Newsletter #54 for July 2015!

[ash48]

Welcome to the spn_littlebro newsletter #54 for July 2015!





Fevered Ramblings:

Who's Hurting Sam or Jared Lately?

• ayane42 has enjoyed three fantastic fics from this year's spn_J2_bigbang challenge. All of these are on AO3, so are available to download.
  
  Her first rec is Leaving Thoughts Below by Rockstarpeach Summary: It's sometime in the future. Or maybe it's an alternate reality. Overpopulation has led to a world full of concrete and glass and fake plastic food and it's forced the colonization of the moon. It's also led to population control and the outlawing of heterosexuality. Jared knows he's not like everybody else, but he wants to be. ayane42 says, "This is a really great story! Sad and angsty and claustrophobic. The characters and the situations felt so real to me. This features a long building relationship between Jared and Jensen. A definite must read!"


• The next story ayane42 would like to draw your attention to is I Will Anchor You by Lullys Summary: Jared Padalecki enjoys his life, he does. He currently subtitles porn movies for a living, but as a writer, the plan is to publish his own books someday. Apart from that, he is married to Tom, who is the love of his life or so Jared is convinced. But Jared's life comes crashing down when Tom announces that he's leaving him, with little to no explanation. Soon after, Jared finds out that his now ex-husband has a brand new boyfriend and they're going on a cruise to Italy together. So Jared, with the help of his two loyal friends, decides to board the same ship so he can try to win his husband back. She says, "This is a wonderful story about Jared losing his love and finding another. Lots of hurt!Jared. I had to keep reading!"
• ayane42 final rec in this category is Saving Jared by Annie46fic Summary: Rich Business man Jared is a well-known face in the ER. Is he just clumsy, as his elegant wife claims, or is there something more to his story? Can he be honest and admit that he is a victim of domestic violence? Worse still, can Jared admit that the violence has been perpetrated by his wife? Jensen is the Counselor who helps Jared come to terms with what is happening to him, and soon their relationship becomes more than just professional. The two men fall in love, but what happens when Jared’s wife finds out? It will take more than just love to solve Jared’s problems, but is he brave enough to take the next step? She say, "This is a great story about Jared being a victim of domestic violence and having to fight his way to freedom from an abusive wife".


• cherry916 has an emotional story to recommend. It's Sam Calling by foolscapper. Summary: It’s not like Dean waits for a call, thinks maybe one of these days Sam’ll be that sappy-eyed guy who can’t help but dial in and see what’s going on. But then, Sam didn’t bother writing letters or leaving messages when he was at Stanford, so… So fuck it. It’s done. That’s all she wrote.” Sam walks out on Dean after Gadreel. AU, not featuring the MoC. She says, "This made me cry. It is so beautifully written and well worded. Dean is perfectly written to be angry, grief stricken, and an emotional roller coaster that finds some peace in what happened. The sadness and despair really punches you in the gut but at the end you come to a nice, calm setting as Dean did."
• ash48 is going to take a little newsletter-compiler's liberty and recommend a story that doesn't exactly feature hurt!Jared, but is full of all the things she thinks hurt!Jared fans would love. It's The Heart Must Yield by deirdre_c. Summary: Jensen was just a common knight of the King's Guard, astonished to be named as Warden to young Jared, a cast-off son of one of the realm's great houses. Jared had been compelled to leave the monastery where he was stashed as a child to take on the title of Lord Padalecki after the unexpected death of his father. Jensen’s duty was to escort Jared to the royal court so that he could select a cousin from among the warring noble families to marry as a condition for his inheritance. Once they were enmeshed in the intrigues of the Court, Jensen realized he’d fallen unconscionably in love with his Ward. Yet while Jensen was bound by honor to urge Jared into the arms of another, it turned out Jared had other plans.. She says, "This is masterful world building. The characters are perfect. There's a wonderful energy between Jared and Jensen, including the push and pull of control and release. It's also fantastic to see how the author uses many of the other actors from the show in the story. Drop everything and read this if you haven't already!"
• madebyme_x highly recommends Astatine by zubeneschamali Summary: Jared never thought he'd be living in a post-apocalyptic world, but if anything fits that description, it's the Earth recovering from seven years of alien colonization. Adjusting to the new normal now that humans have regained their freedom, he and Jensen are trying to rebuild New York - and their own lives - while dealing with the trauma of all they went through under the occupation. But the world beyond Earth isn't done with them yet. Jared and Jensen might be better equipped than most to deal with a new and terrifying threat, but even their hard-won expertise and their reluctant alliance with old enemies might not be enough to save the planet a second time. Because in the end, even their trust in each other will become unstable. She says, "First class world-building with political history and backgrounds, characterizations, and edge of seat action - I loved it all, and I couldn't stop reading! I adored the focus on humanity and ethics, as well as J2's relationship. The POV of Jared when he was 'altered' and under mind control was spectacular, seeing first hand the toll it was putting on his mind and body." This is another fic written for the 2015 spn_j2_bigbang. It is the sequel to her previous story, Palladium. There is a PDF available on her LJ post.
• All Those Things I Didn't Say by Morganoconner is another story madebyme_x thoroughly enjoyed. Summary: Sam is forty-two years old the next time he meets God. She says, "A heart-felt and wonderful fic, that will probably bring a tear to your eye. It has a quiet but oh so satisfying tone, and I can't say much else without spoiling you, but go and read it now. You won't regret it!". This is a death-fic, but not your "usual" kind says the author.
• Be sure to check out all the spn_summergen fic currently being posted! We haven't discovered any hurt!Sam or Jared fic yet, but we'll let you know if we do. Keep an eye on our active archives.

Featured Fic Recs:

• cherry916 remembers Rumble Car by Phx Summary: Kind of an alternate 'Benders' type short story. One-shot is now a two-shot. She says, "This is a classic to me because Phx is one of those authors I got into when I first started reading fanfiction. I soaked in every episode tag I could get during that time and her little retelling of the Benders is another great literary example from her".


• Another oldie, but goodie is As the Clock Winds Down by Lady Vic. Summary: As one brother’s life hangs in the balance the other begins to understand the pain of being a helpless bystander as time runs out. Not all dangers are supernatural. madebyme_x says, "A wonderfully written good old fashioned hurt!Sam fic but with a twist - there's nothing Supernatural here! There's some excellent descriptions of the rescue scenes too - a must read!" She adds, "There's also plenty of worried big!bro Dean to enjoy".
  

Other Media:

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


• art: madebyme_x suggests you check out Sammy/Saint Sebastian by amberdreams. She says, "A haunting and beautifully drawn hurt!Sam in form of Saint Sebastian. I love the details on the branches, and Sam's expression is heart-breaking. The grey scale really works too!"
• art: Be sure to check out all the glorious artworks created for the above spn_j2_bigbang stories. Such amazing talent in our fandom!
  

What's Else?

Are you on tumblr? Would you be interested in posting hurt!Sam or hurt!Jared artworks to the little_bro tumblr? If so, let us know! Drop us a line and we can chat. :))