Three One Piece story ideas I might (or might not) write someday:
- The Faces I See In My Sleep: Ever since he was taken in by the Revolutionary Army, Sabo draws the same two faces over and over again without ever knowing their names. A little boy who smiles like the sun and another with stormy eyes and freckles like stars. And when Portgas D. Ace makes his debut on the high seas, Sabo can't help but notice the similarities between his wanted poster and the boy in his drawings.
- Pieces of Me: Nami had spent more than half her life serving Arlong. Arlong had stolen her mother, her childhood, and her freedom. He had taken everything from her. Her maps, her time, her hope, and her blood. Little by little, he had ripped away essential pieces of her, leaving behind only a broken, empty shell, just functional enough to be useful to him. But with the help of her crew, Nami becomes whole again, regaining the pieces of herself that Arlong stole from her.
- My Father Is The Worst Man Alive (And I’m His Favorite Daughter): After touring Wano, Yamato sets sail to see the world. His first stop: the grave of the friend he never got to know, the only person in the world who could understand the burden of being born of a monster, the pirate who gave him his first taste of freedom. Portgas D. Ace. It's been years since Yamato saw his vivre card go up in flames, but better late than never.
If this is something you would like to read, please let me know so I can motivate myself to write it. And if this is something you would like to write, please let me know so I can read it!
What do you mean I have to study instead of writing silly little stories ?
Never felt less patriotic than when Simone Bills and Ilona Maher show up on my screen. I mean, they're everything. What do you mean I'm supposed to cheer for my own country ?
DAY 13: Till Death Do Us Part
The end of a crew. The end of a legend.
If you haven't seen the "Character Death" tag and you don't like when your favorite characters die, there's still time to turn around. The entire crew dies in this story, it's not a spoiler to say that. (And, the warnings will be put at the beginning of each chapter, in more or less gruesome ways.) I was looking for a poem to be the story's guideline but I couldn't find one that fit what I was looking for. And even though I don't really need it anymore, I decided to write it myself. The first real chapter will be coming tomorrow or in the next few days but in the meantime I left some clues on how each character dies if you want to decipher them. I originally wrote the poem in French and was unable to make it rhyme in English, to my great disappointment. So I left it for you in French with the translation for each line just below. Fandom : One Piece Character(s) : Mugiwara Kaizoku | Straw Hat Pirates Relationship(s) : Mugiwara Kaizoku | Straw Hat Pirates & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Straw Hat Pirates Words Count : 629 No. 13: TEAM AS A FAMILY Familial Curse | Multiple Whumpees | "Death will do us part." (Set It Off, Partner's In Crime)
À bord du navire des rêves,
(On board the ship of dreams,)
vivaient dix animaux
(lived ten animals)
Tous suivaient leur capitaine,
(All followed their captain,)
un singe avec comme couronne un chapeau.
(a monkey with a hat as a crown.)
Le tigre partit le premier,
(The tiger left first,)
protégeant jusqu’au bout ses camarades.
(protecting his comrades until the end.)
Mais son dos resta intouché,
(But his back remained untouched,)
marquant l'ultime preuve de sa bravade.
(marking the ultimate proof of his bravado.)
Le cheval solitaire fût le suivant,
(The lonely horse was next,)
son vieux squelette ne tenant plus le coup
(his old skeleton no longer holding up)
Ses amis ne le laissèrent pas seul un instant,
(His friends did not leave him alone for a moment,)
tenant sa main jusqu’à son dernier pouls.
(holding his hand until his last pulse.)
La fin commença avec celle du caméléon,
(The end began with that of the chameleon,)
son courage inspirant le monde entier
(his courage inspiring the whole world)
Même devant la Mort il ne baissa pas le front,
(Even in the face of Death he did not lower his head,)
lançant sur la mer les navires par milliers.
(launching ships by the thousands into the sea.)
L’ironie n’échappa pas au canard,
(The irony did not escape the duck,)
quand ses yeux se fermèrent de leur plein gré.
(when his eyes closed of their own accord.)
Il aurait aimé que cela arrive un peu plus tard,
(He would have liked it to happen a little later,)
sombrer dans les bras de la mer dont il avait toujours rêvé.
