SPN fic - Torch Song - Part 4 of 4

[art_savage]

Dean slotted a handful of quarters into the jukebox, made his selections, heavy on the Zeppelin, and found a seat at the end of the bar as the opening riff to “Whole Lotta Love” kicked in. Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air. Underneath that, a riot of smells, including beer, nachos, and some girl’s too-strong perfume.

Underneath that, Dean could

Comments

[unplugged32]

The Yardbirds?? OMG, a YARDBIRDS fan!! I thought I was the only one left on the planet:) I have a whole bunch of impossibel to find vinyls that I treasure:)

That said, congratulations on writing one of the most intense fics I've ever read, in any fandom. Your Dean just floors me, and with the Finale of Doom still haunting me, this story is exactlly what I needed. Thanks so much for sharing:)

[art_savage]

Hey, I enjoy all kinds of under-appreciated/obscure music...oh, the oddities you'd find in my iTunes...

I really wasn't too sure how this last chapter would go over; glad you liked it! Thanks again for reading and commenting!

[innie_darling]

This fic was tough to read - so much horror in every direction. But it was totally worth it. You did a wonderful job.

[art_savage]

Wow, thanks so much! If this thing had turned out easy to read, I guess I wouldn't be doing my job. :) I'm glad you decided to stick it out!

Re: a bitter, powerful story

[art_savage]

and so carefully constructed...

Wow, this may be the best compliment yet! Way back when this story was just a tiny seedling, I remember telling my beta, "It'll have to be very tightly controlled..." I'm so happy that effort seems to be coming across.

Thanks for reading!

[may7fic]

I think you left parts of the ending chapter open to interpretation so the Dean's history side of it wasn't as tough as it could have been. Since I choose to believe John would have switched gears and started hunting human monsters in lieu of supernatural ones had the worst ever happened to Dean, I'm okay with what you wrote here.

That Dean and Sam came so close to saving the last victim was tragic and definitely hard to read, it also fit very well with this story's atmosphere and so I found the last chapter more than satisfying. This really was an exceptional read. Thank-you!

[art_savage]

Glad the last chapter worked for you - I have been pretty paranoid about how people would react. There are so many "Dean was abused" fics that end up being sloppy melodrama, I really wanted to leave things vague and unresolved. Sometimes what's left out of a story can be more interesting than what goes in...if that makes any sense. (I suppose this fic was heavily influenced by Andrew Vachss' novels and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, in that respect.)

Re: John's possible reaction, I can totally imagine a young Dean keeping his problems hidden, not wanting to burden John...crap, now I have a plot bunny!

Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

[may7fic]

Re: John's possible reaction, I can totally imagine a young Dean keeping his problems hidden, not wanting to burden John...crap, now I have a plot bunny!

Hey, go forth and plot *g*

My own belief is that John's a brilliant observer and pattern-finder so I can't imagine him not noticing something but, it would certainly make for an interesting story ;)

I did truly enjoy this. Happy writing!

[art_savage]

Damn, the bunny grows... :)

[yasminke]

That was an excellent read: well plotted and well written. Thanks for posting it.

[art_savage]

Glad you liked it! I've always considered plotting one of my weak points, so I'm happy to hear this sucker worked for you. Thanks for reading and commenting!