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Possibly my last bigbang rec post
There are still probably at least 30 stories from this year's round of SPN bigbang I have not yet even looked at, but work has gotten insanely busy so I have no idea when I will get to them. But here's one last set of recs. As always, if you don't like crit mixed with your recs, don't click:
Authors who got here by googling yourself: Be warned that I mix in a fair bit of criticism with my recommendations. Read at your own risk.
The Time Traveller's Brother (Sam/Dean) by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gretazreta. Probably my favorite Sam/Dean bigbang story of the whole season: a takeoff of the Time traveller's wife, obviously, in which Dean "travels" (time shifts) whenever he is emotionally triggered. A really lovely exploration of Sam and Dean's relationship throughout their whole life, and the many ways Sam is Dean's compass as he travels.
Screw You, We're from Texas (Jared/Jensen) bymakeit_takeit. Long, satisfying AU in which Jared and Jensen didn't go to Hollywood; they stay in Texas and eventually meet and become roommates in Austin, but it takes them both a lot longer to figure out their relationship than normal, because neither of them think of themselves as gay, and in fact Jensen is dating a sweet Christian girl who keeps him on the straight and narrow. There is infidelity in this fic, if that's a squick--it usually is for me but I wasn't actually bothered by it too much in this story. Also, lots of OCs, instead of the usually CW crew in this story, which makes for an interesting change of pace.
Dead Like You (Jared/Jensen) bystrangeallure. I've never seen Dead Like Me, but I thought this was a fascinating and ultimately very sweet romance. Jared dies in a freak golfing accident and discovers he has been selected to become a reaper, someone who helps the dead pass on. Jensen is a fellow reaper, and despite some initial antagonism, their relationship takes a romantic turn, especially after Jensen finally becomes willing to confront his past.
The Sea with its Deepness (Jared/Jensen) byzuben_eschamali. This may well be my favorite Jared/Jensen of the summer. Jensen is a privateer for England; Jared is a pirate. When Jared captures Jensen's ship, Jensen trades himself for the life of his crew. But things get complicated aboard Jared's ship, and Jared turns out to need Jensen's help. No actual noncon in this story (except offscreen in descriptions of the past), and by the end it's very sweet. I especially love how the 2 of them help each other overcome past phobias. A few anachronistic bits threw me out occasionally, and there is some ghost stuff in the middle that threw some people out of the story (not me) but I really loved all the Jared/Jensen relationship building.
I Would Rather Fight With You (Jared/Jensen) Ok, there is probably a lot more emo angst than is necessary in this fic--especially on Jensen's part--but I do love me some enemy slash, and even though the reason why they're "enemies" is pretty lame--basically, Jensen can't deal with his newfound gay feelings for the newbie camp counsellor Jared--it still has some quality hatesex, which I enjoyed. Basically the premise is that they meet at camp, form a mutual antipathy, end up fucking on the last day, and go their separate ways--except it turns out they are both living in the same apartment complex at college, so they have to deal with each other.
Fortress (Sam/Dean) byglasslogic. Some fascinating worldbuilding and a really interesting revisioning of seasons 4-5 in this AU. Here Castiel doesn't rescue Dean from Hell; instead, Dean falls deep into the Pit of Hell and becomes a powerful demon who returns to earth to wreak vengeance. Meanwhile, Castiel appears to Sam when he is unable to rescue Dean, and reveals Lilith's endgame, so Sam's response is to hole up in a demon-proof fortress and keep researching ways to get Dean out of hell. He's stuck with Ruby, though, because of a binding spell. But when Dean turns up on his doorstep, everything changes. The pacing on the first part of this story is sort of slow, but then it really gets interesting.
Be Kind, Unwind (Jared/Jensen) I didn't like Jensen, our POV character, at first--and that's sort of what made me keep reading. I was intrigued by clueless jerky workaholic Jensen --and he continues to be fairly clueless about his own character through the story, as he is basically dragooned by his friends into seeing a massage therapist, Jared, and ends up falling for him. It's pretty clear to the reader that Jared likes Jensen, but not very clear to Jensen himself.
The Consequences of Prophecy (Sam/Jess). Some of the writing is clunky, especially in the first couple chapters, and the middle dragged a bit, but I liked the overall plot enough to keep reading. Basically, hunters attacked Sammy when he was only about a month old; Mary died in the fight and Azazel helped save Sam's life. Because of this, John formed an alliance with Azazel and the boys basically grew up with demon protectors. I was mainly intrigued by the premise at first, but the more I read, the more I loved it. I especially love some of the AU bits, like Jess living and becoming BFFs with Meg, or Jimmy Novak being the righteous man who goes to hell, and Castiel instead possessing Nick's body. And the ending, while depressing, was totally appropriate and really the only place this story was ever heading. But DAMN.
Authors who got here by googling yourself: Be warned that I mix in a fair bit of criticism with my recommendations. Read at your own risk.
