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[gravelghosts]

Please ask before using my scribbles and do not repost.

"Missed Messages from God"

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Did this illustration of an Oarfish around last summer, which nearly fried my laptop.

This is definitely one of my favourite fish, if solely for the many tales that surround it. In japan they are said to be a sign of an incoming earthquake, while elsewhere it is speculated that they might be the source of many sea-serpent tales. Other's say they are messengers of god. Anyways, on a scientific level there is not much we really know about the oarfish because it usually lives at great depths and we only get to see the sick or dying specimen that accidentally end up at the water's surface.

Another thing that might be worth mentioning, the one who inspired this illustration, as well as my love for this fish is @gravelghosts and their fic "Teaching Poetry to Fish", it's been a while since I last read it but ever since it has lived rent free in my brain.

[gravelghosts]

Teaching Poetry to Fish

Teaching Poetry to Fish by aeli_kindara Rating: Mature Word count: 52k 

In which Castiel teaches poetry to fish. Also, himself. Also, eventually, Dean. (A series-long story, diverging slightly from canon after S14.)

An absolutely beautiful piece in Cas’ authentic sounding and beautiful voice.  The author explores the nature of identity, free will, and the essence of Castiel’s poetic heart.  Normally I’m not a fan of poetry.  Really.  I almost didn’t read this because I’m a big snob.  But it was absolutely worth it.  I even read the quotes from real poems.

I don’t know if the author has a degree in this or if they’re just dedicated to finding the absolute perfect quote, but this story isn’t just a gorgeous look at Cas’ inner life but a master class in literary history.  The inclusion of Ginsberg hit particularly hard both from a queer and war-story point of view.

What struck me the most was the way Naomi’s influence is shown as a part of Castiel’s reality from the beginning, how the attempts to reshape him into who they wanted wasn’t just what was seen in the show, and more than was even eluded to, but a millennia long pattern of abuse.  At times subtle, at times a bludgeoning hammer, it is always effective.

New content mixes with a retelling of canon giving the reader an understanding of Castiel that is missing from the show and honestly from a lot of fics.  It’s rich and imaginative and filled with poetry and every word rings true.

[gravelghosts]

just remembered my dream from the middle of the night last night.

i was on a long journey, awkwardly dragging a heavy suitcase full of papers behind me, and struggling to maneuver said suitcase onto a train. the zipper failed. papers went flying. and as i was trying to gather them all up before the train left the station, a strange being came to help me.

they picked up my papers and read a few aloud before they turned to me and said, "most of this is junk."

and as they spoke their face changed constantly. their voice was a thousand voices. and suddenly i knew in the way you know things in dreams that they were every character that ever was or would be. and they were there as a guide. they were there for a reason.

still, i said, "it's not junk. it's what i need to remember when i write."

and they said, "no. the only thing you need to remember is that if you make a character soft of heart, they should be hard of cock."

and i said "what."

and they said, "all things in balance."

and then the train whistled loud enough that i dropped everything i was holding, and i woke up.

anyway.

new character alignment axis just dropped care of my subconscious, enjoy.

[gravelghosts]

I did it! It’s finally done!

Please check out my podfic of @gravelghosts (aeli_kindara on Ao3)’s magnificent story Teaching Poetry to Fish.

Summary:

In which Castiel teaches poetry to fish. Also, himself. Also, eventually, Dean.

(A series-long story, diverging slightly from canon after S14.)

[gravelghosts]

Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Male Character(s), Castiel/Dean Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Original Male Character(s), John Winchester, Castiel Additional Tags: Sex Worker Dean Winchester, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, but on-screen sex is consensual, wide-eyed hitchhiker routine, Dean Winchester has a complicated relationship with his sexuality, Episode: s14e14 Ouroboros, Non-Linear Narrative Words: 2422

hey remember this? I wrote a fic about it

[gravelghosts]

@ fic authors what do you personally consider a successful fic? What’s the bar?

