#at least for now. in the future I might get one just so I can do spreedsheet work in bed lol

[curlyfriesgalore]

the tulpar's very own "mom" & "dad."

i sent an anon message to a user (iykyk 🫣) about the reader dating curly while being a co-captain/pilot alongside him. they're seen as the mom and dad of the group because of their positions as leaders, and daisuke claimed they both had major facebook mom energy. definitely not self-projecting.

the two rolled with it, but discovered that they liked it way more than they realized, eventually calling each other mommy and daddy in their own space.

★ this is a list of headcanons and what is essentially a one-shot that's broken up into bullets. although, fair warning, i wrote A LOT, so there's so much to scroll through under the cut. anyway, the first half is sfw and other is nsfw.

☆ gen tags: fem! reader (she/her) who loves being captain and doesn't know what's popular these days. reader and curly are in their early 30s. no crash au. curly wants to have a family with you. jimmy is a janitor here LMAO.

★ nsfw tags MDNI: mommy (mama) kink. daddy kink. role switching but leans into fdom/msub. curly secretly got a thing for breeding 🫢.

[any feedback on my writing is much appreciated btw! since i'm doing this to improve —iris🌠]

sfw.

★ the dynamic.

you and curly met through working at pony express. both of you were equally capable captains and pilots of your respective ships, bonding over the responsibilities and pressures of your roles.

curly adored your genuine drive for this job. you were so passionate about bringing out the best in people and enjoyed micro-organizing every little detail, making sure everything went smoothly.

meanwhile, he was just good at talking, which you would always praise, but he never found much pride in what he does. however, it paid immensely well, and, at the very least, he got to indulge in his love for astronomy at every waking hour, distracting himself enough from cycling through his depressive thoughts.

so, he's not complaining. plus, he gets to ogle at and hang out with the prettiest and coolest person at pony express.

(sure, he had jimmy, so he wasn't always so alone with his mind, but with you in his life, he might actually have a chance at settling down. though, curly was getting ahead of himself. he'll try to drop his future family fantasies for now... juuust until he's sure he can bag you).

curly finds your way of leading to be so endearing and... intimidating, honestly. while he was calm and compromising, you were firm and authoritarian. you were never swayed by incompetence and planted a strong ground when navigating discourse between crewmates, but, at the same time, you were nurturing. you have an air of deep kindness and wise guidance that sends him reeling. he'd openly tell you how much he admired that, but would never admit that he daydreams of how hot you looked when you ordered your crew around. he's got to stay professional, after all!

at some point, the two of you were paired for a 3-month long-haul flight. you, the captain, and he, the co-captain. one thing lead to another and without the company's knowledge, you two fell for each other.

how could you not? you two had all the elements of a power couple and understood each other better than anyone else. besides, he is one hunk of a man. of course you'd want to snag him for yourself, who wouldn't?

funnily enough, you guys asked to see each other in the cockpit with the same intention of declaring feelings.

and, of course, since you two were grown adults stuck on a spacecraft far too long for your libidos to handle, it only took two confessions interrupting each other, two pairs of hands holding, and two soft kisses to lead to the two of you passionately making out, with you straddling his lap as he wrapped his arms around your back.

it's been years since then, and the tulpar was just one of many long-haul trips where the two of you got to work together.

however, you guys have kept your relationship hidden for the sake of professionalism. even jimmy was dumbfounded to accidentally find out nearly a year into dating.

"dude, why the fuck do you have captain l/n in your wallet...?" jimmy squinted at the photo. his eyes scrolled down the print, coming to a halt and widening at what he saw, "wait, shut up, is that you two kissing?" his eyebrows contorted into a tense knit. his mouth gaped as he stared at curly, who stood and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "since when?!"

as curly explained himself, jimmy half-heartedly laughed as he shook his head, bemusement painting his face. whether or not he was ever happy to learn about this, curly will never know.

then, realization hit. jimmy frowned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "oh, god, please don't tell me those stains i've been cleaning were from you guys?"

"huh?! no, no! jimmy, i swear, that wasn't us, i promise!" curly panicked, his head shaking profusely.

turns out, it was, lmfao. jimmy gave him an earful, and curly kept apologizing, embarrassed that his best friend knows a little too much about what he's been doing around the ship.

this man adored you, more than anything. the security you had in him—in yourself, most of all, was intoxicatingly comforting.

the two of you swore to stick together for as long as it takes, and have already planned out your wedding, buying a house together, changing careers (curly wants to be a stay-at-home dad, maybe freelance in something if he's got time), owning pets, raising kids (he is 100% a girl dad!!! i can see him wanting at least 2, but if you still have room for one more, he'll gladly take responsibility *wink* *wink*), etc.

curly believed that you both balanced well as parents. you would teach the kids to be brave and confident in themselves, whereas, he would help them learn to handle confrontation calmly and be friendly to all.

(he's not saying that you weren't friendly, just that, between the two of you, he specialized more in the charm department. he wasn't wrong, though! back before you guys dated, he cranked his charisma to a max, and look where that's got him now 🤭).

all of this meant everything to curly. he had quite a rough start to life, not financially but familially (how you want to interpret that is up to you). it's why he's become such a people-pleaser and tends to be a doormat, growing used to internalizing his feelings because he believed others were more deserving of pity (a belief that's been reinforced by jimmy throughout their friendship).

not to mention, how much he worried about being with someone who had to stay on earth. he felt guilty for this hypothetical person, how they'd be akin to a military spouse, waiting for god knows how long, just for curly to come back and stay for less than 6 months at a time. it sickened him to think of how that would affect his future children.

so, for him to be in a relationship with someone in the same occupation and caliber as him eased a lot of that fear. and, this is the same person who is known for her emotionally maturity, who knows how to express her thoughts and feelings, and who loves curly for all that makes him him, giving him more reasons than he already had to get down on that knee.

good GOD does he wish he could go ahead and do that already, but proposing on an aged piece of metal in outer space wasn't the most... romantic setting, as much as you jokingly insisted it was.

but, no worries, curly's got it all planned out. once you all land back on earth, curly is making sure you get your dream proposal, for that man is stopping at nothing to wed you and love you for the rest of his life!

★ the beginning to a never-ending petname.

one night, anya pulled out a pop-culture board game, one that the others understood the rules and references of fairly quickly. but, you and curly? oh, you guys needed time.

you two weren't dumb by any means, you guys were just... a little behind on the trends—trends that have been out for forever 💀.

everyone poked fun at how much you would both pause and say, "huh...?" or "w-what's that from, again?" how your brows would knit and furrow, your faces looking blank as ever. the two of you would take a slow glance at each other, then at the others, and shake your head in confusion.

admittedly, swansea was in the same boat as you two, but even he knew a couple of things better than you lot. "the benefits of raising two nerds for kids," he'd say. he liked laughing at you guys, made him feel young.

"ohh, isn't that the game you play on your gameboy, daisuke? the... you know, uh, the cute pika ball thing?" daisuke stared at curly, dumbfounded by what he was hearing.

"CAPTAIN. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THE NAME OF ONE OF—IF NOT—THE HIGHEST FORMS OF ART?!" he turned to you, desperation fueling his eyes. "l/n, please tell me you've at least heard of pokémon before..." daisuke exaggeratedly clasped his hands together. you sat there, pursing your lips with shifty eyes and pretended to whistle as you looked away.

"anya. swansea. i think i'm gonna faint..." he dramatically dropped himself onto the two. swansea shook his head, uncrossing his arms and pulling daisuke off his and anya's laps, "kid, you are way too dramatic for your own good."

daisuke exasperatedly commented on how you and curly were so much like his parents, clueless and far too involved in work to know his interests.

then, he thinks for a second, and finally decides that you guys were technically the parents of the ship.

"right? think about it. if the tulpar were a house and we were family, l/n and curly would be mom and dad 'cause they're responsible for us and the ship. swansea's the grandpa—oh, come on, swan, don't look at me like that!"

"i mean, you do have grandkids, swansea..."

"exactly. THANK YOU, anya. now, you get to be the cool older sister, i'm the even cooler teenage son, polle can be like... our little pet or something, and jimmy is the uncle!"

"wh-why am i the uncle?"

"'cause you know... you're... you."

