[recs!] Big Bang recs, part deux

[alwaysenduphere]

I guess Big Bang ends today? IDK I don't pay attention to the schedule, but that's what I'm hearing. So it seems appropriate to post this now, lol. My to-read list is at...51, so. There may be another one of these posts down the road, haha. I like reccing things, though I haven't done it terribly often in the past for some reason.

Uhh, under the cut, 8 BBs and 2 short fics, in no particular order.



+ We Drank a Thousand Times by glorious_spoon (Dean/OMC, R, read the warnings in the post if need-be but they are spoilery) They meet in a bar fight in North Carolina when Dean is nineteen, broke, and desperate, then again when a hunt brings the Winchesters into town a few years later. Neither one of them ever puts a name to it but every once in a while, through the years, Dean finds his way back.

It's hard to find a good Dean/OMC story, I know. And then half the time you find yourself annoyed that it's not Sam he's with (or maybe that's me.) This one's not like that. Jay is a good OMC. The story takes place partly from his POV and partly from Dean's, and I really just found myself caring for Jay exactly I think how Dean was, too.
One caveat I feel needs known before you start reading, so it doesn't throw you out like it does me: The author uses 'don't' in sentences where 'doesn't' would be the proper (i.e. -"and Jay don't see how he's any less of a bastard now that he's six feet under.") and NOT in dialogue but in actual description and things. It was really jarring at first, but it fits the feel of the fic alright so I got over it pretty quickly. Definitely one of my favorites for the year.

+ You Say the Dead Need No Physician by kitsune13 (21.5K, Sam/Dean, NC-17) Sam and Dean are called down to Charleston, SC for a hunt: the narrowest house in the city, home of the legendary "Doctor to the Dead," is waking up after over 150 years of sleep. The Doctor wished to cure dead souls of their mortal condition, and robbed graves and carried out experiments until an angry mob tore him to pieces. Why is the house waking up now, after all this time? Two local hunters believe that Sam and Dean, and only Sam and Dean, are capable of cleansing the house. In order to solve the case, they must cure the ills in their own relationship.

Casefic!! I've seen several people rec this already, so you probably have as well. I loved this. It's a prime example of being able to use location to tell a story well. It's already established that I love Charleston, but I haven't been there in 10 years but I could still recall the places she described vividly. And the MotW, the Doctor to the Dead, is an actual ghost story that I heard on at least two of the ghostwalks we took while we were there.

+ Fortress by glasslogic (94,242 words, Sam/Dean, NC-17)Seven years ago Dean Winchester paid his due to the Crossroads Demon and fell into Hell. Grief almost killed Sam, a demon blood addiction came closer, but he site statsrid himself of demonic attachments and spent years building himself a prison where no demon can set foot, determined to take himself out of the apocalyptic game that had crushed his family. But each year on Earth is an eternity in Hell, and now Dean is back. Angry, powerful, and demonic; he has a plan to wreck vengeance on those who destroyed his life. A plan that will shake the foundations of the Pit and send shock-waves into Heaven. Dragging a reluctant Sam in his wake, will Dean manage to pull it off before the combined legions of Hell get their act together enough to stop him?

Yes I know the word count is rather large. But DEMON!DEAN Worth it, totally worth it. I was left wanting MOAR even. I think part of what it is is that this fic works with the idea that all of hell isn't inherently bad, just...different, than heaven, and the way demons and angels work is quite an interesting concept.

+ Pins & Needles by selecasharp (52,422 words, Dean/Sam, NC-17) A lot can change in an instant. Six months ago, Sam was injured in the course of a hunt that went terribly wrong. Now, there's something in the woods of Michigan's upper peninsula, stalking, beating, and killing people in the tiny town of Big Bay. A retired hunter calls Sam and Dean in to investigate, but they're also still dealing with the aftermath of that hunt-gone-wrong, and the effect it's had on their relationship.

Case!fic. Decent case, OCs that are fun. Nothing reeeally special, but Sam has this permanent ~mystically caused~ injury, and the descriptions of how they deal with that injury are wonderfully realistic.

+ Cabinet of Curiosities by like_a_raven (22,400 words, Gen, R) Sam Winchester has four problems when he runs into an old friend from high school.
1. Vanessa thinks he’s just a perfectly normal guy. Dean knows better. And balancing the past and present is going to be tricky, especially since . . .
2. Dean won’t stop flirting with her. Except when he’s busy dealing with the fact that . . .
3. Vanessa lives in what just might be the weirdest and creepiest house Sam has ever seen. Oh, and then there’s . . .
4. The ghost.

