#I need to draw a lot more of Lorelei since I really enjoy her.

[floralfoxdraws]

Daily Art 263

Learning - A bookworm OC~

[nokikissa]

Whooooooooo did it, beat the story of borderlands 3 now. It took me 42 hours but I think I got still like some of those fight wave of enemies arena things I could do but I’ll look into that later, I did all the crew challenges and side mission outside of those type of things.

Story and character wise it was a bit of a mixed bag, there were a lot of things I like and couple things I really didn’t like, but all in all I had fun, the gameplay was excellent, and most likely I will play it again, to co-op with buddies or to try out different vault hunters.

Putting more in-depth thoughts about some story and character things under the cut, extreme major spoiler warning as I’ll be talking about like big plot moments and such.

I quite like most of the new characters they introduced in this, I’ve only played Fl4k and loved them, but from everything I’ve seen I feel like I’ll love the other new vault hunters as well. The Calypso twins were delightful villains, very entertaining but also like I couldn’t wait to get to kill them lmao. And then there’s like Ava, I loved her and her relationship with Maya that was good stuff. And Wainwright I quite liked as well, and I was very happy that Hammerlock finally has a boyfriend and is in a good relationship. And also Lorelei and Clay were both good too, tho I probably like Lorelei more of those haha.

How it handled some old characters tho.... That’s a bit mixed. Like I liked a lot of them: Lilith, Eliie, Tannis, Maya, Zer0, Sir Hammerlock.... Even Rhys! They got Rhys down surprisingly well in my opinion! Obviously he was bit more comedic and doofy but like it was still reminiscent of how Rhys acted in like comedic moments of tales, I could recognize where they got his personality from and so on, it was fine!

...Which makes it even more baffling that they fucked up Vaughn so completely that with Vaughn it feels like the writer maybe got a super vague description of the character at best which had been passed down through multiple people twisting it around like a game of broken telephone. I just don’t understand where they pulled some character traits for him at all.... During the game I tried my best to ignore his existence, which worked well for a long while until the game made you go back to pandora and made him story relevant again, god every time he spoke my reaction was like “please shut up...”

But. I knew that was coming. The Commander Lilith DLC and promotional pics and so on made it clear ahead of time that I would not like Borderlands 3 Vaughn. I had had time to go through the stages of grief and resign to being all well I’m gonna be one of those salty tales fans and keep on drawing content of like tales Vaughn and ignore the rest of the canon for him.

So anyway I was really liking the story during like the Promethea Atlas Vs. Maliwan Arc actually, Rhys and Zer0 and their interactions were fun, Katagawa was an enjoyable villain as well, I just hope the fandom don’t make him annoying to me... So yeah that arc was good and fun.... and then the Promethea Vault happened. I am still a bit on the fence about how I feel about Maya getting killed off. On one hand, I did not see that coming and it did get an emotional “Nooo D:” reaction out of me, which well I’ve seen games with similar character getting killed off scenes that are supposed to be a big deal but my reaction is just like “ok”, like Borderlands 2 with Roland for example. But like yeah I didn’t want her to die, and it feels like kind of a waste cos let’s face it in 2 she didn’t have that much personality since the game didn’t do voice lines for the vault hunters reacting to the story etc. So now she was finally getting to be her own character I feel like aaaand then she dies. :/

And then we moved on to the Eden 6 arc and initially I was excited all Oh get to meet Hammerlock’s Boyfriend! But soon my excitement soured............

So Aurelia’s evil now huh.... And like cartoonishly evil...... Man I hate what they did with Aurelia in this game, it really smashed my good mood coming from the promethea arc to this.... Like in pre-sequel sure she kept claiming herself to be evil and a bitch and so on, but yet when Jack did like actually horrible shit she did not agree with those, she felt bad about Felicity’s fate and didn’t agree with Jack killing the scientist, she even objected when Jack was killing off all claptraps! But nah here’s she’s evil, murdering people left and right and also fucked Troy Calypso cos idk she evil now  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Like god............ I really didn’t expect Aurelia of all the characters whose portrayal I’d be having this much issues but here we are... I guess I’m more pissed about it atm cos as I said with Vaughn I knew what was coming, but with Aurelia I kinda feel Bait and switched by the promotional material cos in all of those that I saw they showed like both the Hammerlocks and Wainwright standing next to each other so you know I was expecting her to be an ally, like maybe she and Alistair had started to tolerate each other and so on but NOPE! Go kill this character you like! Thanks a lot gearbox...

That’s the major issues I had with characters I suppose, Tho it is a bit disappointed Maya and Zer0 were only vault hunters from 2 that showed up. Would’ve been fun to get more personality for more of them. I did find some echo logs involving Krieg at one point which were interesting, aaaand according to like the sort of background filler assets Axton does porn now lmao. Also hmm where were Athena and Janey? Fiona and Sasha? So many characters missing... I know they’ve said probably more characters show up in dlcs, but still. Story wise kinda funny tho, like did Lilith contact the vault hunters from 2 for help at all? Were all of them like “sry I’m busy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “??

Also one weird bit about the Eden 6 arc, it felt kiiinda out of place for borderlands that there were npcs being all “Oh man I sure love the Jakobs family they treat me well”, borderlands has sorta been all “the gun corporation suck” beforehand... I suppose the Promethea arc was bit too pro corporation in some way, but with that at least mostly the npc I saw were like “Rhys says he’s trying to do good with atlas... hm we shall see how that’ll pan out...” suspicion, but with the Jakob there were characters being all oh Jakobs is so great such good corporation :)

At the end side of the game you could get sooo much lore about like sirens which I loved, translating the eridian artifact things like clarified on like how sirens come to be and all which is great! According to that siren in her life can choose who specifically inherits her powers after she dies, or “release her powers into the unknown” which when described kinda gave me the impression that it’ll pass those onto some baby that’s born at some point, which yay clarification on the whole are sirens born as sirens or do they get their powers later: answer is both!

And it appears that Angel decided to pass her powers onto Tannis before she died? Which is interesting. And aw Maya chose Ava to inherit her powers.

That ending tho..... uhhh isn’t Elpis an inhabited place? How did that whole thing affect the people living on elpis lmao....?

And god that ending credits song, it is fitting but I just can’t take it seriously asfsfdggs...

i guess I’ll now move onto talking about the gameplay....

The gameplay was great. Same old Borderlands gameplay except with some improvements making it better, and that is exactly what I wanted from the game.

I especially love the way the guns are now and how much variety there is between the manufacturers, and even within them! Like previously I rarely liked to use shotguns in borderlands games, but in this one I fell in love specifically with the Maliwan Shockwave shotguns, and when one I had started to be too low leveled I desperately tried looking for new one everywhere lol.

And also Atlas gun’s smart bullet gimmick is so good especially now that I played on console, I know I joked about that before the game came out I’m sorry Rhys lol.

I really enjoyed the environments in the game, the planets looked cool and unique, and the maps were interesting. And god some of them are so huge! Which does cause some issue tho... They are weirdly stingy with ammo vending machines. In previous games they usually had ammo vending machines before like boss fight rooms, but in this one nope! Most of the time they only have those in like beginning of the map or like where fast travel points are? That’s annoying... And another issue is that the maps are big and sorta maze-like at times, so even though you have the mission marker in the mini map, I still needed to constantly open the map to see how to get to it, you can’t just go straight in the direction of the mission marker.