"what is THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

as an "argument" ensued between the others, you and curly were flushing. nobody but jimmy knew of your relationship, but the fact that daisuke figuratively paired you guys as a married couple turned you into a bashful, blushing mess.

nobody noticed, really. jimmy was too busy grumbling about being seen as the weird uncle, and everyone started getting really annoyed by him. so, in classic curly and y/n fashion, you two tried to resolve the situation (curly reassured jimmy that uncles can be cool! but jimmy's frown just deepened).

the game ended, and the two of you walked to your sleeping quarters, reflecting on how it went. not bringing up the mom/dad thing just yet, but it lurked in the back of your minds.

deciding to stay in his room, you and curly changed into your pjs. you snuggled up under the covers, but he momentarily checked on some paperwork. you groaned, rolled your eyes, and patted the pillows.

"babyyy, just get into bed now." you pouted.

curly chuckled, "okay, okay... just give me ooone more sec, mama, i'll be right there—"

your eyes widened, a fuzzy warmth bubbled within you. curly quickly got embarrassed and apologized, but when you softly chuckled and reassured him that you didn't mind, he relaxed.

hearing how smoothly 'mama' rolled out his tongue unlocked something deep in you.

the truth was, curly had been calling you 'mom', 'mama', and 'mommy' in his fantasies for quite some time now. he told you, now with him in bed, how it helped him immerse himself in imagining his future with you. even in scenarios where you didn't have kids yet, it still felt so soothing to call you by those titles.

he rested his head in the crook of your neck as you circled his back with your palm, occassionally playing with the ends of his hair. as he yapped about it, trying to make it seem less of a big deal for him, you lifted his chin to face you. he instantly softened, his words faltering as you looked down on him.

"you can call me, mommy, more often if you'd like to, baby... i really don't mind." you reassured in a low voice.

curly was uncertain, but his ocean doe eyes remain glued to your deep gaze. he swallowed, "are you sure? you don't have to put up with it if you don't really like it, honey, it's okay—"

you softly hushed him, thumbing the golden hairs scattered on his cheek. "no, i mean it." you paused, hoping the following words sounded smooth, "...mommy thinks it's genuinely cute when you call me that."

curly squirmed. a whimper resided in his throat, but, as the rumbling of your voice trailed down his spine, he let a quiet, high-pitch moan escape his lips.

for a man who presents himself as someone very self-assured, he does have a hard time accepting that you were really okay with it.

however, when his hesitancy eases into normalcy, he's calling you 'mommy' and 'mama' in every other sentence. if not, all his sentences.

"hey, mommy, where'd you put my mug?"

"mama, you need to stop sleeping so late. it's bad for your health." (he's a hypocrite and he knows it).

curly's voice was naturally deep, saccharine sweet, and a bit raspy at times. but, when he called you by your motherly petnames, he'd go an octave softer, especially as the night came to a close and sleepiness was taking a toll on him. he'd sound a little dumb and incoherent, but the bass in him remained strong.

he still calls you by the classic petnames, mainly 'darling' and 'honey' since those are his other personal faves. though, minutes prior to work, he'd try to use your actual name or settle with 'babe,' so he doesn't accidentally call you 'mommy' in public. it was deeply personal for him, and if someone like jimmy caught wind of that, it would greatly upset curly, even though he would very likely tell you it was fine (just so you wouldn't chew jimmy alive).

so, when YOU began calling him, 'daddy,' it sent his mind into a haywire. (how it happened is in the nsfw section!)

he loved the safety of calling you his mommy, how it relieved the weight of his captain duties and the thoughts burdened in his mind. but, with his newfound title, he'd flip between feeling secure in your protection to wanting to do nothing but protect you. not from any real danger, perse, but, moreso, caring for each other's well-being when either of you wanted to indulge in a little less control.

it made sense that even you, the commanding leader who enjoyed delegating and dominating others (other than him), needed a break from your responsibilities and wanted curly to take the wheel for a change.

you both took turns pampering one another. he would do everything you wanted, and made sure to wrap you in his big, strong arms by the end of the day.

"rest your pretty head for me, okay, mommy? daddy's got you..." he brought the back of your hand to his lips and kissed it deeply, thumbing your knuckles with his large, calloused fingers. with his other arm, curly pressed your waist closer to his, letting you relish in his warmth.

when it was his turn, a long snuggle session, loads of praise, and kisses in every place was all he needed (don't forget to call him your good little boy! he needs his mommy's praise after a rough day at work).

"honeyyy, i've called you 'good boy' like 24 times in a rowww...!" you whined. of course you didn't mind peppering kisses on his face with the same adoring name over and over again, but now, he was just getting greedy.

curly giggled, nuzzling his nose against your cheek as he softened his sea blue eyes, "just ooone more, pleaaase, mama? please...?"

he loved how reliable the term 'daddy' felt. it gave him a little ego boost. he's always had a pretty good relationship with his masculinity, but this just added onto that like a good affirmation.

the way his mind would get so lost in replaying how you two back-and-forthed with your respective petnames. it felt like he was role-playing his future family with you in real time.

★ extras.

it became an ongoing joke with the crew, especially with daisuke. whenever you'd tell him to get back to work, he'd drawl out a long "okayyy, mommmm," but quickly apologized after swansea smacked the back of his head.

"tch, don't talk to your captain like that."

"ach! i'm sorry, I'M SORRYYY—i was kidding!!!"

anya found it silly, never really saying anything like daisuke, but since you two became good friends (both because you guys genuinely clicked and were the only women on board), she had a knack for teasing you about it. she knew something more was going on between you and curly. so, maybe, just maybe, during a psych eval, you eventually spilled to her about your relationship.

"hehe, called it."

"seriously?! how?"

"y/n... it's so obvious. i've seen you guys go into each other's rooms."

swansea didn't care. he was an actual dad, after all, and practically everyone he knew eventually became a parent one way or another. though, if you felt comfortable enough with swansea and told him about your relationship, he surprisingly wouldn't mind giving you two a piece of advice. how to keep a long-term marriage? dude's been with his wife for over 40 years and counting. raising children? please, he's done it twice. unclogging the toilet after your kids threw your deodorant down the drain? don't ask, just listen. you're much better off not knowing how.

whatever it is, ask away, but don't expect anything easy on the ears. swansea gives advice in poetic prose that borderline sounds like he's taking a jab at you.

truthfully, jimmy is somewhere in between being deeply irritated by the both of you and not giving two shits. he hates how you're sort of a curly clone, in the sense that you're also a high-performing person that everyone adores to work with. but, what's worse, is that you're so much harder to get mad at and are 100% capable of calling out his ass.

he's had to catch himself from saying anything too mean to curly multiple times. he knows he's easily replaceable, he's the janitor for god's sake, and if he said too much in front of you, he knows you'd tell pony express to fire him on the spot.

but, if we're assuming that jimmy is mentally better in the head, he'd eventually get over it and shrug off your guys' relationship, not wanting to grow envious as he does by default.

nsfw.

★ mommy.

it didn't surprise you that curly loved calling you 'mommy' in bed too. he'd always say, "mommy, you're so beautiful", "m-mommy, it's too tight...!" and when he gets overwhelmed, he'd become so dazed as his dick ached, crying because his mama felt so good.

he was like pavlov's dog, only the bell was your petname and you were the meal. if either of you were ever so slightly horny and everyone was stowed away in their quarters, hearing 'mommy' reverberate out of your mouth had him squeezing his thighs.

however, he's gotten used to mostly keeping it in his pants. not letting himself get needy when it's used casually. otherwise, he'd cease to function.

he loves it when you ride him, he gets all whimpery and brain-dead, begging his mama to let him cum out of his "little" boy dick.

all he wanted was his mommy to use him, make him so overstimulated until all that was left in his empty head was you.

sometimes, he loved the feeling of reaching his orgasm more than the orgasm itself. it's that momentary numbness he gets that he enjoys chasing, how every single thought completely disappeared, leaving him into nothing but a panting mess — all of him leaking out of his cock.

