Unfit for Society Recs

Supernatural

Before Your Time Has Run Astray by dollarformyname
Sam thinks Dean is happy where he is, doesn't want to ruin it. Adam is still wondering how they ever got this far if Sam was the brains of their outfit.

He knew Dean for five whole minutes and even he knows Dean is likely drowning in a bottle to escape the gaping chasm where Sam should be. Probably to escape the burbs too, because Dean really struck him as the type who'd go slowly insane in a place like that, maybe even become the recluse neighbor that 'always seemed so nice', according to the interviewees on the six o'clock news after a garage full of mutilated bodies are discovered.

Yeah, Adam's pretty sure getting those two back together is not only crucial to his own sanity, it's a goddamn public service. After they get out of the pit, Adam can't get away from Sam and it's driving him crazy. Sam's not doing so well, either, but he refuses to go see Dean, choosing instead to be an inept mother hen to Adam. Funny and achy, with a great Adam voice.

bells pond by kelleigh
AU in which Sam has a different role in the apocalypse, and it doesn't sit too well with him at first, but he slowly adjusts. Long and lovely, unfolds a little too slowly in the middle, maybe, but full of interesting OCs with whom Sam develops relationships, and of course, his relationship with Dean develops as well, into something new. (Wincest)

Cartography by whereupon
Tiny, gorgeous bit of Dean/OFC. He knows, then, with the logic of dreams, and sometimes still for an instant upon waking, that at times now she sees the unbroken curve of road, the fatal grace of metal and chrome, the ragged map of a world in which she has never walked, and never will.

crabapple pie by theredfeather
Really lovely look at Dean's journey down into grief and finally out through the other side. Let's hope the show handles things as gracefully as this story does.

Cross Creek by zoemathemata
Really fantastic season 2 era casefile featuring a haunted hotel that closes down for the winter; Sam and Dean want to clear out the ghosts, but the people who live there aren't so keen on that plan. There's something else, something far more dangerous lurking, as well, and maybe Sam and Dean have bitten off more than they can chew with this one. I really liked Fay and Oliver and how their relationship mirrored Sam and Dean's. There was a lovely sense of atmosphere and mounting dread as the story unfolded, and if I figured out what was going on before Sam and Dean did, well, it was still really well put together. Could use another line edit for typos, but totally worth reading anyway - highly recommended.

Dictionary for a Dead Language by britomart_is
Lovely, melancholy story set in the AU of "The End". Sam says yes. After Lucifer is banished, Dean deals with the fallout. (Wincest)

Fall on Your Yesterday's Heart by dreamlittleyo
Sweet, melancholy story in which Jo travels back in time and winds up entangled in the Winchesters' lives in 1988. Jo and John's relationship is handled nicely, but I especially liked how wee!Sam and wee!Dean (especially Dean) take to her and invite her into the family circle. (There is also, in the narrative present, an allusion to Sam/Dean that was unnecessary and can be skipped if that's not your sort of thing - it's only about a paragraph and it's not graphic.)

for peace comes dropping slow by wraith816
Utterly lovely story in which Sam and Dean take a break after the apocalypse (written post s4/pre s5) and slowly fall towards each other. (Wincest)

Hover Through the Fog and Filthy Air by chiiyo86
Well-crafted, melancholy, moving story of Sam and Dean's first hunt after the apocalypse, with the slow reveal of what happened to them while they saved the world to leave them in such bad shape. (AU)

I cannot rest from travel by kellifer_fic
Cool AU futurefic where Sam and Dean set up a school for hunters, which is one of my favorite possible futures for them. (Wincest)

Scaling Fences by dotfic
four times Dean had to teach Sam how to get over a fence, and one time he didn't. Aw, boys.

Those Who Favor Fire by kathickers (endearinglysad)
girl!Sam AU in which Sam takes the throne of hell to save Dean from ending up there. Dean's not so sanguine about it, though, and he follows her to try to get her out. Cool story with an interesting plot and take on hell. Also, I was very happy to see Bela out and about. (Wincest)

The Widow Tree by joans23
"Nobody knows what caused the curse. Some say it was the usual - a lover scorned - others claim everything from an angry god to the apocalypse. But they all know what it'll take to break it. They suffer, see their lives crumbling to dust before their very eyes, and still none of 'em is willing to make the sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Dean asks.

