In Remembrance of Elanurel
elanurel was my friend, as she was to a lot of other people in fandom and out of it. She was a kick-ass woman, frighteningly good at organizing things with spreadsheets, and nurturing of other writers, but what I'm here to talk about is her own writing. I suspect that when most people who know her writing think about it they think of OFCs and PORN. To my mind, Branni wrote some amazing original female characters - Penny, Charlotte, Alice, Sally, and others - and she worried all the time about whether people would think her characters were Mary Sues. Of course, that's a matter of opinion, but there's my opinion - no matter how many boxes on a list somewhere can be checked, any character who feels like a real, true person isn't a Mary Sue. As writers, we all give pieces of ourselves to the characters we write, whether they're original or canon characters, and as long as what we give them is genuine those pieces are what makes the characters live in the story.
The pieces of herself that elanurel gave to her characters were genuine indeed, and I think that's one of the ways she'll live on. I know that one of the things that would really piss her off is that she didn't get to finish telling Alice's story Your Sorrow for Another Coin. She struggled emotionally with working on it since her diagnosis because some of the parts she gave Alice, some of the things she had planned for the character, were so vital that writing it wasn't easy when so many other things were difficult as well. There was a lot of pain to come for Alice, but joy and reunion at the end, and I so wish Branni could have had that herself and been able to write it for Alice and for us.
One thing elanurel loved to write about was family - the power of family to bind us to something but also the way family can help us be who we truly are. She told me that when she first started watching Supernatural she was a Sam-girl, but then Dean wooed her with the passion of his commitment to family above all else. In her stories, we saw a lot of not only Dean's family dynamics but also those of the female characters, especially the line from mother to daughter and backwards and forwards through other generations. The story itself is very nearly original fiction, but As She Hit the Open Road, centered on Dean and Penny's daughter, is a perfect example of both the kind of female strength elanurel loved to write about and the way she could put true, painful pieces of herself into a story and make it beautiful.
And then there's the porn. Het in our fandom can often be vanilla - not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm a pretty vanilla writer myself. But elanurel liked to make it her mission sometimes to push those boundaries. Pegging, cross-dressing, scar-porn, knife play, bondage, MOAR pegging, many mentions of knuckles…and then there were the boots. Dean's boots (and/or Jensen's boots), Charlotte's old Doc Marten's, Penelope's fancy Victorian boots. Boots are important, made for walking and dancing and porning.
I wish we could all sneak into Lucien's library and read the stories Branni didn't get to tell. That J2 AU called "I'm a Duke and You're Not," that was to be set in the world of the SCA. Alice's story told in full. "Strange Angels" taken to its conclusion. All the things she would have written later, dark fairytales brought out into the light and strong women and men in boots. But she left us a lot to read, about 450,000 words, by my count, and I know I'm grateful for that.
Here's just a few recs of elanurel's work, offered up by the sawedoff_recs staff. Read them, discover them, and know the fabulous writer and amazing person we all knew elanurel to be.
title. Always Falling
author. elanurel
characters. Dean/OFC
rating. NC-17
words. 19,235
summary. When Dean was sixteen, he sent that kid who beat up Sam right to the hospital. Somehow, that didn't keep him from getting into college but Dean's still picking up the pieces - and that girl who landed right at his feet just complicated things.
read this. embroiderama says: I love this look at a Dean (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Winchester family) who's had a very different but still not entirely easy or simple life.
title. Found Yourself a New Man
author. elanurel
characters. Dean/OFC
rating. NC-17
words. 3,314
summary. Like he needs some ass wipe telling him what he already knows.
read this. dotfic says: Read as a standalone, this is a tantalizing glimpse into Dean's relationship with an engaging, credible, and smart OFC. It is also part of elanurel's fantastic Strange Angels 'verse, which once you dip into, is difficult to resist, although you don't have to be familiar with the 'verse to read this. elanurel gives us a vivid, grounded, and spot-on Dean-voice, with his issues and his strengths at work here in a heart-clenching way that's very Dean. The interplay between Dean and Charlotte is beautifully drawn, with a satisfying toe-to-toe power dynamic. It's also deliciously hot and well-written, full of small visceral details, from a hunter's life to ancient languages.
title. Punk Rock Girl
author. elanurel
characters. Dean/OFC
rating. NC-17
words. 7,832
summary. It was his own damn fault, letting a Latin scholar in a granny sweater sweet talk him into it with a tiny 'harder' and a dare that scratched down his back like a promise.
read this. maerhys says: While this fic is a story within elanurel's Strange Angels 'verse, it stands on its own two feet to deliver some of the hottest porn and creative kink I've ever read. From the opening sentence, the lure is there - that this is going somewhere special, and it does. The connection between Dean and Charlotte (Charlie) is all electricity in their back and forth power play based in an easy camaraderie and deep love for one another. While one may call this PWP, it's also a character study of Dean Winchester and who he is with Charlie, who he lets himself be with Charlie. Utterly captivating and evocative, this is one of those fics that is not easily forgotten.
title. Way, Way Down Inside Honey
author. elanurel
characters. Dean/OFC
rating. NC-17
words. 1,263
summary. He's got ghosts of his own.
read this. nyoka says: I wanted to rec this fic as an example of what scorching hot het porn is all about. elanurel's prose is simply beautiful, and in this piece she uses language to craft a visceral, delicious, and wonderfully emotionally-resonant snapshot. This is also part of her larger Strange Angels 'verse but can be read as a stand-alone.
title. Elected Silence, Sing to Me
author. elanurel
characters. Castiel, Sam, Dean, OCs
rating. R
words. 1,844
summary. There is no time left for regret.
read this. smilla02 says: A beautifully crafted story that simultaneously explores religious themes and how gender influences the narrative. The prose, especially, stands out for its beauty.
reccer's note. The sawedoff_recs family and the SPN fandom lost an amazing and supportive friend last month. We wanted to take a moment to remember elanurel with this tribute post and to shine a spotlight on her writing and her fic. elanurel was someone who loved to support people in their writing. She shone a light on other writers through reccing fan fic and running challenges and communities. These recs above represent just a small sampling of the things we loved about elanurel's writing itself. Please in the comments below feel free to share with us your own favorite fics by elanurel or any other memories you have about her in fandom. And definitely check out more of her writing at her writing journal the_lilac_wind.
elanurel: We love you. We miss you. And we'll remember you.