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magicstormfrostfire · 4 months

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A fanfic draft that Ive had on the backburner since like 2020 because the scope I have for it is SO LARGE and disorganized that I literally haven't even touched refining its conception. However, I do like what I started so far, so I thought I'd share. The fic is intended to be 18+ if I ever started writing it, but this first chapter is not.

Characters: Sonic, Silver, Amy Rose, Blaze (hinted Blazamy)

Romance/Drama/Mystery

If You Seek Amy

"C'mon, just hear me out about this!"

"Absolutely not. I already told you, Sonic, I'm not taking any more recommendations from you."

"But he really needs a job! Besides, you haven't even met him!"

Amy whipped around quickly, teal eyes narrowing on the blue hedgehog.

"The last time I met a guy you suggested to me, it nearly ran my business into the ground." She dusted off her skirt and moved toward her desk, sitting heavily into the swivel office chair behind it.

"What makes this guy any different, huh?"

Sonic flashed the woman a knowing smile.

"Trust me, he has exactly what you're lookin' for, Ames."

"Oh?"

"Yup. He's a little inexperienced but I think he can do the job no problem. Plus he's a real cutie, ya know?"

Polished pink nails drummed on the desk as Amy stared out the window deep in thought. They were slowly getting back old clientele after the mess she had to clean up, but they were still in need of new workers…

"Fine. I'll see him. But this isn't a guarantee so--"

"Sweet! Wait right here, I'll go get him." In a flash Sonic was out the door, causing a few very important papers to swirl from Amy's desk. Irritated, she rose from her chair and crouched to pick them up.

"Chaos, he seriously needs to stop doing that…"

"Don't trouble yourself." A voice called from the doorway. Amy glanced up, relieved to see a familiar purple cat kneeling down in front of her.

"I can get those for you. You sound rather troubled…"

"Thanks. I'm so glad you're back, Blaze. You're just in time to meet Sonic's friend that he wants me to hire."

The other woman blinked, concerned.

"And...what is this new person like?"

"He went to go get them, I haven't seen him yet. Be prepared to kick the guy out if he steps out of line though."

Blaze nodded, her yellow eyes glinting expectantly as she handed the papers over.

"Consider it done, Miss Amy."

The pink hedgehog gathered the fallen files into a stack and placed them neatly on her desk. In truth, she really hoped that this guy Sonic suggested was someone she could use in her business. So far, Amy had little luck finding new workers now that her establishment's reputation was put into question. She smoothed out her white skirt again anxiously, hoping that this meeting was actually worth her time.

Blaze came up behind her, a delicate hand placed on her back.

"You're doing that thing where you stress yourself out again, aren't you?"

"Sorry. I just don't want this guy to be a disappointment. We really need people."

"This is true, but try not to worry so much about it. You've worked hard to make this place a respectable establishment in the past. We've come so far, and we can do it again, yes?"

Amy turned to face her, teal eyes softening on Blaze with a thankful smile.

"You're absolutely right. I promise I'll try to calm down and really give it my all."

"You always do."

A sudden knock on the door drew their attention and right away Amy knew that something was unusual about it. Sonic hardly ever knocked before he came in, so it had to be the person he brought to meet her.

"The door is open, come in."

"Ah...okay. Uh…"

"Oh." Amy blinked.

This was someone she could definitely work with.

The visitor was another hedgehog with cloudy white fur and a plume of front quills on his head. His muzzle was a pale peach color and Amy noticed his cheeks were slightly flushed; he seemed nervous. The young man was around Sonic's build but sporting a black shirt that was a little too big for him. She guessed it was to accommodate his abundance of white chest fluff. Bright gold eyes looked around the room nervously and he seemed as if he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to be doing there.

"Er...Hello."

Amy managed to get herself together and held out a hand to him with her classic inviting smile.

"Hello! Amy Rose. And you are?"

"I'm Silver." He replied, taking her hand and giving it a gentle shake.

"Nice to meet you, Silver. This is my assistant, Blaze."

"Hello."

"Charmed." The purple cat said flatly, resting her hands behind her back. It was pretty clear that she was not going to shake his hand, so Silver settled for putting them in his pockets instead.

"Please have a seat, and let's get started with the interview!" Amy gestured to the guest couch against the wall before shuffling excitedly to her chair.

"Alrighty then."

She couldn't believe it but Sonic was right; this guy really was exactly what she was looking for. Unique, attractive, approachable, it was exactly what they needed here! Amy tried her best to keep herself calm and professional. Looks were only half of the job, and she didn't want to get her hopes up just yet.

"So, Silver…" She drawled, pulling a pen from her desk drawer.

"You want to work here at The Garden, correct? What do you know about our line of work?"

"What do I know? Um...well, not much. That's sort of why I came to the interview. Sonic didn't tell me everything."

"Ah, I see. Well, there's not much to explain. It's a pretty easy job especially if you're a people person."

Silver tilted his head, seeming as if he was concerned about her answer.

"This is a Host Club. Are you following me so far?"

"Hosts?" His eyes widened a fraction.

"L-like an escort service?"

"No. Not at all." Blaze replied dryly. Her tail swished from side to side in irritation and Silver winced; he had a feeling that he may have said something inappropriate.

"Sweetie, a Host Club is a place where people come to chat and hang out with our employees." Amy said slowly. She tapped the pen on the table to get his attention.

"Essentially, people pay to have tea and conversation with you. Your clients are mostly women, but we have a healthy mix of all kinds of customers here. I don't know how other places might do things but the job is only to entertain them and keep them company if they request you."

"Oh thank goodness…"

"Do you think that hosting is something you would be interested in doing?"

Silver's eyes veered off to the side.

"Well...er….geez I wish Sonic would've told me earlier what it was all about…"

The pink hedgehog's smile faltered just a little, but she remained silent.

"I'm not turning down the job, I'm just not great at conversation and I don't know how entertaining I could be. I've never done this before."

"That's not a problem. You'll be a simple waiter before we let you become a host, so we won't put you on the list of choices right away. Though there's lots of training in the basics you'll have to do before you're a waiter, or even available to customers."

The young man smiled softly and gave a quick nod.

"Ah, I can do that then, no problem."

"Great! Then you start next week." Amy replied. She scribbled down something on the paper in front of her before turning it over to Silver.

"I want you here next Monday at 3pm. Can you do that?"

"Um...yeah, but...don't you have any other questions for me?" The white hedgehog took the paper from her and scanned it briefly.

"Not at all! Just fill out the paper with your information and work history and I'll take it when you come in Monday. Or if you want, give it to Sonic and he can turn it in."

"Oh, okay cool! I'll get this back to you as soon as possible. Thank you so much!" Silver replied before rising from the couch. Amy watched eagerly as the young hedgehog gave a short wave and shuffled out the door.

She waited until she was sure he was gone before slumping in her chair with a sigh.

"A penny for your thoughts, Darling?"

"He is a babe in the woods, Blaze. Sonic didn't even tell him what the job was! I'm basically building a man from scratch, here."

The purple cat chuckled and patted Amy's shoulder lovingly.

"Silver should be a cakewalk. After all, you managed to handle that catastrophe from before."

"Yeah, and it almost cost me my business."

Blaze put a hand to her lips, gasping dramatically.

"My, my, I never took you for the quitter type…"

"Oh knock it off," Amy giggled as she shoved her gently.

"But you're totally right. I've done it before under worse circumstances and I can do this again. And this time, I'm going to train the newbie personally."

"Will you have the time?"

"I'll simply make the time. If I want to pick up where I left off, I'll have to put the work in, right?"

"That makes sense to me."

The pink hedgehog rose from her seat with a flourish and pulled out her phone, tapping away at the screen excitedly. Blaze grinned, knowing Amy long enough to tell when the woman was having a brainstorm.

"I haven't trained anyone personally in a long time, so I'm moving some of my appointments around. Remind me to put in an order for a new suit-- oh I don't have anyone to pick it up--"

"Have Sonic do it."

"Yes! He owes me one now, it's the least he can do, right?"

"Of course."

"Oh I have so many things to move around but this is going to be fun! I haven't trained a new employee in ages…!" Amy babbled to herself as she walked out, Blaze opening the door for her in her excitement. It had been a long time since she had seen the young woman so passionate about her club, especially since the last incident nearly brought their business to its knees.

Amy and Sonic were a fantastic pair when it came to ideas but they were as short sighted as they were ambitious and that was their downfall. Blaze partially blamed herself for what had happened. She was too quick to trust their judgment and wanted so badly to support Amy’s choices no matter what.

She shook her head and walked in line behind the pink hedgehog, that familiar and endearing passion of hers causing Blaze to sigh fondly.

It wouldn't happen again. She would be more observant this time. This 'Silver' was going to be everything they needed to turn their luck around.

Blaze was going to make sure of that.

And that's all I have for this! It's been sitting in the drafts since forever, and is something I hope to actually follow through on at some point. I have a lot of loose threads put into this alone, but some nice facts about what ive set up so far

the workers at The Garden all have flowers as their name aliases, even the waiters. I haven't fully decided what everyone's will be or all the employees yet.

This is going to be a very Amy and Sonic focused fanfic, as well as the relationships they have with others. They're close friends and business partners, which is where a lot of past and future conflict comes into play. It also weighs a lot on the unspoken 'incident' theyre alluding to....

Silver is lying in this chapter. About what? Everything. :)

Someday I'll properly put this out on AO3 whenever I have the idea fully formed but for now, have this!

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #blazamy #blaze the cat #silver the hedgehog #sonic fanfics #sonic fanfiction #sonic #sth

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atlascas · 3 years

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DEANCAS FIC REC

(last updated 7/1)

FINALLY. this is like. just a place for me to rec and write excessively abt the fics i've been reading lately. it won't be organized but it WILL be very earnest and i'll keep it updated as i find/remember more. also i have obnoxiously high standards when it comes to fic so these ARE the cream of the crop, if u will. the god tier. the s tier.

very loosely organized into "newer fic" and "classics." these are subjective categories. do what you will

✨ = new fic on the list

💖 = in my brain rent free!

CURRENTLY READING

these are the fics that i’m currently reading! may or may not get recced. usually i read the first couple paragraphs/lines and if i like the writing it gets bookmarked and put on this list.

lazarus needs a robe of scarlet thread by herrosesneverfall, 90k, canonverse au. dean starts getting stigmata. when i was getting back into spn there were a LOT of religious fics flying around bc that was the Hot Topic of Discussion. this was one of them

Three weeks ago, Dean woke up in a pine box. He thought dealing with the nightmares was going to be the most difficult part of his new life after Hell, but at least they were something he could understand. Something he could deal with. Something he deserved.

Then he began having agonizing visions of crucifixion. Wounds appeared on his body out of nowhere. Wounds that refused to heal and coated his skin with the sickly sweet smell of roses.

Stigmata are said to be the marks of saints, but Dean is not a saint and the wounds are only the beginning.

kingdom come by ahurston, 8.7k, coda to 15x18. cas gets to go home. im gathering all the s15 fix-its to my heart and holding them close

Cas wakes up on the coast of Maine. He makes his way home.

hunger by ellispark, 10.8k, s13 au. dean grieves cas, post s12 finale. perfect writing perfect awful heartwrenching characterization so far on dean’s end especially towards jack. nuanced emotional writing

Dean takes his meal and throws it away, plate and all. He's not hungry. How can he even begin to eat, knowing what he kept from Cas — what he kept from both of them?

They could have had something, and now all Dean has is this gaping, empty hole in his stomach, in his chest, and he has to learn to breathe and eat and move around it.

the law of equivalent exchange by awed_frog, 60.8k, canonverse. cas loving dean in all permutations of humanity, throughout time.

“And what’s the point of it?”

“Of love? There isn’t one. Loving is its own purpose.”

NEWER FIC

“newer” just means “i discovered it in 2020/2021 after coming back to spn fandom” so it very well could have been published before 2015 but really who’s checking. not me that’s for sure.

💖 so says the sword by komodobits, 85k, s4 au. cas guards the michael sword in the beautiful room. this is easily the MOST obvious rec on this entire list but it was the first fic i read when i got back into spn this year and jesus christ it set the bar sky fucking high. the way they create a coherent mythology out of the mess that is spn canon is incredible.

The briefing was simple: ‘Stand guard over the Michael Sword until the battle is ready to commence. Await further instructions.’

Castiel doesn’t mind working security duty; he was briefed shortly after the initial salvation of the Sword from the pit, and again before taking up his position. He knows what to do. However, it’s easy to forget that the green room isn’t real. Time moves differently there, the space ever-changing to make a prison of mountains, cathedrals, salt flats, orchards, and whatever Castiel was led to believe about Heaven’s greatest weapon—Dean Winchester is something entirely unexpected.

assimilation by komodobits, 5.6k, coda to 12x01. mary meets dean and cas and they go to find sam. such good character studies of all three of them. the best mary pov fic i’ve read

Mary always thought you were supposed to be able to tell. That you could just look at someone and know they were – you know. One of that sort. It’s not supposed to happen to her son.

cuckoo and nest by komodobits, 10k, ambiguously canonverse. dean and cas navigate relationship anxiety. cute, in character, and their relationship is realistic and the conflict well-written and emotionally nuanced and really really really good.

For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental.

It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.

💖 one white lie by komodobits, 11k, au. cas panics when trying to ask dean out and has to fake being a jehovah’s witness. it’s adorable and hilarious and it’s been ages since i actually got butterflies at a kiss in a fic but this did it. it did it. it felt like someone swaddled my soul in a cashmere blanket and kissed me on the forehead

Castiel takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell. He doesn’t need to run through what he’s going to say – he’s already planned and edited and rehearsed it a thousand times. He is going to ask Dean Winchester out to dinner. If it’s not too forward, he’ll say, perfectly charming. You see, I’ve seen you around the neighbourhood and you always seem so earnest and I’d really like to get to know you bette— The door swings open, and Castiel panics.

He intends to excuse himself. He means to apologise and come back some other time. However, in a moment of blind fear, what comes out of his mouth instead are the words, “Could you spare a moment for Jesus Christ?”

a crash course in someone else’s history by annie d (scaramouche), 11.5k, set during s6. cas comes to as his s4 self without any memories of the past two years and has to figure out what the fuck is going on. it’s kind of like so says the sword. you’ll know it when you get to it.

Castiel is captured inside a trapping circle of holy oil set by Dean and Sam Winchester. The brothers call him "Cas", claiming that he has amnesia and that he is obligated to help them take down Crowley to atone for his betrayal of them. It's the strangest story Castiel's ever heard, and one he doesn't have time for because he's only just raised Dean from Hell and has work to get back to.

💖 cas and dean’s adventures in gardening by ahurston, 19k, post-canon au. a series featuring dean and cas living in the bunker, human. cas is very into plants. i read this yesterday actually and it made me smile SO much it’s just so lovely and sweet. i’m also a sucker for any fic where cas has a garden. he deserves a fucking garden okay

In this post-God world, everything is different. A little quieter, a little softer. Cas grows a garden, Dean cooks, and they take care of each other.

tall grass by aeli_kindara, 57k, post-s12. dean and cas live in the bunker on their own, and cas grows a garden. i did say i love fics where cas has a garden. plus domesticity, plus some good case fic, PLUS dean and cas’ relationship is so gentle and good

“I think we should have a garden,” Cas says.

Dean looks up from his beer. He hasn’t had that much to drink, but Cas still has a vague look of unreality about him, a splash of living color that doesn’t fit in the bunker’s echoing stillness. Dean didn’t hear him coming. A lot of the time, Cas is so unobtrusive it feels like Dean has the bunker to himself, with Sam away.

Dean shakes his head to clear it. “A — garden?” he repeats.

in a week by renrub, 2.3k, post 15x18. cas is in the empty. dean saves him. this is genuinely the best “dean pulls cas out of the empty” fic i’ve read so far like conceptually this entire thing just fucks. when cas is cycling through the barn scene. god. SO well written

Castiel is outside a barn covered in sigils. He frowns. This isn’t right. This has never been something he repented for.

i won’t even wish for snow by annie d (scaramouche), 5.6k, college au. cas goes to the winchesters’ for christmas. honestly scaramouche fics belong in the classics section bc she’s like an og deancas writer but whatever. mistletoe! banter! good in-character au! this fic’s got it all

It’s the third year that Castiel’s spending Christmas with his best friend’s family, and he expects it to be much like the previous two. Then mistletoe happens.

convenient husbands by annie d (scaramouche), 39k, canonverse au. cas is a phoenix, dean is a hunter. they get married and have a sick psychic bond. unexpectedly fluffy considering how the fic starts and i love the banter so much and dean/cas’ relationship gets fleshed out and organically developed it’s very cute

"It's only temporary, right?" Dean says. "Just until you're healed up, and then we'll never have to see each other again. So what do you say, Castiel, do you want to marry me or not?"

cinderwings by bendingsignpost, 181k, cinderella au. cas goes to a masquerade ball to save his people from an eternity trapped in a void. he meets prince dean. i can’t tell u how much this fic drew me in - thru good worldbuilding, but mostly thru cas’ social awkwardness. like it works PERFECTLY to his advantage in this fic and reading how expertly he manipulates social situations w/o any fucking idea what he’s doing is both hilarious and inspiring

Under the cover of a masquerade ball, Castiel has five nights to recover the key to his people's freedom. The world has changed greatly in the six centuries since their banishment into the void, but the task isn't impossible. Unfortunately for Castiel, this is going to involve talking to people - especially the Knight Prince who has taken an interest in Castiel and his "costume" wings.

as the crow flies by bendingsignpost, 3.4k, au. dean and cas go on a roadtrip. cas has wings! it’s so dreamlike and meandering and the slowburn is so good. honestly it reminds me of stevebucky/stevesam post tws era roadtrip fics if ur hip LMAO

Cross country road trips with Cas are the best.

long-term relationship by bendingsignpost, 2.7k, au. dean and cas have a Serious Conversation about their relationship.

Castiel says, budging over to make room for Dean on the couch, “I thought we should have a serious talk about our relationship.”

Reflexively, Dean laughs.

Castiel does not.

“Uh, Cas... you know we’re not dating, right?”

all this and heaven too by ftmsteverogers, 7k, ambiguously canonverse. dean is trans. dean and cas are fucking and lowkey hiding it from sam. perfect character study PERFECT trans dean fic it’s so fucking well-written

“Hey,” Dean said. “I’m not ashamed of you, okay?”

Cas raised skeptical eyes to meet his.