[gravelghosts]

plants of the taloned highlands, from my critical role fic the gardener.

this flora is based on that of waterton lakes national park in canada, particularly may-blooming species (shortly after snowmelt). in the fic, reani is weaving a mantle of sorts out of flowers; let’s say that druidcraft allows her to do this sustainably. in real life, several of these are rare and should absolutely not be picked. (also. like. it’s usually illegal to pick flowers in national parks. at least in north america. which is not exactly relevant to the world of critical role but LISTEN I don’t want any of y’all showing up at some ranger station with a full bouquet like “my fic author told me to!” and - ok this is a silly worry. I’m done.)

photo credits below:

[glacier lily / low larkspur / shooting star / jacob’s ladder / balsamroot / glacier lily / shooting star / balsamroot / prairie smoke / low larkspur]

[gravelghosts]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Supernatural Rating: E Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel, Sam Winchester, Jack Kline, Amara, Billie, Chuck, Adam & Serafina, Caitlin, Max, Eliot, Stacy Additional Tags: Canon Universe, Canon Divergent, Season/Series 15, alternate s15 ending, diverges after 15x14, borrows heavily from 15x17 and 15x18, Dating Castiel/Dean Winchester, Developing Relationship, POV Castiel, POV Dean Winchester, POV Alternating, First Time, Love Confessions, Dancing, Lebanon Kansas, this has a plot, but it also has fluff, and feelings Series: Part 3 of Dateverse Words: 25,003

“So, third date,” Dean tries to joke. “Shared activity, right? Dancing’s good and all, but what d’you say to fighting God?”

[gravelghosts]

a brief selection of carnivorous plants from my critical role fic the gardener.

these are all north american species, mostly because that’s what I’m familiar with. but there are plenty I haven’t included, even within north america (like the bladderworts and butterworts), but especially further afield (tropical pitcher plants! carnivorous bromeliads! etc). there’s even been some recent research showing that a lot more plants may be carnivorous than we thought, as in the case of the western false asphodel.

photo credits below:

[tracy’s sundew / pink sundew / purple pitcher plant among sphagnum moss / yellow pitcher plant / white pitcher plant / thread-leaved sundew in bloom / mountain sweet pitcher plant in bloom / venus flytrap in bloom / white pitcher plant in bloom / pale pitcher plant in bloom]

important note: never collect carnivorous plants from the wild. make sure any carnivorous plant purchases are from a reputable source and have been cultivated ethically, not wild-poached.

[gravelghosts]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: G Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, The Mighty Nein & Essek Thelyss Characters: Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre, Fjord, Caduceus Clay, Reani, Verin Thelyss Additional Tags: Botany, Gardens & Gardening, Lifespan Angst, but like with an eye toward tenderness and acceptance, Adventurer Essek Thelyss, Essek casts a tower, background Uk'otoa lackeys, Found Family, Established Relationship, POV Essek Thelyss Words: 6,982

Jester says, “You made a greenhouse,” and Essek looks up.

It’s like the Marble Tomes glasshouse of his youth, but also unlike it. Palms and figs and mangroves and tree ferns reach up for the ceiling, and a sourceless waterfall spills through them. The walkway spirals upward, clinging impossibly to the dangling roots of a banyan tree, and vanishes into the greenery. Everywhere there are flowers — dusky pink orchids and brilliant bromeliads, violet and yellow and red.

There are also the plants Essek has encountered in his travels. The ones that grow only in the Blooming Grove, or the Rifenmist Jungle, or the Oderan Wilds. There are plants no one in Rosohna has ever seen.

He takes a shaky breath. He says, “I’ll show you your rooms.”

[gravelghosts]

rb this and tell me what ur accent is. this has no purpose except the fact i just realized i could have like… mutuals with cockney accents or newfoundland accents or something and thats just wild

[gravelghosts]

So, uh, hi! I don't know if you saw the comment on Ao3, but I loved your shadowgast fic so much I ended up translating it into my mother language for fun and... Would it be ok with you if I posted the translation on Ao3?

hi! yes, absolutely! sorry for my slow response - in my defense I've had a bonkers two weeks at work and am just now catching up on, well, anything at all. but I am HONORED and DELIGHTED and yes please go ahead and post! I think there's a little checkbox thingy where you can say this work is a translation of another work and it'll automatically set up a link on both ends. 🥰

[gravelghosts]

Fault Line

3.4k | Explicit | DeanCas

A 14.12 coda, in which Cas resorts to drastic measures to try and convince Dean not to throw himself into the ocean. Inspired by these tweets.

Dean gets as far as the corridor between Donatello’s room and the nurse’s station before Cas catches up with him. The harsh light buzzing overhead would make anyone else look like shit, but somehow it just makes Cas look more righteous. It gilds the edges of his hair. Catches on the few grays at his temples. A fluorescent halo that somehow softens his edges and makes him dangerous and electric all at once.

Here, looking at Dean like he can’t decide whether to save him or smite him, Dean’s years-suppressed desire to reach out and touch increases tenfold.

Dean’s so tired, so scared, so close to losing his nerve over all of this that he has to close his eyes against the sight of him. He squeezes the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. There’s a reason he’d made Sam promise not to say anything to Cas about his plan, after all. He can’t afford to get shaky, and the fact is, Cas just looking at him? Here, now, like this? Dean feels about as steady as a house of cards on a fault line.

