#if it seems like I have a preference for drawing harrow. yeah probably because Harrow has similarities to my gf ✌��

[sableeira]

I’m not immune to studying the Arcane style by applying it to the characters haunting my brain rn so here is everyone’s favorite Reverend Daughter 🫶

[allykatsart]

I was tagged by my friend so have this long rant about The Dragon Prince.

#1. Which Primal Source Do you identify most with? Why?

The stars. I find outer space fascinating and calming...also apparently those who relate to the stars often have their heads in the clouds thinking about stuff and since I stay up every night with like 14 stories in my head, that seems to fit.

#2. Elves or Humans?

War and conflict wise: Humans since they were the ones kicked out and most Katolis were just kind of chill about them killing their king and didn’t want to retaliate. They don ‘t want to fight anymore.

Design wise: Elves, I love how different they are from regular humans and all the varieties they come in! They just look so good!

#3. If you had to choose, would you rather free Runaan from the coin or Aaravos from the mirror?

Runaan from the coin. I really like Aaravos but he’s been in there for awhile he can handle a little longer. Also I don’t trust him completely. Freeing Runaan gives more opportunity for story conflicts and character growth while Aavaros is probably gonna be free at some point anyways.

#4. Best animal companion?

I...I can't decide, I love all of them. Zym is great for story purposes (also he’s a dragon), same with Pip, Thunder was epic, Bait need more love, and Phoe Phoe looks so cool!

#5. Best humanoid companion?

Claudia. She’s strong when it comes to magic and would do anything to keep her family close. I can relate to that.

#6. You can revive one character, who is it and why them?

I don’t know. There’s no one in the first two seasons that died that didn’t need to die for the story to work out. I would say Aanaya’s parents but Aanaya needed to be there to make sure Viren didn’t start a war. She wouldn’t be queen if her parents were still there.

#7. Otp?

Harrow x Sarai. They have a good relationship and I loved their chemistry and interactions. Sarai being funny and jovial contrasts well with Harrow’s more serious and deeper moments. At the same time she won’t hesitate to tell her husband when she thinks he’s doing something wrong. They just have a really good relationship and I wish I could see more of it.

#8. Unpopular opinion?

I prefer platonic Rayllum. If romance is gonna be the end game, fine, I’ll tolerate it. I’ve just watched so many Hallmark movies where boy meets girl and they fall in love I get sick of it. It’s mainly a me thing.

#9. Favorite headcanon?

I’d like to think that Claudia and Soren go see their mother every once in awhile. That they might hold a little contempt towards her but they want to try and have a mother. I’d also like to think that their mom also planted a seed of doubt in them about their father, because while Viren is a really complex and morally grey (leaning towards the darker shade of grey) character, I don’t think he realizes it. I think there’s a reason his wife left him that had to do with him not seeing himself as the bad guy, and I kind of hope Claudia and Soren aren’t brainwashed into thinking that their father can do no wrong.

I’d like to headcanon this cause it offers a great naritive appeal in realizing your parents aren’t always good people and that you do NOT have to be like them or make their mistakes. That there are two sides to every story and that people who leave their spouses are not inherently bad or do it for bad reasons.

#10. Best siblings pair?

I know I just talked about them but it’s Soren and Claudia for me. They have One Brain Cell each and most of the time they juggle them for fun. XD

On a more serious note, they remind me of my own relationship with my siblings. My sister is the most important thing to me in my life and we get along well. We also...well, we also live in a split home, just like these two. We’re silly, we make up memes and laugh a lot, we read fanfiction together and draw. We’re really close and help each other with everything. So yeah, how could I not love a sibling pair like Soren and Claudia?

#11. Who’s your Queen?

There’s not many living queens huh? Personally I like Sarai. From what we’ve seen of her, she really cares about life in general.

#12. Lujanne offers you ice cream, how do you respond?

Suspisious…...but I’ll bite (as long as I don’t know it’s grubs XD).

#13. Be honest, do you have the guts to use dark magic?

…...Yes. In all honesty, Claudia’s decision to take that deer’s life to save her brother really struck a nerve in me. If it had been me in her position, my sister paralyzed and I could actually do something about it? I would take that deer’s life in a heartbeat. Dark magic takes a toll on you, I can understand that, but if it takes part of my life to take someone I love? I would do it with no questions asked.

