#found this in the depths of my google docs

[sammycomplex]

quintessential sambortion fic under the cut

“Do you have a ride home, honey? I can’t release you without a ride home.” 

Sam’s head is still swimming, lolling unpleasantly against the crinkling butcher paper covering the gurney. It made everything so loud, even the sound of her hair was amplified against her ears. She could hardly think. 

“Honey,” The woman knelt down to Sam’s eye level and Sam caught a whiff of coffee and altoids. The look in her eyes was kind, but mildly concerned, “Do you have a ride home from your appointment? If you don’t have one, I’ll have to get you an escort and that could take a few hours. You weren’t supposed to make an appointment without a ride home, it’s in the paperwork.” 

Sam cleared her throat, blearily wiping her eyes. The woman’s mascara was coming into focus, clumped onto each individual eyelash. Her scrubs were plain and sterile looking, but the lanyard holding her ID had Minnie Mouse stamped all over it. Her name was Carol. Coffee-breath-Carol, Sam christened her. Well that wasn’t fair, really. Carol was nice. Carol was fine. 

“I have a ride.” Sam said finally, voice slightly thick from the valium. 

“Do you need the phone?” Carol supplied, “It’s okay if he didn’t show, don’t be shy. It happens.” 

Sam furrowed her eyebrows, glowering from under her heavy bangs, “I have a ride.”

“Okay, okay.”

Sam’s good at taking it until she isn’t. That’s how it’s supposed to work, isn’t it? She keeps her head down at school, raises her hand when she has the right answer (she always does). She doesn’t make small talk with any of the girls in her class that ask her where she’s from. She eats lunch by herself in the stairwell and runs the mile in phys Ed, doesn’t even drag her feet. Dad’s ran them harder than that, it’s nothing. Her time is good, six minutes. She nods away her teacher’s encouragement. When she gets home and Dean says that dad wants them on a job she doesn’t fucking complain, not even when that means shes’s got no time to work on her book report due on Friday. She’ll stay late and do it in the library the next day. She doesn't complain when she spends the next four hours tromping around in the mud and cow shit at some abandoned farmhouse, looking for god knows what and coming up empty handed. She doesn’t fucking complain when they don’t get back until dark, and dad asks her to make dinner. She doesn’t complain when Dean uses all the hot water and her shower is tepid. She doesn’t complain when she crawls into bed and Dean sidles up behind her and grabs her tit with no preamble or sweet talk or what have you, just grabs her and breathes deep into her clean hair and shoves his fingers into her mouth. She doesn’t complain because she’s getting the fuck out of here.

It was the natural conclusion to ill-timed rutting in the backseat while dad was stuck in a creaky old farmhouse with an elderly woman who swore her dead husband was making the walls bleed. 

He’d been in there a good twenty minutes, barely visible from the window before they came to the conclusion that he probably wasn’t coming out anytime soon. They’d seen the old lady, still in her night dress, hobble into the kitchen and return with a pitcher of sweet tea. Dad was pretending to work for some insurance company, surveying the house, and had told them to wait in the car and not come out till he got back. 

Dean was the one who cracked first, sliding his hand down the back of Sammy’s shorts which gaped at the back of her waist. They were Dean’s pants that she’d cut to her thighs to escape the Florida heat. Even now, parked in the shade with the back windows down to catch just the slightest breeze, it was sweltering, and her face was pink and damp under her heavy bangs, the rest of her thick hair tied up in a sloppy ponytail. 

“‘S too hot,” she murmured, weakly swatting away Dean’s hand, but he kept on lazily, pinching her side where she was still soft, puppy fat that nobly persisted despite her recent growth spurt that thinned out her arms and legs. 

“C’mon Sammy,” He tugged at her belt loop, drawing her closer. She didn’t pull away, allowing herself to be maneuvered, falling against her brother gracelessly, “Dad’s going to be forever.”

She peered out the car window. She could only see the top of his head from here, and his eyes, that seemed to be squinted slightly in concentration. He was listening to what seemed like a long, long story. Dean was probably right, for once. 

They congregated on the floor as best as they could, Sam’s long legs tucked up awkwardly so they could both fit, her sweaty back sticking to the back of the seat, her hair mussing up against the interior and sticking to her forehead. They kept most of their clothes on for brevity's sake, except for her shirt which Dean rucked up over her breasts, palming them hurriedly. Dean got her off with his thumb, rubbing her through her panties, which she’d shoved to the side, her overly large shorts dangling from her left ankle. She bit him hard on the shoulder when she came, and he let out a sharp gasp, burying his head in her neck so he wouldn’t cry out. 

Clean up was quick: shorts back on, Sammy’s hair righted, Dean’s shirt tugged over the teeth marks. 

“You didn’t pull out?” She hissed, knocking him hard with her elbow. He shoved her in response, “What else did you want me to do? Mess up the seats? Dad would kill me.” 

“He’d kill you anyway.” 

He laughed hoarsely, until John turned them both white as a sheet by throwing open the front door. 

“It’s a bust. She’s just senile. We’ll have to head up to Athens instead– sorry, kiddos.” His shoulders sagged until he turned and saw them, both flushed down to their necks and breathless. 

“Jesus, what is it out there, a-hundred-and-ten? I’ll leave her running next time.” He cranked on the AC, putting the car in reverse and starting down the driveway, making it all the way to the turn before stopping, eyes falling to his only son. Dean stared, meeting his gaze unblinking. 

“Shirts on inside-out, kid.” He laughed dryly, and then kicked it into drive. 

So, when Sam’s knocked up for sure six weeks later with a test to prove it in a Casey’s bathroom, it’s less of a surprise and more of a grim reminder of the way life takes its course no matter who you fucked raw in Chipley, Florida. It is just another punishment in a series of punishments that had been occurring to Sam Winchester since the moment she was born, the only girl-child to a band of hungry, hungry wolves: motherless and unfortunate. 

[crazywolf828]

To all my writers who have a tough time with smut terms and not knowing which ones to use, I have found the holy grail for us.

This reddit user, who I've recently found out is @kjscottwrites here on tumblr, took a poll of 3,500 people and went really in depth with asking their favorite terminology, along with actual pie charts on what the readers preferred to see in their smut.

Check out their post with the link to the Google doc here!

[fiastomatocheek]

STILL GOT YOU EVEN WITHOUT THE RING

pair: dad!luke hughes x f!reader

genre: domestic fluff, romantic comedy, slow burn, slice of life, tooth-rotting sweetness.

warnings: excessive fluff, marriage shenanigans, mild secondhand embarrassment, very sweet domestic scenes (may cause soft sighing), mentions of parenthood (baby care, toddler toys), luke panicking over nothing.

summary: one thing luke never takes off is his ring, unless it’s to bathe lucy or play a game. so when you find it sitting, almost too carelessly, on the bathroom sink one night, something about it feels… weird. not bad. just weird. luke never misplaces things like that. but instead of asking about it, you pocket the ring and decide to have a little fun.

fia’s note: okay so this totally wasn’t in my plan to write like at all but i found this little thing tucked away in the depths of my google docs (seriously, it was buried), and i thought… huh. why not finish it? i forgot how much i actually liked the vibe of it. there’s just something really fun about teasing luke, and once i got back into it, the words kinda wrote themselves. also! just want to say that the original spark for this came from a fic i read by @/rafedarling. some scenes and ideas here are inspired by her work, so all the love and credit for that brilliance. anyway, i hope you enjoy this little unexpected piece, it’s playful, a little soft, and very luke-coded.

tagging team fia ! — @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @dancerbailey3 @mashmashi @hopefulsuitcasemoneyzonk @kell9rs @alwaysclassyeagle @nokiaholland @macka @smiley-roos

You were tired, achy in that full-body parenting way, but the hot water soothed every edge.

And that’s when you saw it.

Luke’s ring.

Just sitting there. On the edge of the sink.

Not in the drawer. Not on the little trinket tray you kept for moments like this. Not neatly tucked away like he always did when he had to take it off for a game or to bathe Luce when your hands were full.

Just… abandoned. Carelessly. Recklessly.

And something about that made you stop.

Not because you were mad, Luke was never careless with his ring. He was thoughtful in ways most men weren’t. He wore that ring like it was a second skin. Kept it on during interviews, on the team plane, even while chopping onions (and getting emotional, but that was another story).

He’d only ever take it off for two reasons, one is to avoid scratching Lucy’s delicate skin during bath time and two is for hockey games.

Even then, he handled it like it was breakable. Like it meant something beyond gold.

So to see it just sitting there, like he’d shrugged it off without a thought… it not with jealousy or fear. Just a strange kind of what happened here?

You stared at it for a moment. Then slowly, quietly, you picked it up, held it in your palm then you just slipped it into the pocket of your pajama pants.

He wouldn’t lose it. You’d never let that happen.

But he didn’t need to know that yet.

By the time you stepped out of the bathroom, Luke was sprawled across the bed. Luce sat on his chest in her footie pajamas, one sock halfway off and a tiny, soggy cracker clutched in her fist like it was treasure. She was mid-lecture, baby gibberish pouring from her mouth as she tapped her hands against his cheeks.

“Luce, Daddy’s in trouble,”

Luke murmured quietly to her, as if she were the only one who could understand.

“Mommy’s gonna be so mad.”

You smirked to yourself. So he did realize.

You didn’t say a word. Just padded across the room like you hadn’t heard anything, wrapped a towel around your shoulder, and began your usual nighttime routine at the vanity.

Luke was watching you like a man watching his life flash before his eyes.

You dabbed toner onto your cheeks, applied your moisturizer. Ran a brush through your hair, all while he squirmed under Lucy’s weight, pretending everything was fine.

He offered nothing. No apology. No confession. Just a really nervous silence.

When Lucy finally settled, thumb in her mouth and head drooping, you scooped her up and whispered goodnight after tucking her into the crib, and then you climbed into bed beside Luke, who was now unusually quiet and very still.

You reached for his left hand, tracing the bare spot where the ring should have been. Pretending not to notice about his missing ring.

“You know, babe,” you said thoughtfully,

“I read this story today. A woman found out her husband lost his wedding ring. She didn’t even yell. Just filed for divorce. Said it was a sign.”

