tg's annual sneezefic meme (2018)

[tarotgal]

It's April, which means it's once again time for my annual commentfic meme!

Directions:

1. Post prompts. Any fandom (original fic allowed as well) and any pairing, as long as there is potential sneezing involved character. There is no limit to how many prompts you can post.
2. Please warn for anything current that might be potentially spoilery!
3. Prompt posting will be open while there's interest, most likely until this time next year
4. Reply to any prompts you like with art/drabbles/ficlets/fics in parts/links to fics in your blog. The entry must not be friends-locked.
5. Please warn for anything that might be a trigger including something an emetophobe like me might have a problem with.
6. Prompts can have as many fills as people feel like writing. Just because one person has filled a prompt doesn't mean you can't write for that prompt as well. Different spins on the same thing are absolutely welcome!
7. There will be no deadline for fic responses. If you see a prompt you like and want to write it, go ahead!
8. There's no limit to how many you can write either. WRITE THEM ALL!
9. Please feel free to pimp this on any communities and forums you think would be interested in this.
10. You are allowed to repost prompts from previous or other memes. If the prompt belongs to someone else, just give them credit. You're also more than welcome to reprompt your own!
11. My birthday is April 19. I'm just saying...

All right, let the prompting and filling begin! Have fun, everybody!

Fills:

Supernatural

Can I please have good patient Sam? He’s not super sick or out of it or anything, but for whatever reason he’s happy to let Dean take care of him. As chick flick-y as you like.
Find a Place to Make Your Stand by tarotgal

Dean is pretty sure he hadn’t initially gone to sleep in the middle of the floor, but nevertheless, that’s where he is when he wakes up, aching and hot, in a darkened room.
How'd I Get Here? by anilkex

Dean sneezes a bunch in the shower and right after he gets out. Can be a regular occurrence or because he’s got a cold or something. If he catches a flurry of post-shower sneezes in a towel that would be THE best.
Sneezing in the Shower by tarotgal

“Dear god, go blow your nose.”
Biserable by cowboyguy

Five times he ran out of tissues and one time he didn’t.
Five Times Dean Ran Out of Tissues and One Time He Didn’t by tarotgal

Five times it was just allergies and one time it wasn’t.
Four Times it was Allergies and One Time it Wasn't by missbayliss

If anyone feels like playing in my Frayed 'verse, I give you total permission, because Sam is sick and everything is overwhelming and he's seconds away from freaking out constantly and it's just not good, okay?
Frayed Sammy by anilkex

“You sound stuffy.”
Progression by cowboyguy

Sam Wesson’s caught the office crud that’s going around. Dean Smith couldn’t explain why, but all he knows is he just wants to help make him feel better.
It's A Terrible Life (But Soup Might Help) by sexualoddity

When Sam’s sick the only place he can get any sleep is all squished and bundled up in the back seat of the Impala. King-size motel bed? Doesn’t do it. The comfort of his own room? Not happening. The Impala is home, and it’s the only place he wants to be when he feels crummy.
Calling for Help by tarotgal

Comments

[cowboyguy]

If anyone feels like playing in my Frayed 'verse, I give you total permission, because Sam is sick and everything is overwhelming and he's seconds away from freaking out constantly and it's just not good, okay?

[anilkex]

who's pov would you want?

[cowboyguy]

Any! Sam, Dean, original. Probably not therapist Jane or Bobby, since they haven't featured much or at all yet.

[anilkex]

Working on it...reread all your Frayed stories for the tone. I will not do them justice, but I'm gonna try...

[cowboyguy]

Eeeeee! <3

FILLED: Frayed Sammy (1/2)

[anilkex]

Erg...I dunno. It's hard to play in someone else's sandbox. :/

xxxxx

Sam...

There’s trapped, and there’s trapped. Sam’s version of trapped is complicated. Everything about Sam is complicated, so his sense of trapped is complicated.

“hp’CHSHHhh!”

Trapped means must escape, want to escape, can’t escape, nowhere to go. But Sam’s trapped also means plenty of places to go...they’re just all wrong. So even when he feels untrapped it’s really just a tricky side version of trapped.

So trapped is complicated.

“HhhSCHHHchh-uh!”

Sam knows this. Sam lives this. Sam hates this.

But Sam is complicated, and that’s just how it is.

“Hey...doin’ okay? Not much longer, I promise.”

