Rectober! (post no.1)
As y'all know by now, I collect fandoms and ships like a philatelist collects stamps, so my Rectober posts are gonna be multi-fandom and possibly even multi-ship so. You've been warned. Last year, I was all, LOOK AT ALL MY GLORIOUS SHIPS, LET ME TELL YOU WHY THEY HURT ME. So this year, I think I'm gonna go for Golden Oldies instead - you know, the fics for each ship that appear in everyone's rec lists at some point. Let's do this!
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My first fandom/ship this Rectober is: Dean/Castiel, from Supernatural.
Rec no. 1:
Title: Twist and Shout
Author: gabriel, standbyme
Rating: NC-17/E
Word Count: 98,000
Warnings: homophobia; depression; drug use; alcoholism; PTSD; warfare; violence, terminal illness. AU. Major Character Death.
Summary: What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.
Why I love it: Okay so, I'm sure you saw my bolded MCD warning up there, and I'm sure y'all remember my extreme aversion for all fic that includes MCD. This fic is the reason for that, because it broke me. I first read this back in 2012, when my Twitter friends forced me to read along with them (thanks so much, you fuckweasels, you know who you are), and I have, quite literally, never been the same since. I still can't hear Elvis without breaking out into sobs (and this has happened more than once in the middle of supermarkets for crying out loud), and beaches on a cloudy day still make me sigh wistfully. BUT, this fic is also the reason why I adore it when one male character calls another 'baby', why any fic with dancing in it makes me squeal, why motorbikes became a Serious Thing for me. It's long, and if I'm honest, I've known better writing skills, but it's the story that's so amazing, and it truly deserves its no.1 spot on the all time Greatest Destiel Fics List. And yeah, this fic kind of broke me, but it was so worth it. It's a complete AU, to the point where the main characters are even a little bit different to their canon counterparts, so you don't have to have watched the show in order to enjoy this fic, so I beg you to give it a try. However, if you don't think you can spare the time, watch this fic fanvid instead:
It's got everything in it, the motorbikes, the fries and milkshakes date, the sex, the war, the hospital, the letters, the beaches and the home videos and, of course, it has Elvis on the record player. Excuse me while I go sob over everything, bye.
Rec no.2:
Title: A Night at the Museum
Author: swordofmymouth
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 38,000
Warnings: Character Death; angst; dub-con aspects
Summary: AU. For anyone who's seen 5.04 all the way through, and wondered what happened afterward, in the Year of Apocalypse, 2014 -- this is that story.
Why I love it: As it says in the summary, this is an AU branching off from a single episode in season 5. This episode is set in an apocalyptic future, and at the end of it, Dean dies in a garden of roses, his neck snapped by Lucifer, who is wearing his brother Sam's body. Castiel's fate is assumed KIA, but it's not certain. This fic takes off from there, following Castiel as he grieves the loss of Dean. And, as I'm sure you've noticed, this is another character death fic, however, I think we're all smart enough here to realise that although the fic begins with Dean being dead, it wouldn't be much of a shippy fic if he stayed that way. Besides, this is Supernatural fanfic; nobody stays dead on this show (unless you're a character who is a. female, b. queer, or c. not-white, obviously). But this is a really good fic. It's well written, and the future world was extrapolated and built further from the glimpses in the episode in a superb way. The ending is explosive and beautiful, and so in-keeping with canon that this alternate universe seems so natural, so obvious, that really it should have been the literal ending for the show (also then we might have been spared the travesty that was season 9 and 10). Read it, you know you want to.
Rec no.3:
Title: The Inexhaustible Silence of Houses
Author: steeplechasers
Rating: NC-17/E (it says Teen and Up on AO3, but I remember there being shower sex in it, so)
Word Count: 31,000
Warnings: Horror; mute character; Major Character Death.
Summary: Cas falls, and loses his voice. but Dean loves him, and the house on the end of Swallowtail Drive is perfect for young lovers. Except when it isn't.
Why I love it: Yep, it's another MCD fic (good Lord, what is it about this ship that invites so many masochists on board?), and I don't even care. Because guys, this fic is fucking stunning. It's a horror story, and boy is it terrifying, with a house that makes noises and plays tricks on their minds, and I have no way of explaining this well enough. It's a post-season 5 AU, but all you really need to know about the show is that Castiel was an Angel and Dean and his brother Sam were demon hunters in order to read this fic and enjoy it. And yeah, watch out for the MCD but, it's totally worth it for that ending. Jesus H Christ, that ending, I think it's the best thing I've ever read, not just in fanfic, but EVER. Seriously, give it a try, you won't regret it.
banner by capitu
My first fandom/ship this Rectober is: Dean/Castiel, from Supernatural.
