It's recs time again....

[lexzilla]

Ugh! I have the hangover from hell from attempting to go to two friends' different birthday parties last night. And now my cat has decided it's time to start playing 'hey lemme chase those typing fingers...that looks fun', so if you see a page of guxff szgzgsh mjbv.kjv  feel free to ignore.

So to cheer myself up, here's some recs of Jared and Jensen after Supernatural stories that I like.


J2 Post SPN

A Goodbye Kiss and A Conflict of Interests by affectingly  (ongoing)
Great fic that turns into a sci-fi AU. Jared tries to find Jensen after he goes missing. Mysteries and conspiracies abound and in all that Supernatural gets cancelled. A Goodbye Kiss is complete and the sequel has just started. Enjoy the ride.

A Steady Push and Pull Routine by ignited 
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
This has such a natural feel it, that you can really imagine that this is exactly how the boys will end up after Supernatural – still together and still comfortable and at ease with their relationship.

Accidental Babies ‘Verse by various authors
Jared and Jensen get married. Then they get a kid.

After the Tone by kashmir1
Written for spn_j2_bigbang
Jensen moves to New York after Supernatural ends and tries to get on with his life, and discover himself, while he waits to hear from Jared. This is such an evocative tale, richly written and full of details, where the city itself becomes as important to the story as all the characters. And what great characters they are, everyone that Jensen encounters is as vivid and vibrantly drawn as the boys themselves. I seriously loved this and I can see myself coming back to it time and time again. “October is fast giving way to November and it's evident in the air and the angle of the sun, harsh and bright in the early morning as Jensen makes his way to the theater. He tugs the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder, iPod and the sheaf of papers that are his script, highlighted and scribbled on to within an inch of their lives, secure within. He takes a deep breath as he stands in front of the building where he'll be opening a play as the headliner in six weeks and then straightens his shoulders, opens the door and goes in, head held high.”

All-But-Straight Colorful Lines by mnemosime 
Super-sweet fic about the boys deciding it’s finally the right time to adopt a child.

An Awful Long Time To Wait by dorkdance
Jared sees Jensen at an awards ceremony holding hands with another man. This is a sweet and smutty fic.

Chicagoland ‘Verse by phaballa
Last Stop: Chicagoland written for spn_j2_bigbang
This isn’t really a verse so much as one truly epic fic and then little prequels and sequels orbiting around it, but there is no difference in tone, style or characters between the fics and each story feels naturally connected to the other. The main story, Last Stop: Chicagoland, is set after Supernatural has finished and the two boys have moved out of LA to raise their kids. Featuring good times and bad times, arguing and sexing, angst and schmoop and anything else you can think of that goes into a really good satisfying tale.

Coming Clean by kentucka
In 2015, Jared does an interview where he sets the tells all about what’s really going on between him and Jensen. So cute and lovely. 

(didn’t we almost have it all) by ephemerall
Heartbreaking story of life after Supernatural. 

Falling In and Out by crackedbuthappy
This is a sweet but heart-wrenching Jared POV about falling in love with Jensen over and over again.

Farther Away From Where We Are by causeways
Wonderful story that charms you with its sparkly boys banter, oblivious Jensen and cast of fantastic extras. Sometime after Supernatural ends Danneel finally breaks up with Jensen, so he hides out with Jared while licking his wounds. “It's a little amazing to Jensen that they're still together. A year and a half ago he would have sworn that if anyone was going to make it for the long haul, it'd be Jared and Sandy, but it was pretty clear by the end of filming the fourth season that their relationship wasn't going to work out. And then Jared came out, which really explained a lot about just how many International Male catalogs he had lying around—"I just like the clothes!" only goes so far. So yeah, Jared and Sandy didn't make it, and they'd always seemed like they were going to be a permanent thing in a way that he and Danneel never had. But they're making it work.”

Fast Forward, Rewind by 1shotjunkie (ongoing)
There’s currently only two parts to this story and it hasn’t been updated since January, but what there is, is worth reading. Jared and Jensen meet up again in the future. 

Forever Enough by unperfectwolf and waterofthemoon
Jared and Jensen, together after Supernatural, raise their daughter. 