“I mean it,” Dean insisted.

“I understand you mean it,” Cas said. “But I don’t think it’s any better if you’re only ashamed of yourself.”

💖 the love story of the runner up by margo_kim, 4.7k, ambiguously canonverse. cas tries dating other men. bear with me here. this is an outside pov fic from an oc named miguel who is WONDERFULLY characterized and very endearing like i find outsider/oc pov to be on Thin Fucking Ice bc it always ends up as fandom/author self-insert but miguel is his OWN MAN. he gets his own lil arc and everything. dean and cas are concentrated perfectly crystallized versions of themselves and the little glimpses we get of them are amazing. ALSO i wrote like 9k of an spn vent fic (basically the same premise but w an oc named marcus) back in like. freshman yr of hs. so when i first opened this fic i was like what the fuck someone’s been in my google docs. very weird experience 10/10 regardless

“So you saw a white man in a trench coat pop out in an alley,” Paul says, “and you thought, what, ‘I want to see where this is going’?”

“If you get hung up on details like that,” Miguel says, “it will take a very long time to get through this story.”

For a very weird era in his life, Miguel dates an angel who is in love with another man.

sunshine by northernsparrow, 8k, set during s13. dean and cas have a long conversation about their Profound Bond. the description left me off-balance (it really. really truly says “dean is straight in this fic” like okay bro WEIRD hill to die on) but it pulled through w the relationship study and reassurance and snuggles. a sweet fic

One-shot with a single conversation between Dean and Castiel, set in a late-S13-ish world. Gabriel, Cas, Sam & Dean are all living in the bunker together, Gabe's been cracking certain jokes, Sam's found a certain book, Cas is injured and isn’t healing... and it's all making Dean wonder if his angel friend might have some sort of a "bond" with... somebody? Whatever that means.

Maybe it's time for a talk.

💖 still life by catchclaw, 16.5k, post-s8. cas, newly human, goes to live on his own for a while. he and dean maintain a relationship thru the phone. this is LITERALLY the only first person fic i fucking respect okay like i was skeptical! i really was! but the pov is PERFECT and also my man kevin tran is in this fic and i love him and miss him very much. oh and cas going off to explore humanity on his own..............perfect arc. very much in character we love that for him

Dean'd always thought that falling in love was a capital letter kind of thing, an Important Event you carved into the calendar of your life and never, ever forgot. But with he and Cas, it wasn't that simple.

it’s mostly cowardice, and bad timing by ferritin4, 1.6k, pre-canon. actually this one is just a dean study it’s not deancas but i spent an entire night looking for it and i need someone else to read it too. dean is smart!!! SAY THAT

Dean gets his GED.

a list of reasons the bunker shouldn’t get a sofa by lizbobjones, 5.6k, set during s12. sam and dean and mary and cas haul a sofa back to the bunker. cute domesticity and fluff

Let me count the ways that this is a terrible idea.

no kingdom to come by domesticadventures, 16.8k, canonverse. dean and cas deal with being stuck in quarantine in different ways. this is the one and only quarantine fic i’ve read and it’s really good lmao. dean and cas’ relationship is so organic and tentative in this one

“We should fuck,” Dean says.

Cas looks up from where he sits on his bed, hair still damp from the shower, frowning as he places a finger on the page of his book to mark where he left off.

There are a million things Cas could say here; Dean has rehearsed them. After lunch, his restlessness had given way to a vague panic, a dread that matched his every step and crept along with him from room to room. Eventually, he had returned to his bedroom and spent the rest of the afternoon pacing back and forth, playing out all the possible scenarios. When Cas asks him Why? or Are you being serious? or when he sighs and says, in that way he has, Dean, he knows exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to shrug casually, like he isn’t invested in the answer, like he isn’t desperate for an outlet, and say, Why not? He’s going to raise an eyebrow and say, What, are you not interested? He’s going to crowd into Cas’ personal space, he’s going to shove himself right up in there and whisper Cas against his ear.

Instead, Cas says, carefully, “Okay.”

till the juice runs by deathbanjo, 8.4k, canonverse. it’s like dean’s being cursed to have bad hookups with men. SUCH a funny fic and the deancas tension is so simple and sweet and GOOD. plus cas is so enjoyably characterized here he’s so human and worn in and experienced in his own unique way. perfect use of rowena too

Apparently whoever drew up the venn diagram of Dean’s sex life decided the circle labelled ‘good sex’ and the one labelled ‘sex with men’ should be kept far apart.

turn of the year by kototyph, 3.9k, canonverse au. sam and dean get stuck out in the middle of nowhere on the winter solstice. what i wouldn’t give for a full 80k of this verse actually. also i went on a kototyph binge after reading shut up put your money where your mouth is and they have a SOLID spn repertoire

Fifteen minutes later, Dean gets back in the car with empty hands and ice in his fucking eyebrows. “Get the map out,” he says through chattering teeth, sticking numb fingers under his arms.

Sam holds up the battered 1995 Rand MacNally they keep in the side pocket, turned to a page of uninterrupted green. “We’re going to die,” he announces.

💖 bullets in the gun by kototyph, 4.9k, canonverse au. cas is a cop (i know. still) who gets kidnapped by dean in an unfortunate turn of events. GOD this fic is SO FUNNY. cas’ canny and strategic escape attempts render him a very active VERY funny pov character plus the hate attraction to dean is PERFECTLY WRITTEN VERY BELIEVABLE. dean’s kindness also shines thru even as he literally holds cas hostage like!!!! PERFECT characterization. both of them are so LIKABLE here. if you read anything on this list read this

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to need to borrow your car.”

as you will by kototyph, 1.8k, victorian au. cas endures a proposal mishap. it’s cute it’s funny it’s sweet!

"No?" Castiel echoes, dumbly.

and if i was looking too? by kototyph, 2.6k, au. cas is undercover where dean works. this fic is just so cute like. bird angels.................

There are some things Castiel hasn't told Dean, and there are some things he doesn't need to.

the most important thing by northernsparrow, 94.5k, s10 au. amnesiac cas raising claire until he comes across someone familiar. claire is so well characterized here i really loved her arc thruout this fic. she just wants her dad back and u can’t even blame her the author rlly does an amazing job creating realistic and heartbreaking motivations for her. oh and dean and cas (esp cas characterization!) are sweet in this but honestly the highlight IS claire for me

Jimmy Novak remembers nothing of the last six years. Reunited with his troubled daughter Claire, he's struggling to raise her on his own. The most important thing is to make Claire happy. But why does he keep having these dreams of wings, and of two men in a black car? (Canon-divergent from S10E11, when we first met Claire again and Dean was still struggling with the Mark of Cain. Takes places several months later).

there’s only one sure thing that i know by blinkiesays, 20.3k, post-s5. dean goes to help cas out in ohio and they end up building a home together. i love the writing it’s rlly funny and sweet.

Dean doesn't even get halfway through explaining before Bobby starts laughing. When he lets himself think about it for more than five seconds, Dean can almost see Bobby's point: he's faced down demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, and Satan himself and now he's been defeated by the God damn Midwest.

💖 to an angel, love and worship are the same thing by geminisage, 10.3k, post s15 fix it. dean grieves cas - and then cas gets brought back back from the empty. i didn’t have this in my bookmarks so i MISSED it the first time around on this list but this was another one of the fics i came back to spn fandom to. it’s so fucking unique?? it actually reads like spn like i think fic tends to soften dean/cas up and makes them more emotional + emotionally intelligent than is ever shown in the show. here the dialogue/characterization adheres RIGOROUSLY to their communication in canon in that dean’s not overtly emotional, and cas is very reserved. they have to negotiate their relationship exactly like they would in the show. it’s all clipped conversation and anger and hurt and (warning btw) LOTS of internalized homophobia on dean’s end but it’s SO worth it. dean navigating his [GESTURES VAGUELY] everything is compellingly written, emotionally true, and PERFECTLY characterized. cas characterization also amazing like u rlly feel the quiet devoted bittersweet love. ok this was long clearly it’s a good fic go read it now

Just as Dean knew they would, the weeks do stretch into months, and then into a year. Grief never gets easier, Dean knows from experience, but you do get better at it. After all, you can get used to anything.

the violin house by teh_helenables, 8.5k, post-s5. dean and cas build a home after stull. so slow and lovely and sweet and gentle. i need to put this here so that i don’t forget it tbh. it’s very much dean as a war wife cas as the husband away on the front

The Apple Pie Life is a slow process, but Dean and Cas are getting there—until Cas is called for battle and Dean is forced to wait.

💖 muscle memory by komodobits, 18.9k, au. amnesiac cas wakes up three years in the future with dean in his kitchen. komodobits DOES NOT FUCKING MISS!!! i CRIED at the end of this i had NO INTENTION OF CRYING the rest of the fic isn’t even SAD i just had to sit there at the end of it w tears dribbling down my face. INSANE work of art

Dear Castiel,

Hello – it’s Castiel. This must all seem very confusing, and I’m sorry for that. Dean says to tell you that this isn’t some kind of ‘time-travel stunt’, although I’m sure that won’t be your first thought. I know it wasn’t mine. I’ve told Dean to leave now, as this is my notebook and I want everything in it to come from me – or rather, from you. I know you think it's the fifteenth of January, 2010, but it isn't. At the time of my writing this, the date is the fourth of October, 2013. Dean Winchester is your boyfriend of a year and a half, and you no longer work at the library, and in early 2010 you were hit by a car and hospitalised. I’m sorry.

a.k.a the 50 First Dates Dean/Cas AU where Castiel wakes up on a day just like any other, except that three years have passed without his knowing, and Dean Winchester is in the kitchen wanting to marry him.

don’t forget the experience points by annie d (scaramouche), 10.8k, au. cas is sam’s work friend, and he and dean get to know each other. genuinely an adorable fic. i adore cas’ characterization in this it’s snarky AND awkward AND confident in a way that i absolutely believe he would be if he had 30 yrs of human life under his belt

It's because Dean was an awesome brother than he took such an interest in Sam's new friend. No, really. What happened afterwards was mostly an accident.

actus fidei by manic_intent, 5.6k, canonverse au. dean’s a priest, cas is still his angel. i was HOOKED from the description alone like That’s Everything I Love in One Sentence. Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the very first time that Castiel manifests in front of Father Dean Winchester, he gets as far as "Rejoice, for you are blessed-" before Dean shoots him with a salt-loaded shotgun.

not with a bang but a yelp by strange_estrangement, 1.4k, canonverse. team free will leave yelp reviews. this isn’t d/c actually it’s just a crack-ish fic but the formatting is cool and the references are SO funny and so well done

What happens when you visit dozens and dozens of motels every year? You leave Yelp reviews.

the courtship of combat by bendingsignpost, 18.2k, medieval a/b/o au. cas is politically coerced into fighting in a courtship melee for prince dean's hand, and he teams up with two unexpected allies to do it. I KNOW HOW THE ABO THING SOUNDS but i swear it's done well - it's by bendingsignpost so ofc he puts his own spin on the premise. im absurdly into it. PLUS jack is in it!!!!!!! it's technically an unfinished series but the first part is so good just on its own

When pressed upon to mate for a political alliance, Commander Castiel dares to refuse his king. As “I do not wish to mate at all” is clearly the wrong thing to say, Castiel takes the other path and lies. “You must know my affections lie elsewhere, my king.”

King Michael studies Castiel’s face long and hard. Then, with a nod, he snaps his fingers, pointing to Castiel. “The Winchester omega.”

“Yes,” Castiel says with no real recollection of who that is.

The ruse of an unavailable omega works well enough, right up until that omega is no longer unavailable. Then, with what seems to be his entire nation cheering him on toward victory, Castiel must enter the melee to win his mate. Backed by allies, training, and his own natural talents, the only question is how well he can contrive to fail.

four letter word for intercourse by bendingsignpost, 194.7k, au. dean calls a sex hotline. OH BOY solid characterization excellent plot/premise like bendingsignpost is so good at turning absurd premises into realistic, believable fiction. also sex hotline fic is usually a BIG turn-off bc of the power dynamics/one-sidedness of a relationship based on sex work but. BUT. bendingsignpost does it well! it’s not weird at ALL i started reading and was immediately reassured abt its intentions and its plot direction

As a grease monkey turned college freshman, Dean's constantly three seconds away from being stressed out of his mind. It hardly helps that he's finally figuring out his sexuality in his thirties.

What might help with that stress is a little phone number (and a big credit card bill). If he can't figure out how to be bisexual in person, he can at least give it a go over the phone, right?

(It's probably a bad idea, but he really can't help himself.)

the tunnel of love by xylodemon, 21.4k, post-canon. case fic! dean and cas have to kiss on a loveboat to solve a case >:)

"We might," Cas starts slowly, pausing like he's choosing his words. "We might have to kiss."

Dean just stares at him.

when you have a future. by firebog, 17.6k, post-s8. dean and sam and cas learning to be human post-apocalypse. reminds me of robotmango’s writing! it’s kind of eccentric and very very sweet and funny.

Sam closes Hell. Castiel closes Heaven. The heroes save the day. There's no Heaven or Hell waiting to cause the next big disaster. There's no more end of the world. There's only a squirmy feeling in his chest that feels a lot like freedom. So, now what?

(Things I promise you in this fic: dog poetry, rabbits, and fluff)

six inch heels by alitneroon, 2.3k, canonverse. dean does drag! excellent fucking character study. prose is fantastic

Dean does drag on a whim, and ends up in way over his head.

sharing is caring by gateskeeper, 2.5k, canonverse. five times dean and cas shared something and one time they didn’t. look. sometimes u just need some saccharine tropey fluff. it’s VERY well written

Sam knows that Dean and Cas have shared a lot together, but ever since Cas became human permanently, it seems like they've been sharing a lot more.

Or: five times Dean and Cas shared something special and one time Dean refused to.

💖 empty spaces by schmerzerling, 60k, au. dean has to take care of his dying father, and takes up running to cope. that’s just the beginning. HEAVY trigger warnings for ED (specifically anorexia) and suicidal thoughts. there is a happy ending, but dean has to fight to make it there. god. okay. this is a dark fic. it’s also one of the most well-characterized fics i’ve ever read. dean’s spiral is excruciatingly accurate and written with the kind of wry compassion that comes from either extensive research or extensive experience. it’s also completely immersed in dean’s perspective - dean’s relationship w his dad, dean’s relationship w food scarcity, etc. it’s incredible. it’s kinda scary. it’s deeply sad. cas is explicitly autistic and it’s ALSO incredibly accurate and loving, and makes cas so true to his canon self. ugh. and i burst into TEARS at some of the accompanying art, which is so sparse and lonely and beautiful. 100/10 experience one of the best fics i’ve read this year

Dean is fine. The way he sees it, things are simple. He had a house and a family and food in his stomach, and now he doesn't. And yeah, that's a downer, but he's not going to let that stop him from being fine, because he's in control of the situation. He definitely doesn't need anyone to save him. And it's not like the weird guy with the nice butt from down the road is the knight-in-shining-armor type, anyway.

broken road by thegeminisage, 109.6k, 14x13 au. dean makes a wish and gets more than he bargained for. a lot of “john comes back” fics are kinda short on nuance, which this author has talked about a lot - and oh MAN does this fic deliver on nuance. john’s abuse is absolutely present, but his pov makes him a complex character instead of a flat caricature for dean to reject. and the way this fic resolves really makes it clear that the priority is dean’s emotional well-being over all else!!! this isn’t about dean taking the path fandom thinks he should take w his abuser (killing john, punching john in the face, etc), this is abt dean coming to terms w his abuse and finding his own emotionally satisfying way of resolving it. also dean and cas are in an established relationship and it’s very slow and sweet.

A 14.13 Lebanon rewrite. When Dean uses a wish-granting pearl to try and kill the archangel Michael before he can escape the cage in Dean's head, they instead wind up with a newly-resurrected John Winchester.

It's been more than a decade since John died, and a lot has changed: Mary is alive, Sam and Dean have what passes for a proper home in the Men of Letters Bunker, and they're living with angels. John doesn't know angels are real, he doesn't know about the fragile new relationship between Dean and Castiel, and most of all, he doesn't know that Dean said yes to Michael, or that Dean's plan to defeat Michael would send him to a fate worse than death.

Now Dean must contend with both his father asking questions he can't answer, and his loved ones learning about the darker truths of his childhood, all while constantly battling the archangel trapped inside him. But Dean coming to terms with his history may be the difference between this being the beginning of a journey—or the end.

home is not a place by imogenbynight, 6.8k, post-s11. human cas struggles with belonging, and dean struggles with their relationship. this reads a lot like komodobits’ cuckoo and nest, but it’s its own sweet little thing. they watch movies!!! very cute

In which Dean is the oblivious one for a change.

love: a retrospective by xylodemon, 40.7k, post-s12. dean tries to deal w cas’ absence after s12 and reflects on their relationship thru the years. this was written before s13 aired, so - no spoilers - but jack plays a different role than he ends up playing in canon. it’s kinda fun seeing ppl’s theories pre-s13 tbh. makes me VERY glad that they took jack in the direction they did in show. anyway this is THEE definitive “they’ve been fucking all along” fic

Pretending Cas is just his friend has been the only thing keeping Dean's head on straight for years. He never realized how much doing that depended on him making himself scarce in the morning ─ not until Cas came back and moved into the bunker.

✨💖 if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee, 37k, post-s15 fix-it. cas gets broken out of the empty - and he immediately makes a break for it. new fave fix-it!!!! the writing is so understated and so straightforward - SO in character for cas tbh - that every single emotional beat feels like a PUNCH. and there are so many amazing character moments it made my chest seize the fuck up!!!!! perfect characterization perfect relationship moments perfect cas/jack parenting moments. the yearning over the phone is OFF THE CHARTS and spocklee makes the most of that tension!!!! PLUS old canon characters get to make fun appearances!!!!! i cannot recommend this shit enough

After the Empty, Cas has to spend some time alone. Orpheus tries to convince Eurydice over the phone that it’s okay to turn around now.

✨ before and after breakfast by spocklee, 10.5k, post-canon. dean and sam and cas tackle a monster of the week case with unexpected consequences. perfect pov perfect relationship moments SUCH GOOD TENSION. again this writing style just lets the tension dial up to 1000% every word is meaningful and it makes my chest hurt!!! spocklee SHOULD have blown up during the spn renaissance and i STAND by that

The monster of the week is a ghost who hates meat, alcohol, and feeling yourself. Guess who it is during the commercials.

