#creature!cas

[niceworkhuggybear]

centaur Cas cowboy Dean 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[casdeans-pie]

Would anyone care for a preview of chapter 10 of Cabin of Feathers ????

I am gently placing this in your hands like a baby bird

Dean hasn’t really thought about going home for a while, and the thought stirs up some mixed emotions that he doesn’t care to untangle right now, so he focuses on his current task again.

Water. Painkillers. Birdman.

When Dean finally pulls his attention away from the window, turning back towards the rest of the kitchen, he spots some drops of blood on the wooden floor and adds that to the mental list of places he needs to clean. It’s gonna be a long afternoon of scrubbing. But before that he hopes that Castiel stays conscious enough to answer at least a couple of his questions before he powers down to recharge or whatever it is he’ll do.

Dean takes the stairs slowly, his socks thumping dully on each step, and between the rhythm and the concentration it takes not to spill the water he finds it easy to let his mind empty. If there’s one thing he’s always been good at, it’s pushing shit down for another time.

Outside of the bedroom Dean pauses again.

Should he just go in? Knock?

Eventually he steels himself and uses his hip to push open the door.

Castiel is wearing the suit at least, but he’s curled up on the floor, with one black wing pulled in tight against his back and the other reaching over himself like a bandaged feathery blanket. His head rests on his own bloodstained coat and his eyes are closed. He doesn’t even stir when Dean enters.

[kingdumbass]

Originally, I'd made this art of Dean for DeanCas Horrorfest, but in the end I decided to repackage him as @deancas-stabfest pitch. The prompt was for Fright Night AU where Dean plays the role of Charlie and Cas is the very sexy, mysterious vampire neighbor. Go read @bleuzombie 's take on it over on ao3! Link to Fic

[diminuel]

Astronaut Dean and the alien creature that found him floating around, trying to fix his broken down space ship~

@codenamefinlandia suggested astronaut Dean and Cas floating in space.

[hawkland]

Art Masterpost: Let Hands Do What Lips Do Story by: entropic_saudade (@entropic-saudade) Art by: sidewinder (@hawkland) I've been so excited about this sharing one, and the day is finally here!!! I first watched "The Shape of Water" last summer on a flight home from Italy. The entire time I was thinking to myself, "This is a Dean/Cas story. This is so very much a Dean/Cas story." So when the @cdrcrossoverbang came along, I knew immediately what one of my entries would have to be.

The above was the piece I put in for claims. It's directly based off one of the most popular stills from the film, and I thought would be a perfect chance to show Dean & Cas in this universe. I think it's my first time doing a complete "creature!Cas" as well, so I spent quite a while figuring out & sketching how I wanted to combine the creature from the movie with Cas's most recognizable features. (I also wanted to play up/enhance the green/blue of the original image as it's so iconic for Dean & Cas, and then later to carry through elements of those colors in the additional art I created.)

The banner/title art is also very closely based off one of TSOW's movie posters, though I wanted to give Cas some wing-like fins ("angel fish" vibes, anyone? Heh heh.) This was not an easy piece to do, but in the end I got it pretty close to how I'd envisioned it. Have a close up!

When I started talking to @entropic-saudade about their ideas and reading story notes I got even more hyped up. I knew I wanted to do some art of the other characters featured in the fic, especially some I haven't had the chance to draw or paint before. I really enjoyed Eileen's relationship with Dean in the story, where she parallels Zelda's role in the movie, so again I wanted to closely recreate one of the stills from the movie for Eileen's entrance scene:

And having a chance to finally do art featuring Rufus was something I couldn't resist! This one wasn't so much a direct movie scene recreation, although I tried to combine elements of Giles' apartment with what you might find in Bobby's house in SPN.

