I knew it. This would be awesome, because ALL your stories are awesome. Everything, from the language to the pictures you draw in my head, to the wonderful description of the messed up minds of the Winchesters.
Your fic managed something not many stories usually manage: I felt deeply sorry for John Winchester.
His rage, his anger and his will to kill the murderer of Mary - unbelievable. And though there are a lot of stories that paint a rather likeable John, NO one had until now been able to bring this Dad Winchester to life, the one that taught his son to hate the creatures of the night, regardless of how evil they really are. YOu did that without making Dean either too sympathetic towards those, nor making him a cold-hearted bastard.
Your Dean is THE Dean. Hurt and trying to cope, desperate - the one who hears "the screaming in my head all day" and a scary, scary and dangerous hunter for it and despite it. Angry, off-kilter, FURIOUS and deadly. And scared. a skittish and wild animal - a wonderful picture. Awesome.
But you really shot the turkey with Sam.
I could throttle the prissy princess and wanna hug him (mostly throttle, though) and you make him so wonderfully angry, such a fine line between going that extra-step that Billy took and yet never going over THAT edge. And even though 2006-Sam was aware of Deans pain and cared deeply, the way you wrote 2001-Sam makes it absolutely possible, without a major brain-surgery - to become the scary, condescending Sam of season 4. Because this is such a self-centred and at the same time desperat4e kid, who only wants safety, for him and his brother. And it is just so sad - but so typical for teenagers, and you really got into his brain - that he never saw what Dean could see in his father's eyes. The fighting, the tension in the family is tangible and scares me, the fact that the whole family only functions because of the patience of the older brother is too sad. It is no wonder Dean didn't take Sam's departure well, he took away the one part of the scale and he had to adjust fast and in a major way. And Sam couldn't see it, because he was a teen and he wanted a life and he NEEDED to get out - and boy, did I want to throttle him.
You are the bestest writer in the whole fandom, I can tell you. Long since I have read "Red" (which is still the very bestest fic EVER), there had been plenty of fics which happened to be read by me (strange sentence, is it correct?), and many are wonderful and awesome. But nope. You are the best, and I bow to your greatness and just wish there would be some more.
I'm on my knees, oh Queen of fanfiction.
Humble Greetings, Your faithfull
Marlowe

I really liked this, and I think I've probably told you this before, but I LOVE your writing style! I particuarly liked both ending sections, from 2001 and 2006

I'm not a big high school fan, but I loved Sam's stuff in 2001, and Elise kinda grew on me :) I can't believe you killed Toad though :(

A wonderfully well-written and engaging story! The intricacies of the plot(s), coupled with the emotional depth of the characters, made for a riveting read. I couldn't seem to stop reading. Thank you for such a captivating fic!

loved this story. went under name goldenshadows but had trouble with that account

Cruel, honest and frighteningly realistic. Well done.

Abso-fudging-lutely amazing story. Loved it to bits. Made me laugh, made me tear up a couple of times too. I love your take on the guys, all three of them. Outstanding.

What can I say that hasn't been said?

I read this, my heart breaking for Dean. The whole Sam leaving for Stanford issue has always made me sad and angry by turns. I understand why he needed to go, but I still want to punch his lights out!

What I especially loved about this, was your handling of the John and Sam relationship. Dear lord, these two are so alike. And Dean . . . Dean stuck in the middle. All that pain and suffering in silence.

Just a fabulous story - I think I ran through a whole gamut of emotions whilst reading it. Boy, do we always hurt the one's we love . . .

Wow, another fantastic story. This one was hard to read because when Sam leaves Dean for college, it is the most heartbreaking time in Dean's life. I thought you handled it very well - Dean could see it coming, but it didn't make it hurt any less. I knew that reading about it, seeing it, would break my heart in two as well - and it did. The aftermath you describe is intriguing - John and Dean, both broken, take up hunting with a vengeance, to fill the void that Sam's leaving caused.

Again, I loved the intertwining of the two time-frames in the story, each shadowing events from the other. The final chapter was especially poignant as all of the boys' losses and pain come full circle and they have to deal with them in their own way. Niagra Falls with all of its power and dazzle was a perfect setting for this tale. Loved all your OCs - especially poor Toad. I think that without his inner strength and determination, Sam could have ended up like him. Perhaps Sam knew it too.

There is so much to digest to give this tale the review it deserves. Suffice it to say that it is brilliantly written - as all of your stories are. I'm almost up to "Fire in the Hole" - can't wait. Thanks for sharing your amazing talents with us. Until next time...

