#todays april fools so i decided . why not be a little silly today and post fanception

[wheucto]

fanception compilation

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

March Ado About Nothing

Series Summary - A series of one-shots and  drabbles written based off of prompts posted in the TSS Fanworks Collective server. The goal is to take traditional whump prompts and fill them in the least-angsty way possible every day through March.

A note that though some of these fills are written bait and switch style (written in a way you think is going in one direction but reveals it to be the opposite towards the end) they are all written in a fluffy or silly style with very little, if any at all, actual angst.

Day 8: April Fool’s Month

Summary: Logan wonders why Virgil is acting off, until he sees Remus and remembers it's April.

Prompts: Power Outage, Possession, *Paranoia*            

Ships: Familial dlampr

Warnings: food mention. Let me know if there are more!

General taglist (ask to be added or removed): @/janus-is-an-adorable-snek-boi  @/im-an-anxious-wreck  (in an effort to not flood your inboxes I’m only tagging in the first part ^-^)

WC: 941

“Good morning, Virgil. Did you want jam or nutella on your pancakes? I’d suggest the former since it's healthier but I suppose treating yourself at breakfast every now and then isn’t going to...Virgil?” Logan turned o where he thought he had seen the anxious side come in, finding no one there or around the immediate area.Feeling a bit silly he turned back to the stove to watch the current pancake and time the flip, getting it right on the first try and smiling in satisfaction at the steaming golden brown breakfast that was currently piled on two separate plates. He realized he had probably made way too much and should have saved some of the batter but sometimes the others liked to add things to them and reheat them for lunch or a late snack before dinner so he supposed it didn’t matter all that much.

He hummed lightly as he worked, steadily working through the batter and checking the time occasionally to see when the others would be up. He had awoken well rested and in good spirits that evening so he had decided to make breakfast for all of them instead of Roman having to do it, since the other had been working himself to the bone recently and he figured this was a nice peace offering and a good precedent to a plea for him to take a break today even just for an hour. For as much as he was made fun of for his schedules and thought to be the one always riding everyone to get their work done in reality he was usually the one dragging them away from their work and shutting down whatever guilty notions they might have about how not working equaled being useless. They really needed to address that at some point- maybe he could get Janus to help him.

Deep in thought as he was, he almost missed the dark shape sat underneath the table, stopping halfway around it to register the sight before stepping back to confirm it. There, tucked between the chairs with his hood over his head, was none other than Virgil- confirming that he had in fact seen him come in earlier but the other had hidden so fast and Logan had been so involved in not letting the breakfast cakes burn that he hadn’t notice him climb under the table.

“Virgil?���

Pale, darting eyes emerged from jean clad knees as a quick han was crossed frantically over the other’s throat, a universal sign to shut one's mouth if Logan remembered correctly. Simply gesturing to the plate of pancakes had Virgil nodding and giving a thumbs up, which without verbal communication Logan had no way of knowing if that meat he was coming out to eat or not but he decided to just set it on the table and Virgil could figure it out. No sooner had he turned around when a hand appeared on the table, reaching around desperately but grasping nothing. Screwing his mouth to the side Logan took a napkin and placed a pancake on it, snapping his fingers to quickly smear some nutella on it before placing it into Virgil’s hand, which disappeared as soon as he grasped the food. Smiling with amusement he heard Roman’s alarm going off and Patton’s subsequent groan that carried with it the dread of having to awaken from whatever dream he had been having.

Logan idly wondered if Virgil would move to keep from being kicked under the table but snapped his head up from the last pancake as he heard the tall tale woosh of someone sinking in and out before seeing Virgil crouched on top of the fridge pressed up against the wall, posing almost like a gargoyle if it weren’t for the chocolate covered pancake held just between his teeth as his eyes continued to dart frantically around the room. Deciding he was in too good a mood to deal with whatever idiocy was going on that morning he simply turned to stove off and took the second plate of breakfast to the table, having another chocolate one snatched from his hand as soon as he held it up to the fridge as Patton and Roman stumbled through the doorway.

“Morning Lo.” Patton said sleepily.

“A very fine morning Logan! I didn’t know you could make pancakes?”

“I just followed the recipe. Have as many as you like I made plenty.”

“Where’s the emo?” Logan turned to see Remus scrutinizing the kitchen, which made things click in Logan’s head as to why Virgil had been acting off all morning. It was April and that meant it was April Fool’s month, which meant Virgil was paranoid and Remus was taking full advantage of that fact.

“Pancakes Remus?” In the two seconds he took to place a plate where Remus usually sat there was a screech and hiss from behind him, followed by half a pancake falling nutella first onto the table and a purple and black streak flying past them and up the stairs. Closing his eyes briefly, he turned back around to see Remus scuttling around on the ceiling before sinking out of sight. Another scream was heard with more thumping upstairs as Logan sat down and snapped away the stray pancake, deciding once again to leave whatever it was Remus was planning alone unless it started to affect Virgil negatively. He’d be even more jumpy all month if Remus decided not to do anything so this was objectively the lesser of two evils. Breathing deeply through his nose Logan looked up to Roman and held out the plate.

“Pancakes Roman?”

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[rimalupin]

IkeVamp April Fools: Isaac and Dazai!