Would I use it constantly? Probably not. I can’t stand being near spiders much less kill them. But I could and would use it if I had to.

#14. Who’s best elf? Why?

Rayla. I love Aaravos but if I’m being objective? He killed people, or helped Viren kill people anyways. Rayla refused to even at her own mission being at stake and has never killed before. 

15. Hot brown morning potion or leaf flavored water?

I don’t know. I don’t particularly like either, I much prefer hot coco.

#16. Best use for magic?

Helping those around you directly or indirectly. Also pranks. Pranks is a good use.

#17. Who wins the best hair award?

Aaravos. Sorry but there’s very little competition there.

#18. Viren; misguided, evil, or actually the good guy?

He knows what he’s doing, but doesn’t think it’s wrong to do so. He does bad things but he feels they are justified. He would take one life he doesn't care about to save a thousand he does know. He’s understandable. He tries to do what he thinks is right.

However he still sends his son to kill two children so he can have the throne. He tells Claudia to disregard her brother in the interest of his own gain. He disregards everyone and everything so that his plans can survive. He hid the dragon egg from Harrow (endangering Ezran) to presumably use against the elves. He wants war no matter the cost. That, no matter the reasoning, is flawed thinking. 

#19. Would you rather fly with Phoe-Phoe, hike with Corvus, sail with Villads, or stay home with Opeli?

I’ve hiked before. I’ve stayed home a lot. I’d prefer flying or sailing, those seem like fun.

#20. Who’s your crush?

Aaravos. I don’t trust him but I’d love to have a conversation with him. His characterization is fascinating and visually he’s very easy on the eyes. I would love to have the opportunity to do what Viren had the chance to do, to talk to him ask questions about him and maybe figure out where he is. I’d also like to learn exactly why he was placed in that mirror….

#21. You’re being chased by a cotton candy hippo; reaction?

RIDE AND EAT IT!

#22. Choose a champion.

Sarai, and if I can’t have her, Zym.

#23. Favorite scene? Why?

Everything in Callum’s mind. I love the funniness of it all, but also the lesson it taught. Just remembering to breathe, to not focus on all those swirling and baffling thoughts that eat you up and to calm down. You don’t need to fix it all, focus on the present and let your brain settle. (Also, it was great to see Callum and his mom.)

#24. Should Soren be a poet?

Yes, well at least at some point. Even if he’s better physically, continuing to be a guard and under his father’s influence might be bad for his mental health. He was just a drone, not really thinking about killing Ezran and Callum, just doing what his father wanted to get approval. Poetry and creative writing is a really good outlet for that.

#25. Soggy Socks. (No more context)

gET OUT!

@theblackdragon-studios I diiiid it

[thehappyspaceman]

The Dragon Prince Recap/Review (Season One)

Hey guys, Spaceman here. I know you’re probably wondering where my Favorite Christmas Songs video is by now, or where really any content whatsoever is. Well, the truth is that I spent the first part of this month and most of last month preparing for an entrance audition for a particular music college, whose name I can’t currently disclose (I want to be sure I get in before I talk about it), hence the lack of new content. But that’s all over now, so I’m prepared to get back to work on videos, art, and possibly even music! Yeah, remember when I did music? Anyway, while I’m working on that, I thought I’d write something to keep you guys interested.

Many of you may be aware of this, but from August to September of last year, I really got into Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s my current obsession and even took the title of my favorite animated series of all time from the previous holder, Gargoyles, which was no small feat. It got to the point where after I finished watching it, I felt a bit of a hole in my life and needed to find something else to replace it. This is when I heard about Netflix’s series The Dragon Prince, which was described as being similar to Avatar, as well as being created by Avatar’s director Aaron Ehasz and featuring the involvement of some of Avatar’s cast and crew. I watched it and… thought it was okay? Just okay, but not great. This month, however, news was released that it was getting a second season, and I was interested, so I figured I might as well watch it again and type out my thoughts. How was it? Let’s take a look.

The Story

The Dragon Prince is set in a world where humans and elves are in conflict. There’s a lengthy explanation for this, which the show thankfully provides at the start of the first episode.

