fic rec [supernatural, fandom, fanfiction, recs, public post]
Okay. Okay. Fic rec. Again. This is what I've been reading during my study-breaks, and oh, my, god, overwhelmed much, so this is going to double as a review to pandarus, because writing a review directly to the story? UNDOABLE.
Not Time's Fool by FayJay [aka pandarus], Sam/Dean, ~60,000 words. Cover art and alternative link: click me!
Summary:A story in 21 parts, featuring an Ancient Greek curse, an unexpected metamorphosis, adventures in pool sharking, numerous shots of tequila, a nun outfit, zombies, angels, demons, kidnappings, startling discoveries about old acquaintances, massage, a game of strip poker, girl-on-girl action, girl-on-boy action, and boy-on-boy action. Despite my expectations or inclinations, it swiftly became clear that this story was going to be Sam/Dean. And, indeed, it is. Because my muse likes to fuck with me.
Girl!Dean. {Well, there's also this whole thing about mocking Sam's monstrous height that always gets to me, BUT THIS IS NOT THE POINT HERE.}
No, seriously. Dean gets cursed and becomes a woman. But that's not the story, only it totally is. This fic is from Dean's POV, and he's spot on, even as a girl. He's Dean throughout, snarky as hell and I was laughing quite a bit at his sense of irony. But snark doesn't hold a novel. What does is how Deal deals with being a girl. And how Sam deals with Dean being a girl.
Basically, this is a breathtaking take {hahah, pun! Clearly I do not share this Dean's snark} on feminism. This is how Dean adjusts to how OTHERS see him, because he sure as hell doesn't feel any different. Things start out small, what with Sam being horrified {yet refuses to hit a girl}, to lesbian sex, to Sam going protective, then overprotective, then jealous, and then outright possessive, what with him picturing real/imagined threats lurking out in wait for girl!Dean. Little by little Sam allows himself to take more and more liberties with Dean, and Dean -- well, doesn't let him, but Sam is bigger, stubborner, and likes making a point, and that affects the way Dean interacts with other people. Men, women, Sam himself. Dean -- still VERY MUCH DEAN -- very, very slowly slips into society's concept of womanhood.
But honestly, this is not why I heart NTF this much. If it had ended like this, it would've been boring. The interesting part came when Dean got his penis back. Because then his interactions with people goes back to what it was. Including Sam, who no longer feels like he can do whatever he wants.
I'm kind of realising that I'm making Sam sound like an evil, heartless bitch, or something, but that's so not true. This Sam is the closest I've read to canon, which was frankly disturbing when it came to the sex, and he pretty much never does things against Dean's will. In fact, other than the whole 'keep littlesister!Dean out of trouble'-gone-horribly-wrong, he actively makes sure that Dean's okay with everything he's doing. He's the one here who's willing, to not have what he wants unless he can have it, unlike Dean, who keeps giving Sam what Sam wants.
And now I'm making Dean the girl -- which he totally is, but so not the point. But girl!Dean is no different from boy!Dean. Girl!Dean still thinks of himself as a man, can still kick ass, does not shave his legs or armpits {♥}, and is still the boss when it comes to cases. As in, thinks quicker, acts quicker, and gets to tell Sammy how NOT to screw this gig up.
Convoluted? I haven't even scratched the surface, it's that deep. It's meta-worthy deep, srsly!
Yes, it's Sam/Dean. Not everybody's type of fic. This is the first Sam/Dean that made me optimistic when it came to this ship. What is it with writers writing the best shipfics when they're not into the ship? Maybe because they bother to explain WHY it would work, instead of just assuming "I WORK" and leaving it at that. So yes, this is a Sam/Dean that works without being too creepy or disturbing, despite the whole incest thing. There's unbelievable UST from the start until halfway through, and then again when Dean gets his penis back. The attraction is gradual {although I AM suspecting that there was SOME inclination there before Dean grew boobs, at least from Sam's side}, the denial is hilarious, and Sam is ADORABLY MORTIFIED. It's Dean who freaks out, but it's Sam who's embarrassed for the both of them. Like I said, this Sam was very close to canon, to the point of his bashfulness, mortification, responsibility and then his one-track mind. Yeah, he's still top in bed, but THIS FIC MANAGES TO KILL THE WHOLE DOMINANT IN BED = DOMINANT PERSON CLICHE SINGLE-HANDEDLY AND I LOVE IT FOR THAT.