Luke visibly stiffened.

His voice was strained. “That’s… harsh.”

You shrugged, still gently playing with his fingers.

“I mean, I guess when something meaningful just goes missing, it makes you question things.”

You could practically feel his heartbeat pick up.

He opened his mouth, probably to confess or explain, but you simply kissed his knuckles and whispered,

“Anyways, goodnight babe. It’s late.”

In the early morning, Luke was already an anxious mess.

You didn’t have to say a thing. He was already tearing through laundry baskets, peeking under the couch, and retracing his steps like a man who’d lost his passport on a travel day.

Lucy sat in her high chair chewing on banana slices while you nursed your tea and tried not to laugh.

You noticed he checked the pantry. Twice.

“Hey babe,” you said casually, so innocent. “Where’s your ring?”

Luke froze mid-step.

“My… uh. My ring?”

You blinked at him innocently. “Yeah. Your hand’s kinda… naked.”

“Oh… I just took it off for Luce’s bath last night,” he said too quickly.

“Didn’t wanna accidentally bruised her.”

“Totally understandable,” you said.

“Can you grab it? I have to take mine in to be cleaned this evening. Might as well bring yours too.”

He nodded stiffly. “Yea. Absolutely. Be right back.”

You sipped your tea. And he never came back with the ring.

By lunchtime, Luke had checked the fridge again.

Jack’s betrayal came just before dinner.

‘Jack: @You girl have mercy on my dumbass brother he really didn’t mean to lose it 😭😭😭’

You stared at the message and bit the inside of your cheek. So that’s what this had come to. Luke had gone to Jack for help. Not you. Jack. The human with zero ability to lie.

You didn’t respond.

Instead, once Lucy was asleep and the house was quiet, you called Luke into the living room.

“Luke Hughes, we need to talk.”

He looked like he might cry.

“I just want to understand,” you said, sitting across from him.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

Luke’s hands fidgeted in his lap.

“I didn’t mean to lose it. I swear. I thought I left it in my shorts pocket, and then I checked and it wasn’t there. I didn’t wanna stress you out, and—”

“I panicked! And then you said that thing about the divorce and I thought you knew and—”

You held up a hand.

And then, slowly, pulled the ring from your pajama pocket and held it up between two fingers.

His jaw dropped.

“You had it?”

You nodded. “Found it last night. Thought I’d let the drama play out.”

He buried his face in his hands. “You are so evil, babe”

You giggled, getting up to sit in his lap.

“You should’ve come to me. Not your brother.”

“I thought you’d be easier on me if I had backup!”

You snorted. “Since when do you need backup?”

“I don’t know!” he moaned.

“I’ve never lost anything important before.”

“You lost your car keys three times last week.”

“Yeah but this is the ring. You know the one thing that shows the world I’m yours,”

You slid it back onto his finger. “Well. Now it’s back where it belongs.”

He kissed your shoulder, arms wrapping around you tightly.

“You’re never letting me live this down, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“And Jack?”

“Oh, he’s not safe either.”

From upstairs, Lucy let out a soft wail.

“I’ll get her,”

Luke said quickly, pressing one last kiss to your cheek before jogging upstairs.

[hauntedtrait]

Drama In The Family: A Legacy Challenge

by yours truly, and my friend @greglunvik

For a little bit of a preamble, if you'll allow me... About a year ago, Fae and I were talking about wanting legacies with more drama, so one thing led to another and we started writing our own. As the title suggests, the focus of the legacy challenge is on drama within families. We put a lot of thought and love into this, so I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

The DITF legacy challenge currently has 7 generations, with a lot of pack integration. We might, in the future, add more gens as new packs come out or we have more ideas, but for now, we've got these seven.

The guidelines + first generation will be under the cut, but the rest you'll be able to see by going to:

THE GOOGLE DOCS

Guidelines

Firstly and most importantly: have fun! The challenge guidelines are just that, they are not a strict rule set you absolutely must follow no matter what, feel free to change things around as you see fit. If it works for you, then it’s right. 

This challenge was created with all packs and some mods in mind to enhance gameplay, but do not let that stop you, adapt as needed.

Wanna cheat, feel free to cheat, who are we to stop you! (That said you miiight have more fun if you don’t — unless you absolutely need to) 

Some gens are meant to be played immediately after the one listed above it, but the overall order isn’t absolute and you’re welcome to change it around. The only hard rule is that the White Picket Fence MUST be the founding generation.

For each generation multiple traits, skills, careers and aspiration options will be presented to you. We recommend picking 2 or 3 of the suggested traits, and the third (or more, if you use the 5 traits mod) is up to you, and 3 or more skills. It’s also up to you which aspiration(s) you complete, as long as you complete at least one from the list! 

Reaching career level 10 is not required unless specified.

Each gen starts at the young adult life stage. 

Suggestions

Medium and long lifespans will offer more time and opportunities to fully experience all aspects of this legacy challenge, but if you prefer to play on short you are more than welcome to.

Utilize gameplay from L&D and Growing Together if you have them to give each generation more depth, like Wills, Bucket List, Heirlooms and Keepsake boxes.

If you have the Businesses & Hobbies expansion and like that kind of gameplay, you could use a Small Business in place of the career option to make it more immersive (ie. if the career is lawyer, you could make a law firm small business)

Generation One: White Picket Fence

You come from a very traditional household and always imagined yourself following the same path as your parents: marrying your high school sweetheart, having three kids together and living in the perfect white picket fence home. Unfortunately, things have not turned out that way so far – there was no childhood sweetheart and your apartment is far from perfect.  You start university, but you find yourself struggling to stay on track. You work odd jobs and part time to make ends meet while you try to figure it out. At this point in your life, you’re actually not sure if everything you’ve always dreamed of having is what you really wanted.

Career: Any 

Aspirations: Any

Traits (Pick 2-3): Hates Children, Self-Absorbed, Romantically Reserved (or Unflirty if you do not have the Lovestruck pack), Non-Committal, Lazy. 

Skills (Pick 3 or more): Charisma, Logic, Writing, Knitting, Pottery, 

Goals

Start in a small apartment or still living with your family. Cheat or use SNB bank mod to give your sim 2000 simoleons or less. 

Work odd jobs or part time until you get pregnant/get someone pregnant from a one night stand or short relationship.

Shotgun wedding! Marry the first sim you get pregnant with during the pregnancy. Bonus points: your spouse must have a conflicting trait with one or more of yours.

Once married, move into a fixer upper home and renovate as family funds grow, doing the nursery first of course. 

Start your career, you can’t keep up a family of three and a house on gig work after all.

At some point, have an affair with a coworker. 

Situations

College Cram: Finals are almost here and… you’re not prepared at all. Truth is, you’re beyond stressed and unsure if you’re cut out for this kind of thing.

Option A: You decide it’s worth pushing through and getting this done. You’re nearing the finish line, just one more semester, you can make it work, so you pull some all-nighters and ignore the looming dread, successfully getting your degree.

Option B: The struggle is too real and you can’t deny it anymore: college isn’t for you. Your parents are disappointed and you’re not sure what you’ll do about career prospects, but you just had to get out. You drop out of college and try a different path in life than the one you chose when you were 18.

The Affair: You’ve been seeing your coworker for some time now… and your spouse finds out.

Option A: Despite your mistake, your partner forgives you, and you both promise to work to mend this relationship, after all, the kids don’t deserve the difficulties of a divorce. Unfortunately, you remain unable to stay away from your coworker… so you get better at hiding it.

Option B: This is it, the end of the line. Your partner will never see past what you’ve done. Divorce is filed, it is not amicable, but it is fair, each one gets half, and custody is split evenly, with the kids spending equal time with each parent.

Extras/Optional

Live and bicker with a roommate while living in the apartment. 

Despite what the description implies, you don’t HAVE to go to uni and work at the same time. 

Also feel free to cheat for university if you’re not a fan of that kind of gameplay. 

Your spouse must have a conflicting trait with one or more of yours.

Your coworker must have great compatibility with you.  

Make your sims parents and siblings, if they’re still alive!

Have more than one kid, maybe even one with your lover?

[tragedynoir]

— introducing 015: PRIVATE EYE + [ link ]

a warm, nostalgic google doc template inspired by private detectives, and crime investigation! this template follows the collection of information on your muse from the lens of a private detective, through things such as letters, newspapers and official medical documents. this template features space for long writing as well! this premium template and a full page-by-page preview can be found in the link above or in the source link.

features:

8 unique 14" x 8.5" pages, all with hand-crafted full-page background images

short and long sections, an extra long backstory section, and multiple spaces for pictures

a large array of thematic page types and elements — letters, post-it notes, newspaper clippings, and evidence sheet which can be used to include ooc information or give more atmospheric depth to the template

some elements (muse pictures, text on backing post-it notes, date on envelope, and items in evidence ziploc bag) that can be customized in google drawings

terms of use:

you may edit to your heart’s desire. Change the colours, replace, add or remove elements and images etc.

you may remix pages with pages from my other templates.

you may not remove the credit from the templates.

you may not copy, sell or redistribute my templates whether wholesale, in part (i.e. taking out certain pages) or remixed (i.e. modified).

you will also receive an additional guide with images on how to use and edit google doc templates! if you have any problems or issues, feel free to leave an ask or join our discord server.

this was so much fun to make, but took so much time to put together. I'm really proud of it so I I hope you like it! as always, I appreciate all your likes + reblogs. ♡

[dawnstruck]

The best kind of fanfic is not found on Ao3 or on any sort of reclist or forum, but in the depths of my google docs where several 100k of various WIPs for assorted fandoms and pairings impatiently wait for me to add another couple of k that will never see the light of day either.

[badolmen]

“I’m scared to pirate stuff - ” do it scared!*

*with Firefox and Adblock and a VPN and -

If you want a nonspecific, nonexhaustive “where do I even start” guide…

Sail the cyber seas at your own risk!

Streaming - “I want to watch xyz”

This is normally what most people want when they talk about pirating.

Use Firefox with uBlock Origin and additional privacy add-ons such as PrivacyBadger, TrackMeNot, etc.

