Dangit, it's over! D: Seriously, this was awesome. I was a bit skeptical at first because I generally hate stories where Sam and Dean are separated for ANY amount of time, but this one managed to keep me hooked through those first few chapters where the boys were apart. I'm really glad I stayed-- this was amazing! I loved Dean's character development. The way that he forced himself to sort through his own shit in a matter of seconds within moments of realizing Sam was alive, and then get back to his prime directive of taking care of Sammy, was nothing short of jaw dropping. Then there was "That Sam". That Sam literally broke my heart, stomped on it, jabbed at it with that shovel handle, then rolled around on the shards until they turned to dust. I felt so BAD for him the whole time-- knowing that SOMEWHERE behind all of That Sam there was SAM, wondering what the hell SAM was going to do when he realized what That Sam wanted, what That Sam took-- gah, seriously. No words.
On another note, I'm really impressed with how you handled the necessary incest issue. A lot of stories either make it into the biggest soap opera to ever hit print, while others skim over it like "eh, we're horny-- let's go". Your version fell into neither of these categories, and I loved it. Dean had just the right amount of freak out/angst/panic/angst/stubbornness/guilt to make it believable, and when SAM came back to himself he did a great job of battling to sort out the variances between That Sam's desires and his own, and realizing that That Sam was so innocent that he had no restraints in showing his love for Dean, but that this was where the differences really ended.
The ending was perfect and left us with just the right amount of closure, with that promise of "this ain't over yet, folks" without the need for a sequel.
All in all, this story was the whole sha-bang and I'm so glad that I read it.
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Seriously, this was awesome. I was a bit skeptical at first because I generally hate stories where Sam and Dean are separated for ANY amount of time, but this one managed to keep me hooked through those first few chapters where the boys were apart. I'm really glad I stayed-- this was amazing! I loved Dean's character development. The way that he forced himself to sort through his own shit in a matter of seconds within moments of realizing Sam was alive, and then get back to his prime directive of taking care of Sammy, was nothing short of jaw dropping. Then there was "That Sam". That Sam literally broke my heart, stomped on it, jabbed at it with that shovel handle, then rolled around on the shards until they turned to dust. I felt so BAD for him the whole time-- knowing that SOMEWHERE behind all of That Sam there was SAM, wondering what the hell SAM was going to do when he realized what That Sam wanted, what That Sam took-- gah, seriously. No words.
On another note, I'm really impressed with how you handled the necessary incest issue. A lot of stories either make it into the biggest soap opera to ever hit print, while others skim over it like "eh, we're horny-- let's go". Your version fell into neither of these categories, and I loved it. Dean had just the right amount of freak out/angst/panic/angst/stubbornness/guilt to make it believable, and when SAM came back to himself he did a great job of battling to sort out the variances between That Sam's desires and his own, and realizing that That Sam was so innocent that he had no restraints in showing his love for Dean, but that this was where the differences really ended.
The ending was perfect and left us with just the right amount of closure, with that promise of "this ain't over yet, folks" without the need for a sequel.
All in all, this story was the whole sha-bang and I'm so glad that I read it.
Great work!!