kelleigh: (Default)
kelleigh ([personal profile] kelleigh) wrote2013-06-14 08:51 am

Our Parts Are Slightly Used | Master Post

Title: Our Parts are Slightly Used
Author name: [livejournal.com profile] kelleigh
Artist name: [livejournal.com profile] lylithj2
Genre: J2 RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Rating: NC17
Word count: 50,400
Warnings: Scarred/Disabled Character, PTSD, Memories of combat violence. Elements of H/C.

Summary: After three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Jared has come home to Texas, working a steady job as a security guard and trying to patch himself back together. His dreams are less than kind, but he copes for the sake of those who never made it back. Jared's not expecting to meet someone like Jensen Ackles - a Dallas businessman with confidence and charisma in spades. They connect over coffee breaks and high-spirited basketball games with Jared's vet buddies, and what begins as friendship quickly deepens into a defining romance. Although Jared's willing to share his physical scars with Jensen, the burden of hiding his emotional wounds weighs heavily on both of them. As Jensen scrambles to put a name to his boyfriend's symptoms, Jared struggles each and every day, and neither of them sees the storm on the horizon until it's too late.

Check out [livejournal.com profile] lylithj2's art MASTER POST and leave her some love! ♥
Written for the 2013 [livejournal.com profile] spn_j2_bigbang



Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Part Four (a) | Part Four (b) | Part Five

Multiple text-only formats available at the AO3.
PDF with art available at MediaFire thanks to [livejournal.com profile] abeautifullie3.
Please let me know if you download the story ♥



notes. This is not a story about war. At its core, it's a story about a relationship growing under tremendous pressure. I purposely left out detailed descriptions of enemy combatants and the language I know most soldiers to use (I have cousins who are the poster boys for gung-ho), because none of it would add to the story I was trying to tell.

I began writing this at least three years ago. At this point, I can’t even remember what the original idea was. It lingered on my hard drive for a long time, pulled out each Big Bang season before being replaced on the shelf in favor of another idea. But I never gave up. This year, I was determined to bring it to the light of day! But I’d started it so far in the past that it needed major updating. Basically, I started writing this before anyone had heard of The Voice (and I eventually changed my original character, Blake, into a young mullet-less Blake Shelton), and before the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. That event changed so much about this story. Cindy Sampson was still relevant in Supernatural, but I’d come to enjoy her character so much that I had to keep her around.

thanks. First of all, I want to thank [livejournal.com profile] lylithj2 for choosing my story! You were a blast to work with right from the get-go, and your enthusiasm kept me going all the way up to the end. I'm floored with everything you were able to make, from those AMAZING dog tags to my icons and everything in between.

HUGE thank you’s to [livejournal.com profile] akadougal and [livejournal.com profile] electricalgwen for the beta work! I was a procrastinating procrastinator (and I have a pen to prove it!) with this story, but y’all stepped up at the last minute to bail me out, and I am so grateful! Thank you both for what you’ve done to make this story readable and so much more complete!

Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] ldyghst for helping me with my artist summary during claims. Without your feedback, I wouldn't have been paired with my artist :) And finally, THANK YOU to everyone who provided feedback on this story while it was being written over the last few years. [livejournal.com profile] passing_through, [livejournal.com profile] dugindeep, [livejournal.com profile] matalinolukaret, [livejournal.com profile] secretlytodream...your encouragement throughout this very long process made the story possible. ♥ ♥ ♥

As always, thanks to the [livejournal.com profile] spn_j2_bigbang mods for putting this together again!

[identity profile] glasshouses.livejournal.com 2013-06-16 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
If you're looking for a safe site, try mega.co.nz. Everything is encrypted up and down. It's the successor to megaupload.

[identity profile] canter76.livejournal.com 2013-06-16 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
I read this over at AO3. It is a beautiful and perfect piece of work. Great job!

(Anonymous) 2013-06-16 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey, just wanted to let you know that this sounds awesome and I'm going to download it now :)
ext_63196: (BigBang2011)

[identity profile] beelikej.livejournal.com 2013-06-16 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I'm definitly putting this on my e-reader, it sounds intriguing! Well done for finishing the story after all these years (and adjusting it to the changes in the US armed forces!)

