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they-call-me-the-fomfather · 4 years

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Quarantine Fic Rec

So I decided to do a Sterek fic rec of some of my favs because it’s quarantine and I’ve literally re-read these sooooo many times.

Please heed the warnings! I am an adult and thus read E, if that’s not for you, no worries, there’s other fic on here and out there! DO NOT READ E if you shouldn’t or don’t want to. Let’s all be cool consenting adults, yeah?

Leave a comment on AO3 if you like any of them!

Fly a Little Faster by mirrorkill (32,052 | 1/1 | T)

Everyone knows when you go back in time, you shouldn't step on an ant, just in case you accidentally kill your own grandparent or something. But what happens when you go back in time and, uh, accidentally interrupt the one event that apparently made the Grumpiest Alpha in Town into a ball of mindless manpain?

Well, if Marty McFly can do it, so can Stiles Stilinski. All he has to do is get Derek and Paige to fall in love before he gets pulled back to his own time. And before he makes anything worse. That's easy as pie, right? Right?

Now as Ever (All That Is and Has Been) by venis_envy (52,270 | 16/16 | E)

Stiles can't remember what happened to rearrange the time-space continuum, or how he ended up being pulled into the past. All he knows is that he's there now, in 2003 Beacon Hills, with a teenage werewolf and a possibly-crazy veterinarian as his only allies.

Play It Again by metisket (63,206 | 3/3 | T)

In which Stiles goes along with one of Derek’s plans and ends up in an alternate universe as a result. He should’ve known better. He did know better, actually, and that means he has no one to blame but himself.

“Laura wants to lure the kid in with food and kindness and make a pet of him, like a feral cat. Derek wants to have him arrested for stalking. They’re at an impasse. (And the rest of the family is staying emphatically out of it in a way that suggests bets have been placed.)”

Misfire by mothlights, unpossible (28,804 | 6/6 | T)

“The debt must be repaid,” she says, and it has the weight of a vow. The words resonate through him, ringing through his ribcage and the bones of his jaw, and Stiles loses his breath and maybe his grip on reality because she draws herself upright and where there had once stood a supermodel-level MILF now there is Galadriel’s much hotter older sister, a Presence of unmistakable power in their ordinary, smells-vaguely-of-Thai-takeout hallway.

“Oh shit,” Stiles says.

Help Wanted (But Not Really) by reillyblack (26,097 | 9/9 | M)

"Stiles, I'll clear up your confusion about the position. Derek here needs someone to live with him. He's a difficult person to live with, so I won't sugarcoat that. But his responsibilities at the company right now make it impossible for him to actually take care of himself and his home. That would be your job," Laura explained.

Both Stiles and Derek objected at the same time.

Wolves in the Timber by adeepeningdig (17,217 | 3/3 | T)

Stiles had always thought that Derek would understand, maybe. If Derek had been around to talk about it. He would know what it was like to think that maybe it wasn’t a fluke, maybe there’s something in you, something twisted that pulls blood and betrayal and death to you, like a remnant of your mother’s disease, her monstrous confusion, still encoded in your genes. Stiles still dreams of that day in the loft, the water lapping at his ankles and the dirty light. Derek’s stricken face. He wonders if there are days when Derek wants to tear his own hands off too. But Derek wasn’t around, and now he’s a wolf. So.

He’s 28 years old, it’s been years. He’s past all that. He should be past all that.

There’s a black wolf panting on the floor of his apartment like an accusation. Stiles knows that there’s nothing that Lydia can say or do. He’s not projecting, it’s the truth, it’s the kinship he’s always felt with Derek, and if he could curl into his animal self, he would, and maybe he would stay there. It would be easier that way.

Good News, Bad News, Very Good News by clotpolesonly (2,088 | 1/1 | G)

Bad news: Keys locked inside. Good news: Experienced lockpick Stiles Stilinski, at your service. Worse news: Boss-man might think he was a juvenile delinquent. Better news: Cute deputy totally saw him being badass. Worst news: Deputy already knows he's a total loser, it is Too Late. Best news: Deputy doesn't seem to mind.

Constantly on the Cusp by alisvolatpropiis (40,884 | 13/13 | E)

Stiles is gay, out and proud, and a Beacon Hills deputy. Derek is a firefighter and war veteran who thinks he's straight; or, Derek and Stiles have lots of semi-public hatesex on the road to Love.

A Knight in Shining Flannel by elpie (horribibble) (3,650 | 1/1 | T)

When a frantic phone call from his daughter sends him speeding across town, Derek Hale is prepared for the worst.

What he finds instead are the Stilinskis.

An AU featuring tiny werewolves, awkward single dads, and one bad babysitter.

Strut on a Line, its Discord and Rhyme by xiaq (61,811 | 21/21 | T)

“Carry me,” Stiles says.

“No.”

“But I’m injured.”

“You have a rash,” Derek says. “On your arm. Your feet work just fine.”

“Please?”

“No. You weigh almost as much as I do. And you ate a pound of chicken at lunch.”

"Well, yeah, but I pooped like an hour ago, so.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Don’t play, you love me.”

I do, Derek thinks, relatively horrified. I really do.