How (Not) To Live Alone by pocketfullof
Jared returns from travelling and finds Jensen in this slow-building, wonderfully executed story. “It's an entirely un-dramatic homecoming. When Jared finally inhales his first breath of smoggy LA air, he's got his backpack hitched over one shoulder and a huge duffle clutched in his hand. There's a painful zit on his forehead. He blinks against the hazy light like he's just clawed his way out of some dark, underground cave - if he could remember where he left his sunglasses this whole thing would go a lot smoother.”

I Thought An Open Door Would Bring You In by light_up
Sweet gentle fic showing the boys slowly moving towards each other.

If I Had A Hammer by jadedpen
Written for fluffandfold
Joyfully schmoopy tale about Jared and Jensen buying a home, fixing it up and then living their lives in domestic bliss.

If It Ends Now, Let the Words Remain Unsaid by dev_earl
Spanning the years, this fic follows the boys through their various relationships with women until fate, in the shape of a small child, reunites our heroes. This is an engaging read featuring a kid that’s cute enough for the story but not so saccharine that you’ll want to cry.

In Production by reccea 
Written for spn_j2_bigbang 
This is such a great ride - full of gentle realisations, intimate details, unhurried characterisations and an over-riding sense of comfort. Ten years after Supernatural finished, Jared’s marriage to Sandy is falling apart so he takes a break to hang out on set, in Paris, with Jensen. “The truth is, Jensen's changed more than he has, Jared's pretty sure. The fine lines around his eyes aren't as fine as they used to be, and there's gray peppered in his light hair, if you looked close enough. He's still gorgeous, maybe more so than before. Getting older looks more like maturing on Jensen, like he's just been growing into who he meant to be, not that he's leaving behind the glory of his youth. It figures, really, that forty suits Jensen.”

It Is by truelyesoteric
The history of how the boys came together, told in flashbacks from some point in the future. All the characters in this are really well drawn, including the OC, and the emotions really drag you into the story. Also features Jared/Sandy.

It’s Not Easy by elless18
Lovely tale where their kids help see the boys through the bad times and on to something better. “The relationship part of it, dealing with going from costars to best friends to lovers and something more, convincing Jared to take a chance on them, convincing Kripke it wouldn’t ruin the show, convincing their agents it wasn’t the death of their careers, telling their families they loved each other and planned to stay together for a long time (a day past forever), that’s when it got rough. Not always, of course, but 12 years, a commitment ceremony, and three babies later, they still had their off days, off months. Like now.”

L.A. Story by kestrelsan
Written for spn_holidays
Sometime after SPN ends Danneel dumps Jensen and then he gets a Jared shaped houseguest. This is a really great story all filled with the details of the boys lives and domesticity and a really well written emotional core that hits just right. I loved all the great moments between the boys and how they managed to communicate without saying anything, in that manly kind of way.

Lingering In the Golden Gleam by causeways
This is just wonderful and wins at everything. Set sometime in the future, Jared finds himself in an alternate reality where he stayed with Jensen after Supernatural ended and now they live in domestic bliss whilst raising a family. Despite how this may read like an AU, it’s not. “He's already halfway down the hallway before he realizes: he actually is in Vancouver. He's in his old house there, the one he bought when Supernatural got picked up for a third season. He must have taken something fucking crazy last night, because how the hell else he could have gotten to Vancouver in the middle of the night, woken up in bed with Jensen and a couple of kids and—gross, now it sounds like he's Michael Jackson—anyway, lots of drugs, crazy ones. Probably Welling and Rosenbaum were involved.”

Putting My Heart Back Together by dare_to_dream06
Slow dreamy story about why Jared broke up with Jensen. I really like the repetition that’s used throughout as a constant reminder of  time passing.

Seek by indysaur
Beautifully written story looking at the journey each of the boys take once Supernatural ends. “He can't not be in LA. Not right now. He's feeling old, to the point where he'd floated the idea of Botox past Jared. Jared had promptly laughed his ass off and told Jen that he had no idea Jen was such a pretty pretty princess and to go right ahead and pump his face full of bacon lard gone bad so he could keep up with Hayden Panettierre. It's the answer Jensen had wanted to hear; he's not sure what he woulda done if Jared hadn't shot the idea down, but still. The fact that he even thought about it worries him.” 

