So much for all the prayers you've learned

[x_strangeangels]

So much for all the prayers you've learned

Word Count:  1300
Pairings:  None
Rating:  PG-13
Feedback: Absolutely. Concrit is always welcome.
Disclaimer:  The Winchester boys aren't mine but I'd make Dean wear his boots all of the time if they were.
Spoilers/Warnings:  None.
A/N: This was written for the Women of Supernatural Flashfic

Comments

[irnan]

"Her voice doesn’t crack but her fists clench at her sides." --- Lovely. Lily expecting her to break, but Tessa just refusing to with nothing more than a clench of her fists.

[elanurel]

Thank you so much! I was a little worried about how Tessa would come across in the end and I'm glad that the scene worked for you. ;-P

[halfshellvenus]

I'd forgotten that I meant to read this (thank goodness for the monthly summary).

I really, really liked this-- the style, the story, the theme worked out from different angles.

She takes care of that herself, sending their spirits home while there’s still enough of themselves left to hear the call - before the rage and the hate has the chance to set into the brick and mortar of the houses where they died; before they turn into cankers scurrying like rats through the walls.
I love both the concepts and the phrasing in this section. Very vivid and complete and poetic all at once.

They are the lucky ones, the girls who only die in their dreams.
Another great phrase and concept here.

and every other girl who has seen too much, every other girl who stares out windows and sees nothing but the night their world changed.
Gorgeous, haunting description.

This story just makes me wish you wrote Gen more often! Thank goodness for that challenge comm. :)

[elanurel]

Wow, I'm really behind on comments...

I really, really liked this-- the style, the story, the theme worked out from different angles.

Thank you! It was one of those fortuitous ideas that cropped up during my lunch hour and I actually had the time that day to work on it instead of letting it go. I hadn't really intended to post it but the tone matched the prompt perfectly and I enjoyed writing Lily's POV. There's also the fact that embroiderama pushes me to post things even when it rattles me to do so. I'm my own worst critic.

I tend to approach shorter pieces like they're poems, which is probably where the structure and the descriptive phrases came from in this one, so I can take less credit for that thanks to my poetry professor in college... ;-P

This story just makes me wish you wrote Gen more often! Thank goodness for that challenge comm. :)I'm actually working on a pre-series gen story featuring Tessa and Dean. And it's absolutely gen. I promise. Although there's another prompt I read today which would actually work from Lily's

to hunt or not to hunt

[quirkies]

I'm trying to figure out why this is so frightening to me. I think I may even be doing it to keep from feeling frightened, but that's another story.
I like the theme of becoming a hunter, especially a female one. Not everyone who is touched by these tragedies is moved to hunt. For the ones who are there's a certain amount of inevitability, but somewhere along the line there must be the choice to fight back, to fight against victimization - either of herself or of someone she loves. I love how you play with this being the lucky or unlucky fate. Of course it makes me think of John and his inability to NOT be a hunter. Earlier incarnations of Sam and Dean would argue whether their fate was unlucky or lucky. But unconsciously bleeding into a bath is surely unluckier.
Ultimately, there's hope here, the ones who must fight will keep others from having to make that choice

Re: to hunt or not to hunt

[elanurel]

*hugs*

This one turned out a bit more personal than I intended, being something of a metaphor on surviving sexual assault as well as a story about hunters...

Not everyone who is touched by these tragedies is moved to hunt. For the ones who are there's a certain amount of inevitability, but somewhere along the line there must be the choice to fight back, to fight against victimization - either of herself or of someone she loves.

This is *exactly* the reason why I love spn_xx so much. Much as I love the show, it's not perfect. There have been scenes and entire episodes that made me grit my teeth - I really wanted to write about characters more along the lines of Ellen, strong women and mothers making the hardest choice of all.

Ultimately, there's hope here, the ones who must fight will keep others from having to make that choice.Thank you. I was hoping (no pun intended) that Tessa's choice would be seen as a way of taking her own power back, no matter how bleak Lily's view is about it. Lily has lost a lot but it's my hope that Tessa

Re: to hunt or not to hunt

[quirkies]

I've been working on a pre-series gen story that features Tessa and Dean.
So that's why she knows to use the salt. *claps hands like giddy 2 year old*

It makes me sad and glowy all at once that someone's struggle for re-empowerment resonates with so many people. So many women. The show does have some sketchy gender (and other) issues, but the fact that it plants the seeds (*cough* ellen *cough* missouri) for fanfic writers to sow kick-ass women makes MY overall Supernatural experience a GOOD one. It also helps that there are such kick-ass women writing in the fandom. *cough* YOU *cough*

Re: to hunt or not to hunt

[elanurel]

Wow...

I haven't responded to this earlier because I really don't know how to. I'm weepy all over again by reading it, so all I can say right now is this:

The stories I'm working on now? They wouldn't even be written with you. So, yes, there are lots of kick-ass women in the fandom. *cough* YOU *cough*