CLASSICS

isn't it cool how every person has diff fics they consider "classics?" anyway these are required fucking reading. if u've been around these will prob be old news.

💖 asunder by rageprufrock, 23k, au. dean and cas go to sam's wedding. i reread this once a year like a religious ritual.

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)

💖 the girlfriend experience by rageprufrock, 15k, set during s5. dean teaches cas how to be human. mostly the sex part. literally the gold fucking standard of s4-5 era deancas fic and for deancas fic in general, personally

While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.

okay, cupid. by orange_crushed, 4.5k, au. dean tries to sign up for an ok cupid profile and has a revelation. as soon as i put this entry down i realized this entire fic rec was an exercise in futility, because if i could i'd literally just rec everything orange_crushed/robotmango has ever written. still one of THEE best authors in this fandom. go read all her fics. i’ll put the highlights here

"The dating thing?" Dean frowns. "Online dating is for weirdos. Robots. Dudes hanging out in their basements."

"You hang out in your basement."

"I have an air hockey table down there,” Dean says, icily.

💖 pwp: pie without plot by orange_crushed and majorenglishesquire, 82k, post-s8. sam and dean and cas quit hunting for a little bit to open a bakery. this is my comfort fic. i love it so so much.

he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says "thank you" and cas says "you’re welcome" very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything

💖 la cucina by orange_crushed, 4k, post-s8. dean gets into cooking for a newly human cas. it's so gentle and loving and kind and makes me tear up every time. YES food is a comfort item and expression of love for dean. no i don't want to talk about it

Dean turns around and Castiel is picking through the jars, turning them over carefully to read the labels, totally engrossed. Dean watches him.

"Is there," Dean says, "uh, anything in there you like?" Castiel looks up at him and then back at the apples, sitting in a basket on the counter in their golden skins, ripe and pretty. Castiel smiles up at Dean.

"I don’t know yet," he says.

today, your barista verse by orange_crushed, 13.6k, coffeeshop au. a series of short sweet lovely fics where cas is a barista and dean is a smitten customer. literally the only coffeeshop au i respect

"Is that-"

"My number," says Dean, because he's a fucking champion, he's cool, he's collected, he's Captain Smooth of the USS Smoothtania, that's right. He is definitely not leaning against the counter for moral support. Cas doesn't looked seduced or impressed, though. He does not look like a dude who just met Captain Smooth and wants to ride the loveboat. He looks puzzled.

fata morgana. by orange_crushed, 6.6k, post-s9. dean is the king of hell. bela and cas team up to find him. bela pov. yeah you fucking heard that right BELA POV. BELA AND CAS!!!!!!!!!! makes me lose my mind i love everyone in this stupid desolate fucking hell wasteland.

The endless asphalt and broken road, the empty land and piles of human garbage, the unwanted ends of life, the cracked toys and broken screens and burning cars and gravel. Dean Winchester is the king of hell.

"Oh," says Bela.

That changes certain things.

💖 gran fury. by orange_crushed, 5k, pacific rim au. sam and cas pair up in a last ditch mission to save the world. permanently damaged me at age 15 and i've never recovered. major fucking angst warning.

They sit in silence and Castiel passes him the bottle. There’s not much left to say. Sam takes a gulp and it burns going down, like the cheap shit it is. He holds the bottle up against the light. He can see the Fury through it, distorted like a funhouse mirror. She’s a tomb but Sam loves her. Loves everything that’s left.

"To the end of the world," he says.

"To the end of the world," says Castiel.

💖 shut up (put your money where your mouth is) by kototyph, 24k, au. dean and cas get drunk married in vegas. dean renovates cas' house. this fic is SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered/expected and the entire series is fucking adorable go read it RIGHT now

Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.

not part of the plan by annie d (scaramouche), 338k, arranged marriage au. cas is slated to marry a noble from the winchester house. things spiral out of control. if you’re looking for an extensive well-developed political au, this is fucking it. i love reading about political machinations so this was FASCINATING to me.

Castiel's spent most of his adult life keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. This is a deliberate choice on his part, because as a cousin of the King, he'd rather stay unimportant and forgotten. This changes abruptly when King Michael decides that he has a better use for Castiel: he is to be wed to a noble member of the neighboring Republic, as part of an agreement between their two nations.

Castiel knows he has to obey, but that doesn't mean he won't rebel in what small ways he can. Unexpectedly, his actions end up having far-reaching consequences.

💖 all things shining by askance and standbyme, 142k, au. sam and dean and cas go on a hunt that's not really a hunt, and against all odds good things happen. it's beautifully written and has scenes that literally make my heart leap out of my chest with joy and awe it's just WONDERFUL it's a wonderful fic. incredible mythology too omg i found that the authors actually created the myth the entire story is based on - like they don’t pull a random one from history, they made one up THEMSELVES. they even self-published it on amazon if ur curious

Something in the world is waking up.

It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago.

Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.

💖 broadway musical by griftings, 12.4k, crack. romcom where cas is supposed to play matchmaker to dean and jo and well. you know. it actually made me cackle out loud when i read it again so you know it's still good. absolutely one of the funniest fics i’ve read

This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.

The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.

Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.

the five people you meet in heaven by chevrolangels, 22k, ambiguously canonverse. dean dies and goes to heaven and meets five people from his life. NOT a post-finale fic but still horrifically sad. i remember sobbing hysterically when i first read this so

Heaven is white.

Well. Isn’t that fucking stereotypical.

Dean isn’t really sure how he got here. Or even why he’s here. And hell, for all the times the Winchesters have died, he thinks he ought to know the drill by now. But what he doesn’t know is when most folks go, they find something different.

There’s a system God put in place. That when you’re gone (for good), there are a couple things you gotta do first. There are five people waiting for you.

They are the five people you meet in heaven.

any port in a storm by microcomets, 53k, post-s8. dean and cas go on a haunted cruise for a case. you know what happens next. also the art is by anobviousaside and it's gorgeous

The angels have fallen, leaving Castiel graceless and Dean with, well, more of other people’s problems. When a string of couples goes missing on the east coast, Dean and Cas decide to investigate—and find themselves trapped and hunted on a couples’ counseling cruise. Although battling monsters at sea is dangerous enough, sorting through emotional baggage proves to be far more deadly. (And, in which Cas embarks to find his missing grace and Dean is put out. Not necessarily in that order.)

a turn of the earth by microcomets, 95k, pre-canon au. cas is on the run from the empty and crash lands in dean's life. at one point he punches john in the face. a fucking beautifully written character study of pre-canon dean, honestly.

Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.

Frigging fantastic.

(Or, in which Castiel gets stuck in Dean’s timeline preseries and Dean kind of hates it—until he doesn’t.)

unfinished duet by microcomets, 5.8k, canonverse. sam observes dean and cas throughout the years. i remember this breaking my heart back in 2013!

Sam watches Dean and Cas over the years and notices a few things. (Or, Dean and Cas unscripted.)

💖 ergative/absolutive by glassedplanets, 8k, college au. dean and cas are best friends who meet in an astronomy class. i'm never not thinking about this fic it's so sweet and the friends to lovers is so soft and believable

He really shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like this about his best friend who literally just broke up with his girlfriend, but he knows he’ll blame it on sleepiness in the morning. He always does.

a certain light by flightagain, 24k, au. cas works at the gas n sip. dean is a customer. this author’s writing style is so lonely and heavy but it’s very lovely

Castiel works at the Gas-n-Sip. There are half-price nachos and flickering lights, there are office-workers and werewolves stopping by for snacks. Dean is a frequent customer, and his office might be haunted.

the one thing you can’t lose by majorenglishesquire, 5k, ambiguously canonverse. dean can pull cas around and it’s adorable. character study-ish. very sweet.

You know what I like a lot? The thought that Dean can just tug Cas anywhere at any time and Cas, who can lift tons without effort, who can demolish things with the light of his grace, who has battled and gone to war, has defended and broken, will just let Dean do it.

brother lover by twentysomething, 4k, set during s4/s5. dean’s jealous of sam and cas’ budding relationship. this fic is so tropey but it does it well and it’s funny as fuck

However- and it doesn't happen a lot- they have to invoke 'I saw her first.’

his fucking kids by 8sword, 3k, canonverse au. dean and cas raise claire and emma together. yes, claire novak. yes, emma of 7x13 spice girls fame. this was the first kidfic i read for spn i think. obvs written before jack or claire actually came back into the picture but it was the TEMPLATE of kidfic for me for ages

Jesus, the school should just have a parking spot labeled, “Reserved for the Novak-Winchesters,” because Dean’s getting sick of having to cruise around the parking lot looking for a spot every time he gets a call from the principal about Emma.

💖 what has eight tentacles and isn’t allowed to eat pie? by annie d (scaramouche), 16k, post s8. dean gets turned into an octopus. another fic that was SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered i fucking love when that happens. it isn’t even about dean being an OCTOPUS like NO. NOT EVEN. it’s ACTUALLY about the bunker and building a home and a community and a family and about PHYSICAL COMFORT and you can actually feel the world expanding at the end of this fic like a gusty sigh of relief it’s SO WONDERFUL. kevin is in this fic. ellie is too and i had to look her up but THIS is her!!!! danay garcia u were too hot to stay on this show but i love you and miss u

Dean watched an anime porn about this once, but real life turns out to be way less interesting.

Or, the one where Dean gets turned into an octopus.

💖 a beginner’s guide to communing with the dead by suspiciousflashlight, 77k, canonverse au. dean is a cop who summons a powerful entity to help him solve a cold case. oh my god i can’t believe i didn’t put this on here i love this one so much. the writing bowls me over it’s so confident in its worldbuilding like you’re IMMEDIATELY plunged into dean’s pov (FLAWLESSLY executed throughout the fic btw) and you just learn about the world as you go!! and it’s such a fascinating world!!! i love the magic i love the typical bureaucratic red tape procedures i love normalizing the supernatural. i ESPECIALLY love monsters as normal people in a society. at one point there’s this exchange

“Monsters,” says Cas finally. “Beyond the Wall there are monsters.” “You mean, like, vampires and djinn and stuff?” Cas shakes his head. “Those aren’t monsters, those are just people.”

those lines have stayed with me for years. i think about them every time i rewatch an episode of spn.

Maybe it's the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it's the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it's his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn't matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he's going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn't started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that's not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there's no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom's old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.

dean’s list by almaasi, 3k, canonverse. dean makes a list. short and sweet. i read this so much in 2015 that it literally got engraved into my brain line by line and rereading it caused synapses to fire that havent felt anything in years

Dean writes out a list of men he would go gay for. Sam has a suggestion to make.

💖 the path of fireflies by museaway, 63.7k, post-s8. dean and cas open a charming bed and breakfast in vermont. no, literally. another CLASSIC. i think about the food in this fic all the time...........maple bacon baked french toast......the cinnamon rolls.....it literally sounds so good

After his humanity is restored, Dean wakes up in bed with Castiel, a wedding ring, and no memory of the past twelve years.

long nights in cold months by pyrebi, 2.3k, au. dean’s an insomniac and cas works at walmart. i forgot i had this fic ALSO basically memorized. holy shit. pineapple in the fruit aisle.....................anyway it’s short and sweet and the “plot” resolves in such a satisfying way

When you're an insomniac, you get used to the "what the hell are you doing up, man?" look. Dean just hopes the guy who's stocking the shelves will stop giving it to him long enough to help him find some damn pineapple.

incredibly single & ready to mingle by imogenbynight, 3.6k, au. dean and cas meet on facebook. short cute au!!!!!!

Sam uses Facebook like the social media junkie he is. He's befriended literally every person he's ever had a conversation with since he got an account, which means that approximately—Dean checks—eight hours ago, he shared this horrible photo with something in the vicinity of nine hundred people. The caption below the picture reads “incredibly single & ready to mingle ;)” and roughly half of them have liked it.

Dean has never been so embarrassed in his life.

💖 unknown quantities by xylodemon, 8.5k, post-s8. after a post-case tryst, dean has to figure out his and cas’ relationship. human cas fics hold a special place in my heart. funny AND good dean pov AND a misunderstanding that i actually think works!!!!!

No one ever tells Dean anything.

(or: Dean Winchester and the not-relationship crisis of 2014)

#spn fic #spn #dean x cas #this is horrifically long actually.

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minijenn · 3 years

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8 Favorite Works of the Year

So I wasn’t tagged to do this but I kinda wanted to anyway. Because I did a lot of creating this year and dangit I wanna look back on it fondly, so...

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!

To be fair I’m gonna pick four pieces of art and four chapters from my fics, two of each from either Keys or UF to be fair about things. With that said here we go, in kind of no particular order! Starting with fics:

Keys to the Kingdom, Chapter 22: Rise and Fall and Rise Again: So I wrote this chapter kind of at the start of all the Covid/lockdown madness, when I had just started working from home and felt kinda trapped inside my own apartment, with a lingering sense of doom hanging over my head just about every day (something that hasn’t really gone away). As a result, I poured my emotions into this one, a chapter I’d been planning for such a long time, only for it to come out even better than I could have expected! I think this is where Keys really starts to get good (well, this one and the chapter right before it that leads into it). Its the longest chapter of Keys (so far) and it really is just a ton of angst and hurt and comfort and kind of a pretty good character study for both Sora and Kairi if you ask me, and it does pave the way for Keys 2nd arc (which we’re knee deep in the middle of now!). Overall it has a lot of very poignant lines in it, a lot of emotional scenes, and some pretty cute moments of fluff mixed in to leave you feeling good, its a real treat every time I go back to revisit it.

Universe Falls, Ch. 80, Part 1: Rifts: So this year was kinda sparse on really BIG UF chapters, but Rifts is for sure probably the biggest chapter in UF yet. And I’m so, so proud of it, I think it has some incredible high points of action in it, its very intense and emotional and the situation just keeps building from bad to worse and you really just feel for Steven, and Dipper, and Stepper alike and Bill is such an asshole in it and gah! Its so good I love it so much and I had such a fun time writing it, especially after waiting YEARS to finally get the chance to. I think its fantastic.

Keys to the Kingdom, Ch. 27: What Once Was Mine: This is absolutely my favorite Disney world chapter in the entire fic so far (tho that second Beauty and the Beast chapter comes REALLY close to it!); it has such a broad range of emotions, starting out really fun and lighthearted and sweet and then it starts spiraling into fear and pain and intensity and finally it bottoms out at sheer despair, culminating in probably one of my favorite Trinity Trio scenes in this entire fic. Its not always easy mixing Keys’ original plot elements with the Disney stuff, but in this chapter it felt so natural to do so, like the Tangled stuff just fit so well. I love how it turned out and it really is another big turning point in the fic’s trajectory if you ask me.

Universe Falls, Ch. 80, Part 3: Dimensions: So I ALMOST picked Memories for this list (and don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it!) but I think Dimensions has it beat by just a hair. Its just so intense and dramatic from start to end, with a huge epic battle against Bill, a real show of just how much Steven and Dipper care for each other, emotional reactions from just about the entire squad, and lasting impacts for the rest of the fic. I think it was a perfect way to conclude a trilogy of chapters I’d been so excited about writing since UF’s earliest days, and I’ll never stop being proud of how it all came together in the end.

And now we move onto some art!

The RMD Promo art was a fun little pet project I wanted to take on, more for me than for the chapters itself. They’re all pretty symbolic to the tone/events of each chapter, from coloring, to posing, to the flower symbolism (which was so fun to research and implement), plus I can never pass up the opportunity to draw my best boy Stepper!

My Castle of Dreams Sokai piece really just blew up in popularity here on Tumblr. Again it was just something fun and cute I wanted to do, because I have the moment envisioned so vividly in my mind I figured might as well draw it out and I still think it looks so nice, the way these two are looking at each other with such love in their eyes is.... 100% if ya ask me

The Dimensions cover fucking popped off. The coloring, the dynamic posing, the expressions, I really did kinda flex on this one. Yet for as many moving parts as there are in it, its a very simple piece as well, though I do kinda love the idea of Bill just... looming over everyone coming to kick his ass; it really is accurate to how the chapter itself goes down if ya ask me.

Ok so I know I literally just fucking posted this thing yesterday but I’m proud of it (also I made a self-imposed rule that commissions aren’t allowed to be in this, only art I drew of my own volition) and I drew this yesterday mostly for funsies and it... kinda got intense. Anyway, I’m trying to learn how to pose KH characters more dynamically and this was part of that. And I loooooove how creepy it is, its hella cool on that front if ya ask me.

So yeah, I’m supposed to tag people who wanna do this but ehhhghghghghghg just go ahead and do the damn thing if you feel like it, I mean i wasn’t tagged and here I am so go nuts :3

#jen rambles #jen draws #jen writes #8 favorite works of the year #kingdom hearts #universe falls #keys to the kingdom #gravity falls #steven universe

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spartanguard · 4 years

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even death won’t part us now (2/?)

Summary: Two covens, both alike in dignity, / In fair New York, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; / Whole misadventured piteous overthrows / Do with their death bury their sires’ strife. (Captain Swan + West Side Story + vampires. But not as sad. Probably.)

rated M | part 1 | AO3 | 3.9k words

A/N: I was going to post this update yesterday but *life*. We really get into the story, though—I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again to @optomisticgirl for being an awesome beta; to @thesschesthair for her amazing art; and to @kmomof4 and @cssns for putting this event on and pushing me to continue this story!

say what you will about Glee, but Darren Criss’s version of this song is amazing

part two— the air is humming, and something great is coming...

2020

The sun was setting on another day, just like it had for the last 5000-plus. At least, Emma figured the number was up there; she’d stopped counting around day 4,588. Which was really an absurdly long time to count considering her days were no longer numbered, but old habits died hard, even if she never would.

She’d accepted that fact somewhere around day 4,040, which ironically was her 40th birthday. But instead of dealing with gray hairs and wrinkles and aching joints, she was still in her 28-year-old body, fairly spry and with exactly one white hair blended into her blonde. (Not that she could see it in the mirror anymore—or, you know, anything—but she knew it was there and that was all that mattered.)

She knew she’d finally settled into her new life when she was looking forward to drinking the deer blood she had at home and not longing for chocolate cake like she had the past several birthdays. Well, she still wished she could eat it—real food didn’t digest properly anymore—but the blood sounded just as good.

“It probably took me about that long to come to terms with it, too. Longer for your dad,” her mom had told her about the revelation.

