#that extra little lore bit at the end strayed from the ask a bit

[profanepurity]

Lucifer and Lilith story very resonated me that make me ship them despite no written text that ever mention them being a couple. Hazbin hotel that's when i was very happy seeing Lucifer & Lilith as a couple, while there is some where they are together it's either toxic or abusive or they just friend with benefit. That is also the reason i was into hazbin hotel beside the thing with Lucifer daughter trying to Redeem sinner. So what is the relationship between Lucifer & Lilith

In some stories, Lilith is said to be one of the wives of Samael, the angel of death. A lot of people consider Samael and Lucifer to be the same entity, while others separate them. While I believe that's where the interpretation of Lucifer and Lilith being together comes from, I still consider Lucifer and Samael to be two different beings, despite my liking of them as a couple Lucifer and Lilith have been together a lot in media before, which is why I sometimes hesitate to have them together as well. I want to try and do something fresh with these characters. That being said, every time I try to imagine anything different, it just doesn't feel totally satisfying lol. The idea of two people who were cast out and punished for their rebellion finding each other and falling in love is so comforting. More on their relationship below the cut!

Keep in mind that their relationship is still in the drafting stages: Lucifer and Lilith require their own spaces, so it's not uncommon for them to be apart for stretches of time. When they reunite, it's like no time has ever passed. Their relationship is fulfilling for both of them. Lucifer never demands her submission. Lilith lives in complete freedom. She wanders Earth and enters Hell as she pleases. He is always a supportive force beside her and never one that hinders her. The fact that Lucifer is always a grounded and reliable presence is what makes Lilith want to give everything she can back to him. Lilith is always checking in on him, even when she's not in Hell. They can spend hours together walking through the woods or sitting beside each other in comfortable silence. Their relationship is by no means perfect. Both of them have a tendency to draw back from each other. Of course, they argue and clash. Time has made them experts on each other, but that doesn't override their own flaws. The way I think about them a lot can be somewhat compared to the sun and moon. Lilith is the moon and draws power from the night, while Lucifer is the brightest star just before sunrise. They exist in an eternal, harmonious cycle with each other. Not only do they orbit Hell and its principles, but they orbit their son as well. I've been thinking a lot about my interpretations of Lilith and how she would present herself. She is not just the first woman and the mother of demons, she is the first witch. And while she can and is considered a demon, she walks the earth eternally like a human, like Cain. She is the head of a very ancient coven who is raising the antichrist, Lucifuge. It took much time and blood to bring him into the world, but now that he is here, Lilith is going to ensure this child survives.

[storiesoflilies]

school bus love (2)

synopsis: the familiar bubbling buzz of excitement was beginning to make her brain fuzzy, and it was all because of him.

pairing: teen!toji fushiguro x teen!f!reader

warnings: none.

a/n: wake up everyone!!! new lily lore just dropped hehe <3 please don’t think i was cringe! i was 17 and had a big fat crush on a handsome boy hehe. please reblog if you would like to continue to hear about this story xo

part 1 // part 3

her dreams were filled with fluffy clouds painted pink and green, tangerine sunrises, twittering birdsong, and the tang of saltwater as she swam through an ocean of possibilities.

she’d wake up with her toes curling and a silly, giddy smile on her face, kicking her legs as she hugged her pillow, then immediately texting her friends back home that she’d had a dream about the boy again, convinced it was surely meant to be.

her gorgeous boy, whose name was toji fushiguro.

she’d found that by slyly asking well-placed questions to her friends and bus buddy, crossing her fingers behind her back, hoping it wasn’t too obvious what she was trying to do. being the new student was a good cover, feigning innocence, pretending that she only wanted to know who everyone was at school.

“ooh, fushiguro,” her bus buddy said, a finger on her cheek in thought. “yeah, he’s been getting this bus for years. his friend group are a bunch of idiots, but he’s nice. one of the good ones.”

she heard that quite often whenever she asked about toji, that he was one of the ‘good ones’.

“you mean toji? he’s a good one.”

“keeps to himself, but he’s a good guy. never involved in drama”

“yeah, i don’t know how he’s friends with those guys, but if i had to pick, then he’s the good one.”

toji and the rest of the boys continued to sit next to her and her bus buddy in the mornings. they all had their designated spots, which meant he was always sitting across from her. nanami and her knew to leave just a little bit of extra space between them for him to put his feet up, and her brain would go into overdrive every time the tip of his sneakers touched the outside of her thigh.

she’d preen herself extra meticulously in the mornings, overthinking every stray strand of frizz sticking out haphazardly, swiping a touch of mascara through her lashes, and rolling up her skirt just an inch higher up her thighs, hoping once again that her mother wouldn’t notice as she scurried out the door to walk to the bus stop.

“if that skirt gets any shorter, i’ll know it’s a boy you’re after!” her mom shouted out in mock warning, rolling her eyes knowingly.

“see you later!” she’d answered back sheepishly, her heart thumping with anticipation at the prospect of seeing him.

although, despite her best efforts, she had never once caught toji looking at her.

she didn’t exactly know what game she was trying to play. toji would pretty much put his headphones on as soon as he got on the bus, not speaking to anyone really. she couldn’t ask anybody if he had a girlfriend; her intentions would become blatantly obvious if she did. but she didn’t really see any other option. otherwise, her heart would end up crushed and compressed like a soda can.

so one day, after a night of scrolling through his Facebook profile and finding nothing, she sucked in a breath and blurted out, “does fushiguro have a girlfriend?”

her bus buddy stilled, fingers paused in the middle of typing something on her phone, and raised a brow. “ohh, so that’s what all this has been about.”

a flush of heat ran through her. “what do you mean?”

her buddy smirked, tucking her phone into her blazer pocket as her complete attention was captured. “you like him.”

deny, deny, deny.

“psh, do not. was just wondering.”

“sure, babe. that’s why you look all dolled up in the mornings now. thought it was because of gojo, to be honest, but i respect the choice.”

she pursed her lips and said nothing, completely regretting her decision to even ask the question. her bus buddy sighed and gripped both of her shoulders, intensely staring at her as whatever plot was forming in her head brewed.

“right, time to play wing-woman. i’ll get the conversation going and rope you into it when i get the chance, okay?”

“so, does this mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

“not that i know of, unless she doesn’t go to our school.”

the bus pulled up to the stop, and she saw toji’s familar black mop a head above the other students, along with gojo’s hair of white starlight and namami’s signature blonde locks. she gulped nervously and slowly made her way to the back of the bus. her bus buddy was looking over her shoulder, grinning excitedly when the boys finally boarded.

“you ready?” her buddy squealed, bouncing her legs up and down.

she shushed her loudly, glancing warily at the boys approaching them. the younger kids in the middle of the pathway were like buzzy bees flitting about a field of flowers. gojo glanced uninterestedly at them all, patting geto on the back to usher him into his spot. toji huffed as he took his seat, reaching into his pocket and opening up a chocolate bar.

her buddy nudged him, a little roughly, the corner of her lip curling upwards. “sup, fushiguro?”

toji frowned, as if questioning why she was even speaking to him, halfway through biting into his chocolate bar. “what?”

“nothin’, was just wondering how you were. haven’t spoken to ya in ages,” she smiled lopsidedly, leaning her back against the window and facing him more directly.

“yeah, fine,” toji replied slowly, still chewing. “and yourself?”

she tried not to make it obvious that she was listening in to their exchange, so put on her headphones and played her music on a low volume. her buddy continued chattering away to toji, who still looked mildly confused, while nanami surprisingly chimed in every so often as well.

a light kick to her shin snapped her out of her thoughts, and she pulled on her headphone wires to remove them from her ears, looking at her friend expectantly, the tips of her ears warm as her heart pounded.

this could be it.

“hey, we were just talking about plans for the summer. what have you got planned?” she asked, both eyebrows raised.

“oh, i think I’ll be going back home for a while,” she answered, crossing her legs over.

“right, yeah, makes sense,” her friend mused, nodding her head. “i’m sure you miss it.”

it was silent for a beat, and then nanami piped up beside her, “it’s really warm where you’re from, right?”

she giggled softly. “yeah, you could say that. almost never rains.”

“fuck,” toji scoffed, shoving his empty wrapper into his pocket. “sign me up.”

the world stopped for just a second.

it was just him, with his green eyes focused on her, and she felt like the only girl in the world.

she grinned, flashing her teeth, and let out a genuine laugh.

she felt on top of the world.

©storiesoflilies 2024, all rights reserved. please do not plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my work on other sites! i only post on ao3 and tumblr.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Date nights with Eyeless Jack include...

Kinda miss writing creepypasta stuff but I'm a little pressed for ideas <\3 doing this in between requests so ! I'll get to them some time today; likely tonight

I think I might do more "date night" stuff with other creepypasta characters bit we'll see!

Very au/hc heavy btw!!

A lot of the dates you guys have together is usually at his place or yours; or sometimes you guys walk around the woods he's made his home! Just.. please stay close by, hes set up traps around to catch any trespassers

Plus even if you guys try to go out to eat and you guys manage to get in there without raising any suspicions, it would all be for nothing. Jack doesnt really

Eat human food

Like it's not like he prefers flesh over food, in fact if he could undo what was done to him he would in a heartbeat. But he genuinely cannot eat human food without getting violently ill

Think tokyo ghoul rules

So dinner dates are out of the question, if you feel bad for eating in front of him while he gets nothing (he doesnt like eating in front of others, anyway)

Movie dates, however, are very nice! Eyeless jack already has a lil tv and a DVD player, so if you bring a couple disks you guys can have a movie marathon!

Cuddles :)!

You guys sitting on his old couch and snuggling up under the blanket

Jack has a very low body temperature, so be sure to bring extra blankets!

Since I personally hc jack to be short and thick hes like a teddy bear! Very good for cuddling!

Honestly date nights are very similar to your normal hang outs, given the limited options... but eyeless jack goes out into the woods and picks flowers for you! So theres that!

Just dont ask why it looks like he got in a nasty fight (he maaaaaay or may not have strayed top far into slendermans portion of the woods)

(Casually slips in personal au lore)

Date idea where you patch jack up after that, or after he bonks himself from flinging himself around

That

Is actually kind of sad since in my interpretation Jack doesnt want to be this man eating monster, he doesnt want to eat people. But he physically cant eat anything that isnt flesh, and he literally goes feral when he gets too hungry. He literally tries so so hard not to go into a blood frenzy that it can end up in him hurt

That

Sucks, actually

Sits

Moving on if I recall correctly I had a post somewhere where you and eyeless jack walk around the streets late at night when no one else is out, and it helps jack feel like hes still a person. Let that man get a taste of his old life, as a treat

[sildhra]

I've been following your art on other sites for a while! I see your OC posts but I'm always too nervous to ask about them ; ; I read your pinned lore summary but may i have some fun facts about your favorites? :]

First of all, thank you for your interest in my OCs! Seeing your ask made me very happy so I'll gladly tell you more about my favorites ^^ I may stray away an say some stuff about some of my other OCs as extra!

Beck, or as I like to call him, Short King, is a pretty chaotic guy and having the ability to mimic any voices is surely playing into this. In high school, he was so troublesome with this that he got suspended one month for making prank call on the school intercom. They had to change them so only the staff could access them. The only good thing he did with his voice at school was to sing for his crush, Nova, with the voice of her favorite singer. Yeah, he is also very good at singing and he is the lead singer in the band he formed with his best friends Randy and Gython. I also feel like saying that Beck, Randy and Gython are based on the RGB color model as you can see on their design and their names!

For Tsukiyo, she is the second OC I have ever made! (Natsuki being the first one.) One of the funniest fact I have about her is that she originally didn't have bangs but ended up giving her some because I wasn't able to draw her 2 eyes correctly AND it was a redesign of her very first design to make into a Danganronpa OC… So yeah, a part of her current design comes from my Danganronpa phase of the beginning of my journey as an artist. Since we are digging into old stuff for her, let me tell you that Natsuki also got a Danganronpa redesign and that Volcanoman and Ayami were originally entirely Danganronpa OCs before revamping them for my current original story.

Another one of my top favorite is Volcanoman! I think he is my favorite design wise and he is so fun to draw. Little touch here about his design, his color palette was color picked from a volcano image from google and this fact still haunts me to this day. He is sort of a mysterious character despite being the wholesome and most reliable guy of the group. Every time he says his real name something will happen so nobody can hear it, his orange hair strands can't be removed, his BFF aka Ayami is literally the most unpredictable person and he loves extreme sports even as the most cautious guy alive. What's even more mysterious is that no one ever questioned this…

Keeping the little guy for the end, Quill is the silly one of the Dinobirds. At first, he was my least favorite. I didn't liked how I drew him and thought many time about giving him a redesign. As time passed, each time I drew him, he started to grow more on me and he became my favorite. I was also not expecting him to be the most popular towards others too so it was a surprise for me. Zero braincell orb supremacy.

I could info dump for hours but I'll keep it there for now! I hope you enjoyed these bits of fun stuff and feel free to ask more! I'll be happy to answer ^^

[deutoplasmic]

LMAO POOR MJ,,, at least mame is on his side 😭 BUT NO THINK ABOUT IT,,, LIKE THIS ISNT HOW TAKERU WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN BUT NOW THAT HES GOT YOU!!! he grabs you by the waist and pulls you to him until your chests are touching and his face is close enough to yours that if you leaned in just a bit more,,, and all you can see is his stupidly handsome eye smile and his stupidly smug lips and his stupidly broad chest,,, and his hand is just caressing your back taunting you to make the next move,,,

THANK YOUUJFJFJDJD its actually a roaring moon shirt!!! i thought it would be cute lore if his family’s been raising dragon pokemon since salamence looked like its past form so >< absolutely hated drawing it tho ngl i love paradox pokemon but they have such complex designs HFNDJDJD

LMAO THE POOR RATTATA 😭 and even poorer ruki having to defend himself 😭😭 goes on a whole rambling tangent about how his ponyta likes your ponyta which made him race you to impress your ponyta (and also impress you!! but he says that part so quickly you think you misheard) which started your friendship and now he wants to make himself and his rapidash look COOL but collecting silly palm tree dragon and fabulous hair moles DOESNT LOOK COOL and and and and-

LMAO POOR KYO 😭 bro eventually brings in a wooper and gives it to masaya like “here you go. fire extinguisher” but he’ll take the free food!!

OMGJFKDJ PLSSSS THAT LOUDRED WOULD BE WITH JUNKI AT EVERY KARAOKE!!! LIKE HE HARMONIZES WITH THAT THING!!! THEY GO BUSKING TOGETHER!!!!!

GIBLE WANTS TO SEE YOU YUP!!! NO ONE ELSE,,, HE JUST GOT DRAGGED HERE HE SWEARS (flashbacks to him waking gible up extra early to see you before kyo runs his deliveries for the day) AND OMG ACTS OF SERVICE KYO YOURE SO RIGHT,,, hes literally on his knees in front of sho asking for all the best berries and sho’s laughing and like CALM DOWN

AND YOURE RIGHT,,, GENTLE SHY KOSHIN,,, WITH HIS HAPPINY AND CLEFAIRY,,, probably wants to be a pokemon nurse and so his pokemon know all the good healing moves!!! its him and happiny and clefairy and maybe an eevee!!! against the entire world!!! no one can stop them!!!! (he has no pokemon that can fly or swim so he needs nalu to bring him places sometimes)

neutral emoji. 😐. i want "takeru i'm going to eat you alive" engraved on my tombstone. im not even a takeru main. what the hell. what the hell. i'm never seeing him the same again. i fear i might go a little more crazy the more i think about it. oh my god. the subtle suggestion of if you leant in..... you can't even run away (nothing is stopping you from property damage but that's no fun) bc you're in a literal shack........ he's SOOOOO. such a little sly devious cunning guy oh my god oh my gooooooooooooooooooooooooood

WAIT youre so right. nowadays a bunch of people are straying from their family pokemon raising history but NOT fengfan!!!!! if he sees an axew the voices are telling him to adopt!!!!!!!!! god he prolly has a whole bunch of tatsugiri around this one river system. there are multiple appletuns roaming around. he loves his dragons!!!! also omg sorry... so unfamiliar with the ancient/future pokemon..... i can never remember their names for some reason i just know that like no way there's a gardevoir/gallade predecessor wait i think this guy is related to suicune....... but you drew it so well!!!!!!

he is prolly RAPPING everything out it just comes out in a whole big blurt of words and at the end you're like... uh can you repeat that again please and he adamantly refuses. with enough bribery (you ask him out) he MIGHT tell you!!!!!!! maybe!!!!!!!!! that's if he doesn't run off in fear LOL. you tell him that there is no shame in collecting cool long necked tropical flora pokemon and he stumbles over some stones in shock

MASAYA WITH A WOOPER OHHHH MY GOD maybe even a horsea or like a mudkip or a popplio. but they're just silly fun guys!!!! masaya always sneaks gible some honey every time kyo comes to deliver smth and when confronted denies everything LOOOOL

I WAS THINKING ABLUT A BUSKING AU YOURE ACTUALLY IN MY WALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUNKI AND LOUDRED SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT...... they come home every day with a nice collection of tips and spend half of it at your poffin shop LOL you keep telling him that poffins are for pokemon but junki is unfazed. in fact he keeps asking you to make more mago berry poffins bc they taste so good

IM IMAGINING IT AND AHHSHHHHH maki the man you are..... THE MAN YOU ARE. sho always has the good stuff in his backyard and it's the only berries kyo will give you bc everything else isn't up to scratch in his opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!! you give him a bunch of poffins every time in exchange and he keeps insisting you keep them LIKE???????