Gotta say, I was bit disappointed that we only visited Athenas to get Maya, I was hoping we’d return there cos the planet was very pretty but nope....

Fl4k’s gameplay was really fun, I got the skill that lets fl4ks pet heal you and man that skill is a lifesaver, there were some boss fights I survived purely because of Mr Chew keeping me alive by reviving me lol.

I did encounter few glitched that caused me to have to restart the game cos some mission objective got stuck somewhere and I couldn’t advance, that was a bit annoying. But it was only very few and like well into the game, compared to the hours I played it feels like a pretty good track record for playing a game right on it’s release haha.

So uh yeah. In summary again: Extremely fun gameplay, mixed bag story and characters. Had fun, will play again.

[hekate1308]

Customer

Since I’ve had a very succesfull week, I decided to reward myself with more siren!Cas universe. Enjoy! 

Dean has gotten used to strange things happening, especially since he opened his own shop with the help of the demon who has somehow become his and Cas’ best friend.

Still, this is a bit much. As soon as Cas picks up his phone, he asks, “What do you know about ghosts?”

A pause. Then his boyfriend answers, “They exist.”

“I know that. I am staring at one right now.”

“Oh.” This time, Cas replies faster. “Does it want anything? Is it threatening you?”

“I don’t know. Don’t think he has the guts, considering I can see right through him” Dean jokes.

“Dean –“

“You have to admit it was too good an opportunity to miss.”

He sighs. “Alright so you are probably not being haunted. But why would it –“

“That’s the craziest thing of them all” Dean admits. “He rolled into my shop in a ghost car.”

As a matter of fact, there it is, standing in front of him, as large as nature and twice as natural. An old Jag, by the looks of it, if as transparent as its owner.

“A ghost car?” Now Cas sounds incredulous.

“I know.”

They are both silent for a moment then Dean says, “I am going to call Crowley. He’s bound to have picked up on a few things considering how long he’s been around.”

“That would probably be for the best. And please, my love, be careful.”

“Don’t worry, sunshine, I always have the salt ready.”

Dean hangs up. The ghost has patiently waited for him to finish his talk and is now gesticulating towards the car again.

Yep. Calling Crowley it is.

The demon immediately picks up but as usual they act like he didn’t. “What is it?”

“Could use your help, your Majesty. There is a ghost in my shop.”

Crowley appears in front of him before he can blink. That demon may pretend all he wants, but Dean has come to the conclusion that he’s a rather big softie underneath it all quite some time ago. “Where?”

Dean points.

Crowley turns around and narrows his eyes. “Huh. There were quite a few ghosts around in the dark ages, of course; I remember that very well; but why…” he trails off and suddenly looks oddly self-conscious. It doesn’t take long for Dean to figure it out.

“That another part of this part of the city having become something like a safe haven for monsters?”

“Most likely” Crowley, who has already recovered, answers smoothly. “Moreover, I firmly believe this is the ghost of a race car driver from quite some time ago who… needs help with his ghost car.”

“His ghost car!? But shouldn’t it run efficiently – it’s a ghost car.”

“Oh yes, but you see, there are – there were quite a few ghosts who never really understood that they were dead to begin with. I am rather sure this is one of them.”

“How do they cope with being all see-through then and people running away screaming –“

“I never really wondered about the specifics. I was a little preoccupied at the time – do you know how difficult it is to live in a world without electronics –“

“Crowley” Dean says tiredly. “You are a demon.”

He blinks. “Yes?”

Giving that discussion up as lost, he asks, “What am I supposed to do now?”

“If I am being honest… and I rarely am…” That’s probably the biggest lie he has told Dean in months, but they don’t mention it “Then I would say you should treat him like any other customer.”

“But…” Dean stops talking when he realizes that he has no idea what to say against it apart from the fact that this is a ghost in his ghost car and he doesn’t know what to do. “Alright. But you stick around for a bit – might be I need help with an old model like that.”

“You won’t” Crowley says confidently, sitting down and snapping his fingers in order to conjure up a glass of Craig, “but if you insist…”

As if they don’t know that he’d stay anyway simply because Dean asked.

And so he works on the Jag. It’s not as difficult as he first thought it would be, although it takes a lot of concentration, or his screwdriver will just slither through the motor.

“A little bit more to the right” Crowley advises him on some point.

Dean grits his teeth. “In case you haven’t noticed I am busy –“

The demon’s arms appears next to him and takes hold of the screw that’s been giving him the slip, making it far easier for him to do something. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Crowley sits down again and Dean wonders if he has had indeed so few friends in his life that he and Cas are that special to him.

At some point, his phone starts ringing, and of course Crowley picks up. “Ah, Cassie. No – what are you talking about, everything went as well as could be expected, I am staring at his bloody corpse right now – jeez, it was a joke. He is doing well. Like I said, as could be expected. Yes, he is fine. No, I am not going to leave until the ghost does. Pinkie promise. Love you, too.”

“Did he actually say that?” Dean asks lightly as Crowley returns his phone to his pocket.

“No, I am supposed to tell you he loves you, but that wouldn’t have been as much fun. Now do you think you’ll be done any time soon?”

“Why, you got somewhere to be?”

“No, just thought we and your Loreley could have lunch.”

Dean can’t argue with that. “Alright, I think I’m about done. Would you please try, sir?”

The ghost apparently understands, since he gets in the car (Dean will admit that the sight is a little unorthodox considering he can see through both) and starts it.

Dean doesn’t hear anything but the ghost appears satisfied. To his surprise, he pulls out a wallet and hands him a small sum of money. Transparent money, of course.  “Thank you” he says politely because that seems to be the only thing to do, and the ghost nods at him before getting back into his car and driving off.

“Well” he says, “That was something…”

The door opens and Cas comes in. “Was that the ghost driver?”

“I don’t know Cassie, how many ghost cars have you seen lately?”

He rolls his eyes at Crowley and steps up to Dean, taking him in with his eyes. “So everything is fine?”

“Yes. You didn’t have to come running.”

For that, it is clear, is what Cas did. His tie is once again askew – granted, that’s nothing new, but still – and he looks generally more dishevelled than he usually does. “I was worried.”

Dean kisses him. “You didn’t have to; I had our friendly neighbourhood demon looking out for me.”

“I will let you know that there I nothing friendly about me –“

“What about lunch?” Dean interrupts what is sure to become a monologue if he’s not careful.

At his question, Cas looks somewhat sheepish. “I think I left my briefcase at work…”

“Alright” Crowley sighs. “Looks like it’s going to be my treat once again.”

That would sound far more resigned if Dean didn’t know for a fact that Crowley never lets them pay when they go out, and they spend quite a lot of time together, did even before he bought him the shop. “Well, then… who’s up for burgers?”

