there's no forgetting (PTSD!Dean fic recs)
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So. Oh my god, I loved season 4, but I felt like they could have delved so much deeper into Dean’s psyche post-hell. I really wanted to see more of that that emotional arc. So, here are some recs where season 4 Dean is dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or at least symptoms of PTSD. If you have any similarly themed recs, (or self-recs), please leave them in the comments to this post so that others can check them out.
Please Exit Hell Quietly Through The Rear Doors by innocentculprit
Author’s notes/summary: Dean’s shell-shocked like you wouldn’t believe, Bobby’s worrying himself into a peptic ulcer, and Sam... well, Sam’s feeling a little dark. Too bad that war won’t wait. Dean, Sam, Bobby, OMCs, gen.
Reccer's notes: I think this is the only fic I’ve seen that really deals with Dean’s little alcohol problem that we caught a glimpse of at the beginning of this season - and it deals with it brilliantly. Bobby is amazing here as well. Yet another thing this fic does well is the way it captures Sam’s increasingly dark season 4 mindset, how he's trying so hard to do right by his brother, to take care of him and to get revenge for him, that you can see him losing himself in the process. Oh, Sammy.
Tags: alcoholism, drunk, nightmares, intoxication/altered state, post-hell issues, PTSD, substance abuse (alcohol), ep: "Heaven and Hell"
Underworld by Mirrordance
Author’s notes/summary: The Winchesters stumble into the work of a serial killer running loose in New York, as if Dean's post-traumatic stress syndrome, the police, and 2 Subway ghosts weren't enough to deal with. Sam, Dean, gen.
Reccer's notes: The emotional stuff here has the backdrop of an awesome casefile, something I’m always looking for in SPN fic. Great stuff!
Tags: substance abuse (drugs), drugs (psychiatric), hospitalization, injury, post-hell issues, PTSD, torture
When The Mirror Is Not Working (Face True North) by pdragon76
Author’s notes/summary: Words are like fissures. Dean, Sam, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is an absolutely beautifully written fic, with Dean falling slowly apart and Sam just being there.
Tags: nightmares, post-hell issues, PTSD
Thorn In Your Side by smilla02
Author’s notes/summary: Now that it's out in the open, Dean can’t stop picking at it. Dean, Sam, Castiel, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is another beautifully written fic, one that really delivers with this wonderful Sam-comforting-Dean moment I want to see soooo bad on the actual show - without it being overly sentimental or anything but perfect. You should read this!
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD, ep: "Heaven and Hell"
The Flames That Licked His Skin by splashpink @ thecoinbikini
Author’s notes/summary: Dean continued on as if nothing has changed. He might well have spent the lost months vacationing in Haiti, working on his tan and the notches in his bedpost. Dean, Sam, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is short, but packs quite a punch. And the last line is killer!
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD
It’s the Capital of Sweden, Dean by strangeandcharm
Author’s notes/summary: Dean might have left Hell, but Hell hasn’t left him. Dean/Alastair, Castiel/Dean (sort of), Sam.
Reccer's notes: Okay, so I’m not sure if Dean actually has PTSD here, but he has a weird Stockholm Syndrome thing going on with Alistair that’s just brilliant aaand this is my rec list, so there.
Tags: post-hell issues, repressed memories, sexual assault/abuse, stockholm syndrome
Aftermath 'verse: The Canon's Mouth / Conscience Wide as Hell / Mad Blood Stirring by tabaqui
Author’s notes/summary: It took Sam four months to get Dean out of Hell. Four months in which the world was black and white - on mute. Four months, six days, and seventeen hours and Sam felt like he might sleep for a year, after. Dean slept for three days. The first in the series is 100% gen, but it becomes wincest in the later parts.
Reccer's notes: This one was written pre-season 4, but it’s based during that time period. This is the Dean I kind of wish we’d gotten back, prone to flashbacks and violent outbursts, dangerous without meaning to be. A+ in every way.
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD
No One Is Asking (So Leave It Alone) by xzombiexkittenx
Author’s notes/summary: Everyone has their coping mechanisms. Sam’s getting everything under control, one step at a time. Sam/Dean
Reccer's notes: This fic is written in Sam’s POV, and just totally GETS him. The author shares my personal view of season 4 Sam, and so this fic holds a special place in my heart. Oh, and there’s some feverish!Dean in there too, mmm.
Tags: fever, post-hell issues, PTSD
BONUS: After season 3, girlmostlikely hosted a hurt/comfort comment-fic meme to help cope with the events of the S3 finale, which has tons of PTSD!Dean and lovely, caring Sam, among other things!
got recs?
browse the recs @ the comm
browse the recs @ our delicious rec account, for advanced searching
So. Oh my god, I loved season 4, but I felt like they could have delved so much deeper into Dean’s psyche post-hell. I really wanted to see more of that that emotional arc. So, here are some recs where season 4 Dean is dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or at least symptoms of PTSD. If you have any similarly themed recs, (or self-recs), please leave them in the comments to this post so that others can check them out.
