liar: once a, always a

“Liar.”

Destiel Trope Collection 2026 | Day 26: Hurt/Comfort and Whump

There are cameras in the Dungeon | @destiel-wings Rating: General Word Count: 1,368 Main Tags/Warnings: Dean Winchester Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Canon Compliant, Grief/Mourning, Post-Episode: s15e19 Inherit the Earth Summary: Dean realizes there are cameras in the dungeon and rewatches Castiel's confession on tape. Emotions come to surface.

Need for comfort | @youchangedmedestiel Rating: General Word Count: 1,650 Main Tags/Warnings: Episode Tag: s14e08 Byzantium, Canon Universe, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Dead Jack Kline, Grieving Dean Winchester, Grieving Castiel (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Needs a Hug, Castiel Needs a Hug (Supernatural), Everyone Needs A Hug, Dean Winchester Needs Castiel, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, First Kiss, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort Summary: Jack just died. Sam leaves the kitchen first after their drinking session to mourn Jack together as a family, leaving Dean and Cas alone. They drink a little bit more, just the two of them. Then Cas decides to leave the kitchen, but Dean calls him once he is in the hallway. So he turns around and comes back to Dean.

A Fistful of Soul | @envydean Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1,800 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Case, Hurt/Comfort, Healing Sex, Magical healing fisting, soul searching, Fisting, bottom!Dean, undetermined supernatural soul nibbling being Summary: Dean is unwell after a case, luckily Cas figures out that something is after Dean's soul and goes searching for it.

It came from the gog | @hectatess Rating: Mature Word Count: 3,204 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Mountains, Fog, Doctor!Castiel, Hypothermia, Eerie use of music, One Shot Summary: Castiel and his sister are having a well deserved winter break in a mountain-cabin. As they settle in, a thick fog rolls in. Suddenly creepy laughter rings through the pea-soup thick mist. What the hell is out there? Sam has dragged Dean along on a ski trip but Dean isn’t a fan, to put it mildly. He decides to take a walk, mostly at Sam’s insistence again. However: he isn’t really dressed for the cold and the sudden incoming fog doesn’t help at all.

the wilderness, and other assorted death traps | @mittensmorgul Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 3,924 Main Tags/Warnings: Hurt Castiel (Supernatural), Hurt/Comfort, Camping, Fluff Summary: The film crew of Dean's hit archaeology adventure tv show are just about the toughest people he's ever met. That doesn't mean Dean's not also the biggest mother hen any of them have ever met. Especially when it comes to Cas.

Out of Body, Out of Time | @seidenapfel Rating: Explicit Word Count: 7,998 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Psychological Horror, loss of senses, Eldritch Horror, Castiel's True Form (Supernatural), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Mildly Dubious Consent, Tentacle Sex, Angelic Grace-Powered Orgasms (Supernatural), Bottom Dean Winchester Summary: The door to the Bunker falls shut and Dean finds himself in a place of total darkness. All his senses are gone. Only touch remains, but it quickly dwindles. Dean is trapped. Confined to a body that isn't his any longer, he starts to question all that ever was, most of all himself. He has almost given up, when a draft tickles his skin. Something is out there. Laughing. At him. And, suddenly, blue eyes light up.

(un) masked | @kickflaw Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 10,713 Main Tags/Warnings: POV Castiel (Supernatural), Post-Episode AU: s15e19 Inherit the Earth (Supernatural), Not Finale Compliant, Castiel is Saved from the Empty (Supernatural), Hurt Dean Winchester, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Canon-Typical Violence, Miscommunication, Case Fic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, but they're idiots about it Summary: You do not walk into the void with a human soul and emerge unaltered. You do not walk into the void with a human soul, period. But Dean did. Worse, Dean did it for Castiel. To rescue him. Out of friendship, fraternity. Out of love. Just—not the right kind. Perhaps it's wrong of him, perhaps it's unfair and petty and all-too-human, but. Castiel resents him for it.

epiales; lamb to the slaughter | @ksoleil7 Rating: Explicit Word Count: 13,053 Main Tags/Warnings: Whumptober, Whumptober 2025, Blood and Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Child Death, Psychological Horror, Hallucinations, Nightmares, Childhood Trauma, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, One Shot, POV Dean Winchester, Illusions, Gun Violence, Child Abuse, Human Sacrifice, Dean Winchester Needs a Hug, Whump, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Implied Slash, Pre-Slash, Case Fic Summary: When a hunt for a nightmare creature goes wrong, Dean is forced to face fears he thought he'd buried, and Cas isn't going to let things lie.

