REC SEARCH #7: HIDDEN GEMS?

[hoodietime.livejournal.com]

Rec Search:
Hidden Gems?

The 411 on Rec Searches:

For fun, a mod will occasionally put together one of these rec searches. (You can still make your own rec post at any time, fyi.) Rec search info and a rec search masterlist can be found HERE, and you can leave any suggestions for types of rec searches you would like to see there.

Some authors or artists are fairly popular around fandom, and that's fine and well-deserved, but sometimes real good fic and art by lesser known people gets overlooked. This is the time to celebrate them and push them into the spotlight! For the purpose of this rec search, by "hidden gems" we mean fanworks with 20 reviews or less (as in, 20 comments without counting the author's replies or any discussion that might ensue; really just the first comment by the individual readers). Please help us gather them and give them some of the attention they deserve!

If you’d like to contribute, please comment to this post with your fave hidden gems and underrated fanwork recs, and in a few weeks, I’ll make a masterpost of them for everyone’s perusal.

You can use the comment form below, or not, but please do leave a link to each fanwork and a few words about why you liked it. Thanks, guys! ;)

The comment-form looks like this:

Title:
Author/artist:
Possible tags: What type of Dean-focused hurt/comfort the fanwork features, if any, goes here, e.g, fever, PTSD, etc. More examples can be found at our complete tags-list.
Reccer's comments:
Link to fanwork:

To use, just copy, paste, and fill out the following:

COMMENT FORM
<b>Title:</b> <b>Author/artist:</b> <b>Possible tags:</b> <b>Reccer's comments:</b> <b>Link to fanwork:</b>

FAQ:

--> Anyone can comment here to submit recs. You may do so under your username or anonymously, but please be kind.

--> All pairings/genres are cool.

--> We accept recs for fic, art, vids, whatever you can think of.

--> You may rec as many fanworks as you want, in the same comment or different comments as you discover/think of them.

--> Don't hesitate to rec something that has already been mentioned in other comments, or previously at the comm - if something is recced multiple times, I’ll make note of that in the masterpost.

--> Please don't self-rec here.

--> Mods reserve the right to edit recs - just to add summaries/warnings, or for basic grammar.

Any other questions? PM us at the hoodietime account or e-mail us at hoodietime [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thanks guys, the recs are now posted HERE!

➽ This post was compiled by geckoholic and is posted under this account for organizational purposes.

Comments

[kalliel]

YAY. Hidden gems are my favorite-est to rec--and often to read, as well! I'll have to go through my lists for this one~ :P

[geckoholic]

IKR? It's great to rec things that are well-known, too, but introducing people to works they didn't know existed is even more fun. Can't wait to see what you dig up, BB! :D

[salty-catfish.livejournal.com]

omg I can rec so much there :´D

[geckoholic]

Looking forward to your recs, hon!

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Yay! I WILL BE BACK. ;D

[geckoholic]

YAY. \o/

[biketest.livejournal.com]

Title: Atrophy
Author/artist: anonymous on the h/c meme
Possible tags: depression, curse/spell, fever, suicide ideation, crying!dean
Reccer's comments: One of my absolute favorite commentfics. It's understated and hurty and beautiful.
Link to fanwork: http://hoodie-time.livejournal.com/393050.html?thread=4735578#t4735578

[biketest.livejournal.com]

and another!

Title: So It Goes
Author/artist: 9091 (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2984840/9091)
Possible tags: abandonment issues, self-esteem issues
Reccer's comments: My favorite part about this fic is how it makes smart!reading!Dean very believable and uses it to show how lonely Dean is when Sam is at Stanford.
Link to fanwork: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7411082/1/So_It_Goes

[kalliel]

Title: Whiskey Wracked
Author: puchuupoet
Possible tags: alcoholism, daddy issues
Reccer's comments: Beautiful, simple, and simply beautiful look at the pre-series roots of what lives the Winchesters eventually come to lead.
Link to fanwork: http://puchuupoet.livejournal.com/389684.html

[kalliel]

Title: A Utility Belt and Everything
Author: eschatologies @ enderspeaks
Possible tags: fever, hiding an illness and/or secrets (somebody finds out), injury (misc.)
Reccer's comments: The h/c dimensions are delicious, Sam and Dean's interactions are spot on, and its inclusion into the canon timeline (the aftermath of 2x14 "Born Under a Bad Sign) is wondrous.
Link to fanwork: http://enderspeaks.livejournal.com/3539.html

[kalliel]

Title: and if the dam breaks open
Author/artist: vie_dangerouse
Possible tags: vessel!Dean, mutism
Reccer's comments: There's this bright intensity to every moment in this fic, yet there's a transience, too. It's beautiful. I love the non-verbal communication, the note-writing. The dark current of vessel!Dean and MICHAEL present throughout.
Link to fanwork: http://vie-dangerouse.livejournal.com/8238.html

[kalliel]

