SPN Reclist: Gen Casefic!
my fic sweet spots for this trope: hurt!sam/comforting!Dean, and for the gen casefic, while I 'm not normally big on angst, I 've found I can really dig angst when it 's paired with a case.
Let 's get started! 🤗 ❤️

Beware Of The by KKBELVIS. Teen and up, Gen, 25k. Summary: Beware of the what? The Dog? The Cat? Bigfoot? A dragon? Whatever the danger is…Sammy's gotten himself into it and Dean is in full-on big brother mode
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8811600
My thoughts: the antagonist in this story was a sympathetic monster, Sam's favorite, so the Sam whump was not just excellent, it was angsty too. Dean to the rescue is always so satisfying, the angry worrying, the quippy bravado, his possessive+protective side coming out full tilt and then the soft moments. I am very happy with this fic!

The Haunted Hotels series by authoressnebula. Rated PG-13, Gen, 102k words . Summary: Hotels are usually where the Winchesters can find respite. Not these hotels. Case-fics where the Winchesters find themselves in danger, deceit, and death. They'll have to unravel the mystery of the hotel if they want to get through it alive. Fortunately, the Winchesters are bad-asses, and they have the most powerful weapon they could ask for: each other.
ao3.org/series/1425697
my thoughts: Riveting storytelling with our boys at the center of it being the Big Damn Heroes we know them to be. I recommend each story with detailed thoughts on here but you can rest assured there 's plenty of mystery, horror, and restrained but still very satisfying hurt/comfort!

Illusions by Kyriebess (FF.net). Rated PG-13, Gen, 9k. Summary: Sam gets attacked by a rare creature who is trying to scare him to death. Fortunately, there's a small but slightly awkward loophole in the creature's spell that may help the brothers defeat her.
fanfiction.net/s/5106989
my thoughts: This fic is in my top favorite spn fics . I loved this story so much because the rules of the monster in this case fic were crafted to brilliantly showcase insight into how the brothers feel about each other.... much to their embarrassment and delight depending on the brother. She's a fantastic author

Together We 'll Break These Chains of Love by fogsrollingin. Gen, PG, 10k words. Summary: "'HOLD MY HAND ' Sam yelled, laughing so hard he was gasping." Light-hearted (and then intense) h/c gen fic, set in the beginning of S4.
ao3.org/works/1429417 or fanfiction.net/s/9615596
my thoughts on me: inspired by kyriebess, I tried to write a case that 'd bring something shmoopy out about Sam & Dean 's brotherhood. It turned out to be pretty funny too (at least to me!)

Disorder by Kohadril(FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 62k. Summary: Order is the fragile illusion of control…a lie we tell ourselves by necessity, because the reality of our impermanence and futility is maddening. What happens to a man who looks upon the face of entropy?
fanfiction.net/s/3223787
my thoughts: While the summary doesn 't make a whole lot of sense, this is one of the best case fics ever primarily because it 's writing Sam and Dean so well as young men and close brothers, set around season 2. It all stays undeniably gen while still having some amazing hurt/comfort hugs and even cuddles along the way. Supernatural-caused insanity/psychosis is the 'Sam Hurt ' here

House of Burden by Maygin (FF.net). Rated PG-13, Gen, 78k. Summary: Within its walls lives a family that has never been touched by hate, fire or the Supernatural… but for one.
fanfiction.net/s/3691343
my thoughts: This fic is in my top favorite spn fics . Where the Winchesters remained a wholesome family in the suburbs and Sam is the only one who grows to realize there's a darker side to the world around them. So much Sam angst! With a happy ending! And a gargoyles case fic! What more could a fangirl want? Teenchesters fic, & definitely counts as a bizarre AU too.

Fear No More by Jedi Sapphire. Rated PG-13, gen, 35k. Summary: It's just a straightforward salt-and-burn, so Dean and John decide it'll be the perfect job to give Sam as his first solo hunt. And then it stops being so straightforward.
fanfiction.net/s/8226836
my thoughts: Following House of Burden up with this ficrec bc it 's a nontraditional casefic too. It 's written in first person from Sam 's POV, and before you blow this fic off because of the perspective, pleaaaase just give it a shot. It 's so easy to roll with this author 's depiction of Sam 's inner thoughts, I promise. This fic is very light on John bc the setting is an all-boys boarding school so Sam 's only got Dean as his backup while he figures his first case out. This is a really sweet and angsty casefic for Sammy and it 's awesome.

Foreseen by P.L. Wynter (FFnet). Rated R, Gen, 58k words. Summary: In 1967, tragedy struck Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were given their warnings. No one listened. Now, the warnings are back. Rated M for language.
fanfiction.net/s/2705943
my thoughts: This is a fantastic mothman case fic: the author did her research on the Mothman myth & legend for this. Fantastic thriller/drama. A lot of creepy suspense too (so like perfect for those who enjoyed the understatedly eerie 2002 film). My favorite part was when a gun stays on Sam for so long that it frays both the brothers ' nerves.