Even Broken Things | @whoipretended2b Rating: Mature Word Count: 15,431 Main Tags/Warnings: Mer-Shark Dean Winchester, Statue Castiel (Supernatural), Injured Dean Winchester, Loneliness, Isolation, Near Death Experiences, Bittersweet Ending, Angst with a Bittersweet Ending, Grief/Mourning Summary: Dean learned young to carry what mattered and leave the rest behind. Then he found Cas, and Cas couldn’t be moved. Even so, Dean makes a life from the wreckage and finds beauty even in broken things.

Hell Beckons to Hell | @maxine_1703 Rating: Mature Word Count: 19,073 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, possession, blood and gore, hurt/comfort, disabled Dean, chronic pain, post finale, fix it, grief, angst with a happy ending Summary: Dean survives the rebar but is left to deal with a life of disability and chronic pain. The only upside to all of this is that Cas is alive, albeit human—all thanks to Jack. When a mysterious murder has them to jump back into hunting, bringing them face-to-face with a familiar enemy from the past, Dean is forced to confront his feelings for Cas. Cas, on the other hand, has to come to terms with his humanity and the fact that Dean may never truly reciprocate what Cas feels for him.

The Hunter's Oath | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 19,895 Main Tags/Warnings: Cabin Fic AU, Fantasy and Supernatural Elements, Celestial Castiel, Profound Bond, Slow Build, Isolation, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mountains Summary: Tasked with the important tradition of fulfilling an Oath to a celestial being, Dean is feeling the weight of loneliness more and more, after years of isolation on the mountain. Until one night, he is gifted a surprise: the god himself shows up with the desire to explore their bond for a time.

Red and Black | @junesirius Rating: Mature Word Count: 26,060 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent, Angst, Monster Castiel, Vampire Dean Winchester, Temporary Character Death, Blood, Suicidal Characters, Morally Ambiguous Characters, Body Horror, Caring Dean Winchester, Eventual Happy Ending Summary: Aren't we all, monsters, in a way? Some crawl out, some hide deep; some drink red, some bleed black. In the pure, relentless monsterland, that's all they have -- being monsters themselves. ------ Died as a vampire and woke up in Purgatory with fangs, Dean has to crawl his way out the ugly way. And Castiel, in order to reach him, has to do something far, far worse -- to himself.

Behind These Plastered Walls | @bunheadkitkat19 Rating: Mature Word Count: 34,328 Main Tags/Warnings: Autistic Castiel, Writer Castiel, Injured Dean Winchester, Flirting, Miscommunication, Healing, past traumas, Mutual Pining, internalized ableism, Slow Burn, is it slow burn if it takes place in a weekmore like they lesbian uhaul but it takes 30k, Vulnerability, First Kiss, First Time, Non-Graphic Smut, content warning for past events in chapter A/N, Getting Together, First Impressions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sexual Tension, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, neurodivergence, Undiagnosed Autism, POV Castiel Summary: Author Castiel Novak’s comfortable routine gets completely disrupted when he spots that his neighbor has fallen off his roof. His neighbor with gorgeous green eyes and a smile that always stirs a flutter in his chest. His neighbor of three years, who he always became inexplicably tongue-tied around that he never got a chance to even trade names with. His neighbor, probably the only other person on their street that lives alone and so rarely has guests over, and seemingly none who are from around. Worried that the man Castiel’s been pining over has no one else to take care of him, Castiel follows him to the hospital and is ready to put everything in his admittedly less than eventful life on hold to ensure the man’s safety. But Dean Winchester isn’t what Castiel expects, and Castiel can’t tell if this disruption will put his career at jeopardy if he fails to meet the upcoming deadline for his next book, or if it’s somehow exactly what he needs.

