What's Something About Fic That You Just Adore? Mine Is Authors Who Talk In Their Ao3 Tags. It's So Cute

what's something about fic that you just adore? mine is authors who talk in their ao3 tags. it's so cute

these both look amazing!! thank you!

Lesser Known Destiel Fics pt 2

Hi everyone! Here's the second part of Destiel fics which have fewer than 5,000 hits. I hope you enjoy them!

Once a Day by followthattardis (2.4k)

Castiel has just enough control left over his body and mind that he steps into the Ma’lak Box on his own.

L’Oréal Féria 1-Step Lightening System for Men by gayliens (2.5k)

His hair had been the same since he was eleven, a tight almost-buzz on the sides, a little longer on the top. Brown, unassuming, military-issue. Never long enough to fall in his eyes, not like whatever Sam had going on on that head of his. His face had been changed by thirty-something years of slicing and dicing, aging out of those delicate features. If he dropped dead now on the bathroom floor, the coroner wouldn’t call him pretty. But his hair stayed Ken-Doll-identical all the way through.

or: dean fucks up dying his hair. cas helps

Rinse, Repeat by Ias (3.3k)

He's killed Dean hundreds of times. What's one more?

Extra Sauce by anomalation (3.4k)

Cas confides in a poor unfortunate McDonald's cashier, who is a little shit and makes Dean jealous to prove a point. Nothing but fluff and gritty fast food realism.

Mary Winchester, Lesbian at Large by alectolee (4.2k)

Mary Winchester is a lesbian. She has no idea how to tell her children.

The Passion of the Christ (and his angelic ex-boyfriend) by Bzzee (4.9k)

Dean and Cas are happy in heaven until Cas's ex-boyfriend saunters in. Dean discovers you can be jealous in heaven and that, apparently, Jesus fucks.

New All Over Again by Castielslostwings (5.7k)

Dean and Cas as childhood sweethearts separated as teenagers who have been searching for each other for years without success. Against all odds, they reunite in the middle of Times Square at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

preaching to the choir by piesexuality (7.9k)

“So, tell us—are you a religious man?”

Steve grimaces. "It's, um. Complicated. Very complicated."

or, There's no way Castiel lived that close to BYU-Idaho without running into some Mormon missionaries.

Speak Silence No More by rea_of_sunshine (8k)

When Dean imagined this moment, it went like this:

Dean bursts into the Empty—guns blazing, chin high, righteous anger coursing through him. No matter what form his plans and fantasies and whiskey-drunk-whispered-promises took, he is always, always successful. When he imagined it, he was finally the hero Cas deserved.

The reality of the moment is this:

It’s fucking cold.

Veil by evol_love (8.1k)

Not that Ed keeps tabs on anyone from his past life as a paranormal investigator, but he’s about 99% sure he heard through the grapevine that Dean Winchester fucking died, so getting a text from him on a random Thursday inviting him to his wedding is in the top ten weirdest moments of his life. And that’s really saying something. Ed’s had weirder weird moments than most.

His first instinct is No, absolutely fucking not, why on earth did you even invite me we’re not friends and we haven’t spoken in six years, but. But.

Maybe he misses the weird a little.

the pie isn't a metaphor (it's just pie) by noviembre (9.3k)

“I watched the Garden of Eden grow out of the desert,” Cas informs him. “And I’ve read everything Stacy has written on Bumbling Bee Gardener dot net. But please, Dean, share your wisdom about apple horticulture.”

Every Road Leads To You by songbvrd (9.9k)

When Cas gets poisoned by a djinn and is unable to be woken, Dean gets sent into his head to wake him up.

While Dean is expecting something that's hard to pull Cas from, he never expected to find Cas married with kids and a dog.

Dean has to confront what all this means to him and Cas has to decide whether to stay or go.

Won't You Stay? by allmystars (18k)

A week before Christmas, a weekend with his brother, and a hike into the mountains shouldn’t change a single thing about Dean Winchester’s life. It’s just a trip, just to distract Sam from everything he’s lost.

But, when a blizzard blows in, stranding the Winchesters, Sam finds a crack in the rock-face, and everything changes.

A pit, and pain, and every broken thing inside Dean, discovered by angels.

Well, one angel. One powerless, exiled angel.

Angel Recovery Project by keylimepie (20k)

An ordinary woman attempts a very extraordinary spell and brings back the wrong angel. But he's here and he needs help, from sandwiches to love advice, so what else is a girl to do?

5 Times a Member of Team Free Will Kills John Winchester and the 1 Time he is Kicked out of Heaven by bisexualsharks & Hazloveshisboo & jeremycarver (21k)

The 5 times different members of TFW (and a few others) got the chance to murder John Winchester, and the 1 time he was kicked out of Heaven because it was too late to kill him.

