Tumgik
#also that one benny sketch i posted
delphispoeticals · 2 years
Text
EN GARDE
benedict bridgerton x fem!reader
warnings: regency courting etiquette, gender roles/sexism, use of ‘lady’ and ‘she/her’ and ‘woman’, flirting, benny being absolutely in love with you, improper smooching, few innuendos, a smidge of heavy petting.
word count: 5.6k
blurb: where you care too much about what your mother thinks, much to your siblings dismay, it almost guides all of your decisions. but when you rely on what you want... you find it to be rather rewarding — starting with a simple game of fencing. En Garde.
a/n: i’ve written so many drafts, but i think im really gonna post this one lol. i haven’t written goodies about men in a WHILE so forgive me if it’s bad you guys :((
Tumblr media
.
.
“Mama is going to have more than a word with you when she finds out about this, Antoine.” 
“Wouldn’t you rather participate in an activity you’re actually good at, than just… Promenading around the yard?” He scoffed, using an overdone posh accent. 
The mama you shared was very particular when it came to the season of your debut. You happened to be the first daughter of the Sinclair Household, out of two, to debut into society. Which meant, all eyes were on you – technically. Coming from a well-renowned family, many people held many expectations for you. And, the Ton couldn’t wait to deliberate about someone who slightly strayed from tradition and normalcy. That could easily dampen the reputation your family built through years of networking.
It should also be mentioned that your father is the ultimate source for how the Ton perceives you – he’s a Marquess, anointed by the Queen. So, maybe it wasn’t only high society you had to look out for. 
It was the lovely lady who governed, her grace. 
Which makes this rendezvous, with your favorite suitor, all the more complicated. Antoine was very adamant about ensuring your happiness. As your brother, that was his job – so he claims. Antoine, is a very generous elder brother – honestly, better than most. Better than his own friends who happened to share the title. The season had only begun a month ago, but he’d noticed that you hadn’t caught the eyes of anyone in particular. Your family was high enough in society to at least attempt a love match – he knew you deserved that much.
So, he examined the pool of eligible men around him. Choosing to ignore their overbearing sexual history, since he himself was questionable in that department. His character was separate from his reputation with women – which wasn’t that thick of a book, by the way. Antoine was a good man who just so happened to love the company of beautiful women. He was simply a product of what society enabled – and there were more like him. 
He didn’t want to be biased, so he began with Mr. Lumley. He was an attractive young man whose record was clear. Mr. Lumley had already called for you, offering you flowers and such. But, you weren’t completely sold. You accompanied him to a ball hosted by the Abernathy’s, but no flutters were felt. And, you were determined to feel those flutters.
Next, he jumped to his closest friends – the Bridgerton’s. Whom of which you met on plenty of occasions. Antoine didn’t care to consider the Viscount, being that he was familiar with how he desired his future. His first consideration was Colin. He was kind and harbored that love for adventure that you did. However, he notice a subtle glance he gave to Penelope Featherington and decided not to tread on that territory. Finally, the artist of the family, Benedict. Antoine had noticed the two of you got on nicely – more than nicely. That’s when he began to plant his seeds of love – he calls it. 
When your brother found a trashed sketch of your face… He knew his meddling worked. 
Antoine is more than positive he’d helped you find your match. So it didn’t matter what your mama thought, or even the Ton. He was a genius.
In a little over forty-eight hours, Lady Bridgerton is planning to host a ball at Aubrey Hall. You were invited as a noble guest, being that you were being courted by her second eldest. And, there you were standing walking down the backyard steps of the manor with your brother – complaining. He had proposed a date to your potential lover. A date that isn’t very ladylike of you to participate in – even if you were fantastic at the art of it. Your mother had come a day later than the two of you, and she’ll be in Kent sometime this day. If she saw you… 
“This isn’t an activity for a future wife, Antoine.” You may have been quoting your mother, but her words often rang true. And, even if it wasn’t it’s not like you had the reigns, as a woman, to tempt fate. Spinster age was around the corner. 
Fencing. What a lovely sport. If only you could proudly proclaim your love for it. 
You were wearing the same beige frock you wore when playing with your siblings. It had long billowing sleeves, but the bodice was still firm to your bust. Stylishly laced at its edges. “Since when did you care what future wives did?” He grumbled, dressed in his white fencing attire, holding both of your swords. “You knew Benedict before your debut-”
“And he wasn’t interested until my debut!”
“That changes nothing, y/n. If he didn’t like you we wouldn’t be here now. And, we most certainly wouldn’t be walking across a field to go fencing behind bush-lining.” 
A nervous sigh fell from your lips, as you waddled across the grass. The pair of you were meeting Benedict and his brothers a little ways from the back of Aubrey Hall. “The one thing you can trust is my word, sister. I would never steer you wrong.” He patted your shoulder, sliding his arm along them to pull you closer. 
The sun was blinding your eyes as you approached the shaded area, fortunately, shaded. One of your arms slides around the middle of his back, leaning on him to gather your strength. You’ve never been the type to be insecure – maybe this season was messing with you. Not once have you ever been hesitant to show off your skills. The stress of being a debutante, even while officially courting, was changing you. Was this the path to becoming a woman – watering down your passions, or feeling bad if you didn’t? 
Smile.
“Lord and Lady Sinclair,” Anthony spoke, bowing his head shallowly, while the pair of you approached. The two other brothers do the same.
“Anthony,” Antoine boyishly grinned.
“Viscount Bridgerton,” You disconnected from your brother to dip coyly. “Mr. Bridgerton… Mr. Bridgerton.” Your eyes flickered from Colin to Benedict – the artist that held your heart between his hands. Antoine joked about with the boys, patting their shoulders playfully. 
Benedict leaned down to speak lowly near your ear. “How come you didn’t tell me you knew the art of fencing?” He raised an eyebrow. The sensation of his warm breath on the side of your neck and the shell of your earlobe. A dry giggle left your lips, looking up at the tallest brother. In truth, it was because of your mother’s nagging voice in your head. But, you couldn’t share that. Of course, not. 
“It simply never came up – slipped my mind, forgive me.” 
“No need to ask for forgiveness…” Benedict leaned closer to your ear once more. “I already knew. You can thank your brother for that.”  
In response, exhaled forcefully, glaring at the back of Antoine’s head. Thanks a lot, now I look like a liar. Rolled your eyes, stalking towards him with a bit more ferocity than you walked in with. Anthony nodded his head in your direction, causing him to turn around with an absent mind – looking directly above your head. “Antoine!” You sharply called. He immediately looked down, meeting your height. “Are we fencing or not – we do not have all day.” You pull the fencing sword from his hand, turning on your heels. 
“Ah, my bad, sister. We shall begin… Benedict.” Antoine looked at the man standing back behind you, a smirk curling on his lips. He prepared to step forth, but you held your hand out. Your palm hovering over his chest. 
“No, not yet. Antoine…” You pointed with your dulled sword. “You first.” Benedict’s eyes never leave your frame, watching as you command his attention. He takes a few steps back, wandering to sit on the bench along with the other Bridgertons. 
Antoine inhales, hanging his head briefly with a mischievous smirk. “Ah… There’s the y/n I like to see.” 
“En Garde, brother.”
You place your non-dominant hand on your hip, using the other towards your opponent. Your eyes were carefully trained on Antoine, squinting intimidatingly, positioning your feet. He readies, doing just the same. Your brother and you had been in this position plenty of times, and often they ended with him laying in the grass. Rarely ever you. “Antoine, remember, this is your sister – she is a lady. Take it easy on her.” Anthony teasingly called, glancing over towards you. 
A scoff fell from your lips as you lunged toward your brother, colliding his sword with yours. “Save the insults for when you’re on the end of my sword, Lord Bridgerton.” Antoine lunged toward you, but you jumped back avoiding the contact of the dull sword. You hummed, cockily swinging your weapon. The sound of the swords clashing filled the space, with little grunts from the both of you. Antoine managed to get two taps against your waist, and you managed to get one on his. However, as per, he ended up kissing the grass. 
You laughed in victory, bowing to the small audience. “Who’s next?”
Minutes flew by as you tackled both Anthony and Colin Bridgerton – successfully knocking them to the ground. You actually had to go against the eldest brother thrice before he completely gave up. Which only earned giggles from Benedict as he lounged on the bench. 
“Do not laugh yet, brother. Laugh when you prevail that storm of a woman – Lady y/n, I mean. My apologies.” 
“Your mistake was purposeful, Lord Bridgerton.” 
You responded, as your eyes followed Benedict as he positioned in front of you – sword in hand. A competitive twinkle glimmered in his blue eyes as he straightened his posture. “I do apologize for my brother’s — they’re not known for challenging their opponents.” 
“Lies! Lies, you tell!” Colin exclaimed, pointing at the artist.
With a chuckle, you circled that vertically gifted man. “And… You are?” You raised a single eyebrow, hitting his sword with your own. The trace of a smile being left on your lips, batting your eyelashes at him. “A gentleman shall never go back on his word. Are you going to challenge me, Mr. Bridgerton?” 
“Only if you wish, my love.” 
A beat. 
Your eyes widened, lips parting in awe. But, easily your eyebrows deepened in determination. He was playing dirty. Using his sparkling eyes and boyish smirk to dismantle your throne. “Charm — a devilish trick. Don’t let his advances disturb you, y/n.” Antoine supported, leaning on his knees intently. 
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” 
Benedict lunged, but you dodged. Your eyes were glued to his eyes. Honestly, if your families weren’t near — you’d probably toss the dull weapons to the side and pounce on the man. Benedict didn’t have to speak to charm you. A simple glance was all you needed. “Ouch.” He placed a hand on his chest, feigning pain. “I would hope that my charm disturbs you a little.” 
You raise your eyebrows, tapping your swords again. “Disturbs me or flatters me?” 
“Perhaps, both.” He pauses, as you lunge toward him. Barely grazing his arm with the thin blade. You curse under your breath, biting the inside of your mouth. “To leave you utterly enamored is, in fact, a goal of mine.” 
Hm. You hum, smiling with your bottom lip stuck between your teeth. Technically, he’s met that goal on many occasions — he just couldn’t know that for sure. “Is it, now? How’s that working out for you?” He lunges towards you, the sounds of your swords clashing multiple times. Your non-dominant hand gripped the skirts of your dress as you backed up into the treeline. 
Benedict shrugs, backing up and gathering his breath. “Fairly well, I believe.” 
“You think?” 
“I know-“ 
His voice was cut off by the pinched tone of a stressed mama. You immediately freeze, pivoting and holding the sword behind your back. There she was stomping across the grass, with your younger sister following behind, begrudgingly. “Mama,” You fought a frown with a smile. Benedict had slowly walked behind you, taking the sword from your hands. Thankfully, you sent him a smile. 
“Mama, you’ve arrived in Kent! Welcome.” Antoine tried, standing from the bench. 
“Marchioness Sinclair, it is truly a pleasure,” Anthony spoke, elbowing his brother to speak. “Truly.” Colin co-signed, bowing his head. 
Your mother was fuming, smoke was practically coming from her ears. “What is the meaning of this nonsense, y/n?” She questioned, deliberately. You adjusted how you stood, looking back at Antoine. He shrugs, trying to think of something on his feet that could save the both of you. 
Then, he stepped forward — Benedict, not your brother. “I asked her to join my brothers and I for a round…” He glanced down at you. “Or two. I heard she was quite a force to be reckoned with when it came to fencing, and I was only curious.” His eyes gleamed whenever they were set on you, examining your uncomfortable stature. 
She eased, sighing. Her scrutinizing eyes softened at the words of the young man. Even so, her presence spoke loudly for her. She was a Marchioness. “Is this true, y/n?” 
“Yes! Absolutely!” You may have answered too quickly. “Mr. Bridgerton graciously thought to include me, based on mere hearsay… Very polite of him.” You nodded, sharing a tight-lipped smile with your mother. She crossed her arms over her satin bodice, squinting her eyes — glancing from you to Antoine. 
“Hm. Very well.” A beat. 
Her eyes landed on each party, suspiciously. 
“I’ll be waiting to hear of your victories, y/n.” She turned around, gliding back towards the manor. Your sister hesitantly turns with her. She sent vibrant thumbs up, and a theatrical wink in her wake before then. Once she’d gotten to a legitimate distance, you groaned, stuffing your face in your hands. 
Antoine shut his eyes tightly, pinching his nose. “Mama has perfect timing. Absolutely perfect.” You nodded, running your hands down your face. 
“Absolutely perfect.” You mutter, allowing your arms to slap by your sides. Hesitantly, you turned towards Benedict, offering an energyless smile. “Thank you for stepping in…” 
He nodded, holding his hands behind his back gallantly. “Oh, I would do it a thousand more times if needed. Of course, Lady y/n.” His eyes glanced around the area seeing the damper her mother’s arrival placed on the group. Anthony scratched the back of his head, whispering to Colin. “Why don’t we resume our game later? I can see that your mama’s interruption has compromised the mood.” 
You chuckled, pushing a piece of your curls behind your ear. “Didn’t she… Yes, we may resume at a much later time. I might’ve worked up a bit of an appetite, to be honest.” 
“Appetite, you say? I’m beyond famished!” Colin began stalking past everyone, heading towards the house. You suppressed a laugh, holding your fingers over your lips. Anthony and Antoine followed after him, nearly forgetting about both you and the artist. 
Benedict offered his arm, sharing a charming smile. “How does cucumber sandwiches with classic English tea sound?” 
“Splendid, of course!” You marveled, sliding your arm through his. Adoringly holding his gaze, as you approached the large manor behind the boys. 
Julianne, your sister, sat in the room you shared flipping through the pages of the books Eloise lent her. “Ugh, can’t I have a love like Mr. Bingley and Jane…” She pouted, wiping fake tears from her cheeks. You snickered, taking the remaining pins from your hair, and placing them in the bowl on the vanity.
 Turning in the plushy seat, you leaned on the back of the chair. A wistful expression adorning your face. Julianne shuts the book as she couldn’t help but feel the emotions leaking from your pores. “What happens to be on your mind, sister?” She adjusts herself on the bed, where she turns her feet to where the pillows are. 
You shake your head, pursing your lips. “I’m not sure…” 
“Ah, well, that’s believable.” She remarks, kicking her feet back and forth. “You’re not sure what’s on your mind.” 
Abruptly, you stand from the chair, walking to the long window that serves a view of the grand backyard of the manor. “I am realizing, I think, that I am past merely liking Mr. Bridgerton.” You paused, blinking as you were slowly coming to terms with your unruly emotions. Sure, you’ve said before that he held your heart — but, he may really be holding your heart. Delicately, to add. He was a very gentle man. “I may be in love with him, Julianne.” 
She gasped, holding her hands intertwined under her chin. “He’s your Mr. Bingley!” Julianne cheered, swinging her legs off the bed. 
“Not literally. But, yes — if that makes me the prettiest Bennett sister, Jane.” 
“You…” She narrows her eyes, before slightly glancing out the window. Then, her eyes widened tremendously, pointing quickly at the figure wandering in the dark. You were still looking at her harboring a teasing grin, but her attention elsewhere caught your eye. “Oh, Blast! Is that Mr. Bridgerton just there?” 
He held a candle as light, but he slowly wandered the field and garden. Palming some of the bush fixtures. You gasp, pushing her to the side of the window, while you stumble to the other side — where you’re out of sight. “You must meet him down there.” 
“I mustn’t! If mama catches me-“ 
“y/n, you are about to be a married woman — who cares what mama thinks, good God.” 
You inhale, furrowing your eyebrows. The opinion of your mother has grown since your debut. Feeling as if you had to succumb to this unattainable role. Your sibling had more faith in your betrothal than you did — which was odd considering your situation. You pondered — should you really go down there? What were you going to say? “I will keep watch for you.” Julianne offered, with a spreading smile. “Just don’t do anything too scandalous.” 
Smiling, you grabbed the thin blue robe that went over your white nightgown. “No promises,”
That was a jest. Total jest. 
Grabbing a candlelight, you scurried down to the back. Managing to be as quiet as a mouse on your mild journey through the manors. Your eyes caught the sight of the back of his disheveled hair, slowly maneuvering around. Hesitantly, you stepped onto the low vibrant grass. Glancing over your shoulder for any prying eyes — praying your mother didn’t catch you in this position. You wanted to be married organically, when he asks your father for your hand. 
When you’d gotten closer enough to him, you called his name. “Mr. Bridgerton,” You stated, holding out the candlelight. “It’s quite late, is it not?” 
He slowly turned around, as if he was expecting you. A smile grew on his lips. “It is quite late… I just desired fresh air — nightly fresh air.”
“Ah, yes. Nightly fresh air — the best form of air on the market.” 
He was wearing loose-fitting clothes, just as you were since it was after hours. His eyes donned your frame, examining the length of your hair and how different it was compared to your daily looks. The effortlessness of your beauty rendered him shocked — enamored. Perhaps, even disturbed. “Turn down your light.” He spoke. 
Your eyebrows deepened, confused by his words. “Huh? It’s dark, Mr. Bridgerton.” 
“Would you want to risk your mama seeing you and me unchaperoned… At night?” 
Chewing on your bottom lip, you considered his words. That was the last thing you wanted. “Perhaps, not.” You took in a hefty breath, blowing out the candle with an innocent expression. Benedict chuckled, doing the same, then holding out his hand for you. The sound of your heart thumped in your ears, almost making you dizzy. And with a courageous inhale, you placed your hand in his. 
He could take you anywhere and you wouldn’t dare complain. But, you couldn’t help but question.
A toothy smile graced your lips, his hand gripping yours bare. For the first time without some sort of glove. “Where are you taking me?” His long legs were no match for yours. Long strides quickly pulling you to wherever the destination may have been.
He looked over his shoulder. “Do we not have a round to finish?” Your lips gaped open, your other hand reaching toward his arm. Halting your steps, you pulled him to a stop. The grin on your lips was impossible to wipe off. 
Breathily, you inhaled. “Did you plan this, Mr. Bridgerton?” The candlelight was being held by your pinky, aching from the weight. But, the contact of your hand against his firm arm was so comforting. He was so comforting. 
“I did not, My Lady. However, I did wish to see you tonight.”
His wishes came true. 
“And, I also wished for you not to be so formal with me. Please, call me Benedict.” His much larger hand, squeezed yours, pulling you closer to his tall frame. Your pointer finger tapped along his bicep, batting the long eyelashes your mother gave you — sincerely. 
You grinned, with your bottom lip stuck under your teeth. Trying to resist the size, but it was impossible. His light eyes glistened with something that was unfamiliar to you, but you failed to fully catch it. All you noticed was that his gaze gave you a bodily reaction. Your chest and cheeks grew hot, where his hand met yours, a sensation tingling from the contact. “Only if you call me y/n and nothing else.” 
Benedict chuckled, as your chests touched, looking down into your mind-controlling gaze. “And nothing else? So… My love happens to be off the table?” He raises his eyebrow, eyes glancing towards your lips. 
“If it isn’t true. But if it is — call me that however many times you please.” Your eyes glanced toward his lips, but you stepped back, glancing in the direction he was taking you. “I believe you were taking me somewhere…” 
His lips parted, but he quickly recovered. Nodding, and following through with his original plan — which was warping as time progressed. The pair of you had been attracted to each other since the moment you met. More so, Benedict than you. He just assumed that it would never happen, considering his closest friend was your brother. He didn’t expect Antoine to be so helpful to both of you. 
But, now, his attraction to you has skyrocketed. From being around you so much, studying your face, spending long nights thinking about your face… And body. Benedict is nearly spent. While he wasn’t trying to rush, he genuinely wanted you. All he needed was a few minutes alone—
“Did you really set all this up… All for hopes?” You inquired, seeing all the swords poked into a holder and gloves for the sport set beside them. 
“All for hopes… All for you. I mean a game is not finished until-“ 
“It is finished.” You mused, releasing his hand and approaching the weapons. With a giggle, you pulled the glove that was for your dominant hand on. Plucking the dull sword from the holder. “You are a thoughtful sort. I’ll say, you may have met your goal, Benedict.” You walked backward, watching as he gathered his gear. “Consider me utterly enamored.” 
You were fluttering. It was the flutter. 
He pulled his glove on, taking his sword and taking a few steps back. “As am I, my love. I only hope that doesn’t damper the competition.”
Benedict truly had you swooned. If you were willing to give in completely, the competition would be over. Or, at least you would've wanted it to have been over. You did have, unfortunately, one more man to defeat. “And risk my ultimate victory? Never!” You pointed your sword towards the man, smirking excitedly. Chest rising with anticipation. “En Garde, kind sir.” 
He tapped your sword with his twice, before lunging. The game between the pair of you had gone on longer than it had with the others. Sparing longing glances, causing either one of you to stumble. The both of you attempted to dismantle one another with flirtation, but you deemed yourself to be much stronger than expected — the both of you. It surely was torture, though. 
Then, all of a sudden, Benedict threw his sword to the ground. His chest heaving up and down — eyes stuck to you, unable to look away for even a second. You dropped your arm, letting it hit your hip still clenching your sword. The competitive sneer dropped from your lips, a look of expectation adorning your face. It seems he has reached his peak of keeping his distance from you. 
“You’re an insufferable opponent…” He muttered, but it was already so quiet. Something in particular leaking from his words. You were so stunned that you could only stand there — in utter shock. 
A breath flew from your lips. “Why’d you stop? You might’ve stolen my victory.” 
