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marlynnofmany · 1 year

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Courtship Behaviors

(Happy early Valentine’s Day! I wrote this to share with some specific writer friends. It’s short. Enjoy.)

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The space station marketplace was bustling with crowds and conversation, but when a voice spoke from behind me, I was pretty sure the question was for me.

“Can I ask you something?” said the nervous voice.

I turned to see a feathery alien of a species I hadn’t met yet, looking like a flustered eagle — or no, more like a secretary bird. Those were the long-legged ones that kicked snakes, right? This one had shiny white feathers with a pearlescent shimmer, and some very anxious body language.

“Sure,” I said, prepared for anything. Was this a question about the courier ship I’d come in on? A question about Earthlings? Something for me specifically?

Option B.

“Do humans do mating dances?” the bird asked in a rush.

“Uh, sort of,” I said, thinking quickly. “We have dances with a lot of people together, and courting couples might use it as an excuse to show off or get close to one another.”

“But not individual dances?” the bird asked, fidgeting with clawed hands. Those claws were painted with what looked like human nail polish. Awfully similar to the color my cousin was fond of, called “Pinking Of You.”

“Maybe sometimes,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

Pearl-white feathers ruffled into an endearing puffball. “My advances are being ignored,” the alien admitted. “I’m starting to doubt whether my human even realizes. We’ve been working together for many cycles now, and I like to think we know each other well, but…” The alien drifted off into a plaintive chirp.

“Has the human done anything that looked like courtship gestures to you?” I asked.

“Maybe? I don’t know? I thought the food-sharing was just kindness, but it’s become a regular thing, and surely asking to wear one of my shed feathers as a decoration is significant, right? I don’t know anymore.”

“Wait,” I said. “Is this the human with blue hair that I just saw over that way? The one buying a feather-care kit and a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant?”

The birdlike alien stilled, feathers smoothing out. “Heart-shaped?”

“Like this,” I said, tracing the shape in the air. “It’s a sign of love.”

“It is??” Feathers fluttered everywhere as the alien hopped in place. “Is that why — I had no idea!”

“Go talk to your human,” I said. “Maybe you can eat food and go dancing together.”

“I will! Thank you!” The bird pranced off, jumping to see over the crowd like an excited teenager.