Sam barely nods, feeling the fabric of Dean’s shirt against his cheek. He’s had his eyes clenched shut since they got there, and it helps, but it’s not enough.

Dean’s not complicated. Real Dean, that is. And that’s an easy reason to trust RealDean.

Sam chances a peek.

Right.

Waiting room. Patients. Fish lazily gliding across a tank.

“Clinic…” he whispers, before sneezing again.

“Yup,” Dean murmurs back. “Remember? You’re sick.”

Sam closes his eyes...trying to remember.

His body hurts...but it’s not sharp, it’s not...deliberate. “I hurt but it’s not the same,” he mumbles out loud, trying to sort it out. He aches, that’s what this is. “Not pain...this...not pain.”

Dean hums, wiping sweat soaked hair off Sam’s forehead with gentle strokes merging with the ache, dulling it for a moment. His palm lingers on Sam’s cheek, then neck. “You’re also bur- uh, I mean, you’ve got a fever. A high one. Remember that?”

No, Sam doesn’t remember. But he trusts Dean. Maybe it is a fever. When Lucifer set him on fire, there was pain. But this isn’t pain. He’s just as hot, though.

His nose is running, but he’s afraid to move. He sniffles instead, breathing through his mouth. Without any warning, a massive sneeze pitches him forward.

“Sammy?”

Sam remains hunched over, feeling Dean’s hands rubbing his back. He wants to make himself small and hide, but he can’t, he knows he can’t. “Too loud...I’m...that was too loud…”

“Hey...it’s okay, buddy. You just sneezed. And you weren’t too loud. I promise. Barely heard you, actually.”

Sam knows Dean is trying. He does. So he tries, too.

But then someone outside Sam starts crying, screaming actually, and it sounds just like Adam. It’s followed by scolding and a something crashing and Sam can’t try anymore.

In between uneven breaths Sam’s whimpering, practically sliding out of the chair. He needs to hide, unable to handle all the noises coming from him and them and inside and outside and it’s just too much.

“Whoa…nonono, waitasec…” Sam hears Dean’s panic now, knows it’s because of him. That doesn’t help. “Christ, Sam - you can’t go under the chair!”

But Dean doesn’t understand.

Sam strangles another sneeze against his shoulder, groaning as a sharp pain assaults his head and he knows…they found me. He starts to cry, afraid to lift his head, to open his eyes. “Hiihhh’Kehshhchhh!” Another slips out.

“Bless you...Jesus, hold on…”

Strong hands grip him, pulling him back into the chair. They don’t hurt, which is confusing. “Relax, man. You’re just sneezing. It’s okay…gimme your hands…”

Sam frantically shakes his head no. His skull is pounding, ears ringing.

“*sigh* Sammy. Work with me, here. Please.”

It’s the please.

They never said please like that. Sam peeks again. It’s RealDean, holding a bandana, gently prying Sam’s hands away from his face.

Sam sniffles as Dean wipes off his hands. “Man, you’re shaking like a leaf.” The soft cloth dries Sam’s eyes, wipes his nose, gentle, caring. Sam can tell. This is real. This is RealDean. Sam’s just sick.

Okay…

Sam sneezes twice.

“Dude. You’re so doing my laundry when we get home.”

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[anilkex]

Dean...

When Sam’s fever climbs beyond Dean’s comfort zone, coupled with nasty congestion, Dean chances taking him to a clinic. It’ll probably be another mistake in a never ending string of mistakes, but Dean’s running on fumes himself, struggling to make decisions that used to be easy.

Somehow, Sam’s head is nestled against Dean’s shoulder. He’s shivering uncontrollably despite the sweat coating his face and body.

“hp’CHSHHhh!....HhhSCHHHchh-uh!”

Dean sighs. Sam can’t stop sneezing, and each explosion startles him more than the last. Dean thinks it’s because Sam can’t hear very well right now, so every sound he makes probably seems a hundred times worse in his head. Dean’s been diffusing panic attacks with every Bless You.

“Hey...doin’ okay? Not much longer, I promise.” As Dean says this, he glances at his watch, frowning because the doctor is already thirty minutes late. Looking around the waiting room, he suspects it’ll be longer still. There are at least three families with small kids, along with an older couple sitting by a fish tank.

