Gloria series

Fanfiction
Title:	Gloria series
Author(s):	unoshot
Date(s):	October 2009-November 2009
Length:	~16,400 words (series)
Genre:	gen, angst
Fandom:	Supernatural
External Links:	links to all three stories here (defunct) the story is offline; archive link for In Excelsis archive link for The Mountains In Reply archive link for Angels We Have Heard
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The Gloria series is a series of Supernatural gen stories written by unoshot that focus on the character of Castiel.

The third story Angels We Have Heard was included on the sawedoff recs LJ community's final recommendation post. The story also was a Forbidden Awards winner (round 11), "Best Gen" (March 10, 2010).

Stories in the Series

The author writes that the stories are companion pieces and do not need to be read in order.

• In Excelsis. Summary: Dean is tired, and half-buzzed, and Sammy's gone and Lucifer is risen and he's going to get himself smited—smote? -- by an angel in the world's scuzziest motel. (Oct 1, 2009)
• The Mountains In Reply. Summary: Castiel is standing six inches too far inside Dean's personal space, and the two of them are playing intenser-than-thou while Sam fidgets impatiently with the strap of his bag and thinks about how it's a hell of a lot drier inside the car. (November 18, 2009)
• Angels We Have Heard. Summary: Castiel looks for God. It is a tiresome and thankless task, and he is running out of time.

Podfic

cover for the podbook, screencap by mabele

In 2010, Crinklysolution recorded podfic of each story and also created a podbook anthology under the name "Gloria."

• [In Excelsis] - 25:51 minutes
• [The Mountains In Reply] - 43:15 minutes
• [Angels We Have Heard] - 54:54 minutes

• Gloria series - 2:03 hours

Fandom Reactions

[Gloria series]: I’m torn when it comes to Unoshot, because I think Angels We Have Heard is a better introduction to her work, but my heart belongs to The Mountains In Reply."

[Gloria series]:"These are three character studies intricately woven together (though you can read them separately). My favorite is Sam's. Which has Castiel getting hit by DEMON BLOOD tranqs while he and Sam are stuck alone on a mountain. In Excelsis is mostly about Dean being moody while him and Sam are separated and Cas being very long suffering about everything. And then Angels We Have Heard winds everything up wonderfully. I'm also a sucker for "Cas searches for God" fics, which Angels We Have Heard definitely is. And just. Yes. I love everything about this lovely trilogy."

[Gloria series]:"If someone put a gun to my head and made me give the cast members of SPN a fanfic each, I’d give Jensen “Shine.” And I’d give Misha “Angels We Have Heard.” These related one-shots are each from a point of view of a main character of Season 5: Dean, then Sam, then Castiel. They’re each carefully delineated and different. Sam’s point-of-view story is probably my favorite, but I really love Castiel’s voice, his sad, odd way of relating things in this story."

[Gloria series]:"These three sort of belong together in one continuity. The author does this really neat but at times confusing thing by writing two storylines at once, interdispersed with each other, but it really does work. Unoshot also does a brilliant job of portraying the atmosphere of being friends with an angel (specifically, Castiel). It pushes all the right buttons for me."

[In Excelsis]: "I completely missed this, if you posted it to any communities, so I'm glad I went looking for something to tide me over until the next part of Aurora Borealis, because it provides nearly all the things I look for individually in Castiel + Dean stories -- comedy, cranky sharp-tongued Castiel, fundamentally disconcerting alien Castiel, Dean being impossible, Dean welcoming Castiel into his life, Sam-and-Dean elements, cell phone hijinks, and many moments of real emotional resonance. One minute I ache for Castiel, the next I'm laughing. Amazing. Also, your prose is a pleasure to read. I hope you will be writing in this fandom frequently and for a long time."

[The Mountains in Reply]:"I loved everything about this story. It hit all the right notes and it hit them perfectly. You've nailed a lot of the issues that the show has glossed over and this is what I've been wanting to see. The tension between the brothers, between Sam and Castiel, Sam's addiction, Dean's nightmares, Castiel watching over him and Castiel's reasons for siding with Dean. The character's voices were dead-on. Dean in particular really stood out as sounding like himself. I absolutely adore the way you've written their interactions here, as well. Dean and Sam are brothers and they love each other but sometimes they drive each other nuts, as all siblings do. Sam's uneasy acceptance of Castiel was great. Castiel still drawn to Dean and Dean's rough affection for Castiel. And that fraught connection between Dean and Castiel...oh, just wonderful."

[The Mountains in Reply, Angels We Have Heard]:"A lovely look at the evolving relationships between Dean, Sam, and Castiel from first Sam’s point of view, then Castiel’s. The one where Castiel is like Cameron in SCC. You wonder what he’s doing when he’s not with the brothers."

[Angels We Have Heard]:"This has a wonderful exploration of the burden Castiel feels searching for God and trying to save the Winchesters from the angels, demons, and themselves. Cas is fantastic in this, and both Sam and Dean are spot on. It explores a range of emotions - despaire, bemusement, humor in the face of overwhelming disaster, Dean's snark, and the realities of living during the End Times. Truly, a gorgeous piece of writing."

[Angels We Have Heard]:"This is gorgeous. Castiel is so otherworldly and alien here, but his feelings for Dean and his doubts, guilt, and growing humanity are palpable. Dean is just so raw in this story. This is heartbreaking, but there's hope at the end. I loved this. There are so many little things, and I think you really got Sam and Dean's voices spot on."

Note: when the podfic pages are created move the commentary to those pages:

[Podfic:Gloria series]: "I actually just finished listening to Gloria, and I thought it was beautiful. I loved the use of sound in each section, and I thought you read with a really nice mix of gravity and humor. Perfect for this story. I really enjoyed it."

[Podfic:Gloria series]:"A clearly read, beautifully paced story with sound effects! The stories themselves are unique looks at the characters Dean, Sam, and Castiel, and the narration here only enhances the story. Beautiful work!"

[Podfic:Gloria series]:"I found this story series via the marvelous podbook (the readings are a tremendous artistic accomplishment in their own right) and found it so good, so rich in depth and insight that I made myself stretch the listening out over three evenings, both to make the awesomeness last longer and also to give myself more time to reflect on each segment. Thank you for hugely enriching my perception of Castiel, both in himself and in relationship to the other characters."