Now the devilâs in a rush And this duct tape makes you hush Hey there Sedona let me cut you a deal Iâm a little hungover and I have to steal your soul – Sedona – Houndmouth
The first thing Ketch noticed upon waking was just how stiff his muscles were. Sure, heâd been a little more physical than usual the night before, but he could barely move his legs and his arms⊠he didnât think heâd been that rough on his body.Â
âMorning, sleeping beauty,â the voice of the previous nightâs bed mate call out from the in-suite bathroom.Â
Ketch attempted to roll over, to lift himself off the mattress, but was unable. All at once the sensation of thick, coarse rope around his wrists, the tape plastered to his lip, and sticky, dried sweat came to the forefront of his awareness. Well, that explained the stiffness, then.Â
Dean, the man heâd shared the night with, came out of the bathroom, straight razor in his hand. He was wearing the same thing he had been before, a blood red shirt over a dark t-shirt and jeans and a wicked smile that promised all manner of new troubles.Â
âSorry about the restraints but I canât exactly let a Man of Letters out of my sight now, can I?â Deanâs eyes flashed black as he spoke, beating the flat back of the razor against his palm.Â
Ketch glared at him. Thatâs the punishment for forgoing proper demon checks with his dalliances then.Â
âNow, Iâm a little short on time, and as much as Iâd like to drag this out a little more I canât afford it. So, hereâs the deal; you tell me what I want to know and I slit your throat. You waste my time and I make sure you never walk again and dump your ass in the middle of the desert for the buzzards to deal with. Capisce?Â
Ketch rolled his eyes and mumbled behind the tape.Â
Dean huffed in response. âYou know, all you gotta do is shake your head.âÂ
Ketch let out an indignant puff of air and nodded. Only then did Dean rip the tape off his mouth, taking a good portion of the skin on his lips with it.Â
âYou bastard,â Ketch muttered, sucking his bloodied bottom lip into his mouth.Â
âIâve been called worse,â Dean said, pressing his thumb to the edge of the blade. âNow,â he said, âI know you know where the American base for the Men of Letters is. Youâre going to tell me.âÂ
âLebanon, Kansas,â Ketch said.Â
âOkay well if youâreâŠ. wait, what?â Dean froze mid-gesture to stare down at Ketch. âJust like that?âÂ
âJust like that,â he said.
âYou got a death wish or something man? âCause I gotta say, youâre killinâ my murder high here.âÂ
âIf you kill me, Iâll just come back. Itâs an inconvenience, at best.âÂ
âYouâre not a witch.âÂ
âNo, but I happen to know a very powerful on. Have known a very powerful one since the 18th century.âÂ
Ketch smirks as Deanâs eyebrow raises. âWell then Iâll kill them, too.âÂ
âI doubt your King would be too pleased with that,â Ketch said.Â
Deanâs expression grew tight as his gaze skimmed up and down Ketchâs nearly naked body, spread out like a starfish on the bed.Â
âYou have your location. You can kill me now if you want, though Iâd ask you to hurry if youâre going to. I have a schedule to keep, too.âÂ
Dean shrugged, raising the razor to Ketchâs throat.Â
âOr,â Ketch said, âI can tell you the easiest ways to counteract the magic that makes the bunker impenetrable to demons. And where they keep their best artifacts.âÂ
Deanâs hand stills, and with one swift movement, he moves the razor away from Ketchâs throat and slashes through the rope that binds his right wrist to the headboard.Â
âThatâs what I thought,â Ketch said with a smirk.Â
SPN Rare Ship CC: Round 10 | rosemoonweaver vs. @purgatoan Prompt: snow squall Ship: Dean/Ketch Word Count: 2,983 Tags/Warnings: magic, canon divergent, canon verse, blowjobs, mild sexual content, enemies to lovers, sharing body heat, past child abuse, background Sam Winchester/Mick Davies Summary: Dean and Ketch donât really get a long. Itâs not that he doesnât like Ketch, he just gets on Deanâs nerves. Getting stuck in a snowglobe together is sure to help matters. AO3 Link
âA witch with a hobby shop. Cute,â Dean said, checking the doorway. It was dark inside, and eerily quiet, but the witch had to be in here somewhere.