The food in the small diner near his shop is excellent, plus the staff has no problems with serving monsters, and both Cas and Crowley don’t keep as firm a hold on their powers anymore as they did when Dean first met them. He thinks it’s got something to do with trust and relaxation, at least in Cas’ case; there is every reason to believe that Crowley just likes making people feel uncomfortable now and then so they don’t forget he’s a demon.

Today though he seems pretty amenable, and it takes Dean a bit to figure it out. It’s when he tells the waitress “Three burgers for me and my friends” that he realizes – Dean calling him immediately about the ghost is another proof of trust he is not yet used to.

“How’s work?” he asks Cas.

“It’s been quiet today.”

“Same with the shop.”

Cas looks decidedly unimpressed.

“Hey, the ghost was quiet! Didn’t say a word, did he, Crowley?”

Cas sighs. “When I leave you two alone…”

“Anyway, so do you think it means anything? A ghost showing up?” Dean asks.

Crowley hesitates; there is something like confusion and something almost like nostalgia in his expression as he replies, “I think it’s entirely possible that this is just another example of how you draw magic towards yourself, these days. Or… maybe magic is growing stronger again.”

“Stronger? You mean stronger than your mother hexing people who annoy her?” Dean jokes.

Crowley’s eyes turn red, and there is absolutely no mirth in his voice as he answers, “Exactly. You shouldn’t underestimate magic.”

Oh. It’s serious, then. Well… “Whatever, I am sure we can weather anything thrown our way.” He takes Cas’ hand. “After all, we’ve made it this far, haven’t we?”

Cas beams at him, and Dean only realizes what’s going on when Crowley clears his throat. “Boys, how about you save all of this for when you are alone?”

He turns his head to find the waitress with their food staring dreamily at Cas. Belatedly he becomes aware that “Cas beaming at him” includes his snare being out if full flare. “Hey” he says, kissing him, “tone it down, sunshine. I don’t want to have to beat the competition of with a tire hose”.

Cas blinks, then realizes. “Oh.” His snare fades. “I am so sorry” he tells the waitress, who hastily puts their burgers on the table, blushing furiously.

“No, it’s no problem – I mean – it’s alright – I –“ and she hurries away, her face still scarlet.

Dean laughs. He can’t help it.

“Dean” Cas says.

“What?” he grins. “I’m just happy you picked me of all people.”

Cas kisses him again at that, even though Crowley complains about their “obnoxious PDAs” in a half-hearted manner.

Yes, Dean decides, they will indeed weather anything that’s thrown at them, ghost cars driving into his shop or not.

[jayykesley]

a l l of the oc questionssssssssss

babe no

1. Your first OC ever?

Answered!

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Answered

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

I haven’t, but people should give me their OCs. I promise I’ll be good to them.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

I don’t talk about Zachary Ryte very much? But that’s because I haven’t really nailed him or his story down yet, but I will one day because he intrigues me.

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

Answered!

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

Aswered

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Babe almost all my ocs are part of stories XD

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

Nah, rp isn’t my thing.

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

Hmmm, probably not a fellow writer bc writers can be cruel and if anybody’s going to hurt my ocs its Me

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design?

idk what this means but here’s Clae as he’s a literal android and thats pretty advance and complicated

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

ROSWELL he is a sunshine boi and he’s trying his best

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

@hobbitsetal‘s oc Rhys because he a Pure Trash Boi and i love him

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Answered

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

Hmmmm would you be interested in Derick?? A boy with cripplingly low self esteem and bad coping mechanisms due to his abandonment issues???

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

Lorelei bc she is one smart cookie

17. Any OC OTPs?

Wouldn’t you like to know ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

18. Any OC crackships?

I kinda weirdly low-key ship Gatling and Pike?? Like, idk if I’m going to do anything with it but I’m intrigued by the idea of them together

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Carson sings, much to the chagrin of everyone else. He’s fully aware he’s terrible but enjoys it too much to stop. If he were in our world, he’d sing mostly 80′s and 90′s rock and pop.

21. Your most artistic OC

Rosalyn draws her own tattoos then tattoos herself, which i think is pretty creative? Lorelei also designs and makes her own clothes, bc shes sick of everything being too big/tall/etc.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

I mean, I’ve only shown people one story (and that has yet-to-be-completed) and so far everyone seems to be coming off as I intended, so not yet?

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Rosalyn was originally a more Natasha Romanov/Black Widow-esque character, bc I thought all female fighter types had to be like that. It took me a while to figure out that, since I wanted to do something different, I could. So I made her more brutal, less graceful, more blunt and less “sexy”. Just overall different, because I’m interested in seeing more lady characters who fight in a way that’s more “ugly”.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

Oh wow, I think I’d like to meet Lorelei? I think she’d be really fun to talk to, especially with all her random knowledge.

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

Derick certainly (unintentionally) looks the most like me, with the blond curly hair and the blue eyes, plus he’s insecure and anxious most of the time, and doesn’t always know what to do in social situations.

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will?

Not against my will, necessarily? Like, I’ve made plenty of changes, but that was always becasue I figured something out that I liked more, or that I thought fit better with the story.

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

Some characters I’ve figured out their style or personality through listening to songs, like the main baes Carson, Derick, Rosalyn, as well as a few others that haven’t been introduced yet ;)

28. Your most dangerous OC?

Answered!

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

Probs Rosalyn and Andromeda, they both know other people would just try to convince them not to go.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

Robin bc shes 9 so duh, I almost feel like Lorelei would too for some reason? She gets stressed and needs to fall into a pile of fluffy toy animals.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Lorelei’s would be all cutesy and girly and pastel, and she’d probably reblog “hack” posts and videos, as well as makeup tutorials. Would post updates and how-tos on her latest fashion designs. Her most popular post is a tutorial on how to add pockets to the inside of skirts.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

My first instinct was Rosalyn, until I realized her first instinct would be to square up and try to punch the horror game monster, and she’d probably die immediately. Carson could be helpful in attacking the monster too, but he’s also quite impulsive. Maybe Lorelei or Derick, as they aren’t as inclined to go into places where the monster would obviously be, but they might be intuitive about how to figure their way out.

33. Your shyest OC?

Answered

34. Do you have any twin characters?

Paris and Andromeda Kincaid are fraternal twins, as are Scrax and Titchy

35. Any sibling characters?

Lots

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Nope, although that does sound fun!

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

Clae is super duper Not Human

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

Considering Daniel Tate was a ballet dancer prior to his death, probably him

39. Introduce any character you want

Here’s Arthur, he’s Zachary Ryte’s American butler who gets paid extra to do a British accent.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

Yes! Sharing them with friends, letting people get to know them through their stories, seeing who gets attached to which oc

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

YES! most recently @sisroks drew Carson (my icon), and @thejwilightzone has drawn Lorelei and @luna-pun has drawn a couple of my ocs

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods?

I headcanon that one of Carson’s hyperfixations is Greek mythology

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

I think I tend to make characters that fit squarely into one of three categories:

charming and confident (aka prime falling-in-love characters)

soft and quiet (cinnamon rolls)

or fighty characters ((ง'̀-'́)ง)

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

that they’re mine and i can make whatever characters I feel the world needs more of

45. A character you no longer use?

Unfortunately I’ve had to retire the idea of a bunch of rowdy but loveable archery bois who live in a forest with their Mom-figure. Maybe theyll appear in a story of their own, who knows

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?