A/N: It’s still April, which means more silly April Fools stories with the vamps! This one came out as a story w/o bullet points even though I probably should’ve stuck to that style bc my writing feels choppy now asdfghjkl, but I haven’t had much practice w/ writing fics in a while so I’m nervy about sharing this lol. Once again, this is just for funsies, but feel free to let me know your thoughts/reactions to these stories/headcanons! :)

~~~

It’s just a prank. A silly, little, harmless prank.

You repeat that mantra in your head over and over again as you make your way down the hall. Earlier today, you had agreed to help Dazai play a prank on Isaac for April Fools’ Day.

***

A few hours ago, early afternoon...

Dazai had climbed through your bedroom window (it was a familiar occurrence now that you two had gotten to know each other) with an interesting proposition.

“It’s simple!” Dazai says as he lays out the plan for you. “All you need to do is lead him to the gardens, right under that big tree.” He gestures at the tree through the window. “Once he’s there, you’ll give me the signal and I’ll drop the apple on his head!”

Your eyebrows furrow as you frown. “I’m fine with acting as bait for this, but could you drop the apple near Isaac instead of on him?” If this was to be a truly harmless prank, you wanted to make sure that Isaac wouldn’t actually be hurt by it.

Dazai chuckles lightly and gently pats your shoulder. “A little apple wouldn’t hurt Ike-kun. But if that is your wish, I shall honor it, Toshiko-san.”

You roll your eyes at him. “Another nickname?”

He shrugs and shoots you a carefree smile. “I’ve already told you: I’m bad with names.” 

“Yeah, especially when it comes to me,” you grumble to yourself.

Noticing your pout, Dazai leans down and peers at you curiously. “Oh? Have I upset you, Umeko-san?” 

You nearly face-palm yourself upon hearing your newest nickname. “Dazai-san, let’s just prep for the prank already.”

***

Present, prank time...

It didn’t take long for you to arrive at Isaac’s room. You take a deep breath before knocking on the door. “Coming! Give me a moment...” You hear the sound of his footsteps approaching the door, and you step back a little. Why am I so nervous..?

When the door opens, you look up and meet Isaac’s eyes, widened with surprise. “MC..! What brings you here..?” his quiet voice asks.

“Oh! W-well...” Don’t be suspicious. Play it cool. “I noticed that you were in your room most of the day -” Was that a weird thing to say..? Wait, this is no time to overthink: just keep going! “- and I was wondering if you’d like to get some fresh air with me.”

The blush that crosses Isaac’s cheeks prompts your own cheeks to redden a bit. “Ah... I suppose I could use a break...”  He keeps his gaze towards the floor as he speaks. “Where do you suggest we go?”

“Just the gardens, if you don’t mind.” You tilt your head a little, attempting to make eye contact with him.

He’s immediately flustered when he looks at you again. “No - I mean, yes..! I mean...” He lets out a breath as he tries to collect himself. “Sure. The gardens sound nice.”

“Great! Let’s head out while the sun’s still up.”

“Y-yeah. Okay...” He gives you a small smile as he walks with you outside.

***

The two of you walk in silence most of the time. You knew that Isaac wasn’t much of a talker, but you still wanted to make him comfortable. So you attempt to break the silence with some small talk. “So, what have you been working on lately?”

He raises his eyebrows, caught off-guard by the question. “Hm? How do you mean?”

“Back at the room, you mentioned that you needed a break from something..?”

“Ah, right. It’s nothing, really...” He rubs the back of his neck and looks away. Was he embarrassed to talk about his “secret” project?

“Well, I’m sure it’s something if you’ve been working so hard on it,” you say, stepping a little closer to him. “I’d love to hear about it.”

His eyes widen at you. “Really..? You would?”

“Of course! I know how hard you work, so I’m always curious about what you’re working on.”

Stunned, Isaac blinks at you, unsure of what to say for a moment. “MC... That’s honestly so nice of you to say...” He clears his throat before speaking again. “I’m glad you think that way. Thank you.”

“Oh! It’s no problem, really.” You take a moment to stop yourself from squealing about how adorable he was acting.

Soon enough, Isaac opens up about his latest project, and the two of you converse about it for a while. He’s explaining one of the trials he had conducted today when you notice that you two had finally reached the big tree. You glance up to see Dazai standing on one of the branches, apple in one hand and using the other to shoot you a thumbs-up. You shake your head and mouth “Wait” as you lead Isaac under the shade of the tree.

Unfortunately, Isaac notices you looking up at the branches. “Is something up there?” He asks, following your gaze.

Without thinking, you quickly turn around and place your hands on his shoulders to prevent him from moving forward. “No!” You didn’t mean for that to come out as loudly as it did, so you clear your throat a little. “Er, I mean- It’s just-” You and Isaac suddenly become very aware of your hands on his shoulders, and you take a step back to give him some space when...

“MC, wait!”

“Wha-? AH!!” You failed to notice a rather big tree root peeking out from above the ground behind you, which resulted in you in tripping over it. As you fall backward, you close your eyes, bracing for impact with the ground...

Instead, you feel Isaac’s hands grab yours, preventing you from falling further. “Isaac?!”

He pulls you toward him so that you’re standing upright. “Are you alright?” 

You’re still in shock from the near-fall as well as being so close to him, so it takes you a beat to find your voice. “Y-yeah, I think so. That was a close one...”

“You’re telling me. You gave me quite the scare...”

Just then, you both hear a whistle coming from above. “Heads-up, Ike-kun!” Dazai says cheerfully as he tosses a bright, red apple down to Isaac. 

Isaac catches the fruit, and his confused gaze moves from the apple to Dazai. “What was that for?”

“Oh, just a little experiment. And I’ve concluded that both apples and MC-chan are falling for you~.”

Your eyes widen and your blush intensifies. “DAZAI-SAN, WHAT?!”

The redness of your cheeks matches Isaac’s. “WHY, YOU-”

“Ah, would you look at the time: I’ve got a game with Arthur-kun.” You and Isaac watch Dazai hop to the nearest window. Before he leaves, the writer looks back at the two of you. “My sincerest and best wishes to the new, happy couple~.”

