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echo-three-one · 3 years

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Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotten Memory

Comms are down and 141 had no way of determining when extraction will arrive. While the team is defending the base, Alex is tasked to protect our HVIs. Can he handle the responsibility from pure initiative alone?

Previous Chapter : Uninvited Guests

Alex and Augustus

Alex

Task Force 141

Task Force 141 - Secret Bunker

The ground shook as the three of them looked up at the ceiling, Samantha gripped her hand tightly against his, signaling her fear towards the situation. Maxine hugged Samantha while they both whimpered.

"We'll make it out of here. Trust their abilities." he told them and they nodded. Samantha's face looked hopeful and the feeling was nostalgic when their hands met once again. Even the urgency of the situation was familiar.

They had a small talk earlier, saying she wanted to know what happened to them. Alex felt excited, but debated whether it's okay for him to do so, but her eagerness was too powerful to resist. And it's going to be a win for him anyway.

He smiled at her for being so brave about all this, but their moment was cut off as soon as static rang on his ears.

"Shit. Our comms are down. We'll have to wait for the plane by sight." he muttered and commanded the two girls to follow behind him as they cross a hidden tunnel which led straight to the forest near the secondary LZ

The tunnel was dim and cold. Alex told the two that this tunnel ran below the river to the forest. His words effortlessly echoed across the dark cylindrical passageway as the three made their way across, ears popping as they descended to extraction.

Alex gave Samantha a pistol and told her to watch their back as he climbed the ladder to the exit. Alex's fists pushed the heavy metal door open and repeatedly slammed his hands until it opened. Samantha on the other hand held the pistol forward, pointing it at the dimly lit abyss hoping no one was actually out to get them.

A small ray of sunshine peeked through the opening Alex's slams made and with one final grunt, the metallic door flew up, opening their access to the exit. Alex reached for his hand and grabbed Maxine's, wincing in pain as she held it tight. Next came Samantha and he endured the pain of his now bleeding knuckles as they ran through the LZ.

Alex reached out his hand and Samantha gave her his gun, smiling at her gesture and she smiled back. These were trying times but the reunited couple's hearts were already yearning for each other. It almost felt like she didn't forget about him, even if they still had a lot of memories to recall.

Dark smoke trailed from beyond the valley, from what it looked like, a huge aircraft must've crashed. That means Augustus may be one step ahead of them.

The open plain by the river felt peaceful, until enemies popped up from the trees and encircled the trio as Augustus pointed the gun at them.

"Drop the gun, put your hands up and give us the girl." He ordered, his thumbs clicked the pistol, threatening Alex that he's not going to let this opportunity slip away. Alex backed up a little but they were already encircled by Augustus' men.

"You're not obeying?" he switched his target toward Maxine, grinning as Alex immediately followed.

"Oh… There we go… Willing to risk your life but also willing to give it up for others… How heroic." He mused, circling around them while Alex spread his arms wide, hiding the two behind his arms.

Augustus' grin made Alex's teeth clench. His square shaped face matched the way his blonde flat top haircut and his left eye was purely white, like it got itself in a blinding accident.

"Push her over or I'll shoot this small one!" he roared, he was getting impatient. Their helicopter started to descend and Samantha had to slowly walk towards it. Alex nodded and frowned, they just met and they're going to be separated all over again. But this time, he's determined that it won't happen again.

Maxine's head had a pistol pointed at it while eight armed soldiers targeted their rifles to Alex. Samantha was already sobbing as she slowly stepped to the whirring helicopter.

Alex's eyes met hers and felt a sudden jolt of emotion as tears started to fall out to her cheeks. It felt sad but Alex gave her a hopeful look. She's going to be fine. We won't be separated. I won't allow it.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a flaming missile head straight toward the helicopter causing it to explode. Everyone dropped to the ground on impact while Alex, who saw it coming, quickly got up and pulled the two girls to safety, using his metal legs to effortlessly support their staggered movement.

It didn't take too long for the adversaries to recover. Half of Augustus' me fired at the base as snipers assisted Alex. They could freely fire now that Augustus no longer pointed their weapon towards the HVIs.

Alex turned back to see Augustus and two men started to fire bullets toward them. They had to go to the forest, and take advantage of the natural covers known as trees.

Alex didn't know where they were headed but as long as they can't hear something behind them, it was cool. After running aimlessly for a long time, he felt his energy fall and they quickly set camp behind a huge rock, which almost looked like a cave.

"You two okay?" he asked. Samantha whimpered and showed him their burn marks, she was the closest one to the plane and so that explains the redness on her arms.

Alex quickly took off his shirt and ripped it off to create a makeshift bandage while Maxine assisted him as he tied it tight.

"There. It shouldn't hurt as long as you don't bump it onto something." he gently pulled the ends, securing the bandage.

"Thanks, Alex." She breathed, she looked very afraid but was holding on quite well. She had Alex by her side and he's always ready to protect her. Something she assumed that happened back in California.

Maxine held Samantha's hand and smiled while Alex took a quick peek of their location and Augustus' whereabouts.

"Stay here. Don't make any noise." he hushed and left their cave, looking at the two huddled together fighting through the trauma.

Alex was right, he was already nearby. Good thing he decided to leave them as he attempted to stray Augustus away from the girls' location.

His metal leg thumped on the ground loud enough that he realized he's already being chased by gunfire. A single gunfire, he noted. It's only Augustus inside the forest.

His bare back sticked against the rough bark of the tree as he heightened his senses and waited for Augustus. His heavy footsteps drew closer and Alex inhaled deeply as he kicked the tough guy with his metal leg. The pistol flew into the unknown and it suddenly became a fair fight. Fist to fist, just like the old times.

Augustus was quick to recover, heaving as his breathing slowly recovered. Posing his body like a boxer.

"Where is the code?" he grunted, creeping closer toward him.

"Fuck off." Alex spat as Augustus charged full force. He was notably bigger and taller, so charging back would be stupid, so he instead used his quick reaction time to dodge last minute and stomp him as soon as he passes through.

He stepped on him as soon as he fell, pressing the ground deeper to deal him damage. Augustus still had the strength to use his arms and toss his metal leg back, sending Alex flying a few meters back. He felt the cold soil rub against his back as he struggled to get back up.

They clashed once again, this time fists were flying over their heads and the both of them neither gave up, punches were evaded and they exchanged a lot. When Alex started using his feet, he got the upper hand but a slight error made Augustus catch his foot and flip him to the ground.

Augustus sat on Alex and blew heavy punches on his face. Alex felt the pain and his hand gripped Augustus' when he tried to choke him for information.

"Where are they?!" he asked, Alex thought it was stupid. How could he say words when he's restricting his airflow. His actions didn't make sense.

