Writing From the Inside

Landmarks by estrella30.

Slash.

Not a real story, more of a ficlet, but containing a gem of an idea, that of memory as geography. Some people know dates and names, but Dean tells his story by where he’s been and what he did there. Whereas Sam knows Route 40 in Tulsa, or wherever. The way people remember things isn’t good or bad, per se, but it does say something about them. I liked this idea here, had done a paper on it for Linguistics, about people’s ways of telling direction, or marking events. I once, way back, as a delivery gal, worked with this guy who told directions by Dairy Queens. Go up through Ft. Collins, he’d say, and take a right at the Dairy Queen. Or, go two miles past the Dairy Queen right outside of town, then go left. This is what started me off on my linguistics journey. He didn’t realize he was doing it and seemed quite shocked when I pointed it out to him. (Turns out he was chowing down on Blizzards at every stop.) So I kept it going, giving my directions by the various McDonalds. It was the summer of the 99 cent Big Mac, and being a Big Mac fan (back then) I did a lot of stopping myself. It was a great summer, which is probably why I liked this ficlet!

We Were Like Family Once by dodger-winslow.

Gen

Oh jeeze. Oh jeeze. Oh jeeze. A REAL story. With words and everything. Just kills me. A plot. Solid structure. Single POV. Structure. Good. Well written. Well plotted. John. John Winchester and Bill Harvelle. John’s side of the story as to just how Bill got killed and why. Why his boys never met Ellen till years later. Totally believable, reads like cannon. Like an Ep. A really long ep. The thing clocks in at nearly 30,000 words and while some of it slumps in the middle (some of the converations are really long) what I loved was the realism and care that the writer has with John’s character. And those of his sons, seen through John’s eyes. The conversations he has with them and why. How he sees them. It all rings so true.

In my mind this is how it happened until Kripke tells me different.

Turn the Page by gilascave.

Gen.

What an odd little story. Some of it I liked, some of it I didn’t. Never understand why so many writers insist on giving Dean kids scattered all over the place, like his daddy never taught him how to be careful. What was great in this story was how Sam was. He was a great character here, honest and pissed off and kicking Dean awake so that Dean can do his share in making the motel room safe. Just what Dean would do to him. That was it. Such a weird little story. Not badly written, just weird.

Outside by the Blue, Blue Moon by vaingirlfic.

Slash.

Lo, I have found one of the stories I was looking for. A terrific read, and an amazing job making a fairy tale come to life. Only I’m not sure which fairy tale, it just reads like its based on one. Sam is captured by this demon who insists that Sam stay with him. If Sam does not do so willingly for a month, the demon will kill Dean and Dad. Sam watches his brother and father through the window and agrees. A spell has been cast. Sam must stay for a month, he can never tell anyone, and the horrible horrible spell that has been cast over him can only be broken by someone who loves him. So.

Brilliant. My favorite part is where Dean (natch) is the one who figures it out, not just the spell but how to break it. He relaxes against Sam and says, “I can fix that.” You know. Just like the guy in the movie Holes who grows those terrific onions. “I can fix that.” Well, mabye that’s not exactly what he says, it’s somethnig more along the lines of, “Heck, that’s easy.” There’s a lot of love there between brothers, and I just want to go soak in a whole tubfull of it.

The Beekeeper’s Daughter; Leaving Louisiana in Broad Daylight;
Vicarious Atonement
Lemon

Gallis Blue Trees

Oh, god, I have to stop. Everything I read of traveller’s just kills me. It’s bright and articulate and spot on. The descriptions are marvelous, rich, and strong. This is the kind of writer who makes me want to grab her and say, show me, oh master. Read everything, try to swallow your envy, and imagine what it must be like to have words like this spilling out of your fingers. Then try and figure out how she does it. Sheesh.

I Could Be Happy the Rest of My Life by traveller.

Het.

Yeah. Catch me reading a Het story, but this one I found on my “other” rec list, the one I stumbled across and am hoping to get through by the time Amalthia’s list comes back up again. Page down, and just when I needed it most! So anyway, this story. Not a story, but a series of scenes. I am of the opinion that a series of scenes is a lazy way to go, and maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. I’ve always preferred a story where the writer shows her seat work and I get to go through all that to get to the payoff. I think maybe stories like these are called drabbles or ficlets, and usually, you know, no. Too short to get into for me. But, if the story is not marked with how many words, then I’m on my own and in I go.

This story is a series of scenes about Dean visiting this woman some place down south. He has sex with her, barely knows her name, but these visits fill him up, make him whole, give him some rest. Sam never knows why they are going down south, and either must be waiting in the car or the hotel, I don’t know. He never asks questions. In the end, Dean decides to be honest with Sam and introduces him to the woman. Pretty simple, yes.

