#i may also go mod hunting

[badlydrawndedkidz]

Man, you're still here doing this. Props to you. I left this site nearly ten years ago but I'm glad I can come back to see some mekakucity kids doing a new thing in the same style. Thank you.

thank you both! maybe i havent seen as active as id have liked the oast couple of years but i refuse to let this place die haha, it's been going almost as long as ive been into kagepro, so it's a special little thing to me :)

in the wise words of that one magazine,

[dailynoodlezz24]

Ok, i had the thought (since i love werewolves and vampire stuff, liches, all that-- I blame Skyrim and its unhealthy amount of beautiful mods-- and Dungeon Meshi just seems so perfect about it with its races and stuff) what if Marcille's a dhampir, basically a human vampire crossbreed, who seeks to become fully vampiric in order to be able to sire in lieu of the dungeon lord/universal longevity plot. (Spoilers: she still doesn't get it in the end lmao) Falin is a longtime friend of hers through a backstory I still haven't made up yet, and Marcille's introduced as a new addition to the main cast, who are a party of hikers (or for some sort of venturing activity). Month in, Falin's gone and had herself eaten by some weird dog described in only folklore, which Laios would later excitedly incite as a "lycanthrope". (They tried to call emergencies for a missing person, but they came up with nothing. Everyone thinks Laios is going insane when he concludes that the sight they saw after Falin became officially missing, blood trails and offly wolfish tracks fading off to somewhere, was the work of a wolfman, or a werewolf, and suggested going to search for Falin themselves. Namari and Toshiro leave promptly) Chillchuck and Marcille stay with him, one determined with his navigational skills and the other fully believing in this supernatural theory. They decide it's best they start camping in the forest, deeper and closer to the wilderness, prompting them the idea: hunt for their share. Which may or may not be illegal :shrug They meet Senshi, one hell of a wildchef man. (Marcille's total disgust with the idea of eating out in the wild stems from the fact she doesn't want to survive off of squirrels again. But this food is pretty good, and she's eating other animals than small rodents this time. Chillchuck just doesn't want to hear about the weird ass facts about how skinwalkers might be related to humans and their horrific hunting tendencies while eating.) The deeper they go, the more strange and bizarre this forest becomes. First normal, unassuming, then the ravens start speaking and the rabbits have horns. And if you peer into it close enough, your eyes might just find company in where the campfire doesn't reach. So on and so on, they find Falin's bones in the corpse of the creature, and suddenly there's a little guy with white hair and crazed, purple eyes(thistle), who beats them all off with a stick(not actually lmao). Last they see is Falin's remains being reanimated with the dripping blood of the stranger. (Marcille had tried in desperate attempt to revive Falin with her own blood/bite, but to no avail, revealing herself in the process. The only thing she can note is the awful taste of something doglike, aka the lycanthrope disease circulating in Falin's bones-- since they were chomped before she died RIP.) Now they're against a highly aggressive abomination under the servitude of someone out to get them. And the opps are on them(canaries) Now I'm just thinking abt whether or not to make Marcille also a werepyre? Considering it would make sense for her to also get her human-half infected into something "full-fledged" in the way she hadn't intended, and still come up without the ability to sire(she wants to make a cauldron for company, a cauldron being like a vampire made family, due to the same motives of keeping her loved ones). Thank you for reading my ramblings, I am brimming with ideas for this AU.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello! I've recently taken the plunge and downloaded Ridgeside village for one of my save files. I'm enjoying it so far and I am eyeing some of the romanceable candidates 👀.

So I was wondering, you know the ask a while back about the farmer being oblivious to all of the bachelor and bachelorette's being in love with them? Could you do the same with the Ridgeside characters? And maybe expanded?

Eyyyyy glad you liked the Ridgeside Village mod, dear anon ☺️

I've added both SVE and RSV candidates as well. Sorry if the headcanon came out a bit stilted (wasn't sure what the best format was lol). Thanks for the ask and enjoy 💕

RSV bachelors/ettes with oblivious Farmer:

After the young Pelican Town candidates failed miserably to win the heart of Farmer, who must be the most oblivious person in the world, the bachelors and bachelorettes of Ridgeside Village decided that their time had finally come. They're the ones who can get the Farmer's attention, aren't they? Oh, but they didn't, because they didn't count on two things.

First, there were still competitors in Pelican Town - it was just that the other residents hadn't immediately joined the "hunt". Although Sophia and Victor weren't even sure what was even going on, they just wanted to spend more time with their friend Farmer. Victor, however, tried to give a couple compliments, but the gist of the content of his words apparently didn't get through to Farmer. It's a shame of course, but both Sophia and Victor just get over it and just switch to their own lives (and maybe even each other). Claire also threw a loving glance in the direction of the eternally energetic Farmer, but due to uncertainty and constant fatigue she decided that she had almost no chance (it's not true, but *sigh*). Olivia, of course, could show all these young amateurs how to properly compliment and hint at the object of their affection, but feels it's not her age to go after Farmer. She will respect Farmer's choice, and may even push Victor toward Farmer a little bit so that her son will be more confident.

Second, Ridgeside Village residents doesn't really realize how painfully oblivious Farmer is. All the advances and compliments the Farmer (unknowingly) dodges like a spy film protagonist dodges enemy bullets and lasers. And Jeric and Blair will be the first to question their own flirting abilities. Maybe they should have been more.... assertive?

Standing nearby the restaurant, Corine, Ysabelle and Paula greeted the Farmer more flirtatiously, asking to spend time with them just a little bit more. The girls decided to play fair: to whom the Farmer would pay more attention - the winner. Except that Farmer thanked "their good friends for the compliments" and ran off on their farming business, leaving girls in shock. Paula at least laughed at the comicality of the situation.

Faye and Irene thought that the way to the Farmer's heart was through their stomach, so when the girls found out what were the favourite dishes of the daredevil of the entire Stardew Valley, they immediately began the preparation. The Farmer thanked them not with dates, as the two girls had hoped, but with... fresh fruit from the greenhouse. Shit. Okay, well, at least the fruit is delicious. Bryle, passing by, decided to tease Faye and show her the "real master of pick-up", since he himself had had his eye on Farmer for a long time. A complete fiasco, as you might expect, causing Faye herself to start laughing at her friend's failure. The two will then argue again (but will become a couple in the future, but that's another story).

Anton... Doesn't even look in the Farmer's direction. He wants to try, wants to give them at least one good compliment, but... Why? So that Farmer will be disappointed in him like his ex-fiancée? No, Anton won't risk their friendship for that.

Apparently Yoba itself (or other magical forces) are protecting Farmer from flirting, because there's no way they couldn't pick up on Daia's hints. The girl is almost directly flirting, proposing to become something more, trying to kiss and, pardon my language, "get them into the nearest bush for some fun." "Into the bushes? Maybe we'll find a cute bunny there!" ....Bunny, huh.

But that's at least some effort, though, because Jio didn't come up with anything better at all than to express his flirtation in the form of... completely ignoring Farmer. Like, the more he ignores them, the more interested they'll be in him. Weird logic, and then the grumpy will have a face like "Wait, that's illegal" meme when Farmer ignores his ignore (and Kiwi is now constantly teasing him).

Ian, Kenneth, Phillip and Shiro decide not to act without haste, but to learn from the mistakes of other candidates who have failed on the love front. Slowly but surely, they try to spend more time with Farmer without making any drastic moves yet. And honestly, even if they too fail to endear themselves to Farmer, a caring and loyal friend would be enough for them. Sean also wanted to take leisurely steps at first, but he didn't have the patience and so he heads to the bench with the other losers. Better luck next time!

Zayne is a rather well-mannered young man, and he is not going to impose his company on anyone without their desire. If the Farmers themselves approach him, then he will try to make small talk and apply all his knowledge of flirting. It's a similar situation with June, but he may be a little more stubborn as he, unlike the others, has limited time and will be less likely to do so when he goes back for two whole seasons.

Flor, Alissa and Maddie are pretty shy in that regard, so they'll leave the flirting and sighing heavily when Farmer walks by. It's just that Farmer is a very close friend to them all, and to demand anything more from them is somehow wrong. If only they would notice... *Sigh*

For Kiarra, the best way is to be herself: no intrusive flirting, no those innuendos. Just have a nice time with a (so far) friend and not worry about anything. And then - just ask Farmer straight out. Do they want to date? Yay, Farmer and Kiarra have become a couple. They don't want to date? Yay, Farmer and Kiarra remain best friends. It's simple.

Magnus, who decided to introduce Lance to Mr. Aguar, became unwitting spectators of an oblivious Farmer being chased by a crowd of admirers. It's a funny situation, really. Heh, maybe Magnus would have joined them, but he decided to let fate take its course. If he's meant to be with Farmer in this dimension, then so be it, but if not, well, just suck it up and move on. Lance, on the other hand, believes he's in charge of his own destiny, and his sly smile suggests that he'll take matters into his own hands once the competition has died down. He has a couple of trump cards up his sleeve....

...............

And somewhere nearby, the much-admired Lenny is sitting on a bench, eating popcorn and watching the whole thing like a favourite comedy show. "Huh, and they said there'd be no fun in old age!".

[dirtybg3confessions]

FAQs

Help! I can't see the confessions! What is your policy on Dead Dove: Do Not Eat?

Blog Moderation FAQs

How do I submit a confession?

You can send your naughty, naughty confessions anonymously through the ask box. (Make sure you hit the toggle!) You can also submit posts, though those aren't technically anonymous. But rest assured, anything you submit stays between us and Loviatar, darling- they'll be edited and posted in the same manner as the others.

When will my confession be posted?

Right now, the inbox is staying steady at 2,000+ open asks (that's 167 days of posts!) at a time. Generally, this means that confessions are edited and added to the queue around 4-6 months after they're submitted, and then posted generally within a week after that. Tumblr probably did not eat your ask, though we understand the concern as tumblr hungers for asks the same way Gale hungers for your boots.

How often do you post?

The queue is set to post 12 posts a day over 24 hours. This means that there's roughly one post every 2 hours. This is a change from the prior settings.

In what order are confessions posted?

Generally, confessions will be posted in roughly the same order they're received. Order will be adjusted within a "batch" to make sure we're generally not double or triple posting the same character in a row.

Sometimes an ask may take a little longer based on the complexity. How many characters are in this confession? Do we need to hunt down unnamed goblin #3 who is a secret appearance in the goblin camp if and only if you're wearing a purple hat? These confessions will be posted- but may take a little bit longer.

Do you double post confessions?

No. Every confession is unique. Though, fandoms tend to go through "phases" where a lot of people have similar ideas about the same character for a burst of time, which can lead to similar confessions. Additionally, people tend to write with a "voice" so when the same anon is writing for a different character (or the same one), it may read similar to an earlier confession.

