#Man in the Wilderness

[theoldwest]

🌲Man in the Wilderness 🌲 (ch. 1)

cw: mentions of drugs, sex, and two fucked up people unable to communicate their feelings. 18+

Warning: my formatting is so weird. This is how my brain works. o7

Pairings: SPN OC Babe x Dean (slow burn asf), all other pairings platonic .

✦

Babe watched her parents get turned into werewolves when she was 10, and she was never the same after. Hunting became her life, dropping out of school and running from foster homes to learn absolutely everything she could about monster hunting in order to track down her parents. At 16, she finally finds them and puts them out of their misery, mourning for weeks before deciding to pick right back up where she left off, vowing to only stop when she’s dead.

It’s only years later when she meets Bobby Singer. He takes her under his wing immediately, giving her an upstairs bedroom to crash in and introducing her to the Winchesters, hoping it will break the hermit out of her shell just a bit… until Babe takes it a tad too literally.

Chapter One: Shot Down In Flames

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The first time Dean sees her, she’s tucking out of Bobby’s back door into the rainy night; her curly hair seemingly leaving after she does.

“Hey— Woah. Bobby- who’s..?”

“Ah- don’t even get any ideas, kid. She’s… not friendly.”

Dean furrows his brow at Bobby before moving towards the back window, watching as the mysterious figure hops in their truck and pulls off into the storm.

The next time Dean sees her, it’s almost a year later. She hops begrudgingly out of Bobby’s truck bed, her cheeks wind-whipped from traveling in the cold October air. The hunter’s pupils widen at the sight of that pretty, curly hair. He remembers that hair.

She flicks a cigarette butt into the dirt before Bobby starts talking.

“Boys—this is Babe. She don’t talk much, so don’t push it. That means you, Dean.”

Dean makes a face. Of course he’s not gonna push it. …Hopefully.

“… she’s helping us on the hunt. any questions?”

The younger Winchester brother shakes his head “no” while Dean begins to open his mouth.

“That’s a rhetorical question, idjit. Now come on, or she’s gonna kill you before we get to the goddamned hunt.”

Babe looks over at Bobby appreciatively.

The group is about 30 minutes into the hunt, spread throughout the large, decaying house when Babe stumbles upon Dean. He’s crouched over, sticking his finger in black goop.

“… are you touching the ectoplasm?”

Dean yelps out in surprise and jumps up to face her. “Uh-“

Dean is blabbering words of nonsense, trying his best to explain that he just wanted to confirm the substance via viscosity.

“Actually, I don’t think I wanna know.” Babe interjects before scanning over the rest of the room, noticing a few more ectoplasmic splats on the dilapidated wooden floor.

“Hm. I’m gonna grab Bobby and your brother. Too much ecto in here for it not to be a hotspot. You… good here?”

Dean just nods, pretending she didn’t just scare the shit out of him.

“Just— please… try not to touch anymore ectoplasm. You, uh, can get ghost sickness; It really sucks.” Babe tells him, turning to fetch the other two hunters.

“Oh. I’ve… had it before.” He states, causing her to pause before she steps over the threshold into the hallway.

“Hm. Me, too.” She responds quickly, continuing in her stride to the others. He is left wanting to know more.

“That fucking sucked.”

Dean groans as they all stumble from the house, battered and bruised from being tossed into walls and through windows.

“Hear, hear.” Sam responds, limping towards the Impala.

“Anyone missing any fingers? That… Mildred bitch was a biter!” Bobby adds, moving to lean against Babe’s truck.

Babe just shakes her head, leaning against the F250 as well. “Lots of fun.”

“That was fun for you?” Dean groans, feeling his broken rib every time he breathes.

“Y’know, there’s a reason I didn’t introduce you all sooner. “ Bobby chuckles, tired.

“This one here is something else.”

Sam and Dean take a moment to look her over. She’s definitely the least injured out of all of them, only sporting a few cuts and bruises.

