. There is no way for her to escape, but she runs anyway, to find a way home. "Lea-" *pant* "Leave me alone!"

Hey Mousey! It’s been a while since my last ask. Hope everything’s going well there. (◍•ᴗ•◍)

Anyway, I just had an idea. After reading your headcanon about the Farmer going full beast mode and absolutely wrecking the kidnappers to save their spouse, I couldn’t help but think… you’ve already done for SDV and SVE, so how about an RSV version?

I can totally picture the Farmer ready to throw hands if someone like Daia or Jio got kidnapped by Gabriella’s minions. Would love to see your take on it!

Hewwo again, dear moot :3 Glad to see you again in my askbox ❤️ I'm doing well, thanks for asking! Have a great day as well, and enjoy some more Ridgeside Village headcanons! (sorry for late reply 😅)

RSV bachelors/ettes reaction to their kidnapping for revenge/ransom, where their spouse Farmer, furious, comes to rescue them

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RSV bachelors:

The kidnapping of Zayne had been long and carefully planned, as the bandits realized that the disappearance of such an important figure would echo throughout the Republic. But the ransom for the young head of Amethyne made the gang dare to do this. Zayne was naturally shocked, though his Grandmother had warned him not to go out alone without servants/guards. The bandits were patiently waiting for money from Maive.... Huh, Farmer? They don't care about a farmer, even if they're Zayne's spouse. Big mistake. In half an hour Farmer whirled through kidnapper's lair, leaving a bootprint on the face of each lying scoundrel. Zayne even felt bad for mobs...

Hah! Those sneaky assholes think they can intimidate Bryle that easily? This isn't the first time he's been kidnapped to get information about the Governor, and the bodyguard will never reveal- "Screw your Governor, we want Farmer." W- what? They want... his spouse? "Don't know why Gabriella needs this farmer fool, but she pays well." They're so openly telling him the name of the client, those stupid bastards... Five minutes after furious Farmer appears, though, the smiles are gone from the kidnappers' faces (as their teeth as well). The freed Bryle immediately began to question the bandit who was still conscious, for he was worried about the whole thing.

Damn it... Jio let his guard down for a moment and the world before his eyes turned into darkness. He woke up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by Gabriella's minions - not soulless husks yet, but soon enough.... "You and your spouse will pay for all the troubles you've set up for our queen!" Jio, unfortunately, couldn't answer anything with the gag in his mouth. And he couldn't warn his spouse about the trap, but it was unnecessary - like a ferocious bear, Farmer knocked out their husband's kidnappers, while Jio, who had already managed to free himself from his bonds and joined the fight, looked at them with admiration, because he had never seen them in battle before. Farmer indeed is an excellent fighter.

"I don't want to spoil your fun, but I'd advise you to let me go before my beloved gets here." The bandits, jubilant at the prospect of future profits for their dark deeds, looked at the rather calm June and laughed loudly at him. "Ooooh, how frightening! The little farmer who planted tulips in their spare time would come and punish us, ha!" "The little farmer" showed up immediately after gang's leader words, with their body making a huge hole in the stone wall, all red with anger. The kidnappers turned pale with fear and looked at June, to which the pianist responded by giving them an “I warned you” look. "Hey June, in the mood to play piano? You're about to play a funeral tune for this fuckers..."

"Fucking hell- why the fuck is he so big!?" Well, what did the kidnappers want - Ian is a big and strong guy, and he may not have any fighting skills, but thanks to his physical strength he was able to fight back some of the kidnappers quite well. Although, they took him in numbers. Ian was a little worried at first, but Farmer coming to rescue him gave the handyman a burst of confidence. "Ok, two of us against twenty-five mobs, that's even now." The gang leader thinks this Ian is a complete dumbass, but Farmer knocks four of the thugs out of the fight with one punch. Fuck...

"Why are you all so tense... There are other ways of making money, what's the point of kidnapping people?" Anton's feeble attempts were met with a loud cackle from the leader of the mobs. "Yo, boys, did you hear that? Hilarious. What did that Farmer even see in a loser like you?" Ouch. The architect muttered that he himself didn't know what Farmer had found of him, but a moment later a screaming and sword-waving Farmer burst into the last room of the gang's lair. "Where the fuck are you keeping my husband? Anton, my soul, I'm coming for you!" Anton forgot for fear and blushed slightly. And looked at Farmer with adoration throughout their fight with the gang.

"Hey, what are you so angry about, you got it all wrong.... "It was just a harmless prank! Yeah, we wanted to prank our old mate Sloan!" "I'm Sean," the poor bandit who had kidnapped Sean to get revenge on Farmer for some reason unknown to the handyman ("I should ask the Farmer for that...") instead of a confident man immediately started looking for ways to retreat when Farmer alone handled an entire army of his minions. The pity worked, but partially: Farmer didn't break the leader's neck, but broke his nose and sent him off to watch dreams. "So hon, how about some dinner at Pika's?" Farmer would gladly accept husband's proposition.

"Search him, boys. Maybe he's got something valuable on him." At the order of the head of the kidnapping gang, the two henchmen began rummaging through Kenneth's pockets, and the tickling sensations made the electrician squirm. "What's that?" One of the thugs found a strange device that looked like a bug. "Ah, it's just my little invention, lets my spouse know my location." "What..." An explosion went off in the next room, causing everyone to jump abruptly in place except Kenneth. ‘Oh, looks like I'm going home soon.’ Rest in peace, poor bandits.

During the kidnapping, Shiro managed to knock out one of the mobs. If it wasn't for his health problems, he would have knocked out the others without even breaking a sweat. Alright, Farmer should be arriving at the bandits' lair soon. "You seem a bit too confident for a man in your position..." "My spouse returns almost every day covered in the blood of giant monsters. What do you think they will do to you?" Such a statement made the gang leader stagger back. And went they completely pale when Farmer arrived (who had managed to beat up leader's minions). "Maybe if you ask for mercy, Farmer will forgive you..." (spoiler: Farmer hadn't forgiven them for kidnapping their husband).

Jeric had been forever telling Bryle that he had nothing to worry about him and that he didn't need any guards. Now, tied up in mob's lair, he somewhat wished he had listened to the advice of his adoptive father's bodyguard. "So pretty boy, how much would your daddy give for your life, hmm?" The bandit brought the dagger quite close to Jeric's face, causing the young lad to lean against the wall. A moment later, though, the cold steel of the sword was already close to the mob's own throat. "Farmer!" "That bastard hurt you?" Farmer made sure the freed Jeric was okay, and the two walked towards the exit, stepping over the bodies of the kidnappers that Farmer had knocked out with their bare hands.

Philip knows that he is in a rather dangerous situation. He knows that these kidnappers can hurt him and torture him. It's a stressful situation, no time for jokes. But he knows for aure Farmer will come to the rescue, and he wants to shout one phrase. "Philip, stop it, you're mature, you're mature, you're mature, you're mature..." The angry Farmer bursts in, knocking out one of the gang of kidnappers with one leg kick. "Call an ambulance, but not for me! Hah!" Heh, that brought a smile to Farmer's face before their grimace distorted again with anger as they saw the rest of the gang. Well at least Philip was alright and even managed to make a joke.

RSV bachelorettes:

"Why are you smiling, bitch? Soon you and the rest of the Cult will be no laughing matter!" Gabriella's minions stood next to Daia's cell and spat venom, promising torture and suffering, but nothing seemed to be able to wipe the innocent smile off her face. She knows her spouse is coming soon, and it's going to be truly fun. A trap for Farmer? Hee hee, it's not Farmer who ends up with the bandits, but the bandits with Farmer. And before they could say anything, they found themselves knocked out by Daia's spouse, who opened up their wife's cell and as a powerful couple started getting their asses kicked by all the kidnappers in the den. Daia was so excited by both rescue and how fiercely they fought, so strong! Maybe even a little too excited. "There's a bed in my cell, by the way~" Daia, no-

Maddie tried to be brave, but honestly, she wasn't very good at it. Just as the lab assistant was leaving her and Farmer's house to go to work, someone put a bag over her head, tied her up, and carried her off to an unknown location. With wolfish grins, the kidnappers wrote a letter to Farmer demanding 400 iridium bars or they would get their beautiful wife in pieces, while laughing at Maddie's attempts to hold back tears. To the rescue came an enraged Farmer, who beat up all the rascals, violently breaking noses and knocking out teeth, when he noticed tears on their wife's cheeks. Maddie is crying... those kidnappers will envy the dead.

"Boss, what if this farmer doesn't even have a coins?" One member of the kidnapping gang with a broken nose (thanks to Corine), was already doubting his boss's 'brilliant' plan to make a quick cash. The gang leader was about to bark at their subordinate for doubting their plans, but immediately their conversation was interrupted by the shouts of other members falling to the ground. "My dear spouse is here," Corine calmly summarized, she had no doubt that Farmer would quickly come to the rescue. "If I survive, I'll drop everything and start breeding roses." The poor gang member thought meekly, taking a second fist bump from the angry Farmer.

"Aha! Our sleeping pill plan worked! Good job, guys!" Sleeping pills... what? Flor thought she was still dreaming, as instead of a bedroom in her and her spouse's house, she sees a black ceiling in strange room, lying on an uncomfortable bed while men unknown to her sit nearby at a table discussing something. "200,000 gold!" "No, write 300,000 gold! This farmer is definitely rich!" Definitely a strange dream, Flor thought. And after a couple of moments the next thing she sees is the Farmer standing next to her and cautiously examining her. "Farmer, good morning. I'm about to make us some coffee- Where's the kitchen? W-where are we? Who's lying unconscious on the floor?!" Not a dream after all... But she's safe.

"Let me go, you brute! Scoundrel! Bandit!" Though the kidnappers had no trouble capturing Faye during her return from Ridgeside Village to Pelican Town, there was no way to shut the waitress up. The first time they gagged her, she spit the piece of clothes out, the second time... the thugs were afraid they'd lose their fingers. But when Farmer appeared before the whole company with a sword in their hands and fire in their eyes, the bitten fingers became the least concern of the kidnappers. "Can you imagine, dear, they put a filthy rag in my mouth! Yuck, disgusting!" Faye complained to her spouse, completely forgetting the fact that she had been kidnapped.

In general, Irene's kidnapping was accidental: the mobs were aiming for Zayne or other Amethyne grandchildren, but then mobs thought that this rich family would give a decent ransom for their personal chef as well. Especially since she was mumbling her spouse's name in fear.... So they'll give them money for her too, double profit! Right? Yeah, double trouble... Not only did the family members get the detectives, police and adventurers, but Irene's crazy spouse turned out to be an adventurer! In the end, a couple of kidnappers who had not yet had their legs broken by Farmer escaped while Farmer themself freed their wife from her restraints.

"AAAAAAAAA!" Instead of the desired revenge for Farmer's past actions, the leader of the gang got a headache. They caught Blair, Farmer's wife, but the fisherwoman somehow got out of the cage and now instead of logically trying to escape, she chases the leader's henchmen with a sword (where'd she get that?). Most of all, the leader is disappointed by their subordinates, since they can't catch the fisherwoman! They weren't surprised by the appearance of the enraged Farmer, because of course things are going to get even worse! "I just want a little revenge!" Frmer even felt a little sorry for them when they kicked the leader into dreamland and went home with a grinning Blair. The girl wasn't scared, even had a little fun.

Alissa had never seen a person so angry and furious. The two bandits who were holding her and preventing her from escaping were mocking the poor girl in every possible way, telling her that she would soon say goodbye to her spouse, while the leader of the gang waited patiently for Farmer. She thought she saw pure hatred when the leader told her that Farmer will pay for all his humiliations in the past. But pure hatred she saw in the eyes of her arrived partner. Hatred for the bandits who had stolen Alissa, made her cry, possibly tortured her. And with what hatred they would break the hands of the scoundrels. The girl was even a little afraid of Farmer after that rescue.

In kidnapping Paula to demand ransom from her spouse, the mob members underestimated her. They knew she was a doctor. They forgot that Paula is a military doctor and knows perfectly well how to defend herself. They didn't even get to their lair - Paula broke out of her restraints again and started knocking out her captors. Farmer joined the fight, knocking all the villains down, breaking their bones, and chasing them away. "I've done pretty well for myself here, dear." But she's so glad Farmer came up. Her duty as a doctor, by the way, calls for at least basic care for those they've knocked out.

"You will regret about that..." Ysabelle's words sounded unconvincing to the gang of kidnappers, who only laughed at the girl and went on with their business. So she just sighed heavily and waited. Ysabelle had nothing else to do but to wait for rescue from Farmer and her grandfather. But she didn't have to wait long: as if materializing out of thin air, Farmer used the element of surprise, kicked half of the bandits' asses, freed their beloved wife, and teleported home with the farm totem, leaving the other half of the bandits with.... 50 megabombs. The explosion was loud... "Yikes, kinda feel bad for them." "I don't. Do you want to visit your grandfather first?"

"Ti prenderò a calci in culo!" The kidnappers have no idea what Kiarra yelled at them throughout their time in their lair, but one can guess that the words were clearly not very polite. They generally tried to ignore it, consoling themselves with thoughts of a large share of the ransom gold they had received. Farmer, angry as a swarm of hornets, quickly interrupted their sweet dreams by appearing out of nowhere and literally throwing a few bricks (the bricks came from a hole Farmer had made with a single punch) in the direction of some of the bandits. All this to the delighted exclamations of Kiarra. "Give 'em hell, darling!"

Just had this unhinged crossover headcanon about my FOM farmer, Isaria, she's the cousin of my two SDV farmer sisters, Cerise and Rosemary. Now, imagine a family reunion where they introduce their lovers to each other. If you're confused, here's the lineup: Isaria is with Caldarus, Cerise is with Jio, and Rosemary is with Lance.

Now, picture how awkward that would be.

Caldarus is a dragon guardian of Mistria, Lance is a combat mage from the First Slash Clan, and Jio is not only an assassin but also an elf and a member of the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail. Lance would probably be thrilled to meet an actual dragon, while Jio ever the cautious one would find Caldarus intimidating. Meanwhile, Caldarus though outwardly polite for Isaria’s sake, would remain on high alert, sensing the intense auras between these two men… and even those of Isaria’s cousins, especially Cerise.

Still out of respect for his farmer, he keeps his composure. But oh boy, the tension in that room would be off the charts.

[𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 – 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚈𝚎𝚝 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙲𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝙶𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐]

[Cerise, Rosemary, and Isaria stand together while their partners linger nearby. The air crackles with unspoken tension.]

Lance: *grinning, composed yet intrigued* A dragon guardian… Quite the rare sight. It is an honor to meet you.

Caldarus: *soft-spoken, yet watchful* And you must be the mage Isaria spoke of. The honor is mine.

Jio: *arms crossed, unimpressed* A dragon, a mage, and an assassin in one room. Sounds like the start of a bad joke.

Rosemary: *muttering* More like a disaster waiting to happen.

Lance: *chuckles* Oh, I assure you, I mean no trouble. Though I must admit, meeting a dragon is… fascinating.

Caldarus: *calmly observing both men* Likewise. It is rare to stand among those who carry such powerful auras.

Jio: *lowers voice, glancing at Cerise* I don’t trust him.

Cerise: *calmly sips tea* You don’t trust anyone.

Isaria: *forcing a smile* Okay! Let’s all just sit down and eat, yes? No battles, no tension, just a nice, peaceful meal.

[Caldarus offers a polite nod, ever the composed guardian. Jio remains wary, and Lance though clearly intrigued respects the unspoken boundaries. Out of respect for their partners, they all (reluctantly) take their seats.]

Rosemary: *whispering to Cerise* Ten gold says something breaks before dessert.

Cerise: Make it twenty.

Summary: Lance and Jio, complete opposites, find themselves bound by marriage into an unexpected family. Over drinks, they share stories of how their wives nearly killed them upon first meeting. What starts as mockery slowly turns into understanding, whether they like it or not, they’re brothers now.

