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queen-of-deans-booty · 8 months

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Find Your Way Back Home: Part Five

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Warnings: smut, made to feel worthless, being told you're only good for fucking and nothing else, feeling guilty for sleeping with someone else, angst

Summary: Dean left. He left to be with some other woman while you were left behind to pick up the pieces after Sam fell into the cage. Now he's back, you're not sure how he is, but he's... different. More ruthless... sexier, even. You two start your own friends-with-benefits thing until Dean comes back into your life, and all those emotions you've been repressing come shining through.

Author’s Note: This is the fifth part of six parts of the commission for @winchester-sinchester. Dean is thirty-one, the reader is twenty-three, and Sam is twenty-seven.

You pull your hair into a tight ponytail while staring at yourself in the mirror. You hate to say that you’re starting to not recognize the person staring back at you. She didn't ask to be this way. She got life thrust into the palm of her hands and was told to deal with it. When you first got into hunting, you didn't think you’d end up here.

Focus, Y/N. Don’t think about that. Get ready.

Whenever you go on hunts, you put your hair into a ponytail to keep it out of the way. People have told you to cut it since it’s so long but you like your hair too much to do that to it. You grab two knives off your vanity and slip them into their holsters when you feel hands on your shoulder. You close your eyes when they start to roam down your body around your curves.

If you close your eyes, you can still pretend it’s him.

He turns you in his arms and presses his lips against yours. It still feels wrong kissing him even after so much time has passed since him. Before he can distract you, you pull away from him and open your eyes. Sam stands in front of you, and no matter how hard you picture Dean, it’s always going to be Sam now.

Dean left you for the last time. He left you right after Sam fell into the cage to be with her. Lisa. Lisa fucking Braeden. In the beginning, you were hurt and confused as to why he would choose her over you. Why would he choose a woman he hasn’t seen or spoken to in eight years over the woman he’s been with since he was eighteen?

It broke your heart to see him with her, to see him be happy with her, but you told yourself this is what he chose. If that wasn’t a sign from the universe telling you to move on, you don’t know what was. He was able to so why shouldn’t you? It was a shock to find Sam roaming about after he fell into the cage, but he claims he doesn’t know how he got out. All he knows is that he fell into the cage and he woke up on solid ground.

He’s been different since came back, more ruthless, more impulsive, but you figured spending time with two archangels would do that to a person. You choose not to think too much about it because then you’re forced to think about you and Sam together which forces you to think about Dean and the decision he made without you.

“You look so good right now,” Sam whispers. He leans down and kisses your neck not-so-gently while nipping at the skin. “I could just eat you for hours.”

“We need to go on the hunt,” you sigh and tip your head back.

“I can be quick.”

Before Sam can sink to his knees, the door to the bedroom opens. You pull away from him to see Samuel Campbell, the Winchester’s grandfather, standing there with a scowl on his face.

“What’s taking so long? We need to go.”

“Yeah, we’re coming.”

You push Sam away from you and grab your gun off the vanity. Hunting had become routine since shacking up with Sam, so this is light work. You’re seriously impressed with how far you’ve come. You’re not the same scared little ten-year-old Sam and Dean met.

Hunting with Sam is a whole experience in and of itself. As you’ve mentioned before, he’s ruthless and doesn’t care who gets in his way. He will fuck up whoever he needs to fuck up without regard to who is getting in his way.

“Y/N, take Sam with you to the back end of the house. We’ll take the front. Remember, this guy is an alpha. It’ll take more than just silver to take it down,” Samuel warns.

“Got it. Shoot it with silver bullets a ton.” You turn to Sam who is already moving to the back of the house. “Sam!” You roll your eyes and quickly catch up to him. “You can’t go off on your own.”

“You’re not my keeper, Y/N. I’m just here to do the damn job.”

Damn, Hell must have really fucked him up. What happened to the young man who took everything personally and wore his heart on his sleeve? What’s in front of you now is a shell of the man you once knew. Doubt and uncertainty creep in the back of your mind but you push it down because if you confront it, you’ll have to look into why Sam is so different. That might mean drama for you. That might mean bringing Dean back into your life, and you can’t do that to yourself.

Sam takes the lead, as always, and completes the hunt in record time. He is fearless and doesn’t let the alpha’s pets stand in his way. He was gonna kill the alpha if it weren’t for Samuel asking to keep it. He claims he wants to interrogate the creature before killing it, and Sam doesn’t care enough to ask questions.

He didn’t bat an eye when Samuel took the creature away.

Sam builds up so much energy during hunts that he usually works out to get rid of it, but this time he decides to take you back to his bedroom. Since coming back, he’s never been gentle with you. All he wants is a rough fuck, and you’re delusional enough to give it to him. If you told him to stop, he would, but he feels too damn good to actually stop.

There is no prep time with him, other than checking to see if you’re dripping for him, which you are. Dean has been rough with you every once in a while which is one of your kinks. Sam must have figured it out because he loves manhandling the women he fucks.

He flips you on all fours and grabs your hips to pull your ass into the air. Underwear is no obstacle for him because he grabs the sides of the flimsy fabric and rips it into two.

“Shit, Sam. That was my favorite pair.”

“I’ll buy you more.”

He won’t. He pulls his cock out of his pants and runs the tip up and down your slit. Dean was the only one you’ve ever been bare with before Sam. It feels weird to have another man’s cock inside you when you’re still so in love with Dean. It’s a damn good thing you’re still on the pill because you’d never forgive yourself if you got pregnant with Sam’s child.

After coating his cock with your wetness, he slides into your pussy easily. He sets a hard and fast pace from the get-go, and you arch your back with your mouth in an O shape. He grabs your hair to keep your back arched as he pounds into you.

“Fuck! Sam!” you gasp.

With his free hand, he slaps your ass twice to watch it bounce. Not that he needs any help because his hips are doing a good job of it.

“Next time, I’m fucking this ass,” he grunts out.

You hate how easily he can bring you to the brim. It’s like he’s not even trying when it comes to you. He doesn’t stop after the first orgasm, no. He brings you over the edge four more times before coming himself. He’s a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.

Dean is still on your mind but you’ve fucked Sam so much that he’s pushed all the way to the back. That’s what hunting with Sam for months on end will do to you. Dean is still living in his bubble of happiness while you try to pick up the pieces he left behind.

After months of hunting alphas and bringing them to Samuel, you finally get a break. He’s hunting the vampire alpha which is going to take time since he’s very crafty. He got word that alphas were dying so he took extra precautions to hide away. Still, that doesn’t stop Samuel from going after him.

“Hey, Sam. You got a second?” you ask.

He’s in his room working out. He’s using the rafters to do pull-ups, exposing his tanned skin and hardened abs.

“What’s up?”

“There’s a carnival in town that has laser tag. I can get tickets if you want to go with me.”

“Pass,” he grunts out and drops to the ground.

“Come on. It could be fun.”

Sam walks toward you with a smirk on his face that makes you stop talking. He towers over you and uses that intimidation to his advantage.

“Let me be perfectly clear. You’re nothing but a good fuck and that’s it. I don’t want to go on dates with you or ask you how your day is. I’ll come to you when I want you wrapped around my cock. Okay?”

He leaves the room to take a shower while you’re left in his room with a broken heart and a lump in your throat. Tears threaten to fall but you won’t let them. Dean was and is a lot of things, but he’d never treat you this way. Instead of crying like a baby about this, you push down your feelings and pick yourself up like you’ve always done.

The months slowly drag on with you doing the same thing over and over again each and every day. Go on hunts with Sam and Samuel, kill everyone but alphas, go home and fuck Sam, feel bad afterward because of it, go to sleep, and do it all over again. Before you know it, a year has passed and you’re nowhere closer to feeling like how you used to feel.

Dean is still gone and your heart is still aching. Someone with a higher power in the universe must be listening to your pain because it brought Dean to you in a way that isn’t so surprising. He tried to get out of the life but was always listening to radios, reading newspapers, and trying to hook up with hunters to see what was going on. He didn’t want to put Ben and Lisa in danger so he never brought his work home with him until he got attacked by a group of Djinn.

The reunion you’ve been hoping for didn’t go quite according to plan. Dean wasn’t so happy to find out that his brother had been alive for a year.

“You’re kidding me, right? Tell me you’re actually joking,” Dean glares at you and Sam.

“No,” Sam shakes his head.

“We didn’t want to pull you back in. You were out.”

“Pul--All I did was try to look for a way to bring you back. You’re telling me you’ve been kicking for a year now?!”

“You promised you’d leave the cage alone.”

“Fuck that. I didn’t go poking it but that didn’t stop me from trying to figure out how the hell to get my brother back. You’ve been with him this whole time?” Dean asks you.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to destroy your perfect life with Lisa.”

“Come on, don’t do that,” he sighs.

You’re already walking away from him. All the feelings you’ve suppressed for the past year come rushing out and you have to walk away before you do something you regret. Your heart aches for Dean despite the amount of time that has passed since you’ve seen him.

Once the Djinn were taken care of, Dean wanted to stay with you and Sam to continue hunting. He didn’t want to leave Lisa and Ben to fend for themselves so he spent most of his time with you only to return to them on some weekends.

Being with Sam was great when you knew Dean wasn’t going to be a problem but he’s been trying to get back into hunting so he’s around all the time. How can you continue being with Sam when you know he’s not the one you really want? He was a good distraction for what it’s worth but he’s not enough anymore.

Sam doesn’t feel the shift in your energy otherwise he’d go find someone else to fuck. All he sees you is a good lay, and there are plenty of women willing to give themselves up for one night with him. You tried hard to be into it but it’s just not happening. Dean should be back any second from Lisa’s with a packed bag and you don’t want him catching you with his brother.

The same person who brought you and Dean together after all this time must want to start drama because he walks into Samuel’s house expecting to go to bed. Instead, he finds you and Sam on the couch with you in his lap and Sam’s lips on your neck.

“Shit, Dean,” you gasp and move off Sam’s lap so fast.

It doesn’t matter how quick you are because Dean knew what was going to happen if he hadn’t walked in.

“What the hell is going on here? You’re fucking my brother?” Dean asks.

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Not anymore,” Sam shrugs.

“Shut up before I smother you with a pillow while you sleep,” you hiss.

“I don’t sleep.”

“Yeah, lucky you.”

“Y/N?” You look into Dean’s eyes and see the raw emotion in them. That causes tears to form in yours but you don’t let them fall. “Have you been sleeping with Sam this whole time?”

“Dude, you left her, like a thousand times. Fair game,” Sam smirks.

You and Dean still have your staring contest because you can’t seem to say anything that would make this better, and he can’t either. Guilt starts to weigh on your shoulders even though you did nothing to be guilty of. He left you. He moved on from you. So, why the hell do you feel like shit?

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destieltropecollection · 5 months

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Destiel Trope Collection | Day 6: Canon Divergent

Ladies | @ididitallofitforyou Rating: General Word Count: 1,130 Main Tags/Warnings: Established Relationship Summary: The ladies in Dean and Cas' life throw them a surprise bachelor party.

Yours Again | @tami-ryver Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1,935 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consensual Possession, Castiel Possessing Dean Winchester, Possession, Cursed Castiel (Supernatural), Gabriel is So Done (Supernatural), Castiel's True Form (Supernatural), Angel True Forms (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Has a Crush on Castiel, Wings, Angel Wings, Archangel Gabriel (Supernatural), Angel Castiel (Supernatural), Season/Series 05, Misunderstandings, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Fluff Summary: Dean just waves his hand, but stops when he can almost feel something brushing against his hand. His mouth turns into a wide smile when he realizes he is actually touching Cas' feathers. They are like silk and Dean can imagine himself being wrapped by them, luring him to sleep.

priority | @dcforts Rating: General Word Count: 2,034 Main Tags/Warnings: S15e18 Coda, Castiel's Confession Scene, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It Summary: The world is empty, he almost lost Cas again. The world is full, Cas loves him.

the edge of the devil's backbone | @cascigarette Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3,008 Main Tags/Warnings: Dean Winchester Bears the Mark of Cain, Demon Dean Winchester, Fallen Angel Castiel, Blood and Violence, Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence, Rough Sex, Oral Sex, Face-Fucking, Come Swallowing, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Spit as Lube, Church Sex, Angst, Porn with Feelings, Porn with Plot, Alternate Season 10, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester Summary: The demon burns, burns, burns, and the angel is a moth to the flame. Or: Dean succumbs to the Mark of Cain. Cas follows him. Whenever they cross paths, it's bloodthirsty and violent and addicting. Cas asks him to stop. Neither of them are sure if they want him to.

thank god for bruce campbell's abs | @watchinghimrakeleaves Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 3,408 Main Tags/Warnings: Human Castiel, Castiel in the Men of Letters Bunker, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Season/Series 09, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary: Dean decides to expose Cas to horror movies. In the process, he learns some startling things about his best friend.