How do you tag your posts?

Generally, everything receives bg3 and dirty confessions tags. From there, we tag the characters involved. Recently, we have begun tagging more extreme kinks beyond the standard smut someone scrolling on "Dirty Baldur's Gate 3 Confessions" can reasonably expect to see.

If there's something specific you see that you would like us to tag, a simple "Hey, can you please tag x thing?" in the ask box goes a long way. Detect thoughts was not on our spell list.

Do you post every confession you receive?

We are the wardens, not the judge. We post 99.9% of confessions we receive. Your kinks won't get you shamed here- but being rude to other confessors will. It's all in good fun and some lighthearted teasing is one thing, but don't be mean (without consent, anyway).

Ultimately, your mods reserve the right to decide whether or not to post a confession.

Can I be a mod?

DBG3 is not currently looking for mods, but an announcement will be made when/if that changes!

Hopefully this has answered most of your burning questions. Now...

Turn and face the wall, darling.

[loquaciousquark]

I just saw a close-up of githyanki eyes which reminded me: I am very curious about the shape of their pupils! It is almost certainly, like other aspects of gith biology, a deliberate design choice on the part of the illithids, so what were they designing for? What does that shape do? What does the world look like to a gith?

I actually had to do a little research for this, but I imagine it's because the illithids wanted to aim for the pupil design of ambush predators, like small cats.

Human eyes, which have round pupils, on average have a difference of non-dilated-to-dilated state of about 15x. That is, when you're fully dilated (such as being in a dark room), your eyes let in about 15x normal lighting. This allows for decent night vision after several minutes of adaptation.

When ambush predators like household cats dilate, though, they use much stronger dilator muscles to dilate about 135x their natural resting pupil state, which lets in a hugely increased amount of light. (This is also why watching cats' eyes fully dilate is typically much more dramatic and interesting than watching humans' eyes dilate.) This gives them huge advantages in dark and crepuscular conditions when hunting prey.

Secondly, human eyes (with round pupils) have pretty variable resting sizes; some people's pupils may hang out at 6-7mm even in the light, while others rest at a 1mm pinhole. People with naturally tiny resting pupils have much deeper depth of focus, meaning they have a larger depth range of things appearing clear compared to others. While great for reading text or looking at a phone, that's not as useful as a shallower depth of focus would be while hunting small, fast-moving animals. In that case, a hunter with larger pupils could use the blur depth to more precisely identify distances to their prey.

Cats' vertically slit pupils, on the other hand, provide the max bonuses possible from both stereopsis and blur depth in both bright and dark, which helps them identify exactly how far away a small target like a mouse might be, even low to the ground. Even in dim conditions where they might be partially dilated, they'll still get some blur information that humans wouldn't, which evolutionarily would help them hunt better with less effort.

(Curiously, less stealthy & less small cat hunters like lions and tigers have round pupils, which implies that overall size & lowness to the ground does come into play here.)

Basically, I think they were going for this ambush predator evolutionary advantage. Practically speaking, that also means every time Lae'zel gets excited or woken up from sleep, her eyes should have been completely black, fully dilated pits. Forget about Avernus; someone make this mod instead!

(Banks, M. S., Sprague, W. W., Schmoll, J., Parnell, J. A., & Love, G. D. (2015). Why do animal eyes have pupils of different shapes?. Science advances, 1(7), e1500391.)

[handers-time]

Handers Gift Exchange 2024 Round-up! 

This year's Handers Gift Exchange has officially come to a close!

We'd like to give a huge thank you and shoutout to all 20 of our participants this year. Congratulations to you all, for doing so well creating beautiful works for your giftees.

On behalf of the mods ( @dismalzelenka, @un-shit-yourself, @storybookhawke, and @hollyand-writes ), thank you to everyone who remains in the Handers fandom—in addition to authors and artists, it also includes readers, commenters, serial kudosers, and avid rebloggers! We appreciate all the love, enthusiasm, support, and cheerleading everyone did throughout this event. Everyone involved keeps the love of the ship alive and well even thirteen years after the game came out.

If you participated in this event, we ask that you please leave a comment on the gift you received, at least three lines in length! Participation goes both ways, so please give some praise and adoration to the person who devoted their time and energy to create a gift for you.

You can view the blog's tag for this event here, and the AO3 collection here, but below is a compiled list of all the amazing gifts shared over the course of this exchange. Please mind the tags and ratings as you go through them!

Invitations by replicatortrash for ghostbunny M!Handers | Explicit |

Summary: Garrett Hawke has been trying to open his home to Anders for weeks and it's been slow going. Is he keeping distance because of something from his past, or because Garrett is a vampire... or is there something else going on Garrett hasn't considered?

Mélange by dismalzelenka for Sulkyvalkyrie F!Handers | Explicit |

Summary: “I want Justice involved.” It was a marvel, Anders thought, how four words flipped his entire world on its head. “You what?” Hawke tilted her head, catlike curiosity peppered across her face. “Justice,” she repeated. “I want him involved.” In which Hawke confesses some secrets, and Anders and Justice both learn there is far more to Hawke than meets the eye.

The Short Straw by autumninfall for DemonicPersephone F!Handers | Mature |

Summary: A quick way to earn some coin while fleeing the Templars of Kirkwall. A dragon up in the mountains. Surely nothing will go wrong, right?

at the end of the world by PhantomsLost for barbex F!Handers | Teen |

Summary: “Hawke, no.” She shook her head and took a step back, both hands still gripping her staff tight. “You and I both know we don’t have a better option.” Tipping her head slightly in the direction of the looming Nightmare, she added, “Go. I’ve got this.”

Broken, yet Remade by Actually_An_Insane_Fangirl for PhantomsLost F!Handers | Teen |

Summary: Hawke may be broken, but that doesn't mean she cannot be remade with the gentle hands of a healer.

Lunacy by Sulkyvalkyrie for GhostGarrison M!Handers | Explicit |

Summary: Hawke wanted to wait another night, but Anders can't stop worrying about him...

Looking the Part by acesdesire M!Handers | Teen |

Summary: While visiting Chateau Haine, Hawke finds himself enjoying the party more than expected, especially with Anders looking so dashing in his formal wear. Infiltration can wait (even if Tallis might have other plans). He would much rather indulge in this rare and beautiful moment.

Some Guys Have All the Luck by barbex for dismalzelenka M!Handers | Explicit |

Summary: Watching Anders fight, powerful, controlled, turns Hawke on like nothing else. That's a man he wants to get on his knees for. And more.

Hunting by DemonicPersephone for Actually_An_Insane_Fangirl F!Handers | Explicit |

Summary: Nothing like a near death experience to make romance bloom <3

Chasing the Light by leonidskies for SalsedinePicta M!Handers | Teen |

Summary: Anders is having a bad day. Hawke, forever down bad, refuses to let it go.

Hurt Less by ghostbunny for PorlPoint M!Handers | Mature |

Summary: After coming close to killing the mage girl, Ella, Anders is in a bad way, consumed by guilt and shame and beginning to spiral. Hawke attempts to help him through it, while dealing with some of his own insecurities.

The One That Didn't Get Away by FactoryKat for winebearcat M!Handers | G |

Summary: Of all the things that could have happened to newcomer Garrett Hawke after moving to Kirkwall, picking up a date outside of a walk-in clinic wasn't exactly on his predictions list.

Healing the Healer by PorlPoint M!Handers | Teen |

Summary: Anders is seriously injured and out of mana, with only Hawke there to heal him before it's too late.

Rose Cottage by winebearcat for leonidskies M!Handers | Mature |

Summary: Anders reaches his 50th Name Day. He never expected to make it past 30, let alone have his happy ending.

ART: storybookhawke's piece for autumninfall M!Handers | G |

ART: notomys-mordax-blog's piece for ocean-in-my-rebel-soul M!Handers | G |

ART: salsedinepicta's piece for notomys-mordax-blog M!Handers | G |

ART: kittyopera's piece for acesdesire M!Handers | G |

ART: gevascloset's piece for factorykat M!Handers | G |

ART: moosu's piece for kittyoperas M!Handers | G |

[90s-2000s-barbie]

Hi 90s-2000s Barbie I want your help! My room looks modern and boring how could I make it 2000s nostalgia?? Here some photos of my room

I don't think my parents would allow me to repaint my room to a fun color :( I'm ok with painting any of my furniture's except for my desktop (I put so much time and effort to finally make the posters look nice in there ;-;)

Hi! Sure I think I can try to help. You room is super cute BTW. So 2000s are everything but what is your favorite things from that time? Favorite shows, music? What is your style? Do you like girly? Do you like goth Hot topic style? Rooms when I was growing up is always about personality. Representing your favorites! I love Britney, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC. I found dead stock posters for $8 on eBay. I also went to goodwill and thrifted lots of cheap NSYNC framed photos for $2-$4 dollars a piece. If you like girly, 2000s were all about beaded curtains, bed canopy’s, you can even make them super affordable. I think people have some tutorials on Pinterest. I’ve seen cool wall hangings with old CDs and that was popular in the 2000s. 😄The y2k era brought back a lot of 1970s styles like flower power, mod circles, butterflies in bedding and wall art. Glow in the dark starts are cheap and we’re super popular. You can even find wall clings of simple flowers probably somewhere. I put a bunch on my walls. I bought a Lisa Frank calendar from the dollar tree and used all the art as little posters! lol if you have things stored from childhood or parents or anyone u know lived through it or maybe was a little older, ask if they have anything in storage that they don’t want or ask parents if they kept any of your old stuff or toys. Family may help out if they still have some cool older stuff. My mom saved our old Lisa Frank trapper keeper, she saved my old Pokémon stuff and I didn’t even know till I asked. You may have some stuff hiding right in your house! lol also I always recommend thrifting. I could go to my local Goodwill today and hunt for 90s-2000s stuff and find it everywhere and I use that as decoration. I find y2k bedding and curtains and vintage toys! You can find the coolest stuff so cheap and affordable. 😊 not sure what color you’re thinking of painting your furniture. But even working with basic white isn’t a bad thing, you can put all the colors in the decorations and really use the white to your advantage if u wanted to keep it simple. It would make decor stand out.

If you like the hot topic alternative style, bands, that would be a whole other style. And I can help u if u like that as well. Music posters are the best for that for sure. My rooms were plastered with bands and skulls. lol

If you have a more questions, fill free to ask. I’ve been obsessed with decorating my whole life. lol 😆 🩷

Thanks so much for the ask and good luck! I bet whatever you decide, will look so cute because it will be you! Your personality. 😄

Here is my room if it could possibly help for inspiration?

