rec search #7: hidden gem recs (gen, Dean/Sam, Sam/Dean/OFC, etc.)
Rec Search Results:
Hidden Gems
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For fun, a mod will occasionally put together one of these rec searches. (You can still make your own rec post at any time, fyi.) Rec search info and a rec search masterlist can be found HERE, and you can leave any suggestions for types of rec searches you would like to see there.
These recs were compiled from our last rec search. The theme of the rec search was 'hidden gems'.
Thank you so very much, reccers, for pushing some lesser-known fic into the spotlight for this! And of course, if anyone has any other criminally under-appreciated fics to recs, please leave them in the comments to this post so that others can check them out. ;)
Title: Atrophy
Author: Anonymous on the h/c meme
Tags: depression, curse/spell, fever, suicide ideation, crying!dean
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: Season 4-6
Warnings: mentions of suicide
Summary/Prompt: Dean is cursed or infected by something that augments your emotions. But this being set anytime from s4 to post-series (I’m thinking of what Famine said about Dean’s emptiness in My Bloody Valentine and I definitely don’t think that’s wholly healed) it’s less of an outpouring of visible emotion for the most part and more of an all-consuming, don’t-want-to-even-get-out-of-bed depression. This leads to them having to confront that this is how Dean feels on a regular basis, just at a lower level.
Reccer’s comments: One of my absolute favorite commentfics. It's understated and hurty and beautiful.
Title: So It Goes
Author: 9091
Tags: abandonment issues, self-esteem issues
Characters: Dean, John
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Dean said some vile shit when he woke up and Sam was gone.
Reccer’s comments: My favorite part about this fic is how it makes smart!reading!Dean very believable and uses it to show how lonely Dean is when Sam is at Stanford.
Title: Whiskey Wracked
Author: puchuupoet
Tags: alcoholism, daddy issues
Characters: Sam, Dean, John
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13? Probably.
Word-count: 2500
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary: It's late August, and it's already too hot, even without the weatherman announcing the heat wave rolling through the state.
Reccer’s comments: Beautiful, simple, and simply beautiful look at the pre-series roots of what lives the Winchesters eventually come to lead.
Title: A Utility Belt and Everything
Author: eschatologies @enderspeaks
Tags: fever, hiding an illness and/or secrets (somebody finds out), injury (misc.)
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 2500
Spoilers: Season 2
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: Dean is feverish and belligerent and circumstances (of the author's choosing) dictate that Sam does not have time for this shit--he just needs Dean to sit down, take the damn meds, and not make things worse. Sam can handle this. Literally.
Reccer’s comments: The h/c dimensions are delicious, Sam and Dean's interactions are spot on, and its inclusion into the canon timeline (the aftermath of 2x14 "Born Under a Bad Sign) is wondrous.
Title: and if the dam breaks open
Author: vie-dangerouse
Tags: vessel!Dean, mutism
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 1500
Spoilers: Season 2
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: Dean gets sick and loses his voice after he said yes to Michael.
Reccer’s comments: There's this bright intensity to every moment in this fic, yet there's a transience, too. It's beautiful. I love the non-verbal communication, the note-writing. The dark current of vessel!Dean and MICHAEL present throughout.
Title: Another Saturday Night
Author: nwspaprtaxis
Tags: carried!Dean, hungover, anxiety/panic attack, broken bone/fracture, concussion/head trauma, dizziness/vertigo, fainting/collapse
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 1600
Spoilers: Season 1
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: A random bar. Another Saturday night. And Sam's still the one taping up his brother.
Reccer’s comments: Think about those days you just ache for S1 hungover!fic. This hits that nail on the head and then some. Perfect satiation. :)
Title: Cold and Empty
Author: smokeyhorse
Tags: carried!dean, captivity, exhaustion, hypothermia/extreme cold, hospitaliziation
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 1700
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: Dean is attacked by an ice demon. Hurt!Dean. Pre-series - Sam's at Stanford.
Reccer’s comments: Perfectly captures the POV of a person suffering from hypothermia, with a fantastic, worried John to the rescue - adding that soft, more human side to John that we only got hints of in canon.
Title: In Good Hands
Author: scullspeare
Tags: burns, concussion/head trauma
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 20k
Spoilers: Season 2
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: A banishing gone wrong leaves Sam caring for an injured Dean. But the brothers' determination to finish the job puts both their lives in jeopardy.
