Fic Recs for Anti-Bullying Month!
It is Anti-Bullying Month. I wanted to write something from "The Faculty" fandom for this - a) I dipped like one toe in that fandom years back, b) I have been having the urge to write in that fandom again recently, and c) Casey is a good character to use for an anti-bullying fic - his ability to know which battles to fight (say for instance ones against a giant alien queen that has taken over his high school) and his strength throughout it all amazed me. But writing anything has been a no-go this month with how crappy I have felt. (If I write anything, it will be a zombie ficlet for Halloween, but I’m not crossing my fingers on that).
So, instead I thought I would rec you two stories about bullying that I have read and loved in the past.
Can I Be Pretty Enough For You? by aythia:
Rating: NC-17 Pairing: Jared/Jensen Word Count: ~62.300 + timestamps
Summary: Jensen has been hurt, and he is not about to put his trust in anyone, ever again. Things might change around the school however, when a new student arrives. But will Jensen allow the change or will the nightmares from his past ruin his last year in high school?
Rec: She captures the emotions of this very well and hits on a few things I particularly liked - how the mob mentality can take over and one bully can become many, and also how sometimes the people who don’t join in but instead just stand by and do nothing actually can hurt just as much as the bullying. Also, I love her Chad in this - it was very early on in my CMM-love-phase and I just had little stupid hearts over him in this. And Jared’s parents are the bomb.
Personal Note: This is one of the first HS AUs I ever read and I had never read a bullying fic before. I was worried that it might trigger nightmares for me. I decided that since I didn’t know the author and would probably never talk to her again, that it would be okay if I shared some personal things with her that this story brought up. What followed was a long back-and-forth between the two of us about some of the things we endured in school, that has since made it a lot easier for me to talk about things I couldn’t before. We ended up friending each other and now I love her to smishy pieces.
In This Secluded Spot I Respond As I Wouldn't Dare Elsewhere by rhymephile:
Rating: R Pairing Dean/Cas Word Count: 34,040
Summary: It's 1995, and Castiel's high school years are destined to be difficult: home-schooled until eighth grade, he is awkward, shy, and socially inept. The weird kid with the funny name would rather isolate himself and draw in his sketchbook than deal with the constant bullying he faces every day. Things only get worse in his junior year when he excels in home economics class, leading the captain of the baseball team, Alastair, to start taunting him for being gay. Then new student Dean Winchester arrives at Flour Bluff High School, sharing many of Castiel's classes. Castiel has seen his type before -- handsome, athletic, arrogant, and sure to be the most popular kid in school. But Castiel eventually learns that he and Dean have more in common than he thought, and they form an unlikely friendship.
Rec: This is one of my favorite HS AUs ever and one of my favorite Dean/Cas fics. What the author captures in this so perfectly that it made me cry is the feeling that even when someone is being nice to you, that somehow it is a trick, that no one can be trusted. Watching Cas go through this slow break down of everything he has known before Dean is truly amazing. Her side characters have awesome dimension for the very little they appear in this, in particular the teachers and of course, Cas’ mom who I wish would adopt me.
Personal Note: This one was actually hard for me to read, it brought up a lot of emotions but I am glad I did. This story is the reason that I friended the author and as it turns out, she rules.
Go forth and read!
So, instead I thought I would rec you two stories about bullying that I have read and loved in the past.
Can I Be Pretty Enough For You? by aythia:
Rating: NC-17 Pairing: Jared/Jensen Word Count: ~62.300 + timestamps
Summary: Jensen has been hurt, and he is not about to put his trust in anyone, ever again. Things might change around the school however, when a new student arrives. But will Jensen allow the change or will the nightmares from his past ruin his last year in high school?
Rec: She captures the emotions of this very well and hits on a few things I particularly liked - how the mob mentality can take over and one bully can become many, and also how sometimes the people who don’t join in but instead just stand by and do nothing actually can hurt just as much as the bullying. Also, I love her Chad in this - it was very early on in my CMM-love-phase and I just had little stupid hearts over him in this. And Jared’s parents are the bomb.
Personal Note: This is one of the first HS AUs I ever read and I had never read a bullying fic before. I was worried that it might trigger nightmares for me. I decided that since I didn’t know the author and would probably never talk to her again, that it would be okay if I shared some personal things with her that this story brought up. What followed was a long back-and-forth between the two of us about some of the things we endured in school, that has since made it a lot easier for me to talk about things I couldn’t before. We ended up friending each other and now I love her to smishy pieces.
In This Secluded Spot I Respond As I Wouldn't Dare Elsewhere by rhymephile:
Rating: R Pairing Dean/Cas Word Count: 34,040
Summary: It's 1995, and Castiel's high school years are destined to be difficult: home-schooled until eighth grade, he is awkward, shy, and socially inept. The weird kid with the funny name would rather isolate himself and draw in his sketchbook than deal with the constant bullying he faces every day. Things only get worse in his junior year when he excels in home economics class, leading the captain of the baseball team, Alastair, to start taunting him for being gay. Then new student Dean Winchester arrives at Flour Bluff High School, sharing many of Castiel's classes. Castiel has seen his type before -- handsome, athletic, arrogant, and sure to be the most popular kid in school. But Castiel eventually learns that he and Dean have more in common than he thought, and they form an unlikely friendship.
Rec: This is one of my favorite HS AUs ever and one of my favorite Dean/Cas fics. What the author captures in this so perfectly that it made me cry is the feeling that even when someone is being nice to you, that somehow it is a trick, that no one can be trusted. Watching Cas go through this slow break down of everything he has known before Dean is truly amazing. Her side characters have awesome dimension for the very little they appear in this, in particular the teachers and of course, Cas’ mom who I wish would adopt me.
Personal Note: This one was actually hard for me to read, it brought up a lot of emotions but I am glad I did. This story is the reason that I friended the author and as it turns out, she rules.
Go forth and read!