Forget Me Not | @maxine-1703 Rating: Mature Word Count: 38,742 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, alcoholism, aphasia, selective mutism, sign language, established Dean Winchester/Castiel, amnesiac!Castiel, missing persons, disability, angst with a happy ending Summary: A month after Jack goes missing, Dean and Cas are in a huge fight. That night, Cas walks out of their home and vanishes without a trace. Dean spends the year searching for his husband and son, only for Cas to turn up suddenly one night, gravely injured. As Dean cares for Cas, he ends up discovering parts of Cas’s past that he never knew existed, leading him to question everything about his husband and the life they built together.

How to Muse a Guy in 10 Ways | @niks-fics Rating: Explicit Word Count: 38,973 Main Tags/Warnings: Top Castiel/Bottom Dean, Hurt Castiel, Pianist Castiel, Muse Dean, Music AU, Hurt/Comfort, Healing and Recovery, Magic Summary: Dean Winchester loves inspiring the creative output of mankind. Sure, being an entry-level muse mostly means guiding kindergarteners' imaginations and coaxing burnt-out artists back toward their work, but that’s fine. He’s sure he’ll get promoted eventually. Castiel Novak breathed music his whole life — until an accident stole what had once felt effortless. Now he’s skirting around a piano he still loves and pretending that the quiet, careful world he’s constructed for himself is enough. And it is — until Dean shows up, bringing with him bad jokes, unexpected kindness, and the unsettling sense that something in Castiel is being gently, deliberately nudged awake.

Gracefully Yours, Always | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 39,811 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergence, Episode S09E10, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Temporary Blindness, Hurt Castiel, Hurt Dean, Angelic Grace, Researching Sam Summary: As Dean hopelessly waits for Gadreel and Crowley to be expelled from Sam’s body, he and Castiel are unexpectedly ambushed by the exiled angel Malachi and the remainder of his soldiers, seeking retribution for what Castiel has done to his faction. Because Castiel gets gravely injured in the fight, Dean resists the urge to isolate himself, and instead returns to the bunker with his friend and Sam, determined to put an end to the fallen angel madness, and also, perhaps, try to understand why, after everything he’s done, Castiel still stands by his side.

Copper Roses | @teeparadigm67 Rating: Explicit Word Count: 45,938 Main Tags/Warnings: Hanahaki Disease, Love Confessions, Curses Breaking, Magic, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst, First Time, Sick Dean Winchester, Caregiving, Happy Ending, Skipable Smut. Summary: Dean is sick. Has been sick for a few days – ever since they came off their last hunt – and all looks hopelessly bleak as more blood-soaked petals clog his airways. Hanahaki disease is a deadly curse that sees flowers grow and bloom inside a person whose heart is filled with a romantic love for another and the only way to cure it is to have that love returned to them. But Dean is adamant that this person doesn’t love him back and he refuses to speak their name. If Castiel’s words would impact his condition he would say them loud and proud every day, but that's impossible. There is no way Dean could be in love with a broken-fallen angel. He wishes he was the one who contracted the wretched curse just to take away Dean’s burden, he can't stand watching the man he loves wither and die right before his eyes and will do whatever it takes to see Dean get that cure, even if it means breaking his own heart in the process.

Angel Black Death | @junesirius Rating: General Word Count: 66,469 Main Tags/Warnings: S12 Canon Divergent, Temporary Character Death, Main Character Near Death Experience, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Grace-Soul Bonding, Eventual Happy Ending, Profound Bond, Emotional Repression, Angst, Mutual Pining, Self-Sacrifices, Caring Dean Winchester Summary: Right after the Darkness leaves, when they think the world is finally at peace, angels start dying massively from an unprecedented, deadly, and contagious disease, which they call Angel Black Death, and Heaven is crumbling down, endangering the Earth and the whole world again. The solution they find is "the Brightest Light", which leads to their worst and only plan so far -- reaching out to Michael and Lucifer for help. What could possibly go wrong? (Or, in which Castiel needs help, and Dean is desperate to save him. During which they run into so many surprising old faces. All the family and friends are there to help, whatever form they're in. For once, the boys don't have to save the world alone.)