Don’t worry; you don’t have to watch this in every episode. Anyway, the egg of the dragon king is presumed destroyed, and is imminent war between the elves and humans. As both sides prepare for the war, the elves attempt to assassinate the human King Harrow and his heir, the young Prince Ezran; however, during the attack, fifteen-year-old elf Rayla discovers that the egg was not destroyed, but rather stolen. Rayla teams up with Ezran and his half-brother, Callum, to deliver the egg back to the dragons. Meanwhile, Harrow’s advisor, the mage Lord Viren, is intent on war, and sends his own children Claudia and Soren after our heroes.

That’s just the really condensed version of the plot. During the nine episodes in season one, there is a lot of exposition and a lot of other things happen that I haven’t even mentioned. I would do an episode-by-episode recap for this show, but honestly, they all kind of blend together. Unlike with other animated shows I’ve watched recently, there aren’t really any standalone episodes I can think of. Each one kind of just moves straight into the next, which I guess makes sense for a series on Netflix, a service notorious for encouraging binge-watching.

The very first thing I noticed about The Dragon Prince was that it doesn’t really have any true antagonist on either side (at first). Like, you can’t really say, “Oh, the elves are evil,” or “Oh, the humans are evil.” I was super skeptical when the intro described that the humans were to blame for a lot of the problems, including discovering dark magic and slaying the Dragon King, but the intro also pits the elves in the wrong, showing them banishing all the humans instead of just banishing the few who discovered dark magic.

That leads me into discussing a major theme that’s prevalent at least in season one, the theme of prejudice and tolerance. From the few things that the humans know about the elves, they are painted as horrific killers. Humans think of elves as being bloodthirsty killers—literally and figuratively—and the elves are similarly shown holding stereotypes about humans. The fact that Callum and Ezran teamed up with Rayla was only due to the circumstances; it takes several episodes before they are able to fully trust one another. This is a theme that I’ve also seen done well in another favorite fantasy show of mine, Gargoyles.

Admittedly, a few parts of this story seem rather derivative, such as the six primal sources of magic being reminiscent of the Four Elements from Avatar, which leads me to the next topic…

The World

I will admit that it’s not entirely fair to judge a TV show based on its first nine episodes. Granted, I usually hold the policy that if a show’s first five episodes don’t get you hooked, then you should not be required to keep watching (take note, Steven Universe fans). The thing is, this show did get me interested, and I want to see it continue to develop, because what we have so far isn’t much. It kind of just feels like a standard fantasy world, with elves, dragons, castles, and assorted monsters, which, okay, is a tried and true formula by Tolkien and others, but after the world of Avatar, with its focus on Asian culture, its unique animals, and its nearly steampunk technology, I can’t help but feel like this is a slight step down.

That’s not to say that it’s bad, of course. There are a few things that make it really pop out and feel real. The background art, for one, is incredible. Some of the monsters feel unique, too, like those on the Cursed Caldera—one of them even kind of looks like a graboid from Tremors. Also, I like what they did with the elves’ design here. They could have easily just made them pale humans with pointy ears, but instead they put a lot of detail into it, giving the different groups of elves different skin colors, horns, and having them have only four fingers instead of five. Those are some nice touches.

The Characters

Let’s move on to the characters, starting with Rayla, who is easily my favorite character of the group. She admittedly has a bit of a Zuko thing going on, as she was assigned to hunt down the main characters but turns against her original group to help join the main characters on her mission. Other subtle details are similar, too, like her long-lasting inner conflict with her past and her use of dual swords. That said, her journey is a little different; for one thing, Zuko took nearly the entire run of Avatar to fully go through his heel-face turn, only switching sides halfway through the show’s final season. With Rayla, she joins the heroes in the third episode, which cuts out much of the emotional journey but also lends itself to more interactions with the human characters. She’s much funnier, for another thing, giving her share of snide remarks but also scoring a bunch of laughs when she goes undercover disguised as a human in one of the episodes—can you say, “How do you do, fellow kids humans?” Paula Burrows delivers a great vocal performance, which adds to the character.