Free VPNs are out there. Get one - but vet it’s efficacy. My go-tos are Proton VPN, or Windscribe if you plan to do a bit of torrenting.

What is torrenting? How does it work? Here’s a guide!

Back to streaming -

Make sure that a) you’ve got your Mozilla browser with all its adblocking private glory, and b) you’ve got a VPN turned on to hide what you’re doing in that browser from your ISP (internet service provider).

Now you need to actually find a site to stream from. This is the tricky part, because openly sharing these sites will get them taken down if they’re talked about widely enough. (Remember how tiktok idiots got zlibrary taken down?)

You’re going to have to talk to people on forums. You’re going to have to experiment with sites you find yourself. Search for ‘x online free’ and look at the links that come up - is the preview text mangled or clickbaitey? Are there Reddit threads about that website confirming or denying its content? A good rule of thumb is to ignore the top result or two - copycats of good streaming sites will often buy out the top result spot. Eventually, you’ll develop a good gut feeling and understanding of what a good site ‘looks like’ from the results page alone.

However, there are some places that compile good sites that haven’t been nuked by lawyers (yet) - check out r/FMHY! The masterposts are actively curated and updated when a site goes down or is found to have malicious downloads.

Remember - loose lips sink ships. No tweeting (xeeting?) or Facebook statuses about your new favorite piracy website and where you found it. Even posting to tumblr (kind of like this…) isn’t a great idea if you want those websites to stay under the radar and stay accessible. Nobody talks, everybody walks (away with their share of pirate booty)

If you aren’t downloading media, pick pretty much any site and watch away! Adblock and Firefox will keep away pop-ups and other annoying ads, and your VPN means your ISP can’t tell that you’re visiting an unofficial streaming service.

Note: In my experience, I’ve never heard of visiting a site and watching stuff on it infecting or otherwise compromising your computer. That tends to come from misclicks on invisible or overwhelming pop-up ads that redirect you to an automatic download or similarly malicious bullshit. If you’re using Firefox and uBlock, you shouldn’t be in any danger of an accidental redirect.

Downloads - “I want to keep xyz”

This is the realm of pirate archiving - you’re keeping files physically on your hard drive, an external hard drive, or burning a disk.

Adblock + Firefox browser? Check. VPN on? Check.

Go to your streaming site of choice - most if not all have download options. You can download those files or, manually, right click and save the video file from the webpage as an mp4. I honestly don’t know if there’s a difference in quality or more danger in clicking the download buttons, but regardless -

Run that puppy through VirusTotal.com! It’s a reliable browser based virus checker - if the file is too large, use a local virus checking program (your native Windows Defender on Windows computers or, I prefer, Malwarebytes)

Generally mp4 and mp3 files are clean - choose where to save them for the long term, and bam! Free forever media.

Optionally, I also upload mp4 files to a named Google document - this way I can easily share them or make them findable through a ‘xyz Google doc’ search for others :]

Torrents - “I want to keep and share xyz”

I’m not going to go into this subject in depth because, honestly, it’s not something I do regularly.

See the previously linked Torrenting guide for information on how the process works, and check out r/FMHY for recommendations and warnings about different torrenting clients (I’ve personally only used qBittorrent - I’ve heard to stay away from the Pirate Bay and Bittorrent.)

As with streaming, turn on that VPN baby! You’re going to need one that supports peer-to-peer (p2p) connections, so Proton’s free version is a no-go. Windscribe is what I’ve used for torrenting (and it’s a good free VPN on its own - I’m just partial to Proton). You get 10GB every month on Windscribe’s free version, which is more than enough for a few movies/a season or two of your favorite show.

(Bigger torrents like video games are easily 30+ GB, so be prepared to either pay for a no-limit premium account or spend a few months downloading your files in chunks.)

VPN on? Double check.

Boot up your torrenting client - I use a slightly out of date version of qBittorent, but there are other options. The Reddit thread and previously linked torrenting guide have a few dos and donts of selecting a client, so be thorough before you download your client of choice.

This is getting into the logistics of torrenting a bit, so forgive me if this is vague or incorrect, but now you need a torrent seed. These will be .tor files found through pirating websites or archives - these are rarely malicious, but it’s good to run any piracy related download through something like VirusTotal.com or scan it with a local program like Malwarebytes.

You open your seed file in your client and wait. A ‘healthy’ seed tends to have lots of seeders and few leeches, but sometimes you’re stuck with an obscure seed you just have to wait for.

Your torrented files have fully downloaded! Now what? a) keep your client open and seed those files for others as long as you want to - sharing is caring! and b) run those files through a security program like Malwarebytes (not sponsored it’s just the only program I’m familiar with).

Be wary of what gets flagged - sometimes the files seem important, but are just trojans, and likewise sometimes they seem malicious, but are just cracked software getting flagged by your system. It’s good to check and see if others have had a problem with this particular torrent before - Reddit threads from 2008 are your long dead friends.

And that’s about it. Feel free to correct me if anything I’ve recommended is malicious or outright wrong. I’ve been doing this for years and haven’t had an active problem to my knowledge, so if there is something fishy with how I do things, I am a statistical outlier and should not be counted.

I wish you smooth sailing and strong winds in your ventures me hearties!

Obligatory ‘don’t pirate small author’s or artist’s works what the fuck dude’ statement.

[bvnneyrabbet]

I just realized something.

I am one hell of a multishipper rarepair lover, so of course I'm gonna ship a lot of things even before they're officially disclosed cause I have the habit of shipping that much.

I am technically the PumpkinTrap CEO, and HEAR ME OUT ON THIS RQ.

I have been shipping Dusekkar and Taph several days before their release, my earliest PumpkinTrap artwork being posted on February 21 which was I believe to be the day Dusekkar released. I know I have been shipping them before it, though.

And yes, I have seen this one person on tumblr make artwork of them together, but I haven't seen them in a while so I'm not sure what they're doing now. Especially considering the March 18th incident had a lot of people leave the fandom.

But back to me, I am an avid PumpkinTrap shipper, having made not just one but three posted artworks of them, two unfinished short-comics that I will not post anytime in the near future from what I can tell (except one that I won't finish in a long time,) and several unfinished fanfictions in my google docs.

Not to mention the PumpkinTrap SLOP mingling in my brain.

I am THE PumpkinTrap shipper. I have been shipping them since the DAY I found out about them. I've been shipping them when barely ANYONE shipped them, I was a light in the darkest depths to the 4 - 7 PumpkinTrap shippers at the time and I STILL am a PumpkinTrap diehard.

And my mind is always comin up with new ships so maybe PumpkinTrap CEO won't be my only title.. Hehe.. DominoAngel and DeathChalice.. :3

[the-crystalized-cosmos]

So I've been working on a project all day. Basically just finding a ton of alterhuman terms, from the most common stuff like therianthropy, otherkin, and alterhuman itself, to extremely obscure ones like Otherchain, Circukin, Fractic and more. Listing them in a google doc, and then trying to find their origin. Making sure it's archived on at least the wayback machine (you'd be surprise how even common terms don't have their origin saved! Like the first use of copinglink wasn't even saved), and just listing it all out.

There's something so special, so calming, about archival work. Something so exciting about finding the history of terms (for example, did you know the earliest record I can find of speciesless is from 2011? Aspecies as a term from 2020), that get so buried and lost. Knowing that no matter how much time has past, those experiences remain.

The alterhuman community doesn't get the same rich background as a lot of other communities do. We don't have poems about wanting to be a bird flying gracefully in the wind dating back to the 1600s. We don't have diary entries of those who saw themselves in the character from Shakespeare's play, in more than a metaphorical sense. Most of our early recorded history, as it stands today, is the late 1900s. The earliest date for *anything* I can find is *potentially* the late 1960s, and confirmed somewhere between 1972 and 1974 (that being the The Elf Queen’s Daughters (EQD), the early part of the otherkin community). Therianthropy's history starts in 1992, though the term didn't come around until 1994 at the latest point. Transspecies dates back to 1994 as well. And that's most of our early history. That's as far back as we can trace most of it, to my knowledge anyways (I could totally be unaware of things).

Still, there's something special about being able to discover where a term started. Making sure a piece of history for a community that lacks so much isn't lost to time. And maybe we don't risk the lost of the history of things like therianthropy and otherkin. But what about aspecies/speciesless? Altervexo/Altervex/Alterspite? Hell even such a wide use term like Endel doesn't have the original coining post saved anywhere from our research (again, it *might* exist somewhere still, but we sure as hell can't find it). These are things that describe folks existence, their experience. In a way that's been put to words to try and describe in the most basic form something that is often near impossible to fully explain the depth of.

I do plan on making the document available to the public at some point. It's still in very early stages so I'm not comfortable sharing it anywhere beyond close friends currently. But my point is, archival is important. We don't get to choose what terms were made. And whether we agree with them or not, they matter. They describe something someone somewhere experiences. And in communities that so often have so much of their history looked over, lost, *erased*. We should strive to save as much of it as we can.

Terms I mentioned, and the origin I referenced. All links have been archived on the wayback machine as of June 2nd, 2025 or earlier, should they break in the future.

