“S-Sam-” Dean felt his breath hitch as his brother nibbled on his ear, pulling him closer.
“Ssshhh,” The giant purred, breath tickling his ear, “just go with it.”
Dean let his eyes slip closed as his brother’s hands started running themselves over his body. He couldn’t help but relax into the touch as one hand found it’s way into his hair and started massaging his head, yeees…
Sam kissed a trail from the blonde’s ear down to his neck, snaking his other hand between them. He ran it down the length of his brother’s torso, making note of the slight hitch of breath that happened as he brushed over the blonde’s abs.
Sam couldn’t help but chuckle as Dean bucked his hips as his hand reached his belt, “Someone’s eager, eh?”
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In case you missed it, Don’t Get Caught: 10 Year Re-Write came out yesterday (Feb. 12th) and since the book is literally just 9 fanfics with a central theme of love (with a total word count of 29k), I decided to do another 2 sentence short story challenge for this year’s Valentine’s.
Started: 26.01.19
Finished: 26.02.12
NFF, 2026’s Valentine’s story(ies)
1. “It’s just…” She wrapped her arms around herself, averting her gaze to the floor, “it can’t be this easy to love me… can it?”
He shrugged, small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “Can’t it?”
2. “I love you!”
She hesitated at the door, unable to help her back from tensing at hearing his desperate tone, “I-I know.”
3. His heart was pounding in his chest as she pulled him up off his knees, expression still unreadable.
It felt like a million years passed before she finally reached for the ring in the box he was holding, wide smile splitting her face, “Yes.”
4. “Whoa, hey,” He shot out of his chair as the stranger moved to leave and shifted his weight as he turned back, “c-can I at least get your number?”
The stranger gave him a once over, before a cocky grin split his face, “Not yet.”
5. She hung her head in embarrassment and pulled at her sleeves, “Y-you’re not supposed to see this.”
“Hey, loving you,” She felt the bed dip as her partner sat down, softness in their voice nearly breaking her, “means loving all of you.”
6. He couldn’t help but let out an exhausted chuckle at her bewildered look, “What now?”
“I just,” She shook her head and began to chew her bottom lip, “I never knew it could be this easy.”
7. She slid the ring off her finger and held it out, fresh tears shining in her eyes, “I-I’m sorry.”
Her now-ex-fiance licked her lips and held out a shaky hand, her own tears threatening to spill over, “Me too.”
8. Her friend shook her head, bewilderment clear on her face, “Why do you stay with him?”
She gave her friend an incredulous look, brain short-circuiting at the question,“I love him.”
9. He tugged on the bottom of his suit jacket and straightened up as the doorbell rang out. He slipped a hand into his pocket, squeezing the ring box as he heard the hurried footsteps, hello, rest of my life.
10. She felt a swell of hope in her chest as she accepted the flowers. She brought them up to her face, using the bouquet as a makeshift shield as she felt the blush sweep across her cheeks, damn, she’s good.
11. “I love you.”
“No, you don’t.”
12. She gazed at the photo of their first date that was staring up at her from the bottom of the sock drawer in awe. The footsteps on the stairs made her hastily re-bury the picture and close the dresser before spinning away, he can keep his secret… for now.
13. She chuckled as he spun her around the kitchen, swell of happiness overcoming her. As he leaned her down for the dip, her brain flashed back to that night and she couldn’t help but smile, I definitely made the right choice.
14. She tried to stifle her chuckle as she listened through the bathroom door to her boyfriend – he’d been in there for hours and she’d finally gotten curious enough to investigate.
“Darling, you are my… I mean, when I- shit, uh, will you- fuck.”
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I post new short stories (including SPN fanfics) every 2 weeks on Fridays and have 200+ just waiting for you to discover!
The giant jumped up from the kitchen table and bolted down the bunker hall at his brother’s call, pulling the gun from his waistband as he went.
“Dean?” He was rounding the corner into the front room in the next instant, “What is it?”
He swept the room, spotting only his brother, who was leaned against the map table, panting hard, “Hey, hey, hey,” Sam rushed to his brother’s side in the next instant, worried eyes roaming over him, “What is it? Did something get in?”
“I… can’t-” The blonde shook his head as his voice cut off and his breathing picked up. He brought terrified eyes to his brother and desperately pointed to his throat.
“Uh, okay,” Sam zeroed in on his brother’s neck, brain running a mile a minute, “I don’t…” his brows furrowed as he stared, “I don’t see anything.” He flicked his eyes back up to his brother’s now visibly paler face, “Did you swallow something?”
Dean shook his head again, and brought a hand up to slap himself in the chest as his breathing turned dangerously shallower.
“Uh, o-okay, okay, just,” Sam swept his eyes around the room again, noting the end table on the far side, “Hang on.”
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I post NEW short stories every 2 weeks on Fridays, have 200+ just waiting for you to fall in love with them and, (yes, and) Tiers start at just $1!
I hope you all had a fun, restful end of your year and are ready to get back down to business!
I have a lot of excitingthings happening this year, and I can’t wait for you guys to get your hands on them!
AI
Written: 25.01.15
Words: 1,340
General
“Son of a bitch!”
Dean’s eyes flew open and he bolted upright, instantly on high alert at hearing his brother’s cry of pain.
He was out of his bed, making his way cautiously down the hall in the next moment, “Sam?” At the lack of answer, he started down the hall faster, “Sammy!”
Dean raised his eyebrows as he came up to the front of the bunker and spotted his brother, sighing in relief, “Dude! Why didn’t you-”
“Don’t move!”
His brother’s panicked voice made Dean stop mid-step. He carefully placed his foot back down and moved his eyes to the floor. It was covered in some kind of liquid. Sam was somehow standing in the middle of the mess, socks soaked with whatever the liquid was.
Dean raised his eyes back to his brother, “What happened?”
Sam’s face broke into an embarrassed smile at that and he shifted his weight, “I…” He let out a breath and his shoulders deflated, “I dropped it.”
I hope you’re enjoying your holiday season. I’m just popping in to announce the other big project I’ve decided to take on next year:
2026 marks the 10 year anniversary of my fanfiction novellas: Don’t Get Caught, Melting Hearts, Sunburns and Tanlines and Holiday Treats. To honour/celebrate this crazy milestone (how have I been doing this for 10 years already?!) I’ve decided to re-write and re-release all three books!
I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two since I wrote them the first time, and I’m excited to dive back into these stories with my updated writing style, so I can share them more completely with all of you!
Nixed spelling mistakes, better descriptions and plot hole fixes will be just some of the changes you have to look forward to!
I’m also going to try and release them on the publishing dates I originally picked out back in 2016, that I inevitably didn’t end up hitting. I don’t have exact dates yet, but below is the rough timeline:
Don’t Get Caught: February
Melting Hearts, Sunburns and Tanlines: June
Holiday Treats: November
And, if you’re thinking tackling two big projects while also keeping up with my regular schedule of posts is a lot, you’d be right! It is! But, I have a really good feeling about next year.
It feels like a big change is starting, or like I’m on the cusp of a new era, and I can’t think of a better way to start it than to hit the ground running. (I may eat these words come next December)
I hope you guys continue enjoying your holiday season, and are excited to come along for the ride.
Important: This is the last story of 2025! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th, 2026 with the first story of the new year!
Written: 25.12.03
Words: 1,656
Wee!Chesters, 2025’s 2nd Christmas story
“Where is he?”
Dean rolled his eyes as he watched the 5-year-old excitedly fog up the glass of the window. He flopped down on the couch, unceremoniously, “Don’t waste your time, Sammy. John’s not coming.”
The youngest didn’t bother tearing his eyes away from the snow-covered street, “Of course he is. He promised.”
That made the blonde snort, as he picked up a magazine, “Yeah, cause John never breaks his promises.”
He didn’t regret the comment as much as he should’ve as his brother finally turned to face him. Dean kept his eyes averted to the magazine page in his lap – purposefully avoiding those ridiculous puppy dog eyes that made him cave.
Sammy was old enough to learn that they couldn’t rely on their father – just themselves. Harsh? Maybe, but that was the thinking that was going to keep them safe, not Sammy’s relentless hope for good things.
They were cursed. The sooner his brother accepted that, the better.
“He wouldn’t break this one.”
“Why not?”
“B-because.”
Dean raised an eyebrow as he flipped the page, “Because…?”
He heard his brother take in an annoyed huff, “Because it’s important.”
“Right, just like he wouldn’t have skipped your spelling bee final, or your first day of kindergarten, or-”
“Here you are!” Bobby’s voice cut off the end of Dean’s sentence. He took a few steps into the room, noting the brother’s expressions before raising an eyebrow, “… What’s going on in here?”
Sammy crossed his arms over his chest and huffed again, “Dean’s being mean.”