THEYRE PROBABLY SO CUTE OMG..... someone's pokemon accidentally get hurt and nurse koshin is INSTANTLY there like hi :D my pokemon and i can help you out! and they do the most efficient perfectly executed heal ever and wow! all is well!!! also koshin definitely has a devious stash of lum berries tucked in his jacket pocket for emergencies bc he's prepared like that!!!!! the eevee definitely becomes a sylveon. no doubt. it evolves with friendship and a fairy type move which is definitely floral healing like come on. SPEKAING OF NALU TAKING HIM AROUND ON THE LAPRAS IM THINKING ABOUT KEN WITH A DRAGONITE. ITS SO RIGHT TO ME. he won it as a dratini in a championship and they've been partners ever since!!!!!!!!!

[crowtrinkets]

Your Weary Widow Marches

A Gender Neutral MCxFelix fic in which our dear barista educates their teacher and shows him some music from their home.

I’ve never really written fanfiction before but I thought Id give it a shot. The formatting looks weird on my end so if it looks weird after posting I apologize I couldn’t figure it out. Hope you enjoy!

—-

The crackling fire and pages being turned were the only sounds heard for the past few hours. Felix and I sat on either side of a couch placed in Anisa’s office silently reading our respective books. I’ve been in Astraea for nearly a week and had I known that Felix’s teaching method would be done via reading books the size of an encyclopedia I probably would have chosen Sage or Anisa instead... probably

I glance up at Felix, he’s sitting with legs crossed slouching on the arm rest of the couch, glasses on and enthralled in his book. I'm leaning with my back against the arm rest facing Felix, peering at him from behind my knees. I watch as his eyes scan the pages, partially hiding behind my book so he doesn’t notice me stare. I rub my eyes, dry from the endless reading of Astraean history. I know plenty of history and lore from this world thanks to countless hours of playing Last Legacy and stalking forums, but I don’t think I could’ve convinced Felix of that without having to explain what video games are let alone the internet. He thought if I were to learn magic I should at least know part of its history and it’s contribution to their society. 

Despite spending some time with Felix I'm still amazed at the attention span he has for reading. I scan the room trying not to move too much lest I be scolded by the warden. I glance over at the high back chair across the room. The one Anisa sat me in after my jaunt through Felix’s portal and painfully onto Anisa's desk. My mind begins to wander. 

I’ve only been here a short time but I feel like I’ve adjusted well. I wonder what's happening on Earth. Does time pass the same at home like how it does in this realm? World? Alternate universe? I still don’t exactly know how to explain my predicament. Has anyone noticed I'm gone yet? I wonder if I’m on the missing persons list, someone at work will have noticed I didn’t show up for my shifts. I cringe slightly at that last thought, my open book now resting on my chest. Ah damn it, I’m definitely fired aren’t I. How am I gonna pay my bills.... and my home, I miss my bed....my plants. SHIT MY PLANTS. I bring my hand to my face and cringe, my beloved house plants they’re going to wither away in my absence. Fate is such a cruel mistress.

“Bored of reading are we?” I slightly jump at Felix’s comment. I bring my hand down and look at him. Staring at me through his glasses a smirk on his lips. I flush slightly and close my book.

“No I just, got to thinking about Earth, and my life, I guess I’m just a little home sick,” I mumble out those last words. I want to be honest with Felix but I don’t want him beating himself up for my situation. I mean yes he is the reason I’m stuck here but I don't hate him for it. Felix frowns and closes his own book.

“Ah... I am sorry about that, I-“ I sit up interrupting him.

“No no no, I'm not mad at you, I’m actually quite enjoying my time here. I mean I don’t have to make drinks for annoying customers everyday here,” I force a laugh but it comes out awkwardly. Felix gives me a quizzical look. I then realize, with the amount of times he calls “dear barista” I just assumed he knew what it meant. “Yknow, my job? A barista?” Felix flushes and avoids looking at me.

“I must admit.. I do not actually know what that is,” I cant help but chuckle, the great necromancer Felix, is embarrassed to not know something.

“Well my dear teacher," I emphasize the word teacher mimicking the way he calls me, "allow me to educate you on some Earth information,” I sit cross legged and scoot closer to him book in my lap. Felix adjusts to face me properly and removes his glasses. I clear my throat and smile at him. “My part time occupation of being a Barista, requires me to make drinks for customers and sell them, more often I make coffee but sometimes people order tea. We sell pastries as well,” Felix gives me yet another confused look.

“All you do is prepare drinks and flakey confectioneries?” I nod in response with a smile, I can only imagine what he assumed a Barista was. Felix chuckles and runs a hand through his hair, “All this time I thought it was something more complicated, you described your customers as being annoying? I am assuming you do not like this particular job?”

“Well, I don't hate it but the customers can get a little rude and for the dumbest reasons too. One time a woman threw her drink at me claiming I added 3 1/2 shots of espresso and rather than 3,” I laugh to my self looking back at the memory, chuckling more when I see Felix’s horrified expression.

“A woman... threw a drink at you? Because she deemed it made incorrectly? I did not except Earth customs to be so. . . Barbaric,” Felix looks at me astonished and confused but all I can do is laugh. “And why are you laughing? Are you alright did she hit your head when she assaulted you with a beverage?” Felix is now standing while I clutch my stomach in pain, the combination of the story and Felix’s confusion is too much to bare. After a minute I manage to calm down enough to speak.

“No no, she did not hit me in the head, I’m just laughing cause it was funny, well at the time it wasn’t but my co workers took pictures and I looked ridiculous. I can laugh about it now,” I wipe a stray tear from my eye as I recount the experience. Thank god her drink was iced. 

“Picture?” Felix chimes in. I try to think of how to explain how photography works but I come up with an idea.

“Why don’t I show you?” I stand handing Felix my book and I jaunt over to Anisa’s desk. I let her peruse my backpack because she seemed so interested in my “Earthly items” as she called them. I walked back over and sit on the floor, patting the ground next to me so Felix can join. 

“You known there is a perfectly good sofa right next to you, I don’t understand why you wish to sit on the ground like we are mere children,” but despite his protests Felix sits next to me still clutching our books. I rummage through my back tossing the other items to the side. My wallet, a flyer, a jacket, that granola bar which has definitely crumbled to pieces in its package. Until I finally find it, my phone. My first night here I instinctively tried to use it, forgetting I am now stuck in a world without wifi or cell towers. In an effort to hopefully conserve its battery I hard shut off my phone I did not think I would need it but now is an opportunity for me to educate Felix about my world rather than his and tell him a little about myself. Really I just want a reason to prolong my time from reading anymore history. I hold the power button and silently pray. Please have some battery left, please please. Felix is leaning towards me, his face inching closer to mine, I glance at him studying his expression. He looks confused, and curious at the same time, there's a slight scrunch in his brow like he’s trying to seem like he understands what I’m doing, but I know he doesn’t. In that moment his eyes meet mine, I turn my head to fully face him, a blush creeps up his face and I can feel mine begin to warm as well. “Felix-“

BING

We both jump at the sound of my phone turning on. Damn phone, well I guess I kinda asked for that. Felix sits back and clears his throat.

“Um, what, what is that?” His voice wavers slightly but I choose to ignore it to save him some dignity.

“Its my phone, on Earth nearly everyone has one of these. You can use it to communicate with other people, take pictures, look things up, and listen to music.” I begin to unlock it and open my photo album.

“You can communicate with other people? On this... this flat brick?” Felix points accusatory at my phone the scrunch in his eyebrows have intensified creating deep crevices on his forehead. I nod while I scroll through trying to find the photo. 

“Yup and take pictures, such as this one,” I turn my phone to face Felix revealing the image documenting the after affects of being assaulted with coffee. He leans over to get a better look. In the picture I'm standing by the cash register, soaked through my clothes in an extra large coffee's amount of liquid. The brown liquid stains my apron and the parts on my white shirt poking out from underneath. There's smeared whipped cream going across my shoulder up my neck and partially along my jaw, and the scowl on my face could kill a man. The instant I show the picture to Felix he plants a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. He turns away in an attempt to hide his amusement but I know he wont last.

“Im-I must apologize I did not mean to laugh but, but the look on your face is hilarious,” Felix faces me again trying to hide his smile with the back of his hand. I start to chuckle, I turn the phone back to me and swipe to the next picture. Its a similar picture but in this one my co worker put whipped cream on top of my head, something about it “completing the look”. When I show this picture to Felix it breaks his terrible attempt of remaining poise. He laughs loudly, and it’s extremely contagious. I laugh along with him reminiscing in his beautiful laugh. Every once in a while we calm down until we look at the picture and we start up again. After a bit I’m able to calm down enough to speak.

“Don’t feel bad for laughing, at the time I was pissed but my co workers cheered me up and now I have these memories to laugh at,” I start to look through my album again as Felix calms down from his laughing high. I find more pictures to show him. Some are of me at work with my co workers, one picture of me laughing as I held a dog that jumped through the drive through window. I show him more pictures, some are of earth sunsets which Felix claimed to look like they belong in a painting. I also show him a picture of some Geese I saw while on a walk, and then a picture of said Geese chasing me. This gets Felix to laugh again but not as hard.

“You lead an interesting life on Earth, it seems similar to Sage you are also prone to provoke others into attacking you,” I roll my eyes at Felix’s joke and give him a friendly shoulder bump. Its at this moment I realize how close he’s sitting. Our books set aside and Felix is leaning on one arm politely looking over my shoulder at my phone, I can tell he doesn’t really understand how it works but it seems he’s enjoying this moment to much to ask. In an attempt to keep the sweet moment I change the subject.

“Hey do you want to listen to some Earth music?” With a nod from Felix I close the app and instinctively go to press my streaming app. Damn no Internet. I think for a second and remember I have some music I bought in times before streaming apps existed. I find the app and open it. Dear god my taste was cringey. I scroll through the songs until I stumble across a less than embarrassing song. “This is a classic where I come from, everyone has heard this song at least once. I lay back onto the floor so I can properly listen to the music. Felix looks at me and awkwardly lays down as well, I click on the song allowing it to play.

Just a small town girl

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit

He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Felix gives me a puzzled look but I just shrug and look up at the ceiling. I close my eyes and take in the song as it plays. If I concentrate hard enough I can imagine my self back on Earth. Sitting in my room listening to 80s music while I do laundry or cook my dinner. I start to feel nostalgic again but I try not let my emotions take over. The song ends and I pause it before it plays the next song. I roll onto my side and rest my head on my hand.

“So what’d you think?” I beam at Felix, I genuinely want to know what he thinks of Earth music, and more specifically a song that I am quite fond of. Felix is laying flat on his back, he ankles crossed and his hands laying on his chest. He looks nervous to be laying on the ground next to me but has made no attempts to leave.

“I thought it was... interesting to say the least. It had quite a captivating story although I was confused when the subject changed multiple times, and what exactly are they trying to “not stop believing” in” Felix does air quotes and seems genuinely enthralled in the “story” of the song. I smile and start to look for another song. 

“How about you choose the next one?” I tilt my phone towards him. Felix sits up at my question.

“I dont feel very well versed in Earth music though,” He mumbles. I shrug at his comment.

“Just pick one with a name that sounds interesting to you” I show Felix how to use the phone and hand it to him laying back down. I peek at Felix, he’s holding the phone in one hand and is scrolling with the other, he’s holding it like an old man. I watch his face, he’s thoroughly looking at every single song title and determining whether they are interesting or not. I find it... cute, his concentration face is cute. Oh if he caught me staring I know he would become a blubbering blushing mess, I mean I would be too. I close my eyes again as I wait for him to pick. 

“This one seems interesting,” I hum in response, but when Felix says the title out-loud and panic seizes through me. I sit up and shout WAIT but I'm too late. He already pressed it. And then I hear it.

That dreaded, infamous G note. Felix turns towards me surprised and hastily hands the phone to me, I pause it before another note can play.

“Hells MC what will that song make my head explode or something??? You nearly made my heart stop.” Felix takes a deep breath with his hand on his chest.

“I'm sorry, that song its kind of embarrassing actually,” I can feel myself flushing, I look away in embarrassment at the fact that I had that song downloaded and the fact that I nearly sent my teacher into cardiac arrest.

“Embarrassing how?” Felix looks at me puzzled. I open my mouth to speak but then stop. Hold on a second, Felix doesn’t know this band, let alone what an emo phase is. Well judging by his raven skull necklace he does but not in the way I do. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if we listened to it. I do still like their music. But god did it HAVE to be this song. I clear my throat and look back at Felix.

“Nothing, it’s nothing I was just being dramatic,” I stifle a laugh. “We can listen to it, I actually quite like this band,” Felix nods and turns to face my direction, were now both sitting cross legged and I press play on the song. I smile a little as the song plays and close my eyes again. I cant even remember the last time I listened to this song. My mind begins to wander again, to my younger years when I first heard this song.

 I was such a try hard back then, wanting so badly to “be different” but also to mend the emotional pain I was going through, and this band really helped me through it. This song is a little more narrative than the last one so I hope Felix would like it. I can’t believe I freaked out like I did god he must think I'm crazy, or maybe that lady really did hit my head when she threw that drink at me. As the song plays I silently hum to it, quiet enough so that Felix might not hear. I drink in the lyrics and instruments and it feels like I'm listening to it again for the first time. 

The song ends and I open my eyes again to pause the music before it plays another one.

“So what did you think of tha-“ before I can continue I'm stopped by the sight of Felix’s face. His eyes are misty and his nose is colored pink. Was he... was he crying? Felix looks at me and his eyes go wide. He quickly turns away and rubs at his face.

“There-there is quite a lot of dust on this floor, honestly you would think Annie would have any sense to clean in here every once in a while,” I cant help but smile, wow he really is a goth child. 

“It’s ok Felix, this song makes me cry sometimes too,” Felix side eyes me and sniffles.

“I-I was not crying, yes I admit the song was... moving to say the least…. But, but I will not be mocked by you for my emotions,” Felix turns to face me again refusing to meet my eyes, his voice turning accusatory. I scoot closer to Felix and place a hand on his shoulder. He looks at me astonished and slightly flushed, either from the contact or the crying, I mean dust, I will never know.

“Congratulations” I say with a smile. Felix’s puzzled look twists even more.

“What ever are you talking about,” Felix questions.

“You’re emo now,”

[bluntforcefem]

carcinization, babey!

so floating around blaseball spaces have been blink’s lore on how the garden has affected the flowers’ players, and recently, mads’ stuff on how the call got the firefighters, which makes it sound like they got murdered but that’s fine. and i started thinking about carcinization, because becoming a crab is about a lot of things, like gender and crabs and being a Part Of The Team and love, y’know, crab things, but it’s also about what is left in the “absence” where a [mumbles vaguely] killed god was at some point, and it’s also incredibly up to interpretation! 

anyway! crabs players.

so, a basic thing of how i view carcinization: it’s both connected to debbie and not. at some point, it was because of her, and now it’s not, but it is, kind of. it’s about baltimore and it isn’t. it’s about the crabs and it isn’t. what it is about, in no uncertain terms, is the person being carcinized! on some level you have to be willing to be carcinized for it to happen. if you walk into the baltimore crabs and you say fuck this shit i don’t want this, it’s not going to happen. there’s obviously a lot of nuance to this, but the basic foundation of it is that it is voluntary! and it’s reversible. and despite being a very, very physical thing, carcinization is about emotions.

i’m going to do players in order of who i have the most thoughts about! because some crabs are definitely definitely thought about more by others than i do, haha.

so luis acevedo! traded to the crabs in the season 7 elections, from the garages. they’re a hologram, and they’re constantly shifting both their appearance and identity subconsciously or manually to suit them how they see fit. they have a very very very solid sense of identity despite this, and they’ve been around, you know? centuries old. so they get to baltimore and they kind of already know what they’re getting into, except they have no idea at all, really. 

and i think they see carcinization from this outsider’s perspective, like, this is something you get when you’re a part of the team, this is something you get when you’re truly from baltimore and you’re truly a Crab, and they want it! they really do. because the crabs weren’t super important to them at first but they become important, and they want that connection to what becomes their family. but they don’t get it, not from an outside source. it’s because they’re a hologram, kind of, but mostly their identity is malleable by them and not many other things, and that’s the way they’ve crafted it. 

so luis rolls up their sleeves and goes okay, bitch, guess i have to do everything myself around here! and they carcinize themself, essentially, they give themself chitin one day and blue blood the next and claws and legs and every time they want to change they do, and i don’t think they quite realize until late into the Up that this is their carcinization. that this is their connection to the team, because they made it that way. and they run into the place where all the crabs hang out like holy fucking shit is this what it was? and they’re all like yeah?? we figured you knew?? and [luis vc] i fucking did NOT. it ends happily for them, either way.

next is [squints at hand] squid galvanic and jacoby podcast! these two are extremely intertwined for me specifically in relation to their experience with carcinization, because they’re both playoff births, right? they’ve only truly existed on the immaterial plane for a couple years, maybe, squid longer. and i think while the shadows are normal now that the fk apple is up (something i will elaborate on   later), they used to be not so great. and squid and jacoby were born into the shadows and not baltimore, really, and carcinization couldn’t reach them there. and then squid’s out, and it is seeing baltimore for the first time in its life, and the crabs for the first time, too, and finn invites it to go swimming in the extremely toxic bay with her because it can! 