I hope you all go run and read the story now! >> Read "Let Hands Do What Lips Do" at AO3 <<

[deancaspinefest]

carving deep blue ripples

Author: dothraki_shieldmaiden | Artist: kingdumbass Posting on Monday March 20

With his little brother at Stanford and his father searching out leads, Dean Winchester is left to hunt alone. It's fun, except in the ways that it really blows. Things start to turn around when he meets Castiel Novak, another hunter. Castiel is aloof and maybe a little too sarcastic, but he's good backup (and pretty easy on the eyes. Not that Dean's looking or anything). After a few hunts, Dean is willing to make his and Castiel's partnership permanent (and he's not exactly averse to adding another component to their partnership either. After all, he's caught Castiel looking at him just as many times as Castiel's caught him looking). But Castiel is hiding a secret, and it's so explosive that it threatens to not only tear them apart, but also tear apart everything Dean believes in. 

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

“Yeah, well…” Dean looks around at the carnage. When Castiel turns to follow his gaze, bits of dried blood flake away from his skin. “Nice work,” Dean finally says. Resentment clings so heavily to his voice that it sounds like it physically pains him to give the compliment. “I would’ve been toast if you hadn’t come along.” His assessment of the situation is correct, but Castiel feigns modesty. “I just helped.” Dean’s narrowed eyes scream suspicion, but, apart from avoiding hubris, Castiel doesn’t want to call too much attention to himself. He doesn’t want Dean wondering just how he was able to so easily take out an entire nest of vampires. That would lead to several awkward questions and Castiel having to make several difficult decisions that he would rather avoid. “I’m Dean Winchester,” Dean finally says, after a short pause. He raises his eyebrows, waiting for Castiel’s response. Castiel casts through his mind, now gone infuriatingly blank. Humans have surnames; why can’t he think of any of them? Thousands of names run through Castiel’s mind (Smith? Is anyone unironically named Smith in this century?), but he finally lands on the name of a man he met several years ago. Shy, mid-western boy looking to break out of his shell. In a twist of coincidence, his physical appearance was fairly close to Castiel’s, which convinces him. “Castiel Novak,” he says. The name almost feels right. “Well,” Dean says, tucking his hands in his pockets and looking around the warehouse, “what should we do about this?” Castiel looks at Dean, one eyebrow creeping up his forehead. Is Dean actually asking his opinion? It’s then that Castiel realizes what Dean wants. He feels stupid that he didn’t before. The clothes should have been a dead giveaway. Dean and Castiel are dressed almost identically. Castiel's leather jacket is the only real difference between them. And Castiel would have to be blind to miss the light in Dean’s eyes when he saw the machete in Castiel’s hand. The full width and breadth of Dean’s desires might be a mystery, but Castiel knows at least one thing Dean wants. He wants a partner.

 [continue reading on Ao3 on Monday March 20]

[jemariel]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Rated: Explicit

Words: 8,294

Summary: The fire is as hot and bright as it’s going to get, and dusk has fallen in earnest.

He’s gotta stop dicking around.

Shaking the nerves out of his fingers, Dean picks up the jar of ashes and stands over the flame. Rubs his thumb over the raised logo on the glass, smearing his own fingerprints.

“Well,” he clears his throat. “Here goes nothin’.”

And he spikes the jar into the heart of the flames. It shatters with a tremendous crash.

Tags: Canon-Adjacent, Creature!Castiel (phoenix), Soulmate AU, Wing Kink, Temporary Character Death, First Time Sex, Claiming bites, Wing oil as lube

This was written for @aishitara in the Profound Bond gift exchange: Reunion round! I hope y’all enjoy

[rauko-creates]

(I fell asleep on the couch one night and dreamed of fae!Castiel crying to the ocean about the man with love in his eyes but not in his mouth. Decided I'd write it down...)

“The centre of every poem is this: I have loved you. I have had to deal with that.”

— Salma Deera, Letters from Medea

The First Time

The first time that Dean ever saw him, he thought perhaps the guy belonged to one of the races of elves. After all, he sort of looked the part, with his long, flowing robes and otherworldly beauty. The quiet steps and confident eyes didn’t argue against the idea, either. But when Dean addressed him as such, he simply laughed and shook his head before disappearing.

