Newsletter #43 for August 2014
Welcome to the spn_littlebro newsletter #43 for August 2014!
How are you all managing to survive this ridiculously long hellatus? Hopefully our recs have been helping you out. Don't forget that if you find something that you think we'd love please let us know. You can PM one of the mods anytime if you think we've missed something. Or you can rec it yourself to this community.
Meanwhile, here's this month's
Fevered Ramblings:
Who's Hurting Sam or Jared Lately?
Don't forget to leave feedback to the authors and artists. It's always lovely to hear your work has been enjoyed. :)
How are you all managing to survive this ridiculously long hellatus? Hopefully our recs have been helping you out. Don't forget that if you find something that you think we'd love please let us know. You can PM one of the mods anytime if you think we've missed something. Or you can rec it yourself to this community.
Meanwhile, here's this month's
Fevered Ramblings:
Who's Hurting Sam or Jared Lately?
- reggie11 has thoroughly enjoyed Stalk Watch by mentholpixie. Summary: Dean is in full-blown panic mode by the time he finishes the four hour drive to Palo Alto. Sam hasn't answered any of his dozen phone calls with anything other than one cryptic text message. Quit calling. You won't believe it 'til you see it. It's a Gen fic and even though it features mpreg reggie11 says, "Although this is mpreg, it also isn't. Completely suitable for readers who don't read mpreg stories. It's more of a casefic. Set while Sam is at Stanford." She also adds, "This is one of the most intriguing stories I've read in ages, fabulously suspenseful, and it has you guessing right to the very end".
- She also recommends Wake by minchout. Summary: Gadreel has had Sam for four years, and Dean, lost in guilt and obsessed with finding a way to get his brother back, has isolated himself in a cabin in the Missouri Ozarks with nothing but the woods, a stray dog, some chickens, and all the books the Men of Letters had to offer to keep him company. Then Sam shows up one day without his passenger, and Dean learns quickly that it doesn't matter that Sam is with him again - there is still a lot of work to be done before they can find their way back to each other. This is a Sam/Dean fic and reggie11 says, "It's a great take on what could have been if Dean had not been able to find Gadreel when he ran off with Sam as his vessel. Sam is messed up to all hell and doesn't trust anything or anyone, including - maybe even especially - Dean".
- cherry916 has discovered a story that hurt!Jared fans can wallow in. Gone But Not Forgotten by dont_hate_me01. Summary: Jared and Jensen were childhood sweethearts, but then Jared and his family disappeared. Jensen was forced to move on and became a FBI agent, but always wondered about Jared. His questions are in part answered, when a mansion belonging to the Mafia gets raided. Jared is one of the slaves they rescue, and Jensen immediately wants to help him. Jared is now a very different man from the boy Jensen remembers and trust is one of the furthest things on Jared’s mind, but with patience, Jensen reminds Jared what it feels like to be loved and protected, and slowly Jared’s story begins to unravel. This is a J2 AU fic and is a story from this year's spn_j2_bigbang. cherry916 says, "I couldn't put this story down! Her storytelling is just so enchanting, it really does draw you in and this one is definitely no different. Jared disappears with his family at an early age and Jensen, his lover, never forgets him. He even goes into law enforcement so he can find him. One day their fates cross again and in this thriller/drama they have to find their way back to one another". The themes are heavy so we recommend you read the warnings.
- cherry916 would also like to draw your attention to Twenty-Four Days in a Cabin by the prolific K Hanna Korossy. Summary: The Girl Next Door missing scenes: From the hospital getaway to Rufus' cabin, two Winchesters and a Singer recover. cherry916 says this is "more comfort than hurt, and is part of her ongoing behind the scenes/episode tag stories that delve more deeply into the episodes. This takes place during The Girl Next Door, specifically during their escape from the hospital. It shows us all the juicy h/c we were denied during the episode, and as always shows the characters thoughts and feelings during that time".
- ayane42 has enjoyed a story that features equal Jared and Jensen hurt. So This Is How I'm Slipping Away by fairygrrl45. Summary: Jensen knew in that moment, as all feeling left him…sensation draining out of his fingertips, and everything stiff and immovable except for his eyes, still tracing the distance for that familiar red shirt, he knew…he would never see him again. Jared was gone. He was gone forever. This is a J2 fic and ayane42 says, "This is a haunting story, that is really scary and heart wrenching". She also says that is has a "sort of a happy ending".
- harrigan has thoroughly enjoyed kalliel's Dry Salvages. It's a gen fic and is AU after 9.13. Summary: The First Blade is at the bottom of the deepest ocean; Sam and Dean go get it. With the help of a little cross-pollinated magic, Dean undergoes an unusual transformation, for in the deep there's more than a handful of origin stories that interweave and undercut the Blade's. As Sam struggles to reclaim himself in the wake of Gadreel's departure, he discovers that in the primordial sea, Heaven and Hell are not so far removed. And both might be clamoring his name. / However, with Dean faltering under the grim accretions of the last few years and the demands of his transformation, and Sam caught up in the impossibility of his own traumas (not to mention the return of an old temptation), it might not be Heaven and Hell that set the pace. From Kansas to Victoria British Columbia, they have 1600 miles to get their shit together or drown. / AKA the one where Dean is a whale, and Sam takes back Sam. harrigan says, "If you like your h/c with a heavy dose of comfort, this isn't the fic you're looking for. But if you like to wallow in S9 angst and then throw some physical injuries on top of that, and Sam ignoring his injuries to try to persevere.... you'll find that here, all wrapped up in fantastic imagery, and character voices that capture perfectly the emotional pain and dysfunctional communications of the second half of S9. It's a brutal read; the warnings would usually put me off, but this author is so talented that I got sucked in and couldn't put it down" She also says to make sure you check out the art by blueteainfusion.
