#tisoh

pantheon of nightmares: day 9

I had a rough night, I needed some distressing by tormenting my OCs. I’ll put it under cut because it contains heavy triggers.

I was asked what my favorite fanfic ever is. 

Answer is: The Inexhaustible Silence of Houses.

This is the fic that I measure all other fanfic against, including my own. 

This fic makes my own writing look like smelly poo set on fire.

This fic makes me come back to writing every time I’m like, “Eh, maybe I should quit trying.”

I’ll remember this fic even when I’m so old that I’ve forgotten my SS#. And my full name. And where I live. I’ll be like, “No, Officer, I don’t know who I am or where I live. But I can tell you about the green house.” 

Summary (from AO3):

Almost two years after the world doesn't end, Castiel falls from grace—and loses his voice in the process. It is the impetus for confession and change; before long, he is settling into a loving relationship with Dean, the Winchesters are tired, and hunting for a place to land has taken precedence to hunting anything else. Dean and Castiel fall in love with the strange little house on the end of Swallowtail Drive, and for a little while life is as it should be—sweet, affectionate, and beginning afresh.

But more and more Castiel sees and hears things in the house that beg the question of whether or not a place itself can be alive. The walls and rooms seem to shift and grow and breathe, and one night, Dean comes home from a hunt changed in a way that Castiel cannot explain. In the months that follow, their domestic bliss takes turns for the dark and sour, and the confusion of their circumstances will ultimately test everything Castiel knows about the man he loves, and everything he believes to be true.

As pretty much all of y’all know by now, I’m a nonshipper. I also don’t know the author whatsoever.

Didn’t matter. This story slayed me. 

In other words, this is a 100% unbiased review.

If you’ve got any love for Cas (or even if you don’t), read this. Read it and have all the feels. Read it and learn about building plot and pacing. Read it and celebrate the hard work the author put in developing delicious onion-bloomy layers and subtle symbolism. Just read it.

Or click Read More, and see some gifs that illustrate the mental breakdown I endured after reading this story. IT IS SPOILERY.