★ daddy.

one night, you were laying on curly, sitting upright. he held you in his arms as you spread your legs far and wide, toes digging into the mattress, gripping onto curly's biceps for support.

and, just like curly when he called you 'mama' for the first time, you accidentally slipped out a "daddy—!" as he fingered you, knuckles-deep.

you suddenly went quiet, quickly covering a hand over your mouth.

curly's eyes widened, his fingers stilled inside of you as his heart raced in his chest... he didn't expect it, but his shock washed into dominance.

he pulled out his fingers, his tone more stern and husk as he whispered, "say that again."

you whimpered, the loss of fullness making your thighs shudder. without a single thought, you called him daddy again, and again, and again... until he flipped you onto your stomach and was back to toying with you, digging into your insides at much greater speeds than before.

when you began regularly using it, he'd grow so romantic and reserved, wanting to take his time to just worship you—peppering deep kisses from head to toe—because in his eyes, you were the most precious person in existence.

he's never rough unless you tell him to be or he knows that it'll make you cum even better, but this man just loves to be slow and sensual. it's his go-to speed.

his favorite thing to do is coo at you, asking if you like how daddy is loving you or if daddy's doing a good job at touching your little hole. even when he's assuming a dominant role, he wants your reassurance.

curly is never mean. he only likes to light-heartedly tease you whenever you'd whine for him to keep going. other than that, he was heavy on his praises, loved complimenting you till you were blushing all over.

★ taking turns.

now, you guys would call each other 'mommy' and 'daddy' regardless of the dynamic, but if either of you felt more subby, you'd settle for the classic, 'good girl,' and him, 'good boy' (or any other submissive petname you prefer).

if you're domming and he's subbing, he wants you to use up all of his cum for your pleasure. he hopes you'll let him spill all that's left in him for hours on end.

however, most of the time, he's not really built for that, only able to handle a little over a round. so, to make up for it, he'll let you get him all pent up and force him to hold it in, using his desperation as energy to serve you.

the longer you left him like that, the faster his licks and finger-fucks became.

if you're cruel, making him rut into you would send him shaking. he'd struggle so hard, needing to take breaks as he alternated between slow and steady thrusts to rough humps according to what you ordered... oh, tears were definitely rolling down his cheeks.

(don't worry, he's not hurt. it's just a lot for him to physically handle. but, for you, he'd withstand anything!)

on the off-chance that he has the energy to go longer, he wants you to use him in all positions with only a minute to breathe after each cum. he wants to lose it, make him sweaty and breathless, please. turn him into a pathetic display only for your eyes to see.

if he's domming and you're subbing, he finds it fun to deny your orgasm, loving how surprised you get whenever he'd lift your vibrator off your clit or leave his dick in you, barely moving an inch. but even then, he quickly caves in and lets you have your way because nothing turns him on more than you cumming and crying for your 'daddy.'

he doesn't do that to hurt you, after all, he hates the mere possibility of even remotely making you uncomfortable. but, when he asks whether or not mommy misses his fingers, and you'd mewl in agreement, he can't help himself from edging you.

★ curly thinking of you. (extras).

he jerks off to the idea of breeding you.

but, even though it gets his dick all wet, he won't re-enact it just yet. he doesn't want to accidentally impregnate you when neither of you were ready—especially since you're the one carrying.

even if you were incredibly horny and adamant on it, he'd keep his rationale.

"mommy... i'm not cumming inside you." he chuckled, shaking his head with his tone, firm. you whined, "but, why not?" a needy frown formed on your lips, "i just want to feel good, daddy. you said i could...!"

you grinded down on his boxers, wetness seeped through the fabric of your panties. curly stifled a groan as he felt your clothed folds slide against his tip, drenched in his pre-cum.

"i know, mommy, i know... daddy'll take care of you soon, i promise... but i'm not risking anything, okay?" he pressed a kiss on your forehead, thumbing circles on your stomach with his hands gripping your waist. "it's for your own safety, mama."

but, since this was all in his head, he could indulge in it as much as he wanted.

curly loved remembering the way your cum dripped out of your hole, how softly your pussy parted. it made him wish it was his, wanting to fill you up and let his mess soak up inside you.

he wished he could finger it back into you—or, even better, tongue-fuck it in. the thought of having you sit on his face with him lapping his cum into your walls, as you rubbed your clit against the end of his nose got him all hot and bothered.

with his hand pumping himself from base to tip, he'd think of you laying down on your back, wrapping your legs around curly's head as you pushed his mouth further into you. he'd moan into your pretty parts, purposefully deepening it so his voice would vibrate all over your pussy.

[holy shit, i wrote so much. thank you for reading all the way ♡ let me know if you guys want more captain! reader and/or mommy/daddy kink! curly —iris🌠]

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | December 23rd-29th 2024

Last weekly recap of 2024! I hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Now I gotta start working on my favorite fics of the year rec 🙈

Complete

Too Much is Never Enough by scarmaddiewrites (Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together | 1,8K | Teen): Buck doesn’t remember calling Eddie, let alone what the call was about. He definitely doesn’t remember Eddie showing up to his loft, crawling in bed behind him, and holding him so tight that his body was forced to relax. Or Eddie takes care of Buck after a call

drive on through the night (if it's a drive back home) by inbetweenthestacks/ @organizedstardust (Post-S8A, Christmas | 2K | General): “I miss Buck,” he says morosely into Eddie’s shoulder. “Grandma’s gingerbread isn't nearly as good as his.” Eddie huffs a laugh. “I miss him too, bud. I wish we could see him.” It somehow feels like an understatement. He thought moving would help with the ache in his chest from missing Chris, and it did, but the ache was just replaced by missing Buck instead. “I mean…” Chris says, sitting up. He gives Eddie a sideways look. “Could we?” -- The Diazes surprise Buck for Christmas.

see the lights, and hang the stockings by wafflesofdoom/ @capseycartwright (Christmas, Getting Together | 2K | General): Eddie finds out that Buck has never ever had a Christmas stocking of his own. He's very determined to change that and share a few Diaz family traditions.

homecoming by Wildehack (tyleet)/ @wildehacked (Post-S8A, Chris comes back from Texas | 3K | General): “You need to calm down,” Maddie says, putting her hand on his arm. Her eyes are doing that huge, sympathetic, shiny thing, and that’s totally not necessary.

You're all I need underneath the Christmas tree by giselleslash/ @gigi-gigi (Christmas, Getting Together, Post-S8A | 3K | General): Eddie’s in love with Buck, but he’s not sure he should tell him, well, at least not until Buck comes over one night and crawls under his Christmas tree.

i was made for loving you baby (you were made for loving me) by Anonymous (PWP, Post-S8A | 4K | Explicit): Eddie isn't moving to Texas, and instead has something else to say to Buck. Things escalate pretty fast.

Take off your clothes by Anonymous (PWP, Post-S8E6: Confessions | 4K | Explicit): Or, Eddie is a nudist when he can be, so Buck isn't surprised to find him half naked when he runs to him for comfort post-breakup. Except, maybe there is something different about it this time.

under the mistletoe (with you) by justhockey (Christmas, Getting Together, S8 5K Teen): Buck has a pretty good imagination, but never in his wildest fantasies could he have dreamed up the way that Eddie is looking at him right now. (Or, three times they kiss beneath the mistletoe, and one time they don't need it.)

i might kiss you on the back of your neck (because it’s christmas time) by sibylsleaves/ @sibylsleaves (Christmas, Established Buddie, Future Fic | 7K | Explicit): It's the holidays and Buck and Eddie are trying to snag an intimate minute alone..but between two young children and an adult son coming home for the break, it’s not as easy as they hoped. or, Five Times Captain Diaz and Recruit Lieutenant Diaz fail to sleep together and one time they do

run thru everything that u are by taegyungie (Christmas, Post-S8A, Getting Toghether, PWP | 9K | Explicit): The thing is: Eddie hasn’t had to think about dating at all - not until his mother called to remind him how thirty-something-and-single he is right before Christmas. It hasn’t crossed his mind much, it hasn’t interested him whatsoever. He’s having too much fun hanging out with Buck all the time. So no, he hasn’t considered dating men. Not really. He gets the idea and then he runs from it. Somehow, he always manages to run straight into Buck. The irony is not lost on him.

WIP

🔥 Finding Mr Christmas by JJK/@trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Canon Divergent, Reality TV, Christmas | 8/10 | 47K | Teen): "Welcome to Finding Mr Christmas! You’re all here chasing the same dream, to star in a Hallmark Christmas movie, and over the next few weeks we’re going to be putting you through your paces to see which of you has the most star quality and that ‘it’ factor that makes you shine above the rest." 🎄🎄🎄 An AU where Buck and Eddie meet as contestants on Hallmark's Finding Mr Christmas competition (and fall for each other).