“I wouldn’t ever want to steal your victory.” He approached you, resorting you to backing up. Choosing your steps carefully. Your hand rose, the corner of your lips curling weakly. He stopped advancing, holding his hands near his head. “Go on… Take me, y/n.” 
Something in your gut told you his words had meant something else. His body language told you his words meant something else. Uncharted territory for you. The tip of your sword prodded at his abdomen. “I win.” You whisper, fluttering in places that have yet to be explored. He pushed the blade away with two fingers, resuming his approach. Remaining in your place, your arm drops, still holding the sword in your hand. 
He had entered your space, his hand drifting down your clothed arm. Leading to the gloved hand that held the dull weapon. Your breath hitching in your throat. Benedict pulled the handle from your fingers, keeping his striking gaze on you. He tossed it to the side carelessly, then pulled the leather glove from your hand. “You win.” He whispered, aligning your hand with his. 
This touch was different — more intimate than you ever experienced. It set your skin ablaze, it made you… It made you really want him. This feeling of want was different, nothing you’ve ever felt before. His other hand found solace at your waist, pulling you closer to him. You had no choice but to oblige, stumbling forward. “I must apologize,” He began, darting his eyes in an upside-down triangle. “y/n, I simply cannot contain myself anymore.” 
Neither can I. 
“You have convicted my soul. You have since the moment I laid eyes on you — that evening, only a year ago, where your brother introduced us.” Benedict enunciated, his thumb caressing your ribcage through your thin nightgown. You gasp, gripping the hand that was in yours. It couldn’t be true. Benedict Bridgerton pining after you before your debut. He was an adventurist – a rake, who also did art. You’ve heard whispers about him and his brothers… And your brother. How they wanted to push off marriage until they’ve made themselves useful, some more than others. 
Were you being bamboozled? How on God’s green earth were you getting this close to this… Unattainable man. Convicted. You have convicted his soul – sounds like the words of a true poet. 
“When Antoine and your father granted me the blessing in pursuing you wholly and completely…” He shook his head sincerely. “I have never felt so honored.” Wow. Your eyebrows furrowed, eyes watering – the experience seemed to be too real. And, he continues. “y/n, you have bewitched me. There has not been a day where you’ve been absent from my mind. Not a second.” 
“Benedict,” You spoke, your tone in utter surprise. He was sharing more characteristics with Mr. Darcy than with Mr. Bingley. He must’ve been doing this on purpose, he has indulged in the works of Jane Austen nearly as much as you. 
His hands caress up your arm, leaving your hand, finding comfort on your jaw. His thumb grazes your cheek lovingly. The artist struggles – tempted to just crash his lips against yours, but he couldn’t just yet. You blinked slow, wishing he’d lay himself upon you. It’s not like you could really formulate your words eloquently. You placed your hand on his elbow, leaning into his touch with need. It felt exhilarating to be touched by him – you wanted more. “Ben…” All you could do was repeat his name, dripping with unfathomed desire. You both breathed heavily, the sounds coming together as a union – nearly breathing each other’s air. His nose brushed yours, just before his lips plotted on the tip of it. A whine pulled from your throat in anticipation. 
“y/n,” He spoke your name like a prayer, wistful – snagged from his diaphragm. 
Slowly, he leaned down to her hovering his lips over yours. As if you’d done this before, your lips parted. The tip of your tongue grazing your bottom lip. You couldn’t help but hold your breath, breasts swelling from your loose bodice. 
Pulling you flush to him by your waist, he finally and gently, places his lips upon yours. You release air from your nose, sliding your hand around his neck, your fingertips touching the shorter curls of his hair. Flutter. Flutter. Flutter! He kissed you with no matter of haste, he was savoring your touch. His hand remains in the divot of your waist, barely threatening to leave that spot. 
Fireworks were exploding in the skies of your mind. Lips moving along with his, slowly drifting into a mode of passion. His grip intensified on your waist, wishing he could push you closer to him – as if you weren’t already touching. All it took was a hum to release between your lips for him to walk you back into a tree. When your back hit the bark, you yelped in surprise. Your attention is still completely on him, hands running through his dark shiny hair. Being overcome with impulse, you gripped his hair from the root – cousin a groan to erupt from his throat. 
Benedict pulled back, the ends of his lips curling. “You… You are something.”
“Come here,” You party whine and demand, tugging him back to your lips. 
He wouldn’t dare deny you, meeting your lips feverishly. His hands had grown to be more bold groping at your body. His intimate touch was beginning to make you heat up in nether places. Sounds erupting from your vocals that you have never heard in full. This would be quite the circumstance to be caught in – face-making with the man you are courting. Rather compromising. 
But, it felt so good. 
This is why it took a lot for you to pull away. 
Breathing heavily, placing your hand on his chest – desperately wanting to tear the loose shirt from his body. “This… This is improper.” You heaved, a coy smile stretched on your lips. Benedict breathed just the same, his thumb wiping the corner of your lips adoringly. 
“It is… But to hell with decorum.” 
You laughed, caressing the back of his neck – wanting nothing more than to be entangled with him for all eternity. “Mind your tongue, Benedict.” You playfully scolded, looking up at him through your thick eyelashes. The softness of his untamed strands comforted you, subsiding – not erasing – your unbearable coil of desire. 
“ I am minding my tongue…” He leaned forward, wanting to kiss you once more. 
“We should get some sleep. I’m sure we are going to need as much energy as possible to bare my mother.” Your hand feels the strength of his throat, accidentally running over her adam’s apple as you descended. “And without sleep, that is impossible, my heart.” The man paused, both of his hands on either side of your face, lightly squishing your cheeks. 
“My heart, is it?” Your face heated up, embarrassment flooding your hazy irises. You tried to flee his hands, but he wouldn’t let you. “I adore it. Just like I adore you… My love.” 
His words and gaze make it impossible for you to leave. Your sister had to have been awaiting you or is asleep by now. She reminded you not to be too scandalous – whatever that meant. “I must go, despite how difficult you make it.” Your eyes jested, bashfully. Hands gripping his forearms lightly, urging him off – yet, not desiring his lack of touch. “You make it very difficult, might I add.”
“As do you, but you are right.” He slides his hands from your face, down to your shoulders. “I have to put this equipment away, and get a good night’s rest for-”
“My mother.”
“Yes, your mother – and whatever the day will bring.”
You look down to the grass, chuckling. Taking one of his hands in yours, you draw little hearts with your thumb on the back of his hand. “Then, I will leave you to it. Good night, Benedict.” A part of you was sad as if you weren’t going to see him in the morning for breakfast. The hours were too long – you wished you could stay beside him all night. He leans down, to kiss the back of your hand. Holding his lips against your skin, savoringly. 
“Good night, y/n. I wish you heavenly dreams.”
You walk backward, slowly sliding your hand from his grasp. A beat passes, eye contact being the pair of yours’ main source of communication – so it seemed. “I love you, y/n Sinclair.”
Thump, thump, thump. A grin spreads on your lips, broad and silly, yet just as beautiful. “I love you, Benedict Bridgerton… Wholly and completely.”
4K notes · View notes
seawing-vibes · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYPONY ! ! Here’s some art summary thangs <3 ! Template is by Mintcokev on DeviantArt !! I did one of full pieces and one of Sillay Doodles
Explanations of every piece & stuff is below read the readmore ! + links to the full work if its posed online !
First Template:
January -> This Sora Piece ! I am honestly still super proud of how it turned out , it was fun to work on and looking at it still gives me that nice vibe I was in while drawing it
February -> This headshot of my OC Elk! I developed and expanded on her story this year and did some headshots for their TH, still super proud of how the shading came out here ,,
March -> lmao nothin , not sure what happened in March but I dont have anything there aside from sillay Doodles
April -> This design of Blaze! One of my fav designs I’ve done recently .. shes just so sillay To Me
May -> This piece of my friend and I’s cat ocs ! Stickpaw & Frostclaw, two silly fellas <3 something possessed me here I’ve never drawn a kibby this well since and Im still super proud of this
June -> This reference of my oc Dee!!!! ITS DEE ! ! EVERYONE SAY HI TO DEE <3 ! ! ! ! ! I was so happy to finally give her a proper ref , shes one of my favorite ocs of all time and this came out so well , it looks so much like her!!!!
July -> This artfight attack! This piece was honestly just a blast to work on, the background and frame design and expression were all fun to illustrate
August -> These refs of my lomp ocs! Lomps are fictional guys made by my good friend and August was just the Month for them. These guys are (bottom to top) Fizz, Roe, and Skipper! They’re . Normal <3
September -> This piece of my fursona Kenny ! ! Just a fun piece to work on again, the colors came together way better than I thought they would
October -> This piece of my oc Houndcall! They’re feeling normal about their leader being possessed! This was like a weird experimental painted piece and ou .. I really loved working on it I wanna do more things with that method
November -> Not posed online! Surprisingly, this is a wip of a self-portrait I’m doing for class! Fathead Minnows and Rainbow Trout !! This canvas is massive (taller than me ,, which aint much but still!!) and I’ve been cracking at it for a while but hammered out the details of the trout in November so! It’s acrylic but I really wish I could’ve done oil instead .. acrylic dont blend well
December -> The final fella ! My idiot son ! Also not posed online , this is a linocut printed on hand-made paper! Fun fact, I make my own paper and my own Lino cuts as my main medium, I just cant afford the proper transfer ink, but I got some from school to use so ! My idiot dragon linocut son was born ! I hate him because he wont print proper but this piece ended up working out. Its lino-ink on handmade paper with red micron pen over it
Second Template:
January -> DNA Helicase
February -> Valentine’s Day Gift <3 !
March -> Not (publicly) posted online doodle of my epic oc Anton Bayheart giving his grandson a thumbs up :)
April -> Not (publicly) posted doodles of my ocs Sebastian (left) and Dee (right) (you saw her ref earlier <33) having a normal convo !
May -> A shot from This video of my friends ocs … the one depicted is Quickpaw <3
June -> Not posted doodle of Breezewhipser giving Rippletooth some good advice (it was not good advice) (ripple just learns hes aro)
July -> Not (publicly) posed doodle of my Oc’s Garret (BALD) and Benny (TIRED) . Also just two normal guys (they’re divorced) (and obsessed with eachother)
August -> This doodle of my ocs Savi & Skipper (Skip’s ref is in August first template <3) . Music taste
September -> a small part of this cat sketch page ! Beetlekit getting bullied by his cousins
October -> This doodle of Skipper . I appreciate him
November -> I dont know where this came from actually. Its my friends oc’s Redstone and Bumblebuzz staring kitty-like at my oc Specklestep (she is married to Red and Bumble is their daughter)
December -> Doodle of Tide from this whiteboard ! !
Have a great new year everyone ! ! ! Thanks for reading through all that if you did lmao
4 notes · View notes
urne-buriall · 1 year
Text
last line tag game
(post the last line from a wip you're working on)
okay so I was tagged by both @angelsdean and @foolondahill17 for this and feel terrible because I don't actually have an actual wip but I also have a compulsion to respond to tags and mentions
so what you're getting isn't a wip but is the last written bit from a little sketch after the events of "spirit of the west." because the awful truth is that I get scenes in my head and the only way to stop them haunting me is to write them down and hoard them like a self-indulgent dragon because they'll never be posted
so here this is, a year along, when Benny has come to visit Dean at his new house & horse rescue. having just met Cas (on his way out to an appointment), and seeing the difference in Dean's happiness, he's put things together pretty quickly
--
“Well shit,” Benny said, slowly shaking head dropping over the fence, a rueful smile on his mouth. “Always wondered about you, Dean.”
“What?” said Dean.
“Couldn’t get a read, but wondered,” said Benny.
“Are you⁠—”
“I wasn’t gonna be the one to push you,” said Benny. “Lee, now⁠—”
“What about Lee?”
“I had to tell him to get it from his mind.”
“You and Lee never even liked each other. You barely talked.”
“Suppose this was the only thing we came eye-to-eye on,” said Benny. “The few times we all hung out. That was the thing me and Lee had in common: we never could get enough of looking at you.”
20 notes · View notes
reblogging4thewin · 1 year
Text
KP's 2022 SPN Year in Review
Tumblr media
Soooo much happened in my life in 2022 (well from end 2021 though 2022 really). I am so grateful for the friends both online and off who helped me get through it all 💜. I found myself focusing more on art and editing than writing - but I am really excited to share my Pinefest fic with you all in February!
The #1 creation I'm most proud of this year was my Haze Amv, but I am also blown away by how much my Me and My Broken Heart Amv took off - ending the year with almost 20k views - which is in-sane. Setting and sticking to a regular upload schedule has been motivating and rewarding - I'm excited to post January's video on Thursday too :).
Participating as an artist in a couple of bangs for the first time had me stepping out of my comfort zone and drawing the best human being I've ever drawn to-date.
Aside from making things, I also co-modded the new SPN Bang Bang with my friends @doctorprofessorsong and @you-cant-spell-subtext-without, which went wonderfully well; I"m excited for this year's round!
Last but not least, being an editor and guest for @endofthebookpod has been amazing so far, and I'm excited for the rest of The Winchesters season!
Without further ado, here's a recap of all of the SPN fanworks I made in 2022 (I'll also get my masterlist pages updated to include these):
---
Fic (all G or T rated):
Did You Mean It? - PB Exchange - Cas realizes Dean's been flirting with him, so he confronts him - with some satisfying results. (reblog link)
The Theme is Dean - Dean birthday - Dean gets the themed party he's always wanted. (reblog link)
I'm the One He's Walking to - Valentine's Exchange - Is this a date? (reblog link)
Sleepy Stares - they are just so soft (reblog link)
You Never Let Me Say It Back - a poem by Dean (I am particularly proud of the wordplay in this one) (reblog link)
Regarding Bunnies - Easter; goofy Dean - Cas gets Dean a fluffy surprise, that yes they've discussed before. (reblog link)
Mon Pays Sera Toi - Dean really likes how protective Cas can be - it makes him feel safe, among other things. (reblog link)
Magic - Samwena drabble (tumblr only)
Rendevous - Drowley drabble (tumblr only)
What if Dean kissed Cas in The Trap? (tumblr only; in the tags)
---
Amvs (I'm posting a new one every 5th now - YT channel):
Words Words Words - Dean Winchester - Comedy (YT link)
Squirrel all the Bad Guys Want - Dean Winchester, Drowley - Comedy (YT link)
When You Were Young - Dean Winchester, Destiel - Drama (YT link)
Haze - BAMF Cas, Destiel - Drama (YT link)
Dream Boy - Destiel - fun (YT link)
Me and My Broken Heart - Destiel - Drama (YT link)
The Shipped Gold Standard - Destiel - Drama (YT link)
Don't Let the Light go Out - Destiel - Drama - got (c) blocked on YT, so the Tumblr post has the original audio and the YT version has pitched concert audio that you can kind of hear me in 😳 (YT link)
---
Gifs:
LGBTQIA+ SPN Characters
Aang and Cas entrance parallels
That pose from OTHOAP (which I like to think of as honk.jpg)
The totally-not-suggestive way that Cas eyes Dean in 5*02
500 Days of Winchesters - Spn Win / 500 Days of Summer Crossover - Suptober
---
Art:
Dean/Cas/Benny drawing for Spn Bang Bang (Benny here is the best human being I've drawn to-date, and the reason I can no longer say that I can't draw people.)
Juliet the Hellhound drawings for Crowley Big Bang
Smoke - Drowley digital drawing - Suptober
---
Meta and meta additions:
The Winchesters initial thoughts
The Winchesters John meta (with gifs)
Rowena is Sam's Benny
SPN Witches' immortality and humanity
See #spn meta in the tags for more thoughts too
---
Misc nonsense (non-serious ramblings, sketches, ideas):
Do you wanna go/ do you wanna get out of here
Putting on a tie is such a turn-on apparently
I'll just wait here then Destiel and Merthur parallel (I could go with you is also one but yeah)
A silly little amongus/SPN crossover sketch I might come back to and draw for real.
Sarah Blake references from 8*22 Clip Show
Unusual reactions to 'I love you'
---
Non-spn stuff:
Sure this is an SPN year in review, but I did make a handful of other things that I thought it'd be weird to leave out.
Soldier Boy Soulja Boy Amv - (YT link)
Dreamling Dream Amv - (YT link)
Merthur She's got Sorcery Amv - (YT link)
Puppet History Can't Touch This Amv - (YT link)
A Solid Foundation - original sapphic horror story (Reddit link)
---
Last year's year in review post was more of a 'here's one fave; check out the pages I made that are a complete list.' But since blog subpages are hidden in the app, I figured I'd do a complete list in the post this year instead.
I plan on doing more writing in 2023 - Pinefest is only the beginning.
Happy new year everyone!
Since tumblr tags suck, I used this Tumblr OP finder to help me put this together.
17 notes · View notes
emy-da-flareon2 · 8 months
Text
Alright lads since I got a new sketch book and I have ocs, I'm making this post so u can ask my ocs questions cuz yes I'm bored 😭
Also I'll be using art of my ocs from my other books even though my new sketch book has ✨️no lines✨️
1. Amelia LethalHowl (this is possibly my favourite drawing of her 😍)
Tumblr media
A little about her: she's 5'3, human wolf hybrid and is friends with Sonic, Crash and Sans in her reality, she's 21 years old.
2. Chris Bandit
Besides what the video says: he's 5 foot, was friends with his reality version of Amelia, Sonic and Sans and is a version of Crash that went from dating Tawna to dating the God of michef Loki (all four died unfortunately, which is how he is the way he is now), his age is 22.
3. Benjamin 'Benny' Bandicoot
Tumblr media
Don't let the name fool u for a poppy playtime version of Crash, cuz that's not exactly why I created him, sure he's inspired by Crash but he's also inspired by the fact that Jacksepticeye had a small role in poppy playtime chapter 2! Info about him: he's a small bandicoot plushie in the playcare, (according to original theories for chapter 3) making the time that the kids had there at least some what bareable, while other toys tear themselves apart after the toy factory shut down, Benny found some small huggy wuggys and treated them the way he used to treat the kids there, with kindness of one of a caretaker (like sundrop and moondrop in fnafsb), his age is unknown.
4. Wolf-spider (aka Emy Mars)
(This is an old design of her spider suit, I'm already redesigning it atm)
Tumblr media
Info about her: shes 5'4, 17 years old, is part of the spider society and her Canon event is losing her sister Evie, short story is that the scientists killed her sister for the radioactive Wolf-spider that bit Emy and Evie kept as a pet.
4 notes · View notes
tstain-i-guess · 8 months
Text
This AU is a spinoff of my main human AU that takes inspiration from Anime and superhero shows that started off as a joke I made in the BTB discord server. I don't really have a proper name for this AU yet, but once I come up with one I'll update this post accordingly.
Tumblr media
Time for Benny's older sibling, Zoomer! I feel like I got lazy with both their design and powers as their design as a machine features lightning bolts. They (like Benny) have got to be careful with their powers, because one wrong move by Zoomer and a whole town gets it's power wiped out. I wanted to keep Zoomer and Scrambler's friendly rivalry, and both their powers reflect this: Scrambler's powers are more sound based, and Zoomer's lighting could be more associated with light, giving them a kind of light vs. sound thing going on. I also have no idea what vibe I was going for here, but it looks cool so who cares. The best way to describe it is gender envy for NB people.
Zoomer never really had a proper design before this. and the majority of sketches of them were kind of off (and also while drawing them, I didn't have a purple pencil to colour them properly.) One aspect of their design I really like is how two of their fingers on each hand are metal plated, which allows them to light sparks from their fingers.
