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creaturecarnival · 4 years

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Hylics Part 2

Okay, first off, hello to our massive influx of new followers! We look forward to writing for you all, and want to give a huge thanks to the folks over at @weirdmarioenemies for being so gosh-darned cool :) Now I have something to actually motivate me to write more reviews, so without further ado, here’s part 2 of our Hylics creature review!

Creature

For our first new creature, we have, well… Creature! Creature here is an optional boss that you can encounter in one of the overworlds. It seems to be made almost entirely of the most basal of all clay shapes: balls and snakes (there is no way you could possibly take that out of context so don’t even try it)! I do love the layout of this thing, even if it’s very simple. I feel like the appeal of a giant mass of writhing tentacles is relatively universal, but I also like that the only feature Lindroth elected to give it other than tentacles is a little cluster of pale eyeballs on top and to the front(?) of its body. You’d kind of expect it to have some kind of big, gaping maw full of teeth, and maybe it does! Like a lot of the other denizens of Hylics, there’s not much to them other than whatever we can discern from their sprites, and I think that’s fun! When killed, Creature drops a Chitin Jerkin, which is described as “Sensible everyday-wear for the modern machine” as well as a Parasite Crystal which just does some stat buffing stuff we don’t need to talk about, I just really like the names.

Ghost

Ooh, they’re peekin atcha! Peekin out through their wacky flesh spirals! The way the clay winds around the action figure part really gives off the impression that it’s some kind of creature wrapped around a human, like a flech mesh flesh mesh flesh mech! Especially since there are tendrils coming off the extremities that look like they would function as essentially extensions of the body within. Speaking of those extensions, I love that instead of just one projection coming off of each foot, there’s two! So instead of walking like a regular person, it walks using its four sub-legs. Also it’s got a cool funny hat that I kind of wish came down over the eyes so that it looked like the clay part was the head, but at the same time the eyes peering through the clay bits is really eerie.

Dread Meat

Oh no, somebody left this boy out in the sun! They’ve gone all melty! Dread Meat is very similar to Ghost in its structure, however, its limbs do not have projections, and there is no trace of humanity to it beyond the hands and feet just barely emerging from what I can only imagine to be rolls of oozing meat. It feels like a zombie of some kind, although there is nothing else in the game that looks like it could be the un-undead version of this corpulent corpse. The thing I like most about its design is probably the fact that the head is a big loop with a grisled knot off to the right, presumably to hide the action figure head. It gives it some nice asymmetry.

Sub Shrub & Tomb Shrub

Oh my god. Adorable. These little green guys with huge lumpy wedges for heads and no discernible facial features should not be anywhere near as cute as they are. Also, I guess the name implies that these guys are plants? Anyway, Sub Shrubs can be encountered separate from Tomb Shrub, but they’re relatively weak on their own. But during the Tomb Shrub fight, it summons Sub Shrubs to help it out. Teamwork makes the dream work! I just love these little fellas! They look so squishy and silly! Also when he first encountered one, Vinny said the Sub Shrub looks like an “aborted pizza” and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Fathead

I was just thinking when I was writing Dread Meat’s review how fatty tissue isn’t something you see a lot in monster design, and here we’ve got this funky fella, whose head appears to be nothing but a massive glob of fatty tissue! I know there’s not much more to it than that, but it’s a nice concept for a creature and I like it a lot.

Monoops

Monoops’s gimmick seems to be its single eye… wait.

...Huh. I guess contrary to what the name would imply, Mono-ops has two eyes. That’s pretty neat actually! You don’t see many monsters with eyeballs as their design gimmick that have only two eyes. Usually, it’s either one or a whole bunch. It even has a move called Steady Stare that does damage as well as paralyzes its target, solidifying it as having an eyeball-centered design. I also really like the battle sprite’s color scheme.

Deadly Statue

Occupying a very similar role to the Ambulant Skulls, which you can read about in our last review of Hylics, Deadly Statues are only found in one area of the game. Similar to Ambulant Skulls, they kill you when you touch them, making them a purely overworld enemy. They are also much faster than Ambulant Skulls, matching the speed of the player exactly. Who'da thunk a big ‘ol statue’d be faster’n a skull made half’a legs?? Not me, that’s for darn tootin’! Anyway, I quite like its design. If I were an eccentric millionaire, this is exactly the kind of shit I would want sitting in the main foyer, flanked on either side by two huge, sweeping staircases of course.