Therianthropy, and its history dating back to 1992 is taken from this pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view

Otherkin, The Elf Queen’s Daughters (EQD), and its history dating back to potentially the late 1960s is from this pdf: https://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Scribner_Timeline2p0.pdf

Alterhuman's coining post can be found here: https://phasmovore.tumblr.com/post/98482696958/this-will-probably-be-my-last-post-on-semantics

Otherchain's history, and recoining on tumblr can be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20241210230712/https://www.tumblr.com/shadowbandshub/763884852524302336/idk-if-ive-ever-made-a-coining-post-with and here: https://alterhumanity.fandom.com/wiki/Otherchain

Circukin's original coining post appears to have been deleted, as the coiner wishes to be removed from the community. However a reupload of what was on the coining post, as well as history on the original coining post can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/nyctohyloph0bia/755458471273627648/circukin?source=share

Fractic's coining post can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/empyrangel/704274200484003840/fractic

The first use of copinglink can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/who-is-page/127897905604/demonicprinceofsin-no-idea-what-term-id-use?source=share while it's official coining can be found here: https://who-is-page.tumblr.com/post/139871297049/clinkers-and-copinglink

The first recorded usage of speciesless I can find dating back to 2011 can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/solipsistful/11133858784/speciesless, while aspecies I can only find records dating back to 2020 found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/otherkin/comments/ent6pk/aspeciesspeciesless/

The original coining post of Altervexo/Altervex/Alterspite appears to have been deleted and lost, however there is an archive of the first page of the carrd found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20220606042844/https://altervexo.carrd.co/ and the full definition along with record of original coining date and coiner found here: https://alterhuman.miraheze.org/wiki/Altervexo#cite_note-:0-1

As stated, the original coining of Endel was confirmed to be deleted, and I can find no lasting reblog of it, however there is this carrd: https://endel.carrd.co

[covetkisses]

by the time kamen rider geats finished syndication in 2023, i remember feeling so many things. it was my first season of rider that i watched in real time, so i got to experience the highs and the lows of not knowing what comes next and i got to react to what was happening with hundreds of other people at the time. i didn't really live blog my experience, but by the end i had the motivation to do something i hadn't done in years-- i wanted to make an oc as a response to the series, and that oc ended up becoming cordelia león.

this post by all means is not meant to be a total master post of thoughts that i have with my sweet girl. but i wanted to make it to get a few important ideas across that may or may not be found in the oc google doc that i am working on for her. and to get this out the way too-- i found myself in various stages of grief and frustration while making cori because i really wanted her to mean something to those willing to listen. i wanted her to leave an impression that would speak to those who may have had similar experiences consuming geats, or perhaps kamen rider as a whole. sometimes the peak of these frustrations grew as recently as gavv's syndication, with the jellyfish character and other similar motifs of acceptance and unconditional love. this will definitely be a moment for me to be like i(we) did it first, and not only hold myself up but the people around me who have been nothing but supportive throughout my creative process.

to put things plainly, i did not think geats was a flawless season. as much as i loved it, there were too many things that i felt like were incomplete, rushed, or could have been resolved or explored more carefully. this was especially so with kurama neon, who i believe ended up suffering a lot due to how bloated geats was and was not allowed the proper screen time to explore the depths of her nuanced situations (eg. the abuse and manipulation she had with her parents, and identity issues). cori was made to a foil first and foremost, and eventually as i developed her wanted cori to have chemistry and impact with the rest of the crew.

this will be a "short" documentation of what i can to introduce people to cori and eventually the whole way i decided to reimagine geats.

for starters, cori is a mixed girl from hawai'i who had a normal upbringing on a small island, up until her mother got diagnosed with cancer. this change in her life caused her to act up, as she no longer had the comfort of her small island, and surfing to help her through this change and loss. from there she was uprooted a few more times, and eventually lost her father too to health issues he was too afraid to speak of. living with her extended family on her father's side exposed her to abuse and neglect because of how her existence was viewed as unnatural and the like; she was a threat to maintaining the lineage and traditions. i will spare the details, but it was enough to push her to run away and pursue a career of marine biology in japan.

from there she meets ukiyo ace (prior to the events of geats) and forms a friendship with him that eventually turns into an affection. ace was the first person to make her feel wanted and accepted in a long time, and given that this was before his celebrity wish, did not have the pressures of the DGP or his Star of the Stars of the Stars status to bog her down. eventually i wanted there to be consequences to ace's wishes, as a response to the fact i didn't like how easily things fell into place for ace. and soon enough, cori would become a player for the DGP, as most people who encounter ace end up being dragged into that world.

exposing her to that world began to warp the idea, and the love she had for him. she wasn't sure what truth to believe, especially if he was living a double life. and then when his wish is made, she is further isolated from him. did anything she do with him matter? how significant was she truly? and more importantly, did she matter to him at all?

she already had to deal with the conception of being stupid (or a "bimbo”), and undeserving of the few opportunities she had by the people in power (professors, managers, some DGP staff) around her. that, and her original home was a small island with a population of less than 7,000 persons. she knew everyone, everyone knew her, and the law of the land was to help everyone you could out, because everyone was family. compare that to japan, where the fast pace of it all doesn't guarantee she will be meeting the same people she runs into every day. her presence in people's lives has no meaning, despite her best attempts to be seen by people whom she wants to connect to.

these ideas are then reinforced by her own sponsor, who was made to be a satire of "toxic shippers" within fandom. cori was picked for the dgp season to be an accessory to ace, and thereby removed of her autonomy despite being a very skillful, if not masterful tactician. none of her feats are truly recognized unless they end up making ace look cooler.

cori, already battling depression and the like, is also battling the concept of her reality when her memories are constantly being changed or erased due to the nature of the DGP. alas, this also ends up influencing the relationships she builds with others, more particularly neon, as the stresses of the world unconventionally and unintentionally inform the way people react with cori. neon for instance, assumes throughout all the times she vents or spends time with cori, that she could never truly understand her pain and pursuit of love and happiness. she also assumes that cori would judge her for the things she has done to try and achieve it. i really wanted them to be foils, because they ultimately have pretty similar wishes.

and given that her love revolves around ukiyo ace, it's messy, it's very very messy. LOL.

it isn't until the the jamato takeover that chirami decides to call cori back for a redemption / chance to have her wish granted. he does this in attempts to boost their ratings and keep control of the situation despite that being very much not the case. much like neon, keiwa and michinaga, cori gets a chance to confront her sponsor, who has been meaning to punish or get back at cori for consistently embarrassing her throughout her performances in the dgp. it's ultimately a rigged game, cori's determined thinking allows her to defeat her sponsor, but at the cost of her life. this was a match that was televised, so everyone understood the poor hand of cards cori was dealt not just in the match, but consistently in her dgp career.

her relationship with michinaga and keiwa are more up in the air because i had less problems with their writing than i did with others. i will say michinaga has been rather cruel to cori in her attempts to connect to him though, but ultimately cori's attempt to help dgp players survive their DGP season mirrors michinaga's attempts to "save" riders by liberating them from being players-- to cease the role of kamen riders to begin with.

keiwa and cori relate to each other because they both end up feeling as tools of the DGP. in reality, everyone recruited to play a role in the DGP is a tool, but the lengths in which they were used to be entertainment are deeply impactful, and i hope that cori's death is one to help haunt the narrative and the characters.

throughout cori's life she has consistently felt like an outsider, and she wasn't just looking for love, but acceptance from the people around her. she wants to connect with people, which is something i make a point to write within her relationships and dynamics with the geats cast. unfortunately, that is not something so easily given to her, and cori dies knowing that she had no place in the world.

those who know me also know that i love to explore social problems from our world, within fiction. so in addition to those narrative problems in geats, here are some other things i wanted to explore with cori.

being a foreigner in japan / xenophobia : i would argue that this is less in your face than i think it is, mostly because this point bleeds into the following point

stereotypes and fighting majority perceptions of yourself : cori's hot, i don't know how else to put it other than bluntly. LOL. but this overview is what informs people's (both fictional and real) initial perception and impression of her, which often works against her. that and, if anything the beauty standards in Japan are wildly different. because of that, people do not allow themselves to see cori for the empathetic and intelligent girl that she is, feeding into this cycle of isolation that she experiences throughout geats.

jellyfish theme : i decided to give cori a jellyfish theme for a few reasons. for one, it is an aquatic animal, making it stand out among the land dwelling animals chosen for other characters in geats. thematically, it further shows how different and isolated she is. when in captivity, they require very specific conditions and care to survive. secondly, jellyfish can be argued to be barely registered or recognized as "alive". i also wanted to tie her in with a little mermaid theme, not just for her desperate need to be part of a world or people's she knows she cannot belong to, but to put emphasis on the love she feels for ace (i want to be clear as well, that it is up to the audience to decide if this love is one sided or not).

a performer made to fight : cori was not built for fighting, and this shows in her fighting style that is rhythmic and dance like in nature. that, and she dances and performs with animals at her day job in the aquarium. she loves the art of life, and too wants to be accepted the way art is in the world around her. and of course, she is better meant to strategize the situations she is in, rather than fighting her way through brute force like others within the DGP. in contrast, ace is a fighter made to perform.

and those are just some of the basic ideas that i have for her !! i encourage any criticisms or commentary, so feel to leave them here or in my inbox. thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this nonsense, and thank you to everyone who was willing to support me here.

stay tuned for the in depth document that i have in the works for her, that will detail her backstory and other stuff within her place in the narrative (including how i aim to shift roles that characters like tsumuri had, etc).

[spiralfucker]

where should i look to learn the basic of ableton? it overwhelms me so much but there's nothing more i want to do than making music or at least trying to and I'm terrible depressed bc of that

Hi anon. I’ve been in the same position as you and I know what it feels like to have all this creative energy and emotions pent up that you can’t express in the way you’d like to. This is a long one but I’m really passionate about this so here:

Basically I learnt the basics of logic at my uni and I got lessons/mentoring from my bandmate who encouraged me to switch over to ableton (I much prefer it now).

I know it looks overwhelming at first but I promise with some practice it’s really not too bad (it’s def easier than pro tools lol) Music production is one skill that is really easy to self teach because there’s just so many free resources online. I’d really recommend finding an in depth introduction to ableton video on YouTube and kind of just following along. Start trying to learn the keyboard commands early on if you can because they’ll make your workflow so much faster in the long run.

Izotope has some really great articles that go into the basics of production techniques in really easy to understand terms. Sound on sound has some great articles too. Making a big google doc with every you learn can be a great resource to have so you can go back and reference it.

Alongside that I’d recommend trying to learn some basic music theory because I honestly think it essential to know for production (many people would disagree lol). If you haven’t already, try to get your head around the circle of fifths and the harmonic series.