“HUH?!” You and Isaac say in unison as Dazai climbs back into the mansion.

***

Post-prank (If you could even call this a “prank” LOL)

After an awkward moment of silence, you and Isaac decide to return indoors. Before you start walking, Isaac has a request for you: “Hold onto me.”

“What..?” Suddenly, Isaac lifts you into his arms, bridal style. You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck. “Isaac, what is this for..?!”

“It’s just a precaution. We can’t have you falling for anyone -” You lift a curious eyebrow at this, and he immediately clears his throat to correct himself. “I-I mean, tripping over anything else...”

LMAO you two are a red, blushing MESS when y’all get inside, and EVERYONE in the mansion is quick to notice. Thanks a lot, Dazai.

[notfunnydean]

It was just a prank

Pairing: Dean Winchester / Castiel Warnings: pranks, Sam pranks Dean horribly, playing with someone's feelings

Word Count: 3.787 Square Filled: Pranking

Summary: When Sam wakes up to discover that his mattress is soaking wet and his brother laughing loudly, he decides to take vengeance. Somehow, along the way, the prank war turns a bit too serious and Dean ends up really hurt.

A/N: This is for @spnclassicbingo! I’m always up for a prank war between Sam and Dean, so this was really so much fun to write!

Link (if posted on AO3): https://archiveofourown.org/works/18329609

Sam groans quietly when he wakes up. They don’t have an urgent hunt at the moment, since they just finished one yesterday and that’s why he can actually sleep in today, but something disturbed his sleep.

“Sammy, wakey wakey.”

Sam turns around at the annoying voice of his brother and that’s when he actually feels it. His bed is wet and that is enough to wake Sam up completely. He sits up and looks down at his legs. Everything is wet and cold already.

“What the fuck?!” Sam says angrily and Dean starts to cackle from his own bed. They are in a tiny motel room and when Sam squints at Dean, he sees the empty bucket next to him on the bed. Oh, this fucker.

“Well, you wouldn’t wake up.” Dean says, grinning, and he kicks the bucket away, as if Sam hadn’t seen it already. Sam makes a face when he moves again and his pants stick to his legs. Oh that would be a bitch to clean up.

“And you just poured a bucket of water down on me?” Sam asks and he feels like strangling his brother this morning. Dean shrugs and he even blinks all innocently up at Sam, since he knows most people can’t resist that face.

Sam isn’t most people.

“It’s nearly April Fools’ Day!” Dean says all happily and he sips on his coffee, as if he didn’t just declare a war between them. Sam frowns even harder and then gets out of the bed. At least they would leave the motel room today anyway, but he feels sorry for the poor maid who would need to clean this mess up. [Watch out for the cut]

“It’s another two weeks until April!” Sam says and he pulls off his wet shirt. Dean cackles loudly when he throws it on the ground and it makes a nasty noise. Sam only rolls his eyes and gets rid of the pants as well. It’s not like either of them have any shame left.

“Well, I thought I would get an early start.” Dean says and he seems to be really proud of himself. For a second Sam wants to throws his wet pants at him, but then decides against it. He would get his revenge in another way.

“You know how this is gonna end.” Sam says and goes over to the small bathroom with new dry clothes. Even his underwear is wet and hangs low on his hips. Dean doesn’t seem to be afraid of the threat. Instead, he just leans back on his own dry blanket and starts the vibrating motions of his bed.

“Yeah, of course. I win, like always.” Dean says and then he even puts his headphones on, so he can listen to his music. Sam shakes his head and closes the bathroom door a lot louder than necessary.

Sam can’t even remember how it started, but they have those prank wars all the damn time and it always ends up with one of them taking it too far. Mostly Dean doesn’t know when to stop and Sam ends it, but this year he would win it.

“Just wait and see.” Sam mutters quietly, when he starts the shower. Luckily the motel room even has warm water and Sam relaxes a bit. This feels damn good after after his involuntary cold shower.

Sam shrieks loudly when he discovers that his shampoo is not really shampoo, instead there is paint in his hair. Sam grits his teeth, when he hears Dean laughing again. So the asshole was just pretending to listen to music.

Oh he would get his revenge and it would be… destructive.

*

It takes Sam only a few hours to come up with a great plan, but he doesn’t want to do it too early on. He needs to take his time so Dean doesn’t think it’s actually a prank from Sam. So he suffers the next two weeks in silence.

“Dammit Dean. This isn’t funny.” Sam says when he puts on his shirt and there are two holes right at his nipples. Dean is laughing himself silly again.This time he sits at the little table in their new motel room, eating some fries while he chokes out his laughter.

“Dance for me, Sammy.” Dean giggles and Sam watches in disgust, when Dean doesn’t even swallow his food before he speaks up. Sam rolls his eyes and searches for another shirt. Only to find that Dean indeed cut them all.

“Really, you couldn’t even leave me one fucking shirt?” Sam says and he goes over to Dean’s bag. Dean doesn’t answer and continues to eat happily (and loudly as well). Sam takes out one of Dean’s shirts and puts it on. It’s a bit small and he groans.

“I thought you would at least wear them for a bit.” Dean says sadly, when he sees that Sam wears his own shirt. Sam just shakes his head and throws his own shirts into the garbage can. He would be out of clothes soon, if it continues like that.

“Do you have at least an idea what could’ve killed those people?” Sam changes the subject, because they are here for a new job and Dean is being childish and distracting again. Sam smiles to himself, actually he is glad that Dean is in such a good mood lately.

“Not really. I interviewed their wives and husbands. Nothing. Don’t think it’s a demon or a ghost.” Dean says and he finally swallows his food down. Sam nods, he was at the library all day and he didn’t find anything that would help with that case.

“I have no idea either. Maybe we should call Cas.” Sam says and he sits down on his bed. Dean seems to be lost in his thoughts for a moment, before he looks back to him and answers.

“Cas? Why? I think it’s a simple case and we can do it easily alone.” Dean says and there it is. The last weeks Dean behaves really weird around Castiel and while Sam always assumed those two were a bit more than just the best friends they claimed to be, it’s way too obvious now.

