This one has been a long time coming. We've known for a long time that Bill's sister would move to Sandrock and end up with Fang, and they've been mentioned as a couple in previous stories as well. They just wouldn't talk to us and tell us how they got together. But, we took the advice that Zeke gave Howlett way back in Blue Clear Sky, and we kept listening, kept our minds open, and finally they started talking. Also worth noting that this Fang is a little different from game Fang, he's older so has had longer to process his trauma before meeting Letty.
A medical crisis with the Geeglers requires assistance from someone with a very particular set of skills. When it's clear the situation is beyond what Fang and Opal can provide in Sandrock, Howlett reaches out to his niece, Letty, who is a vet, specialising in larger animals.
Letty loved visiting Sandrock as a kid, but an unfortunate experience in her teens means she hasn't been back in ten years. Can she face her past and build a future?
Fang is settled in Sandrock, at least as much as someone like him can be, but the arrival of the new vet shakes him both personally and professionally.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Writing a series the size of Roads Not taken, we've had to create a number of OCs. A few of them were meant to be one line characters that appeared and disappeared. They didn't. They stuck around. Cal from the last story was one. Zira, the pilot Howlett approached in Blue Clear Sky was another. She wouldn't settle in Sandrock, but she couldn't quite stay away, either. Eventually, she decided to tell us why!
🍁🍃 Hello and welcome to our sixth annual Flufftober 🍃🍁
Every year, we're so excited to share our prompts with you and look forward to all your beautiful creations that will fill the month of October with all the fluff 🥰 also, we're trying something new this year, so make sure to scroll all the way down and don't stop at the main list of 31 prompts or the usual list of alt prompts...😏
But first things first 😊
🍁 As with all our events, our standard blog rules apply, and you'll find answers to most questions on our FAQ post.
🍁 Below the cut, you'll find the necessary posting info, all the prompts in writing, and explanations for some prompts.
🍁 Please make sure to read the entire post! If you have any questions after that, feel free to send us an ask.
So many Prompt Extras 😍
🍁Yes, we heard your plea for more alternative prompts 😉
🍁 We also heard the tears of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere...
🍁 As always, you're welcome to replace prompts from the original list for whatever reason - no explanation needed.
Remember, you can use the Prompt Extras however you like:
💜 to replace a prompt from the original list
💜 to create even more content aside from the original prompts
💜 mixed together to enhance one or more of the other prompts
Whichever way you use them, have fun and go wild 🍃
You promised us something new 👀
Yes, we did - so welcome to the 2026 Flufftober Challenge Tasks 😁
We hope you like these prompts, and now
Happy Creating 🥳
What's the tag to get reblogged? ✍️
🍁 The tag is #flufftober2026
Make sure there is NO SPACE between flufftober and 2026! We will NOT be checking other variations of this tag!
🍁 It's also good to mention us: @flufftober
🍁 We try to reblog regularly, but tumblr likes to be difficult and wonky. If you're absolutely certain a post has slipped past us, please send us an ask with the link to your post.
🍁 Please make sure that all info is easy to find, either in the post or the tags. It takes a lot of time and energy to research every other post. So, please make sure to at least include the following very clearly:
💜 the day/alt/challenge prompt
💜 the fandom(s) (add "original work" or similar if applicable)
💜 the characters and/or ship(s) (add "oc" or similar if applicable)
What about the ao3 collection? 📝
🍁 The collection's name is Flufftober 2026 (either as flufftober2026 or as flufftober_2026)
🍁 Our collections will never close, so you can always add any late entries.
Deadlines are my nemesis 🥹
Don't worry, late entries are always welcome!
🍁 Reblogs will become less regular after the event has ended.
🍁 We will stop checking the event tag after a few months, so please make sure to tag us: @flufftober
Prompts
1. “This is so romantic.” - “You’re so weird.”
2. New Opportunities
3. Signature Move (a dance move, a gesture, etc.)
4. Season Tickets (for a sports team, a theme park, etc.)
5. Reading Nook
6. Pet Shop
7. Pass
8. Cure
9. String (of Fate)
10. “Are you sure?”
