apocalypsos: (Default)
tatty bojangles ([personal profile] apocalypsos) wrote2008-09-25 05:10 pm
Entry tags:

Fic: You Know Who You Are (PG-13)

I freely admit this isn't edited, but I wanted to get it up before tonight's episode and I have to leave for work in ten minutes.

Title: You Know Who You Are
Author: [livejournal.com profile] trollprincess
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: some Sam/Ruby
Spoilers: 4.01
Summary: Thoughts from a meat suit.
Author's note: Sorry I couldn't come up with a classier summary on short notice.

** You Know Who You Are **


Larry beat you to death on a Wednesday.

It wasn't a pretty death, even before he grabbed the lamp. He wasn't thinking, not like he had when he bruised your ribs or whipped your back with the belt. He wasn't thinking about his boss at the firm or the neighbors who whisper too much. He aimed for the face this time.

Your jaw shattered, your cheekbones fractured. You felt like crumbling glass, and looked like ground chuck, and mostly just wanted it to be over. You were a hotel room trashed by a drunken rock star, and you wanted to laugh at the metaphor but your mouth filled with blood and shattered teeth.

What you remember most about that night was the precise moment she took over.

*

You didn't know she was evil for days.

Sure, she killed Larry after she took the wheel, let him gape at knitting flesh and fusing bones before shoving him out a window. She raided your closet and boosted the money from your purse. She made a phone call before she left, cursed when there was no answer. She checked herself in the mirror by the front door on the way and a monster stared back.

She picked you up and dusted you off and tried you on. You're a good fit, it turns out.

You really wish you could be more angry about that.

*

She tells people her name is Ruby, but she doesn't talk to you much. She says she's sorry once, more of a feeling shoved in your direction than the words themselves, a brief flash of apology pushed to the back of her mind before she goes about her business. It's not like you talk about the weather or your favorite TV shows, like she asks for your opinion on what to wear or checks to see if you're allergic to peanuts.

She ignores you, and it's not such a bad thing.

*

You want your body back.

You want her to stop stealing cars and robbing people and boosting clothes while wearing your face.

You want her to stop looking in the mirror if all you're going to see is a monster.

You want that nagging feeling that knows what will happen if she leaves to go the hell away.

You want a pony and super powers and a million dollars, too, if we're all making wishes.

*

She finds Sam Winchester a week after she dresses up in you. Sam just lost his brother. Sam is drunk or angry or drunk and angry. He looks like he needs a shower, maybe with wire brushes and bleach. Sam's not in a good place right now, and you're not even counting the shitty motel room he's holed up in, decorated like a moldy old barn. It smells like hay. Your hay fever doesn't act up.

He leans in the doorway all fucked-up and beautiful, reeking of sweat and whisky.

“What the hell do you want?” he says.

She elbows past him like she belongs there, says, “That any way to greet an old friend, Sam?”

She laughs when he drops the bottle. It's the last time she does that for weeks.

*

Before you died, or at least came close enough to dying for it to count, you worked as a file clerk for Bachman, Cullen, and Beecher. You wore cheap Payless shoes and skirts you bought at the Salvation Army but said you bought firsthand, and had to double-check before you left your studio every morning to make sure there wasn't paint on them. You brought your lunch (usually ramen) and ate alone. You shared a desk with three other temps, two of whom spent most of their time flirting with the lawyers. The other one performed at a comedy club at night and took naps in the men's bathroom in the handicapped stall.

Larry worked at another firm defending blue-collar criminals. He had a charming smile and once posed for a swimsuit calendar in college. He waited until you'd been going out a while before hitting you one night during dinner, sharp and sudden. You didn't have any family, you just had Larry. You stayed.

You wanted to be a professional artist. You probably weren't going to be. Your paintings were never good enough for your critical eye, the emotions never right. If you'd ever gotten enough together for a show of your own, even you would have been surprised.

You had no pets, no friends. The neighbors gossiped, but not about you.

It's possible you were invisible.