and it does, and it wakes up the next morning with chitin plates interlocking up its spine and patches of it along its jaw, and it maybe freaks the fuck out, a little. because nobody explained this to it, because nobody thought they had to? but once it gets explained and it knows what’s happening, squid is overjoyed. it wasn’t a part of the crabs like the rest were in Up, and now it’s a step closer to that, and it’s happy about it. plus, it makes it look really cool, and i think it likes the feeling of sort of being Distinctly Inhuman in another way than it already is.

jacoby, on the other hand, doesn’t get carcinization. like, they get it on an objective level? and i think they understand it, sort of, in the way that you can understand it when it hasn’t really happened to you yet. i think they’re too unsure for it to happen, and when they’re more confident they get some hermit crab carcinization, but it’s… very slow. one step forward two steps back. i think that being a replacement for a bad pitcher that got foreshadowed has made them a little too anxious in their abilities, and their carcinization reflects that. sometimes squid peels stray bits of chitin that tried to grow on its vampire squid half and sets them on jacoby’s head and they laugh about it, though, and it makes it easier. 

i think about tosser’s carcinization in the context of it reflecting self-confidence a lot as well. the general thing about tosser is that after the real bad reverse sweep before the first peanut fight, he lost his carcinized arm! normal arm time. he blames this on debbie, and on carcinization not seeing him as good enough anymore, but carcinization isn’t the one seeing anything, really. tosser, on some level, has taken a hard enough blow from that loss to lose the confidence and motivation that made that arm carcinize to begin with. in the Up the rest of the team helps him build his own arm, artificial, and it’s once again the self-made connection to your team. you don’t need carcinization to be a crab, it’s something you foster yourself, and tosser is an original, and he’s had that connection and only made it stronger. i think once he gets down chitin and muscle begins to interweave with the metal, a bit, but nothing nearly as much as before. he’s okay with that, really. prefers it.

tot fox is a fox. she wears that funny crab hat you know the one. she doesn’t mind carcinization, and carcinization doesn’t mind her, but they’ve never really interacted, i think. she gets some extra legs to scuttle around with after she kills the sun and she’s happy with that.

dreamy and nagomi are both very carcinized, i think. nagomi found strength in the ever-changing nature of it and everything about it, in contrast to the heavy stasis of lady friday, and dreamy’s an original crab! however, i think while nagomi’s carcinization has remained just as heavy and strong as ever, dreamy’s faded and molted off over siesta. not for lack of wanting, but because with the sudden absence of the crabs, it sort of weakened her connection to it, and then over the decade it just sort of retreated back into itself? and she misses it, of course, but she learns how to live without it. and then the crabs come down, and i’m always thinking about sim’s minific where the carcinization comes back all at once. dreamy knows before anyone that the crabs are back because the chitin lining her jaw is back in full force and she can feel it, intrinsically, like something coming home to her. moco is less carcinized to begin with, but i think their armor grows chitin plate to replace rusted and missing pieces.

i’m sleepy now, and i don’t have particularly strong articulated thoughts on the rest of the crabs’/former crabs’ carcinization, so you should come to the crabitat at tillmansucks.com and ask about them! because i do love them very dearly. (pedro davids my beloved)

thank you for reading! love a crab

[damagedsmile]

list seven random facts about your character about how they were made and/or facts that have not been made known yet.

- J has a metal plate in his right elbow (known as a fusion plate) from having broken it as a young man. He doesn’t carry around the correct certification for it because he doesn’t travel, but when undergoing a metal detector search in, let’s say, a rival boss’ office or club before entering, he has to show the scar to prove it (& that there isn’t a weapon strapped in that area); it makes for an extra bit of weaponry in itself however when elbowing somebody in the face.

- He once OD’ed while hitting up in an alleyway with his old shitty crew of wannabe gangsters; he’d been sold a hotshot & shot it up without knowing. His so-called buddies freaked, rang 911, & hauled ass, but during the ambulance ride the technicians managed to get him halfway lucid to confirm what he had taken and roughly how long ago, so they could give him an opoid receptor antagonist to counteract the affect and buy him time before receiving thorough attention at the hospital. Where he was promptly arrested, pumped for info on his dealer - given some slack on the info supplied - and so given a minor sentence with a rehab programme to follow afterwards.

- After his very first guy-on-guy experiment as a teen, he became paranoid that he was actually gay & stopped listening to artists such as Adam Ant & Prince. He became very sensitive to the whole ‘queer’ jibes he’d get off friends (said jokingly) & would react violently. Then he saw ‘The Lost Boys’ at the cinema & fell in love with Jami Gertz, & quickly got over his paranoia.

- I created my take on J (aside from movie canon etc) after one conversation with a friend. I was itching to get back on Tumblr but I wasn’t really feeling right about returning to my only other blog at that time, so i wanted to try a new one. My friend suggested Joker because I was such a fan & it’d be something I’d never done before. I was worried at first, saying I wouldn’t pull it off, then I said (I’ll never forget it) ‘To me, the Joker’s a dog. He’s a stray mangy dog that if you put on a leash, he’d starve himself just to slip out of the collar.’  After that one thing, I said to myself that’s it, I’m on to something with that image, let’s try it. The rest is history.

- I was adamant about using Jared Leto’s Joker as my fc because to me it made perfect sense for what I wanted to do with him: I wanted a middle ground so to speak between anarchist & artist (which were Heath Ledger’s Joker & Jack Nicholson’s in nutshells) so I needed something fresh. There were very few leaked photos at the time & very little known about the movie, so it really was a fresh slate. I recognized the gangster vibe obviously but other that that, I had leverage to do my own thing & go from canon lore to create something that could echo everything gone before. I wanted to make a Joker who encompassed those gone before while still being modern & something I could do my own thing with too. Like when people read, I wanted them to go ‘oh yeah I can see Nicholson there’ or ‘yeah there’s Mark Hamill’ or even ‘hmmm that hc makes sense’ etc etc. Hopefully I’ve done that.

- First thing I did after setting this up & reblogging some things was look in to ASPD (possibly the most fitting diagnosis for Joker). I did not want to do the whole ‘he’s crazy because he’s crazy’ thing nor did I want to do something like ‘he’s a mystery, who knows, oooooo!’. I wanted to be realistic &visceral. I wanted to take an actual diagnosis & kinda show that a) Joker has a past which helped create his ‘Joker persona’ & b) a diagnosis is just as scary as no diagnosis. I personally find it blagh when I read books or watch movies where the crazy guy is ‘crazy for the sake of crazy’; I find it scarier to know that Joker was essentially born with this diagnosis (character-disturbed child would’ve been the term at a young age) & yet the real craziness only began after ‘one bad day’, meaning it can happen to anyone, that this society we prescribe to actually drove him off the edge.

- Do not ask me wtf we was smoking but when the very first trailer for SS was leaked / released, me & the ex huddled around my phone to watch with bated breath & swore we could hear a country twang in Joker’s voice.  We re-watched that tiny segment over & over &over because we couldn’t figure out if we were imagining it or not but in the end, that’s what we were hearing. So originally I was kinda writing Joker with this country twang. Then I heard more stuff & I just had a vision of Boston come to me. Looked in to that accent, fell in love, & could recognize similar phonetics: so I changed it up.

[bearpillowmonster]

Evangelion 2.22 Review

Story and characters kind of go together so let's start with that WARNING: THERE ARE (SOME) SPOILERS. This isn't exactly a recreation of the original like the 1.11 was, this has a lot of new stuff but still some old stuff in there with it. A lot of the stuff I said about the last movie is still relevant, both good and bad. The thing that interested me in particular was the focus on the relationship between Shinji and his dad, they had that in the original but I feel it's more refined here.

How is the pacing? The last one felt like a speedrun, this one is still pretty fast, I still think some scenes would have more impact if they took an extra few seconds such as that scene where Shinji says "It reminds me of my mom. And of Rei." The delivery of that line could've added a little more suspense. There are still a good amount of scenes and lore that I got confused on because it felt rushed and it didn't go into depth like the incident with Toji's sister.

Here we see the return of Asuka and Kaji. One of the things I disliked about the original series was Kaji because he's a player, going after Ritsuko, Misato and thaat whole thing with Asuka. I just wasn't a fan of all that so I hope they fix it. He still seems like a douche so far though. But how is it as a sequel since it strays from the source a little more? Well, it does a pretty good job, they have some rhythm and patterns to some scenes that we've seen in 1.11, it keeps up pretty nicely and we can see that Shinji has grown but still deals with problems but it doesn't feel like it isn't earned because they set it up pretty nicely in the last movie. In fact, I'll say the first half of this movie really nailed it.

I didn't really mention it with the last one but I'll mention it here (this is a personal religious thing). I like the idea of having a Christian anime as a Christian myself, it's actually pretty hard to come by. The creator has said about more or less just using imagery and having it as an inspiration and that he wouldn't consider it a "Christian anime". That means both the original and rebuilds and while there are certain things that I ask, like how angels are looked at as bad in the anime, I didn't really see anything wrong with the original, it seemed to kind of justify itself because the wrongdoing that NERV was doing was considered a bad thing in the eyes of Shinji which is pretty much our perspective as well, not to mention it was the humans that gave them those names in the anime (in reference to the biblical versions). With the first movie, it didn't seem to stray off course of the original. This one has a few things that bugged me though. For one, Shinji's dad talks about "even if we have to go against God to do it." I obviously don't like that. Then they talk about how EVA 4, "North America was trying to make a god." which didn't seem right, they're talking about the EVAs and Angels reaching higher forms like it's evolution which is also a no-no. Then at the end, EVA 1, gets "divine power" so yes, they're bringing about the apocalypse (as said in Revelations, they even have the sea become blood and sea creatures die) and stopping it at the same time? That's a bit of a story problem as well, it's confusing. That's the main thing I'm questioning and is why my score (though tentative) is lower than 1.11

But they seem to think they're stronger and I'm not sure if they have faith in God or not because they acknowledge his existence. Then I've seen tons of theories and people trying to explain it but it just doesn't make sense. I guess the next two movies will open up on a few of the things since this one leaves on a cliffhanger (Even though there's an end credits scene for this one) but I feel like overall it's up for debate and interpretation because we have so many different versions of verses from the Bible (NIV, King James, American Standard) and Evangelion seems to derive from a good bit of it, making it hard and complex to make out what it's trying to say.

I want to talk about the final battle for my enjoyment though. I'm not sure why but I was really into that battle, it was kind of gripping, I'm not going to lie, I had my mouth agape.

Art is the same, I'll keep it the same. 9.

Sound was particularly popping off this time around, I actually added one of the tracks to my personal playlist. I'm not sure what I think of them playing a "gentle vocalized Children's song" as Wikipedia puts it, during the most gruesome parts (which is also the same song they sung during the graduation in Sakurasou??!). But I'll give it a 9, we got the return of Utada's track as well! This time an acoustic version.

[faunusrights]

OFFAL HUNT REMASTERED LIVEBLOG // CHAPTER 16

in which murphy nearly cries AGAIN over this fic AGAIN

Cinder didn't say anything. She returned that searching look, like she was wanting something too, like she believed Glynda held some key for her own soul.

HELP ME PLEASE GOD HELP

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE I BEG OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i GUESS WE HAVE THIS CHAPTER TOO. I GUESS. OH MY GOD. IM GONNA SCREAM.

we’re opening with florence + the machine lyrics and i LOVE me some florence which is the only thing helping me cope rn but HERE WE GO. WE JUST HAD PAIN. NOW IT’S TIME FOR. MORE, PROBABLY.

The room was cast in filtered blues that seemed to drown all other color, an abyss of night that stole the reds of Cinder’s dress, smothering her in wine-violet.

i once made an offal hunt bingo card that i should have been using the entire time (whoops) but add ‘colour theory’ to it somewhere. and also because i see violet i see glyndas colour am i onto smthng here,

ALSO:

She hadn't said a word beyond what was strictly necessary through the entire ride up to her little apartment.

glynda... have u been invited into a lady’s apartment,,,,,,,,, GLYN,,,,,,,,,, HAVE U PULLED,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, G L Y N D

The lights reflected in her eyes in discs, like screens, like cat’s eyes—shockingly yellow in all the somber blue.

OH

FUCK YEAH

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT’S GLOWY EYES HOURS FUCK YEEEEEEEEEEEEAH

i have been WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT for like FOREVER oooooooh my god yes. YES. cinder yr PRETTY EYES. i love her. did i mention that. because i do,

Glynda had heard of Faunus taking blades to themselves, to try and hide their features and escape the ever-present eye of human oppression. To cut away ears and horns and tails, shearing parts of their own bodies in a desperate break for freedom.

i want to say something thats VERY 👈😢👈 because i. hrm. dont worry abt it. im filing it away. like glynda is. but in a sadder context.

‘whats sadder than this?’

dont ask,

That couldn’t happen. Glynda didn’t want that to happen. No matter the risk. No matter how Cinder would lash out.

OUGH,,, glynda if u start 2 care then cinder will start 2 care and thats a one way ticket on the pain train to gaytown. i, for one, am thrilled,

The response on Glynda’s tongue withered as Cinder, with little fanfare, lifted her dress over her head and laid it haphazardly across the dresser. When Cinder turned back around, the faint sliver of light found purchase in the thin chain around her neck and the jade pendant laid against her bare chest.

OH

OH SHIT

/crashing sounds

MA’AM,

im having to take a minute just give me a minute please give me a m in u te

It was impossible to tell whether Cinder noticed her sliding out to the left of her own body.

glynda, but slightly to the left,

HONESTLY ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!! HELLO??????????????????? MA’AM

this bed sharing is the straw thats gonna break the murphy’s back. this is it. im gonna die.

Mindfully slow in the darkness, Glynda walked to the other side of the bed, folded her glasses onto the nightstand, and slid under the covers next to Cinder. A small space existed between them. Glynda’s heart thumped in her chest as she tried to discern even the slightest motion from Cinder at her back. Proximity made her dizzy with warmth.

im not even able to comment on like specific instances because im as LOST AS GLYNDA IS RN,,,, WHAT,,,, HELLO?????????????? GLYNDA. THEYRE

THE BED

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Glynda jostled her shoulder. “Are you awake? Cinder?”

“You’re not giving me much of a choice,” Cinder said, unmoving.

og offal hunt COULD never DID never WOULD never i am absolutely going fucking ape shitt crazy feral rn. holy shit. holy shit. lads. the bed. the bed. theyre in the bed. you. whats going on.

“I know,” Glynda agreed. “You’re kind of a menace.”

Cinder was silent. In hindsight, that hadn’t come out as encouragingly as Glynda meant.

hsdjgfsgdf if this is what its like when these two are. semi-enemies. can u imagine what it’ll be like when theyre dating

(i can)

“If I showed up on Sienna Khan’s doorstep with an army behind me, she’d demand to know what took me so long to come home.” Cinder’s eyes were burning coals lodged in the sockets of her shadowed, furious face. “Fuck her. Fuck all of them.” She paused only for breath. “It’s been years—decades—and they still think—”

GOD. THE LORE!!!!!!!!!!! i am SO interested in cinders backstory and this version is rly just going wild. going hoggie wild on this shit. what the hell happened. why did it happen????????? whats going on?????? CINDER... TELL US MORE...

She was furious, like a cornered and wounded Grimm; furious, and hungry for violence.

👈😔👈

“If there is, bring me with you.”

“You?”

“Yeah.”

this is some poetic cinema. this is some soft and tender shit. i want to cry. why is this SO good.

Something small and charmed crawled out of the hollow of Cinder’s expression: the flicker of a smile, for just a moment. She said softly, “We weren’t all born with ancient souls, Glynda. Some of us were lucky to be born at all.”

👈👈👈😭😔😞👈👈👈

this is so soft. im absolutely dying. im going to die. take me out.

It must have been the room, or the night, or air, or—something—that made Glynda admit, “I wish—that I felt that way.” At the expectant silence that followed, Glynda swallowed and continued, “Not—not with the White Fang. Just… I wish that it felt like everything had been leading to something. That everything in my life was worth it.”

Cinder was very quiet.

I AM LITERALLY SCREAMING. DIESEL. KC. I WILL PERSONALLY BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSES OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

oh this sucks SO MUCH MORE when you KNOW THINGS(tm) ABOUT THINGS and ooooooooooooooooh my god im literally gonna fuckin die oh my GOD STOP!!!! STOP I HATE IT

It was like swallowing water and holding it in her lungs. She hated how it hurt. But she would rather that than drive Cinder away. She would rather anything than be alone right now.

the good news: this edition of offal hunt is so much more potent abt everything. EVERYTHING feels more vibrant and more real and more interesting and more... everything. and its GREAT i adore it

the bad news: im fucking sobbing

“Ten,” Glynda said. “I enrolled at Beacon when I was twelve.”

okay this is still a very sad moment but also can you fucking imagine rolling up to class at 17 and seeing a literal 12 year old look you in the eye and go ‘you know i can tutor you if you need extra help’. id be fucking livid. who is this square,

Instead, Cinder dared nearer, smoothing a stray lock of hair behind Glynda’s ear. It was an oddly comforting gesture, coming from her. Glynda’s heart stalled in her chest and Cinder, ignoring it, said, “I know it meant a lot to you. That he meant a lot to you.”

me, pointing: this is it ladies and gents and beans. this is it. cinder’s gone and done it now. i can feel it on the wind. here it is. there it goes.

“What is your destiny?” Glynda asked, feeling bolder than before.

The fingers brushing hair behind Glynda’s ear stalled. Cinder’s palm laid warm against Glynda’s high, sharp cheekbone. Something stuttered and then leapt between them, and Glynda’s face went hot when Cinder whispered, “You.”

