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SPN recs
Between work and actually having a social life, I'm way behind on reading spn bigbang stories, but here are some that I've enjoyed in the past couple weeks:
My favorites of the last couple weeks
Fall on your yesterday's heart (John/Jo, Sam/Dean) by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dreamlittleyo. If the pairings make you not want to read this story, let me start by saying there is virtually no Sam/Dean in this (just an allusion to it), and the John/Jo is not the focus of the story--which was a slight disappointment for me, since I love that pairing. This is much more a story about Jo's relationship with Sam and Dean, and if you like weechesters at ALL you will love this. Basically, Jo encounters a cursed object, gets sent back in time, and ends up encountering John Winchester and his boys. I can't be rational about how much I LOVED THIS since it is basically my Marysue fantasy come to life (though with a very well-realized Jo). My only complaint was (highlight--somewhat spoilery I really, really, really wanted it to go AU and Jo to get to stay, dammit. Though the parts with her re-encountering the boys were sweet.
Reanimated (Jared/Jensen) bytigbit. This was a terrific AU: Jared dies and goes to heaven, but it's boring there, so he requests a more interesting job. His supervisor doesn't tell him he's getting transferred to hell, which is scary and daunting at first, but his guide, Jensen Ackles, turns out to be gorgeous and a little bit crazy. If only there wasn't a firm rule against fraternizing with the enemy. I really loved the portrait of hell in this, and the mystery behind why Jensen ended up there really sucks you in.
Thespis (Jared/Jensen) bynicslash. Really sweet, slow-building AU: Jared is a makeup artist with a crush on the lead actor of the film he's working on, but Jensen Ackles is standoffish and prickly. But as Jared gets to know him, he realizes that Jensen is dealing with some serious trauma issues, and underneath is a very fascinating person.
Kant's Dove (Sam/Dean, very AU) bytryfanstone.. Absolutely terrific worldbuilding in this AU in which there are two distinct races on earth (or in heaven?): angels and humans, and the angels are the ones in charge. Sam is an angel whose day job is as an inquisitor who interrogates unfaithful humans; Dean, when he first meets him, seems to be a human prostitute who caters to angels, even though angel-human sex is strictly forbidden. But Dean is more than he seems, and Sam is drawn into his investigation of the angelic hierarchy. I was a little disappointed with the ending of this fic--it seemed a little too neatly-wrapped, considering what they uncover--but the plot was really engaging and I was genuinely surprised by several of the twists.
I Have Stood Here Once Before bystangerine88 (Sam/Castiel, though the romance is not the focus of the story). Really interesting concept: the war between heaven and hell has gone on for 300 years, and everything is in ruins, so Castiel decides to go back in time to try to prevent it--back to when Sam was still at Stanford. This leads to an interesting reconceptualization of seasons 1 and 2, where John and Dean are tracing the missing Sam and the "demon" who kidnapped him. I enjoyed this a lot, despite the fact that I would have liked to have seen a little more of the travels of Sam and Cas. Some readers also might be disappointed that (spoiler--highlight to read) it has an unhappy ending, for people who want to be warned about such things.
The Life and Times of Lois Lane (Jared/Jensen) byvorpalblades. This was just fun. Jared is a superhero; Jensen is his long-suffering husband who has to put up with him vanishing at all hours of the day and night, losing jobs and generally not showing up for things. He thinks he wants Jared to quit the superhero gig until a series of events changes his mind.
Kisses Sweeter than Wine (Jared/Jensen) bytopaz119. This was a fun AU in which Jared is the host of a travelling cooking show and Jensen is a foodie and underground restaurant chef who interviews him for Gourmet magazine. I actally think the food porn in this story is hotter than the real porn, and the author includes recipes! But the relationship stuff was also enjoyable.
Stories I genuinely enjoyed, just not quite as much as those in the above list
Hover through fog and filthy air . Gen, plotty casefile set after the averted apocalypse. The case itself is intriguing and keeps your attention, but there's also bonus Sam-n-Dean both dealing with recovering from what defeating Lucifer cost them. (Like most bigbangs, the apocalypse is AU--a pretty interesting AU).
The Vernacular Process byrei_c (Sam/Dean). A fascinating AU: while on a trip with a college buddy, Sam discovers that he has a strange connection with the former owner of the house he's staying at, who had died in the Civil War. This will bring him closer to Dean in ways he hadn't imagined.
