Physical Graffiti
Author: entropic_saudade
Artist: BasketcaseBetty
Rating: Explicit
Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester, John Winchester/Kate Milligan, Brief Ash/Dean Winchester, Past Lee Webb/Dean Winchester
Length: 62696
Warnings: Archive Warnings: Creator Chose Not to Warn Additional Content Warnings: Self Harm, Alcoholism/Alcohol Use Disorder, Recreational Drug Use, Child Abuse, Past Non-Con, Past Underage, Past Drug Addiction, Minor Character Death, Mental Health Issues, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Canon-Typical Violence
Tags: AU, Journalist Dean Winchester, Detective Castiel, Case Fic, Families of Choice, Recovery, Inspired by Sharp Objects
Summary: The only ghosts and demons are the ones inside his head. Fresh from a prematurely-ended stint at an inpatient psychiatric facility, ‘former’ self-harmer and functional alcoholic Dean Winchester returns to Sioux Falls, where he works as a crime journalist. His editor, Bobby Singer, sends him back home to Lawrence to gather the story on the murder of a teen boy and the recent disappearance of another. Painful memories from growing up resurface, and the investigation is further complicated by the town’s gossipy tight-knit nature, Dad’s judgment, and botched attempts at making inroads with his estranged half-family, Kate and Adam Milligan. Dean crosses paths with Castiel Novak, a renegade detective from Kansas City with a troubled past of his own. They work together, slipping past each other’s facades, digging down toward the truth. As it turns out, monsters just might be real—and they just might live at home. A Sharp Objects-inspired AU.