“Dean. If this is a simple case, we would already have at least an idea what we are hunting. So far, we are completely in the dark, so please just call him.” Sam says and he rubs over his temple. Sometimes his brother makes his headache worse.

“Fine.” Dean says and he gets up to get rid of the wrapping of his cheap food. He busies himself for a few minutes, before he finally sits down on his bed, hands folded in his lap and eyes closed.

“Don’t be such a drama queen.” Sam says and Dean glares at him, before he closes his eyes again and seems to really concentrate. Sam leans back on his elbows and waits.

“Dear Cas, could you please get your… feathery ass down here. We need some backup and maybe your angel powers.” Dean says quietly and Sam huffs a laughter. His brother can’t take anything seriously. Dean shrugs at his own words and then they both wait.

It doesn’t take long before they hear the rustling of Castiel’s wings. Sam looks around and there is Castiel standing in their doorway, looking like always. The trenchcoat is still the same and the frown on his face looks exactly like it did a week ago, when they last called him.

“Hello Dean.” Castiel says and Sam isn’t even offended anymore that Castiel always talks to Dean first and sometimes even forgets about Sam at all.

“What’s up, Cas?” Dean says and he is grinning widely, when he gets up from the bed. For a moment Sam thinks that Dean is going to hug the angel, but instead they just stare at each other again. Sam sighs, this is gonna take a while.

“The… ceiling?” Castiel asks back and he sounds a bit unsure. Dean laughs, way too loudly and exaggerated in Sam’s opinion, but whatever makes those two happy. Sam ignores them and looks over to his bag. He can see a small envelope sticking out of it and he can’t wait to finally start with his prank.

“So Cas, we actually have a new case and no idea what it could be this time.” Sam says, when he realizes those two are still staring at each other. Castiel finally seems to acknowledge his presence and looks over to Sam with a nod.

“How can I help?” Castiel asks and Dean rushes over to the fridge to get himself a beer. Sam holds up his notes for Castiel and the angel sits awkwardly down next to him on the bed.

“We have four victims. Two men and two women. They were not related, didn’t even know each other and didn’t share the same interests or clubs or whatever.” Sam lists and Castiel listens to him, and nods once in a while.

“Could be the work of a witch.” Castiel mutters and Dean, behind them, groans loudly. Sam agrees silently with his brother, because witches are always a real pain in the ass.

“Or worse, your brother.” Dean says and Castiel snorts. Sam feels himself frowning. It’s been a while since they saw Gabriel and, somehow, the crimes would fit him too. Nothing too obvious, but one of the victims died through his own tractor.

“I will try to locate Gabriel.” Castiel says and before either of the brothers can react, he is already gone. Sam leans completely back on his bed and relaxes a bit. It’s not that late, but he really just wants to read a bit and then go to sleep.

“You want to sleep?” Dean asks and he puts the empty beer bottle on the counter. Sam nods and he can hear Dean yawning as well. They could rest until tomorrow morning and maybe then Castiel would have news for them.

“Yeah. If you go out, please be quiet when you do decide to come back.” Sam mutters and he can hear that his brother is searching for something in his own bag. His knees crack a bit and Sam sighs.

“I won’t… go out. Gonna catch some sleep myself.” Dean says and just like that he goes to the small bathroom and closes the door. Lately Dean would always claim to be tired and go to sleep as soon as possible, instead of going to a bar to bring some chick home. Sam pretends not to question it, but he has an idea why Dean is behaving like this.

Dean wants a real relationship. No matter how much he denies it, Sam knows his brother wants nothing more, he just thinks that he doesn’t deserve it. Still, he would win this prank war first and he is sure that with his idea he would make Dean see how good Castiel can be for him.

Sam gets up quietly and takes the envelope out of his bag, so he can carefully put it into Dean’s pillow, so it looks as if Castiel had put it there earlier. Sam really hopes that Dean doesn't think that it comes from him. He hastily undresses and lays down under his blanket, just in time, because Dean comes out of the bathroom again.

“We’re out of hot water.” Dean announces and Sam nods. He would try to shower in the morning, because he doesn’t want to miss Dean’s face, when he finds the envelope. Dean throws his small wash bag on his nightstand and then sits down with another groan.

“Could you be a bit quieter?” Sam says and he hope it sounds annoyed, but inwardly he is grinning widely. Dean doesn’t answer, but Sam hears the small gasp. Seems like Dean found it.

“Did you put that here?” Dean asks and Sam opens his eyes, just to glance at the envelope. He shakes his head and hopes it looks as innocently as he needs it to be. Dean’s eyes widen at that and he carefully opens it.

“What is it?” Sam asks, even though it took him almost a whole night to write this down. He had copied Castiel’s handwriting as good as he could and he just hopes Dean buys it. Sam watches Dean, while he reads the letter.

There is a soft smile on Dean’s lips.

“It’s… from Cas.” Dean says in the end and he seems to read it all again. Sam tried not to write it down too mushy, because Castiel wouldn’t do that, it’s directly to the point, while still being romantic. Sam would give himself an award for that.

“What does he want?” Sam asks and acts like he is surprised.

“He… Sammy... he wants to go out with me.” Dean says and he looks so happy, that Sam has to smile himself. He doesn’t remember the last time Dean seemed to be this happy and just now Sam’s conscience speaks up in the back of his mind.

Why the fuck did he do that?! What if Castiel doesn’t want Dean?

“I can’t believe this.” Dean whispers and he even strokes carefully over the paper. Sam swallows dryly, oh yeah he is so fucked. He was just so annoyed with Dean and his pranks and he wanted to end it… but this would break his brother.

“Yeah… uhm good for you.” Sam mumbles and lays back down. Even when Dean switches off the lights, Sam can’t calm down. He will ruin his brother’s life. Just because of a stupid prank war. He should’ve just gone for a simple prank and hid Dean’s porn.

