The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts (CWRPS, AU) MASTER POST

[cleflink]

Fic title: The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
Author name: cleflink
Artist name: petite_madame
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 48,000
Warnings: Magic realism, graphic descriptions of medically impossible heart care, serial killers, sex, angst
A/N: Written for spn_j2_bigbang's 2013 round.

Summary: In a world where heartbreak is a literal condition, it's Jared's job to sew, fill and patch the physical wounds left in people's hearts by lost loves, misunderstandings and betrayals. Jared's own love life is more than a little dire, largely because Jensen doesn't date and Jared doesn't do one-night stands, but he's got good friends and a job he loves, so he figures that he can't complain too much.

When a killer attacks Jensen, Jared discovers that a needle and thread, desperation and a sharp scalpel are enough to save Jensen's life, but at a cost that is going to change Jared's life forever and tie them both together in a way that goes far deeper than flesh.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
PDF | AO3
Art Master Post

Acknowledgements:
Get their own section because they be LONG. Wow, I have many people to thank for helping me get this monster posted.

A million thanks to tebtosca for being there right from the beginning and helping me turn a strange, abstract idea into something with an actual plot and character development and other fun story-type things. Your excitement, good questions and willingness to suffer through sprints with me to get this shit done have been delightful and invaluable, my dear.
Big hugs to dugindeep for sprinting with me and cracking the metaphorical whip when I was whinging about my edits. It's a good thing someone was keeping me on track, hon, because God knows I wasn't doing it myself. I am so happy to have had the chance to get to know you better, as well!
Cheers to oddishly for a fabulous zero hour beta. You're a superstar and I don't know what I would have done without you. Thanks for taking one for the team, ridiculously early morning included!
A shout-out to Laura and Mum for typo hunting with me! They're sneaky things, those typos. All remaining mistakes are my fault entirely.
To all the ladies in the handholding/cheerleading email circle (dugindeep, fiercelynormal, morrezela, tebtosca and zubeneschamali) for, well, all the handholding and cheerleading. ^_^ I very much enjoyed flailing over all of our stories with you!

Of course, I must thank petite_madame for being a) fantastic and b) a wonderful person to collaborate with. I'm still amazed and humbled that my odd (not so) little story was the inspiration for such gorgeous artwork. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your hard work and your willingness to put up with me babbling about grammar. ^_^ You've made this year's bigbang an absolute delight!
And I know that you all went there first anyway, but if there's anyone who hasn't checked out her Art Post yet, make very sure that you do! It's all absolutely stunning (and wonderfully full of blood, organs and cupcakes. As it should be).

And finally, thanks always to thehighwaywoman and wendy for hosting this challenge! You make it so much fun to participate in this challenge and to be part of the Supernatural/RPS community that makes it possible!

Comments

[yohkobennington.livejournal.com]

I remember reading this summary for claiming and going: I WANT TO READ THIS SO BAD.
So I'm happy it's finally here :D

*goes to read!*

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope you find it worth the wait! It's been a rather long time coming. :)

Enjoy!

[petite-madame.livejournal.com]

Yah! We did it ^o^
I fell in love with your summary the very moment I read it! What a brilliant idea! An heart surgery that doesn't exist, Jared patching up hearts with gears, gold threads, "magic" stuff, it's SO poetic and perfect! I had one or two drawing ideas just after reading the summary.

I LOVED your story, I don't know what I can tell that I haven't already told you in my emails. It's original, romantic (in the good sense of the term) and...GORE (hell yes!!). In addition, I didn't guess who was the serial killer (shhh *spoilers* )

I can't tell you all the fun I had working on this and collaborating with you, you are a sweetheart and it was funny to meet someone who isn't allergic to grammar and linguistics too. It's so rare xD

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

*high fives* We totally did it!

This whole story idea started with the mental image of two hearts sewn together and snowballed from there, and it's been brilliant getting to build on that concept AND getting to see you take it and give it life in your artworks. Seems like we made a pretty good team on this one!

I am pretty fond of my serial killer, I must admit. That was definitely a fun scene to write! (Funny thing, I was watching a show yesterday and one of the characters was being operated on and I was all squirmy and grossed out, right after I just posted this story! My brain works in weird ways sometimes).

I am an unrepentant grammar dork, it's true. Thank you for putting up with me and my idiosyncrasies. ^_~ *doffs hat* It's been an honour!