[jrob64]

Ghosted

Chapter 3 - Plans

So, it appears this story will wind up being 4 chapters long. The final chapter is in the midst of being written.

Fair warning - this chapter also has some rather intense scenes, so if the previous chapter threatened to give you nightmares, as some of you commented (and of which I'm secretly proud), don't read it just before going to sleep!

A huge thank you to my beta @hookedmom, who looked this over despite having just gone through emergency eye surgery for a torn retina. Please send her your thoughts and prayers for a quick and complete recovery. I can't thank @kmomof4 & @motherkatereloyshipper enough for the wonderful pic set. And of course, the mods of @cssns for having this great event.

Please continue to forgive me for any errors pertaining to ghost hunting and being a YouTuber.

Story Summary: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her. 

Rating: T (subject to change)

Words (Chapter 3): 8542

Previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 Ch. 2

Also posted to Ao3 and ffn

*********

Belle put her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, while a grim-faced Killian rubbed his hands up and down Emma’s biceps in an attempt to soothe her. Will said bluntly what they were all thinking. “The bloody bastard thinks you’re his and wants to drag you to hell with him?”

Emma looked up at Killian, tears shining in her eyes. “Can he do that? Is it possible?”

“No, Love,” he assured her. “Those movies where you see people being pulled kicking and screaming to the Underworld aren’t factual. He may keep haunting you, but he can’t physically take you somewhere against your will.” He looked at Belle and Will. “I think we’ve all had enough for today. I’m going to walk Emma back to her apartment.”

“We’ll clear things away here while you do that, won’t we, Belle?” Will stated.

She nodded her agreement and rose from her chair, moving to where Emma was slowly standing up, too. Taking her hands, Belle said, “Try not to worry about anything, Emma. These guys are good at what they do and I have no doubt that, in time, they’ll be able to get Neal to move on.” Then she wrapped her arms around the other woman in a warm hug.

“Thanks,” Emma murmured, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. When Belle released her, she turned to Will and said, “And thank you, Will.”

“Yer welcome,” he replied, giving her a quick hug, too. “Like Belle said, don’t you worry ‘bout that git. Me and Kil, we’ll take care of him once and for all. Ain’t that right, Kil?”

“Aye,” Killian said softly, intertwining his fingers with Emma’s. “All you have to do is trust us and give us some time.”

Emma sighed. “I hope it doesn’t take too long. I’m ready to get back to my boring, ghost-free life.”

Killian kept hold of her hand to lead her out of the room. Once they left his apartment, they meandered to her door, neither in a hurry to get there. Coming to a halt, he turned and faced her. “Are you going to be alright?”

She shrugged ever so slightly. “Until he’s gone, I’m always going to be looking over my shoulder and thinking I hear something. This whole ordeal has made me paranoid and I hate it.”

Nodding in understanding, he said, “I know, and I wish there was more I could do to help you.”

“You’re doing all you can and I truly appreciate it. I guess it pays to have a ghost hunter as a friend, huh?” she said, managing to give him a small smile.

He took a step closer, reaching up to brush some hair over her shoulder. “As I said before, I’m here for you, Emma - day or night. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need me, okay?”

“You might regret that offer.”

“Never. I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t ready to follow up on it.”

Her lips ticked up in another hint of a smile, then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Killian.”

Holding her tightly, he rested his cheek against her silky hair. Having Emma Swan in his arms was something he had longed to do, so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity, despite how much he hated the circumstances.

After several long, comforting moments, Emma pulled away, looking up to give him one more grateful smile, before turning and going into her apartment. Killian stood staring at the closed door for a while, breathing a prayer that she would have a long period of respite from the imbecile who had made her life miserable for far too long.

*********

Belle and Will were ready to walk out the door when he returned to his apartment. He bid them goodbye, taking note of how Will slung his arm across Belle’s shoulders as they walked down the hallway.

He knew from experience that going straight to bed following a lengthy review of everything they collected during an all-nighter, wouldn’t result in him being able to fall asleep. Instead, he went through his regular routine of getting something to eat, taking a long, hot shower, and making himself comfortable in loose sleep pants and a well-worn T-shirt. Then he settled into bed on his side, flipping through the pages of a magazine he kept on his nightstand.

His eyelids were just starting to droop, when he felt a familiar sensation. “Liam? Are you there?” he called out.

Sure enough, the apparition of his brother appeared in front of him. “Aye, little brother. I’m here.”

Killian opted to ignore the moniker that irritated him so much. “I was just about to go to sleep. We had an all-nighter at Emma’s apartment last night. Her ex-boyfriend provided us with a lot of stuff to analyze. He’s definitely haunting her, and get this - from what we deciphered, he’s determined to take her with him into the afterlife.”

Liam chuckled. “He hasn’t figured out it isn’t possible, huh?”

“He’s still an idiot,” Killian sighed. “And I hate the effect he’s having on her. Hated it while he was alive and hate it now that he’s…”

“Dead,” Liam finished for him. “You can say the word, you know. It’s not going to bother me. I’m well aware of my state of being.”

“I know, but I’d rather not think of you like that.”

“Killian,” Liam began, and Killian knew what his brother was about to say was serious. He rarely addressed him by his given name. It was almost always ‘Killy’ or ‘little brother’. “You know the day is going to come when I’m no longer with you. I’m going to have to…”

“We don’t need to talk about that,” Killian interrupted.

“Well, it’s going to happen, whether you want to face it or not. May I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you afraid of me moving on?”

“I’m not afraid,” Killian said indignantly. “I just…I don’t want to be left all alone.”

“You wouldn’t be alone. You have Will and that lovely lass, Belle…”

“Friends aren’t the same as family.”

“What about Emma?”

“What about her?” Killian hedged.

“If you were to marry her, she would be your family.”

Killian flopped back onto his pillow, hands over his face. “Not this again,” he said, voice muffled. “Why are you so insistent I ask her out?”

“Because I want to know you’re happy before I move on.”

“I’m not unhappy with my life,” Killian defended.

“I never thought my brother would grow up to be a coward,” Liam said.

Killian whipped his hands away from his face and sat up. “I’m not a coward! I have good reasons for not asking her out.”

“Excuses, you mean. You forget that I saw how upset you were every time she went out with someone, and how it tore you apart when she started seriously dating that guy, Neal. She’s a beautiful, fetching woman. Do you think she’s going to remain available until you finally get up the nerve to ask her out yourself?”

Killian didn’t answer, his head bowed and jaw ticking.

“Listen, little brother, I didn’t mean to upset you. You know I love you and only want the best for you. I don’t want to move on without knowing you’re going to be okay.”

“Then don’t move on.”

“Is that one of your excuses for not asking Emma out? You’re afraid I’ll move on?”

Killian looked up at his brother’s translucent form. “That’s your unfinished business, isn’t it? Making sure I have someone here to love so I won’t be alone. That’s why you‘ve pushed me so hard to ask Emma out.”

“Took you long enough to figure it out,” Liam said, his voice fading as it always did before he disappeared. “You might not want me to go, but you need to live your life among the living, not hanging on to me. Think about that. I’ll see you soon, Killy. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Liam.”

Despite having gone through his established routine, it still took Killian a couple of hours to fall asleep after Liam left, his words ringing in Killian’s ears.

********

For the next three days and nights, there was no paranormal activity, allowing Emma to have restful sleep. Ruby informed her that the crime lords’ house of cards came tumbling down, and included a prominent judge, who was discovered to have planted a guard in the prison to take Neal out. There were several arrests and it appeared that Neal’s death helped put numerous dangerous people behind bars.

Emma began to hope that Neal’s unfinished business was to see justice done to those who were responsible for his death, and then he moved on. She informed Killian about everything that had happened, enabling him to join her in hoping her encounters with Neal were over.

Everything was beginning to feel almost back to normal, when the nightmares began again. Two nights of feeling as if she was being suffocated left her anxious and exhausted. After the second night, she texted Killian.

E: I thought the nightmares were over, but they came back. I had them for the last two nights.

His response was almost instantaneous.

K: We can do another all-nighter and try to talk to him again, if that’s alright with you.

E: I’ll do anything to get him to leave me alone.

Killian and Will set up the equipment again and were able to capture more light anomalies, evidence of an apparition in Emma’s bedroom and more words on the spirit box which sounded like he kept repeating ‘you’re…mine.’ Killian tried for over an hour to get the spirit to answer questions on the flux, to no avail.

When Emma sent another text stating that nothing changed, Killian and Will set up and ran the equipment for a third time a few nights later. When they arrived at Emma’s apartment to prepare everything, Killian was taken aback at her appearance. Her complexion was sallow, her hair limp and lifeless. Her usually sparkling eyes were sunken and dull, and she told Killian and Will she had taken sick days the last two evenings because she didn’t have the energy to work.

In the midst of them setting up, Emma left to use the bathroom. “I hate to say it, boss, but she looks bad,” Will whispered.

“Aye, she does. We’ve got to get Neal to move on before he completely wears her down.”

“D’ya think that’s what he’s tryin’ to do? Keep comin’ to her in her nightmares to drain her life force, like ghosts sometimes drain batteries?”

Killian’s eyes shot up to meet his assistant’s. “Bloody hell! I think you could be right, Will. I think his intention might be trying to make her so sick she dies, so he can take her with him!”

“Just like he said he’s gonna do,” Will spat disgustedly. “Are ya gonna tell her?”

Killian pondered the question, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “I don’t think so. She’s almost ready to break as it is. Knowing our theory about what he’s trying to do might just send her over the edge. We’ve got to give it our best shot tonight to get him to move on. If we’re not successful…”

“We have to be,” Will said decisively.

That night, it was nearly two AM before Emma finally fell into a fitful sleep. Killian was ready with the flux response device as soon as signs of Neal’s appearance were seen and heard through their monitors.

He entered her bedroom, his heart nearly shattering when he saw how she was thrashing about in her sleep, a look of desperate fright on her face. Setting the device on the nightstand with hands that were trembling with rage, he once again knelt beside the bed and began asking questions.

“Are you Neal Cassidy?”

There was a long pause. Just when he thought he wasn’t going to get an answer, the green light glowed.

“Do you know you are dead?” Green light.

“Do you know how you died?” Green light.

“Do you still have unfinished business?” Green light.

“Once you’ve completed your unfinished business, will you move on to your eternal home?”

He waited several minutes before asking the question again. As soon as he did, the green light flicked on.

“Is your unfinished business getting justice for your death?” Red light.

“Is it saying goodbye to your loved ones?” Red light.

Killian drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, unwilling to ask the next question for fear of the answer he thought he might get.

“Is it…causing Emma to die?” After several tense moments, the green light lit up.

He cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to talk a spirit out of such an insane idea?

Tasting bile in his mouth, he swallowed hard, then asked, “Do you love Emma?” The response was immediate - a green light.

“Don’t you want her to have a long, happy life?” No response.

He decided to rephrase the question. “Would you rather have her die and be with you than go on living?” Green light.

Sick, selfish bastard.

Killian was done asking questions. He needed to somehow persuade Neal to move on.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, and Emma told me she is, too. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the men who caused your death have been arrested and are going to be held accountable. The whole crime ring is toppling and they won’t be able to kill anyone else like they killed you.”

“It’s time for you to move on, Neal. Your plan to take Emma with you won’t work. Look at her.” He gestured to where she lay wrestling on the bed. “All you’re doing is causing her to be exhausted and miserable. She doesn’t want to die…”

His breath was stolen away, as what felt like a cold blast of air passed through him. The room went completely still and he realized Emma was no longer struggling or whimpering. He stood and looked down at her, then sat beside her on the bed, smoothing her tangled hair away from her face. “Sleep now, Swan,” he whispered.

He was tucking the sheets around her, when Will cracked open the door and stuck his head in. “I think he’s gone, boss,” he said softly. “All the instrument readings are normal again. Should I pack up, or continue to monitor?”

“Let’s keep monitoring for another hour or so, just to see if he comes back. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Will nodded and closed the door with a soft click. Killian looked down at Emma again, surprised to see her eyes open. Her hand snuck out from under the sheet and gripped his wrist. “Please don’t leave me,” she rasped.

“We think Neal may have moved on.”

“I heard, but I still don’t want to be alone.”

“We’ll stay the rest of the night,” he assured her. “We’ll be out in the living…”

“No,” she interrupted, beginning to sit up. “Stay here with me. Please, Killian.”

Her pleading nearly undid him. He cupped her cheek, lightly stroking it with his thumb. “Alright, Love, relax. I’ll stay right here, I promise.”

She laid back down, but didn’t let go of his wrist or close her eyes. “Killian?” she said, her voice smaller than he had ever heard it.

“Aye?”

“Will…will you hold me?”

He blinked, absorbing what she was asking of him. Then he quickly toed off his shoes and laid down beside her on top of the covers. Without hesitation, she moved into his open arms, tucking herself tightly against his chest.

He slid one arm underneath her and wrapped both around her rigid form, murmuring reassuring words into her hair. It took several minutes, but he finally felt the tension begin to recede and heard her breathing deepen and even out.

Will peeked in again. “Do ya want me to turn off the video camera, Kil?”

Killian didn’t turn to look at him. “You can leave it on,” he whispered.

“Okay. I’ll stay awake and keep an eye on things. You can sleep if you want.”

“Thanks, Will.”

Then, holding the woman who held his heart, he took Will up on his offer.

*********

Emma awoke slowly the next morning, her foggy brain trying to figure out what felt different. When she tried to move and wasn’t immediately able to, she began to panic, pushing at the solid body in front of her.

“It’s okay, Swan. It’s okay,” a deep voice soothed. At the same time she felt the arms around her loosen.

As soon as it registered that it was Killian, she exhaled his name in relief, then said, “You stayed.”

“Aye, Love. Will packed up the equipment and left a couple of hours ago. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

She pulled away to look at him. “Thank you. I haven’t slept that well since Neal...”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Killian interrupted, making no move to let go of her and get out of bed.

She rested her cheek against his chest again. “Do you…do you think he’s really gone?”

“I told him to move on and that’s when I thought I felt him leave, which the equipment verified. Whether he’s gone for good, though - only time will tell.”

Emma sighed deeply and sat up, running her hands through her unruly hair. “Were you able to communicate with him at all? With that spirit box or flux capacitor thing?”

Killian swung around to sit on the side of the bed, chuckling. “I think you have my show mixed up with ‘Back to the Future’, Swan.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

It was his turn to sigh. “He did respond to quite a few questions I asked using the flux response device.”

When he didn’t continue, she said, “Are you going to tell me now, or will we watch it on the video later?”

“Um…” Killian stalled, trying to decide which option would cause Emma less pain. He felt her hand on his back and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Killian, what aren’t you telling me?”

Shifting on the bed to face her, he forced himself to meet her eyes. “I found out his unfinished business.”

“Which is…?”

His gaze shifted to where her hand rested on the bed. Taking it in his own, he concentrated on their linked fingers. “He’s…he’s, uh, planning to somehow cause you to die, so he can take you with him into the afterlife.”

“What the actual FUCK?” Emma exploded, gripping his hand so hard, he winced in pain. “He…he can’t…can he really do that?”

“It’s unlikely…”

“But not impossible?”

“Look how exhausted you are because of the nightmares. You haven’t even been able to work the last couple of days. Exhaustion can lead to serious illness, so while it’s improbable, it’s not entirely impossible.”

He watched her carefully as she digested what he said. Then she looked at him with glassy eyes and said flatly, “He’s not gone.”

“Emma…”

“No, Killian. I know he’s not gone. He wouldn’t give up that easily. You witnessed firsthand how persistent he was after I broke up with him. He’s obsessed with me, and being dead obviously hasn’t changed that. How am I gonna get away from him? Telling him to move on hasn’t worked…”

“Me telling him may not have worked, but you telling him you don’t want to die might,” Killian said thoughtfully.

“How am I supposed to do that when he only comes to me while I’m sleeping?”

Killian ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I wish I had an answer for that. I’ll talk to Belle and Will about it today. Maybe together, we’ll come up with an idea.” Slowly, he stood to his feet. “I should probably go home. Will was going to crash at my place for a few hours, then we were going to review what we collected. Do you want to be there when we do?”

Emma chewed on her thumbnail, pondering. “No,” she decided. “You already told me about his plan. Hearing it once was enough.”

“I understand completely.” He studied her for several moments. “Are you going to be okay?”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. “I think so, at least for today. Now that I got some sleep, I should be able to go back to work this afternoon.”

“Alright, then.” He picked up his shoes and moved to the doorway, turning to give her a smile. After he opened the door and stepped through, he heard her call his name. Poking his head back in the room, he asked, “Aye?”

“Thank you for staying with me last night. I just really didn’t want to be alone.”

“It was no hardship at all, believe me. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah. Let me know if you figure out anything. Thanks again, Killian. For everything.”

“My pleasure, Love.”

*********

When he entered his apartment, he could hear voices coming from his office. He tossed his shoes in the living room, went into the kitchen to start the coffee maker, then walked down the hall.

He stopped short just before he went through the doorway, catching Will’s words.

“...was wondering if ya might, uh, might be interested in goin’ out with me.”

Killian took a step backward to be sure he wouldn’t be spotted and ruin the moment. There was a short pause, during which he held his breath, hoping that, no matter what Belle’s answer was, Will’s heart wouldn’t get broken.

“I was beginning to think you were never going to ask,” she said.

“Are ya sayin’ yes?” Will asked, and Killian could hear the nervous hopefulness in his friend’s voice.

“Yes, I’m saying yes,” Belle said with a giggle. “I would love to go out with you, Will.”

“It’s about bloody time,” Killian said, entering the room to see the couple embracing. They turned around to look at him, both with wide smiles on their faces.

“Were you eavesdroppin’ on us, boss?” Will asked. He tried to sound indignant, but was too happy to be successful.

“Technically, it’s my apartment, so I’m entitled to listen to anything going on here.”

“I’m not sure that’s an actual rule,” Will grumbled good-naturedly.

“My home, my rules,” Killian grinned.

“Will tells me you got a lot of responses on the flux overnight,” Belle said, effectively changing the subject.

Killian dropped down into a chair with a heavy sigh. “Aye. Has he told you any of Cassidy’s responses?”

“No, we were just cueing up the video to watch it when you came in.”

“Got sidetracked, huh?” Killian teased.

Belle and Will’s faces both reddened. “Maybe we should talk about how ya spent the night in Emma’s bed,” Will said.

“What?” Belle exclaimed, whipping her head around to look at Killian. “How did that happen?”

Killian scratched behind his ear. “After the apparition left, she asked me to stay because she didn’t want to be alone. She wanted me to hold her and the only way I could do that was to lay in bed with her, but all we did was sleep.”

Belle gave him an understanding look. “Poor Emma. Will told me you think Neal’s spirit may have moved on. What do you think? Is he gone for good?”

“Sadly, Emma doesn’t think so, and neither do I. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer when she broke it off with him, and now that we’ve learned what his plan is, we’re sure he’s not going to give up easily.”

“What’s his plan?” Belle asked.

“Let’s watch the video and you’ll find out,” Killian said, swiveling in his seat to face the monitor.

She nodded and tapped the space bar to wake the computer up, while Will took his place behind her chair. She clicked the play button and they saw Emma’s bedroom on the screen.

“This is just before her nightmare started,” Will said. “We should see evidence of that asshole’s ghost entering the room pretty soon. Pardon my language, Belle.”

“There’s no need to apologize. In this case, I completely agree with that assessment.”

They focused their attention back on the screen, and within a couple of minutes, saw a streak of light appear in the left side of the room. It seemed to pass through Emma’s sleeping form on the bed and they heard her let out a soft cry.

“You’ll see me come in soon,” Killian said.

Sure enough, Emma’s bedroom door opened and he entered with the flux response device. The three of them watched in silence as the exchange between Killian and the apparition took place.

When it ended, Belle paused the video and turned to look at the men, a look of incredulity on her face. “He has no regard for her life or what she wants? And he claims to love her? I think calling him an asshole is being far too kind!”

“Agreed,” Killian said.

“You truly don’t think he’s gone, boss?” Will asked.

“No,” Killian sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “I probably just pissed him off, so he left. I think Emma is going to have to be the one who tells him to move on, but he’s only there when she’s asleep. She can’t talk to him then because in her nightmares, she feels like she’s tied up and gagged. I told her I would ask the two of you if you have any ideas.”

They contemplated for several moments before Will declared, “That’s a head-scratcher. I’ll have to give it some thought, after I get some sleep.”

“I’ll think about it, too,” Belle said. “I just came over this morning to see the new material from last night. I’ve been editing and putting together what we have so far. This is going to be the longest episode we’ve ever had. We might have to split it in two.”

“I hope we won’t have much more to add to it,” Killian grumbled. “I want this to be over, for Emma’s sake.”

*********

Once Belle and Will left, Killian went through his regular routine, but had trouble falling asleep. He was sure it was because he slept for a few hours at Emma’s, added to the fact that he had so much on his mind.

He didn’t have a clue how to solve the problem of getting Neal to leave. Even if Emma was able to talk to him, that didn’t guarantee he would heed her plea. After all, he didn’t listen while he was alive, when she told him to leave her alone.