“Me?”

“We were born in the same year. You couldn’t have known that—that we’re the same age.” Cinder paused and withdrew her hand, tucking it against her own chest. “But my mother felt it. I always knew.”

Glynda didn’t begin to know how to respond.

“We were born in the same year,” Cinder repeated, almost as if to remind herself, like swearing an oath. “We’ve always been each other’s destiny.”

“I always thought it was my destiny to die,” Glynda finally admitted. “Just like my mothers.”

“No,” Cinder said, distantly. “No, it isn’t.”

okay its bad form to grab SUCH a huge section to like bring attention to it but this is. so much. not just from a fucking offal veteran perspective but SO much more too. like this section is just IT its the CORE of the THING!!!!!! and i wish i could go into why hooooooooooooly shit this bit is just. It(tm) but thats a spoiler so i will settle for this

👈👈👈👈👈👈👈👈👈👈😭😭😭😭😭😭😔😔😔😔😞😞😞😢😢😢😢😢😨😨😨😨👈👈👈👈👈👈👈👈👈

cinder’s last line? has me on the FLOOR. THE FLOOR.

When Glynda asked Cinder what her destiny was, Cinder had said you.  

The echo of it was butterflies in Glynda’s stomach.

im losing it. ima bsolutely beside myself

An unfamiliar tension lined Glynda, one she couldn't name or place or recognize. It choked up her throat and clogged her lungs with some unfathomable longing, but for what, she could not place. She looked at Cinder, studying every part of her face, and knew she was studied in turn; Cinder’s lips parted slightly as if she was about to speak, but she said nothing in the end.

But even without speaking, Glynda felt like she’d found an answer to a question she hadn’t had the courage to ask.

OOF. GOD. IM. AH. SHIT. C H R I S T.

i know that this is. [redacted]. and things. and that this is gonna turn into a chapter i look back on and WINCE at when [redacted] and [spoilers] happen but ooooooooooh my goooooooooooooooooood im dying. im outtie. goodbye. rip. fuck me.

[mouthful-of-bees]

tagged by the awesome @isisishtar !!

Author name: Lee/mouthfulofbees on ao3

Fandoms you write for: mostly yugioh dm - i did two hobbit ones when i first made my ao3 and i’ve done one for yugioh gx and one for bungou stray dogs 

Where you post: just ao3! mouthfulofbees is the pseud for anime and dog_fish for everything else

Most popular one shot: first fic i ever posted, called ‘bargeman, bowman’. it’s a hobbit fic and holds a special place in my heart, slightly embarrassing parts included.

Most popular multi-chapter: that’ll be good ol ‘roundabout’, a fic which i am leaving up as is and aiming to post an additional rewrite that i can hopefully finish this time. i do want to resolve the plot but i’ll have to shift some story elements to get there. hence the rewrite!

Favourite story you wrote: so far it’s probably ‘wouldn’t you like to see something strange’, the halloween oneshot from a couple years ago. i really nailed the mood i was aiming for, in my own distinguished opinion. that was also the one i later edited, shortened, and turned in to one of my professors as part of an assignment. she liked it a lot, and someone else asked if they could keep a copy after i casually read it to them too. definite confidence booster there

Story you were nervous to post: i’d say ‘a day in the life’ since it was the first time i’d ever written gemshipping, let alone written those characters as a focus

How do you choose your titles: i usually try to pick an existing term/quote that fits well enough. having a title for the drafting stage helps me stay motivated, and by the end i tend to keep the draft title and just change it a bit for the final posting. 

theres also that yugioh gx WIP that i literally dreamed the title to - woke up and was like “yup” and wrote it down. i love telling that story haha

Do you outline: yep, i do a bullet-point list of stuff i want to include and then expand on that to write an outline, which i then expand on to write the actual text. the outline is pretty bare although i do make sure to add in little specific details/turns of phrase that i want to put in the scene. 

sometimes i’ll change something on the fly as i write the story, so the outline can be flexible. more than once i’ve put “bleh solve the problem” there in hopes that inertia will carry me through

Complete: i have 8 completed fics! the two incomplete ones both have more than two chapters and i’ve had trouble picking them back up :^( haven’t given up tho

In progress: the published WIPs i have are ‘roundabout’ and ‘checkpoint reached’. for yugioh stuff i’ve got notes for the gemship accidental adoption au, heartshipping small town au, and some bits for an ancient egypt fic

Coming soon: HOO boy i have so many ideas. the one that’s most likely to be posted looks to be the ‘do you remember’ au, which is essentially what happens when my brain sees the hikari/yami dynamic in some dm fics and then starts to wonder how the lore itself would work out. and then refuses to let it go.

i have a lil prologue(?) in my drafts and that i think i might just post because fuckit right? maybe i’ll get extra motivation through feedback hey! i still love that one dumb piece of dialogue i thought of that helped get the wheels turning, which was “look i’m flattered you want me to join your magical clique or whatever but can we not do it in the walmart cereal aisle”

Do you accept prompts: not right now, too much going on

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: right now its the ‘do you remember’ au

uhhh tagging @van-ludwig-writes, @toonamifaithful, @kittykaibasblog, and @rykura if u guys would like! if anyone else sees this and wants to pitch in that would be lovely!

[kanrakixystix]

Tenebrae Secrets -- CindyLu

@ffxvfemslashweek

@ramtiger, @domesticfluffsimulator, @agi92

Day 3: Mermaids

This...was an undertaking that I wasn’t expecting. I’ve really been looking forward to this one, and I ended up building this whole world and lore that I wasn’t ready for. So, this is more of a pilot run of something that I might turn into a full series if it gets enough positive feedback. I rushed the ending because it’s getting late here and it was getting long, so I’m sorry if it just kind of flops at the end. ^^;;

ANYWAY, I really hope you all enjoy this. I had a lot of fun writing it! 

Word count: 3179

Sunlight beat down the back of Cindy’s neck as she cranked the ratchet, tightening the bolt to the unit behind the lighthouse. She had been outside all morning and well into the afternoon just trying to fix the damn switch that triggered the light, or something like that. Admittedly, she was more handy with cars and other vehicles. Power boxes, well, that was a different story. Not to say she couldn’t do it, but it wasn’t in her main wheelhouse of expertise. Still, she was more than happy to lend a hand to the royal attendants that had recently taken up residence in the house on the other side of the cliff while Paw-paw oversaw repairs on the boat below.

 Her vision blurred, and Cindy shook her head, blinking herself back into focus. When was the last time she ate, she wondered? She had definitely skipped lunch, and breakfast, and maybe even dinner the night before? Hell, had she even had anything to eat at all in the last few days? The more she thought about it, the louder her stomach growled, and she felt a wave of nausea crash over her. Oh yeah, it had been a hot minute for sure.

 She swiped a gloved hand over her brow, huffing as she sat back on her haunches, looking over her work. No misplaced or extra pieces – that was a good sign – all that was left was to test it. Cindy stood, vowing to eat as soon as she tested the light. Whether it worked or not, well, that was another beast in of itself, but she prayed to the gods that her work was done and she could move on to the next project.

 As she turned on her heels, she wavered. The world spiraled, and the sharp lines and edges of shapes blurred into one. Cindy blinked, desperate to regain herself, and she reached a hand out to lean on the wooden fence blocking off the cliff.

 There was no way she could have known that that one particular spot was weak, nor any way she could have stopped herself from tripping, one leg over the other as she tried to catch herself. On the way down, she could make out the sound of wind rushing past her ears and she felt the sharp crack of bones as she hit the rocks at the bottom.

She didn’t hear the water enveloping her, or feel the tug of the current pull her out to sea, but she remembered thinking, before she lost cognitive thought, that she should be dead, and  that maybe a piece of toast could have saved her life.

-

 Sunlight beat down the back of Cindy’s neck as she stirred. Everything ached, but nothing really hurt, at least, not that she could tell. That was a good start. Cracked fingertips twitched on the surface of something smooth, slimy, and she realized that she no longer had her gloves. Had she taken them off? She was almost certain that she had them on when she fell. Whatever. She was too tired to care, and the melodic voice that was singing to her was too beautiful to interrupt. Questions could wait; she just wanted to listen to this song some more.

 What song is this, anyway?

 The next time Cindy came to, there was no singing, and the ache in her bones was almost non-existent. Without opening her eyes, she sat up, groaning. Even if her muscles didn’t ache from the fall, they were definitely stiff from being unused. Slowly, she peeked an eye open. Beneath her were rocks, but not the same rocks that lie at the base of the lighthouse in Caem. Maybe she wasn’t far off, though? Her jacket was shredded, discarded in a heap a few feet away, and her gloves sat atop them. Looking over her body, there was hardly a mark at all, save for an indigo colored bruise that looked more like a watercolor painting on the outside of her left thigh. It almost resembled a flower, Cindy thought, and she ran her fingers over it.

 “I hope you don’t mind,” a voice, gentle, feminine, came from her right, and Cindy whipped her head to face the source. A gasp lodged itself in her throat as she took in the��creature. She was beautiful; Fair skin, with ash blond hair wrapped in a braid and a pony tail, and eyes as blue as the clearest water she could ever imagine. A white, sheer top that did little to cover the girl’s chest hung around her neck, and purple earrings that glittered like crystals hung from her ears. Behind her was…a tail? A tail made of dark blue, almost midnight, with gold along the edge of each scale, swished in the water.

 “What..?” Cindy managed, and she hoped it would magically ask every question that was racing through her mind. What was she? What was this place? What happened? What the hell is the mark on her leg? What was her name?

 So many questions.

 “Your leg,” she says, and motions to it with a hint of guilt in her eyes, “It’s the mark of Tenebrae, an uncommonly practiced magic from the days of old that binds a human to the kingdom of which the mermaid who gave them the mark belongs.”

 Cindy gawked and rubbed her face. This had to be a dream. That, or she was one-hundred percent dead and this was some kind of weird limbo between Heaven and Hell. Or maybe this was one of those places. She had never paid much attention to the that sort of thing, and Paw-paw wasn’t much for preachin’. She scrunched her nose and ran her hands through her hair, only just realizing that she was without her hat. Huffing, she leveled another look on the…mermaid?

 “What?”

 The girl giggled, and Cindy almost felt bad for being so flustered when she saw her dazzling smile. And that laughter. Her voice was truly godly.

 “I should start over.” She placed a hand over her chest delicately as she spoke, and the gesture, though seeming a bit over the top, caught Cindy’s eyes. Was her skin shimmering? “My name is Lunafreya. I am the Princess of Tenebrae, an underwater kingdom that lies between Niflhiem and Lucis.”

 Those were words that Cindy understood, mostly. She’d heard of Tenebrae, but the Tenebrae she knew of was definitely not under the sea. She’d overheard the prince talking about it before, how he had visited there when he was a kid because of some injury, or somethin’. It couldn’t be the same Tenebrae, right? Was it possible that there were two Tenebrae? That seemed like the most logical answer, but also the least likely. Then again, given the circumstances, she supposed she couldn’t really be a judge of what was likely and what wasn’t.

 The mermaid continued to smile at her, and Cindy felt butterflies flutter in the pit of her stomach. She, Lunafreya, was a sight to behold, barring the fact that she was half fish, and Cindy found herself entranced by her. She’d never really paid much attention to the merfolk stories that Weskham had told her when she was a little girl, but sitting here now, amongst the sea-worn rocks, face-to-face with a creature from the deep, she wished she had. At least then, whether she was alive or dead, she would kind of know what to say, what to expect.

 “What do the humans call you?” Lunafreya asked, and she folded her arms in front of her on the rock, propping her chin atop them as she floated, eyes fixed on her.

 “Uh, Cindy,” the mechanic said finally, and the sound of her voice made her wince. It was deep, gravelly, and she coughed. “Cindy Aurum.”

 “Aurum,” Lunafreya repeated with a fascinated grin. “As in gold?” Slowly, Cindy nodded.

 “That’s right.”

 If Lunafryea was going to say anything, she was cut off by the sound of Cindy’s stomach roaring to life, but not with the aforementioned butterflies. With hunger. And it promptly reminded Cindy as to why she had fallen to her death in the first place. As her stomach gurgled, the two women locked eyes, an awkward silence falling between them, until they both giggled at the situation. Oh, what the hell. If she was dead, she might as well play along with whatever fantasy this was, right?

 Because this had to be a fantasy. Beautiful mermaids didn’t just save mechanics that fainted and fell into the depths of the water.

 “You wish to eat?” she asked, but Cindy thought it was more of an obvious statement than a questionable observation. “I am afraid I haven’t much in the way of human delicacies, but perhaps…” The mermaid trailed off, as if she had gotten lost in a stray thought, then reached out, her hands lightly touching Cindy’s cheeks. They were cool, Cindy noted, and felt like mist against her skin. Maybe she had been expecting her to smell of ocean, or dead fish, she wasn’t sure, but she was pleasantly surprised that she wasn’t slimy nor smelly. Lunafreya tipped her head down and pressed their foreheads together. Under her breath, she whispered words that Cindy didn’t understand – probably some kind of weird mer-language, is that was a thing, and felt a surge of energy around them. It wasn’t scary, really, rather, she was awestruck. Her eyes flicked from side-to-side as she watched this strange magic float around them.

 And then it was gone. In its place was a bowl of soup and bread, as well as juice in an ornate glass. Cindy looked from it to Lunafreya, who had sank back to her original position, watching her again.

 “So…you can just produce food from thin air?” Cindy asked, and Lunafreya laughed.

 “Nothing can come from nothing,” she replied cryptically, and Cindy suddenly felt dumb for asking it at all. “However, I am able to manifest simple desires, should one want them enough. Food, for instance. You wanted to eat badly enough that I was able to bring it to you from your mind.”

 It was one thing after another with this girl, and Cindy felt as though she would be perpetually dumbstruck. She thought maybe she should stop asking questions, but then where was the fun in that?

 In this case, however, she wouldn’t question the legitimacy of the food. The scent of potatoes wafted into her nostrils, and Cindy lifted the bowl to her lips, uncaring of the audience she was keeping, and drank. Immediately, she pulled the bowl back and set it down on the rocks.

 It was hot, and she felt the warmth spread through her as her tongue burned. Hastily, she reached for the bread. It, too, was warm, fluffy, like the kind she remembered her mother making when she was much younger.

 Cindy froze. If she were dead, wouldn’t they be with her? Did she not lead a life good enough to see them in the end? Her arms dropped, and the bread rolled from her fingertips. She hadn’t considered any of that prior to now, but now that she had…

 “Am I dead?” she asked softly, unable to meet Lunafreya’s eyes. If she had, she would have seen confusion and curiosity in them. She would have seen Lunafryea shake her head.

 “That is the price for the your mark,” she answered quietly, and Cindy felt her touch her hand. She didn’t pull away. “Your life was spared. In exchange you are bound to the waters.”

 Blood rushed to Cindy’s head; she heard it pounding against her ears, felt it thrumming through her veins. This wasn’t happening. No way.

 “…why?” she hiccupped, and Lunafreya frowned. “Am I just your pet now?”

 “Of course not,” the mermaid assured, and with her other hand lifted her chin to look at her. “That was never my intention.”

 “Then what was your intention?!” Cindy snapped, and she had expected Lunafreya to recoil, but she remained next to her. Their hands still touching, their fingers wove together. She wanted to yank her hand away, to be angry and lash out, but where would she go? What would she do? Lunafreya was her only hope at surviving. Her hand was forced.

 “Only to save you, and perhaps get the chance to talk to you.” Lunafreya admittedly quietly, and as much as Cindy wanted to call her a liar, she knew there was truth in her words. A voice as angelic as hers could speak nothing false.

 “Can I ever go home?” Cindy asked finally, allowing her cheek to be cradled in Lunafreya’s palm.

 “If that is your wish,” Lunafreya replied. “Though, I must warn you. Your mark will always draw you back to the sea. You will miss it, long for it. The need to be near the water will overcome you over time.”

 “And what does that mean?” She had only ever really known land, the desert, specifically, and that was as far from any kind of water as you could get. It wasn’t that she didn’t LIKE water, per se. She simply hadn’t spent a lot of time around it was all. Could she grow to like it? Probably, but under her own circumstances, and not some old mermaid hat trick.

 “I don’t really know,” the mermaid sighed. “Mermaids are only allowed to mark a single person in their lifetime, and since it’s a long forgotten tradition, no one has performed it in centuries. There are rumors that the human imbued with the mark may move closer to the sea to be near it, or live on the water by way of boat. However, there have been scarce whispers of humans that have fallen in love with the water so much that they wished to become one with it, and were granted permission by the Goddess to live as one with the kingdom in which they were marked by.”

 Cindy listened as she spoke, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask any more questions, or to speak at all. What would Paw-paw say if he saw her with the mark? Would he even know what it was? Probably not, she thought. He would think it was a bruise, a permanent reminder, like a scar.

 Night was drawing upon them quickly, but Lunafreya was still there, unmoving, patiently waiting for her to process things. There were still a million questions to ask, but there wasn’t enough strength in her to keep asking them. She didn’t know if she could handle the answers, or if she really even wanted to know them in the first place. There had been a time when she had considered herself a curious girl, but never in her life had she ever thought it was a bad thing to be. Now, she wished she had never asked anything. Maybe she would have been better off dying amongst the rocks.