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Magical realism! \0/! I can't wait to read this, but I want to get it on pdf for my Kindle so I'll have to wait a weeeeee spell. *nudge nudge* :D

Looks gorgeous, and I know you two have made beautiful music together. Sounds something like "lub-dub ... lub-dub ..."

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

I am working on it right now, I promise! Formatting in Word makes me want to pull my hair out.

Working with PM was a sincere pleasure and all I can hope is that this story can live up to the bar set by her artwork. Bonding over pulsating hearts is a great way to make new friends, what can I say? :P

Soon!

[minchout.livejournal.com]

This one looks so, so good! Ugh, I can't wait to read it! I DL'd the PDF but will be back to comment!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

In that case, I sincerely hope you enjoy and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thank you!

[jimbobjoe.livejournal.com]

Whoo hoo!! So reading this weekend!!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

This is me, giving people awesome ways to procrastinate. *laughs*

Enjoy!

[ember613.livejournal.com]

Amazing story and amazing art.

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Thank you! There's nothing quite like writing about blood and cupcakes. And I could just stare at petite_madame's art all day. So gorgeous.

^_^

[setissma.livejournal.com]

Completely amazing story and fabulous art to go with it. I knew this would be good when I read the summary ages ago, and I'm thrilled that it was even better than I'd hoped. Thank you so much.

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you very much! This story's been a rather long time coming (why, hello there, August) and it's wonderful to hear that it lived up to people's hopes. Although, really, blood, heartbreak and cupcakes are a good place to start.

And petite_madame may actually be a wizard. I'm not sure how it's possible for one person to be so talented. :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[wotan2008.livejournal.com]

Thanks for a fantastic story. The idea that emotional damage can be seen on the heart and be mended is fascinating. How did you come up with that?
Loved your story!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

If you'll believe it, I came across a photo of a metal wall hanging that was a heart (a valentine heart, not an anatomical one) with a zigzag split down the middle being held together by metal links that looked sort of like sutures, and my brain went 'hey, that's an interesting idea. How could you fix an actual broken heart?'. So I ran with it and it eventually morphed into this story. Because my brain is a special place. ^_^

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it Thank you very much!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Such a great concept and I'd definitely read more set in this verse! The whole idea of hearts working in this kind of parallel way to the normal physical workings has so much potential. As for this story, I loved it. Your Jared is so loveable and sympathetic, you had me rooting for him and his hopeless love right from the start. I suspected Jensen was damaged, I hoped the killer wasn't going to be the first suspect and the understated whole romantic happy ending made me cheer. (Very quietly as hubby was watching cricket on telly at the time and would have thought I was nuts).

One to save and read again, for sure.

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Jared is such a warm, loving kind of guy, which is exactly what makes him a good mender and a good match (in every way you want to take it) for Jensen. It also makes him essentially willing to commit delayed suicide to help his loved ones, but we'll forgive him since it turned out okay in the long run.

I think you need to be at least partially nuts to have all the rules in cricket make sense, so he really shouldn't be in a position to judge you. ^_^

Thank you very much! I'm so glad you liked it!

[ashleylive.livejournal.com]

WOO! I remember reading this summary and being super excited for it!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope that it is worth the wait (especially as it was quite a long wait). *grins*

[aerynsun5.livejournal.com]

I loved this story! It was imaginative and funny and sweet and is now officially one of my favorite ever. I especially liked the way the magical parts were so matter of fact, and not forced. It was very real, even though imaginary. Great, great job!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

*nods* Magic realism as a genre is great for its potential to make the magical ordinary while still being completely aware of the impact that said ordinary magic will have. I think that Jared would be well suited to fixing people's hearts (because he is a big, loveable goof, mostly).

I am delighted to know that you enjoyed this story so much. Thank you!

[nazliy.livejournal.com]

Is it possible for you to do another pdf without art work or upload to AO3? Artwork is butchered when I convert it to mobi :(

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Oh shoot, I actually have posted this to AO3 - I just apparently forgot to link it here. *sheepish*

You can find the AO3 version here (http://archiveofourown.org/works/909642). This version also includes the artwork, so please let me know if it's still fubar and I'll do you an image-free version.

Sorry for the trouble!