A/N: I don’t know what came over me when I wrote this. Seriously. Lance and Jio in the same room, willingly? That’s basically a sign of the apocalypse. But somehow, these two disasters ended up as family, and now they have to deal with it. I imagine it’s as painful for them as it is entertaining for us. Anyway, enjoy the chaos!

The quiet hum of the evening settled over the valley, the golden hues of the sunset stretching long shadows over the land. The world seemed to breathe in this tranquil moment, the rustling of leaves filling the spaces between silence, the distant calls of nocturnal creatures stirring to life. Jio had always found solace in such stillness. It was in these quiet hours that he thrived, slipping into the unseen corners of the world where no one could reach him. Solitude had been both a shield and a weapon, a constant companion in a life built on shadows.

And yet, solitude was a fleeting luxury these days because a certain combat mage was here.

Jio had never been particularly fond of company, and the arrival of Lance into his life did little to change that. Unfortunately, life had its own plans. Whether he liked it or not, the man was now his brother-in-law. At first, their relationship could be described as awkward at best, tense at worst. It wasn’t that either of them had anything against the other, not exactly. But their lives had shifted in ways neither of them had anticipated.

For Jio, it was the fact that Lance, an outsider to the world he lived in, had been sharp enough to see right through him. That had been unsettling. The moment they first met, Jio had been cloaked in illusion, his elven heritage hidden beneath a spell designed to fool even the most skilled of magic users but it hadn’t fooled Lance. The adventurer had taken one look at him, his eyes shimmering with the unmistakable glint of understanding and smirked.

“You know.” Lance had said, arms folded across his chest, “It’s a good spell. Really well-crafted but I can see right through it.”

The ninja assassin had spent years perfecting his ability to go unnoticed, had barely resisted the urge to scowl. As for the mage, he had taken this as an invitation to start asking questions.

The elf had quickly learned that Lance was persistent, annoyingly so. He was not only intrigued by Jio’s lineage but also by his profession, while the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail was shrouded in secrecy, whispers of their existence had reached the ears of adventurers, mages and guilds alike. Assassins, criminals, ghosts in the night, call them what you will but few truly understood the reality of their work.

Lance, being the ever-diplomatic combat mage that he was, approached Jio with an odd mixture of curiosity and caution. It wasn’t that he feared him, not exactly. But as a key figure in The First Slash Clan, he knew better than to trust blindly. Their interactions had remained strained for some time, both men studying each other like opposing chess pieces. Jio, introverted and secretive, had no interest in entertaining an inquisitive brother-in-law. Lance, on the other hand, saw the elfman as an enigma, one he was determined to unravel.

Which was exactly why they were here now, sitting across from one another in the dim glow of a quiet evening, caught in an unusual yet oddly comfortable silence.

It had started as an accident. Jio had been sharpening his katana in the courtyard when Lance had strolled in, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses as if he owned the place.

“Mind if I join you?” he’d asked, already sitting down before Jio had the chance to refuse.

Jio sighed. “You already have.”

Lance chuckled, pouring the wine. “Figured it’s about time we had a real conversation, just the two of us.”

The ninja eyed him warily. “Is that so?”

“You’re my brother-in-law. Might as well get to know each other.” Lance leaned back, swirling the wine in his glass. His gaze flickered with something unreadable, amusement layered over a deeper sense of intrigue. “How long were you going to keep pretending to be human?”

Jio exhaled sharply through his nose. So this was where they were starting.

“I don’t know what you mean.” His voice was deliberately flat, dismissive, but he knew it would do little to deter Lance.

The man merely chuckled. “Oh, come on. You really think an illusion spell would fool me? I saw through that the first time we met.” He tilted his head, watching Jio carefully, as if waiting for him to confirm it.

Jio’s grip tightened slightly on the hilt of his katana, the weight of the blade a familiar comfort. Few had ever seen through his illusions so easily, let alone with such casual certainty. It was unsettling.

The mage sensing the tension, lifted a hand in mock surrender. “Relax. I don’t have a problem with elves.” His gaze darkened slightly, his voice losing its usual teasing tone. “Just surprised, is all. Your kind is supposed to be extinct. Imagine my shock when I find out my brother-in-law is walking proof that isn’t the case.”

Jio finally turned to look at him, studying him in silence. He could see the questions forming behind Lance’s eyes, an unspoken list of inquiries waiting to be voiced. He knew this conversation wouldn’t end here.

“I assume you have a dozen questions.”

Lance’s grin was immediate, almost triumphant. “At least a dozen but I doubt you’ll answer half of them.”

“You’re right.”

Rather than deterring him, the answer only seemed to amuse Lance further. He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as if unsurprised. The conversation lapsed into silence, the wind carrying the distant sounds of the forest. Jio was no stranger to tense silences, the kind thick with unspoken threats, the heavy anticipation of a fight waiting to break out. But this… this wasn’t quite like that. There was curiosity, certainly, but no hostility. And for all his persistence, Lance wasn’t pressing him, wasn’t demanding answers. He was simply there, waiting. Offering conversation as an invitation rather than an order.

Jio could appreciate that.

Lance shifted, glancing at him again. “Alright, let’s start simple.” His voice was light, but there was a knowing edge to it, as if he had already anticipated Jio’s reluctance. “How did you meet Cerise?”

Jio exhaled, reluctant but not entirely unwilling to answer. It was only fair, he supposed. They were bound by their relationships to the farm sisters, whether they liked it or not.

“She wandered into Ridge Forest,” he said at last. “Too close to the barrier.”

Lance hummed thoughtfully. “And?”

Jio’s gaze flickered toward the horizon, memories surfacing unbidden.

The night air in Ridge Forest was thick with the scent of damp earth and pine, the hush of the wilderness disturbed only by the distant hoot of an owl. Jio moved soundlessly through the undergrowth, his senses sharp as he patrolled the forest’s edge. It was a quiet night, undisturbed by intruders until a flicker of movement caught his eye.

Someone was there.

A lone traveler, cloaked and hooded, moving steadily along the path. At a glance, she seemed unremarkable just another wanderer passing through the forest under the cover of night. Perhaps a lost adventurer, someone who had strayed too far from familiar roads. He had seen many like her before, drawn by the mystique of Ridge Forest without realizing its dangers.

With a quiet sigh, Jio stepped forward, letting his presence be known as he materialized before her in a blur of motion. His voice was calm, controlled. “You shouldn’t be here—!”

The dagger came fast.

Instinct flared, and Jio twisted just in time to avoid the blade as it whistled past his face, embedding itself in the bark of a tree behind him with a sharp thunk. The sheer force of the throw sent vibrations through the wood. A fraction slower and the blade would have found his skull instead.

His eyes widened slightly. Well. That would’ve been unpleasant.

Before he could react, the woman lunged.

Jio barely managed to block the incoming strike, catching her wrist before her fist could connect with his jaw. His grip tightened, and for the first time in a long while, he found himself genuinely surprised. This wasn’t a panicked traveler flailing in fear, this was an experienced fighter, attacking on pure instinct.

“Are you insane?” he snapped.

The woman halted, her posture shifting as she took in the situation. Her gaze flickered to the dagger buried deep in the tree, then back to him. With a quiet sigh, she relaxed her stance, rolling her shoulders back.

“That was a mistake.” Her voice was steady, unapologetic but not dismissive. “Didn’t expect someone to appear out of nowhere.”

Jio studied her for a moment before releasing his grip. “You nearly took my head off.” His tone was even, but there was a dry edge to it.

She huffed softly, rubbing her wrist where he had grabbed her. “If I meant to, I wouldn’t have missed.”

Jio’s expression remained unreadable, but there was a glint of something in his eyes, calculation, perhaps a hint of amusement. Now that he was this close, her hood had slipped slightly, revealing more of her face. His gaze flickered to her eyes, twilight-hued orbs with an amethyst glow, striking even in the dim moonlight. There was no hesitation in them, only sharp focus.

Long strands of beige-blond hair spilled from beneath the hood, brushing against her shoulders. She had the kind of beauty that was easy to overlook at a distance, but up close, it was impossible to ignore, the elegant lines of her face, the confidence in the way she carried herself. Something about her now felt off, as if he had gravely miscalculated her identity.

Recognition flickered in his mind. He had seen this resemblance before, faint but unmistakable.

“You must be the granddaughter.”

The woman blinked. “What?”

“The old farmer.” he clarified. “The one who passed years ago. You’re one of her granddaughters, aren’t you?”

Something unreadable passed across her face before she straightened, the tension in her shoulders still present but tempered.

“I’m Cerise.”

Jio regarded her for a long moment before giving a slight nod. “Jio.”

That night, suspicion had lingered between them like an unspoken challenge. The way she moved, the way she had thrown that dagger, it was clear she wasn’t just some ordinary farmer.

Jio exhaled, his voice barely above a murmur. “She nearly killed me.”

Lance barked out a laugh. “Sounds about right.”

Jio cast him a glare but said nothing. Silence stretched between them for a moment before he glanced at Lance. “And you? How did you meet Rosemary?”

Lance chuckled, setting his glass down. “Oh, our first meeting was… unexpected.”

Jio narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”

Lance leaned forward slightly. “I first met Rosemary at the summit of Mount Kohldur. She had just finished the climb, she looked exhausted but determined.”

The heat of the forge wrapped around Lance like an old friend, the rhythmic clang of metal against metal filling the cavernous chamber. Mount Kohldur’s peak was not for the weak, its treacherous ascent tested even the most hardened adventurers. And inside the volcano, the dangers only multiplied. Monsters lurked in the shadows, the air was thick with the scent of molten rock, and the forge itself pulsed with ancient power. But for those who made it this far, the rewards were unmatched.

Lance had spent the day deep in his craft, the magical flames casting golden light across his work. His hands moved with practiced ease, binding enchantments and forging weapons for his guildmates in The First Slash. The familiar surge of magic hummed through his fingertips as he combined an Iridium Band with a Slime Charmer Ring, the glow of the spell reflecting in his obsidian purple eyes.

He was just about to move on to his next project when the heavy gates of the forge groaned open. The sound reverberated through the chamber, followed by steady, measured footsteps.

Lance frowned. Few ever reached this place, and even fewer had the strength to push open those doors alone. He turned, expecting to see one of his guildmates or a battle-worn adventurer seeking the forge’s power.

Instead, what he saw made him pause.

A woman stood at the entrance, her silhouette framed by the golden glow of the magma pools beyond. Her breath was heavy from the climb, her rose-red hair windswept and untamed. Her clothes now dusted with soot and ash, and the edges of her short cloak were singed, faint wisps of smoke curling from the scorched threads. Her hand hovered near the weapon at her hip, her stance tense like she expected a fight at any moment.

But it wasn’t the battle-worn look that caught his attention. It was her eyes, a striking shade of ocean jade, sharp and wary, scanning the room for threats. And then, just as his gaze flickered over the soft dusting of freckles across her cheeks—

She threw a bomb at him.

Lance barely had time to react. Instinct took over as he flicked his wrist, summoning a protective barrier of shimmering blue light. The bomb struck the shield mid-air, detonating with a fiery burst. Sparks and embers scattered across the chamber, rattling the anvil behind him.

Smoke curled through the air. Silence followed. Then, from beyond the haze, a horrified voice.

“Oh my Yoba—”

Lance blinked as the woman stumbled forward, her wide eyes filled with mortification.

“I—I am so sorry!” she blurted out, hands shooting up in a panicked gesture. “I thought you were a monster! I didn’t—” She groaned, cutting herself off, visibly cringing as she realized what she had just done.

Lance exhaled, then let out a full, genuine laugh that echoed against the stone walls.

The woman froze, clearly thrown off by his reaction.

Grinning, Lance dusted soot from his cloak. “I’ve had a lot of things thrown at me in my lifetime,” he mused, his voice laced with amusement. “But I have to say, this is the first time someone’s greeted me with explosives.”

She let out a strangled groan, pressing her hands to her face. “I swear, I’m not usually this trigger-happy.”

Lance smirked, folding his arms. “No?” He arched a brow. “So, you don’t always attack strangers on sight?”

Dragging a hand down her face, she muttered, “I just—didn’t expect anyone else to be up here. I panicked, okay?”

Lance chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose I should be honored to have made such an impression.”

She mumbled something under her breath, then straightened, clearing her throat. “Right. Uh. I’m Rosemary.”

Lance’s lips quirked into a knowing smirk. “I know.” At her startled look, he inclined his head. “Marlon spoke quite highly of you, said you were quite proficient with a weapon.” His gaze flickered to the spot where the bomb had nearly incinerated him, amusement dancing in his obsidian-purple eyes. “I see now that he wasn’t exaggerating.”

Rosemary groaned, muttering something about terrible first impressions under her breath.

Lance let out a light chuckle before offering a more formal introduction. “I’m Lance, from The First Slash Clan. We’re a guild of adventurers protecting the Fern Islands.” He studied her for a moment, curiosity flickering in his expression. “Though I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to meet you under such… explosive circumstances.”

For a moment, they stood there, the tension easing as the embers from the explosion slowly faded into the ever-burning flames of the forge.

Jio, who had been listening with his usual unreadable patience, exhaled slowly and took a deliberate sip of his wine. His forest green eyes studied Lance with a look so measured it bordered on contemplative.

“So...” he finally said, swirling the wine in his glass, “She did try to kill you.”

Lance chuckles, tilting his head slightly. “You sound almost relieved.”

Jio huffed, setting his glass down with a quiet clink. “It just confirms my expectations.” He exhaled again, this time with something dangerously close to amusement curling at the edges of his voice. “Shame. She should’ve aimed better.”

The mage only let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “You wound me, truly.”

Jio took another sip of wine, watching him over the rim of his glass. “Did you look like a monster?”

Lance placed a hand over his heart, feigning offense. “I’d like to think I looked fairly respectable that day.”

Jio didn’t bother hiding the way his lips twitched, but he said nothing.

Lance leaned back against the wooden pillar, stretching out his legs. “Lucky for me, I immediately conjure a barrier. Introduced myself after she throw that bomb.” His smirk softened as his mind drifted back. “She was flustered, obviously. But we ended up sharing a meal. Talking. Laughing.”

Jio shook his head, muttering, “Your wife nearly blew you up.”

Lance arched a brow. “Yours nearly stabbed you through the skull.”

“Fair...”

A pause. Then for the first time all night, the silence between them wasn’t awkward. It was something else, something easier. Lance tilted his head back, gazing at the night sky. The stars stretched above them, shimmering like diamonds scattered across an endless sea of black. He exhaled slowly, then spoke again, this time without the usual teasing tone. Just honesty.

“You know… I may be nosy, but it’s not just about curiosity.” He turned his head, meeting Jio’s gaze with quiet certainty. “Cerise is important to you. Rosemary is important to me. So, like it or not… we’re family now.”

Jio studied him for a long moment, expression unreadable. Then, finally, he inclined his head slightly. “I know...”

Lance smirked, the easy confidence returning to his voice. “And since we’re family, I reserve the right to continue annoying you for the foreseeable future.”

Jio sighed, finishing the rest of his wine. “I should’ve let Cerise’s dagger hit me.”

Lance barked out a laugh, the sound rich with amusement. “Too late for regrets now, brother.”

Jio didn’t respond, but there, right at the corner of his mouth was the ghost of a amusement before he turned away and just like that, something shifted between them.

No longer just two men forced together by circumstance, but family. And despite all the chaos that came with it, perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

As the night stretched on and the distant hum of the valley settled around them, they sat in companionable silence, bound by an unspoken understanding.

Both of them had married dangerous women and neither would have it any other way.

Summary: Cerise jumps to the worst conclusion, unleashes fury, then realizes her mistake while Jio quietly revels in the chaos.

The farmhouse stood quiet in the late afternoon glow, bathed in soft amber light. A faint breeze stirred the curtains, carrying with it the distant hum of the forest. The stillness was only broken by the slow creak of the front door as Lance pushed it open, supporting Rosemary with one arm.