11. Baking Together
12. Building a Winter Home for the Wildlife
13. Creating a new Playlist
14. Under the Sea or Up in the Sky
15. Watching a Game/Show/Concert
16. Practicing Together
17. “Absolutely not!” - “Absolutely yes!”
18. Herbs & Leaves
19. Group Activity
20. Flying a Kite
21. Bucket List
22. Old Love
23. Crush
24. Trust
25. Ring
26. Road Trip
27. “I hate to ask, but-”
28. Harmless Addiction (to coffee, to a TV-show, etc.)
29. Doing something daring
30. Beach Day or Hiking Trip
31. So long, Goodbye, Farewell
Prompt Extras
Last Year's Favorites
Alt 1. Pillows, Plushies, Piles of Blankets
Alt 2. “Is that my hoodie?” - “... No?”
Alt 3. Fake Relationship
Alt 4. Set up by Friends
Alt 5. Late Night Talks
Alt 6. In Vino Veritas
Alt 7. “Stay?”
Well, hello there, Southern Hemisphere!
Alt 8. Hay Fever
Alt 9. Baby Animals
Alt 10. Making Daisy Chains
Alt 11. Sun Showers & Rainbows
Alt 12. Barbecues & Baked Potatoes
Alt 13. The Scent of Freshly Cut Grass
Alt 14. Flowering Bulbs & Fruit Blossoms
Alt 15. Burning Off, Bushfire Prep, Bonfires
- Burning Off: burning the underbrush, clearing dead leaves, etc.; burning in a small, controlled way so that if/when a real fire comes in the hotter, drier summer, it won't have as much to burn.
- Bushfire Prep: is all of the above, but also things like checking your smoke detectors, making sure your telephone tree of your neighbours has all up-to-date numbers, etc.
Challenge
Use one or more prompts from this year’s list to:
C 1. Create a FIX-IT
C 2. Create something for a RARE PAIR and/or CROSSOVER SHIP
C 3. FINISH an older WIP (published or not)
C 4. Create something for a CHARACTER who deserves more love
C 5. COMBINE with a prompt from a previous year
C 6. Create something for a SHIP you’ve never used before but always wanted to
So ok look. The point is not the flared leg by itself. These cannot be yoga pants. These are, and you have to understand this if you are too young to have worn them, BLUE JEANS. And this was the last years before all jeans were 70% spandex.
They were denim, and they weren't bell bottoms. They hung loose from the knee in a way that would make a wizard envious. We all walked around like we were wearing hakama. And they dragged on the ground. That was important. Ragged cuffs. If your jeans weren't so long that they had ratty cuffs, they were embarrassingly short.
And the thing about denim is that it's a twill weave and it's cotton. So not only does it hold a lot of water, it wicks. Walking around in these suckers on a wet day could get you wet to the knees even if you never stepped in a puddle.
Then you'd go inside and take off your shoes and try to avoid letting your freezing, wet, filthy pant legs touch your skin.
The visceral memory of that time is something that never leaves you. Everyone's jeans were many inches higher in the back than the front because you kept stepping on the hem and ripping it off. Your lower legs were so very cold. Every new pair of jeans literally enveloped your entire foot, they were so so long re: leg-to-waist ratio. Walking on a rainy day was a legitimate workout. You have no idea.
Y'all made fun of all us GenXers and our 80s pin rolled jeans (yes, I know that's not what we called them but that means something else now and I'm not saying it) but at least our legs were dry.
These jeans had to be so tight that you couldn't zip them unless you lay on the bed and used a wire coat hanger to pull up the zipper.
As things in Sandrock evolve - mostly for the better - so do relationships. Mi-an and Wen have been content together since she arrived, but when he gets the opportunity of a lifetime, it forces them to face a few facts.
Cal has been friends with both Mi-an and Wen since he arrived in Sandrock. When their friend leaves, Cal and Mi-an find themselves spending a lot of time together - just as friends, much to the disbelief and amusement of, well, most everyone in town.
But when Mi-an starts to crack under the strain of her builder responsibilities and Cal steps up to support her, they realize that maybe the rest of the town might have a point.