[identity profile] tmn1966.livejournal.com 2013-06-16 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I downloaded the story and I really loved it. I know I'll be reading it again and again. You captured the feelings so well - I felt for both the boys, Jensen tried really hard to be understanding and I give him a lot of credit for not giving up, for taking things personally. And Jared, gosh my heart went out to him.

Well done! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well crafted story. :)

[identity profile] supersockie.livejournal.com 2013-06-17 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, just wow! Touching, moving and so damn beautiful. I loved how real Jared's struggles were and how Jensen figured out ways to work around them. Everything felt so real. Thanks for sharing your awesome fic.
deanshot1: (just wow)

[personal profile] deanshot1 2013-06-17 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
I will be reading this in the next day or two and will leave a comment then. I also downloaded the pdf because your stories are always keepers in my book.
*hugs*

[identity profile] callistosh65.livejournal.com 2013-06-22 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Just downloaded the pdf - can't wait to read it!!

[identity profile] batdina.livejournal.com 2013-06-23 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
just wanted to let you know that I thought this story was entirely worth all the waiting! you have a touch with voices that feels genuine to me, and a way of giving a Happily Ever After that doesn't feel like saccharin in the least. putting this story in the re-read folder.

thank you so much for sharing it!

[identity profile] enablelove.livejournal.com 2013-06-24 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Kels, this story was WONDERFUL.

I absolutely adored how all the details worked together to create such a great story. The porn was phenomenal, the emotions were palpable, and their relationship grew just how it should. The banter was especially fun. Thanks for a great read :)

[identity profile] renoirkmk.livejournal.com 2013-07-08 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
I read the story online first and loved it. I just downloaded the pdf for my kindle. I've always loved your stories and your bigbang posting is always one I look forward to.

[identity profile] slashcat22.livejournal.com 2013-07-14 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I downloaded and read your story. Interesting characters, good storyline. I would have wished for a little more conversation after the reunion and all the drama. But other than that I really enjoyed this story. Thank you for writing and sharing.

[identity profile] kilynn16.livejournal.com 2013-07-17 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
Hi, just wanted to let you know I downloaded the pdf from AO3. Very much looking forward to reading this, it sounds wonderful! It must be a story very near to your heart, since you kept coming back to it all that time. Congrats on finishing it up!

[identity profile] vicki-journal.livejournal.com 2013-07-17 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Downloaded PDF. Of to read now... YAY! Comment's will follow :-)

[identity profile] vodou-blue.livejournal.com 2013-07-18 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
(I FB'd @ AO3, but Imma repost it here, 'cause it deserves repeating.)

I am completely in love with this story!

Not gonna ramble on, since there are waaayyy too many things I love about it, but I really want to compliment you on two points specifically:

1) Excellent decision not to give a ton of graphic detail about the war. You created enough drama to make for a compelling story without torturing the protagonist in excruciating, lavish detail. *blerg!*

2) Thank you for realistically portraying the Texas climate regarding gays. I’m a Houstonian, and it’s a pet peeve of mine when authors write ‘It’s crazy super dangerous to be gay in Texas!’-- as if there’s roaming lynch mobs or something. Since the truth is more along the lines of ‘you might get frowned at, and possibly Bible lectured’… Well, you did an awesome job, and I will never be able to properly express how grateful and delighted I am.

[identity profile] calijirl5150.livejournal.com 2013-08-24 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
~~scampers off to DL & then read on AO3~~

[identity profile] zara-zee.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
I downloaded this to read ages ago and then got it confused with another story with the word 'parts' in the title and thought I'd already read and commented on it. Imagine my delight (and also my head-desking) when I suddenly realized that I hadn't actually read this yet!
Anyway, this was fabulous. It felt very realistic and credible and you dealt with a complex issue in an understated and effective way. All your characters and the setting felt well-rounded and believable too. The story just felt like a little slice of someone's life, and I really, really enjoyed it. :)

[identity profile] robeau.livejournal.com 2013-08-29 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow! This story is well written and pulled me in immediately.
phoenix1966: (Default)

[personal profile] phoenix1966 2013-09-18 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
What a great story! Thanks so much for sharing it with all of us!

(Anonymous) 2015-01-15 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
Re-love .... Second reading just as good as the first.

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