“Easy...” he murmured, glancing down at her. His obsidian purple eyes softened with concern.

“Tch. I’m fine.” Rosemary grumbled, though her pale features said otherwise. One hand pressed against her side, a dark stain seeping through her shirt. Her rose-red hair, usually vibrant, clung to her cheek with sweat.

“You took a hit from Apophis. You’re not fine.” Lance’s tone left no room for argument. He tightened his hold when she stumbled. “Come on, your room’s closer. You’ll be more comfortable there.”

Rosemary scowled but didn’t protest. The journey back from the Crimson Badlands had been rough. The encounter with Apophis had left her winded, the creature’s strike tearing through her defenses and leaving a gash along her hip. If Lance hadn’t been there... she shook the thought away.

As they entered the farmhouse, Rosemary glanced around. The place was quiet. Too quiet.

“Huh. Cerise isn’t here?” she muttered, wincing as she lowered herself onto the bed in her room.

“She must’ve gone out.” Lance said, fetching a roll of bandages and a bowl of water from the washstand. “We’ll get you patched up before she’s back.”

Rosemary lay back with a groan. “Just hurry up. I want to sleep after this.”

Lance knelt beside her, his hands deft but gentle. “Try not to move. This might sting.”

Meanwhile, outside the farmhouse...

The front door clicked open. Cerise stepped inside, brushing a strand of beige blond hair from her face. Her twilight-hued eyes swept the room, noting the faint scuffs on the floor, a sign of recent arrival.

“Rosie?” she called out.

A faint voice answered from down the hall.

“Hey, Sis! I’m here! Lance’s with me!”

Cerise raised a brow, slipping off her bonnet. So they’re back. A faint smile tugged at her lips. “Lance, you staying for dinner?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, then I accept. Thank you, Cerise.” came Lance's muffled reply.

Before Cerise could respond, the door behind her creaked. She turned and her expression softened immediately.

“Jio.”

The brooding figure stepped in, his dark attire blending with the farmhouse shadows. His green eyes held their usual quiet intensity, but his expression softened when he saw her. Without a word, he closed the distance, wrapping his arms around her waist with practiced ease.

“I missed you.” he murmured, voice low and warm.

Cerise chuckled, resting a hand on his chest. “You've literally seen me four hours ago.”

“Four hours is too long.”

A rare smile played at Cerise’s lips. “You're impossible.”

“I know.”

Their quiet moment lingered until Jio glanced toward the kitchen. “Need help with dinner?”

Cerise’s expression brightened. “I’d love that.”

An Hour Later...

The scent of a warm meal filled the farmhouse. The table was set. Cerise wiped her hands on a cloth, glancing at Jio, who was placing the last dish.

“I’ll get them.” she said, moving toward Rosemary’s room.

With her usual composed demeanor, she knocked on the door, voice calm but firm.

“Rosie. Lance. Dinner’s ready. If you don’t come out now, it’s going to get cold.”

Inside, Lance’s focused voice responded, “Hold still. I know what I’m doing.”

Rosemary’s sharp retort followed, “Easy for you to say! Just hurry up and finish already!”

Cerise paused. What?

Her brows furrowed as she leaned in.

“Ah—OW! Lance, gentle!”

“You could have told me it hurt there. I’m not a mind reader.”

Cerise’s eyes narrowed, suspicion prickling at the edges of her calm.

...The hell?

“I’ll do it myself!”, Rosemary snapped.

“Absolutely not." Lance said firmly. “You’ll mess it up. Lie down.”

Cerise froze. Her expression darkened.

Lie down?

“I still want to breathe when you’re done!” Rosemary growled.

“Relax. I’ve done this plenty of times. Trust me.” Lance’s teasing tone followed.

Cerise’s entire body stiffened.

“…What the actual—”

“Move your legs to the side. It’s hard to reach from this angle.” Lance murmured.

“Ugh… Fine. Just get in between—”

BAM!

The door SLAMMED open.

Cerise stood there, deadly aura radiating from her, twilight eyes sharp as blades.

“WHAT. THE. HELL. ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER, YOU—”

The room fell silent.

Lance blinked, still holding a roll of bandages. Rosemary sat on the bed, skirt slightly lifted to reveal the fresh bandage along her injured hip.

“…Cerise?”, Lance said slowly.

Rosemary tilted her head, confusion written all over her face. “Sis? Uh… you good?”

Cerise’s expression shifted from cold fury to blank realization. A faint blush touched her cheeks.

“…Oh.”

Without another word, she shut the door with a swift snap.

“Never mind. Dinner’s ready. Be out in five.”

Back in the Kitchen...

Jio glanced up from the plates, eyes narrowing slightly. “Everything alright?”

Cerise, face a mask of calm composure, poured herself tea. “Nope.”

Jio studied her for a moment. The corners of his mouth twitched. “You thought they were...?”

“Don’t.” Cerise’s voice remained flat, but the faintest flush on her cheeks betrayed her.

Jio let out a low chuckle. “You’re more overprotective than I thought.”

“Shut up.”

Meanwhile, in Rosemary’s Room...

Rosemary stared at the closed door. “What the hell was that about?”

Lance secured the final knot in the bandage, glancing at her with a teasing smile.

“Maybe she thought you were dying in here with all that noise.”

Rosemary groaned, flopping back onto the bed. “More like she thought you were killing me.”

Lance chuckled, brushing the strands from her face. “Her overprotectiveness is admirable. But I’ll have to work harder to prove I can handle you properly.”

Rosemary glared at him, cheeks flushing.

“Tch. Shut up.”

Later That Evening...

The air in the farmhouse kitchen had settled into a calm warmth as dinner finally commenced. The aroma of Cerise’s cooking filled the room, and soft clinks of cutlery echoed against the wooden walls. Rosemary sat at the table, pale but composed, her side wrapped in fresh bandages. Lance sat beside her, his movements calm and measured, occasionally glancing at her with quiet concern.

Cerise sat opposite them, maintaining her usual composed expression, though her eyes flicked to Lance every now and then—narrow, warning. Lance, for his part, met those looks with a steady gaze, though the tension in his shoulders suggested he felt the weight behind them.

Jio sat next to Cerise, his posture relaxed, arms folded across his chest as he watched the others eat. Every so often, he would glance at Cerise, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. The memory of what he’d overheard from the hallway still lingered.

Cerise, however, kept her face stoic. She reached for her cup of tea, raising it with practiced calm.

But then, Jio leaned closer, lowering his voice so only Cerise could hear, his smirk deepening.

“Quite the scene you made earlier.”

Cerise froze, the cup halting just before her lips. Slowly, she turned her head, her twilight-hued eyes narrowing with a sharp glint.

Jio’s shoulders trembled slightly—slightly—as if he were struggling to contain his amusement.

And that was all it took.

Jio stiffened, the smirk faltering as sharp pain flared in his thigh. Cerise’s hand, deceptively delicate in appearance, had clamped down with surprising strength beneath the table. Her nails pressed just enough to make her point without drawing attention.

Jio inhaled sharply through his nose, glancing down before giving Cerise a sideways look. But she only sipped her tea with perfect composure, not even glancing in his direction.

Lance and Rosemary continued eating in silence, pretending not to notice the exchange.

Jio exhaled a slow breath, a begrudging chuckle escaping. “Noted.”

The moment passed, leaving the room quiet again—at least for a while.

Then Cerise lowered her cup, eyes sharpening as she turned her gaze toward Rosemary.

“Now then.” she began, her tone calm but carrying an unmistakable edge. “Mind explaining to me why you’re injured, Rose?”

Rosemary, who had been focused on her food, stiffened.

“Uh...", She glanced at Lance briefly, hoping for some backup, but when she noticed the pointed stare Cerise was giving her, a bead of sweat rolled down her temple.

“Well, you see—”

“Rosemary.” Cerise’s voice dropped a note lower.

Rosemary groaned, slumping forward slightly but straightening up when she realized Cerise’s glare was only intensifying.

“Okay, okay! We had a little run-in with Apophis. It wasn’t a big deal—”

“Not a big deal?” Cerise repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing further.

Rosemary laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. “I mean... it could’ve been worse?”

Cerise didn’t respond immediately. Instead, her sharp gaze shifted to Lance.

Lance, who had been quietly eating, paused mid-bite. He lowered his fork with deliberate care, meeting Cerise’s gaze head-on.

The room grew still.

Cerise’s look wasn’t just one of inquiry—it was a silent reminder, one that said: You were there. You let this happen. Explain.

Lance held her gaze for a moment longer before exhaling softly.

“The beast caught us by surprise. Rosemary fought well, but the wound wasn’t something we could avoid. I took care of it.”

Cerise’s eyes narrowed further, studying his expression for any sign of hesitation. Lance didn’t flinch.

After a long pause, Cerise leaned back in her chair.

“Hmph. I see.”

But the intensity of her gaze didn’t waver.

Rosemary, still pale, glanced between the two of them, feeling the tension rising again.

“Uh—C’mon, Sis. It’s not like Lance wanted me to get hurt.”

Cerise gave a slow blink, gaze lingering on Lance for a few seconds longer before finally shifting back to Rosemary.

“...Fine. But next time, be more careful.”

Rosemary sighed in relief. “Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

Jio, watching the whole exchange with mild amusement, glanced sideways at Cerise. The faintest trace of a smile lingered on his lips.

Cerise caught the look and, without missing a beat, gave him a subtle side-eye warning.

Jio chuckled under his breath.

The conversation shifted back to lighter topics, but an unspoken tension lingered. Cerise’s sharp gaze had delivered its message clearly—she would always be watching.

Lance returned to his meal in silence, his hand brushing lightly against Rosemary’s, a silent promise that next time, he would be ready.

Me: *spots a ridiculously hot elf man* Ooooh, a new NPC to add to my collection.

Brain: *sighs* You do realize this means making another farmer OC, right?

Me: *eyes sparkling* I don’t care. He’s so hot. Like Jio with tattoos. Approachable, mysterious, and an elf who seems like he’d hold a conversation instead of just brooding. But hey- Jio’s still my ultimate elf man. Loyalty matters. This guy’s just... bonus content.

Brain: Ma’am. You already have six farmer OCs. SIX. It took you an hour to make your last one just because you wanted to romance that gridball player for that immersive mod!

Me: *shrugs* Yeah, but I haven’t made a farmer with jet black hair or brunette yet.

Brain: And you’re forgetting you’ve got perfectly good farmer designs reserved for a certain mean cold adventurer.

Me: *glaring* Shut. Up. I’m taking this elf man.

Brain: *deadpan* You should really download that Free Love mod.

Me: *thinks* Nah, I’m a one-romance-at-a-time kind of player.

Brain: Uh-huh. You do realize you’re about to create a whole new OC backstory, right?

Me: *staring into the distance, deep in thought* Shuuush... already thinking of a new farmer design.

Brain: Unbelievable. Truly, unbelievable.

Tohtalem OC: Progress!

I finally got our Elf to load in game with a custom map/location and a couple of events! My friend and I will be filling in more dialogue and events over the next few weeks, I'm just so happy the base character is done!!

First week, no-heart dialogue

A/N: Here’s a collection of my farmer OCs and their lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day across the valley. Each couple shares a unique moment, from quiet evenings to exciting adventures. Hope you enjoy!

Valentine’s Day has arrived, bringing love and warmth to every corner of the valley. From quiet, intimate moments to unexpected adventures, each couple finds their own way to celebrate. Whether it’s a romantic stroll through the ridge, an island adventure, or a heartfelt serenade, love takes many forms but every moment is cherished.

𝚂𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 ♡ 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚒𝚊

The spring air was crisp but gentle, carrying the scent of fresh blooms as the valley embraced the warmth of the new season. The Love Festival had been lively all day—couples exchanging gifts, the marketplace filled with heart-shaped chocolates and vibrant bouquets. But for Aleia, this Valentine’s night was set apart from the usual celebrations.

Sebastian had insisted on planning everything himself this time.

"This time, let me be the one to plan something for you." he had told her, his deep violet eyes steady with resolve.

And so, she let him.

Now, guided by his hand, Aleia walked along the winding mountain path, her eyes covered by a blindfold. The soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of frogs and crickets were the only sounds accompanying their steps. The cool evening breeze brushed against her skin, and Sebastian’s firm but gentle grip reassured her as they moved forward.

"Almost there." he murmured, his breath warm against her ear.

A few more steps, then stillness.

"Alright," he said softly. "You can look now."

Aleia pulled off the blindfold and gasped.

Before her lay a secluded clearing atop the mountain, bathed in the warm glow of lanterns hanging from tree branches. A cozy picnic was spread across the grass, thick blankets and plush cushions arranged beside a small, flickering fire. Plates of food, carefully chosen with her favorites—void salmon sushi, fresh monster fruit, and a homemade coffee cake, were set neatly on a wooden tray. Beside it, a telescope stood angled toward the sky.

She turned to him, sapphire eyes wide. "You… did all this?"

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, looking away like he always did when he was nervous. "Yeah. I, uh… might’ve gotten some help from Sam to carry everything and borrowed Maru’s telescope, but yeah. Wanted to give you something special."

A slow, warm smile spread across Aleia’s lips. "It’s perfect."

They settled onto the blankets, sharing bites of food and slipping into easy conversation, the kind that flowed naturally between them. The fire crackled beside them, casting a golden glow across Sebastian’s features, making his dark hair shine under the soft light. His expression was relaxed in a way that made Aleia’s heart ache, in the best way.

After a while, Sebastian nudged her gently. "Come here."

He led her toward the telescope, adjusting the lens with practiced care. "Look through it."

Aleia leaned in, her breath catching as she took in the stars. Closer, brighter, clearer than she had ever seen them with the naked eye. They shimmered like distant lanterns, scattered across the endless night.

"Wow." she whispered.

Sebastian stepped behind her, loosely wrapping his arms around her waist. "Figured you’d like it."

She turned to face him, her gaze glowing with something deeper than admiration. "You really thought of everything."

Sebastian smirked slightly, though there was no teasing behind it. Just warmth. Just love. "Of course I did. You’re the love of my life, Aleia."

The words settled between them, heavy with sincerity.

Aleia melted, reaching up to brush her fingers against his cheek before leaning in, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to his lips. The stars shimmered overhead, the night stretching infinitely before them, but in that moment, all that mattered was the space they shared.

Wherever they were, on the farm, in hiding, or right here in the mountains. Being with him would always feel like home.

𝚂𝚊𝚖 ♡ 𝚈𝚟𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎

Pelican Town was alive with celebration. The Love Festival had transformed the town square into a dreamy spectacle. Strings of lanterns hung between buildings, their soft glow illuminating the bustling streets. Stalls lined the cobblestone paths, selling heart-shaped sweets, delicate flower crowns, and handcrafted gifts. The scent of caramel apples, freshly baked pastries, and roasted chestnuts lingered in the crisp evening air.

Yvonne squeezed Sam’s hand, her maroon-red eyes sparkling with excitement. "Let’s do everything!"

Sam chuckled, lacing his fingers with hers. "Everything? That’s a lot of games, love."

She grinned mischievously. "You scared?"

He smirked. "Not a chance."

They spent the evening competing at ring toss, trying their luck at the fishing challenge, and testing their strength at the hammer game, where Yvonne nearly matched Sam’s score, much to his surprise. They indulged in candied strawberries, fried dough, and hot cocoa, savoring the sweetness of the night.

At one of the game stalls, Yvonne managed to win a fluffy teddy bear holding a tiny pizza. She turned to Sam with a triumphant smile and pressed it into his hands.

"For you." she said with a wink.

Sam laughed, holding up the bear. "Are you winning prizes for me now?"

"Of course." Yvonne said sweetly. "You’re my rockstar boyfriend, but even rockstars need something to cuddle."