“Castiel Winchester.” Dean whispers into the quiet room and Sam closes his eyes.

*

“Hey Sammy!” Dean is still in a really good mood the next morning and he is even standing at the tiny stove of the motel room, whistling. Sam feels worse with every second. Maybe he could still warn Dean.

“Morning Dean.” Sam mumbles and gets up to dress and shower. Out of the corner of his eyes he sees that Dean is making pancakes. He only does that when they really have to celebrate something, or when one of them almost died on a hunt.

Sam takes his time this morning and tries to think of a way to get out of this mess without hurting his brother too much. Just when he thinks he can do this, he opens the door and sees that Dean is wearing one of his fine suits.

“Do I look okay?” Dean asks and turns around a few times. Sam can only nod, because the words are stuck in his throat. Dean smiles widely and there is even a faint blush on his cheeks and Sam would so go to hell, again.

“Yeah, Dean… uhm? Can we talk for a second?” Sam says, but Dean doesn’t seem to hear him. Instead he sits on his bed and gets his shiny black shoes on. Sam is pretty sure that Dean never dressed up for a date before.

“No time, Sammy. I gotta call Cas. Maybe we can go to this tiny restaurant at the end of the street and then maybe talk a small walk through the park. We could even feed the ducks.” Dean rambles and Sam is sure that he is going to puke.

“Okay, but I think we should talk first!” Sam says a bit louder, to get any reaction out of his brother, but Dean just ignores him. Instead he even picks up some flowers.

“Cas? Are you ready?” Dean asks loudly and before Sam can put his hand over his brother’s mouth, there is the rustling of the feathers again and Castiel stands in the middle of the room. He looks confused and isn’t dressed up like Dean. Of course not.

“For the case? I still didn’t track Gabriel and…” Castiel starts and Sam buries his face in his hands. Dean stands there, the flowers still in his hands and looks heartbroken. Sam wishes Lucifer would come back and get him now.

“For our date?” Dean whispers and Castiel tilts his head. Sam closes his eyes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Castiel says slowly and Sam has to look up again. Whether he wants to or not. Dean’s green eyes are wide open and Sam really hopes that it only looks as if they are wet with tears.

“Sammy?” Dean says and he already sounds wrecked.

“April Fools’?” Sam whispers quietly and Dean turns away from him. Sam can see how his shoulders are shaking and he wants so badly to go over there and hug is brother, but he can’t move. Dean would never speak to him again.

“Dean, I’m sorry.” Sam tries, but Castiel holds his hand up. Sam goes quiet and Castiel goes over to Dean and Sam’s eyes nearly fall out, when Castiel presses a kiss to the back of Dean’s neck. What the fuck is happening?

“Dean, what happened?” Castiel wants to know and he sounds so commanding, that Sam isn’t surprises to see that Dean actually turns towards them again. He isn’t even crying like Sam thought, no, he is laughing quietly.

“Sam wanted to prank me and his attempt was almost cute, but it didn’t really work out.” Dean says and he leans completely against the angel. Castiel puts an arm around Dean’s hip and Sam gasps again.

“Care to tell me what kind of prank?” Castiel asks and for a second Sam thinks he should answer that, but Dean is already speaking up again.

“He wrote me a love letter in your name, where you asked me out on a date and thought I would fall for it.” Dean explains and Sam finds himself nodding under Castiel’s heavy gaze. He is still not really sure what is going on, because even though they are standing side by side, Castiel seems to press completely against Dean.

“I see.” Castiel says and Sam has to look to the ground.

“I don’t know why I did it, you just pissed me off with all your pranks and I thought it would be hilarious, but then I realized… how much it could hurt you.” Sam tries to explain himself and he blushes himself. Castiel looks really angry.

“So let me see if I understand this right, you thought you would play with your brother’s feelings for a prank.” Castiel says and Sam shakes his head hastily.

“No… Seems like I didn’t think at all.” Sam says shyly and he looks up through his eyelashes. Dean’s smile turns a bit softer and he holds an arm out. Sam knows what that means and goes over to his big brother. He hides his face against Dean’s shoulder and hugs him.

“It’s okay, Cas.” Dean says and he strokes over Sam’s hair. Castiel doesn’t seem really happy about it and Sam just sniffs into Dean’s suit jacket. He was such an asshole.

“It is not okay.” Castiel replies shortly and Sam can feel his brother nodding. He just wants to stay here in Dean’s arms and beg for forgiveness if he has to, but Dean just pulls a bit away.

“I know. Sammy, look at me. I know sometimes my pranks are a pain in the ass, but sometimes I don’t know how to deal with our lives anymore and small things like those prank wars help me a lot, but you took it too far.” Dean says, and he sounds the most serious Sam has seen him since he came back from hell.

“I’m sorry.” Sam says again and he knows that Dean understands that he means it. He never felt worse in his life, even though Dean doesn’t seem really sad.

“Yeah, but promise you’ll never do that again, Sammy. I mean it. It’s not okay to play with others’ feelings like that.” Dean says and when Sam looks to Castiel, he sees that the angel is nodding as well. Sam tries to hug Dean and Castiel at the same time and finally the angel smiles a bit again.

“I will never do that again.” Sam whispers quietly and Castiel even strokes his back.

“Good. Anyway, I figured it out after just reading the first word, so you didn’t hurt me.” Dean says proudly and he is grinning again. Castiel doesn’t seem too happy about it. Sam takes a step back and looks at his brother.

“What do you mean?” Castiel asks and Sam closes his mouth again, because he wanted to ask the same question. He even sees that Castiel and Dean are holding hands now. It must’ve happened when he hugged them.

“Well, you don’t start with ‘Hello Dean’, you call me ‘Baby’.” Dean says and he is smiling so happily. This time it’s Sam who tilts his head, because did he hear that right? Castiel actually writes him letters?

“That is true.” Castiel says and he presses a short kiss to Dean’s cheek. Dean is still grinning at Sam, as if he wants to show Castiel off. Sam swallows dryly. Those two are already a couple, that’s what Dean is trying to say.

