#runawaymarbles

[cesperanza]

Amazing artwork by @runawaymarbles - a binding of Sheppard's Law with a cut out cover and a stargate and it mirrors the title page and has tombstone chapter pages and the coolest page numbers I've ever seen! I am a-swoon!!! It is so beautiful!

[quotablefanfiction]

“Huh,” Merlin said as he watched them go. “That’s a little concerning. I don’t think we go about doing strange things in the castle, do you?” He frowned. Arthur scoffed. “No. They’re just trying to make themselves feel better about accidentally knocking that poor man out or whatever,” Arthur shook his head as the pair disappeared around the corner “Anyways, do you have the horse teeth?”

Merlin and Arthur are a little bit hypocritical and a little bit oblivious (chp. 2)

The Prince Who Cried Witch by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle (AO3) Merlin – General – Freya/Merlin #Alternate Universe #Canon Divergence #Humor #Fluff #Angst #Canonical Character Death #Arthur POV

“I’m not lying!” Arthur yelled and while his knights all nodded, he could see the slight roll of their eyes. “She’s real. I swear on my life she is!” He tried again. Gwaine outright laughed. Arthur really should just behead him. That would solve everything.

“What’s her name then?” Leon asked reasonably. Arthur stared. “My lord, is it…At all possible she might have just been in your head?” He asked, gently. Arthur felt his mouth drop.

“I am not crazy!”

“Well…” Merlin began and the prince turned to glare at him. “I’ve watched you try to put on a shirt, sire.”

“He said crazy. Not incapable.” Elyan murmured and immediately winced when Arthur gaped at him. “Sorry, I… Sorry.” He offered weakly. “You’re not crazy.”

“Just incapable!” Merlin smiled. Arthur hated everyone and swore on his life he would find this damn lake lady even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Or

Arthur comes across a beautiful woman near a lake who likes to talk about her husband a lot. Nobody believes him except Merlin (aka Freya lives).

Part 4 of Me @ Merlin Writers: What if You Didn't Murder My Favorite Characters? series (AO3)

Recommended by @runawaymarbles

[monstrous-femme]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

From newest to oldest, and unfortunately leaving out many stories I adore but that aren't as sophisticated writing-wise because I've grown as a writer since then.

like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird Stranger Things | Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham/Nancy Wheeler | 87k

In 1993, Nancy falls asleep on Barb's grave and wakes up in 1985. From there, she finds herself completely unstuck in time. It's also a love story.

Novel-length time travel fic about grief, recursive, Sisyphean vibes, also I think the longest fic I've written in any fandom.

In Her Hips, There's Revolution Stranger Things | Eddie Munson & Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler | 70.5K

Finally, she's able to get the number in right. The ring is sharp against her ear. Pick the fuck up, she thinks, and someone must be listening, because the ringing stops "All right, Harrington, what's on this week's nightmare menu? And don't tell me the one about drowning in your pool again, man, we all know that's rich kid--" "It's Nancy." A long pause, then a laugh. "Wheeler? To what do I owe this late-night honor?" "I, um." Nancy's tongue feels stuck to the roof of her mouth, like bare skin on upholstery. "I was wondering if you've got a couch I can crash on?"

This fic exists because I read a punk!Steve fic and in it Nancy was not into the punk scene and I was like. But what if she was, though. Riot grrl Nancy? Riot grrl Nancy. Complete with Ronance and Nancy and Eddie as best friends. Described by readers as "Jane Austen with more alleyway head." One of my only fics to get an & pairing and not just a / pairing, because the friendship really is that central.

objects in the mirror (are closer than they appear) Stranger Things | Joyce Byers/Karen Wheeler | 5.3K

"Which do you think you're having?" she asks, pushing herself back to the land of the ordinary. "Lonnie wants a boy," Joyce says. "Your husband?" Joyce snorts. "If you can call him that." There's something nice about how that sounds, like the idea that just because you said your vows in front of God and your whole family doesn't mean you have to call the man your husband. Karen smiles. "You know what?" she says. "Give me a cigarette after all." The smile Joyce gives her back is like a secret between friends. "My kind of girl," she says, fishing into her purse, and when Karen takes the cigarette between her lips, Joyce lights it for her.