(to sink into the arms of the sea he had always dreamed of.)
Le taureau résista sans jamais faillir,
(The bull resisted without ever failing,)
quand se déchainèrent les sévices des enfers
(when the torments of hell were unleashed)
Il accueillit la fin avec un sourire,
(He greeted the end with a smile,)
tel était l’adage de l’homme de fer.
(such was the adage of the iron man.)
La chatte affronta sa fin sans ruser,
(The cat faced her end without guile,)
maîtrisant une dernière fois les éléments
(mastering the elements one last time)
Elle ne s’enfuit pas même si elle était effrayée,
(She did not run away even though she was frightened,)
libérant un pays entier du tourment.
(freeing an entire country from torment.)
Le petit renne choisit de rester,
(The little reindeer chose to stay,)
refusant de tourner son dos à ceux dans le besoin
(refusing to turn his back on those in need)
Face à la maladie il ne cessa d’essayer
(Faced with illness he never stopped trying)
et sa compassion causa sa fin.
(and his compassion caused his end.)
La seule grue qui avait réussi à fuir,
(The only crane that had managed to escape,)
finit par retourner à la maison
(ended up returning home)
Pour une fois elle ne pût pas courir,
(For once she could not run,)
et enfermée, elle se plia à la raison.
(and locked up, she bowed to reason.)
L’ours fût là quand personne ne pouvait plus l’être,
(The bear was there when no one could anymore,)
Guidant son capitaine jusqu’à la dernière minute
(Guiding his captain until the last minute)
Il ne laissa jamais sa peur paraître,
(He never let his fear show,)
Continuant jusqu’au bout pour lui, la lutte.
(Continuing the fight to the end for him.)
Le singe resta le dernier,
(The monkey was the last to remain,)
Seul et froid au milieu de la nuit
(Alone and cold in the middle of the night)
Quand il partit, personne n'était là pour l’en empêcher,
(When he left, no one was there to stop him,)
et il prit le soleil avec lui.
(and he took the sun with him.)
tiktok / icarly / unknown / @/mothman / An Oresteia: Agamemnon, Aiskhylos / Bumble Ardy, Maurice Sendak / icarly / A Little Life, Hanya Yaragihara / The Fall Of The House Of Usher, Steven Berkoff / A living Chattel, Anton Chekhov
“I'm on Team Winchester now,” Meg explained, filling two shot glasses with vodka. “Or at least Team Kick-Crowley’s-ass-and-give-Sam-his-soul-back.”
“I don't buy it,” Jo retorted acidly. “You've whored yourself to Azazel and Lucifer. Why not Crowley too?”
There was a flicker of surprise in Meg's eyes, her memory of Jo probably no longer matching the woman before her. But Jo had died and been reborn, all sharp edges and broken angles. Full of anger and grief.
“Because I have morals, even for a demon,” Meg replied, brushing her fingernail across Jo's cheek. “Also, he tried to kill me. Multiple times. Call me difficult, but I don't find that very attractive in a leader. In a lover, on the other hand—”
“ You’ve tried to kill me,” Jo interrupted her, grabbing her hand in hers and twisting her wrist to keep it away from her face.
“And I'm very glad I didn't succeed,” Meg replied with a smirk, her eyes roaming over Jo’s body.
As a writer, receiving long comments with quotes and rambles is the best feeling in the world. There's nothing wrong with hearts, keyboard smashes or even silent readers, but the energy boost to keep writing that some of the comments I've had have given me is incomparable.
And as a reader, I often read my favourite fanfics on my laptop with two tabs open to comment my thoughts on real time. It works great for me !
BTW i see these posts all the time like "ohhh i dont know what to comment on fics.." and every response is "keysmashes! or hearts!! anything works :3" and thats GREAT!! thats helpful!!
but: consider. if u genuinely like analyzing writing.. do u know ur just allowed to go through and quote your favorite parts and ramble abt what they mean to u and the author will LOSE IT WITH HYPE?
genuinely. i felt SO WEIRD the first time i did it.. but like. holy shit authors love it. its crack for authors. the first time i did it, it was on a fic that hadnt updated in half a year, give or take, and the author made 3 updates that month BECAUSE OF MY COMMENT.