6 notes · View notes
diaryofriversong · 1 year
Text
WIP folder game thing
tagged by @sonickedtrowel thank youuuuuu 💗
Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!)  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!
putting this under a read more bc . i have a frankly ridiculous amount of wips. i’m also doing fandom categories so it’s more manageable sjkdfnsdjf i actually have more than this bc i didn’t include fandoms with less than 10 fics bc i got tired so 💀
doctor who, torchwood, gallifrey, & other various big finish audios
1) owen/ianto vertigo (day 1)
2) tosh/suzie (day 2)
3) orr/jack (day 3)
4) owen/andy (day 4)
5) owen/jack (day 5)
6) ianto/gwen (day 6) 
7) ianto/jack (day 7)
8) tosh/ianto (day 8)
9) owen/gwen (day 9) 
10) yvonne/andy (day 10)
11) owen/tosh/ianto (day 11)
12) owen/ianto (day 12)
13) norton/andy (day 13)
14) owen/tosh/ianto/jack/gwen (day 14)
15) tosh/jack (day 15)
16) orr/ng (day 16) 
17) tosh/gwen (day 17) 
18) norton/gideon (day 18) 
19) yvonne/andy (day 19) 
20) owen/ianto (day 20)
21) ianto/jack (day 21) 
22) jack/tyler (day 22) 
23) jack/gwen (day 23) 
24) jack/esther (day 24) 
25) owen/ianto (day 25) 
26) owen/ianto (day 26) 
27) jack/colin (day 27) 
28) mr colchester/colin (day 28) 
29) jack/tosh/ianto starlight
30)  owen/tosh/ianto/gwen/jack 1
31) jack/gwen/rhys
32) owen/ianto room #206
33) owen/ianto
34) jexie/vienna
35) romana/brax/leela/narvin pandora’s box
36) 8roberts spiral
37) 13dhawan hysterical
38) 8roberts
39) 13missy adapt
40) 8roberts bite of oblivion (vampire au) 
41) 5missy a quiet night in
42) 13dhawan the captain & the stowaway
43) 8missy wildcard
44) 13jacobi
45) romana/brax/leela/narvin above apoplexy, below incandescence
46) jason/benny/adrien the get-along tent
47) romana/brax/leela/narvin calm before the storm
48) trey romana/narvin
49) leela/narvin interspecies
50) leela/narvin step, step, & glide
51) romana i/brax aflutter
52) romana/brax/leela/narvin pivot
53) leela/narvin/romana look but don’t touch
54) livia/mantus
55) leela/narvin hound!leela
56) brax/narvin
57) romana/narvin everything
58) barbara/ian the ice planet
59) barbara/ian warm-blooded
60) barbara/ian safe
61) barbara/ian phoenicians
62) barbara/ian mind reading
63) barbara/ian haunted house
64) 5dhawan substitution
65) 13dhawan russia’s greatest love machine
66) 10jacobi torture
67) valeyard/lumiat chthonian
68) barbara/ian time stops (& troubles are abandoned)
69) norton/owen
70) 13corsair avast ye
71) 7ainley
72) river12missy epilogue
73) river13lumiat this love is good, this love is bad, this love is alive back from the dead
74) 8river liv/helen like real people do
75) owen/tosh heartbeat
76) 11river
77) 13corsair dr runs into them in a prison
78) brax/narvin
79) river12missy tonight is the night; i might have wasted the tears but i won’t waste the years
80) owen/ianto
81) lumiat/valeyard
82) 8river
83) ruth/jacobi
84) 12river
85) 10simm
86) 10river
87) 13dhawan
88) 13dhawan
89) 8river
90) when i kissed the teacher
91) 8jacobi sinner’s lullaby
92) 10jacobi be as you’ve always been, be like the love that discovered sin
93) narvin/brax
94) river12missy raise a little hell
95) river12missy without reward
96) river12missy without witness
97) river12missy without hope
98) jack/graham just let me know, i’ll be at the door, hoping you’ll come around
99) yvonne/andy
100) 5ainley buttons undone
101) 12dhawan phone
102) river13lumiat
103) 12missy snap
104) narvin romana
105) river12missy i don’t know anything but i know i miss you
106) river13lumiat
107) river12missy sleeptalking
108) owen/ianto
109) river12missy the 1
110) river12missy you drew stars around my scars, but now i’m bleeding
111) river12missy & when you can’t sleep at night, you hear my stolen lullabies
112) mysterio’s coffee emporium
113) river12missy sick day
114) river12missy & just like a folk song, our love will be passed on
115) 8jacobi
116) jack/graham
117) jack12river i like you & i loved him, we could all be the best kind of friends
118) 8corsair
119) 11river
120) river12missy the twelve days of christmas
121) river12missy the time travelers’ wife
122) river12missy corsair
123) 2river xoxo sweetie
124) 12missy
125) 12missy
126) 6ainley
127) tosh/jack nightmares
128) 13dhawan
129) 12corsair bill
130) 13corsair
131) owen/jack
132) torchwood three
133) 8jacobi
134) was thoschei sanctuary
135) 8lumiat of sweet dreams & mended hearts
136) 12missy boot
137) 11dhawan watching the stars slide down to reach their end
138) 12dhawan a sweet sensation, no price too high
139) 12river
140) 8lumiat illuminate
141) 13dhawan screaming in the dark, i howl when we’re apart
142) 12macqueen
143) river/missy soft touches of a ghost
144) gallifrey ot4 letters
145) leela/romana let’s build a world of daffodils that never fades & never dies
146) barbara/ian turning in circles & blurring the lines
147) 13dhawan i wouldn’t fall for someone i thought couldn’t misbehave
148) river/missy
149) corsiar jacobi heist
150) 12nardole
151) shalka
152) 6ainley
153) 12dhawan uni
154) 13dhawan wanna feel like i am floating instead of constantly exploding
155) trans ian
156) 12 sj
157) new faces, new smiles
158) lumiat
159) dhawan
160) ot4
161) ‘til death do us part
162) ten + one
163) narvin groundhog day
164) narvin brax
165) narv romana
166) romana narvin
167) ballade no. 1 in g minor, op. 23
168) head over heels
169) intertwined
170) owen
171) owen hugs
172) scongo
173) s10 rewrite
174) i love you means you’re never ever getting rid of me
175) 13dhawan
176) i won’t be home for christmas
177) a flower between two chasms
178) first time was a great time, second time was a blast, third time i fell in love
179) restful visitor
180) it takes you away 13river
181) 13river
182) you had a way so familiar but i could not recognize ‘cause you had blood in your face & i had blood in my eyes
183) pathos & ethos & logos river12missy
184) river missy
185) you ought to know, for haven’t i told you so
186) with love, missy
187) you, me, handcuffs
188) teeth
189) exquisite corpse
190) 12missy
191) valeyard twelve
192) empyrean horrors
193) 5master
194) & they both lived happily ever after
195) hello, sweetie
196) mercy
197) sad
198) an open book
199) h
200) 12river fobwatch
201) introduction to archaeology
202) the adventures of missy & june (when mum isn’t home)
203) missy visiting river @ stormcage
204) charming 13 missy
205) rome barbara/ian
206) 5river 5x
207) iris + 13
208) jo missy
209) 11 river 5+1
210) when the sun disappears & the daylight fades
211) river7
212) river4
213) barbara/ian
214) 5 times ian barbara
215) river 12
216) museum of starlight
the x-files
217) marita/krycek varicose
218) scully/pendrell
219) krycek/mulder clean shave
220) scully/doggett tarnished but so grand
221) krycek/marita sad beautiful tragic
222) scully/mulder the labryinth
223) scully/mulder question…?
224) scully/mulder paper thin
225) scully/mulder groovy trip
226) krycek/mulder
227) krycek/scully/mulder the sword of damocles
228) krycek/mulder disarm
229) scully/mulder ufology
230) scully/mulder partner
231) scully/doggett to be so lonely
232) krycek/mulder
233) krycek/mulder parting way
234) doggett/scully/mulder heavy lifting
235) scully/mulder good vibrations
236) scully/mulder doctor’s orders
237) krycek/mulder
238) scully/mulder 5 times scully was asleep for a moment of intimacy from mulder + 1 time she was awake (without him knowing it)
239) skinner/mulder
240) pendrell/scully/mulder home depot
241) krycek/mulder fever dream
242) skinner/mulder like to slap skinner’s bald head reblog to slap skinner’s bald h
243) scully/mulder kaleidoscope
244) scully/mulder
245) five times jimmy thought the gunmen were dead + one time they thought he was dead
246) skinner/mulder
247) scully/mulder wish
248) skinner/mulder see
249) skinner/mulder
250) skinner/mulder
251) skinner/scully/mulder
252) scully/mulder
253) doggett/scully/mulder talk too much
254) scully/mulder
255) scully/mulder
256) scully/reyes i’m not mulder
257) doggett/scully/mulder
258) doggett/mulder
259) krycek/marita
260) scully/mulder practice makes perfect
261) krycek/marita unravelled
262) scully/mulder heart of glass
263) pendrell/scully/mulder
264) scully/mulder curious
265) krycek/scully/mulder sweet oddities
266) krycek/mulder safe house
267) krycek/marita end
268) scully/mulder green light go
269) scully/mulder pelican springs
270) scully/mulder it could be love
271) yves/jimmy brave heart
272) yves/jimmy
273) scully/mulder
274) scully/mulder
275) scully/mulder five times mulder wants to kiss scully + one time he does something about it
276) scully/mulder
277) doggett/mulder
278) scully/mulder jump then fall
279) krycek/scully/mulder wildest dreams
280) scully/mulder one step, not much, but it said enough
281) scully/mulder
282) doggett/mulder sink & drown & die
283) scully/mulder path of flight
284) scully/mulder the lucky ones
285) scully/mulder heaven sent
286) scully/mulder the chain
287) scully/mulder undoing
288) scully/mulder
289) scully/mulder alterous
290) scully/mulder
291) scully/mulder bad moon rising
292) scully/mulder missy
293) scully/mulder a light in the dark
294) scully/mulder heist
295) doggett/scully/mulder cresswind lakes
296) scully/mulder the haunting of arden creek
297) lone gunmen
298) yves/jimmy mister bond & the mystery woman
299) skinner/scully/mulder
300) krycek/mulder deep end
301) doggett/mulder dog days
302) doggett/mulder i love you ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard
303) scully/doggett/reyes/mulder once upon a time
304) scully/mulder rocks
305) scully/mulder
306) doggett/scully/mulder quicksand
307) reyes/doggett everything has changed
308) scully/mulder undercover
309) reyes/doggett tense
310) scully/mulder where in ancient starlight we lay in repose
311) scully/mulder/doggett
312) doggett/mulder the sunflower
313) spooky ot4 natural progression
314) cooper/mulder late nights
315) cooper/mulder insomnia solutions
316) scully/mulder relinquish
317) scully/mulder like some stranger you recognize
318) scully/mulder distraction techniques
319) scully/mulder late night talking (small potatoes au)
320) scully/mulder
321) scully/mulder human nature
322) scully/mulder paper hearts
323) scully/mulder cancer safe
324) scully/mulder howl
325) scully/mulder will you love me tomorrow?
326) scully/mulder breathe
327) scully/mulder ice
328) scully/mulder adjoining
329) scully/mulder
330) scully/mulder sanctuary
331) doggett/mulder crunch
332) scully/mulder rm9sbg93zxjz
333) doggett/scully/mulder
334) scully/mulder the frog & the swan
335) doggett/mulder
336) scully/mulder five more minutes
337) scully/mulder new york knicks
338) doggett/scully/mulder spare key
339) scully/mulder it started with the wine
340) scully/mulder
341) scully/mulder ghost
342) scully/mulder kiss
343) scully/mulder therapy
344) cooper/mulder overtime
345) krycek/mulder delicate
346) scully/mulder trust no one
347) reyes/mulder
348) scully/doggett/reyes mulder stays dead
349) doggett/mulder stress relief
350) scully/mulder
351) spooky quartet bedside manner
352) scully/mulder butterfly effect
353) cooper/mulder
354) cooper/scully/mulder where dreams come from
355) doggett/mulder
356) scully/doggett
357) doggett/scully/mulder
358) doggett/mulder
359) scully/mulder i once believed love was burning red, but it’s golden like daylight
360) phoebe/mulder inferno
361) scully/mulder extraterrestrial
362) scully/mulder
363) scully/mulder invariable
364) scully/mulder shadowed
365) scully/mulder illuminated (shadowed ii)
366) scully/mulder tenebrous (shadowed iii)
367) scully/mulder caliginous (shadowed iv)
368) scully/mulder fox
369) scully/mulder imaginary friend
370) einstein/miller
371) spooky ot4 over at the frankenstein place
372) scully/mulder all things
373) doggett/mulder undercover
374) spooky ot4
375) scully/mulder give me the keys, i’ll bring the car back around, we shouldn’t be in this town
376) scully/mulder closure
377) scully/mulder home run
378) sculy/mulder already i’m so lonesome, i could die
379) scully/mulder fluff
380) scully/mulder better man
381) scully/mulder safe & sound
382) scully/mulder
383) scully/mulder bigfoot, the elbedritsch, & other assorted cryptids
384) scully/mulder it’s you & me forever
385) krycek/mulder gun
386) scully/mulder speechless
387) scully/mulder utopia
388) scully/mulder polygraph
389) spooky ot4 i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this
390) scully/mulder 5 times they were forced to share a bed + 1 time they did it willingly
391) doggett/mulder nightmares
392) spooky quartet
393) scully/mulder looking
394) scully/mulder seeking solid ground
395) scully/mulder candlelit
396) scully/mulder sinking
397) scully/mulder 
398) scully/mulder ouroboros
399) scully/mulder hugs
400) doggett/scully/mulder
401) scully/mulder sorry’s not good enough
402) scully/mulder true love’s kiss
403) skinner/mulder
404) krycek/scully/mulder
405) scully/mulder worlds away
406) scully/mulder break
407) scully/doggett like a page right out of a storybook
408) scully/mulder & if i could give you the moon, i would give you the moon
409) scully/reyes/doggett/mulder and the mission to the moon
410) scully/mulder quiet motions
411) reyes/mulder believer
412) doggett/scully/mulder
413) scully/reyes/doggett/mulder double date
414) doggett/scully/mulder unlocked doors
415) doggett/mulder in the key of x
416) reyes/mulder ghost town
417) reyes/mulder what’s in a name
418) scully/mulder oh brother
419) scully/mulder
420) krycek/mulder
421) scully/mulder siren song
422) scully/doggett
423) doggett/mulder lights out
424) scully/mulder the joker & the queen
425) scully/mulder you keep his shirt, he keeps his word
426) doggett/mulder the need to push & shove
427) doggett/mulder quiet
428) scully/mulder desk
429) spooky ot4 midnight creeper
430) scully/mulder
431) scully/doggett/reyes oh what a night
432) scully/mulder without
433) scully/mulder adrenaline rush
434) scully/mulder movie night
435) scully/mulder change of plans
436) scully/mulder fake married
437) scully/mulder the color was red
438) doggett/mulder restless
439) scully/mulder the game
440) spooky ot4 spooky quartet
441) scully/mulder encompassed
442) scully/mulder science experiment
443) scully/mulder
444) scully/mulder haptic
445) scully/mulder flavor
446) scully/mulder olfact
447) scully/mulder audible
448) scully/mulder visual
449) scully/reyes entincement
leverage
450) sophie/nate the cat & mouse job
451) hardison/parker/eliot the bruised job
452) hardison/parker/eliot the secret santa job
453) sophie/sterling the double fraud job
454) sophie/sterling/nate the cruise ship job
455) hardison/eliot the first nightmare job
456) harry/eliot the branding job
457) hardison/parker/eliot the i love you job
458) sophie/maggie the maggie job
459) sophie/nate/sterling the ???? job
460) sophie/nate the communication job
461) harry/eliot the guessing job
462) sophie/nate the wardrobe job
463) hardison/parker/eliot the jellicle job
464) sophie/nate the long distance job
465) hardison/parker/eliot the bigger bed job
466) parker/eliot the second nightmare job
467) sophie/nate the dinner job
468) sophie/harry the mister wilson job
469) sophie/harry the ??? job
470) the on the run job
471) sophie/nate the grieving job
472) sophie/nate the green-eyed job
473) the vacation job
474) sophie/maggie the ??? job
475) sophie/nate/sterling the sterling job
476) sophie/nate the san lorenzo job
477) sophie/nate the janitor closet job
478) sophie/nate/sterling the kunsthal job
479) sophie/nate the spontaneous job
480) sophie/nate the ??? job
481) sophie/nate/sterling the ???? job
482) nate/sterling the hotel room job
483) sophie/nate the ??? job
484) sophie/nate the practice job
485) sophie/nate the bedroom job
our flag means death
486) ed/stede
487) lucius/izzy
488) ed/izzy desolate
489) ed/stede
490) ed/izzy
491) jim/izzy
492) izzy/ed
493) lucius/izzy no restitution comes tonight
494) ed/izzy
495) oluwande/jim 
496) ed/izzy dirty deeds
497) ed/izzy blurred
498) ofmd inked bouquets
499) ed/stede visions i vandalize
500) lucius/izzy sealed lips
friends
501) joey/monica/chandler the one with the threesome
502) monica/chandler the one with the anniversary
503) monica/chandler the one where they’re not drunk
504) monica/chandler the one with the window
505) monica/chandler
506) joey/chandler the one where joey and chandler hook up
507) joey/monica/chandler the one where monica isn’t cheating
508) friends the one with all the polyamory
509) joey/monica/chandler
510) joey/chandler the one where there was only one bed
511) monica/chandler the one after halloween
marvel
512) thena/gilgamesh steady
513) eddie/venom/dan
514) kingo/ikaris/sersi hands on learning
515) kingo&sprite tinkerbell & the lost boy
516) thena/sersi practice
517) ikaris/druig
518) eternals sick
519) venom/eddie when the day met the night
520) venom ot4
521) wanda/vision
522) venom ot3&1/2
523) venom/eddie
524) peggy/bucky(/steve) distract
525) peggy/steve
526) steve/peggy/bucky no more keeping score, now i just keep you warm
527) peggy/bucky/steve
528) peggy/steve/bucky
529) peggy/bucky/steve lipstick
530) peggy/bucky(/steve)
531) peggy/bucky
532) peggy/bucky
533) wanda/vision how to woo a synthezoid in eleven easy steps, a guide by wanda maximoff
534) wanda/vision i’d live & die for moments that we stole on begged & borrowed time
535) wandavision pronouns
536) wanda/vision
537) wanda/vision touch
538) wanda/vision all along there was some invisible string tying you to me
539) wanda/vision pre iw
540) wanda/vision
541) wanda/vision pre iw phone
542) wanda/vision a newlywed couple just moved to town (a regular husband & wife)
543) wandavision westview era
544) wandavision sparring
546) How to Goose your Wife so you Don’t Lose your Wife
547) wandavision five times vision phased through wanda’s wall + one time he remembered to use the door
548) wandavision gold rush
549) wandavision
550) wandavision what becomes of the broken hearted?
551) agatha
tagging @sariane, @katseternity, @melodyandpond, & @magicofthepen
6 notes · View notes
twistednuns · 22 days
Text
February 2024
Waking up after a dream inspired by the movie Poor Things. Inserting your brain into a younger body. Living in oblivion until one day somebody shows up to break the news to you. That you've lived another lifetime before and you have to be reminded of who you were, what you knew.
Drawing the gorgeous Sharing card, resonating with it right away. The Queen of Fire is designed in my colours and shapes. She is me.
Sketching something. Loving every line.
Eating a thick soup with tiny noodles and semolina dumplings for breakfast.
Jamie Lee Curtis' guest appearance in The Bear. She's almost unrecognizable. Oh, and Olivia Coleman's, too!
Something finally falling into place: I've been searching for a new wallet for a while now and suddenly a memory of my grandma's old Aigner checkbook popped into my head. And it was the perfect solution. What an amazing local brand! I discovered that there is a store nearby and shopping there was quite the experience. I felt very fancy. And they put so much thought into the product design! Perfect little boxes and everything is so elegant. I also got their classic leather belt.
Organising a SingStar evening. I love how easygoing, welcoming and gentle Felix is. Being weird with Robert. And Ben, my boo. We love each other's colours and he really does give the best compliments (he said that I've got such great taste and always look stylish). Cuddles, leveling up our friendship in a way. Being more at ease around each other.
Car conversations with Luna.
A feeling of having leveled up again; I seem to attract abundance (on a material level). But maybe that's just confirmation bias.
Accepting defeat when I was wrong, following advice.
The moonrise. I love how big and yellow the moon seems when it's hanging low over the horizon.
Liquid Love: sliding over/around/under/on top of each other - blindfolded, naked and covered in oil. I loved touching squishy, chubby body parts. Very sensual and immersive. I wasn't really present in the room anymore and tried to feel rather than think. Cuddle puddle afterwards. I got close to Chili and Daniel (whose toe I accidentally hurt before the event and it felt quite healing that he came close to me and initiated touch) and Christian surprised me with his tongue when I wasn't paying attention.
Interesting effects of Kundalini Yoga: waking up crying from a very emotional, nightmare-ish dream. Feeling so heavy, sluggish, overwhelmed, tired. It's not entirely positive but it's so interesting how much energy seems to be moved here?
An ex-student reaching out to me because she needed a letter of recommendation for an international college.
Walking through the forest with C., scouting a treasure hunt route. Keeping calm despite his weird mood. Staying present, observing.
A surprisingly calm museum visit with my class. And when we went to Pinakothek der Moderne I was happy how much fun some of them seemed to have experimenting, talking about art. I found some interesting works by Max Ernst and set the intention come back again soon, alone. Even just the large, empty building with the high ceilings has a soothing effect on me.
Biting into a slice of moist, warm black olive ciabatta.
Cooking actual food with vegetables I had at home and having fruit for dessert instead of getting trash food on the way home after coming home from work in a bad mood. So much more nourishing. I'm proud of myself for realising I have to be the person I want to become. Now.
Peeling off last post-it before the cool colour scheme finally started. Orange, yellow, purple.
Picking up C. from labour court. Meeting his friend Benni who discussed leftist concepts and utopian ideas with me over lunch. I felt really good when I realised that it was easy for me to follow his train of thought and that I'd missed intellectual conversation.
Connecting with C. Spending time together, walking through a furniture design store. Spicy time and a long afternoon nap. Talking about our triggers and therapy experience. I realised how much fear of failure (and success?) I have, how vulnerable my ego is when it comes to art and doing something new. Even just writing an application for a job I'm not officially qualified for scared the shit out of me. Impostor syndrom? C. still wants me to write a page from my imaginary novel for him and all I can think about is why I can't do it. And he suggested that I could study psychology. I'm intrigued and yet... Why is this so hard? What's holing me back?
Staying calm when I had to call roadside assistance twice in one afternoon. My car broke down in the middle of a busy street with three lanes. I simply accepted my fate and asked for help (and that might actually be the lesson I have to learn from all this).
Reaching out to Andrea. Finally meeting Kosta the cat.
A dream: Sarah as Ganesha with a giant elephant trunk. Facial tattoos: red, black and green symbols and ornaments. Massive, moving, heavy. I woke up from an imaginary alarm sound. Did I really dream up an alarm clock? Wow. And just in time for my appointment, too.
New Moon Aquarius promises a career breakthrough for Taureans. Let's hope for the best.