 …Lunafreya, though, hadn’t seemed to think so. She had saved her on the principle that she wanted to speak to her. But why? It wasn’t like they had ever met before. Maybe she was the first human she had ever seen, and wanted to ask her own questions? That seemed plausible. But again, she didn’t have the energy to think about it anymore. She wanted to sleep, preferably in a bed.

 “I want to go home,” she whispered, and Lunafreya only nodded before she finally let go of her. Cindy watched as she tipped her head down, as though she were praying, and the water around her stirred to life, waves crashing on the rocks and glowing a seafoam green. From the depths arose two giant seahorses, one on either side of her. On her left was one that was all white, with scales that gave off an iridescent shimmer in the majestic light that surrounded them. To the right was one that was all black with oil slick scales. This one, unlike the other, was wild, as though it had seen a million journeys begin and end, and Cindy could sense the pride and loyalty it emitted.

 “Oh my stars…” Cindy trailed off, eyes flicking between the two giant creatures.

 “I can only provide you so much,” she said, and her voice echoed as though it were all around her all at once. “This will have to do for now.”

 “What…is this?”

 Lunarfreya flourished her hands.

 “Pryna,” she introduced the white one, “is my spirit guide, a soul that has been attached to mine since birth.” Cindy didn’t understand, but she nodded all the same. “And this is Umbra.”

 Umbra and Cindy’s eyes met, and Cindy couldn’t be quite sure, but she was almost positive she could hear Umbra speaking to her, as though there was some sort of secret understanding between the two of them. Maybe there was, now that she was part mermaid, she supposed. It might just come with the territory.

 “Umbra can take you anywhere,” Lunafreya explained. “He has the freedom to wander through time, within certain limits, of course.”

 “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me!” Cindy exclaimed, astonished. “This seahorse can do all that?” Lunafreya nodded, and Cindy couldn’t help but laugh incredulously. “Well, I’ll be. That’s pretty nifty!”

 “Indeed it is,” Lunafreya agreed as she smiled, but it was sad, Cindy thought. “He can take you to your home.”

 “What about you?” Cindy asked. “Where will you go?”

 “Home, as well,” the mermaid said, “until you call upon me. Then I shall be wherever you call me to.”

 Cindy blinked and tilted her head. Surely mermaids didn’t have cell phones, right? How in the world was she supposed to call her anyway?

 As if reading her mind, Lunafreya swam to her once more. Again, she placed her hands on her cheeks, and Cindy reveled in the gentle mist that blessed her skin. For a brief moment, their eyes met, and Cindy thought she could see the world within them. The gaze was intense, and it only lasted until she felt the brush of lips on her own. Gold and silver sparks ignited between them, but they didn’t burn. Instead, they tingled, and danced on the pout of her lip.

 And then they were gone, as were Lunafreya’s lips.

 “For whenever you speak my name by the sea, I shall come to you.”

 Everything blurred, but Cindy could see Lunafreya’s beautiful face, followed by a black mass that she assumed to be Umbra before she felt her eyes slip shut again.

 -

 Sunlight beat down on the back of Cindy’s neck as she swore and shielded her eyes. From what she could make out, she was at the lighthouse in Cape Caem again. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, noting that she was wearing her gloves again, and they were in the same condition they were in before she fell. Her jacket, too, was all in one piece. Had it all been a dream? She gasped, and immediately twisted her body to look at her leg.

 The mark was still there.

[dragonfics]

Captain of the darkest seas

Prompt: Arranged Marriage

Ship: TwistedMoney (Or Patches & Radish. Twist/Cash.)

AU: Pirate (with a few supernatural elements thrown in)

_____________________________________

@paintys-actual-art asked for some Patches and Radish pirates! I went a bit overboard though and threw in a few extra bits of pirate lore. (And loose sea creature biology). Damn it. I’m not 100% happy with this one. It didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped, and it feels a bit.... bleh.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy, Painty! ^^

Warnings for unwanted marriage (on both sides), mention of unwanted soul bonding (not forced soul bonding), implied emotional manipulation. This was one of the angst prompts, so it’s not very happy. (The ending isn’t bad though. They’ll grow to love each other!)

~Below the cut~

The ship creaked and swayed on the waters, nothing but a gentle breeze stirring them. The night was cold and foreboding, black clouds swallowing the stars and pale moon. Even below decks, the air held a biting chill.

Cash held himself tightly, shivering as the icy air crept between the crevices of his bones. The Captain’s cabin was pitch black but for the single flickering candle beside the bed. Its flame was a cold blue—strange and foreign, its light entirely uncomforting to Cash.

He drew his knees to his chest, sinking further back against the wall. Nothing here was right. As soon as he’d set foot on the Van Der Decken, something sinister had crept into the back of his mind, shifting the pieces of his perception of reality and leaving him vulnerable. The ship itself was normal by all appearances—but then, it wasn’t. The light—what little of it there was—did not produce warmth. The pale silver-blue flames of the ship’s candles left Cash with frost-coated bones. He’d been guided below deck, where he’d instantly been swallowed by darkness. Only at his insistence had a candle been lit in the cabin as he sat in wait for the Captain.

The cabin itself was relatively ordinary—what of it Cash could see, in any case. Perhaps a little cluttered. Books and relics and odd trinkets were scattered over the Captain’s desk, and portraits hung from the walls, the cold silver light casting unsettling shadows across their gaunt faces. The room had no portholes, completely closed off from the open sea. Trapped and alone, Cash shuddered, curling in on himself.

The cabin door creaked open and Cash flinched, pressing himself closer to the wall as the shadow of the Captain emerged in the doorway.

  The Captain of the Van Der Decken is a powerful ally to have, brother. Your marriage to him is a necessity—for the good of the crew.

  Shrouded by darkness, Cash could discern nothing of the Captain but his silhouette. He was a lot taller than Cash was, and his shoulders were broader. He stepped inside, closing the door silently behind him. As the light of the pale flame caught his bones, they glittered a myriad of colours, and Cash came to realise they were infused with smooth scales. Even in the darkness, Cash could see the pale glow of his eyes—completely white, sockets and all.

Cash trembled as the Captain’s heavy boots thudded against the wooden deck. He stopped a few inches from the candle’s light, his face still shadowed. “Yer gonna have ta come a little closer, love.” When he spoke, Cash felt a thousand small chills running down his spine. Though gentle, his voice was deep and unnatural. He tapped a finger against the corner of one of his eye sockets. “Can’ really see ya—sailor’s eyes.”

Cash was certain he’d never heard of sailors whose visibility was limited to the darkness. Incurring the infamous Captain’s wrath was not on his agenda for the evening however, so slowly, he inched himself off the bed, approaching. His soul clenched in terror as he stepped out of the circle of light, the darkness enveloping him in its cold embrace.

Trembling, he looked up at his husband-to-be.

This close, Cash noticed that his eyes weren’t entirely white. They bore a hint of blue—pale, much like the scales on his bones. One was paler than the other—as if it had been hazed over. The surrounding socket was shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, spreading outward and down his cheekbone.

Cash withheld a startled hiss as the Captain brushed his cheekbone with the palm of his hand, cupping his face as his eyes darted over him. “Yer very beautiful,” he murmured, almost as if he were speaking to himself. His fingers moved over Cash’s eye socket, straying to the patch covering his right one. “Violet magic… pretty colour.” His hand rested against Cash’s face for a few seconds before he allowed it to drop. Cash slumped with relief—until the Captain curled an arm around his waist and guided him to the bed. “Let’s sit, we’ve got a lot ta discuss.”

Cash obeyed stiffly, not daring to speak or resist. “Sorry—this thing’s givin’ me a bit of a headache,” the Captain said, reaching for the candle as they sat. “Ya don’ mind, do ya?” Cash shook his head mutely, closing his eyes and whispering a silent prayer as the Captain blew the flame out. “Much better,” the Captain said, and Cash felt him shifting on the mattress beside him. He could sense the Captain’s proximity, but unable to see him, he felt bare and vulnerable.

“Ya got a name, precious?” the Captain asked, tilting Cash’s chin. Even in the darkness, Cash could detect the subtle silver-blue glow of his eyes.

Cash nodded slowly. “it’s… cash,” he murmured, trying to turn his face away. Although he couldn’t see him—he could feel the penetrating stare of the Captain’s cold eyes. “don’t suppose i get to learn yours?” he asked, putting on an air of bravery, despite the way his bones rattled. “infamous captain of the van der decken’s identity’s gotta be kept secret, right? even…” Cash broke off, realising himself. His frustrations were getting the better of him. Breathing shakily, he shook his head, whispering, “i—i’m sorry. i didn’t mean…”

The Captain didn’t move, his hand still resting on Cash’s jaw. “Not gonna keep any secrets from ya, love,” he said at last. “Y’can call me Twist. Or Cap’n—if that takes yer fancy.”

“twist,” Cash said, his voice tight as he tested the word. Putting a name to the strange face of the Captain was somewhat gratifying—if not a little unsettling. Deciding it best to keep his thoughts to himself this time, Cash simply nodded. They sat in silence for a few uncomfortable seconds. Cash wished he could see the expression on Twist’s face—if just to know if he’d upset him in any way. “I… take it yer brother told ya the, erm—details a’ this arrangement?” Twist asked.

“yeah…” Cash’s voice was barely a whisper, almost lost in the quiet slap of the waves against the ship’s side. “we’re to marry, and then…” Cash’s voice broke as the horror of reality began to set in again. A quiet sob threatened to escape his tight throat.

“The soul bond ain’t—” Twist’s voice was strained, and Cash heard him swallowing thickly before continuing. “If it’s not somethin’ ya want, I ain’t gonna force ya, precious. Understand me?”

  The Captain of the Van Der Decken is merciless, brother. He’s owned the seas for centuries. Those who displease him are not met with kindness—do not disappoint him, lest you doom us all.

  Cash’s eye sockets felt wet, and a heavy breath shook his chest. “yeah, it’s—f-fine.” His voice caught, his words freezing in his mouth. A broken sob hitched his chest, and he ducked his head, hugging himself. He was helpless to stop the tears, his whole body shaking with terror and despair. “i’m sorry,” he whimpered. “i meant you no disrespect. i won’t—we can—”

Cash released a small whine as he felt Twist’s arms enveloping him. All protests died in his throat when Twist cradled him against his chest, hushing him softly with gentle words and delicate caresses down his spine. “Yer okay, love. Yer alrigh’. Let it out.”

Panicked, Cash stilled, his breaths emerging harsh and ragged. Twist made no move but to soothe him however, his embrace careful and delicate. His arms were cold and he smelled like salt and ice. Cash slumped against him, his warm tears staining the cloth of Twist’s shirt. “If I’m gonna be yers… and if yer gonna be mine, then we’ve got ta trust each other,” Twist whispered. “Until then—yer not alone… Patches.” Twist’s fingertips brushed the patch over Cash’s eye socket. “I’ve got ya, yer safe with me.”

  He’s fearsome and ruthless. Don’t make an enemy of him.

  Despite the echo of his brother’s words in his head, Cash quickly found himself relaxing into Twist’s arms, pressing his skull against his sternum and inhaling, his breath trembling. Twist cradled him close—warm, protective intent emanating from him. “Yer not alone,” he murmured, kissing the crown of Cash’s skull. “Yer not alone, Patches. Yer not alone. I’ve got ya.”

Twist repeated the words, over and over, until they began to drown out all other thought. They sounded almost rehearsed, as if Twist had grown practiced at saying them. Cash allowed Twist to tuck him snugly beneath his arm. His body was cold, but being pressed so close to him was comfortable. And though nothing about this place felt quite right… this did.

[scrawnydutchman]

‘Isle of Dogs’ Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

Isle of Dogs is the second animated stop motion film of Wes Anderson, who is famous for his stylized mainstream arthouse flicks such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom and this first animated stop motion film, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Being such a fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox in particular, Isle of Dogs has been on my most anticipated list of 2018 film releases for some time (basically ever since production was first announced). I was given the honour of attending an advanced screening in Calgary by my good friend Vinson Chan who managed to get me an extra ticket, so big shout out to him and his brother Simon (go check out Banana Planet Films at: https://www.facebook.com/bananaplanetfilms/, they are amazing). I can confidently say I was not too disappointed. The film has a great distinct feel, awesome cinematography done in that signature Wes Anderson style, appealing animation and a killer soundtrack. But does it compare to Fantastic Mr. Fox? And are all the decisions made for the movie necessary? Let’s approach this one point at a time, starting with story.

Story: 

Synopsis: In a futuristic setting of Japan, domesticated house dogs are outlawed due to a spreading dog flu virus that allegedly has potential to eventually spread to humans. The remaining dog population is deported to a neighboring Island known as “Trash Island” where they are forced to subsist off of Garbage just to barely survive (why they didn’t just pass a bill for mandatory euthanasia is beyond me as it’d be more cost effective and full proof, but whatever, just go with it). The story follows a group of dogs sticking together in a gang, all named after some sort of authoritative society figure (Boss, King, Duke, Rex and Chief) who decide to help  a little Japanese boy named Atari who one day came to Trash Island to look for his lost dog Spots. Will they be able to find this boys long lost dog?

I’m just gonna tell you right now without spoiling anything . . . the trailers are misleading. The trailers give off the impression that the film is going to give each dog of this pack their own unique characters and personalities and they’re all going to have their own kind of special moments . . . but it isn’t that kind of movie at all. If you’ve seen previews floating around the internet, you might have figured out that the only dog that really matters is Chief (played by Bryan Cranston). He’s the odd one out; the tough stray of the pack who never takes orders from anyone. He’s the only dog with a driving conflict and a character arc. Every other dog is just sort of there for the ride. They give their backstory in a single sentence and than they just sort of help, but they are otherwise inconsequential and that becomes VERY apparent in the second half especially. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the plot itself is still engaging and original and the bits between Chief and Atari are genuinely heartfelt. It just disappointed me because the movie seemed to be banking off of character interaction between the dogs in the trailer and then the focus was never really that after all. Not to mention the immense acting talent Wes got for the film (we’ll get to that in a bit). That said, the story really is engaging like I said before. The world that Wes managed to create from this concept feels real and immersive, which is further sold by the movies astounding art direction and soundtrack. While Fantastic Mr. Fox was like an urban folktale that explored themes of innate animalistic nature and accepting who you really are, Isle of Dogs is more like a simple road trip movie where the theming never really goes much deeper than “dogs are great” (hence the title of the film is a pun on the phrase “I love dogs”), so it isn’t as complex or as thought provoking as Fantastic Mr. Fox but to be fair it doesn’t need to be. It’s just a fun little sentimental ride between a boy and his dog that ends up devolving into a greater happy ending.

Characters:

So like I said before, this film’s marketing plays up like the five dogs all get their own special characters and moments, but that’s not what happens at all. Duke, Boss, King and Rex .  . . they’re all basically the same character. They all spout dialogue about their past as a former housepet (albeit their origins are all slightly different but it’s the same basic outcome nonetheless; they are housepets and Chief is not). They all sneeze sometimes in random places. They all spout exposition about the lore and worldbuilding of the setting this film takes place in in the form of “rumors”. Like “Hey, I heard this one rumor that this place has this thing happen in it.” Kind of a reoccurring plot device that frankly felt like a writing crutch if I’m honest. But the focus of the movie isn’t on them anyway. The focus is clearly on Chief and his relationship with Atari . . for half the movie anyway. While this definitely could have used more screentime in my honest opinion, it’s definitely the strongest part. I LOVED watching the loner stray Chief slowly but surely own up to the idea to accepting affection from a human master. I LOVED watching the boy grow a genuine attachment to a new best friend after he lost his former one so long ago. It was genuinely heartwarming to see these two’s bond grow. The other half of the film is dedicated to the, I guess you could call, “political thriller” in the city where the human characters get some of the spotlight. Most of the human characters speak Japanese with no subtitles; just the occasional verbal translation by a nearby English translator. I actually prefer it this way. It gives a real sense of authenticity and immersion to the world Wes is creating, which is a worthy accomplishment in an American produced film adapting a foreign culture. Besides that there is also the English speaking foreign exchange student Tracy Walker (played by Greta Gerwig). She’s a feisty, no nonsense conspiracy buff who is determined to do what’s right against the anti-dog prejudice. She’s pretty damn funny and captivating, particularly in one scene near the climax. I love how in your face she gets whenever she’s on screen and she’s never afraid to stand up for herself. There’s also the female showdog Nutmeg, played by Scarlett Johansson, who I guess acts as a love interest to Chief. I say “I guess” because she’s in like . . . two scenes . . . in the whole movie. Yeeeah, this movie maybe could have benefited from keeping the story less complicated than it ended up being. The best stuff was always whenever it focused on Chief and Atari, and while nothing else is bad or even boring they DO end up taking away from it. I think this could have been a much nicer experience in a way if it acted like the first half of Wall-E, where there’s nothing to see outside of character interaction between Chief and Atari as they journey through a trash wasteland looking for his dog. This actually holds the record for longest running feature length stop motion film ever, beating Coraline by just two minutes, and . . . honestly, nothing in what it portrays warrants that milestone. It really would have benefit from trimming the fat.