These are all separate one-shots that are not connected or set in the same timeline.

No need for dreaming by AsphodeleSauvage (24k)

Castiel loves his job as a wedding photographer. He loves nothing more than to capture the pure love in a couple's eyes as they say 'yes' - soulmates or not soulmates, he doesn't care. Yet, he can't help wondering about his own soulmate and about the mark on his chest that promises him a love story for the ages. There is also the fact that he keeps bumping into the charming Dean Winchester at every wedding he goes to...

A Hard-Won Peace by patheticfangirl (28k)

“Afterlife” no longer means forgetting what happened during life.

In Heaven, Dean is tormented by peace and freedom until he reunites with an also-struggling Castiel. Together, they work through issues they couldn’t leave behind, hoping to find something resembling happiness.

Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe by TheBlackLagoon (37k)

Cas Novak can’t see an escape from the life of hunting. Even with the frequent pleas from Jessica to leave it all behind, where in the world is he supposed to fit in? Dean Winchester can’t see a life beyond pencil-pushing for the Men of Letter’s Midwest branch. Even with the responsibility he holds to upkeep his family name, is it really what he’s meant to do? The two duos meet on what appears to be an easy salt and burn but which quickly spirals out of control.

Just for the Holidays by Fallen_Angel_Meg (41k)

After going through some tough times, Jess, Castiel's best friend, decides the best thing for him to do is to get away for Christmas. She secretly signs up their shared house on a home exchange website and it doesn't take long for them to get some interest. Castiel ends up trading houses with Sam Winchester, despite his hesitations to do so. So now Castiel has to spend his Christmas alone in Lawrence, Kansas. Which isn't so bad because Castiel is looking for some alone time right now, not wanting to get romantically involved with anyone. That is, until he meets Dean Winchester and things get complicated.

And that's it! If you have any other fics with under 5k hits that you love — whether they be your own or your friend's — please share them with me! Often these fics are swept under the rug when the authors put so much time and effort into them, so I hope you enjoy reading them :)

10–50k Destiel Fics

Hello everyone! Here are some novella length fics for your reading enjoyment :D

In Due Time (Dean Winchester is Saved) by caelum_writes (11k)

A 26-year-old Dean is transported to 2021 and confronted with the unfathomable - a future where he is happy, safe, and loved.

Equinox by luchia (12k)

In which Castiel is the weird time-traveling freak who just might be the love of Dean Winchester's life.

let the waters rise. by outpastthemoat (13k)

When Dean thinks about it later, he could almost swear it had been raining the day Castiel left. But the rain came after. Castiel leaves on a day with no clouds, a day with golden sunlight warming Dean throughout. It happens without warning, like lightning striking out of a clear blue sky.

It’s raining when he throws his bags in the Impala and it’s raining when he turns on the interstate and it’s still raining when he hits the state line so he keeps on going. Dean drives and it rains, so he turns on his windshield wipers and watches raindrops sliding down the windshield and flicking away into the gray air, and he just keeps thinking that this can’t be happening. It just can’t.

25¢ pocket guardian angels by hopelessheathen (13k)

Dean walks into his local bank one day and notices that someone has filled the old gumball machine with these tiny, wiggling, sentient angels in individual plastic packaging. Deeply concerned about their air supply and the fact that they're trapped there in the sun, he starts pumping in quarters to rescue them. This is worse than leaving a dog in an overheating car.

Now he's got forty of the little guys running all over his house, and god knows how many others might be trapped and dying all over the city.

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire (14k)

Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.)

for which no words exist by MediaWhore (14k)

"Dear Cas who art in my bathtub, give me the strength to be honest about how I feel. For your sake and for mine. Forgive me all the times I wasn’t in the past, all the words I should have said but didn’t. And please stay. Please stay with me when all is said and done. Amen. "

Dean rescues a newly human Cas from the Empty. That's the easy step.

Falling Home by sunshinewinchesters (15k)

The angels have fallen and all Dean knows is that he needs to find Castiel, blizzard and feelings be damned.

Written On Your Skin by noxsoulmate (16k)

When the handprint Cas left on his shoulder flares back to life, Dean knows something is wrong. Moving Heaven and Hell, he’s able to find his best friend – imprisoned and covered in writing. Every meaningful word ever spoken between them is etched into Cas’ skin, fading slowly, one line at a time. A battle against time begins because once the last line vanishes Castiel’s memories will be gone with it. Not only of Dean, but of everything he has ever learned from him about humanity, love, and free will.

love bade me welcome by mmtion (23k)

Cas gives Dean a wooden carving to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. But, despite their friends freaking out about it, it's not like that.

(or; Dean and Cas build a gentle life together, in the wrong order.)