The Time Traveller's Brother (Sam/Dean) by
gretazreta. Probably my favorite Sam/Dean bigbang story of the whole season: a takeoff of the Time traveller's wife, obviously, in which Dean "travels" (time shifts) whenever he is emotionally triggered. A really lovely exploration of Sam and Dean's relationship throughout their whole life, and the many ways Sam is Dean's compass as he travels.Screw You, We're from Texas (Jared/Jensen) by
makeit_takeit. Long, satisfying AU in which Jared and Jensen didn't go to Hollywood; they stay in Texas and eventually meet and become roommates in Austin, but it takes them both a lot longer to figure out their relationship than normal, because neither of them think of themselves as gay, and in fact Jensen is dating a sweet Christian girl who keeps him on the straight and narrow. There is infidelity in this fic, if that's a squick--it usually is for me but I wasn't actually bothered by it too much in this story. Also, lots of OCs, instead of the usually CW crew in this story, which makes for an interesting change of pace.Dead Like You (Jared/Jensen) by
strangeallure. I've never seen Dead Like Me, but I thought this was a fascinating and ultimately very sweet romance. Jared dies in a freak golfing accident and discovers he has been selected to become a reaper, someone who helps the dead pass on. Jensen is a fellow reaper, and despite some initial antagonism, their relationship takes a romantic turn, especially after Jensen finally becomes willing to confront his past.The Sea with its Deepness (Jared/Jensen) by
zuben_eschamali. This may well be my favorite Jared/Jensen of the summer. Jensen is a privateer for England; Jared is a pirate. When Jared captures Jensen's ship, Jensen trades himself for the life of his crew. But things get complicated aboard Jared's ship, and Jared turns out to need Jensen's help. No actual noncon in this story (except offscreen in descriptions of the past), and by the end it's very sweet. I especially love how the 2 of them help each other overcome past phobias. A few anachronistic bits threw me out occasionally, and there is some ghost stuff in the middle that threw some people out of the story (not me) but I really loved all the Jared/Jensen relationship building.I Would Rather Fight With You (Jared/Jensen) Ok, there is probably a lot more emo angst than is necessary in this fic--especially on Jensen's part--but I do love me some enemy slash, and even though the reason why they're "enemies" is pretty lame--basically, Jensen can't deal with his newfound gay feelings for the newbie camp counsellor Jared--it still has some quality hatesex, which I enjoyed. Basically the premise is that they meet at camp, form a mutual antipathy, end up fucking on the last day, and go their separate ways--except it turns out they are both living in the same apartment complex at college, so they have to deal with each other.
Fortress (Sam/Dean) by
glasslogic. Some fascinating worldbuilding and a really interesting revisioning of seasons 4-5 in this AU. Here Castiel doesn't rescue Dean from Hell; instead, Dean falls deep into the Pit of Hell and becomes a powerful demon who returns to earth to wreak vengeance. Meanwhile, Castiel appears to Sam when he is unable to rescue Dean, and reveals Lilith's endgame, so Sam's response is to hole up in a demon-proof fortress and keep researching ways to get Dean out of hell. He's stuck with Ruby, though, because of a binding spell. But when Dean turns up on his doorstep, everything changes. The pacing on the first part of this story is sort of slow, but then it really gets interesting.Be Kind, Unwind (Jared/Jensen) I didn't like Jensen, our POV character, at first--and that's sort of what made me keep reading. I was intrigued by clueless jerky workaholic Jensen --and he continues to be fairly clueless about his own character through the story, as he is basically dragooned by his friends into seeing a massage therapist, Jared, and ends up falling for him. It's pretty clear to the reader that Jared likes Jensen, but not very clear to Jensen himself.
The Consequences of Prophecy (Sam/Jess). Some of the writing is clunky, especially in the first couple chapters, and the middle dragged a bit, but I liked the overall plot enough to keep reading. Basically, hunters attacked Sammy when he was only about a month old; Mary died in the fight and Azazel helped save Sam's life. Because of this, John formed an alliance with Azazel and the boys basically grew up with demon protectors. I was mainly intrigued by the premise at first, but the more I read, the more I loved it. I especially love some of the AU bits, like Jess living and becoming BFFs with Meg, or Jimmy Novak being the righteous man who goes to hell, and Castiel instead possessing Nick's body. And the ending, while depressing, was totally appropriate and really the only place this story was ever heading. But DAMN.
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'The Time-Traveller's Brother' was a total joy to read - I laughed, I cried! - and I'm about half-way through '...We're From Texas' and loving it, so (as usual) I really appreciate your other recs, knowing that you have fabulous taste.
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murnseemi
(Anonymous) 2011-07-30 07:07 am (UTC)(link)zerbbrasp
(Anonymous) 2012-10-20 02:24 pm (UTC)(link)