“Oh?”
Dean slammed the magazine down on the table, standing up from the couch, “It’s not mean to tell you the truth!”
“It’s not true! He’ll be here!”
“Then where is he? Huh?” Dean pointed an angry finger at the window, “You think he’s hiding behind that tree? Under the snow bank? Wake up! He was never going to come.”
“Dean.”
Sammy’s bottom lip began to tremble, and he stomped his foot, “D-don’t say that!”
“He never comes because he doesn’t care about us!” Dean pushed passed the youngest, heading for the stairs, “Grow up, Sammy.”
He stomped up the stairs, practically shaking with the force of his rage. The blonde reached their shared bedroom not long after, and unthinkingly slammed the door shut behind him, stupid Sammy. He started pacing as he failed to get control of his rage, stupid John. It’d be so much easier if he just-
“Dean!”
A chill went down the blonde’s spine as he heard the call of his father’s voice.He swallowed thickly, took a moment to take in a big breath before bracing himself as he opened the bedroom door. He hesitantly made his way over to the stairs, craning his neck in an attempt to get eyes on the man before being spotted. Maybe if Dean could see what state he was in, he’d be able to judge how he was going to react better. If he was covered in blood, there was a better chance John’d be too wiped out from the hunt to yell at him.
Unfortunately, Dean was still too short to see over the staircase banister.
He hung his head and reluctantly made his way down the steps. Dean hesitated ever-so-subtly as he moved down to the last step. He took in another big breath as his foot hit the first floor, no more stalling.
Dean made his way into the living room, straightening up as he spotted his father. “Y-yes Sir?”
John’s face broke out into a smile and he rushed forward, wrapping the blonde up in a hug.
The action broke Dean’s brain for a moment – he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been hugged by his father – and he barely had time to relax into it before it was over.
John pulled back, before pointing a thumb over his shoulder, at a dirty sack that was laying against the coffee table, “Help me put these under the tree before Sammy gets back.”
Dean couldn’t hide his confusion, “… back?”
“Yeah,” John turned, picking the sack up before starting the short journey over to the tree, “He and Bobby are outside.”
Dean turned his attention to the window, eyebrows raising as he saw they were, in fact, out in the yard, building a snowman. His brother was all giggles and shrieks of happiness – no traces of the tears from their fight.
Dean shook his head and moved to help his father. There weren’t just a surprising amount of gifts in the sack, but they were all also expertly wrapped. With real wrapping paper – not their usual newspaper and twine.
Dean placed the first present about halfway back from the front of the tree. He hesitated as he went to grab the next one, half-waiting for his father to tell him the first wasn’t in the right spot. To his surprise, John just started placing presents on the opposite side of the tree.
… Huh, They kept placing the presents around the tree in silence for a few minutes, the blonde staying half-braced for the criticism, or chew out from his blow up with Sammy to come. Once John started whistling, Dean finally snapped.
“So, D-Dad,” Dean cleared his throat, mentally cursing himself as his voice shook, “How’d the hunt go?”
“It went…” John let his voice trail off as he stared at the newest laid present. He shook his head after a moment of silence, plastering the uncharacteristic smile back on his face, “Let’s not talk about hunting.”
No hunting? Dean swallowed thickly and slowly started reaching to his boot for the small, silver dagger that was tucked there, “Did you kill it?”
“What did I just say?” John chuckled and shook his head, before picking up another present.
Dean’s hand wrapped around the handle of the dagger then, and he was pulling it out of his boot in the next instant, surprised when his father caught his arm easily.
John’s face clouded over then – into the familiar angry expression he usually wore, “What the hell, Dean?”
Dean couldn’t help his eyes from going wide, “I-I thought….”
“You think if I was a monster I could take more than two steps into this house?” John tucked the dagger into one of his jacket pockets, hand on his son’s arm squeezing harder, “Don’t think your Uncle Bobby is good at his job?”
“N-no! I… I…”
John’s angry eyes searched his son’s scared face a moment longer, before he let out a deep huff and finally dropped his arm. He adverted his gaze to the presents and lowered his voice, “I found a lead on the demon. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow’s Christm-” Dean cut himself off as his father hung his head a little farther and he realized what he was saying, oh.
After a long moment of silence, John took in a sharp breath, before digging back into the sack. Dean swallowed suit, placing the last present at the front of the tree. He turned to his father, who had moved back to his feet, “I-is this okay?”