The Guardian

The second time Dean saw him, he wondered if he was some kind of forest guardian, perhaps a Ngen or other nature spirit.

Dean was helping a neighbor with a hunt. A bear had been getting into their hives and tearing up their honey supers. Dean had mixed feelings about the task, but Rufus had been set on dealing with “the menace,” and Dean wasn’t about to let him go alone. 

They had tracked the bear pretty deep into the woods when Dean spotted it, but there was the strange man also, standing in the way, glaring daggers from where he had placed himself between the bear and the hunters. That glare unearthed and aggravated every ounce of hesitation that Dean had been feeling about this hunt since Rufus first talked him into it.

Dean looked to his friend, trying to decide what to do. Rufus hadn’t seen them yet; should Dean point them out? The bear was what they were out there for, after all. And yet…

Dean cleared his throat. “Hey, Rufus? What do you say we head back?”

Rufus raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re kidding. Boy, don’t tell me you’re wimping out on me already?”

Dean tried not to look towards the bear and its silent guardian. He scratched at the back of his neck. “Nah, I just don’t think we’re gonna find anything out here. Besides, we’ll probably have better luck by just beefing up the defenses around our hives so our unwanted guest can’t get in anyway. Look, if it ain’t this bear, then it’ll just be another one. What good’s tracking down this one animal even gonna do?”

“You’re just whining ‘cause you slipped in the creek earlier and got your pants and boots all wet.”

Dean rolled his eyes even as he steered Rufus back towards their houses. “Whatever, man. You got me. Let’s just go home.”

The Fae

The third time, it was night. Dean was sitting outside his home enjoying the stars and the warmth of a small fire. 

The forest guardian appeared suddenly and silently beside Dean, nearly causing him to jump out of his skin.  The maybe-sort-of-spirit stared at him wordlessly, eyes narrowed and head tilted, as though Dean were the mystery here.

Dean tried to calm his pounding heart. “Are you a spirit?” he asked. After all, there was something ethereal and almost insubstantial in the way he seemed to easily appear and disappear.

The maybe-spirit just looked amused. “No, I am not that either.”

Dean jumped to his feet as the mystery creature made to leave. “Wait!” he pleaded, holding out a hand.

The being glanced cautiously over his shoulder at Dean, not turning back fully...but not yet leaving, either. 

Dean took it as a win. “What do I call you?”

He frowned at Dean. “I have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call me anything.”

Dean chuckled. “Okay, sure. What I mean is, what do you want me to call you?”

The being tilted his head; he looked confused, almost as though he’d never been asked before. “Most people refer to me as some sort of fae. It’s not exactly right, but it’s close enough; and I like that it puts me in a group with other magical creatures.”

Dean stifled a laugh. “No, I mean—” He stopped and shook his head. All right, fae it was then. If the guy didn’t want to tell Dean his name, that was his business. Besides, Dean knew that for some creatures, having someone’s name was associated with having a certain amount of power over them. Dean didn’t want the guy to think he was trying to get one up on him.

Before Dean could explain as much, though, the fae was gone.

The Healer

It was long enough before the fourth time that Dean had started to wonder if he would ever see the strange not-really-a-fae-but-call-me-fae again. The strange fae seemed so ethereal, intangible; Dean wondered how someone like him even really existed on the same plane of reality that Dean did, or even if he had perhaps imagined the whole thing.

But one day, Dean was in the woods—hurt, shaking, with venom slowly working its way through him, and alone. At least, he’d thought he was alone; but as he crumpled to the soft leaf-covered dirt and rolled to look up at the blurry canopy, a blue that didn’t belong to the sky also filled his vision. He felt a warm hand grip his shoulder, and relief flooded through him.