Destiel Trope Collection 2026 | Day 27: Slow Burn

The Middle (WIP) | @whoipretended2b Rating: Explicit Word Count: 22,959 Main Tags/Warnings: Slow Burn, Emo Castiel (Supernatural), Bartender Dean Winchester, Age Difference, Older Dean Winchester, Younger Castiel (Supernatural), Mutual Pining, Coming of Age, Self-Discovery, Alternate Universe - Bands, Protective Dean Winchester, Years of Pining, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester Summary: At eighteen, Castiel Novak thinks he’s an adult. The X’s on his hands at the music venue say otherwise. So does the bartender who shuts him down with, “I don’t think so, kid,” when Castiel asks for his number. He keeps coming back anyway. For the music. Not the bartender, of course.

Forgotten | @whoipretended2b Rating: Explicit Word Count: 40,469 Main Tags/Warnings: Prince Castiel (Supernatural), hidden identity, Sellsword Dean Winchester, Fantasy AU, Royalty AU, Protective Castiel, Hurt Dean Winchester, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Royalty, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester Summary: Dean Winchester’s done a lot of stupid jobs, but escorting a pretty noble into the Forgotten Forest might be the worst. The pay is suspicious, but he needs to provide for his family. A pilgrimage into a cursed forest can’t be that dangerous… right? Dean’s got a curse of his own, one that punishes those he gets close to, but he can’t stop wanting the man he’s supposed to protect. The deeper they travel, the more time goes wrong and memory slips. Can his training keep him (and his secrets) safe, or will an old prophecy tear everything apart?

Unveil the Splendours of Your Heart | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Mature Word Count: 68,868 Main Tags/Warnings: Modern Settings AU, Amnesia, Trauma, Assault, Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Famous Model Castiel, Homeless Dean, Fluff and Angst, Protective Castiel, Addict Sam Summary: When a reporter asks Dean, a homeless man with a mysterious past, why he exclusively keeps close to the billboards and posters of a specific male model—the one Dean likes to refer to as the angel with spectacular blue eyes—in a moment of weakness, thinking it won’t change anything about his situation, Dean tells him the truth: it’s how he finds comfort and solace. Something that is difficult to come by. That is until the story reaches the ears of Castiel Novak, the model in question.

The light he's gonna keep | @youchangedmedestiel Rating: Explicit Word Count: 78,611 Main Tags/Warnings: Slow Burn, Alternate Universe, Religious Castiel (Supernatural), Angst, Domesticity, Lighthouse, Castiel is a lighthouse keeper, Dean Winchester is a sailor, Bad Parent John Winchester, Mention of suicide, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con (not between Cas and Dean), barely Dean/Benny, past Castiel/Ketch, Head Injury, Stitches, Fishing, Masturbation, Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Happy Ending Summary: Castiel is a lighthouse keeper in the middle of the ocean, a solitary life he has chosen. What he didn't expect was to find a man washed up on the beach at the foot of the lighthouse, wounded and unconscious. That man, a sailor named Dean, not accustomed to life on land but rather to freedom of a life on the sea, will have to stay and live with that strange lighthouse keeper used to loneliness until the supply boat comes. They'll have to live together, with all their differences and similarities. A daily challenge that will become less and less difficult as the days go by, but other difficulties and questions will surface.

bow your head and say yes | @lindstromm Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 126,572 Main Tags/Warnings: Mormon, Christianity, religious homophobia, religious trauma, Internalized Homophobia, Jack has an eating disorder, aftermath of rape, the rape is never described, aftermath of a suicide attempt, Descriptions of self-harm Summary: Mormon Bishop Castiel Novak keeps his doubts muted and his obedience levels turned up high. He's been in a mixed-orientation marriage with Hannah for 18 years now, in an effort to cure himself from being gay. All is well and things are under control. And then Dean Winchester moves in next door.

The Moonlight Rule | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Explicit Word Count: 129,321 Main Tags/Warnings: Ranch AU, Marriage of Convenience, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Childhood Friends, Sharing a Bed, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean, Panic Attacks, Grief/Mourning, Home Invasion, Trauma, Domestic, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Heartbreak, Slow Build, Second Chances Summary: After the sudden passing of Henry Winchester, Castiel learns that the late Mr. Winchester made last minute changes in his will: Dean will only inherit the family ranch he’s been running, if he marries Castiel and stays married for at least six months.