Dean rolled his eyes. Leave it to him to draw the short straw and get stuck with Ketch of all people. Ever since he and Mick wound up breaking from the Men of Letters theyâd been hanging around Dean and Sam like lost puppies. That was great for Sam, having someone to geek out with and discuss different and more ethical methods of monster fighting but that meant Dean got stuck with Ketch most of the time. It wasnât that Dean hated him, it was just, well, he rubbed Dean the wrong way. He was quiet most of the time but then heâd say something a little too biting and close to home and Dean was stomping out of the room. He wasnât sure how, but the bastard was great at digging down deep and finding shit. And he was hot and kinda smug about it, and that pissed Dean off a little, too.
Dean walked around the corner, waving Ketch along with him. They walked slowly, so their footfalls wouldnât cause the floorboards to squeal beneath their feet. The witch had to be around here somewhere, theyâd seen her run it. Dean and Ketch took the backdoor while Sam and Mick took the front.
There was a clatter to the left, followed by Samâs distinctive shout. Dean sprinted off towards the noise, Ketch following close on his heels. They found themselves in the front room, the witch standing in front of the cash register with Sam and Mick pinned to the wall across from her, both hands raised in the air.
âSam!â Dean shouted.
The witch swung her head around and dropped a hand, causing Mick to fall to the floor. Two things happened at once then, Dean and Ketch fired their guns and the room flashed purple.
Maaaaaan. I hate it when I actually can discuss interesting concepts and story types w/in SPN because, inevitably, there will be much larger issues with the plot and characters that are also very important, but not my preferred type of discussion.
Yes exactly. And for some reason it also splits a bit for me? I have written serial killer!Dean. His relationship with Cas is not by any means healthy. Itâs manipulative and coercive. But I make it clear from the beginning that Dean doesnât know better and canât fully grasp that what heâs doing is wrong and heâs mentally ill. Of course thatâs no excuse. Itâs still a terribly unhealthy relationship especially when he stalks Cas. For some reason that for me is fine?
I wonder if itâs almost a context thing? Because like, Angel Lust is set in a âverse where Jimmy and Sam are both serial killers and they donât really have any issue with actually murdering people. No one in that âverse is exactly stable, but I think b/c Iâm writing it with the intent to shock, horrify, disgust, and explore these darker things that Iâm able to do it. Is it like that with you? Like you mentioned serial killer!Dean and those kinds of AUs usually have certain reader expectations and conventions, so does that change the ability to write it?
I only wonder b/c if I were to try to present abuse in an AU that turned out happy I donât think I could.
Ah that makes perfect sense! With dark!fic, going in you know there wonât be a happy or even somewhat functional ending and what is a happy ending is still miserable. In my fic, it boils down to a few options and the best is that Cas leaves Dean, gets to safety, recovers, and Dean ends up in prison. Theyâre both hurt and have their lives destroyed.
I also think that not trying to validate it and trying to make it sympathetic in a dismissive way plays a part too. If the other personâs trauma is dismissed or the behavior is excused, that makes me squick away from it
Oh totally! If youâre reading dark!fic you should probably be aware that itâs not really going to be âhappyâ. And even âhappyâ endings are pretty twisted most of the time. (I actually donât mind a twisted ending if itâs pulled off well. I read a fic a while back where one character was a siren and essentially forced the other into captivity by speaking. It left me with a sinking feeling in my gut and I really enjoyed that because it was horrifying It wasnât supposed to be a âgoodâ ending and I loved it.) But yeah, even the best option for your fic is devastating.Â
Also, I agree with you on the invalidation and excuse part. Thereâs a huge difference between an explanation for behavior and an excuse for behavior. Explanations can make a reader sympathetic towards a character, but it doesnât make their actions okay. I would like to think most folks understand that, but Iâm not sure. And I generally just donât like when the trauma of one character is brushed off by another.Â
That sounds like a fic I would enjoy. I love that dark twisting feeling in your gut that would cause. Probably why I love dark!fic and horror so much *lol*. I remember reading a wincestiel fic where the boys were serial killers and killed Jimmy, kidnapped Cas, and they all died. For that story, it fit. There was no one way out other than things getting worse and worse until it suddenly came to a complete halt.
