Writing From the Inside

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 »

Living Among the Dead by fleshflutter.

Slash

Oh, I so never saw this coming. I mean, I saw the ep this story is based off of, freaking wrote it up, for crying out loud, and all the time, oblivous to the slashy overtones that apparently every other slash fan in the entire universe saw. But me. Yeah. Evidently, the bite that Gordon landed on Dean has taken on a life of its own. First evidence, this story. Didn’t want to read it, uh-uh. Dean/Gordon slash pairing, no way, no how. Wanted to crawl off in the opposite direction and hope it didn’t see me. But it did. Read the rest of this entry »

This November Life by dontyouwaitup.

Slash.

Huge, long story that reads like an ep. Something Kripke would dream, where each action has a horrible consequence. Where the brothers are brothers, no matter what. Mostly fits the criteria, giving it a pass, and while it may seem like I only read good fiction and then recommend everything I read, that’s only because I go by Amalthia’s rec list, which cuts down on the amount of reading I have to do to get to the good stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

American Myth by candle_beck.

Slash.

Reading this story was like a slap in the face as to how far I have to go as a writer. Not to mention that this writer has multiple fandoms being written about and SPN seems to be a recent, low-key, walk in the park. La la la. Yet there I was, reading it, my brow furrowing, mouth dropping open, going Oh no! This is SO good! Now I’ll never be a teen model! (Not that I was ever going to be, but you see what I mean. Can’t compete, so why even try. I know, I know, we don’t compete with others, we compete with ourselves, yadda, yadda, yadda.) Read the rest of this entry »

You can read my review of the Supernatural episode “Fresh Blood” at pinkraygun.com. Thank you!

An excerpt:

“The next cool scene is outside a bar called Spider. Show gives me more moody lighting and grotty alleys than I ever dreamed of. Show gives me the boys outside at night. Rescuing damsels in distress, fighting bad guys. Dean gets Thrown. Could I ask for more? Oh, wait. Show reads my mind. The boys race after the bad guy and are beset upon by a hail of bullets that block out the streetlamps. Never mind that the flying glass from windows of shot out cars looks like a hail of wedding confetti coming down. Never mind that it’s Gordon and Jesus Guy shooting them, the boys are on the run. Oh, the desperation, the adrenaline, the pure, unmitigated glory of it all! Show loves me! Of this I am convinced.”

Pictures…(Click on the links to display beautiful, full-size pics. Click on thumbnails for smaller but still beautiful pics.)

Outside of Spider

Dean with knife

Sam after the battle