[minchout.livejournal.com]

This was so, so good!! It's my favorite big bang so far. I was hooked from the first word, and I loved your descriptions of Jared's mending and the different ways the hearts looked to reflect the different emotions. The world building was really fantastic, too. It was like the best magical realism where the "magic" is so ingrained in the world of the story that it would almost seem absurd for it to not be there. You also managed to keep me guessing who the killer was right to the reveal, which is really fantastic because I always guess correctly then get all sadface when the story doesn't surprise me. UGH, I could read thousands more words about this J2. ♥

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you so much! Magic realism is such a fun genre to work with and, for some reason, this concept seemed logical to my brain (of course emotional damage can cause physical damage - why not?).

It's awesome to know that I kept you guessing because I also get kind of sadface when it's obvious and mystery/case fic isn't exactly my normal wheelhouse. It's a surprisingly fun thing, choosing a serial killer. :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[becc-j.livejournal.com]

oh boy! This is AMAZING! Wow, such a great story. I really didn't know what to think when first told me about some of the ideas you had, so I was excited to read this and see what was cooking in your head. Damn though I did not anticipate this amount of brilliance. I have no words!! Argh, I love Jared and Jensen and I could not guess the killer. <3 Thank you for the pdf as well, I love being able to download and read that way. <3

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yeah. It all sounds a bit schizophrenic when I lay it out (there are real hearts, but not real heart fixing, and cupcakes, and serial killers, and, and, and...). My brain sometimes, Becc; I don't know what to tell you. I'm glad that it all comes together in a good story!

I am also a fan of pdf copies of stories, and I like that they're so easy to make these days.

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, hon! Thanks for reading and for saying lovely things!

[simone-writes.livejournal.com]

I don't often leave feedback simply because I suck at it, but this story was so awesome I had to let you know. Original ideas, fresh crisp writing that lets you feel sympathetic without getting bogged down in emoting, believable worldbuilding and characters and no plot-holes! I'm ecstatic about that last one. I would have so bought this. Awesome story.

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

I am sincerely grateful that you took the time to leave me some feedback (that doesn't suck at all by the way); hearing that people like what I write really is the ultimate reward for doing so.

Hooray for no plot-holes! They can be sneaky things, sometimes. And I'm glad that you found the emotional aspect believable without being overbearing.

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thanks again! ^_^

[sophie84.livejournal.com]

You are awesome. I enjoyed the concept of a universe with inorganics, and I got a kick out of the Frankenstein heart. Of course, your skill with the characters is what made it come alive. :)

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Cutest pair of Frankenstein hearts ever. They are going to have some really weird explanations to make at their annual check-ups though. :)

Thank you so much! I'm very glad that you enjoyed!

[blondebitz.livejournal.com]

A fabulous story and incredible artwork!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I could stare at petite_madame's art all day (I think I maybe have, actually *grins*). There can never be enough stories/drawings of blood-and-cupcakes in the world, if you ask me. :)

I'm very glad you enjoyed!

[alycat.livejournal.com]

This was absolutely amazing!

I love the idea of it, and the characters that are a part of building this up.

Maybe there were times I wanted to punch Jensen in the face for not realizing what he did to Jared but...the guy got there in the end at least.

You've really created something unique here and it was a very nice thing to read....nice enough that I read it in one go even though I didn't really have time :P So worth it!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Jensen's a special case here; it's definitely understandable that he's the way he is, but it really makes you want to shake him until he stops being such an ass.

I consider it quite the compliment that you couldn't put this down (as it were); how late I'm willing to stay up reading it is always one of my bench marks for a good book. ^_^

Thank you so much! I'm delighted that you enjoyed!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Jensen the baker is tebtosca's fault, but I am absolutely willing to take credit for the idea. :P I would definitely shop at his bakery, both to see Jensen covered in flour and to eat the desserts (petite_madame has done a great job making me hungry with her art!). I love Kane and his grumpiness. They make a great pair.

Also, I've screened your comment because of spoiler reasons. It's not because I don't love you, honest. *grins* But I'd like for other people to have ample opportunity to not guess the murderer. :P

Thank you so much, hon! I'm so glad that you enjoyed!

[summerholt.livejournal.com]

What a delightful reading! Even the serial killer made me chuckle. The story made me cry really hard, too! Love all the interactions and the characters in the sotry. Especially love the ending. So beautiful. It made me very happy and very contented.
Question: Why DIDN'T Jared fix his own heart? Or is it not possible?

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Serial killers like to have fun when they work, too. I have to admit that it's quite a turn-up when the serial killer is providing the comic relief, though. *grins*

Jared's reason for not fixing himself is referred to obliquely in the story, but the actual discussion of it didn't really fit in anywhere, sadly. You're right though: he couldn't fix it.

