Congratulations to all of the incredible authors and artists who took part in the tenth round of the Dean/Cas Pinefest!

This year, 19 teams gifted the Dean/Cas fandom a wildly impressive 974,977 words of pine-filled fic, and 71 gorgeous works of art!

Once again we've been absolutely floored by the depth of creative talent we’ve been spoiled with in this fandom, and we're so glad to see that love for Dean and Castiel is still going strong all these years after the show ended 💚💙

Speaking of which... we're still aboard this ship with the rest of you, and we'll be back for round eleven later this year! Make sure to follow us here on Tumblr so you don't miss the official announcement!

This year we've also been running the Evergreen Mini-Challenge in celebration of a whole decade of Pinefest, and you still have a few more days to fill as many Evergreen Mini-Challenge prompts as you'd like! Participation is open to absolutely everyone, whether you completed the main challenge or not, and you don't need to register to take part. Just head over here to see the details & tag us in your posts!

We'll share one last roundup of Evergreen fills on Wednesday April 8th, when we'll also award the 10th Anniversary Milestone Badges we teased back before this round began. Do these badges have any real value? No! But they're fun, so we hope you'll like them anyway 🌲

As always, we'll be sharing all of this year's masterposts again in the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime you’ll find links to every entry from the 2026 round under the cut or in the collection on Ao3!

Make sure to let the authors and artists know how much you enjoyed their creations with a like, kudos, or best of all, a reblog, rec, or comment!

Happy pining, everyone!

Do these badges have any real value? Probably not, but who doesn’t like a lil badge graphic for bragging rights? Take them, slap 'em on your blog or on your fic/art post, print them and eat* them... it's up to you!

(*maybe don't do this... printed badges contain very little nutritional content and might actually be toxic depending on which ink and paper you use.)

Without further ado, congratulations to everyone who took part this year, and bonus congratulations to everyone who earned a badge! You'll find them under the cut ❤️

a long way to go  |  Teen  |  26,666

Author: stayawake

Artist: TwinOne

When Cas first learned that his estranged brother knocked someone up, he never thought that he would one day be tasked with raising the child. Ten years and a series of unfortunate events later, Cas is barely holding it together as he tries his best to take care of Jack. His nephew’s resistance to Cas’s guardianship only makes the transition that much more difficult.

At least Cas has a support system in his next-door neighbor, Dean.

Link to fic  |  Link to art

Pairings: Dean/Cas 

Warnings: none

To Keep From Drowning… | Explicit | 26k

Author: BunheadKitKat19

Artist: Solstheim

The Gates of Hell are slammed shut, and Sammy is gone. Lost without the one thing Dean built his entire life around, Dean is trapped in a cycle of grief full of drinking, hunting, and burying himself in memories; and he’s ready for it to finally kill him too. But one part of him still wants to live. It’s small, so small Dean barely even feels it, but it’s strong. Strong enough to keep him from pulling the trigger every time he stares down the barrel of his gun. Strong enough to pray. Strong enough to summon Castiel, who he’s been estranged from since the day Sam died. But it might not be enough. They didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, and Dean never was good at letting others in. Not when he’s convinced they’re better off without him.

Link to Fic | Link to Art

Pairings: Dean Winchester/Castiel

Warnings: Semi-Canonical/Canon Divergence Character Death (Sam), Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism

Sleeping Hunger  |  Explicit  |  61,070 words

Author: MatchaMilkshake (Ao3 | Tumblr) Artist: imogenbynight (Ao3 | Tumblr)

Dean left the horseman’s rings in the trunk of the impala after Sam sacrificed himself to stop Lucifer. After everyone he loved left him all at once, it was easy to forget he left them there. Several years later, he gets a harsh reminder that he should really take better care of the extremely powerful artifacts he's left lying around. Now, Cas is cursed with famine and since Jimmy left, his hunger is beginning to drive him mad. He just hopes they can get them all back before he does something he regrets. Dean is just happy that Cas is sticking around more than he usually does.

Link to fic  |  Link to art

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

I Swear On Castiel’s Name | G | 78,057

Author: June Sirius

Artist: daffodilsonaprettystring

Dean’s lips are cursed. If he ever kisses Castiel, Cas will lose his power.