Killian finally dozed off on his couch late in the afternoon, waking up just after ten PM. After fixing himself a sandwich, he grabbed a beer and wandered back to his office to review some of the footage they had collected, hoping to find something they missed that might spark an idea.

An hour later, he was in the midst of repeatedly replaying the video from the previous night, when a scream caused him to jump, knocking over the nearly empty beer at his elbow. He quickly righted it before it spilled over his equipment, then got to his feet. “Emma,” he gasped, once his brain registered what he just heard.

He took off running through the apartment and was halfway out the front door, before realizing he needed the key for Emma’s apartment. Spinning around, he skidded into the kitchen, yanked open his junk drawer and began digging through it.

“Fuck!” he cursed, flinging miscellaneous items onto the counter as he searched frantically. Finally locating the key, he dashed out the door and over to Emma’s apartment. As he fumbled with getting the key into the lock, he heard another scream.

Once he got the door open, he ran to her bedroom to find her splayed out on the bed, her head agitatedly rolling from side-to-side, arms and legs thrashing about. She was choking out moans that were heartbreaking to hear.

Killian had purposely kept himself from touching her while they were recording, knowing it could awaken her and ruin chances of getting usable information. This time, however, he ached to bring her out of the nightmare that seemed to be causing her so much pain.

He shouted, “Swan! Emma! Wake up, Love!” then sat on the bed, grabbing both of her shoulders.

As soon as he touched her, a strange sensation that felt like a slight electrical current passed over him and his eyes slammed shut. When he tentatively opened them a few moments later, he was shocked to find himself in an alternate reality. He was able to see things fairly clearly, but it was like looking through a textured glass. Everything looked slightly distorted, as if he was in a Salvador Dali painting.

As the shock began to wane, he looked around and spotted Emma standing mutely in front of him. She was facing away from him, but he could tell by her slumped form, she was debilitated. He called out to her, but she showed no signs of hearing him. He moved until he was facing her. She stared blankly off into space and he realized she was in a trance, unable to respond.

Then he heard someone speaking, chanting something over and over. Concentrating harder, Killian was able to make out the words.

You’re mine, Ems.

You belong to me.

I’m taking you with me.

You’ll be happier with me.

Just let go of your sad, lonely life and come with me.

Neal Cassidy, the selfish son of a bitch, was holding Emma captive in her nightmare, trying to coerce her to end her life and join him.

Killian became enraged. “Emma!” he hollered, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes. “Don’t listen to him! Wake up and come back to me!”

Suddenly, Neal’s apparition appeared over Emma’s shoulder, teeth bared and eyes blazing. “You can’t have her!” he screamed maniacally. “She’s coming with me! She’s MINE!”

“Leave her alone!” Killian replied. Judging by Neal’s reaction, he realized that, unlike Emma, Neal could hear him. “Can’t you see she doesn’t want to come with you? She has a life and wants to keep living it!”

“I don’t give a fuck what she wants! I want her and I’ll have her!”

“Stop torturing her, you sick bastard! You’re dead! Move on!”

With a primal screech, Neal came at Killian, circled around him, then flew off and disappeared, trailing a string of expletives behind him.

Silence descended and Killian blinked, finding himself once again in Emma’s bedroom, still grasping her shoulders. Her body was unmoving, but her eyes remained tightly closed, giving her face a pinched, pained expression.

“Swan,” he said, gently shaking her. “You can open your eyes now. Your nightmare is over.”

Slowly, her face relaxed and, at last, she was looking at him. Then, she was in his arms.

“Shh, shh, it’s alright,” he crooned, as she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’ve got you, Love.”

“Wh- how…oh, how are you here?” she asked, voice breaking with emotion.

He buried his nose in the crook of her neck. “I heard you scream, so I used my key to come in. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re here,” she cried.

Killian pulled her into his lap so he could hold her more tightly. Her sobs gradually lessened and her body sagged against him. “I…I can’t take this much longer,” she whispered.

“I know, but you have to stay strong. We’re going to get this figured out, I swear.”

“Why can’t he just leave me alone?”

“Because he’s twisted and demented. I told him you want to keep living your life, but he said he doesn’t care what you want…”

She pulled back to look at him. “He talked to you? You mean through that flux thingy?”

Killian could feel the heat creeping into his face. This wasn’t the way he planned to tell her. He was hoping to have time to prepare her before he told her about his experience.

Reaching up to rub a finger behind his ear, he explained haltingly, “I, um, when I came into your bedroom, you were thrashing about on the bed. I tried to calm you by putting my hands on your shoulders. When I touched you, I was…I was drawn into your nightmare somehow. I could see you and talk to you, but in your dream, you were in some sort of…trance. It was like you were frozen. You couldn’t respond to me.”

He paused and swallowed hard at the look of absolute shock on her face. Her mouth hung open, her breathing labored. When she didn’t speak, he continued. “Neal…he…his spirit…was there. We could see and hear each other. He was…he kept trying to get you to go with him. He was completely unhinged. When I told him to leave you alone and move on, he screamed and vanished, but I…I’m sure he’s not going to give up.”

“You…you were in my nightmare? How the hell were you able to do that?”

“I don’t really know,” he confessed. “I…I’ve always had a…an ability to sense paranormal activity. Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s a gift or a curse, but maybe that has something to do with it. I’ve never been able to be immersed into a dream like that before, though.” What he was thinking, but wasn’t going to say, was that his emotional connection to Emma might have something to do with it.

She heaved a sigh and rested her head against his chest. “Why did I ever get involved with that idiot? I have such terrible taste in men.”

“Perhaps you just haven’t met the right one yet.”

“Well, when I do, I can just imagine how it’s going to go. ‘I’ll marry you, but oh, by the way, I’m being haunted by my jackass ex-boyfriend, so there’s that’.”

He chuckled, running his hand up and down her back. “At least you still have your sense of humor, Swan.”

Suddenly, she sat up straight. “Wait a minute. If you were able to get into my dream, couldn’t you do it again and figure out a way to break me out of that trance? Maybe that’s why he keeps hanging around - because I haven’t been able to respond to him. If I can, I’ll tell him there’s no way I’m going with him.”

Killian pulled his bottom lip between his teeth in contemplation. “I suppose it’s worth a try. I wonder if Cassidy is somehow causing you to fall into a trance to make brainwashing you easier. Perhaps if I’m here with you from the very beginning of your nightmare, I can prevent that from happening.”

“You would be willing to do that?”

“Of course, Emma. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. I would have to stay here overnight, though. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. You stayed last night and were a perfect gentleman.”

“Well, I’m always a gentleman,” he grinned.

She laughed, then sobered a bit. “The thing is, I don’t have a nightmare every night. I’m sure Neal is the source of them and if he doesn’t show up, I might get a good night’s sleep.”

“I understand. With your permission, I’ll plan on being here every night until we have a chance to test our theory.”

“I don’t have a problem with that, as long as you’re okay with it.”

“I am,” he assured her. “The way he took off, I really don’t think he’ll be back any more tonight, though.”

She nodded and climbed off his lap. “I’ll let you go home and get some sleep, and I’ll try to do the same.”

Killian stood up, turning to face her. Unable to help himself, he cupped her chin in his hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll plan to be here tomorrow night. If you need me before then, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Okay. Thanks, Killian,” she said. “You’re such a good friend.”

He fought to keep the smile on his face, deflated that she obviously only thought of him as a friend. “Goodnight, Emma. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once he got back to his apartment, he went through his nightly routine and went to bed, where he lay wide awake, thinking about all that transpired at Emma’s. He had just decided to take his mind off of it by going into the living room to watch TV, when he heard the familiar sound of Liam’s voice.

“Greetings, little brother.”

“It’s pretty late for a visit from you,” Killian commented, sitting up in bed.

“Sometimes I pop in to see if you’re awake.”

“You mean there are times I miss visits from you because I’m asleep?”

“I always come back the next day. Why are you awake tonight?”

Killian pushed a hand through his hair. “Something really strange happened tonight and I’m trying to make sense of it.”

Liam’s apparition moved closer, but didn’t touch Killian. In the past, if he came in contact with his brother, it caused an uncomfortably cold chill. “You look very shaken. Can you tell me about it?”

“Last night, Will and I were doing another all-nighter at Emma’s…”

“That wanker’s ghost is still giving her trouble, then?”

“Aye, but I was finally able to get some answers from him on the flux response device last night. Basically, he admitted that he wants Emma to die so he can take her with him.”

“That’s nigh impossible, isn’t it?”

“He’s causing her to have nightmares and she’s utterly exhausted. You should see her, Liam. She’s still beautiful, but him haunting her is wearing her out physically, mentally and emotionally. She had to take a couple of days off work because she has no energy. If this keeps up, I’m afraid she’s going to end up becoming very ill.”

“Which could lead to…”

“Please don’t say it,” Killian interrupted. “I don’t even want to think that way. Anyway, I tried to tell him he needs to move on and I felt his spirit leave the room. When Emma woke up, she asked me to stay with her.”

“Don’t tell me you refused, little brother.”

“Of course I didn’t. She needed me, so I stayed the rest of the night. And before you ask, yes, I was in her bed, and no, nothing happened, except that we both got a good night’s sleep.”

“Sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have insisted on you being such a gentleman.”

“Do you wan’t to hear the rest of the story, or not?” Killian asked peevishly. “You’re never here very long and if you keep interrupting, I won’t be able to tell you everything.”

“Sorry,” Liam said, making a circling motion with his finger. “ Continue.”

“I told Emma about Neal’s plan. She was understandably upset, but being the brave lass she is, she carried on with her day and so did I.” He ran both hands through the sides of his hair again, tugging slightly on the ends. “Then around eleven tonight, I was doing some work in my office when I heard a scream coming from Emma’s apartment. I ran over there and let myself in. She was in the midst of a nightmare, and when I grabbed hold of her to try to wake her up, I was pulled into it.”

“Into what?”

“Her nightmare. I could see her, but she couldn’t see or hear me. She appeared to be in a trance-like state. Neal was there and he could see and hear me. The two of us had a bit of a row and he took off in a rage.”

“He moved on?”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s a stubborn S.O.B. and he’s determined not to move on without Emma.”

“That was the strange occurrence you mentioned?”

“That was part of it. I told Emma what happened, which came as a shock to her, of course. Then she had an idea. She wants me to try to get into her dream again, to break her out of the trance somehow. That would give her a chance to convince Neal to move on.”

“Will you be able to do it? Get into her dream again, I mean.”

“I don’t even know how I did it tonight. I guess touching her had something to do with it, combined with my abilities with paranormal phenomena. I’m hoping being with her from the onset of her nightmare will allow me to keep her from being put into a trance.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Liam asked. “Do you have a plan B?”