Case!fic (I'm sensing an unintentional theme here). I really liked this one because the OFC makes Sam uncomfortable, lol, and they chat about his college days around Dean, making Dean curious and clueless. It made me giggle. Also some of the items in said ~Cabinet of Curiosities~ are ridiculously hilarious. IDK I LIKED THIS ONE OKAY.

+ In This Hollow Valley by xxamlaxx (Dean/Alastair, Dean/Castiel, Dean/Sam, NC-17, warnings for horror, gore, and disturbing shit. like really) Dean wakes up on the rack to an eternity of torture at Alastair's hands. Meanwhile, Castiel and several of his brothers embark on a mission to rescue Dean from Hell before he can give in and break the first seal. After forty years of fighting, Castiel reaches Dean, only to find that the righteous man is no longer righteous. Castiel resurrects Dean so that he can play his part in the coming Apocalypse. Once back on the surface, Dean has trouble adjusting to life the way everyone (himself included) expects him to. Hell changed him, and he's not so sure if he can or wants to change back.

BARBED!COCK FIC FTW. lol okay um. Dean/Alastair what more do you need?! Uh, read the warnings. If you don't like gore, if you don't like horror, don't read this fucking thing. But if you do, OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME. Like, THIS is hell, if you could think of it at its most disturbing, bingo. Not a happy story by any means. (I am a little confused about the ending, but I think there are different ways to interpret it, is all.)

+ Bury Me in Fire by deadbeat_nymph (~32K, Sam/Dean, NC-17) People are dying mysteriously all over the Northeast and the boys head there to investigate. They plod through the case, Dean distracted by his memories of Hell, nightmares, shame, guilt, fear, a bad stomach and a weird rash, Sam distracted by Dean's torment. Sam wants to help Dean, but Dean just wants to sublimate his desperation through work. As the case flounders, the brothers' relationship begins to mutate. If they can just figure out what's going on, catch the creature and kill it, fix Dean's body and heal his mind, and settle things between them, things might actually be okay. Also, there's comfort food, a perfect small town in Upstate New York, and maybe a surprise or two.

(it's a case!fic, wheee!) The list of warnings read like enticements for me, but I'd suggest reading them before starting, as does the author. To be blunt, I'm quite fond of this one because Dean's all over the place, lol. Plus there's pie and he learns how to make it, and I like the way the case gets solved.

+ Perpetual Love Machines by eggblue (24K, Dean/Castiel, NC-17) After the Apocalypse comes, love, home, god, and loyalty are ideas stolen from fairy tales. But the love mecha named Kinky Dean - with Sam the mechanical dog by his side - wants to make the saddest angel in world happy in the only way he knows how. Together they will remake the Impala, the woman they all know as Mary, the future world itself. But can a home be found in a future where everything real is obsolete? Based on the film AI: Artificial Intelligence

I think this is the lone Dean/Castiel fic on my list this time? I haven't been avoiding reading them, in fact I've been reading some from the deancasbigbang too, it's just none have struck my fancy. Anyway. I don't remember AI all that well other than it left this sense of epic sadness in its wake after viewing. Of which this fic also does well at. But it's very good. /terrible at reccing

HOW MANY IS THAT? jfc i've read a lot lately. and i'm rubbish at remembering very well so you get these half-assed 'well that was decent' remarks and not much else. i've got a few more saved, but they didn't stick out as much as these ones, so there you go.

Uh, while I'm reccing, two really short fics that I think just perfectly fit sam and dean and everything in between.
It Feels Like a Force of Nature by jellybean_slash 486 words, Sam/Dean, PG-13) Dean calls it bad choices with that hint of self-loathing that says he only means his own, and Sam calls it destiny, even though he barely believes, because that’s what it’s like between them.
fingers hooked in their hearts by paxlux (913 words, PG, can be read Gen or Slash depending on whether or not you can take off your goggles) Once upon a time, there was this pair of brothers

Both of these, just...fundamental THIS IS SAM AND DEAN.

~Fin~ &hearts

Comments

[melanth0.livejournal.com]

mmm, RECS. I'd better get reading before my schedule disappears into college. those two shortfics look particularly promising.

ITHV ♥♥♥

[alwaysenduphere.livejournal.com]

GET TO READING.

FUCK YES. Your art creeped me the fuck out, btdub. WHICH MEANS IT WAS PERFECT FOR THE STORY. :D

[melanth0.livejournal.com]

FINE. :D

YAYYYY thank you! God, I love that story. sfm.