LIKE. as an author every comment is INCREDIBLE!!! but also, dont feel like your comment has to be short or otherwise ur invasive or smth!! authors ADORE long comments more than ANYTHING.
DAY 15: The Father's Mistakes Fall on the Son's Shoulders
The cycle repeats itself.
For this prompt, I was hesitating between Dean&John and Jack&Dean but my little sister suggested I do both so you'll have both. This story is not intended to bash characters but rather to show sons hurt by the actions of their parent figure and fathers realizing, too late, their mistakes. Because let's be honest, I love Dean but the way he treats Jack is often horrible and you might think he would learn from the way his own father raised him but noo. (Also, Dean is 17/18 in the first chapter.) Fandom: Supernatural Character(s): Dean Winchester Relationship(s): Dean Winchester & John Winchester, Jack Kline & Dean Winchester Words Count: 1,115 Trigger Warnings: - Minor Burn - Minor Blood and Injury - Dean's Canonical Self-Esteem Issues No. 15: CHILDHOOD TRAUMA Painful Hug | Moment of Clarity | "I did good, right?"
Dean’s fingers were numb from the cold as he desperately tried to light his lighter. Every time he failed was another minute of Dad risking his life distracting the ghost. The metal dug painfully into his thumb with each failure and blood was already starting to trickle down his wrist.
“Come on, come on,” Dean whispered, his words forming a cloud of condensation in the abandoned house. Dean wasn’t sure if it was the freezing February temperatures or if the ghost had somehow escaped Dad but he didn’t plan on staying long enough to find out. “ Come on! ”
Finally, finally , a small flame flickered at the end of his lighter and Dean wasted no time in throwing his lighter into the hearth of the fireplace where the ghost's bones already lay covered in salt. The fire caught instantly, burning the tips of Dean's fingers when he didn't pull his hand away fast enough. He hissed in pain, blisters forming on his index and middle fingers.
Somewhere up the stairs, the ghost screamed as its soul was destroyed in a burst of yellow light.
Dean flopped down on the moth-eaten floorboards, kicking up a cloud of dust big enough to make him cough. When he opened his eyes again, Dad was in front of him, one hand out to help him up and his gun in the other.
“You really took your sweet time here,” Dad joked, but Dean couldn’t help but flinch. Dad either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it. “Let’s go find Sammy, he must be freezing out there.”
Dean grabbed his dad’s hand with his left and let himself be pulled to his feet. Dad looked at his face suspiciously.
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.
(If they were a normal family, Dean would say it was worry that made his father frown. But normal families didn’t hunt deadly ghosts in the middle of the night, and Dean knew better.)
“Nothing,” Dean replied, hiding his hand in his jacket pocket, the sensitive skin of his fingers catching in the zipper.
“Dean,” Dad sighed, grabbing Dean’s elbow and forcing his hand out of his pocket. “Stop being so stubborn all the time.”
Dad tugged sharply at Dean's arm and grabbed his wrist, directing his hand toward the light of the flames. He whistled loudly as he saw the blisters forming on Dean's fingertips.
"I think we have some Biafine left in the car, you can ask Sammy to bandage you up," Dad ordered.
"There's no point," Dean protested, not wanting to waste bandages on a wound that would go away on its own in a few days.
"What did I just say?" Dad sighed. "Stop being so stubborn all the damn time. I don't want your dominant hand immobilized any longer than necessary."
It made sense. With his burn, Dean's grip on his gun wouldn't be as effective.
"And why are your hands so cold?" Dad asked, taking Dean's hands in his to warm them up, being careful with his injured fingers. "Don't you have gloves?"
"I gave them to Sammy, his had holes in them," Dean replied.
For a moment, they said nothing and Dean enjoyed the warmth of Dad's hands against his own. He was too old to hold his father's hand anymore but he missed it sometimes, the casual affection of the early days. An arm around his shoulders, a hand in his hair, a hug when he was scared.