As well as this, I think it’s important to understand the basics of synthesis because that terminology will keep coming up in VSTs and it’ll help to have some context of where these terms came from. Look into the basics anatomy of a subtractive synthesiser to start. From there id recommend looking into FM, additive and wavetable synthesis. This book was written in the 80s but I found it really helpful for grasping these concepts: https://archive.org/details/SynthesizerBasicsDeanFriedman600dpi_201608/page/n70/mode/1up

I’d also recommend grasping the basics of EQ and compression because it’s something you’ll probably use on every single track you ever make. Also learn what phase cancellation is because that’s an issue that come up a lot when you’re a beginner.

If you’re able to, I’d recommend making it a goal to try to a learn new thing about music or production every day. Even if that’s just something as simple as what synth was used on a song you like or what a particular mic is good for or a neat trick you do with a stock plugin, all that knowledge adds up and complements each other.

I’ve found that trying to listen to your favourite music with an analytical frame of mind and even trying to get a hold of the multitracks can be a great learning tool. Find out what kind of hardware they used, what plugins they used, what mics etc. There’s no shame in copying your favourite producers until you find your own voice.

In terms of gear, I’d recommend picking up a midi keyboard and an interface if you don’t have one already. If you’re finding you keep running into CPU issues with your computer (ableton isn’t great for this) you can try resampling your midi track and turning off the plugins then freezing the track (I wish I started doing this sooner). Otherwise you’ll just get frustrated and stuck and not want to keep working on your tracks.

If money is an issue, ableton comes with a lot of great stock instruments and effects + samples and drum racks but expensive plugins are always going on sale so maybe have a look on plugin boutique and see if anything that looks cool is within your budget.

Keep in mind that I’m saying this as someone who still considers themself a beginner/intermediate in this area and I still have a heap to learn too. Good luck and make cool stuff.

[beautifulandvoid]

The Roommate Dilemma.

In which a slip of the tongue leads to a love confession 20 years in the making.

This was inspired by a conversation with @bobbyfloyd about a clip of Lew saying he was gonna beat his dick. This was not intended to be *opens Google Docs* 6439 words.... but here we are.

A huge humongous thank you to @peachy-27 for helping proofread this. This is my first time writing smut, so if it's bad, please let me know! Nicely, of course, please enjoy!

AFAB!Reader. Contains Smut, Fluff, and a teeny tiny amount of angst. Also mentions of Rhett's dad being an asshole. Please let me know if I missed anything.

Also, yes this was posted on Whirlwindwonder, that is meee. Tumblr freed my account from the depths of shadow banning, so now it will be posted here.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! If your age is not in your bio or pinned post you will be blocked, NO exceptions. I do not consent to my works being posted into any third party or AI generator.

The air in Wabang was brutally cold, a biting chill that sliced through every layer of clothes and clung to your skin. It wasn't just the kind of cold you felt on the surface; it seeped deep into your muscles, wrapping itself around your bones and leaving you shivering to the core. Your old apartment creaked as you walked. It was warm enough, but with the fireplace going, it really warmed the space quickly. Your parents begged you to let them buy you, and “him” a small house. Their resentment for Rhett was due to an agelong family feud. You stood your ground, wanting to make a name for yourself, and you needed to do this for yourself, not have it handed to you.  You worked in marketing for the University of Wyoming, and part time at the bank in town, making enough to live comfortably in your home with Rhett. 

You and Rhett had been best friends since you were in diapers , despite your feuding families. You had been there for every rodeo you could, and those you couldn't you always called him before and after to wish him luck and congratulations. He came to your college graduation, though he stood in the back to avoid your family. Luke clocked him though and invited him over, he always liked that Rhett looked out for you. His parents had been reluctantly invited to your graduation party, and you were more than surprised when your parents were polite to them while they attended. You have also babysat Amy since she was born, even more now that Rebecca has disappeared. You have a feeling she ran off to get away from Perry, but you wouldn’t share that with Rhett. When your family found out you were moving in with Rhett, they about lost it. However they knew they couldn't stop you as you were an adult, they only ask that you don't bring him when you come over.

You walked in the door and shed the scarf and heavy coat you were wearing, only making it about a foot from the doorway when the door came crashing open. Rhett tumbled into the hallway and knocked you down with him. “Jesus Rhett, is a bull after you? Or is my dad outside?” you tease at him as you lay on the floor. As you look up at him, you realize that he's barely covered for the cold, wearing just a sweatshirt and a beanie. Feeling the comfort of his weight on top of you, lost in his eyes as your mind wanders, you can't help but want to kiss him.  So lost in your thoughts, you don't realize he's calling your name until he leans down, “TILLY! Are you even listening to me?” You startled back into reality, covering your ear. “Jesus Rhett, could you be any louder? Next time shake me.” He stood, pulling you up with him, spinning you around and checking for damage. “Sorry Tilly, you just keep zonin’ out. Did y’ hit your head hard? Do I need to take you to the doctor? It's fuckin’cold out. T’winds kickin’ up too” he breathes on his hands and rubs them together. 

You roll your eyes and walk into the kitchen and start the coffee pot to make hot chocolate for the two of you. “I’m fine Rhett, no bumps or bruises.” You call at him over your shoulder. He’d never admit it, but he loves the way you take care of him, the way you don't hesitate to make sure he has everything he needs. “I'm gonna go get into my pjs, you know how to stir right?” you poke at him while walking past him towards your bedroom. He stands there staring at you while you disappear into your bedroom. He sighs and walks up to the cabinet and pulls the mugs and cocoa out. “We ran out of the keurig cups, but we still have some packets leftover. How old are they? Well, that's unknown.” he calls over his shoulder as you reach your bedroom. 

He loves you, he does. But he's also known you since you were both in diapers. He was worried it'd ruin the relationship if he told you and you didn't love him back. Sure, you’ve told him you love him, but in the same way you tell your friends it. He doesn't hear you come back and you take the opportunity to poke his sides. “Agghh, damnit Tils, y’know I hate that!”, “and you know I hate being called Tils”. He holds your mug above you, and teases you by pretending to dump it on you. Your eyes narrow as you slowly back up, subtlety grabbing the marshmallows off the counter. “Are you sure about that cowboy? You want to start a war?” Wordlessly, he slightly lowers the mug, as he cocks his brow, before walking past you and towards the couch. “You wan't marshmallows or cocoa TIlly? Cant have both.” You follow him to the couch and plop by him. “We’re having cocoa, of course I can have both. Who doesn't have marshmallows in their cocoa.” He grunts as you grab the mug from him and toss the marshmallows at his face. “Rhett, why were you only in a sweatshirt and a beanie? It’s like 1 degree outside?” he scoffs and rolls his eyes, “well Tilly, if you must know I ripped my jacket on the fence and dad wouldn't let me come home and get a new one. Said I should toughen up and deal with the cold.” 

 You have to resist the urge to say that didn't surprise you, but you bite your tongue. You don't exactly have a great family dynamic with your dad either. “Maybe start keeping an extra in the truck, just to be safe” you say as you grab the throw blanket to toss over both of you. You had checked the forecast earlier and at least you won't get any snow, just the cold. So hopefully he remembers to put the coat in the truck. “Define ripped jacket? Depending on how bad it is I could probably patch it. Then you at least wouldn't be down a jacket.” He hums and gestures to the jacket on the hook in a “look for yourself” motion. He turns the TV on and starts the movie you'd been watching last night up again. “You think Jones would deliver in the cold? I really don't feel like cookin’ and I'm craving pizza?” he asks you halfway through your movie.

 You reach to grab your phone, asking Rhett “well I Can ask, the usual right?”. After the pizzas are delivered and you've consumed the entire thing, you grab the remote from him and turn on a chick flick. Something he claims to “hate” but still watches them with you. As you reach for the remote, you innocently brush against his crotch, and you can't miss how he adjusts after you settle back in. “Y’know, I can't believe that Tilly stuck. Seriously, you only called me that in Sunday school because you couldn't pronounce Virginia. And now, 19 years later, people still call me that.” You tease him as you stick your tongue out at him. 

“Well it's not like you've ever stopped me. The only name you hate being called more than Virginia is Tils. I'm the only one who calls you that, not that you don't threaten my life whenever I do.” He says pushing your shoulder, as he takes a swig of his beer. You once threatened to castrate him halfway through junior high after he embarrassed you by calling you it in front of Tommy Conoway after he asked you out. That started your first big fight, not only did he let your hated nickname slip, but he ruined the first time you'd ever been asked out. You didn't talk to him for two weeks, completely icing him out. He apologized by sneaking up the trellis outside your window with his mom's brownies and “Ten things I hate about you”. You forgave him when he admitted he talked to Tommy and got him to agree to go out with you again. That's what started the movie night tradition. You’ll never forget the next morning when your mother came to wake you and noticed Rhett was asleep on the floor. You’re pretty sure her screaming could've been heard by the Abbotts’ over a mile away. Although it is still incredibly funny when you remember Rhett scrambling out your window as your mother yelled for you father. 

 You alternate picking movies throughout the night, and halfway through your second pick, he stands up stretches, starts to walk away, “'m gonna go in the other room and beat my dick” He said before pausing, waiting for your reaction. You don't say anything so he says goodnight and walks into his bedroom. You watch as he walks down the hall and shuts the door. Once you hear the shower start, you adjust trying to not rub your thighs together after hearing it. You've been in love with him for years, but you can't ruin the friendship by telling him, so instead you just just imagine him between your thighs as you get yourself off. As you walk towards your bedroom after the movie ends, you can't help but think you heard Rhett say your name. You pause and wait to see if he says it again and when he doesn't you go into your own room for the night. 

The next morning Rhett creeped out of his room, hoping you didn't hear him last night. He reaches to grab a mug out to make himself some coffee and notices the pots already full. “So…Did you have fun beating your dick last night?” Catching him off guard as you spoke, watching as he whipped around to see you smirking around your coffee mug. “Holy shitting fuck Tilly, how long have you been there?” After a pause he coughs and speaks back up ”You heard that didn't you? Guess I didn't imagine sayin’ it out loud.” He says as his face flushed bright red. You laugh at him, “yeah you said it out loud.” You tease. “Rhett you act like we aren't adults, we both have urges” He rolls his eyes and walks up to the window to look outside. “What the fuck?” he says as he stares at the multiple feet of snow as more falls. “Yup, Mr. “no snow” weatherman was wrong. We have at least 3 feet already and they're predicting we'll get 8 by the end of the day.” you shoot at him, you're glad you went to the grocery store on monday, so you have food if you get stuck in for a few days. “No way I'm makin’ it to the ranch in this. Dad probably thinks I should be able to.” You laugh at him knowing he's right, luckily you can do your main job from home on your computer. Hopefully the power stays on long enough for you to work if needed. 

