#magical inky goo

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 302

Adjective: Oozing

Noun: Mushroom

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Oozing: (of a fluid) slowly trickling or seeping out of something, or flowing in a very gradual way; slowly exuding or discharging a viscous fluid; giving a powerful impression of (a quality)

Mushroom: a fungal growth that typically takes the form of a domed cap on a stalk, with gills on the underside of the cap; a thing resembling a mushroom in shape; a pale pinkish-brown color

[starstruck358]

Cassiopeia's past part 2

Since its a traditional thing to drink a sacred drink when cassie turns 8, you take a sip, and then you'll have to complete your body by:

Eating a bird for wings

Eat a demon for sharper horns (horns are what store the magic)

Eat pink ribbons for 3 hours ( you will grow a star with nice hot pink ribbons that increase your magic)

Then when you turn ten years old, you'll have a full completion of your body, your hair will turn white, and your skin becomes drippy and pitch black.

You only need the black goo too consume big things and defense (NOT TO USE FOR EATING)

but be careful what you'll do. Once you eat it, you'll become it, but just only a little, its a new power

Anyway... cassie's dad gave her the drink

Cassie: ahhh... that tasted good!

It isn't supposed to be good...

Cassie: AAAH!!! NO NO NO WHY AM I GETTING SO INKY?! NO IT'S TO SOON! AAAGH! DAD WHAT WAS IN THAT?!

Father: heheh... I made a little deal with the Devil...

Cassie: HAHAHA! YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING- AAAA IT HURTS! M-MY HORNS! MY SKIN

FATHER GIVE ME A BIRD! IT HAS TO HELP ME!

I-I DON'T FEEL BETTER!

her bones crack while she get worser by the minute

10 hours later...

Cassie: this stupid gift mother gave to me when I was 4... she married that man

Hoshi: cassie-

Cassie: SHE MARRIED THAT MAN FOR NO FUCKING REASON! AND HE ALMOST KILLED ME!

FUUUUUUUCK!

Hoshi: maybe we can still watch the stars?

this gift... *breathing heavily* (sniff) that basterd... THAT DRINK,

THAT GODDAMN DEVIL!

Peices fall on the ground... her gift was ruined

Hoshi: FINE! (Stupid little jerk)

YOU DID THIS TO HER DIDN'T YOU DINGUS-

(GASP!)

Hoshi: s-she ate his face... t-thats why shes so... m-mean...

Hoshi stepped around him and ran away from home....

Later on... a decade later... he built a spaceship to flee and try to go back home in the sky

The End

(For her story)

[yoshigardenmoth]

New PMATGA OC design!! Inspired by @urlocalbowserfangirl's Sydney OC

Name: Christina Cosmo Hunters

Fake name: Raven Cobra Thornberry

Species: Dhampir Fox-walker

Age: Fifteen

Sexuality: Straight

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Role: Anti-Hero

Occupation: Student at maze high and an inventor

Status: Alive

Appearance: Short fluffy brown hair,dark blue eyes, Banana yellow sweater,reddish pink skirt,tall white leg warmers with white pompoms and black Doc Martens. She has a large burn mark around her left eye,a gash on her left cheek and a small scar on her right cheek.

Family: Sunny(Aunt),Zac(Uncle),Pac/Pacman/Pacster(Cousin),Sophie (mother),Jasper(Father), Strawberry,Forrest, Blueberry and lucky (Children)

Disabilities: Autism,ADHD,PTSD

Weapons: Natural strength,Daggers, Infinite tongue,power berries, Intelligence.

Powers/Abilities: Healing, telepathy, Mithridatism,Object summoning, Duplication magic, Shapeshifting, Telekinesis,Bringing drawings to life, Pyrokinesis, teleportation,turning into a fox.

Creations: Four plushies she brought to life from drawings.

Strawberry- A pink and white female Arctic fox with blue eyes and a yellow bow around her neck.

Forrest- A male red fox with green eyes,white paws and white ends on his tail

Blueberry- A female fluffy blue ghost with a wolf tail and ears,light blue eyes and mouth and little hands.

Lucky- A female black rat with white patches and bright red eyes.

Personality: Antisocial, Ruthless,Stubborn and tough. At times she can be sweet and helpful but she hates everyone in her school so she's only nice to whoever she chooses to care about and her plushie children. She's also a very curious bugger.

Allies: Count Pacula,Cupid Aliens,Strawberry,Forrest,Blueberry,Lucky.

Neutrals: Pac,Spiral,Cylindria,Sherry,Buttler,Dr Buttocks,Tip,Ogle,Cap'n banshee, Elliptica,Sir Cumference, Fuzbitz, President Spheros,Grinder,Overlords of the outer regions,Specter,Jean,Madam Ghoulasha, Blinky,Inky,Pinky,Clyde.

Enemies: Betrayus,Apex,The Pacinator, Whale-topus aliens (especially their leader King Neptune),Dr Pacenstein,Sophie,Jasper,Skeebo,Master goo.

Likes: Burgers,Fries,Pancakes,Ice cream, Milkshakes,blood,raw meat, Spaghetti,Meatballs,Chocolate,Pop,Rap,Anime, Foxes,Cats,Wolves,Horror,The Monsterverse,Rainy days,Storms,Frogs,Ponds, Undertale,Bendy and the ink machine,Minecraft,Super mario games,Merry Berry Day.

Dislikes: Bullies, Socializing with people she doesn't know or like, Biological parents,Sour foods,Country music, Cigarettes.

Fictional crushes: Yoshi,Levi Ackerman,Sukuna,Tomioka Giyu.

Backpack storage: Stationery, Bottles of animal blood for her to drink instead of spending energy on hunting Pacworlders,Her plushie children,Raw animal meat since she can't stop her cravings for raw flesh,Chewing gum,Sketch book.

Favourite movies: Scream,How to train your dragon,King Kong(05'),Kong:Skull Island,The lost world: Jurassic park,IT, Abigail (2024), Ballerina(2016).

Favourite artists: Jake Daniels,Melanie Martinez,Alan Walker,Lost sky, Arctic monkeys,TV girl,NEFFEX.

Backstory:

Christina was an unplanned pregnancy and her parents didn't want to keep her but instead of doing the rational thing and giving her up for adoption, they cut her cheek with a knife before lighting a fire and throwing her in it; leaving her to die. However, the fire was extinguished and she was pulled out of the fire by Betrayus himself. Upon realising Christina was a yellow orb, betrayus threw her away from him and walked away from her; once again leaving Christina all alone by herself. She would then accidentally turn into a fox,since she's a fox-walker, and walk into a nearby forest hungry and tired. Christina was found unconscious twelve hours later by a female fox who had lost her cubs to hunters just minutes ago. The female fox picked Christina up gently by the neck and would raise her for three years before receiving the same fate as her cubs. Christina knew she wasn't an ordinary fox so she had hidden that from her Foster fox mother before she disappeared. She would then spend the next five years in the wild trying to survive the best she could which was surprisingly easy. She spent most of her time in her Pacworlder form so she could teach herself to get used to it.

When she was seven years old, Christina met a very hungry and weak Count Pacula who hasn't had any blood in weeks. She had just stolen a large basket of blood oranges moments ago from a random person's house so she could have some blood herself as a Dhampir. Knowing how Count Pacula felt,Christina shared her blood oranges with him so they could both get their strength up. Count Pacula was known for drinking the life out of yellow orbs but he spared Christina because she was part vampire and pretty much saved him from turning into a statue. Christina wouldn't see Count Pacula again for many years to come but she was happy to have made her first friend.

When she was eight years old, she stumbled upon a rocketship that had its engine on. Being the curious child she was,she climbed into the rocketship and pressed a button and the rocketship took off into space at lightning speed with the opening closing as it did so. For an eight year old, she was able to control the Rocketship quicker than any other eight year old could've but that wouldn't last long; since she would crash into a Planet known as Planet Cupid. There was an invasion going on, where King Neptune was leading his army of Whale-topuses to destroy Planet Cupid and take away their power for himself and his army, so nobody noticed Christina crashed. Christina had no idea what was going on and tried to get out of there but she pressed a button that fired a laser and fried almost all the Whale-topus troops at once. Not knowing what just happened, the remaining troops fled in a panic with King Neptune looking very pissed off at the innocent eight year old who didn't know what the hell just happened. He approached her and called her an 'Annoying little brat' before flying off saying he would be back. The Cupid Aliens would slowly approach Christina who was scared and confused at the strange creatures before her. The queen would pick her up and stated to everyone else that she would be staying here and they should treat her like one of their own because Christina saved their lives. Christina was injured from the crash and couldn't talk for weeks but the Cupid Aliens called her Raven and she would live on Planet Cupid for the next four years.

A few months later, Christina would explore around Space in one of the Cupid Aliens' rocketships and landed on a small green planet where,in her words,a standing squid was. She hopped out of the rocketship and the figure turned around and was revealed to be Apex. Apex was surprised since he thought he had captured all of the yellow ones and was even surprised by the fact that Christina didn't appear afraid of him; instead she was curious by his appearance. Christina would ask who he is and upon hearing Apex was the leader of the Pointy heads, did a curtsy as a sign of respect that she learnt on Planet Cupid. Apex laughed and complimented her for her bravery and modesty. He wasn't surprised Christina was being nice but he was surprised she wasn't afraid of a foreign creature. Christina told Apex her name was Raven before saying she had to go and hopped into the rocketship and flew away before Apex could try and lure her into a trap.

