sn:/the ninth circle

[eighth_horizon]

The Lughnasadh portion of the Turn Of The Wheel series. More wingfic! 21,700 words, R for language, violence, and sibling-groping. Some humor but mostly angst, at a deathfic-level. This is the big, dark, unnecessarily angsty chapter. Save this one for when you’re in the mood for that, if ever.

The Ninth Circle

Comments

[jellicle.livejournal.com]

I miss fic from you, but you're trying to scare me out of reading it!

[jellicle.livejournal.com]

And when are you going to post more Salvation? Please? I'm worried about reading this you just posted, although I'm really curious, because I've been depressed recently. Should I or should I not, at least not for now?

[eighth-horizon.livejournal.com]

Perhaps put it off, just for now. It depressed me to write it, so, that should tell you.

I have completed a Salvation fic! Thank you for reminding me. I should post that this weekend.

[jellicle.livejournal.com]

Okay.

And new Salvation? This deserves a happy dance!
I love this verse the most!

[eighth-horizon.livejournal.com]

It is a mean, sad chapter. But not all of it! You just have to be in the mood for it, that's all.

[harrigan.livejournal.com]

This was so SO satisfying! As the Turn of the Wheel series always is. I was so excited to see a new installment. Love the way you handled the deathfic aspect of the story. Loved Bobby too! And Dean's clue and Sam's desperation to decipher it in time.

My favoritist part?

>> “I’m not your dad,” Bobby said. In his peripheral vision, Dean tensed a little. “Maybe I got no right to give you orders. But I consider you family, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stay the hell out of everything while this is going on. I don’t think you know how to do anything but your best, and maybe ducking for cover feels a little like less than your best. Don’t make me and Sam go through another couple of days like we just did. He loses you, he’s tough enough to survive, but he won’t want to and he’ll be a lot less than Sam, after. Don’t underestimate your importance, here, Dean.”

Dean didn’t respond or move. Bobby figured he might have been holding his breath. The kid was putting up with the discussion pretty good; better than he’d figured.

“You got me?”

“Yes sir,” Dean said, and it was strained but not from affront or scorn. If he looked at Dean, he knew he’d see tears in his eyes, and so it was best just to go ahead and keep facing forward.

Undetected, Sam straightened out of the doorway and went back to bed.

<<

All of it - just hauntingly affecting.

[dreamlittleyo.livejournal.com]

Ohmygod, yay! Umm, I haven't actually clicked the link to read the fic yet... I was too excited to see the link to the next part of this story and apparently couldn't resist the urge to come squeal at you immediately. Reading time is now go!

[janissa11.livejournal.com]

Oh, hooooooly crap. Aside: I am always in the mood for this 'verse, everything else notwithstanding. That said: HOLY CRAP. There is something so -- pardon the phrase -- elementally wrong with Dean dying like an animal on an altar, something just so jarring that I sat here with my jaw sagging while I read on, through Sam's uncomprehending grief and Bobby's terrible vigil, and I KNEW Dean would come back, but I was so, so scared he might not come back entirely HIM.

And as much as I ache, in some deep and rather good ways, for the boys as they get themselves together again, I worry about what the everlasting fuck it was that those folks called out. Dean's right. So's Bobby. I mean, damn, it HAS to be tied to Dean, whether or not it cares about that tie. (Not, I'm imagining.)

I love this 'verse like pie, and seeing this new installment has brightened this day unimaginably. Beautifully, heart-wrenchingly done, and upping the ante in believable and cogent ways. It's fanfreakin'tastic.

[tabaqui]

I love this story so very, very much. You had me breathless and tense and *pissed* when Sam was doing his search, that amazingly unhelpful woman who was so concerned about not being involved and then and then and then... Sam just walking around the corner at Bobby's and how absolutely awful it was and...
*sniffle*

Bobby was wonderful in this story, as always. I love that he doesn't like the 'twinspeak' and that Rove is gay for Dean and that Sam is just a powder keg waiting to go off if Dean's not there and...

Just awesome. This whole story is just...awesome. Sam and Dean in bed and Sam crying and Dean just holding on and then his utterly horrible attempts to make Sam feel better in the car. Heh. Lovely.