He walks back to the counter and pours himself a cup of coffee and sits by you at the island. You have your laptop open checking your work email, seeing that classes had been canceled through the weekend. “At least we have plenty of food and wood for the fireplace. We don't have to shovel cause Mark said he’d take care of it for us. Said he's excited for a reason to use his new snowblower.” You explained before going into detail just like Mark had. “DId you know it has a Powerful 389cc Ariens AX 4 cycle engine with electric start and a 28 inch clearing width and 21 inch intake height? No, I do, he spent 30 minutes talking about it.” you tell him as you dig into your breakfast. “Did ya make me any? Ya didn't? What kinda roommate are you?” he teases you as he steals some bacon off your plate. “Hey, this is what I didn't have time to finish yesterday, mister. And besides you didn't get your fill of meat last night when you beat your dick?” 

He whips around with his jaw dropped as you laugh into your coffee. “What the fuck Tilly? You're gonna hold that over my head for the rest of our lives aren't you.” You shrug, “maybe, or maybe until we get free of the snow. I'll decide soon.” The landline starts ringing, and he moves to answer it. He grumbles that he's not going to make it, and does not see the snow. “'m literally snowed in, unless you plan to come get me I'm not going’ to get there. 's not a debate.” He hangs up the phone, trying to not slam it down on the receiver.

He rubs his hand down his face and grumbles obscenities into his coffee. You grab his hand as he sits back down and lean onto his shoulder. He throws his arm around you and tugs you in as best he can without yanking you off the stool. “He’ll get over it. Perry can help, the freeloader should pull his weight already.” He grumbles into your hairline, as he squeezes you. Perry gets away with everything in his parents eyes, you still can't understand how he did not get jail time for killing Trevor. Although he was an asshole, he was still your brother. You only slightly tolerated him so you could keep seeing and babysitting Amy. She loves coming over to do girls day and get her nails done with you. You even have special face masks for her so they won't damage hair skin but she still gets to participate and do spa days. You’ve tried to be a big sister to her, especially with Rebecca gone, all she has is Cecilia, so you want her to know she has a safe space and someone to talk to. 

“How about a movie day? We don't have anything else to do, we can also make the cookies you like…” you say as you make your way to the couch. He perks up at the thought of the cookies, and immediately slides across the floor to the couch to it by you. You laugh at him as he stares at you expectantly. “Not yet Rhett, hold your horses” He plops onto the couch like a kicked puppy, and whines about how he wants the cookies. “You'll get 'em eventually, calm down boy.” He grabs the remote from you and turns on the news to check in on the snow totals, “yeah 3.5 feet and he thinks I can make it in my beat up truck” he grumbles, “that's it, no more talk about your dad,my dad or any family. We’re going to have a stress free day.” He smirks up at you, and settles back in. The two of you made it through several movies before you heard a motor outside.

 Rhett gets up to look, and immediately ducks after opening the curtain. “Damn, he saw me. How long do you think before he's at the door talkin’ my ear off about that damn snowblower?” He moved back towards you and only made it a few steps before the doorbell rings. He hangs his head before turning around and opening the door.

 “Hey Mark, thanks for blowing the drive for us. We’ll have cookies for you later, it's Tilly’s brown butter ones too, the good ones” he stands chatting with Mark, as he has to listen to the same spiel you had to. While he was chatting you made your way to the kitchen and started pulling the ingredients out. Rhett heard you and as politely and quickly as he could dismiss Mark to come help you. “Hey! You can't start without me! I'm your super assistant! I better get to lick the beaters this time! YOU missy got them last time.” He calls at you as he rounds the corner to the kitchen. “Well, it took Mark 30 minutes to stop talking to me about it so I figured I had some time. And I got them last time because YOU were at your parents house while I made them.” You shoot back while sticking your tongue out at him. He grabs the rest of the ingredients down for you and you can't help but stare as his shirt lifts and you see the v in his hips. Holy jesus are you screwed. 

As the two of you make the cookies you can't help but hold Rhett's hands or touch his fingers for longer than necessary, god were you truly in love with him. As you put the last batch in the oven, Rhett has disappeared. “Rhett, where'd you go?” you glanced down the hall and the bathroom door was open and so was his door, so where did he go? You walk around the house looking for him, and can't find him anywhere. As you walk back to the kitchen you call out his name, still unable to find him “Rhett, seriously where are you-” “RAAAAAAAAAA!” Rhett screams as he jumps out from behind the side of the fridge. You collapse to the floor in the fetal position, as he stands laughing over you. “Jeez Tilly, you look like you saw a ghost?’ he teases as he bends down to help you up. “You jackass, I thought you had disappeared. I was worried!” You take his hand and pull him down to the floor with you, as you both lay on the floor laughing. “Sorry Tilly, but I had to. Y’kept teasing me” he teases as he lies by you. “You're lucky I love you. Like really love you.” you say while turning to look at him. “Why’d you say it like that?” “like what?”.

 He's now hovering over you as you blush fully. “Tilly, what do you mean by really love me?” You clear your throat and as you are about to speak the oven timer goes off and he stands to take the cookies out. He sets the tray on the stove and turns around to look at you. You stand there awkwardly as you rub your arms. “I love you Rhett, like love you love you. Not the way I say I love you to my friends. I love you. And not as a friend.” You look at him while he doesnt say anything. You breathe out as he doesn't say anything so you walk into your bedroom and shut the door in embarrassment. God you had just ruined your relationship with him, he's not going to want to live with you anymore and you’ll have to move back with your parents. Rhett stands in the kitchen as his brain finally computes what you said and realizes he didn't say it back. Shit, he didn't say it back, he watched you walk away without saying anything. Shit. 

He hurries down the hall and knocks on your door. As he's waiting for you to answer, he's running through his head on what to do. You open the door and it's obvious you've been crying, “Rhett, you don't have to say anything. We can just pretend I didn't say anything. I understand if you want to-” “I love you too. I have our whole lives, but I never thought you could love me back. So I never said anything’.” You both chuckle, and realize that you could've had each other for years, and never knew it. “Can I kiss you please Virginia? Please?” He’s using your actual name, not the nickname he stuck you with when you were kids. “You better cowboy, I've only waited 20 years” He steps in closer to you and leans in and presses his lips to yours. Your heart flutters and the world stops spinning as it becomes just the two of you. He steps you back towards your bed and gently pushes you down as he lays out on top of you. 

As he pulls away, you smile up at him and try to shy away. “Hey. No no, I just got you. Don't hide from me now. If my breath smells I'll go pop a mint in” he teases at you. You smile back up at him and wrap your arms around his shoulders. He pulls you in as you do,  “Was that my name I heard last night after you left me on the couch?” he groans and buries his head into your neck. “Yeah… that doesn't make me gross does it? 'm sorry, but I just never imagined I could have you truly.” You run his hands through his hair and gently pull him up to look in his eyes. “Well if it does,that makes me one too. Sounds bad but the only way I can get off is picturing’ you between my thighs.” He smirks at you like the Cheshire cat. He runs his hands down your sides and looks up at you when he gets to the hem of your shirt. You nod at him and he puts his hands under your shirt and slides up towards your chest. 

You tilt your head down and capture him in a kiss and he moves to flip the two of you. He looks at you and you notice his eyes have darkened. “You can take it off Rhett. Maybe the set is in your favorite color.” you tease. He groans and pulls your shirt off and plops back when he realizes it is his favorite color. He rolls his hips as you grind into him, “shit darling. Wait.” You look down at him as he begins to speak again. “Are you sure? I don't wanna pressure you into anything too fast. We can take it slow.” he says as he rests his hands on your hips. You slide off him and rush out of the bedroom and through the bathroom to his, disappearing from his view.  “Uh darling, what are you doing?” he’s confused as he starts to hear “save a horse ride a cowboy, “I mean yeah I have some condoms but like not that many…..” he trails off as you walk back into view wearing his cowboy hat and swinging the condoms. You’ve ditched your pants and smirk at him, as the chorus of the song hits.  “This totally counts as stealing your hat for the rule, I declare that a house rule.” as you walk back to him you notice him readjusting, you hop back on top of him.

He grips your hips and flips you back over and kisses down your chest. “uh, did you buy this set with me in mind, or does it just happen to be my favorite color?” he teases as he makes it to your thighs. “You are far too dressed cowboy, how come I'm the one pretty much naked?” He chuckles and stands, he strips off his shirt and ditches his jeans as fast as he humanly can. “You didn't answer me, there Tilly. Did you buy this with me in mind?” he teases as he pauses before pulling his boxers down, and looks up at you. “Are you sure you want to? I won't be offended if you change your mind or you think we're movin’ too fast.” he waits for you to respond and you reach up and pull him down and reconnect your lips. He pulls you in closer and reaches up and unhooks your bra without disconnecting from your lips. You feel him push his boxers down and you push him up to help. “Holy fuck Rhett. There's no way that's fitting in me.” 

He chuckles at you before running his hands down to your thong and waiting for you to give the ok. He pulls them off and tosses them over his shoulder, hopefully you can find them, you like this set. He pulls you to the edge of the bed by your thighs, and you sit up to protest. “Rhett, you don't have to. I don't want you to do some-” you cut yourself off as he runs his fingers through your folds. You gasp as he slides two fingers into you, fuck, you grab his hair as his fingers curl just right. “Fuck Tilly, you know how much I've dreamed about this, havin’ you under me, makin’ you feel good.” He speeds up his fingers as he feels you clench down on him. You grip his hair as he moves to put his mouth on you, “Fuck Rhett, holy fuck. Fuck, fuck”. He speeds up his fingers as you grip even harder and arch your back off the bed. The band snaps and you collapse back onto the bed. 