The story/drabble/ficlet has some beautiful language.  And, at the same time, the writer seems to understand the pressure that Dean is under. Here’s an example:

“Dean keeps picking up his phone and putting it down, wanting to dial but not sure of whether or not he should. The trees are green and the temperature is high and Sam is dozing with the window halfway down. He wonders if he should be taking Sam there, if he’ll have to offer explanations where he’s never done before.

He wonders if he should’ve been telling the truth all along.”

I think the important thing here is what this says about the character of Dean. Of how he gets what he needs, never by asking or by taking, but by finding out what’s there and what’s being offered and making that enough. For Dean, this little spot in the south is home, a home in addition to Sam, in spite of Sam. For all the stories about how the brothers are so intertwined, it was nice to see one where there is an independance in Dean. More by this writer please.

In Jerusalem Next Year and St. Peter’s Bones by peripheralsight.

Slash.

 Hard to discuss when I’m pumped fill of turkey and stuffing, but rather than face a midnight turkey sandwhich, I plowed my way through a discovered rec list, and found this gem. Meets all the criteria, except for the fact that the boys have a pre-existing relationship, except in this case, it’s just teenage fooling around, and the boys don’t consider it. Much. What drew me into these stories (more companion peices than sequential stories) was the insight into the characters, and the lack of maudlin-ness, if that’s a word. What does that mean? Well, it means that the story rings true, characters do things they regret, or say things they wish they hadn’t, but they don’t wring their hands and sob over it. The thing they did or said that they regret comes back to them from time to time, and they let it, let themselves feel bad, and then they move on, but they don’t forget.

Story includes one of my favorite ideas, that of how on earth Sam told Dad he was going away to college.  And then Dean’s reaction to it. Some nice on the road stuff, which always rubs me the RIGHT way, with lines like this:

“This was one of Dean’s favorite times, when the only real certainty in front of them was the nebulous lull of a destination. The Impala ate up the heat-shimmer infinity of the highway and purred under his hands, wrapping him and Sam in a private universe of fast food and AC/DC that never felt like limbo and no one else could touch.”

Cause in my mind, that’s how road trips are for me. The destination. The isolation. The road. Music. Landscapes passing by. On the road. Perfect.

The story, however, is mostly about Sam and Dean coming together, literally and figuratively, before Sam left, after he left, and after Jess died. It was nice to come to this good style of writing after about 10 dull stories in which the sex doesn’t mean anything, and the characters seemed off, and I was bored silly. This was GOOD. Want more from this writer.

Changes in Topography by Javajunkie13.

 Slash.

Found one. Yeah. End of Dean’s year and it’s not, I repeat, NOT dark. How on earth did this one slip through the censors!!!??? Yeah, thought there was a moratorium an’ everything on having it end good, that year. That the only fic that could be written was dark and drear, where Evil!Sam rules over all, or where Dean dies with the dogs come howling for him, or when Dean is a ghost and he sticks around to be with Sam. Good stories, all but, man totally depressing.

This one though. Sweet. Not sacchrine, but close enough, but I like sugar as well as the next person, so it made me smile. Dean and Sam go to Niagra Falls, and it’s a week out before the big Day, and the boys are drunk. Sam kisses Dean, who dosen’t stop him, but it’s a sweet, drunk kiss, made from desperation and sadness and impending doom. Sam then declares (as they press their foreheads together) that he will save Dean. Which he does.

How? I don’t know. The story doesn’t say, which is okay, because the how of it is not the point, it’s the result that matter. In this case, since the whole thing is so schmoopy, I won’t insist that the writer show her work. And then, the boys, er, make out! To celebrate. With lines like this:

Sam’s moan is muffled between them, Dean feels is vibrate through his bones as Sam mouths at his jaw. “Dean. Dean,” he says like it means something and when he reaches for Dean’s belt his hands are shaking, fingers large and clumsy.

Imitations of Morality by vorpalblades.

Slash.

This AU story matches all the criteria except it’s AU. It’s a really good read that I’m going to have to think about for a while. In it, the boys discover a wicker man, which takes Dean into an alternate reality where Dad is alive but has the YED inside of him, Sammy has given over to his darker side, and Dean is like the blonde chick from The Munsters. Read the rest of this entry »

Pharos by setissma

Slash.

Not a real story in the regular sense, because there’s no plot. It’s what I would call a ficlet, and I don’t usually read those because I like to read long and ficlets are just too damn short! This one clocks in at about 825 words, and I sigh as I say that because other than writing about stories I’ve read today, it’s more than I’ve written in days. Read the rest of this entry »