Reccer’s comments: Pretty much everything scullspeare writes is hurt!Dean or hurt!Sam or both. She excels at episodic casefics with realistic brotherly banter (esp. from Dean), and she's fairly new to LJ. This fic, a bit over 20K, is a good example of her forte.
Title: put your arms around me like a ring around the sun
Author: topaz119
Tags: sex magic, supernatural illness, exhaustion
Characters: Sam, Dean, OFC
Genre/pairing: Sam/Dean, Sam/Dean/OFC
Rating: NC-17
Word-count: 15,7k
Spoilers: Season 6
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: When something gets hold of Dean, Sam is determined to find a way to save his brother. The quest leads the Winchesters to the top of a mountain in North Carolina and a last-ditch plan to get Dean free before it's too late.
Reccer’s comments: This was wonderful on so many levels. The way the author wrote Dean and Sam's relationship as being both warm and complicated was just perfect. I enjoyed the case too.
If you’re wondering about the pairings, the OC is a strong one, though the focus remains on Sam and Dean, and it’s all just AWESOME.
Title: This Place Is Haunted
Author: ebolacrisis
Tags: abandonment issues, daddy issues, self-esteem issues, child abuse, emotional abuse, bed sharing, physical assault/abuse
Characters: Sam, Dean, John
Genre/pairing: Sam/Dean (mild), John
Rating: R
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: John had picked a medium-sized mausoleum, built with old, crumbling blackened stone.
Reccer’s comments: This fic hurts. It's so well crafted and intense, and just, ouch.
Title: Hoping for Replacement
Author: honeylocusttree
Tags: age regression (physical), psychological trauma, psychological damage/broken!Dean, supernatural trauma
Characters: Sam, Dean, John, Mary
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13?
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary/Prompt: “Hey,” he says, “Hey Dean. It’s okay now. I’m here. It’s okay.”
Reccer’s comments: This is fantastically creepy and well-done, as all of honeylocusttree’s fics are, as well as being perhaps the most original take on the trope of age regression I’ve ever read. It’s entirely without fluff, and just, a very cool concept the author has come up with here.
Title: Where do you bury the survivors? (Note: membership is required in order to view, but membership is open.) ETA: The fic is re-posted here.
Author: anon
Tags: undisclosed
Characters: Sam, Dean, John, Mary
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: R?
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: Implied sexual abuse of minor.
Summary: Someone makes some sort of comment to Sam and Dean about John molesting Dean (think like in Jus in Belo when Victor made that remark about how John "touched him in the bad place" but more graphic). Dean sneers but otherwise doesn't really react but Sam? Sam starts thinking. And remembering. And then wondering if it could actually have happened.
Reccer’s comments: Gutting, in a wonderful way. I loved how it kept you guessing.
Title: hands of time only rule this chapter
Author: alwaysenduphere
Tags: psychological issues, self-harm
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: Sam/Dean
Rating: R
Word-count: 1000
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: self harm
Summary: You can't force an addict to stop, Sam knows this better than anyone.
Reccer’s comments: Lots of delicious comfort here! Sad and sweet.
Title: Gone
Author: wave-obscura
Tags: child abuse, physical assault/abuse
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: References to non-sexual child abuse.
Summary: Dean tells Sam the truth: sometimes Dad gets too rough when they spar.
Reccer’s comments: This is one of wave-obscura’s lesser known fics, and I really like it. It’s painful and powerful. It does give us a look at what life could have been like for the Winchesters if John had dealt with Mary’s death a different way, so do take note of that/the warnings.
Title: Gravitational Lens
Author: chaos_erevos
Tags: depression, PTSD, self-harm
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: 3800
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: self-harm (cutting), hell/post-hell issues
Summary: Dean and his shitty coping mechanisms. Sam's idea of help isn't much better.
Reccer’s comments:This is a GREAT look at Dean, and his (not so great) coping mechanisms. The author’s writing style is so rhythmic, and raw but wonderfully sparse at the same time. There are so many great character insights here too. Loooove.
Title: Trapped in Neverland
Author: beth-summer
Tags: age regression (physical), bruises/bruising, curse/spell, physical assault/abuse
Characters: Sam, Dean, John
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: N/A
Word-count: 3800
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: underage drinking
Summary: Despite all the moving around and the hunting and the constant training, Dean knew that he had one big responsibility: Take care of Sam.