And a final word about Castiel? Oh my GAWD he rocked. Most of the story he isn't there, but he pops to visit as the most awkward of times, and he never gets WHY Sam and Dean aren't happy to see him. He's so earnest and literal, but he's there to help them as much as he can in the most round-bout of ways. :D
I don't usually read genderswap. Actually, I NEVER read genderswap. It doesn't interest me. I don't like it. I never get the point. But here, HERE I got the point, and I thought it worked. JayFay here didn't turn DEAN into a girl, just his body, and wrote upon it.
As a closing note, the style. THE FUCKING STYLE. There were times I went back a few lines just to reread them and melt, they were that good.
Snippet:
He probably looks pretty damn amusing at that moment, with his eyes bugging out and his jaw dropping, but Dean really isn't seeing the funny side as he stares down incredulously at his chest in the t-shirt. What he's seeing, in point of fact, is, quite unmistakably, a pair of breasts. Growing out of his chest.
“Fuck!” Dean says - and there's his second shock of the morning: a whole new vocal register. It's definitely more of a husky alto than a shrill little soprano that he's got going on, but the voice? Very much not a guy's voice. Not his voice. “What the hell?” he exclaims, starting to shift into serious freak-the-fuck-out mode as he shoves a hand down inside his boxer briefs and confirms for absolutely certain sure that some evil, magic-wielding scumbag has somehow stolen his dick. “No way! no fucking WAY!” Dean snarls, scrambling out of bed like that's somehow going to help, and reaching reflexively to the bedside table for his gun. He feels better when he's got it in his hand, even though there's nothing around to shoot.
“Dean?” Sam sits up, blinking, and squints past the bands of sun in his eyes. “You okay?”
“No, Sammy, I am pretty far from okay right now,” says Dean, trying hard to pitch his voice as low as he can and horrified that the result is more Jessica Rabbit than it is the goddamn Batman. “Seriously - what the everliving fuck?” He's got his gun in one hand, and the other is kneading incredulously at one of his brand new breasts, as if this is going to make them vanish, and Sam just sits there and gapes for a good ten seconds or so while Dean yanks open the neck of his t-shirt and peers down inside it. “I've got boobs. I've - d'you see this? Sam? What the hell?”
“Dean?” says Sam again, his voice perfectly balanced between horror and hilarity. “Is that - are you - what - what happened here, Dean?” And there's something to be grateful for, anyway - Sam still knows he's him, chick voice and chick parts notwithstanding.
“I have no clue,” he says shakily, and just stares at his brother. “I don't - I - Sam, I got nothin'. I went to bed me, I woke up - Brandon Teena.”
“Oookay,” says Sam, nodding slowly and trying to look like he isn't completely spooked. “That's - well, there's got to be a logical explanation for this. Right? It's a spell or a curse or a - oh.”
Their eyes meet, as they both have the self same thought. “Crap,” says Dean, his heart sinking. “The witch.”
“The witch,” Sam agrees, with a little half-shrug. “Gotta be.”
“But - she's dead. I killed her already,” says Dean, feeling suddenly helpless. “How - I don't get it.” Sam is staring at his chest. He's been staring at his chest through most of the conversation, in fact, apart from the moments when his eyes dart up to Dean's face - not his eyes, mind, but his face - or down to flash a quick, panicky, skittering glance at the flat place where there really should be a bulge in Dean's underwear, or further down to ogle his legs incredulously. “Sam!”
“Death curse?” offers Sam, meeting Dean's eyes and looking thoroughly lost. “Maybe?”