"Don't be coy with me, boy. You know the only thing to break a curse this old, this deeply rooted, is a sacrifice. Given willingly, to be bound body and soul for three days and three nights to the Widow Tree." Dean can't deal with his feelings for Sam anymore, so he volunteers to make a sacrifice. Creepy, well-done, with pining and self-sacrificing!Dean at his best. (Wincest) (note: the author has some trouble with too/to confusion, but the story's worth reading anyway)

~*~

DCU

Dum Dum Boys by gloss
Dick gets through most days by only thinking about what he has to. It's a ruthless sort of approach, one that he's hardly even aware of, until moments like this. Until the sheer bizarre absurdity of rolling around naked with his brother who is neither dead nor his brother smacks into him. Now that's what I'm talking about! Hot, sharp, funny, achy Dick/Jason.

Exile in Guyville by gloss
Jay knew that Tim was here before he got home; the pizza is evidence enough of that. That leaves Dick wondering just how good Jay's security systems are and how closely he's being monitored. It's all a question he files for later. In their family, love means surveillance, and that's never going to change.

Besides, it's more notable, isn't it, that Jay reacted to Tim's visit by ordering him food, not torching the block. Dick brings Tim home to hang out. Neither Tim nor Jason is pleased, but they manage not to kill each other. Achy and hilarious.

Exit Strategy by paragraph
Jason pays Dick a visit. Gentle and achy. "Aren't you going to try to kiss me again?"

"I don't know. Are you going to kiss me back?"

"I never have before."

"Things are different now."

Mettlesome, mad, extravagant city by gloss
Jason/Gotham=OTP. Lush, gorgeous look at the city that made and loves him.

The Urban Vigilante vs. the Common Cold by sister_wolf
Jason has a cold. Various members of the Batclan stop by to help. Hilarious and adorable. And Alfred pwns all.

they shall have stars at elbow and foot by lena (beardsley)
"But this is Gotham. Your parents weren't here legally, they weren't refugees or asylum seekers, and my sergeant would have my badge. It's not up to me."

Ah, Jay thinks, we're illegals: nobody cares. It's not even a surprise, really, because that one little word followed them from the moment they first set foot in the raucous Gotham docks and only his mother knew a word of English. Really lovely, achy AU in which Jason is Cambodian, and is adopted by Catwoman instead of Batman after his parents die. (I especially like his flirtation with Dick. Of course.)

Windows by inlovewithnight
Dick watches him, his movements, the grace that was never natural or acrobatic but athletic in the way that bikes and muscle cars are, something put together for performance, firing on all cylinders. It used to be a miracle, when he was Robin, flying through his paces because there was a sure hand on the wheel, confidence, enthusiasm. Now he's built-up and tricked-out, a hemi under the hood and an Uzi under the passenger seat, and some beauty's been lost for power and edge. Quiet, achy conversation between Jason and Dick.

~*~

Firefly

The Truth of Wings by lyrstzha
River only sees probability sometimes, and just from the corner of her eye, possibilities kaleidoscoping at the edge of her peripheral vision like a trick of the light. River sees all the ways things could have gone differently. None of them are good. *shivers* Creepy and heartbreaking

~*~

The Good Wife

Blood Sugar Sex Magik by innie_darling
Fantastic look at Kalinda becoming who we know her to be. Fuck it, she thinks as the guy behind the counter rings up the boots and leers in a disarmingly friendly way at her. So she'll be eating off the dollar menu for the foreseeable future. At least she'll look the way she feels, instead of like someone preparing to sell Tupperware door to door.

~*~

Life

Interpersonal Hygiene by amathela
Five times Charlie and Dani showered together (sort of). Lovely. He'll be a good partner one day, and a good man, but for now he's only okay.

~*~

Star Trek Reboot

lethal poison through the system by asimaiyat
When she was a kid she thought she was going to grow up to be a spy -- a secret agent. With boots that would let her slink silently down dark corridors, and some kind of special secret weapon, like the phasers she saw in vids but quieter and sleeker. Working on the side of good, to help bring down the Bad Guys, standing outside their doors and listening in on their secret messages.

Yeah, definitely that. Or else a pirate. Nyota Uhura is fiercer and more awesome than everyone. possibly ever.

Pomegranate by loneraven
Nyota goes home after the movie. This is gorgeous, and it made me cry. Her mother hugs her fiercely, without care or delicacy but with love, and Nyota thinks about the long nights she spent in this room, sitting straight-backed at her desk while her mother lay on the bed, leaning on a stack of pillows, grading papers. She tried to persuade her daughter to sleep late on weekends and not to drive herself so hard, and Nyota didn't listen; so Nyota studied late into the night, every night, and her mother made tea after dark and poured out mute, loving cups. Nyota passed the entrance exams for the Academy with the highest distinction, and took packets of tea leaves to San Francisco.

"I'm so sorry," her mother says, softly. "I'm so, so sorry. I know I can't understand." She lets go and stands up. "Let me make you some tea, baby, okay?"

She's gone without waiting for an answer, which is just how Nyota remembers things should be.

~*~