@dangerously-human has expressed concern about my future potential plans for Carson

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

many have claimed Roswell as their smol son

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

Derick and Roswell are both certified Soft Bois

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

answered ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

I can’t stop grouping my ocs into families together, i just love the Found Family trope too much

Thanks boo

[junkpoetic]

Six

The next morning, Elliot was a bit ornery about what we should do for the day. He didn’t seem to want to get out of bed and grab breakfast, so I met Juno in Quincy Market at a place called Neptune’s Café. The walls were painted cold blue; however the atmosphere was warm. I left

“Why are you so intrigued by my name?” She asked.

“I don’t know, it’s a good name, I like it.”

“You’ve never asked me where I am from.”

“Yes, I did, Winnipeg.” I replied.

“No, I was born there, I am from Jersey, I am actually going there soon.”

“How soon?” I asked accidentally.

“How soon is now?” she smirked.

“I love that song! But aren’t you from where you are born?”

“Not necessarily.” She arranged her thoughts in her head before continuing. “I live in Boston. I am from Jersey. I was born in Winnipeg.”

“Okay, so where you’re from, is where you grew up?”

“I guess it changes. If I were on vacation and a stranger asked me where I am from, I would say Boston, because Jersey is irrelevant to them.”

“So… if you asked me where I am from, I should tell you where I live now, not where I am from?” I teased.

“I haven’t asked where you are from?”

I thought about it. “I don’t believe so.”

“Am I a stranger?” She asked.

“You are not.” I replied.

“Where are you from?”

I laughed. “I don’t know anymore; I am so fucking confused.”

“Places are just places right?” She smiled.

“What’re you going to do in Jersey?”

“I planned a surf weekend with friends. They might come here instead though. It depends on the weather.”

“Surfing in October?” I thought she was kidding.

“Prominent breaks man, the best waves all year. Not to mention the ocean is empty, so all the waves are mine.”

Curiouser. “So, you’re a surfer?”

She slowly inhaled a sip of coffee. “I don’t know, I like to surf. What constitutes being a surfer?” She said coyishly.

“I always assumed the act of surfing?” I replied.

She raised the question. “So… if you kill one person, you’re a murderer?”

“It depends on if it was murder…” I replied.

“If you kill three people and by pure happenstance all of the killings are done the same way to people with the same profile, are you automatically a serial killer?” She was on a roll. There was no stopping her.

“Hmmm, I am not sure. I guess it depends on the connotation.”

“So, if my intent is to become a serial killer when I grow up, the first few kills would be in training? Then once I hit a number, I get my serial killer certificate… however, if I just happen to accidentally kill three similar looking people, the kills are considered null, and I am not a serial killer?”

I tented my hands and stabbed my chin with my fingers lightly. “Yes, I think we’ve nailed it down.”

She laughed. “Yes, I am a surfer.”

“Epic.” I smiled.

I learned a lot more about Juno Rafferty that morning. Eventually Elliot met up with us, and then Madeline did too. It’s funny I have known of Madeline for such a long time, yet I know nothing about her other than her nickname she acquired somewhere in her youth from being known for enjoying a cocaine high. She may have only done it once and I have defined her by it. She seemed to be very successful, she owned her own internet clothing company, and lived in a large flat on Newbury. It goes along with what Juno said about one thing defining you being untrue. Imagine if our youth defined our entire lives? Imagine if we could never climb out of it? I had to laugh though, here I was with Juno, who’s name literally means youth, and here she was defining me. There are some days I like being inside my head, stuck, like we were on the rooftop, today was one of those days.

Elliot was very intrigued by surfing in October. So much so that he was looking for spots nearby. He’d never even surfed but always wanted to at least try it. All the years we’d been coming here, it was always summer, the beaches were overcrowded, and the waves sucked. Juno explained that if you can surf the north Atlantic coast, you can surf anywhere.

We had two days left on trip and things felt a little awkward now knowing Elliot’s fate, and though he was vague when I asked what kind of cancer, it was still very sobering knowledge. Like anyone, I held out hope that maybe a mistake was made somewhere. Maybe they mixed up his chart. Maybe he was just too dehydrated and out of shape on marathon day. I kept putting all these thoughts in a blender and spinning them around my head. Adding to it with every new thought, or glimmer of hope.

After breakfast Juno and Madeline went about their separate ways. Elliot was fixated on his phone searching for surf spots. Whenever he got something in his head, he had to live it out. I loved that about him. He had the confidence to do really anything. If I mentioned skydiving, we would probably be on a plane this afternoon. Instead, we spent the afternoon in a surf shop that Juno recommended called Motion Surf.

Lorelei Zimmerman had the curliest blonde hair. She was named after Marilyn Monroe’s character in the fifties movie “Gentleman Prefer Blondes”. She had never seen the movie, but she liked that the origin of her name derived from Marilyn Monroe. She was in her early thirties, probably the same age as Juno, or close to it. She had a welcoming soul, and she took the time to explain surfing to Elliot and I, two guys amid their forties, who had absolutely zero clue about it. She spent her youth surfing in Australia, it was in her blood, she studied abroad in Boston where she met her now husband Rami and they put their roots down in here. The way she spoke of Australia, I could tell she missed it dearly.

“Catching an unbroken wave is one of the most difficult things to learn as a novice.” She explained that patience and persistence would pay off because the feeling of dropping in on a green wave for the first time is an out of body experience. She reflected on her first green wave as if she had just ridden it into shore. Elliot handed her his credit card and told her to get us everything we’d need to surf and since we were leaving in a few days, he told her to teach us as fast as she could. She laughed and began talking about the four stages of waves and how to approach them.

“The first stage is a lump in the water, and basically impossible to catch. The second stage is the delicate sweet spot and hitting it right is essential. This is where you begin paddling into it. In the third stage is when the wave breaks onto your back. The wave is broken in the last stage and now white water. Positioning is everything when trying to predict when the wave will break.”

Elliot was listening so intently as she spoke. Her accented words were becoming glued to the inside of his mind.

“You want to be about five meters out from where the waves are breaking. Look for the lumps in the horizon that look like stage A waves. Once you pick a wave paddle with it matching the speed of the wave. Matching the speed is difficult because there is no force pulling you forward. Once you have proper paddling strokes and your body is centered on the board, gravity arrives. Keep your head down low over the nose of the board as you’re lifting up on the wave. Gravity becomes your best friend once you’re in position. When you feel confident on the wave, you’ll know when you feel it, that’s when you pop up. Never hesitate to pop up.”

She popped up on a surfboard on the carpet showing us the proper ways.

“Don’t go out too far, it’s such a common mistake new surfers make. See where other surfers are and follow their lead.”

She helped us pick out surfboards, and then even waxed them for us. Elliot’s board had a drawing of a guy on it that looked like he was vomiting a rainbow. It looks much better than it sounds. He said that specific board spoke to him as if it were the chosen one. I just nodded my head and said OKAY. My board had a skull on it with a snake crawling through the mouth and up through the eye of it. It was colored with the most beautiful blues and greens. The first wetsuit Elliot tried on was too tight leaving little to the imagination. It was hilarious watching Lorelei try not to look down at his forty-six-year-old package. He was almost flaunting it, but he kept a straight face.