Killian shrugged. “Not really. Shouting at her and snapping my fingers in front of her face didn’t have any effect on her.”

“Perhaps you could try a true love’s kiss.”

“You’re hilarious, Liam. And also not very helpful.”

“I’m not trying to be funny. True love’s kiss is supposed to be strong enough to break any curse.”

“Yeah, in fairy tales. In case you’ve forgotten, this is real life,” Killian grumbled.

“I guess I’ve been dead too long to remember what real life is like.”

Killian looked stricken. “I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know, brother.I was only joking. Think about what I said and tuck it in your pocket for a backup plan.”

Liam’s voice was fading fast and Killian knew his time with his brother was coming to an end. “I’ll try it if I’m desperate enough. Thanks for your help, Liam. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You don’t need me. You’re smart enough to figure it out by yourself. I have to go, Killy. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Liam.”

Then he was alone in his bedroom again, thoughts swirling even more than before his brother’s appearance. Giving up on trying to go to sleep, he tossed back the covers and went out to the kitchen. After getting a glass of water, he settled on the couch and flipped on the TV.

He had just selected a crime drama show to watch, when his phone buzzed on the coffee table. His brow furrowed, wondering who would be texting him this late. Picking it up, he saw a notification from Emma.

E: You asleep?

Quickly, he typed a reply.

K: No, I can’t turn off my brain.

E: Lol. Me neither.

K: Do you want to talk?

E: Maybe. Do you mind if I come over?

K: Not at all.

He had just gotten the door unlocked, when there was a light tapping on the other side. He pulled it open to reveal Emma, dressed in sleep shorts and an oversized T-shirt.

“Hey,” she greeted quietly. “Are you sure you don’t mind? It is nearly 1:30 in the morning.”

“I’m sure. I was getting ready to watch a show. Do you want to watch it, or would you rather talk?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really in the mood for television.”

He picked up the remote and hit the power button to turn it off. “Can I get you something to drink, or a snack, or both?”

“Water would be great. Do you have any Cheez-its?”

“I always have Cheez-its, because a certain neighbor of mine is obsessed with them.”

As he turned to head into the kitchen, he heard her call after him, “You’re a good man, Killian Jones.”

He returned moments later to find her sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, legs stretched out in front of her. He handed her the water, set the box of snack crackers on the coffee table, then sat down on the opposite end of the sofa.

She moaned as he pulled her bare feet into his lap and began massaging them. On the odd occasion when she worked an afternoon shift at the hotel and later they shared a pizza over a movie, he found that she adored foot massages. As he rubbed and kneaded every part of her delicate feet and ankles, she purred like a contented cat, proclaiming his hands to be magic. He loved giving her those moments of pleasure and longed to use his magic hands on other parts of her enticing body.

She took a drink of water, set the bottle down and picked up the box of Cheez-its. Popping a couple into her mouth, she offered him the box, but he shook his head. “Suit yourself,” she said. “More for me.”

The room was quiet for several minutes, save the crunching sounds Emma was making.

“Can I ask you something?” she finally said.

“You just did.”

“Haha, funny guy. Earlier tonight, you said you’ve always had a gift for sensing paranormal activity. How did you figure out you could do that?”

“When I was a young lad, my mother found me talking to someone she couldn’t see. She thought I had made up an imaginary friend, and didn’t think much of it. Small children do that, you know. But one day I asked her why our neighbor, Mr. Shaw, always looked so sad, didn’t bring us sweets anymore, and entered our flat through the wall. I was shocked when she said he had passed away, because I could clearly see him.”

“Did she figure out that you were seeing a ghost?”

“I’m not sure, but I do know after that, whenever she heard me talking to someone whom she couldn’t see, she would ask who it was. Several times, it was a person who recently died. Sometimes she would see me staring off into space and ask if I could see someone. She never made a big deal of it, just treated it like it was a normal thing. When she passed, I saw her soul leave her body and drift upwards. By that time, I had realized my ability wasn’t normal, and at that moment, I was very glad I had it. That way I could tell my brother Liam she went to Heaven.”

Emma leaned forward to rub his shoulder. “That must have been very special, but also terrifying.”

“That’s a good way to put it.”

“If you can see ghosts, why do you have to use all of that equipment?”

One hand moved from massaging her feet, to scratch behind his ear. “It seems that I can only see them if I have a close connection to them. Mr. Shaw, our babysitter Mrs. Lucas, Mum, Liam…”

“How long ago did Liam die?” she asked solemnly.

“He was killed six years ago.”

“So his spirit appeared to you after he, um, passed away?”

Killian nodded, his eyes not meeting hers.

“Did you get to see his spirit move on to Heaven, too? Like you did your mother’s?”

He began massaging her feet again as he contemplated how to answer. He had never told anyone about being able to see and speak to his brother’s spirit, but now that he’d told Emma this much…well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

“He, uh, he hasn’t moved on yet.”

She sat up a little straighter. “How do you know that?”

“Because,” he began, then looked up to make eye contact with her, “he still comes to see me.”

Her eyes widened. “He does?” She started looking around the room, “Is he here right now?”

“No,” he chuckled, a bit relieved she seemed to take it so well. “He drops in sporadically, but can never stay long.”

“Why not?”

“I think it takes a lot of his paranormal energy to appear and talk to me and…”

“He talks to you, too? Do you have to use your equipment to hear him?”

“No, I did originally buy it to communicate with him, but he was able to figure out a way to actually talk to me. I think he somehow channels his energy to do that, so it gets sapped quickly.”

“The fact he hasn’t moved on means he has unfinished business, doesn’t it?”

“Aye, it does.”

“Do you know what it is?”

Killian dropped his eyes once again, rubbing his thumb along the arch of her foot. “He’s always been my protector. He won’t move on until he knows I’m happy,” he answered, a bit vaguely.

“You seem happy to me.”

He forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I have friends and a job I really enjoy, so I’m content.”

“Being content isn’t the same as being happy,” Emma pointed out.

“No, I don’t suppose it is,” he agreed. “But it’s not as if I’m unhappy.”

“Do you think you’ll ever be ready for him to move on?” she asked quietly.

He tried to think of an answer that didn’t make him out to be incredibly selfish. “After Mum died, Liam was my only family. Our father deserted us when I was a baby and we never saw him again. After I lost Liam, I was a mess. I moved to the United States because I thought getting away from where I experienced so much sadness would help. It did, to a certain degree, but when Liam started making appearances, I guess I became somewhat dependent on him again. I just…I don’t want to be by myself.”

“But you have people who care about you, Killian. You have Will, Belle…”

“You?”

She smiled. “Yes, me. I think this whole experience with Neal has made us closer, don’t you?”

“Well, nothing draws people together better than trying to get someone’s ex-boyfriend’s ghost to move on,” he quipped.

They fell quiet for a while as she munched more Cheez-its and he continued lightly rubbing her feet. “Can I ask you something else?” she finally said. “And don’t say I already did.”

He laughed. “Sure.”

“I don’t claim to know everything you do all the time. I try not to be a nosy neighbor, but it seems like you never…go out with anyone. On a date.”

The tips of his ears felt like they were burning. “I, uh, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged, his eyes fixed on the chipped red polish on her toe nails.

“I mean, I bet you could have just about any woman you want,” she added.

His heart began hammering so hard, he was sure she could hear it. “Why do you say that?” he blurted out.

“You’re a great listener, very sweet and helpful, easy on the eyes…and you give great foot massages. What’s not to love?”

Her choice of that phrase made him swallow hard. “Perhaps, like you, I just haven’t found the right woman yet. Or… maybe I just haven’t worked up the nerve to ask her out.”

Her brows rose. “Sounds like you already have someone in mind.”

He sucked in a breath, knowing what he said next would inevitably change their relationship. He simply didn’t know if it would be for better or worse. Shifting on the couch so he could fully face her, he looked her in the eyes and said, “Don’t you know, Emma? It’s you.”

*********

Thanks for reading! The CSSNS24 event already has numerous fantastic stories and pieces of artwork. Be sure to check out all of them!

Tagging:

@qualitycoffeethings @grimmswan @cs-rylie @wyntereyez @kmomof4 @hookedmom @ultraluckycatnd @paradiselady19 @xarandomdreamx @motherkatereloyshipper @lfh1226-linda

@pawshapedheart @vampcoffeegyrl23 @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic @eleveneitherway @elfiola @kday426

@julieenchanted-swans @gingerchangeling @andiirivera @djlbg @jonesfandomfanatic @snowbellewells @anmylica @booksteaandtoomuchtv @cocohook38 @ilovemesomekillianjones

@zaharadessert @lyssapup27 @undercaffinatednightmare @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @xsajx @jackieorioncat @teamhook @soniccat @jarienn972 @softkilly @kymbersmith-90 @apiratewhopines

@hollyethecurious @laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate @caught-in-the-filter @stahlop @veryverynotgoodwrites @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite @whimsicallyenchantedrose @earanemith @superchocovian @idristardis @captainswan-kellie @beckettj

[ljjsims]

Greek Goddess legacy Challenge: Generation #11 Artemis: Completed

Protectress of girls, goddess of the hunt and the moon and so much more, here is Artemis!

You grew up in a loving family, a total mama’s girl. You work hard to win and be the best, win medals. But, as you grow, you find that medals just don’t do it for you. You feel way more fulfilled when you help people around you. When you care for helpless creatures. There are people and animals out there who can’t fend for themselves. And you can. You can save them. Anger boils in you when you see all those sims mistreated and hurt. So you promise yourself you will cure the world, sim by sim.

Little bit explanation with the sheets: - First sheet is for describing your current generation, with the challenges you need to do each life-stage. Also, because I love the myths, a bit of mythological background. May it inspire you :) - Second sheet is the preparation sheet for this generation, with important characters for your story. It is technically optional, but I love seeing sims with a backstory in my world, so I would highly recommend it. - Third sheet is for your gens children. They all have their own little challenges if your interested in those. I try to make all of them a bit different from each other, so it doesn’t get boring. Your heir is also on this sheet, but I’ve put their challenges on their own sheets. Stay tuned for those ;) - Fourth sheet is completely optional. If you want sims with names from the myths and love making sims to see them in your world, this is for you! All with a little mythological background ofc, you know me.

Next Generation is Iris! Previous Generation was Nike First Generation is Gaia

The Greek Goddesses Challenge by LJJ-Sims is a challenge based on the ancient mythical creatures and stories from Greece. I fell in love with Greek mythology in high school and have not let that love go since. In this challenge you will follow 10 deities in their journey through life. Every goddess has a different take on and goal in life. Special about this challenge?  All your kids have little challenges of their own, not only your heir. These challenges are optional, so if you feel like these are too much or just too restricting for you: by all means let them go. I also have sheets for characters that you can make before you start each generation. This gives your challenge a lot more personality and makes it frankly easier and more fun!

