Comments | bauble: Fic: Hallelujah, Act III/III

bauble

Fic: Hallelujah, Act III/III

Mar 24, 2010 23:47

Hallelujah

Act III
Master post of all chapters and art here.

When Michael left his body, he apparently left Dean in a coma for ( three days. )

fic

Comments 80

angelshandprint March 25 2010, 09:44:15 UTC

I'm glad you had the "made me feel" answer in the poll

lorelei76 March 25 2010, 15:18:57 UTC

I felt so ambivalent after finishing the story - I honestly had to sit for a while and think whether I liked it or if I felt let down by it ( ... )

wickedvirtue March 25 2010, 18:12:08 UTC

I think I'm with you, after all this. Dean's stubborn, and an ass, and he takes it out on both Sam and Cas (who learned to be each other's strength and support in his absence) and made this all harder to take than it should've been. Both Sam and Cas were right to do what they did, for themselves, but my god did it make me ache for Dean, floundering like he was.

Reality is so much harder to take with these guys. The mundane feels like... such a let-down. A failure, even. When it's perfectly alright, were it anyone but them.

(This is all to say I liked this, a whole bunch, and it made me both think and feel.)

:)

lorelei76 March 25 2010, 18:30:08 UTC

"The mundane feels like... such a let-down. A failure, even. When it's perfectly alright, were it anyone but them."

I completely agree. And I think that's why I had such a tough time reading through this fic. I had to seriously convince myself that 1) I trust bauble 2) writing this painfully good is worth the effort and 3) the payout will be exactly what I need, even if it's not necessarily what I want.

I respect this piece of writing because it wasn't easy to finish. I appreciate this kind of writing because it makes you work for the satisfaction of finishing it. I think fanfic has a tendency to make the readers lazy and self-complacent - we have a set idea of who these characters are and what they're going to do and hey, happy ending for everyone! But once in a while you read a fic like this that takes your perceptions of these characters, shifts them that one, unexpected, yet absolutely true degree, and WHAM. You end up on your ass, blinking, wondering what the fuck just hit you and hey, you kinda liked it.

bauble March 26 2010, 04:24:32 UTC

Dean's stubborn, and an ass, and he takes it out on both Sam and Cas (who learned to be each other's strength and support in his absence) and made this all harder to take than it should've been.

Yes, exactly. As hard as it was, in some ways Dean being gone all those six months was a good thing for both Sam and Castiel because it forced them to confront who they are without Dean defining them. And unfortunately, Dean, when he comes to, doesn't have the benefit of the time and perspective that Sam & Castiel have acquired--and is expecting a smooth transition back into the needy, codependent relationships he's had with them for so long.

Reality is so much harder to take with these guys. The mundane feels like... such a let-down. A failure, even. When it's perfectly alright, were it anyone but them.Even when Dean's in a small town, he's still always fighting epic battles and larger than life things. Watching him wrestle with mundane problems in mundane settings seems like such a strange and disappointing juxtaposition. But I think ( ... )

Thread 5

anonymous March 25 2010, 17:21:03 UTC

I kinda wanted to slap the shit out of Sam and Cas in this story. IDK.

bauble March 27 2010, 07:11:25 UTC

Fair enough. Thank you for reading.

bold_seer March 31 2010, 23:10:19 UTC

I could in no way agree less. I thought the characterisation of Castiel, especially, was sharp and nuanced and spot-on, but I could also very much sympathise with him. One of the things I enjoyed most about the story!

And that was my inadequate comment to this long and lovely fic. But I really enjoyed it. :)

bauble April 2 2010, 03:01:24 UTC

Aw, thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the characterization of Cas, and that he was still sympathetic to you :)

(The comment has been removed)

bauble March 26 2010, 03:51:00 UTC

I was so angry with Sam and Castiel for some of it, but I understand why they needed to go their own directions, even if it hurt Dean.

Yeah, I think it's really hard because we the audience sympathize with Dean and how abandoned he feels--just like him, all we remember is how his relationship with them was before he said yes, and he wakes up six months later with no real memories of the intervening time or a sense of how things have changed. But half a year is a long time, and just like Sam and Castiel's relationship had deepened and changed in that time, the time spent apart from Dean would have changed them both as well. But Dean doesn't remember that (and neither do we) so it feels like being dropped out of nowhere ( ... )

mulder200 March 26 2010, 05:57:45 UTC

This was not a story that easy to read but it also felt realistic.

I felt bad for Dean because he has no memory of what happened. Life moved on without him and now he is stuck playing catch up.

You also feel bad for Sam and Castiel. Without Dean as the focus, they have to re-evaluate their lives and each others. Not an easy process but something necessary and healthy. They had to learn to become their persons.

As for Dean...well, the man takes stubbornness to an art form! He doesn't know how to ask for what he wants because he feels he doesn't deserve it and he always giving of himself to others. Sometimes too much.

While Dean being on his own was sad and depressing, it also felt like something he would do. The first step to fixing a problem is to admit you have me and that is the hardest part.

And while this may not be a happily ever after, it's not completely with hope. There is a silver lining.

bauble March 27 2010, 07:15:32 UTC

You also feel bad for Sam and Castiel. Without Dean as the focus, they have to re-evaluate their lives and each others. Not an easy process but something necessary and healthy. They had to learn to become their persons.

Yes, indeed. Dean's absence was positive in that it forced both Sam and Castiel to break out of codependent habits and really take stock of themselves without the shadow of Dean looming over them. And of course that process is so painful, but it is, as you say, necessary, and better in the long run.

The first step to fixing a problem is to admit you have me and that is the hardest part.

Yes, exactly. It's hard and it's painful but it's also a hopeful ending, for all the suffering that comes before it.

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments :)