newsletter #34 (November 2013)

Nov 15, 2013 10:18

Welcome to the spn_littlebro newsletter #34 for November 2013!





\o/ Woot! We have a new header for the newsletter, thanks to shalia74. We're so lucky to have such talent in our fandom!

And here it is--November 2013. Thirty years ago, the yellow-eyed demon Azazel took Mary Winchester from her family, fed Sam demon blood, and started the surviving Winchesters on a tragic journey that has us spellbound. Happy anniversary!

Also, major BINGO news! See the bottom section of the newsletter for details.

Fevered Ramblings:

Here's a handful of other things your spn_littlebro team is raving about right now. (And if you like these as much as we do, be sure to comment to the person who created it!)

Who's Hurting Sam or Jared Lately?
  • harrigan has two recs from the samdean_otp minibang! Even though she rarely reads Sam/Dean, these two fics over 20K deserve all the kudos!
    • Living on Flood Tides by cherie_morte warns for NC-17 explicit sexual content (including somnophilia and the dubcon that comes with it), references to torture, non-con, and all other manners of fun Hell trauma (not graphic), and implications of a relationship that has been going on since Sam was underage (he could have been 18, but it definitely started pre-series). Summary: AU after 5x22: Sam mysteriously returns from the cage and Dean thinks their problems are solved. Unfortunately, Sam is so shaken from his time in Hell that he can't-won't?-even talk to Dean, and when natural disasters begin to occur as frequently as they did when the Devil was walking the Earth, Dean realizes his brother may have acquired some of the angel's powers without picking up the ability to control them. In order to prevent Sam from hurting anyone, Dean finds a house as far from anything as he can manage and settles there to wait until the day Sam gets better-or until they both get killed by Sam's grace. harrigan says "This exploration of Sam's post-hell devastation was a little outside outside my comfort zone, but worth it. I can never resist the wonderful imagination and writing style that this author always delivers. And the art by quickreaver is stunning!"
    • On the other hand, Cardinal Hunter by zuben_eschamali is, says harrigan, "an action-adventure extravaganza. The h/c is fairly mild, esp. considering Sam gets a permanently disabling arm injury early on, but as is always the case with Sam and Dean, there is delicious angst too. zuben_eschamali made me tear up in an airport boarding gate, dammit!" Summary: Saving people. Hunting kaiju. The family business. AU fusion with Pacific Rim, starting when Sam is at Stanford. "It's such a brilliant idea!," harrigan adds. "So many perfect parallels, stopping the apocalypse, the likelihood of going down together fighting... the way they can't verbalize what they really feel. Using the drift to ensure there are no secrets and lies, and they can be/have to be completely honest together -- it's amazing how well they fit in this 'verse. It's all executed flawlessly and there's bonus art too, by mashimero."
  • jessm78 has a find this month! Last Resort by unzum. Summary: Dean keeps dying and Sam can't change that. But Sam's last resort might just be the last thing he ever does. Mystery Spot fic. SPN gen, under 3K, our reccer likes it because "the author portrays Sam's angst so well over the course of the events of this episode. And she gets Sam's and Dean's voices down SO well. And the ending scene is just amazing. I love it!"
  • ash48 recs Dandy in the Underworld this month, written by dear-tiger. Summary: They say there is a secret game in Las Vegas, the greatest one of all, in which the hero plays against the dragon for three nights, and the prize is a wish granted, and the penalty is death. A new player arrives to try his luck, only to discover that the game is held in a dump of a house in the desert and that the dragon is a dude named Dean, chained to the house by the ankle. The hero soon realizes that he cannot leave unless he wins. The dragon is growing blood-thirsty, the game makes no sense, and the hero’s only hope are the clues dropped by the dragon’s brother who’s just along for the ride. It's a horror story featuring 12K of Sam/Dean, and Ash says, "dear-tiger has created a brilliant outsider POV story. She weaves gorgeous imagery with an intriguing story line that will have you guessing until the very end. The Sam hurt is wonderfully subtle (but definitely there), and the way the brothers work together to solve this mystery is inspired. You will also love cassiopeia7's fabulous artwork that is featured through the story (the art work is spoilery for the story so do not cheat and check it all out before you've enjoyed the story)."
  • As usual, we're delighted to see that ohsam can't let Nov 2nd pass by unacknowledged. Over 100 prompts have been left for hurt!Sam fics, and claiming is still open!
  • A Sam-focused h/c challenge!



