Wow. Just. Wow. This was really awesome. You're so good at painting in the dark with the light, the bleak with the hopeful, the detailed mythology/story arc with the sensual stuff. I don't know how you manage to pull it off every time, but you do.
Sam in this was a real treasure. You had me feeling so anxious about him with how everything "ended" after the final battle. I was half expecting him to be some sort of empty shell. But then you gave him back, happy with Sarah and having a baby and my heart just swelled.
And Dean...? Gotta just love him to pieces. I was cackling at the images you created of a four year-old with Dean's adult foul mouth. And then you did the smart thing and gave us just the hint of hope for him as well. Like he's on his way toward finally having some peace and happiness (without just handing it to him and going 'la la la. Everything's better now.')
Seriously well done.
Author's Response: Thank you so much, M!
I was worried with this one as I was still writing it the day the last stories were going to be posted on the community. Because of that, I didn't want the ending to be too goopy - there was a point, sad to say, where I basically said "I'm done" and left it at that.
I don't usually write future fic because, while I want the boys to have a happy ending, I do want it to be realistic. So I am thrilled that the darker points within the story didn't overshadow the light ones, but also that the ending I gave Dean especially (because, in my mind, he now suffers from PTSD and that's a life-long recovery process) was realistic. Sam? I just decided the poor boy had been through so much during the war, had given so much, that Sarah being pregnant might be the kick he needed to start healing.
I got lucky with the mythology. I was originally going to focus on Latin American curanderismo but one of my betas had a grandmother who followed a similar Portuguese tradition.
Writing Dean's predicament was hilarious. I knew that I had to keep him "real" for the spell not to be entirely silly. I thought I was going to get shot for the sneakers, actually...
Hm, here I go writing you another novel. ;)