This fic was for Women's Wrongs day of Stranger Things Femslash week, and I was so proud of the strange fucked-up short story vibes I managed to get here. Joyce and Karen spousal murder 5ever.

pretty girls with bloodstained teeth The Magicians | Margo Hanson/Alice Quinn | 4k

“You’re angry,” Alice says. Margo opens her eye to see that the smile on Alice’s face matches the one in her voice. “And you’re right to be.” “If I’m angry, it’s because there’s a monster who seems to show up everywhere I go.” Alice lifts a finger and runs it along Margo’s cheek, leaving a trail of ice crystals down its path. “Oh, Margo,” she says, sugar in her voice. “You’ve never been as good a liar as you think you are.”

This was my OG monster!girls story, based on the idea that Alice stays a niffin and seduces Margo to the dark side. It was so fun to write that it actual inspired the original novel I wrote and currently have on submission.

Chimera The Magicians | Alice Quinn Character Study | 1k

She is part girl, part monster, and moving forward is a statistical improbability.

In defense of one of my favorite unlikeable female characters.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

Hello dear, that's so sweet of you to send this to me!

I admit, I did one of these just a week or so ago, so I was tempted to just let you know that. However, I realized upon reflection that I had only focused on my 9-1-1 fics, and I have written in other fandoms.

And so here we are! The five non-9-1-1 fics that I would say are my favorites, across five different fandoms.

Richie Tozier: Small Town Trash

Richie Tozier debuts his new routine after vanishing from the comedy scene.

To be honest, I think I could do this fic better five years later, but this was the time I sat down and, in spite of the fact that I was convinced I wasn't funny, wrote a stand up comedy routine (with some Easter eggs from actual comedy routines because I couldn't resist).

People actually thought this fic was funny, and enjoyed it, and this was the moment I realized that I might actually be able to pull off humor. So while I think I'm a lot better at it now, we all have to start somewhere, and I started here.

Defiance & Destiny

When Geralt of Rivia returns to England after a prolonged absence, he and Jaskier, an aspiring bard, are forced to confront the pride and prejudice that flung them apart. Meanwhile, Lady Yennefer of Vengerberg is beginning to wonder if there is more to life than being handsome, clever, and rich.

This is I think my least-popular Witcher fic, because it's very long and also has no smut, but I'm really genuinely proud of it. I have a great love for Jane Austen and worked hard to try and capture the tone and feel of her work while juggling a mashup of three different novel plots. It also puts Yennifer/Tissaia in the spotlight, a ship I love but sadly have written like, nothing for. Shame on me.

Confidence Trick

When police officer Wyatt Logan is tapped to go undercover and get information on the notorious Lucy Preston and Garcia Flynn, he expects it’ll be his toughest assignment yet. What he doesn’t expect is to fall for his marks—and the fallout that comes with it.

One of those rare fics where the inspiration and writing just flowed and the stars aligned. It's I think my best fic in this fandom, although there are a couple others that I think come close such as could twist the sinews of thy heart? and Are You Strong Enough to Stand. It's just really lovely when you feel that the fic you wrote on the page is as good as the one you pictured in your head.

Also I'm still really damn proud of the plot twist at the end. Heheheheheheh.

Untranslatable Shadows

There's only one thing worse than having to make your way through a booby-trapped dungeon, and that's making your way through a booby-trapped dungeon with Xenk Yendar. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Ed has to do to save the soul of his best friend. And extra unfortunately... Xenk might not even be the worst part of this whole thing. Nobody tell him.

I really like all of my Xedgin fics. I'm quite fond of this little ship and yes I swear I will finish the last one! I pinky promise! It was hard to choose just one of them since I actually feel they're all pretty equal in quality which is rare for me, but I ended up going with this one because I'm quite proud of how I adapted the infamous "Tomb of Horrors" dungeon for the fic. It was a lot of work going through the dungeon and deciding what to keep or remove and how to use it to support the character arcs and story, but it was also very fun and rewarding.