“Looks great.”
John balled the sack up before making the short trip over to the hall closet, chucking it in. He checked the window as he turned around, new smile splitting his face, “Perfect timing!”
Before Dean had time to question that meant, his brother and Bobby came in the kitchen door. Sammy barely had time to drop his coat on the floor before spotting John and shrieking.
“Whoa!” John pretended to get knocked a few steps backward as the youngest hurled himself at his legs, “Heya, Sammy.”
“You’re here!”
John cocked an eyebrow at that as he picked up his son, “Of course I’m here. I promised, didn’t I?”
“Um,” Sammy glanced semi-nervous eyes at his brother, “w-well-”
Bobby cleared his throat then, and took a few steps away from the coat rack, “How about I put on the kettle for some hot chocolate?”
“Awesome!” John sent his friend an appreciative smile before he half-turned, so Sammy could see the presents under the tree, “Then maybe, you guys can get started on these?”
“Wow!” Sammy practically leapt out of his father’s arms as he saw the set up, “There’s so many!”
“Ran into Santa on my way here.” John put the youngest down with a wink, “He let me take your presents early.”
Sammy slid to his knees in front of the tree, eyes wide as he looked over the stash. He turned after a moment, sending their father his most pleading puppy dog eyes, “Can I open one tonight? Please? Please, please, please?”
John chuckled and eased himself down on the arm of the couch, “You can open all of them tonight.”
“All of them?” Sammy’s eyes went impossibly wider and his jaw dropped open.
He looked between their father, Bobby – who had come back out of the kitchen – and Dean. The corner of his mouth twitched as his eyes landed on his brother, “… Are there any for Dean?”
The blonde felt his cheeks flush and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to look nonchalant, “Come on, Sammy, you know I’m too old for presents.”
“Oh yeah?” John crossed his arms over his chest before nodding to the side of the tree he’d laid presents down on, “Does that mean you don’t want any of those?”
Dean’s mouth fell open in surprise, and he looked at his father in disbelief. His nod was all the invitation the blonde needed to join his brother in front of the tree. His hands shook slightly as he looked out over the presents and noted some did, indeed have his name scribbled on them.
“Merry Christmas, boys.”
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Important: This is the 2nd last story of 2025! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th, 2026 with the first story of the new year!
Do you guys remember a few years ago when I did those 2 Sentence Horror stories? I thought it’d be fun to bring that challenge back and update it to be Christmas stories! I had a harder time with these two sentence stories than I did with the horror ones – apparently it’s harder for me to be fluffy in less words! Who knew?
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this collection of 20, 2 sentence stories!
AI
1. “Go for it,” You wave a hand at your anxiously awaiting daughter before collapsing against the back of the couch. Her shriek of excitement as she dives into the waiting presents under the tree makes you smile, maybe the world’s not so bad after all.
2. You can’t help but furrow your brows as you watch a tear slip down your girlfriend’s cheek, making a small splash as it lands on the gold-wrapped box in her lap. She sniffs and brings her watery eyes to yours, face breaking into an appreciative smile, “I-I’ve never gotten a present before.”
3. Sally watches with barely-contained excitement from the stairs as Santa places presents under the tree. Her father hesitates as he pulls the last present out of his sack, how am I supposed to disappear up the chimney?
4. Santa finishes placing the last present under the tree before turning around to the plate on the side table. He looks between the vegetables and the presents he’d just finished arranging before re-opening his sack.
5. You startle awake, eyes flying open to see a blurry mass of red, white and black standing over you.
Before you have time to react, the man’s gloved hand reaches for your mouth, “I need help.”
6. You hastily blow your nose as the kids begin tearing into the presents in the other room. You peer out the window at the startling loud noise and feel your heart melt as you spot your husband, struggling with a suitcase, he made it!
7. “What if Santa forgets us again?” Your pull your child into your chest as their tears fall and can’t help but feel a boulder of guilt drop into your stomach.
Your partner appears in the doorway then and nods, “I’m sure he won’t.”
8. Billy freezes at his mom’s question, sword absently dropping to his side, “S-Santa brought it for me.”
His mom raises an eyebrow at her husband, who was holding his own sword, “Oh, did he?”
9. You run a hand through your hand in exasperation as you take a much needed break from your family in one of the empty bedrooms. Your partner appears in the doorway after a moment, mischievous grin on their face, “We have until midnight to refund our Hawaii tickets.”