“You were kicking major ass.” Sam hums, smiling before wincing at the sharp pain in his shoulder.

Babe smiles politely, but doesn’t respond.

“…So, you gonna be coming along on more hunts?” Dean asks as he shoves his hands into his jacket pockets.

“… Dunno.” She hums, shrugging.

“Babe’s a bit of a lone wolf— doesn’t play well with other hunters.” Bobby begins, turning to look at her. “But, we’re workin’ on that, right?”

Babe shoots Bobby a look.

Sam and Dean find this endlessly amusing, until Babe redirects her glare to them, causing them to snap back into character quickly.

“Anyways, little miss sunshine here is happy to help out every once in a while. So she’s going to give you two her phone number so you can reach her. Ain’t that right, Babe?” Bobby asks, fatherly energy exuding.

“…Yeah.” She grumbles, handing Sam her cell phone.

A few more months pass, and Babe gets a call as she’s out on the road.

“….Hello?”

“Hey— It’s Dean Winchester. Now a good time?”

“Um—yeah. What’s up?”

“Well, you wouldn’t happen to be near Cold Oak, South Dakota, by any chance?”

She glances up at her gps.

“…I’m like, a day away— why?”

He clears his throat over the receiver. “Uh, well— I caught wind of a job. It’s kinda a two-person gig. You in?”

She furrows her eyebrows in confusion even though he can’t see her.

“Um, what about your brother?”

“Heh. Sammy got a little pissed at me the other day. He’s uh— on his own hunt. So— meet me in Cold Oak?”

Babe sighs silently, doing her best to hide her displeasure. It’s not that she doesn’t like Dean, it’s just that she doesn’t like… people in general.

“…Alright. Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

26 or so hours later, Babe’s in a motel parking lot smoking a cigarette against the grill of her truck.

Her phone buzzes— a text from Dean. “Sunrise Motel, right?”

She responds with a “Yep.”

15 minutes go by before she hears the Impala’s engine rumbling around the corner. She may be uninterested in hunting with other people, but at least Dean has a badass ride.

The older Winchester throws the car in park and steps out.

“Well, hey. I like the boots.” He hums, looking her over.

“…Thanks.” She responds, dry.

“… So— what’s up with this hunt?”

“Mm. A few soccer moms have been found dead. Everything splattered all over… everything. None of ‘em have anything in common, as far as I can tell.” He explains, making a mental note of her attitude— all business.

“Fun. Let’s go have a chat with anyone who knew the victims— maybe we’re dealing with a witch with a hit list or something.”

Dean loosens his tie as he sits in the Impala, obviously a little frustrated.

“… Totally thought it was a witch thing.”

Babe nods, chewing on the inside of her lip as she thinks. “Yeah. Same. But no hex bags anywhere— unless they’re in the freakin’ walls or something.”

“The coroner’s office was nuts— all three vics were in buckets. Almost smoothie-fied.”

Babe grimaces, looking over at him. “Goddamn. What even does that?”

“Hm. Woodchipper? ….Beats me.” He sighs.

“… Well, you know what that means.” She says.

“—You know, I have no idea how you fit all that hair in a bun.” He hums, nursing his 4th… 5th? beer. The bar they’re in is almost empty— classic rock playing at half volume overhead.

“…Lots of gel. So much.” She shakes her head, almost exasperated from even thinking about the process.

“Mm. It’s nice— but I like how you usually wear it.” He nods, taking another swig.

“—Thank you.” Her face twitches slightly when she receives compliments. Dean notices this.

“Uh… Bobby say anything yet?” She asks, changing the subject.

He pulls out his phone, checking his notifications. “… Yeah, actually. He asked if you had any more… cayenne pepper and bone ash?”

She sits and thinks for a moment, sipping her beer. “I should have some leftover...”

“… What’s cayenne pepper and bone ash for?” Dean asks, lost.

“—Bobby thinks it’s a cursed object. We gotta burn… whatever it is with cayenne pepper and bone ash in a graveyard.” She explains.