State of Love and Trust (Or, The Epic Romance Of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) by transposition73 (ongoing)
This WIP has only  just started, but looks pretty good. Jensen comes to see Jared ten years after Supernatural has ended.

Sundown ‘Verse created by brynwulf and poisontaster (ongoing)
There’s been an apocalypse, so making TV shows isn’t top of anyone’s agenda. Jared and Jensen earn their keep in high-class brothel staffed by various TV celebrities.

Ten Years and Two Lies by jelloh0530
Sad, but ultimately hopeful, story about the way life can split people apart.

The Idiot’s Guide To Making A Movie by sazzlette
Written for spn_holidays
Stylish story that’s funny and unusual. Four years after Supernatural ends, Jared arranges for them to do a movie together. “It kind of goes without saying, really. It's the same logic as not fucking around with your roommates, or your best friends. And when the person in question has been not only your co-star, but also your roommate and your best friend? You know you're pretty much screwed all to hell when you wake up naked in their bed. You're even more screwed when they don't do the respectable thing and just ignore the slip completely. When they want to talk about it.”

The Jared Padalecki Untitled Project by esohpe 
This is such an absolutely fantastic story, where an embittered Jensen gets a new acting gig alongside current Hollywood favourite Jared Padalecki. The way the history of the two boys is fed out in little dribs and drabs fits in all too well with the tone and sentiments of the current timeline. I really can’t recommend this enough.

The Night We Had You by rejeneration
Cute story where Jared and Jensen decide to start a family. 

The Truth About Heaven and Come Back Running by destina 
The Truth About Heaven written for spn_j2_bigbang 
Poignant and funny well written stories. The first follows the Jared and Jensen’s confusion as Supernatural comes to an end and they have to decide what to do with themselves. The second revisits them a few years down the line when Jeff comes for a visit…and sex.  "Every time he came home, Jared felt more like he belonged there and less like he was living a happy accident on someone else's turf. The ranch was flowering with color, wildflowers popping up all over the grounds near the house, up the drive; Jared had to resist the urge to grab whole handfuls and deposit them in Jensen's lap. But he thought Jensen understood anyway; early evenings in the twilight, he caught Jensen staring out at this place of theirs, soft contentment written there in every relaxed line of his body"."

The Wounds Of Embarrassment Often Feel Mortal But Are Rarely So by kellifer_fic
Written for spn_j2_xmas 
Disarming and charming, this is a deceptively simple tale of one boy waiting for the other to get a clue.

Through The Motions by allie_quixotic
A fic about how life carries on when Jensen says I love you and Jared responds with ‘we need more boxes’. This is bittersweet – with one heart-breaking paragraph, which you’ll know when you read it – but with an ending that makes the pain worthwhile.

True Hollywood Story by pocketfullof 
So satisfying - this really feels like a complete story, full of depth and emotion. Jared and Jensen have ‘a thing’ and even though Jensen wants it to be more, he sticks to that old adage of if you love something, set it free. The results are messy, but there’s still a happy ending to be had. Also features Jared/OC. “Jared had continued, though, like he didn’t really need Jensen to respond, which was probably mostly true. Jensen knew for a fact that Jared had once had a smoke session where he’d talked to a particularly leafy houseplant about rain forest depletion for forty-five minutes without needing an answer.”

What We Had (I Threw It Away) by jen_jm
The boys are called back to do 'Supernatural: The Movie'.  Jared wants to win Jensen back, even though he’s been with Jeff since the break-up.


If you haven't read any of these, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Comments

[speedcat93.livejournal.com]

Hi dear! I hope you're feeling better today ;-)
Thanks for the recs, you're cheering me up with that since I'm kinda sick and stuck at home and what best cure than some good J2 fics? *winks*
Bye :D

[lexzilla.livejournal.com]

Much better thanks! Well, at least until I went to work....
Glad you enjoyed. And yes, J2 do have the power to cure illness with their pretty.
Take it easy ;-)