Two years later, at ten years old, would be one of the most traumatic days of Christina's life. She would have to team up with Apex and his pointy head army in an attempt to incapacitate King Neptune and his army. Christina would end up with deep wounds on her arms and legs,a large gash on her right cheek and blood dripping from her mouth. She had taken those wounds to protect an adolescent pointyhead that was forcibly taken out of one of the giant robots after retreating to get more ammo. Holding a blooded dagger and defending the Pointyhead, Christina shoved the dagger into the Pointyheads hand and threw him at King Neptune, with the dagger piercing into his heart and making him fall off the planet. Apex just stood there watching as if nothing had happened then took the adolescent into one of his giant robots before taking off with the rest of his remaining army and flew off back to Planet Pointy Head; leaving Christina alone and wounded from the battle. She was later found unconscious, breathing shallowly by other Cupid Aliens that were sent out to look for her and was taken back to Planet Cupid immediately for emergency care.

At twelve years old, she would have enough resources to build her own Rocketship to get back to Pacworld. As much as she loved Planet Cupid and her foster family, she knew she didn't belong there and got rewarded powers for protecting their planet. After landing back in Pacworld, she would spend the next two years in the wild just wandering around and surviving before stumbling upon Pacopolis; her next adventure would begin here since that was the same year Pac accidentally set the ghosts free and she would be alongside him to stop Betrayus and the other ghosts from getting the repository,fighting the Pacinator to stop themselves from being frozen twice,stop jean from taking over Pacworld and causing ruckus,Defeating Cap'n banshee and his buccaneers,Defeating Apex and stopping him from kidnapping me and Pac and taking us to his planet,stopping a Ghosteroid from suffocating everyone in slime,Rescuing Elliptica from the NetherRealm,Stopping dinosaurs from destroying Pacopolis,becoming frenemies with a PointyHead during a cosmic contest in Space,Having Sir Cumference win in a contest against Dr Buttocks,Put Pac's brain back in his body after Dr Pacenstein transferred his brain into Pac's body,Capture the dentures of doom, Meeting bigfoot,help Pac overcome his self esteem of having zits,Defeat the virus ghosts,Catch the Were-flea that turns people into were-pacs,Stop the ghosts from taking the Tree of life after Dr buttocks cloned Pac's parents,Defeat the Pac-topus,Defeat the Grindatron,Frame Specter,Find the berry bush with the youth berry,Deal with Pac being cursed by Madam Ghoulasha,Stop betrayus from finding the repository by possessing his mother,Rescue Sir Cumference from the NetherRealm,Rescue Santa Pac from the NetherRealm, Recover the repository from the NetherRealm,Stop Pac from being controlled by the mind control chip Pac ate when he ate Buttler,Save Pacopolis from being sucked into the NetherRealm,Return do-ug back to the past, Explore the temple of slime, destroy Dr Buttocks' dragon fueled furnace to turn down the heat in Pacworld,Travel to Easter egg island to retrieve Betrayus' kidnapped ghost army,Watch Aunt Spheria defeat betrayus once again in a Pac-pong match,Stop Betrayus and his army from stealing the tree of life after they disguised themselves as actors in a parody show of Pacman,Use the Spooka-Bazookas to trap ghosts and eat them, Defeat master goo and stop grindette fron transferring data to Dr buttocks about the tree of life and the repository.

Christina wasn't there for Pac when he: Travelled back in time and met his parents,defeated Count Pacula since he's her ally,ate a bunch of food that was a part of a plan by Betrayus to force him eat until he's too full to eat a ghost or a power berry,Rescued skeebo from the NetherRealm,Acted like a friend to Buttler who was in disguise as a Pacworlder,had a nightmare about being in space for 75 years then coming back Pacworld that got taken over betrayus and his ghosts and when he got eaten by a Space worm with Fuzbitz and got transported into the wizard of odd dimension.

[narrators-journal]

Strawberry-scented

This is just a mindless little thought I wrote between kinktober asks to try and warm up a bit before writing. I went back and gave it a bit of a clean up, and I’ll post it for the funsies, but for anyone curious, this has no barring on any story or au I have for RyoMina. It’s just a cute little thought experiment I had of a baby Shadow!Ryoji and Minato’s handling of him, lol. Hope you enjoy!

With a shrill scream like that of a child crossed with a bird, Minato Arisato sighed heavily. The blue-haired man threw his legs off of the couch he’d been napping on and got to his feet. “Ryoji! Where are you?” He called into the empty dormitory he called home with his other shadow-hunting friends. Of course, the lack of a response was expected, as Ryoji Mochizuki was little more than a handful of baby fat, sparse feathers, and an uncanny mix of human, and predatory intelligence.

Of course, neither being the size of Minato’s hand nor said intellect changed the growing sense of dread in Minato’s belly at how the wails of the baby monster drew him closer to the bathroom. “Ryoji? Did you fall in the toilet again?” He asked as he pushed the bathroom door open and flicked on the light. Yet, found now inky blobs in sight. Which, only meant his charge was where he least wanted him to be.

Opening the cabinet beneath the bathroom sink, Minato found the little harbinger right where he expected. Sat amongst the colorful bottles of bleach, spare bathing products, and toilet cleaners with fat tears rolling down his chubby cheeks from his empty sockets to mix with the slightly frothing slime running down his chin. “Seriously? Mr. Apex predator for humanity can’t figure out to not eat strawberry-scented fuckin’ body wash?” The man scolded, only to get another weird mix of a sob and a caw from the pudgy monster, who held his nubby arms out to him to be picked up. And, while some annoyed part of him did want to just slam the cabinet shut and leave the baby predator to suffer his own consequences, his compassion won out. So, instead, he picked the pudgy monster up to set on the sink instead.

Though, he did mutter in annoyance as he found the spare toothbrushes, “Alright, I’m gonna need you to be a bit reasonable, you got that?” He asked the baby, who started to flail in a tantrum at Minato for not magically fixing the bad taste in his mouth. “Oh hush, you can’t die. Calm down and listen to me, or I won’t wash that stuff out.” Was the best his attitude got, as all of his tantrums and petulant fits tended to receive. So, upon hearing his caretaker's cold tone, Ryoji halted his flailing and wailing. Still letting heavy tears pour from his empty eyes, but he’d calmed down enough for Minato to continue, “You, will need to be reasonable about this. You’ve drank liquid soap, I need to wash it out. It will taste worse for a moment, but if you bite me, or claw me, or kick, you’ll be eating bubbles for dinner tonight, got it?”

When the little monster nodded, Minato turned on the sink and picked Ryoji up to start trying to wash out the strawberry scented slime from his toothless mouth. Which, was as easy as he’d expected it to be, even when being rational to the equivalent of a three-year-old.

Ryoji was fine for the first five seconds of the toothbrush being in his mouth, but as soon as the layer of goo covering his tongue began to sud up like rabies, he gave another awful wail. His under-developed limbs batted at Minato’s hand, and he chewed on the plastic of the toothbrush, but the midnight-haired shadow hunter powered through his protests. “Mochi, you need to let me wash your mouth out.” He said, trapping the little monster against his chest so he couldn’t wriggle free to run away. “I’m just trying to get the soap out, quit kicking at me.” But, his scolding went unheaded, so he was forced to trap Ryoji’s jaw in his hold so that it was forced to stay open, something that got a very angry, strawberry-scented bubble blown, but also allowed the man to scrape up what he could of the soap before he moved onto the worst part.

Naturally, Minato Arisato did not expect the equivalent of a three-year-old toddler to enjoy getting water squirted into his mouth to rinse the soap off of his tongue. But, the way the little blob of inky baby fat squirmed and kicked and yowled, the SEES would’ve thought the emo was trying to cook him alive instead of get luke warm water in his mouth. And, with the way Ryoji’s almost-furless body was soaked with water by the end of the ordeal, Minato didn’t know if he could’ve blamed them.

”Now what did we learn about getting under fucking sinks and eating shit we aren’t supposed to?” He scolded the baby monster as he put the angrily chittering and cawing bundle of towel into the plastic tub he used as a containment pen. The chubby, eyeless face that popped out with his peach fuzz of hair a static-y mess only holding a glare for his caretaker before he crawled out of the towel bundle to hide beneath his blanket without another noise. Which, Minato simply sighed at before he flopped back onto the couch to await the return of his friends with an angry baby harbinger, and tv shows.

[sakurachan7734]

Love worth killing for

Chapter 2: surprise gifts

No one pov

After Jackson dropped off the gifts it went home and went to sleep hoping that they all love the gifts that it gave them

The next day

Aristotle:* waking up* hmmm what’s this

Aristotle:* sits up and picks up the rose and chocolates on its nightstand* how did these get here?

Lavender:* opens the door* what are you talking about?

Aristotle: someone left me some flowers

Lavender: ok dad wants you to come down for breakfast soon

Aristotle: I know

Lavender goes back downstairs and Aristotle notices a black goo on the flowers and chocolates

Aristotle:* chuckles* i wonder who got these for me

Meanwhile, with Zachary

Zoe:* trying to wake Zachary up* come on get up!!