The Family Business Job | @mittensmorgul Rating: Explicit Word Count: 182,630 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Inspired by Leverage, you know it's fiction because there's a competent functioning government, Minor Charlie Bradbury/Anna Milton, Established Eileen Leahy/Rowena McLeod/Sam Winchester, Minor Garth Fitzgerald IV/Bess Myers, a lot of bombs explode, Hurt/Comfort, Dean is basically Eliot Spencer, Gas-N-Sip Employee Castiel (Supernatural), Thief Castiel (Supernatural), Canon-Typical Violence, POV Alternating, Mutual Pining Summary: 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…

Horror Vacui (My Cup Runneth Over) | @kickflaw Rating: Explicit Word Count: 183,302 Main Tags/Warnings: Post-Season/Series 15, Not Finale Compliant, Fix-It, basically my Season 16, POV Multiple, Case Fic, Castiel is Saved from the Empty (Supernatural), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Repressed Bisexual Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester's Journey of Personal Transformation, Trauma Recovery, Slow Burn, Communication Failure, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Angst with a Happy Ending, Castiel Woos Dean Winchester, Tattooed Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Plays The Guitar, very light Dom/sub, Dom Castiel/sub Dean Winchester Summary: "Cas is alive," Sam sounds as bewildered now as the first time he said it, however long ago. One minute, ten minutes, an hour. Dean wouldn't know. Time seems to be folding past him in unpredictable bursts. He's not convinced this isn't a dream, actually. No way it can be real. Right? No way Cas would do that to them. To him. Not after what he said. Not ever. Right?

Vampirenatural: The Rebellion - Rogue | @taymarpigeon Rating: Explicit Word Count: 225,822 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, World of Darkness, Human Dean Winchester, Detective Dean Winchester, Vampire Castiel (Supernatural), Angst, Smut, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, sickness and injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Light BDSM, Slow Burn, Canon Divergent (VtmB), Kiiiind of MafiaKiiiind of Murder Husbands, Those tags will make sense as you read, Russian Castiel (Supernatural), Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Additional Warnings Apply Summary: From clubs to underground caverns, seedy motels, haunted hotels and exclusive mansions, Los Angeles has it all. It's a place for the pretty and the hopeful, but beneath its star-spangled façade are shadowy corners harbouring the vagrant and the vagabond alike. It's a world of corruption, sex and violence, Detective Dean Winchester has learnt to navigate with ease. Eight years at Santa Monica PD could never have prepared him for the underbelly of this so-called City of Angels though. Dean knows the shadows, he knows them intimately, but is he prepared for the World of Darkness?

Worldbuilding where being queer is normalized and queerphobia has no impact on the plot? THAT'S FINE. Worldbuilding that includes queerphobia and tackles the effects of it as part of the story? THAT'S ALSO FINE.

Low-stakes queer romcom where the characters are fluffy and cute? THAT'S COOL. Messy queer drama with toxic people who fuck each other over and clash repeatedly? THAT'S ALSO COOL.

Stories that center the characters' queerness, show a trans character's transition, and are about the queerness as much as the rest of the plot? AWESOME. Stories where the characters' queerness isn't treated as a big deal, and have trans characters whose transition happened before the story entirely? ALSO AWESOME.

You may PREFER one thing or another, but it is actually good to have all these things. It's about variety. It's about queer characters being allowed to exist without censorship. It's about queer artists getting to make things without being told we're a "niche issue" or "adult content." It's about having as many goddamn cakes as the bakery can produce.

Hey! Just a reminder! AO3 does NOT have an app. This garbage was made by theives who steal fan artist’s work and sell it back to you.

“Oh, but it’s free!” There are ads. They are making money off of this. They are stealing from the creators you love and you are hurting those same creators if you use this app or any similar app.

I got a comment on a fic that is less than a year old and it was mostly an apology for being a comment on an "old fic" and how late they were in commenting.

Fandom is not trends.

Fandom is a cross between a library and having a slumber party with your friends.