Wolf in the House by joelawson (33,481 | 1/1 | T)

“What? It’s totally an improvement. He’s not scowling, or dating bad guys, or slinking around in unsanitary places. Still a bit paranoid, but what can you do. At least he’s a lot easier to get along with when you can buy his affections with ear rubs.”

“And you always wanted a dog,” Sheriff added wryly.

“And I always wanted a dog.”

Suspicious Minds by hellhole (sweetfanfics) (40,105 | 1/1 | E)

“Don’t feed Balto your pizza,” Stiles mildly warns his daughter.

“Derek.”

Stiles pauses, mouth open and cheese sliding off the pizza as he parrots, “Derek? Who’s Derek?”

His daughter rolls her eyes, like Stiles has just asked her the dumbest question ever. “The wolf, Daddy!”

“You changed his name?” Stiles asks in surprise. Usually she’s pretty set about naming things. Her doll’s name was decided two seconds after receiving it, the car has been Alonzo for three years now, and the toaster ‘Pop’ for the last six months.

Meg nods, prodding the sliding cheese back on top of her slice. “Yeah. He told me his name is Derek. And that he doesn’t really like Balto.”

“Is that right?” he asks, eyeing the wolf who seems far too interested in watching a pair of animated moose arguing. It’s official. This wolf is weird. This whole situation is weird.

-- Separated from Laura after being cornered by some hunters, an injured Derek finds himself being rescued by Stiles and his young daughter. In more than one way.

Our Lives are Changing Lanes by grimm (47, 537 | 1/1 | E)

There's a lot of screaming going on inside the first house Stiles visits. He isn't really worried, because it sounds like kids, but then the door opens and hi, says his dick, because the dude in front of him is gorgeous, built like a god with a face like thunder. Stiles wants to lick that solid jaw line. Hold the fuck on, says his cop brain, because the dude's got kids hanging all over him; one's on his back, skinny legs looped around his waist, and another two hanging off one arm, toes barely brushing the ground. There's a tubby toddler clinging to his leg like a koala, and he's got a baby tucked into the crook of the one arm that doesn’t have kids hanging off it. Stiles' mouth drops open.

"How many of those kids did you kidnap?" he asks before he can wrangle his brain into submission.

The man gives him a look that says what the fuck is wrong with you and snaps, "You think I'd subject myself to this on purpose?"

"Oooh," says one of the kids hanging off his arm. "I'm telling Mom."

There’s hella more where these came from, I’ve literally got a list of over 3,000 fic I’ve read, so if anyone likes, I can do another!

Stay safe but don’t stay bored,

Fomfather

#sterek #fic rec #wolf!derek #deputy!stiles #time travel #teen wolf #Derek Hale/stiles stilinski #alive hale family #feral derek

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hippychick006 · 5 years

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SPN Analysis - Season 4

SPN Analysis – Season 4

In relation to This Post, I’ve finally completed Season 4. I also made separate posts on each episode of Season 4 and it’s clear that although there are a couple of weaker episodes, there were no outright clunkers, and the majority of the individual episodes were very good. So why don’t I love the season overall?

1) For me (as you’ll see in the analysis), it was the start of the myth arc outweighing and overpowering the original MOTW concept – road tripping, investigating urban myths and legends. If I was to top 20 all Supernatural episodes, I’d be surprised if at least 90% of them weren’t MOTW format with a nod to the myth arc. Classic supernatural for me, will always be seasons 1-3 and those are my favourite seasons with season 1-3 style episodes like Baby, Regarding Dean and Red Meat joining them. Just personal preference and what drew me in to the show in the first place. This is the biggest reason why I’m struggling with Dabb, but we’ll come onto his seasons later.

2) What I struggled with more than this though, was the overall myth arc of Season 4 and where we ended up. I don’t mind brother angst, I don’t mind Sam going dark side, I don’t mind him drinking demon blood and being ultimately wrong in killing Lilith as the last seal (since Dean unknowingly broke the first seal). What I don’t like is what Season 4 led to, which is the narrative that Sam is constantly blamed by everyone for starting the apocalypse. I don’t like that Heaven’s betrayal was softened by Castiel’s last minute defection which unbalances the season (at least for me) and Sam’s character comes off even worse than it should because of it.

Any detailed notes explaining reasoning, I’ve put under the cut so as not to take up your dash.

Monster of the Week v Myth arc Episodes: 13 MOTW v 9 Myth arc.

4.01 (Lazarus Rising), 4.03 (In the Beginning), 4.09 (I know what you did last Summer), 4.10 (Heaven and Hell) 4.16 (On the head of a pin), 4.18 (Monster at the end of this book), 14.20 (The Rapture). 4.21 (When the levee breaks) and 4.22 (Lucifer rising) were Myth arc. A few were debatable including 4.17 (It’s a terrible life), but since Zachariah says that Sam and Dean were in their real world (with only their memories changed) and that it was a real case, a real haunting with real people affected, I put it under MOTW. Some of the other cases were stopping the breaking of one of the seals which relates directly to the overall myth arc but were enough of a case to put it in the MOTW category rather than myth arc – e.g. 4.02 (Are you there, God, it’s me Dean Winchester).

Wannabe Hunters: 0 (See Note 1)

Ship Pandering: 0 (See Note 2)

Fan Pandering: 0 (See Note 3)

Someone is called “Family”: 2 (See Note 4)

Death having no meaning: 0 (See Note 5)

Sidekick status Updates: 0

I specifically checked on Bobby and there are no mentions of what he’s up to unless he actually appears in the episode. Castiel is not mentioned unless he’s in the episode.