“Mm. You know, you’re like my brother. I bet you two would bond over lore or whatever you… nerds do.” He says, mock annoyed.

Babe shakes her head, amused. “…So, what do you think this cursed object is? I didn’t see any matching t-shirts or anything.”

Dean sighs. “No friggin’ clue. I mean, what— they all have the same cursed mini-van or something?”

She sits back in her chair, ruminating on his words for a minute before something dawns on her. “Hey, wait a fucking second—!“

“…So it was literally a cursed mini-van.” He says, eyebrows raised.

“Well, mid-sized S.U.V.— but, yeah. Mom car. Used to belong to some dude who dated a witch. They broke up, she got mad— cursed car.” She sighs, looking the vehicle over.

“Mm. And guy sold it without getting rid of the curse.”

“Yup. He still ended up dying from the curse though— way before the ladies, so we didn’t connect the dots.”

“Mm. Well, damn. Maybe I should hunt with you more often. Smart and pretty is a hell of a combo.”

She rolls her eyes, ignoring his flirting. “Anyways— I’m thinking we ward the shit out of this thing and then have Bobby come and tow it to the salvage. He can strip it to parts or whatever, and we can go check on ex-girlfriend.”

Dean nods. “Works for me. Hey— I saw a restaurant that looked pretty good on the way into town. Feel like stopping after we get our gank on?”

Babe looks at him; deadpan. “…get our gank on?”

“…Yeah.” He grins.

She looks at him for a while longer, fighting an internal battle.

“… Fine. As long as you buy the first round.”

“So—I’ve never asked— how’d you get into the life?” He hums, leaning back in the worn booth.

Her jaw flexes; she takes an almost imperceptible inhale before speaking. “Heh. Long, sad story, really.”

He nods in understanding. “Yeah. Same. Uh— Sammy and I were raised on the road by our dad after our mom died. Dad wanted to hunt the thing that killed her, so he trained us to hunt, too.” He explains, taking a sip of his beer.

“…I’m sorry about your mom.” She replies, relating.

“Thank you.” He nods. “…I’m guessing you started early? The way you fight— you have to have years of experience.”

She doesn’t know if it’s the beers or the compliment that warms the bottom of her stomach.

“…Yup. My— uh, parents got turned into werewolves in front of me. I figured stuff out quick after that.”

Dean’s face is quickly painted with concern. “Jesus. I’m sorry. You were… young?”

“Yeah. Night of my 10th birthday. Then my 16th— I tracked them down and… yeah.”

Dean’s heard hunting stories before, but never something like this.

“You— hunted them?”

“…My first kills.” She nods.

“Fuck, Babe. That’s way too much for a kid to go through on their own. I’m sorry.”

She shrugs, shaking her head. Even though she has on a brave face, Dean sees that the subject affects her. “Everyone gets into hunting somehow, right? Sometimes it sucks more than usual.”

He huffs a laugh in disbelief. “You are like, a certified badass. You know that?”

She just shakes her head before finishing off her beer. “…another round?”

An hour later, the two hunters are outside, leaning on their respective vehicles and chatting. Babe lights a cigarette.

“So— I feel like we worked well together today.” Dean says, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets.

“Mhm.” Is what Babe responds with, more interested in her cigarette than the conversation.

Dean blinks. “I guess what I’m asking is would you wanna work together again?”

She shrugs, taking a final long drag from her cig before snuffing it out under her boot.

“I mean, you have my number.”

She turns and hops in her truck, her curly hair entering after she does.

As the sound of her engine disappears down the street, Dean catches himself missing her. At least he has her number.

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

The Revenant (2015, Alejandro González Iñárritu)

02/11/2024

[whumpofalltime]

What stands out as the Whump Of All Time? Only you can decide!

While you're welcome to vote for your favorite, your bestie's favorite, or on vibes alone, we encourage you to check out the propaganda and links below the cut - it's a great way to discover new content.

The inbox is open for propaganda until the poll closes!

