This was such a great story! You have such a natural talent for narrating and describing, and this absolutely showcased that! I absolutely adored your descriptions! Such a fun and exciting story, with great original characters. (I would love to see the boys revisit the camp at some point! There must be some great stories in there). I do enjoy stumbling on your work. Thank you for sharing this with us!

THIS WAS SO FREAKING GOOD! Zombie pirate ghosts! And the ship and Isobel! Setting this right after Faith was very brilliant. Both boys so vulnerable and still hurt.

Loved the Guiley brothers. Very interesting. The whole setting with the camp and the residents. Loved that idea. And John always looming in the background, in Sam and Dean's heads anyway.

AND SO MUCH PAIN. AND SO MUCH COMFORT. And what an absolutely intriguing case.

I loved this from start to finish. 3

Jus one word...& tht is MINDBLOWING!
Keep it up

I'm really enjoying the story. I love the far-fetched ideas in the story - the pirate ship in the desert and Santa! LOL!

Isobel was fascinating; your description of her sinking back into the sand and slowly turning back into wood was so imaginative. I loved the unspoken thoughts the boys have, things they can't SAY to each other. Sam's line about the pony made me laugh out loud.

I was actually going to wait until I finished the story before I wrote a review, but when I read this sentence, I had to write it down because I found the way you conveyed his conflicting emotions so powerful: "Resentment left a bitter taste on hi tongue, betrayal seared the edges of his heart, longing burned the backs of his eyes, anger ticked the nerves in his lips, and need lifted his hand to take the phone from Sam."

Supernatural Fanfiction Monthly Awards Review:

A tale of two brothers, findimg two brothers pursuing a cursed pirate ship... where the motivations of the Winchesters stem from their owm inner turmoil and trauma after Dean's brush with death in the episode "Faith". Sam and Dean's confusion and emotional pain because of John's absence combined with their adherence to their mission of saving people/ killing things provides wonderful motivation for pursuing the ghost ship. Although the ship only appears once a year, it seems to have its tendrils heavily out there public consciousness, complete with ghost maps luring treasure seekers in.

I loved the way you draw parallels between Dean and Sam and Emerson and Mack, and between John and Mack's dad, except that you make it clear that Sam and Dean are brothers and partners but that Emerson and Mack's relationship has been tainted by dark secrets and the treasure sickness.

Kudos on creating a story that uses stromg original characters - from Joshua to the mbers of the camp to the brothers - while keeping Sam and Dean and their relationship in the forefront. In addition, your atory was chock full of action, but none of it felt rushed or crammed in, in only 6 chapters. Would you have been better off splitting the chapters up? I'm not sure - that's a personal decision and the long chapters didn't bother me; they were easy to read, not tedious.

I also enjoyed some of the repeated themes, such as Joshua being in the story at the beginning and then being pulled in as a supporting character, the use of Metallica and flying, the theme of miracles and faith, and the beach speech by Sam.

i truly find it hard to criticize this story. Thanks for an enjoyable read!

This was a really well written and absorbing story. Thanks for writing!

I like the nautical chapter references but they don't seem to have much resonance with what goes in the chapter. Just for fun, right? Thanks for writing.

Huh. Interesting perspectives.

Hey, it's supernatural, y'know, you can push boundaries all you want. Great writing, great story! Thanks for writing!

Another great chapter of enjoyable and rollicking action and mayhem. Thanks for writing!

I really like stories that weave the songs into the storyline. For those of us who live with music all the time, our old and trusted favourites, it is a part of life, it is a part of the way we think about things and for a guy, it is how you figure out how to say something that isn't easy to say. A good chapter. I'm really liking the way you mix up the action, dialogue and quiet times without any one thing taking too much. Thanks for writing!

HS! Great opening to this story!

Supernatural Fan Fiction Monthly Awards review:
Wow! That's all I can say right now, is, well... WOW! The extensive research, the command of the language, and the intricate and exciting plot, music woven into it all the while, are the stuff of dreams here- Dreams! (I should have you know that I read this story waaay back when it was first published on this site, so I'm trying now to find a chapter that I may possibly have missed reviewing in 2009 so that might review this story as a whole for the sake of feedback for the contest.)

I should tell you that the Supernatural paperback novels published for the Show cannot even hold a candle to the work you've done here. My only complaint (and it's a slight one) is in the presentation- For there was absolutely NO need for apologies for Anything in your A/N's! This is an outstanding and entertaining story, and gives me as much pleasure on the re-reading as it had on the original reading years ago- Sort of like re-watching a favorite movie :)

Supernatural Fan Fiction Monthly Awards Review:

Exceptionally good writing and accurate characterisation made this a pleasurable and epic journey through the Winchester’s world. The completely canon backdrop, episode events, their impacts on both Dean and Sam, and the absent presence of John, added so much veracity to the tale that I couldn’t quite believe I hadn’t watched it.

Music choices were all good, apologies not required, that music once was as much a part of the show and the characters as the Impala. No longer now. On a strictly personal level-and understanding that many writers were doing the same thing at the same time this was written-the constant author notes and acknowledgements are annoying when all I want to do is go to the next chapter and keep my head in the story. The culture references and asides were noted with a chuckle, and I was glad to see that they were in character and always subtle; the same cannot be said for the show but you’ve proved yourself a writer of such talent there’s no comparison.

There truly are not many writers with the easy command of language exhibited here, let alone the skill to make the story come alive. I wanted to commend the effort put into research, and share my delight in reading a work that has such a sure knowledge of the characters.

It’s even more rare to see a writer with sufficient experience of human nature to be able to imagine those characters in entirely different settings and circumstances, behaving within their characteristics and showing, here and there, the effects of living and learning. You’ve done both, very well. I will point out that ‘reign’ is not the appropriate word for pulling back into control. A king reigns over his kingdom. But to rein back strong emotion, it’s the horsey-version you want.

I was waiting for the Caribbean connection to appear and you didn’t disappoint. In some ways, the appeal of show and film are identical. Taking responsibility, I think. While the outer circles appeal to most, that inner circle only seems to have resonance for a few. Dean is moral. Sam is ethical. Jack and Will are the same. I think we’ve watched all the same movies.

I would hope that any reading this story would take note of the skill used to weave the Winchester’s personal journey into the larger plot, along the way introducing subplots and connected threads, and their resolutions at the ending. That is the mark of a good writer, that all those things are seamlessly whole, because no one’s story exists for just them, it touches the lives of all involved, no matter how peripherally. I did feel a momentary pang for the two cops, trying to do their jobs and hopelessly outclassed.

That was a fun ride! Thanks for writing, Gaelic!

The back story of the Guiley brothers was riveting. The tangible partnership of Sam and Dean was excellent. And a good show from supporting cast members, the veterans.

Thanks for explaining the haunting of both Dean and Mack, having taken a part of the ship into their bodies. I was really struggling to grasp Mack's motivations and coming up with some wild (totally inaccurate) theories.

There's one line I'd love to hear on Show: "We've got to invest in some of this Kevlar shit, Sammy." LOL

I like nurse Marnie. :) Dean's dreams are disturbing and yet offer some guidance and validation; they're intriguing. And the phone conversation with John is really well done.