Zachary: Zoe….its Saturday let me sleep

Zoe: hay you said that we would going to play!

Zachary: not immediately in the morning, Zoe

Zoe: fine oh anyway I think somebody left you flowers on your dresser drawers

Zachary: ok

Zachary gets up form the bed and pick up the hydrangeas from his dresser drawers and notices a weird black goo dripping from it 

Zachary:* chuckles* oh Jackson you’re so cute when you’re trying to be sneaky about presents

Meanwhile with Charlie wakes up and notices a strange box he knew that he didn’t put there had some weird inky dripping from the box and his desk 

Charlie:* walks to his desk* why the hell is there a box? I don’t remember putting this here

Charlie opened the box and sees a human heart that is beating still Charlie picked up the heart

Charlie: aww Jackson knows exactly what I like

A few hours at school

Charlie: hay Jackson did you leave anything at my house?

Jackson: no I don’t think so

Charlie: then why did a box with a beating heart inside appear on my desk?

Jackson: maybe your sister gave it to you

Charlie: dude my sister is four and wouldn’t hurt a fly

Jackson: well maybe someone likes you enough to give you gifts

Charlie: Jackson I know it was you

Jackson: no it wasn’t

Charlie: then why was your goo on it?

Jackson: maybe some blood dripped out 

Charlie: fine I’ll believe you

A few hours later at lunch

Zachary: hay Jackson do you have more than friends feelings for me? 

Jackson: no I don’t

Zachary: than why did you leave me flowers on my dresser? 

Jackson: no I didn’t

Zachary: Jackson I know it’s you

Jackson: no, it wasn’t you’re hearing things wrong again

Zachary: then why was it covered in your goo?

Jackson: uhh maybe some of your own ink got on them

Zachary: I’m not Aristotle I don’t use a feather and ink to write

Jackson: still some ink may have got onto the flowers

Zachary: Jackson take this seriously do you have more than friend feelings for me?! 

Jackson: no I don’t!! 

Aristotle: are you sure?

Jackson: when did you get here?!

Aristotle: magic

Jackson: but no I don’t have more then friend feelings for you guys 

Aristotle: are you sure? You have been acting weird.

Jackson: no I’m not I’m acting like how I normally would

Aristotle: are you sure?

Jackson: yes, I am

Zachary: ok we will believe you 

Jackson pov

I think they are starting to catch on my feelings I have to find a way to not make them more suspicious of me. 

End of chapter







[shadowfoxsilver]

Dark Shamira

An alicorn who is the second of three members of the dark trio. While she didn’t defeat the evil key beast, she remains under his control as well and can trap her targets within the inky black goo that constantly comes from her mouth and swing her head to scatter the tears of ink that seem to fall from her eyes.

Dark Shamira can not fly too well due to her damaged wings; They only work well enough to give her more height when jumping into the air or boost her speed when lunging at a target. She can also slightly glide but unfortunately can’t go too far.

Dark Shamira’s best method of attack is creating traps from the black inky goo that she has. It’s believed her magic manifests as light purple ink blobs that form strings when she fires them onto surfaces such as branches. These strings will ensnare anyone who gets too close.

She is the weakest of the dark key trio but still dangerous.

(Old art)

[wanou-dorm]

💕 Flynn hoshi

👁 Gregory Blake

Only Did Greg and Blake , due to having no ideas

👁 Wake my muse up during a nightmare

( Hint at what Wishes Blake and Don  May have been Birth from)

Eversince , Blake and Gregory started to become close , Blake has started to have Some rather Strange and  rather Vivid nightmares . They always started in this Dark Laboratory like setting it was always in Disrepair and the Signs of Blot everywhere , Inky Black Mess splattered everywhere. Blake carefully Treading the  path before stopping at a Body in blue clothing with Familiar white Wings on her head .

“ Rubina… hey Rubina w-wake … “ Blake Said trembling to Turn her over to his. She was Dead as  always in this nightmare Rubina’s Disfigured  and Mangled  face  seem shivers down his Spine, but … Something was off he’d usally  as he looked  ahead to See more the deformed  Bodies of his Classmates  scattered around the hallways.Before hearing  an Explosion was Heard and Someone Was Flung out as Blake’s Eyes Widen  seeing who it was “Plutus!? “ Blake Rushed over to  his Fallen dorm leader Side “ Pluty, Pluty what happened!? “ Blake said. Before Plutus Smiled Weakly 

“ Hey you called me Pluty..” Plutus chuckled “sorry Blake ,We couldn’t Save him, but we bought  sometime. “

“ Him!? What him !? Are you Talking abo-“

Blake was Suddenly covered by a Large looming Shadow dripping with Black goo all over … Blake slowly Looked back at Creature , his heart shattered seeing who it was .

“ .. No no… It can’t be the overblot in my dreams wasn’t Don.. It was…” Before he could complete his Thought everything started to Fade to White.

“ Blake,Blakey Wake up !? “ a Voice said  as Blake Popped back up  from Bed  

“ Gregory!!”  Blake said Breathing heavily before looking over at the tall Violet haired man in question and Pulled him into a Hug.

“ Blake? your a bit more touchy than usual!”

Greg said confused at Blake’s Action.”I could get used to this.”

“Greg, If you ever Overblot , I’m gonna  smack so hard , You’ll be using light  Magic “Blake said  as Greg  looked down at him “ Now , Let me just stand here and Hold you for a while .” Blake Face turned red saying that .

[notquiteaghost]

blaseball: your new player's pregame ritual is "bucket of fish"

magic chat, immediately: ok but what if the fish are alive and also pets

magic chat: what if they carry them in (enchanted) buckets so the fish can see the park

magic chat: what if sometimes they carry INKY.....

magic chat: why is the normal human pitcher in one of kurt's buckets? he just got tired. he’s friends with the fish that he definitely cannot talk to because he is a normal human

[craftyfoxman]

I’m not too sure if you’ll ever notice any of my posts so here I go with this one. If you are reading this, I will keep all your promises and hope that I can be a better friend to you. There are so many things I could tell you out of my mind but every girl that I talk to don’t even feel like what happened in Freshman Year. Thank you for teaching me of being a calm and kind person to everyone that I meet. I also hope that you keep that smile up wherever you go and keep bringing joy to all your friends. Love you as a friend and a brother. Keep up the great work!!!

[pickledtofuuu]

*hugs you* hehe UwU

H

[goldenraeofsun]

Enhanced Extraction Techniques

Also available at AO3

“Cas?”

Cas whirls around. If he was standing on a normal floor, his shoes would have squeaked with the abrupt turn. In the Empty, though, his feet don’t make a sound. “Dean?” he calls back, his heart soaring in his chest.

“Cas? Where are you, man?”

Cas spins in another circle, his eyes straining against the darkness. The oppressive blankness of nothing presses against his eyeballs like an almost tangible film. He tries again, “Dean?”

“Cas?”

“Dean!” Cas takes off in the direction of Dean’s voice.

“Are you there?”

 Cas walks faster, anticipation quickening his heels. “I’m coming!”

“I can’t find you!”

“I’m here!” Cas calls back desperately.

“I’m running out of time here, buddy! Spell’s not gonna last forever. Where the hell are you?”

Panicked, Cas breaks out into a run. “I’m coming, Dean!”

“Are you?”

Cas stops dead. If he was back on Earth, he would have fallen flat on his face with the momentum. He turns to his right, where Dean’s voice just came.

“Cas? You there?”

Dean’s voice definitely came from his left that time.

“I need you.”

Cas swallows. Dean’s voice is coming from directly in front of him now. Icy dread creeps up his spine, but he feels hot all over.

“You make it too easy, Castiel.”

Dean never calls him by his full name, not in more than a decade. He is not talking with Dean.

“Nobody is coming for you.”

Cas doesn’t respond. Shamed beyond reason, he just stands there because there is nothing else to do. He can’t hide from the Empty. The Empty is everywhere.

Black ooze, blacker than the surrounding darkness, bubbles up from the floor. The Empty resolves into Cas’s own face, to his surprise. He’d been expecting Dean.

It shrugs, a knowing smirk playing on its lips. “What can I say? If you’re determined to keep me awake, I might as well amuse myself.”

“Your sense of humor leaves much to be desired,” Cas says as tonelessly as he can manage.

The Empty crosses its arms over its chest. “My options are limited, aren’t they?” it says snidely. “I can’t put you to sleep, so I can’t sleep. I might as well make this experience as hellish for you as it is for me.”

Cas frowns. “You could always negate our deal. Send me back to Earth.”

The Empty laughs. “That’s not how it works. That was a one-way trip.”

Cas grinds his teeth. “Then it seems like we’re at an impasse.”

“An impasse requires two forces of equal power,” the Empty tuts. “And you, my little gnat, have no power in this equation. You are my plaything. What was it that Gabriel said? A thousand channels and nothing’s on. Except you.”

Before Cas can respond, the Empty disappears, dissolving into a tarry splatter and absorbing into whatever passes as the floor in this place. 

 * * *

Cas wanders. He used to sleep while he was bored, but the Empty truly reigns supreme in his dreams. Cas killed Naomi’s Dean facsimile a thousand times, a million times. He watched Dean rake leaves, Crowley whispering poisoned promises into his ear. He walked away as Dean hurts and rages silently behind him in the Bunker.