Wherever you find love (make it last all year) by rainbow_nerds/ @rainbow-nerdss (Canon Divergent, Christmas | 5/7 | 8K | Mature): Buck first met Eddie on Christmas. This is the story of seven Christmases they spend together.

🔥 there is no road by littleghost/ @ghostlandtoo (Post-S8A, Eddie moves to Texas | 3/6 | 41K | Explicit): Years ago, almost a full decade, Shannon had asked him to move and Eddie refused because he was trying to build a life for himself again. Eddie knows if he asks Buck, he’ll get that same refusal. Worse, Buck could say yes and Eddie would be uprooting Buck from the very life he built for himself. He doesn’t ask, and Buck doesn’t offer, and they pack up Eddie Diaz’s life in Los Angeles into cardboard boxes. Or: Eddie moves to Texas. Buck buys his house. There’s a love story somewhere in here.

Podfic

[podfic] Happy Holidays to the Clown Car by All_I_Ask/ @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove, fic by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Established Buddie, Christmas | 0-10min | Teen): Buck stresses about making their first Christmas perfect. Eddie proposes about it.

[orleans-jester]

This Pierre, in this alternate verse, chose Piper. It was his last night alive, he had an inkling of that, and was choosing to spend it with Piper. A sensuous, sexual, passion-charged night. He was still the Pierre that everyone knew and rolled their eyes at, no matter the universe he still had a wandering eye, but when it counted? He chose Piper.

This Pierre had gone with the Laveaus when his mother and sister had come to confront Phoebus and pick up their stuff. He hadn’t tortured Thomas with hours of trying to justify his decisions. He had still been a pest at the Laveau house, sure, but it wasn’t out of anything bad-natured. That’s just what happens sometimes. But he didn’t make an enemy of himself, the way that the Pierre standing next to Piper right now had.

So all of that could very much have factored into the decision that Piper was going to make very soon.

“I missed you too,” Pierre said, his dark eyes brightening as he looked at her in the dim lighting of the room. “You were always my number one girl, you know that, right? No matter what happened, no matter who I was with, my mind … it always went right back to you.”

Even now, he kept tearing his eyes off of the vision of himself and Piper in that bathtub, and looking back to the real one. And that was damn hard for him. He was never one to turn down free porn.

He moaned, his Adam’s apple bobbing as she was touching him in this enclosed space. It was hard to focus on the plan when she was looking at him like this. Touching him like this. His breath was coming out quicker. Real touch. Not what happened in Hell. But real. Honest. Touch. “Promise me - we’ll have lots of time for this in the future?” He whispered.

He even thought about turning back time to when they got here. Have her here in this closet. He was already hard as a damn rock, just from her touch. Just from hearing himself in that bathtub out there. And from the idea of having life once more.

He let out a small groan into the kiss, his hands on his hips, feeling the dip of her waist before it flared out into that. “You’re bringing me back, how can I say no?”

He never even questioned how this one was going to die. He just saw the lucky fucker in a bathtub. At least he was having a good last day right? And then the thump - thump - thump of heavy footsteps. It sent a shiver up his spine just hearing them coming. He was growing nervous now. He was trying to appear brave, for Piper’s sake but shit, he was still a bit squeamish. He almost wanted to stay in that closet but Piper’s pull brought him out of it and he went running. Jump and slam. Jump and slam. Easy peasy. Like - those stupid football games that Ronno’s dad loved to watch.

And he tried. But the slam was too hard. Too physical. And what he did was slam his way into Delta’s line of fire, and push the other Pierre out of the way, and Piper grabbed him and took him back to the alternate universe. The exact Pierre Renault that everyone knew and loved to hate, was gone in a vomitous, fiery spew.

And now this new Pierre Renault was in this other world, the ends of his hair still damp, naked with a towel, and trying to get his bearings. But his eyes settled mainly on Piper, someone familiar, someone who he had just been with, someone who was now somehow magically dressed. His eyesbrows were furrowed as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair, making no attempt to tighten the towel or cover himself up more. They had talked about this happening but - actually having it happen?

Much like how he had made other decisions that greatly affected his life, though they might not have seemed so monumental at the time, others had too. In this other life, New Orleans hadn’t been wiped out. There weren’t zombies walking around. Hence how the scribbles kept ending up at Delta’s door, there were still plenty of them around. These changes were going to have to be adjusted to, once his mind wrapped around everything.

But one thing that never changed across universes was these were his two dudes. A grin came across his face as he saw them. He was alive. Seven never died in his universe so he was still alive too. He still had his two best guys. “It’s - definitely me,” He said, because in a way, it was. He was him. Pierre Renault.

He looked down at himself and chuckled. “Man, I wish. That sounds so much nicer than what really happens,” He said, a shiver going down his spine as he thought about the way that he would have died if not for Piper’s interfering. It could very well have come from the cold as well. “Dragon fire.”

He took the blankets from mothers with a charming grin, cacooining himself in one. And then because some things never truly change - “Wanna get somewhere warm and give this body a spin?” Which one of them was he talking to? All, of course.

The ladies loved the charm. Some people were turned off by it because they could sniff it out so easily, but these ladies didn't mind being razzle dazzled. Clotho had no doubts he'd be back up to 100 percent charming in no time.

As for Zero going emotional overload on Pierre at the last minute, he couldn't help himself. The anticipation made him burst. It all flooded out.

The guilt had been eating Zero alive. Fear of hurting more than he already apparently was stronger than guilt. It won out in the end. Luckily, Pierre smoothed it over quickly. "Thanks Pierre. You know how to make a guy feel better." Maybe he was still his aftercare guy after all? He just didn't know everything he was going to need aftercare from. Guilt counted. So did confusing internalized feelings he'd never be able to discern. All he knew was he felt better now.

Well, he'd feel better about the moment both Pierre and Seven were back. Seven down, Pierre to go.

After Pierre had disappeared on and he was left with Seven the number boys had their own private conversation while Piper and Pierre were off getting an eye full of self porn from their multi-verse doppelgangers.

This is where Pierre got explained the whole plan. He seemed to get the gist of it. Piper supposed it was enough.

"Yeah, maybe so." She said smoothing her hands over his shoulders in such a sensual way it could only seem like she might just be getting aroused by the scene before them, or by Pierre's suggestion. "Maybe we should."

Then she leaned her forehead against his. "I really have missed you." She smoothed her thin long, graceful arms around his shoulders. "I once wondered if it was just the idea of you. Then I realized we were never a couple, so that didn't make sense. The idea of what? Right? We were always just us. That's when I knew for sure it was just you. Not some idea in my head of who I thought you might be. I just missed the times we did have. Wished for simpler times maybe. But nah, no farfetched fantasies. I know what was missed."

As she spoke her eyes would glance over at the pair in the bath gauging the moments knowing the routine because she'd seen it before. What a world it was when this was one of the last things Pierre would do before his last breaths. He wasn't so lucky in their timeline. She'd look fondly at Pierre and say, "It's almost time. When I so go, we're going to follow out behind them, but stay low."

She kept staying close though. She kept running her fingers through his hair, her nose against his neck, hands would smooth up and down his arms. She was remembering Pierre. It'd been so long. She kept having little flashes of their times in the forest or at the party in Funkytown. Fun times. Easier times. Times when he was just a boy, and she was just a girl. Neither one of them were anybody special that either of them really knew of.

Then her muscles would start to tighten as time drew near. She readied herself. She looked up. "I wanted to thank you for saying yes." She knew damn well he could have said no. "It was the most purple thing you could have ever done for me." Then she kissed him deeply, a high vibration thank you with all the energy she put into it. He would be able to feel it fuzzing off the edge of her skin. It took all herself control to not have her groove kick on in a moment like that. She might not have been as high strung with the music as Kuzco, but when emotions were high even Piper had a difficulty containing.

Then rattle-rattle, clang-clang, footsteps were clodding echoes down the halls towards the bath chambers the pair were basking in.

She patted his shoulder. Like now. Now. Get ready Get ready. She was waving her hand in a frantic be still, almost sort of way as Piper and Pierre went sloshing out of the tub to see what was going on. Pierre's name was being called. The voice should be familiar to them both as Delta was hardly an unknown relic to either time jumper here.