"Woo…" Alex wheezed. He couldn't say a word and his vision almost dimmed as he gasped for air. The adversary was convinced Alex would talk so he loosens his grip making the 141 agent cough out and breath heavily.

"They're…"

"Out…."

"There…" Alex pointed at a random direction as he looked at Augustus, who followed where his fingers pointed, then he quickly poked his eye causing him to fall flat on the ground. He was finally free from his heavy body.

Augustus rolled as his hands held his eyes, cursing while enduring the pain. He took this opportunity to disarm Augustus before he could recover.

"A burner phone." he muttered, tasting iron as he spoke.

"Give me that!" he slowly got up, his eyes still closed. Alex couldn't afford losing a clue, so he did what he had to do. Using his reinforced leg, he kicked the bad guy back and stomped on him, he stomped him enough that he would take long to recover.

He sighed. He wished that the phone contained a step closer to Nero as he limped back to Samantha's direction. His face ached like hell and his injuries affected how much he could see. But despite all this, Alex focused his mind. He promised he won't let them get Samantha. He won against Augustus but he wasn't satisfied until he saw Samantha's face. Her face that made him admire her the moment they met.

"Alex!" Samantha hushed as they both slowly walked to his direction, assisting him.

"Samantha, Maxine." he coughed, his voice still hoarse from all the choking.

"What happened?!" Maxine asked, carefully placing an arm over her shoulder while Samantha held on the other one.

"You're saved. That's all that matters." he coughed as his vision blurred. He felt the two pick up their pace and heard the 141s hurried footsteps and Price's orders. They made it out and Alex was happy they did.

Alex slept through the aftermath of the invasion, recovering from his bruises and injuries but he knew full well what's going to happen. For starters, Augustus will be interrogated, about Nero, about Germany and about the EMP. He's the key to ending this war. Second, 141 would have to relocate, and that meant a long discussion with the General and the higher ups who created the force. This would take time for Nero to fully recover his forces and if ever Soap is still alive, he's going to be in grave danger.

Next Chapter : Meet me halfway

Notification Squad my beloved

@smokeywhalee @beemybee @whimsywispsblog @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @ricinbach

#horRAYfic #whateverittakes #alex echo 3 1 #john soap mactavish #john price #gary roach sanderson #simon ghost riley #I'm spam watching action films #tho I didn't exactly write detailed fight lets just imagine it went well

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breakyeol · 4 years

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Heart Glow | 01

masterlist

01 | 02

☆ pairing: chanyeol x reader | ft. baekhyun

�� genre: alien AU, fluff, smut (next part)

☆ summary: No, you didn’t witness an alien spacecraft crash in the middle of the woods. No, a half dead person’s heart did not start glowing. And no, that person was not an alien. Because aliens don’t exist… right?

☆ word count: 7.3k

A/N: shiiii hello. so... i did this. I did a crap job editing so sorry for any grammar or spelling errors in advance. this is the first part of a two or three part series, depending on the length of the next part. ALSO, i made the moodboard thingy so plz don’t repost w/o crediting me :( thank you lovelies, hope you enjoy!

“I can’t believe you tricked me.”

“I didn’t trick you!”

“You said we were going to get ice cream!” Baekhyun hissed from the passenger’s seat, arms crossed angrily over his chest as a pout teased his bottom lip.

You gestured towards the empty ice cream carton sitting in his lap. “Which we did! And now we’re going camping.”

“You conveniently seemed to have left that part out. This could be considered kidnapping, you know. I could probably sue you.”

A deep scowl contorted your features as you swung a brief glare in his direction. “Hey! This was my last resort, okay? You promised to go camping with me a while ago! But every time I tried to bring it up you suddenly had plans.”

“What can I say? Byun Baekhyun is a man in high demand. It’s not my fault I’m so popular.”

A loud scoff had him pinning you with a stinging glare. “You don’t even have any other friends besides me, Baek.”

“Not true!”

“Name three.” You retorted swiftly.

“Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and Minseok,” he smirked triumphantly.

You took a big breath. “Kyungsoo literally can’t stand you because of that one time you dropped his new phone in your sangria. Jongdae only tolerates you because you work at the same company. Minseok is my friend, not yours. And he doesn’t like you either because of that time you dyed his hair hot pink,” you exhaled, matching his smirk with one of your own, “Try again.”

He spluttered in disbelief, at a loss for words before he finally managed to spit out some form of a reply. “That last one was an accident! It was meant for you!”

“Exactly why I’m your one and only friend.,” you snapped, detaching one hand from the wheel so that you could reach over and flicking his forehead, “because I’m the only person on this planet that can tolerate your bullshit.”

“Whatever,” he scowled, and, knowing he wasn’t going to be winning this argument, smoothly changed the subject, “What’s with the sudden camping trip anyways? You barely ever even want to leave your bed.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong about that.

In the past, the idea of camping would not have been very appealing. You would have much preferred the warm company of your bed to a thin, cold sleeping bag.You weren’t the type to step out of your comfort zone too frequently. You enjoyed your little bubble, it was safe and happy and familiar. There was no reason for you to go out of your way to try new things or explore the world. You had everything you needed with your job at the bakery, your cozy apartment, your close knit circle of friends. You were content.

But for whatever reason, your head had been feeling rather off these past few months. Like there was something that you were missing. Laying in bed all day was no longer fulfilling, only leaving you drained, dissatisfied, and scoured with the feeling that you’d just wasted precious hours of your life binge watching unrealistic shows and movies.

This sudden change left you confused and grasping helplessly for answers.

You’d tried changing little things at first; redecorating your apartment, going out more often to bars or clubs, buying a membership to a gym, et cetera. It was satisfying for a moment, a short lived gratification to make a difference in your life. But it all just felt pointless in the end. It all ended up feeling like white noise. And that little nagging voice in the back of your head grew more and more relentless.

Figuring out what could possibly soothe it proved to be the biggest challenge you've faced since trying to figure out what college you could attend in your high school years.

Until you had an epiphany. Maybe it wasn’t something you needed to change… but something you were missing. What exactly it is that you’re missing, you’re still not quite sure of. But hopefully getting away from the noisy city and getting some fresh air and a much needed escape into nature would help clear that up, especially with the help of your beloved best friend Byun Baekhyun at your side.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just felt like it was time to do something a little out of my usual daily routine,” you paused, brows furrowing as a sudden thought struck you, “you ever get that feeling like you’re going in circles?”

“Circles?” He repeated, confusion clear in his voice. “What do you mean?”

“I mean—“ you stopped abruptly and chuckled softly, shaking your head as you realized it would be impossible to try and untangle the mess of thoughts in your head and lay them out for him, “never mind. It’s too hard to explain.”