A little disclaimer: because I made these gods and goddesses into a legacy challenge, the relationships in the myths don’t exactly match the relationship in this challenge. There is a lot of keep it in the family in mythology, to put it lightly. And apart from the fact that you can’t do that in the Sims, I don’t really like that part. So I didn’t include it, thus the inconsistency. An example: Ares is now Hera’s stepfather instead of her son, which she conceived with her brother  and husband Zeus. This inconsistency can also be found in the stories. It’s just based on and not copied exactly, as Sims live lives that are a lot shorter than those of immortal gods. And it takes a way from the creativity if we just copy the myths. Even if we wanted to do that, it’s quite hard, as every myths has its fair share of variations and some are just completely different stories.

I use the MCCC-mod to alter the length of life states. You can find the days-years ratio here: the boring stuff.

I get all the information from several sites about mythology, but mostly use https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses. This is a great place to start if you want to know the myths surrounding a certain god or goddess. Wikipedia is also a friend of mine in this challenge, although I automatically doubt a lot of information that is on there. More of a book person? I absolutely adore Stephen Fry’s Mythos, which is very beginner friendly, and Nathalie Haynes Pandora’s jar. For little synopses of gods, I would recommend Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert.

[azuhrasims]

Adventures in Playing with Unicorn Mods 🦄

I went out mod hunting today and was rewarded with a new mod find on MTS called Unicorn Adventures by LuSimLaStars. As the unicorn addict that I am, I knew this mod had to go in my game. Right now. I also knew it had to go in with Spinning Plumbob's Unicorn Mod for Horse Ranch. I had to know if they would play well together.

Unicorn Adventures adds a variety of unicorn interactions to game play. Phone options, rabbit holes to visit, a new lot trait, AND it changes the name of Sylvan Glade to Unicornville - which, holy unicorn poop, made me laugh so hard. It was the name change to Sylvan Glade that made me want to test this mod with the Unicorn Mod installed. You go to the Sylvan Glade to find unicorns you see.

Long story short, these mods play nice together. I just go to Unicornville to find unicorns now, you jive?

Sims can start their unicorn adventure by buying a Unicornology book or three from a bookshelf. Its right there among the skill books when you look to read it! This gets your sim the Unicornology skill. Each level of the skill unlocks new interactions and options for your sim to participate in. Woot!

When your sim builds the Unicornology skill, they unlock a new phone menu - Sparkles. In there are a variety of unicorn activities your sim can do. Also, travel activities to send your sims to rabbit holes! Despite this screenshot, going to the cinema to watch a Pony movie really is just a walk-off-the-lot rabbithole. Hey, comes with a custom buff though!

There is a whole chat menu that opens up as your sim learns Unicornology. You can ramble at other sims about unicorns all day long if you want! There is also supposed to be a pie menu on the computer to run a unicorn blog and write a unicorn book - as of today (May 17th, 2024) I can't get this to show up for me. I stripped every mod from the game except this and the xml injector and still no computer options. I let the creator know about that. Could be just a me thing though, who knows.

That Uni stuffed animal that toddlers can babble at? You know the one. The Unicorn Adventure mod makes that into the portal to Sylvan Glade Unicornville. Click the view option on it a few times until other options begin to show up. Its a text based adventure to get in, just like Sylvan Glade has always been.

You can still use the classic tree portal in Willow Creek as well, but having the Uni as a portal in your sim's house is pretty useful. Once you make it to Sylvan Glade Unicornville, those with the Unicorn Mod installed can search for unicorns just like they always have.

The unicorn, Gary (thank you, game, for that magical random name) showed up after a few searches and we are all set to have a real unicorn in our family and talk about unicorns ad nauseam with every dang nabbed sim we meet. 🦄🦄🦄

[gothoffspring]

Previously on Living a Nightmare;

Riley received an AMAZING chance card and jumped all the way to the top of the comedy career! He quickly became an overnight sensation and is now a one star celebrity! This is definitely Riley's biggest accomplishment and it means we'll have to spend a lot less time at work as the legacy progresses which I'm happy about!

Immediately after being promoted, Riley was flown out to Del Sol Valley to film his very FIRST comedy special titled "Hot and Heavy". It was a resounding success! "Hot and Heavy" was one of the most popular comedy albums of the entire year, and Riley has the plaques and posters to prove it. His life has skyrocketed in a very short amount of time. He's got a beautiful girlfriend, a job that he loves and grand ideas for what the future holds for him.

Monica decided she was ready for more and autonomously asked Riley if she could move in! They're both so infatuated with each other and don't want to waste any more time not being together.

Under the cut you can find some a lot more info on the gameplay aspect of the legacy and my future plans for the Burns family!

First of all, I had to extend the short lifespans just a LITTLE bit. Short is TOO short y'all, I can't. I still made them shorter than the normal lifespan. Lifespans are as follows:

Baby: 2 days

Infant: 6 days

Toddler: 8 days

Child: 11 days

Teen: 14 days

Young Adult: 18 days

Adult: 25 days

Elder: 8 days

We'll play out this first generation with these lifespans and see how it goes, I may have to adjust it a bit but I'm not sure. I really did not realize how difficult this challenge was going to be, because I get attached to my gameplay sims very fast. They're all gonna DIE so quickly, pray for me. I'm honestly excited to see how much progress we can make in a short amount of time though.

As far as future plans, I'm completely over Strangerville and it's annoying NPC's. I did not beat the Strangerville story and I was using a mod to toggle the story on and off, and sometimes I would forget to toggle it and it's just so frustrating. there should ABSOLUTELY be an option in the gameplay settings to turn the story off.

We are officially going to be moving to Chestnut Ridge! I figured it would be fun to try out some horse ranch gameplay and own a huge ranch. We're going to be taking out a loan in order to afford it, and Riley is going to keep working for a while as a top comedian before he retires and dedicates all of his time to the ranch. We're going to be attempting to survive by selling nectar, breeding horses/doing competitions, and farming! Monica may also pick up crocheting or cross stitching as a side hobby. Maybe canning?! I haven't done any canning at all yet! I know it makes little to no sense for them to be moving to a huge ranch from a very rundown home, but since Riley shot to stardom so fast I like to think he realized the first thing he wanted was a nicer home.

I think it fits Riley PERFECTLY. He's always wanted to make his own nectar and being a country boy at heart, Chestnut Ridge won't feel too far from home. Monica is also an animal enthusiast and VERY excited to get some animals, so it's going to be great for both of them. They've been doing some house hunting lately and they've almost found the perfect place. I've already moved some of their friends to Chestnut Ridge and given all of the original Chestnut Ridge townies little makeovers! I also added a couple more sims to the world just to fill it up a bit more. Riley and Monica will be making TONS of friends I'm sure. There's a bunch of couples ready to have babies at the same time as them which I'm excited about, gotta make sure our kids have friends!

I think that's it for now, but I did just want to say thank you so much to anyone who shows any kind of interest in following along with my gameplay. I know I've been widlly inconsistent and have rarely been posting gameplay, but I truly believe that's about to change as I dive back into this legacy and get things rolling again!

[paintinthesims]

Slaying Simming the Princess

I finished playing the pristine cut update for Slay the Princess a while ago and thought to myself: what if I made these guys in the sims? And so I did. I guess this is where they ended up after the "And? What happens next?" ending. XD

I started on The Long Quiet first. I'll admit that his CC is pretty scuffed, but this is the best I could find. It really should not be this hard to find animal parts (that actually work) for a sims game that's been out for this long, but that's just how it is. 😤 I kept seeing these big, beautiful wings taunting me from ts4 the whole time I was cc hunting... I also gave him a long, pointy nose to replicate his beak, and I think it looks alright. I may shorten it in the future, but he does canonically have a pretty monstrous-looking face, so maybe I should just let him be a little ugly. I also think his expression and slight overbite are also kind of cute. ^^ As for his traits, I realized that LQ is actually meant to be sort of a blank slate for the player to project onto, so I picked his traits off of how I personally played him. I also gave him the "Natural Cook" trait since he's already proficient with a knife. XD

Princess was much easier to find CC for, but her anime facial proportions posed some challenges of their own. Knowing from past experience that you can't make anime eyes really work in ts3's artstyle, I tried to go more semi-realistic. I'm not totally satisfied with how her face turned out, but I think she at least looks pretty by normal human standards. I may go cc hunting for a more accurate hairstyle in the future as well. I gave her the "Loves the outdoors" trait since I figured she would appreciate being outside more after being confined for so long. Also, you can't see it with her dress, but I made it so that she's usually barefoot. I mean... in the game, you never once see her wearing shoes, so I figured that she just doesn't have 'em. 🤷‍♀️

So... that's all I have to say about these two for now. I'm going to move them into Moonlight falls, and may consider moving them to Dragon Valley later (after they scope it out with the traveler mod). I plan to post about their first days doing life together sometime soon. ^^

[omegaverse-daily]

Do you have any headcanons for wild vs city packs? How they would interact and integrate? How they would differ and how to kinda build a story around both pack types. I’m dying for some ideas, I have baseline ideas but nothing solid 😭

Puppy mod here!

I’m pretty sure I wrote this and asked it here a while ago (if I didn’t and someone else did, we need to talk because I’ve been fixated on this idea forever), but recently I was made a mod here which is like super crazy to me! Kitty mod has become a very cool friend to have teehee.

This specific ask is still something that lurks in my brain. When I write with this idea in mind it never really clicks the way I want it to.

The idea splits in two halves and a bridge to help cross them but the execution is where I still struggle.

One side is trad pack side, more along the lines of packs living in the woods still. They live off of their natural resources and follow practiced that have been tried and true since ancient times, though properly evolved to support pack lives and safety more effectively. This side can be secluded if desired, effectively separated from society, but could also have branches reaching out into modern living, that’s more how I enjoy to think of it as. They’d have modern medicine and technology practically just next door but have no real need or desire for it because it’s just not how they live their lives. They may also tend to live by more of a traditional lifestyle, not always less progressive but trad packs do slack on that front. Alpha Omega relationships are the norm, they have pack rolls that tend to follow a more typical set line, and they have traditional mating practices as well.