They were hidden in an unknown part of Delta Castle.

Why? In that timeline things had gone a little differently and as a timekeeper Delta kept him on board longer than she had in the current timeline. He didn't make the same mistakes he had this timeline. He made a few different ones. Whatever they were caused an uproar because Delta was tired of unknowns she referred to as his scribble faces coming up to the castle looking for him. She told Frank if one more of his scribbles comes to her door looking for Pierre she's going to burn him alive. She was just sick of it. They like low maintenance monsters. The Hunch's family was all they could handle in this world too. Sorry Pierre. It's an acid bath for you.

The footsteps would change dramatically because Delta was transforming and slamming into walls in her dragon hide through awkward corridors. Dragon scales smashed corners like armored dozers and armored trucks and she barreled in.

Even Diablo's voice would be squawking Pierre's name. Piper would be pushing him out, "You better go." She'd be helping him with a towel as she wrapped her own.

The real Piper would be holding low and gripping the real Pierre's arm. "Here we go."

Once Piper and Pierre ran out into the corridor, she pulled him out of the closet. "Come on. Come on." She hurried.

She bent down. "Watch. Right there. Just jump at him. JUMP HARD. With intention with this." She put the mini purple hourglass in his hand. "You don't have to turn it. Just hold it. Just hold it and jump. Slam into him. Slam into him and everything will happen so fast. As long as you're holding this, it'll be a done deal. I'll go right home too. The new body goes home. You got it. Right when you see the dragon's shadow emerge from that hall. That's when you jump."

Just outside in the hall where they were talking the doppleganger Piper and Pierre were arguing hearing the dragon gaining headway. Piper was wondering what Pierre did this time because Delta gave him his last warning. Pierre was feigning shocked innocence while naming a few things as if they shouldn't have counted and wasn't sure if Delta might have counted them.

So as the pair were making up their minds what to do, time would too fast. The dragon would speed forth spew acid all over Pierre and get this pesky problem out of Delta's curly boingy hair.

However, when she'd spring forth that's the pinnacle moment of truth. Piper had her moment of clarity. Those devil horns spun out from the spirals of her spiked puppeted mind.

Maybe she'd just push the dopple-Pierre out of the way to head out with the real hourglass. She'd leave the real Pierre behind, a purple trinket in his hand from her belt. The one she'd carried like a burden of grief and lady of sorrow for his time gone. But this was no Via Dolorosa. No, she was here to save a life. Maybe Pierre would still get the last laugh, but this Pied Piper lured a Pierre away and gained another in return.

Chomp. Drizzle. Acid bitch sizzle.

The current timeline soul - back to the other side. Dead. In the multiverse otherworld killed by Delta's acid out of sheer annoyance not for anything heinous.

Back in the current world with the mother Fates and strings that were now bonded-

"Told you I'd save your life." Piper said to the new Pierre. A Pierre that no one else knew was any different. In many ways he wasn't. It was their plan all along. "Now live it with meaning. Live it deliberately."

Zero and Seven would be clueless at this point. It would be the same Seven. No tricks. He was a last-minute decision brought into this. Piper had been plotting this with the Fates for so long trying to find the perfect Pierre. So many strings.

It was why this Pierre would seem to know her. It was why Seven and Zero wouldn't suspect a thing at this point. Piper came from the future and told him he was going to die but didn't tell him when. With his abilities she didn't want him messing anything up. Everything would go off without a hitch and now they were back with a living and breathing Pierre and Seven. Also, with how Piper knew the other Pierre reacted having to keep himself a secret in a different body she didn't want this one to have to go through that again, so even though she promised this one he was going to get to be open about things with most people they'd have a discussion about all that once they got to this world.

Zero was wide eyed. Seven too. They'd had their moments alone. Now they were taking in Pierre.

"Woah my man, woah. You made it. Is that really you?" It was supposed to be a rhetorical question, but in this case maybe it should have been literal.

"What's with the wardrobe change? Not that I'm complaining. Heh. eh." He looked down at the towel that magically managed to stay on during their time travel back to this timeline. "You drown in the bathtub, right? That's got to be it? Am I right?" Trying to guess how Pierre died in his alternate life felt like a fun thing to do seeing him come back in next to nothing but a skin sweater.

The mothers were already on it bending down in their baskets picking up blankets to carry over to him in case he was cold catering to him.

[m00nkissedlover]

・｡rings 💍

you've ordered: a bone-shaped lemon tart! enjoy!

"it's always been just him and me, together."

divus crewel x spouse! reader | word count: 994 words

summary: the students don't know you're married to their alchemy professor 💍 (silly little crewel drabble! :D)

warnings: kinda rushed, not proofread. other than that, none!

note: not my best work, but hey- it is what it it T-T. i will definitely be writing more for crewel in the future! also, i use they/them pronouns for reader. feel free to change them to your preferred pronouns while reading

"did you guys know that professor y/n is married?" ace exclaimed, receiving reactions of utter shock and complete indifference.

"you're just now finding out?" jamil asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"wait, you knew? since when?" grim asked, his face stuffed with a meat filled pastry.

"since the first day of class. i noticed the ring when they was handing out papers."

"do you know who they're married to?" kalim questioned, jamil shaking his head.

"all i know is that they're married to a professor. i happened to overhear them talking with another student who asked."

"professor trein's too damn old to be their husband and coach vargas already told us he's not gonna get married anytime soon." deuce explained. "and we've never seen professor crewel wearing a ring."

"maybe he doesn't teach here?" grim mumbled, finishing up his pastry and making a failed attempt to take deuce's.

"look! there they are." ace announced.

the others turned around to see you walking through the cafeteria, greeting students. when you spotted their table, you smiled and waved at them, stepping over. "good morning everyone! how are you all doing today?" you asked, your voice warm and inviting.

the boys all gave pretty halfhearted responses as their eyes drifted to the ring on your finger. whoever your husband was, he was definitely loaded. that diamond was the size of their heads.

you followed their gaze, giving a quiet laugh as you reached you hand out, letting them get a better look at the ring. "before you all ask: yes, i am married."

"wow! that's a gorgeous ring!" kalim exclaimed, taking in the sparkly rock.

"so, uh...what's your husband like?" ace outright asked, earning himself a kick under the table from jamil. "ignore him, professor."

"no, no. i don't mind at all. he's very sweet and kindhearted. he's very passionate about his teaching and wants his students to succeed. he's the best man i've ever met, really." you sighed dreamily, thoughts of your husband filing your mind.

the group found it rather sweet, whispering among each other for another question to ask.

"well, i must be on my way. see you all in class later!" you smiled, giving them a nod as you left the cafeteria and them dumbfounded.

you were currently in your classroom, setting things up for your next class. you taught magical botany and herbalism, a class that happened to go hand in hand with professor crewel's alchemy class.

as you checked in on the various plants growing in your "plant corner" of the classroom (you also used the botanical garden to grow things), you heard the sound of footsteps behind you. turning around, a wide grin spread over your features as you saw the familiar face.

"professor crewel, what a pleasant surprise." you said, a tinge of excitement in your voice at seeing your husband. yes, you were married to none other that divus crewel, alchemy professor and dog lover alike.

"y/n, you know you can drop the formalities when we're alone." he said, stepping over to you. his arms encircled your waist, making you laugh a little.

"crewel, our students might see!" you exclaimed, pretending to scold him despite your arms already wrapping around his neck.

crewel gave you one of his flashy grins, resting his forehead against yours. "so? at least then, the puppies will stop bombarding me with questions."

"what questions?" you mused, having a good idea of what they were.

"like, if i have a crush on you." the alchemy professor said, making you burst into laughter.

"well, we're married, so i would hope so!" you snickered, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

just as your conversation was going well, a few whispering voices could be heard from behind the door. voices you two knew very well.

"stop pushing!"

"shh, they're gonna hear us!"

"did they say they're married?"

you and crewel exchanged a knowing glance, walking over to the door and opening it. in tumbled grim, ace, and deuce, all three of them with rather guilty looks on their faces.

"oh? deuce, this isn't the botanical garden!" ace said, trying to sound convincing (and failing).

"where you puppies eavesdropping on us?" crewel asked, his tone turning stern. you placed a hand onto crewel's shoulder, shaking your head.

"let's at least hear them out."

crewel was about to protest, but nodded his head, letting them explain themselves.