“No, tell—”

“We’re here!” You exclaimed loudly, voice bubbling with excitement as you spotted the sign indicating the beginning of the camping grounds. Pulling into the parking lot, you were shocked to find it completely empty. “Are we… the only people here?”

“Are you surprised? Who the hell camps anymore?” You decided to ignore his remark, instead, parking and hopping out of your car, before looking over at him with an excited grin.

“More forest for us then,” you chirped happily, and he groaned, “Come help me unload the trunk. I want to have everything set up before it starts getting dark out.”

Baekhyun scowled as you slammed the door, before sighing dramatically in defeat and unbuckling his seat belt. “This is going to be a long night.”

“When the hell did you have the time to go buy all this camping shit?” Baekhyun grunted, face red with sweat glistening on his brow as you hauled the equipment up a particularly unforgiving hill. You’d somehow convinced —ahem, threatened— him to carry the bulk of the stuff you’d brought, while you got off easy with only carrying your bags and a folding chair.

You shot a light grin at him over your shoulder, shrugging vaguely. “You’d be impressed by how much free time I gained by not sleeping in until two in the afternoon.”

Baekhyun chuckled dryly, shaking his head as he peered after you in wonder, “you amaze me.”

You grinned as you looked back at him, only to see that he’d begun to fall quite far behind, exhaustion clear on his features. “Pick up the pace slowpoke! We’ve still got a little more ground left to cover!” You called, laughing as he groaned dramatically and staggered on forward, trying his very best to catch up with you.

“You enjoy my suffering, don’t you?” He huffed.

“Mm, you know I love it, baby.” You winked, biting your lip as your brows wiggled suggestively. He picked up the first thing his fingers could find off the leafy ground (luckily a small twig and not a rock) and chucked it at your head.

“Hey! Throwing things is not a solution for your inner rage,” you scolded, squeaking in surprise as he suddenly surged forward, trying to make a grab for you. You dodged out of the way just in time and began booking it up the hill as fast as your admittedly sore legs would carry you, Baekhyun close on your heel with determination burning in his eyes.

You all but flung yourself to the ground once you reached the peak, laughing breathlessly, sweat glistening on your face, body aching and tired from the exertion, but the feeling of accomplishment warded away any negativity that threatened your mindset.

Baekhyun staggered up after you, looking even more exhausted than before, face also completely red and knees visibly weak under the weight of his body combined with the mass of the equipment. When he saw you laying on the ground, he dropped everything he’d been carrying and collapsed beside you, trying to catch his breath as he blinked sweat away from his eyes.

“Are we…” he swallowed as his raspy voice cracked faintly, “here?”

A grin broke out across your features as you turned your head, finding him already looking at you hopefully. “We’re here,” you confirmed, heading shifting so that you could stare up at the beautiful blue sky peering shyly through the thick green canopy above you.

“Thank fuck,” he croaked, and you cackled.

For a few minutes, you laid in comfortable silence (a rare blessing when hanging out with Baekhyun), catching your breath and recuperating from the hike to this special little spot in the woods.

“Have you been here before?” He suddenly asked, turning to look at you, dark eyes blinking curiously.

You nodded, smiling nostalgically. “Yeah. My dad and I used to come out here once a year during the summer for a day or two.”

“No wonder it seemed like you knew where you were going,” he chuckled softly.

“We came to this exact spot, you know. Because when the sun sets, you have the best view of the stars,” you sighed dreamily, hands rising above your face as you pictured the midnight blue sky riddled with winking stars, “it’s seriously beautiful, Baek. One time I even saw a shooting star.”

“Did you make a wish?”

You scoffed in disbelief, turning to look at him with a lopsided grin. “What do you take me for? Of course I did.”

He laughed softly, “did it come true?”

You sighed thoughtfully, eyes squinting against the bright blue sky. “No. Not yet.”

Looking back, you still remember exactly what you’d wished for. But you’d been so young then, so naive and hopeful and, admittedly, pretty dumb.

It was an unrealistic wish.

But you couldn’t stop your heart from wanting it, even now. You’d wished for something that most people found unattainable, something only the luckiest of the lucky were able to have, and able to keep. And, especially in these past few months, the universe seemed astonishingly adamant on showing you just how mind bogglingly unlucky you were.

“Okay!” You exclaimed abruptly, and Baekhyun jumped in surprise, head swinging around to watch with wide eyes as you pushed yourself off of the ground, swatting any dirt that clung to the back of your black leggings. “That’s enough time wasted. Time to set up.”

“Y/n~” Baekhyun whined in protest, flopping back onto the ground as a heavy pout tugged at his lips, “can’t we rest for a little more? My legs still feel like they’re about to fall off.”

“Nope!” You sang, grabbing his wrists and pulling him upright, ignoring him as he objected loudly. “There’s much to be done before we can relax. Here, we'll set up the tent first and then the fire pit. It won’t take too long, I promise.”

“Not long my ass.” Baekhyun snapped, glaring at you.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t know shit about how to properly put up a tent!” You hissed, thrusting an accusing finger in his direction.

“Why the fuck would I need to know how to put up a stupid tent? You’re the one that dragged us out here in the first place! Take responsibility instead of blaming me!” He bit back harshly, arms folding stubbornly across his chest while he sassily cocked a hip.

You rolled your eyes, exhaling heavily at his childishness. “We got it done. That’s what matters.”

Well, you got it done– but you weren’t adamant on starting any more unnecessary arguments with Baekhyun. You’d gotten more than a day’s worth or arguing done in just the last hour while trying to set up your campsite. You dragged him out here to relax, to take a break from any and all things stressful and annoying. You probably should have kept in mind that Baekhyun was, in fact, one of the most annoying people you’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. But you loved him, so it was okay.

You flopped down on one of the log benches encircled the fire pit, letting out a long breath as you tilted your head back and inhaled deeply, a nostalgic smile flickering at the corners of your lips. The musky scent of the smoke you brought back memories you’d thought you’d long forgotten, if the long nights spent laughing and joking with your dad into the early morning, until you both collapsed from exhaustion with bellies full of s’mores and cheap hot cocoa. They were nice memories. But they made you sad. The kind of sad that felt like a heavy stone had been dropped on your chest.

Baekhyun dropped down beside you, and you felt his shoulder nudge up against yours. Peeling open your eyelids, you glanced over at him with a raised brow.

“What did you mean earlier?”

You blinked at him. “What?”

“When you said the thing about circles?” He elaborated, throwing in a circular hand motion for good measure.

“Circles?” You pondered for a moment before finally recalling the conversation you’d been having in the car before you arrived. “Oh. That. Well… I don’t think I can really… it’ll just sound stupid once I actually try to say it out loud, and explaining it would be too complicated—”

“Try.”

