What I’ve Been Reading

[briarwood]

SPN fanfic I’ve read this week:

Filthy Mind by rivkat (Slash/Wincest, Sam/Dean, other pairings)

A plot-driven story, very dark and sexy. Dean is being visited by spirits every night; spirits that want only one thing from him: sex. None of the usual protections seem able to keep them out. It’s definitely non-con, though Dean seems determined to deny that. Sam’s increasingly desperate attempts to find out what’s happening, together with a revelation I found truly disturbing in its implications make this an outstanding read. But be warned: I’m not kidding when I say it’s dark stuff.

By the time Sam got back the motel, he was more relaxed. He read a little of a rare demonology book Bobby had sent him. And when the door opened to let Dean in, he didn’t start yelling at Dean first thing for exposing him to Dean’s own supernatural groupie.

Instead, he slapped the book closed and stood up, advancing on Dean. “Why did you let me think it was a dream? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Dean smirked at him. “I didn’t know there’d be a repeat engagement. Don’t worry, this time I told her I’m not exactly a keeper.”

“If you’ve picked up a ghost stalker—”

Dean shook his head. “I got it covered,” he said, with all the easy confidence that used to make Sam feel perfectly safe no matter what was happening. “I spent the morning doing the basic ghost-cleaning rituals, and—” he pulled his collar down so that Sam could see he was wearing a new charm just under his amulet. “Ghost repellent. Tells a spirit that you’re satisfied, that there’s no debt left between you and it.”

Snowbound by scribblesinink (Het, Dean/OFC, Sam/Jess)

On the surface it’s a simple story: three vignettes showing how each of the Winchester men cope with being trapped by a snowstorm. Dean, naturally, is snowed in with a girl. Sam is with Jess. But it’s the third segment, about John, that really stands out for me. Taken together, the three make a telling portrait of this wonderful, messed up family.

“We could be stuck here for the rest of the week,” he warned. There was no way Jess’s old Beetle could make it down the mountain through several feet of snow.

Jess grinned, and something about the way she did it made his stomach flutter. “And that would be bad, how?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. She leaned up and nipped his lower lip. “We have plenty of wood, chocolate and marsh mellows. We could last until spring.”

Dean’s Top 7 Unexpected Sexual Encounters (Part 1) by dryler (Het, Dean/OFC)

It sorta hits my dub-con kink, though it isn’t dub-con, not really. A short PWP in which Dean gets a little more than he bargained for.

“Fuck,” He breathes out after a couple minutes.

“You already said that,” She smirks, moving onto her side to get a look at him. He’s sweaty, and flushed, but his breathing is almost, almost, normal again as he stares up at the ceiling.

“I wasn’t sure you got it the first time,” Dean replies, giving a half-assed attempt at a quip.

Time Flies by glorfinniel (Gen)

Oh, this is funny. It’s a simple hunt that goes, er, slightly wrong, leaving Sam and Dean stuck inside a salt circle for 24 hours. How do they pass the time? Not like that - it’s gen! Dean amuses himself by being irritating as hell; Sam bitches. The character voices ring very true and there’s a sort-of-twist at the end that just makes the fic.

“I spy with -”

“No, Dean. Just no.”

“Aw, come on!”

“No. I hate that game.”

“You used to like it.”

Sam gave Dean a look of tired disdain. “I was eleven. And stuck in the back of the car for twelve hours.”

“Just one round?”

Sam sighed. “Okay. Fine.”

Dean grinned triumphantly. “I spy with my awesomely perceptive eye, something beginning with…B.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Is this one legit?”

Come Christmas Eve by legoline (Gen)

I’m a sucker for Stanford-era fics. This is Sam’s first Christmas at Stanford: he doesn’t really have any friends yet and it’s his first ever Christmas away from his family. Short and bittersweet.

As night comes on that December 24th, and all the television airs are reruns of A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life, Sam’s thoughts keep drifting back to the fragments of a family that he left behind. He wonders where the are, Dean and Dad, and whether they’re having Christmas. Whether they skipped it for a hunt, or whether they’re getting drunk in some shabby bar. Whether Dad’s bought Dean a gift this year, something that isn’t a knife or rifle.

A Thousand Square Miles of Wide Open by erinrua (Gen)

Stanford-era again,this story is Dean on a solo hunt. It seems like a simple salt-and-burn. There’s just one problem: the only way to get to where the body is buried is on horseback. I loved the attention to detail in this story, and how Dean feels more than a little out of his element.

The barn yawned in cavernous coolness, scented with hay and horse crap. Heavy bodies shifted in two stalls, the thud of hooves a warning to Dean’s ears. It would be just his luck to get trampled to death before he even got in the saddle. A wall of sorrel muscle faced him when he neared the first stall, and he sidestepped hastily when that muscular rump began backing into the aisle.

“This here’s Peso,” Chris said as he ducked under the horse’s neck. “He’ll take care of you.”

Dean took the reins, exchanged wary looks with one large brown eye, and plastered on a cocky grin. “Dude, I can take care of myself. Just tell him to keep his hooves where they belong.”

Boy by phantisma (Slash/Wincest, John/Dean)

PWP with bondage and dub-con. Man, this fic hits so many of my buttons! The scenario is kind of a fandom cliche, but who cares? Quick and dirty and I love it.