I always wonder about that too. Am I making a character too sympathetic? Can people tell what Iâm trying to do with the direction Iâm taking it? And especially with what Iâm doing with Dean, can the reader pick up heâs slipping and heâs going to start to spiral soon?
lol. I used to watch a buttload of Tales from the Crypt, Twilight Zone, and Tales from the Darkside as a kid, so I love those âand then suddenly everything is awfulâ twists in horror and suspense. Iâll eat them up. Also that wincestiel fic sounds fun. Do you have the link or remember what it was called? I think itâd be fun to read.Â
Creating villains with some sympathy but not too much is always tricky imo. Iâm one of those people who really enjoys sympathetic villains and redemption though, so itâs an issue for me. There are villains I want to see get eaten by sharks or whatever, but I do tend to pull for the bad guys. I guess they just resonate more with me. Sometimes though, I think itâs fun to keep the reader in suspense. One of those âwill they or wonât theyâ kind of things but itâs will they or wonât they get worse. But I donât really write a lot of characters that ride moral lines. Iâm trying to with my Peacemaker âverse, but itâs kind of difficult. I do hope your readers are understanding what youâre doing with Dean, though.
Yes exactly. And for some reason it also splits a bit for me? I have written serial killer!Dean. His relationship with Cas is not by any means healthy. Itâs manipulative and coercive. But I make it clear from the beginning that Dean doesnât know better and canât fully grasp that what heâs doing is wrong and heâs mentally ill. Of course thatâs no excuse. Itâs still a terribly unhealthy relationship especially when he stalks Cas. For some reason that for me is fine?
I wonder if itâs almost a context thing? Because like, Angel Lust is set in a âverse where Jimmy and Sam are both serial killers and they donât really have any issue with actually murdering people. No one in that âverse is exactly stable, but I think b/c Iâm writing it with the intent to shock, horrify, disgust, and explore these darker things that Iâm able to do it. Is it like that with you? Like you mentioned serial killer!Dean and those kinds of AUs usually have certain reader expectations and conventions, so does that change the ability to write it?
I only wonder b/c if I were to try to present abuse in an AU that turned out happy I donât think I could.
Ah that makes perfect sense! With dark!fic, going in you know there wonât be a happy or even somewhat functional ending and what is a happy ending is still miserable. In my fic, it boils down to a few options and the best is that Cas leaves Dean, gets to safety, recovers, and Dean ends up in prison. Theyâre both hurt and have their lives destroyed.
I also think that not trying to validate it and trying to make it sympathetic in a dismissive way plays a part too. If the other personâs trauma is dismissed or the behavior is excused, that makes me squick away from it
Oh totally! If youâre reading dark!fic you should probably be aware that itâs not really going to be âhappyâ. And even âhappyâ endings are pretty twisted most of the time. (I actually donât mind a twisted ending if itâs pulled off well. I read a fic a while back where one character was a siren and essentially forced the other into captivity by speaking. It left me with a sinking feeling in my gut and I really enjoyed that because it was horrifying It wasnât supposed to be a âgoodâ ending and I loved it.) But yeah, even the best option for your fic is devastating.Â
Also, I agree with you on the invalidation and excuse part. Thereâs a huge difference between an explanation for behavior and an excuse for behavior. Explanations can make a reader sympathetic towards a character, but it doesnât make their actions okay. I would like to think most folks understand that, but Iâm not sure. And I generally just donât like when the trauma of one character is brushed off by another.Â
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