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bigbang day 3
Really more reactions than recs. Don't click if you're averse to fic criticism.
All I've got to give (Dean/Cas) by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rockstarpeach
This is an AU in which Cas is a manipulative rich dude who decides he has to have Dean, a bartender who's trying to save enough money to put his little brother through Stanford. I'm pretty sure the author's intention for this story was to show that both Dean and Castiel are extremely fucked-up, in different ways, yet underneath it all they are good guys who are stumbling toward a real relationship. And by chapter 12 or so, that's pretty much how I saw them. The first 11 chapters, though, had characterization whiplash: Cas is a manipulative jerk. Oh no, he's a needy whiner. Dean is insecure and easily manipulated. Oh no, he's a total player. Rinse and repeat. You start liking one or the other of them, and then he does something completely dickish. I almost feel like the plot of the last third of the story--Cas manipulating Dean into staying with him in return for paying Sam's college tuition--ought to have been the whole story, because it seems more emotionally realistic than the first two-thirds of the story, and I'm kind of interested in whether it's possible for someone in that situation to truly fall for someone or not.
I did read until the end. And I guess if you're interested in reading a story about two incredibly fucked-up jerks stumbling toward an actual relationship when (spoiler--highlight to read) you never actually get to see if they succeed or not, then read this.
Supercross bylazy_daze (Sam/Dean, very AU) is the perfect example of an extremely well-written story that is not for me. This is an AU where the Winchesters aren't hunters, they're competitive GFMX (group freestyle motorcross) riders. It has a compelling Sam/Dean first time storyline, with some extremely hot sex, but I have absolutely no interest in the whole GFMX thing, and so I ended up skimming over large portions of the plot. I couldn't decide if I actually liked the "teamwork v. individualism" theme that underlay their competition with their major rival or not--especially because the team they're competing against is Azazel's Demons. Part of me thought that was appropriate and part of me thought it was way, way too cutesy. But it's definitely well-written, and if you like the biking stuff you'll probably enjoy this.
ambiguous_opal's Desperately Close to a Coffin of Hope is a J2/Pushing Daisies fusion--adhering pretty closely to the Pushing Daisies pilot, as far as I can remember--and therefore it has all the annoying narrative tics of the show. (I liked the quirky narration when I started watching, but it really started to grate on me over time, and I find it even worse in written form. Though I do have to give the author props for getting that narrative voice perfect. Annoying but perfect.) The J2 stuff is sweet enough, but Chad Michael Murray is no Emerson Cod. If you really like both Pushing Daisies and fusions, this might work for you.
All I've got to give (Dean/Cas) by
rockstarpeachThis is an AU in which Cas is a manipulative rich dude who decides he has to have Dean, a bartender who's trying to save enough money to put his little brother through Stanford. I'm pretty sure the author's intention for this story was to show that both Dean and Castiel are extremely fucked-up, in different ways, yet underneath it all they are good guys who are stumbling toward a real relationship. And by chapter 12 or so, that's pretty much how I saw them. The first 11 chapters, though, had characterization whiplash: Cas is a manipulative jerk. Oh no, he's a needy whiner. Dean is insecure and easily manipulated. Oh no, he's a total player. Rinse and repeat. You start liking one or the other of them, and then he does something completely dickish. I almost feel like the plot of the last third of the story--Cas manipulating Dean into staying with him in return for paying Sam's college tuition--ought to have been the whole story, because it seems more emotionally realistic than the first two-thirds of the story, and I'm kind of interested in whether it's possible for someone in that situation to truly fall for someone or not.
I did read until the end. And I guess if you're interested in reading a story about two incredibly fucked-up jerks stumbling toward an actual relationship when (spoiler--highlight to read) you never actually get to see if they succeed or not, then read this.
Supercross by
lazy_daze (Sam/Dean, very AU) is the perfect example of an extremely well-written story that is not for me. This is an AU where the Winchesters aren't hunters, they're competitive GFMX (group freestyle motorcross) riders. It has a compelling Sam/Dean first time storyline, with some extremely hot sex, but I have absolutely no interest in the whole GFMX thing, and so I ended up skimming over large portions of the plot. I couldn't decide if I actually liked the "teamwork v. individualism" theme that underlay their competition with their major rival or not--especially because the team they're competing against is Azazel's Demons. Part of me thought that was appropriate and part of me thought it was way, way too cutesy. But it's definitely well-written, and if you like the biking stuff you'll probably enjoy this.ambiguous_opal's Desperately Close to a Coffin of Hope is a J2/Pushing Daisies fusion--adhering pretty closely to the Pushing Daisies pilot, as far as I can remember--and therefore it has all the annoying narrative tics of the show. (I liked the quirky narration when I started watching, but it really started to grate on me over time, and I find it even worse in written form. Though I do have to give the author props for getting that narrative voice perfect. Annoying but perfect.) The J2 stuff is sweet enough, but Chad Michael Murray is no Emerson Cod. If you really like both Pushing Daisies and fusions, this might work for you.