So Cas stays awake. He’s an angel. It isn’t hard.

Dean’s voice occasionally calls for him.

Cas ignores it.

He wanders for what seems like miles, like hundreds of miles. Nothing ever changes in the Empty. With every step forward, he meets the same bleak blackness. The closest comparison in his long memory is the fraction of a second before the Big Bang - there was emptiness then too, but it was filled with a pregnant sense of promise. In the Empty - nothing.

Until.

Dean is running towards him.

Cas blinks a few times to make sure, even though his vision is perfect.

“Cas,” Dean breaks the silence first, “I found you.”

“Dean,” Cas breathes - any louder, and Dean will hear the trembling. “You’re here.”

“The real deal, sweetheart,” Dean says with a wink. “Now, come on. We’re getting out of here.” He takes off in the direction he came from, glancing behind him to check on Cas.

“We are?” Cas asks, following.

Dean throws him a disbelieving look. “Of course, dude. Sam and Jack are prepping the spell to get us back to the Bunker. We got Chuck by the short and curlies, but we’re one power player short. So we gotta get a move on.”

“So you need me?” Cas asks.

“Your mojo is the ticket,” Dean says with a little grin. “Chuck wiped all the angels off the Earth except Michael. And that dick isn’t answering our prayers, so you’re our next best bet.”

The joy at seeing Dean wavers. “I am?” he asks haltingly.

Dean shrugs. “We gotta work with what we have. And we just remembered you were here, out of Chuck’s reach. Our own spare angel!”

Cas barely holds back his flinch. Hunching in on himself, he mutters, “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Don’t worry,” Dean assures him, misreading his reaction completely. “We have a plan.”

Cas sighs. “Of course you do. What is it?”

“Sam found a spell,” Dean says. “It’ll rip Chuck apart, and, since Amara’s inside him - which, gross - it’ll maintain the balance when the spell takes her apart too.” 

Dean stops walking.

Cas looks around, but nothing sets aside this patch of emptiness from any other. No illuminated rift, no magic symbols, no X marking the spot - nothing.

“The catch is,” Dean says as he turns to Cas, his face regretful, “the spell needs an angel’s grace.”

In a blink of an eye, an angel blade drops into Dean’s palm.

Cas blinks. No beings but angels can manifest that particular weapon.

Dean raises the blade, fingers flexing on the handle. “You know,” he says conversationally, “Now that I think about it, we don’t actually need the angel himself - just the battery.”

Cas stands his ground, his eyes darting over Dean’s face, taking in every nuance and tell.

“I told you once,” Cas says warily, a horrible foreboding coming over him, “I’m always happy to bleed for the Winchesters.”

“Happy to hear that, Cas,” Dean says, his face impassive, “because you’re gonna bleed a lot, not gonna lie.” He shoves the blade in Cas’s chest, right above his heart.

Cas staggers back from the blow, pain and shock radiating out from the bloodless wound.

Dean raises his eyebrows, his mouth curling into a mocking smile as Cas meets his smug face. “What, were you expecting to go poof? We’re in the Empty,” he throws its hands wide, “everyone’s in stasis here, including you.”

Cas yanks the blade out of his chest, but it - and Dean - turns into black goo before he can stab anything with it.

 * * *

The Empty doesn’t mimic Dean next. Instead it takes Meg’s shape, Samandriel’s, Duma’s. Every one of the thousands of angels Cas killed up in heaven.

And there’s no escape. Cas can do his best not to listen, but if he retreats too far into himself, it almost counts as sleeping. With the Empty’s nudging, his thoughts will veer into his worst regrets, sooner or later. 

The Empty is in the middle of lecturing him in the form of Balthazar, when it explodes in a burst of light and sound.

Dean Winchester stands in the aftermath.

“Come on,” he says roughly. He strides forward to grab Cas’s hand and tug him in the other direction. “That bomb doesn’t last forever.”

“Dean?”

“Who else?” Dean yanks him sharply to the left. “This place didn’t turn your brains to scrambled eggs, did it?”

“I don’t think so,” Cas says shakily. “Dean are you really...”

“What?”

Cas can’t help looking down at their clasped hands. A fleeting thing, barely more than a glance. Still, Dean drops Cas’s hand like it burned him. “You good to run?” he asks shortly.

Cas barely nods before Dean takes off. They hurtle through the Empty, their rapid footsteps impossibly silent. Dean’s breath comes in sharp pants, and Cas’s useless wings ache, not for the first time, to fly them to their destination.

“Dean,” Cas starts, and Dean slows. “Where are we going?”

“Where I left my stuff,” Dean says shortly. “The spell to get us out of here needs a shit-ton of crap, and I couldn’t haul it all over this goddamn place while I was trying to find you.”

“How did you know your way back?”

The corners of Dean’s mouth lift in a faint smile. He points to the floor. “M&Ms.”

Cas squints at the ground, and, sure enough, they are following a trail of tiny candies. “Ingenious,” he murmurs.

“Hey, it worked with a Wendigo,” Dean says, shrugging. He directs them in a few more twists and turns before Cas sees Dean's duffle bag in the distance, topped with a bright yellow bag of M&Ms.

As they get closer, Dean pulls out an angel blade from inside his jacket.

Cas balks. 

Dean shoots him a puzzled look as he hands it to him. “It won’t kill anything here, obviously,” he says, unzipping his bag. He pulls out a copper bowl and bundles of herbs, “But having a weapon’s never a bad idea in unknown dimensions.”

“Yes, Dean.” Cas surveils their inky surroundings, already on high alert for any trespassers.

“Watch my back, okay?” Dean glances over his shoulder. Various ingredients get dropped into the bowl with outsized clangs and dribbles that seem to echo in the void around them.

Cas stays vigilant.

“This was easier than I thought it would be,” Dean mutters as the bowl’s contents start to smoke.

“Don’t jinx it,” Cas mutters out of the side of his mouth.

Dean chuckles under his breath. “I didn’t think angels believed in jinxes.”

It’s not like Cas has been especially angelic these past few years. He says shortly, “I’ve found you can never be too careful.”

Dean hums his agreement. “Need your blood for this part,” he says, shuffling over to make room. “Wait,” Dean says before Cas can press the blade againt his skin.

“Yes?”

“This is the last step,” Dean says seriously. “Once your blood goes in, it’s liftoff. So I wanted to get a couple things straight before we’re back in the Bunker.”

Cas doesn’t need to breathe, but if he did, his breath would have hitched in his chest at the closed-off look on Dean’s face. “Of course.” 

“What you said - what you told me,” Dean starts, his voice hard, “before you got sucked to this hellscape.” He drops his gaze to the bowl cradled in his hands, “That’s not me.”

Cas presses his lips together, struggling to keep his face impassive. Once he regains control of himself he says, “I did not expect you to reciprocate when I told you about my feelings for you.”

Dean actively recoils at the mention of feelings. He gives the bowl a little toss, and a few of the contents spill onto the floor. “Just, forget it,” he says brusquely, gathering everything up again.

“Dean-”

He turns to Cas, his eyes blazing. “But - you know what? I can’t forget it.”

Cas opens his mouth, but Dean is not done.

“How could you offload all that shit on me right before you fucked off to parts unknown?” he demands, voice rising in anger and volume. “Of all the goddamn things you could have said to me - that takes the fucking cake. You were my best friend -” he breaks off, shaking his head. “Worst moment of my goddamn life.”

Cas takes a step back, a sickly horror trickling down his spine. “I didn’t think-”

But Dean’s not listening. “I had serious doubts about coming here at all,” he continues, and the last Dean had stabbed him in the chest - how is this so much worse? “But Sam gave me those goddamn puppy dog eyes, and don’t even get me started on Jack-”

“I understand,” Cas interrupts stiffly. He inhales a deep breath he doesn’t need and continues, “Once we return to the Bunker, I’ll stay out of your way.”

“Probably for the best,” Dean mutters.

Cas cuts his forearm, watching with perverse fascination as the blood wells up and drips into the bowl waiting below.

There’s a violent burst of light and sound.

In the aftermath, Cas can only make out Dean’s mocking laughter. Before Cas can say a word, it turns into Meg’s delighted giggles. And then Gabriel’s howls of mirth.

 * * *

Cas sleeps after getting deceived for the third time. Anything is better than seeing the smug face of the Empty, whether it’s wearing Dean’s face, Gadreel’s, or Ruby’s. 

He breaks the wall in Sam’s head.

He lets Lucifer possess him in a futile plan.

He beats Dean to a bloody mess for the Angel Tablet.

Occasionally, the Empty grants him release, and Cas gets to deliver a bad joke to Uriel in Mesopotamia or Dean calls him a baby in a trenchcoat in a diner.

Time passes. Cas has no idea how long. There’s no sun - no moon - no cycling of the heavens. Only emptiness.

He gets shaken awake.

Cas blinks up at a pair of very familiar green eyes. “Dean,” he says, more or less resigned.

“Jesus,” Dean says as he sits back on his heels, “Way to make a guy feel welcome. I’m here to save your sorry ass, in case you were wondering. A full week of tearing my hair out over how to get you outta here, and this is the thanks I get.”

Cas sits up. “My apologies,” he says tentatively as he studies Dean’s face. There’s no sign it isn’t really Dean.