What the Heart Misses | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: General Word Count: 5,546 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent, Episode S15E14, Fluff, Sam Winchester Knows, Castiel Does Not Make A Deal With The Shadow, Dean Loves Castiel, Christmas, Gift Exchange Summary: After learning that the Winchesters and Jack celebrated Christmas with Mrs. Butters, Castiel takes the opportunity to give Dean a Christmas present. Which then prompts Dean to reflect on the nature of their bond.

a light in the dark burning brighter | Chi_Yagami (AO3) Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 6,092 Main Tags/Warnings: finale fix-it, injured Dean Winchester, hurt/comfort, confessions, kid Jack Kline, team free will at the beach, Dean finally gets his little umbrella drink Summary: Three weeks after Castiel is pulled from the Empty, when Dean can finally eat solid food and sit up in bed on his own and complain about being fussed over, Sam asks what they can do to make Dean's recovery a better experience—for everyone, Sam adds. Ducking his head, Dean admits to his brother that he still wants to go to the beach and sip on one of those little umbrella drinks in a coconut.

insi(de an)d outside | @thisisapaige Rating: Mature Word Count: 6,688 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel as God, Angst, Alternate Season/Series 07, Sexual Tension, Castiel POV Summary: Castiel smiled. His Dean— His defiant, determined Dean— was ever the hero. Dean never gave in without a fight, without exhausting every plan and trying every angle. It was so human of him. Castiel could not help but love him for it. "Surely you know holy fire cannot hold a God?" Castiel asked. "You know me." The flames flickered across Dean's face, casting shadows over the hollows of his cheeks. "I had to try."

It was you, only you | @verobatto Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10,131 Main Tags/Warnings: Slow burn, canonverse, season 15, friends to lovers, fix it Summary: After defeating Chuck and the raising of Jack as the new God, Dean wakes up from a revealing. dream. Nothing will stop him now from rescue CAS from the Empty. But a new defiance is looming over TFW2.0. Will Dean be able to use his words this time? Or is gonna be work a big impediment again?

Murder the World | @thisisapaige Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10,160 Main Tags/Warnings: Angst, Canon Divergent after s10e22 The Prisoner, Demon Dean Winchester, Parallels Between Cain/Colette Mullen and Castiel/Dean Winchester, Switch Castiel/Switch Dean Winchester, Violence, Porn With Plot Summary: Castiel said he would be the one to watch Dean murder the world. Now he has a chance to prove it.

Loving you back in time | @verobatto Rating: Explicit Word Count: 15,683 Main Tags/Warnings: Temporary MCD (Castiel, Sam), time travel, top!Dean/bottom!Castiel, falling in love, enemies to lovers, winged Castiel Summary: After locking Chuck and defeats him, Jack comes out with a plan to get Cas and Sam back from death. Dean will travel back in time to try to really stop the Apocalypse from its root, this time Dean will contact Castiel before events, and part of his mission is to try to convince the angel to join him, explaining they're the good guys and angels and Heaven are not, while trying to avoid the urge of kissing his angel. But something won't go as they expected, and Dean will have to change the plan. This is mid season 15 canon divergent fic. The time travel is before Dean going to Hell. I mixed two importants moments, but they're not in the timeline of the season 3, with references to episode 1x12: Faith.

In A Parked Car Exhuming Ophelia | @an-android-in-a-tutu Rating: Mature Word Count: 17,741 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Interrogation, Demons, Grief/Mourning, References To: Homelessness, baby eating, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Heaven Politics, Unsafe Sex, Pregnancy, Temporary Character Death, Dubious Consent, Summary: The bunker didn’t lend itself to much natural light, and the utilitarian fixtures in the concrete hallways tended to sap people of their colour even on a good day. Maybe that was why Dean looked so much worse than Sam remembered, as worn as he’d ever seen him. The hand he pulled away from his face was shaking, just slightly, and he dropped it quickly to disguise the tremor, but the detail had already been seared into Sam’s brain. Something was very wrong. "I need you with me on this." Sam hasn't spoken to his brother in over a month, so when he shows up in the middle of the night with a powerful demon in tow, he's concerned. It doesn't take long for him to realize that Dean is keeping secrets again, and that whatever he has hidden behind his teeth has to do with the strange woman who seems all too content to remain bound in their dungeon. The demon with white eyes. All Sam wants is the truth, to figure out who she is, and how she's connected to his brother. But people who ask questions, tend to get answers. And they just may be more than Sam can take. An alternate take on season 9 that replaces the Mark of Cain plot with something much worse.

Rock & Roll and Feathers | @verobatto Rating: Explicit Word Count: 20,172 Main Tags/Warnings: Season 15, canon divergence, rock stars, case fic, rock star!Dean, bodyguard!Castiel, mutual pining Summary: TFW 2.0 defeated Chuck, locking him down in a magic box and exchanging him with Castiel's deal with the Empty. Everything would be perfect if Jack wasn't locked inside another magic box too. The only way to release Jack, now the New God, is to find the key. Rowena knows who has it. His powerful father, a retired sorcerer, who would give anything to those who win his rock and roll contest. That's why Dean will sign up as a rock star, followed by his manager Sam and his bodyguard Castiel. Bad thing is, maybe winning a rock Contest is not the only test they will have on the road to reach that key.

Roadtrip to the End of the World | inkdr0p (AO3) Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 24,813 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer, Original Male Character(s), Team Free Will (Supernatural), Sam is a nerd, Dean is a nerd, Cas is an ancient multidimensional being, Road Trips in the Impala (Supernatural), Castiel stops and looks at everything, Las Vegas, Star Trek References, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff, Dean works through his experiences of the future in 5x04 The End, Dean Winchester Has a Crush on Castiel, Sam Winchester Knows, Dean Winchester Has PTSD, Sleeping in the Impala (Supernatural), Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester Use Their Words, Wingfic, Winged Castiel (Supernatural), Sam covertly gets Dean and Cas to go on a date, Dean Winchester Deserves to be Happy, Castiel Deserves to be Loved (Supernatural), Season 5, In which I repeatedly compare Cas to a cat, Hunters & Hunting, Slice of Life, Canon Divergent (erases 5x05 "Fallen Idols") Summary: “There’s an apocalypse on, Bobby. In case you forgot.” “No Dean, I didn’t forget. But unless you’ve figured out a way to stop it in the next couple of days, I don’t see why you can’t give yourselves a break. This ain’t a sprint, Dean, it’s a marathon. Besides, last year when we realized just how much had hit the fan I seem to recall you being real quick to---” “Vegas.” “Exactly.” “...The Star Trek Experience.” ---------- OR: Dean's back from the future, Sam's back from his break, and Cas is, well, Cas. As good a time as any to finally take that road trip Dean's been dreaming about since he crawled out of the ground and learned the Apocalypse was a real goddamn thing. All he has to do now is remember how to have fun. Fic takes place in lieu of 5x05 "Fallen Idols"; instead of Paris Hilton the boys are off to the Las Vegas Hilton, former home of the greatest place on earth: The Star Trek Experience.

but i'm singing like a bird 'bout it now | @dirtangeldean Rating: Mature Word Count: 26,976 Main Tags/Warnings: Car Impala (Supernatural), Car Conversations, Aromantic, acespec, AceSpec!Cas, accountability, 15x18 coda, switch POV, Healing Dean Winchester, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, Eventual Happy Ending, First Kiss, Dubcon Kissing(kinda), arospec!Dean, Aromantic Dean Winchester, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Episode: s15e18 Despair - Castiel's Confession Scene, Former Sex Worker Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Gives Oral Sex, Past Sexual Assault, Mention of Past Sex Work, Dean Winchester's Jacket, Sam Winchester Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, reader…i have taken liberties, Angelic Grace Kink (Supernatural), Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Original Character(s) Summary: 15x18 fix-it: Dean uses his one last shot to save Cas and succeeds, the fall out that happens when the unspoken becomes spoken all at once has a happy ending. The eventual conversations of comfort, duty, sacrifice, power, obligation, and love ensue. Communicationnatural. OR Dean can't bare to have Cas leave him. And the Empty allows him to stay. OR Reckoning with a first kiss actually being the opposite of happiness simply due to circumstance.

We're at the lost and found | @mercurialkitty Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 27,019 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Post-Season/Series 12 AU, season/series 13, Fix-it, mostly broadcast tv level swearing with a few f-bombs, Hunter's Funeral (Supernatural), canon typical angel slurs, Domesticity, will they or won't they, Castiel and Dean Winchester Need to Use Their Words, relationship beginning, like an episode some story arcs are left unresolved, dadstiel Summary: What would the beginning of season 13 have been like if Cas lived and Mary stayed put?

Desideratum and Other Mishaps | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 28,075 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent, Episode: S14E13, Baby Jack Kline, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Protective Dean, Fluff and Angst, Dean Worries About Castiel Summary: In an unexpected turn of events, Castiel and the Winchesters find themselves with a toddler on their hands, when Jack, intending to regain his grace, makes a wish with the Baozhu—the wish-granting pearl—instead of Dean and gets transformed into a young child. Unsure how to fix the situation, and with Mary and Sam aiding the hunters from the other world on a hunt, Dean and Castiel are left alone at the bunker to care for baby Jack, where more than one revelation will unfold.

Dean Winchester and the Belly Button Piercing | @teeparadigm67 Rating: Explicit Word Count: 34,800 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Porn With Plot, Domesticity in the Men of Letters Bunker, Dean Winchester has his Belly Button Pierced (And Sammy Doesn't Know), Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time Having Sex, Openly Bisexual Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester is a Tease, Castiel doesn't understand flirting, Idiots in Love, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Porn with Feelings, Canon-Typical Violence, Piercings, Ear Piercings, Pierced Dean Winchester, Navel piercing, Fluff and Smut, Domestic Fluff, Flirty Dean Winchester Summary: Dean Winchester was 23 when he got his belly button pierced. It was during a time in his life when everything felt like it was in turmoil (long before he even really knew what his life being in turmoil truly meant). He never intended to go out and get any piercings—his father would have never allowed it. For 20-something years it had been his best-kept secret… that was until one fateful night when a hunt went wrong and his best friend had to swoop in and help patch him up, catching an eyeful of his elusive secret. Castiel’s infatuation with his best friend took a dangerous turn that night (not that he wasn’t already treading treacherous waters with his feelings towards the man). He had already known that Dean had a piercing, but he had no idea it was still functional, and equally had no idea that a piece of jewellery, Dean’s own slice of quiet rebellion, would have such a profound effect on him. Now Castiel can’t help but want him and his fading grace is doing very little in hiding his… indiscretions. The idea of it slowly drove him insane. And what makes it worse… Castiel was certain Dean was doing it on purpose.

Castiel's Hidden Pussycat | @macy2me Rating: Explicit Word Count: 41,050 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence - Season 13, Castiel Adopts A Cat, Dean Winchester is Bad at Feelings, Dean Winchester in Denial, Castiel's grace is damaged, Boys Being Awkward, Sam Winchester Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester is So Done, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, Frottage, POV Castiel (Supernatural) Summary: Castiel, angel of the Lord, has been saved by a cat. He didn’t intend to keep it. He didn’t mean for the green-eyed cat to work its way into his heart. It’s becoming a bit of a theme. Yet, here he is, smuggling a cat into the bunker. Cas and Dean have been doing a dance for nine years—circling each other, one step forward, by one step back, changing direction, never getting closer, never too far apart. However, when you throw a cat into the mix, the next move becomes a lot harder to predict.

When Dreams Come True | @avonlady42 Rating: Explicit Word Count: 65,616 Main Tags/Warnings: canon divergent, angst and fluff and smut, Dean Winchester has a wing kink, plot twist, inappropriate use of grace, top castiel/bottom Dean Winchester, explicit sexual content, happy ending, marriage, adoption Summary: After Chuck is defeated, Jack forces Dean and Cas to finally admit their feelings to each other and gives Cas his wings back in the process. They end up getting their happily ever after while Sam settles down with Eileen. Ten years they spend together as a couple, hunting when they need to, but mostly living the domesticated life Dean always wanted and Castiel always wanted him to have. Unfortunately, it all comes crashing down one day when Castiel goes on a hunt and doesn’t make it home. Dean will do whatever it takes to get the love of his life back and ends up getting more than he bargained for when he finds him again. This fic is canon compliant through Season 14 and starts off during the Ouroboros episode S14E14, from there it becomes Canon divergent with some of the rest of Season 14 and Season 15 being the same, but slightly different. S15E20 doesn’t exist and there is an alternate storyline 10 years into the future.

We Are The Music Makers (WIP) | Clairebearer (AO3) Rating: Explicit Word Count: 120,932 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Canon Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Castiel, Action/Adventure, Romance, Sexuality, Domestic Dean Winchester, Human Castiel, Reaper Dean, BAMF Dean, BAMF Castiel, BAMF Sam, Greek Mythology - Freeform, It's all about the souls, Awkward Sexual Situations, Sexual Fantasy, Slow Build, Case Fic, Magic Mirrors, Dark Magic, Demons, Angelic Grace, Mental Health Issues, Trickster Gabriel, Musical References, Pop culture references, Movie spoilers, Fate, Destiny, Free Will, Canon divergent, Cupid - Freeform, Terminal Illness, Top Dean Winchester, Bottom Dean Winchester, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Dean Winchester is Bad at Feelings, Dean Winchester is Not Heterosexual, Bi-Curious Dean Winchester, Temporary Major Character Death, Angst with a happy ending Summary: Set in the aftermath of seasons 8's epic finale. With Sam's life hanging by a thread Dean is forced to call the only being he knows has the power to help: Death. However, like most impossible things they come with a terrible price and it acts as an hour glass hanging ominously over Dean's head as his life-line burns away like a fuse, a full-time job as a reaper waiting for him. Time is short and the world is bent on destroying itself, so when the shadow of an averted apocalypse threatens to resurface and wipe out everything he has fought so hard to save, Dean must do everything within his power - and more - to stop it. His own feelings be damned... If he can help it.