Sam or Dean dumbed down: 2 (See Note 6)

Retcon

Bobby’s narrative changing over time to be that of a father figure

Mary being a hunter and making a deal

One more point I’m going to make on Season 4 is that whenever anyone complains about Season 14 being Sam and/or Dean light or that they aren’t hunting together, or that they are focusing on something that isn’t Sam or Dean (e.g. the Nick storyline), we’ve been told that the show has done this before. And I agree, to a very minor degree they have. Season 4 is an example of this, the brothers were sometimes separated, either working on their own or with other people but re-watching just hits home the difference. If you have decent writing, coupled with decent characters with backstory you get invested in, and decent actors that portray them, you don’t notice because you are completely drawn in to the story. That contrasts sharply with Dabb era where at least 2 out of the 3 (and sometimes all 3 elements) are missing.

Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3 if you missed them are here.

Note 1: Wannabe Hunters

4.17 (It’s a terrible life). The ghost facers are back and appear to have moved on from being paranormal investigators to ghost hunters. They’ve produced an instructional video which newbie hunters Dean Smith and Sam Wesson find extremely useful in their first ghost hunt. The whole dialogue (for me at least) is funny and we were never meant to take the ghost facers seriously. They are just there for comic relief and it’s very much played as two idiots that accidently stumbled into the supernatural world and are very lucky they haven’t been killed yet. They are there to show that people that don’t know what they are doing should not be anywhere near a hunt. They aren’t ever shown to be better than the Winchesters - even in the instructional video, they keep saying they learned things from the douchebag Winchesters, so still score of 0 for wannabe hunters.

Note 2 Ship Pandering

I decided to do a full re-watch specifically for the purpose of watching Cas and Dean scenes through shipper eyes and I’m not seeing or hearing anything I would call ship pandering. They aren’t even friendly with one another. There were no lines of dialogue you could call ship pandering, nor moments between them that were deliberately put in to feed shippers. I don’t see anything for any ship that’s been put in there to deliberately pander.

Note 3: Fan Pandering

There was no fan pandering of characters (e.g. Cass is pretty). It’s not clear whether there were any amendments to the original role of characters following fan reaction to them. On rewatch, I’m actually inclined to say not, but if anyone has any evidence saying otherwise, I’d love to hear it.

In terms of Castiel, he was in the first three episodes, all of which would have completed filming before the first of them aired. By the time the first episode aired, scripts for later episodes would already have been in progress, so I’m inclined to assume his next appearances in 7, 9 and 10 were already planned. Which makes sense as his role throughout the season was to act as a conduit between Dean and Heaven, a single point of contact that tells Dean about the breaking of the seals and Dean’s purpose.

Anna does not appear until 4.09 and she disappears at the end of 4.10. Both episodes would have been completed before either episode aired. So again, Anna disappearing is not anything to do with fan reaction. It was planned. Neither she nor Castiel appear again after 4.10 until 4.15. On rewatch, Anna’s purpose appears more than anything else, to be to drive Castiel’s defection.

The only thing I’m not clear on is whether Castiel was supposed to die in 4.22 and not come back in 5.01, because that would actually have been an amazing sacrifice. I’ll come back to this after Season 5.

Note 4: Someone is called “family”

There are 2 instances of the retconning of Bobby to be more than he was originally written:

4.01 (Lazarus rising). Dean to Bobby trying to convince him he’s not a demon. “You’re about the closest thing I have to a father.”

4.21 (when the levee breaks). Continues the changing of Bobby narrative when he says to Dean during Sam’s detox in the panic room, “Look, I know you hate me for suggesting it, I hate me for suggesting it. I love that boy like a son.

Note 5: Death having no meaning

In 4.02 (Are you there, God, it’s me Dean Winchester), Henriksen, Meg and Ronald Resnik all return. They appear as spirits as part of the breaking of the 66 seals, so not alive, still dead and it was a clever way to see them again without cheapening death. Particularly Ronald, because no doubt he’d be a “fan favourite” with the writers now and someone the Winchesters go to for advice on hunting.

In 4.03 (In the Beginning), Dean is sent back in time and he meets his young parents before they were married. Still dead in Dean’s timeline.

In 4.08 Sam dies briefly due to a wish, which is reversed minutes later.

In 4.21 Mary and Alastair appear, but they are all hallucinations in Sam’s mind when he’s going through blood detox. Still dead as doorknobs.

If I’ve missed any, let me know.

Note 6: Sam and Dean are dumbed down

Okay, not counting putting salt down in rooms with windows:

4:12 - They turn their back on a magician who is tied up to have a conversation and unsurprisingly, the magician escapes the ropes and disappears. I have no issue that he’s capable of slipping the ropes, given the kind of act he has. I do have an issue with Sam and Dean taking their eyes off him. In Dean’s words: “Guess we should have seen that one coming.” Also, they didn’t search the room for him.

4.20 – They should probably have tested Amelia for being a demon prior to letting her go with her daughter. I was going to let it slide, but nope.