Acting:

So one of the most noticeable aspects of Wes Anderson films is how he’s always able to reel in an all star cast of some of the most beloved acting talent in Hollywood. This film is no different. Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban and Scarlett Johansson are all in the movie. These are all HUGE names. Not to mention the extensive Japanese talent they got for this film like Koyu Rankin and Akira Takayama. Wes always goes all out with his star power and, truthfully EVERYONE in this film does a spectacular job doing what they do. Bryan Cranston in particular gives an intimidating yet heartwarming performance as Chief; I actually wouldn’t mind if he was given an award for best actor for this film. But I have to ask . . . why have ALL this star power and have most of the people here do next to nothing??? Don’t get me wrong, it’s super charming to hear Norton, Goldblum, Murray and Balaban give deadpan comedic delivery in this movie, one would argue these men are the KINGS of deadpan . . . but beyond that they pretty much serve as exposition dump. Again, Scarlett gets like two scenes in this movie. By far the most random addition to the cast is Yoko Ono. She plays a scientist assistant and has one scene . . ONE SCENE . . . of barely any dialogue where Greta Gerwig is the center of attention. Like . . . why?? Why was it so important to have Yoko Ono of all people in your movie? What would have been different if it was just some random Japanese actress trying to get a breakthrough role in the industry? The marketing, again, treats Yoko like she’s a major centerpiece for the cast and . . . . no. She does nothing of significance. She’s shear star power for the hell of it and that’s all. That’s truthfully what most of this cast comes down to unfortunately, though to a lesser extent than Yoko. To compare, Fantastic Mr. Fox ALSO had a great all star cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray again, Jason Schwartzman and Willem Dafoe. But they did SO much more with their cast in much less time than Isle of Dogs. More characters get great lines, they have distinct personalities from each other and Foxy isn’t the only one who has a character arc and changes for the better by the end of it. Fantastic Mr. Fox in general just did so much more with it’s resources and a more complicated plot with less time to do it in. Again, I ENJOYED a lot of what was in Isle of Dogs, but so much of it just felt unnecessary in the long run.

Visuals (Cinematography, Animation, Composition, etc.)

I don’t know what it is about Wes, but he’s always had a great knack for animation direction from the get go. The nature of stop motion just beautifully coincides his storybook style frame composition and tendency to hold still shots. Not to mention the fact that animating multiple characters in real time, even minor details, while doing shots involving panning around a set has to be extremely difficult. You can definitely tell this is the same guy that worked on Fantastic Mr. Fox, but the film also bears a healthy amount of it’s own visual identity as well. Particularly in the art direction. The sets for both the trash island and the Japanese city are GORGEOUS. I love the way the film uses limited colour palettes for every scene. It makes contrast and depth all the more apparent. Plus the nature of the sets like ongoing trains or shifting skylines naturally fits with Wes’ style of directing. The film also has an assortment of clever visual gags. every fight scene happens in the form of a cartoony cloud with peoples legs sticking out a-la Hanna Barbera style and the smoke effects in the film are seemingly done with cotton (could be wrong though). The editing is used to sell a lot of gags too, my favorite in the whole movie being in the very first introduction of the dogs (you’ll know what I mean when you see it). The film also has a tendency to be really up close on facial expressions; much more so than Fantastic Mr. Fox. the stop motion molds on the faces are quite expressive given they don’t cycle through as many assets as anything Laika produces. But that ALSO shows in the limited nature of how they express; particularly in how every characters eyes just gets drenched in water.

The visuals of the film are damn near close to perfect . . . with only one minor discrepancy, and unfortunately it’s another area in which Fantastic Mr. Fox does better. As mentioned before, Wes likes to do a lot of shots in which the camera pans left to right on a set. This technique makes an appearance in Isle of Dogs, and while sometimes it’s executed to typically excellent effect . . . other times not so much. There are some moments in this film where it actually hurts my eyes to try and keep up with all the action that was happening as the camera was moving. I attribute this to there being no center focus as it happens (again, in the times where it’s a problem). In the times it’s done right, there’s a single asset in the shot moving along in the same direction and pace as the camera, making it the center of attention the viewer focuses on that makes the effect work. A great example of this is from the opening of Fantastic Mr. Fox where Mr. and Mrs. Fox are running through a farm trying to not get caught to the sound of “Heroes and Villains” by the Beach Boys. What they’re doing is always the focus. Isle of Dogs tries to do this thing where it cycles through with multiple things going on at once and it simply isn’t as effective. Now it’s very possible I may just have to view the film again to clarify as this review IS based on my first impressions, and it isn’t prominent enough to hold against the overall score anyhow, so I won’t count it for the time being. It was just something I personally noticed. Beyond that, the movie is visually astounding.

Sound (Soundtrack, Sound Design, etc.)

This is usually the category in which I don’t have a whole lot to say, because even the worst hollywood or major studio produced movies usually have serviceable sound design. Wes Anderson always makes it easier to comment on though. For one thing, this films soundtrack was done by Academy Award winning composer Alexandre Desplat . . . who I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. He’s always the kind of composer who creates music that makes me think “I have GOT to get that on Spotify”. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Shape of Water and Isle of Dogs all have spectacular soundtracks because of him. Also, the Japanese drumming compositions done by Kaoru Watanabe are great as well. Wes also usually has great use of sound effects that not only stand out as unique given his method of storytelling, but actually contributes to the narrative in some way, Such as Atari and Chief whistling to find each other. His use of sound always stands out as really giving a much needed “uumph” to the comedic deliverance of his outlandish humor.

Conclusion:

Isle of Dogs is wildly entertaining, creative and cleverly made in a fashion you would expect from the mind of Wes Anderson. It’s just a shame it often gets too complicated for it’s own good. This film would have been better with a shorter running time, more focus on the relationship between Chief and Atari done in relative silence and less focus given to ultimately ineffectual celebrity cameos (ESPECIALLY Yoko Ono). It’s definitely not better than Fantastic Mr. Fox as that generally does more with less, but it’s still a very exceptional animated film that I would love to see again. Matter of fact, given how many minor details are sprinkled throughout in both visuals and dialogue, this definitely seems like the kind of film that gets better with every viewing. For the time being though, this is my rating.

Story: 1.5/2 - Above average

Characters: 1.5/2 - Above Average

Acting: 2/2 - Exceptional

Visuals: 2/2 - Exceptional

Sound Design: 2/2 - Exceptional

9 out of 10 - Great, but would have been better if made simpler.

{BONUS NOTE: This movie has been a subject to controversy regarding appropriation of Japanese culture, not dissimilar to the controversy that was surrounding Kubo and the Two String in 2016. My opinion on the matter hasn’t changed. Cultural Appropriation is a real occurrence, yes, but it isn’t inherently bad. In fact, so much of cultures around the world have appropriated something from somewhere else and is better off as a result of it. Hair buns are a product of Japanese culture, pajama bottoms are a product of Arab culture, lots of different rings are a product of Irish culture, etc etc. Cultural appropriation CAN be harmful when it comes to serving a means aside from actually providing any appreciation of the culture you are taking from (and actually defaming it in some way) such as aboriginal Halloween costumes, but that just goes to show there is a right and wrong way to do it. Isle of Dogs may be an American-German co produced film, but it very clearly is done with respect to Japanese history and artwork. It’s the whole films appeal in fact. The soundtrack is made to be authentically Japanese, even going as far as bringing in a Japanese co-composer. A great deal of the cast is Japanese and the plot of the film itself is closely tied to Shinto folklore. Point is, Wes didn’t just pull haphazardly from a culture with no regard for what any of it meant. He actually did his homework. The same thing can be said for Kubo and the Two Strings. The film was made with close ties to actual Japanese mythology and little bits of Japanese cultural items can be found in every setting of the film. So much of our greatest art is built on this principle.The Breadwinner is an interpretation of Afghan culture done by an Irish studio and is one of my favorite films ever. Japan usually nails it with it’s adaptation of Western culture in such animes asCowboy Bebop. I could keep going with examples, but my point is that the issue of cultural appropriation is a lot more intricate than just “this culture should only do this thing”. It’s a matter of how well educated you are and how respectful you are of people all over the world, and I for one believe that allowing media to explore themes and tropes foreign to us encourages us to understand them more, not less.}

[supernaturalfreewill]

Words: 5,136 Cas x Reader Warnings: BEWARE OF THE FLUFF Requested by: anonymous A/N: I hope this gives you all the best kinds of feelings.

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”Dean?” Cas arrived just inside the motel door to find the room dark except for a dim floor lamp off in a corner. Glancing around at first the room seemed empty, but he noticed on further inspection that there was a huddled silhouette collapsed on the table at the far end of the room. “Sam?” he ventured again.

There you were, asleep. Apparently deeply asleep, because you hadn’t stirred at the ruffling of Cas’s wings upon his arrival or at his deep voice.

The angel moved closer to you, stepping carefully over the duffel bags of clothes and hunting gear that was strewn somewhat haphazardly around the room. When he was close enough he studied the shadows underneath your eyes. They suggested that you desperately needed this sleep.

You were asleep on your arms, your head cocked a little awkwardly due to the angle of your chin, which was resting on a lore book. Despite what looked like a rather uncomfortable position, your breathing was deep and steady and you made no response to his approach.

Cas couldn’t help but smile down at you. He could imagine exactly what had happened. You were searching for the answer, careless about your own needs, and you pushed through your exhaustion for as long as you could, until finally you succumbed and dropped off right where you sat. The angel furrowed his brow as he looked at you. You would wake up with a sore neck if you slept that way all night… probably stiff arms and legs… The dramatic curve of your spine in your slumped position would most likely also leave you sore. His eyes drifted to the nearest bed. The covers were still made; further evidence that the bed hadn’t been slept in, which meant you hadn’t slept in at least a couple days. He hesitated. Could he move you without waking you up? And should he? The idea seemed very personal… holding you close, putting you in the bed…

Cas thought he felt a strange warming in his cheeks and chest as he pondered it and he clenched and unclenched his hands a few time, which felt tingly. He puzzled over it for only a moment more before deciding that he needed to save you from any discomfort, and he approached you swiftly but silently.

He reached out a hand, meaning to wrap his arm about your shoulders, but he found himself feeling suddenly nervous again, nervous to make the actual contact with you. He hovered there for a moment, fretting internally and feeling a peculiar fidgety sensation in his stomach, but the sight of you so crumpled over the table overcame his nerves.

Cas wrapped an arm behind your shoulders and gently pushed you back into it. He was surprised how easily you fell against him. His heart raced of its own accord as he slipped his other arm beneath your legs and scooped you up out of the chair.

You stirred a little as he settled you in his arms and the angel froze with sudden anxiety at the thought of you waking to find him unexpectedly holding you. He thought perhaps you would be upset… Was this a breach of some personal space rule? (After all, Dean was always going on about “personal space.”) But within another moment, your head dropped against his arm and his shoulder and he looked down to see your lips, still relaxed, curve in a gentle smile. He remained frozen in surprise as your fingers, which had fallen against his chest, curled into the fabric of his trench coat, gently clasping the edge, as if you were clutching to him.

That peculiar warmth returned and he felt as if his face was suddenly glowing hot and the heat grew and spilled down into his chest and out into his ears. It continued to bloom through him as he looked at you in his arms. You seemed so at peace. None of your waking worries were troubling you. His eyes traced the soft shape of your lips, still slightly curved in that gentle, sleepy smile, and wandered up to the fan of eyelashes against your cheeks.

As he studied you he became sharply aware that time seemed to be passing differently. Ordinarily, he knew each second, felt it in his core, before it slipped away, but now they seemed to rush by and slow down at the same time. It was nearly maddening and certainly puzzling.

He quickly remembered why you were in his arms and he padded over to the undisturbed bed. He moved slowly, lowering you down as gently as he could, his brow furrowed with concentration, his cobalt eyes watching for any sign that you were waking. Eventually your head rested on the pillow and he slipped his arms out from beneath you, feeling surprised at the small sense of loss which swelled in him as he separated from you. He was about to move away but he realized with a flutter in his stomach that your fingers were still holding to his coat. He gulped at the lump which had suddenly appeared in his throat upon noticing this, and he placed his hand over yours, meaning to slip it from his coat. At the contact of his fingers on yours, electricity lit and jumped up through his arm, feeling like a jolt went straight to his heart, knocking it out of rhythm for a few moments.

Cas was frozen momentarily with your hand in his and a vague thought began to grow in the back of his mind—a thought of being able to take your hand in his whenever he wished, of being there to put you into the bed whenever you fell asleep while working, or even better—of retiring with you to hold you close and safe as you drifted off to sleep… His face felt hot again and he came suddenly to his senses. How impossible all that seemed. Surely there was no point in dwelling on such—such—what? Dreams? Desires? Wishes? At length Cas slipped your hand from his coat and gently placed it on the bed. He pulled the quilt from under you and tucked it over your curled form, smiling again at the tranquility of your expression. He was brave enough even to brush the stray strands of hair from your face and his heart leapt as you smiled again in your sleep when his fingertips grazed your skin, and when you let out a contented deep breath before settling more deeply into the pillow. The angel retreated, wondering at the newness of these sensations in his heart, in his chest, in his stomach… the unexpected electricity.

_ _ _ _ _ _

”Dean.”

The elder Winchester spun around to see the angel. “Cas! What are you doing here?” Dean asked, tossing his shotgun down into the open trunk of the Impala. Sam did the same.

”Hey Cas,” Sam added.

Cas gave him a nod. ”I came to see if you have found any solution to our problem yet,” Cas said.

”Which problem?” Dean asked gruffly over his shoulder. He was digging in the trunk. “We’re full of problems,” he finished, turning to look at back at Cas again.

Cas furrowed his brow at Dean’s response. “Our big picture problem. Heaven.”

”Nope,” Dean replied quickly. “Not even a little bit. We’re heading back to the motel now. You want to come with?” he asked. “Y/N is there,” he said pointedly.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, you should, Cas. That’d be good.”

Cas shuffled his feet a little awkwardly. “Well, I suppose I could—“

”Great,” Dean interrupted. “Jump in.” Cas slid into the back seat of the Impala.

”You think she got any sleep yet?” Sam asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.

Dean sighed and shook his head as he slid the key into the ignition. “I don’t know. I hope so,” he replied.

Cas spoke from the back seat. “I—I stopped at your motel room first when I arrived. She was asleep when I got there,” he said, trying his hardest to ignore the warmth that grew in his cheeks again at the thought of you and how he had carried you to the bed. He hoped the brothers didn’t notice his flushing face.

”Oh, good,” Sam said. “She needs it. She flat out refused to get any sleep the other night.”

”Yeah, and you know Y/N,” Dean said, guiding the Impala smoothly through the first curve. “If she doesn’t want to do something, there is no way in hell you can make her.”

Cas smiled. “She fits in well with you two then,” he said.

Sam laughed and Dean glanced at the angel in the rearview mirror.

“You can say that again,” he muttered.

Sam looked over the back seat at the angel. “Job isn’t quite done here. You should, uhh,” he exchanged a glance with Dean briefly before looking back at Cas again, “you should stick around for a little bit. We could always use a little extra help.”

”Yeah, you know, Sam isn’t as fast as he used to be. Gettin’ rusty in his old age. Might need you to patch him up,” Dean laughed at his own joke and Sam shot him an un-amused glare.

Cas said nothing.

In a few short minutes, the Impala came to rest in the nearly empty parking lot and the Winchester brothers clamored out, followed by Castiel.

Sam grabbed a duffel bag from the trunk and headed for the room. Cas came to stand beside Dean as he was rummaging around in the trunk, taking stock of the contents. Dean didn’t notice him standing nearby and continued to mutter to himself about their inventory.

”Seven… eight… nine… Nine? Only nine? Better get some more silver...”

”Dean.”

Dean jumped and just about pulled a gun on the angel. “Jesus, Cas! How many times do we have to talk about the—the lurking!”

”I’m sorry.” The silence stretched for a moment and Dean studied the angel’s heavy brow.

He sighed and slammed the trunk shut, leaning back on the boot of the Impala. “Something on your mind?”

Cas shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the other and slid his hands into the pockets of his trench coat.

Dean puzzled at his expression. “What is it?”

Cas cleared his throat nervously. “It’s… well… When I arrived here, Y/N was asleep on the table inside.”

Dean stared at the angel. “Uh huh.”

”Well, Y/N—she—she looked uncomfortable. She was laying on all the papers and books and—well, I just—“

Dean’s brow furrowed. “Spit it out, Cas.”

”Spit what out?”

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. “Nothing. It’s an expression, just—get to the point.”

”I was worried that she was uncomfortable and that she would wake up and be sore so—so I moved her over into the bed.” Dean’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh yeah? Good. That’s good. What’s the problem?” he asked. His lips were curved in a knowing smile that he was trying to conceal.

”When I carried her…” Cas’s blue eyes looked suddenly far-off, as if he was watching a scene in his mind. “I felt… peculiar.” Dean pressed his lips into a thin line to conceal a smile. “Peculiar how?”

Cas looked down at his dress shoes. “I felt… warm. And my heart was beating unusually fast, occasionally it even seemed to stall. And—there was a strange sort of shock at one point, that felt as though it travelled up my arm and into my chest.” Cas turned to peer at Dean with questioning eyes.

Dean nodded and turned the corners of his mouth down in a thoughtful expression. “I see.”

There was a long silence before Cas continued. “I’ve never felt that before. Is that… normal?”

Dean could no longer suppress a smile. “No, Cas,” he said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s not normal. It’s the best kind of not normal.”

Cas’s eyes darkened. “What do you mean?”

”It’s what us earthlings refer to as ‘chemistry,’” Dean said, nearly laughing at the sober and anxious expression on Cas’s face.

”I assure you that I am well versed in chemistry and I fail to see what this has to do with carbon chains or acids and bases.” Dean shut his eyes for a brief moment and let out a forced exhale.

“Not that kind of chemistry, Professor,” he teased. “I’m talking about attraction.”

”Attraction?” Cas repeated, still puzzled.