Far From Heaven: Part Two | @Taymarpigeon Rating: Explicit Word Count: 151,921 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Angel Castiel (Supernatural), Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Post-Canon Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Fluff, Gratuitous Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergent, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicide Attempt, Homophobic John Winchester, Abusive John Winchester, Former Sex Worker Dean Winchester, POV Alternating, Top/Bottom Versatile Castiel/Dean Winchester, Possessive Castiel (Supernatural), Possessive Dean Winchester, Extremely Dubious Consent, Dom/sub, BDSM, Risk Aware Consensual Kink, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Consensual Non-Consent, Angelic Possession (Supernatural), Angelic Grace Bonds (Supernatural), Wing Kink, Castiel and Dean Winchester Get Married, Additional Tags in End Note Summary: Castiel is gone and Dean can't move passed it, can't bring himself to stray far from the last place he ever saw his Angel. A place so full of sorrow, yet there is love there too, lingering in the farthest, darkest reaches. Gabriel is done watching Castiel and Dean be martyrs. Jack's fixed up Heaven, all is as it should be, there's no reason these two idiots can't finally have everything they ever wanted. If he intervenes, if Gabriel finally embraces what he was built for in the first place, will it make a difference? Will Cas and Dean finally get their happily ever after? He's not gonna lie, leading three (not so) wise men across the desert was probably easier than this headache will turn out to be. Still, Gabriel maintains that it is possible to lead a horse to water and make it drink. You just gotta know which buttons to push.

#destiel trope collection #destiel trope collection 2024 #destiel #fanfic #supernatural #canon divergent

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sharonisthebettercarter · 4 months

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hugh campbell is literally the tallest member of the boys in the show and it's one a my favorite details<3

they rarely show it off and tend to use camera angles and posture (hughie boi i see you constantly slouching--LOOK AT HIM~<3<3<3 just casually *unintentionally* making butcher appear is *actual size*--) to play up or downplay/switch up height differences, but i kinda love that hughie went from being the second shortest member (comics) of the boys to the literal tallest<3 (butcher was generally in the middle with homie just casually being a head taller than him--, frenchie and mm being the taller guys on the team, love sausage of course being the biggest guy when there~<3<3<3 he still is btw--)

love love LOVE him so fucking much<3<3<3 literally the *only* REAL bear in this damn series (HE STRAIGHT UP BEAR HUGS BILLY IN THE COMIC AHHHHHHHHHHH~<3<3<3!!! we better see moar of him i swears--). mm is a close one, but he's more of a good big papa wolf~<3 butcher's a scraggly dumpster kitten or fuckin' heifer--

i *also* love love LOVE the single inch height increment hughie and billy got goin' on with homie, it's just the cutest most fun thing~<3 it goes--

5'11" (homie<3)

6'0" (billy bean<3<3)

6'1" (not so wee hughie<3<3<3)

6'2" (LOVE SAUSAGE~<3<3<3<3!!)

i see you sandwiched right inbetween those bois there, 'ey billy~<3? ;)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

throw in mm between billy and homie, it's hard to find a solid height on that bitch<3 (and they *def* keep trying to downplay his height and bulk cause holy FUCK, THAT MAN--) but i'm gonna say he's probably around 5'11.5", closer to 6'0" maybe??

lol for the roughest layout i guess, they tend to bill urban a bit taller than he is (you can tell cause they'll bill quaid at the same numbers but he's definitely taller than urban, also i SWEAR everytime this man is in a photo that's not a solo glamor shot he's tryin' out some jank ass angles always always always leaning *in* to the camera to make himself look *bigger* leik honey you are so fuckin' cute-- and they *def* keep trying to make billy look *way* bigger than he actually is, BILLYYYYYYYYYYY--) but boi, i see you too<3<3<3

i guess maybe a little closer, it might go something like...

5'11" (homie)

5'11.75" (mm)

6'0.5" (billy bean)

6'1.5" (hughie)

in which there's .75 increments, and then a full 1 inch leap from billy to hughie. either way, they're def very close and not a single one is 'small' per se (except compared to love sausage--tho i do bet starr is one of those fuckers to downplay his height so other men get insecure LMAO--), but i just love the sequencing<3<3<3

what i *also* love~?

(bad posture homie lol) homie's reaction to hughie posturing at his full height was fucking amazing. IT WAS OH MY GAWD--i can't. he had his little surprised moment and then made a *pleased* "ooh~<3" and then smirked like THIS--

leik hughie... MAH BOI--i know he *tried* so fucking hard but leik. homelander is just so unthreatened by him that he's fucking *amused* and engaged with hughie *trying* to be brave. *he relaxed further*-- he just... he just doesn't give a shit. and it's horrible. but also *beautiful* because at this point, you can tell he's just so bored out of his mind that he even *welcomes* the challenge in some ways. he is LOVING that people feel so attacked by him without him doing much--LEIK.

there are a couple other unhinged and unsettling *positive* reactions he has to people similarly enough, (his descent into madness in real time--not gonna get into it now lest this post become *all* about homie--) but man oh man~<3

little bit less posture difference here, will say it's silly fandom obsesses over/exaggerates single inch height differences (particularly between homie and billy while ignoring/reversing hughie and billy, leik C'MON--let hughie be his height~<3! also we should be obsessing over the perfect~<3 *sequencing*, DUH--) but it's honestly pretty amazing how much of a nonfactor the height is in general.

for homie, it's pretty obvious he doesn't give a shit as he's particularly relaxed and unbothered by people being taller than him (especially hughie--literally amused by people posturing LEIK--by the gods his reaction to hughie challenging him--I CAN'T IT WAS FUCKING--GOOSEBUMPS~<3<3<3), but it just goes to show. motherfucker is just playing with his food--

BONUS~<3

lmao blurry ass pic of baby urban getting *dwarfed* by dwayne "i'm 5'11" and wear lifts" 'the rock' johnson. (also that mofo got so much bigger leik gotdamn i am actually curious how much more he'd *DWARF* urban cause ya look at him now and just. he ate a truck--ya look at the rock next to a guy leik SHAQ and HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT the differences are staggering leik one inch is nothin' baby--) SWEET BABY JEEZUZ--

bonus bonus~<3

another detail i *love*?

the shorter two (and frenchie~<3<3<3!) have the bigger/longer noses and... *likely* the biggest cocks--

;))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

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novaksupremacy · 3 months

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The Veiled Law of Affection- Chapter 6

had the day off so I popped out another one for you :)

The Veiled Law of Affection-Chapter 6

Word Count: 6358

Casey Novak x Olivia Benson

by PKJ @novaksupremacy

Based on the events surrounding S5 E24 "Poison", little bit of smut, lots of mushy angsty schtuff, sibling arguments, one of my favorite Casey episodes.

Read Part 5

“Look you’re making a mistake!” The woman shouted in the interrogation room. As it stood, she was accused of poisoning her adopted daughter. They had learned from her other little girl that she made the poor child stand in the corner with a sponge full of detergent in her mouth. As if that wasn’t bad enough the girl’s hospital visit was delayed by hours, causing sever detriment from the poisoning. Her husband’s sister had also spoken to Benson and Stabler about the many red flags pertaining to her parenting skills.

“Not according to your sister-in-law,” Olivia barked.

The woman scoffed, “Wendy never liked me you can’t listen to her!”

Elliot raised his voice, “Can we listen to your other daughter, Katie, Mrs. Campbell?”

Her attorney Gates laughed, “Sure, because seven-year-olds are so reliable. Tomorrow, she’ll tell you a pony with wings lives in her closet.”

Stabler was fuming at this point, “So Katie made the whole thing up, right? How you shoved a sponge of soapy water into Alexis’ mouth while she gagged and cried! Made her stand in a corner, counting, until she collapsed!”

“I feel terrible that I wasn’t paying close enough attention!” Karen Campbell started shouting, “But I can’t possibly be everywhere at once! I have FOUR children! I am a good mother!

Munch and Fin had Mr. Campbell in the other interrogation room at the same time.

“Why don’t you believe me?” the man leaned against the window, arms folded.

“We do, that’s why you’re not under arrest Munch said flatly.

“My wife did nothing wrong!”

“You couldn’t know what your wife did. You were gone all day.” Fin said more questioning than matter of fact.

“I told you when I got home Alexis had stopped breathing and Karen was hysterical. If we wanted to poison Alexis, what would we bring her to the hospital at all?”

John snapped at him, “Actually I’m more interested in why your wife does the things she does. Like berate and emotionally abuse your adopted daughter.”

“That’s a lie!”

“You callin’ your sister a liar? She says Karen treats that girl worse than a dog!” Fin retorted.

As Liv and Elliot came out of the interrogation room, they found Agent Huang and Casey waiting for them in the bullpen.

“The emergency room said they pumped two cups of detergent out of Alexis’ stomach.” Huang stated as they walked up.

Elliot shook his head in disgust, “Mrs. Campbells accident story is a bunch of crap! No kid is gonna drink two cups of that stuff willingly.”

“What about the dear old dad?” Liv interjected. “He had to know that his wife hated that kid.”

Casey sighed, “he wasn’t home so criminally he’s not responsible.”

“We got the mother right?” Elliot asked, agitated by the situation.

“How’s the seven-year-old?” The redhead questioned, she knew Elliot was good at his job, but she still had to do hers.

“Solid.”

“No chance you influenced her statement?” She didn’t want to ask but she had to.

“None, counselor. I’ve been doing this a little bit longer than you,” the detective said back his tone less then amiable.

Casey tilted her head, she hated that El took things so personally. “Just making sure we’re covered, children under nine aren’t automatically swearable.”

“I can talk to her,” Huang offered, “If she knows the difference between a lie and the truth then she can testify.” Casey nodded as a show of gratitude.

“Hey Detective Benson, while you’re waiting, I have some paperwork for you in my office that I’ve been meaning to give you.” Casey tossed out nonchalantly.

“Sure, I’ve got a few minutes.” Liv nodded, her hands in her pockets. “After you Counselor.”

The brunette tailed on the heels of the ADA as they headed down the hall. Huang couldn’t help but snicker as they walked away. “It’s ridiculous that they’re still making excuses at this point. We pretty much all know what that was about.”

“Guess Daddy wants a little midnight snack, you know what I’m sayin’?” Fin nudged the FBI agent in his rib.

Elliot snorted into his coffee, “What?” He laughed so hard he choked on some of the hot liquid. “Who wants a what?”

Fin was laughing “Oh you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing that exchange yet? Imma let you experience that on ya own.”

Munch walked over with a cup of coffee in his hand, “What, what’s so funny what did I miss?” Everyone just shook their heads and assure him it was nothing. “You know this doesn’t make me believe in the conspiracy that everyone’s working against me, any less. If anything, you, you’re just adding fuel to the fire.”

Casey shut the door to her office and locked it, closing the blinds tight.

Liv rubbed her eyes, “Case, I gotta tell you baby, I’m exhausted.”

“I know,” Casey kissed her gently and rubbed her shoulders then steered the detective towards the couch. “I figured my couch was more comfortable than the crib.” She kicked off her heeled boots and made room for Liv to come join her. “Plus, this way I get to hold you, and the door is locked so you won’t get startled.”

Liv crawled over her girlfriend and wedged herself between her and the back of the couch, wrapping her arm and leg around her, squeezing tight. She was exhausted, they had been up since the night before with this case, but Captain wasn’t letting anyone go home until they made some headway on this. Casey reached over the brunette and pulled the blanket down off the back of the couch and covered them with it. She laid soft strokes up and down Liv’s arm with the tips of fingers and pressed her lips to her forehead and held them there for a moment before she kissed lightly and then pressed her cheek against the side of the detectives head and pulled her close. She could feel Liv’s breathing shift indicating that she had fallen asleep. The attorney watched her girlfriend’s chest rise and fall, she looked so peaceful.

“I love you, Olivia.” Casey whispered and kissed her head again. “I wish I could tell you.” Every second spent with Olivia was the happiest moment of her life, even when it wasn’t. Even when it was sad, or upsetting, or the case was spiraling out of control, all she had to do was look at Liv and feel at ease. That was the first time she ever said it out loud, not that her lover heard her. She wouldn’t dare say it then. Everything was going so good, she didn’t want to fuck it up. She dozed off alongside the brunette detective.

Casey stirred about an hour later to Liv kissing her neck. She grinned and stretched, giving the detective more access to her neck. “Mmm I should let you nap in my office more often.”

“Mmm, yes, very refreshing. Better than a cup of coffee.” The brunette smiled as she planted a long tender kiss on her girlfriend.

Casey brought her hand up to cup Liv’s face and deepened the kiss. She let out a sigh as she felt the detective slip her hand down below her waistline. “Babe.” A smile that could only be described as one of pleasure creeped across her face, “we can’t.” The redhead let out another soft sigh and a light moan as Liv continued to tease her. She grabbed her lover’s wrist and looked her square in the eye, “I need you to either fuck me right now or stop what you’re doing.”

“Gladly,” the detective hummed and pulled the ADA underneath her.

Casey sat up on couch and slid her boots back on as she watched Olivia tighten her belt and adjust her watch.