Something very banal: having kitchen roll at home for a change. I took one home when we had too many after a Slutering event and remembered that I could just... wipe something off without worrying about getting the rag dirty and having to wash it! Nice.
One of the best weeks of my life: a Hero's Journey seminar during the spring holidays. Going in with no expectations, receiving everything and more. I learned so much about myself. Activated my emotional side and practised feeling. I appreciate all those people who acted as my mirrors by sharing their vulnerability, being their authentic selves. We supported each other, learned from each other, celebrated each other. I'm thinking about becoming a Gestalt therapist now. It's such a great somatic method. And fun, too.
Cuddles. Conversations. Choking. And massages. / Seriously though, I asked Ralf to show me his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu choke hold and I travelled to another dimension for a few minutes. It got me GO high. On another note: I realised I want to channel my aggression and lust in a healthy way. Perhapy BJJ training is a good option. Let's fight!
My hero outfit. A golden robe. A glitter mask. Starburst earrings. Black wings. So me.
"Boundaries are not the same thing as walls." - such an important insight. I started journalling in German. Automatically. I'm taking off masks, tearing down walls. Perhaps I don't need the protection of a foreign language anymore. I can feel my own cringey words now. I allow myself to be seen without make-up. I try to show up as the person I really am. I won't hold back anymore.
An intuitive painting I made with buttery crayons on kraft paper. Swirly. Like a weird map of a cozy corner somewhere in the Universe.
Stickers from Franzi's friend: Sailor Moon characters fighting the patriarchy and nazis.
I feel so much love for the people in my group, especially Ralf and Teresa of course, but also Franzi, Frank and Feli. The F-gang. And for all the wonderful people in my life. I appreaciate Christian so much. The ideal balance between freedom and support. He expands my horizon in many ways and I love how he naturally includes me in his family life, his friend group. It feels so good to be a part of something. To be included. And at the same time, I'm free to do my own thing. Meet other people, follow my bliss. He actively encourages it.
I'm relaxed and happy. With this new mindset, even teaching feels easier. I'm more gentle with myself. I follow my impulses. I hope this state of being stays with me for a long time.
Ralf. I'm so grateful I met him. He helped me so much with his observation that I need someone to be gentle with me. His daddy energy. His wild playfulness. His Gemini communication mode. I loved that I was able to pay him back with some mum energy when I shipped his dirty laundry off to Jena. I included a heartfelt letter and the Exploding Kittens card game. I felt like a giddy teenager for a whole day when he implied that he's attracted to me too. I really hadn't noticed. We've been talking, flirting, messaging daily for a week now. So far none of us seems to be bored. I'm looking forward to our reunion!
Teresa. What a lovely human being. I connected with her right away. She's so intelligent, shares my passion for language. And she's so warm, empathic, benevolent, supportive. I ended up talking to her about my idea for a career coaching and she went all in right away. We even might work together. And maybe, just maybe, we're gonna record a podcast together. Even if just to amuse our Heroes messenger group.
I learned that I have a guest appearance in a fun song: Ich wollte doch nur knutschen auf der Party / Sie war gut gelaunt und ihr Name war Kathi / Das Netzwerk ging kaputt und ich musste das klären / Und Kathi hat geknutscht, aber leider mit Sören - Knutschen
More music: making a playlist for Teresa's ride home. And Ralf shared Wann strahlst du?. It's grown on me. The lyrics are everything. Highly relevant for my current state: Ich schulde dem Leben das Leuchten in meinen Augen
Acting in a much more loving way with old friends. Supporting them; touching, hugging, praising them.
Knowing the answers to two sports questions at the pub quiz.
Tuning in with my sonic toothbrush. I chanted and hummed, finally harmonized and changed my pitch. It sounded lovely and reminded my of our RAM chants during morning meditation.
Spending time in the "demon cave" with Lian. Playing airplane. Playing hard. We both loved to be wild - C. was not that amused because he wanted to concentrate on his chess app. But I also started being more gentle with the boy, cuddle him. I've got a feeling that he needs both modes.
"Freiheiten werden nicht geschenkt, man muss sie sich nehmen." - a random flyer on a lamppost, right when I walked past it, back to school, recording a voice message about... exactly that. The synchronicities are back! Life feels magical.
An insanely happy and productive day with the help of Yeli's Finest 50. I was so proud of myself because I even did things I'd been putting off for months. It finally felt right to contact Haus der Kunst and ZEIT Sprachen and ask them for an internship. Things are moving. It's happening. It's coming along. Doors are opening.
Meeting my new osteopath for the first time. I enjoyed his healing, intimate touch while we were talking about all my topics. And I love that we have so much in common. He used to be a civil servant to be able to afford his studies, is a voice actor now, has recently travelled to all my favourite places in Mexico. I'm looking forward to my next appointment.
I finally got a big box of passion fruit from the tree I adopted last year. What a fragrant delivery.
Meeting Becky, learning from each other. Enriching and entertaining as usual.
Finally getting my closet in order. Folding everything, donating a few items, clearing out another shelf to have more room for clothes. What took me so long? / Listening to WILLOW's music throughout the process. It's growing on me: I think I left my consciousness in the sixth dimension
Biting into a physalis thinking Life is delicious.
Saturday afternoon at Haus der Kunst with Sash. Walking through freaky environments, taking pictures of each other. Playing in a room full of feathers. Browsing the avantgarde bookstore. I got a postcard of a Hilma af Klint Altar piece.
Watching Lord of the Rings at C.'s place with his friend Jenny. Spicy morning routine, breakfast with his friends. A stopover at a LEGO church. Spending the whole afternoon soaking in warm water at Therme Bad Aibling. Eating the first ice-cream of the year in the sunshine. Cooking dinner together, talking in bed for a long time.
Ralf cancelled his weekend plans and invited me to Jena. We already have tickets for the planetarium. Really looking forward to seeing him! I've loved learning more and more about him in the past few days. We are so similar!
Something very simple but SO pleasurable: boiled potatoes with salt and butter.
Alex Ava taking two ballroom tickets off my hands when I had to change my plans.
0 notes
Text
COTL : Planning on Making my Own COTL AU Very Soon(In Celebration of TROTOF DLC Update coming soon hopefully this Month or April) OCs Included(Sketch Drawings Only)
Hello Fellow Cultists, Well i've been pretty M.I.A for a while, so im not dead and am really excited for The Upcoming Major Update for COTL titled Relics of The Old Faith(with 4 Brand New Structures Coming in it aswell!) and I've been also seeing inspo on Tumblr by searching for cotl AUs and some of them are Amazing & Even Interesting with The Lore of This Game's Characters, Including NPCs aswell! so I've have decided to Plan my own Cult of The Lamb AU(It's Nameless for now) but The Plot is Simply a Epilogue or Possible Prediction for ROTOF's Postgame Story(What If The Bishops can be Resurrected, Reborn as Smol Followers like Narinder has and with Lamberina(My Lambsona OC who's introduce soon) along with Her Faithful & Loyal Followers try their best to Help Nari & His Sibs get along by doing Family Therapy and with Lamberina struggling to Reform each Smol Bishop(or Baby Bishops in this Case) along with Meeting New Friends and Discovering New Locations along her Journey.
This Will Feature Followers in my Own Cult(I have Currently Created 2 Completed Saves both Spared Narinder) and will even have my iwn OCs and Maybe Bring Back Ratuu as a Bonus. But For Now I'll do some Refs for Each Character(And Insert my Good Friends from Discord into the background as Cameos or Easter Eggs, Maybe even Family Members)
As for The Ships that will be involved, Obviously Narilamb will be in this only difference is Lamberina is a Sweet & Sour Lamb(don't mess with her when she's angry or messing with her Sweet Nari or Other Spouses) Next to That will be SozoxHelob(Better Ship than Sozolamb and Makes Sense that their both Insects) and Finally There will be a Bishop x Follower OC Ship in this mainly Leshy x OC type ship(cuz after playing each save, i noticed out of all the bishops Leshy goes easy on you, hence why he's the youngest and he's a pacifist i.e doesn't cause any plagues on your cult like famine or illness/plague sickness to any of your followers or even makes your loyal followers fight against you. he's such a sweet pacifist bush boy i love him) so of course any follower in lamb's cult would easily befriend him possibly even one of the reformed bosses like Barbatos or his Henchman Amduias even.
And There will be a Bonus Part to Revive Ratuu(Since he deserves better and even M.M/COTL's Official Twitter made it Canon that the Knucklebones gang doesn't matter for ratuu vesseling the red crown they love him no matter what he does! which is super sweet and wholesome to me) with Red Shady Fox Included.
and Finally Here is The Cast List(so Far) in this AU.
Starring :
Lamberina(Lamb)
Narinder(TOWW)
Leshy(Rebirthed)
Heket(Rebirthed)
Kallamar(Rebirthed)
Shamura(Rebirthed)
Sozo(Revived, Hence he's OD sadly, is dating Helob)
Helob(Sozo's Husband)
Side Characters :
Followers-Oldor(Horse or Donkey?), Aquamarine(Blue Cat), Turquoise(Blue Cat), Samantha(Purple Blood Moon Batdemon), Opal(Frog), Tay(Blue Wasp/Bee), Barbatos(Female Dune Worm), Valefar(Dig Worm), Slaughter(Scorpion), Chilli Dog(Hedgehog), Amanda & Armillo(Twin Sib Fennick Foxes), Stella(Female Snail) & Plumsweet(Female Unicorn)
OCs : Prya(Red Cat), Carrie(Pangolin), Athena(Crow), Benjamin/Benny(Crow), Cobb(Deer Skull) & M3gan(Nightwolf), Natasha(Nightwolf)
End of Cast.
This is pretty much my 1st big COTL Based Project Im doing in countdown to the update(in celebration of the Game's 1 yr anniversary this August! but that's later down the line) and maybe i will use this AU as a Main Blog Post if i stop my Journal Diaries of my Saves In-Game.
Hope you all like this post, comment down below of what you think of my W.I.P of my 1st attempt COTL AU and maybe add inspo for adding new Bishop OCs as a Concept Villain or Villains in the Storyline.
This will have it's own Seperate Blog all dedicated to This AU soon but the 1st few Chapters will be posted on this Blog first as a First Attempt.
Goodnight yall
Edit : "So I decided i'm more of a Pencil Sketch Artist and will Draw Some Ref Sketches of The Main Characters, OCs and The Smol Bishops soon(maybe I'll start Either Tonight or Maybe Tomorrow) just a small quick change.
0 notes
dandelion-wings · 2 years
Text
Tags masterpost! Largely for my own convenience, but since I’m pinning it I will try to make it navigable.
A quick overview for visitors/new followers: I tag spoilers very inconsistently; I will try to use “inazuma/sumeru/fontaine spoilers” for newer material corresponding with those areas, but I cannot guarantee I will always remember, and sometimes I tag events with the event name and sometime I do not. I also do not consistently tag NSFW, and would request that you do not follow me if you are under 18.
I was putting “inconsistently applied” on so many of these it seems fairer to note that all my tagging is inconsistent, so... if there’s a particular thing you want to block I do my best but I can’t make promises.
Writing tags:
fic bits (largely non-WIP writing that may or may not ever go anywhere)
ascended fic (fic bits that have been cleaned up and archived on AO3)
fic excerpt (for snippets from seriously-intended WIPs)
fic nattering (rambling about whatever I’m working on)
posted fic / completed fic (for fic put up on AO3; ‘posted’ is a chapter of a WIP, ‘completed’ is what it says on the tin)
Character tags: adelinde, albedo, amber, baizhu, barbara, beidou, bennet, childe, chongyun, cloud retainer, diluc, eula, ganyu, hu tao, jean, kaeya, kazuha, keqing, klee, kujou sara, lisa, madame ping, ningguang, noelle, paimon, qiqi, razor, rosaria, shenhe, sucrose, thoma, traveler, venti, xiangling, xiao, xingqiu, zhongli
Relationship tags (both ship and non-ship content will be under the same tag): albedo and klee, albedo and sucrose, amber and eula, amber and kaeya, barbara and jean, barbara and rosaria, beidou and kazuha, beidou and ningguang, childe and lumine, chongyun and shenhe, chongyun and xingqiu, diluc and jean, diluc and kaeya, eula and jean, fischl and mona, ganyu and keqing, hu tao and zhongli, jean and kaeya, jean and lisa, kaeya and klee, lisa and razor, venti and xiao, venti and zhongli, yun jin and xinyan; albedo and kaeya and klee, bennet and fischl and razor, diluc and jean and kaeya, eula and jean and lisa, jean and kaeya and lisa, jean and lisa and kaeya and eula, jean just having a polycule in general, the entirety of wangshu inn
Event tags: akitsu kimodameshi, alchemical ascension, beetle boot camp, divine ingenuity, dodoco’s bomb-tastic adventure, fabulous fungus frenzy, fungus mechanicus, golden apple archipelago, graph adversarial technology, irodori festival, labyrinth warriors, lantern rite, lil fungi’s fun-tastic fiesta, mega meka melee, moonchase festival, of ballads and brews, of drink a-dreaming, parade of providence, perilous trail, receiver of friends from afar, roses and muskets, second blooming, secret summer paradise, shadows amidst snowstorms, thelxie’s fantastic adventures, the summoners’ summit, three realms gateway offering, waterborne poetry, windblume, windtrace
AU-specific tags:
bells and spires (marriage-of-convenience canon-divergence AU, non-romantic Jean/Kaeya and working on romantic Jean/Lisa)
benny kaeya and the seven dads (canon-divergence AU where Kaeya is raised by adventurers alongside Bennett)
in a windless land (arranged-marriage canon-divergence/royalty AU where, years after Kaeya disappears, Jean is sent to marry the prince of Khaenri’ah)
archon signatures (potentially expansive ‘people have archon traits’ AU that’s currently just one WIP wingfic)
bindings au (in which Kaeya is an Abyssal spirit summoned first by Diluc and then by Jean, leading to body-sharing)
spy x genshin (fusion with Spy x Family that gets sketched out in bits and pieces)
teyvat’s wizards (fusion with the Young Wizards books, no serious fic)
favonius stables (modern AU where everyone works at a stables, no actual fic)
heralds of favonius (fusion with the Valdemar books, no serious fic)
Other tags:
asked and answered (for asks)
why not meme i guess (for memes)
serenitea brewing (for teapot liveblogging)
battlefield of dice cats and cards (for TCG)
the shape of teyvat (headcanons)
knight meta (let me tell you about my KoF org chart)
11 notes · View notes
ravenadottir · 3 years
Note
since I know you play lovelink, do you have any Austin, Jon or Blake hc you'd share (please for your lil cuzzo over here)
alright cousin, anything for you!! one thing tho, it’s been a while i don’t play, because of school/work, so if any of these things are canon, forgive me. it’s been a while!
now, see, i adore all those storylines, and they’re my top three! so i’m gonna trip loads in this post!!
austin
he must be anal about his tools and who gets to use them or not. it’s a privilege, and he would rather let you take his bed before letting you use his jack. (no, that’s not an eufemism)
i see his trope as being the “silent defender of all that’s good, but from time to time, he will steal copper wires, preferably from rich people, ‘cause fuck them”. a way of his own to make justice, but still somewhat a decent guy
he doesn’t have much patience for stupidity, and i think it’s inherited from his father. that man wasn’t dicking around, and neither is he!
he’s the type that slaps the back of the head of someone dumb. no one can change my mind on this one!
he was wrongly accused of murder, but he would still help the police, risking his own neck if that meant for bennie to go to jail! also? chop shop sounds cool and all, but i don’t think he’ll be venturing in that once he’s out. if anything, a shop of some certain, preferably fixing, that’s where i see him.
austin could be the kind of guy that pushes away someone he loves because what he used to do was illegal and he wouldn’t want to implicate them, whoever they were. now that he’s been to prison, i like to think he has a plan for the future, and that plan involves the person he’s talking to. we brought a new sense of faith to him and that’s unforgettable
i don’t think he had lost hope by the time he meets us through the app. if someone gives up completely, there’s no reason or pretext to look for new people to know his story. he hit the jackpot, and that’s deep down the hope he had for himself.
the tattoos started out as something he needed to put out there to intimidate people. it became something personal after a while
jon
his main characteristic, during any conversation, is the fact that he’s a horndog and doesn’t try to hide it! i love that my mc is not the only one thinking about it at all times! for a guy to be that confident, you can bet your sweet ass he has high numbers and started very soon
because his dad and brothers are fishermen, i reckon he grew up on the beach. whoever lives on the shore, knows that summer love happens all the time, and i think that’s where he learned how to be so charming. there’s a lot of people going on vacation, and you see yourself lost in a sea of possibilities!
on that “charming note” and summer love, he’s used to see people leave and go back to their lives, while he stayed put. it’s easy for him to have something fun and not care much about big commiments. if he wants to change that or not, deep down, it’s something we’ll find out more down the line
on the “watching people go while he stays put” matter, i think enlisting was his chance of going somewhere, and having a real impact. not staying in the same place, for once. he later learns discipline and friendship, but mainly? getting out of the same spot he stayed for so long.
on the note of high numbers, there’s one “but” there. i reckon he’s trying to find something different. he’s all up for the fun and everything, but either he never had that “pow” person in his life, or he did, and now he’s trying to find something similar. not saying it was tragic and it ended badly, but he wants to feel drawned in.
a degree in architecture was the most surprising thing in his playthrough, and i still want to find out more about that. if i’m allowed to trip a little bit here, if you ask me, sketching and building something out of nowhere is the exact opposite of some of the things he currently has to do. he’s the scout and sees a lot of destruction, maybe he wants to even some things out. like i said, it’s a trip of mine!
Blake/Keanu
STILL HUNG UP ON THEIR EX!!!! the type of hung up that doesn’t let them move forward, and perhaps a “player” trope might be played out here
definitely could be the type of story that leaves us in tears because he can’t get over them. which i hate since keanu is my perfect man
every time things get just a bit serious, they flee. they’re not ready, and i’m afraid patience is gonna be a very needed virtue here, besides just a tad bit of stepping back and not trusting him entirely.
you can argue they’re intense about romance, and that will be a plus if they ever get over that girlfriend
keanu’s hair. not a headcanon, just something that needs to be addressed at all times!
ZERO LIMITS WITH SEX. absolutely zero!! adventurous and ready to try anything once!
the drawing at a young age is super sweet, and even though he’s still getting over that relationship, or trying to, showing us the origin of his art was a very big, and important step to trust again. it’s not all about peaches and ... oof... shower pics (damn, that gc is **snaps tongue**)
i don’t have a lot of headcanons on the boys for now. i need to play it again...
but here are some of them cousin! thanks for the ask!
92 notes · View notes
ceilingcow · 3 years
Note
How do you colour your stuff? (If you don't mind telling👉👈) because your art looks so nice, it looks traditional but also digital at the same time.
Hey, thanks so much for the question! I love traditional art, but for various reasons digital is a lot more accessible to me now, so I try to bring my traditional process to digital as much as possible. I tend to really build up layers in traditional mediums, and digital can very conveniently mimic that.
I'll deconstruct my layers because this is more or less the sequence I go in.
One of the most important things to me was finding digital tools (brushes) that felt like the traditional tools I liked most. When you find one that just clicks, it's a tangible feeling. I'll list my favorite brushes at the bottom of the post. Putting a cut here because it's a long post, but I like sharing information when I can because hey maybe it'll be helpful to somebody!
I always start with a blank canvas that already has a paper-texture overlay applied to it. I tend to sketch in a couple different colors to keep things straight. A holdover from traditionally inked pieces where I'd sketch in non-photo blue pencils. I keep it rough, especially in faces. I do my final layer of pencils or inks over that.
Tumblr media
Once I have my lineart, I establish the tone of the piece with a background color or gradient. I do a bit of underpainting where I know I want to build on top of colors other than the background.
I tend to start focusing more on the face here. Throughout working on the piece I'll come back to the underpainting layer and add colors as I see fit.
Tumblr media
I fill in the base colors next, keeping things messy by using a brush with some texture and flow that varies with pressure. I really like having the background peek through in places and the background color is key to how I mix colors. I never bucket fill areas of color on a piece like this. For Benny's jacket I use two separate layers to keep the checks easier to work with, and layer masks to erase away sections to create a hatched effect. This is one of those places where I love digital art because I can do things more efficiently than what I would've done traditionally.
Tumblr media
I do these next steps kind of concurrently, because they both solidify the overall colors of the piece.
I go back and add colors to the background as I work. Above the more opaque paint I've already done on the figure, I start doing "glazing" layers using layer modes in Photoshop. The most important one for me is Hard Light. I use the background colors to add pops of color on this layer and do some shading. I find that doing shadows in Hard Light first makes them a bit more interesting. I used pinks, reds and greens on the Hard Light layer.
Tumblr media
I intensify the shadows in places using a Multiply layer and add a bit more color variety in places on a Color Burn layer using magenta, purple, coral and red.
Tumblr media
While I'm using layer modes a lot in this process, I started doing this because it mirrored how I used to work with markers traditionally and build up colors in layers, sometimes using unexpected combinations.
I add a few details over top all the layers and it's done!
Tumblr media
Brush talk time!
My absolute favorite sketching pencil is the "Grease Pencil 8B" from Alex Dukal's "Pencil Garden" set. It has a soft-yet-dark, smooth feeling that reminds me of the "Caran d'Ache Sketcher Non-Photo Blue Pencil", which is really just the tops when it comes to traditional sketchers. Seriously I love those pencils. I did the final line art for this with the "German - 45px" brush from the same pencil set, but duplicated the line art layer to make it darker. I do this on many "painterly" pieces because I like how pencil lines and messier paint look together.
