layne67

The Soul Piece by cloudyjenn. SPN, eventual Dean/Cas, currently at ~130000 words words, rating R, canon-compliant.
Summary: When a human child is born, their soul is shattered into bright gleaming pieces that scatter to the winds.

This is one *those*. The one that grip you tight and make you quite unable to concentrate on anything else, the one that make you feel that you're inside that story, living and breathing their lives. This is totally my head-canon now, the backstory to Cas and Dean's unique relationship, their profound bond, the story behind Mary's Angels are watching over you, the reason why Dean doesn't believe in angels and Sam does, Dean's resurrection from hell with nary a scar, that handprint, Jimmy Novak and his daughter Claire, oh I could go on and on and on!

While the whole story is still a WIP, the first two parts are complete on their own. Part One is from when Dean was a baby to Sam being born ( Sam's soul meeting Cas's grace and wee!Dean's reaction to that omg that was brilliant ) to that fateful night in November 1983 ( fluff and sweetness and angst in abundance ). Part Two is adult Dean, the time when Cas was ( seemingly ) absent from Dean's life to Cas's thrilling and dramatic rescue of Dean from hell and the sweet, sweet healing that took place after that. And Part Three is the events that took place in Lazarus Rising onwards.

Read it now if you hadn't already. It's awesome, it's brilliant, it's amazing.

Following the trail once more, Castiel flutters down in front of one box in particular. The child laying in it is similar to the others in the room, but Castiel instantly sees how this child will always be different to him. The soul piece in his arms shudders in proximity to its original master. To Castiel, it feels akin to the love he holds for his Father, but again, there is something different. Something he's never experienced before and therefore can't identify. But it is pleasant.

A couple of delightful fics which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Completely different from each other, like, well, ponies and movie stars, but both equally satisfying and happy-making.

Gone With The Wendigo by bellatemple. SPN, gen, crossover with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, PG-13, 26000 words.

Summary: Sam and Dean go into the New Hampshire wilderness to investigate a new case: whole groups of hikers are getting trapped in freak blizzards and then encased in solid ice. When a blizzard hits them on the trail, they take shelter in a nearby cave for the night, only to awake to find themselves transformed into brightly colored ponies and trapped in a whole new world where zebras speak in rhyme, ponies run apple orchards, good times and positive thinking are encouraged, and friendship? Friendship is magic.

This is crack, but if you've read the author's epic Dimensions and Veticals, you'd know that bellatemple's cracks are not just cracks. They're cracks with substance and they make you feel and think just as much as they make you laugh. You don't need any prior knowledge of MLP to get this story. I didn't. Knew of MLP I mean. So go on, do read this. You know you want to!

Stupid People by maychorian. SPN, gen, PG-13, humour, 7000 words.

Summary: Some people are cat people. Some people are dog people. And then there are people like Dean ...

Omg you've just got to read this, if you hadn't already that is. It's clever and it's hilarious and it's absolutely sweet and adorable. You know those stories where Dean has to choose between Cas and Sam? Well, I haven't read any because because that's not my cup of tea, but this? This is that ( well, sort of ) but with absolutely no angst and very, very happy-making and I just want to smoosh all three of them. Go read!

1. Many, many thanks to Shinta, Jas, Steff and Samena for the lovely blue dragons. It's certainly the Year of the Dragon, eh? ♥♥♥

2. A couple of quick recs. A Sherlock/LOTR crossover brilliantly written by aussiepeach. Here, where Frodo first met the Consulting Ranger at the Prancing Inn and its sequel where the Consulting Ranger met the Irene Adler of Lothlorien. Much hilarity ensues and yeah, I'm surprised that none of the Fellowship hadn't punched Sherlock yet lol. Read, read, READ! ( Thank you frodosweetstuff )

Uhm, Katikat, I don't think you'll have any objection to the casting of Watson here ;D

3. A crossover vid of sorts where House meets Sherlock meets Fortysomething. Or rather where Dr Paul Slippery had migrated to US to become the famous consulting doctor while his son, Rory grew up to be the equally famous ( or equally annoying, depending on whom you ask ) consulting detective.

Here. ( Thank you katikat for the heads-up! )

Ten In One by smilla02, SPN gen, rating R, 36,000 words.

Summary: A hiker's body is found mauled in the Oregon woods. While investigating, Sam and Dean stumble onto an itinerant sideshow, whose members are the primary target of the same creature killing across the American west. The case alone would be difficult enough, even if Sam and Dean didn't have to deal with the strained consequences of a trip to Hell and back.

Written for spn_j2_bigbang 2008. This story was written a while back ( talk about being late to the party! ) but I've only just found it and what a gem it is. A casefic but not *just* a casefic, it's SamandDean the way it was before, a post season 3 AU where Sam was the one who brought Dean back from hell, broken and damaged and them trying to find their way back together again because Dean was not the only one who needed to be anchored back to reality as Sam with his terrifying powers that he used to save Dean needed to be saved, too. That plus a fantastic casefic made for a very compelling read.