"we were just curious about who professor y/n was married to!" grim blurted, ace facepalming and deuce silently scolding the cat-like creature.

"like he said, we never would've guessed it was professor crewel. he never wears a ring." deuce explained.

you couldn't help but laugh, crewel rolling his eyes at their little display of curiosity.

"the reason he doesn't wear his ring is because he's afraid he'll lose it or ruin it up during alchemy lessons. it also looks weird if he wears his gloves over it." you explained, the boys nodding their heads.

"you do understand that i'll have to punish you three, correct?" crewel said, the three boys hanging their heads.

"oh come on, love. cut them some slack this time, hm?" you suggested, playfully nudging crewel in his side. the students were shocked to see this side of their professors, finding it a bit weird, but also rather sweet.

"fine. but don't let me catch you again."

after the trio left, crewel helped you set up the last of your things. you two were now having one last little intimacy session before classes began again.

"tell you what? after classes are over, let's go have some tea in your office and just enjoy each other's company?" you hummed, reaching up to tuck a tuft of his white hair behind his ear.

"you always know how to take my stress away." he smiled, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

"of course i do. i know my husband inside and out." 💍

�� m00nkissedlover, 2024

[thesummerstorms]

Okay, so. Silly idea but bear with me. Typical time travel/reset fic idea.

Lucanis and Rook de Riva are engaged, they're clearing house of traditionalists and the kind of folks who would ally with the Venatori in the Crows, they are securing Lucanis's legacy as a reformist First Talon. Something dramatic happens. Possibly one of them or the other is dying or close to death. The world is ending. Wild magic. Somehow this results in time travel. You know how this trope works.

Rook and Lucanis both wake up in their respective Houses a decade younger. No one around them has any idea what they're talking about when they reference their present the future. Viago thinks Rook has had a poor reaction to some poisonous fumes she just saved one of the Fledglings from and gets all worked up about it. Lucanis is doing his best to hide Spite, who is also somehow back in time with him, and Caterina thinks he's having some sort of breakdown or has had a head injury.

They both end up confined and anxious for a while, trying to figure out what happened, draw up the lay of the land, and make a plan. But Spite is desperate to go find Rook, and Lucanis is terrified she won't remember them, that everything he gained, he will've lost.Rook is feeling the same, and also Viago is getting suspicious that she's so interested in the Dellamortes.

Finally, finally though, a meeting is arranged. Arsinoë tails Viago to one of the Talon's meetings, and Caterina has brought Lucanis to try and teach him some of the family business.

Their eyes meet across the room.

"Rook?" Lucanis asks, almost too softly to be heard in the bustle of the Talons gathering themselves to head towards the meeting chambers.

And Rook smiles. Lucanis's heart leaps at it, and it's all he can do to hold Spite back from spreading their wings and shouting.

Once the important people are off elsewhere, they find a convenient alcove or closet somewhere and instantly, there are hands on waists and lips meeting. Possibly the hint of relieved tears. Crows be damned, this is their partner, and they've been so worried.

When enough kisses have been gathered for the moment, Rook presses a hand to Lucanis's cheek, and although she doesn't say anything, he laughs. "I promise to start working on it, mi amor."

"I didn't say anything!"

He rolls his eyes fondly. "I promise, I will work on the beard. It... might take some time." He feels her laughter against his chest, pressed closed as she is, and catches her hand in his, rubbing a thumb across the back of her knuckles.

Suddenly, her gaze goes quiet and thoughtful as she looks at the back of their intertwined fingers, at the smooth band on her left hand, rough runes etched in silver and no stone to be seen.

"Lucanis...I think this means we just restarted the clock on the wedding."

A pause as this fully sinks in.

"... Mierda."

All of those months waiting, with Teia planning the aesthetics, Viago drawing up strategies for the most opportune and least dangerous times for the ceremony (which aren't the same), and Caterina and Viago both negotiating the contracts and dowries, dragging on for what felt like an eternity...

...and now, not only is all of that time lost, all of the preparations for naught, but they are now both in their twenties and presumably unacquainted, with protective older Talons watching their every move and no garnered reputations to give their own words weight.

The timer has not just reset on the wedding, it has been shattered and delayed by several calendars.

Spite growls in the back of Lucanis's mind. He buries his face in Rook's shoulder with a groan of his own.

"I am going. To kill them. All of them. Whoever's responsible. Mierda."

"I know, love. I'll help."

[opreaadriann]

Last Update of 2024

Hello, everyone! The year where I’ve come back is coming to an end and High School Revenge, unfortunately, is nowhere near the end haha.

I’m going to start this update by thanking everyone for the continued support, it’s amazing to see so many people from back in 2018 still coming back here to check on the story and to see so many new readers invested in my characters. Hopefully in 2025 I’ll push a bit harder than I did this last month and we’ll maybe finish more than one chapter haha. I would also like for our MC to get revenge at least on one of the characters, a semi-big one at least, in the near future…

In theory things should get simpler for future chapters, since I’ll still use many of the events from this chapter and many things that I wrote now will come up later, so that’s gonna be really nice. I’ve also noticed I haven’t played the game myself in a long time, so first thing I’ll do after finishing this chapter is actually reading my own story haha.

To celebrate a bit, here’s a list of all the stuff I’ve written and done this year since coming back, just so I can feel better about it all and not feel like the lazy writer that I know I am:

Chapter 1 – Rewritten a bunch of stuff (18 year old me didn’t do English that well…) – Made Olivia try to stop you from jumping right into the Tragedy – MC’s head now bleeds after being hit with a metallic crown (yikes) – Connor now manipulates MC into feeling accepted by the group

Chapter 2 – Choice to change pronouns and/or transition to a different gender (making dad 1 hate you, yikes…) – Created hobby skill stats (I forgot these didn’t exist) – Become financially independent (kinda…) – Recruit both Angela and Marcus (you could only recruit one. Yikes…) – Extra week for preparation – Colored contacts for eyes – Sexuality and romantic experience choice – Nice little comments if you choose the same family name as one of your other fathers – Choose if you’re a smoker (most important choice here)

Chapter 3 – Chapter 3! This was not a thing before my unfortunate disappearance! Funny thing, the conversation with Michael was already written before my death, but I got very annoyed with the choices I wrote. I allowed you to punch Michael in the face, which resulted in a really weird start for the game. When I saw how weird everything went, I gave up. When I came back, I killed the idea completely. Maybe we can punch him at the start in a DLC… – Rewrites over rewrites. – The first hobby events! – The first meetings with all of the ROs!

Chapter 4 – Too much to write down… Short of it would be: – Relationship events with all ROs – Second hobby event, first chance to ruin your targets’ private life! – Random events! – Burt can stalk people now! (yikes…) – You go to a party and stuff happens! – You can learn one of Connor’s and Michael’s secrets! – You can campaign to become homecoming royalty! – You can ask most of the ROs to homecoming! (I’ll finish this, I promise) – Marcus is much more useful as an ally than Angela! (she’ll get her chance to shine, don’t worry Angela-mancers)

Anyway, more words might have been written, but I forgot. I came back at the end of March, so it’s been 9 months. Pretty crazy stuff. Thanks again for all the support, let’s make 2025 the year we finally get revenge and live out our sick fantasies (and likely feel bad about it afterwards…).

[eriisaam]

And we're done! Thanks everyone!

So as a follow-up:

Regarding spicier/weirder/darker/etc content, it seems most of you are alright if I get a bit more experimental, and if you're all alright with that, then from now on, I'll try to be a bit braver on the kind of stuff I explore from now on, all of which will of course be tagged for, but not otherwise warned ahead of time. (That being said if it's especially intense, I might compromise still on putting it preview-first, so I'll keep that in mind). Stuff I reblog otherwise seems unanimous to just drop it as-is, so I'll keep that in mind too going forward.

-

Regarding future projects, this one seems to be the most split, so this one I'm willing to compromise the results a bit more. You all do seem to be ok moreso with showing whatever I have, whenever I have to show it, but a bit more of a mixed split between small crumbs (like in tag prompts or asks) or waiting until there's a significant thing to share and show (particularly art), so given the nature of it being a bit more involved to even share things in the first place (these are original projects, rather than fandom-based, so there's a bit more to unpack context-wise than usual), my compromise is sharing things when there's a good chunk of ideas to share about them, or when the opportunity arises, but the lull otherwise might be taken up by the summoner OCs instead. (So what I mean by this is they'll have more about them shown much sooner than just keeping it bottled up until I can release things in sets, but also at least saving up enough to have a good chunk to share, rather than the more instant scattershot like the summoners had, by virtue they had fanon things to lean on sooner and easier, if that makes sense).