Hozho by LadyVic (FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 113k words. Summary: Misunderstandings and insecurities throw the brothers off balance and land them in the path of a wildfire as they face a dangerous foe and the line between hunter and hunted blurs.
fanfiction.net/s/3900631
my thoughts: I 'll be honest, I read this a very long time ago so I don 't remember details but this is what I said when I read+rec 'd it years ago (I still have it! haha): Fantastic case fic where the author did her research on Native American myth & lore and threw the boys into an extremely compelling thriller/drama.

Fishing for Mermaids by CeCe Away (FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 10k words. Summary: Don't be dead. Don't be dead. Sam floated, legs angled downward by the weight of his heavy wet boots and jeans.
fanfiction.net/s/6563399
my thoughts: This case fic is action-packed from start to finish and features a creature that SPN hasn't tackled before: mermaids! I literally couldn't put this fic down. I had to reread it again because I was zipping through it so fast the first time. Totally felt like an episode - only better.

Spirit of Winter's Chill by Jedi Sapphire (AO3). Rated PG, Gen, 8k. Summary: Sam and Dean are hunting Jack Frost. There's one important piece of information they don't have. No spoilers except to the premise of the show.
ao3.org/works/5342843
my thoughts: This is a fantastic Christmas case fic (therefore included in my Winter Holidays ficrecs list ) that involves a masterful treatment of the amnesia trope (so it's included in my amnesia reclist too). This story totally lives up to its immediate hook. The best part is that the brothers' victory elicits you that melty (harhar) shmoop feel-good feeling you don't get in most straightforward case fics - but these are my favorite kinds of case fics.

The Queen of Light Took Her Bow by LadyVic (FFnet). Rated PG-13, Gen, 141k words. Summary: Battle lines are drawn when the touch of the Fae is felt in the town where the Winchesters have found refuge. The repercussions could change the family 's path forever. Sam 18 Dean 22.
fanfiction.net/s/4875088
my thoughts: I 'm in love with fae/fairy stories in large part because of this fic. It 's a tremendously imaginative, magical, and lengthy Sam-centric case fic you can really sink your teeth into. Nontraditional casefic in that it 's kinda epic & so brilliantly detailed at 141k words, and therefore kinda similar to the following rec below, In Reverse by Sodakey.

In Reverse by Sodakey . Rated PG-13, Gen, 148k. Summary: After S1E12 Faith, a job has the boys looking for missing hikers in Wyoming. While Sam worries it 's connected to what happened to Dean ten years ago, Dean wonders if Sam would be better off back in the world of normal.
fanfiction.net/s/2787883
my thoughts: One of my top favorite spn fics of all time . A fantastic read especially if you're new to fanfiction and looking for something similar to canon but d e e p e r. This is a superbly written insightful and believable case fic that takes a long time to resolve while exploring so many aspects of Sam & Dean's characters and personal histories. Also I love fics that feature Sam 's Stanford friends meeting him as a hunter.

Blind, But Now I See by Kyriebess. Rated PG-13, Gen, 34k. Summary: Short story where Sam gets a clear revelation about how special Dean is compared to other brothers. Then he tries to thank Dean for it, much to Dean's dismay, while they finish the ghost hunt. Sam POV, hurt!Sam, protective!Dean, minor hurt!Dean
fanfiction.net/s/3512472
my thoughts: This fic is in my top favorite spn fics of all time . If you want to read about sibling relationships and why Sam's and Dean's were so sweet/wholesome/loving growing up bc they're on a case featuring two brothers that weren't, here's your holy grail. This showcases my favorite framing of the brothers' relationship I've ever read (how both of them needed and depended on each other growing up and it wasn't a one-way burden on Dean to have to be there for Sam). It's a great case fic too!

Vampires Were People Too by TraSan. Rated PG-13, Gen, 48k words. Summary: The desert is a dangerous place filled with poisonous snakes, spiders and intense heat. With the addition of the civatateo Sam and Dean find themselves battling an ancient vampire along with their own inner demons.
fanfiction.net/s/4185694
my thoughts: excellent case fic featuring Sam as the victim of a slow death by illness/life-force-sucking vamp. Lots of tender scenes between Sam and Dean and pretty cool Aztec lore woven into it all.

In Libris Libertas by Jedi Sapphire. Rated PG-13, Gen, 45k. Summary: A disgruntled witch casts an unusual spell on the boys. It's going to take all their guts, ingenuity and badassery to get out of this one.
fanfiction.net/s/7614047
my thoughts: A fic that meshes curse casefics with the episode Changing Channels! Kind of amazing, right? No real Supernatural episode could legally visit so many other fictional universes/properties, hahaha. This fic's a tremendously fun adventure.

Hunterkiller by kohadril. Rated PG-13, Gen, 27k words. Summary: Bested by a demon, Sam and Dean scramble to find its weakness before it can complete its mission.
fanfiction.net/s/2829655
my thoughts: interesting lore abounds over a cursed finger! Hurt, angsty Sam is the best. Fantastic fight sequences that are equally gut-wrenchingly (ha) emotional. Pretty equal opportunity whump here, with lots of brotherly love and nice sprinkles of functional coping mechanisms.