It's ridiculous how relieved I am that you like the story - in spite of the lack of Dean and Sam. *g* Thank you very much for letting me know!

I've been nervous about "Into the Jungle" for a variety of reasons, and I don't even know why I wrote this down when I thought I'd be content to have it sitting in the back of my head, but... well, I'm just really glad you like it. :-)

I'm very glad the story had such a strong emotional impact on you!

her determined, necessary actions are so like John's and Sam's that it frightens me

Yes... Sam has been getting there in the last couple of episodes, hasn't he? This hadn't occurred to me yet - probably because I wrote out this story in my head before the season even began - but you're absolutely right that there's a parallel.

makes me wonder where Dean's kindness and love for his family came from, but maybe there was a space for someone to take that role back in America

Outside of a war zone, I'm certain that neither John nor Mary were unkind or unloving. In a situation where there is simply no room for anything but the fight for survival, people are stripped right down to the steel at their core - that doesn't mean that that's all there is to them.

Thank you very much for letting me know what you thought! :-)

Thank you very much - I'm very glad indeed you think so! :-)

Thank you so much! I'm very glad the story had such a strong impact on you - and that the characterization worked for you, in particular. It's great that these versions of John and Mary were real to you!

Would you mind if I asked how you came across this story if you don't read in the fandom? You don't need to tell me, of course - I'm just curious. :-)

Ooh, now I'm very glad I asked - it's really wonderful synecdochic thought the story was good enough to recommend to you! :-)

Thanks again! :-)

*blush* Wow, thank you for pimping! I really wasn't sure anyone would want to read this at all - it's great to see that I was wrong. :-)

Also, now I think I have to go and find that crossover. *g*

I'm very glad indeed that you like it! I know it's unexpected, particularly in terms of characterization - and I'm happy to hear that it worked even so.

Thanks for letting me know! :-)

I don't usually read John or Mary stories

Then we're a good match - I don't usually write them, either. *g*

I'm glad my summary was able to snag you - and even more glad that you liked the story! Thank you very much for your lovely feedback. :-)

that is a completely vicious method of storytelling

Strangely enough, that is one of the nicest compliments I can imagine! (Maybe I should be worried about what this says about me... on second thought, naaah. *g*)

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback! :-)

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback!

It will sound odd, but when I started writing this story I honestly wasn't expecting it to explain so much about canon John to me - but then it all fell into place, and I've come out of the experience feeling that I understand the man far better now.

I just wasn't certain whether anyone who read the story would feel something similar - and I am very glad indeed that you do. :-)

Thank you very much! It's great that you liked the premise and what I did with it - the story *is* a rather radical departure from most pre-canon scenarios I've seen, particularly where Mary is concerned, and I wasn't at all sure that many readers would want to follow me into this particular jungle. So... I'm glad you did. :-)

I'm assuming you've read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried?

No, I haven't - but maybe I should?

I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the story - thank you for letting me know! :-)

Also, thank you for catching the mistake I made about Charlie... I'm going to change it right away.

The Backroads: The Journeys of John Winchester?

Wow, more and more wonderful SPN comms are popping up all the time! Of course, please do feel free to post the story. I'm very flattered that you would want to. :-)

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback - I'm very glad you liked the story! And it's a wonderful compliment that you enjoyed it even without being a Supernatural fan... it makes me feel like I succeeded in portraying the characters as multi-dimensional human beings, even in this short space. :-)

Please keep writing.

Thank you for this encouragement, too. :-) It came at a moment where I really needed it...

Plus, I love your icon. *g*

I'm very glad that you liked this Mary! She is a rather radical departure both from Canon!Dean's imaginings in WIaWSNB and from most other fandom speculations I've seen, and it's great to hear that she rang true to you even so. :-)

Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the story!

Also, your icon is lovely. :-)

It's wonderful to hear that the story worked so well for you!

One of my main goals in writing this story was to take both the character Mary and the relationship between her and John into an unexplored direction - while staying true to canon, and of course painting a plausible picture of what might have been. To me, this backstory explains aspects of John that I hadn't truly "gotten" before; in a sense, I've explained him to myself. :-) I'm very glad that I've succeeded with all of this!

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback! This was a difficult story to write for many reasons, and knowing that you enjoyed reading it makes me glad. :-)

It's great to hear you liked this take on Mary and that you could see things happening this way! When I wrote this story, I wasn't at all sure anyone would want to follow me into this particular universe...

This Mary is a radical departure from both Canon!Dean's imaginings in WIaWSNB and the other fanfic versions I've seen, but we still know so little about her that I wanted to see whether it was possible to take her in a completely different direction - and have it be both plausible and interesting. I'm very glad indeed that the story worked so well for you on that level.

More heartbreaking than canon, since they survived that horror together, and then to have her die in her own home.

You're right... in a way, this is even worse. As though canon wasn't already bad enough...

Among other things, writing this story has made me understand John far better than before, and as a result I already feel far more for him than I used to. It's not fun being a Winchester, that's for sure.

Thank you very much for your lovely feedback!

That's a very high compliment - thank you very much! It's wonderful to hear the story worked so well for you.

It's great to hear that you liked this version of Mary! When I wrote this story, all we'd ever seen of her in canon had been the gentle, sweet and nurturing wife and mother - I never was happy with that one-dimensional version. (I'm very glad canon has since revealed that Mary was much more... though I confess that I would have preferred it if she'd been a bit tougher, still. *g*)

Of course, in many ways this story is even more about John - how he sees the world, the drive behind his quest. So I'm also very happy that my attempt to explain this worked so well for you! :-)

Thank you for your wonderful feedback. :-)

Thank you so much! :-) It's great my version of Mary appeals to you so much. Yes, she is indeed strong and fierce, maybe more so than John - I still regret that canon wasn't able to make her fierceness feel real, although they did lay the plot groundwork for it. Ah well...

I agree that this background skews the death scene, making it even more tragic in some ways. But I also feel that she is less a victim for her background as a fighter, a survivor, and a commander. She lost the battle, yes, but that happens to the most powerful fighter when the enemy is this overwhelmingly strong, and attacks from hiding. And she lived long enough to give one last command, and know it will be obeyed.

It's always wonderful to get feedback on an older story. :-) So thank you again!