As part of destielfanfic’s anniversary celebration, here is a follower spotlight by sansbeesuit!
About:
Supernatural is one of those shows that I just somehow missed when it first aired. I would occasionally see promos and think, “huh, maybe I should check this out sometime.” That “sometime” came during Thanksgiving 2011. November sweeps had just finished and, with the winter hiatus upon us and no new episodes of Fringe or The Vampire Diaries, I was missing a show to be fangirly about. After watching the first few episodes, I messaged my best friend gushing about it — “brother relationships, father-son relationships, supernatural evil - the undead, werewolves, witches, demons…AND they are wrestling with all this emotional pain! and of course they are cute.” She responded with, “it’s like your TV orgasm” which could not have been more true. Three-and-a-half months and 140 episodes later, I was caught up to real-time in the middle of season 7, and discovered the show was about so much more than that original squee! message I sent.
I won’t go into great lengths about the many reasons why I feel so strongly about Dean and Cas’ relationship because I want to focus on spotlighting the fics I have to share. But, they truly are my OTP. Their relationship embodies the things I care most about in my own personal life. I have an extremely close relationship with my family and a few long-time friends and the impression I leave on them, what they will remember about me, is what I value the most. Dean and Cas may be trying to stop the apocalypse or bring peace to the unrest in Heaven or make any number of other “humanity-saving” efforts; but, in the end, their actions and choices speak more to their feelings for each other, time-and-time again. Neither is defined by the other, but they both have grown as people through their love.
Though I enjoy the way Dean and Cas’ bond has developed throughout the seasons in canon, my love for their relationship has grown greatly due to the amazing creativity of destiel authors, artists, and fans. You have all brought such dimension to the pairing and really made it come to life.
I’m so thankful to my friend cancered-gemini, who brought me into this amazing fandom. We met years ago during our Roswell fandom days and bonded over our love of whump and h/c (before we even knew there were terms for them). She helped me fill my kindle with hundreds of destiel fics (starting, of course, with strangenessandcharm’s Thursday’s Child!) and I continue to love discussing and sharing recs with her (she actually recced three of the below fics to me!).
Finding dff was like winning the lottery (okay, maybe not *that* good, but pretty much the equivalent when it came to my fanfic search). I am so excited to be a part of the two year anniversary celebration because I have such respect for the dedication the mods put into this ever-growing resource. With the extensive tagging system and search capabilities, detailed reviews, author and follower spotlights, and aggregation of other resources, I can’t remember the last time I went without some quality fanfic to read.
Destiel Fanfic Highlights:
When receiving a fanfic rec, I always like knowing a little bit about the reccer — like with reviews on Amazon or TripAdvisor — it helps me understand what qualities they look for in a fic and puts their reviews into context. I love h/c, whump, and angst but I’ve gotta have the c in h/c — comfort is key! My favorite fics have hopeful—if not full-on happy—endings for Dean and Cas independently and for the future of their relationship. I love both canon-based fics and AUs, but tend to be less forgiving than others with Dean and Cas’ characterization in AUs. Language the characters use is an element I often judge a fic by, especially the way an author writes Cas’ speech. In terms of kinks, I love good BDSM, especially bondage. The sex is great, but I most enjoy it when the story involves an exploration of the trust that develops between Dean and Cas in order for such a relationship to exist.
On to some highlights that I feel deserve to get more love…
An epic AU that is now finished and already want to reread: A Hole in the World by anneliesemichel.
A Hole in the World [NC-17, 221,000 word count]
Dean Winchester never wanted to go home again. Going back to Lawrence meant people who knew what he was, who didn’t buy into the lie. But with a tragic accident, he’s back and dealing with the death of his father, the social stigma and objectification of being an out Omega, and the lingering aftermath of a long-ago crime.
If I could only choose one fic to highlight in this post, it would be AHITW (thankfully, I was able to highlight a few, phew!). It has a somewhat dystopian vibe with beautiful and subtle world-building — the focus is on Dean and Cas’ story but along the way you come to learn what it’s like living in this future society (which, in many ways, is actually not quite so “future”). I was hesitant at first since I had never heard of a/b/o let alone read a fic about it, but please don’t let that deter you.