Clawman

Clawman is the second-to-last boss in the game, they are equipped with two big yellow pincers and a ridiculously enormous head. I feel like the name and inclusion of pincers really makes you want to read it as a crab when really, the claws are the only vaguely crab-like feature they possess. You could argue that those spines on top are reminiscent to those of a king crab, but they’re flexible and curl inward towards each other like claws! That’s such a cute little touch!

Moon Soldier

Moon Soldiers barely qualify as enemies, since they literally can’t harm you, crumpling into a heap of bloody bones the moment you touch them. However, I think they’re really cool looking so we’re gonna take a look at ‘em anyway, god dammit. They guard the palace on the moon in which the final boss resides. It’s interesting how their heads are shaped much like that of our protagonist Wayne, (maybe they’re even the same species?) and the pale blueish color of the head against the cream of the clothes is really nice to look at. I kind of wonder if those are helmets they’re wearing, since the skull-like face markings almost look artificial, but there seems to be a very thin line between organic and synthetic in Hylics.

Gibby & Statues

Gibby is the main antagonist, and therefore the antithesis to our protagonist Wayne, who is a waning crescent instead of a waxing gibbous like Gibby, and instead of having a rad mohawk has no hair at all, which is basically the antithesis of having a rad mohawk. Gibby is, like, the king of the moon or something? I dunno, the plot in this game is kind of impossible to follow. If you’ve made it to the final boss, you’ve probably given up on trying to understand anything and are just here to see whatever batshit nonsense thing happens next. If you thought Clawman’s head was ridiculously huge, get a load of this guy! It looks like he can barely support its weight! How is it simultaneously swollen and gaunt? I dunno, but it’s kind of legitimately unsettling to be honest. It looks like his skin is pulled super taut over his face, almost like a desiccated corpse.

He also has two statues that aid him in battle. The Vital Statue to his right heals him, and the Eerie Statue to his left can afflict the protagonists with the nausea status effect. Can I just say how cool it is that there are four separate enemies in this game that have “statue” in their name, and they all look completely different? It’s really neat to see a single idea represented in so many different ways, ranging from somewhat recognizable to completely abstract. Most importantly, I think they’d all look lovely in the foyer of my imaginary mansion.

Conclusion

Hylics is a hell of an experience. It definitely has its flaws, such as clunky controls and practically nonexistent plot, but it’s at least worth watching someone play. The visuals are truly stunning, and you can really tell how much love went into making it. A huge portion of what you see in-game was painstakingly crafted from clay, rendered as a sprite, and worked into the game to become characters, enemies, and even the settings you walk around in. Please follow Mason Lindroth on Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram, where he is currently posting updates on the progress of Hylics 2, which looks absolutely gorgeous judging by what he’s shown us so far, and I’m so excited to play it when it’s done. Please also consider donating to his gofundme page to support him in his development of Hylics 2.

#mod frankie #hylics #mason lindroth

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bookmawkish · 6 years

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An easy day, part 4

@worldoftherandom and Yasssssss

HE HAD IT COMING

HE ONLY HAD HIMSELF TO BLAME

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

All the Loki/Heckyl stuff

To be fair to Loki, he’s already kicking ass like it’s going out of fashion: keeping Arcanon busy. Three simulacra Lokis, all acting independently? No problem. Some illusory flame to startle and turn his opponent? Barely a challenge. And that’s even before they get to the melee weapons - Tony has to wonder where the hell it is Loki keeps all those daggers. It just doesn’t seem plausible that there are that many pockets in the leather bodysuit.

But it’s not a one-sided fight, because Arcanon is a bastard of a hitter, and a glancing laser beam catches the real Loki across the face, making him gasp, breaking his concentration. The illusions all vanish, and a follow-up with a massive hand effectively slings Loki upwards and backwards until he crashes unceremoniously through the plate-glass window of the office block behind him.

At this unwelcome development, Heckyl abruptly appears out of nowhere (ha, magical cloaking, Tony totally called it) about a foot to Steve’s left and jumps at Arcanon like a rabid leopard. Straight for the throat. White-hot energy leaps from his hands, channeling straight down into the monster’s neck, lighting him up just as Clint’s arrows did minutes before. Tony can smell the burning, the heat of it. In combination with the oddly spiced-firework smell of Loki’s magic still hanging in the air, it’s overpowering.

“Heckyl,” says Arcanon, seemingly greatly pleased, despite the furious onslaught of power that’s making him stagger. “There you are.” And he brings his big clawed hands up, starts to wrestle, trying to wrench his attacker loose. Heckyl just up and roars right into that mask-like face and doesn’t let go, though he’s being thrown around like a ragdoll. Tony winces. Yeah, that’s the sound of personal right there. This is a grudge match. Heckyl may have the general demeanour of an effete Victorian geek, but he’s evidently just as capable of going primal-crazy as Bruce when someone pushes his buttons. And by the looks of it, he’s just about mad enough right now to forget that he’s horribly outmatched.