That had been another epiphany: that the kindly undead couple she’d somehow ended up on the doorstep of—David and Snow Nolan—were her parents. Her actual birth parents. You know, the ones she’d been looking for her entire mortal life? (Had once dreamed would save her from one shitty foster home after another until she finally gave up hope, and instead turned to counting the days until she moved again?)

As it turned out, they’d been attacked and turned shortly after she’d been born—which apparently had been in a backwoods cottage in Maine that her grandparents had owned—and were taking her to the hospital for checkup after the fact. They didn’t trust themselves to face their new reality while also in charge of an infant (an infant with delicious-smelling blood, no less—creepy, but true) and so finished the journey to the hospital, but left her there alone.

Coming to terms with that had taken 1,187 days. There would have been lots of tears, were any of them able to cry; but instead, there was just a lot of emotion, which Emma had never dealt well with. But she was getting better. Who knew the kind of personal growth one could achieve after death? And it was a good lesson in how to handle (or not handle) things should the son she herself gave up ever manage to track her down.

(She looked—once, before she was turned. All she’d been able to find out was that he ended up in the foster system, too. She just hoped he was having a better time of it than she did. Well, had—he’d be an adult by now, wouldn’t he? Damn.)

So. Anyways. Sunset. Which Emma was watching from the roof of their building, which had become something of a refuge for her over the past 15 years. She had her own bedroom, but after so long on her own, being an adult suddenly under the same roof as her parents (who, despite being physically younger than her, still acted like her parents) was a bit stifling at times.

It wasn’t much, but it was her own space: she’d cobbled together a tent with some reclaimed tarps, filled with gently-used cushions, and on nice nights, would bring out a sleeping bag and let the lights and sounds of the city wash over her. It had been overwhelming at first—she kind of envied that her parents only had to deal with forest smells when they turned, and not the incredible everything of New York—but it had dulled over time, which she probably should have expected; it had only taken her a week or so to get used to the smell the first time, right?

That’s to say—the overwhelmingness did; she learned to tune things out and let them fall to the background. But her senses themselves were the sharpest they’d ever been, consequently making her even better at her job than she’d been pre-death. Having ethereal beauty compared to a mere mortal easily drew in most of her targets; her preternatural sight, hearing, and strength made it pretty simple to track them down and subdue them (she loved it when they ran); and she’d found out they were extra willing to comply with her demands when they were down a bit of blood. (It probably was connected to the whole your-sire-can-control-you thing but it didn’t last once they’d recovered from the blood loss and it kept her from murdering random ne'er-do-wells on the street; the lower a body count a vampire kept, the better.)

On a normal night, she’d be getting ready to catch another skip: either gussying up for a honeytrap, revving up her old Bug for a stakeout, or trying to track them down on Tinder while binging Netflix in the background (they kept up on technology...for the most part; she still wasn’t sure what a TikTok was). One thing a lot of the stories leave out is that it takes a long time to build up the kind of wealth and decadence you see with old vampires; even Emma’s parents still had to work, 40-odd years into this thing (David was an after-hours vet and Snow taught night school) and their townhouse was not rent-controlled.

Of all the vampire media out there, their existence was far more What We Do In The Shadows than Twilight.

(Emma had always preferred comedy anyways.)

God, she was really getting sidetracked tonight. Anyways. No one was working because it was the anniversary of her being turned—her rebirthday, so to speak—and her mom was very much Leslie Knope when it came to anniversaries, but especially this one, given that it marked them finally coming together as a family.

That, and they were all going to get drunk.

“My class is a bunch of assholes this semester—I need this,” Snow had gushed earlier that week, grading papers behind their blackout curtains. (Vampires didn’t sparkle, thank god—at least, not without the help of glitter—but they were dangerously susceptible to sunburns, so the whole pale thing was accurate.) “And David—you’ve worked every weekend the last month; they can definitely operate without you for one night.”

“I put in for it a month ago, dear,” he tutted as he gathered the laundry, placing a kiss on her cheek as he went.

They were definitely one of those nauseatingly cute couples, so it was a good thing Emma’s gag reflex was dormant. And, though she’d never admit it, she was a bit jealous that they’d been able to find—and keep—something that had evaded her her entire mortal life, and likely would for her afterlife, too.

Every now and then, a flash of blue eyes blinked into her vision; the same pair she’d seen on the night she transitioned. She still wasn’t sure they were real, and her parents genuinely knew nothing when she’d asked, so she never did again. The fact that she hadn’t ever seen them again, despite knowing just about all the vampires in this part of town (for better or worse), had her pretty convinced it was a mania-induced hallucination. But damn, was it a good one.

“Emma, are you ready?” Snow’s voice pulled Emma from her daydreams (nightdreams?). “It’s time to go,” she shouted—not loud enough to annoy the neighbors, but enough for Emma to hear.

“Coming,” she replied, then took one last glance at the night sky. Maybe there was something different in the stars? She didn’t know; she just had this feeling that something was going to change tonight.

She brushed her hands down the skirt of her light pink dress; it wasn’t what she’d usually wear, but since this wasn’t her typical honey trap, she’d borrowed a dress from Snow. It was definitely sweeter than her taste, with its pastel color and A-line skirt, but just cut low enough to not be demure. Her high ponytail fell somewhere in between. Her fangs would probably take it in another direction, but it’s not like she was going to pose for photos—she only just showed up in those.

In a moment, she was back in the house, grabbing her purse and joining her parents (who equally straddled the line of sweet and seductive; it was a vampire thing).

Out of nowhere, a flash of light blinded her. “Seriously?” she cursed, blinking away the temporary blindness, only to see her mother holding a Polaroid camera. That was the one thing that could document them; thank god the hipsters over in Greenwich Village had clung to them.

Snow just grinned and shook the picture while David lectured, “It’s not like we got to see you off to prom or anything.”

“Yeah, but are you going to do this every year?”

“Yes,” Snow stated matter-of-factly, smiling at the photo before setting it aside. “Now come on; there’s a bloody mary calling my name.”

“Where are we going?”

“That new underground club at 43rd and 10th. Figured we should try it, and it should be trouble-free.”

‘Trouble’ meaning the Aurum coven. Emma still hadn’t figured out the reason for this centuries-long blood feud, but she did know that she’d been dragged in on the side of Coroza, under a woman named Cora; turns out Walsh had been one of her cronies. And it normally wouldn’t affect her, save for the fact that her parents were turned by someone in Aurum (led by the mysteriously mononymed Gold) and that had dangerous implications, not to mention the rising tensions between the two groups as they began to encroach on each other (and each other’s feeding grounds) on the Upper West Side.

“You sure? That’s awfully close.” 43rd had become an arbitrary border between the two factions, and there had been more than a few skirmishes while people were on the prowl for a midnight snack. She’d had a couple close calls of her own while tracking down skips in the part of town, but had somehow managed to evade notice.

“It’s on our side of the street,” her mom shrugged in response and grabbed her purse.

(Why one side couldn’t just move to another part of town, Emma didn’t know, but she was definitely aware of how stubborn vampires could be. And she wasn’t going to move; there’s no way they’d be able to get a place like this anywhere else for a reasonable price.)

She’d hardly gotten out the door when a familiar scent caught her nose—and not necessarily a welcome one: Graham.

“Uh, hi, Emma,” he stammered, while giving her a shy yet adorable grin.

“Hey,” she answered back, not meeting his eyes—and instead finding Snow’s, who was intently studying the sky. Snow had been trying to get the two of them together for at least 10 years, and while Graham was a great guy, a good friend, and handsome to boot, Emma had never been attracted to him like that. A fact that seemed to keep falling silent on Snow’s ears despite her enhanced hearing.

(His blue eyes were pretty, but they weren’t the pair that kept haunting her.)

Given the sudden awkwardness that settled over the group—because that was apparently something you had to deal with whether you were dead or alive—it was up to Emma to break it. Not that she had any skill in that department.

“Alright, uh, let’s go,” she said with little confidence, and set off towards the club, with the others falling in behind her; Graham stayed close and if she wasn’t mistaken, attempted to put an arm around her, but she walked a bit faster to avoid his reach. The bar was only a few blocks away, which they could normally cover in less than a minute, but they had decided to blend in with the crowd tonight; it was nice to be normal every now and then.

But still—every now and then, the hairs on the back of Emma’s neck rose, and it had nothing to do with Graham’s proximity. Something was coming; she just didn’t know what.

That wasn’t for her to worry about tonight, though. Tonight was for fun and drinks and dancing. And once they got to the darkly-lit club, that’s what she focused on for the next hour or so—

—Until her gaze locked with the blue eyes from her dreams.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

Killian took a deep breath as soon as he exited the jetway—and immediately regretted it. He didn’t know why he expected LaGuardia to have changed at all in the past 15 years. Despite all the reconstruction, it still smelled the same: of old coffee, questionable sushi, and stale humans. (The latter was a double-edged sword: despite eating shortly before he got to Heathrow, there had been a few delays before takeoff and he was feeling rather peckish now, although nothing here seemed appetizing. Which was probably something he had in common with mortals at the moment.)

He didn’t know why he’d assumed that he might have been routed through JFK this time—why would he think Gold would care enough to properly welcome home his best operative from abroad after 15 years?—but he tried to push that ire to the back of his mind as he summoned an Uber.

At least the delays meant he landed just as the sun was setting; his previous plan had been to hang around the terminal until dusk, so at least this prevented any awkward encounters with some overtalkative Midwesterner on their way back to Cleveland. Signs pointed him to the ride share lot, and a gentleman named Marco was waiting to take him home.

On the ride into the city, he marveled at how New York always seemed like a living, breathing thing, constantly evolving and changing. He could still sharply remember the dusty bustle of the town more than 200 years ago, the sound of carriages running over dirt and cobbled streets. He’d watched as the city grew, sprawling both across and beyond the Manhattan island and up into the sky, the smell of horses and people and sweat replaced by the acrid stench of exhaust (although, even his extra-sensitive nose had gotten used to it in short order).

So it was both surprising and not to see how much the city had changed even in the last 15 years, most noticeably in the skyline: the Twin Towers were still fresh in everyone’s memory when he’d left, so to see the new One World Trade Center in their place was a bit jarring. But the sun still glinted golden off the skyscrapers the same way; pedestrians still hardly waited for the crossing signals to give the okay to go; and though he wasn’t in a yellow cab, a language barrier still lay between him and his driver.

Cash tips were understandable to all, though, which Killian handed over once they’d arrived at his apartment building on 34th—the Chelsea side. He’d owned his flat since the building was constructed, which was fairly impressive, but did require him to occasionally change the name on the paperwork lest anyone notice anything suspicious.

(Someone had figured out at some point that it was helpful to have an ally in both the Social Security office and the DMV; Archie and Jefferson traded off every 20 years or so in order to help create revolving identities for the members of the vampire community. The name on his ID at the moment was Kyle Johnson, and during the past 100 or so years since he’d been required to have one, he’d also been Killian James, Ian Joseph, and—though he had to admit, he’d picked this one just to see if he could get away with it—James Hook.)

And thankfully, he’d had a reliable roommate for the past 80 years. “Honey, I’m home,” he called out after braving the still-shaky lift to the top floor.

“About bloody time,” Robin called back from the couch. “You know I had dinner ready for you before you left?”

“Ha,” Killian answered. “I’d hate to see what that looks like after all this time.”

“Oh, I let him go. And good thing, too—he ended up writing Hamilton.”

Killian had barely poked his head into his musty bedroom before he returned to the living room. “You didn’t actually have Lin-Manuel Miranda in here, did you?” To most people’s surprise, Killian was a bit of a theater nerd; the West End was great, but he was looking forward to catching up on Broadway again.

“No. But maybe that’s a good strategy if we want to get tickets.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

His stomach grumbled in agreement.

Robin chuckled. “There’s a bottle in the fridge you can have; figured you’d be hungry when you got back.”

Killian tossed his luggage in his room and emerged again. “Have I ever mentioned that I love you?”

“Maybe a few times over the past several decades.”

He downed the bottle quickly; the black blood market never gave the best stuff—considering the type of mortals who would be willing to sell their blood for money and didn’t qualify to sell plasma—but it hit the spot in a pinch, and every now and then had something good. This definitely wasn’t, but it sated his thirst long enough to take a shower and wash the airplane off of him.

As he stared at the fogged mirror with nothing looking back at him, rubbing his palm over his permanently well-trimmed scruff, he realized he hadn’t yet checked in with Gold. Even if he’d spent the last decade-plus doing the man’s bidding from abroad, it was still easy to forget about him.

Well, mostly—until he glanced back down at his blunted left wrist. Then it just brought ancient memories to the surface, as fresh as the day they’d happened, no matter how many centuries had intervened.

Which reminded him: he was still missing something. He shot off a quick missive to Gold as he pulled some clothes out of his depressingly dated closet (having left anything more modern in a consignment shop in London), managing to put together something vaguely timeless. But before he dressed, he turned his attention on the nightstand drawer.

He slowly pulled it open, though he knew what would be inside: his hook, as sturdy and sharp as ever, with its well-worn leather brace. Sure, he had a fairly modern prosthetic hand—one that TSA didn’t mind so much—but the hook had come first, and was definitely his preferred artificial appendage. He hadn’t meant to go so long without it, but then again, he hadn’t expected his London assignment to take so long.

(Although, 15 years to him was roughly the same as 2 or 3 to the average mortal.)

Slipping on the soft leather was like greeting an old friend (well, another one, albeit he’d known this one longer than Robin). And snapping in the hook settled a part of him that he hadn’t realized had been adrift all these years. It didn’t fully still the odd sense of anticipation he’d had ever since he landed, but he definitely felt more at ease.

With that settled, he finished dressing and then headed back to the living room and flopped on the sofa next to Robin. “When did we get a new couch?” he asked indignantly, inspecting the unfamiliar upholstery.

“As soon as you left.”

“And what was so wrong with the previous one?”

“It was from the 70s! It was hideous and uncomfortable and you know it.”

Killian could only sigh; Robin was completely right.

“Anyways,” Robin continued. “We’ve plenty of time to argue about furniture but very little to decide what we’re doing tonight.”

“Why? What’s tonight?”

“You arrive back in North America for the first time in a decade and a half and you think that’s not a reason to celebrate?”

“Well, I was in Toronto a few years ago.”

“Still the Commonwealth. Doesn’t count. What do you want to do? There are quite a few people anxious to see you.”

Well that’s good for them, he thought, but he wasn’t so sure of the same. The time away in the UK had definitely made him reconsider some of his connections back here in the States; getting away from the drama with Coroza had made him realize how petty he found it all. Though he’d never be completely extricated given that Gold was his sire, he’d definitely be alright with staying distant from the other frivolous disputes.

(And after spending a bit too much time in Brighton—particularly with some headstones bearing the name Jones and some rather divy taverns that were still somehow open all these centuries later—he wished more than ever to be free of Gold’s influence. Alas.)

He supposed he could placate them for one night, though; it’s not like he was going to sleep anyway. “Are there any new clubs to check out?”

“For you—plenty. For all of us...aye, there’s one that’s just opened up about...10 blocks away? Ish?”

“In which direction?”

“Up, but kind of midtown so it should be in the clear.” Meaning no one from Coroza would be there.

“Sounds fine, then,” he replied; after so many years, every club started to feel the same, but he was willing to give it a shot.

It wasn’t long before he found himself dressed in a waistcoat and slacks that were trendy a decade ago, hoping his hair was styled appropriately (he stopped caring about 130 years ago), and waiting outside the apartment building of Robin’s girlfriend Regina.

“Jones, it’s the 21st century; why do you still have a fish hook on the end of that arm?” she greeted when she emerged from the tower, with a young vampire behind her.

“It’s nice to see you too, Regina,” he tossed back. They’d known each other for well over a couple hundred years and this was just how they communicated. Nodding at the young man, he continued, “Who’s this?”

“This is Henry; he’s new.” The statement was matter-of-fact enough that Killian knew she wouldn’t say anything else. But he seemed friendly, albeit nervous, and Gold never complained about new vampires on their side—just Coroza.

It didn't take much for him to immediately think of Emma. His thoughts had drifted to her more than he cared to admit over the past years, wondering if she’d acclimated or if she’d burned out. It was definitely odd that such a brief encounter had left such a lasting impression, but at the same time, it had taken him well over 250 years to get over his first love; he was a romantic at heart, even if that heart no longer beat.

He of course said nothing about it as they continued on; if no one had discovered what he’d done that night by now, he was content to leave it that way. There were other ways of him finding out if she was still around, such as—

—Such as the green eyes staring at him from the other side of the club, barely a minute after he’d entered it, freezing him in place.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

thanks for reading, friends! let me know if you want/don’t want a tag! @kat2609 @xpumpkindumplingx @shipsxahoy @amortentia-on-the-rocks @mryddinwilt @cocohook38 @annytecture @shireness-says @ohmightydevviepuu @profdanglaisstuff @wingedlioness @word-bug @distant-rose @wellhellotragic @welllpthisishappening @let-it-raines @pirateherokillian @bleebug @its-imperator-furiosa @fergus80 @killianmesmalls @sherlockianwhovian @ineffablecolors @laschatzi @ive-always-been-a-pirate @nfbagelperson @stubblesandwich @lenfaz @phiralovesloki @athenascarlet @ilovemesomekillianjones @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snowbellewells @idristardis @scientificapricot @searchingwardrobes @donteattheappleshook @lfh1226-linda

#cs ff #cssns20 #cs vampire au #even death won't part us now #my ff #cssns 2020

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mcrmadness · 3 years

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Madness draws: Behind the Scenes of the Bela/Farin: “Widumihei” comic.

A few months ago I posted here this comic:

CLICK HERE for the original post about that comic where you can see it in better and bigger size, and also reblog it ;)

And this post is just a deep dive into how I plan, do and draw my comics.

Let’s start with sketchbook things...

So every comic needs a story, right? My comics usually are born from either some dialogue I imagine in my head or by an impulsive inspiration that happens when I see something or talk with people and a random idea is triggered. I’m very good at coming up with new ideas solely based on just one word or so which is why I often ask people if they have anything they would want to see/read because I suck at coming up ideas on my own. Or I do get ideas, but not as often as I’d want to.

This particular idea was very old and I have tried but I cannot find the piece that was my inspiration but it was in some of my old German books because I remember laughing at it with either my brother or even with the German teacher in 2011 or 2012. I was only able to find my first “sketch” of the story:

This is in the notebook I used for writing down some comic ideas and even had one comic in it, plus it’s also my fanfiction writing notebook. It has no date but I know for sure it was either 2011 or 2012 because that’s when I did my last Bela/Farin comic and pretty much started my (unintentional) 6 year pause from drawing altogether.

