empressofthewind
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Recent works
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Hold On Tight and Don't Look Back by empressofthewind
Fandoms: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
21 Jun 2026
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Summary
Sam finds a box of keepsakes from an old relationship, long forgotten in a corner of his room.
The box was forgotten, anyway. Not the relationship. He couldn't forget Sebastian if he tried.
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Sometimes, it feels like Sam spends most of his life waiting.
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Sam falls asleep in the middle of their movie night. Sebastian can't do much but stare.
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Sam feels like a fish out of water in Zuzu City; new college, new job, a new sense of freedom that he isn't sure he likes as much as he expected to. What's worse is that his manager takes an immediate disliking to him, and won't seem to let it go.
It's a little funny that the guy shares a name with Sam's ex-best friend. The two of them are nothing alike.
Series
- Part 1 of When Bridges Don't Burn
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Summary
Sebastian felt like he was going insane.
Everyone else in Pelican Town had been totally bewitched by the new farmer. No one else seemed to notice how bizarre he was. No one else questioned his weekly tradition of distributing gifts like it was the Feast of the Winter Star, or the means by which he acquired said gifts in the first place, or how they always seemed to be everyone's favourite things. It was like no one even noticed. Like Rowan had swung a pendulum the moment he landed in the valley, and Sebastian was the only one who wasn't hypnotised.
The worst part was watching his best friend fall victim to the spell.
Recent series
Recent bookmarks
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the best of us can find happiness in misery by stardrop_droptop
Fandoms: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
14 Jun 2026
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Summary
An unusual storm sets Haley and Sebastian on a unwilling collision course once again, sending them to hunker down in the Spa to hide from the wind, rain, and all the conversations they don't want to have.
[can be read as a standalone from the rest of the works in this series. written for SDV Spa Weekend 2026]
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Sebastian's bike rides look a little different with Sam in his life. He reflects on that change.
[written for day 7 of Sambastian Week 2026: Midnight Ride]
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Sebastian is gone.
Cleaning out his apartment should have been simple.
Then Sam finds a notebook.
Suddenly he's faced with years of memories, years of regrets, and the unbearable realization that some words arrive too late.Series
- Part 10 of Grief writings
- Part 12 of Emotional Devastation
Bookmarked by empressofthewind
01 Jun 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
Heed the warnings and bring tissues if you read this. Insanely powerful and gut-wrenching, my god
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two young lovers and half-priced drinks by planetary_no
Fandoms: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
16 Apr 2026
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Summary
Sam and Sebastian take full advantage of a hotel room away from the farmhouse for the night.
[can be read as a standalone. takes place mid-chpt 15 of smps]
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Summary
After mourning the death of his best friend for three years, Sam stumbles into an opportunity to turn back the clock and save Sebastian's life.
It works.
And it comes with a cost.
Bookmarked by empressofthewind
15 Oct 2025
Bookmarker's Notes
I think about this fic literally every day. The writing style is divine. The plot is stellar. The characterisations are EVERYTHING. Sam and Sebastian's relationship is so intricate and complex, and they act in ways that are very fallibly human without being frustrating to read. They fuck up, they have communication breakdowns, they have a lot of conflicting emotions that are messy and complicated but they make perfect sense. At the core of it all, they really, really love and care about each other, and the way that love is portrayed as both a lifeline keeping them afloat and a parasite slowly destroying them both is masterful. They're so deeply entangled in one another, and if one goes down, the other goes down with them. It's the kind of plot that doesn't have an easy resolution, and I'm really intrigued to see how everything wraps up. I have a strong suspicion it's going to hurt, one way or another.
I really really appreciate that this fic doesn't water anything down when it comes to mental health. The depiction of serious mental health struggles is very thoughtful and harrowing, and it's also really effective at showing that not all struggles are made the same; Sebastian's are more internally-driven, while Sam's are externally-driven, and they feed into each other in different ways. I love the way those contrasts align with their respective perceptions of each other and the world as a whole; Sebastian being someone who lives mostly in his own head and analyses the shit out of everything, while Sam is someone who operates on gut feelings/impulses in response to external stimuli, and is overall less introspective (BUT you can also see how his grief and trauma have both reacted with and informed that processing style over time; there is development both before and during the fic's timeline, he's not static). There are so many other parallels and contrasts I could talk about for hours. Their coping mechanisms, the manifestations of and outlets for their pain, the ways they conceptualise and process their feelings for each other, the ways their habits are influenced by each other's for better or worse. Just. Arhgjdgjdfhgdf. There is so much thought that has gone into it and it really pays off. 11/10 iridium star best thing I have read possibly ever??
(last read - ch8)