My Blood Will Feed Your Flowers (Your Flowers Will Soothe My Blood)

At the start of the new school year a horrifying development rattles both Enid and Wednesday and threatens big changes in their relationship. Oh and there's a serial killer running around too. Huh. Someone should probably do something about that.

Another T rated fic and another one starring some femslash! It's a miracle! This fic was a gift to a friend and was a very fun challenge for me. Writing teenagers is hard, guys. I also had to balance the horror and the humor of the TV series to nail the tone, and I tried hard to write this as if it was the second season of the show and so worked within those limitations. I like to think I succeeded, and I'm very fond of the result.

So there you have it! Five fics that might be a bit off the beaten path so to speak for most of my readers, but of which I am very fond. Thank you again for tagging me!

[thegeminisage]

Ask meme: hanahaki

i can't believe i MISSED THIS. i wasn't ignoring you on purpose, tumblr didn't show me the notification. belatedly, never have i ever written hanahaki but IF I DID...

*disclaimer that i am thinking of the modified hanahaki i see on tumblr sometimes in which you only die if you don't confess your feelings, not if your crush isn't requited, because that's...doesn't that feel awful? "i'll die unless you love me" like what if they Just Don't. that's such a bummer.

that said, i feel like the obvious choice is spock. he's like vulcans don't have emotions and then dad sneezes and everybody gets covered with petals. and everybody is like just tell kirk you love him it's so obvious everyone already knows and bones specifically is like you are such an idiot he obviously loves you back and wouldn't even make fun of you for having feelings like i would literally nothing bad can come of this this is your life we're talking about except. kirk is weirdly quiet on the subject when asked. and finally bones confronts him (while spock is in the room) like CAN YOU PLEASE BULLY HIM INTO CONFESSING and kirk is like. the thing is. he already confessed to me. and bones is like What and kirk is like (to spock) buddy i was trying to be patient but i think the game is up bc the game is pretty up and spock has to confess his feelings to the most stunned dr that ever graced the fleet. certain he's abouit to get rejected or roasted but actually bones is way too shocked to do either one

however, you could also do a really fun season 14/15 destiel w this one...cas CAN'T confess or his empty deal will come due, but if he DOESN'T confess the flowers will kill him, which will...also send him to the empty. so everybody else has to figure out what's going on and how to cure him while he literally CAN'T say ANYTHING to help them (jack tattles). alternatively, he figures if he's going to die anyway he might as well die happy so he confesses before the flowers can get him and then they have to go get him back like in many post-canon fics

geez. thank you for sending one. imagine someone wishing aloud on tunglr dot org that they got more ask meme asks and then NOT ANSWERING THEM

[ask meme, fuck it i'll take some more like two weeks later]

[displayheartcode]

Top 5 fictional wizards

how are we defining wizards? powerful nerds? occult-based dorks?

1. Nita and Kit from Young Wizards

2. Palamedes from The Locked Tomb

3. Abigail from The Rivers of London

4. Constantine from the DC comics

5. Miracle Max from Princess Bride

[zenosanalytic]

Trump was a big reason why Covid started spreading in the US when it did, and why it got so bad.

When the first reports started coming out of the disease in China, he rushed US nationals there back to the US without an off-shore quarantine. Instead they'd quarantine them in California, but 1)he rushed the CDC's quarantine team out there without proper training or equipment, and 2)the confusion over the need to quarantine and for how long led a handful of USians from the Pacific Northwest to just go home without a proper one, and both fuckups led to the first covid cases in US. Once it got out to the general population on the West Coast, it spread quickly to the East Coast by plane. After having fucked up containment, he IMMEDIATELY started downplaying and denying Covid in-general because he didn't want to do a lockdown, because a lockdown would hurt the economy, and THAT would hurt his approval ratings. Republican governors took his lead, sandbagging public health measures and denying there was a problem, and Republican judges helped them by issuing a bunch of unprecedented rulings limiting the authority of public health institutions, AND the ability of private businesses to institute their own health-safety measures like mask-requirements(as a result of THAT, Republican doctors and nurses stopped following basic pandemic safety procedures, leading to Hospitals became the most likely place to catch covid). And of course, Republican civvies, following his lead, visited their older relatives in nursing homes unmasked and ended up killing hundreds of thousands of elderly USians before their time.