Sam rolled his eyes playfully, but the way he hugged the bear against his chest made Yvonne giggle. A few moments later, he nudged her toward another stall.

"My turn." he said confidently.

He focused on the game. Dart toss, aiming carefully before releasing each shot. One by one, the balloons popped, and soon enough, the vendor handed him a teddy bear, this one holding a single red rose. Sam grinned and presented it to Yvonne.

"For you, my flower girl." he teased.

Yvonne beamed, hugging the bear close. "Now we match."

As the festival began winding down, Sam suddenly took her hand and led her away from the crowded town square. They walked in comfortable silence, following the familiar path down to the beach.

The tidepools shimmered under the moonlight, and the area had been beautifully decorated. Lanterns were scattered across the sand, their golden light reflecting off the water. Rose petals were spread around the driftwood log where Yvonne had once sat when Sam first confessed his love for her.

She blinked in surprise. "Wait—! what’s going on?"

Sam just smirked as he grabbed a guitar resting nearby. He sat on a rock facing her, adjusting the strings with ease. "This is for you."

Then, with practiced fingers, he strummed a soft, melodic tune and began to sing.

Yvonne’s breath caught in her throat. His voice, smooth and full of warmth, wrapped around her like the gentle sea breeze.

The song spoke of a love that was vibrant and wild, like spring flowers bursting into bloom after a long winter. It told of laughter shared on lazy afternoons, of hands reaching for each other in the dark, of a love so deep it felt like breathing.

By the time he finished, Yvonne was near tears, her hands clasped to her chest.

Sam set the guitar aside and walked over, pulling her into his arms. "Happy Valentine’s, love."

She sniffled, laughing as she wiped at her eyes. "You jerk. You made me cry."

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Best reaction I could’ve asked for."

And as the waves kissed the shore and the lanterns flickered softly in the night, Yvonne knew she would never forget this moment.

𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡 ♡ 𝙽𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚎

The lively streets of Zuzu City were buzzing with energy as Nadine and Alex walked hand in hand. Neon signs flickered above them, and the scent of sizzling street food filled the air. Tonight, the city felt electric, but for Alex, the real highlight wasn’t the bright lights or the fancy restaurants—it was her.

"You pick." he said, squeezing her hand. "Anything you want, it's all on me."

Nadine chuckled, tilting her head playfully. "Feeling fancy tonight, huh?"

Alex grinned. "I mean, you only get one Valentine’s Day a year. Might as well go all out."

She scanned the restaurants before stopping in front of a small but elegant seafood bistro. Candlelit tables, soft music playing. Perfect. They were seated by the window, overlooking the city streets, and soon their table was filled with delicious dishes, grilled salmon, garlic butter shrimp, and freshly baked bread.

Throughout dinner, they laughed and teased each other, exchanging bites of food and stealing lingering glances. Every now and then, Alex would just stop eating, resting his chin on his hand as he watched her talk, completely enamored.

"What?" Nadine asked, raising a brow.

Alex smirked. "Nothing. Just thinking how lucky I am."

After finishing their meal, instead of heading home, they took a detour to the beachfront. The city skyline glowed in the distance, but the shore was peaceful, waves rolling softly under the moonlight.

Nadine kicked off her sandals, wiggling her toes in the cool sand. "You should try it." she said, grinning.

Alex raised a brow. "Walking barefoot? What if I step on something sharp?"

She rolled her eyes. "Big tough athlete, scared of a little sand?"

"Fine, fine." he chuckled, slipping off his sneakers and socks. He picked up both their shoes, carrying them in one hand while the other found its way back to hers.

They strolled along the water’s edge, the wet sand cool beneath their feet. The gentle waves brushed against their ankles, and the salty night air wrapped around them.

At some point, Alex stopped, pulling her into his arms. "This is nice." he murmured. "Just you, me, and the ocean."

Nadine hummed in agreement, tracing little patterns on his arm. "And the city lights. Kinda romantic, don’t you think?"

He chuckled. "Super romantic." Then, with a playful grin, he scooped her up effortlessly, making her squeal in surprise.

"Alex!"

"What?" he laughed. "You looked like you needed to be carried."

She smacked his shoulder, but he only held her closer. "You’re ridiculous." she huffed, but her laughter betrayed her.

With her in his arms and the waves crashing softly in the background, Alex kissed her, slow and deep, his lips warm against the cool breeze. When they pulled away, he smirked.

"Happy Valentine’s, babe."

Nadine, still breathless, smiled back. "Happy Valentine’s, Alex."

And with that, they kept walking, hand in hand, their footprints fading into the moonlit sand.

𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚞𝚜 ♡ 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊

Thalia had always been drawn to magic, not just because it was in her blood, but because it was a part of who she was. And tonight, Magnus was determined to show her just how deeply their worlds intertwined.

"Close your eyes." he instructed softly.

She gave him a playful smile. "If you insist, my mysterious sorcerer."

With a wave of his hand, a soft wind swirled around them, carrying the scent of wildflowers and something ancient, something powerful. When Thalia opened her eyes, she gasped.

They stood in an untouched grove deep within the Cindersap Forest, a secret sanctuary hidden from mortal eyes. A pond, smooth as glass, reflected the full moon above, and hundreds of fireflies danced through the air, their golden glow illuminating the night. But the true marvel was the air itself. It shimmered with magic, soft blue and purple lights weaving through the trees like living stardust.

"Magnus…" she breathed.

The wizard watched her with quiet satisfaction, his black-purple eyes gleaming beneath the moonlight. "This place is connected to ancient magic. It exists outside of time, untouched by the world."

Thalia turned to him, teasing. "So, you brought me to a place where time doesn’t exist? Is this your way of keeping me all to yourself?"

Magnus chuckled, a rare, deep sound. "You know me well, my love."

They sat by the pond, surrounded by glowing flora, as Magnus conjured a spread of warm tea, chocolate-covered strawberries, and delicate pastries. As Thalia sipped the tea, she glanced at him with fond amusement.

"You always act so composed, but I know you." she mused. "You’re hopelessly in love with me, aren’t you?"

Magnus exhaled, setting down his cup. He reached for her hand, his fingers tracing over hers with a feather-light touch. "Thalia." he murmured, "You have unraveled every secret I thought I could keep hidden. My magic, my heart, my very soul. They are yours."

Thalia’s teasing smile softened. "You really are a romantic under all that wizardly mystique, aren’t you?"

He leaned in, his lips brushing against hers, a kiss filled with whispered magic and devotion.

As they sat together beneath the moon, time truly seemed to stand still.

𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 ♡ 𝚁𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢

Valentine’s Day in Stardew Valley meant something different for everyone. Some couples preferred candlelit dinners at the Stardrop Saloon, others exchanged heartfelt gifts in the cozy glow of their fireplaces. But for the adventurous at heart, romance wasn’t just about quiet moment. It was about shared experiences, new places, and thrilling discoveries.

For Lance and Rosemary, nothing sounded better than an escape to Ginger Island, where the golden sands, lush jungle, and endless blue sea promised the perfect blend of adventure and tranquility.

The midday sun cast a warm glow over the island, glinting off the waves as the couple arrived at the shore. Rosemary inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of salt and tropical flowers, while Lance stretched, rolling his shoulders as he surveyed the landscape.

“Nothing like an island getaway.” he mused, his usual confident smirk in place.

Rosemary smirked back. “Are you sure you didn’t just want an excuse to show off your knowledge of the island?”

He chuckled, placing a hand over his heart in mock offense. “You wound me, my dear. I would never, well, perhaps just a little.”

The couple made their way inland, boots crunching against the sand before they reached a shaded, rocky cove where a gentle stream trickled into the sea. The cool water glistened invitingly, and without hesitation, Lance unclasped his cape and set it aside. He knelt down to unlace his boots, and Rosemary followed suit, setting hers beside his.

The water was shallow, lapping just above their ankles as they stepped in. The contrast of the cool stream against the sun-warmed sand sent a pleasant chill up Rosemary’s spine. Lance watched her with a knowing glint in his indigo eyes, captivated by the way the sunlight highlighted her freckles. He had always found them endearing, small constellations scattered across her cheeks, unique to her and her alone.

“You’re staring.” Rosemary teased, flicking a bit of water toward him with her toes.

He caught her ankle with ease, his grip gentle yet firm. “Can you blame me?” His voice dropped to a lower, more genuine tone. “You look stunning.”

A faint blush dusted her cheeks, though whether from the heat or his words, she wasn’t sure. “Smooth talker.” she muttered, but she didn’t pull away.

They spent the afternoon wading through the water, skimming their fingers along the surface, and occasionally splashing each other in playful retaliation. At one point, Lance spotted a vibrant blue starfish resting on the rocks, scooping it up to show Rosemary before gently returning it to the tide.

As the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon, Lance guided Rosemary back to shore, their hands naturally finding each other’s. They sat on the sand, watching the sky burn with hues of orange and violet.

“This was a good idea.” Rosemary admitted, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Lance pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his voice filled with quiet certainty. “Every adventure with you is.”

And as the waves whispered against the shore, they simply sat there, enjoying the peaceful, perfect moment. Just the two of them, wrapped in the warmth of love and the promise of many more adventures to come.

𝙹𝚒𝚘 ♡ 𝙲𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎

High up in the mountains, far from the bustling city and the peaceful valley, Ridgeside Village was alive with the spirit of Love Festival. The streets, usually quiet under the watchful eye of the peaks, were now filled with soft lantern light and delicate decorations. Paper hearts and ribbons adorned the fences, and flower petals scattered across the cobbled paths, carried by the cool evening breeze.

Couples strolled through the village square, exchanging gifts of handcrafted chocolates and freshly picked flowers. The scent of sweet rice cakes and warm tea drifted from the marketplace, mingling with the crisp mountain air.

Cerise stood near the entrance of Ridge Forest, fingers idly tightening around the fabric of her dress. She wasn’t usually one to fidget, but tonight was different. Jio had insisted they meet here, in public. It was something he never did. And though she trusted him, she also knew how much he disliked being seen.

Then, she saw him.

He walked toward her with the same quiet confidence she had always admired, but something was undeniably different. His usual ninja attire was gone, replaced by casual dark clothes, simple yet well-fitted, blending him seamlessly among the villagers. And his ears… no longer pointed.

Cerise’s breath caught. "You—?"

Jio smirked slightly, his deep green eyes flickering with amusement. "Illusion spell. No one will suspect a thing."

Her heart swelled. He had done this for her. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to.

"You really did this… for me?"

Jio nodded. "You wanted a normal date. So tonight, I’m just a man visiting the village with his beloved." His voice was calm, but she could hear the slight tension in his tone,he wasn’t used to this.

Cerise smiled, reaching for his hand. "Then let’s make it a good one."

As they strolled through the village, hand in hand, people couldn’t help but stare. It wasn’t every day they saw Farmer Cerise with someone unfamiliar, let alone a man. A few villagers whispered amongst themselves, their curiosity barely concealed.

"Who’s that with Cerise?"

"I’ve never seen him before."

"Is he a traveler? A merchant?"

"His quite handsome."

Jio’s jaw tightened. His patience wore thin as the murmurs continued. His fingers twitched, and just as he was about to say something sharp, Cerise squeezed his hand.

She turned toward the onlookers, flashing a bright, effortless smile. "This is my lover." she said smoothly. "He’s from another village, and he came to spend Valentine’s with me."

A collective murmur of understanding followed, and just like that, the tension dissolved. The villagers, satisfied with her explanation, lost interest and returned to their own affairs.

Jio exhaled, giving her a look. "You handled that well."

She smirked. "I always do."

With the attention off them, they continued their date, walking at a leisurely pace. They visited the marketplace, where Cerise picked out a small box of chocolates and playfully fed Jio a piece. He accepted it with neutral face, but she caught the way his expression softened as he tasted the sweetness.

Then, they made their way to the waterfall, where the sound of rushing water drowned out the rest of the world. They sat on a secluded bench, the mist cooling their skin as the stars began to dot the sky.

Jio leaned back, gazing at the view. "It’s peaceful here." he admitted.

Cerise tilted her head. "I thought you might like it."

He glanced at her, something unreadable in his gaze. "I like anything, so long as I’m with you."

She chuckled, leaning into his shoulder. "Now who’s the smooth talker?"

Jio smirked but said nothing, instead slipping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. For a while, they sat in silence, listening to the distant hum of the village behind them, the rush of the falls before them.

Cerise turned her head slightly, catching the way the moonlight softened Jio’s usually sharp features. "You don’t regret this?" she asked quietly. "Being here… with me?"

His hold on her tightened ever so slightly. "Never." His voice was firm, certain. "I’d walk through any village, drop every disguise, if it meant being with you."

Cerise’s heart thudded, warmth spreading through her chest. She smiled softly, then reached up, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek.

"Happy Valentine’s, Jio."

He exhaled, his breath ghosting over her skin. "Happy Valentine’s, meleth nin."

And for once, there was no mission, no secrecy. Just the two of them, veiled in moonlight, lost in a quiet world of their own making.

Summary: Cerise is overwhelmed by a flashback of her traumatic past, until Jio who is visiting her at the farmhouse, tries to snap her out of it. However, in a reflexive response, Cerise grabs a knife and throws it at him.

The rain poured down in heavy sheets, mixing with the dirt into a thick, slippery mud that covered her small, bare feet. Cerise huddled in the shadows of an alley, shivering in the cold night air. Her eyes darted around in the dark, searching for any signs of danger. In her arms, she held her little sister, Rosemary, barely five years old and crying softly in the storm. Memories assaulted her mind, but she pushed them aside, needing to focus on the here and now.

Cerise's ears strained to hear any sound over the noise of the rain. She knew she needed to escape, to find shelter somewhere. But every path she could take led her and her sister into danger. The sound of voices and footsteps came from the main street and Cerise knew she had to act fast.

Without conscious thought, she started running, clutching Rosemary tightly to her chest. The cold rain turned the world around her into a blur, but she forced herself to run faster, her mind focused only on one thing: keeping her sister safe.

In the chaos, her bare foot landed on a sharp stone, but she barely registered the pain, only the fear that gripped her heart. The voices behind her were growing louder, their footsteps coming closer. They were getting closer...

Finally, she spotted a narrow alleyway leading off to the side. Cerise darted into it, stumbling a bit as her foot throbbed with pain. She took several quick turns down various alleys, desperately trying to throw off any pursuers who may be following them.

She stopped for a moment, her back against the wall and tried to control her ragged breathing. Her entire body trembled with cold and fear. She looked down at her sister in her arms, who was still crying quietly and tried to offer a soothing smile.

"It's going to be okay." she whispered hoarsely to Rosemary, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt. "We'll find someplace safe soon. No one is going to hurt you, I promise."

But even as she spoke the words, doubt edged into her mind, her own words of courage feeling hollow in the face of the danger they were in. As she listened intently for the distant voices, her thoughts darted back to the events that led to this moment...

Suddenly, a noise drew Cerise's attention back to the present. Footsteps were approaching, coming from the direction she and Rosemary had come from. Holding her breath, Cerise flattened herself against the wall, her heart racing. The footsteps grew closer, accompanied by murmuring voices.

Cerise's grip on Rosemary tightened, her eyes fixed on the mouth of the alley. She dared not turn and run, fearing the sound of her footsteps would alert their pursuers to their location. She felt helpless, her mind racing for a solution that wouldn't put her sister in more danger.

The footsteps stopped at the foot of the alley, just outside of sight. The murmuring voices grew louder, and Cerise made out a few words that sent chills down her spine.

The footsteps started again, closing in on Cerise's hiding spot, and she realized too late that they'd been discovered. Before she could react, strong hands grabbed her, pulling her and Rosemary away from the wall. A scream ripped from her throat as she struggled to get free.

The men held her tightly, their grips bruising on her arms. She cried out, but the sound was lost in the driving rain.

"Cerise! Snap out of it!"