Morning Glory by edgarallanrose (25k)

Dean can no longer hunt, Cas has gone from Warrior of God to beekeeper, and Sam has left home. Taking place two years after the Season 12 finale, Dean and Cas have to learn what it means to be themselves, and who they are meant to be to each other, without the threat of an impending apocalypse hanging over their heads.

Dream House by breathingdestiel (26k)

Castiel Shurley and his best friend Dorothy Baum have decided to move in together. After his aunt assumes they are dating, she offers them money for the house, but only if they apply for a famous reality show ‘Dream House’. Since they could use the money and he doesn’t want to come out to his aunt, Castiel and Dorothy agree to fake date for the show. But things go wrong when Dorothy falls in love with the show’s producer and Castiel starts to develop feelings for one of the hosts.

Dean Winchester is a co-host of ‘Dream House’, along with his brother. Sam, being a realtor, finds a fixer-upper and Dean turns it into a perfect house for their clients. Even though he has what most people only dream about, Dean is incredibly lonely. He had bad experiences with relationships in the past and he doesn’t think he will ever meet anyone who can earn his trust. Until he meets Castiel.

On Drowning by domesticadventures (28k)

The absolute last thing Dean would ever admit, after saving Cas' life, is that it was all thanks to the unhealthy amount of time he spent reading about drowning on Wikipedia.

Not that he's not grateful, but what he really needs is an instruction manual for everything that comes after.

A Hard-Won Peace by patheticfangirl (28k)

“Afterlife” no longer means forgetting what happened during life.

In Heaven, Dean is tormented by peace and freedom until he reunites with an also-struggling Castiel. Together, they work through issues they couldn’t leave behind, hoping to find something resembling happiness.

Three Funerals and a Wedding by Englandwouldfall (29k)

“So, um…basically, it’s this… I need you to marry me. For plot.”

Castiel stares at him.

“What?” Dean asks, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.

“I cannot believe gay marriage came to Moondoor before a significant part of America.”

break the skin (to break the barriers) by sobsicles (29k)

Dean is silent for a long, tense moment, then he gruffly says, "It's not for banishing the angels. It's to summon them. So, it doesn't—it's not to get rid of 'em, but to draw 'em in." 

Mitzi can't help but glance up at him at that. His voice is so heavy with so much unexplained pain, and she doesn't understand why, or what angels have to do with it. She knows religion can impact people. She's very aware that it can get complicated, and that it can be a huge source of pain for someone, but Dean sounds grievously wronged, somehow, as if it's a truly personal thing. 

She pushes through, focusing back on her job, clearing her throat before murmuring, "Well, I guess we all want angels to visit us sometimes." 

"Just the one," Dean mumbles. 

"Your guardian angel?" Mitzi asks. 

Dean breathes out, "Something like that. As close to one as an angel will ever get." 

Lucky Winner by natmoose (31k)

Dean wins a trip to Paris. In and of itself, that’s an amazing thing, but the problem is: he isn’t in a relationship with Lisa anymore, and the trip requires a romantic partner. The obvious choice is Cas, his roommate and best friend of 3 years, but coming with that are some very very complicated feelings and things Dean absolutely doesn’t want to deal with.

But Dean isn’t selfish and also really wants to give his overworked best friend a well deserved holiday, so the only and best solution is to take Cas to Paris, romantic theme be damned. What Dean doesn’t know is that their whole trip will be documented by a photographer from the company - so to avoid their vacation being cut short, Dean and Cas will have to convincingly play a couple.

First Gentleman Wanted by youaresunlight (31k)

President of the United States Castiel Novak is popular, charismatic, and knee-deep in campaigning for a second term. He’d be the ideal candidate if it weren’t for the fact that he hasn’t dated once while in political office. With his opponent’s relentless PR team calling him incapable of emotional commitment, Castiel’s staff decides to remedy the situation by finding their boss a fake, picture-perfect boyfriend. And when Dean Winchester enters the scene, he and Cas become America’s new favorite couple, except they’ve got a whole lot of history between them and complicated feelings to resolve.

All The Nights by NorthernSparrow (32k)

A ghost hunt goes wrong, and Dean ends up fighting for his life in an icy river. A certain angel somehow knows he's in trouble and shows up to help, but doesn't have enough power left to warm up Dean. It's just a simple cold night in the woods, but things can go wrong fast at night in the woods, and soon Cas and Dean must each decide what they'll risk to save the other. And they just might end up so exhausted that they accidentally start talking.

although we are faithless by noviembre (32k)

Dean is driving. Driving down a long road with Sam, and his parents are at the end of the road, and his mom made pie, and it's everything he dreamed about when he was a kid. Everything is okay. Everything is fine.

Except it doesn't make sense, and something is missing. Something is broken here --

Dean is driving again.