Everything else is a Kyle T. Webster brush, which can be found here and downloaded if you've got a subscription with Photoshop. I have a little folder with my favorite of these brushes because there are a lot of brushes. Some I've modified to my likings. The "Oil Background Crusher" is an absolute MVP when it comes to filling in large sections because the color varies based on pen pressure. The "Impressionist" brush is also a huge favorite, and I've done entire pieces before pretty much just with that brush, though I didn't use it for this piece. (Old example, but seriously I've loved this brush for years.)
Tumblr media
I've been using a lot of KTW's Gouache brushes lately and most of the painting on the above piece was done with those since they have a messier feel than some of the oil-specific brushes. The recent Victor piece was 100% the KTW Gouache brushes except for the sketch.
Tumblr media
Oil paint brushes have a much denser feel and I go for those when I want a more precise feeling. This one was done mostly with the "Impressionist" brush to bring the ghoul skin texture alive, the "Ultimate Oil thicker", "Big Wide Softy" and the "Creamy" brush.
Tumblr media
As for color inspiration, I either generate my own palette on Adobe Color or draw inspiration from Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, or Vienna Secession movement paintings, since they tend to have a color palette with the traditional painting feel I'm going for. Right now Toulouse-Lautrec is my painting inspiration.
I hope something in here might've been helpful, though I know it's a bit long. I'm always down to answer questions or talk shop or even chat about art history. =]
7 notes · View notes
ultimatecufangirl · 3 years
Text
Captain Underpants Swappants AU
I’ve made a post about this before but I’m doing it again because I can. I’d draw these if it didn’t take me hours to do one doodle. ;v;
Anyway, here we go.
Main Character Swaps:
Mr. Krupp and Jasper Krupp: Jasper would be the grumpy principal and Benny would be the cheerful brother. Kipper would in turn be Benny’s son instead of Jasper’s, and he and his buddies would be nice children instead of bullies. This also means that Jasper would be turned into Captain Underpants instead of Benny.
George and Melvin: This would make George the nerdy know-it-all with the bow tie and glasses, and Melvin one of the two prankster children that Principal Jasper despises. And Melvin doesn’t wear glasses and wears a necktie.
Harold and Heidi: This makes Heidi the second of the two prankster kids that Principal Jasper despises, and Melvin’s bff; and them the creators of Tree House Comix Inc. and Harold the shy little brother.
Side Character Swaps:
Jessica and Erica: Instead of being a bossy brat in lipstick, Jessica would be an all-knowing ninja tomboy and instead of being an all-knowing ninja tomboy, Erica would be a bossy brat in lipstick.
Bo and Gooch: These two and Heidi and Harold are the only ones that swap ages. This makes Gooch a big child with hair over his face and Bo a smaller child with glasses and a polo.
Stanley and Dressy: These two sound like an odd pair to swap, but I think they’re neat. Dressy would live on a farm and she and her family would be all sweaty all the time and Stanley would be a hippy that sings every other word in his sentences.
Sophie One and Other Sophie: This one’s kind of a weird one too since not much changes but Sophie One would have glasses and be the one who’s treated badly and Other Sophie would be the one treated nicely, or at least semi-nicely, and she wouldn’t have glasses.
Other Character Swaps:
Mr. Ree and Lavatore Ree: This one’s pretty clear. Lavatore becomes the depressed-sounding janitor of the school/Splotch and Mr. Ree becomes a paintball major/Camoflush, who plays fast and loose; while Lavatore keeps it high and tight.
Mr. Meaner and Misty Meaner: Just like Mr. Ree and his brother, Mr. Meaner and his sister would swap and make her the gym teacher and him...whatever she does in the canon universe.
Melvinborg and Future!George: Instead of Melvin’s future self traveling back in time, it would be George’s future self traveling back in time; and he would be a cyborg while Melvin’s future self would be a nice normal person.
Ms. Anthrope and Ms. Ribble: Another odd two but I think they’re cool. Ms. Ribble would be Principal Jasper’s self-depreciating secretary and Ms. Anthrope would be a smartass teacher.
George’s Parents and Melvin’s Parents: Instead of Melvin’s parents being scientists that work for the government, George’s parents are scientists that work for the government, and wear glasses; and Melvin’s parents would be a non-glasses-wearing college professor and mechanic.
Harold and Heidi’s Mom and Dad: We all know that Grace Hutchins and her husband are divorced and he is currently in Nevada. But here, Grace is the one in Nevada and her husband lives in Piqua with the kids, and he’s nice and loves to paint, draw, and sketch.
Edith the Lunch Lady and Kipper’s Mom: Since Jasper is the principal and not Benny and Benny is Kipper’s dad and not Jasper, that means that Edith would in turn be Kipper’s mom and the canon Kipper’s mom, who I’ve named Maria, would in turn be the shy adorable lunch lady with hair covering one of her eyes, and Edith and Benny would either be divorced or she would be dead since the canon Kipper’s mom isn’t in the picture in the canon universe.
Bernice Krupp and John Krupp: Canonically, Bernice is a b*tch and at this point it’s also pretty much canon that John is six feet under, but in this universe, Bernice is six feet under but she was nice while alive, and John is the one who’s still alive and he’s a b*tch; especially to Principal Jasper when he was a child.
32 notes · View notes
apocalypseornaw · 3 years
Text
Ending/Beginning
Tumblr media
For the enemies to lovers square on @girl-next-door-writes make me feel bingo
Inspired by the show revolution (sort of) y'all I'm nervous AF to post this cause it's reader x OC but i hope y'all like it
Word count: 10,247 it long
Warnings: Cursing, violence
The apocalypse, the end of the world. Everything as it was known coming to an end. No matter how you wanted to describe it that time was now. You never would’ve dreamed that the end of the world wouldn’t have been fire or ice. No the world ended a lot quieter than that. No dead rose, no monsters crawled out of hell. Electricity simply went away, all the power sources that ran everything went off grid. You watched as the world slowly plummeted into turmoil. You had your group, all of you would fight to the death for each other, you believed that somehow humanity could survive the problem was not every group believed as yours did.Good and evil, things that at one time had clearly been black and white were now washed in shades of grey.
You were on guard duty, walking the length of the walls that surrounded the compound you called home. A team had left a few days before and had yet to return. You were getting more anxious as the days drug on. You finally spotted movement towards the east and ran quietly along the wall so as to not bring any alert to anyone walking below. When you spotted the group missing some of its main members breach the treeline you felt the knot in the pit of your stomach double in size.  “OPEN THE GATES” you screamed quickly climbing down the ladder running the moment your boots hit the dirt to meet the horses as they came inside. “Where are they?” you asked Sam before he ever got the chance to dismount. Your eyes flicked across the group that were with him clocking the injuries on each person, Sam included. You’d grown up with the Winchesters brothers, all three of you practically being raised by Bobby They were the closest thing to family you had and Dean’s absence along with Charlie’s and Garth’s was glaringly obvious to anyone. 
“We were ambushed. They took them and left a message for Bobby” he explained coming to stand next to you before handing his horse off to someone else so they could see to it that the animals all of you had come to rely on was taken care of. “Which is?” you pushed but he glanced around at the growing crowd “Not here, come with me” you followed him through the compound not falling behind despite his height advantage on you. You had a feeling what fate had befallen your friends and the rage gnawing at you was growing larger every second that passed. 
When Sam grabbed your arm and pulled you into Bobby’s quarters he glanced up from cleaning a gun and smiled when he saw the two of you but his face quickly fell when he realized Dean was not in tow and that Sam had visible injuries. “What happened?” he asked and you cut your eyes at Sam silently echoing the same question. “Kaper’s men. They found out about the power core” “SON OF A BITCH” you growled kicking a chair across the floor. 
Josiah Kaper was about the furthest you could get from Bobby as a leader went. Where Bobby was trying to push for a way for humanity to somehow dig itself out from under the shit show that had developed in the world Josiah wanted nothing more than to find a way to benefit from it. 
He had three sons David the oldest who from your run-ins with him honestly didn’t want to be associated with his father’s name he’d even helped you out of a tight spot years back when everything started falling apart in the world. Then was the middle son Jonah who was ruthless and heartless. You had a scar running the length of your left arm from the only run-in you’d ever had with him. Had Dean not been so quick on the trigger you wouldn’t have walked away, a few members of your group hadn’t. Dante the youngest son who was closest to your age you’d never had any run-ins with but this attack was personal. Bobby wanted the power core to develop a better hospital system. You’d lost a few people simply for the fact that without any power source the doctors you had didn’t have the equipment they needed to perform some surgeries. Not to mention having to stay off the radar of the militia, didn’t want any of them getting it in their heads that your group had anything they may want.
Dean had figured out a few alternatives but even the best mind couldn’t solve everything on it’s own. Josiah on the other hand, you could only imagine what he wanted with the core. 
“Give me a team, we’ll get them back without having to deal with Josiah” You spoke without a second thought. Either of the three they’d taken would come for you so you owed it to them. “What’s your plan?” Bobby asked so you shrugged “They know I’m one of yours, same as Sam and Dean. Makes a bullseye on me so I play decoy while my team locates and releases Dean, Charlie and Garth” “And if they manage to get their hands on you too?” Sam questioned so you shot him a wink “Oh ye of little faith. Don’t worry Sammy they’ll never get close enough to lay a finger on me” Bobby stared you down for what felt like an eternity before nodding “Ok but sweetheart do me a favor?” “Yes sir?” you asked so he half smiled “Make it back in one piece”
"I'm coming with you" Sam spoke and you shook your head motioning to the visible marks on him "No you're gonna go to medical and get checked over. I'm going to go poke around and see if the ones I have in mind for this are up to it, I have no doubt they will be but I still give them the courtesy of asking" 
------
You knew Alicia and Max would be at the front of the line to volunteer to go as soon as word spread. They had long since been your best friends and considering Charlie was Alicia’s girlfriend there would have been no leaving the twins behind even if they hadn’t been on your top pick to go. 
Kevin and Claire were easy picks as well. Kevin, that damn kid you swore could blow up a mountain with some baking soda and vinegar. As fair as for Claire there hadn’t been a lock you met she couldn’t get through fast and easy.  Rounding out your band of misfits as Bobby so lovingly called you all was Benny. He was a big dude, a damn good fighter and not scared of a lot. 
“So what’s the plan?” Sam asked looking at the map you’d spread out across the table in his and Eileen’s quarters. “I know Kaper and I know Dean. If they’re managing to actually hold him, Garth and Charlie, it's gotta be here” you pointed to a building near the northern wall of Josiah’s compound. “The problem is where as we as a group try to steer clear of the militia, he supplies them with pretty much anything they want to look the other way on him pilfering anything he can from the old power sources that’s been uncovered where the rest of us are barely scraping” “So you’re looking at the possibility of heavy firepower” Eileen guessed and you nodded glancing up to make sure you were facing her as you spoke “That’s where I come in. I draw their fire so to speak here” you pointed to the end of the compound furthest from the building you suspected your people were being held in. “By yourself?” she questioned and you knew she didn’t like your plan anymore than Sam or Bobby had. “I’ll be fine Eileen. I promise. By the time they realize I’m there everyone else will be in position. Once they have our people I’ll draw them out further and chunk a few of Kevin’s presents out amongst their ranks just to stir some fun up”
“And if something happens to block your path back around to meet up with everyone else?” Sam asked so you shrugged nonchalantly “Well I can honestly say I will make em earn it and I fully expect the lot of you to give em hell in return” “You’re insane” Eileen reasoned and you smiled at her “That, my dear is part of my charm!”
-------
Kaper’s compound wasn’t set up much differently than the one all of you lived in, the only difference being where when your compound was first established you went for the comfort of the many while it was clear Josiah went for the comfort of himself. His people had well enough living quarters but the building in the center was twice as plush as everyone else’s and while there were guards on their walls the same as yours he also had guards in front of his quarters.
The cement building against the northern corner of the wall was where they kept prisoners. There had been more than one scouting mission around Kaper’s compound to have a basic understanding of what was where. Luckily for your group there was a series of caves not far from the compound that could offer you shelter off the main road while you strategized one final time before actually putting your plan into action.  
------
You tied your horse Helios at the head of the cave then walked deeper in where Benny had built a low fire. He was crouched down looking at the map you’d gotten Alex to sketch out. “Tell me this plan one more time” You could feel the twins and Claire watching you when Benny spoke. Kevin was doing some final touches to his part of the plan so he was preoccupied. You squatted next to Benny and pointed towards the prisoner quarters. 
“That’s where they’ll have Dean, Charlie and Garth” he nodded so you then pointed towards the eastern gate that was closest to Josiah’s quarters “I’m going to get their attention here, draw the main guards out. I’ll use a few of Kev’s low grade toys so as to cause more chaos than actual loss of life, just enough to make everyone look at me. In the meantime all of you will head in over here” you pointed towards where the western and northern wall met “There’s a weak spot unless they’ve fixed it in the last month which I seriously doubt. Even if they did, Kev has a corrosive to make a hole big enough for all of you to slip in, find our people and get the hell out” “Promise me one thing though darling?” he asked so you tilted your head to look at him “Name it Lafitte”
“If something goes south where you’re concerned wait for me at the gate because the moment Dean finds out I agreed to let you do this I won’t be far behind”  You offered him a small smile “Oh come on now he won’t kill ya” he raised an eyebrow that was clearly a nonverbal way of disagreeing but Kevin walked over about that time and handed you a canvas bag “The pipe bombs won’t cause a lot of damage but if you get in a tight spot grab a few of the round ones and chunk em. They’ll take out anything within a ten foot blast zone” You thanked him then stood up and glanced around. Claire held your gaze for a moment while both twins gave you a sharp nod “I’m not one for rousing speeches so I’ll just say wish me luck and remember if all else fails give em hell and make em earn it” 
Claire rolled her eyes “Christ Y/N, Dean gives better pre-fight speeches than that!” you shrugged “And that is why I’m going to get him back” 
------
You stopped at the perimeter of the treeline that was your last bit of cover before the guards would spot you. You and Benny had agreed on a five minute mark to make sure they were in place. You pulled the old wind up pocket watch out of your jeans and glanced to see it had been exactly five minutes. Well now or never.
You clicked your tongue and Helios trotted forward. The guards spotted you the moment you left the cover of the trees and hollered “STOP THERE. WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS?” you stopped but slid your hand into the canvas bag “I CAME TO DELIVER A MESSAGE” you lit the first pipe bomb and chunked it over the wall. It landed at the first guard’s feet causing him to topple backwards down to the dirt.
The guards and inhabitants of the compound went into a flurry of motion so you rode down the wall throwing just enough pipe bombs over to ensure every guard was paying attention to the “threat” at the eastern wall and not the rescue party at the northwestern wall. 
Once the gates opened and guards started pouring out, some on foot but most on horseback you lit one more pipe bomb and threw it in their general direction before hollering “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN ASSHOLES” then clicked your tongue again gently kicking Helios' sides as she took off at a gallop for the trees hearing the shouts of the guards following you. ‘Good keep all your eyes on me’ you thought to yourself as you leaned down closer to Helios to avoid limbs that were threatening to whip across your face as you rode deeper into the woods.
------
Benny and Claire had told you they didn’t need longer than eight minutes to get in, find your people and get out. Of course playing a game of solo mouse versus about twenty guards who were the cats was easier said than done.
Helios went around a tree and muscle memory alone was the only thing keeping you on her back. You fumbled for the watch again and saw six minutes had passed. Christ you still had two more minutes to keep them close enough that they would stay in pursuit but far enough that they couldn’t catch you. 
You were getting close to the lake that was nearby so you headed in that direction. You had two pipe bombs left in the bag and two of those round ones for a tight spot as Kevin had put it. When you got close to the water’s edge you slowed her enough to let the guards catch up slightly and muttered a prayer under your breath before throwing one of the round ones into the water’s edge then kicked her sides again. She tore out in a gallop and you could feel the water from the blast hit your back followed by a lot of cursing. From the sounds of it you hadn’t killed anyone but you’d discouraged their chase and hopefully disoriented them enough that by the time they got back to the compound the smoke would have cleared. 
------
Dark was falling and they’d never attempt to go after all of you once it fell completely. You had the advantage, your people were more used to the dark than Kaper’s because you only used the power sources you had sparingly. Your plan was to double back around to the caves where everyone was waiting for you. Benny was under strict orders that if you weren’t there within ten minutes of them arriving to knock Dean out if need be to make him leave you behind.
You didn’t expect to see a lone rider waiting not far from the lake. You thought your eyes were playing tricks on you when the large black horse first moved, thinking it was a trick of the light and a shadow. A horse that size shouldn’t move that quietly.
You clicked your tongue and tugged the reins in the opposite direction but when Helios pitched the other way the black horse simply gave chase. Shit who the hell was that? You could hear your heart beating in your ears. You had no choice but to lead whoever it was away from your people. There was no telling the shape everyone was in considering if they managed to keep those three contained they may have even gone to the extent of drugging them.  
You had to slow when you got into the thicket of the woods because in the lowering light you could barely see where you were going. You felt something hit your left shoulder hard a half second before you were falling from Helios trying to brace yourself against the shock of the fall. You grunted when you hit the dirt then rolled to be in more of a defensive posture. You could hear the other horse slow before the sound of boots hitting the dirt hard met your ears.
You clicked your tongue trying to get Helios to circle around but before you could get back onto her you heard someone say “I’ll be damned, a woman did all that?” you spun to face the voice and cursed when you saw the gun pointed loosely in your direction. He was a couple inches taller than you, nice athletic built and clearly a fighter. There was still enough light you could make out the bit of stubble gracing his jaw line and the way his eyes held you made you fight the urge to look away. There was something vaguely familiar about him.Hell had he not been pointing a gun at you and from Kaper’s group you would’ve called him attractive but at the moment he simply had a target on him for you to figure out how to get out of this spot with both of you still breathing. 
“And to think we’re called the weaker sex?” you replied with a defiant tilt of your head despite the fact that his gun was out and pointed and yours was still resting at your lower back. He chuckled slightly “You’re one of Singer’s. Y/N isn't it?” you smiled and held your arms out “How can you say that for certain that I'm not just simply a thief that happened along at an opportune time?” “Because I know for a fact that Dean Winchester along with two more of Singer’s group was in our grasp”
It suddenly hit you why the man across from you looked vaguely familiar “You’re Kaper's other son” he nodded slowly “Dante Kaper at your service sweetheart” You narrowed your eyes at him “Stow the sweetheart bullshit. I’ve got a scar from your brother and I was one of the lucky ones that day. I know the type of man you are” He nodded then motioned to his horse with the gun in his hand “Well in that case why don’t you hop on up there?”
“Kill me first, that’s the only way” He reached out to grab your arm and you let him because you knew getting close enough was your only chance of getting free. He pulled you back against his chest “I don’t want to hurt you but the same way that your people hate mine, you just blew up half our wall and knocked most of my guards on their ass” “Oh well” you muttered before throwing your elbow back as hard as you could at his midsection and was rewarded with the sound of his gun being dropped to the dirt as a grunt left him “Should’ve known it’d be a hand to hand thing”
You  spun around to face him and narrowly avoided his return blow. You swung on him but he caught your arm then swept your legs out from under you when you went down you managed to kick your leg out as soon as your back hit the dirt and it connected with his leg. “Son of a bitch” you groaned, pushing yourself to your feet. You started to make a run for it but Dante recovered faster than you would’ve hoped. He was on his feet and grabbing you before you could make it two steps. 
The moment he spun you around to face him you swung and connected a solid punch to his jaw. He staggered just a moment then kicked out and managed to connect with your stomach. You went with the blow letting your own momentum take you down. You were counting on his arrogance being his downfall and that proved to ring true when he came to stand over you “Guess you can’t hang with the men huh sweetheart?” “Don’t you wish” you replied, kicking out hard to catch him dead center in the crotch.  The moment he went down to his knees you took off running and whistled for Helios. She came running up so you hoisted yourself onto her back “Let’s go” she galloped away and you could barely hear the hollered curses from Dante as he faded from your sight.
------
When you got closer to the caves you checked the time that had passed and cursed under your breath. God if they had to knock Dean out to get him to leave you behind it was going to get really messy when he came to. 
You slowed Helios down to a trot and whistled the tune you and Benny always used when you were on the same team. After a few seconds you heard the whistle repeated so you urged her forward.
You hopped down at the head of the cave and saw the other horses tied up. You tied her next to Claire’s horse then walked into the cave entrance. The moment you came into view you were snatched into a hug from Charlie. “Y/N!” you couldn’t help but smile at seeing her mostly unscathed. There were clear signs of the fight when they’d been taken but beyond that it appeared as though Kaper hadn’t attempted to torture them. You’d gotten there before that point. 
