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avandell2007-02-20 03:05 pm
theladyscribe) wrote in avandell2007-02-20 03:05 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: Keep You from the Gallows Pole
Title: Keep You from the Gallows Pole
Characters: Dean, Jo, Sam (undertones of Dean/Jo)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 680
Warnings: dark!fic, mentions of rape, spoilers for Born Under a Bad Sign
Summary: “I’m sorry,” he says, though he’s not sure if he is apologizing for his brother or himself.
Notes: AU version of BUaBS. Please note the warnings before you read. Title is from the song “Gallows Pole” by Led Zeppelin. X-posted.
Keep You From the Gallows Pole | A Face From the Ancient Gallery
Nothing You Can Say to Make Me Change My Mind | All These Places Feel Like Home
In My Hour of Darkness
Keep You from the Gallows Pole
When he finds her, he already knows he’s too late. His brother is gone, and Jo is lying against the post she’s been tied to, her shirt ripped and her jeans down at her knees.
He takes off his jacket and lays it across her lap before he moves to untie the ropes around her wrists. She jumps a little and then moans. “Jo?” he whispers, not trusting his voice not to break.
“Dean?” He gulps as he hears the terror in her voice. She glances at him before turning her head every which way. “Is h- he here?” she asks, her voice small, and he sees that her hands are shaking even as he undoes the last of the knots.
“He’s gone,” he answers raggedly. He’s gone, and there’s nothing to be done about it.
He averts his eyes as she stands and pulls her jeans back over her hips, but he notices that she does it slowly and shakily. She hands him his jacket in silent thanks, and he finally looks at her face. She isn’t crying, but he can see the tracks left by earlier tears. He lifts a hand as if to touch her, but she flinches and he lets it drop back to his side.
“I’m sorry,” he says, though he’s not sure if he is apologizing for his brother or for himself. She doesn’t say anything, so he speaks again. “Did he – did he say anything about where he’s going next?”
She shakes her head. “No,” she whispers, and he wonders what his brother did say.
“Oh.” He pauses. “Are – will you – ” He breaks off, not sure how to say what needs to be said. “He’s not himself,” he finishes lamely, the words hollow and useless even to his own ears.
“I know,” she says, and she shudders involuntarily, as if she can still feel the hands of – he stops himself, refusing to finish the thought, because that would mean that his brother has become dangerous, has become the one thing he fears the most.
“I think he’s going after hunters,” he tells her. “The closest one I know is in South Dakota.” He half-shrugs and says, “If I’m gonna get there in time, I need to leave now.”
She swallows and nods, looking everywhere but at him and at the post where she had been tied. “Can I – I’d like to go with you,” she says.
He blinks at her; of all the things he’d thought she would say, that was certainly not one of them. “What? Why?”
She takes a deep breath and looks at him. “He – I… never mind.” She looks away again, and he gets the distinct impression that she’s keeping something from him.
“Jo, what is it?”
“I think he’s possessed.” She says it so softly that he almost doesn’t hear her. “The things he said – there’s no way he would have known them otherwise.” She shudders. “I know demons lie, but do they ever tell the truth?” She looks straight at him this time, and there is such hope in her eyes that he’ll say no, that he almost lies.
“Sometimes,” he has to admit. “Especially if they know it will mess with your head. Why do you ask?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she answers, but he can see that whatever the reason for her question, it matters a lot. “Let’s just go.” She starts to head toward the counter, but he stops her, grabs her hand – a mistake, since she flinches again and pulls away. “Don’t,” she says.
“Jo, you’re not coming with me.”
“Why not?” she counters. “This is my fight, too, now. He made it mine.”
“You can’t come. I can’t trust myself to save him and watch out for you. I don’t want your blood on my hands, too. I’m sorry,” he says.
Her jaw tightens and she scowls at him, but she seems to accept it, so he heads for the door. He’s about to walk out when she stops him. “Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“Call me when you find him.”
He nods. “I will.”
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A/N: Lyrics to "Gallows Pole":
Oh, yes, you got a fine sister, She warmed my blood from cold,
Brought my blood to boiling hot To keep you from the Gallows Pole,
Your brother brought me silver, Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard And see you swinging on the Gallows Pole
Characters: Dean, Jo, Sam (undertones of Dean/Jo)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 680
Warnings: dark!fic, mentions of rape, spoilers for Born Under a Bad Sign
Summary: “I’m sorry,” he says, though he’s not sure if he is apologizing for his brother or himself.
Notes: AU version of BUaBS. Please note the warnings before you read. Title is from the song “Gallows Pole” by Led Zeppelin. X-posted.
Keep You From the Gallows Pole | A Face From the Ancient Gallery
Nothing You Can Say to Make Me Change My Mind | All These Places Feel Like Home
In My Hour of Darkness
Keep You from the Gallows Pole
When he finds her, he already knows he’s too late. His brother is gone, and Jo is lying against the post she’s been tied to, her shirt ripped and her jeans down at her knees.
He takes off his jacket and lays it across her lap before he moves to untie the ropes around her wrists. She jumps a little and then moans. “Jo?” he whispers, not trusting his voice not to break.
“Dean?” He gulps as he hears the terror in her voice. She glances at him before turning her head every which way. “Is h- he here?” she asks, her voice small, and he sees that her hands are shaking even as he undoes the last of the knots.
“He’s gone,” he answers raggedly. He’s gone, and there’s nothing to be done about it.
He averts his eyes as she stands and pulls her jeans back over her hips, but he notices that she does it slowly and shakily. She hands him his jacket in silent thanks, and he finally looks at her face. She isn’t crying, but he can see the tracks left by earlier tears. He lifts a hand as if to touch her, but she flinches and he lets it drop back to his side.