I really think people have forgotten just how bad things were under the Trump Administration. Literally every day there was news about some service being cut or someone terrible appointed somewhere they shouldn't be or what have you. He constantly flirted with WW3 and military dictatorship. It was such a blur of badness that there aren't big standouts for people to point to to make him "the XYZ president." it was everything. all the time. Why do we not remember this.

[lurkerdelima]

6, 23

6. Favorite title you used

Probably ‘the darkness hummed.’ It was just a random one I came up with when I was close to finishing the fic, and I had started doubting my working title (I tend to cycle through 5 or 6 working titles per fic lol). I did a poll on here and to my surprise it won! I think it ended up suiting the fic really well and it’s so evocative.

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year?

I did not! I haven’t written anything collaboratively in a long time. I’m not against it, it just hasn’t really come up for me. I do constantly ask for writing help and advice from my spouse tho, they’re my favorite collaborator. :)

Thank you! 🖤

[gayhoediaz]

✦

✦ what was your easiest fic to write & your hardest?

oh, the most difficult was into the fire by far, because it’s just such a unique dynamic in between them that i’ve never really explored before, and just generally speaking it’s such an incredibly heavy story.

ironically, i think the easiest one was still which is arguably an even heavier story, but it’s the kind of fic that could easily play out in canon. without question. it’s not even a stretch. so i think i just had a massive library of references in my head for what would happen and what they would say and how they would say it, etc, etc. i always fight really hard to keep things in character - if i can’t hear their voices in my head or see them make x gesture then i won’t write it - but that fic was just incredibly easy in that department. i didn’t even have to think about it.

fic ask game!

[fand0mfan]

[zenosanalytic]

#conservatism#censorship#100% this is only part of the conversation#to erode the rights of queer people while distracting from real issues (via @arrows-for-pens)

wait a minute

why is drag even part of the conversation?  drag is an activity adults do that could well be considered a fetish, not a gender.

why do children need to be exposed to and familiarized with it?

[spacelazarwolf]

op turned off reblogs for reasons that will become obvious but i wanted to repost for the good rebuttal from @runawaymarbles

maybe someday twitter-brained reactionaries will actually open a newspaper and read it instead of just repeating whatever catchy phrase has been floating around the tankiesphere but i don’t see that day coming anytime soon. in the meantime please for the love of fuck do your due diligence before falling head over heels for reactionary garbage designed to enrage you rather than engage you.

[tevaselmundogiraalreves]

Buddie fic recs:

I've been wanting to do my own list of my favorite fics for a while now so here it goes (in no particular order):

- my words are paper tigers by @hattalove (this ones my favorite of them and i'd say a little underrated maybe?) TIMELOOP TIMELOOP TIMELOOP - buck breaks up with eddie, the universe doesnt agree - ITS PERFECT I'VE READ IT FOR THE FIRST TIME SO LONG AGO AND ITS STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES EVER.

- Actually, truly by MilenaDaniels Helena (and Ramon) tries to find a way back into Eddie's life and doesn't know what to make of finding Buck around every corner she turns. (Or: "Mom, listen.")

- burn the straw house down by @hoediaz - what to even say i think everyone has read this one already but just in case TIMELOOP TIMELOOP TIMELOOP

- Happy Little Accidents by @like-the-rest-of-la - one of the first au i ever read for buddie and i was so ENCHANTED what to even say, buck owns a plant nursery. Its just so soft and so so so beautiful.

- said i couldn't stay, but it's different now by @hattalove - another fave of them. Many weddings and buddie in the middle of it all.

- Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) by HSMLusitania - i think everyone and their mother has read this one aswell but just in case EDDIE DISPATCHER.