Jio's voice shattered the dark memories that had consumed Cerise, jolting her back to reality. Instinctively, she flung a knife she'd been holding onto the cutting board, aimed straight at him. The blade went straight through the air, but Jio dodged it just in time, narrowly avoiding a serious injury. The knife nicked his cheek instead, drawing a line of blood down his skin.

"Are you okay?" Jio asked, his voice calm and steady despite the steady trickle of blood on his face. Cerise's eyes widened in shock, realizing what she had done. But before she could say anything, Jio raised a hand to stop her. "It's just a small cut." he reassured her. "I'm fine."

Cerise shook her head, refusing to let the matter drop. "No, we need to clean it up first. It's still bleeding." she insisted. But before Jio could protest, Cerise had already turned on her heel and walked away to grab the first aid kit.

When she returned, first aid kit in hand, Cerise found Jio still standing in the same spot. His expression was guarded, but there was a flicker of something else in his eyes, some emotion that Cerise couldn't quite place.

Cerise began to clean the cut on Jio's cheek, she could feel the tension between them. But neither of them spoke, the silent only broken by the occasional hiss from Jio as Cerise applied the antiseptic to the wound.

As Cerise tended to his wound, Jio's attention was momentarily distracted by her physical appearance. Her eyes, a deep shade of purple as if they held the secrets of the night sky, contrasted beautifully with her soft, beige hair that was reminiscent of a gentle sandy hue, and Jio found himself sneaking glances at her face. Suddenly, conscious of his staring, he shook his head and focused on the present.

Jio cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "You know, you have some great aim." he said, trying to keep his tone light. "I could've sworn you aimed that knife right at my nose earlier."

Cerise chuckled softly, still focused on her task. "I guess I got lucky." she replied, continuing to clean the cut. "Although, I wasn't really aiming for your nose. I was just—" Her voice trailed off as she paused, her expression clouding over momentarily.

Jio picked up on her sudden change in demeanor and frowned. "Just what?" he pressed, his eyes studying her face carefully.

Cerise hesitated, her hand stilling on Jio's cheek. "It's nothing." she said after a moment, her voice sounding almost forced. "I just got lost in thought, that's all." She dabbed a cotton ball with antiseptic and resumed cleaning the cut.

Jio wasn't convinced. He could see that something was clearly bothering her, but he also knew that pushing too hard would only make her clam up. So he waited, letting the silence stretch out as she finished cleaning the wound.

Once she was done, Cerise put down the cotton ball and reached for a bandage. She applied it carefully over the cut, her fingers lingering on his skin for a few seconds longer than necessary. Jio couldn't help but notice, his heart quickening slightly at the touch.

As she finished, Cerise stepped back, her eyes avoiding his. Jio could tell that she was trying to distance herself, trying to hide from him. But he wasn't about to let her get away with such a weak explanation. He reached out and gently touched her chin, turning her face towards him. Her gaze met his, and he could see the mixture of emotions swirling in her eyes. "What's going on, Cerise?" he asked quietly.

Cerise hesitated for a moment, her eyes searching his face. Jio could see the struggle on her expression, the silent battle between the need to confide in someone and the desire to keep her secrets hidden. He waited, his thumb tracing small, soothing circles on her jaw.

Finally, she let out a sigh, her shoulders sagging with the weight of her burdens. "It's just... complicated." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "There are things about me, that I'm not ready to talk about yet. Not even to you."

Jio stared at her with understanding and empathy in his eyes, holding her hand gently. He tried to convey through his touch that she could trust him, that he was someone she could confide in.

Cerise shook her head, "You remember what I said about us moving here to Grandma's farm to start a new life?" she asked. "That is true, but there's more to it than that. The reason why we had to leave our old lives behind is..."

She paused, her expression darkening as she struggled to continue. Jio gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, encouraging her to go on.

After a deep breath, Cerise continued, her voice tinged with bitterness. "The environment we used to live in was dangerous and toxic." she admitted. "It was a miserable place, and we both knew we couldn't stay any longer. I couldn't let Rosemary grow up in that hellhole, and I had to keep us both safe."

Jio nodded, his expression grave as he listened intently.

"So, I made a plan.", Cerise continued, her voice firm. "A plan to escape and make a fresh start somewhere new. It took years of planning, working in secret, all while doing my best to stay sane and keep Rosemary safe."

She paused briefly, memories of the struggle they had endured flashing in her mind.

Then, Jio gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, wanting to offer her some comfort. "Cerise..." he said softly. "You don't have to tell me the details if you're not ready yet. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, whatever you need."

Cerise glanced down at their joined hands, then back up at him. She could see the genuine concern and understanding in his eyes, and it warmed her heart a little.

She gave him a small, bittersweet smile. "Thanks," she murmured. "I just... I need a little more time before I can talk about it. But I want you to know that I do trust you, Jio."

Jio's heart swelled with both emotions. It was both painful and exhilarating to know that she trusted him, but it also hurt to see her struggling to share her burden. All he wanted to do was to take her pain away, but he knew that these things couldn't be rushed.

"Take all the time you need," he replied, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here whenever you're ready."

Cerise let out a shaky breath, the weight of her secrets feeling a little lighter with Jio's reassurance. She nodded slightly, appreciating his patience and understanding.

Then she let out a small chuckle, trying to shake off the heavy atmosphere. "Right." she said, looking back at the forgotten chocolate project. "Let's finish up. Can't leave them to make themselves, can we?"

Jio couldn't help but sneak a glance at her face as she spoke, his eyes taking in the gentle slope of her nose, the curve of her lips, and the warmth in her eyes. Even in the midst of her pain, she was undeniably beautiful to him.

Cerise continued working on the chocolates, her hands moving with a gentle, practiced ease as she prepared the molds and filled them with the still-warm chocolate mixture. Jio watched her from his seat, his gaze lingering on her face and hands, admiring the way she worked. The concentration in her expression, the skillful precision of her movements, the way she bit her lip in focus... All of these things only made her more enchanting to him.

He wished he could help her but he also knew that his rough hands were ill-suited for this kind of delicate work, so he settled for admiring her from a distance, content just to watch and be near her. The room was quiet except for the gentle clinking of spoons and the soft sounds of stirring, and Jio found himself completely captivated by her presence.

As the hours passed and the chocolates were finally completed, he reluctantly broke the silence. "Looks like they're done." he said, rising from his seat.

Cerise smiled at him, wiping her hands on a towel. "Yeah, they are," she said. "Now, they just need to cool and set before we can taste them."

After the chocolates were set aside to cool, Jio found his thoughts drifting back to their conversation earlier in the day. The way she had opened up just a little, the sorrow and pain in her eyes when she spoke about her past...

Jio had been initially suspicious of Cerise when she first arrived in town, but now, after hearing her story, his suspicions had quieted somewhat. He still didn't know the full details of her past, but the fact that she had trusted him enough to share any part of it had shifted something within him.

'Whatever it is she's hiding.', he thought to himself,

Jio looked over at Cerise, who was cleaning up the mess from their chocolate-making session. Her expression was distant, lost in thought, and Jio wondered how much more there was to her story that he didn't know.

But for now, he would be patient. He would let her set the pace and share what she was ready to share.

He stood up and approached her, a small smile on his face. "Need any help with that?" he asked, gesturing to the spilled sugar and dirty bowls scattered across the counter.

Cerise looked up at Jio, a grateful smile spreading across her face. "Thanks." she said, stepping aside to let him help. Together they cleaned up the mess, working silently side by side. There was a comfortable familiarity in the simplicity of the task, and Jio found himself enjoying the closeness he felt to Cerise in this moment.

As they finished tidying up, Jio brushed a stray lock of hair away from Cerise's face, his fingers lingering on her cheek for just a second longer than necessary.

"All done." he said softly, his gaze on her face. She met his eyes, her expression soft and open, and for a moment, they just stood there, mere inches apart, caught in a private moment that felt both vulnerable and electrifying.

Suddenly, the peaceful moment was shattered by the sound of the front door banging open, followed by a cheerful cry from Rosemary. "I'm home!"

Jio nearly jumped out of his skin at her loud entrance, while Cerise just chuckled and headed towards the living room to greet her younger sister.

"Hey, welcome back." Cerise said as she approached Rosemary, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Rosemary, oblivious to the tension she had just interrupted, beamed up at her older sister, holding out a basket filled with freshly harvested crops. "Look what I got today!"

Jio had followed them into the living room, his irritation at the interruption mingled with a grudging fondness for the young girl. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Rosemary proudly showed off the contents of her basket, it was filled with a variety of monster crops, each one more vibrant and thriving than the last.

"I collected a bunch of monster crop seeds from the Highlands." she explained, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is my first harvest! I'm gonna take some back to give to Lance for his research."

Jio's irritation at the interruption faded slightly as he listened to Rosemary's enthusiasm. The girl had a natural talent for farming, and her dedication to the land was admirable. He found himself softening just a little.

Cerise smiled at her sister's excitement, sharing in her sense of accomplishment. "That's great, Rosemary." she said, patting her on the head. "I'm sure Lance will be thrilled to get these samples."

Rosemary beamed at the praise, her cheeks flushed with happiness. "I hope so! I want to help him as much as I can."

Jio is leaning against the wall, couldn't help a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The girl's enthusiasm was infectious, even if she had interrupted a very... interesting moment between him and Cerise.

With Rosemary still chattering about her successful harvest, Cerise looked over at Jio and gave him a knowing glance. She mouthed an apology for the interruption, her expression sheepish and apologetic.

Jio shrugged in response, his irritation fading. He could hardly stay mad when Rosemary was so excited, and he was secretly glad for the distraction. Maybe it was a good thing that the moment between him and Cerise had been interrupted... for now, at least.

𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜

"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭."

Summary: As a weary and battered Farmer Rosemary finally reached the summit of Mount Kohldur, the last thing she expected was to meet a handsome stranger. His sudden appearance startled her, and she reacted without thinking, chucking a bomb in his direction.

The morning sun glistened over the rolling waves, casting a warm glow over the lush vegetation of Ginger Island. The air was thick with humidity and the distant cries of exotic birds echoed through the trees. Mount Kohldur towered majestically in the distance, its smoking peak shrouded in misty clouds. It was a sight that filled Rosemary with anticipation, but also with a tinge of trepidation.

The climb up the mountain had been gruelling but Rosemary persevered, driven by her thirst for adventure. As she finally made it to the top, she let out a sigh of exhaustion, her body weary but her spirit soaring with accomplishment. However, her moment of triumph was shattered by the sudden appearance of someone infront her.

Startled, Rosemary instinctively grabbed her sword and tossed a bomb, thinking it was just another monster from the volcano dungeons she'd fought earlier. However, the figure swiftly dodged the makeshift explosive and chuckled.

"Whoa! Calm down." the stranger said, approaching her cautiously. "I'm just a friend."

Recognizing that the newcomer was not a threat, Rosemary lowered her sword, feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, still trying to catch her breath. "I mistook you for a monster. The climb up here was... intense."

The stranger grinned, a warm smile lighting up his face. "Ah, no worries." he said, his voice smooth and confident. "I understand the confusion. The creatures from this place can be quite relentless. But may I say, you've made quite an achievement, scaling this mountain all by yourself. You must be a very ambitious and determined person."

The stranger stepped closer, his movements as fluid as a jungle cat's. "You know, few adventurers have managed to reach the summit of Mount Kohldur." he said, his eyes never leaving hers. "It was once the site of a great dwarf kingdom or so they say. Your achievement is certainly worthy of admiration."

Rosemary felt a flutter in her chest at the sound of his voice, almost like hearing angels somewhere. She tried to regain her composure, though it was hard with him standing so close. "Thank you." she managed to say, her words coming out a bit breathless. "Um, who are you?"

The stranger chuckled, his smile growing wider. "Ah, where are my manners?" he said. "I'm Lance, from The First Slash Clan. We're a guild of adventurers protecting the Fern Islands. Marlon spoke quite highly of you, said you're quite proficient with a weapon."

Rosemary felt a small jolt of surprise. She'd heard of The First Slash Clan, but she never expected to meet one of its members up here, on a remote island. And Marlon had mentioned her? 'To this handsome adventurer?', she suddenly wished she had made a better first impression.

"Oh, I see." she managed to say, trying to sound casual. "It's nice to meet you, Lance."

'Oh great, that was eloquent. Can someone just toss me back down the mountain at this rate?'

Lance's smile didn't waver, seemingly enjoying the effect he had on her. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Rosemary." he replied. "You're... not quite what I expected. Younger than I thought you'd be, for one."

'Damn it!' "Yeah, I get that a lot." she said with a nervous chuckle. 'Oh man, I'm grinning like a teenage girl meeting her favorite boy band. He's going to think I'm such an idiot.'

Lance chuckled again, a deep, rich sound that sent shivers down Rosemary's spine. "Well, your age doesn't diminish your skill with a weapon. Marlon mentioned you're quite the formidable fighter."

"I, uh, try my best, I suppose." she replied, feeling her cheeks warm up again. 'Great, now I'm blushing like a fool. Thanks for the compliment, Marlon... I think.'

"I look forward to witnessing it for myself." Lance said, his gaze still fixed on her. "But first, you must be famished. Come with me, I'll share my dinner, don't worry, I have plenty for both of us."

'Oh man, he's so smooth. How can he say stuff like that without even blinking?' "Thank you." she said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "Lead the way."

Lance nodded and began leading the way. As they walked, he spoke casually about the island, its wildlife and history. Rosemary tried to keep up with the conversation, but it was hard to focus with him so close, their shoulders occasionally brushing against each other. His voice was like honey, smooth and soothing, and she found her mind wandering to places she didn't expect.

Soon they reached a small clearing, where Lance had set up a simple camp. There was a fire burning, and several provisions laid out nearby. "Here we are." he said, gesturing to the campfire. "Sit, make yourself comfortable."

Rosemary sat down, trying not to focus on the way her heart raced. 'Get it together, he's just a guy. A very good-looking, charming, smooth-talking guy...'

Lance joined her beside the fire, handing her a bowl of stew. The aroma was mouth-watering, and the warmth from the flames felt soothing on her weary muscles. She took a spoonful, savoring the rich taste as she tried to keep her hands from shaking.

As they ate, the conversation continued, shifting between various topics. Lance seemed genuinely interested in her life back in Pelican Town, and Rosemary found herself opening up more than usual. He was easy to talk to, his questions never feeling like an interrogation, more like earnest curiosity.

The night deepened, the sky now dotted with stars. The fire crackled and flickered, casting dancing shadows on their faces. Rosemary found herself enjoying the peacefulness of the moment, the silence between them not uncomfortable but strangely soothing.

Lance finished his meal and leaned back, looking up at the clear night sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?", he said, his voice soft. "The stars, the peace of the night."

Rosemary looked up at the canopy of stars above them, feeling a strange sort of peace wash over her. "Yeah." she agreed, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's… mesmerizing, in a way."

The sound of the night insects blending with the crackle of the fire created a soothing background noise. In the firelight, Lance's sharp features were illuminated, making him look even more striking. The silence between them was comfortable, broken only by the occasional crackle from the fire or the distant hoot of an owl.

Lance looked over at Rosemary, watching the way the firelight played across her face. "You know, you're different from most adventurers I've met." he said, breaking the silence.

Rosemary looked over at him, surprised by the sudden comment. "Different how?" she asked, her mind immediately going to her secret.

Lance tilted his head, studying her. "You're... less brash, I guess," he said thoughtfully. "Most adventurers I've met are confident to the point of arrogance. But you... you seem more reserved. More thoughtful."

Rosemary wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or worried. His observations were scarily accurate. "Guess I just have a different approach." she said with a shrug, carefully hiding her uneasiness.

Lance didn't seem convinced but didn't press further, which Rosemary was thankful for. Instead, he changed the topic, asking her about her hobbies back in Pelican Town. The conversation drifted into a lighter territory, and they found themselves laughing about various silly things. The tension from before had slightly lifted.

