Ramblings of an Overworked Grad Student

Title: A Love Story Told In Reverse, written for the 2010 deancasbigbang
Author: notragicmercury
Genre: Post Season 5 AU
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel (also Dean/Lisa, Dean/Cassie, Castiel/OMC, mentions Sam/Jess).
Rating: R
Word Count: ~35,000
Warnings: Spoilers for Season 5. Allusions to abuse and mental disorders.

Artist: lizfu
Art link: Art Masterlist

Summary: Dean grew up with a mother who loved him, a father who misunderstood him and a brother who worshiped him. Yet he remembered another life, one lived on the road, hunted by angels and demons alike. Plagued by false memories and familiar faces, Dean left home to try and make a life for himself. A chance meeting with a man who lives a world apart leads Dean to realize that a single action, no matter how miraculous, can't change the course of fate. It won't stop him from trying, though.



Author's Note: I have to thank fleshlycherry and Draoldan for all of their help throughout the writing process. Neither of them are Dean/Cas fans, particularly, and yet they put up with me constantly asking for opinions, and the constant read throughs. They helped me hammer down plot, improve my writing, and always asked “Why?” when I said “Because.” I don’t think I would have finished without their help.

Next, I have to thank dossier, who beta'd this after the fact, when I learned that scientists make terrible betas. Apparently we can't correct each other's work to save our lives, so dossier was a bit of a life saver there.

I also want to thank lizfu for the amazing artwork. Don’t forget to check it out and leave comments.




Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Epilogue

PDF file to follow

Soundtrack

We were invited to post snippets of our fics for the big bang. Here's what I posted:

Opening the box one last time to make sure everything was still there, Castiel reassured himself he was doing the right thing. With a deep breath, he crouched down and placed the small tin in the dirt. He let out the breath, and inhaled again before he pushed the dirt and gravel back over it.

He took his time standing up, straightening his spine before pushing into the heels of his feet. Brushing the dirt from his hands onto the trench coat, he turned to face Crowley. The demon’s scent permeating the air made it easy to shift the blame for his unease.

Castiel waited for the demon to speak.

“You’re probably the last creature I ever expected to have darken my doorstep,” Crowley began, sauntering over with his hands clasped behind his back. “Common consensus is that you’re upstairs reaping the benefits of the new promotion, but a little bird told me you’d gone AWOL.”

The statement was left open-ended; a gesture Castiel had learned meant he was supposed to fill in the details. Even so, he continued to wait, head tilted to one side. He hoped his silence might put Crowley on edge, making their negotiations go in his favour.

It seemed to work at bringing out Crowley’s impatience. “I know this isn’t a matter of visiting old friends, so I’ll assume it has something to do with the sorry state of affairs the Winchesters find themselves in.

“So tell me,” Crowley said, one side of his mouth quirking up in a wicked grin. He clasped his hands in front of him before presenting his open palms. “What can I do to help an Angel of the Lord that he can’t do for himself?”

I'm amazed with myself, but I actually have the whole BigBang plotted out, except for two things.

1) Dean ends up in Hell for a second time, and I'm not sure if he should break or not this time around.

2) I need a BAMF!omnipotent figure (The image of Handlebars!Doctor comes to mind o.O). Barring the Doctor, I was thinking Kali (or some aspect), a figure from an obscure religion (thinking Zoroastrianism), or Cas.

Any thoughts?

A question for my (limited) flist. I'm doing the DeanCas Big Bang, and I'm trying to decided whether Castiel's main personality trait should be Ignorant-of-humans!Cas, BAMF!Cas, or The-End!Cas.

I've got a beginning, and an end, but the middle is a little fuzzy.

For queenklu, from notragicmercury, written for merlin_santa
queenklu wanted Merlin/Arthur, with a dash of Merlin/Will for the jealousy, and a huge, heaping cup of “somethingthe magic made them do it.” This is what spewed forth. I think it might be overly influenced by the angst in season two.
AN: This was supposed to be both longer and shorter than it turned out to be. I have the sneaking suspicion that if this is well received it’s going to be expanded for background and further conclusion, and Merlin’s POV will be added.

Title: Don’t Say No
Disclaimer: I write this for free, when I could be doing the work I’m actually paid for.
Rating: Hard NC-17
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Word Count: 9,753 (It was supposed to be 2,000).
Warnings/Spoilers: Allusions to non/dub-con. Minor physical abuse. Hot sex.
Summary: AU. Merlin is taken in by Strathclyde’s King, Ceretic, as a child, where he is given the opportunity to practice magic, and is eventually given a place as court advisor. Arthur and Merlin meet when Uther and Ceretic enter into negotiations for an alliance, and Arthur is quick to pick up on the fact that there is something about Merlin.

( Don't Say No )

AN: A series of drabbles centring on Arthur and Merlin's relationship, based on Arthur's actions and Merlin's Reactions.
Disclaimer: I should not be posting pr0n at work. They pay me for work. The pr0n is done for free.
Title: Questionable Quest
Warning/Spoilers: Minor spoilers for basic Arthurian legend.
Word Count: 100 each
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Merlin leaves with a parting gift.

Questionable: ( What he doesn't understand is why. )

Quest: ( It was a promise. )

Other Parts


AN: I'm hoping to sit down this week and get the rest of this series written up. I really want to get onto other things (like Torchwood, which I've recently discovered, and AU!Merlin, and Torchwood/Merlin crossovers). I promised myself I would finish this before I started anything new. As soon as that's done, I should be able to post one a day.

I'm both anticipating and dreading the end of this season. I don't know how to handle 8 months without Merlin. I had trouble this past year, and I wasn't even into the fandom then >.>