- Burn a bridge, learn how to swim by Watermelonshots - this is a series and jesus christ it literally starts with a buddie drunk make out session so-

- Sit with me in the dark by @kitkatpancakestack - buck loses his vision- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soft and kind and yeah beautiful and buck glasses kink anyone?.

- Lifelines by @hetrez . This fic is literally a lifeline - buck and eddie meet during the tsunami and talk about being in the closet. I have no words for how much this fic meabs to me. FLAWLESS.

- about the present by @runawaymarbles - this is a series now and god this was so so fucking special and unique - the first part eddie in the aftermath of being in a timeloop of the shooting. The second one is buck handling it on his own way. PERFECTION. Still thinking about it.

- a good day to be by @hetrez Eddie is a dance instructor, buck needs dance clases for madneys wedding. As flawless as the other one. Eddie Diaz needs a hug yeah.

- we'll be forever, you'll see by rarakiplin - Eddie Diaz finds a cat and heals and heals. And is so loved. I think i cried the first time i finished this one.

- still by @gayhoediaz - once again i think everyone knows this one but just in case, eddie steps on a detonator. ANGSTS SO MUCH ANGSTS AND THAT ENDING YEAH.

- but i can see all along, love (it was you all the way down) by @captain-hen - eddie confesses his feelings, buck rejects him, TIMELOOP TIMELOOP TIMELOOP

- authentication by @vgreysoncellars - i think i described this one as a never ending extention of 7x06 like nights abd just pride and pride and liberation. Eddie picks guys in bars for buck to make out with...

- oh, come when you're called by @lesbianrobin CHRIS 💘 no other words needed i think

- i'm a cliché (who cares) by @cranberrymoons UFF THIS ONE MAKES ME SO EMOTIONAL - eddie realizes stuff and buck is there every step of the way.

- bark like you want it by @colonoscopys - SOULMATES AU so so funny and wholesome.

- the love triptych by @cranberrymoons - this ones just so freaking special to me. Helena trying and trying and trying cause she loves her son. And buddie together through it all.

- so much left in store by @lesbianrobin - UNI AU UNI AU UNI AU !!!!!!! AND VERY IMPORTANT BABY CHRIS💘

- hang me up on your bedroom wall by @eddiegettingshot WELL buck just wants (more) but only if eddie gets him pregnant about it... (infidelity fic)

- close ain't close enough (til we cross the line) by @cranberrymoons buddie sexting buddie sexting buddie sexting and being so so freaking insane and not normal about it. (Infidelity fic)

- throw a bone, i’m finally home by @shitouttabuck - i think everyone knows the like a dog verse by now (come on lol) but yeah i'm very very obsessed especially with the second part of it.

[zhalfirin]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - R. L. Stevenson

(EDIT: have a look at the clamshell box I made for this book here)

A few weeks back I had the chance to take a leather book binding class held by the wonderful Greek bookbinder Dimitris Koutsipetsidis at his bindery in Athens. He helped us patiently to improve our skills and even took us leather shopping in the end.

It was a really great week and I've had the pleasure to spend it with fellow Renegades while making tools and binding books together and doing some occasional sightseeing on the side.

My book was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A book that I greatly enjoy every read and for which I had a lot of different plans before finally settling on this design only the night before case decoration was up in class (many thanks to my fellow Renegades at this point for having opinions on my ideas, I greatly appreciated all your input <3)

The whole trip left me with lots of good memories and plenty of bookbinding things to work on (gold tooling and leather paring included. Although I might end up cheating more often than not with the paring >.<)

Photos were taken by @runawaymarbles, one of the other bookbinders on the trip.

[starbuckaroo]

@runawaymarbles wait which 911 fic?? 👀

Enough of the trope where memory loss undoes the damage or the corruption or whatever. More content where removing memories just removes the context.

The tragedy of needing to grieve and not knowing what or who you lost or why. The angst of having trauma and being denied the awareness that it's trauma. The suspense of being different somehow and left to wonder how and when. The tension of knowing that something is off and you can't find where it hurts. The Adventure Zone gets it. Kingdom Hearts gets it.