As the night wore on, Rosemary found herself relaxing in Lance's company. He was not just an attractive man, but intelligent and thoughtful as well. Their banter was easy, flowing from one topic to another smoothly. Every now and then, their eyes would meet, and she'd feel a flutter in her chest, or a blush creeping up her cheeks.

As the night grew later, Rosemary realized she needed to return to Pelican Town. "Thanks for the company.", she said, standing up reluctantly. "But I should get going. My sister Cerise is waiting for me back at our farm."

Lance stood up as well, looking at her with a hint of disappointment. "I see." he said, a small sigh escaping him. "Well, I enjoyed your company. It's... been a long time since I've had such a relaxed evening."

Rosemary felt a pang of guilt at the disappointment in his voice, not wanting to leave yet. But she couldn't stay here forever. "Me too." she said, smiling slightly. "Maybe we'll see each other again sometime?"

Lance returned her smile. "I hope so. You're not easy to forget, Rosemary." he said. He seemed to want to say more, but he just shook his head, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

Rosemary felt a flutter in her chest at his words. "Well… Goodnight then, Lance." she said, turning to go. Her heart felt heavy with a strange mix of excitement and regret.

"Goodnight, Rosemary." Lance called after her. "Take care."

The walk down the mountain was much colder than the walk up. Rosemary wrapped her arms around herself, not just from the cold. Her mind was filled with thoughts, most of which she didn't quite know what to do with. The journey to the docks was short but felt long. Every shadow, every sound of the night made her heart jump. Her thoughts kept going back to Lance, to his smile, to his voice. It was all so confusing, so… unfamiliar.

Reaching the docks, she found the boat that would take her back to Pelican Town. The ride back was a blur; her mind too occupied with thoughts of Lance and the strange evening they'd shared. As the boat docked in Pelican Town, Rosemary walked slowly back to her farm. It was late, and the town was quiet, everyone asleep. A part of her wished she could just stay awake and let the night go on, if it meant delaying the reality of the morning.

Opening the door to her farmhouse, she found Cerise sitting by the fireplace, reading a book.

Cerise looked up, surprised to see Rosemary there. "You're back." she said, setting her book aside. "I was getting worried."

"Yeah." Rosemary replied, trying to sound casual. "I lost track of time, I guess."

She sat down on the couch, her mind still spinning with thoughts of Lance.

Cerise looked at her sister, noticing her distracted state. "So, how was Ginger Island? Did you finally reach the top of that volcano?"

Rosemary nodded, her mind still elsewhere. "Yeah, I made it." she said, looking at the fire. "It was... quite the climb."

Cerise narrowed her eyes, sensing that something was off. "You seem distracted." she said bluntly. "What happened up there?"

Rosemary's eyes widened slightly as she was pulled out of her thoughts. "It's... nothing, really." she said, the words sounding unconvincing even to her own ears. "I met someone, that's all."

Cerise raised an eyebrow. "You met someone?" she repeated, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Who?"

"His name is Lance," Rosemary answered, her voice almost a whisper. "He's a part of The First Slash Clan. Marlon mentioned me to him, I guess."

Cerise's expression changed from surprise to curiosity. "A member of The First Slash Clan, huh? Interesting. So... did y'all get along?"

"Yeah, yeah, we... we got along fine." Rosemary said quickly, trying to sound casual. "We just had dinner together, talked, that sort of thing..."

"Just that?" Cerise pressed further. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

"No, of course not." Rosemary said, a little too quickly. The image of Lance's smile flashed through her mind, triggering a flutter in her chest. "We just... talked, enjoyed the night, that's all."

Cerise studied her sister for a moment, her sharp eyes not missing the way Rosemary fidgeted in her seat. "Rosemary." she said, her tone suddenly serious. "Are you crushing on this man?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Rosemary protested, her voice a pitch higher than usual. "I just... I just think he's nice, y'know, intelligent, charming... that's all!"

Cerise chuckled, her voice taking a protective tone. "As much as I'm glad to see my sister having her first love life." she said, "Just be careful, okay? I don't care if he's from the First Slash Clan. Remember, I killed a man twice a normal man's size. Don't forget it."

Rosemary found herself sweating slightly, chuckling nervously. She knew Cerise was fiercely protective, and she was under no delusion that her sister wouldn't make good on her threat if needed.

Cerise's eyes were a mixture of warning and humor. "I'm serious, sister. I trust you have good judgment, but I don't like seeing you all flustered over a man. Especially one from a guild of adventurers. They're not exactly known for settling down."

"I know." Rosemary said, a hint of defensiveness in her voice. "It's just... he's different. I can't explain it. When we were up on the mountain top, talking, it was... I don't know, comforting, I guess."

Cerise chuckled, her voice betraying a sense of anticipation. "Well, I'll be the judge of that once I see him." she said.

Rosemary chuckled in response, well aware of her sister's protective instincts. "I know, sis, I know how you are. But anyway, how was your trip to Ridgeside Village?"

Cerise softened at the change of topic. "It was lovely." she said, a hint of fondness in her voice. "So many unique people. I even visited the outskirts of the town. But I stumbled upon this elf guy…"

Rosemary leaned forward slightly, her curiosity piqued. "An elf guy?" she repeated, her mind already picturing an image of the pointy-eared forest-dweller. "What was he like?"

Cerise's face lit up at the memory. "He was all dressed in ninja outfit, his mouth covered but his eyes... they were really something. A striking shade of green, like emeralds." she said, grinning. "Even with the mask covering the lower half of his face, I could tell he was quite handsome. Those sharp, green eyes and the rest of his features that were exposed left no doubt in my mind."

Rosemary smiled, picturing the scene. "Sounds intriguing." she said, her mind drifting to the image of the mysterious elf. "Did you talk to him?"

Cerise nodded. "Yeah, a bit. He was a bit on the quiet side, though. But he was polite. Had this air of mystery around him. I must say I found him quite charming." she admitted, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips. "His name is Jio, and despite being polite, I must say he was quite wary of me. Being a stranger and all. But he sure did pique my interest. Something about him... he seems to have a lot going on under that ninja attire of his."

Rosemary looked intrigued, her mind picturing the mysterious Jio. "A ninja with secrets, eh? Sounds right up your alley." she teased, knowing her sister's affinity for the mysterious types.

Cerise grinned, not denying her sister's point. "Can't help it if intriguing characters catch my eye." she said, her tone nonchalant. "And something tells me Jio is more than just a skilled warrior. There's a depth to him that's hard to ignore."

Rosemary chuckled, amused by her sister's infatuation. "Just be careful, sis. You know how dangerous it can be falling for the mysterious, brooding type."

Cerise mock-rolled her eyes. "Please, I can handle myself." she said, her tone confident. "Besides, who's to say I'm falling? I just find him... interesting, that's all."

Rosemary only chuckled and rolled her eyes. "It's only been a day and already we've encountered two very interesting men." she said, a hint of humor in her voice. "Is this a coincidence or is fate just playing with us?"

Cerise cracked a smile, sharing her sister's amusement. "Who knows?" she said lightly. "But one thing's for sure, our lives are about to get a whole lot more interesting."

The two sisters shared a moment of silent understanding, their minds swirling with new thoughts and feelings. As they went their separate ways for the night. Cerise to her room and Rosemary to hers. They were each lost in their own worlds of dreams, hopes, and questions.

As the farmhouse settled in silence, the only sound being the crackle of the dying fireplace and the occasional hoot of an owl outside, one thing was certain: their lives were about to take a surprising turn.

𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜

"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."

Hey there, Mousey! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

I saw your ask box is open, and I just couldn't resist the urge to send you a request. The way you write stories related to SDV and its mods is so captivating and reading them always brings me a sense of joy. Keep up the incredible work, and don't forget to take care of yourself.

Anywho, here is my request. Do you remember the assassin fanfic I requested before? The one about how the mages and adventurers react to the Farmer's past as a runaway assassin. Well, I thought it would be interesting to see how the RSV Bachelors & Bachelorettes would react if they discovered their spouse is a former assassin who now wants to lead a peaceful life with their younger sibling. I can just picture a funny idea that Farmer wanted to get away from anything related to assassin stuffs and they just suddenly married someone who is an assassin from The Cult, how ironic. Also, I'm thinking of maybe make the farmer as a female.

One more headcanon about Farmer as former assassin for you :3 Glad to see you again, and thanks for your kind words and for the ask! 💖

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Daia and Jio felt sorry for Farmer. Not only was her childhood taken away to teach her how to do dirty jobs, fight and kill (Daia knows better than anyone what it's like), but the bad guys did it too. Both cult members kill corrupt politics and monsters, and Farmer had to work for those worse than the monsters. This also explains to the grumpy elf how the simple farmer was able to masterfully deal with Gabriella's henchmen. Nevertheless, both admire Farmer's endurance and sacrifice for the sake of her siblings. Daia promises to help Farmer if the mafia members show up, and Jio promises himself that he'll stab the bastards in the neck with his katana.

Tears would start streaming down Ysabelle, Alissa, Flor and Irene's cheeks, and the girls would whimper quietly. How can people be so cruel and disgusting - intimidating a literal child, making them do nasty jobs, threatening her younger siblings if she start to protest. The girls' hearts are broken into a thousand shards, and they don't know what to do. Flor and Irene will silently hug Farmer as they continue to cry, and Ysabelle can calm herself down. All of yours will comfort Farmer and tell her that she's the best older sister for her younger siblings, for not abandoning them and fighting for their freedom and her own.

Blair, Faye and Maddie will also start crying, but loudly, kicking grass, empty soda cans - anything that gets under their feet, cursing bandits and mobs as hard as they can. Roaring and cursing (not at Farmer, of course), and when they run out of strength after the rage, the lab assistant and the fisherwoman throw themselves on Farmer's neck, sobbing. If the Farmer needs help, she can rely on her friends.

Fuck... Bryle knows Farmer! He was familiar with the case, as members of the mob had once tried to organize an assassination attempt on the Governor before. He wasn't working as a bodyguard at the time, but he had studied the gang and their past so there wouldn't be another assassination attempt. And he remembers there was a kid. It... was HER? Oh, Yoba, that's fucked up... He's sorry. No, he's not giving them up. Bryle realizes she was forced to do this. He's given fair warning tho, that if Farmer's past is revealed, his hands will be tied. But he promises to protect Farmer's siblings and help her through the situation as much he can.

Sean, Philip, Ian, and Jeric first thought Farmer was talking about her role as an 'assassin' in some TV show, and immediately got excited. Philip even started asking if it was from his favorite TV show, which was an adaptation of the comic book. But when Farmer explained that she was hiding from the real mafia, the smiles on all the men's faces fell instantly. How.. is this possible. Yoba, that's horrible... They're glad that Farmer was able to free herself from those bastards and save the siblings, but... What if the mafia members come here for revenge? They want to help Farmer, but none of these candidates know exactly how.

Paula, Kenneth, Shiro, and Corine listened intently to Farmer, from beginning to end, when it all started, how her parents were killed by mobs, and how she did the dirty jobs of criminals until her escape. After the story was over, each of them would hug them silently, comforting Farmer. Paulo and Corine are very combative personalities, and are ready to help in any way they can if one of the tourist who's visited the Valley, turns out to be their former "coworker", Kenneth as well. Shiro isn't too confident in his abilities due to his injury, but vows that he will protect her siblings just as he would protect his family.

Zayne is.. speechless. He's heard that the Republic Mafia is known for their cold-blooded methods and bribing important people (they even tried to bribe/intimidate his Grandfather once! With no luck). But this... Words cannot express to the future head of the Amethyne family how sorry he is for what happened to Farmer and her sisters/brothers. If the bandits show up here, then let Farmer feel free to ask Zayne for help. She and her siblings are to him as family, and whoever infringes on his family may regret bitterly... Everything will be legal, of course, or else he'll be no better those bandits.

June was familiar with members of the mafia. No, he didn't do business with them, nor did he intend to, but some of the mobs were fans of the music gang he was a member of. One had even had him play a solo at mob's birthday party, but only because the pianist was afraid of the mob's wrath if he refused. Luckily, he and his gang were able to move far away from them, and he's glad that Farmer was able to escape them too. He's afraid to even imagine what his friend had to go through to keep her siblings alive and save.

Kiarra and Anton nearly choked on air once the meaning of Farmer's words reached them. How? How did this even happen? Kiara would especially resent Farmer's parents for dragging their own family into a criminal organization. Anton, on the other hand, would stare silently into his mug of cider, not knowing how to react or how to comfort Farmer. They in no way blame Farmer and will offer a helping hand if she need help caring for her siblings.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗽𝗮'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿... "

I hope you're proud of me, Grandpa! 😔

(Finally! I finished the Mastery Cave. I find it hilarious that I still haven't finish Perfection but I finish this one. Need to complete the Monster Slayer one.)

I just had a random idea to combine two of my favorite fandoms, Stardew Valley and Bungou Stray Dogs.

Headcanon:

One of my farmers, Cerise, used to be an assassin in the Port Mafia until she grew tired with everyone's bullshit and decided to escape that life. She fled Yokohama with her sister and relocate in Stardew Valley.

Cerise now owns one of her late grandfather's farm areas. Her farm specializes in chocolate making, wines, and cultivating a horticulture of fairy crops.

(Yes. I use mods)

Aleia: How the fuck is this sweet kind woman a former assassin!?

Thalia: Sweet but terrifying.

Rosemary: *already knows about it*

Mousey, I'm sure you've done the reaction of the vanilla and expanded spouses to the farmer's curse from Mr. Qi, but how about the rsv spouses? I'd be curious to see what they'd do about it ~~especially you know who *wink wink nudge nudge*~~ Also ngl I've been trying to come up with more silly ships with the vanilla and mod characters and having a blast in my mind. I've been throwing in Isaac, Jadu, Camilla, and Alesia there too for good measure because I think Isaac especially would suffer with certain characters 😂 istg it's like I'm a dog and he's my chewing toy

Hehee, I wouldn't mind hearing what other funny ships you have in mind 👀👀👀

Sorry for a long reply, it turned out WAY more than I had planned. Anyway, enjoy some headcanon, Lotus! And have a great day! 💕

RSV spouses react to the Qi fruit:

_________________________________________

Ian had been standing still for about two minutes now, keeping his eyes on the strange blue fruit that was ripening in the Farmer's seedbed. Because he could have sworn that the fruit winked at him.... with 'glasses'! And the handyman thought he'd seen it again. But at the third minute, Ian gave up and reckoned he was just wasting time. "I really don't understand anything about farming," Ian told Farmer, kissed them, and went to work.

Daia isn't the type to be surprised by strange magical fruits, flowers and berries. The Ridge Forest alone is filled with interesting plants with unusual properties. But this 'Qi' fruit... Hmph, even she hadn't seen anything like it. Being around this smirking blue fruit makes the ninja feel a tingling sensation on her skin - a sure sign that magic is involved. Oh, she can't wait to ask her dear Farmer to give her the fruit to examine, because she's so curious about it! She wondered if it would interest her Lady too...

"Wow... I knew you are a true professional at farming, hon, but to do something like this..." Honestly, Jeric was delighted at what his partner had grown and horrified at what his partner had grown. Because on the one hand - fruit with a face and sunglasses, that's awesome! And on the other hand.... why? He certainly wouldn't have imagined something like this on his own little farm in Ridgeside Village. And it's unlikely he had the knowledge to grow something like this. "....So, what does it taste like?"

Bryle was ashamed to admit it, but the first thing he did when he stepped onto the farmhouse porch was reflexively draw his service weapon and prepare to defend himself. Because the Governor's slightly sleepy bodyguard mistook the blue-faced crops in sunglasses for invaders or even dark spirits. Having already recovered from his shock and seeing the calm Farmer watering this very crop, Bryle felt that by asking what it was, he would get more questions than answers. So he was like: "Nope, not today" and went back to the farmhouse.