Only a matter of time, and he’s gonna get flattened. Oh hell no. And with Loki still out of the game after being thrown into the third floor of the office across the street, there’s no time like the present for the cavalry. Tony takes careful aim, gives Arcanon everything he’s got right in the flank. Steve goes for the legs in a beautiful baseball slide, kicking out at the red swathe of skirt to impact the shins. From above, another four arrows slip perfectly home, finding the shoulder and elbow and beeping cheerfully as they gear up to explode. Every fresh detonation drives Arcanon’s limbs back, pushing him off-balance, until between this and the continual pounding of Steve’s size thirteens on his legs, the monster is driven to his knees with Heckyl dragged along with him, still pouring all the lightning he’s got into Arcanon’s body.

And yet still, still, still it doesn’t seem to be enough: Heckyl’s strength is ebbing. He’s burning through his power too hard and too fast, and it’s not sustainable. The energy flow is starting to stutter and spit despite his obvious and overriding desire to kill his target: he’s plainly and simply running out of juice. The scream of pure, helpless rage he makes when Arcanon manages to get a grip on his throat and yank him away makes Tony grit his teeth. Arcanon is laughing now: he holds Heckyl struggling at arm’s length, with Heckyl writhing and striking at him the whole while like a trapped snake, and shakes him.

“You are weak,” Arcanon says, but Tony notices that although he’s making an obvious show of manhandling Heckyl, Arcanon’s not getting up off the floor. Huh. Maybe they’re not the only weak ones here. He catches Steve’s eye and nods at what he sees there. Yes. About now would be a good time. “You always were weak. Snide was the best part of you.”

This is evidently a very sore point, because Heckyl goes completely wild in Arcanon’s grip, thrashing and kicking and biting like a lunatic, while Arcanon continues to laugh at him.

“In my experience it’s always the bullies who turn out the weakest,” says Steve, in his best proclaiming voice (the one he pulls out specially for elementary school drug talks and when he’s on TV), Arcanon turns his immobile face in Steve’s direction, and then it’s on. Clint goes for a twofer in the monster’s back - he seems to be out of special arrows but hey, the regular kind are still really going to hurt - and Steve seems to have decided that he really hasn’t done enough punching today. Those big all-American fists of vengeance are definitely hitting home. Tony settles for taking to the air and coming down with both feet (did he mention that the repulsors are still fully firing? Ouch) onto Arcanon’s shoulders.

All of this unexpected backup for Heckyl seems to be enough to convince Arcanon to let go, and Heckyl drops to the ground. The alien rolls, snarling out what just have to be curse words in a language that definitely isn’t from this planet, then gets up with Loki’s fallen knives in each hand. Uh-oh. The underdog just got game, thinks Tony, pushing off from Arcanon’s attack and cruising upwards to avoid being lasered. He remembers with clarity the tone of Heckyl’s voice at the mention of Arcanon’s name, and he sees the look in the man’s eyes now: cold and glittering and alight with the growing promise of final satisfaction.

Tony has seen Heckyl look clownish, sarcastic, playful and vindictive before, but this is different to all of the rest. This feels dangerous. Flip the coin, because it’s all games and flirting and silly rainbows on one side - all storms and blood and death on the other.

It’s...well, damn, it’s actually scary.

Arcanon is on the street, struggling to rise, full of arrows.

“Okay,” Tony murmurs to himself, in the privacy of the suit. “Okay. I promised. You get your wish.” He darts down, past Steve, seeing on the readout display the green blip of Loki getting back in the fight. Good. Knew it would take more than blowing backward through a few layers of breezeblocks and glass to keep Ol’ Snake-eyes down, especially with his precious cuddlebunny being in jeopardy and all. “Time out! Everybody back off, stand down. Except you, Goggles, you got this. Take him out.”

He hears Clint’s agreement almost immediately: Steve looks quickly to Heckyl and evidently sees the same evidence of incoming slaughter that Tony did. Steve is a good person. When Steve kills it’s because there really isn’t any other option, and the other guy will have already doomed himself through his own choices. Steve is uncomfortable with backing off at this point, because it feels too much like endorsing murder. But he doesn’t do anything.