**Somewhere between Nashville and Knoxville you lost an hour, and Dean always hated that, felt like he was getting ripped off in cosmic terms.**

I think this line in ch 1 is when I realized I was going to be okay with this fic. I've read most - if not all - of your other work but this and Fire I just couldn't bring myself to read. I have issues with the whole Sammy leaving for Stanford and Dean not being whole without him ...thing. I know there are lots of good fics out there about this time, but for me, just couldn't go there. I enjoy angst as well as the next person - but this time period I just didn't want to deal with. I finally made a point to get past it and to check out this fic of yours.

After reading your other work (Red is my fave btw) I knew this would be good. Your writing continues to amaze me as well as the amount of research and detail that you put into your stories. The back and forth between the timelines never got confusing and really added to the level of emotional angst. I think one of the things that made this easier for me to read was the fact that Sam so wanted Dean to go with him when he left. The fact that he at least thought of that, even day dreamed about it, really eased a little ache in me for Dean.

Anyways - now, do I dare read Fire? :D I don't know how I cannot. I think i'll take a day or two to recover from this. Lovely work. Amazing talent. Keep writing.

--shan

As evidence of the shriveled, bruised, broken, mangled state of my poor heart, I would send you a picture, but its kinda gross and well, impossible, so ... in the words of Sam Beckett, 'Oh boy.' (with lots of loaded angst, heart and melodrama).

Bloody hell, woman - this time I did actually cry. Much muttering there was and unrequited need to just ... do something... for Dean and Sam.

Words of briallance, plot of cliffhangers and characters so flipping staggeringly good... even that sick Billy... sigh... how the hairy hell do you do it? (hard work, probably : ))

If I didn't love reading your writing so much, i'd be tempted to confiscate Dean for his and mine own good and just general well-being. (but I can't... I'm hooked!)

'The only thing you really got a good view of from America was Canada. No wonder the Ontarian city was a faux-jeweled neon ** next to the ugly duckling sister across the border, not a ten-minute walk across the Rainbow Bridge.'

Patriotic much?

Onward and upward I go...

Like always...loving it so far...

Gasp. Chokes. But does not blubber...it goes deeper than that, this kind of misery, don't you think? I'm rather speechless, but always captivated by your work. Always. Maybe even a little dumbstruck awe. :)

Nicole

Amazing story! I read it straight through last week and didn't have time then to review. I love all your fics especially 'Red' and now I see you have started another...Yes!

I liked the way you had to two time periods in the one fic, it worked very well and must have been very difficult. I'm really glad that Ms Simon didn't die and that Sam and Dean managed to save her.

Wow!

I'm still a little bit stunned by the sheer unrelenting trauma that everyone in this fic suffered. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but I've just read this in one sitting, and it's really dark in places.

I found it very interesting dealing with a Dean who is out of control, and a Sam who is 'brothering' him. That's the biggest change I found from the first to the second season; Sam's coming into his own, while it is Dean who is lost and searching for reasons. This is one of the first fics I've found that actually portrays that effectively.

I LOVED your characterisations. I thought you progressed Sam and Dean well, and there was a distinctive evolution which worked within and without the episodes. Your OCs were extremely real and compelling. I was no less interested in them than in the Winchesters.

The merging of time periods worked well, and I felt sympathy for all three Winchesters when Sam left, which is hard to write without any one person being at fault.

Basically I loved it! Sorry for the ramble!
Cathy.

Wow! I'm sorry that I didn't review all the chapters. Honestly, I was waiting for you to finish before reading this. "Red" is one of my all time favorite stories, and I knew this one would be great as well.

It was gut wrenching and so intense. I really think you achieved what you set out to do in building that bridge between "Crossroad Blues" and "Croatoan". I love this exploration into Dean's soul. He is such an incredible character. I so want him to be able to open up to Sam, but it's so hard to get him there. Anything he lets slip out is so guarded and difficult to get to that you almost need to get some rest afterwards to recover.

I love the relationship between the brothers in your story. Sam seems to know Dean so well. He's really tuned into him and can read him like a book(with a few of the pages missing..)

The back story of how Sam came to leave for college was heartbreaking, and the hint of how bad things were when he left has me really hoping that you'll do a story that gives us a bit of that background. I'm also curious as to wether or not Billy will return...

Really awesome story. Can't wait for your next one.