[ifyouweremine.livejournal.com]

OH, YOU ARE AN EVIL, WONDERFUL WOMAN.

I love me some kidnapped!Dean, and Sam’s desperate, panic-y reaction was just perfect. I especially loved the way he interacted with people while he was trying to find Dean—pulling a gun on a witness, getting info and guidance from Bobby, asking Gina and Ryan’s ex for any help they could give him in identifying the kidnappers.

I love that Bobby worried about what Sam might do with his powers if Dean were dead; he had reason to worry.

I’m glad, too, that we got Dean’s POV during this, because being in Sam’s POV as he tried to piece together what had happened and where to find Dean was making me frantic. Dean’s POV helped slightly with that terribly anxious, impotent feeling of not-knowing; we still didn’t know all of what was going on, but at least we knew what was happening with Dean, which was more than poor Sam ever got.

Dean’s death/resurrection was just brilliant. Sam’s behavior—that torn, numbed disbelief he experienced while Dean was dead—was absolutely perfect, as was Bobby’s handling of it. I was thrilled when Sam remembered that Dean’s broken wing had been reset; Bobby drugging him and then sitting watch himself was utterly in-character.

I also love the guys’ easy interaction, that loving familiarity—like Dean’s “You’re the little sister I always wanted” and the way Sam was going to get back at him with girly shampoo and placate him with M&M’s, or when Dean said, “You know, this is good enough to come back from the dead for,” and Bobby’s “You can do the dishes, too, wiseass.” Also, Rove’s enthusiastic greeting was too cute, and I like that it helped reassure Bobby that the boys were okay.

Oh, and I love the talk between Sam and Dean after their search of the kidnappers’ house (“married couples aren’t this close, Sam”), and the talk between Bobby and Dean after dinner (l adore Bobby’s thought about how Dean got his intuitive intelligence from his mother. For that matter, I adore Sam’s memory of how happy Dean was when Bobby had told him he “took after his dad in all the right ways”), and I love that Sam was listening in. This new development with Dean’s wings really interests me, and I hope to hear more about their nature.

Dean’s recognition of his kidnapper’s tattoo and him trying to use it as a clue for Sam was also very clever and believable. And if the kidnappers were looking for “that victim which contains the greatest and purest force,” I can see why they picked Dean; I love that they thought they were sacrificing an angel. I also love the little details you include, like Dean rubbing his wrist when he sees the support pillar he was tied to and looking on in silence at the unplugged neon beer sign and a Led Zeppelin poster in his kidnappers’ home.

Lovely job on this; thank you! I’m looking forward to more.

[koyote19.livejournal.com]

I'm completely blown away. About halfway through, I nearly stopped trusting you and closed the laptop. I refused to believe Sam was too late, and when I realized he was, it hurt. You write both boys so well, and so believably, and there was so much pain in that section. But then I told myself the Wheel wasn't done yet, and I propped up my shaky faith and kept reading.

So, so worth it. I think this might actually be the most powerful story in the cycle yet. Especially for all the little things from Bobby's POV, and how he sees the boys, and what he's realized about the wings; and how he wants to have hope like Sam, but one of them has to be strong and make sure. For Dean's sake too.

I'm rambling now, but just... wow. well done.

[blucasbabe.livejournal.com]

I really liked Bobby's warning for Dean, and I think it's true of both boys: They are strong enough to survive the others' death, but they WOULD NOT be the same people afterward. That resonated pretty deeply with me.

Loved the story, as always.

[maygra.livejournal.com]

You let things percolate in your brain just long enough -- this came out perfectly distilled, perfectly chilling and horrendous and still triumphant. I'm so very glad Dean doesn't remember the dying part, that he was defiant to the end, even if only in his head. My heart was pounding when he was holding everything in and then again when I Realized Sam had gotten there too late, and the hints of an atmospheric distaster just waiting to happen until Bobby knocked Sam out completely.

this was harsh and visceral and still wonderful. Getting Bobby's take on what's going on, on what could happen, was great -- great characterization, great insight -- great metaphors for how much the love between Dean and Sam contains things that might be better never let unleashed.

But I still wanted to cry for Sam and for Dean, because Sam just seemed so utterly lost, not just because Dean was dead but because he hadn't been in time. That Dean gets that like no one else ever could or would.