I thought about calling out directions to the nearest dance club, since this space station had some great ones, but it occurred to me that the human probably knew. And they could find out together.

~~~

Ongoing backstory adventures of the main character in this book. Very long and storied adventures.

#my writing #the Token Human #happy valentine's day #early valentine's day #have a bit of #interspecies hanky-panky #in potential anyway #I'm sure they'll be very happy #humans are weird #and so are the aliens

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mattnicholls69 · 3 months

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bluegrowlmon · 11 months

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Interspecies Hanky-Panky in my Redwall? It's more likely than you think

Redwall book 1 has a lot of elements that don't occur anywhere else in the series - horses, towns, beavers, and the like - but I thought this example was especially interesting.

Early on, at Abbot Mortimer's Golden Jubilee feast, Colin Vole makes fun of Mathias and Cornflower taking care of Tim and Tess Churchmouse together - "Would you look at Matthias an' Cornflower there, a-nursin' those two babbies like they was an old wedded couple. Well, crumble my bank!"

(I can only assume 'crumble my bank' is an inexcusably rude bank vole phrase)

Brother Alf reprimands him - "Don't you know that someday Matthias will be a Redwall mouse?"

Brother Alf is implying Colin's teasing is inappropriate because Redwall mice are expected to be celibate. It's been a while since I've read these, so I'm not sure if Redwall adults have to be chaste in the rest of the series. I don't remember it, so this mention surprised me.

As did this, as Brother Alf continues to berate Colin - "'... I could say a thing or two to your mum and dad. Only last evening I saw you playing 'catch the bulrush' with that young harvest mouse. What was her name now?'

Colin Vole blushed until his nose went dry. He flounced off, swishing his tail, muttering about going outside to take the air."

I'm not sure what 'catch the bulrush' is a euphemism for, but it sounds elicit based on the context. This is interesting, because as far as I remember - aside from a few barely-elaborate-on crushes, there aren't any woodlander relationships that are interspecies.

The only substantial interspecies romance examples I can think of are hybrid children amongst vermin. Most common are wearets, weasel ferret hybrids. Only two wearets appear in the book series, and both are described as physically deformed monsters. (There is a wearet in the Redwall game, but I'm not familiar with the game and so leave it out of the discussion here). Wearets are massive, earless, and constantly slobber. The Rogue Crew also featured a Wearat, a rumored weasel-rat hybrid. The wearat in question is described as monstrously ugly.

I have no conclusion or accusation towards the books here, only the observation that the series took a conscious turn away from any interspecies relationships within the good woodlanders, making something that only occurred among the almost always-evil vermin. Make of that what you will.

#redwall #redwall book 1

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adhdeancas · 3 years

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Sunset Sound: Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)

Chapter 4 is in!

Thanks to James @friedchickenangelwings and everybody reading so far (tag list I love each and every one of you).

“Alright, what’s the plan?” Cas tries to resign himself to the fact that this is his “life” now. He’s wandering through a vast landscape of every demon and angel ever killed, trying to avoid a cosmic force which hates him, with a smarmy demon.

“Rumor has it there’s a weak spot between the realms.” Crowley walks backwards so he can look at Cas, which means Cas has to watch his back and make sure he isn’t walking into any daggers. It’s annoying. “Unfortunately, that means all the picks of the litter,” he gestures to the havoc around them. “Are going to be there, crowding to be the first ones out when the door breaks.”

Cas sighs. “Great. And you know how to get there?”

Crowley shrugs. “I have a general idea.” That doesn’t inspire much confidence in Cas. “Relax, Flyboy, I’ve got a handle on this sort of thing. What we need to figure out is how we’ll get past all the eager beavers when we make it there.”

“Is killing and maiming not enough of a plan for you?”

Crowley grins. “Oh, Castiel, stop it, you make a demon blush when you say things like that.” Cas shakes his head.

“Well, I’d love a better plan, but this place doesn’t seem full of… possibility.” He kicks aimlessly at a patch of Not-Ground and inexplicably stubs his toe. Crowley gives him a withering look, but doesn’t disagree. They walk in silence for a few more moments.

“So…” Crowley’s tone automatically sets off Cas’s waried alarms. He sounds like he’s trying to be casual. Cas looks over and - sure enough- Crowley is pointedly looking at his nails. “Did they cry over me long?”

Cas sends him a flat look. They in Crowley’s book automatically means The Winchesters, and The Winchesters automatically means Dean. Crowley was asking: Did Dean cry over me long?

Did Dean cry over me? He wonders.

Cas clears his throat and realizes… “I don’t know.”

Crowley frowns at him. “What do you mean you don’t know? Too teared up yourself after your old pal Crowley to see if Moose and Squirrel were in pieces? Or were you just too focused on the new bébé?”

Cas rolls his eyes. “First of all, we’re not pals.” Dean and he are pals. Crowley and he are not pals. “Second of all, I was dead.”

Crowley stops dead. “You mean to tell me you died right after my big heroic scene? You mean to tell me-”

“Mary was dragged into the Apocalypse World with Lucifer, who stabbed me in the back and killed me.”

Crowley looks sincerely sullen at that. “That’s just-” He walks ahead.

Cas blinks. Crowley is not one to drop a matter, especially not one he’s so obviously pissy about. This can’t mean anything good. “What is it?”

The man spun around almost immediately. “I died, you bloody idiot! And you had to go and die after me? Just to rub it in my face?”

“Yes, I got stabbed by my older brother just to overshadow your ‘heroic sacrifice.’” This son of a bitch is so dramatic.

Crowley glared at him. “He didn’t even notice me dying.”

Oh. So he’s dropping the pretences then. Cas is trying to be patient, but frankly the logic is ridiculous. “I’m sure he noticed you dying.”

“Not after you,” Crowley shoves his hands in Cas’s direction, then sticks them in his pockets and keeps walking, forcing Cas to trail behind him like a weary parent of a petulant teenager.

Fuck, he actually thinks I care about you? Dean Winchester eases out of the darkness with his eyebrows raised. He’s wearing a smile that Cas has only ever seen on Dean as a demon, and it makes his blood crawl. Poor son of a bitch. Delusional. Almost as bad as you, buddy. Empty!Dean smirks and eyes Cas with pity. Cas has never heard “buddy” sound so condescending. Thinking I could ever feel the same.