Replacing pieces of heart can only work if there is a sufficient amount of the original heart left. The additions are more like crutches than new legs: they provide support to allow the heart to work around the missing parts. Because so much of Jared's heart was missing, anything he built would have been a stopgap at best and might even have worsened the situation if his heart didn't bind well with it. Jared is such a good mender that, if anyone could do it, it would have been him, but he is also good enough to realize when there's nothing that he can do. And, since he'd accepted the consequences the moment he made his decision, he was okay with that and didn't see the point in trying to prolong the inevitable. Because he is both amazing and kind of a blockhead.

I'm very glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much!

[aeren76.livejournal.com]

Hi! I fell in love with this fic, really a touching story, all about the mending, all this magical aura around the characters was simply fantastic, also I´m in love with Jared, WOW, I dore him so much, can´t find words, really, simply perfect. Thank you so much, was a fantastic travel.
Go to favs of course and I´ll put a link and a rec. in my tumblr.

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

Everybody loves Jared (as well they should). All of his clients could not be happier that he's found his own person to love, though the force of his joy might actually blind people for the first little while. ^_~

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thank you very much!

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

I downloaded the PDF. Wonderful fic. I started reading early yesterday morning and was almost late for work and I had to put the rest of your story on hold until I got home. I finished it up last evening. I really liked the development of the characters and the story. I also liked the development of Jensen's love for Jared. The best part of all is that you kept me guessing as to who the killer might be - well done, you! :) Thank you for a great read!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

I always consider it a sign of a good story when it either a) makes me late for things or b) results in sleep deprivation. So I am not at all repentant. *grins*

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thank you for a lovely comment! ^_^

[muffymorrigan.livejournal.com]

I just finished. OMG I LOVE THIS STORY. You are staying on my kindle forever. I just have no words for how much I love this. The story was so fresh and exciting--I loved the idea of the Temples in Rome with bits of beating hearts, it was touches like that which made this story not just good but brilliant. Just so much awesome!

*huge hugs*

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

I may possibly have a Master's degree in Greek and Roman history; that is totally the kind of thing they would have done if it were possible. Just the right balance of worshipful, reverent and grotesque. ^_^

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thank you very much!

[marlowe78.livejournal.com]

I just finished reading the pdf, and I LOVED it! it's a great story with another plot that's just spraying fantasy and intelligence and wit.
I am a huge fan of your writing, not just because you have ideas so bright and colorful that they'd be invisible in Jared's waiting-room, but because you also manage to write them down! Dude, I wish I had your patience and drive - I'm always putting my ideas aside and then they get black and wither and die :-(

So,what did I love most... Hm, maybe that everyone gets that jared can share his heart only because his is so damn big. Or that Jensen is grumpy and maybe heartless, and that he still falls in love again (and do not tell me he didn't start falling in love with Jared before he got attacked. I refuse to believe otherwise)

or Chris, who is kind of a good and shitty friend, and maybe all the other side-characters we meet in the waiting room. IYou even managed to surprise me with the murderer, because they ALL could have done it. I was kinda thinking maybe Adrienne, just because I'd never suspect her. Well done!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

*grins* There's a very good reason why I do fiction challenges: they force me to finish things that would otherwise languish on my hard drive until the end of days. I also had a small contingent of wonderful people kicking me in the backside to get this one finished, which is always helpful.

At the beginning of the story, Jensen's done such a number on himself that he isn't actually capable of feeling the depth of emotion necessary to fall for someone. That said, he knows that he has a fondness for Jared, which becomes the foundation for more once he's not quite so emotionally constipated.

I heart Chris so much. Even (especially?) when he's being something of a surly ass. Early on, I was thinking of making Adrianne's girlfriend seem like a suspect, but it was too freaking long to start adding more red herrings. :P

Thank you so much, hon! I'm delighted that you enjoyed it! *hugs*

[stormcloude]

I really enjoyed the steampunk feel to this-- I kept picturing steamy cobblestone streets and dapper clothing. And poor Jared! Oh, I think he broke my heart a little bit.

Thank you for the downloadable formats!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

There can never be enough excuses for attractive men in dapper clothing.

And yes, Jared got a raw deal in this story. *pets Jared* He's the type who'll just appreciate his happy ending even more because of it, though.

You're very welcome! Thank you for a lovely comment!