You opened your mouth, about to give a smart aleck reply, but then you met his gaze. There was something so sincere in his dark eyes, something pleading. He wanted to know what was on your mind, what was bothering you. He wanted to help you. You felt an unexpected warmth in your chest, a gratefulness swelling up inside of you.

In spite of his obnoxious, playful nature, Baekhyun was one of the most genuine people you’d ever met in your entire life. He was honest, thoughtful, and loving. He had a good heart. And although you’d never admit it out loud, because you’d never hear the end of it from him, you were very glad to have him as your best friend. Maybe one day you’d tell him everything he meant to you. One day, when his incessant teasing wouldn’t be so brutal and he wouldn’t rub it in your face with that stupid lopsided grin on his face every chance that he got.

And so, regardless of not quite understanding your internal turmoil yourself, you tried your very best to explain it to him. To put into words the confusing emotions and thoughts that were running amuck in your head. You bore your every thought, every worry, every trouble, not missing a single detail if you could help it. You laid it all out for him, as best you could without sounding completely insane.

There was a brief pause when you finished, the only sound was the low cracking of the flames as they playfully danced before your eyes. It made you feel anxious. But there was also a sense of unparalleled relief to have finally gotten all of that off of your chest.

“Maybe you’re lonely.”

You were surprised by the suggestion, turning him with brows furrowed in confusion. “Lonely? Why would I be lonely? I’m not lonely.”

“It sure sounds like you’re lonely.”

You immediately shook your head, rejecting the idea. “That doesn’t make sense. I have plenty of friends, I’m surrounded by people all day at work. I also have your annoying ass with me twenty four seven,” you teased. Baekhyun scowled.

“Not that kind of lonely, dumbass. Romantically.” He paused, searching your face for any kind of understanding. But, he could only sigh in frustration as he saw the look of pure confusion in your eyes, making it very obvious you didn’t understand what he was saying whatsoever. “When did you and Junmyeon break up?”

“I don’t know. A year ago, maybe? But why are you bringing him up?”

Disregarding your question, he asked another one of his own. “Have you been with anyone else since then?”

You paused, trying to recall if you’d had any flings or short lived romances with anybody after your breakup, but could call none to mind. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Well… have you been with anyone since?”

You gasped, shocked he’d ask you something like that so outright. “Baekhyun!”

“Oh my gosh, just answer! It’s not like we haven’t talked about our sex lives before.” He rolled his eyes at the flabbergasted expression on your face, shoving your arm lightly.

“You mean you talking to me about your sex life,” you corrected, stabbing an accusing finger into his chest, to which he swatted your hand away with a pointed glare. Huffing, you swung your gaze away from him, choosing instead to focus on the flickering orange flames in front of you. “No. No, I have not been with anybody since Junmyeon.”

You jumped as he suddenly clapped his hands together, eyes wide like he’d just discovered the solution to world hunger, “Therein lies your problem! You just need to have sex!” You rained down a vicious attack of hits on his arm and chest, spewing curses at him until he finally relented, “ow! Ow! I’m joking, y/n, joking! Stop hitting me!”

“You’re disgusting, Baekhyun.” You spat, frustrated beyond belief as you pushed yourself off of the log and stood up, “Why’d I think you’d actually try to help me?”

You turned, about to leave, when he suddenly grabbed your wrist and tugged you back. “Wait! Wait, I’m sorry. I’ll be serious. Sit back down,” he gave another pleading pull at your hand, looking up with what you hoped was genuine sincerity in his eyes, “please?”

You hesitated for a moment, before huffing in defeat and dropping back down into the chair. He smiled faintly, adjusting his hold on your wrist so that he could play with your fingers. There was a brief lull of silence before he finally spoke up. “I was serious about the lonely thing. Even if you do have people in your life all the time, and my annoying ass hanging around,” he added playfully, and you chuckled, “it seems like you miss that more intimate part of being in a relationship with someone.”

“The intimate part?” You repeated, looking over at him with furrowed brows. He nodded in confirmation.

“It seems like you miss knowing someone inside and out, and someone knowing you just as deeply. You mentioned having nightmares more often than before, right? It sounds like you miss sharing your bed with someone, I think that gave you a sense of security.” You listened intently as he spoke. It still surprised you at times when your best friend, your goofy, annoying, yet somehow lovable best friend, dropped heavy wisdom on you out of the blue. Sometimes, you forgot how deep his mind and heart actually were.

Maybe you were lonely. Maybe you’d been lonely for so long and had gotten so used to the emptiness that you didn’t even realize that it was loneliness you were feeling. Maybe this whole time, that something you’d been craving and subconsciously searching for, was actually someone. Maybe more than anything in the world, you wanted somebody to fill up that hollow place in your heart, somebody to hold, somebody to kiss, somebody to love.

And maybe you wanted it so badly that you’d take it just about anywhere you could find it.

That last bit probably wasn’t true. You weren’t desperate for affection by any means. But, at the very least, it would explain why you found yourself staring at Baekhyun’s lips for a few seconds longer than a friend probably should. Just long enough for him to notice. His voice fizzled off into the night air, the only sounds left surrounding you were the gentle crackling of the orange flames and the sensual song of the cicadas hidden in the trees.

You watched as he blinked, confusion and intrigue gracing his gentle features in the form of a warm pink blush and fluttering eyelashes. You felt your heart start to pick up speed.

“Baekhyun,” you murmured, voice almost quiet enough to be lost amongst the hushed rustling of leaves.

He swallowed, and you watched with unfamiliar intensity as his Adam’s Apple bobbed. “Yeah?” He whispered, his own voice strained and heavy on his tongue. His hands curled into tight fists on his lap as you subconsciously licked your lips.

“Can I…” your stare flickered up to meet his, “try something?”

His face reddened as he glanced briefly at your mouth before hurriedly meeting your eyes, giving a single, faint nod in response. “Okay.” At his consent, you shifted closer to him, until your thigh gently bumped his, your shoulders nudging up against one another. Up close, it seemed as if you could see every detail of his face. Every stray freckle, every delicate eyelash,

It was strange. But familiar. A nervous sensation bubbled up inside of you when you met his wide eyed gaze, and you found yourself faltering.

“Can you close your eyes?”

The request was met with hesitance at first, understandably. But soon enough he was nodding, eyes squeezing shut obediently. He pursued his lips, brows furrowing as he breathed unevenly through his nose,

You suddenly found yourself being reminded of a night long ago. When the two of you were still teenagers, young and reckless and hormonal.

He’d been over at your place. You’d talked and laughed late into the night, even stolen a glass of your mom’s prized wine just to try. You hadn’t been too fond of the flavor, though Baekhyun loved it. You remember laughing at how quickly he got himself tipsy, cheeks going a soft pink, eyes becoming hooded, lips pulling into a hazy little grin. You’d listened to him babble aimlessly for almost an hour before he’d finally fallen asleep, slumping unexpectedly against you mid sentence, head falling onto your shoulder, hands wrapped loosely around your waist.