And Heckyl, moving almost like a sleepwalker, bends to Arcanon’s side and plunges both the daggers into his neck. One each side, into the gap just below the two lowest masks. A last flare of reserved power lights the blades up bright blue, conducting through and dealing the final blow right up and into the monster’s brain. Arcanon convulses like a beheaded fish on the griddle, those static mask-faces seeming almost to move, contort into expressions of agony as the flickering play of light across them makes the shadows dance.

It takes an uncomfortably long time for the thrashing to stop. But it eventually does, and once they’re all as sure as they can be that the invader is properly dead, Tony, Clint and Steve move in, up to where Loki is standing at a respectful distance from the little tableau of slayer and slain. Even Loki hadn’t tried to get a shot in, Tony thinks. This was Heckyl’s job to do. And he’s done it in spades.

The man in question looks up when Loki murmurs his name, gently, with love. His expression is quite unreadable: an odd, uncertain mixture of joy and confusion and loss all in one.

“I - I was expecting him to just...disappear,” he manages, eventually, and Loki reaches out, pulls him to his feet, pulling him away from the very-obviously-not-vanished corpse.

“Nah, not around here, buddy,” says Tony, thinking back to that unnervingly perfect suburbia that Heckyl had once lived in. “It’s not nice and neat here. Not ever. No poof of fairy dust and a shower of sparks and then gone. Just a whole load of mess.” He shakes his head. “Always so goddamn messy.”

He clocks the protective set of Loki’s shoulders - hell, why can’t someone look out for him like that? - and feels the aches in his own body starting to tell. Jeez, but he’s getting too old for this. “Come on. Fury’s cleaning ladies will be along any minute and I’d rather not have to answer any awkward questions until I’ve had a shower, a shave and a...shawarma.”

“I’ll do it,” says Steve, unhesitating. “I’ll stay.” He smiles briefly, dazzlingly, in that incredibly reassuring and handsome way that always makes Tony want to puke a little. “Pick up the paperwork.” He turns the full force of the Approving Alpha Male Role Model Look on Heckyl. “Good job out there,” he says, and Tony fancies he sees Heckyl relax, just a little.

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luci-in-trenchcoats · 7 years

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World’s Best Dad (Part 8)

Summary: The reader spends the day with Gracie before having an important conversation with Dean regarding their relationship...

World’s Best Dad Masterlist

Pairing: single parent!Dean x kindergarten teacher!reader

Word Count: 4,400ish

Warnings: language

A/N: I want a cuddly Dean...

You woke up with Dean’s arm draped over your back, both of you sleeping on your stomachs, his tee the perfect pajamas you’d discovered over the course of the summer. His room was a little hot for end of August though and you turned over to see Gracie tucked in on your other side, explaining the extra heat.

“Storm,” you mumbled, half-remembering her waking you up when Dean was passed out if she could stay with you. You blinked a few times, noticing that Gracie had her arms spread out, one over top of you as you realized you weren’t going anywhere trapped by the Winchesters like that.

You fell back asleep for what was only half an hour, waking up to an empty bed, Dean walking out of the bathroom with only a towel on and Gracie running around downstairs from the sound of it.

“Good morning,” he said, giving you a smile as he pulled out a plain shirt and pair of shorts. “We had a visitor last night I saw.”

“What’s with her fear of storms?” you asked. “She’s fine during the day but at night...”

“I can’t be positive but I was working a job about a year ago. Always got done at midnight, weekends, ton of overtime...I barely saw her for two months. I always promised her though that I’d come in and say goodnight. Well, one night it stormed and I was pretty late and Sam must have seemed worried because now every time there’s a bad thunderstorm in the middle of the night, she wants to be in here with me,” said Dean, pulling his shirt on.

“Should we try to get her out of that habit?” you asked. “Maybe next time she can just check on you but she goes and sleeps in her own bed?”

“I was thinking about trying to wean her out of it but that sounds better in the long run. I don’t want her to be scared over something like that,” said Dean, reaching into another drawer to grab a pair of boxers.

“Just snakes like you?” you asked, cocking your head with a smirk. “The great hose incident of 2017 will never be forgotten, Dean.”

“Hey, you said there were no snakes up at that camp!” said Dean, waving a finger at you.

“It was a harmless little garden snake, smaller than your foot,” you said. “Gracie picked it up no problem while you hopped on the hood of Baby to hide...like a baby.”

“I will stop taking care of bugs for you,” warned Dean, your face turning into a pout. “Good girl.”

“I wish we didn’t have to go back to work next week,” you said, sitting up in bed before plopping back down again. “I like being lazy in pajamas all day.”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” said Dean, walking over and pulling on your arms to sit up. “You sure you’re okay to take Gracie today? I got to fill out some paperwork and everything with Benny, get shown around a little.”