Then again, none of the others showed signs either.

Cas gets to his feet, asking, “Are you alone?”

Dean glances around them warily. “Yeah, Sam and Jack are keeping the portal open in the Bunker. They wanted to come,” he says, his eyes raking over Cas’s face, drinking him in. “They’ll be over the fucking moon to see you again.”

Cas swallows. “And you?”

“I -” A dull flush comes over Dean’s cheeks. He looks away.

Cas’s face shutters. “Right,” he says as he stands in front of Dean. “Now what?”

“Hey,” Dean says, reaching out to grasp his left shoulder, a mirror of the mark Cas left on him so long ago and so recently. “I missed you too. You have to know that.”

Worst moment of my life.

Cas looks away, Dean’s own raised voice echoing in his head.

“Hey,” Dean says again, gentler this time. His green eyes bore into Cas’s face. “What’s going on in that celestial brain of yours?”

The words catch in Cas’s throat, a lump of embarrassment and fear keeping them there. Embarrassment that the Empty deceived him. Fear that the Empty was right.

“Look, I know we didn’t leave things on great terms,” Dean says awkwardly, “and maybe this isn’t the best place to talk about it, but I’m so fucking happy to see you, man.” He chuckles ruefully. “’S making me lose my goddamn mind.”

Even if it’s only a facsimile of Dean - and there’s no way to tell for certain - seeing his face not contorted in anger or mockery is like a balm on Cas’s soul. If he had one, that was.

“About what you said before you got taken-” Dean starts.

Cas’s heart sinks.

“No,” Dean says, his voice low and gentle, “listen to me. I get that happiness for you might just be in the being, but for me-”

“It’s fine, Dean,” Cas interrupts. “I meant that, truly. You don’t have to-”

“Jesus Christ,” Dean says, smiling slightly, “You’re not making this easy are you?”

Cas bites his tongue to keep from contradicting Dean again.

“As I was saying,” Dean continues pointedly, his green eyes shining, “For me, happiness isn’t in the being - whatever the hell that means. It’s in the goddamn having.”

Cas bites his tongue harder, the pain hardly registering against the burst of hope fluttering wildly in his chest. “Dean,” he forces out, “You can’t mean…”

“Cas,” Dean starts, and Cas’s heart breaks - or mends. He can’t tell. He has no idea who he is talking to, and it’s, to borrow a phrase from the real Dean, an epic mindfuck.  

“Cas,” the Dean standing in front of him repeats, and Cas’s gaze automatically draws back to his face, “Good things do happen.”

Cas chuckles wetly. He has no choice but to say, “Not in my experience.”

Dean takes a step closer, far into the personal space he’d shown Cas so many years ago. Brows drawing together, he raises a hand to cup Cas’s face. “Someone told me a while ago that having faith was important. Seems you’re a little short there, buddy.”

Cas tries to duck his head, but Dean won’t let him. Eventually, he admits, “My faith has been tested recently.”

“But you didn’t give up, right?” Dean asks, leaning in close enough that Cas can feel the warmth of his breath in the air between them.

Cas shakes his head minutely. “No,” he murmurs, “not entirely.”

“Good,” Dean says, pausing just shy of Cas’s mouth. Waiting.

Cas steels himself and closes distance.

Just before their lips touch, Dean implodes in a burst of inky ooze.

 * * *

Cas breaks several knuckles on the floor of the Empty. There are no walls to punch, no blade to send heads rolling. Cas works with what he has.

The real Dean would probably approve.

Dean shows up again before too long. This Dean goes so far as to tell Cas he loves him.

Cas turns his back on Dean’s heartbroken face. He refuses to engage.

He wanders instead.

* * * 

Cas hears the footsteps before he sees his next Dean.

“Cas!” he pants, “Thank fuck. I thought I was never going to find you.”

Cas merely sighs.

Dean makes a face. “Way to roll out the welcome wagon,” he says, clearly offended. “I would’ve thought you were sick of this place by now.”

Cas purses his lips. “I am.”

“Shocker,” Dean says with a little smile. “Look, we don’t have a lot of time, so you gotta follow me.”

Cas doesn’t budge. He’d rather roam this place for eternity than suffer at the hands of another Dean facsimile. And he had thought he saw enough of them under Naomi’s tutelage. He’d been so naive.

Dean stares at him like Cas just stripped naked and danced the macarena. “What are you doing?”

“You’re not real,” Cas says bluntly.

Dean gapes. “Of course I’m real! Chuck’s de-powered, and Jack… well, it’s a long story. Bottom line: nobody’s pulling our strings but us.”

Cas lets out a derisive laugh.

Dean’s eyebrows rise, but he barrels on, “So it’s time to get a move on. Up and at ‘em, sunshine.” He jerks his head off to the right. 

Cas stays where he is. “No.”

“What the hell?” Dean has the gall to tug on Cas’s sleeve like he’s a wayward toddler. “Come on. You’re not making any sense.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Cas retorts. It’s not his best rejoinder, but he’s been very stressed lately.

Whatever Dean was about to say dies on his tongue as he stares at Cas in confusion. “What’s wrong with you?” He shakes his head before Cas can respond, saying, “Doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out later. But now, you’ve gotta come with me.”

Cas levels him a flat glare. This one is more stubborn than the last, more like the real Dean. “Why should I?”

“Because you don’t deserve to be stuck here?” Dean says, gesturing to the void around them. “You saved the world, Cas.” He swallows. “You saved me. Getting you out is the least we can do.”

“Because you need me to take on Chuck,” Cas says.

“No?” Dean says, his eyes narrowing. “I already told you, Chuck’s off the playing board.”

“Because you feel guilty about leaving me here.”

“No - wait, I do, but,” Dean breaks off, irritated, “you know what I mean.”

Cas doesn’t, so he continues in the same vein as before, “Because you love me.”

Dean hesitates. “I’m working on it.”

Cas snorts. At least the last Dean had the balls to say it. Many times. While crying.

“What?” Dean throws up his hands. “You just sprung it on me, dude! I didn’t even know angels could feel things like that, and it took me by surprise, okay? I’m only human, and sometimes we need time to get used to ideas. Like when we found out Snooki was a demon. Yeah, the signs were there, and it makes sense, but still - you sometimes need it spelled out for you.”

Cas pauses. None of the other Deans had referenced pop culture. “How long ago was this for you?”

“Since we summoned Snooki?” 

At Cas’s icy look of disdain, Dean hedges, “A month? Give or take.” He glares. “First we had to deal with Chuck, and it took a while to find a spell to get here. Remember, we didn’t even know this was a place before you died the last time. The Men of Letters weren’t a shit ton of help, for once.”

Cas crosses his arms over his chest.

“Just… hear me out,” Dean says. “There’s a portal to get us home. Sam and Jack can’t stall the Empty forever.”

That was new. “Jack and Sam aren’t in the Bunker?”

“No,” Dean says as he takes off in the opposite direction, all but forcing Cas to follow to find out more. “They’re up in Heaven.”

“Why?”

“Because the Empty can’t get to Earth without a summoning spell, which, as far as we can tell, doesn’t exist?” Dean says, checking over his shoulder to make sure Cas is still within earshot. “But you made that fucking stupid deal in Heaven, so we knew it could at least travel there. Jack zapped Sam to the Pearly Gates, and they’re hopefully making a distraction while I get you out.”

Still not entirely convinced, Cas asks begrudgingly, “And where are we going?”

“A portal,” Dean says confidently. “This place is a little like Purgatory, apparently. If it senses a human here, it’ll create a portal to spit them out again.” He flashes a grin over his shoulder. “So here I am, 100% genuine human to bail your ass out.”

“Thank you?”

“Don’t mention it,” Dean says with a wink.

Cas scowls. The first Dean had winked at him too.

“Jesus, tough crowd,” Dean mutters as they head further into the Empty.

Cas scans the ground, but there are no small candies lining the way. “How do you know where to go?”

“Turns out, Sam could find a spell for that,” Dean says as he holds up his left hand - clutching his amulet. The Empty must have really hunted around in his memories for that one, even more so than the Wendigo case. He hasn’t seen the real amulet in nearly five years. “It heats up when I’m on the right track towards the exit.”

“So no M&Ms?”

Dean turns to him. “I told you about that?”

Cas stares straight ahead, willing his face to fall into an expressionless mask. The real Dean had told him about the Wendigo over dinner with Sam and Mary while she was still alive, or the Empty wouldn’t be able to use it as inspiration now.

Dean shakes his head, smiling. “Man, I haven’t thought about that case in forever.” He glances at Cas, his face sobering. “You really don’t believe this is real?”

“No.”

He can’t. Not again.

Dean sighs as he steers them slightly to the right. “Come on, I’m almost getting third degree burns from this thing. We must be close.”

Sure enough, a blue swirling portal comes into view, a pinprick of light in the distance at first, elongating into an exact replica of the Purgatory exit as they approach. 

“Finally,” Dean mutters, his face impassive. He  turns to Cas. “Just… don’t stay behind,” he grimaces, “again.”

This version has been the most true to Dean - less callous than the first, more caring than the second, more guarded than the third. It will hurt the most when this one falls apart. Maybe it would be better if Cas heads it off at the pass instead of letting the whole painstaking ruse play out all the way through.