You shouldn't feel good about being here, about standing in an abandoned house next to Sam Winchester with someone else in your body, about listening to her tell him how to pull the demon out of the man they have tied to the chair in the middle of the room.

You shouldn't feel good.

You shouldn't.

*

Sam wants to fuck you.

You wonder how that works. Does he ask your permission? Does she? Do you even get a say? Hell, is it even worth asking anymore? It's been a couple of months now, her in your body and you in a dusty corner, her fixing your broken parts and handing them to you to hold. If she leaves tomorrow they're all you've got, those shattered bits she threw away, and you can't live like that.

You're a dead woman walking, and all three of you know it. Even if nobody says so.

*

Sam has all sorts of tricks up his sleeves.

You don't know the whole story, but you pick it up here and there. He dreams of the future. He can make people and demons do whatever he wants. He can yank demons from people's bodies like a cowboy with his lasso ready. He's stronger than normal. He sees things, knows things, hears things.

Sometimes, he hears you.

You don't know if she knows. Maybe. All you really know is that your voice doesn't carry, it's not much louder than a whisper these days, but sometimes he looks over from whatever unholy skill he's practicing and ... and he hears you.

So you talk and you talk, about everything and nothing, about the weather and politics and your favorite TV shows. You say yes and no and maybe. You can't shut up.

He hears you, and every time he does Ruby smiles.
newredshoes: possum, "How embarrassing!" (i'll be yr bird)

[personal profile] newredshoes 2008-09-25 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
...I'm about to leave work too, but oh man, oh man do I like this. Everything about it is so creepy and sad and wrong and right. Especially that end. Damn, lady. Damn.

[identity profile] witchofthedogs.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
*points*

Oh wow... Just... Yes.

And wow.

And, yes. Again.

[identity profile] ladynaberrie.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice.

[identity profile] vega-ofthe-lyre.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
This was... awesome and freaky and sad and incredibly thoughtful. Amazing job.
minim_calibre: (Default)

[personal profile] minim_calibre 2008-09-25 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, wow.

[identity profile] telaryn.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
You wrote SPN fic! It's like Christmas and my birthday all rolled up together!

I love this for all the reasons cited above. I also love the fact that you spent time thinking about the one person I don't think it occurred to more than a fraction of the viewing audience to acknowledge.

Well done.

[identity profile] lyra-wing.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Loving it! Rock on, dear.
alchemise: Stargate: season 1 Daniel (ouija)

[personal profile] alchemise 2008-09-25 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, that's wonderfully creepy. And very sad. I love that you gave voice to a character we'll never meet.
ext_15405: (Default)

[identity profile] black-samvara.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh this is so sad, and Ruby smiling is not comforting but thank you so much for giving her a voice.

scary little glimpse into another hell

[identity profile] catdancerz.livejournal.com 2008-09-25 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
and wow...that last line...
anonymous_sibyl: Red plums in a blue bowl on which it says "this is just to say." (Supernatural--Dean--Fire)

[personal profile] anonymous_sibyl 2008-09-26 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
This is fantastic. I was just thinking last week how sad it is that Winchesters, writers, and fans seem to have forgotten that the demons are actually walking around inside people.

And the ending? Wonderful.

[identity profile] thenetwork.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
This is making me want to cry.

[identity profile] lilacsigil.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, this is fascinating. This is second-person done *right*. This is creepy and beautiful and horrendous all at once, and totally unique.
shehasathree: (Default)

[personal profile] shehasathree 2008-09-26 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
oh, yes. thank-you for writing this!!

[identity profile] ilikethequiet.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
Aww cute &hearts

[identity profile] couldbemage.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
Alright, that was cool. Now I'm going to try to add you as a friend.

[identity profile] quietdiscerning.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
AH. how did you DO that? you took all the CREEPED OUT thoughts i was having about this VERY subject (and talking with Erin about) and made a totally awesome and creepy fic!

it makes me SQUIRMY. i like it and i don't all at the same time. youre sneaky.