”Yeah. Attraction. You know, red roses. Dinner and a movie. Boxes of chocolates. Butterflies in your stomach. Electricity when you touch. And my personal favorite, sexual tension.” He wiggled his eyebrows at the angel.

Cas felt his face burn red again and he gulped. “Dean, I—I don’t understand… I’m an angel. I’m not supposed to be--feeling things, am I?”

”Supposed to?” Dean repeated. “According to who?”

Cas only stared back at his friend, his brow still heavy and his eyes somewhat dark.

Dean rubbed a hand over his face again. “Alright, let me break this down for you… When you see Y/N, do you suddenly feel like you’re much more clumsy than usual?”

Cas thought hard for a moment. “Yes.”

”And when you look at her, you feel a kind of jolt in here,” Dean said, putting a hand on his own chest. “And it’s hard to think of what to say?”

”Yes,” Cas agreed.

”And when you think about her,” Dean continued, “you feel, like, a rush of heat. It fills you up. Your chest, your face.”

Cas nodded. “Yes.” In fact, it was happening right at that second.

The angel fidgeted.

”And you want to keep her safe? You would do anything to protect her?”

”Of course.”

”And you never want her to be uncomfortable or in any pain?”

Cas nodded.

”Mmm,” Dean said, nodding. “And let me ask you this… when you carried her over to the bed, when you pulled away, you felt like something was missing? As you separated from her, you felt—emptier?”

Cas gave Dean a perplexed stare. “How did you--?”

”It’s simple, my friend,” Dean said. “You have feelings for Y/N. Big time.” He patted the angel hard on the back and stood back to take in his reaction.

Cas stared at him, still a little baffled. “Of course I have ‘feelings’ for her.” The angel went so far as to put air quotes around the word with his fingers.

Dean laughed. “I’m not talking about ‘I wouldn’t mind playing bridge with her every other Tuesday.’ I’m talking about—how do I put this? I’m talking about the kind of feelings that drive you crazy. I’m talking about L-O-V-E, buddy.”

Cas’s cheeks burned again and the lump in his throat returned. “Dean, I don’t—We don’t know each other that well. I—I’m just—“ Now his blue eyes were wide and searching.

”Alright, maybe it’s not love yet, but do you have any idea how long Sam and I have been waiting for you to figure out how you feel about Y/N?”

Cas gulped again. “No.”

”Months. Months and months, Cas,” Dean said, crossing his arms and surveying the angel’s nervous expression.

The corners of Cas’s mouth turned down in a frown. “What if—what if Y/N doesn’t feel the same way?”

”Would you rather give it a try or sit back and do nothing and regret that for potentially the rest of your life?” Dean asked. He picked up his bag of gear and started heading toward the room.

“Just go for it, Cas. Trust me.” He gave the angel what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and disappeared into the motel room.

Cas stood in the parking lot, turning Dean’s words over in his mind. That peculiar feeling was back—the fluttering, the fidgeting, the wave of heat…

You looked up expectantly when Dean came through the door, but were disappointed to see that Cas wasn’t with him.

”Where’s Cas?” you asked. You looked at Sam. “I thought you said he was here.”

Dean tossed his bag down heavily. “What am I? Chopped liver? Nice to see you, too, Y/N,” he said gruffly, though you could easily see the mischievous look in his eyes and you gave him a sassy look.

”I see you all the time,” you said.

”Lucky you,” Dean replied, flashing you a grin. “Cas is outside. He should be in soon.”

”Oh,” you said. “Alright. Good.”

”Good?” Sam said, suppressing a smile and raising his eyebrows at you.

You cursed internally as your cheeks blushed involuntarily. “Yeah, I mean… it’s been a while since I’ve seen him.”

”Did you get some sleep?” Dean asked, though he already knew the answer.

You shook your head. “I guess so. It’s the most peculiar thing. I was working on the research and the next thing I knew I woke up in bed. I don’t even remember leaving the table,” you said.

”That is peculiar,” Dean said. He purposely turned his back to you so you couldn’t see his expression.

”Huh,” Sam said with a shrug. “Well, you were pretty sleep deprived. You probably were just so exhausted you don’t remember crawling into bed.”

”Yeah,” Dean agreed. “Or maybe you sleep-walked.” You cast a skeptical look in his direction. “I sleep-walked for the first time in my life and it was to put myself to bed?”

”Stranger things have happened,” Dean replied with a shrug.

”That’s true,” you agreed. “Like you getting a date.” You flashed a smirk at him while Sam guffawed in the background and provided a satisfying “Oooohhhh!”

The motel door opened and Cas breezed in.

You grinned at him. “Hey, Cas! I was starting to wonder if you were gonna stand out in the parking lot all day.”

”Hello, Y/N.” The angel fidgeted a little. “I was—I was just listening to angel radio for a moment.”

”Oh, yeah? Anything good on there?” you asked. Cas looked at your eyes fixated on him and your earnest expression. He suddenly felt as though his tongue was rooted to the roof of his mouth and he mouthed wordlessly for a moment. Your brow wrinkled in concern.

”Are you alright?” you asked.

”FINE,” he finally managed, though it came out much louder than was necessary or intended. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “F—fine. Everything is fine. No important news from heaven.”

You were staring at him now with eyes that were a little wide.

“Alright,” you nodded. “You’re sure you’re okay?” The little worry lines at the corner of your eyes were still there.

”Yes. I’m sure,” Cas said. He smoothed his hands down the front of his trench coat purely for something to do with his hands, which felt a little shaky. “I’m sure,” he finished.

Sam was staring at him with his eyebrows raised and Dean had a small, smug smile on his face. There was a hiss as Dean cracked open his beer.

”Cas, Y/N was just telling us that she woke up in bed this morning, but she doesn’t remember leaving the table. I think she sleepwalked,” he said. “What do you think?” He threw a wink to the angel when he thought no one else was looking.

Cas looked like a deer in headlights. “Uhh… Oh. I, uhh… I stopped here last night when—when I arrived. I was looking for Dean.” You continued to peer at him good-naturedly, though a little puzzled.

“And, well, Dean wasn’t here—“

Dean suddenly cleared his throat, interrupting Cas and giving him a look. Sam stared on, a smile now growing on his face as he began to understand the angel’s blundering.

Cas’s blue drifted from Dean back to your face. “Well, I saw you—you were asleep on the table and I thought that you didn’t look very comfortable and—and, well, I was worried that you would wake up sore if you slept there all night so—“ he stalled out, nervous to explain how he had carried you. His voice got very quiet. “—so I carried you over and I put you on the bed and, well, I didn’t want you to be cold so I covered you up.”

Your lips fell partially open as you looked at him. Your heart was racing in your chest now, leaping and fluttering like it was a bird suddenly uncaged. “Oh,” you said.

Cas rocked on his feet. He found that he wasn’t brave enough to continue looking at you. He was fearful of what you would say next. “I’m—I’m sorry.”

”Oh! No! No, don’t be sorry, Cas!” you said. The angel looked up at you again, a little stunned. “Don’t be sorry,” you said again, giving him a warm smile. “I—I’m glad you did. You’re right. I would have probably woken up with a crick in my neck or something. That was… that was really sweet and—and thoughtful of you.” You studied his cobalt eyes, piercing but soft at the same time. They were gentle and kind, and you felt like a jolt of electricity had run up your spine, not knowing one had just done the same thing to the angel. “Thank you.”

It seemed to Cas that Sam and Dean had disappeared from the room. All he saw was you looking at him, that charming little smile still on your lips, your eyes smiling too. “You’re welcome,” he said. He was surprised to find that his voice was stronger, steadier. Sam smiled to himself and looked down at the beer he was twirling in his hands. Looking at the two of you in that moment was like staring into the sun.

Dean was unabashed as usual, and seemed to be pretty proud of himself for bringing Cas’s actions to light. “There,” he said, slamming his beer down on the TV stand carelessly. “Mystery solved. Y/N was dumb enough to fall asleep on her face. Cas to the rescue. Am I missing anything?”

Cas shot Dean a subtle glare, to which he only grinned.

You felt your cheeks blush again and laughed anxiously at Dean.

“Thanks for the narration, weirdo,” you said, getting up and pacing over to your duffel bag, simply for something to do.

”Hey, uhh, Sam,” Dean said, getting up from where he was leaning on the media console. “I didn’t finish inventory for the trunk. Think you could come help me out?” he said pointedly.

Cas glanced nervously at you and you were seemingly still engaged in rifling through your bag.

Sam gave one more glance in your direction and got up. “Sure. I’ll grab the weapons bag,” he said. The brothers made a quick exit shortly after and you looked up as the door snapped shut, realizing you were now alone with the angel. Just the thought was bringing butterflies to life in your stomach.

”Y/N,” Cas said, shifting his weight uneasily from one foot to the other.

”Yeah, Cas?” you peered at him, your eyelashes fluttering as you blinked, your expression open and warm.

Cas started to mouth wordlessly again for a moment, distracted by how effortlessly beautiful you were. It didn’t matter if you were in a t-shirt or jeans, dressed up on the rare occasion that called for it, or covered in mud or monster blood… he simply always found you stunning—bewilderingly so. “Uhh—I just—I’m—I hope that it didn’t cross some, umm, personal space barrier that I moved you,” he said.

You smiled at him and sank down on the edge of the nearby chair, shaking your head. “No, Cas.” His deep voice washed over you bringing with it an undeniable feeling of safety and comfort. “No. I meant what I said. It was really—really sweet of you. Thank you,” you said. You gave him another warm smile and though he didn’t know what to say next, he had to think of something so you would keep looking at him that way.

The angel took a few steps closer to you and forced his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. He couldn’t stop clenching and unclenching them due to that strange tingling again. “Y/N,” he said again. He cleared his throat and you nodded, looking at him expectantly. “When I’m—when I’m gone… I, uhh,” he was distracted by the sudden racing and whirring of his heart. “I mean, when I’m not here with—with you and Sam and Dean…” he trailed off and his blue eyes were wide. He mouthed wordlessly again, struggling to put any sort of sentence together, worrying incessantly what to say and how to say it. “I—I think about you,” he finally managed.

Your expectant and patient smile disappeared and you looked as though someone had just snapped you out of a dream, or perhaps into one… “Oh…”

Cas was suddenly terrified by the look on your face and he felt the heat boiling in his chest again and rising into his head like smoke, leaving him low on oxygen and blinking to try and clear away the haze. He let out a deep nervous laugh and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I’m not—I’m not good at this,” he said, shaking his head, able to stare down only at his feet now, afraid to glance up at the expression you would now be wearing.

But suddenly you were close in front of him, right in front of him, and your hand was suddenly gently clasping the edge of his lapel. The similarity to how you had done so in your sleep snapped his blue eyes up to fixate on your face.

You met them with your own and the world seemed to shrink away. There was something there in your eyes… a smile, a wish… Cas was studying every inch of your face, memorizing the streaks of color in your irises. You could see his eyes flitting between your own, then down to your lips, and you could feel his heartbeat in his chest beneath your hand, and his breaths deep but quick, like he had just been running.

You curled your fingers into the edge of his trench coat and lifted your other hand toward him, hesitating just for a moment before you brushed your fingers over the stubble along his jaw and slid them into his hair.

Cas’s lips parted and he felt as though the floor had dropped out beneath him. He felt like he was standing in a spinning whirlwind though the air between the two of you was still and thick, crackling with electricity.

You smiled at the amazement on his face, at the disbelief in his blue eyes, but you couldn’t wait another second longer to lift yourself up onto your tiptoes and crash your lips against his. Cas closed his eyes and melted into you, one of his hands curling around your hip, his fingertips landing lightly on your lower back and waist. His other hand trailed along your jaw, his thumb caressing your cheek, before his fingertips tickled into your hair and trailed down the curve of your neck. He would have said it was instinct, but he was angel… he had no instinct for this. It was something else entirely. It was magnetic. It was undeniable. He had no choice but to give in and even if he did, he wouldn’t have even thought of fighting it.

There were sparks flying between your lips, burning into him in hot electricity, coursing through his veins until every fiber of him, every atom, was changed. You were setting him ablaze and he never wanted it to end.

He nearly lifted you from your feet as you he pulled you tighter against him, arching into him, wrapping your arm around his neck and kissing him with more fervor and fire. Soon you were smiling into his lips, laughter nearly bubbling up from your chest, overjoyed, knowing you would come away from him with rosy cheeks.

Cas felt your smile on his lips and finally broke away, just so he wouldn’t miss it—this first smile he felt he had truly won from you, and this first smile of yours after you had remade him, entirely new (though you would argue that he had been doing that as long as you had known him).

The heat was strong in his chest and cheeks and he continued to stare at you in amazement, his arms still around your waist, his shockingly blue eyes connected with yours. You grinned wider at him, and just then the door to the room burst open and Dean appeared with Sam looking in just over his shoulder.

”Whoa.” Dean’s expression was stunned and thunderstruck as he took in you in Cas’s arms.

Both you and the angel felt another wave of heat as you blushed further. You bit your bottom lip and looked away from the Winchester brother’s and back at Cas.

”That was fast,” Dean said, his shock devolving into a grin. Sam’s lips were pressed together in a tight smile, like he was doing his best to conceal a grin so as to not further embarrass the two of you.

You pursed your lips and withdrew from the angel, marching toward Dean and Sam in the doorway.

Sam seemed to sense what was coming and grabbed the back of Dean’s collar. “Dean, come on…” he said, giving it a gentle tug, but Dean stood his ground and continued to grin at you.

”No, really, that was fast, Cas,” he said, looking past you at the angel who fidgeted and shifted his weight anxiously. “You must be better then I thought!”

You stopped straight in front of the elder Winchester, a sassy and somewhat abashed smile on your face. “Bye, Dean,” you said, raising your eyebrows at him.

”Wait, hold on a second—“

You put a hand over Dean’s face, not waiting to hear what else he had to say and pushed as Sam tugged again at his collar from behind, laughing at you and shaking his head. You slammed the door behind them and turned back to face the angel, now giving him a radiant look and a somewhat shy smile, chewing your bottom lip.

Cas’s lips curved into a bashful smile he couldn’t contain. He felt so many emotions swelling in his chest it was hard to think, and the way you were looking at him—the warm light in your eyes—now it was he who crossed to you and wrapped you up again.

[spnroundrobin]

Masterpost: Round Three - Ship Round

Prompt: Newly human Cas has been staying at the bunker and helping the boys with research while they are away on hunts but has been feeling lonely being in the bunker by himself. During one of the lulls between hunts, he broaches the subject of getting a pet. Dean isn’t very excited about the idea. (established Destiel)

(Remember: This is the ship round so ship to your heart’s content. We’d like to keep this Teen rated so no sexual acts on screen. Innuendo is allowed. Sam is in the bunker so he can be included but side characters will have to be over the phone or on Skype.)

Schedule and Posting Instructions

(As submissions are made, they will be posted here by the mods.)

#1 @deadlykittenkay - Submission: 1

Cas was sitting at the table with books spread out before him and Dean’s laptop. He had decided to take a break from his research on how to get Mary back from the other universe. He always enjoyed watching videos online the featured little kitties and puppies playing. Sometimes Sam would try to find one that he hadn’t seen yet and send it to his phone while he and Dean were hunting.

Cas muted the current video of a cat pretending to be the famous Pokemon character when he thought he heard the bunker door open. After several beats of silence, Cas let out a heavy sigh. The bunker was such a lonely place without another living presence there, whether it be the Winchesters or Jody and Claire. Cas needed a companion, especially if Dean continued to be the over protective boyfriend, insisting that Cas stay behind on the bigger jobs.

#2 @zolaliz - Submission: 1

Of course, Dean would never agree to a pet.

“Who’ll feed it when we’re away, knee deep in some world-ending shitfest? No one. And then it’ll stink up the bunker.”

Cas scowled, recalling the conversation. As much as he hated to admit, Dean did have a point.

He mentally ruled out cats and dogs, glancing longingly at the muted laptop screen. Most mammals would need the same amount of care. Cas had learned over the past few weeks that humans were included in that category of high-maintenance, as he struggled with remembering to eat and sleep. This only added fuel to Dean’s runner-up argument against getting Cas a companion.

“You gotta start taking care of yourself before you go off trying to take care of something else, Cas,” Dean would say, in that highly hypocritical way of his (though Cas highly doubted that was intentional). But Cas reasoned he could work around that argument once he found a way to make Dean’s first one void.

He clicked open a new tab, and tapped “pets that don’t need to eat” into the search bar. Unsurprisingly, it heeded no helpful results.

“Maybe I’ll try to refine the search,” he mumbled, and bounced his fingers over the keys again.

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 1

Cas spent hours trying to find the perfect pet that would be low maintenance but that would still keep him company. He finally decides on a hamster. He knew that it would be easy to care for and not very costly. The little guy would also keep him company when Dean and Sam were away for cases.

The only thing now was to convince Dean to let him get one. He knew that Sam would be open to the idea and he also knew that Sam would help him convince Dean. So, he just had to bring up the idea with Sam first.

Perfect, now all he had to do was wait for the brothers to come home, hopefully safe and in one piece. He sits back and stretches on his chair. He does some more research and finds some useful things to help the brothers speed up their hunt. He picks up the phone and before he can dial he gets an incoming call from Dean.

He answers with a smile.“Hello, baby. I was just about to call you.” Cas answers.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 1

“I just wanted to let you know that Sam and me are on our way back,” Dean said. Castiel could hear the rumble of the Impala in the background as Dean paused. “You sound like you’re in a good mood, any particular reason why?”

