#wip2b update

[whoipretended2b]

For anyone who might be following me for The Middle

Life be life-ing. I got hit with that ao3 curse. If I’m feeling up to it I’ll edit tonight so I can post tomorrow. It’s done, I just normally do a once over and author notes before posting.

[whoipretended2b]

Readers,

I have been remiss.

In my defense, time has continued to pass in a linear fashion, the office has remained fluorescent, and several things I told myself I was fine with have quietly revealed themselves to be lies.

So.

Let us correct the record.

The Things We Learn to Love With is my current WIP. It is a story about contentment, and the ways we sometimes use that word to mean nothing has exploded yet.

It’s about how easy it is to mistake adaptation for peace.

About the small, careful ways we make ourselves easier to live with—by other people, by systems, by our own expectations—until one day we realize we’ve edited ourselves out of the story entirely.

Castiel has built a life that works.

It is stable. It is quiet. It is survivable.

He tells himself this is enough.

Then he sees a coworker on a dating app, and swipes left to avoid humiliation.

Months later, a stray comment outs him to the same coworker, Dean Winchester.

Misunderstandings pile up and avoidance becomes its own kind of harm. And Castiel is left asking the question he’s been carefully stepping around for years:

How much of the life he’s built is peace—

and how much of it is just practice at staying unseen?

If you like slow burns, office AUs, quiet yearning, emotionally competent disasters, and stories that treat hesitation as a choice rather than a failure—this one may be for you.

There is also a recurring presence of Welcome to Night Vale, not as a joke, but as a mirror. Familiar danger. Normalized strangeness. The comfort of learning how to live next to unresolved things.

I’m posting weekly.

We’re currently at chapter 5 of 11.

This fic will, ideally, keep you fed until my upcoming Destiel AU Reverse Big Bang posts. If you missed that promo, here’s the link, because time is fake and so is object permanence.

Until then—

be kind to yourselves.

Question the things you call fine.

And remember: choosing safety is still a choice.

Good night, dear readers.

Good night.

[whoipretended2b]

New chapter of The Middle!

Chapter 8 is now up.

Castiel and his friends score a spot as the local opener at The Bunker.

[whoipretended2b]

Chapter 12 of The Middle is now up!

Bartender Dean and Emo/Musician Cas

Excerpt:

There was movement out of the corner of his eye, so he assumed Ash had finally decided to show his face. He didn’t bother getting up, but asked, “Hey, Ash, could you go check—”

“Hey, mister, can I get a beer?”

Not Ash. Not even trying to be Ash.

Dean let his head hang for half a second, even though he was grinning. He shoved it down, put the bottle in his hand into the cooler, and straightened. When he turned, he planted his hands on his hips like he was irritated.

[whoipretended2b]

Chapter 5 of The Middle

is now up on AO3!

“Just,” he said over his shoulder, “think about it.”

Castiel stayed where he was for a moment after Dean disappeared down the bar, fingers tapping against the cup. The bass rolled over him.

Think about it.

As if it were that simple.

Read the rest here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/81049946/chapters/217150501

[whoipretended2b]

The Middle by WhoIPretended2Be

At eighteen, Castiel Novak thinks he’s an adult. The X’s on his hands at the music venue say otherwise. So does the bartender who shuts him down with, “I don’t think so, kid,” when Castiel asks for his number.

He keeps coming back anyway. For the music. Not the bartender, of course.

It’s my birthday, so I brought presents! This is an indulgent fic about the weird space between being “technically an adult” and actually feeling like one. (I still don’t feel like an adult half the time, even though by any reasonable measure, I very much am.)

This fic was born out of a conversation with one of my favorite people, @bethmints, plus our mutual love of early-2000s emo and the desire to see more emo Castiel fics.

Back in November, we were spitballing ideas for a bang, and I came up with Emo Cas. I liked the idea so much that literally the next day I messaged her, “So I’m working on my Emo Cas outline. This is all your fault.”

I was originally going to use this fic for a bang, then changed my mind. This is actually the second time I’ve done that with this same bang. 😂 The first idea was The Things We Learn to Live With. This was the second. The third (and final), you’ll see in June.

This fic is about figuring out who you are. The difference between growing up and growing older. How there's no magic line you cross where you suddenly become an adult. You just keep making choices, keep revising who you are, and then one day realize: 'oh. I guess this is adulthood.'

Posting plan: my goal is a chapter a week. I've got a lot of bangs and events coming up, so updates may pause on weeks when I’m posting for those, but you should still be well-fed fic-wise for quite awhile.

For returning readers... Yes, I’m still working on the Dark Blue sequel. It is outlined, words exist, and it is happening... I’m just clearing a few other projects first. 🫠

[whoipretended2b]

The Middle Chapter 9!

Finally we get some of Dean’s POV

I have some family in so have an early chapter!

[whoipretended2b]

The Middle Chapter 6

is now up!

Castiel comes to The Bunker with someone new…

I’m sure Dean will be very normal about it.