And for Dean to say out loud how much he loves Sam -- the one thing that could make Sam smile.

This is wonderful, B. Really, Really kick-ass addition to the cycle. Dense and layered and lovely, the way the Pieta is lovely and tragic.

[blackcat333-99.livejournal.com]

Oh man - feels like I've been waiting forever for this next chp - and you didn't disappoint. I am DRAINED. Wow.

I'm starting to wonder/be worried if Dean just might be permanently stuck with his little wing problem, now that he's been actually killed and whatever's saving his ass/tethering him to this life has been activated to such a melding extent. I'm not saying it right, but hopefully you get my gist.

Also - very curious if Dean's headed to discovering that he can tap into his wings at will, not just on a sabbat. That moment when he was able to temporarily repress the wings coming out, and then blammo, everything going kablooey on him. Maybe everything whacked out is tied in whatever got loose, it just seems like you're setting up some kind of consequences of that for Dean himself. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it, lol.

Sneaky Sam. I approve. *grin*

Anyway - awesome chapter. I'm stil working on getting my breath back, but I can't wait for the next cycle. *chews fingernails*

[riverbella.livejournal.com]

What came out of my mouth when I saw this posted was something close to a prayer. I'm so obsessed with this series it even scares me a little. But it is so rich and brilliant and fascinating and lyrical. Parts of it reduce me to tears of laughter and parts to tears of grief and awe. This piece of the story was very dark indeed, although the series has been gradually shading in that direction all along. My heart was in my throat for awhile there, even though I got to the whole reset thing before Sam did. But this story also opened up some things that were a mystery to me a little. Not completely and not without shifting the mist in some other directions, but some. Angsty, yes, but not, I think, unnecessarily. The series is going where it needs to go. Sometimes I wonder if it hasn't taken on a life of its own and even you don't have total control over it(?!!). I get the impression from this story that there is more to come, and I hope I'm right because I'm not sure I could stand for it to be over. I'm just not done with it yet. I have all the stories printed out and bound in a notebook for re-reading and I keep hoping to run across some really nice art-manip of Dean with wings and Sam all blown awry to put in the front. Ugh, I'm probably coming across all stalkery, here. Truth is, I love all your fic. The Salvation 'verse puts me back together when everything gets too harsh. And there was a time when I would have sneered at the idea of wingfic. But you write so well and this series is so unbearably beautiful without ever losing the essentials of the characters we know and love. And, and, and...okay, shutting up now. Just, thanks. (And please don't stop.)

[estei.livejournal.com]

Oh... wow. I don't even know if I can verbalise how amazing this fic is, but I'm sure going to try. As always, the dialogue between Sam and Dean is nothing short of perfect. It's so brotherly and mundane and real, and the little character quirks like the gas thing that add texture but also emotion when referenced later after Dean's disappearance. Sam's reactions to Dean disappearance and then finding him... it was so vivid and visceral and horrible. I can't even tell you how much I loved Bobby in this, his obvious affection for the boys. As always, it's the little details that really blew my mind, like how Bobby had to be careful in using the hunting contacts, how he didn't come up with a complete answer. Too often in fanfic I think there is the tendency to make Bobby and the hunter's network some kind of magic fix-all.

I can't wait to print this off at work tomorrow so that I can have a physical copy to pore over.

[apieceofcake.livejournal.com]

That was perfect in every way! Wonderful, thank you :-)

[camille-is-here.livejournal.com]

Ouch,ouch, ouch. Sniff.

So, I do wonder what Dean is, and what the wings are, and hmmmm. So, the elementals did something, but perhaps just found the wings and let them out, and didn't bestow them? And Bobby knows more?

But, poor Sam. Not only because his brother died and came back from the dead, but because said dorky brother thought it would help to tell poor distraught Sam that it wasn't that bad because they drugged him! So Dean! Such a smart boy except, when he isn't.

It will be interesting to see what got loose.

[ginnytonnick.livejournal.com]

Amazingly well done.

[deirdre-c.livejournal.com]

Oh My God. You killed Kenny!! YOU BASTARD!