Reccer’s comments:This is a prequel, or the backstory, if you will, to the first story in a ‘verse that gives us a really intriguing, different, and altogether awesome look at the de-aging trope. You should def read the other fic as well, btw, although it’s not necessary to understand this one.
Title: a piece of night
Author: kalliel
Tags: PTSD, hell/post-hell issues
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13?
Word-count: 700
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Bones don't mean as much as they used to.
Reccer’s comments: Do you remember the scene in 5x22 where Chuck is describing Sam and Dean stargazing on the hood of the Impala? This is the author’s version of Winchester Star Gazing Bro Time, and it’s a shiny little gem of a fic.
Title: Sleeping Patterns
Author: demonic-fish
Tags: depression, alcoholism
Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: R
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: Season 5
Warnings: mentions of rape/torture/violence, but nothing that wasn't implied on the show
Summary: After defeating Lucifer Sam and Dean try to get back into hunting, but things are not quite right. Dean's depressed, Sam is tired, and it looks like the only reason someone abducted three women is to fuck with them, specifically.
Reccer’s comments: This shows us beautifully how Dean gradually slips deeper into depression after the apocalypse has been averted. Apparently the fic was started early season 5, but rings very true even of season 7 (now). Also a fair bit of Dean-whump. One of my new favourites. Made my heart hurt so much. *sigh*
Title: That Other Home
Author: mad-server
Tags: fever, hypothermia, post-hell issues
Characters: Sam, Dean
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: Season 4
Warnings: N/A
Summary: The car breaks down in a snowstorm. Dean follows suit.
Reccer’s comments: How mad-server uses temperature in this piece to describes Dean's hell issues and how easily Sam is able to understand it is BRILLIANT. Then there is lovely snuggling and comfort, which is perfection. <3*
Title: Untitled (the top picture on the page)
Author: august-monsoon
Tags: hypothermia, unconsciousness
Characters: Dean, Castiel
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG?
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary:
Reccer’s comments: The artist's style is absolutely gorgeous, and you almost feel as if you can touch the characters themselves <3 Especially observe Castiel's hands :D
Title: Twelve Steps (of Being Dean Winchester)
Author: apodiopsys
Tags: alcoholism, depression, post-hell issues, suicidal ideation
Characters: Dean, Sam
Genre/pairing: The author lists it as Sam/Dean, but I'd say it'll pass as gen.
Rating: R
Word-count: N/A
Spoilers: Season 7
Warnings: Mentions of suicide.
Summary: Simply existing is painful. Dean has coping mechanisms.
Reccer’s comments: A look into Dean's head this season, and an incredibly hurty one. And while it's brutal and bleak, it's also spot-on.
Title: The Damned Lie In Fire and In Snow
Author: rainylemons
Tags: hell/post-hell issues, raynaud's disease/phenomenon, repressed memories
Characters: Dean, Sam, Alastair
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: R
Word-count: 12599
Spoilers: Season 6
Warnings: graphic descriptions of hell, mentions of past sexual abuse (in hell)
Summary: Sam and Dean work a job during the winter where half of the bodies are burned and half are frozen. Dean remembers an unpleasant encounter in hell that leads them both to believe that something older than man might be at work.
Reccer’s comments: Hell!fic at it's horrific best, embedded in a great case.
Title: The Cross Seems So High Tonight
Author: fromcainwthlove
Tags: hell/post-hell issues, insomnia, nausea/vomiting
Characters: Dean, Sam
Genre/pairing: implied/one-sided Dean/Sam
Rating: R
Word-count: 1800
Spoilers: Season 4
Warnings: N/A
Summary: It's two months since Castiel dragged him back up, smooth as a river rock, the living memories wiped clean from his skin, and no one's had a hand on him but Sam and the single time he hugged Bobby.
Reccer’s comments: Shell-shocked Dean, caring Sam, PTSD up the wazoo. In short, everything that S4 should've been and wasn't.
Title: Sense (the last picture)
Artist: thruterryseyes
Tags: carried!dean
Characters: Dean, Castiel
Genre/pairing: none/gen
Rating: PG-13
Word-count:N/A
Spoilers: N/A
Warnings: N/A
Summary:
Reccer’s comments: I just love the way caring!Cas is carrying injured Dean.
Rec contributers for this post include: biketest, kalliel, jaimeykay, harrigan, maypoles, katiki7, juppschmitz, anon reccers and myself, geckoholic.
➽ This post was compiled by geckoholic and is posted under this account for organizational purposes.