“I’m sorry,” he says, though he’s not sure if he is apologizing for his brother or for himself. She doesn’t say anything, so he speaks again. “Did he – did he say anything about where he’s going next?”
She shakes her head. “No,” she whispers, and he wonders what his brother did say.
“Oh.” He pauses. “Are – will you – ” He breaks off, not sure how to say what needs to be said. “He’s not himself,” he finishes lamely, the words hollow and useless even to his own ears.
“I know,” she says, and she shudders involuntarily, as if she can still feel the hands of – he stops himself, refusing to finish the thought, because that would mean that his brother has become dangerous, has become the one thing he fears the most.
“I think he’s going after hunters,” he tells her. “The closest one I know is in South Dakota.” He half-shrugs and says, “If I’m gonna get there in time, I need to leave now.”
She swallows and nods, looking everywhere but at him and at the post where she had been tied. “Can I – I’d like to go with you,” she says.
He blinks at her; of all the things he’d thought she would say, that was certainly not one of them. “What? Why?”
She takes a deep breath and looks at him. “He – I… never mind.” She looks away again, and he gets the distinct impression that she’s keeping something from him.
“Jo, what is it?”
“I think he’s possessed.” She says it so softly that he almost doesn’t hear her. “The things he said – there’s no way he would have known them otherwise.” She shudders. “I know demons lie, but do they ever tell the truth?” She looks straight at him this time, and there is such hope in her eyes that he’ll say no, that he almost lies.
“Sometimes,” he has to admit. “Especially if they know it will mess with your head. Why do you ask?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she answers, but he can see that whatever the reason for her question, it matters a lot. “Let’s just go.” She starts to head toward the counter, but he stops her, grabs her hand – a mistake, since she flinches again and pulls away. “Don’t,” she says.
“Jo, you’re not coming with me.”
“Why not?” she counters. “This is my fight, too, now. He made it mine.”
“You can’t come. I can’t trust myself to save him and watch out for you. I don’t want your blood on my hands, too. I’m sorry,” he says.
Her jaw tightens and she scowls at him, but she seems to accept it, so he heads for the door. He’s about to walk out when she stops him. “Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“Call me when you find him.”
He nods. “I will.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Lyrics to "Gallows Pole":
Oh, yes, you got a fine sister, She warmed my blood from cold,
Brought my blood to boiling hot To keep you from the Gallows Pole,
Your brother brought me silver, Your sister warmed my soul,
But now I laugh and pull so hard And see you swinging on the Gallows Pole
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I'm glad you liked it.
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I totally didn't see that coming. Not from a mile away and it shocked the shit outta me. Great tag!
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Very, very well done.
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I've considered writing a companion piece from Dean's POV (almost as if he were a bystander unable to do anything), but I'm afraid I'd have to completely break him to do it.
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I'm glad you finished the piece, however hard it was to write. It was very powerful.
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Part 2 is coming along, but I really want to rewatch BUaBS before I finish it, just to make sure I'm getting the canon parts right, y'know?
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And Oh. My. Gosh. Um, yeah. This is so horrible I don't even want to think about it. *shudders* I'll skip off to the land of denial now. :D
Thank you for sharing this, it's great!
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Do they take post in Denial? Because I could send you (and anyone who joins you) some reparition cyber-cookies. *nods*
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le sigh. that was great, keep it up.
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Obviously, my answer is that you absolutely did not fail as a writer. this fic really hit me.
But what really struck me about the piece wasn't how frightening-scary it was, per se, but rather how creepy it felt. Am I making any sense? In my mind, there's a distinction between the two. What really affected me was how disturbing it was, mostly because of the character switch that you pulled on us in the first piece:
“Sam?”
“Yeah?”
At this point, I honestly did a double take. ((Or at least as much of a double take as you can do while reading.)) Completely chilling in that I had to go back and rethink everything that I had just read, and re-interpret all the events. messing with my mind.
And then the change in perspective in the 2nd part... *shivers* You absolutely capture a feeling that I would identify as twisted. Honestly, the switching back and forth, and the smooth-talking-Dean (that I love) exploited for evil purposes?... uhhhh... unnerving and freaky as hell.
So, scary in a ghostly and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night way? Not so much... But definitely spine-chilling and horrifying.
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That second piece just hit me so hard and so fast that I was hardly even aware I was writing as I laid it all out. I didn't even stop to consider which parts of Dean's personality the demon would exploit - I didn't have to, because the thing pretty much wrote itself.
(The person who told me it wasn't scary meant it in the emotionally chilling way, I'm pretty sure. Which is why I was so annoyed/upset with them, because their reaction was pretty blase and "eh.")
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What a twist! *goes to read next part*
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If you're interested, there are three other pieces in this series - they can be found under the Born Under a Bad Sign tag, or in the Master List. :)
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Huh. That certainly caught me unawares! Nice play on readers' expectations, well done! *saunters off to read rest of series*
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OK, so this was my reaction while reading the fic:
Oooh. BUaBS AU, hm? lesseee... Dean/Jo? Whee. I Like Dean/Jo.
[reading reading reading]
Hm it's really nice. Poor Jo. So I guess Sam went all the way. huh?
[reading] [reading]
Aha! Here comes the Dean/Jo. Dean's so sweet for caring about Jo's safety as well as his brother.
[reading]
He’s about to walk out when she stops him. “Sam?”
WHOA. LIKE WOAH. x10000 WTF Just happened?! This is so messed up yo!
[reads the whole thing over again]
[is AMAZED at the wonderfulness of the whole thing.]
And just in case it wasn't clear, this fic was like a (pleasant) very strong punch to the gut.
Absolutely lovely.
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