Even after posting 1,646,487 words of Destiel fanfic, I’m not sure I have the words to explain how much your support means to me. To some of you 1,000 subscribers might seem like a lot, to others it might seem utterly pedestrian. But to me the numbers are more than numbers. All of you together form a sizeable crowd I can visualise in my mind and be forever astonished. I can still barely believe other people love the worlds I create as much as I love creating them. To everyone who ever read one of my fics, hit the ‘kudos’ button, or clicked ‘subscribe’ and decided to welcome my stories into your life, thank you so very, very much.
In honour of this occasion, I’ve put together a list of 17 favourites from my self-penned collection.
(…I see you, scoffing anon. Don’t judge me for this, okay! Writing is everything to me and I just wanna share my good vibes with anyone and everyone. If you’re just following me for the Cockles posts, hell freaking yeah. High-fives for everyone in the dumpster.)
Readers’ Pick!
These are the fics I perceive as the ones you guys like best. There was some faulty mathematical calculation involved but really it comes down to my instinctive choices, cross-referenced with memories of the extremely supportive messages related to specific fics I’ve received over the past four years.
The fics on this list aren’t the same ones as in the picture, since I only drew the ones with cool costumes. There’s waaaaay more where those came from. My AO3 page can be found here! There’s a ‘subscribe’ button at the top! Click it to make me glow with happiness!!!
So here goes! Ordered from shortest to longest:
Sam and Cas have a conversation about hickeys. Specifically, about the one on Castiel’s neck.
Suddenly, Cas was a bear. This was not supposed to happen.
Dean writes out a list of men he would go gay for. Sam has a suggestion to make.
The teacher assigns a buddy to all the children in her first-grade class. Everyone writes their buddy a postcard, giving them a compliment. Dean is supposed to write something for Castiel, the mysterious autistic kid in the corner – but he doesn't hand anything in. Does he have nothing to say? Or does he have too much to say?
p.S. will you Be my Boyfrend ?
Dean texts Cas a kissy-face emoticon by mistake. However, when he sees Cas' reply, he starts to think maybe it wasn't a mistake after all.
AU. Dean is helping his brother Sam move house. They're using two cars: Dean's superbly enormous '67 Chevy Impala, and a rodent of a Mazda belonging to a random friend of Sam's, some guy named Cas. Of course, Sam's legs are too long for the Mazda, so Dean ends up being the one crowded into the backseat of a car which was surely assembled in hell. A panic attack is imminent. And when it arrives, Sam's buddy Cas turns out to have a tremendous gift for soothing Dean's hysteria.
Dean teaches a newly-human Castiel how to brush his teeth properly. Things don't go according to plan – but for once, the unexpected development actually presents a more promising outcome.
Dean goes to see Dr. Castiel about the problem of his recent impotence. Discussion leads to a prostate exam, which Dean enjoys a little too much, rendering Castiel far less professional than he usually strives to be.
Sam's been through a lot lately, what with tonight's hunt rendering his skin an aching shade of purple and all. He can deal with Dean being overly concerned about Cas' broken finger, and - God help him - he puts up with the sound of their preposterously soppy love confessions and first kisses on the adjacent bed. But he cannot be expected to remain silent and feign sleep throughout the entire duration of their first-ever lovemaking session. He just can't. Especially not, because it seems apparent that Cas is more intent on deflowering himself than letting Dean do it.
All Dean has to do is track down a decent porno for Cas to watch, help him find his sensitive spots, then hang back and let him do his thing. Easy-peasy. No homo. ...Absolutely no homo at all.
Fluffy chicken AU. Dean is a dangerous, black-feathered fiend – a demon in the ring, hell-bent on tearing his opponent apart so that he himself might live. He's a bird bred to fight. His last match was against the infamous Castiel, a dominating white gamecock with nigh uncontrollable power. The duel was meant to be to the death. But then it all ended; they were put in cages and carted off to somewhere much brighter and greener. Now Dean and Castiel are no longer sparring partners, but yardmates. It's not so bad. There's ample food, clean water, and lots of lady chickens. Yet, for some reason, neither Dean nor Castiel feel very inclined to roost with the girls – or murder each other, for that matter.
Dean's roommate is not what anyone would call ordinary. Cas is asexual, and autistic, and he frustrates other people with his unrelentingly 'childish' ways – but it's different with Dean: they have an exceptional bond, something truly profound. Dean figures Cas wouldn't respond to the idea of a crush the way most people would, so he has no intention of telling him he's been harbouring non-platonic feelings for him for years. Then one night everything falls to pieces: Cas overhears something he wasn't meant to hear. Things were never normal between the two of them, but now they might never be comfortable again.
A Dean/Cas 1950s AU. Dean reads an elopement proposal in the town's local newspaper, written by some old soul in love with their best friend. He's mid-way through expressing to his brother how beautiful he finds it when Dean realises the proposal is for him.
AU. A sailor and an enemy pirate are marooned on an island together, and while awaiting rescue they accidentally achieve domestic bliss.
Or:
Dean Winchester is lieutenant of the Royal Trading Ship Echelon. On a pleasantly sunny but particularly catastrophic day, he is marooned on an island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only one man for company. That man is Castiel, captain of the black-sailed Leviathan: a pirate, no less. Given the circumstances under which they are stranded, rescue seems unlikely, and it could be aeons before a ship even comes by. The two of them may as well make the most of their own private island, personal differences be damned.
Human AU. Dean Winchester teaches a third-grade class. He's new to this whole ‘bisexual’ thing - but by pure happenstance, he meets Castiel: a particularly dapper male librarian who moonlights as a substitute teacher. Dean's curious and Castiel is willing, so why the hell not?
Except, fate never intended it to be one-time-only...
On the last day of school before Christmas vacation, Mr. Castiel Quinn discovers that one of his young students has smuggled male pornography into the classroom. Upon being told that the photos belong to the boy's uncle, Castiel vows to himself that he will keep the other man's preferences a secret. It's 1947; a man experiencing attraction to another man or fantasising about his sexual touch are transgressive faults, which could potentially result in imprisonment - or worse. But then the uncle walks in. The photos are of him: Dean Winchester, a rogue with an empty pocket and a child to feed. Castiel doesn't know it yet, but his life is never going to be the same again. Years pass between chance meetings, but even though they live their lives apart, Dean and Castiel's story is proof that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.
A Dean/Cas Fantasy-Drama AU, set in a medieval world where two men are separated by a curse: every sunrise and sunset, both are eternally bound to transform into animals. Every night when darkness falls, Dean Winchester becomes a wolf, and his human mind is lost until the dawn. As the sun rises, his lover Castiel becomes a hawk. Their story has been the same for five years - until the day that a young thief named Sam stumbles into their twisted lives. Without even realising it, he becomes a part of their destiny, their paths entwined in prophecy and fate. Together with a few old friends, they set off on a journey to break the curse, but it won’t be easy. To pass the time, Dean and Castiel take turns to recount their past to Sam, narrating the tale of how they met, how they formed their profound bond, and how they found themselves wanting what no man should ever want: the touch of another man.
‘Angelhawke’ is a saga of forbidden love, friendship, and magic - but above all, family. Partially based on the 1985 movie ‘Ladyhawke’.
Bless you all, you beautiful, beautiful people. For each of you, I wish 2016 becomes the best year of your lives so far.
Love, Elmie. (aka @almaasi)