Track 41: Friends With Benefits

Welcome to episode forty-one of the Mixtape Book Club Podcast.

In this episode, Ellen and Mal welcome author tiamatv to discuss fics where Dean and Cas are friends with benefits. Fics include tiamatv’s Vibrato, Words with Friends by Anonymous, Tricks of the Trade by Trenchcoat_Impala, The Trouble With Blue Eyes by FriendofCarlotta, and plenty more.

You can find our Mixtape Book Club Ao3 collection here, containing the stories we’ve discussed on the podcast so far.

As always, Mixtape Book Club contains fic spoilers, swearing and discussion of adult topics. Please listen at your own discretion, with attention paid to any little ears that might be nearby!

A transcript is available for this episode.

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Our Guest – tiamatv

Tia pubishes her Destiel works on ao3.

Link to Fantasy Reverse Bang: https://www.tumblr.com/reversefantasyspnbang/724498020915429376/sign-ups-are-officially-open?source=share

Other works mentioned:

• Impression (109,137, E) – Pern-inspired dragon riders au
• South Side Swing series (75,859, E) – Chicago mafia au
• Stripes and Stitches series (45,071, E) – not quite soulmates
• Racing Stripes (37,644, M) – Sci-fi future Chigago
• Storm and Sentinel (64,397, E) – Fantasy au
• Spaceship Impala series (27,387, E) – alien Cas, space gays

WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike

Our podcast is in full support of the writers, actors, and crew currently striking in the USA. For ways you can help striking folks please check out this post: https://mashable.com/article/how-to-support-wga-writer-strike

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Featured fics (timestamps in brackets)

Vibrato by tiamatv [00:09:44]
Published for the Dean Cas Switch Bang in 2022, 70k words, E
Art by boeybite (https://boeybite.tumblr.com/post/683347389117038592/me-oh-my-what-is-this-its-the-dean-cas-switch)

The fact is, their meet-cute’s right out of a fucking storybook. Tale as old as time, or some shit.

Except Dean doesn’t get a hard-on for libraries or randomly burst into song. And Cas? Cas is way too nerdy and harmless for anyone to call him a beast.

Even if he does drink human blood.

(In which Castiel is a hereditary vampire, Dean just wants to introduce him to movies and rock music, and their friends-with-benefits situation is either the worst idea they’ve ever had… or the best.)

Words with Friends by Anonymous [00:39:08]

Published in 2014, 22k works, E

“Dean Winchester is as straight as an arrow. He’s a lady’s man of epic proportions: the king of the one night stand, the messiah of the friends with benefits paradigm, the emperor of perpetual bachelorhood.

Except, apparently, when it comes to his best friend, Castiel Novak.”

***

Wherein a longstanding acquaintanceship leads to friendship, then best friendship, then sexting, then dirty talk, then mutual masturbation, then, inevitably, fucking.

Other fics mentioned in this section:

• Four Letter Word for Intercourse by bendingsignpost (194,739, E)
• Unsolicited by Dangerousnotbroken (56,348, E)

Tricks of the Trade by Trenchcoat_Impala [00:50:10]
Published in 2021/22, 90k words, E

“I need you to find me a Dom.”
Cas nearly choked on his pizza. “Excuse me?”

Dean wants to see what the world of kinky sex is like so he turns to his best friend and roommate, Castiel Novak, who just so happens to be a Dom at a local BDSM club. Cas is happy to help Dean enter this new world, but when Dean has a bad experience with the Dom he’s paired with at the club, Cas takes it upon himself to show Dean the tricks of the trade. You know, as any good friend would do.

The Trouble With Blue Eyes by FriendofCarlotta [1:04:19]
Published for DCRB 2023, 15k, E

For years now, Dean Winchester has had a mutually beneficial arrangement with Castiel Novak, a fellow private eye. It’s good, it’s easy, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Well, except for one thing: Dean’s caught himself a bad case of feelings, and Cas doesn’t feel the same way.

Other FWB fics

• Friends with Benefits with Tentacles by andimeantittosting (7,661, E) – With podfic by NerdyNerdenstein
• The Dean Winchester Beat Sheet by saltyfeathers (144.488, E) – college au, gay panic
• one million fires burning by dothraki_shieldmaiden (248,986, E) – high school teachers with benefits
• riptides by sharkfish (138,635, E) – BDSM
• Playing with Fire by anyrei, queerwerewolf (116,432, E) – BDSM, DBCC 2017
• Caged Flowers by wingless (48,965, E) – Prison au, russian mafia
• Mixtape for my Teenage Crush by followyourenergy (72,092, M) – Rock band au
• Satin and Sawdust by Ltlflrt (159,595, E) – Handyman wears panties
• Holiday Homies by tricia_16 (57,285, E) – holiday plus ones
• Find Our Way by youaresunlight (25,812, E) – hockey au
• Christmas Countdown by ozonecologne (7518, M) – college au
• Doing It By The Book by amoosebouche (45,656, E) – college au, tropefest
• we’ll brush up on bad habits by superhoney (5,096, E) – long-distance relationship, AU
• Ex-Libris by marbleflan (24,930, E) – DCBB-2022, librarian au

Other links

• Love Destiel? Join the community of readers and writers at the Profound Bond Discord server. We have a Mixtape Book Club channel there!
• Our RedBubble shop is here. Any profits will go directly to Random Acts.

What’s your favorite friends with benefits fic? Please let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

Our intro music is “Angel with a Shotgun” by The Cab, arranged by Ellen.