10. Santa sighs down at the plate of cookies, raisin?! Reluctantly, he shoves three into his pocket.
11. The elf finishes hammering the final nail into the toy chainsaw before pushing it onto the conveyor belt in front of him. At the look from his peers, he rubs a hand at the back of his neck, “Don’t worry, it’s not going to the same kid who got the coffin.”
12. Santa’s jaw drops and he peers at the elf from over the top of the paper, “How did Mrs. Claus make the Naughty List?”
The elf shrinks and takes a small step away from the desk, “S-she opened her present early.”
13. You hold up your hand as the cacophony of apologies start. “Guys, it’s okay, really,” You can’t help the tears that well up in your eyes as you look around the room at your family, “Still being here is the only present I need.”
14. “I know it’s dumb, but,” she sniffs and turns away from her boyfriend, folding her arms across her chest, “you didn’t even decorate.”
He chuckles and takes a few steps toward her, “Look up.”
15. My mom says your magic doesn’t cover it, but please Santa, bring my dad back.
Santa puts the letter down on his desk and he leans back in his chair, wiping a tear from his cheek, “I’m sorry, Timmy.”
16. The angry question hangs in the air between them for a moment, before he takes in a deep breath, and starts to get down on one knee, reaching for the ring in his back pocket, “You.”
17. No, no, no, the gingerbread man can’t do anything but look out over the broken ruins of his house and family. He feels his breathing catch as one of the monsters comes bounding back over, sadistic smile on their face, “Tomorrow, it’s your turn.”
18. Mrs. Claus blinks at the scene before her – the elves had tied Rudolph up in the middle of the room, weird circle and sigils drawn on the ground underneath him, and one of them was holding what appeared to be a very old book.
She let out a sigh and hung her head, “That’s not the kind of ‘exercise’ I meant.”
19. He watched with baited breath as the clock ticked down, 5…4…3… He brought his eyes back down to his wife’s hospital bed, nodding to the nurse as he picked up her hand, “Happy new year.”
20. He slipped the mistletoe out of his back pocket, holding it up as new tears pricked the edges of his eyes, “I-I love you.”
She turned away from the door, smile pulling at the corner of her mouth as she re-closed the distance, “I know.”
Like reading these? Check out my Patreon! I post NEW short stories every two weeks and now have 200 for you to fall in love with!
Important: This is the 3rd last story of 2025. I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th, 2026 with the first story of the new year!
Hi guys!
I am so excited to finally share this project with you!
Detoxing – The Hard Way is one of the first fanfics I ever wrote, way back from 2013. It’s a 3 way cross-over fic between Supernatural, Dexter and Heroes. It’s also technically the first cross-over I ever attempted.
As you guys might know, cross-over stories are usually longer than regular stories. That’s because there’s more characters to play with, more worlds to play in, and the new dynamics are also just a lot of fun!
This story is no exception and because it’s combining three shows instead of two, it became exceptionally long. The original unfinished draft of this story from 2013, is 130 pages. (Roughly 69,000 words)
Because of it’s size, I couldn’t upload it as a regular Throw Away Fic, but I also didn’t want to publish it as a book, either. In my head, Detoxing isn’t a book, it’s just… a story. This led to me going back and forth on the ‘proper’ way I wanted to share it, and I think I’ve finally figured it out.
I’ve decided that I’m going to upload Detoxing next year (2026) as a Patreon exclusive, and it’ll be available to read by EVERY Tier! This means it won’t matter if you’re a Silent Supporter ($1), Rockin’ Reader ($10) or Spoilers! ($13) patron, every paying member will have access to this story!
So, if you haven’t signed up yet, or are still on the fence, now is the perfect time to check it out! Signing up before January will also allow you to follow along for the ride, right from the start!
Trust me when I tell you, this is not a story you guys want to miss!
I’ve also decided – partly because Patreon has post limits and partly because I want the story to be easier to digest – I’m going to be uploading the story in chunks/parts, instead of all at once. (This will be in addition to the regularly scheduled stories)
I’m going to make it it’s own Collection and tag, as well, so it’ll be easier for you guys to find, instead of having to scroll/sift through all the other stories.
As I said above, I’ve had this story rolling around in my head since 2013, and I am beyond excited to finally be able to let it see the light of day! I’m hoping you guys love it as much as I do!
And now, to get the ball rolling – and you guys excited – below is a preview of what’s to come!