#spn analysis #spn critical

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trollhunter94 · 6 years

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Close To The Edge

Pairing: Castiel x Reader

Others: Sam and Dean, Crowley, Meg Masters and Dick Roman

Warnings: Cannon Divergence, Torture

Words: 2.9K

A/N: Part 6 of the Castiel Soulmate Series. Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, __ Part 7

Summary: Castiel deals with the thought that you are dead. Meanwhile, the brothers take Crowley to an abandoned warehouse where a certain Demon is waiting, ready to join the fight.

Castiel had been sitting in the same spot for long enough now to see the sun rise. That spark of purpose that willed him to keep on fighting had been savagely ripped away. You were dead. He was certain of it.

He didn’t want to stand up or do anything productive. The emotional pain had buried itself inwards, applying a constant and heavy pressure to his vessel’s organs, making him completely immobile.

He had searched every inch of that burning warehouse for you, or what was left of you. After finding only burned remains of your backpack, he sat down and listened for you, for any presence of your soul. But there was no sign, no inkling that you were still alive in this messed up and forsaken world.

Even though he’d only known you for two days, the connection that he had felt to you was unfamiliar and indescribable. Now that he had seen the course of your life through memory and touched the pureness of your soul, he felt attached to everything about you.

But, you were now gone. Pulled away from his side, never to return. He blamed himself as Dean’s words rang through his mind: “She’s an untrained civilian. Placing her in the centre of this mess, will only get her killed. She’d last two minutes in there, tops”.

Although you lasted more than ten minutes and managed to rig the trucks, Dean was right about one thing. It got you killed. At least, that was what Castiel thought.

Meanwhile, after several hours of driving, the brothers were close to St Louis on their way to Roman HQ, along interstate 70. The boys were currently discussing the decision to let you fight with them.

“I think it’s a good thing” Sam gestured with a shrug of his shoulders. “Cas has been a little off his game lately and”...

“Yeah, and can you blame him?” Dean interrupted, justifying the Angel’s recent behaviour. “He’s been through the grinder this past year. I’d be worried if he wasn’t”. Dean scratched his nose as he listened to Sam’s opinion on the matter.

“I know, but this time he’s not alone, you know? He’s got her to help him”.

“What? Like he didn’t have us?” Dean questioned, feeling a little hurt. Sam was quick to correct himself. “No, I mean in an intimate way, you know. A human companion will maybe help him to see the emotional side and fragile nature of things. Do you know what I mean?”

Dean was silent for a moment as he thought about Castiel’s tendency to jump into situations without a second thought of the human casualty. Whilst he does believe that Cas only has good intentions, a little humility wouldn’t go amiss.

“Yeah. That’s what makes me worry though” he admitted. “What if he does get attached to Y/N and then something happens to her? If she dies, it will break him”.

“Yeah, I see your point”. Sam’s hand ran through his hair as he pondered the many possible situations in which you could become a liability to their mission. If you were kidnapped, that was leverage to be held against Castiel. If you were killed, that would definitely divert his focus on revenge.

At a loss, Sam let out a small sigh, hands rubbing against his knees as he conjured up their only option. “Let’s just hope that he keeps her out of serious danger”.

“Yeah” Dean snorted with pessimism. “Let’s hope”.

As the minutes passed and miles of shrubbery flew by, they eventually arrived at their next destination.

“Turn in here” Sam advised, pointing to the oncoming road on the right. Dean followed his Brother’s request, leading the car down a side-road and up to a warehouse.

Dean switched off the ignition and looked up sceptically through his wind-shield at the old and abandoned building. “This is where you wanted to go? Have you got some kind of property renovation or hobo fetish you’re not telling me about?”

Sam shook his head with closed eyes and a smile, deflecting Dean’s quirky insult. “No. Just came to get a few things. Help me get Crowley out?”

After an unconvinced eye squint from Dean, the boys swiftly stepped out and made their way over to the trunk. Dean popped the hood and a smile plastered his face as Crowley’s sweaty and dishevelled figure was revealed.

Sam, once again, yanked Crowley out without any sensitivity. The King of Hell stumbled onto the gravel before straightening his posture and addressing his captors. “Come on boys. What’s with all the hostility? I thought we were friends”.

Dean scoffed at his statement. “Friends? You tried to kill us, Crowley. Not to mention the conspiring with Cas to open up Purgatory”.

Sam was quick to jump in with the blame game. “This whole mess is your fault”.

“How is it my fault”? he retorted defensively. “Your Angel was the one who swallowed all those Leviathans. All I did was suggest the idea”.

“Exactly!” was all Dean needed to say, grabbing his sleeve and leading him into the warehouse. Sam was quick to find a rickety, wooden chair and placed it in the middle of the room before pulling a spray can out of his bag, giving it a shake.

Plonking Crowley down on the chair, Dean stepped back and pointed a finger at him. “Sit there and be quiet. If I hear so much as a snarky comment, you’ll be gagged for the rest of this journey”. Crowley’s eyes were full of both defiance and reluctant acceptance as he glared harshly at the eldest Winchester.

As Sam drew the trap along the floor, Dean paced the room, taking in the sight of broken windows and dust-covered machines. “What are we even doing here Sammy?”

“It’s just a pit-stop. We’re waiting for someone” he replied as he finished spraying and stood up, wiping his hands on his jacket. “Who?” Dean questioned sceptically, cautious of Sam’s secretiveness.

