Recs: Mixed bag (SPN)
...and then there was this road and a tree and a whole bevy of ducklings -- or 'ware the rambling intro.Note the first: an apology. I fear I have completely failed to leave feedback for the vast majority of these authors. I claim limited time and the fact that I've been snagging and tagging on del.icio.us a great deal and then going back and reading ten or fifteen stories at once. I suck. BUT the fact that these stories stuck out to me after a mass reading marathon should probably tell you something.
Note the second: the plea. Because of the aforementioned suckitude I am relying on you, fair readers, to make sure these authors know that there are eyes upon them and happy fen. Yes, I recognize the inherent hypocrisy in my plea. I make it none the less.
Note the third: the beggars plight. If you like the recs, I'm asking you to reciprocate, because honest to God, I have no time lately to hunt down stories, and that doesn't look to improve anytime soon. Also, I have a deadline for the 50 states challenge and ergo, I should be writing when I want to read. (Although, I'ma gonna put some codicil's on that in just a sec.) Alternately, I like to know if the recs are working for you -- or if they do, what parts of them do, or if there's stuff you are looking for…there are 1600 entries on my del.icio.us account and the vast majority of them are fic.
Note the fourth: codicil to recs. If you are reccing to me, please no death fics, I'm very much a fan of the boys together, road trips, slash, gen, I'm good with het as long as it's still Sam and Dean who are the focus, not so much with the wee boys, h/c with a preference for Sam being the one needing the concern (because I think I've read all the gratuitous Dean-whumping I can stand for a bit) although those of you who know me would probably be able to find the stories that edge that out for me -- mutual h/c works too. I'm not a fan of Evil!Sam or Evil!Dean and please no John/either of his sons. And scarily enough, no rapefic please, which should be as shocking to you as it is to me, but the rationale of which deserves a separate post of it's own. Thank you.
Note the fifth: hi! nice to meet you! If you are new to me reccing or new to being recced by me, please take a moment and read [[this]] which gives you the overview of how and why and what I rec. Thank you again.
++++
Contretemps Series by sangga. Ratings vary - R overall, mostly gen.
Defeating the ultimate purpose in reccing - I have no appropriate words for this story. Seriously. It looks a lot longer than it is, and the shifting timeline may provide an obstacle for some, but really, it's worth climbing the hurdle. This is, in many ways a Sam-centric story, maybe absolutely a Sam story, but who and what Sam Winchester is, is very much a product of those who love him best and who he loves best. If you ever wondered why Sam isn't insane by now, this would be the story that shows you that being sane isn't actually a dividing line for anything, and being a little nuts isn't necessarily a bad thing. Also, if you've ever been one of those people who finds that Sam's desire for Dean to have a normal life, a better life is possibly the most endearing thing about him and wondered what that would look like if Sam got his wish…prepare to be piercedto the heart.
Omega: The Winchester's take refuge after John's possession. But maybe the demon is closer than they think.
Abaddon “He shall spurn fate, scorn death and bear/His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace and fear.” The madmen have taken over the asylum.
Arcana “So what’s the difference between the real world and the other world?” “Honey,” she says, pulling her gloves back on, “you’re asking the wrong question.” Sam visits old friends in Lawrence.
Arcadia "Do not try to find out – we're forbidden to know – what end the gods have in store for me, or for you." – Sam's years in exile. 2006-2026 inclusive. Twenty years pass, in the blink of an eye.
++++
Waiting Games by nutkin part 1 & part 2. Dean/Sam, NC17
Kerfluffle's aside, I'm perfectly willing to buy into an incest story that works for Dean and Sam, where there's doubt but ultimately, fears and doubts and societal taboos need not apply, because in SPN, when you are willing to sell your soul to the devil to save the one you love, the rest of it seems well, kind of unimportant.
Sam has a dream of a happy ending. Don't we all?
++++
Road to Shambala by astolat. Dean/Sam. NC17
When Astolat started writing in SPN, I was excited like a five year old in a toy store, because I knew she'd bring us stories like this. I'm not always, at first glance, entirely sold on her characterizations; they feel a half step out of synch with how I see the boys, but the genius of Astolat's writing is that she makes me wonder if it's not me who is really off because once I'm there, I'm there. And the truth is, I know Astolat will get me there every time.
This is a story wherein the Winchester's win, but you have to wonder won what? When even after the destruction of the demon, nothing much changes, except why they do what they do. Dean's still got it in his blood, and Sam's got it in his now too, but he needs more, and for once Dean's reluctant to give him what he wants, not because it's so very wrong but because Dean has finally realized that Sam will never want this life the way Dean does. There's only one thing they both want, but oh, they are resistant to being happy.
They deserve to be happy.
+++++
Highway 140 by
stele3 wrote this for me from a prompt, and it's very short, but its also kind if incredibly gorgeous and visceral. It's a 2nd person POV, which I maintain works best in short pieces like this. If you could read with your eyes closed, you'd be able to feel this one.
+++++
you've just gotta be strong by lyra-wing Gen. Post-Croatoan. Ficlet
"There wouldn't be any point anymore, Sam," says Dean, and the words are so soft they're barely audible at all. "You know that."
The real tragedy of the Winchesters is not what's happened to them, but that because of that, their world is very small.
+++++
Your Bridge in This Storm by dontyouwaitup. Post Cross Road Blues. Dean/Sam, Adult.
I read this when it was first posted it and flagged it. Having read it again post AHBL1 & AHBL2, this one cuts even deeper. The want and need in this is enough to drown in, the fear and anger could blind lesser men. You hold on to what you have to however you have to.
It's also an excellent case story, utilizing that trademark of the series to have the inner conflicts of the Winchesters paralleled by the external facts of whatever job they are working.
+++++
Cassandra in the Rain by loneraven. PG13, Gen.
The author subnotes this with Seven times in the life of Sam Winchester when he saw the future, and it is that but there's far more here, like how the world sees Sam Winchester.
Seven short vignettes, various places, various times. It’s not so much about being psychic as it is about Seeing the world. Beautiful and evocative.
+++++
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Labels: supernatural
