Serendipidous amazeballs.

I got a cool message on my fanfiction the other day:

"Oh, soooo good. Great conflict and characterization, and your voice is awesome. Your grammar isn't half-bad, either, for which I'm grateful. (Oops. I'm sorry. My nerd is showing.) Love the "had a computer but never used it for porn" line... I can hear Dean's amusement/bewilderment. And honestly, I had NO idea Sam was such a "sad sonofabitch", until you pointed it out. Gasp. I guess I was blinded by his brilliance. Anyhow, off to read more-wanted to give you props right away because you deserve it. ;)"

And I thought I'd reply, because a)After reading Gehayi and Kat Makura's sporking of Fifty Shades of Grey, I'm learning that there's an even bigger gap between British-English and American-English than I first thought. Like, Americans hyphenate words more often than we do, for example. Would not have known that without their analysis. And since I want Carter's parts to be authentic, this sort of thing really matters to me. And my other reason for replying was b) I thought they were saying I didn't like Sam Winchester. I love Sam Winchester. We'd be a great brother- and sister-in-law combo, you know? Seriously, I feel like I identify with the Sam character more than the Dean character, I couldn't not love him because I understand him. So I put my Supernatural Nerd hat on and replied:

"Hello! First of all, thank you so much for reviewing my fanfic!

I just wanted to reply to a couple of things you said, if that's okay?

You said about my grammar being okay, and I know what you meant by that (some people have good ideas but haven't written before, for example) but I think there's a couple of things at play that make my grammar less than perfect. First of all, I'm British and trying to write American characters, and I know that there are a LOT of differences between American-English and British-English. But also, I write in first-person typically, so I've set myself a huge challenge writing in third person. My usual stream-of-consciousness run-on sentences aren't going to cut it ;) So my apologies for it not being great. It does give me something to aim for!

Second of all, and the main reason I wanted to message you back, is that you picked up on the Sam-stuff in the first chapter, with Dean and Bobby making fun of what are some of Sam's real qualities. I don't want you thinking I'm anti-Sam! I think I mentioned it in reply to another review, but I find the Winchesters completely fascinating as characters. They both have so many levels, so many small parts of their personalities that make up a whole. Whoever came up with the characters is amazing. Most of all, I like how you can describe them in a tonne of ways, and each way seems to paint an entirely different picture from the whole, or even from each other. On the surface, Sam is a nerd, he does like to watch what he eats and think things through. On the surface, Dean is impulsive and emotional, he just wants to plough into situations and make them RIGHT. But that's only a small part of them, and actually, why I think they work so well as a team - Dean uses his intuition to pinpoint what part of Sam's research could be correct, while Sam uses his logic to support Dean's whims. That's kinda why I decided to write this fanfic in the first place, to try and reason through what they would do if they couldn't rely on each other in the same way. I want to see if what I've learned about them will lead them to the same conclusions they would have together, you know? If who they are as people would get past that brother-bond, or whether they need each other to support who they are as people. The reason I picked Sam to be the one locked up, and Dean to be the one who forgot, is from those basic personality traits. Sam wants the logic, he wants to remove all possibilities to be certain of what is out there. Dean just wants to save the world. Dean would've busted out right at the start, while Sam was still doing his research."

Told you my nerd hat was in place ;) Sorry for the capsword too, I couldn't format my IM. Sorry. Anyway, I got this reply earlier (and dammit, there's spoilers!):

"Yes! Great analysis. And you're so right. They're multi-faceted and--especially for writers, I think--it's fun to peel their layers away.

In this current season of the show, (are you able to watch season 9, at least online in the UK?), Sam's logical side comes to the fore as he pores through their treasure trove of books from the Men of Letter's collection. Meanwhile, Dean's impusively pawing through boxes of stuff and complaining the MofL didn't label anything because he can't figure out how to use it. I love that the show's writers have found these ways (and others) to put both of them in their elements. One's a researcher/thinker, the other's a doer/actor.

By the way, I didn't think you were anti-Sam. My gosh, how could ANYONE be anti-Sam? He's just so...well. A tall, dark, and smart guy. *Gush.* Need I say more? (If I do, I'll sound like Becky. So I'll stop myself.) But really. Sigh. Sam. *cough*

As for my comment about your grammar--actually, it's WONDERFUL. I didn't express myself well in the review, and I'm sorry. Please understand, I'm a freelance editor, and I spend so much time fixing peojaple's manuscripts, which sounds like fun until you're working on a book that's just not your style. I've gotten so jaded and cranky! So I came to this fanfic thing thinking I'd take off my editor's hat and just enjoy what I'm reading (because it's Sam and Dean, right?), but then--gak!--I discover that the damn hat is stuck and I can't read stories when the grammar/word choices/plot line are badly done, no matter who it's about.

Truly, your story was not only well written, but also--it didn't make me want to ask for a revision. LOL. I really could sit back and immerse myself in your words. And for this, I'm extremely grateful! I miss reading (and writing) for fun.

Speaking of writing--I posted the start of my story yesterday and have a second chapter/installment to upload, and I can't figure out how to do it. And, I really should have figured out exactly WHAT the monster is, though...maybe it doesn't need to be a monster. Maybe the monster is the choice Dean has to make between having to choose between his heart's desires and doing the right thing (self vs. Sam). (As if that hasn't already been done. HA!)

But isn't that part of the appeal of the Winchester brothers? Watching them making the right decision--for each other instead of (them) self--in the midst of extraordinary circumstances? Even when it appears that they're about to go in the wrong direction (Sam drinking demon blood, for example, and hiding it from Dean), you know that they will, eventually, SOMEHOW, make the redemptive choice.

All that and a hot car, too. Love it.

I'll be reading you! :) Thank you for reaching out."

How cool is that? I mean, I've replied to other people who've commented with points I thought were interesting, but someone who edits writing who says nice stuff about your work when you're an unpublished author? That made my day! Next stop: finding and reading her fanfic ;)