what are your ultimate spn fic recs? like, great writing, great plot, great characterisation, instant favourites?
my top 8 right now because i couldn't pick 5:
Fracture mechanics - very angsty post 15x18 fix it. one of those fics where it's hurt/comfort except the author is the one hurting and then comforting you
Spirit of the west - AU, Dean is eighteen and works on his dad’s ranch taking care of horses. Cas, a childhood friend, comes back to town. teen_dean's writing is always phenomenal
Canticles - what happens after dean and cas leave the brothel in free to be you and me. i regularly go back to this fic just to feel the heartache all over again
Where black stars rise (also by teen_dean)- dean and cas explore a canyon. Interstellar vibes. Cas wears cute little hiking shorts
Swimming with the fish pond fish - amazing shorter (25k) post canon fix-it fic with trans dean
Psalm 40:2 - after 15x18 cas goes back in time to meet stanford era dean. Angsty. Young dean is like a fragile little bird i love him so much
You and me and the war of the end times - endverse grace shotgunning fic + jupernatural!
Put them in a box somewhere - 5k, technically a Mary fic but also a kid Dean study. consider it a backstory to why dean was so interested in those ballet shoes
others that are also amazing:
So Says the Sword - Cas is ordered to watch over the michael sword and ends up falling in love with him (of course)
Everyone’s a critic - fluffy AU with a lot of miscommunication. Dean runs a restaurant, Cas is a food critic who calls his garlic bread closeted
Games of skill and fortune - I haven’t actually read this one in a couple of years but I remember really enjoying it. Dean says yes to michael.
In the shadow of your wings - the one where cas gets an italian boyfriend
If wishes were horses - postcanon fix-it by thee teen_dean who cannot miss
Angelus cruorem - just a horny fic where dean drinks cas’ blood
Here, bullet, here - angsty and excellent dean study
Let the old ways die - au where dean is in a band and cas is an ex music producer who now works on a farm. This fic made me go sit on a log in the sun and listen to music for an hour
Seek to know you better - dean and cas go through those questions that are supposed to make you fall in love. But, you know, they’re in love the whole time anyway
Take the bones, begin anew - everything you could want from a fix-it fic
All this and heaven too - author describes it as a love letter to every trans person who ever projected onto dean. i go back to it a lot :^)