“Okay, actually I planned this a bit different, but Sam? Meet my boyfriend Castiel, Angel of the Lord.” Dean says and Castiel smacks him on the back of his head. Dean doesn’t even jerk and winks at Sam instead.

“Wow, this is… I mean, congratulations.” Sam says finally and he can’t really believe this. His brother had already found his soulmate. Sam didn’t destroy everything between them, he is so relieved. But he would never play a prank like this again.

“Thank you, Sam.” Castiel says and this time he looks so much softer. Dean giggles and holds up the flowers again that he had thrown on the bed. He presses them against Castiel’s chest.

“These are for you anyway.” Dean mutters and he blushes a bit again. Sam pretends that he doesn’t see how embarrassed and cute his brother can be, when Castiel kisses him right there. Dean ducks his head.

“So, what now?” Dean says after the kiss and Sam laughs. He is really relieved that they are all fine and he had learned his lesson.

“Well, I would still like to go for the walk and feed the ducks.” Castiel says and Dean groans. Sam winks at Castiel and the angel even sticks out his tongue. Sam sits down on his bed and sighs happily.

“Please, everything but that.” Dean whines, but Castiel already ushers him out of the door. Sam shakes his head and looks to Dean’s bed again. The letter is still there and Sam takes it and rips it a million little snippets.

He would learn from this.

[hottytoddynews]

Tad Wilkes, aka Moon Pie Curtis

Oxford singer-songwriter Tad Wilkes is living proof that good things come to those who wait. Some just have to wait a good while longer than they ever imagined.

After more than 25 years of honing his craft and polishing his riffs in local bars and cafés, Wilkes has scored his first win in a national competition, beating out more than 600 fellow tunesmiths for first place in the prestigious bimonthly American Songwriter Lyric Contest, sponsored by American Songwriter magazine.

“I still don’t really believe it happened,” said Wilkes, a longtime journalist and the Oxford-based editor of Hotel F&B Magazine.

Wilkes’ winning entry, “Be Good To Your Woman,” will be featured in American Songwriter’s upcoming March-April issue. It will also be one of six finalists for the magazine’s grand-prize competition at the end of 2018.

“I’ve entered their contest a few times in the past, but I never placed or anything,” Wilkes said. “You’re going up against songwriters from all over the country and maybe internationally. I had actually submitted a different song to the previous issue and didn’t get anywhere. I’m not even sure why I decided to submit another one. It was only a $15 fee, and I figured I could spend that. But I had no hope that I’d win.”

Wilkes received a new PRS acoustic guitar and a Sennheiser microphone, but the real prize is the exposure—including a Q&A interview with photographs—in one of the music industry’s top magazines. Recent issues have spotlighted acclaimed artists like Willie Nelson (the January-February cover subject), Chris Hillman, Kenny Chesney and Nicky Mehta of The Wailin’ Jennys.

The magazine’s lyric contests are judged by some of the leading songwriters in the business, including Charlie Worsham, whose album, “Beginning of Things,” was named one of the “25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017” by Rolling Stone; Grammy and Oscar nominee Allison Moorer; Taylor Goldsmith, the frontman of indie rock band Dawes; and Austin-based Slaid Cleaves, hailed by Rolling Stone as “Americana’s most underappreciated songwriter.”

“These are all songwriters’ songwriters,” Wilkes notes.

Like a lot of those masters of the craft, Wilkes’ own musical style defies easy labels. It owes a little bit to the likes of Guy Clark, John Prine and Kris Kristofferson and a lot to no one you’ve ever heard before. Peppered with raunchy wit and piercing self-deprecation, his songs manage to be intensely personal and universal at the same time, filled with longing and laugh-out-loud one-liners. Even the saddest and sweetest of his songs will make you guffaw when you least expect it.

His debut CD, “Enter the Fool,” released in 2015 and co-produced by his good friend and former songwriting partner Joshua Cooker of the Nashville-based Captain Midnight Band, features both a comedic paean to sexy soccer moms in yoga pants (“Your Mama and Them”) and a snappy, bluesy-rock rumination on the bitter aftermath of a failed marriage (“It’s Called Divorce”).

“Enter the Fool” is available for purchase at Apple Music and on Spotify.

The cleverly metaphorical and immensely catchy “Be Kind, Rewind,” meanwhile, portrays a doomed romance in terms of Hollywood artifice:

Remember the opening credits We were both billed as stars The director yelled ‘action’ And we made out in my car But somewhere in the second act The storyline went south Some hack writer put some crappy dialogue In my mouth It all came out And I don’t even know what I was talking about

It’s a style that Wilkes has been fine-tuning since he was a teenager. “In high school, I made up what I would call novelty songs—silly, juvenile kind of stuff,” he recalled. “Songs with titles like ‘Booger on the Bronco’ and ‘Eatin’ Dog Food.’ My friend Ayers Spencer and I had a band called The Dingleberries—I sort of dragged him into it.”

At Ole Miss, Wilkes and Cooker went on to form the hard-partying band Cardinal Fluff and began taking songwriting more seriously. “Josh and I started writing songs together—even though they were still funny, they were real songs,” he said. “We were serious about being funny, sort of like Frank Zappa. I got my first real acoustic guitar at that time and then started listening to old country music and writing my own songs.”

Delving into the roots of what would later become known as the Americana genre, he immersed himself in the works of country- and folk-music storytellers like Prine, Clark, Steve Goodman, Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson. He also absorbed a lesson or two from another master raconteur, his own father, the late Dr. Thurston Wilkes. “He could tell a joke better than anybody,” Wilkes recalled. “From my dad I think I learned to add a little humor to complement the darkness and the deep thoughts—or what qualify as deep thoughts for me, anyway. Like George Carlin or Richard Pryor, he chose every word carefully, knew how to put each word in exactly the right place with the right emphasis. The first line of any song is the first impression, so I always believed in having a great first line. You add a little humor to see if they’re paying attention. That’s what my dad would do—he would throw some off-color joke into the conversation just to see if you were listening.”

