newsletter # 7

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the spn_littlebro newsletter #7 for early September 2011!





Tick... tick... tick... We're up to 469 fic recs so far in our Archive of Hurt on delicious. Let's keep up the momentum to hit 500 before season 7 premieres on Friday September 23rd! You don't have to be a member of the community - just comment with a rec to one of our theme posts, using the handy template provided! Got a hurt!Sam or hurt!Jared rec, but it doesn't quite fit the themes we've been celebrating so far? You can rec it by replying to the theme post for OTHER! As always, fic recs (including your own) are still welcome in any of our themes at any time, as long as they're completed, over 1K and feature ★ hurt!Sam or hurt!Jared ★.

Fevered Ramblings:

Here's a handful of things your spn_littlebro team is raving about right now. (And if you like these as much as we do, don't forget to comment to the person who created it!)

Who's Hurting Sam or Jared Lately?

• one of harrigan's favorite fics from the 2011 spn_summergen was Eat Stone and Go On, and we've just discovered the author is the always phenomenal roque_clasique. harrigan has a soft spot for permanent disability future!fic that leads to an attempt to retire from the hunting life. She says: "This fic is like that, but more closely and immediately rooted in canon. As always, roque_clasique's take on the characters and their challenges and choices makes my heart feel too big for my chest. Sam and Dean are broken in different ways in this - Sam's disability a result of what happened at the end of season 6 - and the story is just a brilliant tapestry of suffering and yet hope." SPN gen, PG-13, just under 10K.


• cherry916 has another rec from the recent summer_sam_love challenge. It's Our Love Become a Funeral Pyre by glimmerella. It's SPN gen, summarized by the author as: "While recovering physically and mentally from Jessica’s death and her very emotional funeral, Sam encounters Jessica’s younger brother, Jason, at the site of the apartment fire. Jason is a brother bent on revenge. Dean, as always, has his brother’s back." Cherry enjoyed the grief, hospitalization, smoke inhalation, beaten!Sam, but especially recs this story because "it's so heartbreaking to read Sam's obvious grief and how Dean is trying his best to help him. Plus it puts a really unique spin on that gap from the end of the Pilot to Wendigo."


• ash48 has two WIPs that just finished this week to recommend here:
  
  • Nchaa_Bu by AJ Wesley on ff.net. Summary: The Winchesters take on a creature that has been dormant for a hundred years. And it's back with a vengeance. ash48 says, "It's a fast paced, MOTW story with troubled Wincesters thrown in. Pre-Standord. So far poor Sammy is in the clutches of the Big Bad and about to.... (well, you'll just have to start reading it... ;D)." SPN gen, and Ash says the author always finishes her fics.
  • Bloody Politics by skag_trendy on ff.net. Summary: Sam wouldn't wake up, that was bad enough. But when the doctor delivered his verdict, both Winchesters were stunned. Sometimes, it seems, the enemy can be your friend. Pre-pilot. Sam 16, Dean 20. Warning: language & suggested rape - not the boys. ash48 says, "Only chapter one has been posted so far but there promises to be lots of poor sick, injured Sam ahead. It's off to a flying start...."
  
  
• spn_gen_bigbang starts posting this week! Here's hoping for some great hurt!Sam!


• spn_summergen is now open for a Fall Free-for-All! All the original 2011 prompts can be claimed by anyone, there is no deadline, and fic or visual media are most welcome! The only constraint is that it must be SPN Gen. Details are here and the moderator even helpfully provided a link specific for Sam-centric prompts. There's lots of h/c opportunities in there! Go for it!

Featured Fic Recs:

• cherry916 has a favorite RPS (non-AU) to share from a couple years ago. It deals with carbon monoxide poisoning and is called Poisoning by embroiderama. This fic is NC17, under 5K, and cherry likes it because "Jensen is portrayed really well in this. While they do have some sort of fledgling relationship which is mostly fucking, Jensen learns just how must Jared means to him. And he's such a mother hen towards Jared all throughout the whole story."


• It can be hard to find fics that were posted as comment!fics - replies to a challenge post. So vail_kagami has plucked one out from the 6-month anniversary challenge at ohsam in 2010. Her rec choice is While You Were Sleeping by radiumgirl and its sequel Armageddon in Retrospect. These are SPN gen, dealing with illness and death. vail_kagami says, "The stories are incredibly well written, as everyone who knows radiumgirl probably already guessed. They are also incredibly sad. Both stories are told from Castiel's perspective. Dean said yes to Michael and while he's busy hosting an archangel and tearing the world to pieces, Cas is busy taking care of Sam who is dying of tuberculosis and only clinging to life because he wants to see his brother one more time. The sequel describes the first Christmas after Dean came back. They're at Bobby's place that's littered with memories, Dean is drunk and Cas unable to forgive him. If the first story didn't break you, this one will."