I have always been trilingual when I do these plans for my comics, often writing the “narration” in Finnish and the dialog either in English or German because I just cannot imagine them to speaking Finnish. The translation of that text goes as:

COMIC (sarjis = sarjakuva = comic book in Finnish)

1. The phone is ringing. 2. F: “Widumihei?!” B: ? 3. B: “Farin wtf?” 4. Farin walks from another room. 5. B: “Widumihei?” 6. F: “It means, “will you marry me?”“ 7. B: *wtf* REPLAY:

1. Bela is sitting/laying somewhere. 2. The phone is ringing. Reached with his hand? 3. Looks at the phone, “wtf?”, a thought: “von Jan: Widumihei?!” 4. Bela: “Farin?” / “Jan?” 5. F comes from another room, looks in from behind the door frame or something. B: “Widumihei?” 6. F: “Widumihei: “WIllst DU MIch HEiraten”“ 7. B: “WTF”

So when I then started to draw these comics again in 2018, I kept thinking about this one too and still wanted to draw it one day. If you have read the finished comic, you may notice something different in the old plot versus new: I switched Bela’s and Farin’s roles. Back then I didn’t know too much yet but over the years I have learnt much much more about them and I just figured that asking to marry him even as a joke would be too much for Farin and that it would fit Bela’s persona much much better.

***

I had a bit of problems with getting started with this one, mainly because the last times I drew a dä comic was in June 2020, in April 2020 and before those in October 2019. Because of so long time between the comics, I just always forgot about my methods and in which order I do things and what works for me the best. So every time I started to work on a comic, I had to start completely over because all I had was blank paper and I somehow needed to get my thoughts in order and out of my head, into a physical form aka as text and images on the paper, and it’s easier said than done.

So pardon me but from this on the text is going to get a little bit confusing for a little while from now on - but it’s also a very good look over how the life with my suspected ADHD be like sometimes...

I started working on the plot once again to my sketchbook... I think it was somewhere in the beginning of 2020. Because the next idea there is from the summer. This is what the plot looked like at that point - here I had already switched their roles:

Shortly, the texts go: 1. Farin is reading a book. 2. A phone makes a noise. 3. (Farin) looks at it/read the message. / 6. B appears into the doorway. / 11. F spits out the tea.

And underneath it you can see one of the stick figure storyboards I often do in order to kinda see the text in pictures better, and I will write down or draw important aspects like expressions (Farin’s eyebrows) or things like *facepalm’* or *eyeroll* so that I remember to add them.

Next I was struggling with the era. It needed to be an era with the old mobile phones with SMS options but still not too early because I feel that Farin would have not been the first in line to buy a brand new technology object, especially not when it’s a phone. I was even googling when did Germany get their first mobile phone - I remember I got my first phone aka Nokia 5510 in 2000 or 2001 after my mom got a new one and gave her old one to me, so the story shouldn’t happen too many years before the Millenium.

Originally I planned 1997 for that - I needed to think about that based on their styles because shorter hair is harder to draw. Here’s me trying out some hairs and how they’re to draw and which era would suit my needs the best. I actually find the text hilarious altho it’s mine but this is what it’s in English:

Time period -> 1996-1997? 1998 I’ve never drawn 1999 is not that much fun to draw 2000 is already a bit too late? Bela not that much fun to draw. -2001 moustaches are not fun to draw?

I think I was struggling with my thoughts because the next thing in that sketchbook is yet another storyboard:

Or actually I think this was just to see how many sheets I’d need and how many panels I could fit on one sheet.

Anyhow, I then did other things for some time before I got back to this project this year. Including finishing with the sketchbook I had been using since 2010 (and the half of it since 2018!) and I had to get myself a new one. So when I started to think about this comic again, one night I was just thinking about some Bela/Farin scenarios as usual and suddenly I just felt that I NEED to do the comic in the 1998 style!!! So suddenly we jump from the original 1997 idea to the new era, only because of the colors.

So asap I grabbed my sketchbook and started to look for the proper colors for the hairs:

This one I posted here before too as I was struggling a lot and just felt that I didn’t know how to draw, again. Sometimes when I feel like that, I start drawing with my non-dominant aka left hand because it doesn’t have all that in muscle memory so drawing and writing with it feels more free and it feels almost like pressing a refresh button in my brain. Suddenly the right one know again how to draw because left isn’t too well in control. The below part of the image is done completely with the left hand, including the coloring.

And because I had now a new sketchbook, I somehow couldn’t... deal with the plot and plans being in a different sketchbook than everything else so I had write the plot/dialog AGAIN, into this new sketchbook, along with the storyboards and everything:

Translations: kirja = book, puhelin = phone, oviaukossa = in the doorway, teet suusta = tea(s) out of a/the mouth. “Puhelin zoom” just means “close up to the phone screen” in Madness.

You can also see that I found out that I don’t need to do the stick figure storyboards to imitate a sheet when I can just draw this rectangle and smaller rectangles inside of it and write there numbers to match the things in the dialog to make it much easier for me to plan the pages. And here’s also a small easter egg: there’s 13 panels overall in this comic :D I almost did 12 but then felt that no, I really need to do 13 because, you know, the hairs, the era, the album title. And also because I like the number so much lmao.

So from there we get to the second storyboard which is not just stick figures anymore but just me planning how I want the panels to look like. To get the imagery of the rooms and facial expressions etc. out onto the paper so that I can see them in real life instead of my shady imagination that sometimes isn’t as vivid as what I could be.

Also have you ever tried to draw a beach chair? It’s more difficult than you’d think:

I tried to draw the same thing from the same reference photos so many times and still I always felt like I was trying to draw that impossible triangle or some other illusion image. And it just went on and on here:

Originally I also had planned the second panel to be a close up of the phone so that Farin’s face would be left at the background from the frog perspective. That’s what I was trying to with that weird-ass face on the left but turned out that I have never drawn these characters from such angle and I just... couldn’t see it in my head clearly enough to be able to draw it. So I dismissed that idea and that’s why the angle changed from a phone close-up to a side view to the room and at Farin.

As I was in the middle of planning the second page, I suddenly wasn’t happy with my original plot anymore. I wasn’t sure if it would work and needed to think about it one more time. So I wrote two other dialogs here, along with a storyboards for them both. I ended up choosing B from those two options eventually.

I don’t remember anymore if I had already done the first sketch of the comics or not but at some point I just felt that I no longer knew how to draw in my style. Sometimes you just draw and learn wrong things and wrong methods that you get used to and then you have to take a break and actually do a little bit of studying over your own style to find again the way how you want to draw, and get rid of the bad habits and find the good ones again. In my case it was to draw the eyes way way too big when they originally never were THAT big, so I had to learn how to draw them small and normal again. That’s why I did these, as I really needed to pay attention to the faces and remember how to draw them again:

The front-side views were another big readong for this “study” because I have drawn that perspective only once or twice before and I needed to figure out how I want to draw that. Also, I don’t know if it’s just me but for some reason the front-side Farin reminds me of one of the parent characters from this cartoon called The Rugrats which I watched as a kid. It was totally unintentional, but you can google The Rugrats if you don’t know how the charatcers looked like in the cartoon.

The things below are just me testing something. The red Farins were just to test how the colored pencils work on each other and how the fineliners work with the colored pencils, and which way is the better way to do the shading. And the red colored pencil was the only one available at the time so that had to do.

A little bit about the heads btw: You might notice some difference between the left and right faces. It’s because I have always, always struggled with drawing anything that is looking at right. Most of the animal portraits and all I have drawn so that they look at left because I just find it so much easier to draw. I think with comics it’s because I always start with the eye (and the eyebrows if I don’t forget it) and then do the forehead, nose, mouth and chin, and after that I either continue from the hair (from the front) or do the ear first. But when I am drawing them to look at right, I have to basically draw the mirror image and starting from the hair is not the key because it can easily mess up with the perspectives. I still usually draw everything in the same order but it really is difficult because I’m doing a mirror image and my own hand is on the way, too. Basically I’m drawing from right to left instead of left to right! (I think I should try drawing those with my left hand, then...)

And from here we get to the first sketch of the comic. From here on the images are from my phone’s camera so they are sometimes illegally bad but no can do, I again didn’t think I’d post these to anywhere:

Here you can see I was mainly just focusing on the shapes and the space inside those panels. Just trying to see the perspective and how everything is. The only thing that I drew more precisely was the third panel, with the hand and phone. I had quite a nice memory of old phones in my head but I still googled for some reference photos of Nokia 5110 phones as that was my first phone (as I mentioned earlier), and I also happened to have some of my other old phones on the table nearby so I took my own hand reference photos too:

They always say there’s a little bit of the artist in their art and this one literally has that - “Farin’s” hand is actually my hand! :D And I think the size is kinda on point too because this phone was like 2-3 times smaller than Nokia 5110 and I have small hands, and I believe Farin must have much bigger hands, so the 5110 probably would have looked about the same size in his hand.

After the first sketch, the next step was then - the second sketch:

I also wanted to add more action to the panels so that it’s interesting to look at and not just basically the same panel over and over again with just different speech bubbles, so I came up with the idea of Farin spitting out his tea not being as cartoony as it could be and that he would have to actually clean it up instead of just leaving it there just because in cartoons/comics everything is possible. That way I got more depth into the panels and it was also interesting for me to draw because I drew lots of new postures I have never drawn before, and I’m surprised how well it went despite me not even looking for any kind of reference photos! The only things I used reference photos for were the beach chair, and the phone in a hand. (I have actually always been quite good at drawing 3D objects and spaces, especially if they are rectangular.)

So yeah, this is the phase where everything is then finished with pencil and what follows next is drawing the lines with fineliners - I use Sakura Pigma Micron fineliners for everything else, and black Promarker for doing the lines for the panels (and also if I need bigger pitch black areas done).

Here are the panel lines done but I only had a photo of this first sheet.

And here are both sheets with the finelining done and all pencil marks etc. erased. I really like this part because it looks so clean when all those sketch marks are gone. It’s also crazy to think I literally spend hours drawing something in pencil only to erase it all away later :D

And here’s one photo of the coloring process, the first one has only the base colors done but none of the shadows yet (apart from the shirts), and the second one has some of the shadows done but not everything yet.

Usually after coloring, I will then go through everything with the fineliners one more time to make sure all the lines are dark enough as it just gives everything the finished yet a bit “sketchy” look that what I really like with my comics. The actual last detail is always adding my signature along with the date or year.

And here’s the finished comic one more time for comparison:

Don’t forget to check and reblog the actual post about this comic if you read this post all the way here. I’d appreaciate that a lot since art and artist on Tumblr are not really that much appreciated.

#mcrmadness draws #mcrmadness draws: behind the scenes #my comics #dä fanart #die ärzte

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 3 years

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2021 movies

this year, i’m aiming to watch 50 movies i haven’t seen before. so i can keep track, my want-to-see list is behind the cut. it includes the ones you guys recced me in 2020 that i haven’t gotten to yet plus some i’ve added since. i’ll link to reviews here, and cross them off as i go.

4th man out (2015)

12 years a slave (2013)

a family man (2016)

a simple favor (2018)

a single man (2009)

a wrinkle in time (2018)

about time (2013)

admission (2013)

all the bright places (2020)

always be my maybe (2019)

ammonite (2020)

an education (2009)

ant man (2015)

ant man and the wasp (2018)

aquaman (2018)

arrival (2016)

atonement (2007)

august: osage county (2013)

australia (2008)

bad education (2019)

be kind rewind (2008)

bedazzled (2000)

begin again (2013)

big eyes (2014)

billy elliot (2000)

black widow (2021)

blockers (2018)

bohemian rhapsody (2018)

bowfinger (1999)

boy erased (2018)

brideshead revisited (2008)

bright young things (2003)

burn burn burn (2015)

cairo time (2009)

can you ever forgive me? (2018)

casino royale (2006)

chef (2014)

cinderella (2021)

clemency (2019)

coco (2017)

colette (2018)

crazy rich asians (2018)

crouching tiger, hidden dragon (2000)

cruella (2021)

demolition man (1993)

devil’s knot (2013)

dog day afternoon (1975)

dreamgirls (2006)

earth girls are easy (1988)

effie gray (2014)

enola holmes (2020)

eurovision song contest: the story of fire saga (2020)

fast color (2018)

fright night (2011)

galaxy quest (1999)

girls trip (2017)

goodbye christopher robin (2017)

gosford park (2001)

happy death day (2017)

happy death day 2u (2019)

happy texas (1999)

her smell (2018)

hidden figures (2016)

high school musical (2006)

high school musical 2 (2007)

high school musical 3 (2008)

holes (2003)

how to talk to girls at parties (2017) how to train your dragon (2010)

hysteria (2011)

i am not your negro (2017)

i don’t feel at home in this world anymore (2017)

i, tonya (2017)

if beale street could talk (2018)

in the heights (2021)

inception (2010)

infinitely polar bear (2014)

jackie (2016)

jane got a gun (2015)

joyful noise (2012)

judas and the black messiah (2021)

junebug (2005)

jupiter ascending (2015)

just mercy (2019)

keeping mum (2005)

knife fight (2012)

kubo and the two strings (2016)

lady bird (2017)

laggies (2014)

last christmas (2019)

last holiday (2006)

late night (2019)

legally blonde (2001)

lemonade mouth (2011)

lilo & stitch (2002)

little (2019)

logan lucky (2017)

love, simon (2018)

love hard (2021)

ma rainey's black bottom (2020)

mansfield park (1999)

mars attacks! (1996)

mary queen of scots (2018)

me and earl and the dying girl (2015)

meet the robinsons (2007)

megamind (2010)

men in black international (2019)

mermaids (1990)

miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children (2016)

miss pettigrew lives for a day (2008)

miss sloane (2016)

monkey business (1952)

monuments men (2014)

moonlight (2016)

moonrise kingdom (2012)

morning glory (2010)

mr. magorium’s wonder emporium (2007)

mr. mom (1983)

much ado about nothing (2011)

nancy drew and the hidden staircase (2019)

nanny mcphee (2005)

nanny mcphee returns (2010)

never let me go (2010)

no time to die (2021)

northanger abbey (2007)

obvious child (2014)

old (2021)

other people (2016)

pacific rim (2013)

paddington (2014)

paddington 2 (2017)

palm springs (2020)

parasite (2019)

paris is burning (1990)

passing (2021)

penelope (2007)

pete’s dragon (2016)

pirate radio (2009)

please stand by (2017)

pride (2014)

pride and prejudice and zombies (2016)

professor marston and the wonder women (2016)

quantum of solace (2008)

return to oz (1985)

rise of the guardians (2012)

rocketman (2019)

roll bounce (2005)

saving face (2004)

say anything (1989)

seeking a friend for the end of the world (2012)

shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings (2021)

shoplifters (2018)

short term 12 (2013)

sing street (2016)

single all the way (2021)

skyfall (2012)

sleeping with other people (2015)

someone great (2019)

soul (2020)

spiderman: far from home (2019)

spiderman: homecoming (2017)

spiderman: into the spiderverse (2018)

spotlight (2015)

spy kids (2001)

stage fright (2014)

strip down, rise up (2021)

suicide squad (2016)

taylor swift: miss americana

teeth (2007)

tell it to the bees (2018)

the anniversary party (2001)

the batman (2021)

the beguiled (2017)

the best exotic marigold hotel (2012)

the breadwinner (2017)

the children act (2017)

the craft: legacy (2020)

the disaster artist (2017)

the divine order (2017)

the emperor’s new groove (2000)

the fall (2006)

the favourite (2018)

the fighting temptations (2003)

the five year engagement (2012)

the gentlemen (2020)

the godfather (1972)

the godfather part 2 (1974)

the godfather part 3 (1990)

the great gatsby (2013)

the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society (2018)

the hate u give (2018)

the hunchback of notre dame (1996)

the hunt (2020)

the iron lady (2011)

the legend of tarzan (2016)

the master (2012)

the notebook (2004)

the old guard (2020)

the photograph (2020)

the prince of egypt (1998)

the princess switch 3: romancing the star (2021)

the prom (2020)

the queen (2006)

the second best exotic marigold hotel (2016)

the secret garden (2020)

the skeleton twins (2014)

the spy who dumped me (2018)

the suicide squad (2021)

the trial of the chicago 7 (2020)

the truman show (1998)

the united states vs. billie holiday (2021)

the velocipastor (2018)

the way he looks (2014)

the world to come (2020)

their finest (2016)

this means war (2012)

tick, tick...boom! (2021)

to all the boys: p.s. i still love you (2020)

to all the boys: always and forever (2021)

tootsie (1982)

treasure planet (2002)

troop zero (2019)

two lovers and a bear (2016)

us (2019)

valley girl (2020)

velvet goldmine (1998)

venom (2018)

victoria & abdul (2017)

walk the line (2005)

what we do in the shadows (2014)

where’d you go, bernadette (2019)

widows (2018)

wild target (2010)

wonder woman 1984 (2020)

yesterday (2019)

young adult (2011)

zombieland: double tap (2019)

#2021 movies

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bjy-on-ao3 · 4 years

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Kinktober Day 24

(As before, you can find a link to the AO3 version of this and the rest of my Kinktober 2020 prompts on the ‘Masterlist’ section of the blog.)

I wanted this one to be more fluffy and embarrassing and was trying to figure out who would that work with? Well, an angel seemed a good option, Plus I remember someone hoping for Simeon stuff and that was just a bonus for this.

Kinktober Day 24: Massage (Simeon | Obey Me!)

You tentatively stripped off your clothes until you were standing only in your bra and panties, neatly setting them aside on a bedside table to put back on later. To you, the atmosphere felt heavy and tense, suffocating almost. You felt embarrassed to be showing off so much skin to a literal angel, even if you had learned angels were allowed a good deal more freedom than human texts often suggested. At the same time, you were made anxious wondering what Simeon thought of your nearly bare form.

Maybe you should have been more comfortable around him like this. You and Simeon had been dating for some time, after all and you knew his invitation to ease your knotted, sore muscles had been genuine and pure. Not to mention it would be much easier and more effective if your shirt and such wasn’t in the way. Had such a suggestion come from almost anyone else, the demon brothers, or even Solomon, you would have thought them invested in an ulterior motive, but not Simeon.