“We’ve been looking forward to our girls day all week. No boys allowed,” you said, stretching as Dean planted a kiss on you. “You’re on dinner duty though.”

“Well I was promised a pie by the two cutest bakers I know so I call that a fair trade,” said Dean, tugging on you to get to your feet with a devious smile. “Hey you know I think I want to wear that shirt...mind taking it off?”

“In your dreams, Winchester,” you said, getting a chuckle from him as you walked past and into the bathroom. You slipped out of it behind the door before peaking your head out to catch him pulling his belt through the loops. You tossed the shirt at the back of his head and caught his smirk when he spun around. “There’s your shirt babe.”

“Fucking tease...” he said shaking his head. “You’ll pay for that tonight.”

“I hope so,” you said with a wink before making your face soft. “Dean, if the garage turns out to be something you don’t like or if the hours aren’t as good as you thought...don’t take it. I want you to be happy.”

“Hey,” he said, stepping close to the door but not looking around it. “I like working on cars and it’s Benny. What’d you call him? A big ole southern teddy bear? He’ll set me up good.”

“I know, I just...worry about you,” you said, Dean giving you a tiny smile, your cheeks flushing a sliver. “Shut up. Go sign your stuff.”

“Love you,” he said, grabbing his wallet and phone, heading out the door.

“Love you back.”

“Y/N, did Daddy ask you yet?” asked Gracie from where she sat in your lap, the two of you watching the third Harry Potter movie for the second time that day. You glanced down from where you were laying across the couch and she tilted her head back with a smile. “He said he’d do it today.”

“No, he hasn’t munchkin,” you said, ruffling her hair. “I’m sure whatever it is, we’ll talk about when he gets home.”

“He promised he would,” she said, laying her head down on you, turning her attention back to the movie.

“He will,” you said, feeling the tension in her little body. “Did you and your dad get the fourth book yet?”

“Nope. He said we’d go last week but we went to camp again instead. That’s okay, I really like camp,” she said. You were pretty sure the Winchesters fell in love with the place after that first day, almost every other week of the summer spent up there, Sam coming up on occasion along with Dean’s parents once.

“What’s your favorite part about camp?” you asked, clicking off the TV and sitting up with her, putting her on the ground as you waved her to follow after you.

“The marshmallows,” she said, a big laugh escape you. “Daddy lets me go swimming without my jacket now.”

“Well you swam everyday and got really good. Not to mention you grew about a foot over the past two months,” you teased, a little pout on her face as you kicked on a pair of flip flops, Gracie taking the cue that you two were going out and pulling on her sneakers.

“I did not! Only two inches,” she said, running over to the hall closet and opening it up, the inside marked with where Dean had gotten in the habit of measuring her every few weeks.

“Two inches more than I grew,” you said, grabbing your purse and throwing it over your shoulder, glancing around to make sure nothing was on that wasn’t supposed to be. You held out your hand for her and she took it as you went outside and locked up the house with the key Dean gave you a while back.

“I’m going to be as tall as Daddy,” she said, another big laugh escaping you. “Why not?”

“You might be,” you said. “Girls normally aren’t as tall as boys though. Except when you’re little. Then the girls are taller.”

“Cool. We’re taller first,” she said, skipping down the front steps with you over to your car. She got in the back and you waited to hear her buckle herself in her car seat Dean shoved in there earlier for you, giving her a thumbs up and backing out. “Are we going to get ice cream?”

“No munchkin. Maybe after dinner we can take your dad and go get some,” you said. “We’re going to the bookstore.”

“Oh,” she said. Her indifference made you curious given how much she loved reading but you didn’t bring it up again until you were walking into the store, heading over to the kids section and finding a copy of the fourth book.

“Gracie,” you said. “Do you not like Harry Potter anymore?”

“No I love it,” she said, reaching up and taking the book from you. “But I want to read big kid books.”

“Alright,” you said, looking at the age labels and walking past the five year olds and straight for the seven year olds. “Do you like adventure stories?”

“Yeah,” she said, you’re gaze wandering over to the eight year olds.

“Alright, these three shelves have these really cool books I read as a kid where a brother and sister go to all these places in their treehouse. It’s pretty neat,” you said. Gracie started going through the thirty or so, pulling them out one at a time as you watched, finding that she didn’t always pick the ones with the prettiest covers. You grabbed a book from the eight year old section, knowing that’d be challenging for her but if she started to fly through the other books, she’d want more.

“Um, I like these ones,” she said, holding up a stack of ten books. “Is it too many?”