Next up is Callum, the main human lead. Now, it’s incredibly easy to draw comparisons between his character and Sokka: Both are goofy, “normal” teenage boys in a world filled with magic, not very adept with fighting but good at planning things. More importantly, of course, is the fact that Callum is literally voiced by Sokka’s voice actor, Jack DeSena. Comparisons… were gonna pop up, is what I’m saying. And I’ll admit that the first time I watched The Dragon Prince, it was super jarring to hear Sokka’s voice coming out of Callum every time he talked. But there are some differences. While in Avatar, Sokka is the most responsible member of the group and the only one with any real degree of survival training, Callum is more inexperienced and callow, not good with a sword and only starting to learn magic. He’s also noticeably more chill and less panicky than the Sokka of season one of Avatar and shows that he can actually draw much better. Though considering Sokka’s drawing ability…

…that’s not really saying much.

Now to move on to Ezran, Callum’s half-brother. I have to admit, of the main characters, he’s probably the weakest, at least to me. I don’t know, he kind of feels a bit flat as a character. All I remember about him is the fact that he can understand animals, which is unique, but he doesn’t really have much of a personality aside from just being your typical kid. I know, it’s not easy to characterize a small child whilst making them believable… though again, Avatar managed to do so well. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t keep comparing these two shows, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t super easy.

Not helping is Ezran’s pet, a glow toad named Bait. As far as animal sidekicks go, I definitely prefer Appa from Avatar; hell, even Momo managed to get a few asskicking moments. Bait kind of just lies around and eats stuff. Several times, he manages to get the main characters into trouble, which I found a little bothersome. The one good thing about him is that his glowing abilities do come in handy a few times to temporarily blind enemies, though… I’ll get back to that later.

The trio is pursued by siblings Soren and Claudia. Soren is a young knight and a bit of a dumb jock but has a heart of gold. Claudia, meanwhile, is a nerdy mage who comes off as a bit awkward. They are always fun when they are on screen and have a believable relationship. It’s also worth noting that early on, Callum is revealed to have a crush on Claudia, which… oh boy, let’s hope the shipping discourse in The Dragon Prince’s fandom doesn’t get as bad as the Avatar fandom. I can already see a potential clash between the Claudia/Callum and Rayla/Callum crowds. (Full disclosure: I’m on the Rayla/Callum side.)

The other characters were cool, too. For as little time as we got to know him, I liked King Harrow, Ezran’s father. Even for his cringey dad humor, he was an intriguing character. It’s hinted that there was a lot of stuff in his past that we don’t know about, like his involvement with dark magic. Also intriguing was Lord Viren, Soren and Claudia’s father. It’s easy to see that he was once good and still has some good in him, as shown by his friendship with Harrow, but he has been corrupted by his use of dark magic and is too far gone. Finally, Aunt Amaya, Callum and Ezran’s deaf aunt who’s a solder on the frontlines, was another character I wound up loving. It’s rare that we see people with disabilities get good representation in animated series (another thing I loved about Avatar with the blind character Toph).

But okay, if we’re going to talk about this show, then I might as well bring up the one criticism that every other critic has already made about it. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

The Animation

Yes, among all the mixed reviews of this show, one consistent criticism was the animation. It seems to be CGI, but is going for a 2D, hand-drawn look; unfortunately, the way the pull it off is not necessarily the greatest. Take a look at the trailer for an example of what I’m talking about.

No, your computer is not glitching out; that is the framerate they went with. And this choppiness is something that seems to be a trend with certain CGI shows outside of this one, with Rooster Teeth being the most notorious offender. If they really wanted to make it look 2D, they should have actually animated it hand-drawn. Doing this just pulls me out of the moment. (Oddly enough, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse does something very similar with its framerate, yet I don’t have any problem with that movie doing it.)

To be entirely fair, this is something that Aaron Ehasz has acknowledged. Apparently, season one was given a very low budget, and he has promised that season two will have a steadier framerate. Judging by the trailers I’ve seen for season two… yeah, it already looks way better. Also, with my second watch of season one, I found it much easier to look past. Maybe I was just used to it by then?

Assorted Other Stuff

Warning: This section goes into minor spoiler territory. I would highly advise not reading past this if you want to remain spoiler-free when you go into season one. Got it? Alright.