You unclasped the hook of your bra, holding the front fast against your chest, trying to get the straps out of the way rather than remove it completely. You lay down flat on your stomach on the cool sheets, head against one of the piles of pillows. You drew in a deep, calming breath, trying to push down the unease and worry for the umpteenth time, hoping Simeon didn’t catch the tinge of color darkening your cheeks.

But it seemed Simeon didn’t need to see your face to know how you were feeling. Perhaps it was simply too plain in your tense body language, or maybe he had come to know you better than you thought. “You don’t need to be nervous,” he told you in a tone you were sure was meant to soothe you. “Please just relax, I promise I won’t try anything.”

You muttered an apology into the pillows you weren’t that he heard. You nodded into the fabric, taking another steadying breath and trying to exhale all the anxiety. Simeon joined you on the bed, swinging one leg over your and sitting upon his knees, nearly straddling your backside, but not quite touching. You felt the fabric of his cloak pool over your legs and brush your hips where it hung forward.

You flinched at the first light touch of his fingertips mumbling another ‘sorry’ into the pillows. The touch was warmer than expected and you realized it was because he had removed his black gloves. Simeon gave a soft chuckle. “It’s fine,” he reassured you again.

Simeon wasn’t at all offended by your jumpiness or your anxiousness, perfectly understanding why you might be ill at ease. In fact, he found the timid behavior rather cute, though he knew if he told you it would likely only embarrass you further. He would save that revelation for a time when you weren’t so vulnerable beneath him.

You worried the tension coursing through you might not subside and defeat the purpose of the massage to relax your muscles. But as Simeon began to work his hands over the knotted muscles of your shoulders and back, you were surprised just how easily it ebbed away. His touch alternated between gentle and almost painfully intense but in the perfect way. It was hard to focus on nerves or anything else when his fingers danced and pressed into your skin in just the right spots. Each tangled mass of muscles his fingers pushed against felt so stiff at first, a painful pressure mounting before it vanished and you melted more and more.

The deft kneading of his fingers rapidly lulled you into a tranquil state, sighing here and there or letting out a short, unpleasant ‘ah’ when he came to an extra stubborn knot. You found though that his touch was almost too good. Eventually, you were struggling to keep certain noises to yourself, becoming more difficult the longer he worked. Though his fingers remained chaste, your body was beginning to react in a way that wasn’t.

Before you could quash it, a long, low moan slipped out, half-muffled by the pillows. Immediately you stiffened, face red hot in humiliation from the noise. You stammered another apology to the angel kneeling above you, but quickly stopped when you heard Simeon laugh again. You craned your neck around, trying to catch a glimpse of his face.

To your surprise, Simeon seemed very amused, though you noticed a slight flush on his cheeks. He wasn’t angry or upset by your slip-up, though you couldn’t tell if his blush was from embarrassment of his own or something else. “You don’t have to apologize, I understand,” He soothed with a reassuring smile.

You flattened your cheek against the pillow once more. “Sorry, it’s just, those hands of yours really are something… divine,” you tried to justify, despite Simeon’s assurance. “No pun intended,” you added quickly after you registered what you had said. Another soft, clear chuckle met your ears. “Ah, do you think you can keep going? I’ll try not to do that again,” you promised sheepishly. You felt you just might implode from the shame otherwise.

Simeon thought about reassuring you another time, though he could feel you just wanted the last few moments forgotten. He continued with the promised massage, catching several more small whimpers and soft sighs that either you thought he couldn’t hear or just wanted to pretend didn’t happen. He couldn’t help the gentle smile that spread across his lips, only feeling more endeared to you.

#kinktober #kinktober 2020 #kinktober day 24 #day 24 #day twenty-four #obey me simeon #om simeon #simeon #undateable simeon #swd om #shall we date? obey me #ao3 #archive of our own #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #fandom

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doafp · 3 years

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creator tag game!

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Thank you so much for tagging me @secretly-of-course <3

1. Favorite episode: Stand Tall. This one is from last month - day seven of jatp week. I just had a lot of fun editing it, and I think it turned out nice!

2. It’s a whole...process. I drew this doafp comic a few months after season 1 as a way to appreciate Bobby’s gay storyline, and the process it took for him to figure that part of himself out. Not only am I really proud of the line art (particularly the first and second panels), but I think the use of the rainbow line - which I included to guide our eyes through the composition - was a nice touch. This is still one of my favorite fanarts I’ve done!

3. Nightime tennis court confession. This one is another Bobby/cartero comic, which I made for doafp appreciation week. I wanted to draw this moment for a long time, but I was always a little hesitant because I didn’t really know what it would look like? Plus, I have very little experience coloring dimly lit scenes. So this comic definitely took a while to get the colors right, and while it’s nowhere near perfect, I’m still really proud of this one - especially because it got me out of my comfort zone!

4. HSMTMTS lyric headers. I made this all the way back in January, which feels like forever ago. I designed each one in such a way that it either related to the lyrics themselves or the general vibe I got from the song. I really like what I did with the last two: I crossed out the word “old” and put stairs beside the word “new” to illustrate Nini’s first steps into her next venture. And for the last one, I illustrated dots and a heart ( . . . heart . . .) to illustrate Ricky and Nini’s love being brief and “just for a moment” in time, before they leave the stage and everything's back to normal. I had a lot of fun just thinking in terms of simple graphics, typography, and color.

5. Katara. This drawing is from my main blog, but I wanted to include it because I’m so proud of it. This was the first drawing I made on my new laptop, which meant that I couldn’t use the drawing program I normally used. Also I had to visualize how her character would look realistically (like, not as a cartoon) so that was a fun challenge. Her cheeks turned out redder than I expected haha, but I still really like this one :)

I’m going to tag: @sonsetcurve @stephadoodles @edgeofalex @madisonreyes @wokealex @reggiesnecklace @captainkippen @pawprinterfanfic (you guys don’t have to do this of course, no pressure) and anyone who sees this who wants to appreciate their amazing works (just say that I tagged you)!

#this was fun!!#i'm usually really critical of things i make #so it's nice to just like. look back & appreciate my creations with kinder eyes y'know?#anyway again no pressure to anyone i tagged!#mine

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eastendies · 3 years

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rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Thanks to @shiftingbetweenfandoms for tagging me!! I drew a lot this year and my art definitely improved throughout, so its great to be able to reflect!

1. Ballum Advent Calendar 2020

This piece was made for the christmas ballum advent calendar this year and I really like how it turned out! The head positions turned out fanstastic despite how I struggle with it and the hands took me AGES but look great! I only wished I had time to fully color it, but I lost the will.

2. Frankie Lewis Lineless Pastel

This was my first attempt at a realistic lineless style with much more vivid coloring with more tones and shading. I kinda botched up the anatomy of this peice, whoops, but I spent so long on the shading and i really love how it turned out! I haven't tried the style again bc its super time intensive but I still love it.

3. Ballum Big Bang 2020

I drew this piece for the lovely @kay-okays and her fic Rhythm Rush for the Ballum Big Bang this year. In particular i liked how i colored the back ground, since i was experimented with different brushes and discovered some really fun ones!

4. Ballum Secret Santa 2020

This one was for the recent Ballum Secret Santa for @minimitchell and the best part for me was how relatively easy it was for me to make? I didn't use a reference for it or go all out with coloring and it shows but compared to last year I definitely improved when it comes to what i can draw and I think it shows!

5. Chantelle's Final Portrait

I made this portrait of Chantelle after her death on the show this October and I really like the expression I chose, plus the shading on Chantelles face. Her hair though definitely wasn't shaded right since it appears too flat, but overall I like it!

I tag @bisexualballum @persephonierose123 @bensaidgayrights @starsdahb

#tagged post #tag game #sassy's art #i left out my ballum lockdown gift bc it pains me to see callums anatomy in that one #kill it with fire #anyway i drew a lot this year?? im proud of myself yall #this was a trip down memory lane #thanks for tagging me!!

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marshmallowbee13 · 4 years

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Love Like Yours Fest 2020

Ch4: Fiery Kind of Love

🍋Warning: this chapter contains spicy lemons🍋

Everything Ramona had been taught of saving herself for marriage was thrown right out the window the instant Asra's lips were on hers. His warm hands were pressed against her back, holding her impossibly close. She no longer cared that there was a party going on, she just wanted to be close to Asra. But Asra slowed their kisses, pressing soft kisses down her neck. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"Have I ever told you you look good in red?" Asra breathed against her lips. Ramona couldn't help but grin. "I... I helped enchant some of the rooms for tonight. I want to show them to you." Asra said. Ramona nodded and let Asra lead her through the garden, like they used to.

They played in the bubble room, pressed together in a cozy bubble and stealing kisses. Then there was the ocean room. You walk in and immediately feel like you're swimming. You can breathe perfectly fine and stay perfectly dry, but there are fish and other sea creatures that swim past. After that, was quite possibly Ramona's favorite: the paint room.

There were little booths tucked into one side of the darkened room and a table with a rainbow of paints. Asra chose a few he liked the most and they settled into a booth. Once the curtains were closed, the world around them disappeared. All sound from the outside world was muted. The inside of the booth was covered in star-like spots of light that glowed just enough to see the bare minimum. Despite the darkness, the paints were very visible, almost glowing in the darkness.

"These are edible paints." Asra said, laying each bowl beside the two of them.

"What are they for?" Ramona asked.

"I'll show you." Asra dipped a finger in a hot pink color and held her arm. He began to paint a little flower on her wrist. When he finished, he gave her a sultry look. He brought her wrist to his lips and licked the paint from it. Ramona's breath hitched. She watched, enthralled by the sight. Once all the paint was gone from her skin, Asra pressed a kiss there, then lowered her hand.

"Do you want to try?" Ramona chose a sparkly gold paint and dipped her finger in. She drew a heart right over Asra's lips. Before she could remove her finger, Asra took her finger into his mouth and sucked the paint away. Ramona removed her finger from his mouth and kissed him, sucking the paint from his lips. Asra parted and painted a pink line down Ramona's neck before going to town on it. This went on until Ramona's and Asra's bodies were aching for more, but ever the tease, Asra stopped.

"Why don't we grab something to eat, then we'll... retire for the night." Asra suggested. Ramona agreed and followed him into a massive dining room.

Foods from all over were piled high on golden trays. The two magicians filled their plates, then Asra took her through a secret portal that led to the gardens. He parted a bush, which revealed a hidden gazebo inside. They crawled inside, balancing their plates, only to find they had company.

She was beautiful, with dark skin and a turquoise dress made of very fine materials. She had intelligent ruby red eyes that seemed to look right through Ramona.

"Nadia, I see you had the same idea." Asra smiled.

"Great minds think alike." she commented. "And I don't believe we met. You are my husband's little miracle worker, correct?"

"Oh! You're the Countess?" Ramona asked.

"Yes, but please, call me Nadia. I am curious, how have you done what a hundred doctors could not?" Nadia asked, taking a sip from a wine glass.

"He's not cured. What I did was more like... flipping an hourglass before the last bit of sand runs out." Ramona popped a grape into her mouth.

"Asra, you two seem quite familiar. How long have you been together?" Nadia asked. Asra laughed nervously and scratched at the back of his head.

"Just tonight. But we've been friends for, what? Five years?" Asra looked to Ramona for confirmation, but she was stuffing her face. She gave him a thumbs up, though. Asra chuckled. Some things never changed.

Asra took a chocolate covered strawberry and offered it to Ramona. She let Asra feed her with a blush. Nadia just watched in silence, sipping her wine with an amused smile.

Asra was glad Ramona and Nadia got along so well. But Asra was feeling Ramona's energy dwindling. She had spent a lot of energy tonight and he didn't want her lagging when she inevitably had to deal with Lucio again.

"You look tired. Let's get you to bed. You'll need your energy for tomorrow." Asra said. Ramona sighed.

"Yeah... It was nice meeting you, Nadia."

"As was meeting you. Will I see you two at breakfast?" Ramona and Asra nodded their agreement before taking their leave. Asra escorted her to her room and once locked safely inside, he couldn't get enough of her. They kissed, moving towards the bed until Ramona fell into it. Upon parting, Asra asked for permission to continue.

"I... I want you, Asra. But this is my first time." Ramona confessed.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle. Unless you say otherwise." The buttons down the back of Ramona's dress were undone, slowly and with plenty of kisses to her newly exposed skin, until it pooled around her feet. Asra gently guided her to lay down on the bed and began to strip down to his underwear. With the costume removed, Ramona could see her effect on him. She almost couldn't believe this was happening.

Again, Asra asked for permission to remove her panties, which she gave willingly. Sly fingers hooked into the waistband and pulled the fabric down her legs. When she was completely bared to him, he took a moment to admire her body. He was surprised that the freckles that graced her cheeks, shoulders, and arms also covered the rest of her body. And, oh how cute! There was one right on her hip shaped a little like a heart. Asra dipped his head and lightly nipped at it.

Ramona gasped. Asra slowly moved up her body, kissing and nipping his favorite things about her body. The stretch marks crossing her hips from puberty, her cute little bellybutton, the underside of her breasts, her rosy nipples. A beautiful flush spread across her cheeks, and her darkened eyes begged for more. And so, Asra gave her more.

He took her hand and placed it on his chest.

"You can touch me, you know." Ramona's hand ran over his smooth chest. She could feel his pounding heart beating inside, keeping time with hers. She ran her hands lower, curling her fingers around the waistband of his shorts. Her brown eyes looked to his for permission, which he gave. Ramona pulled them down, revealing his body completely. His cock bobbed free and Ramona couldn't resist running her fingers over it in curiosity. In theory, she had known that boys' anatomy was different, but this was the first time seeing it in person.

Asra moaned softly at her touch. He guided her hand to wrap around it and gently stroke it. Meanwhile, he dipped his fingers into her dripping slit, spreading the wetness and rubbing the little bundle of nerves that will make her feel so good.

"Asra~" Ramona breathed. Oh, he liked the way his name sounded when she moaned like that. His dick twitched in Ramona's hand.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this," Asra breathed against her neck, peppering kisses up and down it. "You don't know how often I laid here alone, wishing it was your hands touching me. Now you're here and I almost don't know what to do with myself. Tell me what you want. I want your first time to be enjoyable."

"I don't know, I just want you." Ramona replied. She was getting drunk off Asra's aura. The love and devotion pouring off him, plus the smoky scent of his skin was intoxicating.

"You mean you never thought of me? You never laid in your bed with your hands down your panties, moaning my name?" Ramona whimpered.

"I... I admit... I wondered what it might be like. You touching me." Ramona whispered.

"Where? Where do you want me to touch you, my love?" Asra asked.

"My breasts. But what you're doing to me down there feels so much better." Ramona said. She bucked her hips into Asra's hand.

"Does it?" Asra gave a mischievous smile. "Want it to feel even better?" Ramona nodded eagerly. Asra moved down her body until he was level with her most intimate place. Ramona watched as Asra spread her legs and settled between them. He used his fingers to spread her lower lips and gave her core a lick. Ramona gasped as she watched Asra clearly enjoying himself sucking on her clit.

Asra was right. That little pearl of pleasure really made all the difference and, combined with a few of Asra's fingers slipping into her pussy and crooking to make her feel even better, Ramona was panting, moaning, calling Asra's name. She had never felt so good in her life.

A little fire in her gut blazed hotter and hotter as Asra moved. She felt feverish, like she was at the apex of a waterfall, about to tip over the edge... Then Asra stopped. Ramona opened her eyes, not having noticed she even closed them, looking at Asra in confusion. Was that it? The sparkle in Asra's eyes told her no. This was just the beginning.

Asra crawled up her body, kissing her, letting her taste herself on his tongue. He reached down between them and pressed the swollen head of his cock between her lower lips. There was a gentle pressure and Asra slowly, slowly slid inside her, until their hips were flush with each other. Asra gave her a moment to get used to the feeling. When she started to move her hips, Asra knew she was ready for more.

Asra pulled out almost all the way, then slid back in, over and over. He started slowly at first, but at Ramona's insistence, he sped up. Ramona's breasts bounced with the force of every slap of his hips. Asra couldn't help but touch, gently massaging a breast in his hand. The other was blessed with kisses and sucks from Asra's talented mouth.

They were both climbing that peak again, so close, insides burning, but this time, Asra didn't stop. Ramona cried out, her insides clenching over and over around Asra, bringing him crashing along with her and moaning each other's names.

Asra slipped out of Ramona and stood up. He wet a cloth at the basin on her dresser and returned to the bed, cleaning her slick and his seed from between her legs. He finished with a spell over her pelvis, cool and soothing. It was a precaution to prevent them prematurely becoming parents.

Once clean, Asra settled beside Ramona on the bed, pulling the blankets up around them.

"Sleep, my love. You'll need all your energy tomorrow." Asra whispered. He ran his fingers over her scalp, further relaxing her until she was fast asleep in his arms.

@lovelikeyoursfest

#the arcana #the arcana game #lovelikeyours2020 #Apprentice Ramona

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rejectofsociety · 3 years

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2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Tagged by @justmattycakes, thank you!

1. I Know Him - Black Cat!MJ/Peter Parker - This is one of my few bits of writing that I’m actually proud of. Peter and MJ have both been planning a proposal for some time now, but what they don’t know is they both have secret double lives— one as a hero and one as a villain. Once Michelle finds out Peter is Spiderman, things get a little messy. Plus it’s low-key named after a Hamilton song, so what more could you ask for?

2. Do Either of You Want the Last Chip? - Michelle/Peter, featuring Ned - It’s just a little drawing of Ned being a third wheel while his two best friends make out on his couch. He really just wants to watch a movie in peace, but hey, Peter’s happy so he doesn’t mind too much. Although, he would like to know if either of them want the last Dorito before he eats it. He’s a good bro like that.

3. Zombie!Peter and Vampire!Michelle - Michelle/Peter - I loved drawing this one in spooky season! I originally got the idea when @bunnyranger761 and I were talking, and the idea of Frankenstein!Peter was brought up. I loved the idea and decided to draw it, but as I was drawing it I realized Peter looked more zombie-ish than Frankenstein-ish, so I just went with it.

4. It’s Like the Anti-Aloha - Michelle/Peter - I was thinking about MJ’s whole thing in FFH about “Boh” and it being her superpower. When she said “it’s like the anti-aloha” I realized that Peter is “aloha” while MJ is “boh” and they balance each other out! So I drew it. And with the background I just kinda went apeshit with colors.