- harrigan also recommends a timestamp to the epic To the Stars and Back . This one's called Still Looking for the Second Star on the Right. They are by cleflink. She says, "This is fun little snippet of pure Jared!whump (prisoner torture) and Jensen to the rescue! (J2 in space!!)".
- spn_reversebang is back! Sign ups are happening September 1st!
- reggie11 has been impressed by the Invisible Boy series by Dollylux on AO3 (aka melungeoned). Summaries: There are two fics to the series, Ballad of the Invisible Boy: This is a story of adolescence. This is a love letter for the slow burn, for Led Zeppelin, for the 90s. This is the first of three sets of stories about how Sam and Dean didn’t fall in love. They never had to. It was always there, this desperation between them, like a real, breathing thing. When they came together, it was inevitable. As sure as continents colliding, as the phases of the moon and the life and death of stars. This isn’t a love story, but it’s a story of love. And the sequel, Two-Headed Boy: Sam's life from sixteen to twenty-two years old. This is a story of the last days of innocence during a sweltering Southern summer when Sam is so in love with his brother, he can barely stand his touch. It's the pain between them through lies, through jealousy, through seeing each other with someone else. Theirs is a story of leaving and Stanford, of Dean feeling lost and Sam nearly losing himself without his brother. It's fire and reunion and a love never lost - ever-present and no longer deniable. reggie11 says, "The sequel was the author's Big Bang entry this year so I thought I'd better read the original story and I was so very glad I did. Both are utterly heartbreaking and incredibly well told. Sam's pain is tangible throughout. I cried...a lot. And the art is absolutely magnificent." She also warns "that the first story contains a school shooting and this may be triggery for some. Both Sam and Dean are paired with numerous other people throughout including Cassie and Jess, so yes, there is het sex also".
- cherry916 has found a goody from 2011 Should Be by exd_fic. Summary: Jensen moves into a new apartment and is immediately smitten with the beautiful, shy guy who lives across the hall but the shy guy - Jared - has a boyfriend so Jensen has to content himself with looking and not touching, although he wants to touch, oh God, does he ever. He then finds out that Jared's boyfriend is abusive and things escalate until he overhears the boyfriend raping/attempting to rape Jared and knows he can't keep quiet anymore. Furious Jensen to the rescue!. It's J2 AU and cherry916 says, "This explores Jared as the shy, quiet neighbor across the hall in the apartment building Jensen moves into. All isn't right in the household, however and Jensen soon picks up on what Jared is going through". She recommends that you check the warnings before reading.
- GIFs, picspams, etc.: Keep your eye on the constantly updated spnlittlebro tumblr for more great hurt!Sam discoveries!
- art: cherry916 loves Imprisoned by Blakravell. She says, "An absolutely gorgeous rendition of that scene in The Man That Knew Too Much where Sam talks to his hell self. This is a close up shot of Sam from Hell and the shadows and low lighting all make this heartbreaking and absolutely mesmerizing at the same time".
- art: reggie11 recommends you take a look at The Beast Under Your Bed by Silent-My-Voice at DeviantART. She says, "This is a traditional art piece of Sam plagued by hallucinations while in the psych ward in season 7. Chilling".
- art:harrigan has received a fabulous work of art from amber1960, hurt!Sam and hurt!Dean Summary: Sam is sitting down while Dean sorts out his sling, and maybe stitches him up too, though it looks like Dean might need a bit of attention as well. harrigan says, "Wow - can amber1960 create beautiful bruising! This picture is spellbinding--the rich colors, Sam's nose and eyelashes and Dean's poor busted lip... I love the little details (plaid shirt!) and the fact that something has happened, but it's left to us to imagine what's going on in the brothers' thoughts as Dean tends Sam's injuries. To top it off (as if you need any more excuse to rush over and savor the wonderfulness)... Sam is shirtless!
- music videos: Ash48 was impressed with superkitte's recent AU vid Slow Down. She says, "Sam finds a way of bringing Dean back from the dead but with dire consequences. It's heartbreaking, but very well conceived".
- podfic: Our mods haven't caught up with the podfics lately, so if you know of any please feel free to rec!
- eBooks etc.: We are very lucky these days that most fics are available to download as PDFs or EPUBS etc. From the stories above, these ones are available to download: Wake, Gone But Not Forgotten, So This Is How I'm Slipping Away, Invisible Boy series, Dry Salvages and Still Looking for the Second Star on the Right.
Don't forget to leave feedback to the authors and artists. It's always lovely to hear your work has been enjoyed. :)