“A friend” Sam explained. “Trust me”.

“We don’t have any friends” Dean said, trying to think of who Sam had been talking to. Maybe it was another Hunter.

A figure soon appeared in the doorway. “Hello boys” a familiar voice called to them. Dean shot his head round to see Meg standing there. Before he had a chance to react, Crowley voiced his concern. “Hey! That’s my line”.

Dean’s gaze sharply turned to his brother with a cold expression. “Really Sam? Meg? That’s who’s helping us?”

“It’s nice to see you too Dean” she retorted, feeling slightly offended. Here comes the ‘Demons are second class citizens’ bullshit again.

Dean’s lack of tolerance was portrayed by the look on his face as he swivelled back around to face her. “What do you want, Meg? We’re kind of busy here?”

“I come bearing gifts” she said before looking down at the floor with a fake sadness. “But since I’m not welcome here, I’ll just take this Alpha blood with me”. As she held the vial out in front of her, Dean’s eyes instantly widened with intrigue.

“Whoa, whoa. Just hold on a second” he held his hands up defensively. Meg shifted an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m sorry. What was that?”

Dean’s face dropped as he turned and shared a look with Sam. He knew that she wanted an apology, or at least some recognition for helping them. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. Thank you for helping us Meg. We really appreciate it”.

She smiled sarcastically at his words before throwing the vial of blood to him. “You know, I’ve got just as much reason to destroy that grade A asshole. Humans aren’t the only ones on Dick’s hit list”.

She reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out the familiar sight of the Colt. “Here’s your gun back” she said, passing it over to Sam. Dean’s eyes followed the Colt with a shocked expression and a pointed finger. “Wh- what, where? How?”

His eyes quickly narrowed at Sam with the feeling of another betrayal. “Excuse us a moment” he said as he grabbed the sleeve of Sam’s jacket and lead him to a corner of the room.

“Dude! What the hell? You gave her the Colt? His voice was raised in anger as his little brother had once again, gone behind his back.

“Dean. She’s on our side. She was willing to kill an Alpha to put Dick down”.

“I couldn’t give a rat’s-ass, Sam. You lied to me, again!”

Sam’s arms flew up in frustration. “This is why I didn’t tell you Dean. Because I knew you wouldn’t even give the idea a chance”.

“Of course I wouldn’t” he admitted, throwing his hands up. “But that’s not the point. It’s the keeping shit from me, like that crap you did with Ruby. We’ve been chasing the Colt for days now and you’ve just sat shotgun this whole time, watching me run around like an idiot. That’s not teamwork, Sam. It’s sabotage”.

Sam took a deep breath, shaking off the harsh reminder of his past. “Look, I’m sorry for not telling you. But we’ve got the rest of the ingredients within our reach now. All we need is Crowley’s blood and Cas’, then we can kill Dick for good”. There was still a look of frustration in Dean’s eyes as Sam pleaded to him.

“Please, Dean. Let Meg help us. We all know that Crowley’s not gonna give it up without a fight”. Dean took a moment to think about it. Sam was right. But he was still pissed about the way he went about it.

“Uh, we’ll talk about this later” he dismissed the argument and held out his hand. “Give it to me”. Sam passed the gun over without hesitation, where Dean snatched it and put it in his waistband before walking back over to Meg.

“So how are you going to convince Mr sunshine and daisies over there to give a blood donation?”

The smile that transfixed Meg’s face was full of evil intent, enacting on some revenge of her own. “Oh, I’ve got certain powers of persuasion. Besides, you boys have made my job easier, seeing as he can't go anywhere”.

Sam walked around the trap, admiring his handy work. "It should hold for now. Let's hope these powers of yours are enough".

A snort of sarcastic denial came from the Demon King. Crowley was resisting the urge to mock, but ultimately failed as the words came falling from his mouth. “It didn’t take much persuasion for you to betray your king, you little whore”.

Both Sam and Dean widened their eyes at his insult. Meg didn’t reply, but walked up to the devil’s trap and slapped Crowley across the face with force. Dean couldn’t help but laugh, this was turning out to be a good day.

Crowley lifted his head back up and licked his bottom lip, looking at Meg with a taunting amusement. “Is that all you’ve got? I knew you were pathetic, clinging on to whoever’s got the best chance of survival. You’re nothing but a parasite, to Humans and Demons alike. Nobody wants you around, you little bitch”.

This seemed to infuriate Meg, causing her to approach Crowley and throw a mighty punch towards his throat. The weight of her swing forced the chair to swing backwards, crashing to the floor. Crowley groaned, rolling on his side amongst the broken pieces of wood.

Meg turned around to see the Brothers reactions, not being disappointed by their faces of shock and admiration. “That was awesome” Dean praised with a wide smile.

“Thanks” she said, before something hit her against the back, gaining her attention. She turned around to face Crowley but was met with a chair leg flying towards her face. And then another.

Refusing to give up, Crowley threw each piece of wood towards the pesky Demon with defiance. She attempted to block the harrowing onslaught but gained a few cuts and splinters to the face. Eventually, her patience wore out.

Stepping forward, she clenched her fist and used her power to send Crowley to his knees.

Crowley was now on the other side of torture. Experiencing the pain of having his internal organs crushed was not what he’d expected. After nothing but groans of pain from across the room, Dean stepped forward to try a different tactic. “Give it up, Crowley. She's not gonna stop”.