“What?” Liv looked up as she was fastening her sleeve buttons, “Did I miss a belt loop or something?” She looked down.

The younger woman shook her head, her cheeks getting red, even still Liv gave her butterflies. “No,” she said breathlessly, “you’re just beautiful.”

The brunette leaned over Casey on the couch and kissed her, biting her lip softly before pulling back to meet her gaze, “You’ve pretty stunning yourself, Counselor.” She lingered for a minute before heading towards the door, looking back at her girlfriend one last time before turning the handle. The detective continued to fumble with the buttons on her shirt as she walked out almost walking straight into Munch.

“Olivia,” the startled detective smiled, “what happened spilled something on your shirt?”

Realizing she was still half unbuttoned pulled her shirt closed with her fist, “Uhm yea, something like that. I got it out though.” Liv shifted nervously, “Going see Casey? I gotta get back to work.” She motioned the thumb of her free hand back towards her desk.

“Be careful, Detective. The coffee machine’s on the fritz and looks like your shirt can’t take another hit.” He called out, pointing with the folder in his hand as Liv kept walking. He knocked on the ADAs door.

“Come in,” Casey called out, “Hey John!” she smiled as he walked through the door, “what’ve you got?”

“Hey Casey, I just have Huang’s report for you to file before you go to the judge.” Munch walked forward and handed her the file. “Ouch, counselor I don’t think the vanity is worth it. Besides your hair looks nice curly. Platonically speaking of course—you’re not my type.” He straightened his tie.

The redhead looked at him baffled, “John, I’m not following.” She chuckled. “Did you break into the evidence locker?”

“Oh,” he waved his hand at her and then motioned to his own neck, “the burn, from your straightener. Looks like it hurts.”

Casey clasped her hand over her neck and leaned on her elbow. “Huh, yeah, well you know. Lack of sleep.” She chuckled nervously.

“Do me a favor, don’t operate any heavy machinery.” Munch gave a mock salute and walked out.

“I deserved that,” Casey muttered under her breath after he left, “payback is a girlfriend with a hickey.”

*******

“Their seven-year-old daughter? That sounds a bit imprudent.” Judge Taft said as Casey and Gates followed him down the hall.

“Rittenhouse v. North Hempstead found a three-year-old wasn’t automatically presumed incompetent to testify.” Casey argued.

“Ah, but you’re in my court now.” Taft’s voice dripping with self-importance.

“And another case disqualified a seven-year-old witness. It’s completely subjective.” Quipped Gates.

“Which is why,” Casey was growing impatient, “a psychiatrist examined Katie Campbell and that she understands her duty to tell the truth.”

“I’m sure the people won't mind if I determine that myself.” Taft stated, his grin was sickening.

“That’s not necessary Your Honor.” The ADA shook her head, assuring her the proper procedure had been followed.

“But again, it’s in my court.”

*******

Olivia stood over the stove stirring the cast iron while Casey stood at the counter furiously chopping up a bell pepper.

“And then, THEN,” she was practically slamming the knife against the cutting board, “he told me that I needed to dress appropriately.” She stopped chopping and turned towards her girlfriend.

Liv stopped stirring and turned to look at her girlfriend up and down. “What do you mean appropriately? That suit is perfectly tailored?”

He said, “By appropriately, I mean in a skirt.” She was swinging her chopping hand as she spoke.

“Woah, woah, why don’t we put that down.” She carefully clasped the redhead’s wrist between her hands and slid the knife away from Casey as if she were disarming a suspect.

“Sorry, that’s probably best. I might hurt myself, you know like how I burned myself with my straightener this morning?” her tone shifted to mockingly accusatory and flipped her hair away from her shoulder.

The brunette gasped, “Jesus baby I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would be that bad, I was just trying to get you back for the one you gave me the day of that softball game.” She chuckled.

Casey mocked her laugh making a goofy face at her. “Hilarious babe,” she tossed a mushroom at her, “Especially when I had to have it pointed out by Munch! Who by the way is the only one still in the dark about us, totally clueless.”

The detective wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and leaned into her propping her head up on her shoulder. “I’m sorry Taft is being such a misogynist,” she tightened her hold, “You’re gonna kick ass in court.” She kissed her neck.

“Ahh, hey!” the redhead swatted playfully at her and pulled her head to the side, “You’ve done enough damage for one day, Detective.” She giggled and leaned her head back to kiss Liv enthusiastically.

*******

“Its open!” Casey called out, pouring more whiskey into her glass as Liv walked in the door.

“Swearability hearing went that badly huh?” the detective furrowed her brow, worried to find her girlfriend drinking alone on the couch.

“Worse. He basically told me I embarrassed myself and shouldn’t brag about my lack of intellect.” The redhead put the bottle down and waved her hand in its general direction, “Don’t worry I don’t plan on making a habit out of it.”

The brunette dropped the takeout down on the counter and dropped down next to Casey on the couch, “Well that’s a relief.” She motioned for Casey to swing her legs up over her. She slid the redheads boots off and dropped them to the floor. “Still, I’m sorry that he’s being such an ass.” Liv started to massage the counselor’s feet. “Elliot told me he’s gotta testify that he didn’t coerce her.”

The ADA took a swig of her drink and threw her head back, “Uggh Liv, why are you so good at that?”

The brunette grinned, “I’m just, good with my hands.”

Casey quirked her brow, letting out a low moan, “Mmm, that you are Detective, that you are.” She opened one eye to look at her girlfriend who was looking at her adoringly, “I see the way you’re looking at me.” She closed her eyes again.

“Oh yeah and how’s that?” Liv chuckled, continuing to massage, working out a particularly difficult knot.

The redhead smacked the couch and let out a moan, “Ohhhh, G-d that feels good. You’re spoiling me.” She peaked her eye open again, “And you’re looking at me the way you look at a container of honey chicken, hungry.”

“Is that so?” The brunette smirked, “I mean cause I have honey chicken over there on the counter…”

“You could have me on the counter,” Casey bit her lip.

“Why would I do that,” Liv paused, the ADA picked her head up, the brunette was waiting for her shocked reaction before continuing, “when I can have you right here on the sofa.” She got a good grip on her thighs and pulled Casey down the couch to her.

Casey squealed, “Babe, my drink!” she quickly dropped the glass to the coffee table, laughing. The detective was already pulling the attorney’s jeans down around her ankles and tossing them in the corner next to a pile of law journals.

The brunette pulled Casey up to her to kiss her longingly, she could taste the whiskey on her tongue mixed with desire. The redhead moaned and then broke the kiss to catch her breath. “You kill me detective,” her eyes glistened, staring into Liv’s. She pressed a light kiss to her lips, “little deaths.” She sighed. She kissed her hard, running her fingers down the side of the brunette’s face. She allowed herself to fall back onto the couch pulling the cop down on top her, unbuttoning Liv’s shirt button by button.

*******

Elliot sat in the witness box during the Hudy hearing ordered by Judge Taft. He swore that there was no influence on Katie’s statement and that the girl introduced her mother to the conversation without any prompting. Gates accused him of having a vendetta against Karen Campbell for comments taken out context. Upon stepping down from the witness box, Elliot started to walk away as Taft went ahead and ruled the testimony inadmissible.

“This is a joke,” Elliot scoffed as he headed towards the back of the courtroom.

“I beg your pardon, Detective Stabler,” Taft asked sternly?

“I said this is a joke!” The detective turned back towards the judge.

“You’d be wise to remember no one cares what you think, once you leave that box.” Taft’s words fell pointedly.

“That interview wasn’t suggestive,” Elliot muttered walking back towards the bench.

“Elliot, stop.” Casey raised her voice.

He continued, “You’re just one of these judges that think cops strong arm witnesses just to make a case. What you think I just bullied a seven-year-old into lying?” He turned to walk away again.

“Elliot, leave!” Casey commanded, she was trying to protect him and not blow her case at the same time.

“No Elliot stay,” Taft scoffed, “You’re in contempt.”

Casey went down to the holding cells to check on her friend, “You alright?”

“Yeah great, thanks for getting me a couple hours off.” He said sarcastically.

The redhead laughed incredulously, “You are not blaming this on me.”

“Well, you did let that defense attorney trash me pretty good in court.”

The ADA threw her hand up in protest, “Yeah and that stunt you pulled. That’s gonna ensure Taft screws me at trial but hey at least you still have your ego, right?”

“You bail me out to talk about my ego?” the detective quipped back at her.

“I did not get you out of there!” Casey rolled her eyes.

“I called in a favor,” Mary Clark stared at the two of them, arms folded, “The contempt citation is withdrawn. So, if you could possibly stop acting like a petulant child.” She turned her attention to the young attorney, “And you, you need to start playing nice with Oliver Taft.”

Stabler looked back at Casey, “And you’re worried about my ego. This guy abuses his power and gets away with it.”

Mary cut him off, “You didn’t help anybody by mouthing off to the trial judge.” She looked back at her protégé, “This isn’t law school Casey, pick your battles. Winning is more important than wearing a skirt.”

*******

Liv and Casey were lying in bed, the redhead snuggled up in the detective’s arms, staring out into space. The brunette stroked her back, “I can’t believe you asked Taft to recuse himself.”

“I really fucked myself this time I think.” The anxiety in Casey’s voice was clear. “Why did I do that?”

“Baby, you did it because you knew it was the right thing. That judge is never going to be impartial and was never going to get justice for that little girl.”

“He still won’t,” Casey sat up, crossing her legs, and facing her girlfriend. “All I’ve done is ensure that he hates me and will do everything to make sure that I have a hard time prosecuting this case.”

“What did Mary say?”

The redhead sighed, “She said I was insane for asking an ego maniac to recuse himself and all I did was make myself an enemy.”

“What are you gonna do?” Liv followed suit and sat up, taking the ADAs hand to comfort her, “It’s not like you can get him thrown off the bench.”

“Maybe I can…”

******

Elliot chased Casey down as she headed to court, “Hey I think I’ve got something that even Taft can’t ignore.”

She furrowed her brow at him, “What is it?”

“The records from the adoption agency the Campbells used. They tried to give Alexis back.”

The redhead nearly fell out, “What? When?”

“February of this year, only 6 months after her adoption. Wouldn’t hurt her my ass, that’s such bull.”

The ADA smirked knowing Elliot may have found her a smoking gun.

*****

It was no use even with the mountain of evidence, Taft’s bias completely controlled the courtroom as he acquitted Karen Campbell. Casey felt so defeated as she walked out of the courthouse, if it was a fair fight, maybe she would’ve felt better about losing. She walked over to Elliot.

“I’m sorry,” she frowned and tapped him with her briefcase.

“Don’t be, I know you went to the mat on this one. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.” His hands shoved deep into the pockets of his trench coat.

“I want Taft off the bench.” She looked Elliot square in the eye.

Elliot ran his hand down her arm, “and I want a ’65 stingray.” He said consolingly.

“I’m serious,” she said as the detective had turned to walk away, “I’m going after him.”

“Casey,” he exhaled, “It’s not worth it, what good does it do, to kill your career?”

“If this is justice, I don’t want this career.”

The detective looked at her concerned, “I’m just worried about you putting yourself in a bad position, I’d hate to see you get dragged down because of this bastard.” He grinned, “Besides who’s going to play softball with me when they fire your ass.” He punched her arm playfully.

*****

Liv was zoned out at her desk working on DD-5s, the background noise of Munch spewing conspiracies at Fin and Cragen practically lulling her to sleep. She was nodding off halfway through a sentence when she felt a presence next to her desk, “Elliot for the last time I do not want a dirty water dog for lunch today.”

“I’m not gonna ask why Elliot has asked you that more than once today.” Casey joked.

The detective’s ears perked up and she leaned her head to the side, looking at the tall, gorgeous litigator leaning up against her desk. “Hey Da—DA Novak. ADA Casey. Hey Casey, what’s up?” Liv was about twenty shades of blushing after almost letting that nickname slip at the office.

Casey leaned down, cleared her throat, and lowered her voice, “Daddy needs a favor.”

“What’s wrong, Case?” She could tell there was a sense of urgency in her girlfriend’s voice.

“I need you to help me talk to Cragen about reopening the Rosalind Silvo case. I know in my bones that there was bias on Judge Taft’s part and there was evidence to prove she was innocent…” the redhead pleaded.

“…But Taft wouldn’t pay for the test.”

“Exactly! If I can get Cragen to reopen the case, the DA’s office doesn’t have to go through the same channels, I can get permission to exhume the body, clear Silvo, and screw Taft to the wall.” Casey rambled, having to take a deep breath when she finally stopped speaking.

“Well, I would like to hope I’m the only person you’re screwing against the wall but let me see the case notes and then we can go talk to him together.” Olivia chuckled, waving her hand for Casey to show her the files.

Liv filled Elliot in and then the three of them brought it to Cragen’s attention, “Casey I’d love to help get an innocent woman out of prison, but I don’t have the manpower to fuel a vendetta.”

“Its not really that much work boss, I think we got it covered,”

Cragen shot him a look, “Well thank you for being such a real helper, Elliot.”

Casey pleaded, hoping her puppy eyes would work on Cragen the way they work on Liv and Elliot, “It’s two interviews, if nothing pans out, I swear I’ll drop it.”

*****

Liv walked out of the coffee shop and handed one to her girlfriend who was waiting for her on the sidewalk.