Once she released you Garth was there slapping your hand in a high five “Now that’s what I call a rescue mission ma’am!” you winked at him but your smile quickly fell when Dean stepped away from the corner where he’d been talking with Benny. Your eyes skimmed across him clocking the cut over his eye, the bruising on the side of his face and just how bloodied his knuckles were “I call that insanity. What the hell were you thinking?” you grimaced slightly at his tone bracing yourself before saying “I call that pulling your ass out the fire, same as you’ve done for pretty much all of us” 
He studied you for a second before a grin split his face and he pulled you into a hug “Kid you are completely insane but damn I would’ve loved to see Kaper’s face when those pipe bombs started going off” you touched your stomach where you caught a boot from Dante and Dean tracked your movements with his eyes “What happened?” Benny who had been silent stepped up behind you and when he touched your left shoulder it was only then that you realized the branch that had knocked you off Helios had torn through your jacket and shirt. “I officially met Dante Kaper”
“Did you kick his ass?” Max asked and you shrugged “I’d have to say that meeting was fifty, fifty. I got away from him because he underestimated me and got kicked in the family jewels as a reward for it” Alicia covered her mouth as she laughed “In that case I’d say you won it” You glanced around eyeing the lot of them. Out the rescue team from the looks of it none of them had even been in a fight. Benny’s knuckles weren’t even bloodied. Kevin was a little windblown but that was because he’d been at the forefront of any explosions they’d set off. “All of us are in one piece and can make it home. I call that a win” 
Tumblr media
Ninety percent of the time you tried your best to abide by what few rules were in place. You as one of Bobby’s surrogate kids had to be on your best behaviour to show everyone else in your compound that all was treated equal but when a meeting was being held to arrange an escort to Denver for a supply run to the encampment there and you weren’t invited it more than pissed you off.
You stood in front of the meeting room door for several minutes trying to talk yourself out of what you were about to do. It didn’t work of course. You started to walk away then said screw it and shoved the door open. Bobby,Sam, Dean,Benny and Jody were sitting around a table marking the route off. “Took her longer than I thought it would” Benny admitted with a nod to Dean.
Jody raised an eyebrow at you “Y/N? Bobby said you weren’t feeling too well” you cut your eyes at Bobby who shook his head “Don’t even start kid. You know you can’t go on this run” “Why not? When have I suddenly become persona non grata?” “When you went a few rounds with a Kaper” Dean answered for Bobby.
You barked out a harsh laugh then drew the chair from next to Sam and sat down “Then I guess you nor Charlie nor Garth is going on this run either then? Because while they didn’t see the crew that busted you out they know you got out” 
Sam sighed and turned slightly in his chair to face you “Still turns back around to you Y/N. Since they in fact didn’t see the crew they probably assumed you set some sort of timer to bust the whole in the back wall before getting their attention on the front. Them taking the three of them goes against the agreement set forth by the militia so they can’t exactly report it but they more than likely have a grudge against the person who blew half their wall up and knocked most of their guards and one of Kaper’s sons flat on his ass”  You leaned forward on your elbows and glanced around the table.
Dean and Benny immediately shared a look from the expression on your face and Bobby closed his eyes with an exasperated sigh before you ever spoke “So you’re telling me that lil ol me gets the credit for pulling off a rescue mission, destroying their over the top wall that wasn’t even very functional to begin with and kicking Dante’s ass all on my own. Hmm sounds to me like I need to go along Kaper’s men may think twice about messing with the crew if they spot me with them”
“If we don’t let her go we all know either she’ll saddle Helios and follow us anyways or get into something worse” Dean finally said and Jody winked at you “Well you boys may need some backup” “Don’t encourage her!” Bobby groaned then waved a hand at you “Go grab your gear. Dean will round up everyone else” you stood up and winked at Jody before walking out.
------
You were riding behind Benny towards the back of the wagon. It would be left with the encampment so the trip back would be cut by a day. Everyone was talking to whoever was closest to them or just keeping an eye on the surrounding area. Once the supplies were handed off and inside walls the militia weren’t as prone to mess with them but out here in the open it was a more free game.
There was a reason why you, Alicia and Max had spent weeks mapping out the natural caves along any routes all of you took. If you couldn’t find an old building with a garage area for the cart you would park it inside of the cave then make camp outside of it where anyone looking to steal would have to go past whoever was on guard at the moment and everyone sleeping.
“Benny you got this for a minute?” you asked and he cut his eyes at you and nodded “Yeah I got this darling. Guess you’re gonna poke at Dean a lil bit?” you grinned and clicked your tongue so Helios headed in the direction you pointed her which was the head of your group where Dean was looking as stoic as ever while keeping an eye on his surroundings.
He barely acknowledged your presence but you knew that he knew you were there. “Are you really mad at me for getting you out?” you asked and he shook his head. 
You knew he wasn’t but you were going to make him say the words out loud. “I’m pissed off at you for putting yourself at risk like that. What if those guards would’ve caught up with you? Or what if Dante would’ve actually won that fight?”
“Then you would’ve come and got me. It would’ve gone a lot bloodier than my method but I have faith that worse case scenario you would’ve made Kaper regret the day he was born” Dean was quiet for a moment before finally looking at you “Y/N..dammit you’re in the same category as Sam. I can survive losing a lot. I don’t know if I can survive losing either of you. Before you say it I know you’re plenty capable. I’d rather have you at my back then most men I know but that doesn’t change the fact that if you would’ve gotten killed saving my ass..I would’ve slaughtered every man in that place” “What about the women on his guard?” you asked and he narrowed his eyes “Don’t be a smartass just say you see my point” 
“I see your point but that’s the same reason why I couldn’t leave you there. Dean you almost killed Jonah. If I hadn’t been bleeding that bad you would’ve. You’re a high value target for Josiah so I’m not gonna attempt to lie to you I’d do it all over again but I do honestly see why you got pissed at me so can we call truce now?” he nodded and held a hand out so you shook it with a laugh “Glad we got that settled now let me get back to my post before Benny starts talking to his horse again”
------
Your group was about two days away from the Denver encampment. You’d stopped to make camp for the night. There was an old housing development that got abandoned when the end happened so it was a bunch of half built houses that had been mainly reclaimed by nature. There was one at the end that only had a few finishing touches to the place so that was where you picked for the night. The cart was parked in the garage so everyone made beds around it. All of you had slept in worse places.
“Y/N you and Sam take first shift then wake me and Benny up for second shift” Dean announced so you nodded in agreement as you pulled your jacket onto your shoulders “Aye aye Cap” then nodded at Sam “C’mon Samuel” he shook his head with a laugh but followed you out the side door of the garage that led back outside.
------
The full moon was nearly bright enough you could read by it. You were on your third trip around the house keeping an eye on the perimeter. Every time you’d pass Sam one of you would tell the other some stupid joke or random fact to pass the time. There was only another hour left of your guard shift then you could take over Dean’s bed to catch a little sleep before finishing the last leg of this trip.
Once the cart was dropped off your group didn’t have to take the main road home and weren’t as high value of a target for the militia or the road bandits. Even in this day and age you had people that would rather steal then even attempt to provide for themselves in a halfway honest way.
It was a bit disappointing that the one thing you could still count on was that mankind could still be major douches regardless of the time. You were thinking of another weird fact to tell Sam considering your fact of what raccoons could fit inside of made him swear to sleep on his back from here on out every time he slept outside would make you laugh for a week.
A movement towards the woods a few houses down caught your eye. You weren’t quite sure what it was but actually hoped for bandits versus Militia or any of Kaper’s men. You knew Sam would be coming around the corner of the house in a minute and if you mentioned it to him he’d want to check it out with you but you couldn’t leave the house completely unguarded.
You whistled one sharp note and Sam whistled back before coming around the corner quickly “What’s wrong Y/N?” you nodded towards the treeline “I think I saw something. I’m gonna go check it out. Don’t leave guard post unless you hear me scream then feel free to tell on me to Dean and bring everyone running deal?” He followed your line of sight then looked back at you “You’ve got exactly two minutes” you grinned at him “I only need one Samuel” then headed towards the treeline being careful to make your footsteps as quiet as possible.
You reached for the knife at your side. You had your gun tucked at your lower back but if it turned more into a close quarters deal the knife would be a better option. The moment you stepped into the shadows of the trees you felt a hand grab you and you were slammed backwards into a tree. Before you even focus to try to see the assailant you had your knife at their throat.
You realized you were looking up into none other than Dante Kaper’s dark brown eyes “You know you’re something else Y/N” he grunted flinching slightly from the pressure you had on the blade. “Been called worse by better Dante” you replied putting as much venom as you could in your voice and he smiled despite the fact that you were nearly drawing blood “You need to move your people. The militia is headed this way. They’ll be through before daylight”
“How do I know this isn’t a trap to make us move so your people can attack us down the road?” you asked and his grip on your arms tightened slightly “If I wanted your people dead I could’ve shot you and Dean's brother then burned the garage to the ground besides I kind of like having someone around to give me a run for my money. Makes life a lot more interesting”
“And why do I tell Dean we need to move? Can’t exactly say a Kaper said so” you replied easing the pressure slightly on his throat. He glanced down at the blade then slowly released your arms “You’re a resourceful woman. I’m sure you’ll think of something” you stared at him for a few breaths before putting your knife back at your side “If this is a trap you better hope they kill me fast because I’ll make sure you regret it” he had the audacity to wink at you before saying “See? Now comments like that make me want to keep you alive just because that much fire deserves to be fed”
He disappeared into the woods and a few seconds later you heard his horse moving away and cursed yourself for not clocking that big of a beast. “You bastard” you whispered to the night then realized the two minutes had more than likely passed so you quickly breached the tree line again to be back in Sam’s line of sight before he could wake Dean up.
He ran to meet you halfway “What was it?” you shook your head “I don’t know but we need to move. We’re close to a few caverns we can make it to one and still rest a bit before hitting the road again” he stepped in front of you before you got your hand on the door leading into the garage “Woah Y/N if it was nothing why are you hell bent on moving?” you met his eyes and took a deep breath “You trust me right?” “Of course” he answered a quick reply built on years of both of you trusting the other’s instinct. You hated lying to him but something told you Dante was being honest and you didn’t want to chance the supplies that were desperately needed in the Denver encampment being confiscated. 
“Let’s get them up then” you finally added so he stepped to the side and simply followed you into the garage.
------
Surprisingly enough when you woke Dean to say you felt like your team needed to move he didn’t even attempt to question you. He simply gave out orders and the lot of you moved silently through the woods to the caverns you’d pointed out on the map.
Once everyone was settled back down at the cavern though you noticed that Dean and Benny both had pulled Sam to the side of the group and the three of them kept throwing glances in your direction. What were you supposed to tell them if they questioned you further? That you were taking an enemy at his word because why exactly? You weren’t even sure yourself why you’d believed Dante besides the fact that he was indeed telling the truth that had he wanted any of you dead it would’ve been simple enough to do.
You pushed the thought out of your head and curled up next to Helios for the night. By the time the sun was peeking out onto the ground your team was already on the road once again. 
------
“So successful drop off done now for the trip home” you said riding between Sam and Dean. Dean glanced over your head at Sam and nodded once. You watched as Sam fell off and matched his pace with Benny instead no doubt giving you and Dean room to talk or rather Dean room to question you.
You remained silent for a few moments before saying “Well get on with it” he cut his eyes at you then looked back ahead of him “Get on with what exactly Y/N?” you sighed running your fingers through Helios’ mane “Asking me why I moved us in the middle of the night” “And why exactly was that?” he questioned and you felt a knot in your stomach start to form. On one hand you didn’t want to lie to Dean about anything but on the other hand you’d done the one thing all of you had sworn to never do..you trusted a Kaper. Even as far as David Dean simply avoided.
You shrugged “I just had a bad feeling. Best case scenario we ride back through and nothing is touched meaning I overreacted to a bad feeling” “But if we ride back through and proof that the militia has been through is there I’ve got to explain why you’ve either suddenly grown psychic powers or why the little birdies flying around have decided to start conversing with you” 
You were stunned into silence simply because you’d never actually had Dean accuse you of anything. It was a strange feeling but you also became acutely defensive “What exactly are you accusing me of?” you asked and he turned fully to look at you trusting his horse to remain on the path he’d been pointed “Someone was in those woods last night when you went to check it out. You can lie to Sammy but you can’t lie to me. Who was it?” At your silence he cleared his throat then looked back at Sam who came up to join the two of you yet again “Sam you and Benny take lead. Me and Y/N are gonna fall to watch the rear and have a little chat since she’s apparently now being shy of groups”
You cut your eyes at Benny when he came up to take your spot at the head of the group “You good darling?” you nodded once then clicked your tongue to get Helios to follow Dean. 
Once the two of you were at the rear of your group with no possibility of anyone over hearing a conversation Dean got his horse close enough to Helios that had the two not been around each other for so many years they never would’ve willingly rode that close “Now talk to me.You know I’ve always backed you up but I need to know who told you we should move?” you sighed and refused to meet his eyes but answered “Dante” you barely looked in his direction but saw his jaw clenching and unclenching “Please don’t be mad at me Dean. I had my knife to his throat but he had a point. He could’ve fucking sniped me and Sam then barbequed the rest of you if he had wanted to!” 
“So? What are you trusting him now?” Dean’s voice was sharper than you’d ever heard it pointed at you. He reached across the space between the two of you and snatched your jacket off your left arm to show the thick jagged scar that started at your wrist and disappeared underneath the short sleeve of your shirt “His brother did this! I found you nearly dead. Sam held you in his arms the entire ride back to our doctors and you know what? I heard him pray Y/N! Who the hell he was praying to in all of this I don’t know but we thought we would lose you. We lost Jo, Ash and Rufus that day! A Kaper did that! Out of every possible enemy in this world the god damn Kapers have been a thorn in our side for longer than anything! You really think you can trust him? Even David is only passable because he got away from Josiah and we haven’t heard anything from him since. Dante went back to his daddy’s compound and probably reported that Bobby’s girl was stupid enough to trust him!”
You felt hot tears spring to your eyes at his words. You turned your head stubbornly so he wouldn’t see them and took a few deep breaths before replying “I don’t trust him Dean but I had to weigh the options and protecting all of you was the most important thing” your voice broke slightly as you shrugged your jacket back up on your arm. Dean reached as if to touch your shoulder but you flinched away from him “Not right now Dean. I know you just want to protect me but I just can’t right now”
“Chief, are we checking it out?” Benny called from the front nodding towards the path that would take you back out to where the housing complex was. Dean looked at you then announced “Everyone wait here for a few. C’mon Benny” you watched them ride off then locked eyes with Sam. The look on his face alone was enough to ask if you were ok. You gave a sharp nod.
Within a few moments Dean and Benny were rejoining your group. You didn’t look in Dean’s direction when he came back to ride at your side but he still offered “For what it counts the militia destroyed it and left their mark” “Why did he warn me?” you asked honestly shocked that Dante’s warning had rang true. “That’s the question isn’t it?”
Tumblr media
The moment Bobby heard that Dante had reached out to you and in fact actually told the truth about the militia coming through you knew that would be the end of you being allowed out on any day to day tasks. You had no idea why he’d even been in that area that night or how he’d located your group let alone why he’d want to actually protect your group. Hell you’d fought him the first time you met him then that knife had drawn a line of blood from his throat while he gave his warning. It was a predicament to say the least and and left you feeling like a fucking leper considering only Sam, Dean and Bobby knew so to everyone else they simply say you sticking close to the compound with no good reason as to why.
You were helping Donna and Jody in the armory trying to simply keep your head down until Bobby and the boys forgot about it and let you out again. “What exactly did you do?” Jody asked sliding more shells across to you since the three of you were currently making more bullets. You shrugged knowing that you very well couldn’t tell another soul that a Kaper had saved your necks. You absentmindedly scratched at the scar on your arm and Donna covered your hand with her own “You know that’s a bad nervous habit sweetie” you shot her a small smile “I think I’m just going a little stir crazy. Even just to take Helios out to stretch her legs I’ve got to take Benny or Max and Alicia with me” “Whatever happened those three will get over it soon enough kid. Just keep pushing they love ya” Jody added with a wink.
------
It went on for a while until you were on guard duty one day walking the length of the wall when Xavier, a rider for a nearby compound which happened to be where your hospital set up was, came riding up to the gate. “LET HIM IN!” you hollered climbing down the ladder to meet him.
When he saw you his eyes flicked around nervously “Y/N.. Dean or Sam around?” you shook your head “No but what’s going on Xavier?” he swallowed hard “They’re on the way to do a walk through of our compound. We don’t have the power core completely buried yet” “Shit.Dean,Benny  and Sam aren’t due back till dark” his eyes looked like they very well may pop out of his head “We have an hour tops” you knew that if you came out on the other side you’d never hear the end of it and that was the best case scenario. 
You nodded to his horse “How fast can it move with two riders?” “Fast enough” he replied. As you were swinging your leg up behind him you heard Max holler your name. Xavier glanced back at you but you simply shook your head “Ignore him. Let’s go” you rode out of the gate motioning for it to be closed behind you already planning in your head a dangerous route but if it came down to it you would do what was necessary to save the most amount of people.
------
Dean was seething with anger and underneath that was the fear. The fear of being too late this time. The fear he’d find you dead. Dammit why did you have to be so fucking selfless? When him and Sam had met up with Max on the trail back he knew something was wrong then when Max told him the last he’d seen of you was you riding off on the back of Xavier’s horse he knew the worst was yet to come.
He rode up to the gate of the compound that housed the hospital set up “OPEN THE FUCKING GATE!” He didn't slow down and rode directly up to the door before climbing off his horse and nearly took the door off the hinges as he stormed inside with Sam and Benny close behind. 
He spotted Micheal the doctor that was over the place “Where is she? What the fuck happened here?” The place was a mess but most of the equipment appeared to be whole. There was evidence a fight had happened and your presence or the lack thereof was a sore thumb along with the puddle of blood in the center of the room.  “Dean you got to know I tried to stop her! I told her to stand down but she refused. She was determined to draw their attention from the power core” the shorter man was clearly scared and for good reason. Benny knowing Dean how he did managed to catch him before he broke the good doctor’s nose “Dean brother we need to hear what happened before we kill him” 
Micheal looked at Sam who shrugged “They’re not gonna kill you” When Micheal almost looked relieved Sam quickly added “But we may make you wish you were dead cause you’re probably gonna have to put yourself back together if we find out you hid while they took Y/N” 
Benny let go of Dean and had a hand around Micheal’s throat in the blink of an eye “Now doc me and you ain’t never had an issue but that girl is like a sister to all three of you. What the hell happened here?” “Jonah was with them” Micheal breathed out and Dean felt his blood run cold.
They never planned this to be an inspection. Josiah and Jonah both knew the one way to get at Bobby, Dean and Sam was to go after Y/N. “Son of a bitch. They were probably watching when we left. He planned the walk through to draw her out knowing she’d never stand by”
Benny dropped Micheal unceremoniously to the floor. “Go over what happened and don’t leave a word out” 
Tumblr media
Everything hurt.You knew the moment you’d spotted that chestnut horse amongst the inspection crew that it had all been a lie. You’d been lured out and played directly into their hands. “I’LL KILL YOU” you growled diving at Xavier. You’d trusted him and he’d betrayed all of you. “Sorry Y/N they gave me a better offer than being an errand boy”
You had your hands around his throat when the door was kicked in and you heard a gun cock “Y/N let him go or I’ll kill them” you looked up to see a gun pointed towards Micheal the top doctor and Erika the top field medic. You slowly stood off of Xavier eyes never leaving Jonah’s masked face. “Good girl” he cooed then the moment Xavier was on his feet he put a bullet between his eyes. At your look he shrugged “He’s a rat. Don’t need any rats now do we?”
“Gonna take that mask off and let me see Dean’s handy work?” you taunted eyes flicking towards Micheal and Erika. “Are you going to be nice and come quietly or do my men need to beat you in compliance?” he replied so you squared your shoulders and planted your feet “If you plan on taking me you might as well throw your hat into the ring too darling cause this is gonna be one hell of a fight” 
You ended up coming back to consciousness in the newly reinforced cells of Kaper’s compound. You were certain you had a few broken ribs and the entire side of your face was slick with your own blood. You’d held true to your word. You’d given as much damage as you’d gotten and that was at an extreme disadvantage. The last thing you remembered was Jonah’s boot connecting with the side of your head hard. If you survived this you would make sure you were the last thing he ever saw and you had the comfort of knowing if you didn’t survive that Dean would be the last thing Jonah ever saw.
You had managed to push yourself into a seated position with your back against the wall when you heard boots coming in your direction. You were in pain and it would likely be a task to stand on your own but regardless you braced yourself for what would more than likely be another fight. 
When the footsteps stopped you looked up to see Jonah was standing at the door leading into the cell. He had his mask in his hand and the light from the torch on the wall flickered across the burns the corrosive had left behind on his face. “Damn you’re even uglier than you were before. At least the exterior completely matches the interior now” you grunted holding an arm around your hurting ribs as you forced yourself to stand up despite the pain radiating through you that moving caused.  “Keep talking you little bitch. Even now our group is already at your compound. Singer will be given seventy two hours to either deliver the power core or be delivered your corpse” “Bobby knows you’ll never keep your word. You’ll take the power core and kill me all for daddy dearest to make a play to be over the shambles that’s left of this country”
“But the thing about Bobby and the Winchester boys they don’t think with their heads a lot. They let their hearts do the thinking and you’re family. That whole group is insane enough to risk it all by coming after you. How many more will die this time for you to walk away?” “That wasn’t my fault. It was yours” you threw back and he smiled “And yet here you still stand having survived what? Seven years after them?” “You’re gonna kill me why not just finish me off now?” you asked and his smile turned sinister “Oh but why kill you quickly when I can make you beg for death?”
He pulled a key out of his pocket and slid it into the door when he stepped into the cell you took a deep breath before falling into a defensive posture. Whatever he had planned it wouldn’t go over easy on him.