If the Empty could get it over with, Cas will go back to sleep. Anything is better than this torture.

Cas takes a step back, away from the portal. “This is pointless-”

“Jesus Christ, Cas!” Dean throws his hands in the air. “I don’t get it at all. You don’t think you deserve to be saved?”

Cas gapes at him.

Dean continues heatedly, “If an ex-demon with anger management problems and rap sheet a mile long deserved to be saved, I think a legit angel should get the same.”

Cas shakes his head. “I’m hardly a prime example of an angel anymore.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “Have I ever cared about that?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Glad we can agree on something,” Dean cuts him off. “Now, are you going to go through the portal or am I gonna have to drag you? I’ll do it,” he threatens. “Don’t test me.”

Cas wavers. Everything in him says to follow Dean. But this isn’t the real Dean - this is the Empty waiting for the glorious moment when it can yank the illusion away, leaving Cas a little more broken than before.

Dean’s eyes narrow. “Fuck you,” he spits, “You can’t trust me just a little-”

“Trust?” Cas echoes as he strides forward to grab the lapels of Dean’s jacket, his voice rising in a mixture of outrage, desperation, and heartache, “You want me to trust you? After you’ve lied to me, deceived me - after you stabbed me, after you told me I put you through the worst moment of your life the last time you saw me, after you made me think you returned my feelings only to - only to-”

Dean shakes his head slowly. “But I didn’t do any of that.”

“You did,” Cas says fervently, shaking Dean a little - or maybe that’s his trembling hands. “You did - you’ve been putting me through hell since I got here, and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of you.”

Dean’s expression hardens. “You don’t mean that.”

“Oh, I do,” Cas swears. “I’m done pretending.”

Dean his eyes flicking down to Cas’s mouth. “What do you know,” he breathes, “so am I.”

Cas freezes, waiting for Dean to dissolve into a puddle of goo in his hands.

Dean kisses him instead.

At the first touch of Dean’s lips to his, Cas jerks back in surprise and horror.

He falls straight into the portal. 

The Empty vanishes in a blur of too-bright light.

 * * *

Cas comes to in the middle of a field. The sun shines overhead. Noon, Cas registers distantly as he looks around. Dean’s sprawled on the prairie grasses next to him, already waking up judging by the groaning noises.

“Dean?”

Dean opens his eyes, glances at the sky, and closes them again. “Oh great, we made it.”

Cas tentatively picks his way closer to Dean’s side. He stands over him for a moment, shuffling to the side so he doesn’t block the sunlight falling on Dean’s face. “We’re on Earth.”

“Well, it’s sure as shit not Mars,” Dean grumbles, eyes still closed. “Are you watching me right now? I feel like you’re watching me right now.”

Cas stares around the field. “Not anymore,” he says, and a genuine breeze blows against his face. What a marvel.

“‘S okay,” Dean says as he wiggles a little on the grass, getting more comfortable, “’M used to it.”

Cas turns to him. “It’s really you.”

“The real deal, sweetheart,” Dean cracks his eyes open, one corner of his mouth lifting into a lopsided smile. “You believe me now?”

“This could be the most elaborate ruse yet.”

Dean lifts his head up. “Seriously? You dick, I did not haul ass all the way-”

“I don’t really believe that, however,” Cas says before Dean can work himself up too much.

“Good.” He meaningfully thumps the grass next to him. “Sit. You’re giving me serious Law & Order vibes.”

Cas’s brow furrows. “I don’t get that reference. I know about Law & Order-”

“And how does every episode of Law & Order start?” Dean interrupts, “With someone standing over a dead body in a field.”

Cas takes a seat. “Not always a field. Most episodes show corpses in urban areas, or, once, a yacht.”

“Pretty sure it was more than once. I hate procedural cop shows.”

“They are very formulaic,” Cas admits, stretching out his legs, “and lack the drama of soap operas.”

“I’m just saying, if a long lost sibling doesn’t pop out of the woodwork or if the main character isn’t killed off at least six times, is it really worth watching?”

Cas levels him a flat look. “Dean, all those things have happened to you.”

Dean snorts. “At least none of us got amnesia.”

Cas rolls his eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

Dean turns his head to stare at him, a wide grin spreading across his face as he laughs. “Oh shit, you're right. How the hell did I forget?”

“Because of supreme irony, most likely.”

It takes Dean a moment to get it, but when he does, he laughs even louder.

Cas doesn’t have anything to add, so he lets the conversation peter off into silence, listening to Dean’s even breathing and the grass rustling in the gentle wind.

“I didn’t think it would be like this,” Dean says in an undertone.

Cas turns to him. Dean’s eyes are closed again, but everything else about him radiates a quiet tension Cas might’ve missed anywhere else. But here, in this field, nothing prevents Cas from honing on Dean’s whole being with everything he has. “What do you mean?” he asks carefully.

“I dunno,” Dean says, his face scrunching up, “I thought it would be more awkward. But… it doesn’t feel any different.”

Cas blinks. “Why should it?” he asks, and though he’s not definitively sure what Dean means by ‘it’, he has a very strong suspicion.

Dean shoots him a pointed look. “Because you don’t tell someone you love them and expect everything to be OK after.”

Cas lays down next to Dean. Staring up at the wispy clouds overhead, he says, “If it changes anything, I didn’t expect to be around for the after part.” Dean’s head turns to look at him, but Cas can’t bring himself to see whatever expression is on his face. “If you’d like for us to go our separate ways after this, I understand.”

“You stupid bastard,” Dean mutters vehemently, “for the last goddamn time, I did not piss off the immortal Blob just to tell you to go fuck yourself in person.”

Cas inhales a slow breath, breathing in the dirt, wildflowers growing nearby, and Dean. “You kissed me,” he says.

“You said you loved me,” Dean shoots back.

“Did you mean it?”

“Did you?”

Cas grimaces as he turns his head to face him. “I thought it was obvious.”

Dean swallows. “No, it wasn’t,” he says quietly, “but I’ve never been good at that stuff.”

Cas squints at him. “You are the most emotionally intelligent man I’ve ever met.”

“What?”

Cas rolls his eyes. “You expertly navigate and manipulate people’s emotions to get them to talk to you, open up to you, have sex with you,” he lists. “It’s extraordinary to witness.”

Dean makes a choking noise. “Dude,” he says, which tells Cas absolutely nothing. A few more clouds pass by before Dean speaks again. “I guess the signs were there - with you. But I didn’t want to put them together.”

“Why not?”

Dean shrugs, his shoulders scraping almost inaudibly against the soil and grass stems. “Just didn’t.”

“Then that’s why I didn’t tell you. But, Dean-” Cas breaks off. This part of the conversation, despite what Dean said earlier, does not feel the same as others between them. 

Dean’s eyes flick to his. “Yeah?”

“You kissed me.”

Dean inhales a sharp breath. “I did,” he says at last.

Cas waits, but Dean doesn’t elaborate. “Was it just a ploy to get me to leave the Empty?”

“No.”

Cas grimaces. Not for the first time, his life would be so much easier if Dean could communicate without speaking in riddles or hiding every third word he wanted to say. “Dean...”

“I told you I’m working on it,” Dean says defensively.

Cas closes his eyes. “What does that mean?” he asks, his voice strained.

“It means I’m working on it,” Dean says shortly. But before Cas can press him further, he lets out an explosive sigh. “It means I don’t want to hear any more goodbyes from you. It means - it means that kiss wasn’t too bad, right?”

“I thought you were a fake version of yourself created to torture me for eternity,” Cas says flatly.

Dean props himself up on his elbows. “So all I’m hearing is there’s room for improvement.”

Cas rolls his eyes as Dean scoots closer, peering down at him. “I suppose that’s one way you could look at it.”

“Would you wanna... do something like that again?” Dean asks, his expression confident while his voice is anything but.

“Only if you want to,” Cas says seriously.

Dean licks his lips. He nods once, the movement stilted.

“Should I sit up?” Cas asks, frowning, as he half-lifts his head. “Or do you want to lay back down-”

“Cas,” Dean says impatiently, “it’s kissing we’re talking about here, not Twister.”

“I have played that game before.”

“Yeah, I remember now,” Dean says, a tentative smirk hiding in the corners of his mouth. “You ever do it naked?”

Cas frowns. “There was a strict policy against nudity in the psychiatric ward.”

Dean ducks his head, laughing silently. His forehead lands on Cas’s sternum, his breath warming Cas’s chest from the outside in.

“You were trying to say something arousing,” Cas says, a beat too late.

Dean shakes his head, grinning. “Something like that.”

“I would like to play naked Twister with you.”

Dean’s eyes sparkle with amusement. “Glad to hear it,” he says as he leans over Cas. Cas goes a bit cross-eyed to keep him in view until Dean murmurs, “Relax. ���S just me.”

In the instant before their lips meet, Cas half-expects the whole world around him to splatter apart in a tidal wave of black, otherworldly goo. But Dean is gloriously solid, gloriously human, as he cradles Cas’s half-raised head, his fingers tangling in his hair. 

The midday sun shines; the grass whispers in the wind; and Cas is saved.