You can still remember the warmth of his breath against your neck, the softness of his cheek on your shoulder, the faint tickling sensation of his hair under your chin. He’d looked so innocent then, features washed in the delicate grey moonlight, making him almost seem to glow. You remember looking at him— really looking at him for the first time in your life. You’d always known he was considered attractive by many, the subject of several girls’ fantasies, but you saw him differently that night. Just as you were seeing him differently now.

Only now, you weren’t in your bedroom wrapped up in your warm comforter, but washed in the throbbing heat of a campfire. And it wasn’t the moonlight that made him glow, but the flickering yellow flame that doused his entire body in the hellish radiance.

You couldn’t help but to wonder when exactly he’d become a man. It seemed like it wasn’t long ago that he was that goofy little boy with the weird haircut and a mouth that could run for hours without becoming exhausted. How had you not noticed him changing before your very eyes?

He shuddered when your fingers suddenly raised, ever so gently feathering over his cheek, and you saw his eyes squeeze tighter. You let your hand settle around the back of his neck, cupping it loosely. He leaned forward ever so slightly, and you felt the side of his chest pressing against your arm. You tilted your chin upwards. You felt his breath tickle your upper lip. The faintest of chills rolled down your spine.

Were you really about to do this? Were you really about to kiss your best friend? It definitely wasn’t a good idea. But you couldn’t really bring yourself to care.

Your train of thought was unexpectedly halted by an odd noise. A faint humming or whistling, you couldn’t quite make it out. But, it was enough to have you leaning away from Baekhyun’s puckered lips, just in time to catch a streak of white light piercing the midnight blue sky. For a moment, you thought it might’ve been a shooting star. But, shooting stars are there then gone in the blink of an eye. Whatever this was, wasn’t vanishing. In fact, it seemed to be getting closer.

“What the hell?” You muttered, face contorting in confusion.

Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open, his brows furrowing as he caught sight of your unsettled expression. “What? What’s wr—”

And then, all at once, it felt as if the air itself had come… alive.

It vibrated around you, buzzing excitedly. Warm and energized, it sent something equivalent to jolts of electricity shooting through your veins. The hair on your arms and the back of your neck stood on end, skin rippling with goosebumps. An unfamiliar anticipation seized you violently.

It all happened so fast.

There was a flash of white in your peripheral vision, and the whistling sound progressed into a low, prolonged shriek. Confusion and fear ripped through you. “Baekhyun—” you tried to reach for him, but next thing you knew, you were knocked flat on your back by a sudden sharp rush of wind, leaving you gasping and heaving desperately. You recognized the feeling of not being able to breathe. The air had been knocked from your lungs.

A skull splitting screech tore through the night sky. Your hands leapt to cover your ears, eyes squeezing shut in agony, the sound making your head feel like it was about to explode. There was a flash of something bright behind your eyelids, and then an unearthly howling, before a deafening explosion flung your writhing body across the damp earth.

The last thing you felt was a pain equivalent to receiving a knife to the back of head before a deep, inky blackness consumed you.

“Y/n!”

Your eyes snapped open at the sound of someone calling your name, ears ringing faintly, vision blurry for a moment before focusing on the familiar, worried face of your best friend, Byun Baekhyun.

“Baek?” You muttered softly in confusion, throat feeling dry and raw.

“Thank god. You scared the living shit out of me,” he laughed, but you could just make out the glistening reminisce of tears clinging to his eyelashes. The ground felt as if it might fall out from underneath you as you pushed yourself upright with a low groan, trying your very best to ignore the dull throb in the back of your skull. “Are you alright? You hit your head really hard.”

You carefully touched the back of your head, drawing away sharply as the faintest pressure sent a shock of pain shooting through the area. “Did I? Shit. What happened?”

His eyes went wide, trembling hands shooting out to grab your shoulders. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Look for yourself.” He gestured with a sharp nod of his head at the large grey rock you just realized you were tucked safely behind. Glancing at him skeptically, you crept forward on your hands and knees before slowly leaning up and peering over.

The first thing you saw was flame. Dull orange flames flickered lazily, some scattered in the wet grass, others clinging onto the shredded silver metal of the massive contraption that had broken through the treetops and created a dent in the earth.

“Holy shit.” You blinked in disbelief, jaw going slack as you stared at the scene before you, an equal amount of both horror and curiosity flooding through you. “Is that… is that a—”

“An alien spacecraft? Yes indeed.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid.” You hissed, smacking the back of his head. “That’s impossible.”

“Well the fuck else could it be, y/n?” He laughed harshly in disbelief, throwing his hands up as his eyes took on a wild appearance. “Have you ever seen an airplane that looks like that before, huh?”

You wracked your brain for some kind of rational explanation, spluttering out weakly, “maybe it’s some sort of satellite or something.”

“Yeah–fucking–right.” Baekhyun was shaking his head suddenly, pulling at your arm as something anxious glinted in his usually playful gaze. “We have to get out of here. This is fucking insane. This is—” he froze abruptly, body tensing beside you, the hold he had on your arm tightening substantially, “what the fuck is that?”

“What’s what?” You murmured in confusion, head whipping around to try and find whatever it was that caught his eye. It didn’t take very long.

There was a dark shape on the ground, a lump in the grass. You squinted, before your eyes widened in horror. You might’ve easily mistaken it for a rock in the darkness had it not been for the dull glow of the fire from the strange aircraft and the bright silver moonlight.

“It’s a person.” You murmured in realization, slowly standing up right. Baekhyun was quick to snatch your wrist.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” He hissed, eyes looking about ready to pop out of his skull.

“They look hurt! We can’t just leave them there!” You yanked your wrist sharply out of his hold, turning on your heels and cautiously making your way over to the unmoving person, completely ignoring Baekhyun’s frantic calls for you to ‘get your ass back over here’.

You could admit that a part of you was scared shitless, but what kind of person would you be to just leave them here, completely defenseless. As you grew closer, the person's features gradually became clearer. It was a man. Washed in the pale moonlight, he almost appeared to be… glowing. Tanned skin, hair red as blood, body covered in nothing but bruises, gashes, and ash. Even in that state, you couldn’t deny how handsome he was. But that definitely wasn’t your greatest concern. No, your attention was captured more by the fresh wounds littered across his naked body. There was one especially nasty looking one across his chest.

Unsurprisingly, you soon felt Baekhyun’s worried presence looming over your shoulder, spluttering out curses as he took in the state of the unconscious boy.

