Fic Recs: Some stories that I enjoyed this week...
Because I don't do this nearly as much as I should, here, in random order, are some stories that I read this week and thoroughly enjoyed. Two are Supernatural gen and one is J2 RPS.
Every little girl's favorite by Kalliel
Summary: Stay quiet, Amara. You will never build as He does. God will always be louder, faster, rasher. Stay quiet, little girl.
Why read?: Because it's such a creative interpretation of SPN!Christian!mythology. What is SPN!God really like? What really happened between him and the Darkness, pre-creation? The possibilities that Kalliel raises grabbed my attention immediately and really intrigued me. It's a very thinky, thought-provoking piece and of course, the language and writing craft is just beautiful. About 650 words.
Excerpt: Actually, I can't give you one without spoiling you! Just...go read!
--
Truant by misplaced_ad
Summary: An episode coda for s10e22 “The Prisoner,” with some vague post-s10 speculation (no s11 spoilers). Cyrus Styne haunts the bunker. He’s a lousy poltergeist. The boys haven’t got a clue.
Why read? Because it's so much more than the summary suggests. It fleshes out Cyrus and his relationship with his brother, beautifully contrasting and comparing it with Sam and Dean's brothership. It also gave me some much-needed closure on that storyline and is truly very moving. It's a long story, about 12,000 words, and it's also available on AO3 (which is where most people seem to be commenting).
Excerpt:
Two men walked down the stairs. Trench Coat Guy led the way, but the other-a very tall, long-haired man who shared Dean Winchester’s taste for flannel-pushed past him hurriedly. He carried a stack of thick blue plastic tarps in his arms, and he stopped short just before the entrance to the library and seemed to look straight into Cyrus’s eyes.
“Cas-oh, God,” he exclaimed, tossing the tarps to one side. Cyrus rose to his feet and shrank back as the tall guy rushed toward him. He was really, really tall, all leg, and he looked like a guy who was at the absolute end of his rope. He surveyed the room briefly, but his eyes returned quickly to Cyrus’s body at his feet. He knelt beside it, his face twisted in distress, and bowed his head.
“This one was just a kid, Cas,” Sam said. “Just a kid.”
“I’m nineteen,” Cyrus whispered.
“Yes,” said Cas. “He was a Styne. They were all Stynes.”
Sam hit the floor with his fist, hard. Cyrus flinched. “Look at him, Cas-he was what, sixteen?”
“Nineteen,” Cyrus said again, a little louder. Christ, did he really look so young?
Sam pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling. Cyrus knew the expression well from his own face. Trying not to cry. Please don’t, he wanted to say. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve anyone’s tears.
“How could he…” Sam began, and then Cyrus realized that the tears were not for him.--
Everybody knows (that's the way it goes) by Rose_the_hat
Summary: In which Jensen is butch and Jared is flamboyant
Why Read? The summary doesn't really do this story justice. I mean, sure, what it says on the tin is accurate, but it's really about gender expression and internalised homphobia and turning stereotypes on their heads and it feels very realistic and credible. There is also Jared wearing a man-bun, karaoke and hot sex. :D
Excerpt:
Jensen goes through his life mostly unharassed because of his butch appearance and straight-acting attitude and he liked that. He was okay with being gay…as long as no one knew. Jensen thought he came to terms with his sexuality, but it took Jared coming into his life to prove he hadn’t.
--
Has anyone else read something they really enjoyed lately? Feel free to mention in the comments!
Every little girl's favorite by Kalliel
Summary: Stay quiet, Amara. You will never build as He does. God will always be louder, faster, rasher. Stay quiet, little girl.
Why read?: Because it's such a creative interpretation of SPN!Christian!mythology. What is SPN!God really like? What really happened between him and the Darkness, pre-creation? The possibilities that Kalliel raises grabbed my attention immediately and really intrigued me. It's a very thinky, thought-provoking piece and of course, the language and writing craft is just beautiful. About 650 words.
Excerpt: Actually, I can't give you one without spoiling you! Just...go read!
--
Truant by misplaced_ad
Summary: An episode coda for s10e22 “The Prisoner,” with some vague post-s10 speculation (no s11 spoilers). Cyrus Styne haunts the bunker. He’s a lousy poltergeist. The boys haven’t got a clue.
Why read? Because it's so much more than the summary suggests. It fleshes out Cyrus and his relationship with his brother, beautifully contrasting and comparing it with Sam and Dean's brothership. It also gave me some much-needed closure on that storyline and is truly very moving. It's a long story, about 12,000 words, and it's also available on AO3 (which is where most people seem to be commenting).
Excerpt:
Two men walked down the stairs. Trench Coat Guy led the way, but the other-a very tall, long-haired man who shared Dean Winchester’s taste for flannel-pushed past him hurriedly. He carried a stack of thick blue plastic tarps in his arms, and he stopped short just before the entrance to the library and seemed to look straight into Cyrus’s eyes.
“Cas-oh, God,” he exclaimed, tossing the tarps to one side. Cyrus rose to his feet and shrank back as the tall guy rushed toward him. He was really, really tall, all leg, and he looked like a guy who was at the absolute end of his rope. He surveyed the room briefly, but his eyes returned quickly to Cyrus’s body at his feet. He knelt beside it, his face twisted in distress, and bowed his head.
“This one was just a kid, Cas,” Sam said. “Just a kid.”
“I’m nineteen,” Cyrus whispered.
“Yes,” said Cas. “He was a Styne. They were all Stynes.”
Sam hit the floor with his fist, hard. Cyrus flinched. “Look at him, Cas-he was what, sixteen?”
“Nineteen,” Cyrus said again, a little louder. Christ, did he really look so young?
Sam pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling. Cyrus knew the expression well from his own face. Trying not to cry. Please don’t, he wanted to say. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve anyone’s tears.
“How could he…” Sam began, and then Cyrus realized that the tears were not for him.--
Everybody knows (that's the way it goes) by Rose_the_hat
Summary: In which Jensen is butch and Jared is flamboyant
Why Read? The summary doesn't really do this story justice. I mean, sure, what it says on the tin is accurate, but it's really about gender expression and internalised homphobia and turning stereotypes on their heads and it feels very realistic and credible. There is also Jared wearing a man-bun, karaoke and hot sex. :D
Excerpt:
Jensen goes through his life mostly unharassed because of his butch appearance and straight-acting attitude and he liked that. He was okay with being gay…as long as no one knew. Jensen thought he came to terms with his sexuality, but it took Jared coming into his life to prove he hadn’t.
--
Has anyone else read something they really enjoyed lately? Feel free to mention in the comments!