[identity profile] seraangel.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 09:39 am (UTC)(link)
I find sometimes, if a fan fiction is good enough it makes me want to write. I've always thought those were the best kind. This was awesome, mate. Totally awesome.

[identity profile] voleuse.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 11:34 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. Ouch. Well-done!

[identity profile] denisitap.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 02:22 pm (UTC)(link)
You made me want to cry for this girl, and then you made me smile at the end.

[identity profile] zarahemla.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 02:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, very nice. Even if it's rough. :D

[identity profile] ulkis.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
This was great.

[identity profile] groovekittie.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, that was crazy good and creepy! Great work!
fyrdrakken: (Gabriel)

[personal profile] fyrdrakken 2008-09-26 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
So very brilliant. yes.

[identity profile] dolimir-k.livejournal.com 2008-09-26 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
A very interesting piece. I really felt for her...and even understood her being conflicted about being possessed. Very cool.
vivien: picture of me drunk and giggling (ghost girl)

[personal profile] vivien 2008-09-27 01:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. Just... wow.

[identity profile] girl-wonder.livejournal.com 2008-09-28 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Really, really well done. It makes you curious about the meat-suits.

[identity profile] thehighwaywoman.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi! Just letting you know this has been rec'd here on this week's edition of [livejournal.com profile] crack_impala.

[identity profile] counteragent.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
chilling and awesome.

[identity profile] neyne.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
This is amazing. I love all those details, they make her so real! I kinda hope this is canon. It'd probably be more real than canon.
ext_30154: (Default)

[identity profile] oh-mcgee.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, I love that feeling of not knowing this is something you've been dying to read. If that makes sense. I loved all of it!

[identity profile] alethialia.livejournal.com 2008-10-03 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
...that's really quite awesome.

[identity profile] morbidmuse.livejournal.com 2008-10-04 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. This is wonderfully done.

[identity profile] december21st.livejournal.com 2008-10-04 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
I really liked this.

The line You want a pony and super powers and a million dollars, too, if we're all making wishes. struck me, but that makes it sound like I didn't like the rest of it, and I did. Like it. Quite a lot.

[identity profile] gottalovev.livejournal.com 2008-10-05 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
oh wow, that was really powerful and so well done. amazing!

[identity profile] starrylizard.livejournal.com 2008-10-06 11:02 am (UTC)(link)
Brilliant! I was thinking of writing something along the lines of how Ruby chooses a new body - knowing how Sam would react. I like this version though. It somehow suits her, like the new meat suit does. :)

[identity profile] raincitygirl.livejournal.com 2008-10-11 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, so CREEPY.

[identity profile] serrico.livejournal.com 2008-10-11 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
Huh. 'Metamorphosis' had me craving *exactly this* story, and *here it is*.

You're like magic! (Not creepy Ruby-possession magic, or Sammy's-moral-ambiguity magic. *Fic* magic. *g*)
ext_366170: (Default)

[identity profile] berry-hearts.livejournal.com 2008-10-30 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
jesus, this was beautiful. that last line was mind-blowing. :D A-PLUS!

[identity profile] labseraph.livejournal.com 2009-10-19 10:43 am (UTC)(link)
Oh wow. That was a very interesting character you crafted; in some ways to be pitied and yet she has verve and this world-weary acceptance that is so resonant.

Achy. Lovely.
ext_14845: betta fish (Default)

[identity profile] fish-echo.livejournal.com 2009-10-25 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I have recced this last week at [livejournal.com profile] spngenlove and [at my reccing comm (http://community.livejournal.com/fish_recs/6827.html)] :)

[identity profile] wizefics.livejournal.com 2009-10-26 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
Holy moly. This is pretty terrifying. Well done.

[identity profile] timian.livejournal.com 2009-10-31 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Are you kidding? This was absolutely kick-ass awesome. Wonderful, wonderful fic, and superb writing.
ext_302385: My default here and on LJ (Default)

[identity profile] macbyrne.livejournal.com 2009-11-01 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, that's a chilling look at what could have happened to Ruby's 'meatsuit'. *shivers*. Especially that last line.