Please Exit Hell Quietly Through The Rear Doors by innocentculprit
Author’s notes/summary: Dean’s shell-shocked like you wouldn’t believe, Bobby’s worrying himself into a peptic ulcer, and Sam... well, Sam’s feeling a little dark. Too bad that war won’t wait. Dean, Sam, Bobby, OMCs, gen.
Reccer's notes: I think this is the only fic I’ve seen that really deals with Dean’s little alcohol problem that we caught a glimpse of at the beginning of this season - and it deals with it brilliantly. Bobby is amazing here as well. Yet another thing this fic does well is the way it captures Sam’s increasingly dark season 4 mindset, how he's trying so hard to do right by his brother, to take care of him and to get revenge for him, that you can see him losing himself in the process. Oh, Sammy.
Tags: alcoholism, drunk, nightmares, intoxication/altered state, post-hell issues, PTSD, substance abuse (alcohol), ep: "Heaven and Hell"
Underworld by Mirrordance
Author’s notes/summary: The Winchesters stumble into the work of a serial killer running loose in New York, as if Dean's post-traumatic stress syndrome, the police, and 2 Subway ghosts weren't enough to deal with. Sam, Dean, gen.
Reccer's notes: The emotional stuff here has the backdrop of an awesome casefile, something I’m always looking for in SPN fic. Great stuff!
Tags: substance abuse (drugs), drugs (psychiatric), hospitalization, injury, post-hell issues, PTSD, torture
When The Mirror Is Not Working (Face True North) by pdragon76
Author’s notes/summary: Words are like fissures. Dean, Sam, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is an absolutely beautifully written fic, with Dean falling slowly apart and Sam just being there.
Tags: nightmares, post-hell issues, PTSD
Thorn In Your Side by smilla02
Author’s notes/summary: Now that it's out in the open, Dean can’t stop picking at it. Dean, Sam, Castiel, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is another beautifully written fic, one that really delivers with this wonderful Sam-comforting-Dean moment I want to see soooo bad on the actual show - without it being overly sentimental or anything but perfect. You should read this!
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD, ep: "Heaven and Hell"
The Flames That Licked His Skin by splashpink @ thecoinbikini
Author’s notes/summary: Dean continued on as if nothing has changed. He might well have spent the lost months vacationing in Haiti, working on his tan and the notches in his bedpost. Dean, Sam, gen.
Reccer's notes: This is short, but packs quite a punch. And the last line is killer!
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD
It’s the Capital of Sweden, Dean by strangeandcharm
Author’s notes/summary: Dean might have left Hell, but Hell hasn’t left him. Dean/Alastair, Castiel/Dean (sort of), Sam.
Reccer's notes: Okay, so I’m not sure if Dean actually has PTSD here, but he has a weird Stockholm Syndrome thing going on with Alistair that’s just brilliant aaand this is my rec list, so there.
Tags: post-hell issues, repressed memories, sexual assault/abuse, stockholm syndrome
Aftermath 'verse: The Canon's Mouth / Conscience Wide as Hell / Mad Blood Stirring by tabaqui
Author’s notes/summary: It took Sam four months to get Dean out of Hell. Four months in which the world was black and white - on mute. Four months, six days, and seventeen hours and Sam felt like he might sleep for a year, after. Dean slept for three days. The first in the series is 100% gen, but it becomes wincest in the later parts.
Reccer's notes: This one was written pre-season 4, but it’s based during that time period. This is the Dean I kind of wish we’d gotten back, prone to flashbacks and violent outbursts, dangerous without meaning to be. A+ in every way.
Tags: post-hell issues, PTSD
No One Is Asking (So Leave It Alone) by xzombiexkittenx
Author’s notes/summary: Everyone has their coping mechanisms. Sam’s getting everything under control, one step at a time. Sam/Dean
Reccer's notes: This fic is written in Sam’s POV, and just totally GETS him. The author shares my personal view of season 4 Sam, and so this fic holds a special place in my heart. Oh, and there’s some feverish!Dean in there too, mmm.
Tags: fever, post-hell issues, PTSD
BONUS: After season 3, girlmostlikely hosted a hurt/comfort comment-fic meme to help cope with the events of the S3 finale, which has tons of PTSD!Dean and lovely, caring Sam, among other things!
got recs?
browse the recs @ the comm
browse the recs @ our delicious rec account, for advanced searching