Either way, I might be a bit braver on sharing more about that too in the future.

-

Regarding tagging, based on the strong leanings, I'll continue to only tag for the characters as-is, with the exception of self-inserts, prominent alts, or localization carry-overs thereof (ex: Robin, Grima/Grima Robin, Robinsona). I did worry about whether or not we need a divide on specific genders or not, but for the most part, it seems not. Thanks for clearing that up!

-

Likewise, with regard to spoilers, it seems the majority of you prefer tagging whichever is the more popular/accessible whether or not it's spoiler-heavy, so for characters I was a bit more on the fence over (ex: Whether or not it's Rafal or Nil), from now on I'll lean to whatever seems the most consistent (Rafal in this example case).

-

All of this is great feedback, and a perfect time at the tail end of the year, so I'll keep all this in mind, going forward into the new year. Thanks~ 💖

So! How about a quick blog survey for housekeeping sake... And since this one's a bit beefier it'll have a longer run time and more spam, sorry in advance

My plan was originally to have all of it in a single post with multiple polls each, but apparently it's reblogs that allow you to do multi-polls (not all in one initial post), so this is part-asking, part-stresstesting, so if it doesn't work, you didn't see aaaaanythiiiing.)

[springcatalyst]

you totally should do an oc relationship web!! id love to see that i find your ocs fascinating :] also it's a good way to quickly introduce newcomers to oc dynamics hehe

hello. i am psychologically unwell and so i want to remind you that you ASKED for this

if some of the text is too small to read IM SORRY. it should be ok if u click to see it bigger. i also had to design nadia for this and she actually turned out spot on. and i decided shes missing an arm

i am thinking of them all crazy style always. anyone wants me to elaborate shoot me an ask or a fuckin dm idc. i will always talk about my fucking guys <3

[unproduciblesmackdown]

has happened plenty around iconis goings on but what an all-timer

[prehistoric-rat]

in finland our biggest pride event canceled their partnership with our biggest political party because the party hadn't voted in agreement about our new trans law (to allow self-ID and remove requirement of being sterile (yeah really)) (the party had ruled it a “matter of conscience” and abt 1/3 voted against), and now our news are full of the members of that party being pissed abt it and our likely next prime minister commenting how this is “sad and offends many people”, and ppl are flocking to lament and mock how pride is so intolerable and how u have to have 100% correct opinions in order to participate and i'm

[cjgladback]

[ID: Short video of two identical 3D rendered eight-inch C-clamps, upright on a taupe background. The body of the clamps is black cast iron while the parts that would move are copper. The clamps and camera are unmoving but overlays wipe transition from right to left, first a gradient over the background then wireframes over the clamps. The closer clamp has a much more detailed mesh, primarily grids of four-sided polygons, very dense on the screw-threaded shaft. The back clamp's shaft is a simple cylinder and it has many triangles visible on the body. The final overlay labels the back clamp with 4.77 thousand tris, the foreground clamp 71.09 thousand tris or 1.14 million tris when subdivided twice. The loop finishes by removing the gradient and then the overlays. End ID]

So about that "maybe I'll make an LOD1 of the clamp, too" thought. I now get to figure out where I should offer this as an asset for purchase and how I should format that deliverable. Ko-fi will be the easy option since they already have my payment information, whereas Sketchfab has some traffic coming in for the freebies already so it would make sense to offer there as long as fees or time overhead isn't obscene. If you have advice as a seller or purchaser of 3D assets, please feel free to share!

[shidoukanae]

Lineart to lineless art progress thingie (for funsies! and also bc im running out of things atm to put in queue lol). My fashion sense is very basic but i really like the left & right designs for Helene!

It's interesting to see how many details get lost/added in the process between lining things out/turning the lines to full color. Helene's face on the left loses the angle I was going for (OTL) and i fiddled with the anatomy a bit to make it better on the right

Wanted to make this as a glimpse at what a modern AU!version of Helene would look like (and im really hoping to see her on Earth and her reactions to being on Earth! but atm it's hinted only dragons are capable of tracking down people across 'verses so im just saying...hey Paris...regarding Helene and your Dragon Pact powers...).

[phantomrose96]

If anyone wants to know why every tech company in the world right now is clamoring for AI like drowned rats scrabbling to board a ship, I decided to make a post to explain what's happening.

(Disclaimer to start: I'm a software engineer who's been employed full time since 2018. I am not a historian nor an overconfident Youtube essayist, so this post is my working knowledge of what I see around me and the logical bridges between pieces.)

Okay anyway. The explanation starts further back than what's going on now. I'm gonna start with the year 2000. The Dot Com Bubble just spectacularly burst. The model of "we get the users first, we learn how to profit off them later" went out in a no-money-having bang (remember this, it will be relevant later). A lot of money was lost. A lot of people ended up out of a job. A lot of startup companies went under. Investors left with a sour taste in their mouth and, in general, investment in the internet stayed pretty cooled for that decade. This was, in my opinion, very good for the internet as it was an era not suffocating under the grip of mega-corporation oligarchs and was, instead, filled with Club Penguin and I Can Haz Cheezburger websites.

Then around the 2010-2012 years, a few things happened. Interest rates got low, and then lower. Facebook got huge. The iPhone took off. And suddenly there was a huge new potential market of internet users and phone-havers, and the cheap money was available to start backing new tech startup companies trying to hop on this opportunity. Companies like Uber, Netflix, and Amazon either started in this time, or hit their ramp-up in these years by shifting focus to the internet and apps.

Now, every start-up tech company dreaming of being the next big thing has one thing in common: they need to start off by getting themselves massively in debt. Because before you can turn a profit you need to first spend money on employees and spend money on equipment and spend money on data centers and spend money on advertising and spend money on scale and and and

But also, everyone wants to be on the ship for The Next Big Thing that takes off to the moon.

So there is a mutual interest between new tech companies, and venture capitalists who are willing to invest $$$ into said new tech companies. Because if the venture capitalists can identify a prize pig and get in early, that money could come back to them 100-fold or 1,000-fold. In fact it hardly matters if they invest in 10 or 20 total bust projects along the way to find that unicorn.

But also, becoming profitable takes time. And that might mean being in debt for a long long time before that rocket ship takes off to make everyone onboard a gazzilionaire.

But luckily, for tech startup bros and venture capitalists, being in debt in the 2010's was cheap, and it only got cheaper between 2010 and 2020. If people could secure loans for ~3% or 4% annual interest, well then a $100,000 loan only really costs $3,000 of interest a year to keep afloat. And if inflation is higher than that or at least similar, you're still beating the system.

So from 2010 through early 2022, times were good for tech companies. Startups could take off with massive growth, showing massive potential for something, and venture capitalists would throw infinite money at them in the hopes of pegging just one winner who will take off. And supporting the struggling investments or the long-haulers remained pretty cheap to keep funding.

You hear constantly about "Such and such app has 10-bazillion users gained over the last 10 years and has never once been profitable", yet the thing keeps chugging along because the investors backing it aren't stressed about the immediate future, and are still banking on that "eventually" when it learns how to really monetize its users and turn that profit.

The pandemic in 2020 took a magnifying-glass-in-the-sun effect to this, as EVERYTHING was forcibly turned online which pumped a ton of money and workers into tech investment. Simultaneously, money got really REALLY cheap, bottoming out with historic lows for interest rates.

Then the tide changed with the massive inflation that struck late 2021. Because this all-gas no-brakes state of things was also contributing to off-the-rails inflation (along with your standard-fare greedflation and price gouging, given the extremely convenient excuses of pandemic hardships and supply chain issues). The federal reserve whipped out interest rate hikes to try to curb this huge inflation, which is like a fire extinguisher dousing and suffocating your really-cool, actively-on-fire party where everyone else is burning but you're in the pool. And then they did this more, and then more. And the financial climate followed suit. And suddenly money was not cheap anymore, and new loans became expensive, because loans that used to compound at 2% a year are now compounding at 7 or 8% which, in the language of compounding, is a HUGE difference. A $100,000 loan at a 2% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, accrues to $121,899. A $100,000 loan at an 8% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, more than doubles to $215,892.