Sam sort of nods, stubble catching on Dean’s shirt. Even though Sam nodded, Dean knows he’s barely holding it together. The kid’s eyes have been screwed shut since they got there, trying to block out the world. Dean drags a hand down his face, noting his own light sheen of sweat. He isn’t sure if it’s from the human furnace next to him or a budding fever. Either way, it feels gross.

“Clinic…” Sam whispers, sneezing again.

“Yup,” Dean murmurs, Sam’s confusion now confirmed. “Remember? You’re sick.”

“I hurt but it’s not the same,” Sam mumbles. “Not pain...this...not pain.”

Unsure what to say, Dean settles for a soft hum, brushing damp hair out of Sam’s eyes. He grimaces equally at the wet spot on his shoulder and the ridiculous fever. There’s no way he’ll escape this without getting sick himself, especially with Sam sneezing on him all the time. He feels Sam’s cheek and neck, then sighs again. “You’re also bur- uh, I mean, you’ve got a fever. A high one. Remember that?”

The fever led Sam back to the Cage every time Dean turned around. He’s exhausted from the constant reminders, sometimes outright begging, so Sam knows where he is.

When Sam snaps forward with a thunderous sneeze that ends in a frightened gasp, Dean knows he’s gonna lose him. He rubs Sam’s back, unsure if the contact is more for Sam or himself. “Sammy?”

“Too loud...I’m...that was too loud…” Sam’s shaking harder now, his voice tinged with panic.

Time to lie.

“Hey...it’s okay, buddy. You just sneezed. And you weren’t too loud. I promise. Barely heard you, actually.” Dean thinks he got through and almost relaxes, until a kid starts wailing bloody murder out of nowhere, prompting a parent to yell and toys to be thrown and Sam just breaks, sliding out of his chair toward the floor, whimpering and crying and cowering until Dean just breaks.

“Whoa…nonono, waitasec…Christ, Sam - you can’t go under the chair!”

He feels a roomful of eyes on his flaming cheeks. Awesome. He’s so locking himself in Sam’s sensory closet when they get home.

“Hiihhh’Kehshhchhh!” Sam sneezes again, into cupped hands, his body halfway out of the chair.

“Bless you...Jesus, hold on…” Taking a deep breath, Dean chances grabbing Sam by the arms, hauling him up. But Sam weighs a ton, and Dean’s out of shape and not operating at full capacity right now. He prays that Sam doesn’t freak out at the touch.

“Relax, man. You’re just sneezing. It’s okay.” Sam’s still hiding behind his hands, and Dean knows they need to be cleaned. He lowers his voice. “Gimme your hands…”

Sam shakes his head no, and Dean can see the veins on Sam’s temples throbbing. He feels his own control slipping. “*sigh* Sammy. Work with me, here. Please.” His voice breaks, and when Sam eventually cracks open one eye, Dean can see the wheels turning. It takes a few seconds, but finally, Dean gets his brother back.

Taking Sam’s hands, Dean carefully wipes them dry. Through it all, Sam maintains eye contact, watching Dean’s every move.

Dean tries for a smile. “Man, you’re shaking like a leaf.” He waits for Sam to call him out, because Dean’s shaking, too.

But Sam says nothing, and if Dean had to be honest, he really didn’t expect him to. He swallows down the disappointment, blinking back tears of frustration.

That’s when the little shit sneezes right on his shirt, and again on his jacket. Dean hangs his head, one tear escaping down his cheek as he chuckles. “Dude. You’re so doing my laundry when we get home.”

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[cowboyguy]

Oh, I am wrapping this fic up in fuzzy blankets and cuddling it forever!

Thank you so much, this was wonderful! And getting both POVs -- I feel so spoiled! I love the whole scene, being in the clinic waiting room. That's a terrible place to have to be even if you're mostly-functional, but for Sammy it's gotta be so much worse.

Dude. This was the most glorious line: "Dean thinks he got through and almost relaxes, until a kid starts wailing bloody murder out of nowhere, prompting a parent to yell and toys to be thrown and Sam just breaks, sliding out of his chair toward the floor, whimpering and crying and cowering until Dean just breaks.

“Whoa…nonono, waitasec…Christ, Sam - you can’t go under the chair!”

I love that reaction, that whole "something is happening, how do I stop it, no Sam please don't do that!" bit of dialogue. And then Dean feeling all self-conscious because people are staring.