Tumblr media
“There’s not even an option. We hand over the fucking power core” Dean spoke from where he stood at the edge of the room. “How do we know they won’t kill her anyway?” Benny asked and a silence fell over the room because everyone was thinking what Benny had just given voice to “Well what the hell do you suggest Benny? Let them kill her with no qualms?” Max’s voice was laced with anger. Anger at himself for not being able to stop you from leaving and anger at the situation in general.
“We’re already at the eighteen hour mark since they took her. We need to do something and do it now!” Alicia cut in but before another word could be spoken Claire came running into the room “DEAN, SAM” both brothers turned to look at the blonde who was out of breath “The front gate! We need you!”
------
Most of the residents of the compound had been temporarily relocated rather to other areas or the caverns to get the non combatants out of harm’s reach which made it easier for moving around. Erika had bought her supplies and came back to help as well.
When Dean and Sam made it to the front gate they saw that Erika, Alex and Eileen were all three crouched around but couldn’t make out what until they got close enough to see you cradled in Dante Kaper’s arms while the three women worked to triage your wounds.  
“What the hell?” Dean demanded and at his voice you opened your eyes weakly “Don’t hurt him Dean” then your head rolled over to the side. “She’s ok. She just passed out. Dante get her up and let’s get her inside”
------
Erika had kicked everyone out of the room besides Eileen and Alex to work so that left Dean and Sam alone with Dante in the hall outside the room you were in. “Is that her blood?” Dean asked, pointing to Dante’s shirt. The other man glanced down almost robotically “Not all. Some of it is Jonah’s” 
“Excuse me?” Sam asked to ensure he’d heard right. Dante raised his eyes and Dean saw a fire there that almost made him want to like him “I killed him to save her life. I wasn’t there when they took her but the moment I got back to the compound my father called me into his quarters to brag. I found Jonah in her cell he planned to do worse than torture her…” his eyes had found their way back to the door that held you on the other side “I killed him without a second thought. I took her out the back and bought her here where I know she’s safe then I’m gonna go back and kill my father and everyone loyal to him”
“Is she worth that to you?” Dean asked, needing the answer before he allowed himself to give a Kaper even a sliver of trust “Why wouldn’t she be?” Dante replied and Dean gave him a sharp nod “Ok then. Want some help?”
------
You came to again when Eileen was washing the blood off of your face. “Eileen?” you whispered but she saw your lips move and looked up to your eyes and smiled “Thank god. What do you remember?” “Jonah..a blade slicing through him...a horse ride..Dante’s coat being around me and telling Dean not to hurt him”
She nodded “Good no concussion then” you looked around slowly “Where is everyone” you signed a bit sloppy but she got the point. “Waiting for you to wake up” “How long have I been out?” you asked and she grimaced which told you it’d been a while “A week” 
Before you could have a complete freakout the door cracked open and Alicia poked her head in “You’re awake!” “It appears” you groaned trying to sit up before her and Eileen moved to help you. They shared a look then Eileen signed “I’m gonna go find the boys”
Once she walked out you looked over at Alicia who’d sat next to you “What happened while I was napping?” she laughed “Oh a revolution?” “Huh?” you questioned and she shrugged “Bobby can explain it better but just know our lives are going to be a lot more peaceful” “Where’s Dante?” you asked worry for him suddenly hitting you like a blow to the gut. “He’s fine honey. That’s one of the boys Eileen went to find”
------
You were sitting up with your feet curled under you nursing the glass of water Alicia had gotten you when the door opened again and Eileen walked in, trailed by Dean,Bobby,Sam,Benny and an unsure looking Dante.
Your crew all hugged you then you locked eyes with Dante and shared a small smile “You killed your brother for me” “He was an asshole anyways” he replied which caused a light laugh to spread across the room. “What happened while I was out?” you asked looking at Bobby who smiled “Long story short? Josiah is dead. David is back and over the civilians proven to not be under Josiah’s rule. The militia is being cleared out of dirty members as we speak and we have doubled the side of our hospital set up in the last three days”
You cut your eyes at Dante “What are you gonna do now?” Dean slung an arm around his shoulder and winked at you “Well Y/N not to put words in his mouth but I believe he was hoping to stick around and get to know you a bit better now that you’re not sworn enemies anymore” “If that’s good with you. If not I can always head home now that David is over it?” he offered and you smiled “I think I’d like you sticking around a bit”  His smile told you that was the answer he’d been hoping for.
@girl-next-door-writes
@littlemessyjessi
19 notes · View notes
timothypines · 3 years
Text
Is Classical Music Dead? (Essay)
How does society determine when a particular genre of music is dead? From this question, multiple others are born. For example, do we consider that the inspiration from music continued throughout popular genres as the survival of what it was originally? Or is it dead because it has changed into something different from its original form? When it comes to classical music, it isn’t really as question about whether or not it is dead, but if it’s dying. Classical music is still being performed, listened to, and celebrated in communities today, so calling it dead seems premature, even foolish. That’s not to say that the average person believing classical music is dying is without merit; classical music isn’t usually on the radar for say a random person asked off the street. However, when looked at from the perspective of the musical community, classical music is positively flourishing and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
           In a New York Times Article, a violinist showed concern that the classical music industry was dying. Some readers responded in letters reacting to the concerns she expressed. The violinist started by saying, “A schoolboy recently asked me if Richard Wagner was a pitcher for the Yankees. At that moment I feared that classical music in America was doomed” (Dreyer). Like this violinist expressed, most people in the music community, and outside the community, acknowledge that classical music isn’t a subject that most people going through life know a whole lot about. While many know some parts of classical pieces and perhaps some names of famous composers, their knowledge is surface level and, for the most part, they don’t seek to learn more. This reflects in some worrying trends in the industry. Classical radio stations were shutting down, concerts were being reduced and canceled, less and less were classical musicians being discussed (Dreyer). Classical music simply isn’t popular. But from this trend came a great wave of musicians, teachers, and lovers of classical music who were determined to spread the love and knowledge of a music they deemed immensely important, and rightfully so.
           Most all of the music we have and enjoy today has elements that came from classical music, from the most basic to the more complex. The major-minor scale system that is commonly used in the majority of today’s music was first put into use in the baroque period. It was in this period that the scale system was also standardized (Willoughby). In fact, the baroque period standardized a great many musical tools, styles, and elements. From this period developed keyboard music, which lead to the invention of the modern piano, an instrument that can be argued to be the most important instrument when it comes to creating music, harmony, a base element in most music performed today, and the establishment of the orchestra (Willoughby). It would take a long time to list all of the musical elements gained and standardized in the baroque period, but it is certain that music would not look nearly the same if not for the major development that occurred.
           The baroque period, while very important, wasn’t the only period that significantly influenced music. The romantic period brought what was missing from music in the baroque period back into the musical community, emotion. A big emphasis on music today is how it makes the listener feel. While the baroque period brought technicality, all emotion was sacrificed for ridged structure and extremely complex technique. Beethoven put emotion into his music, effectively shifting people’s approach to composing. Willoughby writes, “These attributes of Beethoven mirror the attributes of the Romantic period as a whole; it was a time when artistic expression became highly individual and personal, and also highly emotional” (Willoughby, 253). With this wave of emotion came another change; music started being made for music’s sake. Composers started writing what they wanted to hear instead of what was popular or what the church needed for service. A large part of what music is now has come from classical music, and most people within the music community, of many genres, understand and respect this.
           It is important to be noted that while people respect the roots that classical music has provided, that doesn’t mean that people are very supportive of how it exists, or rather, how they believe it exists. There is a notion that classical music is elitist, for the rich and privileged only. One could point to the expensive ticketing for opera and ballets and orchestra performances to prove this point, but there are many things that are just as or even more expensive than these tickets that people don’t find elitist—for example, sporting events (Cross-eyed Pianist). Some people will point at the etiquette and dress for attendance at a concert hall. The fact remains, however, that opera houses and concert halls have no official dress code or strict rules everyone must follow. Music blogger and commenter goes on to say, “It troubles me, this negative perception of classical music and its fans, and it strikes me that currently there is an image crisis surrounding classical music. It wasn’t always like this. When I was growing up in the 1970s, there was more classical music in our everyday lives” (Cross-eyed Pianist). Most people have the notion that classical music is only accessible to and is only made for those better off than themselves, even though it has been available to and made for everyone’s ears for centuries now.
With that in mind, the love for classical music itself has not died out yet. There is a vast and passionate community of musicians, teachers, and listeners who adore classical music and saw it failing in the wider community. These people have worked hard and are continuing to work hard to spread a passion for classical music. An excellent example of some people doing this is the YouTube duo who run the channel Two Set Violin. On this channel they make comedy sketches, play games, and react to videos. All of this content is tied together by one thing, classical music. Brett and Eddy, the two friends who run Two Set, are professionally trained violinists who decided to make a YouTube channel to try and spread love for classical music. It was also important to them to make classical music and the education of classical music more accessible. They teach about music in an engaging, funny way all while encouraging their audience to create and perform music. Their saying is simply ‘practice’. They encourage their musician audience members by reminding them that no one who is really good at playing an instrument got there without hard work and tell them to keep practicing. Two Set has even brought on large musicians like Hillary Han and Benny Chen to talk about their experiences and the importance of practicing. This helps to break the stereotype of not only what a classical musician looks like, but how they act and how much work goes into their music. In one video, while reacting to an American Idol performance with two violinists, one of the judges says, “It’s so nice to see such young, good looking guys that play the violin because usually they’re like old and bald and, you know, a bit greasy” (Two Set Violin). They respond by pointing out that they themselves are young and that this is a negative stereotype. In another video they react to a man that says he is the fastest violin player in the world. Brett says, “the world needs to know that classical music is more than just playing fast” (Two Set Violin).  In these two videos, Brett and Eddy are challenging the media’s, and greater public’s, view of classical music, the view that classical music is old, for old people, and the people who participate are elitists who only care about perfection and technicality. And they have done so much more than videos like these reaction to other musicians. They have had videos where they have their followers compose a piece and send it to them to play. They have asked people to send in clips of them performing for them to react to. In so many ways these two violinists have gotten so many people involved in classical music. Over the years they have grown a great following of people who love participating in classical music, whether that be through performance or listening; as of today, they have almost 3 million subscribers (Two Set Violin). Brett and Eddy aren’t the only people who have gotten the public more involved in classical music. As social media has grown, classical musicians have become increasingly accessible to the public. The violinist Hillary Han often posts on Instagram videos of her practicing and other music related things, but she also speaks on social issues and gives insight into her life. This shows all 300,000 followers she is human (violincase).
           It is difficult to say whether or not a musical genre is dead, and even harder to say if it’s dying. The act of music dying would take centuries, and even then, there are arguments to be made that because other music that exists was influenced by the ‘dead’ music, it still lives. Classical music was the popular music for centuries, its memory will not so easily fade, especially to the point where it is considered a dead genre. Even if it is not a popular genre today, classical music is being kept alive by the musicians who perform it and the people who love to listen to it. Music is art that decorates and marks time, and so, as long as people paint time with classical music, it is not dead.
     Work Cited
Dreyer, Les. “Sunday Dialogue: Is Classical Music Dying?” The New York Times, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-is-classical-music-dying.html
Willoughby, David. The World of Music. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kindle Edition.
The Cross-Eyed Pianist. “Who Made Classical Music ‘elitist’?” The Cross-Eyed Pianist, 2019. https://crosseyedpianist.com/2019/07/24/who-made-classical-music-elitist/
Two Set Violin. “The World's FASTEST (and most INACCURATE) VIOLINIST!” YouTube, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsvaCU6i1M&ab_channel=TwoSetViolin
Two Set Violin. “Classical Violinists React to Mainstream Violin Competitions” YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uVN5Fb_Z44&ab_channel=TwoSetViolin
Han, Hillary. “@violincase” Instagram.
28 notes · View notes
anathewierdo · 3 years
Text
Call of the Ocean  Chapter 14: Gentlemen’s Duel
Pairing: CEO!Mechanic!Dean Winchester x Mermaid!Reader
Word count: 6038
Chapter summary: The more time Dean and Thasman spend together, the more the tension grows until they finally snap. Turns out, humans are one big complicated matter; especially humans who think they’re in love. Y/N gets her first job ever and (if she may say so herself while quoting Dean) she kinda rocks at it. 
Series summary: CEO of Winchester Auto Dean Winchester has had enough of the office life. With his father keeping him from what he wants to do, which is work on the plant floor, Dean decides to leave for a quiet life. In Matagorda, Texas, he finds something he never thought he would, a chance encounter with a mythical creature.
Call of the Ocean Masterlist
A/N: College is cool, but I am literally aching to get back to writing new stuff for y’all. In the meantime, enjoy this awesome series that @flamencodiva and I wrote together. Text dividers made by the awesome @talesmaniac89
Next chapter will be posted on Saturday, October 3rd
Tumblr media
Benny and Cas stood in the kitchen the next morning. Both of them worried about Dean. He spent all day with the mysterious Y/N, and they were ready to talk to him about it. He seemed pissed and stormed off. 
“Think he’ll talk about it?” Cas asked before taking a sip of his coffee. 
“You know how Dean is brotha,” Benny sighed. “He is going to shut himself up tighter than a clam.” 
“You’re right,” Cas said as he looked at his watch. “Bacon smell to wake him up?” 
“Yeah, I think he needs it, Benny chuckled before walking to the fridge and grabbing a packet of bacon to cook. 
Dean hadn’t slept the entire night. Every time he tried, he kept dreaming about a black cloud coming and taking Y/N into the ocean where she would be dragged under. His interpretation was that she was drowning and took it to mean she would be lost and trapped forever. His fingers grazed over the scale necklace. He felt a familiar shiver run down his spine, almost as if Y/N was with him. Looking at the clock, he let out a heavy sigh. He’d give anything to spend more time with her, but his shop is important. He had to prove to his father he could be a CEO and work with his hands. 
Getting up, he got dressed in clothes that he wouldn’t mind getting dirty and opened the door. The smell of bacon reached his nose, but his heart wasn’t in it. Taking a deep breath he forced a smile on his face, and made his way towards the kitchen where he knew his friends were waiting. 
“Who’s ready to renovate!” he exclaimed as he slapped Cas on his back, making him choke on his coffee.
“We are,” Benny chuckled before turning serious. “But, are you okay brother?” 
“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” Dean brushed Benny off and made his way to the plate of cooked bacon. 
Benny was about to say something when Cas shook his head. The Cajun glared at the other blue-eyed in the room and rolled his eyes. They both watched as Dean only took three pieces of bacon when Benny had made a good twenty. 
“So,” Cas belted out. “We start the demo today! How are we going to do it without harming the wall Bobby wants to save and restore?” 
“Might not know until we get there,” Dean sighed. “I’m thinking maybe he can let us repaint it if the integrity of the wall is compromised?” Dean wondered. “I don’t want him to lose a piece of himself and I hope the wall is sturdy for it.” 
“We should get going then so we can assess the structure and see if we can do it ourselves or have to hire some guys,” Cas said as he looked at his watch. “I also need to make sure Bobby knows that I can work hard too.” 
“Well with those soft hands,” Benny teased. “Who can deny that you work hard?”
“Fuck you, Benny,” Cas grumbled as he placed his dirty cup in the sink and grabbed his jacket. “Come on, the last thing we need is for the old man to get grumpy that we’re late.” 
Dean had stayed quiet throughout Cas and Benny’s bickering. It didn’t go unnoticed by the two friends. Usually, Dean would jump in and rag on who was being teased. But something was off with him, and Cas and Benny were going to get it out of him even if they had to hogtie him to the Impala.
Meanwhile, at Ellen’s, the light that filtered through the bedroom window was what woke Y/N from her slumber. Y/N hadn’t been able to get Dean off her mind. The feel of his lips on her forehead still lingered. The sad look in his eyes haunted her. Did she make him sad? Maybe Thasman was right and this was a bad idea. She felt a dull ache in her chest at the thought of leaving Dean sad and alone. 
Giving a small stretch, she got ready to start the day. She could hear the faint sounds of Ellen cooking in the kitchen and the smell of breakfast hitting her nose. A small smile played on her lips and she wondered if Ellen would help her with her idea. Dressing quickly, she made her way downstairs and grabbed a mug and what Ellen had called ‘coffee’.  
Ever since Y/N was given a taste of it, she had loved drinking it. It was one of the things she was going to miss most about the human world. She hadn’t realized she was deep in thought until Ellen waved a hand in front of her face. 
“You alright, Darlin?”  Ellen questions as she looked at Y/N full of concern.     
“What?” Y/N snapped out of her thoughts. 
“Thinking about, Dean?” Ellen probed with a smirk. 
“No,” Y/N denied with a scoff. “I mean, his green eyes are dreamy but, no I was just thinking about what we can do today?”   
Ellen gave her a knowing smile, but let it go. “Well, I was thinking we could drop Thasman at Bobby’s so he could help Dean with the renovations of the place or continue with his driving lessons. I have to work today, and I can’t exactly sneak you in.”
“Where do you work Ellen? Maybe you can say that you have hired me?” Y/N said as she looked at Ellen with a hopeful gaze. 
“I own a small bar and diner in town,” Ellen sighed. “I had my manager hold off the fort while I got you and Thasman settled.” Ellen bit her lip as she looked at the young mermaid. “I don’t know Y/N--” 
“Please, Ellen,” Y/N begged. “I can learn! And It gives me a chance to experience another human thing.. Working.” she reached for Ellen’s hands and held it in hers. “Please?” 
Ellen gave a defeated sigh. “If anything goes wrong, I won’t allow this again.”
“Yes!” Y/N cheered, giving the elder woman a hug. “You won’t regret it Ellen! Thank you!” 
Y/N smiled brightly as she made her way to the room she’d been staying in, pulling out clothing and getting herself ready to go with Ellen.
She would see where Ellen worked. It didn’t take long for Ellen to finish up and they piled into Ellen’s car. Dropping off Thasman was quick as he raced out and into Bobby’s house. As Ellen and Y/N were leaving, Y/N saw the familiar Black Impala pulling up. She wished they had time to say hello, but she knew Ellen had to get to work.    
The establishment was very nice. There were people walking around the place with big trays holding and offering food to what she assumed were the customers. At the back of the building, there was a wall covered in shelves that held bottles of different colors and sizes along with glass cups.
“Ellen!”
A man with short hair in the front but long hair in the back called out. 
“Thank god you’re back!” He cried. “Meg has been a nightmare!” 
“I’m here now, Ash,” Ellen laughed. 
“Yes you are and I can breathe!” Ash smiled. “I can take my smoke breaks again!” Ash was about to go back to the kitchen when he noticed Y/N and walked up to her. “Well, hello.” he took her hand and kissed it. “Who is this lovely creature of the sea?”
“Her name’s Y/N, Ash. She’s gonna help around here today. You and Meg will show her what to do and how to do it and you’ll keep your hands to yourself, understood?”
“Y/N,” Ash drawled and smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet such a beautiful treasure such as yourself.” he flirted, much to Ellen’s dismay. 
“Thank you,” Y/N pulled her hand away from Ash and moved closer to Ellen. 
“Sugar,” Ellen draped her arm around Y/N. “Meg and I will show you how to take orders. Just keep in mind you might want to write down everything you can until you get the hang of it.”  
“Alright.”
“You’ll do fine, hon,” Ellen assured once more before waving at another woman. “Meg! I need you here for a moment.”
“Coming Ellen,” A woman with black hair called out. 
Y/N watched as she walked up and glared at Ash. 
“I see we’re wasting time instead of making the orders needed to feed the customers,” Meg growled as she crossed her arms. 
“Boss is here now, amiga, tone it down.” Ash rolled his eyes as he extended a hand. “Gimme that notepad. I’ll cover while you’re here.”
“Like hell you will,” Meg growled. “You get your ass back in the kitchen and cook for my customers!” 
Ellen sighed and rubbed her forehead, “Ash kitchen, Meg you help Y/N learn the ropes. I’ll take some orders.” Ellen strategized. 
“Yes ma’am,” the guy nodded. He glared once more at Meg, “See ya around, demon.” 
“Going to kick you--” Meg started. 
“Meg,” Ellen sighed. “Back to work come on.” 
Y/N smiled at the woman. “Hi, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.” 
“Meg. It’s nice to meet you too. Have you ever worked as a waitress before?”
“Never.” she shook her head.
“You really are fresh meat then,” Meg pointed out. “C’mon. We’re gonna get the basics over with and then I’ll show you how to take an order.”
Back at the garage, renovations were going steady, with Cas and Benny tearing down a wall to give the garage more space, Dean sketching over the plans of the building to make sure that they weren’t screwing anything up. 
Bobby had tried to resume Thasman’s driving lessons, but quickly decided that it would be better if the young man joined them in the renovations. 
“You’ll learn more with them than you will with me right now,” he said. “I think they can use an extra pair of hands.”
“But Bobby,” Thasman sighed. “I-- I’m not really comfortable with that Dean guy.” he sent a small glare towards Dean’s back. 
“Help him. If you still don’t like him by the end of the day, we’ll go back to driving and you’ll go back to avoiding him. Now, stop whining and go help, boy.”
Thasman growled, “Fine, but if he gives me a chance to punch him,” He crossed his arms. “I’m taking it.” 
“You won’t. Now go help them.”
Thasman huffed and made his way towards Benny, Castiel, and Dean. With his hands in his pockets he kicked at the dirt and sighed. He had started to talk when he turned around and bumped into Bobby who glared at him. Letting out a frustrated grunt, Thasman turned around and stumbled when Bobby pushed him towards the three men. 
“You okay there, Thasman?” Dean asked as he noticed the young merman. 
