all duct tape and safety pins inside

Here are a few challenges and comment fic memes that might interest our members:









And, finally, posting has begun over at summer_sam_love , where you can find a bunch of wonderful Sam-centric and/or Sam hurt/comfort fics.

two more crossover recs, with a decent amount of hurt!sam! both fics can be read without being familiar with the crossover show (i haven't seen burn notice or criminal minds, but i enjoyed the stories very much). if you read, please consider leaving feedback for the hardworking authors of these stories!

rec by harrigan:
supernatural/burn notice

title. smoke on the water
author. ratherastory
rating. pg13
words. @20k?
characters. sam, dean, cast of burn notice
warnings. none
summary. casefic. former spy michael westen has enough problems of his own ― not least of which is figuring out who burned him and why. now, on top of that, his mother is accepting jobs on his behalf. he really doesn't have time for this, but when he starts investigating the unsolved deaths of young people in miami, he finds himself crossing paths with an unlikely pair of brothers. in michael's line of work, suspicion is par for the course, and he has to figure out whether sam and dean winchester are friends or foes before even more lives are lost.
reccer's comments. written for the 2010 spn_summergen and one of my favorites. awesome opov (100% in keeping with the burn notice style - but you don't need to be familiar with the show to be delighted with this.) all the characters are spot on, there's action/adventure and, yes, hurt!sam, too! fantastically fun ride!


rec by mod
supernatural/criminal minds

title. a fate worse than
author. ninhursag (aka vaingirlfic)
rating. pg-13
words. 3,700
characters. dean, sam, jason gideon of criminal minds
warnings off-screen non-con and extreme violence.
summary. when sam is kidnapped while john is on a hunt, dean is desperate. if he can't save his brother, is there anything he can do?
reccer's comments. a chilling fic. there are no easy fixes here.

title. a monster by any other name - part one
type. abuse (physical & sexual), prostitution, psychological trauma, torture, ptsd. (please, please read the warnings - includes possibly triggery material)
authors. lavinialavender and brosedshield
rating. nc-17
words. ~ 115,000, in thirteen chapters - part two begins posting on friday, may 27th.
pairings & characters. sam/dean (unrealated), John, Bobby, OCs
warnings. here.
summary. our story takes several steps away from canon. dean winchester is an only child. mary died november 2nd, 1983, but neither in a fire nor on the ceiling. five-year-old sam is deported to a concentration camp for monsters. but the core remains the same. this is a love story.

reccer's comments. the first few things i have to say about the story are this: it is epic, it is a masterpiece, its subject matter is beautifully and respectfully handled and it is not for the faint of heart. it is a horror story and a love story. it is a story of pain and suffering, and of strength and survival. it is a story that, over the course of thirteen chapters, gutted me, made me sob with joy and anger, made me cheer, made me scream and made me jump up and down like a lunatic. the world-building is extraordinary, the characters skillfully shaped, and the plot twists mind-boggling. there is violence, some of it against children, but it is handled sensitively and never comes across as exploitative, titillating or melodramatic. using the setting of a dystopian-esque world, the authors take you one one heck of a roller coaster ride.

if you love sam, and if you love dean (yes, there is a lot of dean and he's gorgeous and brave and wonderful) and if you love sam & dean, and if you enjoy stories about friendship and love and triumph over suffering, do not miss this fic. posting of part two begins this friday!

title. oversoul
author. twilightshours
rating. pg-13
words. 4,680
characters. dean, sam, bobby, castiel
summary. oversoul: the ideal that all forms of being are spiritually united. sam's different since he came back, and dean is done putting up with it.

title. the greatest of these
author. wanttobeatree @ treeshouse
rating. pg
words. 2,270
characters. sam, dean
summary. when sam gets his soul back, all of his "sam-ness" doesn't automatically come back. first general empathy, sleep, assorted feelings, but he still can't figure out what he's supposed to be feeling for dean.

title. sam is...
author. hells_half_acre
rating. pg
words. 5,993
characters. dean, sam, bobby, castiel
summary. “are you sure you really want his soul back?” crowley had asked. “he’s bloody useful without it. i can’t make any promises he’ll be able to function with it. after all, it’s been in the pit for nearly two centuries.” [reccer's summary]

( five more under the cut )

reccer's comments. one of the biggest questions this season has been that of sam's soul - specifically, how and when he'll get it back and what condition it will be returned in. sam's soul is restored in each of these fics. often it is messy and painful. but each of these authors deals with the subject matter skillfully and originally, and every fic ends on a hopeful note. whatever the road brings, however terrible life might seem, we are given the sense that as long as sam and dean have each other, there is nothing they can't overcome. and what more can we ask for?

these are by no means the only fics dealing with sam's soul out there. feel free to rec your own fics dealing with this theme, as well as others you have read and enjoyed, in the comments.

title. unspoken
type. injury, broken bones/fractures
author. eighth_horzion
rating. pg-13
words. 9,200
characters. sam, dean
summary. he was slammed face-first into the metal of the space between the impala’s driver’s side window and the windshield. the world flashed bright red in pain and shock behind his eyes, and a distinctive crunch followed him into the darkness.
reccer's comments. sam's jaw is wired shut after a hunting accident.

title. when heroes go down (they go down fast) (full chapter list here)
type. psychological trauma, permanent injury, psychic powers, self-harm
author. buffyaddict13
rating. r
words. 91,000
characters. dean, sam, original-characters.
summary. the war is at hand. it’s demon against man and we’re losing the fight. the special children are wreaking havoc across the land, side by side with demons. dean is on a desperate hunt to find and save his brother while leading a small band of survivors to a final showdown.
reccer's comments. one of my favorite fics ever. while trying to save dean from azazel's special children, sam flips a switch he was never meant to flip.

title. count the months
type. depression, alcoholism, starvation
author. albydarned
rating. r
words. 5,260
pairing. sam/dean
summary. in the months following his father’s death, sam struggles to find his place in a world that’s taken everything, even his brother, away from him.
reccer's comments. dean disappears in dead man's blood and sam ends up killing a possessed john when he is ordered to. afterwards, sam tries to survive.

title. threw away the sun
type. blindness, visions, injury
author. ladyjanelly
rating. nc-17
words. six parts (~ 20,000)
pairing. sam/dean
summary. au. six months after john winchester goes missing on a hunt, dean goes to palo alto to find a psychic.
reccer's comments. a beautiful story. sam's a psychic who might be able to help dean find john – but is finding john all he wants to do? does he know more than he's letting on?


if you've read anything that you'd like to rec, why not drop us a line? the rec submission post is always open.