Cas scowled; was he really that transparent? He was going to have to seriously up his game if his plan to bring Dean around on the pet front but he knew it was going to have to be extra devious. His eyes widened and he smiled as an idea occurred to him.

“Nothing really but I was going to ask if you were going to be home tonight?” Cas replied smoothly, standing up to wander into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and started taking inventory.

Dean hummed in the affirmative. “Yep, we’re only about an hour out now. I was going to ask if what you wanted for dinner, we’ll stop somewhere on our way in.”

Smiling, Cas pulled his chosen items from the fridge. “Actually, since you’re almost home, I was thinking I could make something,” he said, grinning to himself. “I need something to do anyway and you guys are probably sick of take out.”

“That sounds really freaking good,” Dean sighed happily. “We’ll see you in a bit, babe.” This was followed by a quieter, “love you.”

“Love you too,” Cas said, smiling and shaking his head. All this time and Dean was still shy about saying that when Sam was nearby. It didn’t bother him since he knew it was just a fear of brotherly teasing, not that Dean was ashamed of them. “See you soon.”

After Dean hung up, Cas sat his phone down and looked at the pile of ingredients in front of him before glancing at the clock. He calculated carefully and smiled as he started peeling potatoes.

An hour was plenty of time.

Almost exactly an hour later as Cas was putting the finishing touches on the food, a familiar metallic clang echoed through the bunker and signaled the boys return. He worked quickly to clean up and wash his hands, hurrying out to the main area to see Dean and Sam’ booted feet clomping down the staircase.

“Oh my god, what smells so good?” Dean groaned as he walked over to drop his bag on the map table. He smiled brightly and pulled Cas into a tight hug, giving him a quick peck on the lips at the same time.

Sam rolled his eyes affectionately. “Hey, Cas,” he said as he walked by to place his armful of books on the table. “I’m gonna go clean up before I eat. Don’t let Dean eat it all. He’s been whining for the last half hour about how hungry he is.”

Stepping back from Dean but not dropping his hand, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sam. I’ll make sure to save you some.”

“Speaking of food,” Dean interjected not so smoothly as Sam disappeared down the hall to his room. He draped himself over Cas’ back and wrapped his arms around his waist. “What are we having?”

“I may have made homemade bacon cheeseburgers and fresh cut french fries,” Cas said innocently; happy that Dean couldn’t see the smug smirk on his face.

Dean squeezed him into a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Mmmm…my favorite…”

Exactly, Cas thought, internally preening as everything fell into place as he planned as he and Dean trooped to the kitchen. And just wait until you see the peanut butter pie.

#1 @Deadlykittykay Submission: 2

As expected, Dean showed his appreciation for the burgers with gusto. He would moan appreciatively with each bite, his cheeks filling like that of a chipmunk, or better yet, much like the hamsters videos Cas had seen on YouTube. Castiel couldn’t help but smile at Dean fondly every time he did this. Even Sam was enjoying his meal, despite his brother’s unseemly manners.

Cas had missed the brother’s terribly and watching them bicker and interact with each other, even throwing stray fries at one another, filled Cas’ chest with warmth. Between this, the feel of Dean’s knee knee against his own, and listening to Sam retell the story of the latest hunt, Cas nearly forgot about his mission behind tonight’s dinner.

“So,” Sam started, pushing his plate away and smiling at Cas. “What were you up to while we were gone?”

Cas just shrugged, glancing at Dean before redirecting his attention to Sam. “The usual. I’m still trying to find some lore about alternate universes. It’s a bit trickier than I had imagined.”

“Come on, Cas,” Dean nudged his knee with his own, giving him a found smile. “Don’t tell me you were a nerd the whole time.”

Cas rolled his eyes and reached for the brother’s empty plates. “No, Dean. I did more than research. I watched Netflix and YouTube videos. Pie?” he asked quickly, internally kicking himself when Dean groaned at the mention of the videos

#2 Submission: 2

Skipped

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 2

“Pie?” Dean’s face lights up at the mention of pie. “You made pie too? God, you’re perfect.” He says and then immediately blushes.

Sam snorts into his cup as he tires and fails miserably to hide his laugh. Dean glares at him and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment.

“I’ll go get that pie now.” Cas says.

Dean nods not meeting anyone’s eye.

“I’m gonna go put these plates in the kitchen.” Sam says, grabbing the dishes off the table and heading after Cas.

“Hello, Sam. Do you have a minute?” Cas asks as Sam walks into the kitchen.

“Yeah man, what’s up?” He asks, putting the dishes in the sink and leaning back against the counter. He looks at Cas and waits patiently.

Cas takes a breath, “I would like to get a hamster.” He says in one go.

“A hamster?” Sam tilts his head.

“A hamster.” Cas repeats again. “I need someone to keep me company when you two leave to go on long hunts.”

“Uhm, Ohhkay. So what’s the big issue?” Sam says, scratching the back of his head.

“And I need your help to convince Dean.”

Sam groans, “Dammit, that’s gonna be hard but alright, I’ll help you.”

Cas smiles warmly at Sam.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 2

A quick and rough plan was quickly established and it all started with an extra large slice of peanut butter pie and Netflix.

“Wow, that was so freaking good,” Dean groaned, leaning back in his chair and patting his stomach before letting out a contented belch that had Sam scrunching his nose. Cas picked stood up and collected their plates. Dean tugged him down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, a sure sign that he was in an extra happy mood. That would make the next stage of the plan easier.

Sam pushed back from the table and stood up. “I think I’m going to get into some sweats and watch some Netflix, you guys in?”

Dean replied in the affirmative and, while Cas quickly washed up the dishes, he and Sam went to change since Cas was already comfortably dressed. Fifteen minutes later, Cas and Dean were on the sofa in the room that had become the unofficial den after they’d picked up a couch at a second hand store. Sam was booting up Netflix from his armchair.

They settled on a light comedy show since Sam and Dean weren’t really interested in anything heavy after being out on a hunt. Cas curled up next to Dean and rested his head on his shoulder but he wasn’t really watching the show. He was waiting for his opportunity.

Three episodes in he enacted phase two.

Over the course of the next episode, Cas slowly and carefully situated himself so that his head was pillowed in Dean’s lap, one hand resting on his knees. According to plan, Dean began absentmindedly running his fingers through Cas’ hair while he continued to watch and Cas pretended to fall asleep.

“You know, I kinda feel bad for him,” Cas heard Sam say after about twenty minutes of ‘sleeping’. “Cas seems like he’s been sort of lonely while we’re gone.”

Dean grunted. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, he just mentioned how nice it was to have people moving around in the bunker again,” Sam said, his voice appropriately casual. Dean continued to toy with Cas’ hair, a sign that he was still relaxed. “I have to admit, it does get boring here when you’re by yourself.”

“I mean, we could probably take him on a few extra hunts,” Dean said though he sounded extremely reluctant, “but it’s really been working out for us to have someone here at home base.”

Cas heard Sam shifting in his seat. “Oh, yeah, I agree,” Sam replied before letting the conversation pause for a little bit. Cas had to work really hard to keep his body relaxed. “I don’t think it would hurt to have a pet around here though.”

The hand in Cas’ hair froze.

Dean sighed heavily and Cas’ stomach twisted in anticipation. “Sam,” he said heavily, his hand starting to move again, “you know my stance on pets, man. Cats hate people and dogs are just too high maintenance for a bunch of dudes who routinely get stuck on the road for weeks at a time. It’s not like we can call up the neighbors and ask them to pet sit.”

Cas felt his stomach start to sink. Dean wasn’t going to go for it; having Sam talk to Dean first wasn’t going to help his case. He had just decided to ‘wake up’ and forget the whole thing when Sam spoke up.

“But what if it wasn’t a cat or a dog?”

#1 @deadlykittenkay - Submission: 3

“Then what, Sammy?” Dean asked his voice sounding much more tired than Cas had ever heard come from the hunter. “A fish? So that way we can come home to it bloated and floating upside down? Think of how he reacted when you accidentally killed the bee last year. How do you think he’s going to react to a fish dying. Not just any fish but his fish.”

Sam sighed and leaned forward, bracing his forearms onto his thighs. “Not a fish, Dean.”

“Well I’d rather go to Hell again than have a snake or glorified spider in the bunker.”

“What about a hamster?” Sam tried.

Dean wrinkled his nose in distaste. “I don’t know, Sammy. They’re rodents.”

Sam’s eyes connected with Cas’ from across the room. Cas opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he saw the flick of Sam’s hand, motioning for him not to say anything.

“Dean,” Sam said softly, a tone that Dean knew as the one Sam uses when he pulls his lawyer card on someone. “You love Cas, right?”

#2 @zolaliz - Submission: 3

Skip

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 3

“Of course I do!” Dean says a little too loudly. He bites his lip and looks down at Castiel, who stirs in protest.

Castiel keeps calm and tries not to open his eyes.

“Of course I do.” Dean says again, a little quieter this time.

“Then don’t you want him to be happy?” Sam asks.

“I do,” Dean says, looking down and carding his hand through Cas’ hair. “but I don’t see how a stupid hamster is going to do that.” He grumbles out.

“It will Dean, trust me. It will.” Sam says. “It gets pretty lonely here when you are alone.”

Dean sighs softly, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I know.” Sam says smugly.

Castiel opens his eyes and looks in Sam’s.

Sam smirks down at him and Castiel mouths ‘Thank you’ at him.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 3

When he’d “woken up” from his nap, Dean hadn’t said anything at first much to Cas’ disappointment. Maybe Dean had taken the time to think and decided that he’d changed his mind. It actually hadn’t been until they were getting ready for bed that Dean had haltingly admitted that he had been wrong and that it wouldn’t be a horrible idea for Cas to have a pet.

“So I guess, if you wanted, we could go to the pet store tomorrow and you know, look for some sort of critter…but only one.”

Cas tried extremely hard to receive Dean’s acquiescence towards getting a pet with grace and dignity and felt he succeeded…barely. Instead of jumping up and cheering at finally achieving his goal, he beamed and leaned in to kiss Dean silly before moving on to other ways to show his gratitude.

It would be well into the later part of the morning before they left their room for breakfast the next day.

After breakfast, which definitely seemed to take longer than normal to Cas, they left the bunker to head into town. Cas had the directions to the pet store pulled up on his phone; he’d spent days upon days while he’d been on his own researching the best places to find pets and had bookmarked marked them.

“Turn up here,” he said, pointing to the last turn that should take them to Pet-topia. Excitement had him practically vibrating in his seat as Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot and maneuvered into one of the store’s parking spaces.

Dean looked vaguely grumpy as they got out of the car but Cas suspected that he was just trying to pretend to be upset that he’d caved to save face or other such nonsense. He trailed behind Cas as they entered the store.

There was a bored looking teenager standing at the register when they entered who sighed heavily and didn’t straighten from his slouched position over his phone when he asked in a flat voice, “welcome to Pet-topia, is there anything I can help you with today?”

“No, thank you,” Cas said, noting the teenager went happily back to his phone.

Keeping his and Dean’s discussion in mind, he forced himself to pass the rabbits and other larger animals despite the fact of how much he wished they were an option and walked on until they found themselves in front of the hamster display.

Looking down into the massive cage, he saw oodles of small balls of fluff; some of them scurrying around on the wood shaving covered cage floor or on the wheels while other’s nibbled at the food and water or laid sedately in their chosen spots. Cas looked down at the hamsters, his heart sinking ever so slightly.

How was he supposed to pick just one?

#1 @deadlyangelkay - Submission: 4

Dean could tell from the slightly panicked look in Castiel’s eyes and the frown etching it’s ways at the corner of his mouth, that he was over whelmed. Hell, Dean wasn’t even the one picking the damn rodent and he felt over whelmed.

Dean’s heart broke when he heard Cas mutter that he should just get a fish. He hated hearing the defeated tone in his love’s voice and was determined to make this easier.

Dean draped his arm around Castiel’s shoulder, pulling him closer and placing a kiss to his temple.

“How about this?” Dean suggested. “You spend some time with these little guys, see which one grabs your attention and I’ll go look at the cages and crap for his new home.”

Castiel gave Dean a small smile and nodded. “That is agreeable.”

“Awesome. Text me when you’ve found the one.” He gives Castiel another kiss, to the forehead this time and smiles at him before heading off to cages.

Dean had no idea that there were so many options for a hamster to call home. As if picking the perfect one was hard, Dean could only imagine how Castiel would feel about selecting a cage. Dean selected a colorful plastic monstrosity that had a Ferris wheel looking thing attached to it.

Of course, Dean turned down the wrong aisle and was accosted by the site of adorable balls of fluff. He would never admit it, but he had a soft spot for rabbits. The little balls of fluff with floppy ears and twitchy noses made Dean give pause every time. And this time was no different than any other time. Especially when one of the dwarf rabbits happened to be interested in his movements. Dean would be a bold face liar if he said that the damned ball of fluff hadn’t already set it’s hooks into him. And how could it not? It’s black fur contrasting with the bright blue eyes. Dean was so captivated by it that he hadn’t even noticed he had company.

“I thought you said no rabbits,” Castiel’s voice was soft and teasing.

#writer 2 drop

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 4

“I did not say that…” Dean starts, “And I’m not saying that now either.” He finishes. Castiel just smirks at him, eyes glinting.“Don’t give me that look.” He says, turning back to looks at the dwarf rabbit. “We can get the rabbit if you want to Dean.” Castiel says. He stands slightly behind Dean and places his hand on his lower back, looking at the rabbit with him. “He is a cute little fella, isn’t he?” Dean ask. “That he is.” “Alright, let’s get em.” Dean says, making up his mind. Castiel smiles warmly at Dean and then goes to talk to the person at the counter.The lady helps them pick out the necessary items they need to take the rabbit home. They leave the place with loads of bags and a lot less money than they came with. They come home and Sam is instantly taken to the little guy.“Hey, his features look like Cas’.” Sam says with the bunny on his lap. He scratches behind his ear and the rabbit wiggles his nose in content. Castiel smiles mischievously looking towards Dean, who had adverted his gaze and was pretending to read the bag of the food.“Is that why you wanted to get him, Dean?” “What?” Dean asks, looking up and pretending to hear them for the first time. “Did you want to get the rabbit because it had similar features to me?” “What? No! Don’t be ridiculous.” Dean says. “Anyways… what do we name the little guy?” He asks changing the topic.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 4

The debate on what to name their, and Cas maintained that this pet belonged to all of them now after seeing Sam and Dean’s faces, rabbit raged on for the rest of the day until a decision was made just after dinner.

And so the rabbit was dubbed Bruce in honor of the Hulk and so that he had a “manly” name.

(Though Cas suspected Dean only agreed to the name so he could go around saying “Hello..my name is Bruce…” in an entirely inaccurate Australian accent despite his previous insistence that Finding Nemo had been boring.)

Originally when they’d been hammering out the details on where the hamster they’d been planning to get would reside, Dean had been adamant that “the critter” would be staying in the room next door to his and Cas’ room. He’d argued that he didn’t need a rodent in his living space. So Cas was surprised when Dean picked up the rabbit cage they’d purchased and carried it past the room they’d prepared only to enter their bedroom.

As much as Cas wanted to ask why their new pet was suddenly allowed to be in their room, he refrained. Today had been a big day for Dean what with agreeing to not only having a pet but changing that pet to a slightly bigger animal so he didn’t want to risk pushing his buttons too much. He cuddled Bruce to his chest as he watched Dean clear off a space on the one dresser for the rabbit cage; the little ball of fluff burrowing into the fabric of his t-shirt. Running his fingers through Bruce’s hair was extremely soothing and this pleased Cas.

Bruce wouldn’t be a substitute for actual human interaction but he’d definitely be a comfort and a fitting companion for when Sam and Dean needed to leave for extended hunts.

“There,” Dean said, stepping back to brush his hands off.  He stood there, examining his handiwork for a bit before turning to face Cas. “Bruce’s place is all set.” Dean reached out and scooped Bruce out of his hands, cooing at him. “Here you are, big guy. A home just for you.”

It took every ounce of control that Cas had cultivated over millenias of existence to not burst out laughing at his self-proclaimed “macho” boyfriend turning into a puddle of goo in the presence of a small bunny.

#1 @deadlyangelkay - Submission: 5

A few weeks had passed since they had brought home both Bruce and Peanut. The brothers hadn’t found a case and it gave time for all three to bond with the animals. Cas’ favorite part was watching the rabbit and hamster interact and Dean’s reaction to it. At first Dean was hesitant, having his precious Bruce and the rodent near each other. But once Sam pointed out that essentially the two were brothers, Dean begrudgingly relented.

Now, it’s as if Dean looks forward to their play time. Castiel smiles fondly at Dean as he laughs at the way Bruce and Peanut play. More like the way that would climb over Bruce and Bruce would twitch his nose at the hamster. The best part about watching “their boys” – as Dean has started to call them – was the Dean would periodically lean against Cas. Happy, content, and peaceful.

Before Castiel knew it, it was time for the Winchesters to go off to another hunt. Dean gave Cas the familiar speech about how it was just a simple salt and burn and they would be back before he could miss them. And as always Cas would roll his eyes because after all this time, when has anything been easy for the Winchesters? A quick kiss goodbye and a promise to call when they got to the motel, Castiel was once again left in the large quiet bunker.

He scooped up Bruce into his arms, the little guy nuzzling into his shirt as he carried Bruce to the bedroom. “You know, there’s an excellent documentary on Netflix that you might like,” Castiel says softly, happy to no longer be alone.