u/DependentBet1803

For months, I’ve been looking for fanfics featuring a young Castiel and Dean, with themes of bullying and heavy subject matter. In many teen AU fics, it’s Dean who faces bullying, trauma, mental health issues, and even sexual assault. But I want to find a fic where Castiel is the one suffering the most. I recently remembered a fic I read ages ago called "Why Are You Doing This?" I absolutely loved it; I empathized with Cas so damn much—I even cried. (I don’t know why, but I love it when Castiel gets the rawest deal, even though he’s my absolute favorite character.) The fic is unfinished, which, in my opinion, is actually fitting. Dean is such a piece of shit in it—too much so to be forgiven or to pull off an "enemies-to-lovers" arc.

Anyway, there are over a hundred thousand Destiel fanfics on AO3 alone, so I’m hoping there’s something similar out there. When I was looking for similar fics, people recommended: "Hautley's Bend" by Coldinthe Studio and "The Shadows We Draw" by orphan_account. To be honest, though, I didn't really care for them. They’re well-written, but I guess they just lacked the kind of drama I was looking for.

I’m hoping that within a fandom as massive as the Destiel fandom, there’s something out there that suits my taste. I’ve noticed that people in this fandom mostly read the same hundred or so popular fics, even though there are countless others available. There are SO many lesser-known fics that are likely just gathering dust on the site, missing out on the popularity they deserve. I’d appreciate any links or titles—they don’t necessarily have to be from AO3; recommendations from other sites are welcome too. I’d be thrilled to read ANY fics that match my description! I hope I actually get a response—this is my first time posting here.

(I am writing this using a translator because my English is poor. Please forgive me if I haven't expressed my thoughts clearly or if there are errors in my writing.)