“Thanks. It was a little too crowded in there for me.” Casey reached over and interlinked her fingers with the brunette’s. Her hand was a shaking, not something she’d attempted to do in public before.

The detective tensed up, “Casey, what if someone sees us?”

“I’m not ashamed,” she stopped and pulled the brunette’s hand turning her to face her. “I’m proud to say I’m with you, Olivia Benson.”

Any fear Liv had at this point was washed away with Casey’s words and the adorable little dimples the redhead got when she smiled. She squeezed the attorney’s hand tighter and pulled her in close. “And I am all yours, Counselor. I wasn’t trying to hide you, I just want to keep you safe.”

Casey smirked and leaned in to kiss the brunette, “Maybe you’ve forgotten how good I am with a bat.” She turned and started to walk again, holding her girlfriend’s hand tight with one hand, and sipping her coffee with the other.

“You go talk to Mary, I’ll hang back here. I’m gonna check in with the house.” Liv stated as they got closer to the judge’s apartment. Casey nodded and started to walk away, the brunette pulling her back and into a quick kiss before letting her go. She wasn’t going to feel ashamed to show anyone how much Casey meant to her anymore. She watched as the redhead walked down the block and couldn’t help but stare at how good she looked in that outfit, how her hips swayed back and forth. She chewed on her lip and was startled by the phone ringing.

“Benson. Hey El I was just about to check in. Yeah, I’m good, I’m just waiting for Casey, she’s talking with Judge Clark.”

Judge Clark walked out of her apartment just to find Casey waiting for her. “I don’t know how I can be more clear,” she was sympathetic but not up for taking on Taft.

The ADA smirked, “Rosalin Silvo is innocent, here’s the M.E. report.” She handed Mary the file Olivia had gotten from Warner. “Taft let his bias run that courtroom, same crap he always does but this time, he stole a woman’s life.”

Mary scanned the report, her face dropped, and she looked up at Casey, “That son of a bitch. He’s an embarrassment to the bench.”

“I’ll worry about him as soon as I get Rosalin Silvo out of jail.”

*****

After hearing the evidence Judge Preston spoke, “I have to agree with counsel, the only possible remedy is to vacate Ms. Silvo’s conviction. We’re adjourned.” She stated with the bang of her gavel.

Rosalin, with tears of joy in her eyes, hugged Mary, and Casey, thanking them before hugging her other child tightly. The ADA and Judge Clark gathered up their things and headed for the door as Taft approached them.

“Well Judge Clark its good to see you haven’t lost sight of your humble beginnings as a legal aid attorney. Ms. Novak, are you going to be coming through all the decisions I’ve made.” He scoffed.

“That depends,” she started, “how many other defendant’s have you falsely convicted?”

“History is full of mistakes Ms. Novak, even your short history.” His tone was aggressive.

Mary stepped in between him and Casey. “You’re not threatening her, are you? Some people might consider that conduct unbecoming of an officer of the court. You can’t bully your way out of this Oliver.” She gave him a smug look knowing she could tear him down in an instant.

Casey did her best to hide her enjoyment of this exchange when her cellphone rang. “Casey Novak.” Her heart sank, “Oh G-d.”

*****

The ADA ran up to the scene as she approached the Campbell household. She stopped at the stairs as she saw the small body being carried out, covered in a white sheet. “Why wasn’t she in the hospital?” she demanded, her voice raw with emotion as her eyes met Elliot, who was exiting the building.

“Released.” He walked towards her, “Parent’s didn’t want her in a nursing home. The aunt dropped by, found Alexis in her bed already dead.” He paused for a second, “Casey,” he took a deep breath, “Karen was the only one home.”

“She finished the job.” Casey muttered as Olivia emerged from the doorway with Karen Campbell in cuffs, she was reading her, her Miranda rights as they walked past.

*****

“Hey, you okay?” Casey was leaning against the door of the call room.

“Hey babe, I’m fine. Is her lawyer here?” Liv lifted her head up.

“No, no not yet it’s okay lay back down.” The redhead walked over and laid down on the cot next to the detective. She pulled Liv’s arm tight around her.

“Baby, you okay?” Liv mumbled into Casey’s back. She was met with silent sobs causing Casey’s body to shake against her. The brunette lifted her head up, “Baby what is it?”

“This is my fault.”

“How could you possibly…”

“I should’ve fought harder to get Taft thrown off the case, off the bench, something! I should’ve done more.”

“Case, you are only one assistant district attorney, and while you are wonderful and gorgeous and intelligent, not to mention compassionate beyond rivaling— you are only one human being.”

Elliot rapped on the doorframe, “Hey guys, Gates is here, showtime.”

Casey wiped her tears and stood up straighten out her blazer and the three of them headed down to the interrogation room.

“What happened,” Elliot sat down and opened his notepad, “You miss us?”

“You can’t charge my client with murder for a crime she was already acquitted of.” Gates spouted, demanding the release of the client.

“Unless we’re talking about two separate acts, which we are. Right Karen?” Olivia stated closing the door behind her. “Alexis was suffocated, the poisoning had nothing to do with her death.”

Casey studied Gates face, he had no idea what his client had done. He was as shocked as they were.

“I didn’t want to bring her home. Pete insisted. She wouldn’t stop crying, I just wanted her to stop. It wasn’t my fault!

“What you gonna claim it was an accident again?” Elliot clapped back at her.

“No! The judge said I should do it.”

Casey tilted her head, “What Judge?”

“Judge Taft.” The ADA shot a look at Gates as Karen continued, “He said Alexis was too sick and I had other children to think about. He said we would all be better off if Alexis just died.”

Olivia looked at her girlfriend in disbelief.

“When did he say this to you?” the redhead pressed.

“The other day in court right before I testified.”

Gates jumped up, “Interview is over, everyone out.”

“What the hell was Taft doing talking to her anyway?” Elliot asked.

“Hanging himself,” Casey scoffed. “The bastard’s done now.”

“Doesn’t that nullify her acquittal,” Liv jumped in.

The redhead nodded, “Sure does not that it matters, we’ve got her on homicide.”

A few minutes later he met the ADA and the detectives outside the interview. “I just want you to know I had no knowledge of this ex-parte or as an officer of the court I would’ve been duty bound to tell you immediately.”

“What did he say?” Casey demanded.

“Apparently, he saw her crying and told her to think of her other kids and maybe they would be better off if Alexis died anyway and then he advised her to get psychiatric help so that this kind of thing wouldn’t happen again. Which I think is a fine idea.”

“Book her and go pick up Taft,” Casey stated as she gathered her things.

“On what grounds,” Cragen questioned.

“Criminal Facilitation Two. He told her to get a shrink which means he knew this was no accident and acquitting her gave her the means and opportunity to commit a Class A felony.”

“He has judicial immunity Casey,” Cragen spoke softly.

“He smoked his judicial immunity the minute he had an ex parte communication with the defendant.” The redhead said as she stormed out of the precinct.

*****

“I don’t think I’ve every been this nervous.” Casey said checking over her appearance in the mirror. “I cannot lose this case.”

Liv came up behind her and kissed her neck, “You’re gonna do great baby. C’mon,” she turned her around and straightened the lapel of her jacket, “Everyone knows my Daddy has the best conviction rate in town, and she isn’t scared of anyone, definitely not some old man named Oliver Taft.” She pulled her collar tight and kissed the redhead. “I know you’re already dressed but I think I know how to calm you down.” She smiled slyly.

“Mmm, do you now?” Casey raised her brow and bit her lip.

Liv nodded, sliding the redhead’s suit jacket off and placing it on the counter, “Mhmm yeah. Watch.” she said sliding her tongue into her mouth.

The attorney enthralled in the kiss grabbed for her girlfriend’s belt buckle fumbling to get it undone and get Liv’s fly down. She slid her hand down into the brunette’s waistband as her lover had moved on to kissing down her pulse points. Casey felt how wet Olivia already was and let out a sultry giggle, “Mmm, I’m starting to think I just keep you like this twenty-four/seven. Let Daddy fix it.” She moaned sliding a finger in and pressing her palm to Liv’s clit.

The detective fumbled with Casey’s suit pants as she let out little whimpers which Casey swallowed, kissing her hard. Finally getting them undone, the attorney used her freehand to grab her girlfriends wrist and pull it to her, sliding it down into her boxers. Liv glided two fingers into Casey’s soaked center and thrust her back against the counter.

The ADA threw her head back, “Oh god Olivia! Fuck” she slipped another finger into the detective. The two of them mewling and whimpering as they continued toying with each other’s g-spots. They knew each other’s body’s like clockwork, enough to make it last for hours or make the other cum instantly. Their breath hitching and growing ragged they both knew what was coming next and let go, collapsing against each other and back against the counter.

Casey held Liv’s head against her shoulder and kissed her temple, both of them out of breath. “You make the prettiest noises when I fuck you.”

******

As they arrived at the courthouse Casey was much more relaxed. She was hurriedly headed towards the courtroom when she heard someone call out to her.

“Hey Novak! Catch.” She turned around to see Elliot lob something in her direction. She caught it one handed and looked at it.

“What’s this for?” she said quizzingly.

“It’s cologne Case, you smell like sex. Keep it,” he headed in, “Knock em dead!”

As the trial proceeded the prosecution called Taft as their first witness.

“Is that why you spoke to Karen during her trial, because you thought she was innocent.” The ADA asked casually.

Taft paused for a second and took a deep breath, “I admit the conversation was ill-advised. We were in the same elevator, she was distraught. I allowed my empathy to overrule my intellect.” Elliot rolled his eyes from the gallery as Taft spoke.

“Did it every occur to you that Karen Campbell might be responsible for her daughters condition?” Casey continued.

“I must object, Your Honor.” Taft argued.

“You felt sorry for the defendant, so you must’ve already decided she was innocent even though the trial had not concluded yet.”

“I had formed no opinion,” Taft retorted, “as you just said the trial had not yet concluded.”

“I know,” the redhead swung her hand as she walked over to the jury box. “Which is why it was so strange that you were talking to her. Why did you tell the defendant to quote seek psychiatric help, so this tragedy doesn’t occur again.”

“She was upset,” the judge answered.

“Because it sounds like you really did think she poisoned her daughter.” Casey was getting louder, more adamant in how she spoke.

“It was a mistake, is that what you want me to say Ms. Novak? One mistake in almost three decades?”

Casey sneered, “Didn’t you make an arguably bigger mistake? When you wrongfully convicted Rosalin Silvo of murdering her daughter and sent her to prison for ten years?” The ADA was shouting at this point.

“That is completely immaterial,” The Judge argued.

The redhead stepped to him, “You can’t object Judge Taft.”

“But I can Ms. Novak,” Judge Bradley warned.

“Did you tell Karen Campbell to suffocate her daughter?” Casey walked back towards the jury.

“No.”

“But you talked to her even though it was clearly improper,”

“It was a mistake!”

“You don’t make mistakes, you make judgements, who’s innocent, who’s guilty. You saw Rosalin Silvo and she was a whore. That means she’s a bad mother. And then you saw Karen Campbell. Why did you talk to her Judge?” Casey was furious at this point.

“Your Honor!?” Taft turned towards Judge Bradley.

“Why talk to her? Why talk to Karen Campbell?” the young fiery attorney pressed as Taft stood up in the witness box. “Why talk to a woman who tried to murder her daughter?”

“I didn’t know!”

“Didn’t know what?” Casey shouted, “That she’d turn around and try to do it again.”

“I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE” Taft bellowed at Casey.

Judge Bradley banged his gavel, “That’s enough!”

“Nothing further,” the redhead’s lip curled as she walked away.

It didn’t take the Jury long to come back with a guilty verdict. The press was outside waiting for Taft as both Elliot and Casey watched satisfied from afar. He had been demoted before he even left the courtroom. The detective nudged the ADA, “You did good Case.” She nudged him back and smiled.

*****

“It’s open,” Casey said as she heard her girlfriend approach the door. She was sitting at the counter. “Hey beautiful.”

Liv walked over and planted a longing kiss on the redhead.

“Mmm,” Casey couldn’t help but smile at the brunette’s touch. “I have something for you.”

“You do?” The detective asked, “What is it? Something sexy?”

Casey giggled, “I hope you think so.” She looked up at Liv, “so you know how you always say how unsafe it is for me to leave my door unlocked when waiting for you? I think I’ve found a solution.” She slid her hand across the counter towards her girlfriend and lifted it away revealing a singular house key. “What do you think?”

Read Part 7

#casey novak #olivia benson #casey novak x olivia benson #casey novak smut #law and order svu #svu #lgbtqia #casey novak fanfic #casey novak angst #olivia benson smut #olivia benson angst #wlw fanfic #benovak

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deadscell · 4 months

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you’re still calling me friend?

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alissssssaka · 4 months

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Bro, seeing all the age swap is making me think of an AU - I need help.

Hughie is the one who lost someone close to him (cousin instead of a brother maybe) and Billy is very similar to them in personality.

Instead of Butcher corrupting Hughie and turning him against Supes. Hughie slowly teaches Billy forgiveness and sets him on a path of healing.

Supes are still Supes, but with heroes like Homie and Solider Boy being younger, they still have time to repent.

So, the show is about healing rather than hurting.

Also, love the idea of Billy calling Hughie Mr. Campbell like Hughie calls Billy "Butcher."

