#natmoose

[vfdinthewild]

“Here it is, my very first DCBB!“

-from “Lucky Winner” by  @natmoose on AO3

[thebloggerbloggerfun]

Ko-Fi commision prompt: Snake, Worm, College

Thanks @natmoose​ for the prompt!!! I loved the opportunity to write from very intimate experience

hey folks if you own a snake make sure to check the clips on the tub

Dean slid his headphones off of his ears and hung them around his neck as he closed the door to his apartment behind him, whistling the tune to the song he’d just been listening to. 

Fewer things in the world were better than a class getting canceled, even if he did need to walk across campus in order to learn about it, but that was his own fault for not checking his email. 

He adjusted the straps on his backpack and walked down the hallway towards his room, and paused when he caught sight of the disaster that was now his living room. 

Almost every piece of furniture was on its side, the contents of the bookshelf was on the floor, any shelves that used to be inside their desk had been taken out and the contents were upended. In the middle of it all was his roommate, Castiel, holding a flashlight in a crouched position as he stared up at Dean like a deer in headlights.

 Dean raised an eyebrow. 

“Whatcha doing?”

Castiel cleared his throat as he glanced at the mess around them. 

“. . . redecorating?” 

“Redecorating.”

Castiel stood up and clicked off the flashlight.

 “I thought you had class?” He said, head ducked down timidly. 

Dean squinted as he tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of a reason Castiel would have trashed the living room with a flashlight in one hand. 

“Canceled. Dude, what the hell?”

Castiel licked his lips as he looked up, more caution in his demeanor than Dean had ever seen him. 

“So, I need you to know that it’s okay, and there’s no reason for you to be alarmed.”

“I am instantly alarmed, dude.”

Castiel groaned and dropped his head in one hand before running it through his hair like Dean had only ever noticed him do during times of Peak Stress. 

“I’ve been caring for Gabriel’s pet while he’s been out of the country,” Castiel said after a deep breath, “She’s a . . . more exotic pet than people are used to and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to cause you any irrational worry.”

Dean’s eyes darted around the room, looking for any signs of movement - he’d finally put most of the puzzle pieces together. 

“Jesus - okay, what got out?”

“I forgot to put the clips on her tub last night. That was stupid of me -”

“Cas - what is it? Just tell me!”

Castiel blinked, then took a breath.

“She’s a ball python.”

In a matter of seconds, Dean was standing on a chair, clutching at the strap of his backpack. 

“There’s a goddamn snake loose in the apartment?” He managed to say, “A python?”

“See?” Castiel gestured up at him with the flashlight. “This is the irrational worry I was talking about!” 

“Oh, I’m not worried - I’m terrified!”

“She’s very sweet, and gentle, and curious - there’s absolutely no reason to be scared of her, Dean.”

“Wow, and yet -”

“She genuinely couldn’t hurt you even if she tried.”

“It’s a python -”

“A ball python.” Castiel threw up his hands. “They curl up into a ball when they’re scared!”

“So do I!”

“No - you stand on chairs!”

Dean looked down, realizing that he’d scrambled up to higher ground in his moment of panic, and gingerly stepped back down.

“Don’t they, like,” Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, “strangle their food?”

Castiel crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. 

“I’ve seen you do worse to a burger.”

Dean mimicked the crossing of arms.

“How long has it been here?”

“She’s been here about a month.”

A whole month he’d been living in the same apartment as a snake. 

Castiel pressed on.

“Dean, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but if I don’t find her Gabriel will kill me.” Castiel winced. “Or worse.”

“Expelled.” Dean said automatically. 

“What?” Castiel cocked his head to the side. “No. Give my number to spam callers.”

Dean shook his head and made a mental note to rent Harry Potter later for what was, apparently, a much needed refresher. 

But not the movie with the giant snake.

“Alright.” Dean steepled his fingers in front of his face. “Snake in the apartment. Not a scary snake. Still kinda scary, though. Where do. . . snakes go?”

Castiel ran a hand through his hair again. 

“Usually someplace warm, but I’ve checked near all of the vents and I checked the shower -” Dean tried not to have a heart attack at the thought of the snake joining him in the shower “- so she’s probably somewhere dark and small. A confined space like under a couch or under a bed or in a box somewhere. I’ve checked everything here I just -”

Castiel shrugged his shoulders helplessly, looking even more pitiful in the ratty t-shirt he’d probably slept in the night before. 

“ - I don’t know where else to look.”

Dean, now positive that the universe had been waiting on bated breath to hear those words fall from Castiel’s lips, felt something in his backpack move. 

“Cas.”

Castiel looked up at him solemnly. 

“Yes?”

“I think my panic sensors have fully shut down right now.” He said, a lot more calmly than he felt on the inside. “I need you to look in my backpack and see if your snake is in there for whatever goddamn reason.”

