Hell's Mouth - Masterpost

[sinka]

Title: Hell’s Mouth
Beta: vail_kagami
Artist: shadira & vail_kagami
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters/Pairing: Sam, Dean
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up until 5.04 “The End”. Set in season 5.
Warnings: hurt/comfort, violence, angst
Words: ~32,000

Summary: When Dean tells his brother to 'pick a hemisphere' he doesn't expect him to take it literally and drop off the map. So when an eye-opening trip to the future makes him realize their separation was a mistake, he doesn't expect having to follow Sam’s trail through several countries and across the sea. And when he finally finds his wayward brother, in the old world of all places, he certainly doesn't expect Sam to give him the cold shoulder just as they get immersed in a hunt that could be just your average haunted castle – or the very mouth of Hell.
Note: Written for worldwide_spn and situated in Spain.

Prologue     Chapter 01     Chapter 02     Chapter 03 (A & B)     Epilogue

Artpost 01 (icons & illustration) & Artpost 02 (banners)

PDF with art     PDF without art     AO3

Notes and Thanks:  This story is dedicated entirely to vail_kagami, who’s not only one of the most talented authors in the whole fandom (seriously, if you haven’t read her stuff don’t waste your time here! go now!), but also the whole moving force behind the creating of this story. If it weren’t for her encouragement to convince me to write, her belief in me and her unconditional support, this fic would simply have never existed. She helped me overcome my insecurities and venture in the world of fic writing, something that I had only dreamed of before.

She’s also the best and most patient beta in the world. She had to deal with my poor English skills and correct one every three words to make the story readable. I had the idea but she put it into pretty words. All remaining mistakes are no doubt mine.

I also want to thank Shadira, my RL friend which I basically bullied to use her photoshop talents in making some stunning banners for my fic, even-though she hasn’t read a word of it yet and she doesn’t use Livejournal. And of course, to vail_kagami again, for gifting me with one of the most beautiful illustrations I’ve ever seen for a story. I think I must be the luckiest girl in the world for having not one, but two amazing artists!

Lastly, I must say none of these is mine. Neither Sam and Dean (regretfully) or the legend of El Escorial. I haven’t invented any of the places or legendary and historical details mentioned here. I may have interpreted them to reach my own personal conclusions, but everything explained in the story it’s actually true.

Comments

[vail-kagami.livejournal.com]

How do I even start? I think I need some kind of system for this.

General stuff first: I love this story. I love it a lot. I was running around telling people how much I love it and how impressed I was by this very good story of a first-time author insecure about her English. Because it is that good. And so is your English! Your mistakes actually became a lot less as the fic progressed, did you notice?

The characters: Sam being hurt by the general situation in season 5 is one of the things that never fail to make me happy - because I feel there was a lot of hurt there that was never dealt with. I love his insecurity here that seem silly on first sight but understandable once you think about how Dean (and everyone else) has been making him feel. In fact, Sam's conviction that Dean doesn't want him anymore, that he only sees him as his responsibility now, underlines just how much his brother's refection hurt him this whole time - and how much he hurt himself, thinking he deserved it.
A part of me wanted them to deal with the damn voice mail, but at the same time it works that Dean still doesn't know about it and that Sam still doesn't know the truth.
I loved Sam doing research and being clever. I loved Dean being protective, guilty, caring, grieving when Sam died. I loved Bobby for pushing him in the right direction, and I loved Philip. He was bad-ass, and a pretty cool ghost, open about a lot of things but still scandalized when Dean wasn't showing the proper respect. Perfect!
I even loved Cerberus. The first time they heard his howls gave me the creeps!

The plot: Very clever. What really impressed me about this story was how easily you managed to tie historical facts into the world of Sam and Dean Winchester. Philip II as a hunter was a great take on it, and what was madness in the eyes of history takes an entirely different meaning in this context. Sam looking for the gates to Hell and having them be places like El Escorial was brilliant, too. I found myself impressed again and again by how clever this story was.

The details: Cuddling and bed sharing and Dean not getting pie. I loved that scene at the restaurant. "You have brought me to a pie-less country." shall forever remain one of my favorite quotations.
The scene with the stature of the Fallen Angel was a nice touch, too.

The writing: a lot better than you seem to think it was. In fact, it's very good. The style works perfectly and you have a great grasp on how a good story is told. I wish my first one had been this good!

In short, I am so happy you decided to do this! Thank you for letting me be part of it.