“Okay. Okay” he surrendered, holding his hands up with defeat, causing Meg to release her hold on him. “You can have my blood. But you lumberjacks are still missing a key ingredient”.

Dean’s eyes darted to the side and back as Castiel jumped into his thoughts. God, he hoped that you and Cas were okay.

You awoke to the sight of total darkness, face covered by a black hood over your head. An attempt to move your arms made you realise that both your hands and legs had been restrained. Breathing heavy, you turned your head to listen as someone entered the room. No, two people.

The sound of footsteps became overshadowed as they began to converse. “The Sucro-Corp trucks have been destroyed”.

A deeper, yet calmer voice entered the conversation. “How did this happen?”

“It was her, Sir. We found her in the warehouse. She was with the Angel”.

An annoyed groan was short-lived when he laid eyes upon you. “Excellent. Well let’s meet our new guest, shall we?” One of the men walked behind you. Lifting the hood off your head, light suddenly burning your retinas until they began to focus on your surroundings. An office room.

The blurred silhouette in front of you was now visible as the famous Dick Roman, standing smugly and smiling at you.

“Hi there“, he greeted you, crouching down to your eye level. “And what do we have here?” You tugged at your restraints, fearful of what this creature was capable of. “Let me go!” you demanded, hoping that they would see you as just an innocent bystander.

He placed a hand to his chest with fake sympathy. “You know what? I would like nothing more than to send you merrily on your way. But, it seems you’ve been busy destroying my things with that sad excuse of an Angel. Now, I need to know, who else is a part of this little scheme to ruin my plans?”

“I’m… I. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who are you people, and what the hell am I doing here?” You played on the fact he had no idea who you were. “Let me go, or I will sue your ass”.

“Oh, quite the demanding one, aren’t you?” He smirked before standing up and slowly pacing the floor. “I know you’re playing dumb with me. If you refuse to tell me who else you’re working with, then I’ll just have to pry it out of you by force”.

He stopped pacing and stared at you expectantly, waiting for a confession. At this point, your thoughts had taken over, dreading and debating how this interaction could pan out.

He gave the man who stood behind you, a nod of his head. This prompted the man to move across the room and up to a large cart that was covered by a white, plastic sheet. He gripped the covering and pulled it away to reveal a display of metal tools and instruments.

You watched as Dick strolled over to the selection and picked up a three-pronged fork. You involuntarily swallowed at the sight of the long and sharp weapon. This was not how you expected this adventure to end; being killed by the bad guy.

He approached you again, gently taking hold of one hand, straightening your fingers and placing the fork under three of your fingernails. “Now. I’m going to ask you once, and only once. Who else knows that you and Castiel were in that warehouse?”

You quickly debated your options. You could keep your mouth shut and endure the torture, maybe give some false names or give in and hand over the Winchester brothers. You chose option one, reluctantly.

A prolonged silence forced Dick to follow through on his promise. “Very well. This is most definitely going to hurt”. He pushed on the instrument, forcing the prongs under your fingernails. The pain was excruciating, causing your arm to spasm against the restraint and involuntary screams to fall from your mouth as the sensitive skin was penetrated.

You were not prepared for this level of pain. Your head hit the back of the chair, desperation for relief coursed through you like severe dehydration, reaching out for something to soothe. Your spirit was unconsciously calling for one thing in particular. Castiel.

At that moment, Castiel was standing inside the hotel room from last night. This was the first place he was drawn to, the freshest reminder of you. After lying down on the bed for several minutes, wishing he could turn back time, he stood up and began to pace the room.

He was thinking about how to tell Sam and Dean of this tragic news, when the lights above him began to flicker violently.

His eyes shot upwards at the instant feel of your presence. The way that you were trying to connect to him through pure emotion and willpower created such an energy that his chest began to fill with a feeling of golden warmth.

A weight was gradually lifting off his shoulders, relief now coursing through him. You were alive!

Thanks for reading. Here’s Part 7 .

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@uselessace @superheavymetalunicorn @sumara62 @eziggyra @spookysculderfiles @doritoevansxwinterschildren @cabbitholeresearch @acheloishe

#castiel x reader #soulmate series #spn reader insert

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magistralucis · 7 years

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Hello! Now that i have acquainted myself with the Bloody Beetroots music a bit I can't help but ask you to share your knowledge and thoughts on Volevo Un Gatto Nero if/whenever you feel like doing it. I am so confused.

Holy Christ you’re in for a ride.

Alright. For anyone else reading this - not that I know why you’d, uh, want to - while the song referred to in the ask is ‘Volevo Un Gatto Nero (You Promised Me)’ (2013) by The Bloody Beetroots, I’m going to delve into the original ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ (1969) and its variants for most of this answer. The Bloody Beetroots’ version is a cover, and so can’t really be discussed without keeping the original song in mind, mostly because the history of this song since its release has been convoluted as heck. What a doozy this is going to be!

As you can see, the original is now nearly fifty years old. There’s an Italian children’s song festival called ‘Zecchino d'Oro’ that has been ongoing since 1959, and ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ (sung by Vincenza Pastorelli) was one of the entries for 1969. It tells a rather harrowing tale. I’ve bolded and underlined only this translated section, to indicate that it’s for the original.