Modern living packs don’t conform to the traditional pack lifestyle. You’ll find alpha/alpha relationships, omega/omega, you name it. Younger generations having less children, or at least less children at younger ages. Omegas aren’t so weighed down by traditional roles and neither are alphas. Their mating practices are a lot looser, more on their own terms than anyone else’s. Some people don’t have full packs, some placing pack bonds with friends and no family, some making their own packs while maintaining longer distances bonds with family. Not everyone lives in a generational home with family but has their own place. They have modern schools and job and transit, replying less on their most base instinct and going more with the flow. This side probably doesn’t worry about anything like hunting and sourcing food or water outside of the modern struggle for such things…

My struggle is the bridge between these two similar but definitely more different worlds of people of a same kind. Would there be transfer programs built into schools to packs as a way to connect the two together? There would for certain be a disdain built into to each side as every difference has, so the most understandable thing would be to bridge them together to form a better understanding of each other’s lives. Would this bridge lead to a mixed culture eventually? It’s such an interesting concept but I lack all the details I need to be able to make the dots all connect.

If anyone has any ideas to chip in or observations or questions, please ask! I love this idea and want to talk about it more!

-Puppy Mod

[vt-wiki-redux]

VT Fun Fact #6

Johnny Ghost canonically has a Tumblr account.

In MURDER IN PRINCESS PEACH'S CASTLE! - Gmod Super Mario Bros. Murder Mystery Mod (Garry's Mod), Johnny Ghost says:

"Oh, there is activity, trust me. There is activity, up on my Tumblr account. I'm getting retweets— on Tumblr, apparently... it doesn't work that way but whatever." (section starts at 4:58)

There isn't a lot that we can glean off of this quote but there is a few things that we may be able to make assumptions about. Firstly, Ghost does use Tumblr. He also seems to have some pride in the recent uptick of notes he's getting. He also gets the terminology wrong but realizes afterwards. We can assess that this might mean that Johnny Ghost has only recently acquired a Tumblr account.

We may also assume based on the topic of conversation, that he posts mainly about things related to Paranormal Activity on his blog, though this is mostly conjecture.

Interestingly, this video was posted right in the middle of Ghost's retirement arc. The wiki interprets this as Johnny Ghost going out and starting his own independent investigator. It's possible that this Tumblr Account was a way to tie into that, though that wouldn't have lasted for very long as after this video, he became fully retired. He also ended up killing a lot of people here as Jimmy Casket, and maybe that also had some influence on him as to why he might stop ghost hunting altogether.

Is Johnny Ghost a tumblrina? It certainly is a fun headcanon, and I could certainly see it being the case. We know that Ghost likely attended high school around the beginning of Tumblr becoming a thing, and I can totally see it appealing to Ghost's sense of style. Who knows? Maybe that's a major factor in how Ghost became so interested in paranormal investigating as a whole. After all, it would be very similar to ghost stories around a campfire.

Anyway I'm rambling. Hope you enjoy this silly fact.

[gatheredfates]

SEA'S COMMUNITY COMPENDIUM UPDATE

I've decided to use this kind of layout for updates going forward! Hopefully it's easy to read / digest for anyone who might be interested.

As of today (02/06) I have added the following communities.

LARGE SCALE

Fisherman's Horizon added

Sights of Eorzea added

FREE COMPANY & COMMUNITY FOCUSED

The Starlight Initiative added (also includes @starlightinitiative).

MISC

FFXIV Event Calendar added (also includes a link to @balmungrpcalendar and patreon).

I have also overhauled the Google Form to be friendlier when it comes to people submitting Large Scale and Miscellaneous resources/servers. The major changes are the clarification around short-blurbs (you can just copy paste a sites' blurb or a discords' about us), the ability to put N/A for a contact, and a tick-box agreement that the community or resource is publicly available and endorsed as such. That way people may not feel as daunted to submit things that aren't theirs. This only applies for these two categories, though; I still require permission from owners/admins for the other categories.

I am still on the hunt for Free Company & Community Focused Servers (including events) and Friend / Casual servers. If you are a part of a server that falls under these parameters, consider getting in touch with your admins to submit to the Compendium! They do not need to be on Tumblr to submit; I just ask that a contact be provided should I need to get in touch about activity/updates. If they're cool with a weird, out of the blue discord friend-request that may or may not happen in the next few months, volunteer them. >:)

I also don't mind if people want to link the compendium in their discord(s). Though my focus is on Tumblr, the main idea is to have a resource that isn't locked behind Discord. If you link this on your discord to find other discords... that's okay with me!

I am undecided on whether or not I want to include mod servers at this point. If I'm being honest, I don't keep up with them, and I know a lot are defunct due to their owners abandoning them or drama around the teams. If there is enough demand, I'll include them. Right now, the only one I'm likely to consider is the Dalamud launcher and I want to marinate on whether it's worth it some more.

I may consider an email or alternative contact as well if the project gets large enough and not everyone uses Tumblr. In the meantime, you can message me here or just DM/@ me on ofsaltandseas on Twitter.

[justanotheroutlastfanblog]

The Outlast College AU: the cast

Eddie Gluskin:

Eddie Gluskin (also known as "Ed" or "the groom" in a mocking way) is a failed pre-med student who switched over to fashion design and merchandising and is known for his "retro" style of dress along with his misogynistic behavior. He is a social outcast due to how he acts so despite his good looks and "charming" personality, he seldom ever gets dates or even respect from his other peers (functionally making him an incel). He is "friends" with Frank (although this is mostly just because Frank also happens to live with him) and that is really about it. And despite his bizarre standards for women and beliefs surrounding sexuality: he is dating Val who is the polar opposite of all of what he holds dear.

Frank Manera:

Frank Manera is Eddie's weed-smoking, whisky-drinking, grunge music-loving culinary school dropout roommate. Unlike Eddie, he is a social outcast by choice and actively chooses not to socially engage with other people or things. Frank is probably the most easy-going person you might meet partly due to the fact he is high all the time but also due to his "I really do not give a shit" attitude he has about practically everything. If it is not about his pickup truck, guns, food, weed, or the bands he likes he could care less. Frank is also occasionally seen at Crust-punk bars and other hole-in-the-wall places around MMU despite not being a student.

Val:

Val is a former member of the hyper-religious cult Temple Gate who once held the role of being the "mother" of all of the bastard children of its leader, Knoth, along with the orphans. She was unable to biologically produce children (functionally be a broodmare) so she took on the role of raising them instead. Val escaped the cult when she was 17 and attempted to bring others with her but was unable to. After her escape, she began to hyper-indulge in sex, drugs, body mods, and all of the other things she was never allowed to even talk about while living on the commune. She never got an education and instead opted to continue partying while also taking a job at a Spencers near MMU. She is dating Eddie Gluskin for reasons not fully understood. And despite her new life of freedom and indulgence, she is still on the run from the cult who does periodically attempt to drag her back. She still misses some members of the cult, specifically the children she cared for and wanted to take with her, but also deeply fears being dragged back too much to do anything.

Miles Upshur:

Miles is a journalism student at MMU who also works at the Spencers with Val. He is yet another stoner similar to the likes of Frank only with a significantly more conspiratorial slant. He is best friends with Waylon Park and frequently pulls him into his strange schemes and ventures (like when he goes ghost hunting in abandoned asylums or attempts to prove aliens exist). And much to his friend's horror: he overall lacks a sense of self-preservation and self-control which frequently results in him getting into a lot of dangerous situations.

Waylon Park:

Waylon Park is a computer science major at MMU and the unwitting best friend/accomplice of Miles. He is a lot more timid than his best friend and spends most of his time locked in his apartment streaming video games or working on various coding projects and actively avoids danger/confrontation. He is dating Lisa, a literature major, and is in a pretty steady relationship with her. Due to his more ambiguous appearance, he was mistaken for a woman and thus pursued by Eddie but that was quickly shut down when the truth was revealed and a restraining order was filed.

Rick Trager:

Rick Trager is an extremely shifty business professor teaching at MMU who may or may not be addicted to cocaine. The only reason he has not been fired is due to his tenure at the university.

Jermey Blaire:

Trager's equally as shifty/douchy TA who practically models himself after Patrick bateman.

Chris Walker:

Chris Walker is a former combat veteran going back to school after his time in the service. His exact major is unclear as it has changed several times. But due to his emence size and overall strength he is also a coveted member of the MMU football team. Chris does not have a particularly close relationship with anybody and only happens to know Miles because he had a class with him once (and in turn grew to dislike him as he came off extremely annoying).

Blake Langermann:

Blake is a fellow jornalisim major along with Miles and is a catholic school survivee. Blake is only mildly acquainted with the likes of Miles and Waylon and instead focuses a majority of his time on working on projects with his girlfriend Lynn who is also a journalism major. These projects are usually Exposes regarding local controversies or drama going on (along with the periodic serious human rights/civil rights violation). However, he will join Waylon and Miles on their bullshit adventures from time to time.

Father Martin:

He is the weird guy standing outside of MMU with a large sign only instead of telling people they are going to hell, he warns of the end times and weird ghost demons coming but it is unclear if he is for or against them.

Sullivan Knoth:

Is the leader of the Cult Val escaped from and one of the main antagonists in Val's life. He is functionally the same compared to how he is in the game minus the radio tower frequencies: he is just crazy naturally.

Marta:

Is funtionally the "Sister Cindy" of MMU. She, unlike Father Martin, does accuse all of the students of being whores and tells them they will burn in hell if they don't repent (and do so to Knoth's teachings). She is also the closest immediate threat to Val's freedom and safety outside of the cult given she is still actively looking for her (dubbing her "the Heretic").

Ethan:

The only person from the cult Val is still somewhat in contact with. He is too attempting to escape given his fading faith had the fact Knoth sexually assaulted his daughter and is denying his wife the ability to get cancer treatments as "only god can decide if she lives". He tried to leave with Val initially but had to stay behind in order to at least allow Val to escape and to protect his family.

Billy Hope:

Billy is a highschooler who has functionally adopted by the MMU football team and is "enrolled" at the school a year early so he can play football. His mother, Tiffany, more or less signed off on it due to the hefty sum of money she was offered to allow her son to play.

"The Twins":

Really creepy townies everybody avoids and can usually be spotted with Martin

Pauline Glick:

The asshole president of MMU who may or may not be taking bribes and doing a bunch of illegal shit along with Blaire and Trager

"Mother Gooseberry (Phyllis Futterman)":

Is a washed-up former children's TV host who later became an art teacher at MMU. She teaches several of the more "technical" arts classes such as sewing and technical drawing. However, she also teaches dental classes at MMU although not that many. It is unclear when or if she even got a degree in dental medicine. But given she is only teaching more "anatomy" based lessons and is not actually practicing medicine: it is looked over by MMU administration.

Leland Coyle:

The campus cop who is activly on a power trip, all of the time.

"The Pusher":

The guy who sells literally everybody drugs. Weed, coke, you name it, he has it.