Dean gasped, blinking up at blue eyes and a mess of dark hair as his vision cleared. “You can touch me,” he breathed.

The fae frowned a little. “I’m sorry. Perhaps I shouldn’t have—I didn’t mean to be presumptuous…”

Dean shook his head and reached up to run his fingers along the most beautiful face he’d ever seen. “No, I just meant...you’re real.”

The fae’s frown deepened. “Of course I’m real.”

Dean smiled lazily. 

If asked, he would forever blame what came out next on the venom still being in his system. It wasn’t, but he’d blame it anyway, because what he had meant to say was thanks for the help, but what actually came out was, “You’re too beautiful to be real.”

The eyes above Dean widened, and the fae stared at Dean openly before jolting back as though he’d been burned.

Dean shook his head and sat up, but the fae was already gone. He groaned, dropped his head in his hands, and sighed. “Way to go, Winchester…”

The Trap

It was years before the fifth time. 

Dean had begun to wonder again if he’d imagined the strange fae...but the feeling of warm skin under Dean’s fingertips, the rush of heat and relief that had flowed into Dean from where the fae had gripped his shoulder...those things were real. 

Occasionally, Dean thought he saw something in his periphery—a glimpse of dark hair or an outline that didn’t seem to belong—but if the fae truly was there, he never revealed himself. 

From time to time, though, there would be a basket of fruit outside Dean’s door when he came out in the morning. At first, (even though no one would claim doing it), Dean had assumed it was some of his neighbors or friends from the village dropping off food to share. After all, Dean did the same for them with his honey. However, when he began waking up to flowers on his bedside table, he knew it wasn’t the neighbors. 

He knew these things should have made him feel uncomfortable, invaded. It should have been weird to him to feel so watched.

It didn’t.

It made him smile. It made him want more. It made Dean want to see the fae, maybe catch him in the act one day. And so if Dean also spent more and more time outside these days, that was nobody’s business but his own. He’d always liked the outdoors anyway. He just...stayed out a little more now. Nobody needed to know that he was always hoping for another glimpse.

Still, he felt stupid. He felt stupid and guilty for losing himself so badly the last time he’d seen the fae that he’d apparently freaked him out enough to make him run away, calling him beautiful and touching him, and all this after trying to talk a name out of him the time before, when he knew that among the fae names could have so much power.

No wonder the guy ran away, and no wonder Dean was being avoided. The guy probably thought Dean was some freak trying to collect him or something. After all, some would; there were so many who would do him harm or try to  claim him like a prize. Dean wished the fae would give him a chance to set it right, prove that he wasn’t up to anything ill-intentioned.

One day in the woods, Dean heard a loud metallic clank, followed by a sharp cry, and he ran towards the source. As he got closer, he thought he heard some shuffling; but before he could pinpoint it, the sounds stopped.

“Hey,” Dean called, looking around. There was nothing to prove it, but he just had a feeling. “It’s you, isn’t it?” he whispered. He spun in circles, trying to catch a glimpse, to figure out where the sound had come from. “Come on, man. I’m not gonna try anything, I promise. Just...please, come out.”

He heard a rustling sound mixed with muffled grunts from the underbrush to his left and turned towards them. There was a heavy sigh followed by some more shuffling and a frustrated groan. Then, finally… 

“I’m here.”

That voice...the things it did to Dean were worse than he’d remembered. 

Dammit, Dean, get a hold of yourself. Don’t scare him off again like last time.

Dean cautiously moved towards the sound of it. Soon, he saw the fae sitting amidst a bramble of thorns. Dean’s eyes roamed curiously until they landed on where the guy’s leg was caught in what looked to be some sort of bear trap. “Fuck…” he breathed.

The fae grimaced. “Indeed.” He looked bitterly up at Dean. “Is this yours?” he asked, gesturing at the trap.

Dean clenched his fists. “Hell no. I don’t use that shit; and if I did, it’d be around my house as some sort of protection or something, not out here in the middle of the woods to make something suffer for no goddamn reason.”