“You can never have too many books,” you said, grabbing them from her and the Harry Potter one, adding to the one you had in your hand before deciding a basket was better. You put everything in there and Gracie was right on your heels as you wandered over to books more appropriate for you, Gracie’s head spinning every which way.

“There’s so many over here,” she said. “How do you pick?”

“Well, sometimes I know which ones I’m looking for and others, I just pick them up and read the description to see if it seems like something I want to read,” you said, grabbing one that looked new from one of your favorite authors.

“It took so long to write stories in school. They must spend their whole life writing a book that big!” she said. You laughed and remembered when three sentences seemed like the end of the world to you.

“Oh, they practiced a lot. I want to grab one more thing,” you said, swinging back to the kids section and grabbing a prompt book for kids. “In case you ever want to practice. You make up great stories all the time. Writing them down is the hard part.”

“I’m not good at spelling,” she said, glancing down that same way Dean did we he got shy.

“In Mr. Colt’s class, you’ll get a lot of practice and you’ll be as good as Dean and me in no time,” you said. “Anything else you want to look at?”

“Can we just look around? Daddy never shows me the grownup stuff,” she said.

“Sure thing munchkin.”

You were three chapters into your book, Gracie on the other end of the couch with her nose stuck in one, when you heard Dean come home around seven that night.

“Sorry I’m late guys. Benny wanted to have a happy hour,” said Dean, kicking the door shut. “I brought takeout from that Mexican place we went two weeks ago.”

“Uh huh,” you said, hearing Gracie echo the same sentiment. Dean laughed as you heard him kick off his boots and walk over, looking over the couch at the two of you laying there.

“Ah, my girls are reading,” said Dean, ruffling Gracie’s head and then your own on the way to the kitchen. “Come eat while it’s hot.”

“One more minute,” said Gracie, your gaze flicking to the next page. You heard Dean walk to the kitchen and put the food out on the table, coming back as you read over the last page of your chapter. You’d just finished and shut your book when Dean’s hand in your hair made you tilt your head back.

“You finished first so I guess you get the surprise,” he said, a grin over those cheeks that you recognized immediately. You barely had the chance to make a run for it before you felt Dean bend down and wrap an arm around your waist, the other one over your hips as he lifted you off the couch.

“Dean!” you said, swatting at his arm as he gave Gracie a head nod.

“You’re next munchkin,” said Dean, carrying you down the hall and plopping you in your seat at the table, giving you a wink when you were alone. “I haven’t forgotten about this morning’s sass.”

“Go torture your daughter,” you said, smacking him in the ass on his way to grab her. “Whoops.”

“I’ll give you one right back sweetheart, don’t worry about that,” said Dean, moving down the hall, back a minute later with Gracie under his arm, the sexy smile replaced with a soft one. “How was your girls day, Gracie? You have fun with Y/N?”

“Yeah, she’s better than you,” she said. You saw Dean laugh and heard a giggle from her but your face dropped and Dean’s soon followed when he saw you didn’t get the joke. He kept the conversation focused on her throughout dinner but you knew he wanted to talk when you were alone.

“Sweetheart?” asked Dean when he crawled into bed a few hours later. You put your book down and shifted away from him, Dean’s hand shooting out for yours. “Can we talk?”

“I didn’t think she’d say that. She loves you so much and it just threw me. I don’t...I never want to come between you guys, ever, not in a million years. I just-”

“Y/N. You’re worried because she loves you?” asked Dean, not laughing like you were expecting. “This isn’t a competition.”

“Well if it was, she should love you more. I know it was a joke but I don’t think she-”

“Come here,” said Dean, sliding over to your side of the bed, pulling you into his side, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, fingers dancing on your arm. “You’re doing this more lately, becoming scared of my five year old. I thought you were badass, Y/N.”

“It’s getting harder to...I just want her to be happy and you to be happy, that’s all I want,” you said, turning your head away from Dean, his fingers on your cheek turning you back.

“We want you to be happy too, Y/N. Tell me what’s wrong,” he said. You shrugged and you felt him sigh. “I’m not dropping this.”

“I don’t know how I fit here. I’m not the brand new girlfriend anymore. It’s been three months and you’re both amazing but I’m just nervous I’m getting in the way of things and that you won’t like that,” you said, Dean tilting his head before giving you a sad smile.

“I don’t like that you feel like you’re an intrusion because you are the exact opposite. We want you around. I want you and Gracie to be able to have days without me. I love seeing my girls together,” he said, tucking a piece of stray hair behind your ear. “I promise.”