Word Count: 629
C2C, SPN x Dexter x Heroes, TW: Torture (Semi-Graphic)
Dean flicked his eyes back over to the passenger seat, where Sam had gone unusually quiet. He noted his brother was trying not to squint, and had brought one hand up to clutch at the side of his head.
“Hey,” Dean used one arm to pat his brother on the shoulder, “You good?”
“Y-yeah, I’m-ah!”
The giant’s sentence cut off into a scream of pain and he pitched forward, narrowly missing cracking his head on the dashboard from doubling over.
“Sam? Sam!” Dean was pulling the car over to the side of the road in the next instant. He was out of his seat and ripping the passenger side door open before the Impala finished rolling to a stop, “Whoa, hey, hey, hey,” he brought a hand up to place on the giant’s chest as he nearly came tumbling out of the car, “Talk to me.”
Sam took in a sharp breath, face scrunched up with pain. He opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He somehow found the strength to crack an eye open, and could do nothing but watch as the asphalt of the road gave way to a cement floor, that appeared to be coated in… plastic?
A man with reddish-brown hair wearing a black, rubber apron and elbow long gloves entered from behind a sheet of strung up plastic. He made his way over to the side of the room, coming up one side of a long table. On the table, lay a redheaded woman, who was completely naked, save for the thick sheets of plastic wrap that bound her. She wiggled, uselessly against her binds, twisting her neck around violently to see her environment. She stopped wiggling as she spotted the man.
“I-I haven’t done anything.”
“No?” The man’s voice was calm – oddly calm for the situation that was unfolding. He didn’t bother turning around as he unwrapped his tools, and pointed to the row of pictures that had been propped up at the other end of the room, “I think they’d beg to differ.”
“P-please.” The woman licked her lips, “I’m a good person.”
That got the man to spin around, slamming one hand down on the table next her, “No!” The word was barely more than a grow – all semblance of calm now gone – as he aggressively pointed toward the pictures, “A good person wouldn’t have raped, tortured and dismembered three little boys for fun!”
The man walked the short distance to the top of the table, pulling a small scalpel and eye dropper out of his apron pocket as he took his place behind the lady’s head.
“N-no! Please!” She started wiggling again as the man cut her cheek, more desperately this time.
He used the eyedropper to pick up some of the blood that was flowing out of the wound, before dropping it onto a small piece of glass. He tucked the fresh blood-slide into the pocket of his apron before walking back over to the table that held his tools.
He placed the eyedropper down as he shook his head, moving to pick up one of the knives, “Pleading won’t save you.”
“Sam? Hey, you with me?”
Sam let out a big breath as the asphalt of the road slowly came back into view, feeling the pressure in his head start to subside. He lowered the hand that had been clutching the side of his head, bringing it down to rub at his eyes, “Y-yeah, yeah, I’m with you.”
“Okay, good, good.” He felt the blonde clap him on the shoulder as the hand that was on his chest fell away. He slumped against the seat in exhaustion, semi-wild eyes taking a minute to find his brother’s worried face, “Was that a vision?”
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Important: This is the 5th last article of 2025. I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 19th, 2026 with the first article of the new year!
The time is here for the end of this PHSH Effect trilogy – just in time for Halloween! (Almost like that was planned…)
Since this is the last tutorial in this mini series of effects, you’ll want to make sure you’ve completed the first two so you have the appropriate base to work on today.
Step 1
The simplest way to add fire into a Photoshop picture, is to get some free images of fire from a royalty free site, and drag them into your current project. It’s a good idea to get a few different images, so the amount of flames, size, etc. is a little varied. Yes, we can (and will) be manipulating the images to fit them into our project, but it’s always easier to start with a picture that’s closer to the end result.
Alternatively, you can also always just screenshot the images above, crop and save them to your computer. (I recommend keeping a folder of stock images around, so you won’t have to go searching for them every time you want to create something)
Once you have the fire stock images you want to use, drag some into your current project so we can start getting to work. If you’d like, you can also rename their Layers to something identifying, like ‘Flame’ or ‘Fire’.
I also went ahead and moved all the previous tutorial burn/ember effects into their own folder, so we can start the project more ‘clean’.
Once the flames are actually in the project, hide all but one of the flame layers, and then re-size it to fit the part of the image you want it to be on. Also, change it’s Layer Mode to Screen. This will make it see-through, so we’ll be able to see the rest of our image through it.