😭😭 it's so crazy that people make a whole au out of my stupid sketches nhfjhjfbh the thought of hughie comforting young billy.. making him feel loved and cherished is so sweet.....it's about healing rather than hurtING WHAT IF I CRIED. i love this thank youu

#age swap #i cant. i cant #the boys are like a bunch of young adults hanging out with this nerdy middle aged guy #he's ok.... our leader wants to fuck him #ask #fuc im sorry if I have mistakes in the text #I have no respect for the english language

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gunterfan1992 · 1 year

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Episode Review: “The Star”/“Jerry”

(Fionna & Cake, Eps. 7–8)

Airdate: September 22, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jacob Winkler, & Sonja von Marensdorff

Directed by: Ryann Shannon (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

It is hard to believe that we are already privy to the penultimate episodes of the Fionna & Cake miniseries. So far, this series has been hit after hit. So do "The Star" and "Jerry" live up to what has come before them? Read on for more...

The plot to "The Star" is deceptively simple: Fionna, Cake, and Simon are transported into a universe where Simon was killed by vampires, which led to Marceline being abducted the ice crown-wielding Vampire King (once again played by the wonderfully sonorous Billy Brown) and turned into his protege, known as "The Star." While the world has been almost entirely overrun by vampires, a Mad Max-esque version of Princess Bubblegum is still putting up a hell of a fight (Mad Max Bubblegum is aided in this task by Peppermint Butler-as-a-Tank, a human[?] version of Huntress Wizard, and a non-psychopathic version of Martin). Cake's shapeshifting impresses Mad Max Bubblegum, and so she decides to enlist Fionna, Cake, and Simon's help in defeating the Vampire King and his evil 'daughter.' Alas, as goes the best-laid plans of mice and men... The episode ends on a purposeful anti-climax: Fionna, recognizing that all is effectively lost, forcibly teleports herself, Cake, and Simon away from Vampire World while Mad Max Bubblegum and The Star struggle in the sky, with neither wanting to land a killing blow. The fate of Vampire World is thus left unresolved.

As a major fan of Stakes, I was delighted to be transported back into the world of vampires in "The Star." And this time, the show does a very solid job showing just how powerful and scary these monsters actually are (despite their Kermit the Frog-meets-Nosferatu appearance). And let us not forget Evil Marceline (oh, where to start)! I quite like that Ooo's Marceline is a heroic anti-anti-Christ, but even I found the titular antagonist of "The Star" to be a terrifying delight. It has been a good long while since Marceline has rightly pranked someone, and while I don't know if killing people or sucking souls count as pranks, it was nonetheless wonderful to see her ornery side return—only this time, turned up to 11. You can tell that Olivia Olson had a lot of fun recording her lines for this episode; her performance is energetic, her tone mocking. When I heard The Star taunt Mad Max Bubblegum and Co., it took me back to when I first heard Olson's voice acting in "Evicted!"

It was a clever move having The Star and Mad Max Bubblegum be sworn enemies, as it allowed the series to explore their dynamic as a couple without focusing on their past or present relationship. In the Vampire World, we learn that the two have never been in a relationship together. But despite this, still found themselves pulled toward one another in an almost preternatural way. Who knows… Just as the souls of Finn and Jake seem to be destined to always find one another, perhaps Marceline and Bubblegum are "soul mates" in a similarly metaphysical sense? Regardless, the hesitancy to kill one another that both characters show at the end of the episode speaks volumes as to how they feel about one another, even in a universe where they are sworn enemies. (Man, I really hope we get a Bubbline spin-off one of these days…)

Ah, I feel like I could talk about the Star for days, but there is more to consider, so let me move on to…

Airdate: September 22, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Jim Campbell, & Jackie Files

Directed by: Steve Wolfhard (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

"Jerry" begins with Fionna, Cake, and Simon finding themselves in a dead and desolate world—humorously dubbed "Crapworld" by Cake—that we later learn was created by the Lich's wish in the season five premiere "Finn the Human." (As a mythological aside, when the Lich made his initial wish, it seems that Prismo did not simply wipe out all life in the Oooniverse; instead, he effectively created a copy of the Oooniverse within the Oooniverse. After killing off all life in this bubble dimension, Prismo then transported the Lich to his new wish-altered reality. Really, it is turtles all the way down…) While searching for the Crapworld ice crown, Simon tries to cheer up an increasingly despondent Fionna by telling him the story of how he and Betty met.

Eventually, our heroes run into Crapworld BMO, who upon learning that Prismo's remote is out of juice, attempts to recharge it with his robot heart. This does not go as planned (it actually results in Crapworld BMO spectacularly exploding, which is somehow both horrifying and funny), and Simon, Fionna, and Cake decide to track down Crapworld BMO's oft-mentioned friend "Jerry" and tell him that BMO has passed. Upon finding Jerry, however, the trio discover that he is actually the Lich… albeit a depressed Lich; it seems that after fulfilling his mission of ending all life, the Lich lost a sense of purpose. (I've been there, dude...) Simon sees this as an opportunity, and using the Crapworld ice crown and the Lich himself as a conduits, he manages to summon GOLB just as Scarab materializes to deliver divine punishment.

To be continued!

"Jerry" is a decidedly bleak episode that more than anything radiates the creative sensibilities of its supervising director, Steve Wolfhard. For those out of loop, Wolfhard was a storyboard artist on the original Adventure Time series, and he helped write some of the show's strongest outings (e.g., "Puhoy," "Lemonhope," "Escape from the Citadel," "Graybles 1000+"). Wolfhard has a unique approach to writing, often using humor/cuteness to paste over more existential horrors, and while he did not storyboard "Jerry," the episode nevertheless feels like the apogee of his "voice," brimming as it does with a darkness that is only lightly covered with a veneer of humor. Indeed, many of the episode's funniest moments (e.g., the scene in which BMO cheerfully, stupidly kills itself, the reveal that the Lich has depression) cannot be described as anything other than gallows humor. Wolfhard often joked in interviews that many of the episodes he pitched involved main characters dying. With "Jerry," he finally got his chance.

Ultimately, what prevents "Jerry" from becoming a bummer-fest is the way the episode is interspersed with flashbacks that tell the story of how Simon and Betty fell in love. Despite their being the emotional heart of the episode, I do not have much to say about these scenes other than they are sweet. They largely expand upon details that we already knew, but in doing so, they enliven those details, infusing them with a sense of affect that exposition or background detailing could never convey. There's a couple easter eggs thrown in for die-hard fans (e.g., several relics from the main series are name-dropped, we see when a photograph of Simon from "I Remember You" was taken), and its all tied-up nicely with a new HALF SHY song, "Everything in You." All in all, these scenes are the sweet, sweet eye bleach we need, given the tone of the episode's other half.

My biggest gripe with these episodes is that they both lean too far into Fionna's failures while somehow not leaning in far enough. The former issue is most noticeable in "The Star," the beginning of which sees Fionna follow up her candy genocide by making a series of increasingly bone-headed decisions, one of which leads to the direct death of a character (although, Mad Max Bubblegum was also quite bone-headed for letting Random New Girl put everyone in danger immediately after introducing them to her few crew members). Put simply, I feel the episode excessively plays up Fionna as a gullible girlfail, which seems a bit much. Paradoxically, in "Jerry," the show did not have Fionna properly, fully, believably consider the ramifications of the mistakes she had made; instead, the episode focuses much of its emotional energy on the story of Simon and Betty's relationship. Yes, Fionna does have a realistic breakdown in the middle of the episode, but almost immediately, the show decides to have Simon distract her with more of his own love story. None of this sinks the episodes, but it does make them less than perfect.

For some, the episodes' bleakness might also be a defect: indeed in both "The Star" and "Jerry," lots of characters die, and the fridge horror is off the charts. But while I have criticized the show for such cruelty in the past (e.g., my review of "Wizard City"), the bleakness in these episodes is not meaningless. Instead, it arguably serves to underscore that without Simon Petrikov existing and doing all that he has in the Ooo Prime universe, the world (any world) quickly goes to hell. (This is perhaps most noticeable in "The Star," given that the big twist of that universe is that Simon was killed by vampires, presumably before he placed the ice crown on his head, thus resulting in Marceline's capture and indoctrination by the Vampire King.) Even in his crazed "Ice King" state, Simon is something like a cosmic lynchpin holding together reality! Considering how much Simon/the Ice King is a woobie in the original series, it is nice to see Fionna & Cake accentuate just how important he actually is.

Final “The Star” Grade: A-

Final “Jerry” Grade: A-

#adventure time #atimers #marceline #review #marceline the vampire queen #princess bubblegum #bubblegum #bubbline #fionna and cake #fionna campbell #cake the cat #simon petrikov #ice king #lich

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palmviolet · 1 month

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Hello! I enjoyed your true detective "out of time man" fic a LOT! Specifically the quotes included in the beginning of each chapter.

I was wondering, since some of the quotes seem to be from academic books which one you would recommend to read first if one were to look into reading them? I really enjoy the subject and would love to dig into it further. Which one was your favourite? Are they difficult reads? Would you recommend something else to start with? Thank you so much !

hi, thank you so much! very proud of that one. and i'd absolutely recommend getting more into criticism and theory around american culture and mythology, it's been so rewarding and illuminating.

in terms of what you should read, the most formative and comprehensive one with regards to rodeo subcultures was Outriders: Rodeo at the Fringes of the American West by Rebecca Scofield (Univ of Washington Press, 2019). it takes you through not just gay rodeo but prison rodeo, the role of race at the rodeo, and women's involvement too, both historically and today. given a lot of our popularly received imagery of the rodeo limits it to the cishet white male body, a body that is free and able and doing it without coercion or power dynamics, scofield's text is invaluable as a starting point to deconstruct that very imagery.

then there's Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination, by Michael Allen. this is your more typical account of the myth of the rodeo, again lending it a critical lens but not diving quite so deep into its underbelly. still, a solid grounding on the basics.

something i loved on the more general modern mythology of the american west through a postmodern lens was The Cultures of the American New West, by Neil Campbell, which describes the 'hyperreality' of the new west and its dependence on image.

and on the western genre was The Myth of the Western by Matthew Carter, which is an excellent introduction to western, neo-western, and anti-western, examining the mythologising role the western plays and how that role has since been subverted.

i'd say each of these is definitely worth a read as a starting point, and then just follow through into their bibliographies and see where they take you. i think the scofield is probably the easiest read of these, being both factual and analytical, where the campbell is probably the most difficult, requiring something of a grounding in postmodern theory first — i'd say something i found very accessible in my early postmodern days was (sorry) the essay e unibus pluram by david foster wallace. it was written in the 90s and so reflects the contemporary anxieties about television but otherwise is a decent and almost gentle introduction to the central concerns of postmodernism and the time beyond it: the primacy of image, the difficulty of the quest for meaning in such a world.

some other readings more in the vein of the detective genre, its relationship to gender, horror, and genre resistance, all of which i've brought to my reading of true detective and my writing of out of time man:

Marshall, Sarah. 2022. “Violent Delights.” The Believer. https://www.thebeliever.net/violent-delights/.

Woodstock, Patrick and Dan Vena. 2022. “Born Queer, Made Evil? Examining ‘Discovery’ and ‘Construction’ as Competing Methodologies of True Crime.” Crime Fiction Studies 3, 1: 59–74.

Calhoun, Claudia. 2022. Only the Names Have Been Changed: Dragnet, the Police Procedural, and Postwar Culture. New York: University of Texas Press.

Geller, Theresa L., and Anna Marie Banker. 2017. ““That Magic Box Lies”: Queer Theory, Seriality, and American Horror Story.” The Velvet Light Trap 79: 36-49.

Cuklanz, Lisa M.. 1999. Rape on Prime Time: Television, Masculinity, and Sexual Violence. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Clover, Carol J. 2015. Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film - Updated Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Goldsmith, Clarissa Susan. 2022. Hope Despite Horror: Theorizing Oppositional Horror and Aesthetics of Resistance in Multicultural Horror. Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University. ProQuest (Order No. 29396682).

this is a lot to be going on with so feel free to send me another ask if you want more details/to sift through them! in terms of rodeo in specific i'd definitely begin with outriders. this is also a very narrow selection — there's a whole world of scholarship out there, some more obscure than others, and you're always learning. if i think of any more i'll do another post!