There is an aching inside you and you don't know how it got there.

[f-t-e]

I started watching SUPERNATURAL in November 2020. I know, I know. My partner and I had been isolating alone since March. The timing felt right. I went though a wild amount of upheaval and trauma over the next year and SPN was there for me through it all. It was THE show at THE time and it kept me afloat when I needed it the most. Since November 2021 I've written just about 110,000 words of SPN fanfic, a number that seems unbelievable to me, and that too has been a real blessing to my creative life, no matter what haters say. (why didn't I write my own novels in that time? Because I have a hobby, Karen, and I love it.) And I've read about 500000x that much fanfic, which has been the biggest blessing of all. (ETA: oh right, if you want to read my fic, you can find my stuff here, I wrote a fic where Dean reads books. Lots of books.)

I know I'm a nobody in this fandom but I thought on this, our #DestielDay, I would submit my own humble rec list. I've curated this very deliberately: every fic here has just about 4000 hits or less (most under 3000) and all were published in 2020 or after. So, sort of a rec list for some lesser known and newer fics, something you maybe haven't stumbled on yet. Especially thank you to @jewishcharliebradbury, her rec lists gave me a place to start back in the day and I have tried to model the depth and quality they brought to their lists. I tried to link to everyone's tumblr, but if I missed one, let me know.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who has EVER created something for this fandom, from 2005 to 2023. I am so thankful and, honestly, honored to be among your number. You're not supposed to be cringe and say a show saved your life...but SUPERNATURAL saved me, it really did. See y'all when the movie/reboot drops, to quote Ryan Gosling in The Notebook: IT WASN'T OVER, IT STILL ISN'T OVER. And I'm glad.

-----

Finale Fix-It & S15 and Beyond

What The Moon Was Saying by Amiril (@runawaymarbles)

This is hands-down one of the coolest “Dean Rescues Cas from the Empty” fics I have ever read and the concept is brilliantly structured to mirror the literal and metaphorical things Dean needs to give up and let go to get free. Every scenario is very satisfying and they make sense, is there any better feeling? Dean is very open in this, but in a believable way that still has edges. And, oh, the reunion is so good. Plus all the family stuff. Just excellent, exactly what you want in a fic like this: lovely, well-written, smart, fulfilling, all the pieces clicking, the show but better.

Awake and Annoying by skycruise

I love the use and passage of time in this one, it has some real impact, and I love the way Dean gets into the Empty (so smart, fits just right) and what I REALLY love in this one is the way it lets Dean be really clear-eyed and honest about his relationship with Sam, both the strengths and the weaknesses. And the last line, very clever and moving inverse of one of fandom’s favorite things. 

Living the life you chose by allthismusic

THEEEEE post finale Sam Winchester-Outsider-POV this fandom needs. Sam is absolutely awesome in this, the most believable, loving, realistic mix of “I knew all along” and “I had no idea” versions of Sam, landing somewhere I think that’s really true and in character. It fills in and develops so many gaps and silences in what the show let Sam know in the absolute best way. Best Brother Sam is a weakness of mine and he really shines here, there for Dean in the best ways but also coming into his own, I love it so very much. (this author also has a very great 2022 Big Bang fic, hugely recommend that one too.)

your ear to the wound that whispers by EmandFandems (@lazarusemma)

Who doesn’t love a HANDPRINT FIC?!? And boy this is such a good one. It follows Dean and his thoughts on the handprint from the first touch all the way to fixing the finale and it simply buzzes with longing and desire, tenderness and rawness. It’s great insight in lot of ways into Dean’s journey. It’s short but fulfilling and oh that very perfect last line. (this author also has a lot of great Jupernatural content.)  

Somewhere Off in the Dark by magickastiel 

Another awesome fic that traces Dean’s shifting/growing feelings for Cas from when he shows up in his hotel rooms to a HEA fix it after canon. Dean, again, is handled so deftly in this one, his confusion and sorrow at all the times Cas is slipping away from him all the way through the things he won’t let himself know. He feels really true in this one, sharp and tender in the best Dean ways. Also it has an agonizingly romantic end, you love to end up there.