One other complaint I have had is the comedy, which is really hit-or-miss in a lot of places. As I mentioned before, the scenes where Rayla is disguised as a human are hilarious, and some of the snarky dialogue is also witty as hell, but there are other moments with awkward puns and some potty humor that just feel forced to me. There’s one scene in episode six where Callum is obviously having an erotic dream about Claudia, which seemed unfitting for this show… though to be fair, Avatar also had its share of adult humor.

See also.

Another awkward tidbit is that twice, when Ezran is about to use Bait’s ability to blind his enemies, he says the line, “Say hello to my little friend,” an obvious shout-out to the classic 1983 gangster film Scarface. My question is, why is that line thrown in there? Are most kids going to catch that reference? Call me strange, but regardless of what adult fanbase this show will capture (which, let’s be honest, it will), I highly doubt its target audience is watching Brian De Palma films.

Though maybe they should be.

Speaking of strange homages… well… take a look. 

Your eyes don’t deceive you. Rayla is doing the infamous Naruto run, where you extend your arms out behind you as you run forward. And she and the other elves do this run multiple times during the show, too. It is neither practical nor particularly cool-looking, so I don’t know why this was done in the original show, and I genuinely hope this was only meant as an homage, because… again, it’s really damn silly.

The soundtrack of this show is rather nice, I will say. It’s not as memorable as Avatar or Gargoyles’, but I did find myself humming the end credits theme song after finishing watching. Speaking of which, during the credits, we get some cute drawings of the characters, some of which connect to the episode, others are apparently meant as foreshadowing for later episodes and plot points. If you watch this show, definitely do not skip the credits.

Now, as for stuff that I hope for the new season. I would like to know more about the cube that Callum and Rayla found at the winter lodge. It seems to have some kind of connection with the Primal Sources. Also, the mysterious magical mirror, I hope we can find out something about that. It was foreshadowed pretty heavily in episode eight, so I doubt they won’t do anything with it. Speaking of magic, I’d love to see Callum do more magic in the new season. It probably won’t be more wind magic, since he destroyed the sphere to birth the dragon, but Callum clearly has potential to become a great mage. Also, I would love to find out more about King Harrow’s past, as well as more about Callum and Ezran’s deceased mother, the Queen. We see Viren and Amaya mourning her by her gravesite in one scene, and Callum drawing her in another. How did she die? What was she like? These are all worthwhile questions for season two, or for future seasons after season two depending on how long the show goes for.

Conclusion

The Dragon Prince is a worthwhile watch. It’s nowhere near as great as Avatar or Gargoyles yet, and it is still clearly paving its own identity, but I still find it enjoyable enough and feel that it has potential for greatness. My main criticisms would be to up the animation quality and to develop the characters more, though my guess is that both will already happen in season two, which will be dropping later tomorrow, February 15.

But yeah, you have my attention, show. Don’t screw it up.

~Spaceman

[local-dragon-haunt]

So I’m adding onto this some more bc y’all seem to like it :)

Anyways, Rayla and Callum’s first meeting basically goes as it did in canon, and the chase through the secret hallways scene is the same up until Ezran says there’s something they need to see.

Instead of the Dragon Prince’s egg, they find a series of notes and hand-drawn pictures—memoirs describing Viren’s thought process as he discovered the spell needed to change Callum, and detailed recalls of Callum’s ‘birth’ and development throughout the years. These not only explain word-for-word what the mage had done with the egg, but gives undeniable proof that Callum is the Dragon Prince himself.

And of course there’s a small freak out—Rayla alternates between yelling at the princes to come with her back to Xadia, bowing at the resurrected Dragon Prince, and worrying about stopping Runaan from killing Harrow all in like 30 seconds flat.

Meanwhile, Callum is having a mini mental breakdown because like he was already struggling with living up to the ‘human prince’ image, and now he’s an all-powerful dragon prince as well?? Like who wouldn’t have an existential crisis honestly XD

Really the only one not freaking out is Ezran because he is always the purest of them all and had known for a while now.

So then Claudia comes down and interrupts their little freak out, and sees the princes with a Moon Shadow Elf. Now she doesn’t exactly know what Callum is—Viren never told her specifically—but her dad had told her that his protection is of the upmost importance, even above Ezran’s.