#true detective #my fic #asks #reading #rodeo

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ruinedsam · 5 months

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To further my “Meg calls Sam her little brother” agenda, when Azazel possesses John and tells Dean that he killed his son and exorcised his daughter, he makes a reference to Sam being his son as well. Maybe it’s when Dean is staring at his father’s body and it’s his voice threatening to kill Dean and when Sam starts to struggle to try to help Dean, Azazel turns around to say “Now now, son, I’m not ignoring you, but I need a few minutes to talk to your brother here.” Sam and Dean have other things to worry about and this slips their mind until other demons start referring to him as such as well. And when John goes to make his deal with Azazel and Azazel comments about how if only the boys knew how much their daddy loved them, he adds on something about how Sam is more Azazel’s kid than John, or at least he will be soon enough; maybe this happens when John reveals he’s hidden the truth about the special kids from Sam and Azazel says, “Oh Johnny boy, that’s colder than even I expected. Letting your kid run around searching for answers when you’ve had them all this time. And to think, you’re willing to make a deal for one son but you can’t even tell the other the truth about himself. But then again, Sammy’s more my son than he is yours, isn’t he? Or at least, he will be before long.” John has to weigh Dean’s life against whatever Azazel’s plan is that makes him so sure Sam will be Azazel’s son by the end, and still makes the same choice as in canon, still tells Dean he might have to kill Sam but tells Sam nothing. It still gets revealed to Sam around the time it does, but when Meg reveals she’s possessing Sam, she calls him “our little brother” to Dean; also it’s important to me that Meg genuinely viewed this possession as a sibling bonding activity because she’s a demon. But one demon early in s3, I wanna say in Sin City but I’m not sure, tells Dean that Sam was supposed to take over after Azazel died and now there’s nobody actually in charge down there, so unless Ruby and this demon were lying and Pride was just running his mouth when he talked about how he was supposed to bow to Sam and called him the boyking, Sam was genuinely Azazel’s heir. But then we get to season 5, assuming HBO supernatural would follow the same broad plot, and when they’re in heaven and they see Sam’s memories, Dean talks about how he shouldn’t even be surprised none of Sam’s memories are of their family, after all he’s more Azazel’s son than he is John nowadays—and it is key that Sam and Dean never learn exactly what Azazel said to John, Dean is referring to the blood drinking the season before and all the demons calling Sam Azazel’s kid—and this is Sam’s worst nightmare, that he really is Azazel’s son and Lucifer’s vessel and the heir to the throne of hell and nothing he ever does will ever change that blood in his veins.

But to lighten it up a bit, because this agenda is not solely limited to HBO supernatural, I need a meeting with Sam and Abbadon where she kinda feels him out about maybe Sam taking over, because Azazel was a Prince of Hell who became the king and Abbadon was chosen by Lucifer to be a Knight and she just wants Crowley off the throne so she’s perfectly willing to use the original plan, and Sam stares at her for a solid minute because of all the things he expected from a Knight of Hell, inquiring after his interest in ruling Hell was not one of them. This also means that at any given moment, Crowley’s biggest competition for the throne is Sam, who flatly refuses every time. Abbadon catches up on everything that’s happened since her jump to the future and she learns Sam killed Samuel Campbell; she tries to use that as a reason to bond, because I think it’s funny if the demons just latch onto Sam: “I killed your dad’s dad, you killed your mom’s dad, we have loads in common.” Sam also gradually gets demons’ phone numbers until they make up about 80% of his contact list. Also, Crowley does not kill Meg here, because he knows she considers Sam a brother but isn’t sure if Sam considers her a sister and Crowley has no interest in dealing with Sam trying to kill him for killing his sister, just in case. Winchester Family Drama, Azazel blood edition. “Dean Winchester’s behind you, dumbass” but instead it’s “you know Sam Winchester’s my brother right?”

Ahhhhhh 👀👀👀 Omg I love both scenarios so much!!! Thank you mysterious speedy anon <3

it’s important to me that Meg genuinely viewed this possession as a sibling bonding activity because she’s a demon

You're so right about this!! We should see how demon's perceptions and opinions are just so skewed because they're no longer humans. According to the demon lore of the early seasons demons forget about being human, so of course they don't get them. And Meg being like well this was fun is much more compelling than her doing it for the sake of being evil or revenge (as I think she cited in canon).

this is Sam’s worst nightmare, that he really is Azazel’s son and Lucifer’s vessel and the heir to the throne of hell and nothing he ever does will ever change that blood in his veins.

You should know I was in full on sicko mode as I read this.

“I killed your dad’s dad, you killed your mom’s dad, we have loads in common.” Sam also gradually gets demons’ phone numbers until they make up about 80% of his contact list.

LMAO I love this so much 😂😂

Crowley does not kill Meg here, because he knows she considers Sam a brother but isn’t sure if Sam considers her a sister and Crowley has no interest in dealing with Sam trying to kill him for killing his sister, just in case.

This but, to bring in my cram agenda, he then goes to Sam and is like "look I didn't even try to kill your sister will you please fuck me now 🥺"

#just saw you sent me an addition but i have to go to bed now I'll try to answer tomorrow <3 #ask #meg calls sam brother au

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typingtess · 13 days

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch: “The Reckoning”

The basics: With four dead, including a CIA Officer, NCIS investigates if this has something to do with the DRONA project.

Written and directed by: Frank Military Military wrote "Little Angels", "Deliverance", "Lockup", "The Job", "Greed", "Betrayal", "Crimeleon", "Vengeance", "Out of the Past" Part One, "Rude Awakenings" Part Two, season four’s finale "Descent", season five’s premiere "Ascension", "Allegiance", "Spoils of War" (directed by Military), "Black Budget", "SEAL Hunter", "Rage" (directed by Military), "Unspoken", "Unlocked Mind", "Revenge Deferred", "The Seventh Child" (directed by Military), "Crazy Train", "Uncaged" (directed by Military), "The Silo", "Monster", "Line in the Sand" (directed by Military), season ten opener "To Live and Die in Mexico" (directed by Military), "The Patton Project", "Better Angels", "False Flag" (the season 10 finale), "A Bloody Brilliant Plan", season 11 finale "Code of Conduct" (directed by Military), "Raising the Dead", "Through the Looking Glass" (directed by Military), "Indentured", "Down the Rabbit Hole" (directed by Military) and "The Body Stitchers".

Military directed one episode he did not write, season 11’s holiday episode "Answers".

He also appeared as Donald Kessler in "Raising the Dead" and several other episodes in photos.

Guest stars of note: Jere Burns returns from season 13’s “Genesis” as Howard Pembrook, Duncan Campbell is back from the last episode (“Sensu Lato”) as NCIS Agent Castor, David DeSantos as Anthony Beltran and Milissa Sears as Leah Novack are back from “Sleeping Dogs”, Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as CIA Officer Rafael Cortes, Scott Christopher as CIA Officer Chris Behr, Amy Kim Waschke as CIA Officer Avery Lamica, Maurice Hall as AMT Julian Cousins, John Marshall Jones as Jonathan Hunter and Rick Tunell, the series’ longtime producer/director was the Head of Airfield Security

Our heroes: DRONA drama blah blah blah.

What important things did we learn about: Callen: Lone wolfing. Sam: Out of town. Kensi: Tailing Callen. Deeks: Airport trip. Fatima: Figured out early that the CIA was up to no good. Rountree: Tailing Callen with Kensi. Kilbride: Side-eye master.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen: Wasn’t getting violin lessons as a kid. Sam: Absent. Kensi: Waiting for Deeks to return from the airport. Deeks: Mostly absent. Fatima: Side-eying with the best of them. Rountree: Started the day with Deeks, ended it with Kensi. Kilbride: Friends with the head coach at USC.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange? Basking in guilt according to Pembrook.

Who's down with OTP: Not a lot of OTP time.

Who's down with BrOTP: Down one part of the BrOTP but Pembrook’s final conversation with Callen was all about the brotherhood of Callen and Sam, the show’s most important relationship.

Fashion review: Callen wore a light blue and white plaid button down shirt before going in the pool and a navy blue hoodie post-pool. Kensi wore a wine colored long-sleeve top. Deeks wore a pale blue henley. Fatima had a fabulous black leather jacket (soft like butter!) and a white sweater with blue piping at the collar. Rountree black long sleeve tee-shirt with a black jacket. Kilbride, as always, dark blue three-piece suit, red tie, pale blue dress shirt.

Music: “Home” by Aron Wright plays at the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene: Not today.

Quote: Kilbride: “And you are not leaving my office until you tell me everything you know about Pembrook and Beltran.” Cortes: “And you're gonna stop me? With force?” Kilbride: “Don't tease me.”

This is was very solid Kilbride as a badass episode.

Anything else: The previously-s include all the Pembrook nonsense.

In the hospital, a still comatose Leah Novak is being moved to a rehab facility with serious CIA security around her. Callen is there as well. Nobody knows where Leah is going except the head security man – who is driving the ambulance. Novak will be checked in under an alias. The security chief promised to keep Callen advised of her status.

As the security team leaves, the second security team member tells her boss they found one of the Drona subjects, Clayton, dead. If they can find Clayton, the head man tells her, they can find everyone. for some reason, the head of security thinks it is a good idea to meet with the other Drona subjects in Pershing Square. He leaves the ambulance with only a nurse watching Novak. Clayton was tortured before he was killed, according to one of the Drona survivors. The group realizes none of them are safe. And they’re not as a sniper picks off all the Drona subjects except the security chief. He dodges bullets getting back to the ambulance and driving off.

A cranky Admiral is marching from his office to Ops. Deeks and Rountree are just behind him. After a Deeks mindfulness joke falls flat, the Admiral explains that four people, including a CIA Officer named Avery Lamica – she was the number two person moving Novak - were shot dead in Pershing Square. Kensi has already left for Pershing Square to meet with Callen.

In Ops is CIA Officer Raphael Cortes (another person allowed to wander about the super-secret office). After the Admiral does some introductions, Cortes wants to talk to Callen and Sam. Sam is out of town and not available. Cortes does not want Callen running the investigation but the Admiral makes sure Cortes understands that Cortes doesn’t make staffing decisions for NCIS. When the Admiral brings up that Cortes asked for help, Cortes makes sure the Admiral understands that the CIA doesn’t need help, they need information. Since the FBI is investigating the shooting, Cortes wants to question Callen about letting Beltran get away. And Cortes wants the Admiral to do that right now. Knowing Callen wouldn’t return to the office even if Kilbride ordered him to do so, the Admiral won’t – and didn’t plan on anyway.

Deeks asks if the CIA is tracking the ambulance. They can’t find it, according to Cortes. CIA Officer Chris Behr is missing – he’s the head security guy. Cortes thinks Lamica was meeting with other Drona team members. Pembrook ran black ops for the DoD, NSA and the CIA. Rountree mentions Beltran’s plan for a lawsuit against Pembrook for what was done to him and to the others when they were children. Cortes believes Pembrook made monsters – “including Agent Callen.”

At the crime scene, Callen is covering Avery Lamica’s body with a tarp when Kensi arrives. Callen has not heard from Behr. Looking at a high rise building just off Pershing Square, Kensi is going to check the victim’s locations and angle of the gunshot wounds to see if she can backtrack the math to the sniper’s location.

On comms, Callen asks Fatima to check out security cameras. Also on comms, Kilbride tells Callen that Cortes would like to speak to him – the FBI can cover the crime scene. Callen tells Cortes that the FBI isn’t even at the crime scene – though LAPD is all over the crime scene. Deeks talks about Drona and Callen thinks it makes sense – Lamica and Behr were put on the protection team by the CIA and likely Drona. Cortes pushes for Callen to come in but Callen fakes some static and is off comms.

Kensi returns to Callen. Based on the wounds, there is no way the sniper fired from the high rise. The angles of the bullet wounds are too steep. The sniper was likely in a helicopter and one great shot.

Fatima has eight helicopters over that part of Los Angeles at 8:16AM – the time of the shooting. Kensi thinks the shot came from at least 1,400 feet east of Pershing Square. On the big screen in Ops, Deeks finds the helicopter. Deeks traces it to a company called Cypress Park Industries. Rountree asks where did the helicopter come from – Camarillo Airport. Kilbride is sure there are witnesses or video of someone getting on the helicopter. Deeks is going to track that down.

Cortes orders Callen to return to the office or he’ll get the FBI to bring Callen in. Callen says he’s returning but gets a call from an unknown number followed by a text message telling Grisha to pick up. Callen has Kensi take them off comms. It is Pembrook on the phone. Callen has a flashback to his happy times with Pembrook. He wants to meet and Callen does too. Kensi gets back on comms to get Fatima to trace the call. She does this quietly. Pembrook is about a block away inside Pershing Square, watching Callen and Kensi.

Pembrook starts to walk away from the crime scene, saying that Callen won’t miss a chance to face the monster of his childhood. Under a bench near the coffee cart is a discarded water bottle with an address in it. Pembrook wants to meet Callen without any other agents around. Pembrook hangs up and walks away. Even tosses his phone into a half finished glass of water. Callen and Kensi check out the bench – he finds the water bottle. Cortes hears from the FBI – they’re on site and want a sitrep. Callen shows Kensi the address in North Hollywood. With the FBI closing in on Callen, he’s off to deal with Pembrook with Kensi on his tail.

At Camarillo Airport, Deeks confirms that Beltran and three other people were on the helicopter but Pembrook wasn’t one of them. Deeks is getting security video. Cortes demands that it is sent to Langley as soon as it is available. The Admiral does his version of rolling his eyes and says “of course.”

Callen arrives at the address Pembrook provided with Kensi just a few blocks back. No one is at the home but since the bottle had the word “pool” in a circle, Callen check out the backyard. There is a pool with a box at the bottom and lots of cameras all around. Realizing that by going in the water Callen shorts out all his comms, Kensi tells Callen not to let Pembrook control the next move. The Admiral doesn’t want Callen to go offline Callen tosses his earwig and phone into the pool before diving in for the box. Cortes pitches a fit that Kilbride has no control over his agents. Saying they can track Callen through his car – and Kensi can trail him – the Admiral wants Rountree working with Kensi.

A wet Callen finds a key to the house in the box. Inside the house is a change of clothes and a key to a vehicle.

Kilbride wants Kensi to go in and see what Callen is up to.

Callen is up to getting into a van and in the van is an armed Pembrook. Pembrook does the Pembrook stuff – talking about teaching Callen the language of violence. After getting Callen’s gun, the two are off for a drive.