Losing the Handle (Jared/Jensen) bypennyplainknits. This is a Men in Brooms fusion, and I've never seen the film so I don't know how closely it follows it, but I enjoyed the story. Jensen left town--and his team and his fiance--6 years ago, but returns for a funeral to find the deceased had one final request: that he join his old rink for one final curling tournament. But to do so he has to mend fences with his old teammates and his ex-fiances' brother Jared, who has grown up in the time he was away.
Stories I had more mixed feelings about
From the Ruined Tower to the Caves of Unknown Horror byannella (Jared/Jensen). An AU where Jared and Jensen are basically D&D characters. I was a little bored by the first few parts, though it improves when the romance heats up.
All You Ever Learned of Love byphantisma (Sam/Dean, Sam/Jess, Sam/Dean/OMCs). Warning: lots of noncon. This is a sequel to her bigbang from last year, in which Sam is in a sex cult and gets Dean to join. This year, John sets out to rescue them, while they plan to recruit John to join. (Highlight for spoilers) I honestly think I would have liked this better if they got John to join them rather than actually getting rescued! But I am kinky that way.
Getting Lucky (Jared/Jensen) byrocketbalm gets off to a bit of a slow start, but I ended up enjoying it. Jensen is a high-powered developer looking for something different in his life; Jared is very different than the other guys he's been with, but Jensen has a lot of issues to work through before he's ready for a real relationship.
Reason free from Passion (Dean/Castiel) bynimueailinen. This AU had a fascinating premise--Castiel is fleeing from a cult, and Dean is the DA who's trying to prosecute the cult--and I think in many ways the storyline is a neat transformation of existing show canon, but I felt there wasn't actually enough story to this story--it was resolved too easily. I wanted more cult psychological dynamics, more drama in the trial, and definitely more romance to the romance. (I also wanted more Sam, who is little more than a cameo in this, especially since he supposedly had an advanced degree in comparative religion and Jess was a psychiatrist--it's like the author set things up so that they could help Castiel through a period of adjustment to his new life and then didn't follow through).
My favorites of the last couple weeks
Fall on your yesterday's heart (John/Jo, Sam/Dean) by
dreamlittleyo. If the pairings make you not want to read this story, let me start by saying there is virtually no Sam/Dean in this (just an allusion to it), and the John/Jo is not the focus of the story--which was a slight disappointment for me, since I love that pairing. This is much more a story about Jo's relationship with Sam and Dean, and if you like weechesters at ALL you will love this. Basically, Jo encounters a cursed object, gets sent back in time, and ends up encountering John Winchester and his boys. I can't be rational about how much I LOVED THIS since it is basically my Marysue fantasy come to life (though with a very well-realized Jo). My only complaint was (highlight--somewhat spoilery I really, really, really wanted it to go AU and Jo to get to stay, dammit. Though the parts with her re-encountering the boys were sweet. Reanimated (Jared/Jensen) by
tigbit. This was a terrific AU: Jared dies and goes to heaven, but it's boring there, so he requests a more interesting job. His supervisor doesn't tell him he's getting transferred to hell, which is scary and daunting at first, but his guide, Jensen Ackles, turns out to be gorgeous and a little bit crazy. If only there wasn't a firm rule against fraternizing with the enemy. I really loved the portrait of hell in this, and the mystery behind why Jensen ended up there really sucks you in.Thespis (Jared/Jensen) by
nicslash. Really sweet, slow-building AU: Jared is a makeup artist with a crush on the lead actor of the film he's working on, but Jensen Ackles is standoffish and prickly. But as Jared gets to know him, he realizes that Jensen is dealing with some serious trauma issues, and underneath is a very fascinating person.Kant's Dove (Sam/Dean, very AU) by
tryfanstone.. Absolutely terrific worldbuilding in this AU in which there are two distinct races on earth (or in heaven?): angels and humans, and the angels are the ones in charge. Sam is an angel whose day job is as an inquisitor who interrogates unfaithful humans; Dean, when he first meets him, seems to be a human prostitute who caters to angels, even though angel-human sex is strictly forbidden. But Dean is more than he seems, and Sam is drawn into his investigation of the angelic hierarchy. I was a little disappointed with the ending of this fic--it seemed a little too neatly-wrapped, considering what they uncover--but the plot was really engaging and I was genuinely surprised by several of the twists.I Have Stood Here Once Before by