So it basically follows along with canon where she tries to convince the boys to come with her, Callum chains her up, and steals the Primal Orb.

It also follows in canon when Claudia conjures the smoke wolves to chase after the Trio as they book it down the corridors, and when Callum attempts the wind spell to blow them away.

Now where it falls out of canon slightly is when Callum’s pendant causes the spell to turn out a bit weaker than normal. It’s job was to block the majority of his magic; but because this was the first time Callum consciously tried to use magic, the sheer intensity of his power caused the spell on the pendant to break, and there’s this big magical explosion that shakes the castle as this happens.

So once again it falls back into canon again as the trio tries to stop the assassination from taking place, and the only major difference is that Callum and Viren’s encounter outside of Harrow’s bedroom has a bit more to do with Callum’s species and what Viren had done to him.

The rest of the AU’s Book one also more or less continues with canon—there are only two small changes:

1) Viren is looking to capture Callum instead of kill him. His magic is still unparalleled, he would much prefer to harvest as much as he could instead of killing him and letting it all go to waste.

And 2) halfway through the journey, the Trio realizes it’s going to be pretty hard to convince, well, anyone that Callum—a human child—is the Dragon Prince. So when they meet up with Ellis and Ava, it’s so they can find a way to alter the spell on him. They were originally going to just erase the spell altogether, but Callum was still coming to terms with the truth. He didn’t want to lose the only body he ever knew just yet.

So yeah, this au doesn’t diverge that much from canon plot-wise, but I’m still super excited for the next season so I can add onto this!

Also, please feel free to write or draw your own stuff for this au! I’ve gotten a few people ask me if they could, and as long as you give me credit for the concept, I will be absolutely overjoyed to look at anything y’all come up with! I’ll probably do a few oneshots and sketches myself :)

Yeah hi can I get a uhhhhhhhhh DragonPrince!Callum AU

So imagine this:

Instead of taking the Dragon Prince Egg and just…stowing it away for who knows how long, Viren decides he doesn’t want to risk the hatchling dying.

But he also doesn’t want to hatch it because, after all, dragons are unpredictable and very smart. It would be hard to get the hatchling to cooperate, yet alone train it to keep its existence on a low enough profile so the Xadians’ don’t find out it’s still alive.

So instead, he uses dark magic and transforms the unborn dragon prince into a newborn, human child (aka Callum)

But the thing is, Viren already has two children of his own. He doesn’t have enough food or space to raise another child—especially without suspicion.

But, King Harrow—his best friend—had just married his wife like a week or two before.

And they are royalty. And live in a castle.

So, playing both the Royal Advisor and Best Friend Cards, Viren decides to go to him, with Baby Callum wrapped in his arms, and explain what he had done.

Harrow, of course, is furious at first; he never liked that Viren started messing with black magic in the first place. But, the man was still his best friend and advisor, and he wouldn’t have appointed the position to him if he didn’t trust him. So after he yells at him for a few minutes and gets his anger out, he calms down enough to let Viren explain himself.

(And of course, Viren only spouts some fake story that doesn’t reveal his true intentions, but it was believable enough for Harrow)

So the king takes Callum in, and his wife takes one look into those green eyes and falls in love with him instantly.

Katolis is told that Callum is the child from the Queen’s previous marriage, and thus his human identity is sealed. The only people that know his true identity are Viren, Harrow, and the queen.

However, their knowledge doesn’t stop them from treating him like their own. (The queen probably would have murdered them if they didn’t anyways) And by the time Ezran comes around, Harrow doesn’t see Callum as an all-powerful dragon trapped in a human body, he sees him as his first son.

Callum does have a few magical incidents as he reaches two or three years old, but Viren enchants a little pendant for him to wear to ‘minimize their strength’ (aka secretly redirect the released magic for his own uses) early on. So the toddler all but forgets about the strange happenings a week after it happens, and is told that wearing the pendant is a ‘princely responsibility’, And grows up not knowing who—or rather what— he truly is.