P.S.: I downloaded the PDF (with art) for repeated reading.

[sinka.livejournal.com]

Oh, god. How do I reply to something like this??? Thank you very much! I'm so excited now that I can hardly think straight but It really makes me incredibly happy you like the story! Your opinion means the world to me, so this is more that I could ever hope for!

Let's see, I was a little worried Sam's thoughts were overly-dramatic too, but I'm glad it worked in the long run (I tried to show his inner strenth to face everything in the latter part of the fic at least). I didn't want to make Dean a bastard either, but I wanted him to understand Sam's POV (killing him was a cheap trick for that). And yeah, the voicemail... I played with the idea of fixing it too, but in the end it couldn't be. Sam would never speak about it and Dean simply doesn't know. So I tried to fix the consequences, without really touching the source. Does that make sense?

I love El Escorial, Philip II and their dark legend. I've been there a lot of times and the place really has this special vibe. When I started thinking about it, the plot kind of revealed itself. And well, I think I simply took everything I like and everyone of my obsessions and kinks and tried to fit them in it like a puzzle, so I'm glad we do seem have very similar tastes and vision!

Again, thank you very much for your tireless help and support. I don't know if I'll ever dare to write another fic (I think I poured all my ideas here) but I'm really happy and surprised I actually finished one! Thanks for believing in me, for pushing me and for walking with me the whole way!

And for the awesome comment which I'm going to print and frame!

[vail-kagami.livejournal.com]

Now you know hoe your comments always make me feel! :p

I kind of wish I could visit El Escorial. It sounds so cool.

You know, if you ever feel like writing something else, you know where to find me.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I'm about to start reading this because it sounds intriguing. I always wished that season five would have focused more on Sam's pain and fears, as well as Dean's. I would love to get a PDF with (or without) the art, but MegaUpload just got shut down, so I can't access your file. Is there any chance you will upload to another service? I have a couple of invites to AO3 and you can upload the work without art there. If you need an invite let me know. Just give me your email and I can send one to you.

Now On to the Story!

[sinka.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's precisely one of the reasons I wrote this. It's kind of frustrating how the series usually gloses over Sam's issues huh?

I reuploaded the pdfs to mediafire, so you can download them now. Anyway it would be great to have an AO3 account too! My email is todokanai@gmail.com

Thanks for your kind offering and for reading! Hope you will like it!

[minviendha.livejournal.com]

So this is what my favorite reviewer/fandom brain twin has been hiding all this time! This fic. This fic, lovely. It's wonderful. It is more than wonderful. I've read it twice already and I know I'll be coming back to it again in the near future. The case you describe is interesting, the emotions are raw and this scenario exactly is one I will never ever be sick of - particularly not when done so well.

This is, as I would say were I the reviewer on a book jacket, a tour de force. Way to make a bang. This one's going on my rec list.

[sinka.livejournal.com]

OMG, thank you!! you actually read the story twice? really?? You can't imagine how happy that makes me. You are one of my favourite authors (duh!) and one of the most talented writers I've ever seen, so it means a whole lot to me that you noticed this fic, let alone that you liked it!!

And yep, I agree with the 'fandom brain twin' bit, because you always manage to push all my buttons, so I'm incredibly glad I could give something back for once (this scenario is also one of my obsessions, they reunited way too easily in the series).

Thanks for the rec too! The fics in your rec list are simply amazing (yep, I've read them all), so blows my mind that you would even consider to add me to it.

[cherry916.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! You've been rec'd at spn_littlebro

(http://spn-littlebro.livejournal.com/3906.html?thread=275522#t275522)

[sinka.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!! I love your comm!

[wolfish-willow.livejournal.com]

Just popping by to say I'm probably going to be rereading this again tomorrow. I would do it tonight, but I'm trying to work on a fic of my own. BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN THE NEED TO READ THIS AGAIN CAME OVER ME. And I wanted to let you know that. hee

<3<3<3

[sinka.livejournal.com]

Yay, thank you for letting me know! It means a lot that you liked it so much to read it again!

But it's ironic because I've been kind of trying to write again too (writting is hard, damn it!) but then I got sidetracked by the angstbigbang and I've been flailing about your fic for the last three hours! ;P

[wolfish-willow.livejournal.com]

LOLOLOL, that's some crazy timing. I love it. :D (And your comment on my fic is still makin' me smile). :D