 Lorelei said she’d be happy to meet up this weekend at Nauset Beach to help us get our feet wet, no pun intended. Her words not mine. We agreed to stay through the weekend, because well, Elliot was now obsessed with wanting to surf… in Boston, in October. It’s also weird how long ago the marathon felt … fucking time.

We kept it pretty low key later that night. We went to an Italian restaurant called Giacomo’s on the north end and ordered the works. It was our favorite spot to eat whenever we came into town. Italian food tastes worlds better in October than it does in June. Maybe we’ve been doing it wrong the entire time. Elliot ordered as if it were his last meal. King prawns, calamari, manicotti, some sort of pasta with scallops too. He ate every god damn bite and then washed it down with a five-hundred-dollar bottle of Amarone. I was full just watching him eat as I snacked on bruschetta drizzled in the freshest olive oil. I also had the caprese salad with pesto along with a seafood linguini. Everything tasted so damn good I almost wished it was our last meal.

“You really think we can pull off surfing?” I said tossing my napkin onto my plate.

“We’re going to god damn try.” He said still chewing whatever it was he was chewing.

“Always an adventure.” I said feeling a bit sentimental.

“Still can’t believe I couldn’t finish the marathon…”

“But you did…”

“In a way.” He said modestly. “I wasn’t going to tell you by the way.”

“Tell me what?”

“That I am dying.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“I haven’t even told Louise.”

“Are you kidding?” I almost choked on a cherry tomato.

The waitress interrupted and Elliot ordered us an entire key lime pie for dessert, and I must be honest, I didn’t think I could fit another calorie in my body. When they put it in front of us it was still smoking from the freezer and God dammit when I sunk my teeth into that tangy ice cold vanilla and key lime pie all down to that glazed graham cracker crust I saw my life flash before me in a montage both bittersweet and beautiful from the time Elliot and I were kids in the street playing baseball and drinking lemonade, all the way up to the rooftop last night with Juno Rafferty and attempting to feel up every single one of the shiver bumps on her tight cold skin. All the good, the bad, and the ugly, in that same fucking blender that I call my mind that just spins constantly like a cyclone vomiting rainbows among other things less attractive.

After dinner we walked out into the rainy night and up and down the streets in the north end. We bought cigars and smoked them on a sidewalk outside of an all-night café before catching a cab back to the hotel and calling it a night.

“Today was a good day.” Elliot said before we parted ways for the night.

[bromfieldhall]

What Makes You Beautiful - A Mentalist Fanfiction

TIMELINE: Set some in the future after series four finale. Minor spoilers.

SYNOPSIS: “Yesterday I made a New Year’s resolution. I’m going to give myself one whole year to woo and win the love of California Bureau of Investigation’s Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon.”

PAIRING: Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon

Previous Chapters: 1

CHAPTER 2

"You're turning heads when you walk through the door,"

~ What Makes You Beautiful ~ 1D

February 3rd – 8.30pm

I hate charity auctions.

Especially one such as this, which is nothing more than a PR stunt to promote the California state police departments. Some middle-aged fool from the AG's office sporting a paunch and a God complex decided that relations between the Sacramento elite and local law enforcement needed to be vastly improved and here we are.

Each department is supplying one person to be a 'lot' for the evening.

Don't get me wrong, although I dislike charity auctions in general, I'm perfectly happy with the part where they actually raise money for a good cause. It's just the whole over the top razzmatazz that the organisers feel should go with it. Personally, I'd rather they came around with a box and we all put in what money we can spare. Maybe have a free glass of nice wine and go home. Why does there have to be a full on social gathering?

Better yet, why don't they just use the obscene amount of money they've obviously spent on this shindig and give that to their chosen charity instead?

I look around. There's a smattering of law enforcement officers and officials schmoozing the usual politicians and businessmen and women. Then you've got the people who were born to their wealth who are only here because it's their 'duty'. They don't particularly like mixing with us mere mortals, they do it simply because they think it makes them look good.

Those are the people I dislike the most. The rich fat cats with too much time and too much money. Full of their own self-importance. Never done an honest day's work in their life. They irk me.

They also remind me of me many years ago.

True, I worked for a living but I'd hardly call it honest.

I used to be just like them. Thought I had it all. Thought I was better than everyone else. Not a care in the world. Like, somehow, my celebrity status and all the wealth that came with it meant that nothing bad could ever touch me because of who I was and what I did.

I was such an arrogant fool. And I paid for it dearly. Am still paying for it, because my guilt will never completely go away. I deserve that.

I saunter around the hall catching snippets of other people's inane conversations and find myself drowning in the quagmire of never-ending tedium.

And I've only been here ten minutes.

I look around, searching for Lisbon. I'm only here because she specifically told me not to come. I mean, please…that's tantamount to a red flag to a bull. How could I not turn up?

After all these years you'd think she'd know that I never do what she's says, but she still keeps trying to order me about. It's sweet. Really.

I'm guessing she thought I'd actually listen this time because ever since our little…altercation over the Carlton case a few weeks ago, I've been noticeably behaving myself better. But that's work…this is personal. Doesn't count.

The sound of an obviously fake laugh draws my attention and I turn to see a man surrounded by a group of women. Speak of the devil…

Senator Carlton is holding court and clearly very much over the 'pain' of losing his dearly, departed wife to her murderous lover not four weeks ago. He sickens me. And he looks like a toad.

He catches my eye and scowls. It's not surprising. I did apologise to him as I said I would…it's just that nobody told me I had to make it sound sincere. Lisbon wasn't very happy with me but she didn't get suspended which is the main thing. After all, it's not her fault I can be a jerk sometimes. I can't be expected to change overnight, now can I?

Besides, I know full well that she spoke to him afterwards and smoothed everything over. He certainly walked out of the CBI a far happier man than he entered it. Lisbon does tend to have that effect on people…when she puts her mind to it.

I turn away from the odious individual and continue my perusal of the room. I notice that Cho is nursing a drink alone at the bar. I raise my glass of sparkling water and he gives me a nod of acknowledgement back. He is the nominated 'lot' from our team tonight. He's offering to teach basic self-defence to the lucky winner. I know he's been dreading getting up on stage. He's not one for the limelight is our Cho.

I scan the rest of the room and find Rigsby staring at the few couples that are making use of the dance floor. The pinched look on his face resembles one of a child who has had his favourite toy taken away but is determined not to cry.

When I check out the dancers I understand why. Van Pelt, who looks lovely this evening, is being whirled around the floor by a rather tall, rather handsome young man who, judging by his slightly dazed expression, can't quite believe his luck. It's obvious he's wishing that she were up for auction this evening.

I feel sorry for Risgby and Grace, they were good together. And now that he has long split up with Sarah, they could still be good together…if CBI rules allowed. I'm pretty sure that if they decided to take up their romance again, Lisbon wouldn't interfere this time. She'd let them be. They both deserve a little happiness after what they've been through.

Don't we all?

