queerly coded

Title: The Chicken Expert's Delayed Suicide
Fandom: Stardew Valley
Characters/pairing: Shane/Elliot/Leah, or Platonic
Type/word-count: Angst and Humor; 1,395 words
Rating/warnings: Rated Teen for suicidal intent.
Description: All Shane wants to do is to roll over a few inches off the cliff side and get it over with. Unfortunately, some voices from his recent history just won't give him the satisfaction.

I've been replaying Stardew Valley recently, and Shane's suicide attempt scene hit me harder than I remember. It's much longer than the other heart events, and even has multiple "parts" to it. I guess I never expected to read the words "stomach pumping" in a farming game. This is a short one-shot dedicated to this scene, set in a world where either a) the farmer does not exist or b) has not arrived to the Valley yet. I doubt our heart event with him is the first time he's attempted suicide - I wanted to answer the question of what's stopped him previously.

"The Chicken Expert's Delayed Suicide" on AO3.

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