Pins and Feathers by theskywasblue (@buttherewasnogod)

This author has so many freaking good SPN fics, omg it was almost impossible to pick just one to include on this list. Go treat yourself with their entire list because there’s so much good stuff there! But this one, oh I am a sucker for a finale fix-it that lets Dean be this tender. While I LOVE fics where he just jumps right into Cas’s arms (and write them lol) I also feel like this is so true to Dean too: that “maybe I misunderstood, maybe I shouldn’t say anything, maybe he doesn’t still –” And on top of all that, it’s a “they go the beach” fic and it gets the details of it so right, sand in your toes and all. Tender, amazing slow-burn, real, hot, full of heart and longing and everything unspoken and just waiting. Very satisfying!

i loved you first by kalmialatifolia

A set of four short fics that create an entire world of feeling and emotion. These feel like little whispered stories told under the covers, very atmospheric. There’s one very sexy one, a haircutting one (so good) and they’re just intimate. All together a great set and did I mention they’re in the “Cas saves himself” genre which is mmmm an underrated treasure.

no other faith is light enough for this place by anonymous 

A fix-it fic that has a particularly unique and beautiful visual of both how and why Cas comes back. The mechanics behind it are fairly standard but the way this author creates the visual of it, the sheer emotion and force behind it and how it happens, it really stood out to me and stuck with me. It’s Dean being brave enough to really feel and the way that just blossoms – lovely, aching, full-tilt wonderful.

 no proof, one touch by TakeThisWaltz (@watchinghimrakeleaves)

One thing I absolutely cannot get enough of is fic where Cas is hiding out from Dean in heaven. It just hits. And the only thing better is Dean chasing him down and the WAY he does it in this fic, methodically and – well the method (sobs) it is so endearing and OBVIOUS and gives Dean a chance to shout in all the best ways. This one is just real sweet and kind of goofy and if they have to be in heaven, I want them to still be these same two dorks.

Stay by redbrickrose

This is a post S15x18 from Cas’s POV and I think it’s very true to where he would be in the moment of getting yanked out of the Empty: resigned, hesitant about what he has in front of him, still a little in shock. And then. And then. Sweet and simple and Dean gets a chance to say, say, say it. This author has a good post series AU and a lovely little spate of S15 codas, all good. And then wrote this in real-time in the week after 15x18 Despair and right before 15x19 Inherit the Earth aired (could you just sob over the possibilities?!) and then hasn’t wrote anything since and that’s a shame but, like, yeah I get it.

like a one-two punch by Muir_Wolf (@muirmarie)

Don’t you love a short fic that feels like it’s a whole novel? This goes AU after 14x20 Moriah but it is a truly delightful twist on how Chuck could’ve reacted there and it makes Dean sharp as a knife, which is one really resonant image woven through this fic. Great imagery here and so many clever solutions for the lazy plotting of S15, including simply one of my all-time favorites in any fic ever solutions to Cas’s deal (genius) and getting rid of Chuck. Brilliant like a puzzle box yet still full of so much fucking joy.

maybe i like pleasure pain by tothewillofthepeople (@kvothes)

The fact that this was written in October 2023 and is so agonizingly good fills my heart with joy and tells me Destiel will never die lol. Cas, in particular, is great in this – he’s having a hard time adjusting to being in a body and with all the fuzz of the world. I love fics where Cas struggles with coming back from the Empty and this uses a really unique approach to it: Cas facing sensory overload and not knowing how to feel but wanting it all. Lovely, hot, Dean is just right in this too.