5. Not To Sure What This Is - ????? - I had just gotten a new photoshop app when I made this. It was actually the first thing I made with the app and I thought it turned out pretty neat. I really liked Zendaya’s Essence photoshoot, so I removed the background of one of the pics, replaced it with some stars, then gave her dragonfly eyes. I thought it was kinda neat!

I really enjoyed doing that! And I think everyone I would have tagged has already been tagged, but if you do have any works you’d like to share, I encourage you to do so! (Also, I hope all the links work, sometimes those give me shit.)

#tag game #fics #art #💙💚💜

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yungimmortals · 3 years

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spoilers | graves & cleo

date: june 21st, 2020

summary: morning after the masquerade. in through the door, clothes on the floor. out the window, there they go!

When sleeping in a clear spot to watch the stars, the sky was also open to the first rays of the sun to wake you up. Which would not be a problem, except that Cleo and Graves had fallen asleep (passed out mid-conversation) a mere hours earlier when Artemis and Apollo had been switching off chariot duty. Cleo’s mouth tasted of stale alcohol, and when she pushed herself up off of Graves’s shoulder, she could feel her hair sticking up in odd directions. She wasn’t insecure about her appearance, but she was pretty sure her eye makeup was either now non-existent or on a place on her face other than her eyes, and that wasn’t the cutest of looks. Despite that, she was happy as she woke up. The bed of a truck wasn’t somewhere you wanted to sleep for more than a few hours, even if there were as many blankets as Graves kept there. As she saw him stir as well, Cleo smiled down at him. “I think... I might still be kind of drunk,” she admitted with a laugh.

Feeling Cleo stir beside him, Graves cracked one eye open, squinting up at the sky. The rosy colors of dawn had started to light up the early morning clouds, giving the world a peachy glow. He turned his head to his shoulder, stifling a yawn and shielding Cleo from his breath which probably smelled worse than a hydra's. With a groan, he pushed himself up and inched back to lean against the side of the truck and stretch his legs. Graves wiggled his fingers at Cleo, a sleepy smile on his face. "I...also think that I am...the same," he mumbled, his voice gravelly.

His hair was sticking up in every possible direction and no amount of trying to flatten it with his hand was helping. Despite his rumpled appearance, he was elated; they'd fallen asleep after a night of drinking and dancing and joking around. Graves was thankful he always left a supply of blankets and pillows in his truck but, as his stomach growled, he wished he'd thought to keep some snacks in the cab as well. "D'you wanna...get some food?" He turned to Cleo with a grin as his stomach growled again, more insistent this time.

Cleo sat up fully, drew her legs up to her chest, and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She rubbed her eye, not caring enough that her makeup was going to get messed up if it was probably already a lost cause. She giggled at his response and wiggled her fingers back at him. “Drunk or sleepy. Or both.” She wrapped the blanket around herself more, so that only her head was poking out.

She was tempted to tell him not to bother fixing his hair; that the floppy look was adorable and that she didn’t mind if it wasn’t nice anyway, but she figured that if she brought it up at all, it would just make him embarrassed. That in itself was somewhat compelling, since she’d get to see him red and mumbly, but her attention was brought elsewhere. “Yes,” her response was immediate. She needed a few things, and food was high on the list. “I need to brush my teeth first, I taste like a distillery.”

"Maybe both. Def sleepy though," he cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders back, satisfied when he heard one pop. "Gods, same. I don't remember drinkin' things that tasted this bad but I need to be minty fresh, stat." Slowly, Graves stood and climbed out of the truck, still feeling stiffness in his bones from spending the night outside. He held out his hands to help Cleo climb down. "We can stop at my cabin? I have clothes you can borrow too, so we don't show up at the diner like....this." He laughed, gesturing to his own rumpled shirt, suit jacket still tossed somewhere in the cab of the truck. "How's that sound?"

Cleo stretched as well, tossing her neck from side to side to open everything up. “Drinks hardly taste bad until the next day. We’re lucky it’s because we slept in a truck and not because we’ve thrown up.” She took his hand and hopped down, exhaling a small laugh at his state before she looked down at her own rumpled shirt and slacks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cam,” she said, clearly amused, squeezing his hand for emphasis. “But I guess if I look that baaad...” She laughed and swung their hands for a moment. “Sure, it sounds comfy. Should I borrow a toothbrush there or scramble home at the same time?”

He squeezed her hand in return, laughing lightly as she swung them. "Not what I meant at all, y'look great, Bancroft. I just thought you might want to add another pair of my sweatpants to your collection." Graves gave her a pointed look, but smiled so it was clear that he didn't mind. "I have extras so we can just make one stop, that cool?"

Cleo laughed and pressed his hand into her cheek, then moved to start pulling him towards the cabins. “Fine, that’s cool, but only because your sweatpants are so comfy, and only only because it’s your birthday.”

As they walked, Graves threw his hand around Cleo's shoulder. "Pretty good birthday, so far." Arriving at the Hermes cabin, he poked his head inside. "Coast is clear, c'mon," he whispered over his shoulder, reaching down to find her hand and give it another squeeze, hoping to lend some much-needed luck before he darted inside.

Cleo felt almost antsy as she followed Graves to the Hermes cabin. Just something about showing up to a place, with a guy she liked, whose sisters hated her, wearing last night's clothes... She was enticed. She held back a laugh when he squeezed her hand, almost holding her breath as she followed him. Once they were safely in his room, she felt safe enough to speak again, though kept her voice at a whisper. "Do you think we'll be the first people in the diner, save the staff? Oh my gods, do you think they'll hate us?" Her stomach growled, and she realized that she didn't care.

Graves closed the door behind Cleo, leaning against the door for a moment with a trademark Hermes kid grin on his face. He nodded, before bursting into action, rifling through his drawers. "We might be but-" He stifled a laugh with the back of his hand as Cleo's stomach growled. "I don't care either. I'll tip real nice, they'll be fine with it." He tossed her a pair of grey sweatpants and pulled open his t-shirt drawer, gesturing between her and the drawer before rummaging around in his closet. Over his shoulder he said, "Pick whatever shirt you want. Hoodie or flannel?"

Cleo didn’t hesitate to start changing her pants once Graves handed her the sweatpants. “Ugh, thank you. I don’t know how I slept in slacks,” she said, as though that was the least comfortable part of sleeping in the back of a truck. She exhaled a small laugh. “Plus, otherwise they’re just waiting around until people come in.” She nodded as she made her way over to his drawer. She pulled out a gaudy shirt that looked like it was about ten years old and held it out to him. “This one right here’s a winner. Love me some hot beer and lousy food.” She grinned. “Ooo, um, hoodie, please.”

To give Cleo some privacy, Graves kept his back to her, beginning to undo the buttons on his dress shirt and tossing it in a heap on his chair before taking off his belt. It joined his rumpled shirt on the desk chair a moment later, along with his pants. He quickly hopped into the pair of sweats he'd grabbed, then fished around in his closet again for a hoodie to give to Cleo. Unsure of her state of undress, he didn't turn around, instead calling out a warning over his shoulder as he tossed her the hoodie. "Incomin'!" Still looking in the closet for something to wear, he heard her comment on the shirt she'd picked and instantly knew which one it was. "Hey! Duffy's is a Myrtle Beach staple. I'll take you sometime, you can judge for yourself."

Cleo knew it was just curtesy, but she found it sweet that Graves didn’t turn around at all. She supposed that she should give him an equal amount of privacy, and stopped herself from running her eyes down his bare back, turning away from him. She squeaked and grabbed the hoodie from the air as it landed on her, and put the shirt back in the drawer, picking out something that looked about as comfy and not nearly as sentimental. “What an offer!” She laughed as she pulled the shirt over her head and took her dress top off under it. “Bringing me to a place with terrible service and food? I’m so in.” She pulled the hoodie on, warm and enveloped in Graves’s scent— the reason why she’d chosen it. She balled her hands up around the sleeves and made a content noise. “Are you feeling sweet or savory?”

"It's a great offer!" Graves laughed loudly, "The service...is slow, but the food is delicious and they make bangin' drinks. Plus, it's walkin' distance from my house and across the street from the ocean. What's not to like about that?" He pulled a flannel out of his closet and tossed it over one shoulder, turning around at her question and walking to his dresser. Rifling through the drawer for a shirt to finish off his outfit, he glanced at Cleo. The sight of her in his sweatshirt made him smile a little crooked grin. "Definitely feelin' sweet, come on Bancroft. You already know I'm getting waffles for breakfast. How 'bout you?"

Cleo listened as Graves described the restaurant, feeling the nostalgia dripping from his words. “It does sound nice,” she agreed. “I guess I’ll tell you what I think when you bring me there.” She glanced back at him when she noticed him move, and moved closer, struck with the sudden urge to wrap her arms around him. She stopped herself, but moved behind him, and pressed her face into the flannel on his shoulder to rest there for a moment. “Oh. How can I pass up waffles? Diners are all about having an excuse to have dessert for breakfast. I can make eggs at home.”

Graves dipped his head to hide the look of excitement on his face. "You've got yourself a deal. Next time I make the trip home, you're my co-pilot." He let his head rest on Cleo's for a second before moving away to pull on the t-shirt he'd grabbed and to slip into his flannel. Patting his pockets, his eyes scanned the room for his wallet, finding it on his desk. "A waffle girl, I knew I liked you," he joked, pocketing his wallet and looking over at Cleo. He quickly rummaged through a drawer; a moment later, he looked triumphant. "Toothbrush?"

Do not press a kiss into his shoulder. Cleo squeezed her eyes shut and repressed the urge. She leaned back when he moved and smiled at him, reaching out to take his wrist with both of hers as he found his wallet. "I know you are not thinking of paying on your birthday, Cameron." She laughed, shaking her head. "I will be taking that toothbrush though, please."

His face quirked into a half-smile as Cleo's hands wrapped around his wrist, gently tugging his hand away from his wallet. Graves pressed his hand to his heart, eyes bright. "I was, only because I had planned on treatin' you. But if you insist," he smiled, letting his hand drop, before remembering that he was holding the toothbrush which he then passed to Cleo. "C'mon, let's get cleaned up and out of here. I'm starvin'."

“Of course I insist, Cam!” Cleo laughed, happy that he didn’t protest. “What kind of friend would I be letting you spend money on your birthday? Not allowed.” She shook her head, the took the toothbrush from him. Reluctantly, she dropped his wrist before poking her head out the door, then crept to the bathroom, walking on tip toes as though that might help her hide from the Hermes girls. She held her brush out for toothpaste once they were ready. “Remember when you brushed your teeth at my place? I’m glad I didn’t have to dislocate my shoulder before this.”

"I'll remember that on your birthday, Bancroft," Graves smiled at her, fluffing his hair up with his hand in an attempt to rid himself of his bedhead. He darted to the bathroom, waiting until Cleo was inside to close the door behind them, grinning at their luck. Less lucky was the sound the toothpaste made as he knocked several things over in the medicine cabinet in an attempt to grab it. "Shit," he whispered loudly, trying not to laugh. Toothpaste on both their brushes, he returned it to the cabinet and raised his eyebrows at Cleo as he started to brush his teeth. "Don't think I could forget that if I tried," he stopped brushing to admit.

Cleo wet her brush and gave him a foamy smile, doing her best not to laugh at the mess he accidentally made. “Gonna have t’shneak out th’window.” She said around the toothbrush, shaking her head at him. She spit, took a bit of extra time on her tongue, and then rinsed her mouth, flashing him a now-clean smile. “Ready for some diner coffee and waffles? I’m picking up the tab, so feel free to get a steak and a smoothie and onion rings too.” She laughed, then covered her mouth when she realized that she probably shouldn’t be making so much noise when she was in the enemy household.

Graves finished brushing his teeth and cupped some water in his hands to splash on his face. "Nothin' I haven't done before," he dried his face with a towel and returned her smile. "Coffee and waffles sounds fuckin' mint. You're already tryin' to spoil me, I won't take advantage." He moved to the window, looking over his shoulder as he popped it open. Cleo's concern with getting caught by his sisters was cute, but right now Graves felt downright invincible. He jutted a thumb at the now-open window, mischief all over his face, voice innocent when he spoke. "You said this was our way out, right?"

As she watched Graves rinse his face, Cleo realized what a good idea that would be, and followed his lead, doing the same after. She wiped her face dry with the sleeves of Graves’s hoodie and smiled at him. “Not taking advantage, just having the perfect birthday brunch.” When he motioned to the window, she laughed once more, and skipped the short way over. “I did. Normally I’d like it if there were some vines and a veranda to climb down, but I guess I won’t complain.”

"Vines?" Graves scoffed, halfway out the window already. "You don't need vines, just step on the ledge where the paint's chipped a little and climb on out, I'll catch ya, swear." He shimmied out the rest of the way and hopped to the ground, beaming up at Cleo, silhouetted inside. He held out a hand, "Do you trust me?"

Cleo pressed the sleeve into her mouth as she smiled. “Where we’re going, we don’t need vines,” she mimicked Graves in a low voice, amused and comfortable and charmed. She followed him out the window, took his hand, and looked him in the eye as she hopped down. “I do,” she admitted plainly. “Is that a bad idea?”

Graves met Cleo's gaze as she gracefully landed next to him in the grass. Sunlight caught on a curl of her hair, his eyes flickered to it. Don't tuck her hair behind her ear. He repressed the urge, looking back at her as his lips quirked up in a crooked smile. "Maybe, but don't you want to find out?"

Cleo repositioned their hands so that their fingers were interlaced, and she returned his smile back to him. "You're right. I hate spoilers."

#m: graves #graves&cleo #chatzy

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iamtotallycool · 4 years

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Waltz of the Flores Rose

I guess this can be considered my contribution to Pride Month 2020 since this is a story between with the ever charming Naomi AND the genderbent Estefania Flores (definitely inspired by @missnobodynobodius genderbend pictures she did earlier!)

This was actually a lot of fun to write and actually very easy to write for that I might have to come back to this combo later! I will officially post this later when it's not super late my time :)

The music room had always been Estefania Flores's sanctuary.

It's where she liked to go to clear her head or even when she needed to think. Even though she had her own Chancellor's office or even when this room had held nothing but junk during Shuriki's reign, it had always brought her peace and solace to be able to sit in one of the plush chairs and feel the sun warm her tan skin.

The difference between back then and now, however, was that more people tended to barge in whenever they pleased and break the tranquil spell. This time happened to be Miss Naomi Turner. Or, Lady Naomi Turner, Advisor to Queen Elena, would be her more official title, and was made more official by the new dress and sash that she wore.

"What's got you with such a worried brow between your eyes, Lady Chancellor?" Naomi asked as she opted to hop up and sit on the side table beside Estefania, even though there was a perfectly good empty chair. "I mean, besides the usual things that give you a sour look."

Estefania promptly stuck her nose up at the Advisor's comment and chose to not grace her with a response.

"If it's about the napkins, don't worry, I got them ordered last week," Naomi continued confidently as she crossed her legs in an unladylike manner. "Same with the floral arrangement and chocolate."

"It's not that, I mean, it was partially that, but I'm more concerned with Isabel's court right now," Estefania said as she turned her attention back to the sheet of parchment.

"Because she didn't follow tradition of picking seven boys and seven girls? She already has a lot more people for her court than I did."

"This is true. However, it's also an odd number, there are more girls than there are boys." She conceded in passing the paper to Naomi as she still had no solution.

Isabel had been very certain in her pick of her court. She had chosen to keep her court to only people that already resided in Avalor since she was too busy with her college studies and upcoming exams to be able to drop everything to entertain and concede to the every whim of visiting Royals.

And the chosen courtiers hadn't been too unreasonable, but it was when it came to the couples for the waltz that they had hit a real snag. Elena and Mateo were an easy pair, given that they were already courting. Gabe offered to be Isa's partner, and he did have experience now being a royal dance partner, so it wasn't hard to argue that. So this left only Quique as the last boy, with Cristina, Amara, Tomiko, Naomi, and Estefania partner-less.

Even when the older woman had offered to not be on the Court, it still wouldn't fix the problem. Plus, she couldn't say no to those big, brown, puppy dog eyes Isa always knew when to use when she wanted to get her way with her cousin.

"Hmmmm," Naomi thought out loud, tapping her chin with her own pen that she had pulled from her dress pocket. "Well, it would probably be best to have Quique and Amara be partners since they're the same height. And then we can have Tomiko and Cristina be partners for similar reasons. Plus, Tomiko may be enthusiastic and...a lot, but she is a good student and can learn the dance we drew up for Cristina."

"But they're both woman."

"Yeah? So?" Naomi furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't have a problem with two woman being together?"

"Oh, don't twist my words around, you know I don't." Estefania tapped her black boot heel softly in annoyance. "But this is about tradition. Most Avaloran dances were designed with men and women pairs."

"Than maybe maybe it's time to shake it up." Naomi jumped off the table and smoothed out her voluminous blue and white floral dress skirt.

"You're getting just as bad as Elena when it comes to puns."

"No one could be as bad as Elena!" Naomi exclaimed with a snort. "Besides, I'm just stating the facts that we're going to have two sets of only women pairs in order to make this work."

"Are you also insinuating that we should be dance partners as well?"

"Of course, we were dance partners for my quiencerea. So we know we can dance together."

"Practice dance partners." Estefania said with as much emphasis as she could muster into her tone.

"Well, even so, this isn't about us, it's about Isa," Naomi said, placing a hand on her hip. "And if she doesn't have a problem with it, than we better start rehearsing."

"Well that's--I mean it'll look--" Estefania sighed and moved to stand and smooth out her own sleek maroon velvet skirts. "You're right."

Naomi tried to not look too pleased, but she probably couldn't help it. It's not often the Chancellor admitted defeat. Naomi's smug expression didn't change at all as she then offered out her hand.

Estefania lifted up a eyebrow skeptically. "You can lead a dance?"

Naomi shrugged. "My mom has taught me a few moves recently."

That didn't really comfort her at all as she continued to stare at the younger woman's still outstretched hand.

Naomi then let out an exasperated sigh at Estefania's indifferent attitude and decided to take action herself. Her hand moved to down to snake around Estefania's waist and pull them together.

Estefania couldn't help but sputter slightly as they now stood toe-to-toe, which only made the smile on Naomi's lips stretch wider.

The Chancellor quickly composed herself as she placed a hand on Naomi's shoulder as Naomi herself placed the hand that was still on her waist in the appropriate position. Estefania quickly realized how long it had been since someone had rested their hand there as she felt the warmth of Naomi's skin through her dress.