“Oh my god. That’s a lot of blood. Is he dead? I think he’s dead. He looks really dead. What are we gonna do, y/n?” Baekhyun rambled, voice panicked and frightened as he paced anxiously behind you.

“He’s still breathing, shit head,” you snapped, shooting him a pointed look over your shoulder, “but we have to get him to a hospital, and fast. He’s bleeding a lot.”

The amount of blood seeping from the gash in his chest was increasing by the second. You wracked your brain for a way to ease it up before he bled out in the spot. Inspiration struck you in the form of your best friend’s yellow and blue plaid button up. “Baek, quick, take off your shirt.”

His face twisted. “Excuse me?”

“Just take it off! We need something to cover him with and to stop the bleeding,” you explained hurriedly, not giving him a chance to respond before you were shoving it off of his shoulders and pulling it down his arms.

“Hey! Hey! I’m not wearing anything under this! This is assault! Assault!” He shrieked, attempting to squirm away from you, when suddenly a loud tearing sound split the air. His jaw dropped, gasping as he stared in horror at his sleeve hanging limply in your hand. “Y/n! This is my favorite shirt!”

“I’m sorry! But I think he needs it a little more than you do right now. I’ll buy you a new one I promise, but can I please have it for now? He's completely naked,” you tried to reason, gesturing vaguely towards the man’s bare nether regions that were just somewhat distracting.

“Fine,” he relented, albeit visibly disgruntled, “but you’re buying me dinner for the next month!” How he was making demands like that at a time like this, you’re not quite sure. Byun Baekhyun was and always will be a strange, strange man.

“Fine, whatever, just take it off already, Jesus,” you rushed. He huffed in annoyance, but his fingers made quick work of the buttons, not fighting you off when you pulled it off his arms completely and turned to get to work on covering up the large wound.

“My decency…” Baekhyun pouted as he covered his bare chest.

You rolled your eyes. “Is that really what you’re worried about right now? Seriously? I think we have bigger things at hand.”

“Yeah, like the fucking spaceship that just crashed!” He thrust a finger in the direction of where the large metal aircraft had crash landed not one hundred feet away from where you’d set up your camp.

You shot a brief glare in his direction, “It’s not a spaceship.”

“Really? Because I’ve never seen a plane that looks like that before. Do you know any flying vehicles that look like that? No! Because there are none! Not on earth at least.”

“Baekhyun, please! Shut up for two seconds so I can focus!” You snapped, your shaking hands working anxiously to press the torn fabric against the large wound to alleviate the bleeding. It was rather nerve wracking knowing that a person’s life could possibly be in your hands.

“I’m sorry! You know I ramble when I get worked up.” He whined defensively. Ignoring him, you carefully tied the ripped sleeves tightly around the man’s chest, applying pressure to the injury.

��We have to get him to the car. Help me get him up. Grab his legs.” You commanded, grunting as you hauled his torso up so that you could hook your arms under his armpits.

Baekhyun let out a sound of disbelief. “Why do I have to take the legs? You take the legs!”

“I don’t want his junk all up in my face!”

“And you think I do?!” He yelped out, giving a sharp shout of pain as you smacked the top of his head. “Fine! Fine! I concede! Gosh, you’re so violent. Hitting people won’t solve all of your problems, you know!”

“True. But it’ll solve this one.”

It took you less than half of the time it took you to trek up the steep incline of the hill to haul the limp body of the boy back down it. Most likely because the two of you were running like your asses were on fire, the threat of the odd aircraft possibly exploding at any given moment adding much needed encouragement to ignore the sharp burning of your sore legs and the notable aching of your lungs.

By the time you reached the car, you were sweating profusely and heaving for breath. Your arms felt like they were just about ready to fall off, knees weak beneath you. Your fingers were shaking as you fumbled to yank open the back door.

“You drive,” you demanded, maneuvering into the backseat with the unconscious boy, pulling his top half up so that he was positioned over your lap, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t bleed all over my leather.”

Baekhyun would never step out on the opportunity to drive your car, nodding sharply in agreement. “Good idea.”

Slamming the door shut, he scrambled into the driver's seat, the engine purring to life as he turned the keys in the ignition. The tires kicked up gravel as they swiveled, the car jerked backwards before Baekhyun was swinging the wheel to the left, and you were taking off down the same path you’d come in on.

You watched through the back window as heavy grey smoke smothered the twinkling white stars, obscuring the bright moon from view completely. Your heart lurched in your chest, your throat running dry as you watched the tips of angry flames consuming the treetops, the heavy grey smoke throbbing with an under glow of orange and yellow. It was a terrifying sight. You’d never seen anything like it in your entire life.

Your hands, pressed down firmly against the boy’s dressed wound, were shaking profusely. You could hear the sound of your blood pulsing in your ears, the thundering of your own heart a deafening echo in the back of your skull.

Calm down, y/n. Calm the fuck down.

Baekhyun glanced back at you through the rear view mirror, then at the receding flames. “Do you think it’s going to—” Any speculation he was about to offer was silenced abruptly by a flash of white light and an unearthly boom. Your entire body went stiff, your breath escaping you in sharp, uneven gasps. The hold you had around the unconscious boy’s body tightened. “Holy fucking shit, y/n. Holy fucking shit. What the hell is happening right now?”

You shook your head, at as much of a loss for answers as he was. “I don’t—” you swallowed, your throat feeling unexpectedly dry and tight, “I don’t know, Baek.”

“Did we seriously just witness an alien spaceship crash landing on earth? Oh my god. If the government finds out— they’ll kill us won’t they? Y/n, we’re so screwed! We’ll have to go into hiding. We have to get new identities. Y/n l/n and Byun Baekhyun have to disappear. We can’t—” you cut off his senseless rambling for the umpteenth time that night.

“Baekhyun! No one is coming to kill us! We will not have to go into hiding or find new identities or any of that sci-fi bullshit because this is real fucking life and alien spacecrafts don’t just fall out of the damn sky in real life.”

“Like you’d know! Remind me how many movies about aliens you’ve watched in your lifetime?” You rolled your eyes, not bothering to justify such a ridiculous inquiry with a response. But, he took your silence as a sign of you admitting defeat, “yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Baekhyun, just pay attention to the—” you cut yourself off as the hand you were holding over his chest suddenly began to feel incredibly warm, the kind of heat you feel when hovering your hands in front of a flame. Brows furrowed in confusion, you lowered your gaze. A warm, crimson glow was emulating from beneath your palm. Confusion swirling to life inside of you. Slowly, you removed your hand.

“What the fuck.”

“What the fuck what? What what the fuck?” Baekhyun questioned curiously from behind the wheel.

“He’s… glowing.”

“Glowing? What’s glowing?”

“He’s fucking glowing, Baekhyun!” You snapped.