[pxmun]

“Why didn’t we think of this before? The shamans are the most magical beings in all of Centaurworld, of course they will have a solution for Brian being magicless”! Tulip exclaimed as she flew above the rainbow road. “I still don’t know if this is a good idea, auntie Horse and grandma Wamma don’t seem to like the Tree shamans that much.” Stabby said as he walked beside Brian. “Well, they were there to help mom and the others in the war, so the Tree shamans can’t be that bad.” Brian commented. As the three approached the forest, they could see some bunnytaurs and squirreltaurs playfully running away from a deer fawntaur draped in a dark bedsheet. “Ooga booga booga! I am the Nowhere King; I’ve come to conquer both worlds with my inky goo”!  The fawntaur claimed dramatically as he flapped his arms about. The little forestaurs ran around the three, gleefully singing as they did so. “Hush now Hide all you little ones Rush now Into the middle of nowhere Singing and laughter will die Dreamless sleep Follows the Nowhere King When his kingdom comes Darkness is nigh Quiet. Crawl to the in-between. Silent, secretive feeling of Fearsome hatred that reaches the skies You will bring joy to the Nowhere King When he sees the light leaving your eyes.” The forestaurs sang between fits of giggles. Brian didn’t like this song; it was too eerie and would always send chills up his spine.  Since he grew up after the war, Brian would always hear stories about this Nowhere King trying to bring endless suffering to both sides of the Rift. “Hey kid”! The fawntaur called out to Brian, interrupting his thoughts. “Who, me”? Brian asked confused. “Yeah you. You’re Horse’s son, right”? The fawntaur asked. “Y... Yeah, Horse is my mom, why do you ask”? Brian replied. The fawntaur grinned. “Woah, that is so cool! Me and my friends are trying to recreate the big battle between Centaurworld and the Nowhere King, but we don’t have anyone to play as Horse. We were wondering if maybe you would be willing to fill that spot”? The fawntaur asked. Brian turned to address his friends. “What do you guys think? Do we have time for a little break”? Brian asked. “I think so, the Tree shamans are rooted in the ground so they’re not going anywhere.” Stabby said. “And besides, it’s always awesome to tell others how amazing our herd is.” Tulip added. Brian turned back to the fawntaur.

“Alright, you got yourself a Horse for your battle.” Brian smiled. The fawntaur jumped up and down in excitement. “This is going to be so awesome! Let’s start from right when Horse leaps at the Nowhere King.” The fawntaur said before taking an intimidating pose. In response Brian took his own imposing stance as he tried to remember the stories of the battle his mother would share with him and the others. Brian looks back at his friends. “Take care of each other, thank you for being my family.” Brian says, repeating his mother’s in the moment last words. The young elktaur takes off in a full gallop, the fawntaur letting out a ferocious roar as they to sprint towards Brian. Tulip, Stabby, and the forestaurs watch on with eager anticipation as the two draw closer and closer. The antlered centaurs feel their horns collide with each other before abruptly stopping, the two are face to face. “So, what happens now”? The fawntaur asked. “Well, this would be the part were my mom used her backstory magic to freeze the Nowhere King, but she never told me what happened after.” Brian explained. Horse had been very hesitant with telling Brian what she saw in the Nowhere Kings backstory. She would always avoid it by telling Brian that it was too scary for a boy his age, or that there was nothing but darkness. Brian never questioned his mother any further than that, trusting that his mother knew best. “So, what do we do now”? The fawntaur asked. “I don’t know. Should we just play Centaurworld versus Nowhere King’s army”? Brian asked. “Sure, sounds fun”! The fawntaur replied. For a few hours Brian, his friends, and the forestaurs ran around chasing each other and having pretend sword fights. The kids were having a wonderful time until the parents of the forestaurs had called for their kids to return for lunch. Once the forestaurs left, the young herd were once again on their quest. When the three approach closer the tree shamans the shamans, Brian became nervous.  As he stood before the two treetaurs, Brian could feel his legs shake. With a helpful nudge from Tulip, Brian steps before the shamans. “Greeting’s travelers. What may we... Oh, it’s the children from that herd.” The Big Tree said unenthusiastically. It seemed that the Tree shamans didn’t like the herd either. Brian let out a nervous breath before speaking. “Mighty Tree shamans, I have come seeking your assistance.” Brian said as he politely bowed before the shamans. “What is it that you are seeking young elktaur”? The Big Tree asked, amused by the little centaur’s politeness. “I’ve come seeking the ability to perform magic. I was born magicless and wish to gain the ability to in order to help my mother unite Centaurworld and the world of humankind.”  Brian explained. The Tree shamans looked at each other, surprised by Brian’s confession that he was magicless. “Young centaur, we will allow you to step forward onto the altar, but before you do, we must ask, are you sure having magic is what you need”? The Big Tree asked. “Yes, your shamanness. Every centaur is filled with magic and use it to live, play, and help others.” Brian responded. “Every centaur is filled with magic, from their manes down to their hooves. With it the lives in Centaurworld improves. Each centaur has a purpose, a place where they should be, but what about those like me? Where do I go? Where do I belong? Am I even a centaur if I can only express myself through song? I love my mom, she is magical, brave, and strong, through her I know I can’t go wrong.  My wish is to help her unite our lands and maybe today I can by taking a step forward onto the stand.” Brian sang as he took a step forward towards the altar. He gave a final look back at Stabby and Tulip, who gave their friend a big thumbs up. Brian stepped forward, his hooves clicking on the wooden panel. He didn’t know what to expect next. Time slowly crept forward as Brian waited for something to happen. “Did it work”? Stabby asked. Brian looked over himself. “I don’t know. I don’t look different, and I don’t feel different.” Brian replied. “Let’s see if it worked. Try to shoot tiny versions of yourself”! Tulip said eagerly. Brian reared up on his hind legs and began kicking his front legs, but nothing came out. “What the hoot, I thought this thing was supposed to give you what you needed.” Tulip said. Stabby looked around. “I don’t think the Tree shamans magic gave anything.” Stabby said confused. Brian turned to face the Tree shamans, wanting to ask them why the magic didn’t work. However, once he turned around, Brian came to a shocking discovery. The Tree shamans barks began to turn grey, their leaves fell like a heavy rain. Inky goo began to pour out of their face and eyes. “Shamans”? Brian asked concerned. “Guys, I think there’s a problem.” Tulip said as she starred at some tree roots that were slowly creeping towards the young herd. Stabby looked up and saw a tree branch preparing to strike. The minotaur quickly dodged and noticed a root snagging Brian’s leg. “Ah”! Brian yelled in terror. Stabby immediately ran over and unsheathed the sword in his back. He struck at the root, cutting it in two and freeing Brian. “We need to get out of here now”! Stabby demanded. He quickly plucked Tulip out of the sky and hopped onto Brian’s back. “Just run as fast as you can forward, I’ll deal with any threats. Tulip, keep an eye out for danger.” Stabby ordered. Brian dashed ahead with his friends in tow. The young elktaur felt his heart race as he dodged moving and unmoving foliage in attempt to escape the forest. For some reason the Nowhere King’s lullaby accompanied Brian’s thoughts. Meanwhile, Stabby was slicing and dicing any plant that dared to get near his herd, Tulip alerting him to any creeping threats.  Up ahead was sunlight, thinking it was a way out, Brian ran towards it. Unfortunately, the path had led to the edge of a cliff. Brian came to a screeching halt, just mere inches from the edge. The young herd looked back in horror to see the forest still pursuing them. “What do we do”? Brian asked in pure panic. Tulip flew above the cliff’s edge before returning to her friends. “There’s a river right below us, we need to jump”! Tulip said. “Tulip that’s crazy”! Brian proclaimed. “She’s right, Brian we have no choice.” Stabby replied. Brian turned to face the edge. He was shaking really bad. He felt Tulip and Stabby cling to him. “You’re okay

 you’re alright

we’ll never ever leave your side we will stay and we will fight.” The two sang. “With you.” Brian finished. The elktaur leapt forward and over the cliff.

They plunged into the river below. The impact had been enough to knock Tulip and Stabby off of Brian’s back, but once they were underwater Brian immediately grabbed them. He held his friends close as the current swept them away. It was fast and strong, plunging the kids under the water frequently. Brian thought it was the end. As he tried to keep him and his friends above the current, Brian thought about the rest of the herd and if he would ever see his mother again. Suddenly, Brian felt something grab onto his antlers and yank the young herd forward. They were flung onto a muddy bank. Once Brian coughed up the water that had entered his lungs, he looked up. Before them was a human, one Brian had never seen before. Her hair was purple and messy, but what really got Brian’s attention were her blue eyes starring angrily at him. “What did you do”? The Woman asked.

[shieldagentnatasharomanoff]

There was the familiar sound of a portal opening and then a very feminine battle cry, followed by the roar of a creature and a terrible squelching noise.

The portal closed and there, where it had been. Stood a woman drenched in goo that was likely alien/demon remains.

The woman sighed tiredly. Wiping her hand across her forehead.

She held an axe in her shaking hand.

“Oh hi Nat!” The woman smiled turning around.

- @stephanie-strange

Natasha had just gotten comfortable as a familiar pull of magic tugged on her senses. "Oh hey, didn't think you'd drop by so soon. Coffee is on..." But she stopped. The signature was all wrong. It was similar enough, but where her Stephen had a certain ominous undertone, like inky tendrils moving along the shadows just in the corner of your eye, this one brought a chaotic energy.