Earlier Canon (pre S15)

Proverbs 13:12 by starlingcas (@angelcasendgame)

Many might say I am biased because Renu has beta’ed everything I have written in the SPN fandom and they can read my brain and make everything I write better. But it’s not just that. Renu has done something beautiful and delicate in this fic, which is about Dean and Cas getting trapped in a net together (forced proximity trope, yes please) and weaves a web of its own; pulling you in just as they are pulled together. This is set mostly in early S14 (before fixing the finale in the most heart-healing way) and captures that feeling so well. There’s so much that’s unsaid between them yet still conveyed and Renu absolutely nails that, along with the tender longing that was always there. This is a fic to relish.

you may tire of me (as our december sun is setting) by deludedfantasy

You know how the show just sometimes is like “uh so anyway uh then Cas…uh…left.” and it just doesn’t make one lick of sense? FINALLY FINALLY a fic where Dean says “I’ll go with you,” and then goes because he actually would do that. This is a post Tombstone fic so it is exactly where/when he WOULD go and it is tender and hesitant and aching in just all the ways it would be between the two of them at this time. It’s about needing to keep someone in sight, it’s about having another chance to say something so important, it’s slow and soft and just right for the characters in this place. I could read this one about 100 times.

the anatomy of flightless birds by cowlovely (@dollhousemary)

This fic is basically the way you feel when you get all cozy and snug underneath your favorite blanket. This is a domestic-life-in-the Bunker S9 fic where everyone behaves like they are in character and not just like they have to get Cas off screen because the writers panicked. You’ll just want to curl up in this fic and savor it the way you wrap your fingers around a hot beverage on a very cold day, there’s no better way to describe it.

virtue by JenTheSweetie

I think I’ve read this about 100 times and it still gets me everytime? It’s a five things fic about Dean and Cas hooking up and it’s all you’ve ever wished for. This is set in an amorphous S8 and it is not just agonizingly hot but also romantic and very funny. It feels really in character! Sam is hilarious, Dean is clueless but bowled over and letting himself be swept up, Cas is delighting in every second and smarter than he lets on and it ALL feels fated and lovely and sexy and just splendid. (this author only has 3 SPN fics but they are all so good and if you try sometimes, well you just might find is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of Dean learning the differences between “needing” and “wanting.”)

Romance at the Motel 6 by shelia_amour 

This fic makes me feel like Stefon from SNL. This fic has everything: Cas and Sam pretending to be married, just the right amount of jealous Dean, Dean randomly pretending to be married to Cas, Dean realizing maybe this isn’t so fake after all, motel vibes, Cas in Dean’s clothes, Cas getting bee slippers. If you are not sold on this already, we are very different people. So good, aches just right. (set in a kind of “whenever” of canon, but I like to put it somewhere in S8.)

que sera sera by Purple_Starflower (@hauntedpearl)

The epitome of how fanfic unfolds for us all the things that COULD happen. You can’t PROVE to me Dean and Cas never snuck off to snuggle and feed Dean’s touch-starvation early in S13. I had to check when I finished because I just couldn’t believe this fic was under 4000 words because it feels so full of touch, longing, the things unspoken, and all the ways Dean was reaching, reaching, reaching. The best kind of ache, and everything by this author is lovely. 

the hard edge that you’re settling for by lesspopped (@trekkiedean)

This is some S10 Demon!Dean that made my stomach hurt and my heart ache and I absolutely loved it and I absolutely hated it and it all felt so REAL with who Demon!Dean was and could have been. There’s a TW for mildly dubious consent in this, but to me, Cas was so agonizingly true to who he was/where he was at this point in canon too. This fic is gloriously, claustrophobically intimate. I say unbearable because as a reader you know that this closeness, this intimacy, is what Dean wants/craves/deserves but can only give himself as a demon and the author does an exquisite job at getting all that across. Hurts so good! 

four of swords by sundryvillians (eurythmix) (@perenial)

Can the world ever have enough post 12x12 fic? The answer is, of course, no. Dean and Cas bake bread and in the soft space of creating something with their own hands, get so close to the words Cas said. It’s about healing and anger and making something just because you are so tired of everything breaking. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you, let me also throw in this is another one of those “possible off-screen moments in canon” that gives them something honest and tender and raw and it feels so very possible. 

Fifteen Prayers From the Faithless by koyas_cat

Short, achy, that sweet sting. A set of prayers for Cas from the beginning to the end, full of all the things Dean doesn’t let himself say outloud and just reflecting the changes in their connection over alllll the years. So good.