Wilkes’ father, Dr. Thurston Wilkes, known for his hilarious off-color jokes and anecdotes, influenced his son’s songwriting style.

In Cardinal Fluff, Wilkes invented an off-color persona of his own, a bewigged, madcap character called Moon Pie Curtis, a name that he still performs under today (minus the wig and the wacky wordplay), while Cooker re-christened himself Captain Midnight. Cardinal Fluff lasted six or seven years, performing hilariously dirty-minded ditties with titles like “Position Impossible” and “Proud Totem.” But the bandmates parted ways when Cooker moved to New Orleans and then to Nashville, where the guitar-slinging Captain Midnight still fronts his own jam band and describes himself as “an internationally ignored superstar … (and) the world’s only purveyor of waterbed rock-and-roll.”

Wilkes, meanwhile, opted for a quieter, more domesticated life. “I thought, ‘Well, I want to have a family, so I should have a real job and keep living in Oxford.’ Songwriting was something I could still do here whenever I wanted. I figured it’s not like being a stand-up comic where you have to live in L.A. But, while that’s technically true, your chances of success in songwriting are much lower if you don’t live in Nashville and you’re not networking and co-writing and working with other musicians every day. I don’t think I really appreciated the magnitude of that at the time.”

Not that he has any regrets about opting for the joys of hometown domestication. He and his wife, Amy, have two adorable young daughters, and, in addition to his job with Hotel F&B, he founded Roxford University, a unique music school for children that offers both individual lessons in various instruments and a live-performance track, giving kids the experience of starting their own bands and putting on concerts twice a year.

In the meantime, Wilkes’ songwriting and musicianship have continued to evolve and mature. “Be Good to Your Woman,” the song that won the American Songwriter contest, was inspired by a piece of advice given to him years ago by his grandmother on her deathbed. “She had heart disease, and even breathing had become painful for her,” he said. “One day she told me, ‘Make sure to be good to your woman because they think real deep, and they hurt real easy.’ That just stuck in my head for years. But it’s hard for me to write a song like that—something that’s so heavy and deep. That was a tall order.”

The last thing Wilkes wanted to write was some maudlin, cliché-ridden tear-jerker, so he took his time with it—a lot of time. “I thought the first version was the best song I’d ever written,” he said. “That was about 10 years ago. Then, I realized the second verse was throwing the whole vibe off-course. It reflected my own distinctly male point of view, and that wasn’t what I wanted the song to be about. I knew I had to redo it. Looking back, it’s probably a good thing that I put so much thought into this one song, making all those revisions. I guess I always thought somebody would hear it eventually, and I wanted it to be perfect.”

“Be Good to Your Woman” will likely appear on Wilkes’ next CD, which he plans to cut with Cooker later this year. Although Wilkes, in his Moon Pie Curtis gigs, usually plays solo and unplugged, full studio instrumentation and Cooker’s sure hand on the production side bring glossy new life to his tunes while preserving the raw, throbbing ache that lies just underneath the wryly funny lyrics.

And winning the American Songwriter contest proved that Wilkes can still get his songs heard in Nashville without living there.

“It means that I haven’t been wasting my time doing some silly creative endeavor all these years,” he said. “I don’t feel discouraged about writing songs anymore. Now I know I’m not just doing it for myself.”

By Rick Hynum

The post Oxford’s Tad Wilkes Wins National Lyrics Contest with American Songwriter Magazine appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

[hottytoddynews]

Tad Wilkes, aka Moon Pie Curtis

Oxford singer-songwriter Tad Wilkes is living proof that good things come to those who wait. Some just have to wait a good while longer than they ever imagined.

After more than 25 years of honing his craft and polishing his riffs in local bars and cafés, Wilkes has scored his first win in a national competition, beating out more than 600 fellow tunesmiths for first place in the prestigious bimonthly American Songwriter Lyric Contest, sponsored by American Songwriter magazine.

“I still don’t really believe it happened,” said Wilkes, a longtime journalist and the Oxford-based editor of Hotel F&B Magazine.

Wilkes’ winning entry, “Be Good To Your Woman,” will be featured in American Songwriter’s upcoming March-April issue. It will also be one of six finalists for the magazine’s grand-prize competition at the end of 2018.

“I’ve entered their contest a few times in the past, but I never placed or anything,” Wilkes said. “You’re going up against songwriters from all over the country and maybe internationally. I had actually submitted a different song to the previous issue and didn’t get anywhere. I’m not even sure why I decided to submit another one. It was only a $15 fee, and I figured I could spend that. But I had no hope that I’d win.”

Wilkes received a new PRS acoustic guitar and a Sennheiser microphone, but the real prize is the exposure—including a Q&A interview with photographs—in one of the music industry’s top magazines. Recent issues have spotlighted acclaimed artists like Willie Nelson (the January-February cover subject), Chris Hillman, Kenny Chesney and Nicky Mehta of The Wailin’ Jennys.

The magazine’s lyric contests are judged by some of the leading songwriters in the business, including Charlie Worsham, whose album, “Beginning of Things,” was named one of the “25 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017” by Rolling Stone; Grammy and Oscar nominee Allison Moorer; Taylor Goldsmith, the frontman of indie rock band Dawes; and Austin-based Slaid Cleaves, hailed by Rolling Stone as “Americana’s most underappreciated songwriter.”

“These are all songwriters’ songwriters,” Wilkes notes.

Like a lot of those masters of the craft, Wilkes’ own musical style defies easy labels. It owes a little bit to the likes of Guy Clark, John Prine and Kris Kristofferson and a lot to no one you’ve ever heard before. Peppered with raunchy wit and piercing self-deprecation, his songs manage to be intensely personal and universal at the same time, filled with longing and laugh-out-loud one-liners. Even the saddest and sweetest of his songs will make you guffaw when you least expect it.