“I know,” you said, slouching down into him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’ve been getting like this the past couple days. Must be back to work blues or something.”

“It’s nothing to do with what she said a few days ago? When she said...” trailed off Dean.

“She said she didn’t want me go play outside with you guys, that it was her and daddy only. Maybe that had something to do with it,” you said, Dean shaking a little, a laugh slipping out his lips when you titled your head up. “What?”

“I think it’s my fault you’re feeling like this but hopefully I can make it up to you,” he said. “I may have talked to her about something and asked her to keep it a secret from you.”

“What?” you asked, Dean looking around the room before back at you.

“Would you like to move in? Permanently? You barely spend time at your apartment apart from checking your mail and grabbing clothes. I’d really like it. Gracie’s been bouncing off the wall ever since I asked her she wants you to so bad. You can think about it if you want,” said Dean, a smile on that hid the nervousness well.

“Moving in is getting serious,” you said, Dean opening his mouth but your lips landing on his cutting him off. You gave him a short but sweet kiss and pulled back with a smile. “I’d love to.”

“That’s great,” he said, a silly smile on his face as his cheeks grew pink. “You have no idea how happy I am you said yes.”

“I think I have an idea,” you said, easing up now that you knew you’d misinterpreted Gracie. “Oh, speaking of ideas, I could totally bring Gracie to school in the mornings if you want. The bus doesn’t come straight to the first graders houses and you won’t have to worry about her going to the stop alone or rush in the mornings.”

“We’re going to spoil that kid rotten,” said Dean, scooting to lay down in the bed. “I think that’s a great idea. It’ll give us more time for breakfast for one.“

“You and your freaking breakfast food,” you said. “I swear I’m going to regret asking John how to make a pandog.”

“You know how to make a pandog! He won’t even tell me!” said Dean, sitting upright like someone had told him the house was on fire.

“I’m special,” you said, Dean licking his lips. “I will make you them on occasion as a treat. Deal?”

“Can tomorrow be a special occasion?” he asked.

“Duh. A girl only moves in with her boyfriend once.”

Two Days Later

“Y/N, that’s it?” asked Sam, looking around your apartment. “We barely took anything.”

“It came furnished. I never needed much,” you said, doing one last check of the place and locking up. “I’m going to drop off the key at the front office and then we can head back to Dean’s.”

“You mean your new place,” said Sam, walking with you to the office. “So...how much is breaking your lease costing you?”

“It ran out end of October so I got three months to pay,” you said, Sam wincing. “It’s not that bad.”

“Before you fork over the money, let me read through your lease,” he said, your eyebrows furrowing. “I am a lawyer ya know. I might be able to save you some money if they’re trying to con you.”

“Alright, go for it,” you said, wondering how that conversation would go.

Two hours later you were shaking your head as you and Sam walked back to his truck, a big smile on his face.

“Glad I came now?” he asked.

“Bastards tried to rip me off,” you said. “Bylaw 12-45.62 bullshit. Thanks for having my back, Sam.”

“What’s family for?” he asked, giving you a smile as your head cocked. “We got to have a talk or what?”

“Last time I had a talk with a Winchester I moved into his house,” you said, Sam chuckling, leaning against the side of his truck. “What’s up?”

“You know this is a big deal for him. Shit, I wanted to throw him a party when he told me he had a date, let alone once I knew he had a girlfriend. Moving in is...for a guy with walls he sure doesn’t act like it lately,” said Sam.

“Sam, what’s-”

“I love Gracie to death. I just wish you’d been around from the start. He got low, real low. I used to worry about him. I still do but not like that anymore,” said Sam.

“You know, you’ve said it before, your parents, hell even Gracie knew Dean wasn’t happy. I didn’t do anything but go on a couple dates and then he got hurt. Dean was the one taking care of me just a few nights ago,” you said, crossing your arms. “I really don’t deserve whatever praise thing you guys got going on.”

“Did I ever tell you I was engaged?” asked Sam, your head shaking. “In college. Beautiful, smart, funny. Tall. It was like she was made for me.”

“Did you guys break up?” you asked, Sam giving a slight shake of his head.

“Fire in our apartment one night when I wasn’t home. I nearly lost my mind. Only reason I didn’t was because Dean was there for me. He came from Kansas to California for four years and moved in with me, made sure I was okay. He gave up his whole life in a flash to make sure I wasn’t going to do something stupid. He got me through it, he did, and I know Jess was the one for me but he told me that there can be another one. I just haven’t found her yet and Dean reminded me life wasn’t over at 22. Sometimes...you just need a person there, someone who says the right thing or just sits with you for four hours not saying a word. You don’t have to do anything. I don’t know why but you’re that person for him and I’m so fucking happy for all three of you,” said Sam.