stangerine88 (Sam/Castiel, though the romance is not the focus of the story). Really interesting concept: the war between heaven and hell has gone on for 300 years, and everything is in ruins, so Castiel decides to go back in time to try to prevent it--back to when Sam was still at Stanford. This leads to an interesting reconceptualization of seasons 1 and 2, where John and Dean are tracing the missing Sam and the "demon" who kidnapped him. I enjoyed this a lot, despite the fact that I would have liked to have seen a little more of the travels of Sam and Cas. Some readers also might be disappointed that (spoiler--highlight to read) it has an unhappy ending, for people who want to be warned about such things. The Life and Times of Lois Lane (Jared/Jensen) by
vorpalblades. This was just fun. Jared is a superhero; Jensen is his long-suffering husband who has to put up with him vanishing at all hours of the day and night, losing jobs and generally not showing up for things. He thinks he wants Jared to quit the superhero gig until a series of events changes his mind.Kisses Sweeter than Wine (Jared/Jensen) by
topaz119. This was a fun AU in which Jared is the host of a travelling cooking show and Jensen is a foodie and underground restaurant chef who interviews him for Gourmet magazine. I actally think the food porn in this story is hotter than the real porn, and the author includes recipes! But the relationship stuff was also enjoyable.Stories I genuinely enjoyed, just not quite as much as those in the above list
Hover through fog and filthy air . Gen, plotty casefile set after the averted apocalypse. The case itself is intriguing and keeps your attention, but there's also bonus Sam-n-Dean both dealing with recovering from what defeating Lucifer cost them. (Like most bigbangs, the apocalypse is AU--a pretty interesting AU).
The Vernacular Process by
rei_c (Sam/Dean). A fascinating AU: while on a trip with a college buddy, Sam discovers that he has a strange connection with the former owner of the house he's staying at, who had died in the Civil War. This will bring him closer to Dean in ways he hadn't imagined. Losing the Handle (Jared/Jensen) by
pennyplainknits. This is a Men in Brooms fusion, and I've never seen the film so I don't know how closely it follows it, but I enjoyed the story. Jensen left town--and his team and his fiance--6 years ago, but returns for a funeral to find the deceased had one final request: that he join his old rink for one final curling tournament. But to do so he has to mend fences with his old teammates and his ex-fiances' brother Jared, who has grown up in the time he was away.Stories I had more mixed feelings about
From the Ruined Tower to the Caves of Unknown Horror by
annella (Jared/Jensen). An AU where Jared and Jensen are basically D&D characters. I was a little bored by the first few parts, though it improves when the romance heats up.All You Ever Learned of Love by
phantisma (Sam/Dean, Sam/Jess, Sam/Dean/OMCs). Warning: lots of noncon. This is a sequel to her bigbang from last year, in which Sam is in a sex cult and gets Dean to join. This year, John sets out to rescue them, while they plan to recruit John to join. (Highlight for spoilers) I honestly think I would have liked this better if they got John to join them rather than actually getting rescued! But I am kinky that way. Getting Lucky (Jared/Jensen) by
rocketbalm gets off to a bit of a slow start, but I ended up enjoying it. Jensen is a high-powered developer looking for something different in his life; Jared is very different than the other guys he's been with, but Jensen has a lot of issues to work through before he's ready for a real relationship.Reason free from Passion (Dean/Castiel) by
nimueailinen. This AU had a fascinating premise--Castiel is fleeing from a cult, and Dean is the DA who's trying to prosecute the cult--and I think in many ways the storyline is a neat transformation of existing show canon, but I felt there wasn't actually enough story to this story--it was resolved too easily. I wanted more cult psychological dynamics, more drama in the trial, and definitely more romance to the romance. (I also wanted more Sam, who is little more than a cameo in this, especially since he supposedly had an advanced degree in comparative religion and Jess was a psychiatrist--it's like the author set things up so that they could help Castiel through a period of adjustment to his new life and then didn't follow through).
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There was a slave AU that I read as well - I don't see it on your list so I don't know if that's your thing, but I enjoyed it. I just looked up the title - it's Things We Can't Untie by
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when SPN is in season dunno 10?!?!
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