Un coccodrillo vero un vero alligatore(A true crocodile, a real alligator)ti ho detto che l'avevo e l'avrei dato a te(I told you that I have it, and I’d have given it to you.)Ma i patti erano chiari: il coccodrillo a te(But the terms were clear: the crocodile, to you,)e tu dovevi dare un gatto nero a me(And you were meant to give me a black cat.)

Volevo un gatto nero, nero, nero(It was a black, black, black cat I wanted)mi hai dato un gatto bianco, e io non ci sto più(You gave me a white one; I won’t stand for it!)Volevo un gatto nero, nero, nero(It was a black, black, black cat I wanted)siccome sei un bugiardo con te non gioco più(Because you are a liar, I won’t play with you any more.)

Child, it’s just a cat! Jesus!! Chill out for a moment!!!

At least, I guess you’d be tempted to say that for just the first verse, but this child apparently also offers a giraffe and an Indian elephant and an entire zoo to obtain this one black cat. So the longer this song goes on, the more you have to sympathize with them - because, you know. It is a pretty rough deal! The song finally culminates in them snapping and vowing to just keep the cat - whether it be black or white (’ma insomma nero o bianco, il gatto me lo tengo’) - before they play take-backsies on the other gifts. You can’t really blame them. Nobody ends up getting exactly what they want, but the singing child still walks away with a new cat. And that’s why you keep your promises, children.

So far so good. The very same year, a version was recorded in Japan with completely different lyrics. The Japanese version is called ‘Kuroneko no Tango’ (’The Black Cat’s Tango’), and the first verse goes like this:

君はかわいいぼくの黒ネコ(You are my cute black cat)赤いリボンがよくにあうよ(that red ribbon suits you well;)だけどときどき爪を出して(but sometimes you show your claws)ぼくの心を悩ませる(and you hurt my feelings)黒ネコのタンゴタンゴタンゴ(The black cat’s tango, tango, tango,)ぼくの恋人は黒いネコ(my lover is a black cat)黒ネコのタンゴタンゴタンゴ(The black cat’s tango, tango, tango,)ネコの目のように気まぐれよ(you’re as fickle as the gleam of cats’ eyes.)

And yeah, it does actually say ‘lover’ in the second line of the chorus. (The original word is 恋人, ‘koibito’.) No further comment to make on that.As you can see, it’s become a rather more cutesy, generic song under the Japanese influence, sung to the same tango tune but basically unrecognizable from the tale of bribery and betrayal depicted in the Italian original.

But the thing is.

This version got popular.

So popular, in fact, that since the time of the Japanese release, pretty much every foreign-language cover of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ has talked about cute black cats and/or tangoes and/or the general amusing habits of cats - without having any semblance to the original. Faithful Italian covers of the song exist, of course, because it’s a song that’s been around for a long time and the tune has been recognizable in so many contexts as it is; in an excellent example of recursion, the Japanese singer MEG covered the song in the original Italian in 2012, too. (Listen to it here.) But even so, when you hear the tune of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ and it’s not in the Italian, the popularity of the Japanese version and other circumstances have ensured over the past decades that you are almost 100% certainly not going to hear a tale about crocodile bartering. It’s the Japanese version that’s being homaged most of the time, like for example in the Finnish version (’Mustan Kissan Tango’).

Jos mustan kissan saisin, mä sitä tansittaisin.(If I would get a black cat, I’d make it dance.)Sen mustan kissan tassut ne sitten hassut on!(Then the black cat’s paws would be funny!)Kun pitkän narun päähän mä laitan paperin,(When I put paper on a long string,)niin kissa tanssii aivan tangon askelin!(the cat dances with the tango rhythm!)

Hei, tanssi kissa tango, tango, tango,(Hey, the cat dances tango, tango, tango,) nyt mustan kissan tanssi sen ikioma on!(now it’s the cat’s very own dance!)Soi mustan kissan tango, tango, tango,(Play the black cat’s tango, tango, tango,)se japanista lensi tänne meillekin.(it flew from Japan to us.)

Bolded for meta-commentary. This version’s pretty self-aware, at least. (It’s also the single most catchiest version of this song for me, but your mileage may definitely vary.) As far as covers of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ go, ‘Mustan Kissan Tango’ and ‘Kuroneko no Tango’ relate to each other very well, but not so much to the original.Still better than the French version (’Je Veux Vivre Tango’):

Mes parents exagèrent, ils ne me comprennent pas(My parents exaggerate, they do not understand me) Et parfois j'ai les nerfs noués au bout des doigts(and sometimes I have nerves tied at the fingertips)Pour aller a l'école je me lève à 6 heures(To go to school I wake up at six o'clock)Et j'ai les yeux qui collent et j'ai les yeux qui pleurent(and I have eyes that stick, and I have eyes that weep)

Moi je veux vivre tango, tango, tango,(I want to live [a] tango, tango, tango,)mais mon père et ma mère sont toujours après moi.(but my father and mother are always after me.)Moi je veux vivre tango, tango, tango,(I want to live [a] tango, tango, tango,) vraiment ils exagèrent, ah quels parents j'ai là(they really exaggerate, ah, what parents I have here!)

… That’s… not even…. remotely close to… Ah, never mind.