But part of Dad had died with Mom in the fire and Dean didn't know how much of the soldier or father had survived.
"Come on Dee, let's get you warm," Dad said, letting go of his hands.
Dean was next to a fire but he had never been so cold. He followed his father's lead, shivering in his jacket with holes in his elbows. The drafts of the house wrapped around Dean like ghosts.
Outside the abandoned house, Sam stood watch next to the car, kicking the gravel to pass the time. When he saw Dean come out of the house, the kid's face lit up and Dean couldn't help but smile back.
"Hey Sammy, haven't you been too bored without me?" greeted Dean with a lazy smile.
Sam didn't have time to answer, a ghost flickered behind him as ice creeped up the car windows.
(Protect Sammy!)
Dean rushed toward Sam, shoving him out of the ghost’s reach with one arm and making a wide circle with the other, hitting the ghost with the iron-clad butt of his pistol. The ghost disappeared but not before briefly digging its hand into Dean’s ribcage and holding Dean’s heart ready to rip it out. A bitter cold gripped Dean and he collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
The ghost rematerialized a few feet away, Dean’s blood staining his shirt. Dad slammed the trunk of the car shut, yelling at Sam to duck and shooting salt at the ghost with his rifle.
His vision darkened and the screams of Dad and Sam grew distant around him, stretching out until Dean no longer recognized their voices. There was a flash of light, then silence.
(Dean was so cold.)
Arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him almost painfully against someone’s chest. The heavy grip around his arms was sure to leave bruises tomorrow and his aching ribs protested, a throbbing pain almost making it hard to breathe. Still, Dean wanted the person to never let go of him again.
Leather and tobacco.
“Dad?” Dean asked, his voice muffled in his father’s jacket. “I did good, right? I saved Sammy.”
“You did very well, son,” Dad answered, his voice strangely strangled. “I’m proud of you.”
Dean looked up and oh , Dad was crying. Why was Dad crying?
“It hurts,” Dean said, the pain turning his vision white.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Dad apologized, his hand cradling Dean’s head tenderly, like he’d taught Dean to do when Sammy was a newborn. “We’re going to take you to the hospital.”
(Why was Dad apologizing? It wasn't his fault. Dean should have been faster. But he was so slow tonight.)
"Can we go home now?" Dean asked weakly, his eyes fluttering with fatigue.
There was blood on Dad's jacket in the shape of Dean's handprints. Everything he touched ended up covered in blood.
"Sure," Dad replied.
A familiar weight fell on his shoulders (leather and tobacco) as arms slid under his knees and armpits to lift him off the ground. Dean's feet left the ground and he bit back a gag as his head spun and spun.
(Dean wasn't cold anymore.)
"I'm sorry, Dean," Dad whispered as he walked toward the car.
There were still tears in his eyes.
You'll Need It More Than Me (She'll Need You More Than Me)
A little something inspired by the fifth headcanon because I couldn't help myself. Love me some tragic sibling relationships.
The sense of déjà vu tasted like ash and ozone in her mouth as Athena watched Hephaestus get banished from Olympus like she had been before him. Everything was the same as last time, down to the last word spoken by the God-King. Except for the tears silently streaming down Hera's cheeks.
This time, the Queen of the Gods was devastated to see her true child leave — flesh of her flesh, blood of her blood. Athena knew that if she could, Hera would offer her own life for Hephaestus’. But goddesses could not die, Hera could not move from her place beside Zeus' throne and this was perhaps the cruelest of punishments.
(Athena would do it too, take Hephaestus' place so he could stay by Hera's side. As a family. It wasn't like there was a place for her anymore.)
Ares' rage beside her seeping into the white marble like poison made her lose her mind, made her want to take that step forward and save Hephaestus from his fate. Or maybe it wasn't Ares, maybe it was all her.
A look from Hera, full of sorrow and anger, made Athena stop in her tracks. Obviously Hera did not want her help, did not need her. Athena's eyes sharpened beneath her helmet and she placed a hand on Ares' arm to stop him from doing something even more foolishly reckless than her.
Hephaestus looked so small in Zeus' shadow, scared and fragile. Almost human. Has she ever looked this small? Not in daylight anyway.