Throughout September – Sam tells him later – he doesn't open his eyes. If someone asked him why he wouldn't know the answer. He is awake. He can assign voices and touches to the people they belong to without any effort: cool and soft – Ellen’s; callused and dry – Bobby’s. So big they entirely cover the expanse of his chest – Sam’s.

The mechanics of the rescue aren't clear, but he retains a clear image, a painted picture, of Sam as he stands tall and straight amid the flames.

I don't often read fics from the Harry Potter fandom but this one was written by illyria_novia. Heh, I'd read anything written by Novia :)

Rites of Goodbyes.
Rating: PG-13, gen
Summary: Learning to live without Fred takes George on a long, circuitous journey.

I'm all choked up here ...

And oh boy, am I rec'ing this.

The Righteous Man in the Shallow Grave by bellatemple. SPN/Bones crossover, gen, rating R, 27,030 words.

Summary: When an unidentified body is found in an illegal grave in a field in Pontiac, Illinois, the body gets shipped to the Medico-Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian for identification, and Death calls Tessa in with a warning: "The righteous man has broken, and the angels have breached Hell's gates."

Written for the sncross_bigbang, I was absolutely delighted when I first knew that the author was writing a Bones/SPN crossover and was thrilled when it was posted a few days ago. But I kept my excitement in check ( or tried to ) because you know, high expectatations and all that jazz. But bellatemple delivered, and beyond. It was awesome and amazing from start to finish. She gave a very credible crossover with the characters from both fandoms sounding true to what we know of them. A Must Read, especially to fans of both shows!

Squee number one: Seriously? Like, seriously seriously???

If Martin weren't yanking chains, I wonder very much in what role he'll be cast as. An elf? Oh he'd be perfect as one, tall and moody and broody, all aloof and elegant. I'm not into the RPFs ( yet ), or the FPSs either ( yet ) but I imagine there'll be lots of plotbunnies floating around, namely Martin wanting Benedict by his side for the movie!

Squee number two: This pic which was posted a while back made me melt into a puddle of goo.
( awwwww ...  )

Squee number three: This is just so very lovely. ( My favourite man with my favourite woman )

And squee number four: A story that really, really made me happy, my heart was practically singing while reading it! Blindness by glassyskies, Dean/Cas PG-13, 10,500 words.

With that title, I initially thought it was about either Dean or Cas going blind, but it it isn't. Not the physical kind anyway. It's Cas wearing his heart on his sleeves with everyone but Dean noticing it. It kind of made me think of that meta by Cupidsbow but where Dean isn't actually an asshat, just oblivious. Sweet yet heartbreaking with awesome Sam, awesome Balthazar and awesome Bobby!

The American Dream by tahirire. SPN, coda to The French Mistake, rating R, gen, 4164 words.

Summary : After switching worlds, Sam and Dean had a hard time adjusting. They were lucky. Jared and Jensen were screwed.

Fantastic coda to that episode, because Jared and Jensen had to have gone *somewhere*, right, while Sam and Dean were in their place in Vancouver driving everyone on set nuts. And they were screwed alright. But at least they had each other, and yes, they were indeed, talking.

I'm all misty-eyed now. I started reading this story in April last year, it was at chapter 30 then and I stayed up all night reading it, followed by angst-filled days of waiting for the updates. Dark Emeralds never disappoint. Each subsequent chapter fulfills my expectations, and beyond.

And you know with the WIPs when you're dreading the day when the authors just give up on their stories? I never had any doubt that Dark Emeralds would finish this story, and finished it in a spectacular way too, if I may say so.

I just wish that more people would read this wonderful, amazing story, that it's not limited to just a certain group of readers. Non-J2 fans probably won't be reading this, or those who don't read slash, or those who're not into the Regency era.

But if you'd just see this as an original fiction, a fantastic love story that's written extraordinarily well by a truly amazing writer, trust me, you won't be disappointed. So yup, I'm urging you to read this if you hadn't already! And if you don't do wips and are waiting for this story to be completed, now is the time to start!

Now if only I had a smidgen of artistic talent, I'd have made vids and arts and banners for this story. I'm so envious of readers who're able to sing their praises in more ways than one, like this vid that someone created for the wonderful dragon!fic Queensguard. But alas, I would just have to settle for some inane gushings and not so articulate squees lol.

And lastly, many thanks to janissa11 for rec'ing Restraint in her journal in the first place. This story is totally going to be in my Top Eleven of the Most Perfect Stories in the three fandoms that I read, heheh wouldn't you like to know what they are? ;DD

ETA : Spoilers in the comments.