With Understanding

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Fanfiction
Title: With Understanding
Author(s): apokteino
Date(s): November 1st, 2015 – July 26th, 2017
Length: 427,599 words
Genre: Psychological Horror, Thriller, Destiel Slash, AU
Fandom: Supernatural
External Links: On the Wayback Machine, Archived version
Reupload on Archive of Our Own

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With Understanding, sometimes abbreviated to WU, is a Psychological Thriller Supernatural fanfiction written by the author apokteino. It was originally posted on Archive of Our Own in November 2015 but was removed from the site when the author deleted her account in late December 2020.[1]

The story is set in an alternative universe and focuses on an FBI Agent Castiel who is kidnapped by Dean Winchester, who believes Castiel is his soulmate. The story tracks their "battle of wills" relationship and power dynamic as well as their mental health issues. apokteino included characters from Criminal Minds to help flesh out the world.

The fic is notable as it is often recced within the post-Destielgate Tumblr Destiel community alongside works like Down to Agincourt, Four Letter Word for Intercourse and C-S-T-L, despite being much darker and more akin to Dead Dove: Do Not Eat than its contemporaries. While being revered within certain circles, the depiction of Destiel in the fic has been described as mentally and emotionally draining and has been compared to that of NBC Hannibal's Hannigram.

As of the 8th of November 2020, the story had over 119,000 hits, 4,300 kudos, 3,100 comments and 1,400 bookmarks on Archive of Our Own.

Summary

Winchester takes a deep breath. "I'm your soulmate."

Castiel should be saying something reassuring, something to convince the psychopath in front of him that he can be molded and should be kept alive. He is a trained FBI agent that has been in the Behavioral Analysis Unit for nearly a year. He knows what to do when kidnapped. Instead, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" comes out.

(Supposed serial killer Dean Winchester kidnaps his soulmate, FBI Agent Castiel Novak. What ensues is a battle of wills – one determined to be loved, and one determined to be free.)

Origins

apokteino discussed the origins of With Understanding in the extended author's note listed as Chapter 27.

Content Warnings

apokteino initially added warnings will be added as the story progressed as they were not sure about all the warnings the story needed and chose to initially not use Archive warnings. This eventually changed as apokteino listed Rape/Non-Con as well as listing specific warnings at the start of each chapter, while also tagging if these were spoilers.

Included were: Kidnapping; Self-harm; Suicidal thought and ideation; Rape; Alcohol abuse; Non-consensual touching; Non-consensual cuddling; General dubious consent; Dubious consensual blow jobs; dubious consensual kissing; Dubious consent edging into non-consensual; child abuse and child death; PTSD flashbacks and violence.

Translations

A Chinese Translation of With Understanding by PonyPokey was started in 2017. As of July 2021, it has had eleven chapters complete and is seemingly abandoned.

Fandom Impact

While With Understanding is infamous within its community it can be seen as influencing other works including Claiming, Claimed by bendingsignpost, author of Four Letter Word for Intercourse.

Reactions and Reviews

I wouldn't necessarily call it a rape aftermath fic as such- the majority of the fic to date deals with Castiel (human FBI agent in the Criminal Minds verse BAU flavor of AU) being held captive by a post-Sam death mentally snapped SPN verse Dean, and SPOILERS it's only in the most recent chapters that have dealt with the aftermath of the captivity. Like, we're 180K in and Cas JUST started to acknowledge that all the sex that eventually happened while he was kidnapped and Stockholm Syndrome'd was rape. But so far the aftermath portion of the fic, with Cas dealing with his trauma and attempting to recover, has been extremely well done and doesn't involved any of those unattractive tropes you mentioned at all while including a lot of those aspects you listed to be interested in.[2]

So first off, I was 100% here for Cas slowly succumbing to Stockholm Syndrome and his FBI team trying to figure out how & why the Winchesters operate. Those are two of my very favorite tropes and getting them both in the same fic was like my birthday. Since those parts of the story have naturally ended and it's been focusing more on Cas's recovery and Dean coming to understand what he did, I've been much less interested, just because recovery!fic isn't my jam. Also, I continue to be a little wrong-footed by Stephen or whatever his name is--the OMC who Cas is dating now--because he seems so very understanding and super caring after so little time. I don't know what he's like aside from "good for Cas," but then, tbh I don't care what he's like--I'm not reading this fic for this original supporting character.[3]

I read it for the first time just recently during the SPNessaince.

First things first: This is a tremendously page-turning meganovel. Glued to the screen kind.

Secondly: IMO it has very little to do with the characters of Dean Winchester or Castiel from the CW TV Show Supernatural (2005-2020). The Dean atleast has his show history intact, though frankly very little else about his personality or characterization still makes it into the fic, IMO, but in case of Castiel, I'm not sure I can name one thing that this fic's Castiel has in common with the show's Castiel. So frankly it's almost like OC FBI Agent/OC Apocalypse-Averting Hunter fic set in the Supernatual world. The fic's Castiel, if he resembles any existing fictional character, he is more a Will Graham-lite, than anything else.

Third: I cannot even imagine what the experience of reading this "live" would have been, because as well-written and ultimately mostly satisfying as I found the whole thing, it's basically like 5 very different fics rolled into one 400K monster fic and I feel like there is no way anyone would have a clue where this fic was going from phase to phase.

The "5 very different fics" as I see them: - Criminal Minds x SPN crossover Law Enforcement/BAU Outsider POV - HEA SPN Hannigram AU of what if murderhusbands complete with emotionally fucked-up manipulation and mind-messing, except Hannibal is really a good guy and it's morally okay to be murderhusbands. - Soulmate AU except the meetcute is when a person gets abducted and held prisoner by their soulmate BECAUSE they are (provably and objectively) soulmates, would that be fucked up or what?! - Stockholm Syndrome Kidnapper/Kidnappee romance novel - Therapy-fic about Rape Recovery and whether it's possible for a rapist/abuser to repent/change and falling in love with your rapist, but with lot of navel-gazing and PTSD.

I think there was a 6th fic trying to lurk around the whole thing which was What If Sam died for real, what would that do to Dean? but very frankly, the Dean in this fic really didn't hit my IC meter at all, so I couldn't really buy this particular fic thread at all. Personally the Law Enforcement Outsider POV was my very very favorite sub-fic, and frankly the only one where I would say the SPN element was really key, other than the "okay to be murderhusbands because the murder is justified" aspect of the second sub-fic, but I enjoyed most of the others too.

IDK how many people who signed on for one of those would feel when the fic started transitioning to a completely different fic genre while midway... So I really am very curious what the reception of the fic was like in real-time. [4]

Inspired Fanworks

Art

Further Reading

References

  1. ^ Link to Tumblr post discussing apokteino's account closure which speculates it was as result of a book deal, originally posted on 31/12/2020.
  2. ^ Anon comment on FFN, February 9, 2016
  3. ^ Anon comment on FFN, April 29, 2016
  4. ^ Anon comment on FFN, January 1, 2021
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