Fic Rec Friday: Old Friends Senior Fic Sanctuary

[farenmaddox]

For our first round of Friday fic recommendations, let's give some love to our elders - that is, old fics. Older fics are sometimes imported from other sites over to AO3, and don't always have the tags or traffic that net people's attention the way that newer fics do. People who are newer to the fandom might never discover these gems without a little help!

Your fic rec doesn't have to specifically focus on the Dean/Cas ship, but it does have to be published in 2015 or earlier.

Make sure to say a few words about why you love this fic, and provide a link where people can find it! In fact, feel free to recommend more than one!

(As an aside, I'm eventually planning to pull data from every Fic Rec Friday post into a compiled spreadsheet, as well as being available to find under the "Fic Rec Friday" tag so that our best-beloved fics on a variety of different tropes/topics can be easily saved and shared.)

Comments

Some old friends...

[friendofcarlotta]

What I Need by Jacqueline Albright-Beckett was recced to me very recently and I absolutely inhaled it. It's a medical AU featuring surgeon Cas and surgical tech Dean. The medical setting is spot-on, but the heart of the story is these two characters slowly getting to know and love each other. There is no massive angsty breakup to be found here - just excellent writing and character development.

The Sawdust Men by linoresearch is one of two fics by this writer I absolutely adore - the other one being an epic Jane Eyre AU, with Cas in the role of Jane Eyre. This one is set at a Gulag-style labor camp, where Dean is brought in as a guard and Cas is a political prisoner. Expect angst and violence accordingly, but what really stuck with me about this story is how sweet and tender Dean and Cas' romance is, even in circumstances that shouldn't allow for it.

Every Dog Has Its Day by aileenrose is really just a stand-in for my recommendation that you read every aileenrose fic ever. No matter the premise, they're always wonderful and just pull you right in. This one in particular stuck with me - Cas is a homeless veteran, and Dean meets him when Cas darts into the road to save a stray dog. Okay, and maybe just one more: in Love, Take Your Toll, Cas is a lonely toll collector and Dean is a driver who just keeps finding excuses to pass by his booth.

Fics I think about 10+ years later

[(Anonymous)]

I first got into SPN around 2012 (PEAK SuperWhoLock era), and back then mostly found my fics through the HoodieTime LJ. There are some fics that are still around and have been crossposted to Ao3, that even when I was out of fandom, had been so profound and formative that I'd think about them randomly:

Jai Guru Deva Om by Shariot (2013): https://archiveofourown.org/works/955608/chapters/1869996
and
The Days and Nights Are Long by Sharlot (2015): https://archiveofourown.org/works/5394836

Both are Gen. Top is Stanford-era Dean who falls in with a cult, and bottom is S3 AU with Sam trying to save Dean.

-saudade (I cant find my old Dreamwidth login info and need to make a new acct at some point, but hi)

[tea_or_die]

A Complete Kingdom by Komodobits (2015)

Mind the tags, PLEASE mind the tags, this is definitely MCD, and it doesn't end well for anyone. HOWEVER, it is a brilliant horror that has lured me back several times. TFW in a cabin by the sea, starting to nest a little, things are not all as they seem. If the writer looks familiar, yes it's that Komodobits of 91W fame. Possibly one of the best fics I've ever read.

[illusionremember]

I come back to this one all the time. What Has Eight Tentacles and Isn't Allowed to Eat Pie? by Annie D (scaramouche) (2013, on Ao3), in which Dean is turned into an octopus. Annie D's characterization is always on point, and is unmatched in humor. Excellent bunkerfam fic!


The Laundromat 'Verse by ozonecologne (2015, on A03), is one of my faves as well. We got a soft all human AU. I'm a really big fan of stories where the small communities they live in are as much a part of the cast as the main characters. Plus the angels as punks is so fun. <3


Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep by wewerethebestrichard (2014, on ffnet). Castiel invites Jimmy Novak to listen to him pray. Very early days Cas. I looove me some good digging into vessel lore and angel trueforms.


Christening by ItsClydeBitches221B (2012, on ffnet). The first time that Dean calls him Cas, Castiel isn't too thrilled. Featuring some Uriel, and some Jimmy, and some deliberately irreverent Dean.

[farenmaddox]

I just remembered this one! From 2012!

Kiss You When It's Dangerous by zoemathemata, featuring Cas as an FBI agent who gets caught up in the world of hunting and especially in Dean.