My first flame picture has a reflection on the bottom, so I also had to Erase that from the image, before changing it’s Layer Mode to Screen. Since I was already erasing things, I also erased part of the background, since it stuck out a lot from where the flame was. You can do this too, if the flame pictures you’re using are similar, or, if they are already just the flame, feel free to skip this.
The flame picture I started with
The flame picture after I erased the reflection and partial background
Step 2
Next, we’re going to go up to the top menu, and click on Images – Adjustments – Curves, and then drag the bottom anchor inwards on the graph that pops up.
Sliding this anchor over will darken the blacks of the image so it helps to remove the background, without needing to spend time erasing around the fire.
This method might change the colour of your flames, as you see above. It’s also faster to use with things that have soft wisps like fire, smoke, etc. instead of the Quick Select/Erase Background method I usually use, because of all the soft edges. Erasing around a selection usually makes hard edges, which is why you go back over them with a softer Eraser, but that isn’t as effective, not only because it takes more time, but the Eraser is only one shape, and if you over-erase, it can give the image a faker feel.
Or it would, if the image you were overlaying the flame onto had a black background. As you can see above, mine does not, so I’ll have to go in with my Eraser tool and erase more of the black background, so it’s even closer to the flames.
I also haven’t completely re-sized the flame to fit my image yet. That’s because it’s easier to erase when the image is still big. Now that I’m done erasing the background, I’ll be zooming into my building and re-sizing my flame, to place it where I want to get ready for the next step.
Step 3
Now that we’ve got the flame background-less, we’re going to be Warping it so it looks like it’s actually coming off part of the subject. I didn’t really need to warp my flames on my building, since I chose a relatively square building with lots of straight lines.
But, since this is a tutorial, I’m going to show you how to do this part on a curved object, instead.
I did not add the embers or burns to the chess piece, because I was able to keep in on a dark background, and the Warping part for the flame is the important part, anyway. I did however, erase some of the left part of the flame, to get it a closer fit to the top of the chess piece.
So to use your Warping tool, you’ll want to right-click on one of the squares of box around the flame (the same ones that come up when you go to re-size it) and then pick Warp from the drop down menu that appears.
From here, click Warp, and you should notice the box is now a grid over the whole flame. Carefully, take one of the corners and drag it around, so it looks like the flame is wrapped around the curve of the object.
You’ll want to be careful not to over-warp here, as that can make the flame look fake, or, if you really over-do it, you’ll end up stretching the flame picture and it’ll just look distorted and weird, like bad pixel art.
An example of over-warping
Step 4
Once you’re happy with the warp job, we’re going to use our Smudge tool and again, carefully, drag the bottom edges of the flame, so it’s wrapped a little more around the curve/object. Make sure the Smudge tool is set to less than 100% Strength for this. Remember: you can always smudge more later, but it’s harder to undo a too-hard smudge. (Yes, even with the CTRL + Z/Undo options)
I personally used 50% Strength, and left the Hardness of the brush 100%, but feel free to play around with these values to get the best result for your image.
Step 5
After that, you just need to repeat these same steps on everywhere else you want to add flames to your image.
If needed, you can also go in with a soft Eraser to clean up any edges or weird bits on your flames. Then, once you’re happy with all the contouring/warping, you’re done! Don’t forget to Save the PHSH file and picture version of your new work.
As I said in the first tutorial of this mini-series, this effect will work on basically any picture, so you can light basically anything on fire!
Obviously some pictures will come out cooler than others. But, there’s never been a better time to explore, especially with Halloween only a few days away!
Important: This is the 4th last story of 2025. I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 16th, 2026 with the first story of the new year!
Written: 25.10.23
Words: 851
Wee!Chesters, 2025’s Halloween fic
“Uncle Bobby?”
The voice startled the father figure awake from his place on the couch. He snapped his eyes open and saw a costume-clad Sammy staring at him with those big, round eyes. He let out a yawn and sat up straight, “Dean still bitching about taking you out?”
Sammy’s brows furrowed at that, “What?”
Bobby shook his head, “I’ll get him,” he cleared his throat, before looking toward the stairs, “Dean!”
“Yeah?” The blonde came out of the kitchen in the next moment, beer in hand.
That got Bobby to his feet. He snatched the drink from the pre-teen while giving him a look, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Hey!” Dean’s mouth fell open as the drink was taken away and he defiantly stomped a foot, “You said I could have one!”
Bobby let out a chuckle, “Nice try.”
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The flame picture I started with
The flame picture after I erased the reflection and partial background
An example of over-warping