And right at the very beginning, with "Sam barely nods, feeling the fabric of Dean’s shirt against his cheek." -- I knew I was going to love it as soon as I read that line. That image of Sam just pressed up against Dean, trying to find somewhere safe. So much love for that.

Thank you for getting into both of their heads -- it was great to see the same scene played out from different viewpoints with such different versions of reality. My Sammy. AND my Dean. <3

Just.. oh man, it was perfect. I wanna go play in the Frayed sandbox again, now, too! Thank you for taking a trip into my world and writing this! It was the perfect, awesome end to my ridiculously busy and stressful day. Now I get to go to bed thinking about this piece of magic instead of just being exhausted. Thank you! <3

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[tarotgal]

Every so often, I get the urge to write Frayed!Sammy, but I've always been terrified to get something wrong in cowboyguy's 'verse, and by the time I think "maybe I should ask for permission" the bunny has gone away anyway. I'm so impressed at your courage to jump in! Isn't all fanfic like playing in someone else's sandbox? Your approach to the story was spot-on, respectful, and meticulous. I absolutely loved this!

Favorite bits:
Starting out in Sam's head and then going straight into a sensory detail about the feel of Dean's shirt against his face.

I second the "You can't go under the chair" line!

On top of his worry about Sam being sick AND his worry about Sam having very not good panic attacks, Dean's also worried he's getting sick.

Loved the super loud sneeze that was absolutely too loud that freaks Sam out and Dean trying to lie and say he barely heard it.

Sam finding being with RealDean easy. And being aware of feeling horrible and hurty but not the sort of pain hurty he felt in the cage.

Dean almost saying "burning up" (the only thing missing from Dean's POV was him calling himself an idiot for almost saying that or realizing his mistake in using the term just in time).

Sam knowing it's real and it's RealDean just from the way he says "please"

Dean not treating adult FrayedSam like a kid. He cares for him and tries to calm him, wipes his hands and nose and all that. But when it comes down to it, he doesn't treat him like someone weak or disabled. He still expresses his emotions (even though he tries not to let them show to worry Sam) and still teases him and tells Sam that Sam's totally doing his laundry. I LOVE this. Obviously, Sam's going to be sick and feverish and out of it and isn't going to be doing any laundry, but Dean still says it like he would say it to Sam at ANY time during their life. And I LOVE that that part of who they are as brothers hasn't changed just because of Sam's condition.

Loved Dean’s been diffusing panic attacks with every Bless You. Oh man. Favorite line from the whole story. Just so perfect.

Dean’s running on fumes himself, struggling to make decisions that used to be easy. I love that Sam mentions how RealDean isn't complicated and how it's easy to trust him because of that. And then you get to see how complicated Dean's thoughts are, it's just he can't show them to Sam because he's still trying to learn how to try to keep his brother from not freaking out.

You can tell Dean's frustrated and losing it and is just trying to hold things together for Sammy's sake. Life is NOT easy for a caretaker, and getting into Dean's head here showed that. My second favorite line from the story was the one about Dean wanting to go home and shut himself in Sam's sensory deprivation closet.

Also just really loved every bit of Dean trying to reassure Sam that he was just sick and sneezing, when obviously there's a WHOLE lot more there. Fever, Sam panicking, a crappy waiting room, a whole host of awful memories, so many factors outside their control, and hundreds of years of instinctive reactions to angel-inflicted torture.

You did an EXCELLENT job writing this fic and writing the FrayedBoys! Well done!

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[cowboyguy]

Hey, party in my sandbox and everyone's invited!

As an exercise in storytelling, it's actually really fascinating to see someone else writing in my 'verse. It's cool -- it kinda gives you an outside perspective, y'know? How other people are interpreting your words, whether the emotions and concepts and everything else you're trying to convey is coming across the way you intended. It's really interesting to see it from someone else's point of view!

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[anilkex]

The whole time I was thinking...crapcrapcrap...this is nowhere as good as how she does it...

As a separate story, I think it's just fine. Knowing it's a piece of an AU is something different. It's a weird line between trying to write LIKE you and trying to write something that would fit.

I really appreciate your comments. This one gave me a bit of anxiety. :D

Re: FILLED: Frayed Sammy (2/2)

[cowboyguy]

*hugs* Awww, no, don't be anxious -- I was so excited to see your take on it! And still can't get that image of Sam sliding out of the chair and trying to hide underneath it out of my head. <3