In Ops, Fatima has video from Camarillo Airport. Beltran and three randos – two men and a woman - are walking to the helicopter. Cortes demands Fatima send him the photos to run them through facial rec. She was going to do that but he barks “send them to me.” The Admiral nods and Fatima sends the photos.

Entering the house by picking the lock, Kensi finds Callen’s wet gear. Kensi tells Ops that Callen mentioned a van by the house. Cortes is disgusted they lost Callen “completely.”

Using Kaleidoscope, Fatima traced Callen through Van Nuys to LAX. Cortes disses Kaleidoscope as a tenuous connection and tells Kilbride – who is quiet with a lot of side-eyeing – they better pray they don’t lose Callen. Cortes gets a call – the CIA has ID the three with Beltran. He leaves Ops.

Callen asks Pembrook what are they doing? Pembrook says he’s trying to understand what Callen is feeling but Callen is not “doing that.” Not wanting Pembrook as a therapist, Callen asks what Pembrook wants. Pembrook wants to save Callen’s life, save Leah’s life and by that, maybe save his own. Callen really doesn’t care about Pembrook’s life – “full stop.” Pembrook leads Callen to an underground garage of an office building.

Fatima is still tracking the van on a bit of a delay. The vehicle is near San Pedro. Kilbride thinks that an awful long ride for Pembrook to take Callen on just to kill him. Cortes disagrees – Pembrook could be taking Callen someplace off the grid to torture him. After his phone beeps, Cortes has IDs for the three people with Beltran. The three are Russians but not FSB. The CIA got intel on the three entering the country but nothing else. Fatima is joining the side-eye brigade.

In the parking lot, Pembrook starts by telling Callen he was obsessive and filled with anger. Callen says this isn’t about him but Pembrook keeps pushing. Callen’s anger drives his obsession. Again, Callen really doesn’t care. Pembrook admits he did horrible things – he won’t deny it. And the Drona subject were children. Pembrook says he thought his training methods were justified. He’s consumed with remorse. Callen doesn’t care. Pembrook says he takes solace that Callen has moved on from his trauma. Angry, Callen tells Pembrook he doesn’t know anything about Callen’s life. Pembrook does – he’s been following Callen for 35-years.

Fatima hears from Vance’s assistant. Kilbride is needed on a conference call in three minutes. The Admiral is not pleased as he returns to his office.

Rambling, Pembrook has been following all the Drona children, trying to help those in the most distress. Callen doesn’t believe him. Knowing Callen so well, Pembrook offers to turn over Callen’s paper file – everything about Callen’s past. Pembrook tells Callen he can date test the ink. Pembrook starts talking about his own childhood. If Callen isn’t interested in hearing Pembrook talk about Callen’s childhood, he certainly doesn’t want to hear about Pembrook’s. All Callen cares about is the file and is offended that dangling the file in front of Callen is an apology. Callen starts talking about having a hard time building relationships – he went from the DEA to the CIA to NCIS because Pembrook took from him the most elemental part of being a human – the ability to feel. Pembrook knows this and knows it was a terrible thing to do. He apologizes again and Callen isn’t interested in another apology.

In his office, Kilbride is waiting for Vance. Fatima sends him the NCIS facial rec runs on the “Russians”. They are, of course, Americans. Cortes approaches Fatima, asking that she check the last area where the van was seen – maybe there is a CIA safehouse in the area. Kilbride pops up on the big screen – he wants to see Cortes in his office.

Entering Kilbride’s office, Cortes asks if Kilbride shared what’s going on with Vance. The Admiral did not and asks Cortes to close the door behind him. After bickering about Cortes sitting down, Kilbride brings up an issue of dishonesty, especially with Callen being in such a precarious position. The three with Beltran were Americans, not Russians. Cortes tries to sell it as a good job with backstopping their IDs. No, one of the men played football for USC. Kilbride texted the head coach at USC to confirm it. Cortes is not leaving the office until he tells Kilbride everything. Sneering, Cortes asks if Kilbride thinke he can stop him by force. “Don’t tease me,” the Admiral sneers back.

Rountree meets up with Kensi near the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. They are sitting tight, waiting for an update on Callen. Kensi asks Fatima about Cortes’s Russians and Fatima is sure they aren’t Russians. She’s watching what’s going on Kilbride’s office via a security camera on the second level over the bullpen.

Callen asks Pembrook why is he killing the other Drona subjects. Pembrook has been running a black ops Drona team for years. Beltran was part of that team but wanted to start doing jobs for the highest bidder. The only way Pembrook could get the rouge Drona subjects to stop doing these jobs was to kill them. Beltran and his team killed a pro-democracy presidential candidate in Ethiopia along with the candidate’s family. Pembrook was outraged that they killed children for a paycheck (as opposed to Pembrook I guess who only tortured children for a paycheck). Since Pembrook was trying to kill Beltran’s team, they are returning the favor. Callen reminds Pembrook that he is responsible for turning these people into psychopaths.

A team of shooters open fire on the van. Callen gets his gun back from Pembrook and the two make their way to a stairwell. From the stairwell, Pembrook shoots into the van and blows it up. Callen and Pembrook start running up the stairs but Pembrook is slow – he’s been shot. Neither Callen or Pembrook have phones – Callen’s went into the pool, Pembrook ditched his burner at Pershing Square. Pembrook has more happy news – he’s out of ammo.

Walking into an office that is being refurbished, Callen and Pembrook have Beltran and a partner in hot pursuit. Hiding in a cubical farm, Callen and Pembrook escape to a stairwell but almost run into Beltran’s other two partners. Callen and Pembrook go up another flight.

In Ops, Fatima downloads some photos of Beltran and his team – Cortes is in one of the photographs.

Kilbride wants full transparency on Pembrook’s Black Ops from Cortes. That is going to happen according to Cortes. The CIA is willing to cooperate in the matter but not everything is going to be shared. With his earwig in, Fatima tells the Admiral that Cortes worked with Beltran. Cortes gets a text message with a list of CIA safe houses near where Callen and the van were last seen. Kilbride starts talking to Fatima with Cortes in the room. Cortes wonders what the Admiral is doing.

Callen and Pembrook get a higher floor. Pembrook is in rough shape. Finding a server room – that is fireproof and locks from the inside – Pembrook wants to stop running and let Callen go. Callen and Pembrook wind up locked in the server room with Beltran and his team now on the floor.

Kilbride accuses Cortes of being part of Beltran’s team. Cortes denies it. The Admiral wants to know what Cortes’s role is in all of this.

Beltran tries to open the server door but it is locked. He is about to move on when he realizes there is blood on his hand. He asks the team to find something that will cut through the steel door.

Saying that Kilbride’s accusations are stupid, Cortes stands to leave. The Admiral warns him not to so Cortes pulls a weapon on him. “Are you insane,” is Kilbride’s reaction. Saying his life is over as he knows it, Cortes is desperate to get out of the building. Looking at the big screen, Fatima sees Cortes with his weapon out.

Fatima walks into Kilbride’s office with her tablet and a pretend update. Cortes orders her to leave – he’s exiting the building with Kilbride as a hostage. Fatima won’t leave, earning a second gun pulled by Cortes. She tells Cortes to look around. There are several NCIS Agents with their guns drawn all over the second floor of the office building, including Agent Castor directly across the second floor.

Cortes wants to leave the office and threatens to shoot Kilbride and Fatima if he can’t get his way. When nobody moves, Cortes fires a shot into the floor by Kilbride and promises the next one is going into Fatima’s face. While Fatima is clutching her tablet, she has her firearm under it. To protect Fatima, Kilbride stands. Cortes wants everyone to lower their weapons and Fatima gives the order to the others. Cortes wants her to move to the left. Causing a distracting, Fatima makes a Beyonce joke, asking if it is her left or his left. When it is her left, the Admiral hits the deck, as does Fatima and the other agents on the floor unload their weapons in what was Kilbride’s office. When Cortes does not go down, Fatima starts shooting and before long, he’s fallen out the window and onto the main floor outside of Hetty’s office.

As Beltran and company work to drill their way through the lock, Callen is looking for a way out of the server room. Pulling down an air vent, he makes enough noise to stop Beltran for a second but only a second. The drilling resumes. The air vent is way too small to fit Callen or Pembrook.

Using Cortes’s facial ID iPhone, Castor is able to open the phone and pass it on to Fatima. She finds evidence that Cortes was sending out everything NCIS was working on while he was there (and alive). She starts tracking Beltran’s phone location. Fatima sends the office building location to Kensi and Rountree who are on their way. They were waiting for Deeks but are going in without him.

As the drill gets closer to opening the door, Pembrook tells Callen that when Hetty found out what he was doing she pulled Callen from the program. He’s to blame for all that happened, not Hetty. Callen wonders why Hetty didn’t tell him. The drill breaks through the lock.

Kensi and Rountree see smoke coming out of the garage. Inside, they find the burnt remains of the van with no bodies. Bringing the big guns, Kensi and Rountree follow the bloody handprints Pembrook left on the stairway walls.

When Beltran gets into the server room, Pembrook looks to be alone. Asked where Callen is, a seemingly struggling Pembrook says he doesn’t know, they split up. Beltran says everyone always thought Pembrook was evil, a monster. But Beltran knew otherwise and that was going to be Pembrook’s downfall. Pembrook doesn’t agree. Living with what he’s done is far more difficult than dying will ever be. Beltran promises to put Pembrook out of his misery.

Hanging from a small ledge over the door, Callen shoots Beltran. Jumping down, he takes out Beltran’s partner. As the other two team member rush back to the floor, Kensi and Roundtree arrive, arresting both. Kensi gets an ambulance for Pembrook.

Outside of the ambulance, Pembrook hears that Officer Behr and Leah are safe. Callen has arranged for NCIS Agents to take Pembrook to the hospital. That’s not happening as Officer Behr shows up with Intelligence Agents from both the DoD and NSA – they’re taking Pembrook somewhere safe. Callen is livid – does Behr know what Pembrook has done? He does, Behr was a Drona subject, “There are a lot of us. He made us, for worse or for better.” As Pembrook drives away, Callen wants to know why Hetty never said anything.

Back in the office, Callen looks at all of Hetty’s things. He gets a phone call from Pembrook. He wants to meet Callen outside.

Outside, Pembrook has a large file. He answers Callen’s question – Hetty never said anything because she was consumed with guilt for getting Callen involved in the Drona program. Callen isn’t really interested in Hetty’s guilt about trying to turn children into super-agents. Pembrook disagrees. Hetty put Callen into the program because he was brilliant and gifted, wanting him to live up to his full potential. Hetty’s world was the arts and Callen wasn’t going to learn how to play the violin. She wasn’t going to make the mistake some parents make of taking child with one set of talents and forcing the child to master a different set.

Callen points out that Hetty isn’t his parents. “You mean everything to her. And you always have.” Callen is as close to a son as Hetty ever had – she told Pembrook that because even Hetty needs someone to talk to sometimes. While Callen may feel he’s been alone in this world, “you’ve been far from an orphan.” Hetty loved him deeply. Both Callen and Pembrook are a little weepy.

Pembrook turns over the file with some advice. “Don’t make your life be just about the past. Let it be about the present and now the future.” Pembrook offers his congratulations on Callen’s engagement and wishes him all the happiness in the world. As he leaves, Pembrook mentions he gave Hetty the dossier on Senior Chief Petty Officer Sam Hanna. “I thought he’d make a great partner. No, that’s not true. I thought he’d make a great friend.” With all he did, Pembrook tried to look out for Callen as a way to make up for it all.

What head canon can be formed from here: “Frank Military, please come to the front desk, clean up on aisle Drona.”

As an independent hour, this was great. There wasn’t a dull moment, there wasn’t a dip in the tension, the dialogue was crisp, the action was top notch and there wasn’t a useless scene or conversation. Frank Military is the king of “competence porn” – everyone on the team was at the top of their game, doing their best work. Sam being “out of town” was a bummer – nobody writes the Sam Hanna competence porn better than Military.

But Drona. For the life of me, I don’t know why in season 13 the program completely retcon’d Callen’s childhood. For years, the backstory was Callen bounced from foster home to foster home, some bad, some really bad and some good. He was found by Hetty, went to a good college, joined the DEA/CIA/NCIS and served his country. Now, it seems Callen was some test subject where beating children was seen as great training and Callen completely forgot that part. He remembered all his foster parents but not the guy who took a hammer to his fingers.

Feh.

And if Drona and Hetty were keeping their eye on Callen from the time he was a little boy, could someone maybe have grabbed Amy Callen out of the orphanage and moved her in with a foster/adopted family before she drowned.

Retconning characters’ past isn’t new to me – Samantha Mulder had multiple middle names and multiple kidnapping scenarios. I have a high crapola tolerance level when it comes to this stuff but 13-seasons in, knowing that every season could be the last, introducing a complicated new storyline just seems like a bad idea. And it was.

Nice touch having Cortes land right outside the Hetty’s office, what Mosley called Hetty’s throne. Glad to see Castor not knocked out, instead being a key part of taking Cortes down.

So what did we learn today – you can abuse children physically and psychologically but if you suggest Sam Hanna as a friend to Callen, all’s good.

Episode number: This is episode 19 of season 14. The 321st episode overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la #Youtube

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