Title: Another Saturday Night
Author/artist: nwspaprtaxis
Possible tags: carried!Dean, hungover, anxiety/panic attack, broken bone/fracture, concussion/head trauma, dizziness/vertigo, fainting/collapse, hungover
Reccer's comments: Think about those days you just ache for S1 hungover!fic. This hits that nail on the head and then some. Perfect satiation. :)
Link to fanwork: http://nwspaprtaxis.livejournal.com/16712.html

[jaimeykay.livejournal.com]

Title: Cold and Empty
Author/artist: smokeyhorse
Possible tags: carried!dean, captivity, exhaustion, hypothermia/extreme cold, hospitaliziation
Reccer's comments: Perfectly captures the POV of a person suffering from hypothermia, with a fantastic, worried John to the rescue - adding that soft, more human side to John that we only got hints of in canon.
Link to fanwork: http://smokeyhorse.livejournal.com/29305.html

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

Title: In Good Hands
Author/artist: scullspeare
Possible tags: burns, concussion/head trauma
Reccer's comments: Pretty much everything scullspeare writes is hurt!Dean or hurt!Sam or both. She excels at episodic casefics with realistic brotherly banter (esp. from Dean), and she's fairly new to LJ. This fic, a bit over 20K, is a good example of her forte.
Link to fanwork: http://scullspeare.livejournal.com/9399.html

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Title: put your arms around me like a ring around the sun
Author/artist: topaz119
Possible tags: sex magic, supernatural illness, exhaustion
Reccer's comments: This was wonderful on so many levels. The way the author wrote Dean and Sam's relationship as being both warm and complicated was just perfect. I enjoyed the case too.

If you’re wondering about the pairings, the OC is a strong one, though the focus remains on Sam and Dean, and it’s all just AWESOME.
Link to fanwork: LINK (http://t-fic.livejournal.com/41666.html#cutid1)

I was trying to figure out how I hadn’t commented on this before, but then I remembered I did at AO3 rather than LJ. Anyway! I’ll be back with more at some point. ;D

[biketest.livejournal.com]

Title: This Place Is Haunted
Author/artist: ebolacrisis
Possible tags: abandonment issues, daddy issues, self-esteem issues, child abuse, emotional abuse, bed sharing, physical assault/abuse
Reccer's comments: This fic hurts. It's so well crafted and intense, and just, ouch.
Link to fanwork: http://ebolacrisis.livejournal.com/2427.html

[(Anonymous)]

Title: Hoping for Replacement
Author/artist: honeylocusttree
Possible tags: age regression (physical), psychological trauma, psychological damage/broken!Dean, supernatural trauma
Reccer's comments: This is fantastically creepy and well-done, as all of honeylocusttree’s fics are, as well as being perhaps the most original take on the trope of age regression I’ve ever read. It’s entirely without fluff, and just, a very cool concept the author has come up with here.
Link to fanwork: honeylocusttree.livejournal.com/71026.html

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Title: Where do you bury the survivors?
Author/artist: anon
Possible tags: undisclosed
Reccer's comments: Gutting, in a wonderful way. I loved how it kept you guessing.
Link to fanwork: http://blindfold-spn.livejournal.com/4508.html?thread=6173084#t6173084

p.s. Fellow mods - blindfold fills are the only recs I've been allowing to be friends-locked.

[(Anonymous)]

Title: hands of time only rule this chapter
Author/artist: alwaysenduphere
Possible tags: psychological issues, self-harm
Reccer's comments: Lots of delicious comfort here! Sad and sweet.
Link to fanwork: http://alwaysenduphere.livejournal.com/360218.html

Title: Gone
Author/artist: wave_obscura
Possible tags: child abuse, physical assault/abuse
Reccer's comments: This is one of wave_obscura’s lesser known fics, and I really like it. It’s painful and powerful. It does give us a look at what life could have been like for the Winchesters if John had dealt with Mary’s death a different way, so do take note of that/the warnings.
Link to fanwork: http://wave-obscura.livejournal.com/2880.html

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Title: Gravitational Lens
Author/artist: chaos_erevos
Possible tags: depression, PTSD, self-harm
Reccer's comments: This is a GREAT look at Dean, and his (not so great) coping mechanisms. The author’s writing style is so rhythmic, and raw but wonderfully sparse at the same time. There are so many great character insights here too. Loooove.
Link to fanwork: http://chaos-erevos.dreamwidth.org/12207.html

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, I'm so glad you caught that! That other one's on my reading list, so I guess they got mixed up. And <33333333. I LOVE IT.

geckoholic, pls check out this thread. <3

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you'll see this anyway, but I just wanted to make sure. I got the link wrong for this one, but the right link is in the thread. ;)

Re: geckoholic, pls check out this thread. <3

[geckoholic]

No worries, BB, got it. ♥

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Title: Trapped in Neverland
Author/artist: beth_summer
Possible tags: age regression (physical), bruises/bruising, curse/spell, physical assault/abuse
Reccer's comments: This is a prequel, or the backstory, if you will, to the first story in a ‘verse that gives us a really intriguing, different, and altogether awesome look at the de-aging trope.