Featured Fic Recs:
  • The *official* hc_bingo challenge accepts collections of 10 or more fic recs to complete a square. So harrigan has filled her square for lost childhood with a post full of 20+ fic recs dealing with the Winchester boys' pre-series years. Check out her post here for some wallow-worthy damaged Winchesters growing up.
  • ayane42 has a theme this month: mpreg! One Sam/Dean, and a more recent Jared/Jensen.
    • The Killing Moon by poisontaster. Graphic m/m incest. Mpreg. Language. Quasi-apocalyptic futurefic, miscarriage, angst. SO VERY AU. ayane42 says, "This is one of those stories where the boys don't start out in a romantic relationship, but are forced by circumstances to do so. Set in a grim future, only certain males can get pregnant. In order to keep his family together, John tells Dean to get Sam pregnant. This is a wonderful story filled with angst and the conflicting emotions of having to get your brother pregnant."
    • It Takes a Lot of Water by compo67. This is an AU where humans are split in two categories: powerful, dominant Masters and submissive, fertile breeders. First breeders and second breeders occupy each household in a precarious balance. This is Jared's household and his story. Reads like a/b/o. ayane42 lists the types of hurt as Slavery, Mpreg, Rape/Non-con, Violence, Physical Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Heavy Angst, Male Lactation, Milking, Time Travel, graphic birth, Miscarriage, Blood, Torture, Character Death/Not really Character Death, and says, "Wow!! This is one of those stories I just couldn't stop reading!! Filled with heaps of angst, but also lots of violence and abuse. Jared is young here, around 13 years old. Set in an alternate universe, it is dark and seemingly hopeless until the arrival of Jensen. And then it really gets good!! I couldn't read fast enough!! You have to read it to follow the string, what's really happening here!! Very long fic (over 150k) but well worth the read!!" Bonus: The author is starting a sequel!
  • No mpreg in this one: For an SPN gen rec, ayane42 brings us The War by UnderneathTheBunker. Summary: What drove Sam to run away to Flagstaff? An unexpected turn of events on a hunt almost tears the family apart. WARNING: disturbing imagery. Our reccer says there is wee!chester, pre-series, emotional trauma, and mild physical abuse, and adds, "I've read this twice and I am still floored by how real the author makes the boys and their father and Bobby."


Other Media:
  • GIFs, picspams, etc.: Keep your eye on the constantly updated spnlittlebro tumblr for more great hurt!Sam discoveries!

  • art: ayane42 recs this drawing by wifihunters, and says it's "a beautiful picture of Sam/Ezekiel, just wow!!"
  • art: ayane42 is also thrilled to share Let Me Tell You What His Soul Felt Like by kikistiel. "Just wow!!" ayane42 raves. "A really great piece of art showing what Sam's soul looked like!!"
  • art: cherry916 is moved by a sketch called The epic love story of Sam and Dean by maidenskull. Cherry says, "A beautiful drawing of Sam and Dean (likely around S8) that is just stunning and wonderfully shaded. It still amazes me what spn artits can do with a pencil (or a ball point pen as petite is so fond of using!) it has so many emotions emanating from it. The likenesses are also incredibly accurate as well, all from Dean's eye crinkles and the gentle swoop of Sam's hair."

  • music videos: Once again, Loki aka secretlytodream blows us away, this time with Eventually the Birds by Loki aka secretlytodream. ash48 says, "I'm always impressed at how well Loki understand's Sam and his struggles. This video focuses on the scene in the church at the end of 8.22. She weaves some poignant and powerful visuals in with the dialogue. It will have you reaching for the tissues by the end."

  • podfics: glovered does a bang-up job recording A Series of bad Decisions and Awkward Conversations, written by de_nugis. (Text version available here. The story is Sam/Dean, PG13, 7K, set in season 7.) Dean tries to fix Sam. Talks ensue. harrigan says that glovered has a nice pace, never too slow. de_nugis is brilliant at dialogue, and glovered captures that just right: the narrator POV sounds distinct from the spoken dialogue, which has all the cadences and individual styles you'd expect. Sam is so damaged in season 7, and Dean so... Dean about it.
  • eBooks, etc.: Check out It Takes a Lot of Water, rec'd above. Posted on AO3, so it's downloadable in a variety of eReader formats. Also, Dandy in the Underworld, rec'd above, is available at AO3 here. Finally, go here for a PDF of Living on Flood Tides, rec'd above.

Team Bingo status:

We did it! We completed our first bingo (five completed squares in the last column)! A huge thanks to everyone who contributed. But you know what? We aren't done. We are running this till the end of 2013, with a goal of generating as much new hurt!Sam or hurt!Jared as we can. Multiple fills from the same prompt? Fine! Art or music videos or meta? Great! Podfics of prior stories? Totally welcome!

parting ways **
rely on enemy
learning to be loved *
crucifixion
sexual extortion

nervous breakdown
attacked by a creature
forced soulbonding *
combat
therapy

suicide attempt
slaves *
WILD CARD
disappearing *
deprogramming

bruises
tyranny / rebellion
sacrifice *
cuddling for warmth
making deals with demons

burns *
undeserved reputation *
waterboarding
food poisoning
scars

The red prompts already have fills! Woo hoo! And asterisks show pledges. So far, we've celebrated these fills:
This month we can add:
  • [making deals with demons]: Playing with Fire by center-galaxy. Summary: Dean is hurt badly and Sam is desperate enough to make a demon deal to save his brother. He quickly finds out that this isn't your usual deal though and Sam suddenly has to keep distance between he and his brother or Dean will die. Should be easy, right? Think again. This is SPN gen, set in season 2, and runs 2-3K. The best part of the story is the set of conditions Sam must meet to satisfy the deal!
We're just one square away from another bingo in multiple directions! Let's keep it going -- your filled square will be featured in a special spn_littlebro post in early January.

Got any questions? Or already signed up and may need an extension? Reply to this post and we'll help!)

Not sure what all this team bingo is about? Click on the GIF to read all about it and come join the fun!



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