AnnelieseMichel’s writing and storytelling is phenomenal. I usually don’t read WIPs because the waiting is just too much for me, but with AHITW the ending to each chapter was always so strong and left such an impact that I appreciated the wait. There are so many aspects that I enjoyed from Dean’s constant battle both with society (and a few particular assholes) and himself, to the intriguing plot filled with interesting surprises (though well-placed foreshadowing that I’m kinda disappointed in myself for missing, hah) and courtroom drama, and Cas’ family dynamics. But, in the end, Dean and Cas’ relationship is what I loved most — how they grew to know and trust each other so intimately that simply bumping shoulders might be all the other needs in the moment to feel grounded.
This story is just fucking phenomenal. I hope for a volume of timestamps…timestamps upon timestamps…um, so, it should really be next in your queue.
My newest hurt/comfort gem: Forgotten by NorthernSparrow.
Forgotten [T, 160,000 word count]
Sam and Dean are working a case in Wyoming, but are distracted by news of a dangerous angel called “Castiel” who they can’t remember ever having heard of before. The name seems a little bit familiar, but neither of the boys is sure why.
I often skip over pre-slash fics because, let’s be honest, there’s just not enough hot sex scenes, hah. So, the fact that I’m highlighting a fic in which Dean and Cas don’t even share a kiss, is a pretty big deal. Throughout the story there is so much love shared between them that you don’t think to miss any sort of sexual intimacy. It highlights Dean and Cas’ deeply emotional bond as well as the strong friendship between Sam and Cas (a relationship that I feel deserves more exploration in canon).
There is also maaaaaaajor human!cas angst of both the emotional and physical variety. Like, holy shit break your heart kind of hurt.
Emotional feels aside, the overall story arc was interesting and well-developed with a neat mythological element acting as catalyst for the amnesia.
An old favorite that’s even better the second time around: The Demiurge by takadainmate.
The Demiurge [M, 24,600 word count]
Pre-Dean/Cas, Sam. Goes AU after around 6X20, vague spoilers up to that point. H/C.
At first I wasn’t going to highlight this fic because missannthropic (a favorite author of mine) wrote a lovely rec in her author spotlight last year. But, it seems less well-known in fandom, so I wanted to give it another signal boost. You should read this fic when you’re in the mood to immerse yourself in Cas’ mind. Takadainmate captures not just Cas’ POV but his internal thought process (that of an angel) perfectly — the best of any author I’ve read so far.
The Demiurge is a version of what could have happened after 6x20 and I love that Cas, though he is hurt (‘cause I gotta have some whump! if there’s no slash), remains a strong character…BAMF in his own way. It’s refreshing to see a version in fic where he doesn’t spend the entire story apologizing to Dean (often what I come across). Don’t be deterred by the fact that it’s not very shippy (another pre-slash) and it’s short (yeah, 24k is short for me). It’s a really interesting read.
The update I look forward to the most: Not Part of the Plan by scaramouche.
Not Part of the Plan [NC-17, 124,000 word count (WIP)]
(summary of first installment) It’s Castiel’s first visit to the neighboring Republic in years, and he decides to use his one free night to pick up a stranger from a bar. He meets Dean.
I have come to love the arranged marriage/immediately thrust together by circumstance trope, especially when it’s paired well with some lovely slow burn. I especially enjoyed scaramouche’s Convenient Husbands (super snarky!cas) and her newest series does not disappoint. It’s a fun urban fantasy world with kingdoms and republics, and a bit of magic (hopefully some more of that to come). I love how Dean and Cas start off so uncertain about each other; they throw themselves out there and then aren’t quite sure what the other feels or is thinking or why they are acting a certain way. The best part is, they have a one night stand before they know of the arranged marriage to come which makes the flirting and UST all the better.
A 5k fluffy commercial break: How to Romance a Human by cloudyjenn.
How To Romance A Human [T, 4,400 word count]
Castiel consults Cosmopolitan magazine in order to win Dean’s heart.
Too short to be featured here on dff, but a great break in between long h/c fics. Total fluff. Cas is getting his advice from a Cosmo article, after all. How could that not be highly entertaining?
I tend to lurk on tumblr (liking instead of reblogging posts) but my ask box is always open. If you’d like to chat about any of these fics, exchange recs, or talk meta, I’m in!