He tore his eyes away from the road, torso swiveling around to try and get a glimpse as to what the hell you were talking about. “What the hell are you—,” he did a double take, eyes bulging as his jaw dropped, “holy mother of shit.”

You could only stare, completely awestruck as his chest was consumed in a deep, blood red glow, like there was a fucking flashlight shining from the inside of him. The glow intensified, and you drew away like you’d been burned. “Baekhyun,” your voice was shaking as you called for him helplessly, a heavy sense of fear settling into your gut, “Baekhyun, what do I do?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never been in a situation like this before!” His voice was panicked and pitchy, cracking every other word like it always did when he was on the verge of losing his shit. “Try s–smacking it or something!”

“I’m not going to smack it! What if it’s radioactive or something and we blow up!” You hissed back, trying uselessly to wriggle out from underneath the unconscious boy’s suddenly stifling weight.

“Oh god,” Baekhyun cried out distraughtly, “we’re going to die!”

You opened your mouth to try and argue, but all at once, the brightness of the glow emulating from the boy’s chest increased tenfold, your eyes burning fiercely from the unexpected intensity, drawing a yell of shock from your lips.

Okay. So maybe dying was a distinct possibility.

But just as quickly as it had come, the glow suddenly vanished. “What happened?! What just happened?!” Baekhyun demanded from the front seat, head swinging back and forth frantically between you and the road. You couldn’t bring yourself to form a proper sentence. “Y/n? Y/n?!”

You stared blankly at the makeshift wrapping you’d made from the sleeves of Baekhyun’s favorite shirt. You found your curiosity getting the better of you. You reached towards the fabric fastened securely around his chest. Slowly, you undid the knot you’d so deliberately made, watching as the sleeves went slack and fell limply across your lap. For a moment, you were at a complete loss for words.

“I–it’s gone,” you breathed in disbelief, trembling fingers grazing over the smooth expanse of skin that was only seconds ago marred with a deep, jagged wound.

“What? What’s gone?” Baekhyun questioned, turning around once again.

“H–how…” you choked on your confusion, head slowly shaking in denial. All at once, a horrible realization struck you. There was no fucking way that it was a human being laying across your lap fucking glowing. Because humans don’t glow. Because humans don’t fall out of strange aircrafts that don’t exist on earth. Because humans don’t magically heal their own wounds.

So what, the holy hell, was on top of you?

You didn’t have much time to try and process it, because suddenly, there was honking. Loud, incessant honking. When you lifted your head, you were shocked to be blinded by a pair of bright bright headlights. It took you less than a second to process that Baekhyun had swerved to the wrong side of the road and there was a massive truck headed straight for you.

“Baekhyun the road—!” A scream ripped from your throat.

His head whipped around, eyes going wide as his lips parted in horror.

There wasn’t enough time to swerve.

And for a moment, it was like time slowed down.

You never could have imagined that your cause of death would be getting flattened by a truck. Damn. You’d really hoped that you would go out with a little more grace than that, preferably from old age. Poison would’ve worked too. How cool would you have sounded?

But now, when people ask how y/n l/n died— “oh, she was squashed by a semi.” See? It’s just… meh. There just isn’t as much of a kick to it as, “she was mysteriously poisoned one day… people suspect it was the jealous pool boy.” See. That’s much more mysterious, intriguing, and suspenseful.

Plus, there was always a jealous pool boy in your death fantasies. There’d never been a massive red semi, though. What a shame.

You closed your eyes, body bracing for the impending impact.

… but it never came.

Confusion washed over you as one second after another passed and you didn’t feel your bones being crushed or your body being mangled. Hesitantly, you peeled open an eye. It took you a second to process what had happened, and why there was a dark shadow cast over the car.

But once you had, for the second time that night, it felt like the air had been knocked out of your lungs.

Looking up through the large sunroof that stretched across the entire top of your car, you were met with the underbelly of a truck. The intricate maze of grey tubes, oil stained metal, and the insides of massive black tires were unmistakable. It was like it was happening in slow motion. Your eyes followed as the truck gravitated over your car, emulating an eerie red glow, before landing smoothly back on the road one hundred or so feet behind it, driving off like nothing had even happened.

Your mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, eyes just about ready to pop out of your damn skull. “W– what…” your voice escaped you as less than a whisper, eyes blinking slowly as your brain tried to process what it had just seen. A cold palm pressing against your cheek was what broke you from your stunned trance. Slowly, you turned your head.

You were in such a state of shock that you couldn’t even bring your stiff body or distraught mind to react to the glowing red eyes that were staring back at you before they fell shut and a pair of warm, plush lips were being pressed to yours.

Well… fuck.

You can officially say that this has been the most eventful night of your life.

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peepsilvs · 4 years

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Stardew Valley: A Charming Review

Warning: Very, very mild spoilers for the story, but otherwise quite spoiler free. Written 3.3.2020

I have always had a weak spot for video games that feel like home. Sometimes you just want to play a game without getting an adrenaline rush with every move you make. So, naturally, when I found a game a game that took inspiration from the Harvest Moon series, one of my childhood favorites, I was sold solely for the idea. What I got instead was even better than I had dreamed of, but in a different way.

Stardew Valley is a 16-bit pixel art RPG farming simulator game that was released in 2016 by its sole developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, and published by Chucklefish. It has since been improved and gotten new features over the years, with the most recent big update being 1.4 that added several new interactions and gameplay elements in 2019. In-game, you take the role of a young farmer who has grown tired of their work in a big corporation in an even bigger city and decides to move to their grandfather's old farm to start a new life in Pelican Town, Stardew Valley.

Relaxing Gameplay

When you start a new save in Stardew Valley, you are offered a choice from 6 different farms. Each of these farms represents a certain gameplay element in the game, with some encouraging farming and ranching, while others show what other activities the player can immerse themselves in. Even though you are a farmer in the world of Stardew Valley, you do not need to limit yourself to watering crops every day, but instead you can spend your time honing your fishing skills for a relaxing waiting game, or if you are feeling more adventurous, exploring the deep abandoned mines crawling with monsters. No matter what you choose, you are sure to find it rewarding every time you find something you have not seen before.

The main skills the player have are farming, foraging, mining, fishing and combat. Each of them have a level meter going up to 10, that at certain intervals allows you to choose special effects for your character and unlock crafting recipes, either to customize your farm with nice structures like paths or fences, or items that help you in the areas of that specific skill, like special buff clothing for combat. Maxing out these skills is simple: you do the activity that the skill is for.