Link to fic | Link to art

Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

angel wing grooming 101  |  Rating: M  |  Words: 21,587

Author: mistyfeathers

Artist: blueeyesblueties

When Dean accidentally gets his first look at Cas’s true form, he freaks out. After that, he also notices a couple things: Cas’s wings look like they need some serious TLC, and his eyes are almost all the same shade of red.

Cas never thought Dean would see his angel form. He never thought Dean would see how disheveled his wings were, and more importantly, he never thought Dean would see his true eyes. The red signifies love for a human, and Dean can’t know about that.

But when Dean offers to groom Cas’s wings, Cas can’t help but let him, even if it means letting Dean see his true form again. As Dean takes care of Cas’s wings, it becomes harder and harder for them both to hide how they feel about each other.

Link to fic  |  Link to art 

Pairings: Dean/Cas 

Warnings: none

Leave a Light On  |  Explicit  |  95,996 words

Author: chaoticdean

Artist: entropic_saudade

Philadelphia, 2020.

Dean Winchester has been working as a detective for years, and he’s tired. Bone-tired, burnt out and carrying the weight of an alcohol issue he refuses to acknowledge. He’s also a husband and a father to 3 kids, even though lately he’s been forgetting that part.

Castiel Novak has been an attorney for the better part of the last decade, and Dean’s husband for 15 years. And he’s tired—tired of carrying the weight of his family on his own; tired of fighting so his marriage doesn’t crumble.

It all comes to a head when Marla Ashford’s case explodes: she’s a candidate for the next mayoral campaign, and when her deputy fundraiser is killed, she asks Cas to defend her. Unfortunately, Dean is the lead detective on the case… And neither of them plans on letting go.

Between arguments, kids being way too perceptive, and Dean’s issues with alcohol, what could go wrong?

This is a story about a family fighting to stay whole while the world explodes around them; a high-stakes domestic drama and legal thriller rolled into one. One where Dean’s fight with alcohol becomes the center of everything, and they could lose it all.

Can they make it to the end of the line together?

Link to fic  |  Link to art 

Pairings: Dean/Cas (background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, background Garth Fitzgerald IV/Benny Lafitte)

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Alcohol abuse, Addiction

so you say you want a deathbed scene  |  T  |  50,838

Author: goldandtherust Artist: @onowey

It’s not fair to Sam, or Eileen now that she’s in the bunker. Dean knows this. It isn’t fair to the people who died to get them to a world where freedom knows no bounds. It isn’t fair to himself, when he’d sworn up and down that, if he survived Chuck, he would never go near a hunt ever again. He’d find a little house, or a nice plot of land where he could build one. He’d get a pet. He’d have a home with windows and a fresh breeze, and he’d walk around in his boxers and make two cups of coffee in the mornings. When he’d dare to imagine life after Chuck, he’d always imagined it coming in sets of twos. Two cups of coffee, and two pairs of shoes by the door. Two chairs on the balcony, and two closets in the bedroom. Two pillows, at least, on the two sides of the bed. A set of blue eyes, and two people—one not-person—figuring out what peace is supposed to feel like. He never dared to want it out loud. He never thought he could. Magic wishing wells, he muses, watching Sam talking on the phone through the window. We’re down to the reruns. — While chasing a case, Sam and Dean stumbled across a cursed wishing well. What comes back isn't quite what Dean wished for.

Link to fic  |  Link to art 

Pairings: Dean/Cas, Endverse Castiel/Endverse Dean Winchester, Minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/AlcoholismImplied/Referenced Child Abuse

enjoy the silence  |  Explicit  |  21,348

Author: LoversAntiquities Artist: sidewinder

Amos Desperaux dies, and in his wake, Dean begins to wonder just what life might be like if he hung up his spurs and called it a day. But after a brief run-in with someone half his age, every song playing on every radio station within his radius suddenly begins to play not his favorite genre, but country music–and every song is about angels.

Castiel, on the other hand, finds his suffering endearing. After almost a decade spent sneaking around before the end of the world, Amos’ wake puts a nail in the coffin–that maybe Dean doesn’t need to hide behind the apocalypse to be with Castiel, and maybe, just maybe, Castiel has always been there waiting for him to come around, one way or another.