When he speaks, his voice gives him away. Comes out rough. Tectonic plates grinding together.

“What do you want, Cas?”

“We need to talk.”

“C'mon, man, we already–”

“No,” Cas cuts him off, and he’s louder than he should be in the middle of the hospital wing of a nursing home this late at night. “We didn’t.”

A passing nurse glances over at his raised voice, eyeing them both suspiciously before returning their attention to the clipboard in their hands. Cas grits his teeth. Tenses his jaw so hard the muscles twitch. Dean tracks the motion on autopilot. Squeezes his own hands into fists in something that he tells himself is irritation, but is really more like self restraint.

Hold it together, he thinks. Pictures the freezer door in his mind with Michael trapped on the other side. Hinges straining. You’ve got a job to do.

“Yeah, well. Whatever,” he shrugs. Faux-casual. “We’re not talking about it here. So–whoa, hey–”

The rest of Dean’s sentence cuts off as he’s shoved backward, and before he’s fully processed what’s happening, Cas has manhandled him through a nearby door and into the cramped space of a supply closet. His flailing hand hits the metal shelving as he stumbles inside, and a box of nitrile gloves slides from its stack. It hits the floor with a heavy thwack as Cas slams the door, sealing them in silence. Dean had barely noticed the sounds of the building around them while they were outside, but now that they’ve been cut off he’s starkly aware of the absence.

The heavy quiet of the tiny room makes him uncomfortably aware of his own harsh breath. His racing pulse. Cas’ eyes are sharp as he stares Dean down.

“What the hell, Cas?”

“We’re talking about this,” Cas bites out, moving closer than he really needs to. Dean backs up until he’s effectively boxed in against the rear shelf, the toes of Cas’ boots bumping into his own. Dean wants him closer. Needs him a half a country away. “Now.”

[keep reading on Ao3]

[gravelghosts]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: T Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Characters: Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss Additional Tags: POV Caleb Widogast, Episode: c02e141, Post-Campaign 2, Aeor, Caleb Widogast's Backstory, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Widogast's Nascent Nein-Sided Tower, Grief Words: 14,589

“I would like you to know me,” Caleb says.

It feels like a secret. Like the darkest part of him cracked open; all his months and years of hiding, of wrapping his arms and scratching the bindings, of not loving, not loving anything but an unkillable cat — it’s unraveling around him. He feels naked. He feels the way he did the first time Pumat Sol spelled him clean.

“I find that — I would like you to know me,” he says, again.

[gravelghosts]

the willow creek ch7 guest star list is all about elegant trogons. elegance may vary.

[ photos: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 ]

[gravelghosts]

Oh hello. Chapter 7 is here.

spn fic: willow creek (post-15.19, dean/cas)

Rating: Explicit (eventually) Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: Supernatural Relationship: Castiel/Dean Winchester Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel, Original Characters, Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy Additional Tags: post-confession, cas comes back, Canon Universe, Canon Divergent, diverges after 15x19, southern Arizona ghost town seeking full-time caretaker, that’s it that’s the fic, Gardens & Gardening, Birdwatching, eventual E rating, Cas being very serenely and directly in love with Dean, Dean having no idea how to cope Words: 22,187 Chapters: 7/?

Link: AO3

Dean runs across the ad by accident. He’s surfing local newspapers, scanning for something that might resemble a hunt, and he skims through the classifieds for the hell of it. Sometimes there’s fun stuff in there, chickens for sale, or even a haunted dresser.

That’s when he sees it: Southern Arizona ghost town seeking full-time caretaker. Contact for details.

There’s a website listed. Dean hesitates, then punches in the URL.

People can mean a lot of things by “ghost town.” Sometimes there’s actual ghosts; just as often, there aren’t. A ghost town can be a tourist attraction, with actors dressed up in old-timey clothes and machines that turn pennies into little imprinted medallions, sometimes those places where you can try out the get-up yourself and get sepia-tinged photographs.

Dean hasn’t been to one of those in a while. He was thinking he should get Cas to go with him to the one in Dodge City, a while back, but now — well, now it feels weird. Cas is back from the dead, again, only now there’s this elephant in the room — I love you — and Dean’s not sure what to do with that.

He’s just pretty sure the answer isn’t bullying Cas into a Wyatt Earp costume.

Ch1 / Ch2 / Ch3 / Ch4 / Ch5 / Ch6 / Ch7

[gravelghosts]

okay let’s be fond. reblog this with your favorite post/art/fic/poem/etc made by the person you reblogged it from!