(She had never had the opportunity to be an infant.)
(But it wasn't about her. It was never about her.)
Zeus tore Hephaestus from Hera's arms and for a moment Athena's blood froze in her veins as she thought Zeus was going to yeet him from the mountain. She took an instinctive step forward.
“I’ll do it,” All eyes turned to Athena — Zeus's savage satisfaction, Hera's cutting disappointment, and Ares's corrosive disdain — but she composed herself, keeping her head high. “I shall take him to the mortals.”
If there had been hope between Hera and her before, it was over. Not when Athena was the hand that snatched her true child away.
Zeus smiled. “Great idea, child-of-my-mind. Come dispose of him.”
Athena stepped forward toward Zeus and he dropped the infant into his arms without warning. She made her forearm guards disappear before he could collide with the rough metal, cradling Hephaestus as gently as possible. She felt more awkward than a newborn fawn, all sharp elbows and violent hands.
Without a backward glance, Athena left the throne room, her wings spreading behind her as she took flight.
.
.
.
Finding a mortal family she trusted to care for Hera's son, her brother, was surprisingly not the hardest part. Parting with him was. It felt like she was tearing her chest open and ripping out her own lung. As a goddess, she didn't need to, but it hurt to breathe all the same.
She landed in a forest, away from men and gods, and carefully brushed Hephaestus' cheek. Hephaestus grabbed her finger and babbled, so happy that Athena's heart could burst with joy.
“I'm sorry you won't know your mother,” Athena apologized softly. “She… she’s wonderful. And you deserved to know her. I'm so sorry, Heph.”
Tears fell down Hephaestus' cheek and he looked up at her with big, round eyes, full of innocence, empty of judgment. It wasn't fair that Hephaestus had to grow up without his mother. Not when Athena knew how incredible it could be.
But maybe he didn't have to.
Hera had once promised her that she would be loved forever, perhaps Athena could pass on that promise even if it no longer applied to her. Summoning to her the necklace Hera had given her centuries ago — hidden in a pocket dimension, never on her person, never too far away — she placed it around Hephaestus' neck.
She smiled in spite of herself when she saw the iridescent colors of the little metallic peacock. She had truly trusted Hera and her promise at that time, and the necklace had continued to bring her comfort long after the rift between them had widened.
“I hope you have a happy life,” Athena whispered as she kissed the infant's forehead. "Remember that you are so, so loved. More than you will ever know.”
When Athena left, Hephaestus clutched in his hand a peacock necklace and an owl feather.
Some Slipping through my Fingers headcanons (is it a hc if it's my story? Wouldn't lore be more accurate? Does it matter?):
Athena's first crafting-related hobby was embroidery from when Hera gave her an old project to occupy her with way back. She always kept that hobby, but she's switched to weaving more since she has her official domain to distance herself from her childhood.
Athena and Ares spent a pretty long period living in a palace with their parents before Hephaestus built their own palaces. Little Ares had a proper "Do you want to build a snowman?" phase with his older sister. Athena may or may not have soundproved her door for a while against his knocking (Mean, mean owl. XD Also peak sibling behavior)
Athena refused to settle down in Lake Tritonis for the longest time. She held onto hope that she'd be taken back to Olympus soon. She started training hard to be good enough to be allowed back, and feels extra guilty because Pallas' death gave her exactly that, though only once she didn't want it anymore.
Athena is actually not Zeus' eldest daughter, she's just the oldest he claimed. Persephone was born very very soon after the Titanomachy. (teen pregnancy go brr) and neither he nor Demeter like to talk about it.
Hephaestus has a necklace with a peacock pendant that Athena left with him when she brought him to mortal family to raise. It was the same pendant Hera gave her when she was younger to remind her she was always loved.
Aphrodite was washed up on the shore near Olympus in a shell a lá Birth of Venus. Nobody knows exactly how she ended up in the sea, not even herself.
Ares likes the smell of olives but not the taste. (Yes he gives them to Athena)
Hera's animal form is a white peafowl (wedding dress birb fr), not a "common" female peacock. She does keep the peacock color scheme for herself tho cos it's pretty.