He pants as he runs his hands back down your thighs and pulls you impossibly closer. He dives back in like a man starved and rubs your clit as he digs his fingers into the spot that makes you see stars and curl your toes. You feel the pressure of needing to pee and try to push him off. “Rhett, c’mon. It feels like I need to pee”. He grips you harder and shoves his face in, “nu uh, c’mon give it to me. You’ll like what's coming”. He presses just right and you grip his hair, and squirt on his face. You collapse to the bed panting.

You pant as he cleans you up with his tongue. “Damn Tilly” He stands up licking his fingers. He swipes down his face pulling your juices off his face and into his mouth. Once out of your haze, you open your eyes back up to him standing over you, you reach for him and slide your hand onto his dick. You start to pull when his hand is over yours pausing you, “You don't have to Tilly.” You don't say anything, but you slide down and slide his dick into your mouth. His hands are instantly in your hair and you can feel him trying to not get too rough. You bob your head down his shaft and his grip on your hair gets harder. “Fuck, Tilly. 'm gonna come. Shit, fuck where?” He tries to pull out of your mouth, and you grip his hips harder and not let him move. He groans and comes down your throat as you slide back. He stands over you before pulling you up and plopping you in the middle of the bed. He grabs the condoms off the floor, “Jesus Tilly,” he says as he realizes how many you had grabbed, “Do y’think we're gonna last 12 rounds?”. You laugh at him while ripping one off the strip. You rip it open and glance up at him, “you or me?”. He chuckles and takes the condom from you and rolls it down himself. 

He lines himself up and pauses looking at you to confirm you still want this. You nod and he pushes in. “holy fuck Rhett. You’re huge, jesus” “Fuck Tilly, so fuckin’tight. Shit.” He waits to let you adjust then pushes in further. When he bottoms out he waits for you to give the ok to keep moving. “Rhett if you don't fuckin’ move i will cut yout dick off. Ive waited 10 years for you to fuck me, so you better not be slow about it.” You demanded, before he cut you off by thrusting into you causing your eyes to roll back. You roll your hips up into him, and he pushes you back down.

 “Nope, you wanted me to fuck you, so thats exactly what I’ll do.” he smirks over you. He pulls your leg up around his hip and increases the speed of his thrusts. You grab his shoulders, raking your nails down leaving obvious signs, as he continues to hit your sweet spot. Moaning for each other as he pulls out, leaving you whining from the sudden emptiness just as you started to protest, you were cut off as he pulled you to the edge of the bed and lined himself back up with you, pushing back into you.  “Fuck Rhett, holy fucking shit.” you moaned, as he thrusted at a new angle, your eyes rolling back into your head. 

As his thrusts get more rapid, he reaches down to start rubbing your clit. You can feel the band tightening again, and you yank him into a kiss as he pulls you impossibly closer. He can feel you around him, “come on baby, come on. Cum f’me.” he whispers in your ear. The band tightens impossibly tight and the second he hits your clit just right, it explodes. You fall apart around him and you feel him right behind you. 

He pulls out of you, moving to sit against your pillow, pulling you on top of him. “C’mon darling. You played the song, you better ride the cowboy.” You roll your hips as he groans, and helps you slide down onto him.  “You think I can last more than 8 seconds cowboy? You're the big bad bull this time.” You groan as you pull his hat back onto your head. He grips your hips as he helps you move faster, “Fuck TIlly. Yeah I'll be your bull anytime. I hope you can stay on longer than 8 seconds.  ‘Could make a whole scorin’ sheet for you.” he teases at you. You feel the band tightening again, and he reaches down and starts rubbing your clit again. He rubs faster as he realises you're close. He slides his hand up to your neck to pull you down and he can't help but feel you clench harder as he lightly squeezes it. He pulls out and flips you over as you protest, pulling you up to your knees.

He hushes you before sliding back home into you, and railing you into the mattress. You can feel the band tightening again, he smacks your hand away as he notices you trying to bring it to your clit. He slides his fingers between your folds and presses down. The band snaps and you feel him groan against your neck as you feel his hips stutter. He pulls out and gently flips you onto your back. He lays on top of you and you think you’ve died and gone to heaven. The two of you lay there for what seems like hours just basking in the revelations of what just happened. “So, that was most definitely worth the wait for 10 years.” You say while stroking his hair. You feel him chuckle against your chest, he lifts his head up and rolls his hips to pull out of you. He walks into the bathroom to toss the condom and comes back to pick you up and help you to the bathroom.

“C’mon, we gotta get you cleaned up”. You groan as you don't want to leave the warmth of your bed. As he tossed in some Epsom salt, and one of the bath bombs he got you for christmas, you got ready to soak in the tub. You're glancing up at him when he turns around to help you into the tub, before sliding in behind you. You settle into his chest as he wraps his arms around you.  “Hi there. so, what do we do now?” he says after a while. You smirk into his arm and take a second. “Round three? We could do it right here. Always wanted to do it in a tub.” He groans as he rubs his nose into your hair. “You know damn well what I meant. I wanna take you on a date. A proper date.” He pushes you forward and tilts your head back towards him to look you in the eye. “I want you to take me out too. Not here though, maybe in Cheyenne. We don’t need the prying eyes just yet.” 

He hums into your hair and pulls you back into his arms. The town already gossips about if the two of you were together. Virginia Tillerson and the man-whore of Wabang, and the buckle bunnies never leave him alone which just further flames the name they've given him. If they only knew how sweet your cowboy was. Hmm, your cowboy, you definitely like the sound of that. He kisses the top of your hair as you fall back into a comfortable silence. You speak up after a few moments, almost too quiet for him to hear, “you called me Tils on purpose in front of Tommy didn’t you. You never wanted me to go out with him, right?”. He hesitates before humming in agreement, “yeah, God it took everything in me. Groveln’ to him and get him to agree to go back out with you.” He puts his hands back on your hips, wrapping them around you.

You feel his hands drift down towards your folds again. You adjust and let him in. He gently rubs your clit again, and slides his fingers in as he turns your head to kiss you. He brings you to yet another orgasm and hums into your hair in satisfactory vibrations.  After a while he leans forward and pulls the plug and steps out to grab a towel. Offering his hand to help you up, as well as a towel, drying you off. When you step out of the tub, your legs give out. Thinking God you're like a fawn on ice. He was quick to pick you up, carrying you to his room bridal style, before setting you on his bed. Grabbing a shirt, he carefully moved to help you get it on, before pulling away to get dressed himself, slipping into a pair of boxers and sweats on.  

Looking down at you, Rhett offers his hand. “Nope, you're gonna carry me cowboy. You fucked me hard enough i think, no I know, I’ve lost control of my legs.” he chuckles at you and pulls you up and tosses you over his shoulder. “RHETT!! This isn’t what I meant you dork.” you gasp out as you hit his back in protest. He chuckles and carries you to the kitchen and sets you on the counter. You gasp as the cold countertop hits you, “Yeah but I wanted a sweet treat. And not yours.” he smirks as he hands you one. You gasp and look at him as he takes a bite of the cookie. “Hmmm, they're somehow even better.” He wraps his arms around you as you hook your leg around his hip.”’bout that date. I was thinkin’ I have a rodeo there soon an’ if the snow lets up. I say we get a nice hotel room, not the dingy ones we normally stay in.” You smile into him as he picks you up and carries you to the couch. “Sounds like a plan cowboy. Not to ruin the mood, but you couldn't have grabbed me underwear, huh? It's cold in here!” You tease him as he pulls a blanket over the two of you. “See now you're covered, but I can think of a few ways we can warm up” He says as he rolls his hips up into yours. 

“Yeah I think of a few ways to.  We're gonna need more condoms though. Your mom may have been wanting us together since we were kids, but if you got me knocked up right now, my dad would kill you.” you tease at him as he laughs. “Think I'm kidding cowboy? He’d chase after you and beat you with the oxygen tank. And my brothers? Oh boy, they'd string you up by your balls.” He stops laughing as you say that and goes pale. He slowly reaches over to grab the remote and turns on the tv. You laugh at him as he goes white, you have to admit it would be hilarious to see your dad try to chase after him. “Could you imagine? My mama having to tell the church that I got a girl pregnant out of wedlock?”. He teases you as he sets you back on the couch so he could stoke the fireplace, after he feels you shivering. “Well no, because she'd make us get married before anyone could find out. That or she’d kill us, maybe both.” You shoot back at him while wrapping the blanket around yourself. 

“It's pretty cold, here hold on” he said before disappearing down the hall before returning with a pair of sweatpants. Offering his hand to you, to help you off the couch, helping you keep balanced as you slip into the sweatpants. You both settle into the couch, Rhett's arm wrapping back around you, pulling you into his side. You settle into his chest as he strokes your hair. You find yourself drifting off and he pulls you closer and kisses you. “I love you, truly Tilly.” Causing you to look up at him sleepily, resting your chin on his chest. “I love you too, Rhett. More than you’ll ever know.” You didn't know how your families would react to the news. You knew your brothers would try to kill him, but you'd set them straight. His momma and Amy will most definitely be happy, especially since Amy already calls you “Aunt Tilly” and Cecelia calls you her baby anyway. She always has, so you know she’ll immediately start wedding planning. Honestly, you wouldn't be surprised if she already had started planning years ago. 

As you laid together, you played back the last 24 hours and everything that happened. Him slipping up and the snow trapping you inside, the confession of your love and the very, very, very good sex. You will most definitely not be able to walk tomorrow (so worth it). All because you get your cowboy finally. You felt him tighten his arms around you as the credits finally end for the movie. You know that he’ll keep you safe and loved, and that's all you need. It didn't matter where you lived, all that mattered was that the two of you had each other. Hopefully now the buckle bunnies will leave him alone at the rodeos when they see you wearing his hat, and any marks he leaves. You’ll most definitely need to find a way to sneak back to see him before he rides now.  You settle back into his arms and drift off. You feel him kiss your head and snuggle into your hair. To think, all because he slipped up by saying he was gonna beat his dick. Now you get to love him openly for the rest of your lives. 