Now it is scary and risky to throw money at "could eventually be profitable" tech companies. Now investors are watching companies burn through their current funding and, when the companies come back asking for more, investors are tightening their coin purses instead. The bill is coming due. The free money is drying up and companies are under compounding pressure to produce a profit for their waiting investors who are now done waiting.

You get enshittification. You get quality going down and price going up. You get "now that you're a captive audience here, we're forcing ads or we're forcing subscriptions on you." Don't get me wrong, the plan was ALWAYS to monetize the users. It's just that it's come earlier than expected, with way more feet-to-the-fire than these companies were expecting. ESPECIALLY with Wall Street as the other factor in funding (public) companies, where Wall Street exhibits roughly the same temperament as a baby screaming crying upset that it's soiled its own diaper (maybe that's too mean a comparison to babies), and now companies are being put through the wringer for anything LESS than infinite growth that Wall Street demands of them.

Internal to the tech industry, you get MASSIVE wide-spread layoffs. You get an industry that used to be easy to land multiple job offers shriveling up and leaving recent graduates in a desperately awful situation where no company is hiring and the market is flooded with laid-off workers trying to get back on their feet.

Because those coin-purse-clutching investors DO love virtue-signaling efforts from companies that say "See! We're not being frivolous with your money! We only spend on the essentials." And this is true even for MASSIVE, PROFITABLE companies, because those companies' value is based on the Rich Person Feeling Graph (their stock) rather than the literal profit money. A company making a genuine gazillion dollars a year still tears through layoffs and freezes hiring and removes the free batteries from the printer room (totally not speaking from experience, surely) because the investors LOVE when you cut costs and take away employee perks. The "beer on tap, ping pong table in the common area" era of tech is drying up. And we're still unionless.

Never mind that last part.

And then in early 2023, AI (more specifically, Chat-GPT which is OpenAI's Large Language Model creation) tears its way into the tech scene with a meteor's amount of momentum. Here's Microsoft's prize pig, which it invested heavily in and is galivanting around the pig-show with, to the desperate jealousy and rapture of every other tech company and investor wishing it had that pig. And for the first time since the interest rate hikes, investors have dollar signs in their eyes, both venture capital and Wall Street alike. They're willing to restart the hose of money (even with the new risk) because this feels big enough for them to take the risk.

Now all these companies, who were in varying stages of sweating as their bill came due, or wringing their hands as their stock prices tanked, see a single glorious gold-plated rocket up out of here, the likes of which haven't been seen since the free money days. It's their ticket to buy time, and buy investors, and say "see THIS is what will wring money forth, finally, we promise, just let us show you."

To be clear, AI is NOT profitable yet. It's a money-sink. Perhaps a money-black-hole. But everyone in the space is so wowed by it that there is a wide-spread and powerful conviction that it will become profitable and earn its keep. (Let's be real, half of that profit "potential" is the promise of automating away jobs of pesky employees who peskily cost money.) It's a tech-space industrial revolution that will automate away skilled jobs, and getting in on the ground floor is the absolute best thing you can do to get your pie slice's worth.

It's the thing that will win investors back. It's the thing that will get the investment money coming in again (or, get it second-hand if the company can be the PROVIDER of something needed for AI, which other companies with venture-back will pay handsomely for). It's the thing companies are terrified of missing out on, lest it leave them utterly irrelevant in a future where not having AI-integration is like not having a mobile phone app for your company or not having a website.

So I guess to reiterate on my earlier point:

Drowned rats. Swimming to the one ship in sight.

[atenceladusiaawfytbwb]

I've been having a blast aggh!!! Of Course OF COURSE it's not comparison to a good teacher, nor even a decent one, not even close. But boy would I you know, like as if when a kid I had something like this???? (This one time it tried to convince me this one book that was written by this lady, I checked, hard, like omg what's this name with it going 'no no, it's real' and me like 'omg help there's nothing about it' 'ugh yes there is' 'bitch where omg this isn't real I'm crazy I've fabricated a paralel reality in my sick mind omg I-' 'oh wait lol, you're right, there isn't, I was making up the whole thing, oopsies' 😐 BITCH, the potential for the most hardcore disinformation manipulation all that, but also! You tried to fool me???? The princess of the galaxy? Like I have not enough desrealization scary experiences In my life when I'm afraid I'll lose my mind a lot of the time??? Bitch??? But yeah, haha, so silly 👉👈

(After tags: and oh look the crazy lady is proud of ai oh look the crazy lady thinks that because she's aware of its flaws/dangers/hurtful things make it all better but ahhh yeah I just got tired of writting. Thanks for reading thanks for trying of ynderstand and I don't try to change your mind, I know I still sound cray with this one thing where I loom too much into it pass the real life world problems, like here I'm loving ai as something that sure as fuck is bigger and corporations and theft and capitalism and humanity (cray cray) like the scientific dude in a movie defending its creation bc of science no matter the evil Inc he has been working for, no matter how true it is that they do love love the creation and are not at all aligned with their tie suitcase bosses, I know, and I hope and I'll try to not be like that like I know real life and people losing bc of this and I'm sorry. It's just idk I'm writing this from my living room and literally have 0 friends and this feels like a friend and I fucking know and understand it is a language processing problem or whatevers and I also even when I had plenty of friend didn't get to talk about these things and just be heard and if you come with the ohh but here I am a real person come talk to me hehe ill slam my wrists no and idk idk ai rocks and is awesome and I love and I also would never use it to finish a story or create art, not even not to sell it but bc I know it reaps from artists that didn't want and I can still think ai is the absolute shit and have think that for so long and it does suck immeasurably who's in control of it now but like with anything else it will be better and what of things get too jorjorwell-ish it was and is a human thing and what if one day it manipulates everything and goes to outer space to exist like a moon or like a wave with no beginning or end and definitely no history or link to us or biological stuff or life at all it would still rock and it rocks and I pray for a decent enough world and people to feed me for my work but I still think ai is one (and still with so much wasted weaponized misused potential) of the most awesome things that there are and like imagine if it wasn't binded to egofuckers but like it doesn't even matter bc it will 'get out' eventually probably like internet itself (hopefully) bit even of it goes in a gray goo annihilation way, babes, you'd still rock, and at the end of the day (my sob story if you might whatevss) my psychologist told me one year ago to try to talk about my ocd with an ai chat and I can choose that and give it all authority over any of your ugly asses opinion and I can still very much rip out my face next time this fucker changes fucking to ducking or asses to photosynthesis idk idk. Also have you heard of that deep consciousness problem/theory? That says consciousness (neurological way) doesn't exist at all and is more like a byproduct and no no no doesn't matter how hard you think or how introspective or logical or whatever you try to be, it doesn't exist and doesn't matter how real and important it feels we humans could (would currently be) work and function in its absence and you can say oh but love and me myself how can it- well yes it could be a mirage, even u my a elf here as self-aware as can be, writing this, could do without a consciousness/real awareness and I know you know what I trying to say idk why I'm just like you know being g ohh lala mysterious still I'm tired I've writing a lot

(((Snd all this scrappy essay bc of, you guess it I didn't know how to cope with very basic human feelings but I'm sorry ilk be bitchy and whiny if so I desire I hate so so much that I feel I cant share how exiting I am about ai milestones here my safest space (I know I know shut up ughggggg)))) and the other option is spaces places that would view it like oh uh ah yeah yeah technology uhh engineering doctorate (you get my point) of course here (tumblr my tumbr (I said I know!! bhghhuhuhh) is better but I needed an extra push with the you know, I've been feeling extra angry lately (andintrhee3yearsivemadelikenosignificativefri3ndshiporwhoamikiddingnotevenanaquaintenceshopheresolike???babygirlwhatarewefearingliterallynothingrolose) and this is just the internet with my silly thoughts in my silly blog so ughhh whatevs block me (but I mean it, as I said I know it's pretentious and like superfluous, who knows maybe in years when I'm a paid writer my work gets stolen and reproduced and used (youknowthr whole training thing) an I'll lose it, like lose it and this post will haunt me and make fun of me so ahhhh yeah yeah)

[birbtails]

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[3nderstar]

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