That is, until a certain Moon Shadow Elf confronts him in the castle 11-12 years later, and the truth comes out…

[randomfandomimagine]

Nightmares (Dean)

Character: Dean Winchester

Fandom Supernatural

Categories: Reader Insert, Female!Reader, Daughter!Reader, Winchester!Reader, Angst

Title: Nightmares

  Requested by anon:

Hi! Can I request something where you are deans daughter and he finds your sketchbook where you draw your nightmares or something

For the deans daughter who draws her nightmares maybe her first drawings are mostly people who have passed (bobby,Kevin) but the ones that upsets dean the most is a mixed drawing of Ben and Lisa who forgot them and dean on the ground hurt due to hell hounds (sorry if it's a little dark :/ )

 WARNING: Tons of spoilers of the show up until Season 6 or so. Also, this is a bit dark!

When I opened my eyes I realized it was nothing but a nightmare. Another one.

I sat up in the bed, which had turned slightly wet with my own sweat. I was shaking from the fear and my breath was heavy and ragged.

I looked over to my left. Sam slept peacefully on his bed.

I looked over to my right. Dean seemed to be having more of a restless dream, but was still fast asleep as well.

I preferred not to bother any of them and I lied down again, covering myself with the sheets up to my jaw and trying to stop shaking.

I closed my eyes tight when remnants of images coming from my nightmare flashed before my eyes. They were etched in my brain, and they would remain there. They always did.

No matter how much time it passed, I always remembered the horrible dreams. Or at least the harrowing scenarios they displayed.

I still remembered the first one I had. It was about that girl, Jessica, back when I was super little. She just burned in the ceiling, and I never understood how or why.

I shook my head, not wanting to recall such horrible events. Mainly because they actually came true. That was why they were even more painful.

I glanced back at Dean, thinking about waking him up again. But I still didn’t want to. Even if I felt comfortable enough to tell him, or Sam, I couldn’t bring myself to.

I was too scared all the time. Back home, I was scared because of my nightmares. Here with the Winchesters I was scared because I realized they were real and the both of them were a little scary themselves. I had seen them hunting, and it was a frightening thing to witness.

So I just resigned myself to leave the room and try and get some fresh air to hopefully clear my mind. Or to get drowsy enough to go back to sleep and pray that I didn’t get any more nightmares.

So I went to open the door, but something stopped me.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” It was Dean’s raspy and sleepy voice.

I had to slap my hands over my mouth not to scream out loud from the scare. I did not expect him to be awake and to speak up in the silence of the night.

“You scared me!” I hissed as low as I could, seeing as Sam was still in a deep sleep.

“Sorry” Dean stood up and rubbed his hands against his face to sober up a bit. “But you didn’t answer my question”

“I just wanted to get some fresh air, that’s all” I tried to appear calm and nonchalant, but he probably saw through me.

Not because he knew me too well, but because I was too transparent.

“I’m guessing you had a nightmare” He sat down in the edge of his bed. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really” I sat down in my bed as well, thinking that at least talking to him would get my mind off it all.

“Why not?” I just averted my eyes in response to his question. It was complicated.

My mother recently told me that someone called Dean Winchester was my real father. So of course, being the rogue and determined girl I am, I left to look for him. I needed to meet him.

What I did not expect was to find myself with supernatural hunters that travelled the country to kill monsters. Even if that related to my nightmares and their content.

But the thing was that I didn’t know them. Even if Dean was my father and Sam was my uncle. And they were good men, but…

“Trust me, kid” Dean noticed I was absent and preoccupied, so he intervened. “I’ve seen everything, even things you can’t nearly imagine”

“But this…” I mumbled, trying not to wake Sam up. “This is bad, Dean”

I could read in his expression that he knew I could not call him ‘dad’, he had noticed. How could I? He was almost a complete stranger.

To be honest, I didn’t quite understand why he was letting me stay with them. He could kick me out any minute, or take me back home with my mum.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me” He insisted in a grave voice. “I’ll believe you”

“I’m scared” I admitted, feeling even weaker than usual. I was fed up of being vulnerable and trying to appear strong for my mum’s sake. My life would be so much easier without the nightmares. It would be normal and I wouldn’t leave in a constant state of crippling fear.