Post-Triton Athena only very rarely goes completely armorless outside of sleeping. That doesn't mean she always wears a full set, but she does mostly wear something on her torso at least. Something non-metal like leather would already be considered casual.
Athena called Metis "Mama", so she would never consciously call anyone else that, even when she was younger. She got to calling Hera "Mom" tho (Hera cried a little. All her kids, bio or adopted, call her Mom btw), post-Triton, Athena calls Hera by her name. She addresses Zeus by "father", but refers to him as Zeus when speaking about him. When she feels extra like hurting herself, she'll refer to Hera as "your mother" around her siblings.
Chat, what do we think? :)
DAY 10: Did It Hurt When You Fell From Heaven? (Like A Bitch)
Castiel is learning to be human. It hurts. In more ways than one.
Why is Castiel so hard to write? I have a lot to say about him and his character but he's so self-unaware that it's impossible to write. I love him but he's very frustrating. Fandom: Supernatural Character(s): Castiel Words Count: 1,317 Triggers Warnings: - Glaring Self-Esteem Issues - Minor Blood and Injuries (at the end) No. 10: BLOW TO THE HEAD Slurred Words | Passing Out from Pain | "I can't think straight."
The cashier sighed heavily and Castiel looked up long enough to offer a small, embarrassed smile before continuing to count the coins in his hand. The credit card Dean had given him had stopped working and was requiring Castiel to enter the PIN. But Castiel didn’t know the PIN, it was written on a post-it note and hidden in a book in his locker. He hadn’t had to enter the PIN in the few weeks since he’d left the Bunker and had simply used the “contactless payment” but now the “contactless payment” wasn’t working.
Embarrassed, Castiel set the money down in front of the cashier, the coins falling from his open hands like a waterfall and clanging against the metal counter. Behind him, the line continued to grow as the supermarket’s customers grew impatient in hushed tones.
“Is that enough?” Castiel asked.
“Dude, seriously?” complained the cashier.
With a glare, the cashier began counting the coins, much faster than Castiel could have. He was an angel (not anymore) , he had been an angel with all the knowledge of the world, past and present, but he couldn’t count a few coins.
Being human was much harder than he could have imagined. The world was both brighter and dimmer than it had been. He no longer heard the prayers of Humanity but heard the birds singing when dawn broke; he no longer saw the invisible forces of this world but saw animals forming in the clouds.
He also had to sleep and eat and wash and relieve himself and it never ended. It was exhausting .
The experience gave him a whole new appreciation for humanity—for Dean and Sam.
(Castiel didn’t know if he could do it.)
(Castiel didn’t know if he wanted to do it.)
A feminine hand rested gently on his shoulder and Castiel resisted the urge to fight or flee as his skin quivered from his shoulder to his heart (a blade cutting into his flesh, the buzz of a drill approaching his eye, the cracking of his bones under a punch) . Castiel calmed his pounding heart and turned, staring into deep green eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the stranger smiled. “Do you need help?”
“Oh no, it’s fine—”
“There’s not enough,” the cashier cut in impatiently. “Twenty dollars short.”
Humans only had two eyes, but Castiel could feel the weight of dozens of eyes on him, as heavy and terrible as the forces of Heaven. Castiel didn’t know until then that he could be embarrassed.
“Oh, I’ll go put some items back in then,” Castiel replied.
“I can take care of the difference,” the stranger intervened behind him.
Castiel didn’t have the chance to refuse, the cashier practically snatched the bill from the stranger’s hands and signaled Castiel to make room for the next customer. Castiel put his groceries in his bag and waited for the stranger, wanting to thank her and reimburse her.
“Thank you for your generosity, I can reimburse you if you so wish,” Castiel offered.
“It won't be necessary,” the stranger replied kindly. “You needed help and I was able to give it to you. A little help and kindness can go a long way.”
(Castiel couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t had blood—that of his enemies and that of his friends —on his hands.)
(Castiel couldn’t remember a time when he’d been kind .)