Link to fic  |  Link to art 

The Family Business Job | Explicit | 182,630 words

Author: @mittensmorgul

Artist: @hectatess

What do you do when you like a man? How would you catch his attention? If you were Dean Winchester, you’d cook him a Michelin-quality dinner and try not to let anything incriminating slip out. For the second date, you’d stumble your way out of retirement and into a conspiracy to dismantle a corrupt network involving the highest levels of government, a broad swath of the tech industry, and a possibly insane anarchist weapons dealer. If you were Castiel, you’d warily accept that dinner invitation, have a surprisingly wonderful time, and then hope everything won’t completely fall apart when your former lives collide like a couple of runaway trains by the opening minutes of the second date. Let’s see how these incomparably successful criminals and con men handle what comes next…

Link to Fic | Link to Art

Pairings: Dean/Cas, Charlie/Anna, Sam/Eileen/Rowena

Warnings: Canon typical violence

No Good Deed (Goes Unpunished) | T | 43.5k

Author: golby-moon

Artist: bucketofli

When Dean gets shrunken by a witch and wakes up in the middle of nowhere, the last thing he’s expecting is to make a friend in his fairy savior. Cas saves him from sudden death and takes him back to a fairy village to show him a new way of life he would’ve never even known, so when the opportunity arises, it’s only natural that Dean would return the favor—for better or for worse.

Link to fic | Link to art

Pairings: Dean/Castiel

Warnings: Temporary Character Death, some descriptions of injuries

Effigy | M | 61,920 words

Author: imogenbynight Artist: saudade

Drowning in grief after losing Cas to the Empty, a hunt leads Dean to a well-meaning but reckless young witch who has created an ‘umboð’ — a supernaturally animated effigy that takes on the form and memories of a person who has recently passed. Though he and Sam convince the witch to nullify the spell that she’s woven, Dean finds himself weak against the temptation of using the same magic to see Cas one last time. But when the umboð he creates takes its first breath, opening familiar blue eyes that lock with Dean’s just as earnestly as those he’s missed, Dean can’t bring himself to end it after just one conversation. Meanwhile, newly rescued from the Empty, Castiel works to rebuild the afterlife with Jack. But the work of divine creation is draining him in ways he did not expect, and leaving him to question whether he made the right choice in returning to Heaven despite his heart pulling him back to Earth.

Link to fic  |  Link to art

Pairings: Dean/Cas, background Sam/Eileen

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Consensual But Traumatic Sexual Situation, Dean-typical Moments of Suicidal Ideation, Temporary Character Death, Memory Loss, Grief, Depression

Sail Free | Explicit | 66k

Author: Florianniss (Ao3) Artist: Solstheimart  (Ao3)

They’re sailing blind here, driving unfamiliar roads that stretch for miles through the desert. Although Baby is a sturdy ship, her passengers are anything but. Dean is broken, physically and mentally, and Cas is human and dying.

With nothing left to lose and a promise of the vast, open nothingness of a gaping chasm beyond, it seems fitting to try to touch the moon and stars. With the past in the past, finally, they’ve been given a second chance. 

Even if they only have six months to make it.

Link to fic | Link to art

Pairings: Dean Winchester/Castiel, (background Sam Winchester/Eileen Leahy)

Warnings: N/a

Score, Spin, and Triple Axel | Explicit | 44,326 words

Author: seidenapfel Artist: golby-moon

Stanley Cup champion Dean Winchester is the MVP of the NHL. Castiel Novak is the highest-ranking figure skater, and therefore the favourite for the upcoming Olympics. When they finally meet at a talk show, the network announces a new show: for the next one and a half months, Dean and Castiel are supposed to change roles, or at least, teach each other their discipline — for the whole world to see. Yet, they have a secret. Years ago, they were best friends until fate pulled them apart. Neither of them has forgotten their time together. Their secret training sessions for hockey and figure skating stuck with them — so much so that they enhanced their proficiency in the other’s discipline as well. Unbeknownst to each other, they have built up secret identities to compete at pro level, whenever their schedules allow it. It doesn’t help that between all the secrets, the toxic masculinity of the hockey world, and excessive training hours, they’re both hopelessly in love with their lost childhood best friend. All while a camera team is going to document their lives.

Link to fic | Link to art