Author’s Note

Let me first of all say thank you very much to everyone who took the time to read this story. I know fanfictions have a rather poor reputation for their quality of writing, and that reputation is certainly well earned from my own experience with much of what I’ve read, so thanks for giving this one a chance. I wanted to try and buck the trend of cheap trash that is fanfiction in name only and just a bad excuse for poorly written porn, and tried my best to stay in line with canon as much as possible while also adding in a healthy dose of the erotic that, while unlikely, could happen in-universe.

This is also the first time I’ve written a story to completion. I’ve had many ideas over the years, both fanfiction and original, but never had the time or motivation to bring one of them to fruition until now. There’s an old adage that when it comes to making something, you can at most have two of either time, cost, or quality. Since writing is just one of my hobbies, cost was necessarily zero, and so to ensure what I hope turned out to be a high level of quality, a lot of time was needed. As best I can tell, I first started making notes on March 8th, 2020, and when those were complete I had roughly 8000 words of point form, outlining the main story beats I wanted to have. I finished the story, minus any spelling or grammar edits, on November 5th, 2023. Over three and a half years from start to finish. Even when considering this was all done in just my spare time, I have no idea if that’s a decent speed or not.

Not everything in that initial concept made it into the final product, of course, and there were quite a few additions as the story morphed and grew into what became ‘After Ever After’. For example, some characters were added earlier than planned, and others were removed entirely (Sorry Stalyan, Vex, Caine). One thing that didn’t change, though, was the idea that Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra would become a ‘throuple’. In the end, the final product has over 191,000 words and 100 pictures. StoriesOnline doesn’t allow sexualized images of teens but Pixiv and Ao3 do (though Pixiv requires genitals to be censored), so there’s a little discrepancy with images between sites hosting the story.

Honestly, the main reason/motivation I had to carry this project to completion was to give context to the images I started making to help pass the time during the Covid lockdowns (the first of which was me just adding colour to the image I titled ‘Afterglow’, the final image in chapter 17). Each image I make tends to have a tiny story to go with it, in my mind at least, and so I wanted a way to tie all (or most) of those images together into one cohesive tale. I honestly don’t know if/when I’ll publish another story, and if I do, I doubt it would be illustrated. This project, while enjoyable, took a lot more time and effort than I thought it would when I began.

I probably shouldn’t have to say this next part, but I’ll say it anyway. This is a work of fiction and should be treated as such. In reality, sex between adults and the very young, or the practice of incest, or polygamous relationships are frowned upon for good reason. What might be fun and exciting in the moment can often lead to devastating results when looking at the long term, even if those involved were fully on board at the time. I honestly believe that the best (though certainly not only) romantic relationship and source of long-term happiness someone can have is found through heterosexual monogamy, but if you disagree I’d never try to force you to my way of thinking.

Again, thank you all for reading this story. I know the twist at the end concerning Cassandra’s parentage will probably not be enjoyed by everyone, but the nice thing about fan fiction is that we are all free to disregard any parts we don’t like, since it’s all non-canon anyway. If you like the idea of Raps, Cass, and Eugene being together but don’t like the underage, incest, or group stuff, then feel free to ignore everything after chapter 18. If you did enjoy the story, please take a moment to leave a comment to let me know what you liked, didn’t like, or where you think I could improve. Likes or votes are appreciated, but comments are where the real feedback is found.

Until next time, take care, be safe, and have fun!

Mehefin013