There is a certain kind of difficulty curve in all of these activities that keeps it interesting even after you have reached the maximum level. Stardew Valley keeps record of all the things you have found, making it oddly satisfying to browse through a complete collection of fishes or gems that you have managed to find during your play. Of course, obtaining all items will not be easy, as there are specific requirements for the rare items, like the legendary fish that only spawn in a specific location at a specific time of year, or gems that only spawn with extremely good luck and courage to go deep enough into the more dangerous mines. It is safe to say that even if the player is only playing Stardew Valley for its gameplay, it will not immediately run out of content for a true completionist.

Since the game uses 16-bit pixel graphics, it runs smoothly but is also limited to a certain controls. Often it balances this, like in fishing, where there is an added mini game to make it a little less boring to wait for a fish to bite. However, the controls of said mini game have frustrated many players, and has been divisive among the players. Personally, I found it a bit clunky, but then again, the same could be said about combat that I did enjoy. An element from the Harvest Moon sister series Rune Factory, combat in 16-bit pixels is not very astonishing. It mainly consists of the player using different weapons to hit enemies while standing still. The different weapons have different effects, but using anything other than a sword due to its speed and strength defeats the purpose, as the other weapons do not compare or using them feels rather redundant. There is also some problems with time and settings that some players may find frustrating. A year in-game has four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, each consisting of 28 days with 20 in-game hours. To farmers and fishers, waiting for seasons to change in order to raise new crops or obtain new fish can be boring, but this can be balanced by the mechanic of going to sleep and skipping the day. The opposite problem though, the lack of time, is harder to fix. Unlike some Harvest Moon games, Stardew Valley forces the player to pass out after 2 A.M. While this is for the reason that the game can save the progress for that day, I often found myself annoyed by how little time I had to mine in a day. After reaching a certain level in mining, the more challenging mine becomes available only after 10 A.M, meaning the game leaves the player with twelve in-game hours to mine, and passing out in the mines would not be a problem, if the game did not actively punish the player for it. Every time the player passes out without getting to bed, they may lose money or some items the next morning. Understandably this adds difficulty, but more often than not it just feels like an unnecessary limitation.

Another, a more personal and a quality of life kind of aspect I hoped the game would have, is the changing of brightness. Stardew Valley has a fixed brightness in-game and it cannot be changed, so to people with sensitive eyes this can cause problems. Some have also complained about the lack of instructions the game has for its activities, but to an old Harvest Moon player like myself, this was not a problem as older games rarely gave any instructions to what to do. It very much depends on the player if they like to find out things via trial and error or if they prefer to think before they act.

The Charming Characters Bring Life to the Game

The most relaxing aspect I found in Stardew Valley was getting to know all the villagers of Pelican Town. There is something oddly human about these small pixel people and hearing their dreams, regrets and joys feels like you are truly helping someone. Stardew Valley is a dream for someone who wishes they could help everyone, as the player character tends to fix a lot of the problems the town is going through. The story is, in fact, all about getting invested in the little Pelican Town and its residents, helping them re-build their community center and restore the spirit they had before a big corporation market JojaMart came into town. Or, if the player so wishes, just to buy a JojaMart membership and buy their way through community updates.

Stardew Valley's main story is simple and does not get that much in the way of gameplay and the player is in no rush to play through it. The more rewarding story aspect is getting to know your neighbors, with each having their own story events to play through to find out about more of them. Among regular neighbors, there are also love 12 love interests, 6 men and 6 women. It does not matter which gender the player chooses, as Stardew Valley offers the option of same-sex marriage. Naturally, the love interests have more events than regular villagers, but even then, it is always nice to see events with characters you see as your friends. In the Harvest Moon series, I always felt sad about how the non-marriage candidate characters had almost no events to show your friendship with them. When I played Stardew Valley and noticed a pattern in the villagers actually interacting with you in events, I felt immense joy even over the platonic relationships in-game.

Unlike Harvest Moon, that hails from Japan, Stardew Valley sometimes resonates more with me due to its Western culture influence. It is surprisingly mature, with themes like alcoholism, depression and capitalism and their effects on people. Stardew Valley's characters feel alive due to their complex feelings on the issues going on in their life. Of course, getting to know them on the there hand might break this illusion of connection as the main way for the silent protagonist to bribe these people to love them is to give gifts and talking through the same dialogue. It feels superficial, but it is only a natural mechanic for the type of game that Stardew Valley is and it can hardly be held responsible for this.

The Aesthetic Feels Nostalgic

Even to a person who has not played Harvest Moon or older pixel games, Stardew Valley's art is very pleasing to the eye. The vibrant colors change through seasons and every seasons has its own unique feeling to it, brought to life with the nature's foliage and nicely composed music. To an old player who is familiar with Harvest Moon, it reminds me of the older games in the series and their innocence and relaxing flow, that some of the newer games lack.

As said, the music in Stardew Valley compliments the elements and feelings it is trying to get through during events, seasons or in specific areas like the mines. A casual player benefits largely from keeping the audio on while playing. Along with music, the sound design of Stardew Valley is good, though some of the SFX sound like odd squishy steps. Nevertheless, they do add a certain charm after the first few times of hearing them and the player comes to associate said sounds with the game, and I have to admit, I did laugh when I heard a pig make a noise for the first time.

What I love the most about Stardew Valley's aesthetics is its colors and the freedom it gives to the player. I have seen several players in the Stardew Valley community share their beautifully organized farms that the game allows the player to make, should they choose to spend their time on it. There is also a customization option for the avatar, with the player being able to choose and craft clothing for the protagonist and change their color as they will. This element allows the player to write their own story and to truly immerse into the beautiful world of Stardew Valley.

Co-op

There is also a co-op mode available for Stardew Valley. One of the farm types, The Four Corners, even encourages playing the game with your friends and while the gameplay doesn't differ that much from the single-player game, sharing the experience is fun as expected. It is to be noted however, that a single-player mode cannot be converted to a multiplayer server, so in every new multiplayer game, the player must start from a scratch again.

The other players live on the land of the host in smaller cabins that they can upgrade and get married in. Two players cannot get married to the same character, however, and there might be some amusing incidents where you are in the middle of a date with your sweetheart and you can see your best friends avatar running in the background hacking trees.

Two player can also get married to each other by crafting a wedding ring, but this hardly changes any gameplay. Still, it is a nice choice to have if someone chooses to share a Stardew Valley server with their real life partner.

Verdict

Stardew Valley is a beautiful, charming game, either for casual players or just people who enjoy relaxing while doing mindless collecting and helping others. It's fun, it's simple and it still manages to interest me after 150 hours of gameplay, due to its active community and ConcernedApe's passion for his project and improving it even after 4 years. To former Harvest Moon players, Stardew Valley is a must try at least once. It is defiantly not the same as Harvest Moon, but it does work as food for those waiting for western release dates, or as its own experience entirely. There is no denying that the love and passion put into this little game shines through it and manages to fill the heart of the player.

#stardew valley #harvest moon

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