---
So, pandarus? This is my review for you: This is as close to perfect as any writing can be. THANK YOU. ♥
ETA: Review/comment wordcount: ~825 words.
|Meduza|
Not Time's Fool by FayJay [aka pandarus], Sam/Dean, ~60,000 words. Cover art and alternative link: click me!
Summary:A story in 21 parts, featuring an Ancient Greek curse, an unexpected metamorphosis, adventures in pool sharking, numerous shots of tequila, a nun outfit, zombies, angels, demons, kidnappings, startling discoveries about old acquaintances, massage, a game of strip poker, girl-on-girl action, girl-on-boy action, and boy-on-boy action. Despite my expectations or inclinations, it swiftly became clear that this story was going to be Sam/Dean. And, indeed, it is. Because my muse likes to fuck with me.
Girl!Dean. {Well, there's also this whole thing about mocking Sam's monstrous height that always gets to me, BUT THIS IS NOT THE POINT HERE.}
No, seriously. Dean gets cursed and becomes a woman. But that's not the story, only it totally is. This fic is from Dean's POV, and he's spot on, even as a girl. He's Dean throughout, snarky as hell and I was laughing quite a bit at his sense of irony. But snark doesn't hold a novel. What does is how Deal deals with being a girl. And how Sam deals with Dean being a girl.
Basically, this is a breathtaking take {hahah, pun! Clearly I do not share this Dean's snark} on feminism. This is how Dean adjusts to how OTHERS see him, because he sure as hell doesn't feel any different. Things start out small, what with Sam being horrified {yet refuses to hit a girl}, to lesbian sex, to Sam going protective, then overprotective, then jealous, and then outright possessive, what with him picturing real/imagined threats lurking out in wait for girl!Dean. Little by little Sam allows himself to take more and more liberties with Dean, and Dean -- well, doesn't let him, but Sam is bigger, stubborner, and likes making a point, and that affects the way Dean interacts with other people. Men, women, Sam himself. Dean -- still VERY MUCH DEAN -- very, very slowly slips into society's concept of womanhood.
But honestly, this is not why I heart NTF this much. If it had ended like this, it would've been boring. The interesting part came when Dean got his penis back. Because then his interactions with people goes back to what it was. Including Sam, who no longer feels like he can do whatever he wants.
I'm kind of realising that I'm making Sam sound like an evil, heartless bitch, or something, but that's so not true. This Sam is the closest I've read to canon, which was frankly disturbing when it came to the sex, and he pretty much never does things against Dean's will. In fact, other than the whole 'keep littlesister!Dean out of trouble'-gone-horribly-wrong, he actively makes sure that Dean's okay with everything he's doing. He's the one here who's willing, to not have what he wants unless he can have it, unlike Dean, who keeps giving Sam what Sam wants.
And now I'm making Dean the girl -- which he totally is, but so not the point. But girl!Dean is no different from boy!Dean. Girl!Dean still thinks of himself as a man, can still kick ass, does not shave his legs or armpits {♥}, and is still the boss when it comes to cases. As in, thinks quicker, acts quicker, and gets to tell Sammy how NOT to screw this gig up.
Convoluted? I haven't even scratched the surface, it's that deep. It's meta-worthy deep, srsly!
Yes, it's Sam/Dean. Not everybody's type of fic. This is the first Sam/Dean that made me optimistic when it came to this ship. What is it with writers writing the best shipfics when they're not into the ship? Maybe because they bother to explain WHY it would work, instead of just assuming "I WORK" and leaving it at that. So yes, this is a Sam/Dean that works without being too creepy or disturbing, despite the whole incest thing. There's unbelievable UST from the start until halfway through, and then again when Dean gets his penis back. The attraction is gradual {although I AM suspecting that there was SOME inclination there before Dean grew boobs, at least from Sam's side}, the denial is hilarious, and Sam is ADORABLY MORTIFIED. It's Dean who freaks out, but it's Sam who's embarrassed for the both of them. Like I said, this Sam was very close to canon, to the point of his bashfulness, mortification, responsibility and then his one-track mind. Yeah, he's still top in bed, but THIS FIC MANAGES TO KILL THE WHOLE DOMINANT IN BED = DOMINANT PERSON CLICHE SINGLE-HANDEDLY AND I LOVE IT FOR THAT.