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Do you want me to help you with something?”
“Sure,” Dean smiled. “I think we can start by measuring out the space and seeing if we can just do it ourselves or need to get a company to help us out. Might need to lay a new foundation so we can work smoother.” 
“Got it,” Thasman nodded. "The mermaid painting stays, right?" 
"Yeah," Dean sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "That's going to be tough. But, I'm ready to bring in an artist if I need to to help restore her." 
Thasman gave a grunt in affirmation, and put himself to work alongside Dean. Dean could feel the tension between them. He didn't want to come between Thasman and Y/N. 
"Thasman," Dean began. "Can I be honest with you?" 
“I don’t see why not.” He shrugged distractedly. “Go ahead.”
"Why do you hate me?" Dean breathed. 
“I don’t hate you, Dean,” He recognized. “I don’t trust you. There’s a difference.”
"Okay," Dean said. "How do I get you to trust me? I like Y/N, Thasman. I would never hurt her." 
“It’s not about what you would or wouldn’t do to her, you big jellyfish.” he rolled his eyes, reaching back and readjusting the bun at the nape of his neck. “Whatever I think or say, Y/N’s gonna do whatever she wants to do. If there’s one thing I have clear about her, it’s that there’s no stopping her when she’s set on something she wants. She’ll hit a limit sooner or later, but at least she’ll get close.”
“Then?” Dean prodded.  
“It’s better for both of you if you just drop it.” he looked at Dean in the eyes. 
He noticed Benny and Castiel working on moving more stuff out, and guided Dean towards the wall with the mermaid painting, keeping his voice low. “There’s no way around what’s coming for Y/N. We’re gonna go back home, we’ll get married hopefully, and come visit whenever we can, but it’s her destiny, Dean. It’s completely out of our control and we can’t do anything to stop it. You can’t do anything to stop it.” Thasman let out a sigh and closed his eyes in frustration. “If you want to be around her, fine. If you want to talk to her, fine. But the sad reality is, she will go back home.”
“You are planning on marrying her?!” Dean hissed. He glared at the young merman before him. 
“I have met and fought my competitors, Dean. I know what her other options are, and we both agree I’m the best outcome of a terrible situation.” Thasman reasoned. 
“How can you be fighting for her hand like she’s a goddamn prize?!” Dean growled as he got closer to Thasman. His jaw clenched and hands in fists. 
“Have you heard nothing of what I have said?” Thasman exclaimed in exasperation, then took a breath to calm himself down and lower his voice once more. “I do not love her. Not in that way. But if she has to marry someone, I’d rather it be me than some stranger who only wants a crown to show off.”
“So if I can give her the freedom to love someone for a few days, I shouldn’t?” Dean asked, trying to clarify something. 
“How can you give her love when you have only known her for a few days? You’re infatuated, not in love.” Thasman scoffed as he shook his head at the human. 
Dean gave him a tight smile before shoving Thasman hard, “You don’t get to tell me what I do or don’t feel.”
Thasman’s jaw tensed as he gave Dean a threatening smile. “Are you sure you want to fight me, Dean?”
Thasman took a few steps towards Dean. The two men standing toe to toe. Dean felt disgusted at what he heard Thasman say. He was going to be the one to marry Y/N. Is that why Thasman hated him, because he was getting close? Y/N wasn’t a prize to be won, she was a person. She had thoughts, feelings, and dreams. How could this man call himself her friend, and want her to be a prisoner to an archaic system. Dean opened his mouth to accept Thasman’s challenge when the door opened. 
“No he doesn’t! You two idjits better stop right now and go back to work!” Bobby growled stomping towards Dean and Thasman. He pulled the young Merman back, “What in the damn hell is wrong with you?” 
“Bobby I--” Thasman began
“I think it’d be better if they worked out the tension, Bobby. To get it all over with.” Benny sighed as he walked in and crossed his arms. “If they don’t get it out know they’ll never be able to let it go.” 
“Not going to happen in this garage if you want to keep the contract,” Bobby huffed glaring at the three men. 
Dean ran a hand across his face and glared at Thasman. “You call yourself her friend. All you are is her prison guard.” With that Dean stomped out to cool off, with Benny following behind him. 
Dean grabbed a crowbar along the way and looked for the oldest car that he could beat up. He found a beat up pontiac and held onto it like a bat before he began swinging. Everything in his life was messed up. First Cassie cheats on him, then his father is pushing him to work on things he doesn't want to, he is forced to go to the party with Lisa, and to top it off, the girl who he feels any kind of spark for is set to be given away like some damn prize. With every scream he let out a yell and a curse. 
“Dean,” Benny called out. 
Dean continued to hit the beat up old car. The window smashed, the body dented. Bobby watched from a few feet away. Dean reminded him of when he lost the love of his life. He could tell by the way Dean looked at Y/N that the boy was a goner. 
Dean gave the car one last hit before falling to his knees and letting out a scream that echoed through the salvage yard. 
“Dean,” Benny breathed. He didn’t like seeing his friend like this. Why was he reacting this way about some girl he didn’t even know?
“I want to punch his lights out,” Dean growled as he got up from his knees. 
Benny placed his hands on Dean’s chest stopping him, “Woah! Brotha, calm down.” Benny got his blue eyes to stare into Dean’s. “Why are you all bent out of shape about a girl you don’t know?”
“I know that when she goes back,” Dean‘s voice quaked and he shook his head. “She will be treated as nothing but a prize. They have this archaic notion to fight to see who marries her.” 
“Fuck,” Benny breathed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. And that  jackass…” Dean growled. “That douche bag with a low bun jackass, has the balls to call himself her friend when he’s nothing but her prison guard.” 
“You think I want this for her?” Dean heard from behind, finding Thasman with shaking fists and jaw set. “I want her to be happy. I want her to be with someone she loves. But the way things are back home, that can’t happen” Thasman said as he took in a shaky breath. “Marrying her is something I never planned until I found out what would happen when we grew up.”
“Yeah, because marrying someone you don’t love is great,” Dean argued. “And what are you going to do when she does find someone she loves? Keep her trapped? What if they want you to have kids?” Dean pointed out. “Would you put her through that? Would you force her?” 
Thasman snapped at the accusations. He took Dean by the collar of his shirt and held tight. “I would never do something like that.” He glared at Dean. “I’d rather be thrown to depths of the ocean than hurt Y/N by my own hand. When she finds someone she loves, I’m not going to be the one to stop her.” Thasman shook his head and licked his lips. “You don’t get it. You think you’re so good, that you’re going to be the one to free her. I’ve been studying our law for years in search of an option and I never found anything.” 
“I never said that,” Dean spat as he pushed back against Thasman, surprising the merman with his strength. Dean pinned Thasman against another car on the lot. “But I bet you never even been in love. I have. And trust me… It hurts when you’re betrayed. But it would have been worse If that love was never allowed to happen.” Dean pushed at Thasman again keeping the merman pinned. “I learned from being burned by love. But I can tell you this,” He licked his lips. “Y/N is special. Has this light inside her that…” Dean let out a huff. “It’s not something you keep locked up.” 
“I’ve seen it.” Thasman responded.
He decided he was done playing games with this human. 
Pushing back with more strength, Thasman got Dean stumbling back a few steps, and raised his hands in defeat. 
He glared. “I’ll see you at the beach tonight. Then we’ll talk.”
“I’ll be there,” Dean spat. “I’m not going to let you intimidate me from being away from Y/N. But I’m not going to get in the way of your friendship.” 
Thasman simply nodded, adjusted his bun,  and walked back to the garage. Dean closed his eyes and sighed. He was sure when Y/N found out, she was going to hate him. 
Back at the dinner, Y/N had proven she was a fast learner. She had followed Meg’s instructions perfectly and by the middle of the day was taking orders and the perfect waitress. Ellen smiled from behind the counter as she wiped it down for the next customer to sit at. 
“She’s not bad,” she muttered to herself as she watched Y/N go around the restaurant taking orders and delivering the food to the tables. 
“Where did you find her?” Meg asked as she leaned on the counter. “She’s good.” 
Ellen shrugged. “Around. She’s leaving in a few days and wanted to see where I worked.”
“That is a damn shame,” Meg sighed. “Could always use a second pair of hands here. With Jo off at college it’s been tough.” Meg looked into the kitchen and growled. “Damn it, Ash!” she called. “Get back to cooking the orders and stop staring at the new girl’s ass!”  
“Sorry!” the man exclaimed as he turned back to his stove.
Ellen almost joined in on the scolding, but was interrupted by the bell as another man entered the diner. She didn’t recognize him, so she assumed he was one of Dean’s friends.
The man headed to the counter, and gave her an awkward smile. 
“Hi,” he did a little wave, “I uh, I would like to take five of today’s special, please.”
“Coming right up, hon,” Ellen nodded. “Here or to go?”
The man’s eyes widened, remembering something. “Yes! To go please! I uh– I take it you’re Ellen? Bobby says hi.”
“That would be me. Tell’im I say hi too.” Ellen chuckled. 
“Will do,” the man nodded. His eyes wandered to the side, and Ellen saw his smile widened a little bit more as he gave another wave. “Hi, Meg.”
“Good to see you again, Clarence?” Meg said as she smiled at the man. “Good to see that you came back.” 
“The food is really good,” he conceded. “I was starting to miss it.”
“You sure it was the food you missed?” Meg flirted as she walked behind the counter to grab the food for her other customers. 
“Meg,” Ellen sighed. “Quit flirtin’ and get to workin’” 
Y/N walked up to the counter and smiled as she put in her order for one of the tables. She didn’t know the man but figured it would be polite to introduce herself. 
“Hello, I’m Y/N,” she said smiling at him. “Welcome!” 
“Y/N?” the man tilted his head. “You’re the Y/N Thasman and Dean keep talking about?”
“You know Thasman and Dean?” Y/N asked as she tilted her head. 
“I’m Castiel. I’m a friend of Dean’s. I’m helping him restore and open a garage?” 
“Castiel? I thought your name was Clarence?” She asked glaring at him slightly. Did he give Meg a false name?
“Meg likes to call me that for some reason,” he chuckled, then turned to look around, trying to get a look of said woman, “I don’t get it, but I’m starting to like it.”
Y/N nodded in understanding, “I see. Are you ordering food for everyone back at Bobby’s?” 
“Yeah. I’m thinking some food might improve everyone’s mood back there.” Cas gave a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. 
“Did something happen?” Y/N wondered as she looked at Cas who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. 
The man waved her off. “Just a little tension is all. Nothing a good meal can’t handle.”
“Okay,” Y/N said and smiled. “Will you tell them I said hi. And let Thasman know that I love working at Ellen’s Diner!” 
“I will.” Cas agreed with a nod. He was going to tease Dean relentlessly about how adorable Y/N was. 
“Here you go, Clarence,” Meg said as she brought out three containers and placed them on the counter in front of her. “The rest will be out in a minute. Come on, you’re not gonna get free food.”
“Y/N!” Ellen called. “You got more customers to attend to, hon. C’mon.”
“Coming, Ellen,” Y/N called back. She turned to Cas and smiled. “It was nice meeting you Castiel. I hope to see you again.” 
“I hope so too, Y/N.” Cas agreed and waved at her as she began to service more tables. 
Back at Bobby’s, tension was running thick between Thasman and Dean. One was helping Benny carry gallons of paint inside while the other was taking pictures of the wall with the mermaid. 
“I think I have a friend who can restore the paint on this, Bobby.” Dean said as he took one last picture of the slightly faded mermaid. 
“Yeah? Think they can bring her back to her glory days?” Bobby said as he began to examine the wall. 
Dean let out a small chuckle. “I’m sure they can, even sharpen out the details and make her come to life.”   
The old man gave a court nod, expressionless. “Good.”
“Everything okay, Bobby?” Dean asked as he noted the concerned look on the older man’s face. 
“I might need to have someone come look at the structure of the wall,” He sighed sadly.”I haven’t really done a good job maintaining this garage.”  
“The way things are looking, there’s a very small chance everything gets done by next week.” Dean admitted. “The place was starting to come down on you… I’m beginning to think a full renovation would be best. But that’s going to take longer. To get ourselves a crew and make sure everything is fine and dandy.”
“Balls!” Bobby exclaimed as he let out a huff. “I was hoping that wouldn’t happen. But I guess we have no other choice.” he grumbled. Walking up to the painting he let his fingers graze along the faded paint. 
“She’ll be there, Bobby,” Dean promised. “Your mermaid will be the first thing customers will see when they get in… or maybe she’ll look over us while we’re working on the cars. You pick.”
“I--” Bobby wasn’t sure what to say. 
He looked around and ran a hand across his face. He didn’t know if he could live with seeing the one thing that reminded him of his lost love being torn down.
“I need to think,” Bobby sighed as he turned and left the garage.  
“Ok.” Dean said as he frowned. Looking at the painting he took a few more pictures, making sure to try and capture the faded detail for his friend to restore. 
The look on Bobby’s face let him know that this was not just a painting to him. Looking to Benny he motioned for the blue-eyed Cajun to follow him. 
“Think Garth is up for lending us a few guys for the renovation?” He asked Benny. 
The Cajun shrugged. “I can ask.”
“Do it, then. The sooner we can start, the better. Hey, Thasman!” Dean called. “I know we’ve had you bringing heavy shit in here all day, but now we need to take it out.” He sighed as he gave the merman a sympathetic smile. “We’re going to have to build from the ground up.”
“Shaahii,” ( a term of frustration)Thasman cursed as he begrudgingly grabbed a few paint buckets and stomped out.
Dean turned to Benny once more, smiling sarcastically. “He so loves me.”
“I’m back, assbutts!” Castiel hollered. “And I have the food!”
“Thank god!” Dean exclaimed. 
“Bless you, Cas! You are a saint!” Benny said as he playfully kissed Cas’s cheek. 
“Yyt!” Thasman cried as he grabbed a container from Cas. 
The man tilted his head, “Bless you?”
“It means food in my language,” Thasman clarified and turned to find a secluded place to eat. 
Dean glared at Thasman as the merman walked out, “If it wasn't for Y/N,” he let out. “I’d punch his lights out.” 
“Speaking of the famous Y/N… I met her. Benny, I have so much to tell you. She is adorable!”
Dean had his mouth open about to take a bite of his burger. “You what?” 
“I met her! Turns out, Bobby’s friend, Ellen, owns a diner in town. Remember that place I mentioned the other night? Harvell’s?”
“Oh!” Benny exclaimed happily. “Cas! You have to tell me what she looked like. And did you say she is adorable?” Benny smiled ignoring Dean’s death glare. 
“She is!” Cas said as he gave a teasing smile. “But why is she with Dean? I mean she could do so much better.” 
“Shut up.” Dean grumbled.
“I think I might head over to this Dinner and ask for one of their desserts!” Benny said giving Cas a wink. “Gives me a chance to change Y/N’s mind about Dean.”
“Will you two give it a rest!” Dean growled. “It’s bad enough that the poor girl has to go back to some archaic ritual when she goes home to wherever they’re from. So can we just drop it!” Dean put down his burger and stormed off.   
Benny held up a hand to Cas and sighed, “I got him. He’s been having a tough couple of days. This Y/N girl must be special if he’s acting like this.” 
Cas nodded. “Yeah. I think so too...Go get’im, Benny.”
Benny gave Cas a pat on his shoulder before leaving the garage. 
“Dean!” Benny called as he caught up with his friend. “Dean, man, come on. I have never seen you get this riled up over someone.”  
“I just,” Dean huffed. “I feel this pull towards her Benny. I can’t explain it. I--” He ran a hand across his face. “When I first saw her at the grocery store my heart stopped.” he gave his friend a smile. “And I remember you told me that when you first met Andy, your heart raced and your palms got sweaty, right?” 
“They did…” Benny trailed off. 
“Benny, I swear,” Dean scoffed with a smile. “This girl is different. There is something about her and I--” he ran a hand across his face. “I want to do everything that I can to make sure she’s safe.” 
“Ok, you know what, Brother? I’m happy for you, I am.” Benny emphasized as he placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “ But you have enough on your plate already.” Benny reminded him.” We have the renovations going on, the issue with your father… the fact that she’s leaving in a few days really puts a damp in there. ”
“That’s the thing, Benny.” he sighed. “It doesn’t.”
“What?” Benny asked confused. “How could it not put a damper on things.” 
“Because with the small amount of time I have spent with her,” Dean let out a slight laugh. “I’ve felt happy. I’m with her and everything with my dad just melts away.” Dean tapped his knuckles on one of the beat up cars. “She… she helps to distract me from all the bullshit. I-- I also think it’s because she’s being put through the same bullshit I am in. She is being forced to do something she doesn’t want to do.”
“That’s great, D, it really is, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s got the whole marriage thing going on when she goes back.”
“I know I can’t help her run away from her situation,” Dean ran a hand across his face, voice dripping with frustration. “But if I can give her just one small ounce of happiness. Just one memory that she can hold on to--” he took in a shaky breath. “Then damn it I want to try.” 
Benny nodded in comprehension, smiling softly at him. “At least be careful, alright?”
“Let me call Garth and see how quickly he and Beth can get here to assess what needs to be done and restore the mermaid.” Dean sighed as he looked over at Bobby who seemed to be deep in thought. “Think naming the shop Singer Garage would be a good idea?” 
The man shrugged. “‘S not a bad idea, but let’s think of other options while we can.”
Both men began making calls and trying to work as quickly as possible. Neither noticed Ellen’s car making it’s way in with a Y/N who smiled brightly. The way she bounced towards Thasman caught Dean’s attention. His jaw tightened at the thought that the shine in her eyes and her smile would be suppressed by what would happen when she went back home. 
“Thasman!” she squealed. “I love working at Ellen’s diner! It was amazing and I made new friends! Oh and I brought you and Dean some pie!” she rambled. “Where is he?” 
Thasman frowned at the way Y/N seemed to smile when she spoke the human’s name. “Lli Bi over there.” (He is)  Thasman huffed as he took the container from Y/N and walked towards Bobby. 
Y/N tilted her head in confusion at Thasmans tone. He seemed angry. Did something happen between them? She found Dean and another man wedged between a row of what looked like abandoned metal death traps. The way they looked reminded Y/N of the shipwrecks back home. Making her way towards them. Y/N bit her lip as she smiled shyly at Dean. 
“Hi,” she greeted. 
Dean smiled at seeing her in front of him, “Hey. I heard you’re working at Ellen’s diner? How was your first day?” 
“It was amazing!” she squealed. “It was a rush of people and getting orders and putting food on customers tables!” she began to ramble about Meg and Ash and how Ellen would have to stop the bickering between them.
Dean couldn’t help but smile at the light that shone in her eyes over her new job. Even if it was just for a small while, she looked happy. He wished he could keep her happy, wished he could keep her with him. As he was looking at her, he couldn’t help but notice Thasman glaring at them. 
“Your prison guard isn’t too happy with you talking to me,” he sighed with a soft laugh. 
Y/N laughed at what Dean said, “He can be like a prison guard sometimes.” She agreed but looked back to see that Dean was right about Thasman’s demeanor. “Did something happen between you two?” 
“Guess you can say I found out he’s one of the guys who gets to fight to marry you,” Dean grumbled. “I wanted to try and be his friend. He said he didn’t trust me.” Dean ran his fingers through his hair. “And when I asked what I could do to earn his trust he called me a jellyfish and went on a tirade about how he’s tried to find was around your laws but -- I feel like he should try harder.” Dean scoffed. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not my place but… I am starting to care about you Y/N. There is something about you and I want to know you and be your friend and give you just a small bit of freedom.” 
“I brought you pie,” was all Y/N said as what had transpired sunk in. “I need to go.” 
“Y/N--” 
Before he could stop her, she raced back to Ellen’s car where the older woman was waiting. Dean watched as she sent a look to Thasman, who in turn looked at Dean with a glare. He wasn’t sure what she said, but it looked like Thasman would be in trouble.
Tumblr media
And that fellas, was chapter 14 :D Thank you so much to everyone who has liked, reblogged, commented and sent asks about the story. Every single one of you has made my day <3
Any and all types of feedback is greatly appreciated :D
My asks are open in case you wanna send feedback, have questions or wanna be added to the tag list :)
Call of the Ocean tag list: (if your username is in bold italics, that means tumblr didn’t let me tag you)
@67-chevy-baby @tmiships4life @cloudyskylines @chelsea072498 @carryon-doctor-lock @samanddeanwinchester67 @thatgirl1456 @satans-0-spawn @waywardrose13 @secretsthathauntus @parinarain @swagfancroissantpizza @roonyxx @roxytheimmortal @starryeyeseunbyul @rintheemolion @abeautifuldiaster124 @lovely-lynns-likes @ladyofmaidensandwine @starchildwild @peachyafshawn @idksupernatural @mimzy1994 @winchest09 @katehuntington @superfanficnatural @waywardbeanie @janicho88 @malfoysqueen14 @whatareyousearchingfordean @talesmaniac89 @emoryhemsworth @jensengirl83 @atc74 @deanwanddamons @crashdevlin @hobby27 @eliwinchester99 @notyourtypicalrose @babykalika2001 @deanmonandnegansbitch @kickingitwithkirk @sandlee44 @fandom-princess-forevermore @desertmoths @cookiechipdough​ @akshi8278 @theflamecrystal @tessellaneous @invisiblexnobodyximportant​ @supernatural-love14​ @itsdesiree86​ @teresa-67​ @beabutterfly987​ @sev3nruby​
Supernatural tag list
@bi-danvers0​
54 notes · View notes