Man in the Wilderness:

“Protagonist is mauled by a bear, left for dead, and has to nurse himself to health in the wilderness.”

(Clip one: bear attack)

NORAGAMI:

“Noragami has been getting more popular as of late…and it’s time for fans to show their love! Ep9 (and tbh, many other parts of this anime) are also incredibly Whumpy, but this scene is the one most will remember. The WINDOW SMASHING scene! It’s the turning point of the show, when Yato COLLAPSES, revealing how much PAIN he suffers due to Yukine’s misguided bad behavior 👀 We see Hiyori, freaking out, rolling him over and realizing how bad it is, calling his name and getting hurt herself by the blight spreading over him. We see the GUILT and FEAR in Yukine’s face as he’s confronted with the consequences of his actions, as they wreak havoc on the man who took him in and gave him a second chance. This scene is iconic! Even someone who hasn’t seen the show would get whumperflies from this episode 👌” ~ @silversanimewhump 

[deanwinchesterposting]

Pastor at this church we’re at is talking about when Jesus was lost in the wilderness for 40 days, yadda yadda. All I can think about is Styx.

[aethersea]

I do think Blazing Saddles handled its one depiction of native americans very poorly, and the full extent of its representation of chinese workers on the railroad is they were literally just there. not even one single speaking line. unclear if this is worse or better than the redface.

it's fucking phenomenal at lampooning antiblack racism though. extremely blatant, extremely funny satire, which is constantly and loudly saying "racism is the philosophy of the terminally stupid at best and morally depraved at worst, and we should all be pointing and laughing at them 24/7"

plus the main character is a heroic black man who has to navigate a whole lot of bullshit but is constantly smirking at the extraordinarily stupid racists and inviting the audience into the joke. the one heroic white character is a guy who was suicidally depressed until he met the protagonist and they just instantly became buds, and he's firmly in a supporting role the whole time and happy to be there. the protagonist saves the day with the help of his black friends from the railroad, and uses the position of power he was given to uplift not only those friends, but all the railroad workers of other minorities too, in an explicit show of solidarity.

anyone saying "Blazing Saddles is racist" had better be talking about its treatment of non-black minorities. it had better not be such superficial takes as "oh but they say the n-word all the time" or "they have nazis and the kkk in there!" because goddamn if that's the full extent of your critique I very seriously suggest you read up on media analysis. there is too much going over your head, you need to learn to recognize satire.

[cinemaquiles]

O urso do pó branco e outros cinco filmes de ursos ferozes para você conferir!

[catherine-sketches]

Just watched the Wonka movie.

I enjoyed it as a standalone film but especially enjoyed it as a prequel to the Gene Wilder Wonka. It retroactively made Wider’s Willy so much more tragic.

And that’s because Chalamet’s younger, earnest and kind Willy Wonka is CONSTANTLY having his kindness and compassion and belief in the good intentions of others thrown back at his face almost. Every. Single. Time.

What happens to him, in no particular order: People take advantage of him when he is at his lowest; they sabotage his chocolate; Hugh Grant steal his chocolate and beats him with a frying pan; he is nearly drowned by the chief of police; a boat he’s in is rigged to explode; they try to drown him AGAIN but now in melted chocolate under a church; he is tricked into debt and forced into indentured servitude; the chocolate mafia wants him dead; he has to crawl in the sewers just to sell his chocolate without the police beating the shit out of him at the chocolate mafia’s command, and a bunch of other moments either his earnest nature (or the fact he is illiterate, because by the way he is illiterate) is taken advantage of.

But he keeps believing in the good of others. He has friends, and a pseudo daughter that taught him how to read and his mother’s memory and so many dreams…

And then we arrive at Wilder Wonka. Who was betrayed one too many times. Who had his recipes stolen from him. Who shut himself from the world and trusts no one.

Who doesn’t care for these spoiled people walking around his factory, even if they were his last attempt at proving to himself that good people, good kids (Like Noodle) still exist.