The fae measured Dean for a moment; then, his hard stare began to soften. “I had hoped not.” He looked back down at his leg. “Something’s...not right about it. I—I seem to be unable to remove it.”

Dean nodded. “Okay. Um, do you want—can I help?”

The fae took a deep breath and nodded.

Dean sighed. “Awesome. Hang tight then. Lemme just…” He looked at the mass of vines and underbrush surrounding his mysterious friend. Dean bent down, prepared to fight his way through them; but as he reached his hand out, the fae simply waved a hand, and the vines parted. Dean stared in wonder as they slowly retreated. He looked up curiously. 

The fae just shrugged.

Dean moved forward to kneel in front of him, looking down at the injured leg and suppressing a shudder. Now that he was close, he could see that what he’d assumed was simply a bear trap had been spelled to catch other things. It had various types of sigils and spellwork engraved all over it. 

Dean grit his teeth. He never understood why people couldn’t just leave stuff alone. Sure, a lot of fae were hostile (Dean himself had been in more than a few fights with some), but it was no wonder when some humans had the tendency to mark anything non-human as either food or enemy. Besides, every single race had its assholes. Dean sure knew that humans certainly had their fair share.

“I’m Dean, by the way,” he offered as he inspected the trap. 

“Dean…” The sound slid down Dean’s spine.

Dean’s eyes flicked up to the fae’s face as he seemed to roll the name on his tongue, mulling it over. Dean would be lying if he said he didn’t like the way it sounded in his mouth.

“Hello, Dean.” He smiled. “I’m Castiel.”

Dean paused and looked back up. “Castiel?”

The fae nodded. 

“Huh...I didn’t expect you to give me a name.”

“I didn’t. It’s still mine, but you’re welcome to call me by it.”

Dean chuckled. “No, I mean...I didn’t expect you to tell me what it was.”

Castiel tilted his head. “Why would I not tell you my name?”

“Well, because—ah, never mind.” 

He refocused his attention on Castiel’s leg. At least the trap didn’t seem to have any physical enhancements to go with the spellwork, so Dean should be able to pry it off easily enough. It was gonna suck, though. “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” he said, looking up at Castiel. “You ready?”

Castiel set his jaw and nodded.

Dean shifted into a low crouch. He used his foot to apply pressure to the spring mechanism while prying the jaws apart with his hands. 

Castiel grunted a little as the teeth pulled from his flesh but otherwise made no comment. As soon as his leg was free, he lifted it from the trap and scrambled back. He tried to get up but stumbled.

Dean hurriedly reached out to catch him. “Woah! Hey, just hang on a minute, huh?”

Castiel scowled at him indignantly.

Dean sighed. “Look, I know you’re eager to go, but just...let me help you with that leg. It’s bleeding bad, and may even be broken for all we know. I’ve got some bandages and stuff at the house. So, let me help you clean it up. Then, you can disappear off to wherever it is you go, and you don’t have to see me again if that’s what you want. Okay?” Dean let go of Castiel carefully but kept his hands hovering nearby, in case Castiel wasn’t as steady as his expression would have Dean believe. “Just...let me help you,” Dean begged.

Castiel looked down. “That’s not what I want.”

Dean’s heart sank. He tried to ignore it. He gripped the fabric at his left shoulder and tore down his sleeve. “Well, then at least lemme try to stop the bleeding before you go.”

Castiel’s brows drew together for a moment before relaxing back out. He shook his head. “No. What I mean is...not seeing you again—it’s not what I want.”

“You...oh.”

“And also…” Castiel wobbled a little as he stared up at Dean, “it does seem as though I could use your assistance.” His eyes fluttered closed, and he fell forward into Dean’s arms.

(Part 2 is here) (Part 3 is here) (Part 4 is here) (Part 5 is here)

Edit: The complete fic is now on AO3