As for why I know so much about this one song, it’s because the Korean version (or versions) was quite popular when it came out. I know of it in two forms, the children’s song version in 1970 and a rather poplike version by a group called Turbo. The latter is what most people my age remember, but the title remains the same: ‘Black Cat Nero’.We’ve actually kept the ‘nero’ aspect of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’, but in Korean that’s merely a name, so I don’t know if that counts as particularly faithful to the original. Still has the black cat, though.

그대는 귀여운 나의 검은 고양이(You are my cute black cat)새빨간 리본이 멋지게 어울려(That scarlet ribbon suits you well)그러나 어쩌다 토라져 버리면(But if you end up sulking somehow)얄밉게 할퀴어서 마음 상해요(you scratch out of spite, it’s very hurtful)검은 고양이 네로 네로 네로([My] black cat Nero, Nero, Nero,)귀여운 나의 친구는 검은 고양이(my cute friend is a black cat)검은 고양이 네로 네로 네로([My] black cat Nero, Nero, Nero,)이랬다 저랬다 장난꾸러기(you’re full of mischief all over.)

I like to think of the Korean versions as a synthesis of the Italian original and the Japanese cover, I guess. We’ve done our best with what was given, even though the ultimate final result just reads like a translation of the latter for most part. I’m sure the 1970 version was a direct reaction to ‘Kuroneko no Tango’, anyway, so it was inevitable.Also, you may have not needed to know this at all, but the ‘[my] black cat Nero’ (’검은 고양이 네로’ / ‘geomeun goyangi nero’) part is an excellent mondegreen in Korean for ‘gum is made of cat brains’ (’껌은 고양이 뇌로’). The sheer amount of playground bullshit I and so many other kids sat through over this one mondegreen is unbelievable. I couldn’t forget this song if you paid me to. Should I fall into a coma one day and lose all my memories, I will bet that this is still the one song that will remain in the depths of my mind, its claws sunk in like… like, well, a cat, I suppose. What gives.

Anyway. I could go on and on, but I really need to approach the question of what The Bloody Beetroots made of the song. And to be quite honest with you, I think this is one of the most truthful covers of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ out there, not just because of the translation but because it preserves the intent and emotion of the original pretty much dead on. The song only makes use of the chorus bit, but take a look.

You promised me Bob Rifo, Rifo, Rifo,you gave me some fake muso, and not the one that’s real.You promised me Bob Rifo, Rifo, Rifo,you’re such a little liar, you don’t know how I feel!HOLY SHIT

Isn’t that perfect? Though it’s done away with black cats, the rest of the lyrics can basically pass for a translation of the Italian original, if you allow for the rhymes! While other covers go on about tangoes or cutesy cats, The Bloody Beetroots’ cover has kept the ‘you promised me x but delivered y instead, and I ain’t having it’ part of the original, which is the central argument of the song. So this cover is still telling a story about a deal unfulfilled, complete with calling the other person a liar. I’d say that the emotion and general tone of the narrative has been kept in those lines.

The chorus alone isn’t the only well-adapted part of this cover, either. If you listen to the rest of the song, you hear interjections of ‘FUCK YOUUUUUUU’ during a couple of points, and while the original singer of ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ -Vincenza Pastorelli - was far too young to express the song’s emotions in such strong language on national television, I think it’s a pretty adequate summary of the song’s intended message. I mean, I don’t know about y’alls, but the anguish of not receiving the Bob Rifo that I ordered and being forced to accept an inferior substitute would fairly piss me off too, I think. And so would the idea of not being able to get my promised cat after resorting to extortionate bribery, in fact - just like the Italian original. The sound of a child bursting into tears at the very end of The Bloody Beetroots’ cover is just the icing on top.

Sure, it’s not a direct translated cover of the Italian, and it’s like 10000x more hardcore than the children’s song it was meant to be, but I reckon these elements I’ve just pointed out are not accidental. Cover versions of songs change lyrics all the time - even though I’ve spoken of the covers listed here with bewilderment for most of the post, I do hold sincere affection for most of them, and they were all excellent hits in their respective countries - but I do think it speaks well of faithfulness to source material, if you preserve most of it as it already stands. ‘Volevo un gatto nero (You Promised Me)’ delivers on that for the chorus, and keeps the emotions of the original intact despite not having lyrics for the other 70-80% that it missed out.

I’m so, so happy about that. I think that’s amazing.And with that, that’s ‘Volevo un gatto nero’ for you. :D

tl;dr: Sir Cornelius Bob Rifo is somehow the one person who managed to make the most faithful foreign-language cover of a fifty year old song, due to numerous mistranslations and variants of said song becoming more popular than the original.

Oh, yeah. And it’s, like… freakin’ metal.

#absolut kurant #the bloody beetroots #volevo un gatto nero #bob rifo #sir bob cornelius rifo #essay #i didn't sign up for it but i really do know a fucking ridiculous amount about this -one- song like holy hell #i was really not kidding lmao #i hope this was helpful absolut kurant #now i need to listen to something else for a bit @_@#the covers are all so maddeningly similar yet not the same #listen too much and you'll begin to feel like you're suffering from some kind of full-on gestalt collapse #long post #very very long post #can't really think of where to split it ._.#i translated a lot of this myself save for finnish #and even then i had to correct things super quickly #so apologies for rough translations ;_;

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