You should def read the other fic as well, btw, although it’s not necessary to understand this one.
Link to fanwork: http://beth-summer.livejournal.com/5198.html

Title: a piece of night
Author/artist: kalliel
Possible tags: PTSD, hell/post-hell issues
Reccer's comments: Do you remember the scene in 5x22 where Chuck is describing Sam and Dean stargazing on the hood of the Impala? This is the author’s version of Winchester Star Gazing Bro Time, and it’s a shiny little gem of a fic.
Link to fanwork: http://kalliel.livejournal.com/180181.html#cutid1

Okay, I’ll stop myself now! I’m sure I’m forgetting lots, ahhhh.

[katiki7.livejournal.com]

Title: You Gotta Be Kidding
Author/artist: Lampito
Possible tags: age regression (mental), age regression (physical), hugs/cuddling, nausea/vomiting, curse/spell
Reccer's comments: If anyone needs a fix of de-aged Dean and/or a good laugh, this will tide you over for a while. It's hilarious, as well as offering up some nice scenes of de-aged h/c. Bobby is de-aged as well, and the two of them together are tough little hellions who get into 31 flavours of trouble. Cas is the best/worst babysitter in the universe. And Sam is the harassed yet caring father figure. Did I mention it's hilarious?
Link to fanwork: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7335583/1/You_Gotta_Be_Kidding

[mod note]

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Aw, unfortunately this has too many comments to classify as a hidden gem (we’ve set the cut-off for this at 20 reviews) but you can submit it to the rec submission post (http://hoodie-time.livejournal.com/26580.html#cutid6) instead, and a mod will post it at the end of this month in a rec post. ;)

Re: [mod note]

[katiki7.livejournal.com]

Okey-dokey! (I was thinking along the lines of reviews per chapter, as it’s the same dozen people who are leaving reviews for 20 chapters.) I can certainly recc it in the recc submission post instead.

Re: [mod note]

[maypoles.livejournal.com]

Ohhh. I hadn't considered that. Thanks for submitting it to the rec submission post too; I think it would work best there, but idk. ::is an indecisive mod, haha:: It'll end up in one of them for sure, anyway! ;D

And thanks for the rec to start with! I love de-aged!Dean, and I haven't seen that one before.

Re: [mod note]

[katiki7.livejournal.com]

I'm good with wherever you put it, but I think you might be right it would fit better on the rec submission post. It's more of a one-time rec because her other stories are crack rather than h/c (I love her sense of humour, she never fails to make me laugh out loud.) This story is the exception because age regression naturally lends itself to caring and comforting.

It's precisely because you were talking about your love for de-aged!Dean at the meme that I thought of this story and how people here had probably never seen it before.

I hope someone else fills that prompt, btw. When I reread it, I realized there's a lot more depth there than I got into (I just went with broccoli and pie. :) ) I'd love to see what one of the ubertalented writers here could do with it.

'Night!

[juppschmitz.livejournal.com]

Is this still going?

Title: Sleeping Patterns
Author/artist: demonic_fish
Possible tags: depressed!Dean with a side dish of alcoholism, casefic
Reccer's comments: This shows us beautifully how Dean gradually slips deeper into depression after the apocalypse has been averted. Apparently the fic was started early season 5, but rings very true even of season 7 (now). Also a fair bit of Dean-whump. One of my new favourites. Made my heart hurt so much. *sigh*
Link to fanwork:http://demonic-fish.livejournal.com/15954.html#cutid1

[jaimeykay.livejournal.com]

Title: That Other Home
Author/artist: mad_server
Possible tags: &fic, [genre: slash], [pairing: dean/sam], fever, hypothermia, post-hell issues
Reccer's comments: How mad_server uses temperature in this piece to describes Dean's hell issues and how easily Sam is able to understand it is BRILLIANT. Then there is lovely snuggling and comfort, which is perfection. <3
Link to fanwork: http://mad-server.livejournal.com/59472.html

[jaimeykay.livejournal.com]

Title: Untitled (the top picture on the page)
Author/artist: august_monsoon
Possible tags: hypothermia, unconsciousness
Reccer's comments: The artist's style is absolutely gorgeous, and you almost feel as if you can touch the characters themselves <3 Especially observe Castiel's hands :D
Link to fanwork: http://august-monsoon.livejournal.com/22145.html

[juppschmitz.livejournal.com]

Title: Sense
Author/artist: (artist:) thruterry'seyes
Possible tags: hurt!Dean
Reccer's comments: I just love the way caring!Cas is carrying injured Dean.
Link to fanwork:http://pics.livejournal.com/thruterryseyes/pic/0006z2fc/

[geckoholic]

Haha, that's what I call in under the wire, I'm about to post the result of this search. ;)

[juppschmitz.livejournal.com]

...and I wasn't even aware of the time limit!! (It didn't say in the mod post.^^)

[geckoholic]

There isn't a time limit as such, the search is open until the results are posted. You had really great timing! *gg*