Rec no. 1:
Title: Twist and Shout
Author: gabriel, standbyme
Rating: NC-17/E
Word Count: 98,000
Warnings: homophobia; depression; drug use; alcoholism; PTSD; warfare; violence, terminal illness. AU. Major Character Death.
Summary: What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.
Why I love it: Okay so, I'm sure you saw my bolded MCD warning up there, and I'm sure y'all remember my extreme aversion for all fic that includes MCD. This fic is the reason for that, because it broke me. I first read this back in 2012, when my Twitter friends forced me to read along with them (thanks so much, you fuckweasels, you know who you are), and I have, quite literally, never been the same since. I still can't hear Elvis without breaking out into sobs (and this has happened more than once in the middle of supermarkets for crying out loud), and beaches on a cloudy day still make me sigh wistfully. BUT, this fic is also the reason why I adore it when one male character calls another 'baby', why any fic with dancing in it makes me squeal, why motorbikes became a Serious Thing for me. It's long, and if I'm honest, I've known better writing skills, but it's the story that's so amazing, and it truly deserves its no.1 spot on the all time Greatest Destiel Fics List. And yeah, this fic kind of broke me, but it was so worth it. It's a complete AU, to the point where the main characters are even a little bit different to their canon counterparts, so you don't have to have watched the show in order to enjoy this fic, so I beg you to give it a try. However, if you don't think you can spare the time, watch this fic fanvid instead:
Click to viewIt's got everything in it, the motorbikes, the fries and milkshakes date, the sex, the war, the hospital, the letters, the beaches and the home videos and, of course, it has Elvis on the record player. Excuse me while I go sob over everything, bye.
Rec no.2:
Title: A Night at the Museum
Author: swordofmymouth
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 38,000
Warnings: Character Death; angst; dub-con aspects
Summary: AU. For anyone who's seen 5.04 all the way through, and wondered what happened afterward, in the Year of Apocalypse, 2014 -- this is that story.
Why I love it: As it says in the summary, this is an AU branching off from a single episode in season 5. This episode is set in an apocalyptic future, and at the end of it, Dean dies in a garden of roses, his neck snapped by Lucifer, who is wearing his brother Sam's body. Castiel's fate is assumed KIA, but it's not certain. This fic takes off from there, following Castiel as he grieves the loss of Dean. And, as I'm sure you've noticed, this is another character death fic, however, I think we're all smart enough here to realise that although the fic begins with Dean being dead, it wouldn't be much of a shippy fic if he stayed that way. Besides, this is Supernatural fanfic; nobody stays dead on this show (unless you're a character who is a. female, b. queer, or c. not-white, obviously). But this is a really good fic. It's well written, and the future world was extrapolated and built further from the glimpses in the episode in a superb way. The ending is explosive and beautiful, and so in-keeping with canon that this alternate universe seems so natural, so obvious, that really it should have been the literal ending for the show (also then we might have been spared the travesty that was season 9 and 10). Read it, you know you want to.
Rec no.3:
Title: The Inexhaustible Silence of Houses
Author: steeplechasers
Rating: NC-17/E (it says Teen and Up on AO3, but I remember there being shower sex in it, so)
Word Count: 31,000
Warnings: Horror; mute character; Major Character Death.
Summary: Cas falls, and loses his voice. but Dean loves him, and the house on the end of Swallowtail Drive is perfect for young lovers. Except when it isn't.
Why I love it: Yep, it's another MCD fic (good Lord, what is it about this ship that invites so many masochists on board?), and I don't even care. Because guys, this fic is fucking stunning. It's a horror story, and boy is it terrifying, with a house that makes noises and plays tricks on their minds, and I have no way of explaining this well enough. It's a post-season 5 AU, but all you really need to know about the show is that Castiel was an Angel and Dean and his brother Sam were demon hunters in order to read this fic and enjoy it. And yeah, watch out for the MCD but, it's totally worth it for that ending. Jesus H Christ, that ending, I think it's the best thing I've ever read, not just in fanfic, but EVER. Seriously, give it a try, you won't regret it.