And a final word about Castiel? Oh my GAWD he rocked. Most of the story he isn't there, but he pops to visit as the most awkward of times, and he never gets WHY Sam and Dean aren't happy to see him. He's so earnest and literal, but he's there to help them as much as he can in the most round-bout of ways. :D
I don't usually read genderswap. Actually, I NEVER read genderswap. It doesn't interest me. I don't like it. I never get the point. But here, HERE I got the point, and I thought it worked. JayFay here didn't turn DEAN into a girl, just his body, and wrote upon it.
As a closing note, the style. THE FUCKING STYLE. There were times I went back a few lines just to reread them and melt, they were that good.
Snippet:
He probably looks pretty damn amusing at that moment, with his eyes bugging out and his jaw dropping, but Dean really isn't seeing the funny side as he stares down incredulously at his chest in the t-shirt. What he's seeing, in point of fact, is, quite unmistakably, a pair of breasts. Growing out of his chest.
“Fuck!” Dean says - and there's his second shock of the morning: a whole new vocal register. It's definitely more of a husky alto than a shrill little soprano that he's got going on, but the voice? Very much not a guy's voice. Not his voice. “What the hell?” he exclaims, starting to shift into serious freak-the-fuck-out mode as he shoves a hand down inside his boxer briefs and confirms for absolutely certain sure that some evil, magic-wielding scumbag has somehow stolen his dick. “No way! no fucking WAY!” Dean snarls, scrambling out of bed like that's somehow going to help, and reaching reflexively to the bedside table for his gun. He feels better when he's got it in his hand, even though there's nothing around to shoot.
“Dean?” Sam sits up, blinking, and squints past the bands of sun in his eyes. “You okay?”
“No, Sammy, I am pretty far from okay right now,” says Dean, trying hard to pitch his voice as low as he can and horrified that the result is more Jessica Rabbit than it is the goddamn Batman. “Seriously - what the everliving fuck?” He's got his gun in one hand, and the other is kneading incredulously at one of his brand new breasts, as if this is going to make them vanish, and Sam just sits there and gapes for a good ten seconds or so while Dean yanks open the neck of his t-shirt and peers down inside it. “I've got boobs. I've - d'you see this? Sam? What the hell?”
“Dean?” says Sam again, his voice perfectly balanced between horror and hilarity. “Is that - are you - what - what happened here, Dean?” And there's something to be grateful for, anyway - Sam still knows he's him, chick voice and chick parts notwithstanding.
“I have no clue,” he says shakily, and just stares at his brother. “I don't - I - Sam, I got nothin'. I went to bed me, I woke up - Brandon Teena.”
“Oookay,” says Sam, nodding slowly and trying to look like he isn't completely spooked. “That's - well, there's got to be a logical explanation for this. Right? It's a spell or a curse or a - oh.”
Their eyes meet, as they both have the self same thought. “Crap,” says Dean, his heart sinking. “The witch.”
“The witch,” Sam agrees, with a little half-shrug. “Gotta be.”
“But - she's dead. I killed her already,” says Dean, feeling suddenly helpless. “How - I don't get it.” Sam is staring at his chest. He's been staring at his chest through most of the conversation, in fact, apart from the moments when his eyes dart up to Dean's face - not his eyes, mind, but his face - or down to flash a quick, panicky, skittering glance at the flat place where there really should be a bulge in Dean's underwear, or further down to ogle his legs incredulously. “Sam!”
“Death curse?” offers Sam, meeting Dean's eyes and looking thoroughly lost. “Maybe?”
---
So, pandarus? This is my review for you: This is as close to perfect as any writing can be. THANK YOU. ♥
ETA: Review/comment wordcount: ~825 words.
|Meduza|