Cas squeezes his eyes shut and counts to three. He never thought that Dean could feel the same. “Crowley.” He gains speed, trying to leave the Empty!Dean behind. “Crowley.”

“I give my life for those insufferable lumberjacks and-”

“I’m sure they-”

We didn’t. Didn’t even have a funeral for you insufferable pricks. We just said good riddance and let your body rot. Empty!Dean’s smile is vicious, and Cas can’t get it out of his head. Try as he might, Cas can’t get Dean to disappear from his mind’s eye. As much as Empty!Dean’s words are hurting him, just seeing his face again is… reassuring.

“You really don’t know, though, do you?” His voice is prickly, its shields back up despite the truth he was spouting. “You never saw him after the times you died. I-”

Crowley runs into something. Someone, actually.

They must’ve both been too distracted, in their conversation and their thoughts, to notice. The straggler looks behind himself to see Crowley, and in seconds they’re surrounded by a whole group of them. Angels. Cas sees the leader and swallows hard. He nods at them on the minute chance they don’t recognize him or hate him. “Hello, Hester.”

The angel smiles in the least emotive way possible. “Hello, Castiel. Still keeping company with the damned, I see.”

The angels around Cas grab a hold of his arms before he can make any move. They do the same thing to Crowley ahead of him. Cas grits his teeth, momentarily considering fighting before realizing it’s hopeless. He takes the defiance route and looks back up at his old foe. “Haven’t you figured it out by now, Hester? We’re all damned.”

The angels aren’t pleased with that reply, if their rough handling is any indication. They haul Crowley and Cas across the Emptiness with a speed that’s exhausting, but at least they don’t have to worry about the fighting. Even in the midst of battles, angels, demons, and creatures of all sorts make room for the group of well-armed and organized angels. Crowley frowns over at him through the mess. “Thanks for the defense, feathers, but how in holy hell are we gonna get out of this one?”

Cas shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

The angels shush them then. Cas takes the time to try to formulate a plan of action, but it feels like his thoughts are clouded and malformed. The effort of fighting off the visions of the Empty is exhausting, and he just doesn’t have anything left except the dull panic of knowing that wherever he is going is worse.

Crowley isn’t doing much better. He stops struggling against being manhandled early, opting to bat his eyelashes at the man closest to him. “See something you like, angel?” He looks vaguely satisfied by the look of discomfort on the man’s face.

“Hester, where are you taking us?” The insistent fear still holding to Cas’s heart makes him ask even though he’s sure the answer will mean very little.

Hester glances behind herself carelessly. “Oh, first we are going to our stop-post. But after, Castiel, after that we are taking you straight to the Empty itself.”

Cas closes his eyes and breathes deeply, trying to calm himself. “Why?”

“Because it hates you.” She says it like she expects the words to sting, and when Cas seems unaffected, she frowns. “You are the reason all of this is happening. You are the reason the realms are in chaos, Castiel.”

That’s right, Castiel. It’s your fault we’re all suffering now. Hell, even after you murdered us, you continue to twist the knife. An Empty!Balthasar walks alongside the group, eyes locked on Cas’s and voice solely for his ears.

“You used to be so devout, Castiel. It saddens me, to see you fall yet further.”

“Yes, well, things happen.” Cas can’t believe he’s even attempting to justify himself.

“Things. Don’t be so coy; we know of whom you speak.”

Crowley snorts and Cas looks over at him. Of all the things he could describe their current situation as, amusing would not be one of them. “Oh, can it with the piety, King James. Who doesn’t get up to a little interspecies hanky panky every now and again?” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively at the angel he’s closest to, and he moves away so quickly he almost lets go of Crowley altogether.

Cas smiles in spite of himself.

Hester is not entertained. “My point is made for me. Don’t you ever feel ashamed of yourself, Castiel? You used to be a leader of the garrison, an example to be looked to.”

Cas looks at her dully. “I used to be a dick.” he says truthfully. If he’s honest, thinking of himself before he rebelled is much more painful than thinking of himself after. “I am not ashamed of who I am. I’ve done much wrong, yes, but loving Dean Winchester is not one of those wrongs.” He clears his throat, trying to dispel some of the thickness that’s popped up with his words. He won’t hide that anymore. He’d given that up the second he decided to say it out loud.

Hester looks taken aback by his bluntness. Of course, the last time she saw him… well, he was much less at peace with himself. “You really are tarnished beyond repair. Fine, you will meet your end without repentance.”

Cas shrugs. “Not like my repentance would make much of a difference.” he grumbles. He’s pretty sure there would be no shaking hands and getting over it even if he was groveling at the Empty’s metaphysical feet. Not after all this. And it’s not like he could fix the chaos even if he wanted to.

Crowley knocks into his side and jerks his head ahead of them, pointing in the direction of the first structure they’ve seen in the Empty. It’s a low, sturdy building made of the ether solidified into depressing dark door and windowless lodging, with stairs out front leading to a below ground level entrance. This is where they go, into the bunker. It makes Cas off-handedly ill to think of the bunker he wants to be at, and he’s so wrapped up in that thought he doesn’t pay much heed to the expansive underground structure Hester leads them through. They eventually get to holding cells, and Cas and Crowley are thrown into one together.

“You’ve done this to yourself, Castiel.”

Cas rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t have the energy to disagree with her. She’s not wrong. He follows Crowley’s lead instead, sticking a middle finger up in reply. She huffs and leaves them alone, in the dim lighting with only a dank stench and a dripping noise for company. Well, that’s not entirely true.

“Gee, Clarence, what’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?”

Cas’s heart leaps out of his chest. “Meg?”

Crowley groans next to him, which they both ignore. “Hiya, boys.” Meg waves from behind matching bars across the room from them. “Fancy seeing you here.”

tag list: (ask to be added or removed)

@dochunterwitch @justonecitizenoftheearth @gnbrules @purpe @castiel-is-a-cat @alienapparatus @damian-janus-pendragon

#sunset sound #gloria (in excelsis deo)#chapter 4 #deancas #destiel #fanfic #my writing #castiel #hester #crowley #meg masters #fix it fic

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