Natasha was up on her feet in an instant as the scream ripped through her living room. Years of instinct and muscle memory let her move quicker then humanly expected, leaping over the couch, grabbing her combat knife, she was at the portals spot the second another woman stepped through, covered in goo and undefined monster innards. She flipped the knife, held it to the woman's throat while she kicked the axe out of her tremor ridden hand, blade touching her skin without knicking it.

"What do you want here?" She asked. Deducing from her scars, the bracers on her hands, the magic signature. She was propably another version of Stephen Strange. Another magician on her doorstep. Still. Never just enter a widow's web with raised weapons, a scream and unannounced.

[starsfic]

AU where Eda and Raine reverse roles.

The moment that the instruments vanished, so did the inky darkness of the curse.

Raine, the Bat, blinked in hazy confusion. Their head always felt like this after channeling Potion magic... their haze vanished when Eda held out a hand. "I think I once told you..." She paused, considering. "A lot of things, including something about punching bears." She shook it off, holding out the picture. "But you need to face your fears."

Raine took the photo with a sad smile. It was sweet, but King was going to tell them that he wanted to leave to find his dad. And Luz leaving was a clear given. "But, what if-"

"Nope!" Eda hauled them up with a smile. "Don't worry. I think those kids need you as much as you need them. Okay?" Raine nodded, feeling tears prick at their eyes. Their former partner always had a convincing tone.

Eda held out a hand. Raine took it, a smile forming. "We'll find another way to stop Belos. And-" Her cheeks flushed, but she couldn't finish.

Because abomination goo had clamped onto the both of them, hauling them into the air.

[spoiler1001]

The Queen of Hearts pt. 1

The difference between the damnable Angelo armor and the person that inhabited it was hard to discern. Vergil could still feel the armor’s thickening venom in his blood on bad days. The black goo fought to rise above his skin and harden into its natural state. On a good day, this was not a problem and it was diminishing over time, his natural healing purging it from his system.

“Hey, are you listening?” Dante’s voice pulled Vergil from his thoughts.

“Always. You’re complaining about the olives again.” Vergil turned his head to face his brother with a raised eyebrow.

Dante pouted with the pizza open and his ungloved hand resting on the desk next to the box.

“Vergil, you don’t understand; now the whole thing has olive juice on it. You can’t just pluck them out. The taste will still be there.” Dante tried to explain.

“I understand, but consider this: I actually like olives on pizza and this doesn’t bother me,” Vergil smirked and chuckled.

Dante gasped in fake offense. “You motherfucker.”

“Not in a long time.”

Dante shook his head and despite himself snorted.

Silence filled the room as Dante hissed at the pizza.

“Next time I’ll order and Maybe I won’t put olives on it,” Vergil suggested.

“You don’t even eat! You live off of energy drinks that will eventually kill you.”

“Something will.”

“Take that grim shit elsewhere. It’s contaminating my pizza more than the goddamn olives.” Dante huffed out. The phone rang.

Since Vergil moved into Devil May Cry, there was now someone willing to take the non-demonic requests, and as a consequence of that, the power and phone were always on.

“Devil May- Dante answered, his voice taking a more pleasant tone but was cut off by the caller. His face dropped, looking over to Vergil. That grabbed Vergil’s attention and made him sit up and lean towards the phone, listening to the voice on the receiver.

“I wouldn’t say that I trust Enzo for missions, but he does have connections,” Dante answered the question Vergil didn’t hear.

“Well, he came to me about something.” Nero’s voice was now audible to Vergil.

“Whatever he wanted, It’s Enzo, so it’s never good.” Dante sighed.

“I know, and if the situation was different, he would not have been contacting me.” Nero sounded tired.

“Why are you stalling It’s unlike you,” Vergil said, loud enough for the phone to pick it up.

“Alice is missing. It doesn’t look...good.”

“Where’s Lucia?” Dante asked as Vergil took in the information with a sharp breath and a blink.

“Recovering; there was a bad fight. Someone ripped open a portal to hell.” Nero answered. His voice cracked. “There was alot of blood.”

“We’ll head over to Fortuna-” Dante began but was interrupted.

“That’s the thing, I’m on the Island.” Nero corrected. “I had to see for myself.”

“Fine, We’ll be there, Don’t go anywhere.” Dante hung up the phone. The twins looked at each other.

“Goddammit. I’m calling Enzo.” Dante sighed, running his hands through his hair and dialing a barely remembered phone number.

What followed was Dante yelling at Enzo for a half-hour before slamming the phone down and disconnecting the phone by pulling out the wire.

“Why the fuck is it always Enzo when it comes to her.” Dante practically hissed.

“Let’s not worry about that and just find her and if we can’t save her, we’ll just bring her home.” Vergil ran his fingers over his slicked-back hair in a self-comforting gesture.

“I hate things like this.” Dante pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s even worse when it’s family.”

Vergil didn’t respond to that. His fingers were tapping against the handle of the sword. “Are you ready, now?”

“Not even a little bit, but let’s do this.”

Vergil nodded and unsheathed his sword, slicing through reality, literally cutting the distance between them and the city Lucia resided in.

The Island of Vie di Marli was covered in smoke and barely extinguished fires. There was a rush to get people away from the immediate danger, whether that be on boats or farther inland. Houses were destroyed and roads were stripped of their pavement. A Faint smell of sulfur filled the air.

Dante and Vergil stepped out into the chaos. Nero was helping with the evacuations. He had dirt clinging to him. Lucia was on her feet, blood and black were sticking to her. She was talking to other demon hunters. Vergil walked over to where Lucia was stand, and the devil hunter sent the others away and faced him.

“You make good time, son of Sparda.” Lucia nodded towards him in greeting.

“It was an emergency,” Vergil returned the gesture. “There was no question about us making haste. What exactly happened?”

“Nightmare. Mundus. Hell. Pick one, anyone.” Lucia tugged on her braid, which had dirt and grime matted into it. “...She was right in front of me, and she was stabbed right through the heart.”

--------------------

The gates of Hell were ripping at the seams of reality. This time it was the shape of a black hole. Alice stared at it watching it suck the life around it.

“This… doesn’t look good.” Alice cocked her head to the side. “This is rather big.”

“What should we do?” one of the demon hunters from the island asked.

“We should be careful,” Lucia spoke up, looking around. “This is old magic.”

“That’s not comforting.” Alice frowned.

“Just don’t go headfirst into that thing,” Lucia commented.

“Do I look like a son of Sparda?”

“Didn’t you-”

“And he’s the only one with common sense.”

Lucia laughed at that. “We need a perimeter.”

Alice summoned her chains and wrapped them around her hands, preparing for a fight. Black ooze began leaking from the magic portal. It was tar-like but moved as if it was knitted from string, the fibrous muscle pulling itself along by its strands like a living decayed muscle. It pulled everything it touched into its mass, growing bigger. Tendrils that behaved like living whips formed and began to lash out, knocking down trees so that the monster could consume them. The beast made a hissing noise, as if movement hurt it, or if it was hurting reality itself as it moved.

“We need to leave.” Alice almost commanded, her voice wavering. “This is- we can’t fight this.”

Lucia looked at Alice, whose complexion became ghastly. “What-”

“Mundus- This is Mundus’s work. His weapon.” Alice shifted her weight onto her back leg, to prepare to move away quickly.

The blob struck before anyone could move. Its tendrils lashed out, impaling the first row of hunters, killing them.

“Fuck.” Alice hissed. Moving quickly, she grabbed the two nearest people and pulled them back and behind her. “Move!”

The hunters regained their senses and listened to Alice’s command. The bodies of the fallen were grabbed and thrown around, like some makeshift weapon. Lucia followed behind the hunters beside Alice. The inky creature seemed to give chase, kicking up dirt and flinging around bits of itself.

[rhesus-skavative]

YOU HAVE JUST DIED.

↳ what loot items do you drop?

common: The twins( I know they’re not an item but you’re still gonna get him regardless), rot’s paw (practically mangled, use for opening mimic chests and commanding their warren who’s infected. more mangled less chance of it working), 2-5 warpstone tokens, random non-magic weapon

uncommon:   rot’s paw ( somewhat mangled ), vials of blood, eggs(snack)

rare:  rot’s paw(somewhat intact), 50-100 warpstone tokens, some lore in the form of chicken scratched notes

ultra-rare: Rot’s paw( wholly intact), pure unprocessed warpstone chunks w/ bite marks, sole-skaven tech items-weapons w/o defects(hand held guns mostly)

legendary: Grand mimic key, inky red parasite (if the twins don’t spawn), portal tearing dagger(looks like a claw of some sorts, rarely used)

common: Rot(same reason as the twins! you can take him anywhere, he’s dazed after this)

uncommon: - they’ll goo out

rare: - there usually is nothing left of them

ultra-rare:-  completely nothing.

legendary: If the dude doesn’t melt out in a puddle of goo:  Venomous & Acidic twin tail Sickle( has a good hand full of uses before it goos out, has 50/50 chance of it continuously healing or hurting the user), their eye(commands the infected without fail, will also goo out after some uses), large green cyst?

Tagged by: @xaallo Tagging: @tinkering-skaven @xmber-bull, @arrhythmiiia, @beloved-death​, @deepspacevivarium, @yettoberefuted​ @determined-magi