Speaking of which…I still can't see Lisbon anywhere. She's usually prompt to the point of being too early. But not tonight it seems. Odd.

I take a sip of my water and think back over the past month with a smile. Things are…better between us. I like to think almost back to normal now, but I was wrong before and so I'm being extra cautious. Keeping it light. Baby steps. Trying to get back to what we were before Lorelei's presence ruined everything. It's taking some time, but I truly believe that we will get there. I have to, for both our sakes.

Naturally, this delays my resolution somewhat. I can't attempt to go forward until we're back to where we started. It's frustrating, but necessary and as I told Lisbon a few weeks ago…I'm a patient man.

The song that's playing comes to an end and the auctioneer for the evening steps up to the mike. I don't recognise him and forget his name before he's even finished introducing himself.

Everyone moves to either find a seat or stand on the dance floor in readiness for the main event. The auction begins but everything is just background noise as I'm beginning to feel a little concerned that I can't find Lisbon. I walk over to where Cho is getting up from his barstool. It's his turn soon.

"Have you seen, Lisbon?" I ask, still scouring the hall.

He nods his head. "Yeah."

I wait for him to continue but when it's obvious that he's not going to be more forthcoming, I query irritably, "Well? Where is she?"

"Around," is his brief reply.

His evasive answer tells me that something is up. I don't know if it's to do with work or whether it's personal but all the same, it bothers me a little that Lisbon obviously chose to bring him in on it and not me.

"Where around, exactly?" I press, watching his impassive face for a glimmer of a clue.

Cho shrugs but doesn't reply. Instead he opts for classic avoidance. "So, what are you doing here? I thought the boss told you not to come?"

"Oh, she did," I concede with a smile. "I thought it'd be a nice surprise."

He snorts and looks away. "Yeah, wouldn't bet on that."

I'm about to ask him outright what the hell's going on when something the auctioneer says catches my ear. "Did he just say Lisbon's name?" I ask in amazement.

"Yeah."

I'm confused. "But I thought you were the one up for auction."

"I was, but when I got here tonight Lisbon told me that the plans had changed."

My puzzlement grows. "Why?"

I finally feel as though I'm going to get to the truth of the matter when Cho sighs and looks a little uncomfortable. "I don't know for certain but he has something to do with it," he tells me.

He nods towards the crowd of people on the dance floor and I grow tense when I see Senator Carlton making his way to the front.

"He came over when Lisbon was here and made…comments," Cho continues, looking a little angry now.

"Comments?" I repeat incredulously, feeling my own hackles rise at the thought of what the other man might have said.

"Comments," Cho confirms, his top lip curling up in distaste.

Why, that rotten, son of a…

The desire to defend Lisbon's honour surges through me like a tidal wave and my hands clench at my sides as I run through all the possible ways to inflict pain on the self-absorbed ass. I know I could get away with it and I'm pretty certain Cho would help.

"I asked her about it when he left and she just said that it was a small price to pay to keep you around," he concludes, a hint of accusation in his eyes.

I feel like I've just been punched in the gut and my anger rises anew. I don't have to be a mentalist to know that Carlton has somehow turned my foolish behaviour to his advantage. Apparently Lisbon has saved me yet again but it's not her job on the line this time, it's her self-respect instead. And I absolutely cannot let her do that for me.

I catch sight of Lisbon walking quickly onto the stage and my breath catches. She is stunning. The unassuming black dress accentuates her figure perfectly. It's sexy in an artless kind of way that's very appealing. All the other men in the hall seem to agree as the hush that had descended when she appeared dissipates into eager murmuring when the auctioneer announces that the winning bidder will enjoy an evening with Teresa including dinner at a place of her choice.

Carlton opens the bidding at two thousand dollars.

It's been the highest amount all evening of that I'm sure. I doubt anyone will raise him, which I assume is his intention, and I notice Lisbon's face take on a look of resignation. She smiles, trying to cover it up trooper that she is, but I can still see it. See what she's willing to sacrifice. And I bet she's even convinced herself that something positive is coming out of all this in that the charity will benefit from the money.

My Saint Teresa.

I walk towards Carlton and feel Cho following close behind, probably trying to ensure I don't do anything stupid. With no other bids forthcoming, the auctioneer begins to wrap up the 'lot' as I come to a stop beside the senator.

"Three thousand dollars," I say loudly, just before the man with the gavel can say, 'gone'. Lisbon looks understandably shocked when she hears my voice and then her mouth tightens in annoyance as she sees me standing next to Carlton.

The senator turns to look at me with a frown and I grin back at him. Gauntlet thrown down.

"Four thousand dollars," he bids, his eyes daring me to counter.

"Five," I offer, almost immediately.

The senator starts to get a red hue to his cheeks and leans towards me. "Back off, Mr. Jane, or you can say goodbye to your job," he says quietly through gritted teeth in what I guess he thinks is a threatening tone. He's an amateur compared to Lisbon.

To my surprise, Cho walks around me and stands in front of Carlton, arms folded. "Is that a threat, Senator?" he asks matter-of-factly. "Because it sure sounded like one from where I was standing."

"Going once," I hear the auctioneer call.

"From here too," says Rigsby suddenly appearing on the senator's other side looking grim.

"Going twice," the auctioneer calls a second time.

Carlton turns an even brighter shade of scarlet and I begin to think he might actually explode. "I'll have all your jobs for this," he hisses angrily before turning and walking away.

"Sold to Mr…?"

"Jane," I reply. "Patrick Jane."

The auctioneer smiles and indicates for Lisbon to leave the stage. She looks absolutely livid and heads straight for us, her eyes practically shooting flames.

"Uh-oh," murmurs Rigsby apprehensively.

I can understand his concern. "You two go, I'll handle it," I say, grateful for their intervention and wishing to give them a reprieve. They don't need telling twice and I'm quickly left alone to face Lisbon's wrath.

"What the hell was that?" she demands to know as she comes to a stop right in front of me.

I can sense her barely contained rage so naturally I have to push it. "You're welcome," I reply with a grin.

"Jane," she says, the warning clear.

"It's fine, Lisbon. Don't worry," I dismiss with a wave of my hand. "We merely persuaded Senator Carlton not to bid for you, that's all."

"Oh, God," she groans as she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to get suspended, aren't I?"

I raise my hand and take hold of hers, gently pulling it away from her face. She opens those amazing green eyes and I shake my head. "He won't bother you again, trust me," I tell her and I'm pleased to feel her relax a little.

She stares at me and I know she's trying to figure out what happened but in the end she just accepts it and lets out a little sigh. She looks down at our joined hands and I'm disappointed, but not surprised, when she pulls hers away. "I need a drink," she mutters, walking off towards the bar.

I follow and stand beside her when she perches on one of the stools. I order her a drink and get myself another water.

"You know you're going to have to pay for this, don't you?" she says seriously.

I'm not quite sure what she's talking about and glance at our drinks in perplexity. "I thought it was a free bar."

She looks a little self-conscious. "Not the drinks…I meant the auction…you know…me."

It's adorable the way she stumbles over her explanation. And the rosy hue that invades her face is far more becoming than the vermilion disaster that was Carlton.