Other Media:

• art: trolleys is an amazing artist, in harrigan's opinion. "She's not really very active in SPN fandom any more, so some of you may not have seen this gem from a few years ago: John Winchester and young Sam and Dean is an endearing hurt!wee!Sam where John and Dean both offer comfort in their own individual ways."


• art: Still on the subject of wee!Sam, cherry916 has another bit of visual genius to share: Band-Aid by gassada on deviantArt. The artist provided this summary:

  "Why'd you have to do this shit? I told you it's stupid and dangerous. Especially when it's getting dark"
  "It's a bicycle! It's not like I went after a werewolf myself."
  "And you ate dirt, got a broken arm and there's blood, so the outcome is the same!"
  "You're a giant jerk!"
  "And you're a whiny little bitch! Come on, the hospital is waiting. Can you get up on your own?"
  ....
  "Seriously, Sammy, the four-year old girl next door does a better job at this than you did. You should have asked her for pointers."



• music videos: Our resident music video expert ash48 hasn't had time to rec one (hint: she's been busy crafting a hysterical Jared one!), so harrigan is going to put her on the spot by rec'ing Take Me to the Hospital by ash48. She describes it as simply a "vid picspam, I suppose, of Winchester Owies... Hurt!Winchesters. That’s it really. I have a thing for the boys in pain, covered in blood, strangled, tortured, thrown against walls, sliced, beaten up etc." And don't we all? (That's why we're here!) This vid is an oldie but a goodie; only clips thru 3.09 were used.)


• audiobook/podfic: One of harrigan's favorite J2AUs is the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) 'verse by drvsilla. harrigan says, "You know if it involves rodeos, there are going to be hurtin' cowboys! The author's expertise really transports you into that world, and her spare, stoic prose and POV suit it beautifully! (There's plenty of heartache and angst to go with the physical trauma, too.) Best of all, the series is complete with 3 separate installments that total over 12 hours when read aloud by chemm80. You can find the mp3 and audiobook versions both here." It's NC17 and there's lots of hurt!Jensen as well.


• eBooks, etc.: Instead of one eBook rec this issue, we're pointing you to an ongoing effort by cherry916 to make PDFs of all her favorite fics. Which, if you know her, means it's a lot of hurt!Sam and hurt!Jared! Go here to select something she's already produced; she's happy to share!cherry916 also welcomes suggestions for other fics she can convert to PDF. See her post for details!

What Else? Supernatural Season 6 comes out on region 1 DVD September 13th - woo hoo! (Don't forget - sometimes certain retailers offer special marketing bonuses, so check around before you buy!) Meanwhile, they've just released part 1 in the UK; part 2 will be available November 7th. Anybody reading this not in the US, Canada or the UK? When do you get season 6 on DVD? Tell us in the comments!

Tips for using spn_littlebro: One of the wonderful but tricky things in our fandom is whether to label something AU or not, isn't it! There is lots of gray area. So here is what the team at spn_littlebro is using as guidelines:

• RPF - if Jared and Jensen are two Texas boys starring in SPN, we generally don't consider that AU. Of course, you can certainly make a case that RPF slash between them is AU. But we're using AU strictly to help folks find what they're looking for. If they are looking for stories about fictional characters who look like Jensen and Jared but are not actors on SPN, then call that out as AU, because folks may be searching our Library of Hurt on delicious for that. If they are actors on SPN (or have been, if it's a future fic) then label it non-AU.


• SPN - even in canon, with time travel and alternate timelines and dream worlds, etc. AU is pretty confusing. So what we're doing here is defaulting everything to non-AU unless the reccer or the author specifically identifies it as AU. If Sam and Dean are living the Butch-and-Sundance life more than 100 years ago, call it AU. If they were separated as children and raised apart, call it AU. But if everything described in the pilot is still pretty much valid for the story, don't worry about labeling the fic as AU.

Just do the best you can! Remember, the purpose of AU or non-AU is to help folks who are looking for fics in our Library of Hurt on delicious. To keep it simple: if you think someone searching for AU would expect this to turn up, then label it AU. Otherwise, don't!

Comments

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Oooh, how did I miss that radiumgirl rec?! Must read! And trolley's art is simply adorable. Good times!

[vail-kagami.livejournal.com]

Do read the fics! But have tissues on standby.