Castiel’s eyes widened, half-looking like he didn’t believe what he was saying. 

“Please do it before I throw my bag off my back.”

Castiel rushed behind him and Dean took deep, calming breaths as he heard the sound of a zipper and then a soft gasp. 

“There you are, Worm!”

More sounds of shuffling around in his backpack and Castiel stepped back in front - with some distance - with a pale-pinkish looking snake wrapped around his arm. 

A lot smaller than Dean had expected. 

“Oh.” Dean said, looking at what was definitely not very threatening. “Wait, her name is what?”

“Worm. Because she looks like one.” Castiel looked over at Dean and shrugged. “I didn’t name her.”

“So, she got into my backpack last night?”

“Looks like it.” Castiel held a scolding finger at the snake wrapped around his arm. “No more of that. Clips go on the tub every night. No more adventures in Dean’s things.”

“Yes please.” Dean let out a long breath, the release of adrenaline he’d just had rush through his body making him feel dizzy. “Cas, man, I love you, but I’m not gonna survive something else like that.”

For a brief moment Castiel froze, still looking at Worm, though Dean barely registered it. 

“Worm, did you hear that?” Castiel said softly. “He won’t survive another surprise like that. Should we call someone in case he realizes he just told me he loves me?”

In saying that, Dean’s brain finally caught up to his mouth. 

“Oh fu- “

Ko-Fi commission info!

[sharkfish]

*gestures at you* LOOK AT THEM!! LOOK AT THEM GO!!! (like seriously I am loving all of your little ficlets, your mind and creativity are beyond amazing)

i’m glad you are digging them <33 i hope i’ll get back to finishing some longer stuff eventually, but in the meantime, i’m having a great time with these mini stories :D 

[whelvenwings]

End of year ask game! 8, 14, 18 :)

8. Game of the year?

hMMM honestly while I’ve been doing a lot of gaming this year, it’s mostly been uh. well I have these games that I like to play while I listen to podcasts and stuff, and they’re like time management games that are sort of brainless so I can use most of my brain to listen to the podcast? one mobile game though that I have been enjoying lately is The Arcana, Asra is my favourite, the art style is so beautiful. and I’m hoping to be able to afford a laptop in the new year that might let me play genshin impact.

14. Favorite book you read this year?

I had a few weeks in the summer where I was just blasting through books at the speed of light, it was actually good weather in the UK and we were in lockdown so I decided to sunbathe and read - I think my favourite that I read during those weeks might have been The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. late to that party but I’m gonna dance on the table. man though, I want to say Loveless by Alice Oseman because it’s got an aro-ace main character... it’s just that there was one line in the book that upset me quite a lot about how aro-ace people who haven’t ever been in a relationship/had sex are “strong” compared to those who have. and in context I don’t think it would upset everyone and I don’t think it was bad writing, but just on a personal level it just meant the book can’t quite grab top spot for me.

18. A memorable meal this year?

hmmmmm, rather than pick out just one specific meal, I’m gonna say it’s my own specific take on mie goreng, which is this utterly delicious indonesian meal that’s like fried noodles. I can’t get everything I need to properly recreate the dish in my part of the UK, but I managed to find kecap manis and if I throw a bunch of veg and the noodles and the kecap and some soy sauce in there, and I squint really hard, I can almost imagine I’m eating a decent interpretation of the real thing. I’m calling the dish me goreng, because it’s me doing me best to make mie goreng.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

natmoose replied to your post “I actually have no idea what’s the plot of The Boys is, but if it’s...”

I am watching it right now and it's definitely quite dark and definitely anti!superhero. It's interesting so far

amirosebooks replied to your post “I actually have no idea what’s the plot of The Boys is, but if it’s...”

It’s super good but definitely check trigger warnings before you dive in

st-eve-barnes replied to your post “I actually have no idea what’s the plot of The Boys is, but if it’s...”

Absolutely loved it! Such a great and different take on the superhero genre, it was quite satisfying to watch after my disappointment with Marvel last year. And Karl Urban as Billy Butcher is everything! :)

👍🏽

Definitely something I’ll need to sink my teeth into, if nothing out of spite ;)

[tohellandbackanthology]

One of my guilty pleasures is keeping the campaign website open and checking in every now and then, because it's so much fun watching the percentage go up. I am so glad that everyone seems to be so ready to support this project that makes all your hard work worth it

That is definitely our guilty pleasure, too! And the closer we get to that 100% mark, the more refreshing we tend to do :P

Today, we’ve hit a whopping 93%! I think we can confidently say that this book is definitely a go! We can’t wait to see it in print and we definitely wouldn’t have gotten this far without the amazing support and love we’ve gotten for this project from the SPN Family!

[saltnhalo]

Hi! I'd love to be added to your tag list :) I really enjoy your writing!

Yes, absolutely!! Thank you so much <3

[amazinmango]

Lube lizard.