"Oh, that," I say with a shrug of my shoulders. "I can afford it. Besides, you're worth it."

I deliberately keep my tone offhand but it pleases me to note that the colour deepens on her smooth cheeks. It's obvious she doesn't know what to say and I'm content to let the silence continue between us as she, no doubt, ruminates on all the possible meanings.

I know I said I'm taking baby steps but even an infant needs a gentle push sometimes in order for it to stand. Right?

A short, sweaty man walks over carrying a clipboard then thrusts it towards me with a pen and asks for my signature by way of confirming that I've won…Lisbon.

I fill out all the details and hand it back to him while I watch the auction conclude with complete disinterest. All my senses are attuned to the woman sitting quietly next to me. I know there are things she wants to ask me. There are things I want to say, but it's too soon. She's not ready.

The band take up their positions on stage. The lights dim slightly, taking the edge of the harsh lighting just enough to give the room a romantic ambience and they begin to play. It's a slow song and I can't resist holding out my hand for hers.

"Will you dance with me?" I ask with my most persuasive grin.

She hesitates for a second then smiles and places her hand in mine. I lead her onto the dance floor and can't stop my sigh of satisfaction as I take her in my arms. She rests her head on my shoulder and I gather her in closer, chest against chest, thighs brushing thighs, our bodies moving easily together as if we've danced this way many, many times before.

"So," she says, finally breaking her silence and lifting her head to look at me. "Where are you going to take me for dinner?"

I gaze down at her and smile. "I thought that was your choice."

She shakes her head. "I made that a condition so that Carlton couldn't take me back to his place," she admits, confirming to me what I'd already suspected.

"I knew you'd set this whole thing up," I say with a shake of my head. "Please promise me you won't do anything like this again, Lisbon. I'm not worth it."

"You are, Jane, because you close cases. I need you on my team."

No matter how much I love holding her like this, I really want to shake the infernal woman for trotting out that same old excuse again. She's said it for so long now that I think she's actually starting to believe it's true.

"Besides, I had everything planned," she adds with a sudden smile that catches me off guard. "I knew when I told you not to come tonight you wouldn't listen. I didn't think you'd actually bid for me but I knew that if Cho said the right things, I could count on you to do something so that Carlton wouldn't win."

She looks so happy that her little scheme has worked, I can't find it within myself to be upset that she conned me in such a way. Turnabout is fair play after all.

"I'm impressed," I say letting my admiration to show. "Plus, the charity gets a nice little donation out of it. Win, win situation all round."

"It is," she replies, still grinning. "And it was nice to finally get one over on you for a change."

"Oh, you did," I admit as the music comes to an end and I reluctantly release my hold. "Apart from one little thing."

She pulls away with a frown. "And what's that?" she asks dubiously.

I reach out then take her hand and look deeply into her eyes as I raise it slowly to my lips. Holding her gaze, I press a soft kiss to the back of her hand. Her skin is warm and I find myself lingering there far longer than I should when her mouth drops open a little and I hear her sharp intake of breath.

I eventually pull back with a smile, my lips still tingling from the tender contact. Keeping hold of her hand, I lean in closer. I hear her breathing hitch anew as I bring my mouth to her ear and whisper dryly, "Cho stepped in too early, I would have paid double."

I hear her gasp of surprise as I pull back and grin. I give her hand a light squeeze then release it before I turn to walk away, but she stops me.

"Wait, what about dinner?" she asks, that wonderful blush back on her perfect cheeks.

"No rush, Lisbon. You can choose when you're ready. Or not. Just let me know. I'll be waiting."

I leave her on the dance floor staring after me in confusion. I enjoy keeping her off kilter and quite honestly, if I don't leave her now I'll do more than just kiss her on the hand.

I make my way outside and to my car and I can't help but think that maybe charity auctions aren't such a bad thing after all.

END CHAPTER 2

[hekate1308]

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

More Siren!Cas Au. Enjoy!

Dean sometimes forgets that he’s human. Not in any dramatic fashion – he doesn’t try to snare anyone or explode people who annoy him or anything like that. No, he just automatically thinks of himself as part of the monster group of their suburban paradise, maybe because not only do mostly monsters live in their neighbourhood, but because...

Well... in a way, monsters are easy to get. It’s people who are difficult.

He’s reminded of that again when he’s trying to explain to Mr. Adler why it will take a while to get the parts for the car he wants restored.

Most days, he loves the fact that he could finally open the shop of his dreams. When he’s dealing with assholes like this, though...

“Mr. Adler, I have told you that –“

“Oh, Dean, sorry, I didn’t realize you were busy” Gilda apologizes, stepping into his office.

“It’s quite alright.”

And it’s then that Mr. why-can’t-I-have-my-vintage-Lamborghini-yesterday proves just how big of an asshole he is, mumbling “fucking fairy” under his breath.

Dean is about to deck him when Gilda asks gently, “Do whom do you address this insult, please?”

Adler stares at her. “What?”

“It could apply to both of us – to Dean because of his marital status, and to me because I am, indeed, a fucking fairy. In case of the latter – you should learn to treat others with more respect, yet I don’t care that much. If it’s the former... I suggest you leave the premises quickly.”

Adler stares at her, mouth wide open, before he all but flees.

“Nice one, Gilda” Dean says.

“I’m sorry if I scared off your customer.”

“Guy deserved it, and I still have the Lamborghini. He’ll be back. But what were you planning to do? Making buttercups grow around his feet?”

“Something like that” she answers pleasantly, but they both know the threats of a fairy are to be taken seriously at all times. They are not nature spirits for nothing.

It also means Dean is rather more important to Charlie’s girlfriend than he realized.

In the end, he invites Gilda to lunch.

That evening, Jody knocks at their door. Dean knows just from the expression on her face that Adler is enough of a bastard to –

“Sorry Dean, but there has been a complaint.”

As the only human Sheriff brave enough to take care of monster stuff, Jody has long been a respected member of their community. Dean lets her in.

“He called Gilda that?” she fumes after he’s explained. Dean nods.

“I’m not surprised. Guy’s a jerk. She put the fear of God in him, but that’s it.”

“Good to know. I’ll let Mr. Adler know what the police thinks of people who curse at innocent citizens.”

“I think” Cas says quietly after Jody has left, “It’s because we haven’t been citizens all that long. Fifty years ago, monsters weren’t even considered animals.”

“Yeah, but we weren’t even born then! This is ridiculous.”

“I wish everyone was as wonderful as you, my love.”

Dean blushes fiercely.

He’s gotten used to it, really. There are quite a few people who will stare and sneer and take jabs at him once they find out he’s dating a siren. Some of them assume that Cas keeps him around like a hypnotized pet to feast on, which... ew.

Sometimes, he wryly thinks what Sammy would think of all this and smiles. The brother he walked out on because he wanted to study and was convinced Dean would only end up like dead... He certainly couldn’t have seen this coming.

Warm arms wrap around him. “I don’t like that look on your face” Cas whispers against his neck.  

“You can’t see my expression.”

“The window... there’s a reflection.”

Dean chuckles. “My very own Sherlock Holmes.”

“My Boswell.”