Diagonally Parked in a Parallel Universe by TheBlackLagoon (37k)

Cas Novak can’t see an escape from the life of hunting. Even with the frequent pleas from Jessica to leave it all behind, where in the world is he supposed to fit in? Dean Winchester can’t see a life beyond pencil-pushing for the Men of Letter’s Midwest branch. Even with the responsibility he holds to upkeep his family name, is it really what he’s meant to do? The two duos meet on what appears to be an easy salt and burn but which quickly spirals out of control.

sir this is a wendy's by noviembre (40k)

Dean is a custodian at a fast food restaurant. Cas is the President of the United States.

Heroes for Ghosts by pantheon_of_discord (42k)

Canon-divergent from 12.08

After Sam and Dean are arrested, Castiel is left alone and scrambling to find them. He knows they’re locked away in a government facility, and he’s still able to hear their prayers, but no matter how he tries Castiel can’t seem to track them. He chases leads and even attempts to hunt on his own, but Mary is AWOL, Crowley refuses to help, and Castiel’s options are running out.

Weeks pass, Castiel’s hope dwindles, and through it all Dean prays, keeping them connected. His voice is comforting, frustrating, and occasionally annoying, but in his solitude Castiel comes to cherish it. But then one day, without warning, Dean stops praying, and Castiel is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about his feelings.

Keep Your Love Alive by dothraki_shieldmaiden and FriendofCarlotta (42k)

Dean gets to spend eternity sharing beers with Bobby on the Roadhouse porch and riding around in his Baby with Sam. He’s at peace… or he feels like he should be. But a few things nag at him: Where is Cas, and everybody else Dean had been hoping to see in Heaven? Why does he feel like he’s stuck in a loop, reliving the same memories over and over again? And who are the strangers wearing Sam’s and Bobby’s faces?

From Sea to Shining Sea by MsCaptainWinchester (43k)

Dean and Castiel are only a few short months of college from reuniting after five long years on opposite coasts. It doesn’t seem like long, but then a virus breaks out close to Dean, and suddenly all their plans are ruined.

Now there are new plans. Dean is going to do everything he can to cross the country, picking up strays and a reputation for violence along the way. Cas is building a new colony of survivors, determined to stay still long enough for Dean to find him.

But without contact, neither knows if they will ever see the other again. Can Dean survive his cross-country road trip through zombie nation? And if he does, will Castiel still be there to meet him?

psalm 40:2 by unicornpoe (44k)

Dean meets an angel who says he's from the future. It all gets a lot more complicated from there.

This list is getting pretty long so I'll make a second part! Thank you to all the amazing writers who have shared their fics with us, and happy reading!!

Grishaverse Masterlist

Welcome to my Grishaverse fic rec masterlist! Please use CTRL+F to search if you are looking for something specific. The lists include a mix of fics based on the Shadow & Bone TV show as well as the book series, so be wary of spoilers.

Fave Kaz/Inej fics

Kanej fics

Modern AU

Wesper fics under 10k words

omg so for lesser known fics, a lot of people know the "bloody but unbowed" stanford era masterpiece but the author posted a prequel AND sequel fic like 5 years later and they're even better!!! Ahh the way they write dean and cas.... but they have so few hits because of the delay. i want 2 spread awareness

ooo this series looks so good!! I thought you were talking about the Sherlock fic with the same name at first because it's one of my favourites 💀 but I think this is the one you mean!!

bloody, but unbowed by shootingstarcas (9.4k)

Sam doesn’t know what to expect when he walks into the courtroom. But of all the possibilities, he would never have imagined this one: his brother, grinning like the devil, in the defendant’s chair.

Or, the one where Sam never goes to Jericho with Dean, but instead pursues law school and a life with Jess. Dean falls in love with a gas station attendant named Castiel.

Six years after they last saw one another, Sam and Dean meet again in a courtroom. A lot can change in six years.

and then here is the prequel...

the beams of our house are cedar, our rafters are pine by shootingstarcas (7.5k)

Long-overdue prequel to "bloody, but unbowed". Dean meets Cas two years before the series starts, in a Gas-n-Sip in Rexford, Idaho.

Sorry it took five years and a pandemic. Stay safe stay home everybody.

and the last one!!

a flash of golden fire by shootingstarcas (4.1k)

Dean and Sam and Cas and Jess team up to go after the demon.

Sequel to "bloody, but unbowed," and an alternate version of late season 2.

thank you so much for sharing these with me!! I will have to check them out, I love stanford era stuff but supernatural as a law show too? these look amazing!!

Misc Fic Rec Masterlist

Welcome to my misc fic masterlist! Please use CTRL+F to search if you are looking for something specific. These include fandoms or pairings that I will probably not make another list for, or multifandom rec lists!

2022 Fave Fics

A-Spec across fandoms

Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens)

Johnlock (BBC Sherlock)

Natsby (The Great Gatsby)