His debut CD, “Enter the Fool,” released in 2015 and co-produced by his good friend and former songwriting partner Joshua Cooker of the Nashville-based Captain Midnight Band, features both a comedic paean to sexy soccer moms in yoga pants (“Your Mama and Them”) and a snappy, bluesy-rock rumination on the bitter aftermath of a failed marriage (“It’s Called Divorce”).

The cleverly metaphorical and immensely catchy “Be Kind, Rewind,” meanwhile, portrays a doomed romance in terms of Hollywood artifice:

Remember the opening credits We were both billed as stars The director yelled ‘action’ And we made out in my car But somewhere in the second act The storyline went south Some hack writer put some crappy dialogue In my mouth It all came out And I don’t even know what I was talking about

It’s a style that Wilkes has been fine-tuning since he was a teenager. “In high school, I made up what I would call novelty songs—silly, juvenile kind of stuff,” he recalled. “Songs with titles like ‘Booger on the Bronco’ and ‘Eatin’ Dog Food.’ My friend Ayers Spencer and I had a band called The Dingleberries—I sort of dragged him into it.”

At Ole Miss, Wilkes and Cooker went on to form the hard-partying band Cardinal Fluff and began taking songwriting more seriously. “Josh and I started writing songs together—even though they were still funny, they were real songs,” he said. “We were serious about being funny, sort of like Frank Zappa. I got my first real acoustic guitar at that time and then started listening to old country music and writing my own songs.”

Delving into the roots of what would later become known as the Americana genre, he immersed himself in the works of country- and folk-music storytellers like Prine, Clark, Steve Goodman, Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson. He also absorbed a lesson or two from another master raconteur, his own father, the late Dr. Thurston Wilkes. “He could tell a joke better than anybody,” Wilkes recalled. “From my dad I think I learned to add a little humor to complement the darkness and the deep thoughts—or what qualify as deep thoughts for me, anyway. Like George Carlin or Richard Pryor, he chose every word carefully, knew how to put each word in exactly the right place with the right emphasis. The first line of any song is the first impression, so I always believed in having a great first line. You add a little humor to see if they’re paying attention. That’s what my dad would do—he would throw some off-color joke into the conversation just to see if you were listening.”

Wilkes’ father, Dr. Thurston Wilkes, known for his hilarious off-color jokes and anecdotes, influenced his son’s songwriting style.

In Cardinal Fluff, Wilkes invented an off-color persona of his own, a bewigged, madcap character called Moon Pie Curtis, a name that he still performs under today (minus the wig and the wacky wordplay), while Cooker re-christened himself Captain Midnight. Cardinal Fluff lasted six or seven years, performing hilariously dirty-minded ditties with titles like “Position Impossible” and “Proud Totem.” But the bandmates parted ways when Cooker moved to New Orleans and then to Nashville, where the guitar-slinging Captain Midnight still fronts his own jam band and describes himself as “an internationally ignored superstar … (and) the world’s only purveyor of waterbed rock-and-roll.”

Wilkes, meanwhile, opted for a quieter, more domesticated life. “I thought, ‘Well, I want to have a family, so I should have a real job and keep living in Oxford.’ Songwriting was something I could still do here whenever I wanted. I figured it’s not like being a stand-up comic where you have to live in L.A. But, while that’s technically true, your chances of success in songwriting are much lower if you don’t live in Nashville and you’re not networking and co-writing and working with other musicians every day. I don’t think I really appreciated the magnitude of that at the time.”

Not that he has any regrets about opting for the joys of hometown domestication. He and his wife, Amy, have two adorable young daughters, and, in addition to his job with Hotel F&B, he founded Roxford University, a unique music school for children that offers both individual lessons in various instruments and a live-performance track, giving kids the experience of starting their own bands and putting on concerts twice a year.

In the meantime, Wilkes’ songwriting and musicianship have continued to evolve and mature. “Be Good to Your Woman,” the song that won the American Songwriter contest, was inspired by a piece of advice given to him years ago by his grandmother on her deathbed. “She had heart disease, and even breathing had become painful for her,” he said. “One day she told me, ‘Make sure to be good to your woman because they think real deep, and they hurt real easy.’ That just stuck in my head for years. But it’s hard for me to write a song like that—something that’s so heavy and deep. That was a tall order.”

The last thing Wilkes wanted to write was some maudlin, cliché-ridden tear-jerker, so he took his time with it—a lot of time. “I thought the first version was the best song I’d ever written,” he said. “That was about 10 years ago. Then, I realized the second verse was throwing the whole vibe off-course. It reflected my own distinctly male point of view, and that wasn’t what I wanted the song to be about. I knew I had to redo it. Looking back, it’s probably a good thing that I put so much thought into this one song, making all those revisions. I guess I always thought somebody would hear it eventually, and I wanted it to be perfect.”

“Be Good to Your Woman” will likely appear on Wilkes’ next CD, which he plans to cut with Cooker later this year. Although Wilkes, in his Moon Pie Curtis gigs, usually plays solo and unplugged, full studio instrumentation and Cooker’s sure hand on the production side bring glossy new life to his tunes while preserving the raw, throbbing ache that lies just underneath the wryly funny lyrics.

And winning the American Songwriter contest proved that Wilkes can still get his songs heard in Nashville without living there.

“It means that I haven’t been wasting my time doing some silly creative endeavor all these years,” he said. “I don’t feel discouraged about writing songs anymore. Now I know I’m not just doing it for myself.”

By Rick Hynum

The post Oxford’s Tad Wilkes Wins National Lyrics Contest with American Songwriter Magazine appeared first on HottyToddy.com.