When some time ago Irene had only seen the sprouts with the not yet formed blue fruit, she was even intrigued to see what kind of 'unusual fruit' Farmer had planted and what the crop would taste like. Sweet, or maybe with sour notes? Only when she got the ripe fruit on the kitchen table, the Amethyne's personal chef was no longer so enthusiastic. This... fruits looks like a head and was looking at her. Irene's afraid to even touch the 'Qi' fruit, much less taste it. Her Madame would definitely not want such an.... exotic crop for dinner.

Sean decided it would be a hilarious to wreak havoc in the local social media groups with this fruit. So, with Farmer's permission, he took a picture of the ripened 'Qi fruit', posted the picture to social media without any description, and waited. An hour and a half in and Sean and Farmer were dying of laughter reading people's reactions, all sorts of conspiracy about the harvest and even memes (lol). He was also hoping someone would leave a comment about what the fruit was, because Farmer's explanation of "blue fruit from blue seeds from a blue man" wasn't a very clear answer.

"Alissa, my dear. What is this?" Alissa can't give a clear answer to her mother when she shows her the unusual fruit. It seems to Alissa that her dear spouse Farmer themself does not know the answer to this question. The girl was utterly perplexed, and neither her own knowledge of farming, nor a single book from the library about crops, helped her to find the answer. She hoped that Farmer had not used something harmful to grow this fruit...

"What's this abomination growing in your garden? Why is there foreign magic coming from that thing?" Jio is in full earnest preparing for a defensive pose with his katana, because that 'Qi' fruit looks like it's about to pounce on him and Farmer. Elf doesn't trust this crop, whatever it is in the first place. And when asked how Farmer grew this stuff in the first place, the answer struck Jio like lightning. "You... took strange seeds from a suspicious man and thought it would be a great idea to plant them?" Yeah, It's going to be a long conversation...

Not even strength and persuasion from Farmer will be enough to keep their spouse Maddie from her determination to get into the Water Research Facility & Laboratory with this strange fruit. Because the ginger girl has to find out what it is in the first place! After all, the lab assistant was also watching the process of the Qi fruit's growth, for she was curious about what Farmer was growing. And when the already ripe fruit showed its face with sunglasses, Maddie wants to show it to Aguar to see how to even classify it. Sigh, not Aguar, if he found out there was magic involved...

"Whoa... So creepy... It's like some kind of comic book villain." Phillip kept twisting and twisting the "Qi" fruit in his hands, looking at the "face" of the crop, and even tried to take off the "glasses". It didn't work, however, because it was like they were super glued on. Oh, well. And although the physical therapist is eager to find out what this miracle fruit tastes like, he still wants to take precautions and find some information about the Qi fruit, because maybe it's poisonous???

Blair nearly died laughing when she saw the face of the ripe blue fruit. "Yoba, what a bogeyman!" And how on earth did her partner Farmer manage to grow a fruit with a face like that? Oh, she wants to take a few if Farmer agrees. To taste it? No, the young fisherwoman had thought of a more fun use for this crop.... Such an ugly fruit would definitely be a good way to prank Keahi for the last prank, hee hee hee... Just a harmless joke, Blair promises!

...Anton thought at first that he hadn't fully woken up in the morning, and that he had just imagined a blue face on the kitchen table. Except that when the architect came back from the bathroom already fresh and invigorated from a cold shower, the face had not disappeared from the kitchen table. ...Ok, and then what? How should he even react? And should he even be reacting to this? Because Farmer is not perplexed by the strange fruit in any way, they treat it like a normal apple or banana. ...Alright, then. Anton silently hopes he doesn't get "sunglasses" from this fruit in his portion of salad.

Well done, Farmer, just great! Making Flor nearly faint because they decided to put some ripe Qi fruit on the dinner table before going to bed, without warning the red-haired spouse for doing so. The poor, sleepy girl wanted to drink a glass of water at midnight, but she ended up throwing it all on the floor and screaming, mistaking the fruit for human heads. Now Farmer is ashamed now... And rightly so - they shouldn't scare Flor like that!

Kiarra's face twisted at what she saw. "Honey, you didn't use any fertiliser or seeds from Joja, right? You didn't take anything from them?" Her first guess as to the origin of this strange fruit was immediately the much disliked greedy company with the blue logo. Joja always like to spoil pump vegetables and fruits with all sorts of harmful substances of unknown origin to make them bigger, and as a consequence - to sell them for more money. Even when Farmer explained to her that it wasn't Joja, the girl still remained sceptical. Because it's... not natural. Something is wrong.

Zayne thought that it would be at least tactless and rude of him to voice his first thought out loud when Farmer presented them with the 'fruit of their labours'. Especially since he loved his spouse and knew what a wonderful farmer they are, unrivalled in the entire Republic. But... What is it? The Amethyne family heir has seen some rather unusual and sometimes even strange delicacies on his own dinner table and on the tables of other noble families. But a fruit with a face... Someone, who apparently ordered Farmer to grow the fruit just so, has... a very specific flavour.

"Ew," was Ysabelle's only reaction, and to be honest - many would have agreed with her conclusion about the blue fruit with the snickering face and sunglasses. Even Farmer didn't argue with their partner's opinion about it. Really, ew (no offence, Mr. Qi). The girl simultaneously wants to ask what this fruit is and doesn't want to know anything about it, figuring it will be further questions than answers. People in the hotel have demanded stranger foods and delicacies, so the blue face fruit isn't too much of a shock to her. But still - ew.

"Hmm, why the face?" How does Farmer know, Paula? When they took the assignment from a, ahem, familiar person, they had no idea that the 'Qi fruit' would turn out to be exactly like this - a bit creepy, with a human face (but cool glasses!). The military medic wasn't too surprised by this weird crop (she'd seen much stranger food), and if the fruit wasn't poisonous and wasn't an allergy sufferer's worst nightmare, why not give it a try. "Heh, I wonder if anyone would dare to try this food on a dare"

"No, thank you, my soul. I'm good with an apple," June politely declined as Farmer, having harvested a ripe crop from the greenhouse, brought June a whole basket of different fruits and berries from all seasons to the farmhouse. His favourite apples, strawberries, oranges, pomegranate, a blue fruit with a face- Wait, what? Did he see that right? Yeah, the pianist's eyesight was not deceiving him. Later, he'll be asking Farmer questions about the blue weird fruit. In the meantime, he just wants to enjoy the apple.

When Faye thought of fresh fruit salad, she imagined cutting up a juicy and sweet mango, a ripe, with the sour notes pineapple, a delicious banana, and fill it up it with fresh orange juice. And at the sight of the Qi fruit, the waitress honestly lost her appetite. Is it... really a fruit? Why does it look so scary? It's also smiling... Oh, yuck! Farmer, that fruit winked at her! Brrr! No weird blue fruits on the dinning table, they're scary!

Shiro jumped up sharply, almost scalding hot, when he saw a field of a hundred blue smiling heads from the porch. Everywhere he turned his head, there they were: smiling, the light bouncing off their... Glasses? What the hell is that, anyway? "People want to buy fruit like that? With a scary face?" No, he's not going to try it, and the Farmer isn't advised to either. It doesn't look good, and it probably doesn't taste good anyway- No, Farmer, making this 'Qi' fruit into a smoothie isn't a good idea either... Just don't, please.

Corine never thought people could come up with something like this with crop. Well, she'd seen square watermelons, heart-shaped pears, and even star-shaped peaches on TV. But a melon-sized blue fruit that also had a human face..... Even she didn't expect that. Really, she doesn't understand why the Farmer glued it on. "Oh, I didn't glue the glasses on, dear, they grew with the fruit!" Sorry, the glasses did what?

"No offence, dear, but I'll probably pass." Oh, Farmer didn't grow this fruit for food, but for someone personally? Whew, what a relief... Um, Kenneth didn't mean to be rude or offend Farmer in any way, but the mere thought of that Qi fruit that very much resembled a head being cut with a knife made him cringe and disgusted. The inventor doesn't understand who needs fruit grown in this way, but he's not good at farming, so Kenneth will leave the matter to his spouse.

Humbly asking for your horny Jio rant (≧ω≦。)!!!!

(I am ravenous for even the smallest of crumbs)

Summary: [RSV] Jio NSFW Alphabet (I pick my favorite letters so nothing's in order!) Warning(s): 18+ filth (Im not holding back, y'all have been warned) Kinda nothing tbh I'm literally just spitting from the mouth and hoping it makes sense. Rough Sex + Dub-con(?) (In letter D but it's Jio's imagination), Side note(s): Oh girl/boy/sibling...ANON BUCKLE UP. I struggled writing this ngl, I could write a fucking essay about how much this man means to me but I didn't want to use a ask to just rant away so...this is like a normal NSFW ABC fic but with some humor (my horny rantings) sprinkled in so lol, be on the lookout for those.

quick side note ; to the poor unfortunate souls that may come across this post don't have a single fucking clue who Jio is. This is Jio from the RSV mod aka the man I'd willingly slut myself out to.

extra note alert ; Before we begin though, I want to make one thing really clear.

I'm biased as all hell toward Jio because I have the biggest thing for elves. Woman, man, doesn't matter to me. If they have pointy ears and are unusually attractive and tall, then I'm all in dude. So with that being said? Please believe me when I say that stars shot from my eye sockets when I learned this man was an elf.

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE BEST PART.

A = Aftercare (What they're like after sex)

Jio would be the king of aftercare. His dialogue already implies that him and farmer get freaky on the regular so he'll definitely ask you if you need any water or if anywhere is a little more sore than the usual (in which case, he's giving you a massage that puts professionals to shame). But if you say no to any of these and state that you'd rather just cuddle, he's pulling you closer to his body immediately and whispering sweet words to you as he pets your head until you go to sleep.

♡ - "Drink," The soft-spoken word made you steadily crack your eyes open before, through your hazy vision, you saw Jio standing over you with a cup of water in his hand. You snickered quietly to yourself as you propped yourself on your arm to take it, the crispy refreshing taste of the liquid going down your throat both hydrating you as well as giving your body a jolt of awakeness. And as a delicious ache ran through your body, particularly in-between your legs after you and Jio's love-making session.

Your cheeks started to darken and warm a little at the memory of what you and your husband had done only a few minutes ago. Something that Jio quickly picked up on as he smirked at the alluring sight of you growing more and more embarrassed from your own thoughts. "Something on your mind, my love?"

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner's)

Jio would definitely be proud of his muscles. There's a scene where the farmer openly gawks at him when he's meditating in his spouse area so I think after seeing his spouse so openly drool over him. He'd become more focused on his muscles when he trains and would definitely give the farmer a little show every now and again. As for the farmer, though? As cheesy as this response is, I think Jio would love every part of you, there's no part that he favors really because he thinks your literal being is a blessing in his eyes. This means there's definitely a lot of body worship during sex.

♡ - You felt like you were on cloud nine right now as Jio kissed every available surface area of skin on your body.

Each time his lips would ghost over your skin. The more your thighs twitched with the urge to clench if it weren't for your husband situating himself between them, his hand teasingly petting at your soaked cunt much to your dismay. "J-Jio..." You begged, the sound of your whiny voice making the elf throb in his pants before he looked up at you through hooded eyes. He placed one last kiss on your hand before he responded with a throaty "Yes"?

"Please..."

You hated how you felt yourself throb at the sight of him smirking at you, almost as if he were a fox who just an inch closer to capturing his prey. "Please what, my star?" He turned your hand over to press a kiss in the middle of your palm before he moved down to your stomach, kissing down and closer and closer to the area you wanted him most until he stopped again. "You have to be more specific, begging aimlessly won't get you anywhere."

You pouted. "T-There." You tried gesturing to your aching pussy by grinding forward against his clothed dick, eliciting a sharp hiss from him. Yet, as quickly as you tried to seduce him into giving up on reminding you of his manners, he moved back a little to avoid any more of your tempting ministrations.

"You know how to ask properly, not by acting like a tempting vixen." He pinched your thigh lightly as a warning, a whine escaping your lips as you ran your tongue over them.

"Please...touch my pussy, I-I need you."

His praising smile felt like it could light up your very soul. "As you wish, my star."

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically)

Okay so— I feel like when it comes to Jio himself? He's not big on cumming on you. Since he sees as no less than a goddess basically, in his eyes? Cumming on you is degrading, no matter how much you try to convince him that you're into it. However, cumming inside of you is definitely on the books, he loves it. As for you though? This man is a total Munch Master 365 days out of the year. Want to ride his face until he squirts on you? He's into it. When he fucks you and he sees your slick beginning to drip from your hole and onto the floor, he has to resist the urge to eat you out in order to continue stuffing you full. Your cum is essentially ambrosia to him, he could go hours drinking you down and he's never going to be fully satisfied.

♡ - He couldn't get enough of your sweet nectar.

Your delicious slick that dripped from your needy cunt after just a few minutes of foreplay. Jio would've had a mind to laugh if he weren't so focused on sucking on your clit right now, his arms locked around your thighs to keep you from closing them as you moaned and pulled at his hair, the stinging pain encouraging him to keep going in his ministrations whilst he struggled to try and keep a close eye on you.

But, from the combined fact that his head was swirling from both your taste and his growing lust, as well as his bare cock twitching against the bedsheets, the little friction it had from his grinding against the sheets only did enough to make him needier and needier for your warmth rather than actually getting him off!

Then again, in the face of your pleading eyes looking down at him in a silent bid for him to keep going until you came...

How was he able to deny such an expression?

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He definitely would've had a dirty imagination about you once or twice before you two even started dating. However, they would mostly be along the lines of "Yoba, this farmer is so annoying because they say hi to me every day...let me fuck them to take my frustrations out on them". Now, when these thoughts would pop up, he would definitely try to bury them, to the point no matter how hard his dick if after thinking about it. He's not going to falter and touch himself. But oh boy, does it cause him to start to see you in a new light after starting to think about what you look like under your clothes.

♡ - Typically, Jio was in control of himself much more than this.

He wasn't aware of a single thing in this world that could shake his foundations or make him waver in his beliefs. But...it seemed that you were a unique exception because, for the last few nights since the night the two of you began talking since your victory in the Spirit World. His mind has been...plagued, with certain imaginations that is.

Imaginations that focused on the topic of how annoyed he was of you.

It was infuriating how you didn't understand the words 'Go Away'.

So, in the deepest reaches of his mind, he knew the perfect method to make you understand how much he disliked you. He'd approach you in a forest, perhaps you would already be on your way to talk to him one-sidedly once more, and he'd pull you towards him before smashing his lips against you.

His cock would twitch inside his pants at the sound of your needy moan, eager and possibly elated at the fact that you were finally getting the attention you were seeking from the very beginning as Jio swiftly pressed you against the bark of a tree and flip up your skirt.

"Tch," He click his tongue at the sight of your soaked panties, lightly pinching your backside when you wiggled your ass to tempt him into giving you more. "...Such a needy thing, hold still. I'll give you what you so eagerly want." He'd whisper, more to himself rather than you as he quickly freed his cock and wasted no more time to pull your panties to the side before he stuffed you full in one thrust.

Yet the second he'd begin to move...he'd snap himself of his thoughts.

Now the elf was faced with a new task. To find a way to calm his raging hard-on, he refused to fall into the pit of temptation that he was so certain you were trying to lead him into.

extra note ; Continuing on my last point—

He's. A. Tsundere.

He's. Mean (with that hidden sweet side to spice it all up)

And not to expose myself but I fucking love mean men. And to be honest? I'll go a step further. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE NICE??? During the Ridgeside quest line, the first two years of my playthrough revolved around J I O, and with every single mean dialogue he dished my way, I licked right up.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment? The romantic aspect)

I think of Jio as a half-in-half case. On most nights, he's super romantic and likes to treat your body as if it was gifted to him by Heaven itself (i.e If you're not confusing the moment for a Wattpad scene then he's thinking he hasn't done enough). On the flip side though, he'll ditch the romance if he's super pent-up or if you're explicitly asking for him to treat you a lil' more roughly.