He shakes his head. “I was just thinking about Sammy and Dad and... you know how it is.”

Cas nods. “My family stopped speaking to me as well.”

“I’m still very sorry about that. Cas, if there’s a way...”

“I have everything I could ever want.”

A thump on the roof. Dean rolls his eyes. “Even with –“

“Hello boys.”

“Crowley. What the hell were you doing on our roof?”

“Relax, it’s close to Halloween. Just thought I’d put up some extra protection. Excepting yours truly, of course.”

Of course. Life wouldn’t be the same without their demon neighbour being able to zap in whenever he wants.

“Good thinking.”

Halloween can be... chaotic. And by chaotic, Dean means even for them, and that’s saying something. There’s just something about having so many monsters and magic practitioners in one place that seems to make the pull of the night even stronger.

This year, it almost ends in tragedy.

At first, it’s fun. They throw a party – even Rowena attends it in a sparkling red gown – and they’re handing out candy to the monster and a few brave human kids who come to their door.

It’s about ten pm when Jody calls. “Dean, there’s something – I can’t explain it. But there are about three square inches in the street that have just – disappeared. There’s nothing there. As if one was blind...”

Dean listens carefully, then turns and explains the problem. Several enthusiastic voice pipe up, but it’s Rowena who calls out, “I know! It’s a soul eater. Takes the soul and leaves nothing. Don’t let anyone near it.”

“Good God” Jody mutters. “Halloween. Alright, will do. Could you just hurry, please?”

“Of course.”

“Hasn’t it been hundreds of years since the last soul-eater came to earth?” Crowley asks as he, Dean, Cas and Rowena stroll down the street.

“It has, but with the recent concentration of people like us all in one place... the world is turning into something more magical again. Normally I would be happy about it, but a soul-eater always means business.”

“How do we defeat it?” Dean asks.

“That’s the tricky part” Rowena says. “The spell has to be performed in the vicinity of the creature, but it would attack anyone who dares come near, unless...” She trails off.

“He has something else to snack on” Dean says flatly.

“Afraid so.”

“Let me guess. They like human souls the most.” Just his freaking luck.

“Don’t worry” Crowley says smoothly, “Yes, it will try and devour your soul, but that takes a while,. And I’ll interfere if there are any problems.”

“As will I” Cas adds quietly, “Although I wish you didn’t have to do this. What if I –“

“Sorry, Lorelei, it will feel that you have power over other souls, and if there’s one thing a soul-eater doesn’t like, it’s another predator.”

“I don’t prey on people” Cas insists.

“That may be” Rowena replies, “But you still have the powers. And the soul-eater will know that. You probably shouldn’t even go near it.”

“But Dean –“

“Hey” Dean says, taking his hand. “You heard Crowley; I’ll be fine. And you have to help Jody keep the humans away from that thing. It’s Halloween; there’s bound to be some trouble makers around.”

“I trust you, Dean” he says, drawing him into a kiss. “But if you don’t come back to me, I’ll have Rowena resurrect you so I can smite you.”

“You two break my non-existent heart. Can we go deal with this, please?”

“Yeah, yeah Crowley” Dean mutters, pulling back. “Way to ruin my dramatic hero exit scene.”

“There’s not going to be an exit, didn’t you hear me?”

“How do you three get anything done?” Rowena complains. “Now let’s go before we waste the whole of Samhain!”

For the first time, Dean wonders why she suddenly decided to spend the night with them instead of joining a coven for the celebrations. It must be some form of honour, a witch choosing to celebrate Halloween with you.

By the time they reach the street, the soul-eater – the nothing – has grown. Jody has organised several men and women to keep others away, a necessary precaution since “we’re all drawn to it. No one can explain it.”

“A soul-eater with snare magic.” Rowena clicks her tongue. “Castiel, you should definitely stay away. It won’t like your powers at all.”

Jody isn’t all that much in favour of their plan when she hears it. “I’m an officer of the law, I should –“

“Exactly. And you’re the only officer who thought to call us, who ever looks out for the monsters. If we want this to work, if we want humans to grow accustomed to us, we need people like you.”

“You’re human too” she says softly.

Dean grins. “Yeah, but I hardly count as one anymore. Just ask Adler. Just – Jody, we can’t afford to lose you.”

“And you’re expendable?”

“No, but I’m the only human here who has a lot of experience with the supernatural.”

She sighs and acquiesces. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll still shoot you.”

“Get in line, Cas already plans to smite me.”

The power of the thing, Dean muses as he steps closer, truly reminds him of Cas’ snare, back when he was still affected by it, but it’s not quite the same thing. A siren’s powers, whether they use them deliberately or not, are still there to provide them with food and leave the victim unharmed. Perhaps it’s all a bit... unethical, but it’s not evil.

This thing, however? There’s a malice buried deep in the call that makes Dean’s feet walk right up to it.

He takes a deep breath. Concentrate on the important things, Crowley said. Hold on to your soul.

Demon’s creeping in the shadows behind him, so the soul-eater won’t notice him.

And then he feels it. An almost indescribable sensation, as if something’s chipping away at his very core, as if things are slowly growing less important...

He shakes his head. The important things.

Quick. What’s important? His job. He likes his job. He thinks – he’s not entirely sure what he does –

No. Sammy. Sammy’s important. But then why can’t he remember where he is, exactly?

Quick, man, the important –

Important –

Something falls in front of his feet. Dean looks down.

A small black feather.

Feathers, Crowley’s voice says in his head, and there it is.

Cas. Cas, his boyfriend, the love of his life, the siren he’s going to propose to, he decided not so long ago. Their friends already agreed to help him...

And suddenly, it’s the easiest thing in the world.

Cas in the morning, eyes sparkling under his bed head, making coffee –

Cas, laughing as he watches the ghoul children play fetch on the street –

Cas, holding him close at night, writing stories on Dean’s skin –

Cas.

The sensation vanishes as suddenly as it has come, and Dean blinks, noticing Crowley next to him. “I assume the feather was your idea?”

The demon nods. “Thought you might need a little reminder.”

Dean clasps his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“Dean!”

He turns to find his boyfriend hurrying over and opens his arms to receive him.

“That was very brave” Cas says as he kisses him.

“Please, have you seen yourself?” Crowley grins. “Dean, you should be sorry you missed it – Cas felled a six-foot drunk body builder who wouldn’t listen.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“And as always you were amazing” Dean tells him, “I’m sure of it.”

After Jody has thanked them, they return to the party, arriving shortly before midnight.

“Well” Dean says, getting them drinks, “No one can say we didn’t have a scary Halloween.”

“Yes” Cas answers, looking down. Dean frowns.

“Cas? You alright?”

He nods, looking up. “It’s just – Dean, if you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t –“

“I wouldn’t be the go-to person for soul devouring if we weren’t dating, is that it?” Dean shakes his head. “You know what, sunshine? I’d face one of those things every day if it meant I get to keep this.”

He means it, too.

Cas looks at him, his blue eyes sparkling and, as always, full of love. “And I’d have my whole family denounce me again and again if it led to the same.”

“See? We’re well-matched.”

He kisses his boyfriend and thinks of the ring he’ll create.