“Alright, Y/N” Dean stood up from his bed and sat down next to me, in my own bed. “You have nothing to be scared of, because Sammy and I will protect you”

“You can’t protect me from this” I sobbed, feeling so trapped and anguished.

“What do you mean?”

“I have nightmares, Dean” I averted my eyes and began playing with the hem of my shirt with shaky hands. “And they come true”

For a moment, he just frowned in deep thought. He lingered on the silence as I tried to think of something to say to relief the tension and awkwardness of the environment. Luckily, he finally piped up.

“I need to tell you something” He rested his hand on his leg casually and took a deep breath before he continued speaking. “I found your sketchbook”

“What?” I uttered in horror.

“I… I didn’t know those things you drew were nightmares, but…” Dean passed a hand over his mouth restlessly. “Those things definitely happened, all of them”

I frowned in sadness at the thought that all those horrible things I drew, coming from my nightmares, were realer than ever. Because they had happened to them.

“They happened to you and Sam?” A tear fell from my eye, and I knew it was the first of many.

Dean just nodded solemnly, distraught by the expression on his face.

“The first one you drew… Jessica” Dean sighed, his eyes telling me how painful it all was to remember. “She was Sam’s girlfriend before he became a hunter with me”

I began crying, stricken with a pain too great. My nightmares were someone else’s nightmares. Even if they happened to them while they were awake.

Those nightmares of strangers I used to have were apparently about the Winchesters and their lives. Just when I thought that those that weren’t about my family or my friends were nothing but bad dreams.

After a few more seconds of silence, Dean kept talking.

“And the rest of them? You drew our friends… Bobby, Kevin, Charlie… They all died” He frowned and looked down in grief. “You also drew Ben and Lisa forgetting about me, and they were the closest thing I had to a family apart from Sammy”

I remembered vividly how each bad dream made me feel. The unease, the sadness and grief. Realizing they felt that as well was heart breaking.

“Drawing them made me feel better” I cried lowly, unable to hold it in anymore. “It helped me convince myself that maybe some of them weren’t real”

Dean looked up at me, fixing his gentle green eyes on me with pity. He opened his mouth to talk and try to comfort me, but I needed to let out all those things I was bottling up for so long.

“I saw you with the Hellhounds, I saw Sam in the Cage and you both in Hell…” I sniffed through my nose, even if I couldn’t stop crying because it was so sad and harrowing. “And you went through all that…”

Disconsolate, I hid my face in my hands and cried there. An ominous weight settled in my chest, but for once it was probably all sadness and nothing more. Not a hunch, not a feeling that something terrible would happen. This time it was just pain.

“It’s what we do” Dean resigned himself. “Saving people and hunting things…”

“Even if it means losing yourselves along the way” I whispered under my breath, sitting up straight and doing my best to get a hold off myself.

“Are you okay?” He asked me even if we both knew the answer.

“I don’t know what to do…” After I found out the truth about my nightmares, I felt even more lost than usual. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You can stay with us if you want” Dean told me sweetly. “Or if you want to go back home, we’ll give you a ride”

“No, I want to stay” For the first time, it felt like Dean wasn’t a stranger anymore, and neither was Sam. “Maybe my nightmares can be useful for once if they warn me about the danger”

Luckily for me, I rarely ever got any nightmares about my friends or family back home. Even if I was a coward and didn’t tell anyone, hence not being able to help. But since Sam and Dean were living a more dangerous life, I could try and keep them safe while they did to.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah… I’m just worried about Sam”

“He’ll be okay with it” Dean assured calmly. “But you have to be safe and do as we tell you to, okay? That you stay with us doesn’t mean you hunt”

I nodded, understanding what he meant. Obviously, he was scared that I got too into their lifestyle. After all, not even them liked being hunters.

I stood up and hesitated a little. But in the end I gave him a hug, even if it was a little awkward. But I really wanted to show him I was grateful, that I appreciated him. And his brother. My father and uncle, I guess.

“Listen, Y/N” He told me as he softly broke the hug. “We don’t really know why you have those nightmares, but we’ll make sure they don’t become real”

I smiled a little and he grinned back.

I suddenly didn’t feel so scared. Being around Sam and especially Dean made me feel safer, because they were the only ones that could do something about my nightmares.