“You think this is funny, don’t you?” Dean asked, trying to keep the squeak out of his voice. He watched his father circle around him.

“Well, Son. You were caught by a girl.” He was behind Dean now, where he couldn’t see his face. But Dean didn’t need to see his father’s face to know he was grinning. “Caught, trussed up and stripped naked.”

All In A Day’s Work by nephthys101 (Slash/Wincest, John/Dean)

A hot and kinky PWP: Dean talks back to John. John punishes. I love dominant!John and (as so often happens with this type of fic) the last line just slays me

Dean shook his head. “No way…not here…no freaking way…” Dean looked around. There wasn’t a car in sight, but who knew how long that was going to last. The streetlight above would give any passing car a clear view. Sure, Dean enjoyed a little exhibitionism, but this was scaring him. John had never done this before. Dean had never seen his father brandish this implement of punishment before. It was always miles of running, fifty pushups or a hundred sit-ups.

Tactics by alethialia (Het, Sam/Ruby)

Another PWP, I guess this is technically non-con and it has a dark turn at the end. It feels very in-character and Ruby’s voice is just the right mixture of snark and seduction.

She was warm and solid on top of him. Her thumb traced a tiny, mind-blowing pattern just below his bellybutton. And she was looking right at him.

“Sam,” she said, only slightly mocking…which for her was downright generous.

“I think you got me to bed okay.”

Ruby leaned closer to him, amused now. “But I didn’t say I’d leave you there alone.”

How I Will Change The World by pheebs1 (Gen)

The story is Dean trying to write an essay How I Will Change The World. Initially, it’s just funny and the Dean-voice is perfect. Then there’s a more serious turn, as the huge gulf between Dean’s life and the normal lives of everyone else shows itself more and more clearly. By the end I just wanted to give the boy a hug because he just can’t win.

How I Will Change the World, by Dean Winchester.

There once was a guy called Dean. He lived a life of secret missions, high-tech weapons, hook ups with hot Russian spy babes, and looked smoking hot doing it. One day, the call went out – the world was in danger! Only Dean could change things for the better.

Unfortunately, he was stuck in the library of Rhodes High doing a frickin’ college application essay, and so never got the call.

A Lesson For Beginners by blueeyedliz (Gen)

John and the boys on a night-time training session. The scenes of the hunt are very atmospheric; I really feel I’m there. But it’s the family dynamic that stands out. John, trying to mold young Sam into a hunter; Dean, torn between his need to protect Sam and his instinct to obey his father; and Sam, more like his big brother than he thinks…if only John could see it. Heartbreaking.

“Dean, we already talked about this.” John’s eyes darken as he exchanges a look with Dean. “Sam needs to learn and his navigation skills need improving.” He turns back to face his youngest. “And anyway when Dean was only ten he could scout better than any hunter I’d ever met.”

Something flashes across Dean’s face, too quick for Sam to identify but Dean rushes to give him a weak smile. He knows exactly how Sam feels about Dad comparing them all the time.

Sam frowns at his dad’s choice of words—he knows his navigation skills aren’t that bad; in fact, they’re pretty damn good. He wonders how many other kids his age can use a compass as well as he can. And even without a compass he’s read enough to be familiar with other methods of navigating, like the fact that moss grows more profusely on the southern side of tree trunks in the Northern hemisphere. But Sam knows better than to try arguing his case with his dad.

Use And Old Age by irnan (Gen)

A John-in-Hell story, set just before his escape in AHBL2. It makes a kin of sense that this would be John’s version of Hell, and I love the conversation between John and Mary: this isn’t the angelic, idolised version of Mary: she’s down-to-earth and snarky and their relationship feels like a real marriage.

She’s sitting next to him, on the cold floor of that cell made of nothingness, legs drawn up to her chest, arms around them, chin on her knees. “He thinks you’ll break. He thinks this will break you.”

“Maybe he’s right,” John says. He’s lying on his back, staring up at a ceiling that doesn’t exist, aching in muscles he doesn’t even have anymore. His hands are red and raw with beating on the walls, his voice so hoarse even he doesn’t recognize it. He thinks maybe he dislocated one non-existent shoulder, flinging himself against that unyielding stone. “I’m talking to you, after all.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “You really think I’d be here if you’d gone over the deep end?”

Also, the fics for spn_summergen are being posted now - two fics a day so far and most of them are really great. All are posted anonymously and most are relatively short fics so great for a dip-in read. Quick links to my favourites so far:

and hell followed with him - Sam finds himself in an alternate universe where he was never born.

Thank You For My Life, Dad - John died instead of Bill Harvelle and the boys are raised at the Roadhouse. Mostly in Pastor Jim’s POV, which is why I like it. It’s unusual

I Dunno Third Base - John has amnesia. Sam is thrilled. Dean, not so much.

Hell (And Binky) Follows With Him - SPN/Discworld crossover. No seriously. Any summary would spoil it.

In All The Pauses - This is the fic written for me and I love it. Stanford-era, John and Dean on a hunt, and you can really feel the Sam-shaped hole in their lives.

The Links That Bind - Not for the faint-hearted; an AU of BUABS in which demon!Sam gets real nasty.

Crossposted from my blog at Devil's Trap. You can comment here or on the blog.