Who is alone.

TL;DR: seeing a young Wonka who is so optimistic knowing how he is going to end up after being betrayed over and over and over again is a emotional experience that I was not quite ready for.

[artsy-moonwalker]

happy birthday ryan gosling!

[laurakearney]

meant to do a whole lot more of these but ran out of steam...anyways happy halloween!

[bbc-trolls]

Hello I have a small obsession.

[marcyonacross]

Fully obsessed with the concept of Copia. He's over fifty years old. He's a gamer. His arrival coincides with the death of every previous Papa like he's the bringer of the bubonic plague. He rides little tricycles around the Ministry. He's apparently a professional dancer as well as being the vocalist for a metal band but has a Charisma of 8. He's pathetic (canon). He's literally the Satanic Pope. He loves his mom. He's kind of a bitch. He wears tracksuits with dress shoes. Tobias hates him but is chronically incapable of killing him off because he serves so much cunt. I really can't decide if I want to be this man or be inside him

[bottle-of-harpoons]

I can't believe I never drew Sonamy before. I had to fix that real quick.

Don't forget your daily click -

Help the Palestinian People with a Click | arab.org

[yellowwwcrayon]

More Professor Logan x Student Wade Thoughts (Take 2)

Variation of the prior post, young Wade's actually doing freelance shady shit for Francis (or Ajax as he insists) and Angel as a branch of the Weapon X program, and he's supposed to get DNA from Logan for a new batch of some serum they're injecting orphan kids with. Little Canadian psycho's confident he can get close to the Wolverine (who's retired now and teaching at the Xavier School) and obtain Logan's DNA.

Fails to factor in how hot the old man is in real life. Wade's read all of his old comics growing up in his broken abusive household. Logan's low-key his favorite X-Man, but the first thing he asks when he meets Logan is if he's banged Storm like the comics suggested and it pisses Logan off. Wade's becomes obsessed with him even after delivering the blood samples he promised Frances and Angel. He's like, I can do better, guys, give me some time.

And cut to a few weeks later, he comes back with a weird thing of white stuff in a test tube. Frances tests the contents out of morbid curiosity and it is, indeed as they feared, downstairs juice from the Wolverine mixed with Wade's DNA. He's like, what the fuck did you do? Why's your saliva and some of your cheek cells in here?

Wade's like, told you I could do better. 🤷‍♀️

Meanwhile Logan's freaking out about blowing his load in a student's mouth and breaking into the liquor cabinet after being sober for ten years. (Yes, Wade sows chaos into old man's life just for shits and giggles. Poor Logan, but not really.)

-

I was literally thinking about them just now 😮‍💨 @watmalik idk, Wolverine Origins Wade just hits differently. He gives off weird obsessive little pyscho/toxic bf vibes. No wonder his girlfriends are all exes now.

[yesmaddyposts]

@gender-kenvy here

argue with THE WALL (this one was tough tbh)

Ryan Gosling Character Alignment Chart (3/?)

[ethan-acfan]

Desmond was raised in a secluded group where everyone was treated mostly equal (leaving out the difference in treatment through ranks or skill) but there wasn't racism or homophobia so imagine how absolutely confused he was when he started working at the bar and some conservative came up to the bar, gave him a dirty look and loudly remarked "can I get someone who speaks English to pour my drink?" While glaring at Desmond. Meanwhile, young confused gives him a look and is like "I can speak english?"

They end up going back and forth for a few minutes with the conservative guy making all sorts of racist remarks and confused Desmond, shutting those remarks down. Eventually, the guy gets fed up and storms out of the bar, and Desmond's coworkers have to explain racism to him.

[waitingforthet]

This comic is, as is usual for Wednesday’s comics, chosen by my Patrons. Speaking of…

Check my Patreon out if you’d like to support the comic, even a little bit helps. Or just to check out the reward tiers, there’s some neat bonus stuff and I tried to make them fun: https://www.patreon.com/waitingforthet