“For a little brother you make a good big one,” you said, Sam ruffling your head. “I meant-”

“I know what you meant dork,” said Sam. “Now get in so we can head back before Dean starts calling hospitals wondering where we are.”

Twenty minutes later you were puling into the driveway, Gracie playing with some chalk while Dean sipped on a beer from the front step. You gave him a smile and he walked over, helping bring in the last few boxes.

“That’s it?” asked Dean as you started to open up a box of clothes to hang in Dean’s mostly empty walk in closet. “Officially a resident of 407 Hunter’s Drive?”

“Yup. Too late to change your mind,” you said. “Not that you ever would. I mean, I’m freaking awesome.”

“You’re so modest,” said Dean, walking over and picking you up, spinning you around the room. “Put away your stuff later. Pizza and beer time. Quintessential moving day eating. No excuses.”

“Also known as Friday night around here,” you said, pecking a quick kiss to his lips. “Thanks...for asking me to stay.”

“Just between you and me,” he said, setting you down, pretending to look around. “I have a little bit of a crush on you.”

“Is that so?” you asked. “The feeling is mutual, just between us of course.”

“Of course,” he said, pulling you down onto the bed with him. He moved his lips to yours and roamed his hand up to your cheek to cup it, a giggle escaping you. “I’m trying to make out with you here. Some team effort would be appreciated.”

“Dean, we just made out this morning. You can keep it together until later,” you said. “I’ve got a pizza to order after all.”

“Fine but when you’re done, you get your little butt right back here. Sam’s playing with Gracie. They won’t miss us for ten minutes,” said Dean, barely letting you out of his grip to grab your phone.

“What’s got you in the mood?” you asked, dialing fast. You were only on the phone a minute, Dean already rolling over top of you when you finished. “Dean!”

“This was always my bed. Now it’s our bed. I’ve never made out with you in our bed before sweetheart,” said Dean, his hand finding the back of your head.

“You are such a sap sometimes and I love it,” you said, brushing your lips against his. “You got ten minutes before we need to grab the pizza.”

“Plenty of time.”

“Y/N,” you heard Gracie whine, your body shooting upright in your dark bedroom. Dean was passed out to the world, one leg kicked out from under the covers. You looked around and didn’t see her in there, no storms tonight as you got out of bed and went down the hall to her room. She was curled up in bed, her arms wrapped tight around her teddy bear, staring at her closet.

“Hey munchkin,” you said sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a monster in my closet,” she said, glancing at you. You walked over and sat on the side of her bed, running a hand over her head.

“Did you have a nightmare, Gracie?” you asked. She shook her head no which surprised you. She’d never pretended not to before. “Well there’s no monsters in your closet.”

“But I saw it,” she said. You sighed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I did.”

“I’m going to show you there isn’t and then you’re going back to bed, alright?” you said. She nodded her head and you walked over to the closed door, opening it up and flipping on the light. It was empty apart from her clothes and some toys. “See Gracie?”

“Maybe it went under the bed?” she asked as you shut the closet back up. You got down on your knees and looked under, more toys shoved under there.

“Where did you see this monster Gracie?” you asked.

“I didn’t see it exactly. I heard it in the hall,” she said.

“Oh,” you said. Dean had gone down and grabbed a carton of ice cream for the two of you while you binged some TV. You nearly smacked yourself in the face when you remember you were watching zombies earlier. “Dean got up when we were watching TV. There’s no monsters munchkin. They aren’t real.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. You nodded and tucked her back in, giving her a quick kiss goodnight. “Y/N?”

“What is it Gracie?” you asked. She stopped, that hesitant look you sometimes saw on Dean’s face all over hers. “You can tell me anything, you know that.”

“Are you going to stay here?” she asked.

“Well I hope so. I live here with your daddy and you now. He talked to you about it to make sure you were okay with it,” you said, lingering in her doorway. “Did you change your mind?”

“I don’t want you to go away. I don’t want Daddy to be sad again,” she said.

“I’m not going anywhere munchkin,” you said. “Get some sleep.”

When you got back in bed Dean had shifted, throwing his arm over you.

“Something wrong?” he mumbled. You shook your head and curled into him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you said.

“Perfect,” said Dean, nodding against the back of your neck. He hummed and you felt his breath even out fast, snoring lightly against your back where his face was buried.

“Night Dean.”

A/N: Read part 9 here!

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