♡ - His heart felt like it was close to bursting.

Within the dimly lit room of your shared bedroom, the soft sounds of your sexes meeting could be heard as he trusted up into you as you sat on his lap, the two of you sharing a hugging embrace as his cock twitched inside of you at the sound of your moans.

But, his orgasm was steadily becoming an afterthought as all Jio could focus on was you. After all that he had been through in his life, all the sacrifices he's made—

How could he be so lucky to be with you in this moment?

To have your love and attention?

"My love," He panted out, his voice uncharacteristically breathless and whiny as he nearly pleaded for your eyes to be on him. Shakily, you took your face from the crook in his neck to look at him, your hands sliding up his body until they cupped his face. And from that simple action alone, the elf had fallen deeper in love with you.

"Y-Yes" You responded to him, your face somehow warming even more as you looked into your husband's lovesick eyes. A small smile was on his smile and his cheeks as well as the tips of his ears appeared flushed.

Jio smiled as you caressed and held his cheeks before his face fell to rest in the valley between your breasts. "You're so pretty." He sighed dreamily.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation Headcanon)

He doesn't jerk off much, to be honest. (And to be honest? I feel like his libido doesn't really "activate" unless you're around him) Even when you two are in a relationship and I fully believe it's because 1. He's usually too busy/focused on his missions to think of rubbing one out or 2. He has you so if he's in the mood then he'll just go to you. But should you not be in the picture at the moment? He'll just get himself off to a piece of clothing that smells like you or his imagination.

♡ - "Fuuckk..." Jio whispered to himself as he sat on the edge of the bed, his hand slowly stroking his cock as he breathed in the smell of your scent from a shirt you left behind on the bed. The combination of that plus the imagination of your hands being the one on his dick rather than his own...it made for a pretty convincing moment that led him closer and closer to his orgasm.

It wasn't often that the elf masturbated. It wouldn't ever compare to the real thing.

But...when you said you'd be on Ginger Island for the next few days to attend to businesses there, he was expected to uphold the task of keeping things here on your farm in order.

And he'd do just that.

However, he didn't expect that his body would react so strongly to your absence. Even as his ministrations on himself slowly got faster and faster on his cock, going so far as to even spit on his dick to try and poorly imitate your slick and how it'd make your movements faster.

It was dull in comparison.

So dull that as his hands slowed and he came to a stop. All he felt was boredom. "...Yoba," He hissed in frustration.

He'd simply wait until you returned.

final note alert ; I saved my biggest thought bubble for the end so here we go-

Jio is the best-modded husband hands-down. Literally fight me on this. It's hard to convey my thoughts fully without giving concrete evidence (+ the fact that I'm going based off my memory since I haven't done a playthrough of the RSV questline in a lil' bit) but I think that anyone who's on the fence of RSV needs to give it a shot, even if it's just for Jio 💀. Like deadass, the whole reason I started this blog in the first place was to have a reason to rant about this man every now and again before it became a place for me to rant about hot people in general.

To reiterate, I'm biased as hell because I have a thing for elves and mean guys but seriously to anyone who reads this.

GIVE RSV A TRY.

Hot elf guy aside, the character stories in the mod are super good. Like I'd recommend Shiro, June, Ian etc. ANYDAY OF THE WEEK. I can't imagine my modded Stardew without Ridgeside Village so-

YEAH PLAY THE MOD SO I HAVE MORE PEOPLE TO RANT ABOUT THE HOT MEN WITH <33

A random question. I know you have 4 farmers. I saw their designs, for such innocent looks do they even cuss?

*chuckles* This is the most random ask I've ever received. But my farmers do cuss. Thank you for the ask! 💜

Aleia certainly curses, but only when she is angry or involved in accidents. Her husband is aware of this and is used to it. It would be hypocritical of him to reprimand her, especially since he also curses frequently. However, Aleia does not curse in front of her children. (obviously)

Rosemary rarely swears, particularly when the situation is serious. It is advisable for those close to her to let her frustrations out instead of bottling them up. After she has calmed down, she receives a comforting hug from her partner.

Everyone perceives Cerise as a sweet and kind girl, but she is not to be underestimated. While she may appear sweet, she is capable of swearing behind closed doors, a fact known to only a few of her close friends. It is advisable to avoid getting on her bad side, as she is skilled in throwing knives.

Thalia's sophisticated appearance may deceive you, but she definitely curses like a sailor. She does so on badluck days or when she is angry with something or someone. She only curses around those who are close to her and not in public.

hello! this is moetrash/ch20youk, the current maintainer of the ridgeside village mod. i'm trying to get back into tumblr after years of absence, but specifically for sdv content - so i thought, what better way to reintroduce myself than with some wip jio ^^ (this is my old anime blog - i may make a separate account for sdv stuff, but i guess i'll use this one for now!)

Wtf why haven't I notice this??? Holy shit! That one is hot! 😳 I'm actually the anon who did the request. Thank you for writing them. 😏👌✨

I don't know if anyone has requested this, but can you write a smut about the Farmer wearing an outfit that is based from their partner's professions. Like Lance, seeing Farmer in a sexy adventurer outfit, Jio seeing Farmer in ninja gear outfit. Then there's Magnus seeing Farmer in a beautiful but tempting witch outfit. 🤭😏

Summary: Lance and Jio's Reactions To Seeing Their Spouse In A Sexy Version of Their Uniforms.

Warning(s): Fluff(kinda?), 18+ Suggestiveness, Blatant favoritism on Jio's part ngl, Established relationship in both.

Side note(s): I don't think you will ever understand anon how happy this request made me, I'm not even lying to you. The way I could go on a horny rant about Jio, I FUCKING LOVE THAT ELF MAN.

Then again, I just love elves in general-

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ

[Ridgeside Valley] Jio

Your mimic of his outfit would amuse him.

With everything that goes on inside of the cult (the forces of Gabriella, constant danger etc.). There's not a lot of room for play.

So his partner dressing up in a sexy version of his outfit? Don't get me wrong, he's rearranging your guts later on but assuming the both of you aren't alone...he's definitely flirting with you and generally being wholesome.

♡ - When you had suggested that you come with him to provide a little help on his missions today. He was skeptical.

Although he understood you were more than capable of handling yourself in the midst of battle. The forces of Gabriella were nothing to scoff at, as you already knew during your involvement when you helped cleanse the Ridge.

But...as the two of you were patrolling the outer edges of the Ridge, allowing you two to finally have a more peaceful moment to yourselves, it was then that Jio allowed himself to actually look over the..."outfit" you decided to wear today as you accompanied him. And stating that your clothing was an outfit was him being polite! As you explained to him, you wanted to wear a "sexified" version of his usual gear that he wore when he patrolled.

He didn't speak on it at the time as time was crucial.

But now?

He was beginning to wish that he had said something then. Even if it was to state that he would prefer you to wear something wen the two of you were in a more private area.

Finally, the elf let out a sigh. "Must you torture me like this, my star?"

Your chuckled as you looked over at your husband, his cheeks slightly tinted red along with his ears. It seemed that your timer to see how long his patience would hold strong was finally beginning to tick away. "What do you mean?"

"Your outfit."

You tilted your head to the side in faux confusion. "What's wrong with my outfit? You didn't say anything about it this morning!" You gasped, much to your husband's frustration as he decided to look forward once more in an effort to ignore the familiar warmth beginning to grow in his pants. "I know I didn't but now," He took a breath before continuing. "Don't you think it's a little revealing?"

A smirk began to creep steadily onto your face. "There's no one here~"

Jio rolled his eyes at your shift in voice. He wasn't a fool, he knew exactly what you were trying to do. Rile him up and make him forgo his mission, although he enjoyed your games as well as making you work to try and convince him that it was worth "taking a break" and releasing any stresses and pent-up needs inside of you against a tree somewhere.

Typically such games were played at the end of a mission.

Not in the middle.

So, the elf sighed as he simply responded by walking faster. "You'll have to try harder than that if you wish to break my will."

"Oh come on, don't act like my outfit doesn't make you want to take a little break."

"You need to stop hanging around Daia."

Jio chuckled quietly to himself at your silence. He hit the nail on the head on where this idea of yours came from. "But don't fret, my love. I never said the outfit wasn't doing anything to me." He said as he came to a stop.

And, as you did the same, Jio turned to loop an arm around your waist before he pulled you towards him, briefly tugging down his mask to press a heated yet chaste kiss against your lips. One that left you breathless and yearning for more, even more so as Jio made his yearning obvious to you by pressing himself closer to your body where you felt his steadily growing hardness.

Despite being married for nearly two years now, you still blushed as if this were the first time he acted this way around you. "J-Jio..." You gulped.

"When we get home, I'll demonstrate more thoroughly what your little outfit does to me, my love." And just before you could even lean in for another kiss, one that you prayed could hold you over until then. Jio laughed in your face as he quickly put distance in between the both of you, serving to effectively deny you both of his kiss and his warmth.

And when you pouted, he only offered you a fleeting smirk before he pulled his mask up with a soft chuckle. "Patience, the game of waiting makes everything so much sweeter in the end...right?"

[SDV Expanded] Lance

I think he’d be in a similar situation as Jio. He thinks it’s funny but would probably take things a step further.

Here’s the vision: You’re a lone adventurer on Ginger Island and you get lost. Miraculously, Lance appears and offers to help you find your way! (How generous of him) but there’s a catch. You have to service him in return.

Of course though because Lance is such a gentleman, he’d make sure your services wouldn’t be performed anywhere dangerous or where you two would risk getting caught <3.

♡ - You had been walking for hours throughout Ginger Island. After recently accepting a commission from Marlon about there being an angrier-than-normal fire spirit here, you had decided to take on the job and get some extra gold in your pocket in the process! But...you almost felt stupid, you had been to Ginger Island many times prior, to the point where you were capable of walking here and there in your sleep you thought!

So why were you lost?

"Didn't I pass near this emerald bird twice already...?" You murmured to yourself once you found yourself circling back to the same long-legged green bird, the animal giving you a curious stare before deciding to sit down.

You had a mind to do the same until you heard a rustle in the tree line, causing you to place a hand on the sheath of your sword whilst the bird immediately flew off. You sucked in a breath, remembering that the commission explained that the fire spirit was a bit more antsy than the usual ones, was this one it? A bead of sweat started to roll down the side of your face, your adrenaline spiking until...you breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lance!" You smiled at the sight of your spouse as you rushed up to him with a beaming smile, throwing your hands around him despite his slightly singed form. "What are you doing here? And why-"

"Fire spirits, I spotted a larger one. Quite aggressive but nothing I wasn't capable of handling." As he pressed a kiss to your head, hugging you tightly to his form, his brow rose as he spotted your outfit. It was like his own but...it revealed more skin? Instead of long brown pants, you wore brown shorts that clasped tightly to your skin as well as a white shirt that had a long v-neck that exposed more of your breasts than normal.

You even had a blue cape!

"Your outfit, are you trying to copy me?" He teased.

You stuck out your tongue playfully. "What if I am?" You did a little twirl.

"I'd say that you picked a fine time to copy me, seeing as you're trying to complete a commission."

Although you wouldn't admit that you somewhat agreed with him (after all, taking on the commission was a last-minute thing you decided to do as an excuse to visit the lava cave). You didn't miss the part of your husband's sentence when he mentioned he had killed a larger-than-normal fire spirit! That meant that your commission had been completed without you having to even touch the cave, and for good riddance too.

You were still lost.

But, you assumed you could play around a little. "Well, I don't think I'll be doing much commission completing if I remain lost on this island." You sighed dramatically. "Unlessss some noble adventurer was to help me?"

Lance smirked as he caught onto your words. "What's in it for me?" His hand started to travel down from the dip in your back, lower and lower until he reached your barely covered behind.

"What do you want?" You responded with a suggestive raise of your brow, your hand trailing down to hook a finger over the waistband of his pants.

"I'm certain you'll find something to do, maybe...one that involves servicing your poor injured husband?"

You had just the remedy.

Lance: Everyone this is my brother-in-law, Jio. Don't mind his glare, that's just how he says hello.

His colleagues: His an elf?

Lance: Yes, I know that. Next question?

~~~~~

Daia: So your brother-in-law is an adventurer mage from the First Slash?

Jio: Hmm

Daia: Does the Seer know about this?

Jio: At this rate, the Lady probably knows about it and is displease.

Hi! I was searching through some about SVE fanfics and didn't find much, I was starting to lose hope but then I found yours. Thank you for sharing your amazing ideas and stories. They made me really happy. Please keep writing more! ❤️☺️

I also have a fun idea for a headcanon/fic with these two guys Lance and Jio. In my world, I have two farmers and both are sisters, Lance married the first sister and Jio also married the second. Which makes Lance and Jio are brother-in-laws. Makes me wonder how those two get along while living together on the same roof with their wives. With their personalities are complete opposites with each other.

Hewwo :3 Thank you very much for your kind words, dear anon! 💕 It gives me great pleasure to write about this game and my favorite mods. I'm glad you're enjoying it too, and hope you enjoy the little headcanon about the interaction between these two (I love the opportunity to write about the Lance and Jio dynamic, so many possibilities for a funny scenario!).

_________________________________________

The encounter was... awkward and a little tense, to say the least. Neither Lance nor Jio had caused each other any problems, not at all. But the lives of both had changed dramatically, for sure.

Firstly, Lance was struck by the fact that elves, a race that is thought to be extinct, is actually far from extinct. At least one living representative stands right in front of him. Jio's disguise won't fool Lance's violet eyes: he can see through the enchantment. Naturally, the curious adventurer will have a bunch of questions, which, naturally, the antisocial elf does not want to answer. This situation can be described as, "This is Jio, he likes his personal space. And this is Lance, he likes Jio's personal space." Lance isn't that intrusive, but let's be honest - a living elf who is now a brother-in-law.... Lance won't miss an opportunity to shower Jio with questions, and he's pretty stubborn. Although the elf is also stubborn as well. It's hard to say who would win.

Secondly, is the realisation and distinction of their unconventional professions. As far as we know, the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail is not an official organisation, but is even a criminal clan engaged in assassination. At least, most people don't know the motive of the cult's followers and only listen to gossip about the next murder of someone unknown politic. Only Jio, his friends and his lover know that these people are no longer people, but soulless puppets of Gabriella, but still their cult deservedly has the status of "dangerous". Lance, on the other hand, is an adventurer and the right-hand man of The First Slash Clan. All of the Clans and the Ministry of Magic have an unspoken neutrality with the Cult, but each side always has a hand on the hilt of the sword if one side starts to get dangerous. Lance understands the situation perfectly well, so he approaches it rather cautiously. He truly understands the motive of Jio and the others, tho he's not too fond of the methods. But he also loves his spouse and will try to keep peace both within the family and among the Clan and Guilds. Lance is a good diplomat.

Despite their different personalities, the two have settled in quite peacefully. Lance occasionally teases the elf, and Jio can point his katana in Lance's direction (it doesn't come to fights, because they both don't want to upset and anger their sisters' wives), but they can become friends. Even if they don't socialise, just sit in complete silence.

If the sisters want to introduce their husbands to their friends and family..... Jio's and Lance's reactions might be different. Of course, Lance will present himself as an adventurer, while Jio will make up a story (for "assassin elf" doesn't sound like... much) for the friends and parents of the two farmers. If it's about friends who are also adventurers, or with Daia, Kiwi and other Cult members... This is where both men will try to delay the meeting a bit to figure out how not to create conflict. Belinda certainly won't be thrilled that one of her long-time friend's granddaughters having an adventurer as a spouse, and the Ministry of Magic will be tearing their hair out when Lance introduces his 'brother in law' to them. It's a delicate matter, so you have to be careful here. It'll take time, but everyone will get used to this chaotic family. Especially since the sister farmers have done more chaotic things before, and it all ended peacefully.