“But if you want, you can help me carry my groceries to my car. I hurt my wrist last week,” the stranger explained. “My girlfriend’s going to scold me again for moving heavy loads.”
“Of course,” Castiel replied, carefully taking the bags from the stranger’s hands.
“Thank you very much,” the stranger smiled. “My name is Claire, I’d shake your hand, but it looks like your hands are full.”
“Steve, nice to meet you,” Castiel said, his throat tightening inexplicably.
But the hardest thing about his new humanity was the guilt , the memory of all the people he’d hurt. How did humans function when they felt so much? On the best days, Castiel felt like he was going to shatter under the weight of his emotions.
“Are you new around here?” Claire asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
“It’s only temporary,” Castiel replied, knowing he was lying to himself.
(A part of him hoped Dean would change his mind, that he could go back to the Winchesters. But now that he was no longer an angel, he was nothing more than a burden, someone they had to protect and who would slow them down.)
(He didn't want to cause them any more trouble than he already had.)
(Dean had already been kind enough to give him enough money for the first few months.)
"I hope you like it here then," Claire said pleasantly, opening the trunk of her car. "It's a quiet but nice town."
"Thanks," Castiel replied, putting the groceries in Claire's car. "Have a pleasant day."
"You too Steve,” Claire returned the sentiment. “It was nice meeting you."
Castiel greeted Claire and left the parking lot towards the gas station. He still had time before his shift but he didn't want to be late. This job was the last thing he had in addition to being his place to live. He couldn't afford to lose it.
The sun was warm against his skin and a cat was lounging on the hot tarmac outside the supermarket. Castiel crouched down to pet it, a small smile forming on his face. The cat was grumpy, not appreciative of being woken up, and its scowl reminded him of Dean. Castiel pulled out his phone to send Dean a picture but changed his mind at the last moment. He didn’t want to bother him.
(He didn’t want to know if Dean would answer him or not. Probably because he already knew the answer.)
Castiel straightened up, the heel of his shoe digging into his damaged skin. Even walking hurted and Castiel didn’t want to spend too much money on bandages to cover his blisters. He just hoped he hadn’t bled through his socks again. He couldn’t vanish the blood off his clothes with a wave of his hand anymore.
(Humans were so fragile. Castiel wondered how they didn't die immediately.)
“Have a pleasant day,” Castiel said to the cat who curled up to resume its nap.
Castiel continued on his way, quickening his pace, and more than ever missed his wings. Not necessarily because he could cross the globe in a second if he wanted to—although that was very convenient—but because he couldn’t remember the last time he had flown just because he could.
(His wings had been clipped—by Heaven, by the Winchesters , by himself—long before his Fall.)
(His feet had not left the ground these days, not even in his dreams.)
(He had only himself to blame.)
.
He wasn’t the only one who thought that.
A sharp pain spread through his skull as a metal bar came down hard on the back of his head. Ears ringing in shock, Castiel dropped his groceries, his carton of tomato soup exploding as it hit the ground.
Castiel staggered, leaning on the wall to keep himself from falling. His head spun uncontrollably around him. He felt like he was falling off a building. But no one was there to catch him.
A warm liquid flowed from the back of his head to the back of his neck, his blood pulsing mercilessly in his temples. Silent tears ran down his cheeks as he fought back vomiting from the pain.
He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t see anything.
The pain clouded his vision, turning the world into a series of blurry, indistinct shapes. Every sound seemed distorted, like a distant echo, as terror began to overtake the pain.
Green eyes glowing menacingly were the last thing Castiel saw before he lost consciousness.
Dean.
Fun fact, the story with the credit card at the beginning happened to me when I was eighteen and got my first credit card (the part where I forget my PIN after only using contactless payment for weeks, not the part where someone pays for my groceries). So Castiel is going to experience my embarrassment too. Poor Castiel, he discovers that being human sucks. You have to sleep and eat and even worse you Feel Emotions. And that's not the worst thing that will happen to him later. Speaking of later, I have ideas in mind but given the number of stories I have to write, I think I'll only write it if you're interested. (Or in several months but it's not sure.) Let me know what you think.
oscillating between one piece and supernatural as my hyperfixation depending on the weather
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