"There's no one to play music here," She then argued weakly, still wondering how ridiculous it would look if someone came into them doing this. Especially with how much she towered over the petite and younger woman.

"We did it so many times before that I'm confident we both know how it goes regardless." Naomi took a hold of Estefania's hand. "We're going to dance right now, so you might as well just except it."

With only a quick nod as a warning, Naomi moved into the first step of the dance. Luckily Estefania had her many years of Royal Training that she instantly matched her set pace.

After a few stiff moments, the Chancellor allowed herself to relax and trust herself a little more into her partner as Naomi proved that she really knew what she was doing. Naomi must have sensed this change as she then looked up at her through her lashes in a way that made Estefania's throat feel a little dry.

She tried to quickly brush it off though, she was far too old and wiser to be caught up in silly girl crushes like she had in her youth on dashing heroes and enchanting princesses.

"See, you still got the fancy feet, Lady Chancellor." Naomi commented as she drew out Estefania for a graceful wide sweep. "You must have danced all the time." She caught herself. "You know, when you were younger at balls with your family. Since, isn't that what the uber elite royals do all the time?"

Estefania rolled her eyes, because Naomi most certainly knew that's not what they did do all the time. "We certainly did attend many Royal functions, more so than you could possible ever dream of. And I'll have you know I never danced as much as Elena did."

"Why?" Naomi asked, retightening her grip on Estefania's waist and leaning closer in. One or both of them would have to forgo heavy ruffles on their dress's in order for them to contain the necessary close distance.

"I grew tall at a very young age, taller than most boys. And even taller than most men, which some Kings did not find very find attractive." She said in a bitter tone, even though not all of them had been like that...but definitely an overwhelming had been that it was hard to forget. "So, for the most part, unless it was required in some way or my abuelo did it, I mostly was on the side."

"They shouldn't have been like that. They're cowards for being like that," Naomi said harshly, obvious venom in her tone.

Estefania colored slightly, realizing what she had just said to Naomi. She had tried to say that part as nonchalantly as possible, but it clearly hadn't worked.

How was it though that this girl, or she guessed woman by this point, was always around to hear some of her darkest fears and greatest secrets? And it only made Estefania feel more embarrassed that Naomi always cared so much in response.

"Yes, well, it was a long time ago. And I had always been a skilled dancer, so I never needed the practice," She said, breaking form a little bit to tuck a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "And it allowed me to start talking to Royals and hearing all the rumors and gossip. Gave me an early start to what I needed to know when I unexpectedly became Chancellor."

"Still, despite you being a nag and a little prissy all the time." The older woman's lip curled in slight distain, but Naomi ignored this look as she genuinely then said "You are still a very beautiful and charming woman that they didn't know what they were missing."

Estefania felt her heart practically leap to her throat before feeling ridiculous. She hadn't cultivated years of being known as the Flores Fire Red Rose in court to be thrown off by pretty comments without being able to throw back a few of her own.

Estefania straightened up her posture and tossed her long and full hair over her shoulder in a way that showed off her neck and reinvigorated the scent of her perfume. She hooded her eyelids just enough to be alluring and smirked.

"I see that your own charm has improved greatly, Miss Turner. One would even consider it being wholly natural and swoon worthy. I know I have already been enticed several times before."

Naomi's fair skin betrayed her as an adorable pink blush dusted her cheeks and even the very tips of her ears. It also caused her to stumble in her step and they ended up knocking lightly into the harp that was on the other side of the room.

Without any music, they two woman had just kept dancing and dancing until they had unexpectedly crossed the entire room with no sense of needing to stop. Perhaps some part of Estefania hadn't wanted to stop.

Naomi cleared her throat. "Well, it's a good thing there will be no talking during the actual waltz so you don't have an opportunity to purposefully mess me up and create a disaster."

Estefania scoffed. "I would think someone confident in their skills should be able to do both flawlessly."

"You don't want to take anything away from the birthday girl, now do you, Lady Chancellor?" Naomi asked as she took a step forward so that she had to crane up neck up more to look at Estefania directly in the eyes.

Estefania made sure to keep focus on those bright blue eyes, and not the more prominent curve of Naomi's collarbone that she could see from this angle. "I suppose so."

Naomi smiled. "Though, we have a few more dance sessions to spare in order to make sure we get it perfect."

The Chancellor almost unconsciously leaned her head down slightly so that her hair fell down and curtained her face. "Than I look forward to fully testing the depth of your skill and charm, Miss Turner."

Just when Estefania thought she had won this exchange with that remark, Naomi lifted up their clasped hands and placed a feather light kiss to her knuckles. Filling the woman with something she had not sensed in a long time.

Pure infatuation.

#naomi turner #esteban flores #sort of #genderbend #esteomi #pride month #lgbtq

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airasora · 4 years

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My top 5 avatars from the last decade

@pixie-skull suggested I do a top 5 avatars of the last decade in her reply to THIS post. Thank you for the suggestion! :D

5. The 13th avatar from February 2017

The lowest on the top 5 list, and also unsurprisingly the oldest. This was the second avatar I made where I got to showcase both of my tattoos. Both of them have significant meaning to me, the moon symbolizing my name’s meaning and the roses symbolizing my close relationship with my mother (she has a matching one, slighter up the arm though as she was afraid that it would hurt too much to have it done on the thin skin of the wrist ;P) This was also the second time I used Esmeralda’s hair to show off my own curls.

4. The 15th avatar from October 2017

A “made spontaneously” avatar, which was originally just made for a collab I did with @myhollie1911. Or something like that... I actually don’t remember what this was made for anymore, only that it was NOT made with the intention of a new avatar. That kinda just happened after I realized how much I liked it. Both this and number 5 on the list has Holli Would’s body in them since I, back then, loved this black dress I had with some see-through material on the arms and chest. You can clearly see the quality shift between these two x’D

3. The 18th avatar from September 2018

Yeah, it’s no surprise as we get higher on the list, the more recent the avatar is. I really love this one, especially since I got to use one of my favorite animes as reference for the hair. Sana from Kodocha is an ICON and it’s the only long anime I’ve ever watched with it being 102 episodes. The outfit is from another of my most rewatched animes as well called B gata H kei, which roughyl means “B-cupped slut”. It’s... a funny anime, I swear x’D

2. The 14th avatar from September 2017

The spot for 2nd and 1st place was REALLY TOUGH. Cause this avatar has HAUNTED ME ever since I made it... it quickly became the “I’m never gonna be able to top this” avatar, and I was dissatisfied with most of my avatars following it. Not that I ever considered them BAD, I just never loved them as much as I loved this one. And it’s not hard to see why, it checks the whole list; Sign language reference? Check. Both of my tattoos? Check. Esmeralda’s curly hair with my hair colors in it? Check. Outfit from one of my favorite cartoon shows? Check. All of the avatars which followed this one just didn’t shine as bright to me as this one did... Until our number 1 pick.

1. The 19th avatar from January 2020

This one... finally checked off MORE than my number 2 pick; Not only did I finally include my glasses... I changed Belle’s face to be more plump, I chose the plus size model who showed off one of my actual favorite tops in real life AND I drew the hair myself along with the necklace my mother gave me for Christmas 2019. THIS finally had everything hence why it became my top pick.

Do you agree with my list? Are there any of my avatars you remember with fondness? How about making a top 5 of YOUR avatars as well? :D

Want to see my BOTTOM 5 avatars from the last decade? Click here.

#disney edit #avatar #compilation #top 5 #belle #mlgd #my life goes disney

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tracyk13 · 4 years

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36 and what a world I have seen

Honestly I’ve been terrible at journalling lately. Love handwriting in quill and ink style, but my current life leaves me exhausted after work and most of my time spent in education. But currently the Covid-19 pandemic made me consider the important world events I have witnessed.

Born in 1984 I lived in a world of rapidly changing technology but still being forced outside to play. We always had an Apple computer in our house for as long as I can remember. Played the Oregon Trail in black and white, then in color. That was the standard computer game of my childhood. Mom got us Mario Teaches Typing, probably the only “video game” I ever played at that point. AOL was a thing. All those CDs in the mail with updates. I never really got into it, but my twin sister did.

Also a child of the Disney Golden Age of animation. Dramatically influenced my life to the point I went to work for Walt Disney World after college. Still a Disney fanatic to this day.

Apparently my family visited Yellowstone National park (age 4? too young to remember anyway) then not too long after the park had the fire.

Was alive though not conscious of world events when the Berlin Wall fell. Watch the birth of CNN during the first Desert Storm when my dad was there overseeing some of the first drone flights. The military required a pilot on hand for those flights. He told us later how some Iraqis would surrender to the drone plane, not that it was ever one of the ones he supervised. And according to my mom I frequently asked to NOT watch the 24 hour stream of news because it was too depressing and I knew that’s where dad was.

Really started to pay attention to news (not that l enjoyed it but that’s the timeline for how chidden develop) during the O.J. Simpson trial.

By that point I had lived on both coasts of the USA, crossed country twice, lived in many different environments from Washington’s cold wet seasons to California’s deserts California’s coast to landlocked suburbia of Georgia.

Where I learned to drive, had a single Nokia phone for me and my twin in our tiny Cabrio convertible (I hate convertibles). Got a personal computer for the first time, where before it was a single family computer. The iMacs were coming out right when we were heading to college. My sister got the desktop, I got the laptop and have never looked back. Still have my gumstick shuffle iPod floating around and it still works.

Got to watch the insanity of Indecision 2000 and appreciate political humor for the first time.

I’ve been to 9 different schools for 12 years of school, not including college. That would make it ten. Was a freshman in high school when the Columbine shootings happened. Some weeks later we had a pipe bomb threat at our school which forced all the students out to the football field. From the top of the bleachers we could see the bomb squad and their dogs entering the school. All I could think of was if someone really wanted to kill at lot of people, there on the bleachers would be the place to do it. Then at some point in my adult life someone did it at a movie theater showing The Dark Knight.

Saw the images of the Oklahoma City bombing. Heard about the Unabomber. Watched the Waco Texas incident.

But my senior year was the time of 9/11. My math class was out in the hallway doing a math related science type experiment, can’t tell you what it was. But that day was the only day I have ever heard a school of nearly 5,000 students absolutely silent during class change. Thus Desert Storm part two happened.

Right before I headed off to college. So I wasn’t super savvy about applying to colleges. I only applied to one. Didn’t have a clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve done a wide variety of sports, been writing fiction since at least 10 years old, drew and painted fairly well, thought about doing animation or architecture (did a semester learning thing with a local firm, decided it wasn’t for me).

Ended up getting a degree in two foreign languages but not fluent in either. It did greatly improve my understanding of the English language. And I had the privilege of an exchange program for a school year to Japan, plus of study abroad summer to Germany. Would never regret any of that. Even if it didn’t get me a degree that got me a job.

Instead I went to Disney World as part of their internship program. Been in foods and hospitality for a significant portion of my life (thus far). Loved working there. Got to work with the Characters and it was fabulous. Even with the frustrations of all work environments.

But it couldn’t last. Minimum wage was raised, but the cost of living out stripped the earnings for a single person living alone. Prompting a move back home with parents to get another degree. Then the Housing bubble burst, loans defaulted, mortgage crisis, resulting in the Great Recession. It did get me a house in my name but basically an income property for my mom as her inheritance from my grandmother. All the while I’m going to school to be a nurse.

Now let’s not forget about the many weather crises I’ve witnessed via the news. Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Maria to name the ones I easily remember. The Class 5 tornado that wiped out a midwestern town. The volcano in Iceland rerouting planes. The tsunami in Indonesia and Sumatra. The massive earthquake in Haiti. These are only the ones that easily come to mind without researching what happened during the years I’ve been alive.

Not to mention the diseases that I’ve seen via the news. First to mind was the Ebola outbreak while I was in nursing school. Saw the hype on the Swine Flue, SARS, Avian flu to name a few easily remembered. Those never reached me personally. Now it’s Covid-19 unfolding. Called SARS-CoV-19 now, but that later.

But its not all disasters. Went to the Atlanta Centennial Olympics still have the t-shirt. Was alive during the first black president.

Took part in the massive phenomena that was Harry Potter and still love it to this day. It showed me that fiction/fantasy could be a mainstream genre to write for. I started writing FanFiction at that time to fill in the long spaces between books. Started when fan fiction.net had the 7or 8 main characters to choose from for tagging. It was like the Wild West of figuring out what you were about to read. Learned about Slash, yaoi, lemons and such the hard way. But being exposed to it that way did open my eyes to what goes on in other people’s heads. Knew immediately that just because I didn’t like something didn't mean I had to hate on it. I left it alone once found and kept going. Really helped increase my tolerance to other cultures and thoughts.

Met my best friend on a role playing site and we wrote nonstop during our college years. Went to her wedding, have a lovely Renaissance style dress as a bridesmaid gift. Still am in touch with her. We don’t write together any more as we have moved in our lives with adulting. But I still have all those stories and hope to turn them into something.

Had my first camera cell phone in Japan as just a basic free phone. Was shocked to find cameras in the States were not standard. One of my friends in Japan kept doing selfies before they were called selfies. Blind positioning of the camera for pictures. Then came the iPhone and the world never looked back.

Joined Facebook when it required a college email. Used MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger to communicate with people around the world. Didn’t join the Twitter or Tumblr movement until after they became established. Saw the boom and bust of the Dot.Com bubble. Watched the Dow Jones numbers increase without the income to invest the way they said to.

Lived right above the poverty line during the Recession. Not knowing if I could make it the next month. Never being able to claim poverty on the tax forms. Caught in the income dead space of not being able to afford health insurance from the markets but in a state that didn’t allow for Medicaid expansion.

But I do not have the worry now thankfully.

Jobs wise I’ve been a telemarketer, dishwasher, a line cook, a hostess, server, janitor, assistant manager, and now I’m a nurse. I started on med/surg, ED, Cardiac, and ICU. In a small rural hospital getting smaller in a time when rural were shutting down because of no funding. They serve areas with a high rates of unemployment, uninsured, drug and alcohol abuse.

Worked at a busier hospital were no bed was left empty. Sicker patients. Work in a mid-size place. Some days super busy, some slower.

Covid-19 had the affect of somehow doing both. First few days was almost empty, now it fluctuates. Mostly rule outs. And the protocols are changing hourly which makes life frustrating for us. It’s the constant unspoken threat of going into work not knowing if you’ll have the right equipment to do the job. I’m not scared of the virus itself, not even of the collapse of the economy. I’m scared of the surge that will put my coworkers at risk.

I live alone (my little sister lives with me now) so very little contact with others. But they have kids and a much closer physical distance to their older parents. I know I will add days to my weeks if they have to stay out for any length of time.

So this is the first time a world event as truly affected me. It is a terrifying time which prompted this summary of my life so far.

I went into a restaurant and saw no one. I never thought I’d see that day. I don’t want people to loose their income, but if people were to go about their daily activities we would loose so many in one go. All I can do is my job.

The more I watch the more depressed and stressed. At work is worse.

I’m teaching myself a new craft because of this. I have taken up leather working to make masks. It helps the creativity outlet. I started drawing class early in 2020 and was set to continue drawing and add painting when the social distancing started. I admit it felt overblown in the beginning. Now the numbers are changing rapidly and we are really seeing what happens in close communities. Just keep working. It’s part of life now. No matter how much if feels like a movie plot line.

But back to other things I’ve seen.

LGTBQA and others coming into the forefront of society. Saw legalization of gay marriage. Quite thrilled with that.

Didn’t hear the term Asexual in reference to a sexual preference until my early 20s. Immediately recognized similar stories to me. Never had an interest in sex or having a partner. A name did make things more relatable, but I will never fully understand people who seem to base their entire existence on their sexual preference.

I’ve been call sir many times based on how I dress. I still sound like a female. Can’t fault anyone for using the appropriate pronoun for what they see in front of them. But that’s a culture that’s growing. Preferred pronouns. But I have to admit that an online friend referred to me as “they” despite a lady being in my username and it felt nice. So in honor of the Special Snowflake term that floated around, I’m an nonbinary aromantic asexual. Probably with a fem-romanitic leaning.

Saw the rise of the Millennials. I’m caught between Gen X and the Millennials. Now that all the Millennials are of age to vote, perhaps change is underway?

I’m back in college for my 3rd and then 4th degree. In nursing. Online. Watching the world combat a virus.

A US that is split down the middle politically. A world with more pollution problems than we can handle. Governments preferring to coverup mistakes and corruption than help their citizens. The term Public Servant is obviously not taken seriously in some places. See Flint, MI and their water. Lobbyists creating bills that benefit corporations rather than people. Politicians that never retire and keep getting lucrative reelection donations from those very corporations.

The rise of narcotic drug use, prescription drugs. Pill mills.

Sex scandals taking center stage in the news rather than things that actually affect daily life. Among things I will never understand is the fear of Transgender women in the women’s restrooms when it was always a straight conservative man who was the center of all these sex scandals.

Asexual brain at work. I simply do not understand. Conclusion: If you look like a certain gender, you’ll most often be treated as that gender.

What I do miss were the kid shows and cartoons in the 90s. They were super progressive with great literature themes. I knew the story of some of the greatest classic literature simply by the references in those shows.

Also the era of War on Drug commercials. Recycling promoted.

My favorite: Captain Planet. Not only was it pushing for a cleaner earth it had different nationalities. Stereotypical, but a far better representation than what I am seeing in kids shows today. It was diverse in that multiple skin tones were seen on screen together rather than specific skin tones marketed to that specific demographic. Now I do like how many more cultures are represented, I just want them shown in ways where color and culture is not the primary focus.

It also surged a desire to protect the planet. The knowledge that we need clean water and air. Educational shows like Magic School Bus and Bill Nye explained what is happening in the environment long before Global Warming became political. With the global shut in we see the world cleansing itself.

Now the marijuana legalization issue. No one has died from overdosing on weed. Unlike Alcohol. Yes smoke isn’t good for your health like cigarettes, but the complications are not as prevalent, well studied, or as life threatening with what is known. The disconnect of state legalization and national illegalities is mind blowing. I hope to see that break so we can study it.

Overall I know I have seen a lot of historical events and I hope to live another 36 plus years to see more. 3 decades, the change of a century and the change of the millennia. Y2K hysteria included.

The world is changing. The outcome is unknown. Peace be upon us all.

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