Thank you all for reading! Please feel free to reblog, but do not post anywhere else. It will be cross posted on my Ao3 under ElizaKasansky86. That is the only other place where you will see any of my works.

Baby tag list: @bobbyfloyd @sebsxphia @rhettmotel

[voonroo]

Twisted Wonderland Mafia AU Introduction

⌐‣TWST MAFIA AU

Want more? Check out the masterlist↩︎

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This could 100% be expanded on if I actually ever get back into TWST. I'm working on clearing out some old works deep in the depths of my Google Docs and Notes app because I feel kinda bad for disappearing suddenly😋 This is actually from late 2022... Thanks to @justcallmecj for encouraging me to post this again.

The Night Raven District is a district full of criminal groups who will do anything to keep their city to themselves.

There’s the RSA District, which has, for years, been trying to reclaim property from the Night Raven District. No one knows what RSA stands for. However, it is thought to stand for the phrase Recover, Seize, Adjust, as it is the group's job to salvage stolen districts and cities from the unruly.

The Mafia Groups

Heartslabyul

A group of gamblers whose intent is to teach others self-restraint. Most often you will find anyone apart of Heartslabyul at night, or in a casino. There is always a member of Heartslabyul in the city's most popular places for a quick gamble.

A considerably notable pattern to identify one of these members is if they have the symbol of a heart, spade, diamond, or clover painted under or on the eye. The explanation for why it’s so easy to find them is that they don't hide, they aren’t doing anything illegal so they see no need to. Or at least the majority of them. It is effortless to become a part of this clique if you can withstand the harsh rules that come with it.

Savanaclaw

This pack is full of fighters. Svanaclaw does the most around the city pertaining to almost anything physical. Is someone getting a little too close to the district? They’re the first to do something about it. Most will jump at any opportunity to turn something into a challenge.

Numerous people in the group have fought for something or someone. Most likely being unsuccessful, but don’t speak of it. Or else you might be on the news the next morning, for these people aren’t known for their steady temper. To be a part of this club, you have to be physically strong and have vigorous will.

Octavinelle

Largely Octavinelle members are by the coast dealing with outsiders who don’t know any better. Those that aren’t? They oversee a lot of legal issues. Such as digging up dirt on others and using it for their own advantage. They're good with their words, many of which can get just about anyone under their thumb.

The captain of Octavinelle owns a pub near the docks. Though, he is pretty well known to be your typical everyday businessman. These people aren’t always the strongest, nonetheless, don’t get too comfortable. You never know when they’ll make you walk the plank and feed you to the sharks.

Scarabia

This party is one of the lesser-known groups. They are often found in the city shops during the day. You wouldn’t be any the wiser. Because the group is the smallest compared to the others, it’s hard to identify hardly anybody that’s part of the Scarabian folk. They’re onlookers.

It’s said they “help” the other mobs with some inside information. No one knows where they get said information, it is said that there is a particular person that can with just a few words. The leader of the Scarabia team is very in-depth with the local trades, they're able to get anything for a good price.

Pomefiore

Another community that isn’t well known. It’s difficult to get into the prestigious group of Pomefiore. You must be hand-picked by the crown of this cluster. This group is the most out and about in public. You secretly see the members every day.

Evidently, they are remarkably nice to look at and often speak with higher-ups. The director of this group is never seen without other group members especially if they’re ones that he himself, needs to whip into shape. They’re also good at covering their tracks and hunting others down.

Ignihyde

Ignihyde is the least-known group out of the big seven. These people work behind the scenes, in the backgrounds. Either covering up news stories or scrolling the dark web for more stockpiles. It is said that the supervisor of Ignihyde was the cause of a nasty computer virus, putting thousands of electronics out of service.

There is still no known fix to this virus. Or maybe there is, you just have to pay a hefty price. Only those of the best technicians or engineers are even considered to be given a role in this organization.

Diasomania

The most powerful body of the Night Raven District. You’d have to really fuck up to catch even a glimpse of someone from this group.

The boss of this body is fairly notorious. This troop has the strongest defense against just roughly anyone. If there’s ever a fight with Diasomnia in it, they will come out on top. For years this group has kept RSA at bay. No recent members have entered Diasomnia for years, the only way to get in is to have caught the eyes of a certain individual.

Word Count: 803

[inthebeginning-rebellion]

Anyway my google docs are a mess right now but this I liked and this I will share.

Fade Birth

feat. she/her Rook and a romanced Emmrich.

-=-=-

He’d lived so much longer than he anticipated.

Fifty-two had seemed ancient, the decade and change gap between himself and Rook a yawning, gaping chasm of guilt and fear. By sixty-two, the fear had waned, and the grey speckling Rook’s hair and the way she complained about her knees bridged the gap most humorously. Seventy-two had come along compliantly enough, and had been spent consoling his beloved at her finally having to hang up the massive warhammer she simply could not swing the way she once could. Sword and shield, she groused, did not have the same ‘oomph’. The cane came around eighty-two, and he found he did not mind it so much as he may have once feared, especially when Rook gifted him an elegant bone and bronze one, carved with flowers and a skull atop the handle.

‘You look very distinguished. And you can hit people with it.’

He was still giving lectures and traveling back and forth from the Lighthouse and the Necropolis at ninety-two, his bibliography tripled from now almost forty years of partly residing in the Fade. Many conversations with spirits, the dead, and study of the Fade itself had left him with a variety of theories on longevity as a cause, and he began to wonder when, precisely, he would pass. He was still sharp of mind and wit, if more tired and inclined to sit than he had once been. He could not do nearly half the things he had once done while traveling with their companions on a quest to stop the gods, but his plants flourished and his career was storied. Manfred had begun attending his own adventures- never quite the linguist, he had become remarkably adept at magic in a way no wisp he had ever heard of had. He was a being of great depths, read voraciously, and had assisted in his own world-saving venture some decades ago that left Emmrich and Rook speechless and stunned. A wisp of curiosity, a man grown.

Each night, he had a cup of tea and Rook’s hand in his while they watched the mysterious depths of the Fade pass them by at the Lighthouse.

Glorious tranquility, eternity laid out before him.

At one-hundred and two, as per his request, Rook entombed him in the center of his study at the Lighthouse. A carved stone garden and gilded placard, his skull resting on a pedestal in the shape of an open book. He’d long wondered where he should put himself, if he should be put to rest with his parents, but as Rook had once said to him… Stories were about change. And so he was interred at home, where students could seek him out if they so wished.

She was struggling in her own advanced age, decades of hard combat and abuse to the body. Still, she often took his skull in her arms and climbed the staircase to sit on the balcony with him, to watch the Fade as he’d so loved to do. She talked to him, sat with him and conversed with Manfred.

He could not say, but he heard it all. Some spark of the man beating within the bones. Sometimes Manfred looked at him so intently that he thought for certain there must still be something there. Interesting, to have that thought. Obviously, there must be a remnant that Manfred could see, since that remnant could think enough that it might be there.

And so there was.

Rook died not too long after he did, a year or so later, sitting on the balcony with his bones and two cold cups of tea, one half sipped.

Quite suddenly, as the love fractured within that beating spark, he was standing there with his own skull. He felt old and young all at once, lines of life and death stretching out in eddies and waves out the window and all around him.

Not without her. Never without her.

Emmrich reached down and grasped her hand, and he pulled the way he had pulled decades ago to pull her from the Fade prison. Whatever energy he had grown here latched onto the dying embers of her own and empowered them, infused them, blew them into a roaring inferno as he dragged Rook out of her corpse and into his arms.

Glorious, to swing her around once again. Laughter bubbled into weeping into euphoria.

They stood before their own remains, luminous and starry-eyed.

“Emmrich…?”

“Darling.”

“Where… how are we-?”

“Oh my dearest, let’s not think too hard on it.”

She glittered with laughter, lines smoothed away by whatever soul tether the Fade had seen fit to gift them. He wondered if he looked younger than when they had met, or if, perhaps, they were seeing each other the way they held each other in their minds. In their souls? Perhaps the Fade, living here, had simply allowed them to imprint onto their remains in a method that went beyond what transpired at the Necropolis. This was not demonic and it was not a haunting, it was light and simplicity.

“Well… we can think on it later. I admit I have theories.”

“Oh my love, of course you do.”

From below there was a rattling scramble, boots on wood, and the guttural rasping cry of Manfred.

"Knew it!! Saw you!! Missed you!"

[raventhewolf9]

Wanting to use c.ai but know it's not good for your mental health or the environment? Still want to roleplay a scenario but either don't want to roleplay with someone else or nobody wants to roleplay with you?

ROLEPLAY WITH YOURSELF!!

No, seriously! It can be fun!! It won't work for everybody, but I've found that it works for me sometimes. There are multiple ways to do it, but my favorite is to make a private discord server, add tupperbox to it, and use that.

Not only is this better and safer than c.ai, but coming up with a scenario and thinking of how the character(s) would react to it engages your creativity.

And if this isn't fun for you, there's always fanfiction, too. Writing a fic isn't that far removed from self-roleplaying, and you don't even have to share it with anyone! Go ahead, write that "cringey" self-insert fic and keep it locked away in the depths of your google docs forever. Nobody's stopping you!

[kalpeavaris]

Do you have any recommendations for alternative writing programs instead of Google Docs? I wasn't aware of the scraping issue until just now ;;-;;

It honestly depends in what you're expecting from your writing program, do you require a full-blown program you can also sort notes, images, worlds, character sketches and more? Or is a more simplistic text editor sufficient? Every author's different so it honestly comes down to personal preference :D

For simpler programs I can honestly recommend LibreOffice & Apache OpenOffice, they're free as far as I'm concerned (has been a while since I used them) and fullfill the basic needs for a writer.

If you're looking into a more in-depth program I can recommend Scrivener, though that one costs money - around 50-60 bucks, my price was in EUR so not sure how much it'd be in USD. It's really detailed and since my fanfictions/stories usually exceed 100-200 pages each I found myself much more immersed in a very in-depth program meant for bookwriting rather than a basic text editor.

Otherwise Wikipedia has a pretty good comparison of available text editors/programs on hand where you can check which ones offer which features and if they're free or require you to purchase a license: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_text_editors