You magnificent bastard. *adores*

[mgbutterfly.livejournal.com]

I can't leave any feedback right now. I'm broken.

Srsly.

P.S. How weird is it that I was listening to Mer De Noms when I started reading this??

This absolutely blew me away. I'm still processing it.

[dolimir-k.livejournal.com]

I know you said this story was a pain in the ass to write, but I'm so glad you did. You weren't kidding about angst! Yowza!!

But you have to know that I adore your writing. I love that you give us these long plotty stories/series that we can sink our teeth into. Wonderfully done!!!

[ash48.livejournal.com]

That was - god finding the right words - brilliant. I was so caught up in this - my heart was racing and I was crying and smiling and just - feeling the whole thing. I loved it. Thank you.

[innie_darling]

Oh, this was wonderful. You've got Sam's insistence that Dean can "reset," Dean's mockery of the gay dog, but most of all, Bobby, who is able to talk to each of the boys in the way he needs because he loves them and wants them not to hurt anymore. Bobby rules.

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

The whole series is amazing, but this latest chapter...I think I'm still kind of in shock. That image of Sam finding the clearing is going to stay with me for a long time--terrible and powerful.

[ansku]

Damn. Now I don't dare to touch it before there's something happier to follow it :/ Thanks for the warning though! :)

[zelost-mind.livejournal.com]

Spectacular.

Thanks so much for sharing. :)

[amalthia]

I loved this addition it was perfect. I loved the plot and I couldn't stop reading and I was crying when Sam found Dean's body and I just loved the sense of urgency and fear that ran through this story and the ending with Bobby sharing his theory about Dean's wings was just perfect. I'm so very happy that you've created this verse it's one of my absolute favorite spn series.

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

I wish I had the words - I love those boys and their inarticulate ways so much. Bobby was fabulous and now I want his spaghetti recipe.

Thank you!

[fureux.livejournal.com]

oh big thumbs up. this verse of your is an absolute work of art. thanks for sharing.

[mass-hipgnosis.livejournal.com]

JAY-SUS, way to scare the HELL OUTTA ME!! You are so mean to the boys! *snatchugs Sam and Dean and hides them from you* :D This was fabulous, and it made me cry, and now I want more. And there's no more. Not yet, anyway. *hopes* So I guess I'll go back and read it again.

[whereupon.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's really gorgeous. I don't quite have words for how visceral and true it felt.

[thandie.livejournal.com]

OMG you updated this, I'm so in LOVE with you right now and I have not even read it yet. Actually the warnings are the kind of things that might scare normal people out but obviously lure me in like bee to honey, so...I guess I'm going to cry a little with this fic am I right? I'll be back with fb :)

[thandie.livejournal.com]

OMG thank you so mcuh for this, You delivered, really. I almost stopped reading when Sam found Dean dead, becauseI thought this could be your last chapter...I LOVED THIS, SO MUCH...

[cybel]

God, I have no words. This series is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful works of fanfiction--of fiction--that I've ever read. And this last part...

Wingfic is supposed to be cliche, isn't it? It's not supposed to be this gut-wrenchingly brilliant and mythic and epic and, and, and Dean! And Sammy! And Bobby!

I have to go sit in a corner and *wibble* now.

[i-want-2.livejournal.com]

This has got to be the greatest series I have ever read. Your writing is what I hoped the show would be. Sam's angst over this and Dean's attempts to relegate their emotions down to the occurrences are truly great. The fact it is wing fic only made me want to read it more.

[greenapricot.livejournal.com]

I am so in love with this 'verse, and this part is no exception. All of your voices are so perfectly right on that I forget sometimes that the things that have happened here haven't really happened. And, it was wonderful to have so much Bobby in this bit. Oh, how I love Bobby.

[eighth-horizon.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you. I was concerned about how this part would be taken, but it didn't want to be written any other way, so I'm glad it came off as a good part of the 'verse.

It's hard NOT to love Bobby, isn't it? I love having that guy around. I hope he's all over season 3.

[iamthedirtgirl.livejournal.com]

Good God, woman, leave me in tiny pieces. I love the different ways of understanding they all have with each other. Yeah, I'm still all in shock over this so I gotta just say wonderful work and go bump into walls for a while.